Reviews by johanlefourbe

How come it took me so long to discover Shane Meadows?!? I just saw ‘ This is England’ a few weeks back and I found it pretty amazing and this time again, Mr Meadows quite blew me away. This flick is a really different beast though. First of all, I was impressed by the directing and cinematography. Indeed, there were some simple shots but so perfectly composed, it was just really beautiful to behold. Then, you have the movie itself. It must be one of the most original and heartbreaking thrillers I have seen in a while. Even though I might enjoy a Hollywood thriller from time to time, they never really impress me because they are usually based on some cheap theatrics. Even the twist at the end, which is something that always annoys me to death, worked really well here because it was not set there just to give one last surprise look on the viewers face, it was set there to underline, reinforce the strength of this tale and it worked like a charm. The funny thing is that I usually don’t care about those vengeance flicks because I really don’t like the ideas they preach (An eye for eye, violence is fine as long as you are avenging your loved ones,….) but I really appreciated the way they treated this genre here. There is absolutely no joy here, no catharsis, just mayhem, madness and suffering, even at the end. To conclude, after only watching 2 of his movies, Shane Meadows is quickly becoming one of my favorite British directors, this movie is heartbreaking, unsettling but also really good and it is definitely worth a look.

Do you remember this disappointing flick directed by Brian De Palma called ‘Mission to Mars’? The same year they released another SF movie about Mars and compared to this movie, it makes ‘Mission to Mars’ look like a masterpiece… Above all, in my opinion, the introduction was the worst. I mean, you have this voice-over which goes on and on and not only it tells you all you need to know about the mission but it gives a description about how each character will fit a required stereotype. The special effects were also pretty pathetic, even more when you watch this flick 10 years later, the cast was made of B actors (Val Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore, Benjamin Bratt, Simon Baker, Terence Stamp) and even for Val Kilmer, you could feel that this movie was the beginning of the end for his career. The weird thing is that I make it sound really terrible but, after a while, I must admit that I started to mildly enjoy it. Of course, the whole thing was rather silly and not really convincing but those flaws made it somehow enjoyable (The moment when Val Kilmer finally manages to leave the planet and gives the finger to the camera shouting ‘F*ck this planet!’ was just epic). To conclude, even though I have to admit that it wasn't a total disaster, it was still a really weak Science-Fiction flick and I don’t think it is really worth a look, even if you love the genre.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since it was Sam Peckinpah's directing debut, I was still eager to check it out. Eventually, even though it was a decent Western, it wasn't 'The Wild Bunch', that's for sure. As a matter of fact, this first movie was maybe educational for Peckinpah but, above all, it was a rather unpleasant experience and afterwards he vowed to always have script control on his future projects. I have to admit it, since I saw it on the BBC without subtitles, I didn't get all the details, but it was pretty obvious that the story was rather weak. I mean, it wasn't worthless, it had some potential and the characters were rather interesting but it was still too pedestrian for my taste. Also, I thought that the score was rather annoying. It was not bad but instead of underlining the action, quietly in background, it was very often very intrusive, at the foreground and it became rather distracting, but that wasn't a big issue. Eventually, it doesn't stand out from any other Westerns that was made back in those days and they made plenty of those. Anyway, to conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, it remains an interesting directing debut and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Peckinpah's work.

Since I have was really pleasantly surprised by the first installment snd since I heard good things about this sequel, I was definitely eager to check it out. Eventually, even though it never reached the level of Danny Boyle's movie, I still think it was pretty good and I definitely enjoyed it. Indeed, even though it seemed pretty obvious, it was still a nice concept to set the action this time 28 weeks later and it was also pretty neat to see how they made the disease evolved. On the other hand, this evolution was also the weakness of this plot. Indeed, the whole immune/carrier thing was interesting but it felt also really plot-driven. Basically, it seemed that they made this up above all to take some distance from the first movie and also to make it possible to spread out the disease on a greater scale. Also, it created some major plot-holes. It is like the cast. They all provided some decent performances, especially Robert Carlyle whom I hadn't seen for a while (such a great underrated actor), but the characters were rather poorly developed. Still, in spite of these flaws, I really enjoyed it thanks above all to the nice mood created. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really mind-blowing, it remains a decent zombie flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting something amazing from this but, at least, I thought it could be an entertaining action flick especially with such stars like Richard Gere and Bruce Willis. Unfortunately, it barely managed to be an average action feature. The worst thing is that, since then, I have seen 'The Day of the Jackal', the movie which has inspired it, it was completely brilliant and it makes this 'remake' look ever more incompetent. Where should I start? First of all, I have to admit that it was pretty neat to see Bruce Willis portraying a bad guy for a change and he did a decent job but compared to Edward Fox in the original movie, it was nothing really impressive. Willis did OK but I can't say the same about Richard Gere... He was supposed to play an Irish terrorist but he was not convincing whatsoever and don't get me started on his pathetic attempt to give an Irish accent... Furthermore, the story was just really weak, they even threw in a love story. The whole thing was just way too pedestrian and not interesting whatsoever. Honestly, it remained watchable, but they completely wasted this opportunity to create a modern version of this great story and it was just too bad. To conclude, I have seen worse but it is still a really average action flick and it is not really worth a look.

I really like Bruce Willis. I have watched most of his movies and even though some of them are pretty forgettable, I usually manage to find some redeeming features, usually Bruce Willis himself. However, a few of them are just terrible and even Willis didn't succeed in saving those from being a total disaster. This movie is one of them... Not only it is a very boring and uneventful action flick, it is above all one of the worst depections of autism I have ever seen. I don't want to blame the young boy who played that part, he did what could and was not half bad actually. It is just the way they used this condition to fit a popcorn flick was just rather infuriating to me. I mean, for me, it is a rather personal issue as my step-son is an autist and I even can barely stand 'Rain Man' which is considered a classic by most of us. It is just really annoying that in Hollywood, they can't write a story about an autist without making him or her some kind of freakish genius. Autism is actually a little bit more complicated than that. Of course, it is just a commercial picture and I probably shouldn't take it too seriously but it doesn't change the fact that it is one of the most tedious flicks starring Bruce Willis. To conclude, in my opinion, it is one of the worst movies starring Mr Willis and it is not worth a look whatsoever.

Honestly, I haven't heard much about this flick but any movie starring Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Sheen is a must see in my book. Anyway, it was another example about why you shouldn't know too much before watching any movie. I started watching it without knowing anything except that those two guys were in it and it made the whole thing even more interesting to watch. It reminded me of 'Rendition' in the way that it makes us wonder how far we should go to fight terrorism. Personally, I'm pretty sure that many muslims have been badly tortured, just like Michael Sheen in this movie, and the whole point is : should we actually do it? Is really it worth it? The director and the actors did a pretty good job and I know where I stand but they really succeeded in drawing a grey line between what is right or wrong and that was pretty impressive. Unfortunately, it wasn't really flawless. For example, even though Carrie-Anne Moss did a pretty good job, she looked too good for this part and it was kind of distracting but that was a small thing. Above all, the whole thing tends to loose focus when they get engaged in all kind of thriller theatrics. The most obvious example is how they basically gave Jackson carte blanche to do anything he wants to get some results but, constantly, the people around him stops him and then tell him to go on, and again stops him and then tell him to go on... That was far from being realistic, rather tedious and really a blunt way to show the moral struggle of this tale. So, it was far from being perfect but it made some interesting points and I'm frankly still shaken up after watching it. To conclude, it is an interesting thriller which didn't reach its full potential but it is still worth a look though.

Since I grew up in the 90’s, of course, I watched the cartoon many times. I honestly didn’t care at all for the live-action features as I thought the concept didn’t fit this medium at all and looked pretty stupid but many people loved those flicks. Anyway, I thought it was a great idea to adapt those characters into a CGI animated feature which was, in my opinion, the best medium for them. However, since no sequel came afterwards, my guess is that it was not really successful at the box-office, even though the critics and fans were rather positive. My guess is that even if the Turtles were really hugely popular in the 90’s, those days are however long gone and except for the die-hard fans looking for some piece of nostalgia, the rest of us didn’t really pay attention to this flick. Still, I have to admit that it was actually not bad at all. Indeed, like I said before, CGI animation was a perfect choice and the whole thing looked really good. The story was entertaining enough but nothing really mind-blowing though. I guess, it all depends that where you stand about the Turtles. If you think that mutated turtles with some awesome fighting skills is a great concept, this movie is for you. Personally, I never really bought this concept so it might explain why I wasn’t a really huge fan of this movie. Still, to conclude, it remains a decent CGI animated feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are a fan of those wacky turtles.

Back in the 90’s, Kenneth Branagh became one of the most promising directors. In the 2000’s, even though he continued to direct, his work as a director was barely noticed but he made an interesting come-back in 2011 with the big budget ‘Thor' and I wonder where it will lead this time. Anyway, I kept following him all this time and it was the main reason why I wanted to check this flick. It was his 5th Shakespeare adaptation but like most of his recent work, it was barely seen. There was actually quite a lot to to enjoy here. Indeed, the whole thing looked quite gorgeous with some very nice use of colors (just check the poster) and Bryce Dallas Howard never looked better. They made also an interesting choice to keep the original text which was sometimes a little hard to follow (I’m French but I saw the movie in English with Dutch subtitles...). Still, the language was pretty impressive and there was some really huge monologues, all respect for the actors involved. Still, I can’t say it was really amazing though. Indeed, I really didn’t care much about the story. Indeed, it started as drama but then, suddenly, it became a very frivolous (and rather boring) comedy. Furthermore, I didn’t really dig the whole thing about the girl disguised as a boy while nobody recognized her. I thought it was pretty tedious and not really interesting. Still, it remains a well made Shakespeare adaptation, the cast was really good, and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Even though André Téchiné is pretty much unknown here in Listal, he is actually one of the most highly regarded directors in France and already for 40 years. This movie is the oldest one he made that I have seen so far and even though it wasn't one of his best work, I still think it was pretty good. It was the first time he worked with Catherine Deneuve and they would eventually make 6 movies together. It also features the tormented Patrick Dewaere in one of his last performances. You have probably never heard of this guy but he was a very good actor and pretty famous in France in 70’s but he was apparently deeply disturbed and committed suicide at the beginning of the 80’s. Honestly, I have to admit that the story was nothing mind-blowing but Deneuve and Dewaere were terrific, they were were spellbinding to watch and they had a great chemistry. Basically, it is one of this typical French love stories, it is very complicated, very painful and rather doomed. Nothing much happens in those flicks, expect that the characters talk a lot but I always prefer this genre than the bland Hollywood love stories. Anyway, to conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing or original, I thought it was pretty good, above all, thanks to the great lead actors, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like French movies.