Reviews by johanlefourbe

Very often, I will end up watching a very obscure flick just because there are a couple of interesting actors in it. This movie is a perfect example. I mean, before watching it, I never heard of it and I had absolutely no idea what it was actually about it but since the cast was interesting, I thought I should check it out. And indeed, there was a pretty cool cast (Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche, Max Minghella, Kate Bosworth) and they all delivered some solid performances. Basically, it is an intriguing drama about a dysfunctional family but the problem is that each family member had his/her own agenda or issue and the movie really had a hard time juggling between all these sub-plots. I mean, Kate Bosworth was barely in the movie at all and her part was pretty much reduced to a cameo and I really had a hard time figuring what the hell was going on with Binoche’s character. Indeed, her character started to behave rather heretically pretty suddenly without a shred of explanation. In my opinion, the whole thing would have worked better if they focused on one or two storylines at most. Still, there was something really intriguing about the whole thing and I did enjoy the directing style and the actors involved all did a pretty good job. To conclude, even though it was rather flawed, I still think it was a decent drama and it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Of course, I have already seen this flick but I thought it was time for a re-watch, this time, with Nick my step-son. To be honest, even though I liked the first installment, I never thought it was really amazing and this sequel is pretty much a vanity project. I mean, one of the great things about the first movie is that Rocky didn’t actually win and all those underwhelming sequels undermined the impact of this classic. However, since ‘Rocky’ was a huge financial and critical success, it wasn’t surprising that they decided to make a sequel. The other thing that bothered me with this flick is that it follows one very old and annoying gimmick that you see in many fighting movies (not necessarily about boxing). In this template, the main character can’t/doesn’t want to fight but , since it is a movie about fighting, of course, he will eventually fight so it makes the whole dilemma really pointless and rather annoying. In this case, it was even more tedious because at first Rocky himself doesn’t want to fight, but then when he changes his mind, than it is Adrian who doesn’t want him to… It is just goes on and on forever and it was not really interesting. Still, the whole thing remained rather entertaining. I mean, there is something really endearing about Rocky himself and there were some really uplifting scenes, for example, when he is running in the streets of Philadelphia. Basically, this scene is totally corny but it still works somehow. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, it still remains a decent flick though and it is definitely worth look especially if you like the genre.

I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since there was a pretty nice cast, I thought I should give it a try. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a really lame romantic-comedy. Indeed, the whole thing was just really contrived and you basically spend 2 hours waiting for one character to say that she is sorry, that's it. The other thing that really didn't work is that the same character was displayed as a terribly manipulative b*tch which made the conclusion even more dubious. While watching this I was really wondering what the hell happened to Kristen Bell? I mean, she is quite charming and seems rather talented but she is basically following the same path as Jennifer Anniston which is always playing the same character in some really tedious rom-coms (see also 'When in Rome' or 'Couples Retreat'... or maybe not). At least, Anniston had a few hits which can't be said for Kristen Bell except for 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'. The only redeeming feature in this tedious flick was indeed the cast (Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Annable, Kristin Chenoweth, Dwayne Johnson) and it would be really neat to see Sigourney Weaver in a decent comedy instead of this garbage because she has a terrific comedic timing. To conclude, honestly, I think I'm being really generous with my rating here, it is a really average comedy and it is not really worth a look whatsoever.

I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but one of my colleagues at the time recommended it and said it was really hilarious so I thought I should give it a try. It turned out to be a huge mistake and I would be really careful in the future when this guy would recommend a movie to me… Indeed, I thought it was such a lame and stupid comedy. I know, it is supposed to be that way but it is also supposed to be funny which was not the case at all and personally, I was really bored to death during the whole thing. The main issue compared to a similar movie like ‘Road Trip’ (which I didn’t really like either but at least it was not as bad as this piece of turd) is that it is a flick made by Americans for the American audience about some terrible clichés about Europeans. Eventually, it might be funny if you are American (and pretty much ignorant…) but I don’t see the appeal if you are European (on the other hand, the guy would recommend it to me was Dutch so go figure…). The only positive thing is that even though Michelle Trachtenberg is far from being a great actress, she was quite charming and Matt Damon had some fun with his cameo but that’s the only positive things I can think of. To conclude, I really really didn’t like this flick, it is just a lame comedy and I don’t think it is worth a look whatsoever.

Even though it sounded like a rather weird movie, since I kept hearing good things about it, I really wanted to check it out. You can easily imagine that someone like Adam Sandler or the Farrelly brothers would have made another offensive and lame comedy from this subject but, fortunately, the makers chose here a different approach and the end-result was rather subtle and really interesting. Of course, the success of this movie is most of all thanks to Ryan Gosling. Indeed, he took a huge risk with this part but he completely nailed it and I was sold within the first 5 minutes. Such a sensitive, heartbreaking and really convincing performance. Surprisingly, even though I thought the main character was really compelling to watch, I had some major issues with the other characters. Which one? All of them!!! I mean, to make us believe that his brother and his sister-in-law would play along, that was fair enough, that his doctor would participate in his fantasy, that made sense as well but the whole freaking town?!? Seriously, I was slapping my face in disbelief during the whole thing. Eventually, half way through, his sister-in-law would give a nice speech explaining that they all did it because they loved him and that was actually a good explanation but the fact that that you didn’t get to know Lars and his community before the doll made it really hard to swallow. Even so, it was hard to believe that no one, really no one would tell him anything or joke about it at any moment. Eventually, there was one single scene during which his brother actually tells him the truth and that was it. Maybe I’m too cynical but I found it really frustrating and rather annoying to see all this people pretending they had an actual relationship with this doll. Still, I liked this flick, Ryan Gosling was just really good, carrying the whole thing on his shoulders and even though I don’t think the whole thing was completely successful, it is still a really intriguing indie feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte might sound like a rather odd couple and even though Julia Roberts was becoming really huge back in those days, it wasn’t one of her biggest success, that’s for sure. Apparently, Nolte was not really satisfied with this flick and even went on saying that it was the worst film he has ever appeared in. Julia Roberts didn’t have a grand time either and called Nolte the worst actor she has ever worked with. Personally, I have nothing against Roberts but it is difficult to take her seriously after making such a statement since Nick Nolte was/is actually a fine actor but who knows? Maybe he was indeed terrible in this flick. The weird thing is that I don’t think this movie was that bad at all. Basically, it is a throwback to those romantic-comedies they use to make in the 30’s and 40’s. It above all reminded me of ‘His Girl Friday’ starring the great Cary Grant. Unfortunately, even though it is rather charming and harmless, the whole thing was also rather shallow and pretty much anachronistic, I’m afraid. I mean, those comedies were huge back in those days (I’m not huge fan though) but, nowadays, it is just way too light for our cynical generation of viewers. To conclude, even though Nolte and Roberts both dreaded this flick, even though it is nothing amazing whatsoever, I still think it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

It had been a while since I have seen this flick so I thought it was time for a re-watch, this time, with Nick my step-son. Nick was hugely enthusiasm and told me to order already the 3rd installment. Of course, it is understandable as it is a very solid action flick but, personally, I still prefer the first installment which was way better than the other movies in this franchise. The point is that, back then, Jason Bourne was a really fascinating character, full of doubts, vulnerable and frankly quite a mess. In this sequel, even though Matt Damon gave again a really strong performance, I thought that Bourne lost his vulnerability and instead became one of those typical omnipotent and invincible guys that I have already seen in countless average action flicks. I mean, it is not that it is a bad movie, not at all. Indeed, even though the plot is nothing really amazing, it was still damned entertaining and there were also some really impressive action scenes, especially the car chase in Moscow which was really mind-blowing (especially compared to the incredibly tedious motor chase displayed in 'The Bourne Legacy'). Concerning the directing, there was a big fuss about Paul Greengrass but, in my opinion, his take was only slightly better than what Doug Liman did with the first movie and concerning the infamous shaky cam, it was there only a couple of times so it didn’t bother me whatsoever. To conclude, even though I think it is slightly overrated, it remains a really entertaining spy action flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

As you many have noticed, I'm rather obsessive about my movie watching and this flick is a perfect example. Basically, it is once again one of those really obscure French movies which almost nobody at Listal has seen. So, the reason why I watched it is actually rather bewildering. Indeed, since I have a weak spot for Hugh Grant, I try to watch all his movies and it was one of very few I hadn't seen yet. And guess what? He was indeed in it but just for one single short scene so you could say I pretty much wasted my time with this movie. At least, Carole Bouquet was rather charming but, apart from that, it was just a rather boring French comedy. Furthermore, it deals with a rather sensitive subject, at least to me, the illegal immigration in France, and even though the whole thing was not really offensive, it wasn't interesting or entertaining either. To conclude, even though it was not really awful, it remains a rather average comedy and it is not really worth a look, even if you are interested in French movies.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Matt Damon, I thought I should give it a try. Basically, it is a half-baked SF feature with a few interesting ideas here and there. Once again, they tried to tackle the whole predetermined thingy, the fake/parallel worlds and what not. Even though it is an interesting thematic, it is something tremendously difficult to make stick and only a handful of movies like 'Dark City' or 'Inception' did succeed (yeah, I'm still defending 'Inception' even though it is slowly becoming the most overrated flick ever made). Hell, even a so-called classic like 'The Matrix' didn't manage to make it right. The point is that, if you create such a world, not only you end up with some massive plot-holes but most of the plot becomes pointless or rather nonsensical. For example, it was difficult to care about the whole political plot since you know that it is not what the movie is actually about and you wonder how the main character keeps moving on in his life knowing that the world, his life and the life of others is not what it seems to be. Still, there were a few things I enjoyed. For example, it delivered one of the most charming meet-cute I have ever seen. Furthermore, Matt Damon and Emily Blunt both delivered some solid performances, they had some great chemistry and I really believed that those two characters were in love. Eventually, I loved this couple so much, if it would have been up to me, I would have just throw the whole SF plot by the window and focus on their romance. I mean, it remains watchable and I was entertained enough but the script didn't go deep enough into the various implications of the theories developed here. To conclude, even though it is a rather weak SF feature, I still think it is worth a look though, especially if you like the genre.

Even though it is nowadays pretty much forgotten, when it was released, this movie received some huge praise, it became overnight an indie success and launched instantly the career of Catalina Sandino Moreno, even if we don't hear much from her anymore. Well, I think it completely deserved its solid reputation. Indeed, it is a really raw, almost documentary-like with no mercy depiction of those infamous drug mules. On a current basis, especially here in the Netherlands, you hear about those people smuggling drugs and the first typical reaction that we have is how can you be so stupid to jeopardize your life and future with such dangerous activities? Well, this movie gives you the answer. Because some people are really desperate and the drug organizations just take advantage of them. In this case, the mule was played by a young and cute girl, perfectly portrayed by Catalina Sandino Moreno in her very first role. Eventually, when she should be enjoying life like any other girl of her age, she instead makes some terrible decisions simply because she didn't have much choices. Basically, the whole thing seemed really realistic, completely grim from the beginning until the end. To be honest, when the two girls ran away, the whole thing did loose some steam and it felt as if the makers didn't really know what to do with them anymore. It is especially felt rather pointless when they, after all, called back the dealers to give the drugs back. I think they even got lucky that they didn't get killed and even got paid but I don't think that this part was necessarily unrealistic. Anyway, to conclude, I thought it was a rather sad but stil interesting drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.