Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, I wasn’t really dying to see this flick in the movie theater (I saw the previous instalment on Netflix which was fine) but Nick, my step-son, was really eager to check it out. In fact, it was the first movie he saw from this franchise and I didn’t expect that there would be so much connection with the previous movie but it didn’t bother him though. Well, like its predecessor, I thought it was not bad at all after all. This time around, the biggest asset turned out to be surprisingly Martin Lawrence. Indeed, since they are both almost 60 years old and considering their rather reckless lifestyle, it was hardly surprising that one of them would get a heart attack at some point. However, even though it might sound really tragic, they played it for comical effect but it actually worked because Lawrence really went for it. Concerning Will Smith, even though he was the bigger star, he actually played second fiddle this time around, playing the straight guy during Lawrence ‘s one-man-show but it wasn’t an issue and he had once again a pretty good chemistry with Lawrence. Concerning the action scenes, they were decent enough, I guess, but not really remarkable though. For some reason, this movie also did remind me of ‘The Fast and The Furious’ franchise. Indeed, even though Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett did start together almost 30 years ago, by now, they have a whole group of characters supporting their efforts, they trust no one else and they consider them as ‘family’. I mean, come on, it really does sound like some Vin Diesel’s stuff but it wasn’t an issue though. Anyway, to conclude, I’m not sure if we really needed this sequel but I have to admit that it was a decent action-comedy and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I actually never watched ‘Sesame Street’ when I was a kid and I can’t say I was a huge fan of The Muppets either but, since this movie was directed by Ron Howard and since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I have to admit that I was quite impressed after all. I mean, the movie itself was a rather basic documentary, there was really nothing fancy about it but I was just really impressed by Henson’s legacy. I mean, sure, I had heard about the guy but, as mentioned before, I never really cared much about his work (it’s not that I didn’t try, I have actually watched all the Muppets movies). Well, thanks for this movie, I really got to understand why he was actually a genius and probably one of the most influential artists that ever worked on television, no less than that. Sure, like everyone else, he was chasing the money but not as an end but as a mean to an end. Unfortunately, 30 years after his death, we have reached an all-time low in this area as every studio and every streaming service only talks about delivering as much 'content' as possible instead of trying to deliver something that might be actually good. Concerning Henson’s private life, they didn’t really go to deep in this area but it seemed  pretty obvious that he severely neglected his wife and kids. Unfortunately, I think it’s unreasonable to expect from such a genius to have also a peachy family life and I don’t think you can have both things, having such an amazing seemingly all-consuming professional life and also have an harmonious personal life as well. Of course, he died really young which was really tragic but, considering his crazy work ethic, you might wonder if he would have been able to last much longer anyway (seriously, at the end of his life, he looked more like someone in his 70’s than someone in his early 50’s). Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing really ground-breaking, I thought it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Jim Henson’s work. 

I can’t say I was really dying to see another installment for this franchise but, on the other hand, I have to admit that I was still curious about it though. Well, to be honest, the end-result turned out to be even more underwhelming than the already poorly received previous sequels (I’m really surprised that Indiewire gave it such a high rating but it was an exception though). Seriously, the damned thing was just so sluggish and mostly rather boring to watch. At least, after a rather lame intro, the whole gaming angle was actually pretty cool though. On top of that, Keanu Reeves gave her his best performance for this franchise and I really loved the idea that Neo became some kind of depressed middle-aged guy. Unfortunately, pretty much from the moment Thomas Anderson AKA Neo took the red pill again, everything happening afterwards turned out to be so dull after all. I mean, the focus on the relationship between Neo and Trinity was not bad and I have to admit that the meta aspect of this sequel was also fairly entertaining but everything else was just either pretentious, convoluted or simply plain boring and usually a combination of these 3 things at the same time. Furthermore, to be honest, I have to admit I never really cared about the story with this franchise,  even with the legendary first installment, but, at least, they always came up with some impressive badass action scenes. Well, even in this area, this movie was actually a disappointment and I would be rather hard-pressed to recall one single action scene and I saw the damned thing only yesterday. Anyway, to conclude, I think my rating might be too generous here but I guess it is still worth a look though but probably only if you really like the genre. 

Since this movie was nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award, I was quite eager to check it out. On top of that, it did sound like a very interesting story. Well, it’s too bad this movie will be mostly remembered because Will Smith did slap Chris Rock during the Academy Award ceremony because this movie was actually not bad at all. Indeed, to call it one of the best movies of the year was a little bit too much as far as I was concerned but I have to admit that it was still a nice crowd-pleaser though. I always had a weak spot for tennis and I was well aware of most of the Williams tennis career and I heard about their father but I didn’t know exactly how it all went down at the time. For example, I didn’t know that they actually came from Compton. Anyway, I’m not surprised that Will Smith did win the Academy Award for Best Actor since he played here probably his most complex character. To be honest, since it was an authorized biography approved by the Williams sisters themselves, they didn’t get really deep into this strange man after all and you keep wondering if he did all this to please his oversized ego or because he genuinely really cared for these girls. Instead, they mostly focused on how inspiring it all was but I have to admit that they actually really succeeded in this area though. Indeed, it was just amazing to see how, from one of the most rough neighborhoods in the US, with his seemingly shabby trainings, the guy managed to train these 2 amazing women who both became the n.1 in this sport (and possibly one of them, the actual GOAT of this damned sport). Anyway, to conclude, even if it wasn’t really a masterpiece, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since it did win the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I wonder what someone strongly against abortion would think about this movie. I mean, was it all Anne’s fault, what happened to her? After all, we are all wired to be sexual beings, that’s what nature or God made us for, so why should she be mercilessly punished for doing something that it’s so natural. And, of course, there was also the fact that, even if you want to forbid abortion, people will still get it done anyway and, because it is forbidden, they will risk their lives in the process time and time again making this decision just really ineffective. Concerning the movie itself, it was interesting how basically all these women seemed to live in fear. Indeed, there was the fear of the men around them, the fear of their own sexuality and the fear of the fact that, if they make one single mistake, it could completely ruin their lives. I was also sad to see how lonely the main character was while facing her despair, even if it did make sense. Indeed, to be sexually active was taboo at the time, to get pregnant was even worse and to get an abortion was not only illegal but considered as an abomination by most so no wonder that she didn’t dare to confess this dark secret to anyone. At least, she didn't end up with some butcher which was a relief, even though this woman was obviously not a doctor and was therefore not qualified at all to perform such a potentially life-threatening procedure. To be honest, even though the directing was solid and Anamaria Vartolomei gave a strong performance (I also did appreciate the fact that she was actually the age of her character and not 10 years older) , the whole thing still felt a little bit slight though. Anyway, to conclude, even if it wasn't really a masterpiece after all, it was still a solid watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even thought the material was definitely interesting, to be honest, I really had a hard time to care about the fluffy approach they took. Indeed, as far I was concerned, it seemed a rather odd choice to tell the fight for Women’s rights so lightly just to make sure this movie would be a crowd-pleaser (it did flop anyway because it was released just 10 days before the first Covid lockdown in the UK). Especially since things didn’t really change that much after all for women, the biggest difference nowadays is that we pretend to be equal but it is definitely not the case though. I have to admit that they were some moments when they were actually getting at something, for example, when Sally and her mother each other addressed their respective behaviors. Indeed, going to college and becoming an activist while seemingly neglecting your child might not seem such a great idea after all but doing nothing at all and accepting things as they are was obviously not much better. Unfortunately, instead of going deeper into this interesting problematic, it was however completely deluded by telling this story through as many angles as you could possibly imagine. As a result, the whole thing felt rather disjointed. For example, at some point, you would to get to see these activists disparaging this contest as being degrading to all women and, in the very next scene, they would then try to argue how meaningful it actually was for some of these girls. Anyway, to conclude, I think my rating might have been too generous here but the damned thing was rather harmless and I guess it might still be worth a look but probably only if you really like the genre.