Reviews by johanlefourbe

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a nice cast, I thought I should check it out. Eventually, even though Roger Ebert was really enthusiast, even though I myself enjoyed many things about this flick, I still ended up with some mixed feelings. Indeed, it deals with 3 stories, all about women whose lives have been influenced by the adoption process. The first issue is that two of those stories were clearly linked whereas the last one (dealing with Kerry Washington) didn’t have anything to do with the rest until the very end when they finally linked everything together. As a result, the whole thing felt really contrived and I wish they kept it more anchored in reality like the rest of the movie. Furthermore, I thought that Karen (very well portrayed by Annette Bening) changed too much between the beginning and the end. I mean, she started out as a really messed up woman and it was quite understandable considering what she went through but, at the end of the movie, she became someone completely different. I think it would have worked better if she changed just a little bit, that she had learned to accept her past and find some peace but still remained messed up because, after all, that’s who she is. Still, it remains a solid drama above all thanks to the decent directing and a very good cast (Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, David Morse, Amy Brenneman). I was especially really impressed by Annette Bening and Naomi Watts who both did a great job but the rest of the cast was really good as well. To conclude, even though I thought that the story was too convoluted, it still is a very well made drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I have actually seen this one when I was younger but I can’t say I was really blown away so I thought it was time for a re-watch, to make up my mind for good. And, indeed, I now understand why it is so loved. I mean, it still is not one of my favorites but it is sure a really solid feature which completely deserves its reputation. It is interesting to notice that nobody involved, the director, the actors, the producers thought it would be a success and it was just yet another small production which was supposed to disappear pretty quickly at the box-office. Of course, it turned out to be a huge blockbuster. Personally, I really enjoyed the look of the whole thing. Some people don’t like black and white pictures but they really don’t know what they are missing, especially these everlasting gorgeous masterpieces. Furthermore, there was this tremendous chemistry between Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman which has become a blueprint for many doomed love stories that came afterwards. The story was also pretty good, some typical film noir / spy intrigue with those always reliable bad guys, the Nazis. To conclude, I really enjoyed it, it is a great classic and it is a must see for any decent movie lover.

Since I saw ‘Exotica' years ago, I always had a weak spot for Atom Egoyan’s work, even though, I have to admit it, I haven’t seen many of his movies. Anyway, this movie was apparently his most successful one, at least, financially speaking, and I was quite eager to check it out. As a matter of fact, it was one of those remakes of a French movie which I haven’t seen yet. Anyway, unfortunately, I thought that the whole thing was eventually rather disappointing. Indeed, even if the whole thing tried to be something more, eventually, it was just another rather sleazy erotic thriller which borrowed from other movies from the same genre such as ‘Fatal Attraction’ or ‘Poison Ivy’. Let’s start with Amanda Seyfried. First of all, she should get some credit because she tried something really risky and completely different than what she had done so far but even though she did her very best, I never believed that she was a seasoned prostitute. However, Seyfried should not be the only one to be blamed as her character was actually poorly developed in my opinion. I mean, what was her motivation? Why did she suddenly make those decisions? Only because she had a nice chat with Julianne Moore in the ladies room ? It was pretty thin and eventually we never got the chance to know her. Concerning Liam Neeson, the job was even more thankless. Indeed, during the whole thing, he was described as a huge douchebag but, at the end, there was this twist which explained that we have been misled during the whole movie. I thought it was rather cheap and manipulative but that was obviously the point here but, above all, I thought it was really unbelievable that Julianne Moore, after 20 years of relationship, wouldn’t know if her man was just a flirt or always went for the 2nd base. What remains is Julianne Moore and I have to admit that, once again, she delivered a terrific performance. I did like the directing (above all this incredibly hot first scene at the very beginning which was ruined right away by some very dull voice-over) but Moore was completely convincing and made her inner struggle really fascinating to behold. Basically, she had some kind of total meltdown and Julianne Moore played it perfectly. To conclude, even though Roger Ebert was really enthusiast, I thought it was not much better than the other movies from this genre but thanks to the directing and Julianne Moore’s performance, I still think it is worth a look though.

Honestly, it has been a while since I saw a movie directed by John Boorman but I always had a weak spot for his work. As a matter of fact, this movie was actually barely seen when it was released but it has reached cult status through the years. To my surprise, I realised that 'Payback', a pretty good underrated Mel Gibson flick, was actually a remake of this movie which was something I actually didn't know before watching the damned thing. Anyway, above all, I was impressed by the directing. Indeed, especially during the first 20 minutes, the whole thing had a very strong surrealistic quality and it was quite mesmerizing to behold. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie, while it was entertaining, was much more straightforward. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I saw it on the BBC without subtitles and maybe I missed some details in the dialogues. I was also impressed by Lee Marvin, an actor which I knew by name but with whom I'm not so familiar with. So, the directing and acting were really interesting but I wasn't really so sure about the story which was rather pedestrian, at least, in my opinion. Still, it was a pretty good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Even though I'm a huge fan of Charles Chaplin, having seen all his full length directing efforts and many of his shorts, I must admit that I'm pretty much ignorant concerning Buster Keaton. As a matter of fact, before watching this flick, I had never seen any of his movies! I know, shame on me... As you can imagine, I had some huge expectations before watching the damned thing and, to be honest, I have to admit that I was actually a little bit disappointed. I mean, it was pretty good and I definitely enjoyed it but I can't say I was blown away like I was with Chaplin's movies. I don't know, it was definitely funny but I never really cared about the main character and what he was going through. Eventually, even though Buster Keaton always said that this was his favorite movie, it was a huge flop and Keaton slowly disappeared into obscurity. Still, there were some impressive stunts (no CGI back then) and there is no doubt that Keaton can be sometimes really hilarious... To conclude, even though it didn't really blow me away, I still enjoyed it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Many of you have probably forgot it but the whole super-hero frenzy actually started with ‘Blade’. Indeed, before this movie was released, expect for Batman, all the super-hero flicks were huge flops but when this one came out, it was a box-office success and 14 years later, those kind of movies are still dominating the market. Personally, I thought ‘Blade’ was actually pretty bad. I mean, I probably should give it another chance and re-watch it but, honestly, I’m not really optimistic. However, concerning this sequel, I was this time rather enthusiast. The ratings were good, it was directed by Guillermo del Toro who is one of the most exciting directors at work nowadays and everybody agreed that it was much better than the first installment so it could be something good. Eventually, I was rather disappointed. Ok, I’ll give you that, it was definitely an improvement on the first installment but it was still not enough to make this really interesting or entertaining to me. I mean, the whole thing looked pretty good, they were some nice monsters and some pretty neat action scenes but I just didn’t care about the main character or the plot at all and, as a result, I was rather bored during the whole thing. To conclude, even though it was nothing really bad, it was still pretty damned average and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

Honestly, I have never really heard of this movie but since there was a pretty cool cast, I thought I should give it a try. It seems like ages ago but, before he got involved in all this garbage, back in the 80’s, Rutger Hauer was actually one of the most fascinating actors at work and he as involved in a couple of pretty good flicks and this movie was definitely one of them. Basically, it is a decent medieval tale directed by Richard Donner who made before ‘Superman’ and will get involved later on in the ‘Lethal Weapon’ franchise. Like I said, the story is pretty decent without being really mind-blowing. Considering the cast, even the always bland Matthew Broderick was all right in this. Furthermore, Hauer delivers one of his typical electrifying performances and you have also a very young Michelle Pfeiffer who just broke through a couple years before with ‘Scarface’ and even though an also very young Broderick seemed to be the main character, he was completely upstaged by the two other actors who had some great chemistry. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, it remains an entertaining and enjoyable medieval flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

When I was a kid, I used to watch it with my dad and I thought it was totally awesome. Later on, I used to underestimate this flick, thinking it was just a decent action movie but not much more than that. Yesterday, I watched it again with Nick, my step-son, and I finally understood why I loved it so much back then and why it is considered as one of the best action movies ever made. Of course, the whole thing is full of clichés and stereotypes but those are so perfectly executed, as a result, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole duration. Furthermore, there are loads of awesome and impressive action scenes but this movie had so much more to offer and it is the reason why it is still so enjoyable even 25 years later. In my opinion, the best thing about this movie is actually John McClane. Indeed, action movie heroes are always some kind of super guy and I always find it rather tedious to watch. McClane is different though : he sweats, bleeds, laughs, cries, and you really have the feeling that he is going to die every 2 minutes and even though he manages to survive, he sure would rather be somewhere else. All this makes the whole thing just really compelling to watch. For Bruce Willis, it was a star making performance and he became a huge superstar afterwards. Of course, we shouldn’t forget to credit Alan Rickman who, in his acting debut, managed to create one of the most bad-ass bad guy ever. To conclude, I really loved this flick, it is one of the best action movies ever made, it completely deserves its reputation and it is absolutely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

The interesting thing with Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams is that they both broke-through at the same time (2002-2004) and they were both quickly hailed as the next best thing. Eventually, 10 years later, even though they both have some decent careers, I don'think that either of them ever  really full-filled those expectations. This movie is in fact a perfect example. Indeed, it was a very ambitious project which was rather interesting but the end result was nothing amazing and it quickly disappeared at the box-office. As a matter of fact, I have to admit it, it was in fact far from being a bad movie. Indeed, the whole concept was intriguing, the directing was solid and both actors gave some good performances (which was pretty amazing considering how preposterous the premise was) and they had some nice chemistry. The main issue was that, like I mentioned before, the plot was just preposterous and during the whole thing you are confronted with some elements which just didn't hold up. Basically, even before watching this movie, the whole concept really sounded fishy and, at the end, in spite of their effort and the sweetness provided by Bana and McAdams, I was still not convinced at all. Still, even though it was nothing really mind-blowing, thanks to the actors involved, it remains an intriguing romance and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since this movie was released, it has gained a pretty decent cult-classic status so I was rather eager to check it out. Personally, I was above all interested by this movie because it was one of the first movies starring Jack Nicholson. Back then, Nicholson was pretty much unknown and would have his breakthrough only 10 years later starring in 'Easy Rider'. Eventually, he had a rather small part in this movie so that was a little disappointment for me. The movie itself was not bad but it was nothing really amazing though. I mean, it is an interesting dark comedy and I can imagine that 50 years ago, the audience was rather shocked or impressed by this but, nowadays, it just looks realy cheesy. Still, as a time capsule, it is definitely interesting and those cheap-ass cheesy special effects were absolutely priceless. I guess, it also depends what kind of humor you dig and there is a chance you might end up enjoying it more than I did. Still, even though I'm not a huge fan, it remains a weird and decent dark comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.