Reviews by johanlefourbe

It is probably one of the most obscure French movies I have seen. Indeed, I’m the only here in Listal who has seen it and on IMDB not even 150 people have rated it. Still, even though it is definitely obscure, I thought it was pretty good. I always had a weak spot for Pascal Bonitzer’s work who is above all famous for his work as a screenwriter (‘La Belle Noiseuse’, ‘Ma saison préférée’, ‘Généalogies d’un crime’,…) but also directed a few movies which are not really famous but which I enjoyed nonetheless (‘Petites coupures’, Rien sur Robert’, ‘Encore’). Anyway, this time around, he wrote and directed this feature which displayed a pretty good cast (Edouard Baer, Géraldine Pailhas, Charles Berling) and they all delivered some solid performances. Basically, it is one of those typical French romantic movies. Nothing much happen at all, expect that the characters talk a lot and they are all involved in some rather convoluted romantic relationships. Personally, I really have a weak spot for this kind of movies because they display some real (at least who seem real) 3 dimensional human beings and I always find easier and more interesting to identify with them than with the boring stereotypes provided by Hollywood. To conclude, even though it is nothing really mind-blowing, I enjoyed it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies and/or if you like the genre.

Since I kept hearing good things about Shane Meadows, I was definitely eager to check his work. Eventually, I really got lucky to start with one of his best movies and I was certainly not disappointed. Indeed, he managed to set his movie in a specific historical time and place (England in the 80’s) and he also managed to create some fascinating characters to watch. Basically, it shows how dreary the life was for some people in England during that time (is it really any better nowadays?) and how slowly some of them moved towards the National Front and their extreme right wing ideas. This movie displayed also an interesting notion which I wasn’t aware about those skinheads. Indeed, apparently, the skinheads were at first more about a specific lifestyle (music, clothing, haircuts,…) than some actual ideology but, at some point, when some of them needed a goal, a purpose, they shifted towards right-wing politics and, above all, violence towards minorities. However, this flick was not just about history and it also dealt with some very interesting 3 dimensional characters. I mean, instead of showing us some skinheads breaking havoc, they displayed that they had a very strong sense of community but also that they didn’t have much purpose and that they were terribly confused. The only critic I have is that they tried to add a romantic sub-plot involving Combo, it didn’t work out really well but that wasn’t a deal breaker. To conclude, it is a heartbreaking but fascinating picture and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie but since I have a weak spot for Bruce Willis, I thought I should check it out. Basically, like most of the movies directed by Gregory Hoblit ('Untraceable', 'Fracture, 'Frequency', 'Fallen', 'Primal Fear'), the directing was solid, there was some decent acting and the plot definitely had some potential but the end-result just didn't deliver the goods. This time, he combined a typical POW flick like for 'The Great Escape' with a trial movie. It was definitely an intriguing mix but, as usual, Hoblit instead of the developping the charaters or the plot, ended up the whole thing with some rather annoying and uninteresting twist. Still, like I said before, it is rather well made and there is a pretty cool cast (Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell, Terrence Howard, Cole Hauser, Adrian Grenier, Sam Worthington). It was actually Colin Farrell's 2nd feature following his breaktrough performance in 'Tigerland' and it was definitely an improvement on the terrible 'American Outlaws'. To conclude, it is rather decent war flick and it is still definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Beforehand, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since it was a huge success at the box-office and was nominated for several academy awards, I thought I should check it out. Eventually, I thought it was a decent sport drama based on a true story but not much more than that, I'm afraid. I mean, even though the directing was solid and the actors were all right, it never challenged the rules of the genre and there was, above all, a terrible lack of nuances. For example, even though Michel Oher was supposed to be the hero of this tale, he was portrayed as completely clueless throughout the whole thing and, apparently he would have never been successful without the help of several white people (the school teacher, Sandra Bullock, his 'white' brother, his 'white' sister, his tutor, even the clueless coach stood up for him during the game,...). At the same time, none of the black people did provide any help whatsoever (the youth in his old neighborhood were all gangsters-like type, his biological mother was a crack addict, his brother that we meet didn't even have any dialogue, the black man who gave him shelter at first eventually threw him out, even the woman at the end during the interrogation was black,...). I'm not saying that it was a racist movie, of course not, but it was definitely not subtle. It is like the main character, Michael Oher. He was portrayed like some helpless Forrest Gump figure when he was actually the one who came from nothing and became a NFL player. As a matter of fact, the real Michael Oher knew very well how to play football and was definitely not some kind of retarded. I could go on and on about this but those things are pretty much inherent to this genre and this movie was not a bad example but just a typical one. And what about Sandra Bullock? I have to admit it, it was indeed one of her better performances but it was still nothing really mind-blowing. Still, in spite of its flaws, it remains a decent sport drama dealing with some decent people who all try to do the right thing and, if you are into this kind of stuff, it is definitely enjoyable. To conclude, I do think it is rather overrated but it is still worth a look though, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a great cast and since I have a weak spot for Oliver Stone's work, I thought I should give it a try anyway. Eventually, even though Roger Ebert was enthusiast (already the 3rd movie in a row this week that Roger is more enthusiast than me!), I thought it was a well made and decent drug feature but not much more than that eventually. I mean, there was indeed a nice cast (Blake Lively, Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Benicio Del Toro, John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch) and they all delivered some decent performances, especially Travolta who is always awesome when playing such a sleazy back-stabbing SOB, the story unforunately never really reached its potential. Indeed, during the whole thing, they tried to convince us that we were watching something really hardcore but even if many people were killed or tortured, I never felt that there was much at stake after all. Maybe the two main characters should have been tougher, I don't know. It is interesting to note that Oliver Stone wrote 'Scarface' almost 30 years which has become the reference in this genre. I mean, Ben and Chon were both kind of nice and sweet but they were never spellbinding to watch like Tony Montana was and, as a result, even though the whole thing was fairly entertaining, it was also terribly forgettable. To conclude, I think we will have to wait a few more years before Oliver Stone really blows us away but, in the mean time, it remains a decent flick and I think it is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Even though it seems like ages ago, there was a time that Jennifer Lopez was pretty successful as an actress. Anyway, after the disastrous 'Gigli', her career never really recovered from this terrible blow. Personally, I had some rather low expectations before watching this flick. I thought it would be another terrible flick like 'Enough' but, to my surprise, it was actually a decent cop drama. Indeed, I thought that Jennifer Lopez and Jim Caviezel both gave some solid performances. Above all, I appreciated the fact that they avoided some usual clichés. I mean, when the movie begins and you meet Caviezel, right away, I thought it was just yet another thriller about a confused but still nice guy who ends up being a total psycho. Fortunately, they chose a different way and it was definitely more interesting. Of course, the whole thing was still too pedestrian for my taste, with happy-ending and all but still, I thought the two main characters were rather interesting and I actually cared about what they were going through. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, it is actually a decent drama and it is definitely worth, especially if you think Lopez is a bad actress.

Since Meryl Streep is my favorite actress, I definitely had to watch this flick at some point. Even though it is definitely not one of her best movies, I thought it was a decent satire. I mean, she was really great, as usual, completely disappearing behind her character but I thought that, even though the material was pretty dark and really interesting, the tone was just too light for my taste. Furthermore, I think that Shirley MacLaine was pretty good but she has played this kind of roles too often and it is getting a little bit repetitive at this point. Furthermore, the directing by Mike Nichols was decent but he has definitely made better movies (I always found that his comedies were rather weak) and there was a pretty good cast (Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss, Rob Reiner, Annette Bening). Back then, Meryl Streep was trying to take some distance from her image of serious actress and wanted to show to the world the extend of her range. Eventually, it will take her 16 more years with the release of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ before she finally managed to convince the mainstream audience that she is also a great comedic actress and scored her first comedy box-office hit. Anyway, to conclude, it remains a well made and entertaining dark satire and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

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.