Reviews by johanlefourbe

Since there was Salma Hayek and Colin Farrell together in this flick, I thought it should be interesting and I was really eager to check it out. Unfortunately, in spite its potential, I thought it was seriously a huge disappointment. I mean, the whole thing looked pretty good, the movie was well shot, there was a nice mood but, somehow, it was terribly underwhelming. Above all, I thought the whole thing was just poorly written with a really annoying voice over. Basically, it is obvious that they wanted to create a film noir atmosphere which seemed to be a good idea but the end-result was a failure, at least, that’s my opinion. Honestly, I really had a hard time to care about the story which was terribly pedestrian and the characters involved who were terribly bland. It's too bad because the material was pretty good and the whole thing really had some potential but it just didn't work out. I guess, you get to see Salma Hayek naked (she must have been relieved that almost no one saw this flick) but I’m not sure you should see this movie just for this reason. To conclude, it is not really a bad movie but it was still very average and I don’t think it is really worth a look, even if you are a fan of this genre.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since I’m a huge fan of Cate Blanchett, I thought I should check it out. Indeed, I think Cate Blanchett is an amazing actress and I would watch anything she's in it. Basically, this time, it was a small Australian drug drama which is rather unknown, probably one of her more obscure features and I think it is actually quite underrated in my opinion or maybe it is just an unknown. Alright, I have to admit it, the story was actually rather standard but I thought it was interesting enough. Furthermore, Blanchett but also Sam Neill and Hugo Weaving all delivered some amazing performances here. On a side note, it was also rather surprising to see Dustin Nguyen (yeah, one of the guys from ‘ 21 Jump Street’, a TV show I used to watch when I was a teenager). It must have been ages since I saw this actor in anything and I didn’t expect to see him in some gritty drug drama like this one but he actually did a decent job. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, in my opinion, it remains a well made drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Cate Blanchett's work.

I think that John Waters is a very interesting director and it is the reason why I wanted to watch this flick and, as a matter of fact, I wanted to see this movie for many years already. Still, honestly, when was the last time John Waters has actually directed a good movie? Not so long ago, I also saw his last movie, ‘A Dirty Shame’, and the whole thing was seriously quite pathetic. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, it wasn’t really good either. I mean, the premise was actually not bad and quite promising and Christina Ricci delivered a very good performance as usual. Unfortunately, the whole thing was still rather underwhelming. I mean, like I said before, the plot was at first intriguing but it didn't really go anywhere and, in my opinion, the whole thing was actually rather pointless. On top of that, the lead character was not really interesting and he was rather a wimp, in my opinion. To conclude, this flick definitely had some potential, it was not bad at all but it could have been way better than this but still, it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in John Waters' work.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since it was rather well received, I thought I should check it out. First of all, I haven't seen the original version so I can't compare both movies. And, to be honest, I'm not a big fan of musicals in generals so I didn't have high expectations for this flick but since there was a rather impressive cast (John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron), I seemed quite interesting. Eventually, I have to admit it, it was not bad at all. Indeed, all the actors involved gave some solid performances (especially the awesome Christopher Walken, this guy could do anything and he is seriously underrated in my opinion) and the songs were alright. Still, I didn't care much about the plot and I find it quite amusing when I hear people saying that it is a deep movie with a message (come on, it is a musical, not 'The Schindler's list'...). After watching this flick, I became really curious about the original version directed by John Waters. To conclude, it is nothing ground-breaking whatsoever but it is still rather entertaining and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Even though I’m a huge movie buff and I think that my knowledge of movies is right now pretty extensive, I still have to see the real ‘King Kong’, the original classic but, in the mean time, I managed to see this second version. As a matter of fact, I also re-watched Peter Jackson’s version recently and even though it was a decent flick, rather impressive visually speaking, it was still rather flawed and seriously overlong. Anyway, coming back to the 1976 version, honestly, I think it could have been worse and I was expecting worse but it was actually watchable. Indeed, first of all, I thought Jessica Lange provided a good performance and she was definitely the most positive aspect of this picture. It must have been quite difficult to start her career with such a huge production which turned out to be disappointing, at least, from a critical point of view. A part from that, it is actually quite similar to all the remakes that come out nowadays, in the sense that it has completely no soul, it doesn't add anything to the legacy of its illustrious predecessor and it was solely made to generate a lot of money. To conclude, I have to admit it, it is not really a bad movie but it is still very average and not really worth a look in my opinion.

Honestly, I don't know why exactly but I was really eager to watch this flick. In fact, it is actually a pretty obscure feature but I thought it was pretty good. Indeed, you can definitely feel Tarantino's influence all over it but it didn't bother me though. To be honest, I never really cared much for Thomas Jane and this movie was not different but I thought he was alright. Personally, I especially enjoyed Aaron Eckhart who was quite awesome, as usual. In my opinion, Aaron Eckhart is a fine actor and actually one of the most underrated actors of his generation and it was pretty nice to see him in one of his first acting parts. The rest of the cast (Paulina Porizkova, James Le Gros, Glenn Plummer, Mickey Rourke, Gary Dourdan) was also pretty neat. Of course, I have to admit it though, the plot was rather far-fetched but I thought it was well written and quite entertaining. Eventually, this movie would be Skip Woods only directing credit and he has been mostly written screenplays throughout his career. To conclude, it is actually nothing really original or mind-blowing but I still think it is an enjoyable movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I kept hearing good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. I mean, come on, the whole thing really looked awesome and, in my book, a movie starring Sean Connery and Michael Caine in all their glory, it doesn’t really get better than that... So, it really sounded like heaven to me and, boy, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, they were both rather awesome and I just loved this adventure flick. It is a rather typical adventure flick featuring 2 rogue soldiers both terribly witty, arrogant and quite charismatic. Of course, you could argue that there was not much depth in this tale but, I thought that the plot was actually really intriguing and just plain entertaining. Not surprisingly, it is Sean Connery’s favorite role and it must be one of the best movies directed by John Huston. Apparently, it took Huston more than 20 years to finally get this movie done and at first he wanted to make it with Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart, then with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, then with Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole and even with Robert Redford and Paul Newman at some point but Newman himself advised him British actors should play the roles. To conclude, I think it is a great adventure flick directed by the great John Huston, it completely deserves its reputation and it is most definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I had already seen this one but it was really ages ago so I thought it was time for a re-watch. Eventually, this time again, I wasn't disappointed by the damned thing. Indeed, up to that point, David Cronenberg had been involved with some rather gruesome horror features for a limited audience and it was his second mainstream project, after 'The Dead Zone' which, for some reason, didn't really work for me. The most startling aspect about this movie, in my opinion, is that it seamlessly combines 3 different genres: horror, science-fiction and romance. Even more surprising was that this mix worked so well. Obviously, it still retained its B vibe that you can find in Cronenberg's previous work which was definitely an asset but it was also why I wasn't probably completely blown away. I mean, I did really enjoy the whole thing but most of it still remains a huge preposterous freak show. Still, you have to give the guy some credit since he managed to make something quite fascinating out of this material whereas another director would have probably ended up with something much more underwhelming. To conclude, I really have a weak spot for this movie, it is a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

In contrary with Pixar (even though you could argue that their critical success in the last 3 years was not really impressive), with Dreamworks, it has always been hit-and-miss with their animated features. I mean, sometimes, they have some big hits like ‘Shrek’ or ‘How to train your dragon’ but they would usually produce 3 or 4 underperforming features between those hits and, basically, this movie was one of those. Personally, I thought the original concept was actually quite awesome and there was definitely some potential. Eventually, the end result was quite satisfactory. Indeed, to start with, the movie really looked gorgeous (I'm glad I didn't see this in 3D though because it doesn’t add much to those animated features except increasing the prize of the entrance) and the characters were all pretty funny. However, I wish they explored more the possibilities provided by this great premise and the story was not bad but it could have been much better in my opinion. Basically, it is a typical Dreamworks effort, it has some potential but it displays also an obvious lack of ambition to make something really remarkable. To conclude, it is nothing ground-breaking whatsoever but it remains a well made and entertaining animated picture and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I have no idea what to expect from this flick but since the cast was pretty neat, I thought I should give it a try. First of all, you may have noticed that Vince Vaughn has tried only a few times to leave behind his comedic style and the result was most of the time, let's say, dramatic... Except for this flick though. Indeed, to start with, the premise was very intriguing. Indeed, imagine your best friend is in jail and he wil stay there for maybe 30 years but if you turn yourself in, he will then spend 5 years in jail but then you'll have to spend 5 years in jail as well. Quite a dilemma, ain't it? I thought it was really fascinating and Vince Vaughn was quite convincing delivering an impressive performance. I could completely relate to him and what he was going through. To be honest, the directing was decent but nothing really impressive and the movie unfortunately tends to lose focus from time to time, above all with some unnecessary romantic intrigue and annoying twists. Still, in spite of its flaws, it remains an intriguing and entertaining movie and it is definitely worth a look.