Reviews by johanlefourbe

Basically, there was a time when I would go to a video game shop (which is now closed) and I would buy there on a regular basis 5 DVDs for 5 euros and, sometimes, since I would be missing 1 DVD, I would pick up pretty much anything at random just to reach 5 movies. Anyway, following this amazing process, I ended up watching some rather obscure movies and this one was definitely one of them. Since there was a rather interesting cast involved, I thought it could be interesting. Basically, the whole thing was some kind of vanity project for Luke Wilson who has always been in the shadow of his brother Owen. Anyway, Luke Wilson was the writer, the director and also the lead actor in this comedy and even though the whole thing had some potential, I thought it was rather disappointing. I mean, at first, the story was rather intriguing but pretty quickly, it was rather obvious he tried to emulate some similar quirky indie comedies, especially the ones directed by Wes Anderson, but the whole thing was eventually not really funny or entertaining. To conclude, I have seen worse movies but it still remain a rather weak indie comedy and it is not really worth a look, except maybe if you are die-hard fan of Luke Wilson.

Even though Sarah Michelle Gellar has reached some major success with 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer', she actually never really managed to break through on the silver screen. One of her very few success would be 'The Grudge' (which was actually rather disappointing in my opinion) and, afterwards, they quickly made another horror flick starring her obviously to make some easy money. I mean, the directing was not bad but the tension came mostly from the music which is a rather cheap gimmick. Furthermore, I have nothing against Sarah Michelle Gellar, I have to admit it, she is quite charming but she is honestly a rather poor actress and she didn't convince me here. Above all, I thought the whole thing was just so uneventful. Seriously, for most of the duration, nothing much was actually really happening and I was rather bored. Of course, at the end, they gave some really far-fetched explanation and you're basically supposed to buy it without any question. To conclude, I believe I'm actually generous with my rating as it was a rather lazy and boring horror flick and it is not really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar.

I always had a weak spot for U-Boot movies and it was the main reason I wanted to check this flick. I guess this flick went below the radar (pun intended...) because there were no major stars involved but I thought it was not bad at all. As a matter of fact, it was actually written by Darren Aronofsky and he was even supposed to direct it but he decided to do 'Requiem for a Dream' instead, so it was definitely a promising movie. And indeed, there were a lot of things to enjoy here. The mood was pretty good and I thought it was fairly well directed. I mean, after 'Das Boot' is practically impossible to add anything new to the genre but I thought they did a good job here. So, they gave this movie an interesting mysterious atmosphere but, unfortunately, they didn't really develop it very well. Of course, at the end, they manage to tie the loose ends but it was not really satisfactory. Also the fact that all the characters didn't have much personality and were only some stererotypes didn't help much. Still, it was a well made and spooky feature and I was entertained throughout the whole thing. To conclude, even though it never reached its full potential, it was a decent U-Boot flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I saw this classic about 20 years ago, I guess it was time for a re-watch. First of all, I have to admit that I have a somewhat difficult relationship with David Lynch. I mean, by now, I have seen all his movies and even though I admire his work and consider him a genuine artist, I usually have a hard time to enjoy most of his features and this movie was a perfect example. Indeed, as usual with Lynch, the beginning was a spellbinding and thrilling film noir which would have made Hitchcock proud. But then, again as usual with this director, he obviously didn't care about the plot, he seamelessly threw it out the window and what remained was a succession of weird and unsettling scenes. In my opinion, it is a pattern used too often by David Lynch and I always find it eventually more frustrating than rewarding. Still, the directing was really neat and there was a fine cast involved (Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, Dean Stockwell, Brad Dourif, Jack Nance) above all Dennis Hopper was really impressive and probably gave here his best performance ever. Anyway, to conclude, it is an acquired taste but there are still plenty things to love here and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in David Lynch's work.

Even though I'm not really a big fan of those remakes of horror classics, since the reviews were not bad, I thought I could check this one out. Furthermore, I was rather curious to see Alexandre Aja's Hollywood debut. Well, to be honest, I ended up with some mixed feelings. Basically, the first half was rather weak, predictable, boring with some really poor acting but then the second half was not bad with some  heavy stuff (Indeed, you get to see some gruesome murders, a rape, a bonfire and .... even some breastfeeding). I also have to give the makers some credit for trying to develop the premise with some background story dealing with nuclear tests but, honestly, it made the whole thing even more convoluted than it already was. Still, eventually, it remained a rather pointless exercise, I'm, afraid. I mean, the original version was not bad but the reason why they made such cheap horror movies back then was because they didn't have the money to make something more elaborate so to remake such stories with 10 times the same budget doesn't make much sense, except of course if you want to make some easy money. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing amazing whatsoever, I have to admit that it was still a decent remake and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.