Reviews by johanlefourbe

Even though this movie apparently didn’t get much love when it was released, since it was directed by [Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see], I was still quite eager to check it out. Well, first of all, visually speaking, it was hands down one of the most impressive movies I have seen released in 2022. Garland also delivered a nice haunting mood, at least, during the first hour. Furthermore, I have discovered Jessie Buckley only 2 years ago in ‘I'm Thinking of Ending Things’, I think that there is something so charismatic about her and she was really good here once again. Of course, I shouldn’t forget to mention Rory Kinnear. I have to admit that, even though I knew his name and saw him in a few movies, Kinnear never seemed to be an interesting actor but, here, the guy did manage to play about 10 different characters in this movie which was quite impressive. Concerning the rest of the movie, well, it was a decent mindf*ck, some kind of feverish nightmare but, to be honest, it did feel rather empty after all. It’s strange that this movie was described as ‘misogynic’ because, in my opinion, it was in fact exactly the other way around. Indeed, the main character was basically traumatized after what happened with her ex-husband and, from then on, in her eyes, all men were the same and they were all a threat but it wasn’t as deep or clever as the makers obviously were hoping for. Eventually, this movie wasn’t empty because of the lack of characters, Buckley and Kinnear were indeed fine, it felt empty because the ideas and concepts (or lack of it) didn’t really impress me and, as a whole, it felt rather shallow and even pretentious. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have to admit that my rating might be too high for this movie, I still think it is worth a look though, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Alex Garland’s work. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seems to have a decent reputation (it is included in the ‘The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made’ list selected by the New York Times, among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though I really loved the title, to be honest, I really had a hard time to care about this movie. First of all, for some reason, I thought it would be a Western but, obviously, it turned out to be something completely different after all. At least, it was neat to see a vintage Hollywood movie dealing with the Spanish Civil War but it was rather unfortunate that, even though there was only one American character, everyone was speaking English and not Spanish. Even more hard to swallow was the idea of casting Ingrid Bergman, possibly the most famous Swedish actress that ever lived, to play a Spanish woman. And, yet, I have to admit that Bergman, who was so gorgeous and so charismatic back then, was probably the only thing I really enjoyed in this movie. On the other hand, even though Gary Cooper was praised for his performance and even though I have to admit that he was quite charismatic as well, in my opinion, his character was actually terribly bland and even rather boring. Eventually, the most interesting characters were Pilar and, above all, Pablo. Still, the movie was often pretty cheesy and, above all, so damned long. Seriously, maybe half of the duration was about this group of guerrilla fighters having some really tedious discussions and the other half was about Robert Jordan and Maria constantly declaring their love for each other which was hardly more exciting. Anyway, to conclude, even if the damned thing turned out to be rather disappointing, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, at least, if you really like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I’m a huge fan of Darren Aronofsky, I was really eager to check it out. Well, it turned out to be another fascinating emotional rollercoaster coming from this director, that’s for sure. Obviously, this movie will be mostly remembered for Brendan Fraser’s performance and, even though I always thought that Fraser was one of the most underwhelming actors ever, I have to admit that he was actually quite amazing here. Of course, you might argue that they could have cast an actually obese man for this part but it would have never worked since the character was in such a life-threatening situation through the whole duration. As a result, an actor in a fat suit was the only option. The fact that the character himself and his background was so fascinating also tremendously helped. Sure, Aronofsky with ‘The Wrestler’ already delivered a movie about a man on a self-destructive path who tries to reconnect with his daughter but these similarities didn't bother me. This movie also reminded me of ‘Leaving Las Vegas’ with Nicolas Cage delivering another Academy Award winning performance for portraying an alcoholic drinking himself to death. Eventually, the only thing that didn’t really work was the fact that, for a man completely isolating himself from the world, there were just too many people orbiting around him. On top of that, the characters themselves didn’t really work, at least, not all of them. Seriously, did we really need Thomas? It was above all his convoluted backstory that bothered me. It was the same issue with Liz. Sure, Hong Chau gave a really solid performance and it was a good idea to have a nurse taking care of Charlie. However, it was just too much that she also took her of his lover who tried to starve himself to death and that the guy turned out to be also her brother. I think it would have worked better if she would have been simply his nurse without all this extra far-fetched baggage. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a strong drama with an unforgettable performance from Brendan Fraser who finally managed to redeem himself to me after years of delivering some garbage. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seems to have a decent reputation (it is included in the ‘The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made’ list selected by the New York Times, among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, I have to admit that I have never been a huge fan of screwball comedies and the fact that this one had a rather bewildering concept probably didn’t help. Indeed, while WWII was raging all over the world, especially in Europe, the biggest concern for the folks in Washington was apparently to find some housing. Sure, I can understand that the American audience needed something light during these dark times but what was displayed in this movie was just so remote from what was going on in the rest of the world that I found it rather hard to digest. If you would put aside the historical context, the movie itself was basically about the fact that it was (and still is?) considered indecent for a single woman to live with a single man if they are not in a romantic relationship, even preferably married. So, yeah, the concept was just so paper-thin and, yet, I have to admit that the damned thing still worked somehow and I think that the main reason was that Jean Arthur was just so charming and charismatic. The romantic relationship of her character with Charles J. Pendergast was rather pathetic and unconvincing but, fortunately, she had some solid chemistry with Joel McCrea. Sure, the seduction scene on the stairs came out of nowhere but it was actually quite daring and fascinating to behold and both actors really nailed it. Concerning Charles Coburn’s character, he was rather silly and probably the least likely matchmaker I have ever seen but I have to admit that he was actually quite fun. Anyway, to conclude, even if it might be one of the most forgettable screwball comedies I have seen, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and since it was available on Netflix, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even though it might not belong to their famous movies, it was still probably one of their most ambitious productions. However, even if I really did admire the work done, I have to admit that I had an incredibly hard time to connect with the damned thing though. In fact, it wasn’t the first movie adaptation of an opera I have seen. Indeed, I have also seen ‘The Magic Flute’ which was directed by Kenneth Branagh, even if it was a seriously obscure movie which was never even released in the US. Anyway, basically, I have never been a huge fan of musicals in general and operas are basically musicals, except that the performers are singing constantly very loudly and the stories are borderline impossible to follow. Sure, I have to admit that this description might be slightly too reductive, especially if you really love the genre, but, I’m really sorry, with all respect, this genre is borderline unwatchable for me. Seriously, for most of the duration, I was wondering what the hell it was really about. As a result, it seems that Powell and Pressburger delivered here their most baroque and super-charged feature ever. At least, it was definitely a feast for the eyes and, on top of that, the ballet dancing and singing were all top-notch (it’s interesting to note that, except for Robert Rounseville and Ann Ayars, all the actors were actually dubbed by some opera singers). Anyway, to conclude, even if I never really worked for me, it was still an interesting watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, 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, eventually, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the damned thing. Sure, there was nothing really original about the story and the outcome was quite predictable. Still, I think that dementia is a really fascinating subject and, as far as I’m concerned, it must be one of the most terrifying things in the world. Eventually, I can’t imagine anything more dreadful than to be aware that your mind is slowly drifting away and eventually even disappearing. On the other hand, as displayed in this movie, it might be even more terrifying for the people that love you, especially your romantic partner. In this movie, they tackled also the topic of euthanasia and you get both sides of this debate. Indeed, should you stay forever together whatever happens or should you be able to quit this life on your own terms? So, these concepts and ideas were nothing really new but they were fairly well developed here. However, the greatest pleasure with this movie was to see such fine actors like Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci at the top of their games. Sure, you might argue that none of them is actually gay but I thought that they were both really convincing and they had such great chemistry together. Indeed, I really believed that these two men had spent all these years together and it was just heartbreaking that they were not allowed to spend another 20 more years together. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing really groundbreaking, it was still a solid drama with some top performances and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Patrice Chéreau and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. First of all, it is a such a cool title, especially in French, but it didn’t turn out to be an easy watch though. Indeed, the whole thing was pretty weird, unsettling and often rather sordid. The beginning scenes were also rather bewildering. Indeed, you don’t really get to know this family and, instead, you see them rushing to the train station but you don’t know what this trip was about, why they were rushing like this and why they were all acting so weird. However, the behavior of the main character, Henri, was even stranger though. Seriously, what was the deal with this guy? The fact that we never saw him before in another context probably didn’t help. Still, there is no denying that Jean-Hugues Anglade, in his 2^nd part, gave such an intense and flawless performance. Indeed, I always believed in what Anglade was doing which was even more remarkable since the character himself didn’t make much sense. Facing him, Vittorio Mezzogiorno was also really good, even though I was confused by the fact that he did really sound like Gérard Depardieu which actually made sense because Depardieu did dub him. Even though this movie seemed to be forgotten nowadays, it was actually a critical success when it was released but I wonder how the gay community might feel about it. Indeed, even though the feelings displayed by these young men were incredibly intense and quite mesmerizing to behold, this underground gay world seemed terribly unhealthy and toxic, physically and mentally. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t completely work for me, it was still a strangely interesting movie with some top performances and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Jean-Luc Godard and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. A couple of weeks ago, I already saw ‘Détective’ from the same director and I thought it was incredibly indecipherable but this movie turned out to be even more challenging though. At some point, it seemed that God took over Gérard Depardieu’s character’s body over but how everything else was connected with this? Was there actually any connection at all? Another detail that stroke me was the fact that, pretty much like in ‘Détective’, there were so many young girls involved but, when you think about it, the fact that I focused so much on such a detail might be actually more revealing about me than about Godard himself. Anyway, as usual with Godard, even though his approach to reject the standard cinematic narrative conventions can be so frustrating and hardly entertaining at all, it is still pretty bold with each one of his movies. On top of that, in this case, I have to admit that the end-result was actually quite poetic and it reminded me of the work of Terrence Malick and Andrei Tarkovsky. Of course, if you would compare it to Malicks movies, it was visually not so ambitious and, yet, there were something appealing about Godard’s static shots. Concerning Gérard Depardieu, I think it was the first (and only?) time he would be working with this director and it was quite satisfying to see this French actor tackling such challenging material instead of chasing another paycheck gig. Anyway, to conclude, even if this movie was really difficult to read, it was still an interesting watch and I think it is worth a look, at least, if you like the genre or if you are interested in Jean-Luc Godard’s work.