Reviews by johanlefourbe

I remember it as if it was yesterday. Back then, when I was just a kid, not even 10 years old, I saw the trailer for this movie. I thought it looked awesome and I was really eager to check it out. Somehow, it took me 20 years (!) to finally watch this flick. I have seriously no idea why it took me so long but the kid that I used to be was really grateful towards the older myself to finally grant him an old wish. On the other hand, it was also sad since it was obviously too late to watch this flick and I would have enjoyed it much more 20 years ago. Still, it remains a solid comedy, a typical Tom Hanks feature that he used to make in the 80’s before becoming a ‘serious’ actor and winning two back-to-back Academy awards in the process. I mean, it is pretty funny, when you check the reviews about the people who love it, it always concerns people who watched it first when they were kids and now they get a great nostalgia feeling when they re-watch it nowadays. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that but there is definitely a target audience here and, for grown-ups, it is slightly enjoyable but not much more than that. I mean, it is fun, Tom Hanks gives a very good performance and it is good while it lasts but it is nothing really ground-breaking in my opinion. To conclude, even though I don’t think it is really great whatsoever, it still remain one of the better comedies coming from the 80’s and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Within 2 days, I watched this whole trilogy and I thought it was a really rewarding watch. This time, this last installment had the very difficult task of wrapping all the murky stuff developed in the previous installments. Personally, I thought that this last feature was the least focused one. Indeed, instead of one main character, they had this time two and since the running time was again rather short, I really wonder if it was a wise choice to have two storylines. Furthermore, one of those two men was one of those despicable West Yorkshire police officers and even though it was indeed a bold move, it was also really difficult to root for the guy or to care about what he was going through. The other storyline was about some looser lawyer who keeps wondering if he should get involved with the whole thing or not but there was not much time to develop this character in my opinion. Once again, for the 3rd time around, there was again a really underdeveloped and underwhelming romance, just like in the other installments, but this time around, it was involving a psychic which made it even more disputable. Still, what a strong conclusion for a really intriguing trilogy! As a whole, it works even better than if you take all the movies as stand-alones. Indeed, the 3 really different directors managed to create a dark and fascinating world with one of the vilest police forces you’ll ever encounter. To conclude, even though this last installment was not really flawless, I really enjoyed this trilogy and I highly recommend it, especially if you like the genre.

After the incredible mayhem ending the first installment, I was really wondering where this sequel would go. Eventually, this sequel didn’t really follow these events and instead, it dealt with a totally different serial killer case which took place 6 years later and what remained was the setting, especially the police force of West Yorkshire. This time, it dealt with a real-life serial killer called the "Yorkshire Ripper’. To be honest, I didn’t know it was a real-life killer while watching this flick but some news footage felt pretty genuine so I wasn’t really surprised when I found out later on. To be honest, pretty much like the previous movie, even though I liked this flick, I can’t say I was really blown away by the whole thing. Once again, I felt that the whole thing was rather short and there was barely room for the police investigation which was actually pretty interesting (the way the main character was, out of nowhere, fired for some dubious reasons was rather unconvincing and right after that, seemingly out of sheer luck, they managed to get the Ripper undermining even more his investigation). Furthermore, there was once again a really unnecessary and underwhelming romantic angle, just like in the 1st movie. They could have get ridden of it , as far as I’m concerned, but at least, it was the best and most convincing romantic storyline in the whole trilogy. Still, in spite these flaws, I really enjoyed this flick. Indeed, this time, they brought another director, James Marsh, responsible for the marvelous ‘Man on Wire’, and even though the directing style was quite different, it worked like a charm and there was a great gloomy mood. Furthermore, once again, what a strong cast! This time, the main character was played by Paddy Considine, an actor who is definitely growing on me and he was really good in here. To conclude, even though it was not really amazing in my opinion, it remains a very good sequel, a fascinating thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Not so long ago, Renée Zellweger was on the A list but, nowadays, we don’t hear much from her anymore. It seems that it started to go wrong for her after ‘Cinderella Man’(an actually really decent feature) tanked. Since then, none of her movies really managed to be successful and it seems she is in need of a major come-back nowadays. Anyway, she made this romantic-comedy just after her breakthrough performance in ‘Jerry Maguirre’ and it was not really good, I’m afraid. As a matter of fact, Zellweger was not even the main character, the main character was played by an even bigger has-been, Chris O’Donnell. O’Donnell was another decent upcoming actor but his career never really recovered from the disastrous ‘Batman & Robin’. To be honest, I’m not sure if they should be blamed since they both did what they could with the material. Indeed, basically, it is one of those terribly underwhelming romantic-comedies with a tedious concept. At least, it was well made and there was a nice supporting cast (James Cromwell, Marley Shelton, Peter Ustinov, Mariah Carey, Sarah Silverman, Jennifer Esposito, Brooke Shields) but it was still a very weak effort. To conclude, it is a really an average romantic-comedy and it is not really worth a look, even if you love the genre.

There was something really appealing about this trilogy and I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, even though I enjoyed this first installment, it was still a little bit disappointing in my opinion. The point is that the story was not really strong. I don’t know, maybe it has to do with the fact that it was rather short and, as a result, the whole thing was either too confusing (I often struggled to remember who was who and who was doing what) or too simplistic (during the whole thing, there is only one guy who could be the killer). I also had a hard time with the journalistic investigation, especially when the reporter ends up sleeping with one of the mother’s victims. Still, there was definitely something spellbinding about the whole thing. Indeed, I loved how they created north England in the 70’s and there was a great gloomy mood. Furthermore, Andrew Garfield must be one of the best actors of his generation and he was really good in this. The rest of the cast was also really strong (David Morrissey, Robert Sheehan, Eddie Marsan, Peter Mullan, Rebecca Hall, Sean Bean). Furthermore, even though the whole thing was rather predictable, I thought that the ending was actually rather surprising. Indeed, out of nowhere, it ended up in complete mayhem and it was even more surprising when you think that there are 2 more installments to come. Only therefore, I can’t wait to see what will happen next. To conclude, even though it was not as good as I was hoping for, it still remain a solid thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I already saw this movie but, since it was a while back and since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out again. To be honest, if there is one musical genre with which I don't feel any connection whatsoever, that would be definitely Country. Still, even though I don't like the genre, Johnny Cash remains a very intriguing figure and he has made some pretty bad-ass songs. The fact that I didn't know much about Cash made the whole thing even more appealing to me. Eventually, it was a typical directing effort from James Mangold who is not a very bad director but he is definitely not a real artist either so the end-result was a solid but still rather generic biopic though. And yet, I really enjoyed the damned thing. The first reason was that Johnny Cash was such an interesting character, at least, the way he was portrayed in this movie. Indeed, he was so full of insecurity and had such low self-esteem, I could really identify with him. The other reason was that, 20 years ago and 15 years before he would finally get his first Academy Award, Joaquin Phoenix was already displaying that he was one of the best actors of his generation. It was just really cool to see him taking such a generic genre as the biopic and deliver something so heartfelt. The funny thing was that he did not look at all like Johnny Cash. Sure, at the time, he lost against Philip Seymour Hoffman in ‘Capote’ but both of them were some acting giants at the top of their game so you won’t hear me complaining. Concerning Reese Whiterspoon, I do think she did get seriously upstaged by Phoenix (who wouldn’t be?) but I have to agree that she was really good and it was easily one of the best performances of her career. So, the movie focused on the romance between Johnny Cash and June Carter which was fine but they made it look like as if Cash did got clean for her when, in fact, he actually kept using drugs through most of his life. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was far from being really original, I really liked the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I'm a huge fan of Al Pacino, I was really dying to watch this flick and it is actually surprising that it took me so many years to finally get my hands on it. Well, unfortunately, the whole thing turned out to be really disappointing. First of all, in my opinion, the directing was not really effective. I mean, especially at the beginning, there were some rather powerful scenes but the way they were shot was rather underwhelming. Furthermore, and that was the main issue I had with this flick, they made the crucial mistake of wrapping up the whole political thing around a terribly weak and pedestrian police investigation. I mean, to start with, it was really unconvincing to see the deputy mayor playing for detective. It's too bad because there was some great stuff in here. Indeed, to see Al Pacino playing the mayor of this great city was really cool and Pacino was really awesome, maybe not as good as in the good old days but way better than in what he has been doing lately. John Cusack was also pretty good as well and all the political negotiations were really interesting. Eventually, the movie could have been great if they just focused on the daily life of this mayor instead of throwing this pedestrian thriller plot. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was rather disappointing, Al Pacino was still pretty good and I think it is worth a look but don't expect much from the damned thing. 

Finally, they got it right... First of all, I have to confess, I used to be a major pothead for maybe 8 years. At some point, I kind of lost interest and stopped all together (I mean, it was fun for what is was but it wasn't really a healthy hobby). Anyway, I kept hearing that it was a pretty good stoner flick and I wanted to watch it for many years. Eventually, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, it wasn't a pretty good stoner flick, it was pure and simply the very best movie in this genre. At the end of the day, it is literally about two guys who spend the whole day sitting on a porch, doing really nothing, except occasionally smoking some dope and watching what is going on in the neighborhood. I know, for most of you, it must sound really pointless (I guess it is after all) but for anyone familiar with the weed, it is highly recognizable. I also believe there is a high social value in this ritual, getting together with your buddy, smoking, talking about everything and nothing. Furthermore, finally, they perfectly portrayed the behavior of your average smoker. Basically, Ice Cube portrays the occasional smoker and Chris Tucker the daily user and when Ice Cube finally hit the joints, his behavior was highly recognizable and quite funny. And that was also why this movie was so successful, it was really funny. I mean, I have never cared about the 'Rush Hour' franchise but Chris Tucker was genuinely hilarious in this. To conclude, I might be a little too generous with my rating, but I felt really nostalgic while watching this flick, I really loved this flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Every year, you have a couple of documentaries which become really successful or even a smash hit. This flick was one of them and was pretty huge back in 2002. Therefore, after hearing so many good things about this movie, I got some pretty huge expectations. Honestly, I thought it was rather disappointing. I mean, it was pretty good, that's for sure, but I really had a hard time to see what was so amazing about it. I don't know, maybe it has do with the fact that I was myself born in a very small French village and spent my first 6 years in such a small village school (though not as small as the one depicted in the movie) so there was no huge revelation for me there. I guess for all the people who spend their whole life living in the city, it might have been shocking somehow. I also had a hard time to figure out what the director was actually looking for. Still, it remains an interesting flick though, I above all enjoyed the understated directing style and it remains a charming little school, absolutely. To conclude, even though it don't think it was really amazing, it still remains a pretty good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I have already seen this flick a couple of times but I thought it was time to watch it with Nick, my step-son. Honestly, I think he was pretty bored during most of the duration, because, let's face it, in contrary to what Sylvester Stallone did for the rest of his career, it is not really an action flick. Indeed, except for the last 10 minutes for the final showdown, the rest of the movie is actually a rather grim drama. Nick is not really big on dramas but I thought it was pretty good. It was also rather funny to see Stallone having so many dialogs especially compared to what he did in the last 30 years during which has been usually blowing up some stuff or demolishing someone's face. Personally, I always had some mixed feelings about the whole thing. I mean, on one hand, it is indeed a pretty good flick, uncannily paralleling Stallone's whole life and it is the ultimate underdog story which has been copied 100's times afterwards. On the other hand, I'm sorry, but there are many better movies out there in my opinion. I mean, come on, the same year 'Taxi Driver' was released and was snubbed by the Academy awards in favor of this movie which still remain painful even 40 years later. Still, to conclude, even though I don't think it is really amazing, it is still a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.