Reviews by johanlefourbe

Not so long ago I have seen ‘Wyatt Earp’ another Western directed by Lawrence Kasdan and also starring Kevin Costner. Even though it sounded great on paper, it turned out to be one of the most underwhelming Western I have ever seen and it was definitely a deserved flop when it was released. However, back in the 80’s, not only Lawrence Kasdan had some major success as a screenwriter (he wrote ’The Empire Strikes back’ , ’Return of the Jedi’ and ’Raiders of the Lost Ark’ , not too shabby, ain’t it?), he developed also a solid career as a director and all his movies were acclaimed efforts (’Body Heat’, ‘The Big Chill’ , ‘Silverado’ , ‘The Accidental Tourist’) . Anyway, 10 years before making ‘Wyatt Earp’, Kasdan and Costner got together to make this Western which was exactly the opposite. Indeed, it wasn’t epic at all, just a rather modest Western but it worked like a charm and I thought it was a very fun flick. The first thing to enjoy was the pretty cool cast (Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, Danny Glover, John Cleese, Rosanna Arquette, Jeff Goldblum). The other enjoyable thing was to see a rather young Kevin Costner just before his breakthrough in ‘The Untouchables’ 2 years later. There is a lot of energy, youth and carelessness in his performance and it was greatly appreciated. At the end of the day, this movie is nothing really amazing but since it never takes itself too seriously, it does work. To conclude, it is a pretty cool Western and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Robert Downer Jr., I thought I should give it a try. Honestly, it was pretty obvious what the producers were up to. Following the surprising massive success of 'The Hangover', they decided to quickly cash-in on the popularity of the new funny guy in town, Zach Galifianakis. In the directing chair, you have again Todd Phillips and as the sparring partner, you have Robert Downer Jr., hotter than ever, so it sounded like a pretty good combo. Unfortunately, I didn't like it much, I'm afraid. Basically, it is some kind of a remake of 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' and even though I enjoyed this classic, it didn't really blow me away like good old Roger Ebert. Anyway, this new version didn't add much to the formula and I had really a hard time to care for the whole thing. Even though Galifianakis' character was more obnoxious than funny, Downey Jr. delivered the goods as usual and saved me from total boredom. There were a few cameos, some totally wasted (Juliette Lewis, Jamie Foxx) and some pretty good (RZA, Danny McBride) but, again, they didn't redeem the whole thing. To conclude, I think I'm being rather generous with my rating but I guess it is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre or the actors involved.

To be honest, I wasn't sure about this flick but since there were a couple of interesting actors involved, I thought I should give it a try. First of all, the title is not really bad but it doesn't make the whole thing really attractive. At least, you know beforehand that you will be dealing with and for a movie dealing with teenage anxiety, I thought it was pretty solid. Above all, the characters were really interesting and the understated acting by Vincent D'Onofrio, Tilda Swinton and Vince Vaughn was really appreciated. Concerning Keanu Reeves, it was honestly a nice attempt to try something else but his character was just way underwritten and his behavior was impossible to follow. The main issue I had with this flick is that it was still rather unfocused in my opinion. I mean, you start with the whole thumbsucking business but then it is about a debate team and later, you have some pot smoking. Each time, the behavior of the main character changed rather drastically and it was a little too much. Not that Lou Pucci should be blamed as he gave a pretty solid performance. To conclude, even though the whole thing is not really original or convincing, I still think that they managed to create some interesting characters and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

So far, it is the best movie I have seen which was released in 2012. I know, many of you will probably be surprised that I give it so much praise, especially considering the fact that I'm not really generous with my ratings nowadays but this movie was just really amazing. I even shed a few tears, something that never happened to me before. First of all, after 20 years of mindless garbage, the great Robert De Niro was finally showing up in a good movie giving a great performance like in the good old days. Secondly, the characters and the whole story really touched me personally as I was reminded of how I met my wife and why we ended up together in the first place. As soon as the DVD is out, I will buy the damned thing and watch it with her. Finally, it was just a terrific movie with some real characters, with some real issues, dealing with their emotions and making me laugh and cry. I was also impressed by Bradley Cooper. Man, this guy seems to be the real deal. Indeed, only a few years back, he got his breakthrough with 'The Hangover' as a supposedly funny guy, then he became quickly another pretty face but, now, he is profiling himself as a genuinely talented dramatic actor. Concerning Jennifer Lawrence who just recently won the Academy award for this performance, I'm not so sure. The point is that it is only the 2nd movie starring her that I have seen so far (the other one being 'X-Men: First Class') and, in my opinion, she was actually too young for this part but she was solid so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt for now. Anyway, to conclude, I just loved this flick, it is an awesome drama, a great romantic-comedy and you should definitely check it out.

I wasn't sure about this flick but after hearing so many good things, I seriously wanted to check it out. And I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, it was a really fascinating story, a gorgeous movie to look at and I'm really glad I'm managed to watch it in the movie theater and in 3D. Pretty much like the late Roger Ebert, I really dread this new 3D hype but Ang Lee used it very well and it definitely enhanced the whole experience. It is pretty funny to think that 10 years ago, Ang Lee was ridiculed for 'Hulk' (in my opinion, a feature criminally underrated and actually one of the best super-hero flicks ever made) above all for its really ugly CGI sequences. This time around, Lee didn't only manage to master the CGI, he made one of the best use of it I have witnessed. Just mind-blowing. Used properly it can be a great tool but it's unfortunate that nowadays it is mostly used to create some big robots, huge monsters or impossible explosions. So, it was visually fascinating and the story was also really interesting with some thoughts about fiction, reality, religion and rationality. I must admit, I will have to re-watch it in the future to make a fair assessment concerning the story itself. Anyway, once again, you have here a movie which was rather low in my priorities but turned out to be one of the best released in 2012. To conclude, I thought it was an enchanting and touching tale and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ang Lee's work.

In my opinion, the problem with such flicks is how much slack should you give to a movie because it is a family feature? I mean, my step-son used to love it and have watched all the sequels, I presume, but does it mean it was actually any good? I don’t know, personally, I really had a hard time caring about the whole thing. Still, I have to admit, it was really successful when it was released and it became quickly a classic among family features. So, following this reputation, I think it was time to finally check it out. Unfortunately, since I'm not 12 years old anymore, I thought the whole thing was pretty tedious to watch. I mean, it is well made, harmless and still rather watchable but like most of Disney features, it was completely by the numbers. I mean, you have the poor beast which was not treated as an animal but as a human being, you have the good guys, you have the bad guys and I thought it was quite boring. The usual argument is that since it is a family feature, I shouldn't expect so much but I don't agree. In my opinion, there is need to be so condescending with kids who are much smarter than we usually would admit. To conclude, even though it is far from being awful, I still think it is far from being really good either and I don't think it is really worth a look, expect maybe if you have some very young kids and nothing else to watch.

To start with, I don't think 'Shrek' and 'Shrek 2' were really that amazing. I mean, they were both really good, that's for sure, and it was really surprising that the sequel was at least as good as its predecessor but they are not that impressive especially when you re-watch them nowadays. Anyway, the first movie still managed to develop some interesting ideas (the main one being that the ogre as the hero) and, astonishingly, the makers were still able to add more nice things in the sequel (the main one being mixing 'Shrek' with 'Meet the Parents'). and that's where it went wrong with this 3rd installment. Indeed, the whole thing about Shrek becoming a king was just not interesting or entertaining at all. I remember, the first time I watched it, I was with my wife and the kids at the theater and I think I fell asleep a couple of times. Eventually, I re-watched it on DVD later on but it was still underwhelming. I mean, the animation still looked terrific, there were a few nice jokes here and there but the plot was just disappointing. To conclude, honestly, I think I'm rather generous with my rating but I guess it is still worth a look nonetheless, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Meg Ryan, I still wanted to check it out. Eventually, it turned out to be one of the most underwhelming boxing flick I have ever seen. Basically, it is one of those misguided movies which take a real public figure (Jackie Kallen in this case) but instead of telling more or less her life, they decided to create a fictional story around her. It is always a rather dubious choice (see also 'The Last King of Scotland') but, in this case, it was made even worse by the fact that the plot was just really underwhelming. I mean, even the boxing scenes were disappointing. It seems that for Meg Ryan it was an attempt for an 'Erin Brockovich'-lite feature. At least, she still looked decent back in those days even if she was obviously already (ab)using plastic surgery. Honestly, I think there was somewhere a pretty good movie, hidden very deep. I mean, Jackie Allen seemed to be a really interesting character and there was definitely some potential but the whole thing was just wasted, that's for sure. Anyway, to conclude, I think I'm being really generous with my rating here, it is a really average boxing flick and it is not really worth a look, even if you love the genre.

I wanted to watch this flick for so many years and I was really glad when I finally managed to get my hands on it. Indeed, it is a really intriguing flick and for many reasons. First of all, it was Tony Scott’s directing debut and the weirdest and most interesting thing about this flick is that it has absolutely nothing to do with anything else Tony Scott has done afterwards. Indeed, Tony Scott has made mostly solid action movies throughout his whole career but his debut was definitely something quite different. As a matter of fact, it is actually one of the most intriguing vampire films ever made, with some rather steamy sex scenes with 2 giants, Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon. To make things even cooler, you even have David Bowie starring as a vampire. To be honest, since it was a directing debut, the narration was sometimes rather weak and the pacing was also rather sluggish so I have to admit that even though it was really intriguing, it was still not entirely successful. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it is still my favorite movie directed by Tony Scott and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of Country music so I wasn’t expecting much from this flick. However, since I have weak spot for Gwyneth Paltrow, I thought I should check it out. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it much. Indeed, in my opinion, the whole thing was not dark enough to be really interesting. Furthermore, there were 3 or 4 romantic angles which was way too many. Still, somehow, I cannot dismiss the whole thing. Indeed, to start with, I thought that Gwyneth Paltrow was actually pretty good and it was nice to see her finally playing a more conflicted woman than her usual rather limited supporting characters. It is too bad that this Country superstar would have some rather spectacular swing moods just to accommodate the script. I must admit that Garrett Hedlund was not bad either but I still cannot make up my mind about this guy. Indeed, I’m still not quite sure if he is actually charismatic or rather bland. At least, he keeps being involved in some really diverse projects (‘On the Road’, ‘TRON: Legacy’, ‘Death Sentence, ‘Four Brothers, ‘Friday Night Lights’, ‘Troy’ and soon ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’) and it should be praised. To conclude, I didn’t really like this flick but I guess it is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre.