Reviews by johanlefourbe

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.

Since I kept hearing some good things about this franchise, I was really eager to check them out. Above all, after watching the dismal version starring Steve Martin, I was really wondering if it was any good. Eventually, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, Peter Sellers is really amazing in this flick and he gave her one of the best comic performances I have ever seen. What's amazing in this performance is that, even though Clouseau was really clumsy and clueless, Sellers never pushed the boundary too far and, as a result, the character always remained believable and compelling to watch. The best thing is that Clouseau was actually just a small part but he completely upstaged the other characters which was something I have rarely seen before. Unfortunately, even though Clouseau was pretty awesome, the rest of the characters were barely interesting and entertaining and the same goes concerning the story itself. Basically, while watching this flick, you just keep waiting Sellers to pop back during some rather boring stretches but it was definitely worth the wait. Anyway, to conclude, in my opinion, without Sellers, it would have been a rather dull picture but thanks to him, it was really enjoyable and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

For a couple of years, I have been following Neil Labute and even though he is not one of the best directors I have encountered, his work is definitely interesting and he was the main reason why I wanted to check this flick. Well, this movie is a fine example of why I like Labute's work. Honestly, beforehand, I wasn't expecting much from it. It seemed to be another obscure movie starring the rather bland Gwyneth Paltrow. Eventually, I thought it was actually pretty good. Above all, I really enjoyed the directing by LaBute who manages to create an intriguing mood. I also liked the fact that it was dealing with some intelligent and articulate characters. Eventually, there were less successful to combine the romance aspect with the thriller elements and, as a result, the whole thing was rather uneven. Still, I think they managed pretty well to combine the modern and older story and I thought the cast gave some pretty solid performances (Gwyneth Paltrow, Aaron Eckhart, Jeremy Northam, Jennifer Ehle, Lena Headey, Tom Hollander). Anyway, to conclude, even though it is nothing mind-blowing, I enjoyed it and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Neil LaBute's work.

Even though it is widely unknown, Danny DeVito has actually built up a decent career as a director. He usually made comedies except for ‘Hoffa’ and this flick which belongs to the family genre. Even though this movie is usually appreciated if only considering the ratings on IMDB and Listal, I thought it was a rather tedious watch but I’m not sure that DeVito should be blamed though. I guess I’m not really a fan of Roald Dhal stories. I mean, aside from ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ which I found indeed fantastic, I didn’t like much the movies adapted from his work. This time, I really didn’t care much about the story, the characters and what they were going through. Above all, I thought that they were all rather annoying, even the title character. Furthermore, like many family feature, I found it rather condescending towards children which is something I always dread. I guess, there is a good chance that young children would actually enjoy it and, in this sense, I have to admit that it is rather successful since its target audience is reached. Still, to conclude, personally, I didn’t like it and I don’t think it is really worth a look, expect maybe if you are between 6 and 12 years old.