Reviews by johanlefourbe

I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Sylvester Stallone and Rutger Hauer, I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, even though it was not bad, it was still not really convincing either. Basically, it is an awkward mix between the 70s' gritty thrillers and the 80's buddy cop action flicks and even though this mix was intriguing, it didn't work very well. As a result, you get an endless set-up and since the movie was rather short (just above 90 minutes), the 2nd half felt really rushed. Still, I liked the grim look of the whole thing, the dialogs were pretty rough and Stallone and Hauer were both really charismatic. Back in those days, Stallone was still trying to make it as a legit actor, even though except for his 'Rocky' movies, all his other movies were flops and, for Hauer, it was his first American production and, basically, this movie became basically the blue-print of what he would do for the rest of his career (the psycho bad-guy). To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, it was not bad after all and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

There was something really appealing about this flick. I mean, it was a dark thriller dealing with snuff movies, directed by Joel Schumacher, starring Nicolas Cage and Joaquin Phoenix. It really seemed that they have gathered all the necessary ingredients to make a decent flick. Unfortunately, the whole thing was pretty disappointing. Seriously, I gave this movie a fair shot and even watched it twice but both times, I thought it was actually rather underwhelming. The main issue I had is that it is basically a thriller which pretends to be dark and gloomy but, at the end of the day, it remains a rather glossy Hollywood flick. I mean, it is not really a bad movie at all. Nicolas Cage was still a very good actor back then (don’t talk to me about his recent work…) and Joaquin Phoenix in a rather thankless role managed as always to make something quite intriguing. The most annoying thing is that you feel that there was some potential here but they didn’t dare go all the way with this sensitive subject. As a matter of fact, Andrew Kevin Walker (who also wrote ‘Seven’) wrote the screenplay, and apparently, the whole thing was way darker but the studio asked him to lighten up the tone. Eventually, Walker walked out and disowned this flick. To conclude, even though it is far from being awful, it still remain an average and disappointing thriller and it is not really worth a look, even if you like the genre.

Honestly, I didn't know what this flick was about beforehand and I didn't know what to expect. It is something I actually really enjoy, to watch a movie without knowing nothing about it. In my opinion, especially when you watch a thriller, it makes it much more exciting. Of course, there is the risk that you will end up watching some garbage but it is a risk I'm always glad to take. Unfortunately, this flick was still pretty weak. Basically, it managed to hold my attention for about 30 minutes but, after that, it was pretty abysmal. Indeed, it is one of these very convoluted thrillers with some repetitive annoying twists and I really had a hard time to care about the whole thing. If I'm not mistaken, they were maybe 5 different characters with a shady background and instead of leaving a mysterious fog around them, their back story was a little bit developed but not enough to make it interesting and too much to not become really underwhelming. I was reminded of 'Memento' which is a perfect example of carefully developing all the characters by giving ONLY the information you need in order to enjoy the story. Here, it is the complete opposite, they keep throwing at you some random information just to make the whole thing more 'exciting' but it had the opposite effect. So, most of this movie was actually garbage but there were here and there some good ideas and there is definitely something intriguing about agoraphobia. Anyway, to conclude, I think I was rather generous with my rating here, it is a pretty weak thriller and it is not really worth a look, even if you like the genre.

It is once again one of those really obscure French movies which I'm the only one to have seen here on Listal so it might be one of the most obscure movies I have ever seen. To be honest, I have actually no idea how I ended watching this flick but it was actually pretty good. Indeed, even though it is nothing really amazing, it was one of the very few movies dealing with disabled people I have seen and they handled this subject pretty well. The cast was mostly composed of unknown expect for Olivier Gourmet (the marvelous guy who works regularly with the Dardennes brothers, also very good in this) and Saïd Taghmaoui (who breakthrough with 'La Haine' and managed to built up a decent career in the US starting with 'Three Kings'). Basically, it deals with the fact that disabled people also might have the rights to experience sexuality and maybe we should provide them the means for their needs. Even though the outcome was pretty predictable, their journey was interesting and I did care for those poor fellows. To conclude, even though it is indeed a really obscure flick, it is actually pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Mickey Rourke, I thought I should give it a shot anyway. I remember that it was a huge flop when it was released and, eventually, it was indeed pretty bad. To start with, it must be one of the lamest title ever conceived. I mean, how can you recover from this?!? Well, they did not, that's for sure. The cast is basically a has-been reunion (Mickey Rourke, Don Johnson, Daniel Baldwin, Vanessa Williams, Tia Carrere, Tom Sizemore, Kelly Hu) and the story was just terribly tedious. The sad thing is that Mickey Rourke and Don Johnson were actually both pretty charismatic and there were here and there some tiny bits which did work but those guys were basically lost in this terrible mess. How could they greenlight something like this? They must be some better scripts out there. Anyway, Rourke later on admitted that he did this flick for the money and, from there, it was all downhill for him and it took him more than 10 years to get his sh*t together. To conclude, the whole thing is a terrible waste of time and you shouldn't even bother watch this, even if you are a fan of Mickey Rourke's work.

What happened to Wolfgang Petersen? Is he in semi-retirement? His last movie was 'Poseidon', a huge bomb, but since then, he hasn't done much. Anyway, even if you may not like most of his output, you can't argue that Petersen was one of the most successful European directors in Hollywood. Before starting a career in the US, he made two of the most impressive European productions, 'Das Boot' and 'The NeverEnding Story'. 'The NeverEnding Story' is one of those movies that I saw when I was very young and, back then, I thought it was just fascinating, probably the best fantasy story I saw at the time. In my young eyes, it looked great, it was a mesmerizing world, it was a great adventure with also some scary moments and the fact that a young kid like me was reading a book, living this adventure was also something that really intrigued me at the time. Seriously, with its various levels of story-telling, it is basically a mind-f*ck for kids. Of course, when the time was right, I had to re-watch this flick with my kids but, unfortunately, most of the magic was gone. I mean, I still thoroughly enjoyed it, absolutely, but I thought it looked pretty cheesy (30 years later, what would you expect?) and the weaknesses in the story or the acting were much obvious this time around. In my opinion, to really enjoy this flick, you have to be really young, at least 6 years but no more than 12, and you still need to have some kind of innocent soul to be touched by its magic. To conclude, I still think it is a classic, I really cherish this flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I have always been a fan of Robert De Niro but, let's be honest, the last 20 years of his career have been filled with crap. This movie was one of the few exceptions as it was very well very received upon its release though. Frankly, it didn't blow me away the first time I watched it maybe 10 years ago but since it has a decent reputation, I thought I should give it a 2nd shot. Honestly, I ended up with the same feeling. I mean, the directing was gritty and effective, there was a nice competent cast (Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, Michael Lonsdale, Jonathan Pryce) and there was some impressive action scenes, especially those famous car chases which were really awesome. Still, I don't think it was that amazing though. I mean, even though it was definitely entertaining, at the end of the day, the story was just one those generic and convoluted thriller plots with the usual back-stabbing and 'surprising' twists. It seems that this flick basically gets extra points for its great car chases. I mean, I do agree, those scenes were really impressive but were they enough to make it a great movie? I don't think so. Still, there are many things to enjoy here and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

It is probably one of the first Dutch movies I saw with my wife and since it was a while back, I thought it was time for a re-watch. Even though it is far from being a masterpiece, it is still a very solid flick and one of better the Dutch productions I have seen through the years. First of all, it is a very strong story, adapted from a Dutch best-seller (which I haven't read though) and I also enjoyed the structure which was really efficient. Indeed, lately, I have become extremely annoyed when a movie goes back and forth in time for no real reasons but, here, it worked very well. First of all, without some fake heavy make-up, Peter Paul Muller really looked younger in the flashbacks and this gimmick really enhanced the story-telling. Furthermore, there was a really strong cast (Peter Paul Muller, Carice van Houten, Halina Reijn, Jan Decleir, Frank Lammers, Jeroen Willems). Still, it was not exactly mind-blowing though. Indeed, like most Dutch movies, the directing was not really impressive, it was better than most but still not up to the level of any American, French or British productions. Furthermore, the story was really good but it felt as if the makers couldn't really handle it, awkwardly switching tone between thriller, drama and comedy. Still, it remains a pretty good flick, I really liked it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.

Since I'm a huge fan of Reggae music (I consider myself the expert on this website), I definitely had to watch this flick. To be honest, I have never been really a fan of his work, in my opinion, Marley has always been the big tree hiding the rest of the forest, but I always had a huge respect for his legacy and he definitely made some monsters tunes. Anyway, it was a great flick, absolutely. Even though I already knew about 90% of what was told, it was just great to have the whole story told, to see all those places where he has been and to meet all these people with whom he was involved with. And what a life... Like so many other immortal figures like Bruce Lee, Kurt Cobain or Jimi Hendrix, he left right in the middle of his fame but this movie succeeded in giving most of the details of his journey from a small village in Jamaica to become a world super-star, passing by the ghettos of Trenchtown in Kingston. You could argue that they didn't criticize the guy much but that's not what this movie was about. Even though he was a person who was rejected as a mixed-blood, as a rastafari, he still became an idol for everyone living in this small island (even still today) but also for many people around the globe. To conclude, I thought it was a really good documentary and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Reggae music.

When this movie came out, I was just a kid and, I remember it very well, it was just huge. Back then, it was a real event and it was just everywhere. I mean, you had the hit song, the awesome logo, all the merchandise, there was even two different cartoon shows if I recall it correctly. Basically, it was inevitable, except maybe if you lived in a dark cave, and I really loved the whole phenomenon. I thought it was just awesome, to see those funny guys with their weird gadgets and those ghosts were still kind of spooky (give me a break… I was maybe 5 years back in those days). Anyway, after all those years, I thought it was time to re-watch it, this time, with Nick, my step-son. Filled up with all these childhood memories, I had some pretty huge expectations but, to be honest, I was rather disappointed. I mean, Nick really loved it and we subsequently watched the sequel later on but I personally had a rather hard time to care about the damned thing. I mean, I still could see that the whole thing was quite original and I was fairly entertained throughout the beginning until the end but I also thought that it was actually pretty cheesy. When I was a kid, I thought the whole thing was just awesome and fascinating but, as a grown-up, I thought it was at best amusing but I never thought it was really hilarious whatsoever. To conclude, even though it is and remains a classic, I’m afraid I have outgrown this flick but it is still definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.