Reviews by johanlefourbe

I know, this movie has a terribly lame reputation (according to Arnold Schwarzenegger, it was even one of his worst movies) but when I was a kid, I actually really enjoyed the damned thing. Back then, I was about 12 years old and I didn't know it was a huge flop and a laughable matter and I thought it was actually quite entertaining. Eventually, 20 years later, I though it was time for a re-watch and, this time, I saw it with Nick, my step-son. Honestly, I still don't get the hatred towards this flick. Indeed, there was some cool music by Ennio Morricone, the whole thing (costumes, sets, props,...) looked pretty awesome and, even though the story was really pedestrian, it thought it was entertaining enough. Of course, something I didn't notice when I was a kid was that the acting was actually really weak, especially concerning Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brigitte Nielsen. I still think they were both pretty bad-ass though. On top of that, they were not helped either by those terribly cheesy dialogues. Still, all in all, I don't think it deserves its bad reputation, as a matter of fact, I think it is a decent fantasy feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, beforehand, I have never heard of this movie before but since it was on the list '1001 movies you must see before you die', I was definitely eager to check it out. First of all, I had to admit it, I'm not really familiar with John Wayne's work and, in my opinion, he basically always portrayed typical tough guys so I was rather surprised to see him being cast in a such a romantic feature. And the best thing is that it actually worked. Basically, it is a rather simple and very old-fashioned romantic feature. Still, the fact that it was so old-fashioned made it, at the same time, very cute and charming but also sometimes rather annoying to watch. Still, I thought it was quite enjoyable to watch and the whole thing had an extra personal dimension (indeed, my own father moved from the Netherlands to live in France and I myself moved from France to live in the Netherlands). Eventually, it remains a harmless romantic flick and I thought it was pretty good, even if it was nothing really mind-blowing. To conclude, it is a decent (meaning that it deals with decency) romantic feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

After hearing so many things about this movie, I was definitely eager to check it out. Basically, it is one of those movies which are more famous for their troubled production than for the movie itself. Indeed, not only Marilyn Monroe was reportedly impossible to handle during the shooting but all 3 major stars died soon after this movie (Clark Gable died just after filming this movie, Marilyn Monroe died a year later before completing any other project and Montgomery Clift died just a few years later). Sure, that’s all really fascinating but what about the movie itself? Well, it was an intriguing piece of work but I was not sure what to make of it. Indeed, it basically deals with some outcasts, who were in fact pretty much some losers confused with themselves and about what they should do with themselves. Seriously, it was pretty eerie when considering where those actors stood at this point in their own life. Still, even though it was sometimes quite fascinating to watch, those characters were also, at some point, pretty pathetic and annoying (especially Marilyn Monroe's character). Still, in spite of its flaws, it remains a rather spellbinding movie to watch, especially if you are interested in the actors involved.

Since I saw him in 'Tigerland', I always had a weak spot for Colin Farrell so I was definitely eager to check this flick. As a matter of fact, it is the very first movie Farrell made after 'Tigerland'. Ok, I have to admit it, I'm maybe too harsh with my rating here but, in my opinion, it is probably the worst movie he has made so far. Indeed, I thought he was totally miscast as Jesse James (but the rest of the cast was not much better, I'm afraid...). Above all, I thought the story was really boring and totally uninteresting. Basically, it is one of those (very) light Western where it seems to be jolly fun to be there and where everybody is nicely good looking and clean shaven. Personally, I prefer the gritty approach but that's just me. After this movie, Colin Farrell will constantly switch between interesting projects and terrible misfires so I'm not sure where I stand concerning this actor but I still believe he is very talented. To conclude, in my opinion, it is a very weak Western and it is absolutely not worth a look, even if you are a fan of the genre. 

To be honest, I have never heard of this movie before but it since it was on the list '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die', I was definitely eager to check it out. Well, eventually, even though I have to admit that it was a decent vintage Western, I thought it was also nothing really mind-blowing after all. I mean, I did like the directing and the acting was not bad either but, in my opinion, the story was very thin (with a running time of 70 minutes, it was not really surprising). I have to admit it, I did see it on the BBC without subtitbles so I may have missed some bits but I still don't think it was anything really amazing. Basically, you have about 5 characters, they talk a lot, ride their horses and shoot their guns a little bit and that was about it. Still, like I said before, the whole thing looked pretty good, the actors delivered some solid performances and it was pretty neat to see James Coburn in his acting debut. Anyway, to conclude, it is a forgettable but still well made Western and I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Even though  I wasn't expecting much from this flick, since I have a weak spot for Renée Zellweger, I thought I might as well check it out. By the way, what the hell happened to her actually? It seems that after 'Cinderella man', a supposedly high profile feature which eventually flopped, she pretty much lost her spot on the A list and since then she didn't do anything remotely interesting even if she still managed to get the lead in most of her movies. Anyway, this time, she showed up in a really uninspired romantic comedy. While watching this, it actually reminded me of 'Up in the Air', another movie dealing with layoffs, the only difference was that 'Up in the Air' was actually a good movie. Indeed, even though it dealt serioulsy with this subject, it still managed to be funny. This movie, however, was not funny and was simply rather weak. It never took its subject or the characters involved seriously, especially the people from Minnesota who were all portrayed as some kind of stupid morons. Why should I take this movie seriously then? Eventually, it just boringly followed the rules of the genre and it was just tedious to watch. To conclude, I have seen worse movies but it was still pretty average and I don’t think it is worth a look whatsoever.