Reviews by johanlefourbe

It might sound weird but I don’t think it was that bad at all. I don’t know, the whole thing looked and sounded like yet another boring and obnoxious flick starring Robin Williams and, as a result, I had some very low expectations and it might explains the fact I give this movie maybe a little more credit than it actually deserves. First of all, I have never seen the original version, I wasn’t acquainted with ‘Flubber’ whatsoever so I didn’t have any preconceived ideas beforehand and I guess it made it more enjoyable for me as well. Of course, the plot was really generic and pedestrian but it is inherent to this genre but, honestly, for once, it didn’t really bothered me. Personally, I thought that Robin Williams was pretty funny and the special effects were honestly quite impressive. All right, I have to admit, when I watch the trailer, it seems to be like a pretty stupid flick and, of course, it is a rather lame story (especially the love story between Robin Williams and Marcia Gay Harden was really poorly developped) but I thought the makers made the best of it and, at the end of the day, it is a pretty entertaining family feature even though it won’t be a game changer, that’s for sure. To conclude, I thought it was a fun family flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to watch something with your kids, I’m pretty sure they will have a good time watching this.

Before this movie was released, there was a huge buzz about it but, eventually, it was a flop at the box-office, pretty much like ‘Watchmen’. Personally, I can’t say I was really convinced by the whole concept but I still wanted to check it out though. Eventually, I thought it was a really misguided flick. Let’s start with the story which was way too much convoluted for its own good. Basically, you have this girl who ends up in a mental institution. Apparently, since she cannot cope with this place or because she is really mentally disturbed, she pretends/believes that this loony bin is … a brothel (Sorry, but I really fail to see how it should be an improvement…). But, it goes even further. In this brothel, she performs some dances (that you never to get to see) and during those dances, she ends up in yet another reality where she and her playmates has to fight various enemies such as giant samurais, WWI Germans, orks, dragons and they even have to stop a bomb as well. Seriously?!? Nolan did manage to get this multiple reality thing with ‘Inception’ but he did spend about 10 years writing the story to make sure it sounded more or less coherent. This movie was however just a mess mixed with some gig wet dream. Honestly, I felt pretty bad for all the young actresses involved (Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung). I mean, it is pretty obvious that they all thought they were getting involved in one kick-ass movie and they all gave their best shot but none of their character was really developed and they were reduced to some sexualized stereotypes. I understand that the whole thing was apparently supposed to be some kind of critic about our society but it didn’t change the fact that the whole thing was not really fun to watch and I really couldn’t care less about its pseudo-psychological shenanigans. Still, I must admit it, it was visually impressive, some of the action scenes were pretty badass and I give it some extra points for trying something different but I’m being really generous with my rating. To conclude, even though it started out as an interesting project, the end-result was really disappointing but I guess it is still worth a look, especially if you are interested in Zach Snyder’s work.

Honestly, I have never heard of this movie before but since it was directed by Walter Salles, I still wanted to check it out. Indeed, since his international breakthrough with 'Central do Brasil', I have tried to watch his other movies even though it has been many years since I have seen one of those. Anyway, I thought it was a very good drama, quite sad and depressing. Basically, it follows a pregnant woman who already has 4 boys, apparently all with a different father. To be honest, the whole thing was rather slow and seriously dreary but, this way, you got the opportunity to know those 5 characters and what they were going through and I thought that the juxtaposition of football, religion, poverty and wealth, was really interesting. The main issue would be that since the family was so big and since the movie didn't focus on one of them in particular, none of the sub-plots was really developed. Eventually, at the end, they pretty much stand at the same point where they started, not much worse but not much better either but it is how life works,I guess, and I thought it was a strong drama. To conclude, if you don't mind a grim and realistic drama, I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Brazilian movies.

If I'm not mistaken, it is the last movie directed by François Truffaut that I have seen (I realize now I really have to check his other movies...). Coincidentally, this movie was Truffaut's last one and he died a year later of a brain humor. Such a great loss for the film world as he was definitely one of the best French directors that even lived. Anyway, even though his last directing effort was not one of his best, I still think it was pretty good. Indeed, it is an entertaining black and white detective feature which was obviously a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock's work. Truffaut was an expert on Hitchcock and a great admirer of his work throughout his career so it was actually interesting that he would end his career with a movie inspired by his mentor. So, I really enjoyed the directing and the cast was pretty good as well (Fanny Ardant, Jean-Louis Trintignant). I have to admit it, if you compare this to the great thrillers made by Hitchcock, it is not that amazig but I thought it was entertaining enough. To conclude, it is a pretty good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

Oh dear... I really really didn't like this flick... Event though I didn't have some high expectations, I still ended up being a disappointment. Of course, I'm aware of the fact this genre, the huge insects horror flick, shouldn't be taken too seriously but it doesn't change the fact that the whole thing still should be entertaining. To be honest, I have to admit that the spiders did look good but that's about the only positive thing I could find about this movie. Indeed, the plot was really stupid, the characters were really obnoxious and I was really bored during the whole thing. Another funny thing was to see a rather young Scarlett Johansson who was about 18 years old when she made this movie and thank God, she managed to pick up some better movies later on otherwise her career would have been doomed. I guess if you love this genre, you'd probably end up enjoying it more than I did but I thought it was really lame and really didn't add anything new or interesting to this tired formula. To conclude, I thought it was pretty bad and I don't think it is really worth a look, whatsoever.

Why did I re-watch this garbage?!? Basically, it has been a while since I saw this flick and I always wondered if my rating was actually maybe a little bit too harsh. Well, it wasn't... Apparently, it is a remake of one of the few movies directed by Francois Truffaut which I haven't see yet called 'La sirène du Mississipi', a movie which couldn't possibly be as bad as this remake. Basically, it is one of the most pathetic erotic thrillers I have ever seen. I mean, I have never been a fan of Antonio Banderas but even though he was not really good in this, at least, he really tried hard and he wasn't as pathetic as Angelina Jolie. I'll give you that, she really looked gorgeous but she gave here one of her worst performances ever. She was simply not convincing at all. Concerning Thomas Jane, he was quite pathetic as well. The story was just very long and tedious, with a lot of boring twists but they still managed to randomly throw in a very steamy sex scene so if you are interested to see Jolie almost completely naked, than you should check it out then. Even this scene was weak and reminded me of those late cheap erotic TV movies they show very late in the evening, even the music matched the description. To conclude, this movie is just pretty bad and I don't think it is really worth a look whatsoever.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but, somehow, I still ended up watching it. Eventually, I have to admit, it was actually not bad at all. At least, it was much better than 'The Son of No one', another flick directed by Dito Montiel also starring Channing Tatum, which was really disappointing in spite of the impressive cast involved. Basically, it is a really standard fight movie which faithfully follows the formula and even though it was nothing really amazing, they managed to add enough interesting elements to make it quite appealing. For example, I really liked how the illegal underground fights really looked messy. Furthermore, I thought the two main characters, the fighter (played by Channing Tatum) and his manager (Terrence Howard) were actually well written and quite compelling to behold. Tatum actually delivered a solid performance and Howard was really good as well, in a performance which reminded me of his work in 'Hustle & Flow'. Unfortunately, the story remained really pedestrian, the ending was completely predictable and I couldn't care less about the little romantic sub-plot. Still, all in all, it remains a decent action flick and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since there was a really good cast, I was really eager to check it out and I definitely had some pretty high expectations. Unfortunately, I thought it was one of the most misguided book adaptations I have ever seen. Indeed, this book was the debut novel by Isabel Allende and, eventually, this novel was critically acclaimed around the world, and catapulted Allende to literary stardom. However, like I said before, this adaptation was not really satisfying. Indeed, even though the plot takes place in Chile, the director, Bille August was Danish, and except for Antonio Banderas, the cast was composed of American, English and Germans actors to portray Latin American characters. I mean, the cast was pretty impressive (Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, Jeremy Irons, Winona Ryder, Antonio Banderas, Vanessa Redgrave, Armin Mueller-Stahl) but they should have chosen some maybe less known actors but at least coming from Latin America. Anyway, this movie was eventually a flop and I can't say it deserved better. Still, the story really had some potential and I always had a weak spot for those movies describing a familly through four generations. To conclude, even though the whole thing is rather half-baked, I still think it is a decent drama and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I have a weak spot for Jim Sheridan's work and all the actors involved, I was really eager to check this flick. However, I was wondering if it was really a good idea to make an American version of the terrific Danish original version. I mean, if you are not going to improve the whole thing, or add anything really interesting to it, what's the point of remaking it? Eventually, I thought this version was pretty good, even though the Danish movie still remains better. I mean, with Sheridan's version, some things did work, some others didn't. For example, the directing was pretty solid, it remained a really strong drama and it was still a very compelling story. Furthermore, the casting of the two brothers was just brilliant. Not only Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal really looked like brothers but they both delivered some very solid performances (I don't know why some people criticized Tobey Maguirre for being too soft to portray a marine. I thought he was quite brilliant). On the other hand, I wasn't really convinced by Natalie Portman. I mean, don't get me wrong, she is a terrific actress but I don't think she was the right choice for the part. I mean, when I look at her, I seriously can't believe that she is a mother of 2 children and I think it would have worked better with an older actress, at least 7 or 8 years older than her. Furthermore, the original story was based on two streams : Sam's war experience and trauma and the new relationship between Tommy and Grace. Well, this second part was pure and simply completely removed and I think that's a shame because it made the whole thing much more complex and compelling to watch. To conclude, I still think it is a pretty good drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre, but I can't shake the idea that is a useless remake.