Reviews by johanlefourbe

Since I have a weak spot for John Carpenter's work, I was really eager to check it out. Basically, it is Carpenter's most (and only?) mainstream feature and I thought it was rather disappointing. I mean, it was rather fun and entertaining but if you compare it to his other movies such as 'The Thing', 'Escape from New York', 'The Fog', 'Halloween' and 'Assault on Precinct 13', it is just nothing really amazing. Not only was it Carpenter's first mainstream feature, it was also his first comedy. I mean, it was fun and the special effects were quite good but the whole thing was still pretty shallow. I don't know, I have never been a fan of Chevy Chase, on the other hand I have seen only 8 of his movies and maybe I missed the best ones, but I seriously don't find him really funny. Still, they had some fun with the whole concept and it was quite well done visually speaking. Personally, I do prefer 'Hollow man', the dark version made by Paul Verhoeven, another critically panned movie dealing with the same subject but I'm always attracted the dark side, I guess. Anyway, even though it is not one of Carpenter's best, it remains an entertaining flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, before watching this flick, I wasn’t expecting much but since there was a nice cast, I thought I should give it a try anyway. First of all, how could they pick up such a lame title?!? I mean, when you read this title, do you really feel like watching the actual movie? I don’t think so… I mean, they could have called it ‘Divine Secrets’, that would have been good enough. Ok, but what about the movie itself? It wasn’t bad at all actually. I mean, it is rather unoriginal and quite predicable but the cast was indeed a real treat (Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, James Garner, Ashley Judd, Maggie Smith). Even though some of those characters were a little bit too over-the-top, they managed to deliver some solid performances and made the whole thing entertaining, redeeming its super lame title. This feature was Callie Khouri’s directing debut and for a first directing gig, it was all right. Before that Khouri became famous for writing ‘Thelma & Louise’ , a decent but rather over-rated flick in my book, a movie which is supposed to be a beacon of feminism, something I found really questionable but that’s another debate alltogether. Anyway, if you manage to go beyond the weird title, it is actually a rather well made and entertaining drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

It has been a while since I saw this flick and I thought it was time for a re-watch this time with Nick, my step-son. The first thing that really stroke me was the opening scene. Indeed, you have this chick completely drugged out, half naked, jumping from a building and compared to the action movies we see nowadays where blood and nudity is toned down to get a wider rating, I thought it was rather bleak. It was actually quite common back in those days but it was quite obvious that this genre has really evolved since then. My wife was not so pleased and gave me one of those looks ‘how dare you show this depraved garbage to my precious little son?!?’ but, well, the rest of the movie was actually rather harmless. Anyway, I thought it was definitely an entertaining action flick, even though the plot was nothing really original in my opinion. What made this movie better than the rest was the really solid directing by Richard Donner who provided some pretty cool action scenes and the great chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Personally, I never believed in the fact that Gibson was mad or depressed and even though the story was really fun and entertaining, it still is and remains a rather shallow story and I never thought there were really something urgent at stake like in ‘Die Hard’ for example. Still, it is absolutely one of the better action movies ever made, it is completely entertaining from the beginning until the end and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Oh dear…. I really really didn’t like this movie at all… In my opinion, it is one of the most disappointing, most stupid thrillers ever made. Yeah, I’m dead serious. So, what went wrong here? I mean, Richard Donner is a really solid director (‘16 Blocks’, ‘Maverick’, the whole ‘Lethal Weapon’ franchise, ‘The Goonies’, ‘Ladyhawke’, ‘Superman’) and I don’t think his directing should be blamed. Same thing concerning Julia Roberts and Mel Gibson. I mean, I’m not a huge fan of Julia Roberts and she basically plays the very same character in most of her movies but I think she did a decent job in this movie. Mel Gibson is one of the most interesting action movie stars and he usually adds some emotions, some psychological side to some characters who are usually really limited. Here, Gibson gave also a decent performance about a rather deranged man. So, all the ingredients were present to make, at least, a decent thriller but it wasn’t meant to be, I’m afraid. In my opinion, the huge problem with this movie was the story. Indeed, I thought it was one of the most pathetic thriller plots I have ever watched. I mean, the built-up was not too bad but the climax was just so preposterous, it was seriously pissed off. Basically, the whole thing is about a man who seems to be really disturbed, believing in some weird conspiracies. So, at first, they make you believe that it is a story dealing with madness and psychological turmoil but, of course, since we are dealing with a Hollywood feature, it couldn’t be so subtle… Indeed, at the end, you learn that everything, seriously, every f*cking theory made up by this guy was actually true… They tried to give some rational explanation about the whole thing but my mouth fell just wide open… I was thinking ‘How stupid do you think I am ?!? Do you think I’m going to buy this pile of horse sh*t?!? Honestly, it was hands down the worst movie twist I have ever seen. Basically, it could have been a decent thriller about a mad man but I was just another really stupid thriller and I don’t think it is worth a look whatsoever.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Michel Gondry’s work, I still wanted to check it out. Basically, it is Gondry most mainstream feature so far but, unfortunately, also the most disappointing one. I mean, it wasn’t really bad but it was never really entertaining either. For example, the first 15 minutes were honestly quite dreadful. Fortunately, as soon as Kato was introduced, it got a little bit better and fun to watch but it never became really mind-blowing whatsoever. The biggest issue is that this movie was a huge vanity project for Seth Rogen and he was probably the only one who thought he was super-hero material. I mean, they try to toy with this idea, to make him some rather worthless hero, it became in the process more a comedy/parody and it does work from time to time. Still, Britt Reitner was sometimes funny but very often really obnoxious and the total lack of plot didn’t help either. You really wonder why Kato (the best character in the movie) stick up with him and the best scenes were when they have some fun together. Concerning the rest of the cast, Christop Waltz and Cameron Diaz were both terribly wasted here. It is getting quite annoying that Waltz keeps playing only the bad guy since he showed up in ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and I wish he would do something else. Once again, Cameron Diaz was really miscast and never convinced me as a reporter but, for her defence, she barely had anything to do here, expect showing up in her undies. To conclude, the whole thing is pretty half-backed but I guess it is still worth a look but don’t expect anything mind-blowing whatsoever.

Since my wife is a big fan of this movie, she made me watch this again. I think I already watched it before but it was a long time ago. Anyway, Julia Roberts made this flick just a year after ‘Pretty woman’ and her star was rising really quickly back then. Honestly, I have to confess, I have never been a fan of Julia Roberts and I thought it was definitely one of her weaker outings. I mean, it was watchable, I give you that and there was a nice steamy sex scene with Roberts, something I never seen her do anymore in the future, still this scene was rather awkward since it was involving her abusive husband. Anyway, honestly, I thought it was a rather lame thriller with a terrible generic and pedestrian plot. Julia Roberts tries very hard to make her character interesting but the guy portraying her husband (I forgot his name and I seriously don’t want to look it up…) was just pretty bad, cheesy and really unconvincing. To conclude, even though it might have been a success when it was released, I thought it was a really tedious thriller and it is not really worth a look , expect maybe if you are a die-hard fan of Julia Roberts.

Since I heard only bad things about this movie, I wasn’t expecting much but since I have a weak spot for Frank Oz and the cast involved, I still wanted to check it out. Apparently, the production on this movie was quite messy and Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, and producer Scott Rudin all expressed regret for being part of this movie. Even Frank Oz has also reported regrets over his involvement as well. So, I thought it would be awful but, honestly, I don’t think it was that bad. Pretty much like the remake of ‘The Wicker Man’, I didn’t get what was the fuss about this movie. Of course, it is a weak movie, awkwardly mixing SF, thriller and comedy but I thought it was watchable. I have to admit, I haven’t seen the original version so I can’t compare both movies but , in my opinion, there was a pretty good cast (Nicole Kidman, Matthew Broderick, Bette Midler, Glenn Close, Christopher Walken, Faith Hill) and I think there was there, somewhere a pretty good movie very well hidden. The point is that I have a weak spot for this kind of stories and I thought it was quite intriguing, at least for a while. Indeed, unfortunately, the tone was quite messed up and they kept jumping from a dark scene to something lighter without much of a warning so the whole thing felt terribly half-baked. To conclude, even though I don’t think it is one of the worst movies ever made, I still have to admit that it is messy and just plain average and, obviously, it is not really worth a look.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Neil LaBute’s work, I was still eager to check it out. Honestly, I find it really difficult to review this flick. Indeed, I have seen the original British version only a couple of months ago and both version are almost identical, except that this time, it takes place in the United States with an all-star black cast. Furthermore, I thought that the original movie was not bad, but still nothing mind-blowing and, quite frankly, rather disappointing. Unfortunately, this remake was not better, as a matter of fact, it was even less entertaining. At least, there was a rather impressive cast (Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence , Tracy Morgan, Zoe Saldana, James Marsden, Luke Wilson, Keith David, Peter Dinklage, Danny Glover, Regina Hall). I was quite surprised by how enthusiast Roger Ebert was about this movie but he has always been a fan of Neil LaBute, even more than me. Honestly, I must confess, this movie turned out to be another disappointment coming from this director. Indeed, his directing debut was the amazing ‘In the Company of Men’ and, after that, he made a couple of intriguing movies but, lately, his work has been rather underwhelming. Indeed, this movie was just another rather useless remake pretty much like ‘The Wicker Man’ which is considered as one of the worst movies ever made by many. To conclude, don’t pay too much attention to my rating, I’m being quite generous here, it is basically a decent comedy but if you are interested in this story, you should eventually skip this movie and watch the original version instead.

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. First of all, I really loved ‘American Beauty’, it is one of my favorite movies of all time, and every time Sam Mendes comes up with a new movie, I hope it will be again that good but, honestly, except maybe for ‘Revolutionary Road’, they all end up being rather disappointing. This movie was a good example. I mean, it was still pretty good but it never really fulfilled my expectations. The concept was all right, the subject was really interesting, the directing was solid, there was a very good cast (Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx), they all delivered some pretty good performances and, yet, the damned thing never really impressed me. I think the issue was with the story. I mean, it was definitely interesting but still nothing really mind-blowing though. Basically, back then, those soldiers were trained to become some emotionless and fearless killers but when they went to the first Gulf War, there wasn’t much fighting at all after all and most of them suffered from … boredom. Ok, some of those soldiers seemed to have had some psychological issues but I couldn’t help thinking that those soldiers got lucky compared to those guys who took part in the D day, the Vietnam war or any other blood bath. As a result, I'm afraid I never really cared about what they were going through. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a solid war drama though and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I heard mostly positive things about it, I was really eager to check it out. Basically, it is a really bleak and heartbreaking drama with a rather standard plotline. What makes it stand out from the other movies from this genre is the interesting directing and the amazing acting. Like I said before, it was quite heartbreaking and it deals with a main character with the most depressing life you could imagine (she is 16 years old, black, fat, fairly unattractive, almost illiterate, mother of 2 children after being continuously raped by her father and at the end, she finds out she is HIV positive). Many people say it is an inspirational movie but I’m not so sure. In my opinion, it is much like a wake up call and a huge slap in your face. If you expect to see something supposedly inspiring like ‘Dead Poets Society’, you will be terribly disappointed. The only thing you will find are some people in total despair and a handful of other people trying to help them but the odds for any happy ending are very small but they all keep on going no matter what. So, the directing had a very interesting approach and it was much appreciated. But, above all, it is probably the acting which made this movie so strong with not one but 3 amazing female performances. Let’s start with Mariah Carey. Yeah, the same woman who seems to be a really obnoxious diva in real life, the same woman who allegedly gave one of the worst performances in ‘Glitter’ (I haven’t seen it though), was just terrific in this. I mean, the way she looked, she was just almost unrecognizable and her performance was really convincing. Then, you had Mo’Nique who completely deserved her Oscar. She portrays a woman who spent a terrible life, basically despises herself and she makes a daughter pay for all the mistakes she has made. It is a performance full of fury, anger, frustration and despair, it was just quite mind-blowing to behold. Then, finally, you had Gabourey Sidibe who really carried the whole thing. I made a rather unappealing portrait of the main character but this young woman still managed to make her charismatic without making her suddenly wiser than she was supposed to be. It was just spellbinding to watch her and when you think that it was her acting debut, it is even more impressive. I could mention Paula Patton who a did a decent job but she didn’t make a huge splash like these other 3 women. To conclude, even though we have seen this story many times before, I thought it was this time brilliantly told with some tremendous acting and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.