Reviews by johanlefourbe

Like everyone else, I think that Heath Ledger was a very talented actor but, honestly, not everything he did was completely awesome. For example, this movie gets a lot for credit but, honestly, I don't think it is that great. Indeed, I don't know how many times I came across someone arguing that it is one of the best High-School comedies ever made. Personally, I think it was a decent entry in this genre, sure, but I seriously failed to see what was so great about it. Of course, there was a nice cast ( Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union) and it was definitely entertaining but there was honestly nothing mind-blowing about the whole thing. In my opinion, it is a movie which pretends to be edgy when, in fact, it never really challenges the basic rules in this genre and the characters all remain fairly stereotypical. I mean, there is nothing wrong with that and, like I said, it remains a decent feature but, personally, I always expect something more, something really outstanding to consider a movie as a great one and this flick was never truly remarkable. To conclude, even though I tend to think it is a little bit overrated, it remains a decent High-School comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie but since it was one of the few movies starring Arnold Schwarzenegger which I haven't seen yet so I thought I should give it a try. Basically, this movie represented the beginning of the end for Kirk Douglas (who was already more than 60 years old at the time) and the beginning of the beginning for Schwarzenegger. Basically, it is a Western spoof but even though I enjoyed the fact that it didn't sink too low, it was still not really funny, I'm afraid. It is the like the running joke with Douglas' horse. At first, it was pretty funny but it got old pretty quickly. At some point, I thought the whole thing really looked like the Road Runner cartoon and, indeed, this movie was indeed some kind of live-action version of the famous 'Looney Tunes' cartoon which is, you have to admit it, a rather odd idea. Back in those days, Schwarzenegger with his thick accent, was far from being a great actor (his acting skills are still very limited) but a few years later, he would finally breakthrough with 'Conan the Barbarian', a movie focusing on his impressive muscular stature with a rather silent character, a perfect combination for the Austrian Oak. Sadly, it is the only Western starring Kirk Douglas that I have seen so far and I really need to watch another one soon since he is considered one of the greatest icons in this genre. To conclude, even though the whole thing was rather harmless, it was still a pretty weak Western comedy and it is not really worth a look.

After getting some major acclaim as a writer with ‘Taxi Driver’, Paul Schrader decided to become a film director as well but even though he has made some interesting flicks, none of them became truly memorable, except maybe for ‘American Gigolo’ but I don’t think it was that amazing. This movie is a perfect example of Schrader’s work as it is pretty obscure nowadays, rather intriguing but ultimately rather underwhelming. It also features two actors who were really promising back in those days, Nastassja Kinski and Malcolm McDowell. Unfortunately, their career was eventually rather disappointing but I still have a weak spot for them. Anyway, back to our main feature, it is a really loose remake of the movie of the same title made in 1942, exactly 40 years before. To make a movie about people transforming in cats is definitely tricky since the whole thing can become campy pretty quickly. Personally, I did enjoy the mood and Nastassja Kinski and Malcolm McDowell were both really charismatic but the plot was unfortunately rather weak and, of course, really preposterous. To conclude, even though the whole thing was rather flawed, I thought it was still a decent erotic thriller and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a pretty nice cast, I thought I should give it a try. Unfortunately, it wasn't really good, I'm afraid. Not so long ago, I bumped into this list on the internet about the directors who should retire instead of further damaging their career. After watching this movie, it became pretty obvious to me that James L. Brooks would definitely represent a valid candidate for this list. I mean, the guy is not really productive, he made only 6 movies over 30 years, but when the end-result is so underwhelming, you really wonder if he should even bother. The sad thing is that there was indeed a nice cast (Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson) and they did what they could with the material but the whole thing was just poorly written. Basically, there is a love triangle at the center but the characters were also involved in sports and corporate business but all those elements were really poorly developed. You even wonder why Jack Nicholson showed up at all (in his last part, hopefully, he won't end his career like this) for a character who was completely underwritten. To be honest, the whole thing did have some potential but it wasn't meant to be, I guess. To conclude, even though it wasn't awful, it was still a pretty weak romantic-comedy and I don't think it is really worth a look, even if you like the genre.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Neil Jordan’s work, I thought I should give it a try. I’m pretty sure it is one of his more obscure movies, especially among his Hollywood features and it wasn’t really good, I’m afraid. I mean, it was watchable and, as usual, Jordan managed to create an intriguing mood and atmosphere but, at some point, the plot just became way too preposterous to hold my interest. It is something quite common with thrillers, at least the ones with some potential : the set-up is pretty intriguing but, at some point, the makers believe that they have to provide a closure and that’s when usually the whole thing falls flat. Indeed, since they built up something rather incredible, they come up with some inane twist that wrap up the whole thing within 10 minutes which is something I always find terribly underwhelming. This movie is definitely one of those. Still, Annette Bening gave, as usual, a very solid performance and it was rather interesting to see Robert Downey Jr. who was still very much struggling with his substance issue back in those days (as a matter of fact, it was the last movie he completed before going to jail for a year on drug charges). To conclude, even though the whole thing was rather disappointing, I still think it remains an intriguing thriller and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I didn’t expect much from this flick but since it was on the TV, I thought I might as well give it a try. I know that most Europeans, above all the French speaking ones, grew up with these little blue fellows and, apparently, they were pretty famous in the US as well. Anyway, to my surprise,, the animation was actually pretty nice and the way they modernized the whole look did work for me. Unfortunately, as soon as Gargamel showed up (I really didn’t recognize Hank Azaria at all), I started to dread the whole thing. I mean, why mix some real humans with those blue creatures? They already did this with ‘Hop’ and ‘Alvin and Chipmunks’ and I thought it was a terrible gimmick. It wasn’t better here either, that’s for sure. But, they didn’t stop there, no, not only they included some non-CGI characters but they also transported the plot in our world which was also a really misguided choice. Once again, why?!? I think it could have worked better if they stick a little bit more with the original spirit provided by the comic-books and TV show. As a result, the whole thing felt terribly ‘Americanized’ and it was quite dreadful to behold. To conclude, it might be enjoyable for very young kids but I didn’t like it all and I don’t think it is worth a look whatsoever.

I didn’t expect much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Sandra Bullock, I thought I should give it a try. Back then, Bullock just had her breakthrough with ‘Demolition Man’ and ‘Speed’ and it was the first time she got the lead. Another interesting aspect about this movie is that it was the first movie they made with the internet as main topic. As usual, Hollywood is always keen on surfing on the last new hype to make a few bucks and, back then, the internet was really booming (it is difficult to imagine that 20 years ago we were living without this tool which seems to be nowadays really essential). I think it was actually a pretty neat idea to make a movie about this subject, it is just too bad the end-result was really disappointing. Indeed, I really wonder if casual internet and computer users found the whole thing believable but, myself, I have been in the IT for almost a decade and I thought the whole thing was pretty laughable. It is like Sandra Bullock. I mean, she was and still is really charming but, come on, I didn’t believe one second that she was some kind of nerd. Maybe it gave some wet dreams to many gigs but I thought she was a rather poor casting choice. Finally, the plot was really preposterous, you know, the typical Hollywood thriller with some inane twists. To conclude, even though it wasn’t really awful, I didn’t like it much and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

Since I have a weak spot for Sean Connery, Meg Ryan and Peter Hyams' work, I thought I should check this one out. To be honest, Peter Hyams is far from being a great director. I mean, I have seen a whole bunch of his movies and none of them was really that amazing. On the other hand, they were usually pretty fun to watch and his movies are definitely among my guilty pleasures. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, it was basically a typical Hyams effort. Indeed, the script was pretty weak and pedestrian (especially everything involving Meg Ryan, her relationship with Harmon, with Connery was just pretty lame). It is like the chase at the beginning of the movie : on one hand, it was pretty badass and entertaining but, on the other hand, it was also honestly cheesy and unconvincing. Still, I liked the mood created, Mark Harmon and Sean Connery had a decent chemistry and I was fairly entertained throughout the whole thing. Anyway, to conclude, spite of its flaws, I think it must be one of the better movies directed by Peter Hyams and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much but since I'm a huge fan of Michael Caine, I thought I might as well give it a try. Pretty much like I expected, it was indeed pretty bad. To start with, I haven't seen many movies with Steven Seagal but I disliked all of them, even his so-called classic 'Under Siege'. Well, from all the garbage he has made and I have seen so far, this flick was the worse one. Indeed, it was basically a vanity project for Seagal who, at the height of his popularity demanded to direct this flick. Basically, it is some kind of environmental action flick during which, at the end, they blow up an oil raffinery because, obviously, it is the best way to preserve the environment. After that, you have a ridiculous preachy speech by Steven Seagal himself which goes on and on during which he explains that the big corporations are basically f*cking with us and our planet (originally, this speech was supposed to last more than 10 minutes but, fortunately, they cut the damned thing). So, it was a boring and completely misguided flick and I gave it a few extra points only for Michael Caine who was there obviously only for the paycheck. To conclude, it was pretty bad and I don't think it is really worth a look whatsoever.

When I first heard about this movie, I got pretty excited. At last, we had a blockbuster starring Brad Pitt, one of the most reliable actors at work nowadays, with Marc Forster, a really exciting director, and it was an adaptation of a best-seller dealing with zombies. Basically, it sounded really awesome. Then, like everyone else, I heard that the production was far from being peachy, they re-shot a whole third and the release date was pushed by a full year. It didn't really sound promising anymore but guess what? I still enjoyed the damned thing. Of course, it was nothing great like I was hoping for but, for a blockbuster, it was still pretty entertaining. Basically, Brad Pitt carries the whole thing on his shoulders (there were maybe 3 actors I recognized and one of them, Matthew Fox was basically an extra, rather surprising for a production of this size) but he did a pretty good job. Furthermore, there were a couple of a really impressive scenes (the fall out of Israel and the plane crash). Still, the story didn't work very well. Honestly, I hope the book is better, otherwise they pretty messed up the script. I mean, I liked the background they created for the main character but, a part from that, there were so many awkward moments. Let's take the beginning for example. Indeed, Pitt's family is enjoying their breakfast, they go on their daily routine and, suddenly, out of f*cking nowhere, there is a zombie outbreak. How come they didn't hear about it before? It should take at least a couple of days for such an outbreak so they should be aware about what's going on. Also, when he goes to Israel, there is this Mossad guy explaining how they ended up protecting themselves. Seriously, what he said, did it make any sense to you? Basically, our main character got there just to make sure we could see this awesome action sequence, that's it. Finally, the way he picks up completely at random a deathly virus and by miracle the trick works was also rather unbelievable. I also wonder how this camouflage-virus does work. So, there were many things in the story that barely worked (not mentioning how often the whole theater was laughing at the behavior of the zombies) but, still, I had a good time. Nick, my step-son, is a huge fan of zombie flicks and had a blast watching this and I shared his enthusiasm. So, from a really ambitious project, it turned out to be a rather half-baked but still entertaining blockbuster and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.