Reviews by johanlefourbe

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by [Link removed - login to see] and since had received some really strong reviews, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I had a really hard time to get into this movie, in fact, I’m afraid it never really grabbed me. For starters, this movie was just so damned obscure, I mean, it was literally visually really obscure. Seriously, the whole thing was just so dark, it was probably one of the darkest movies I have ever seen. For example, the scene in St. Winifred’s house was 99% completely black and borderline unwatchable. Then, the other issue was that, even though it was more than 2 hours long, all the characters were barely developed at all. For example, Essel had short hair and wore bells on her clothes because she was actually a prostitute but that’s something I found out afterwards when I was doing some research about this movie and it’s not something that I figured out while watching this movie. What was the deal with Gawain’s mother? Why was she doing all this witchcraft stuff? What was the deal with the King? What was actually the deal with any character involved in this story? Even with Gawain himself, Dev Patel did deliver a solid performance and the color-blind casting was pretty cool but I’m afraid this main character was always kept at arm’s length from the audience. And, yet, the whole thing was visually really neat and David Lowery did create here a mesmerizing mood for this tale. The ending was also pretty cool. I don’t know, maybe I wasn’t in the right mood and I should check it out again at some point but, the more I think about it, the more I believe that my rating was actually too generous here. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really work for me, I still think it is an intriguing movie and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in David Lowery’s work.

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this movie. Anyway, this movie was and still is the stuff of legends. Indeed, what was supposed to be a rather small TV feature became a surprising success, one of the most heralded directing debuts and the start one of the most impressive careers in motion picture history. Honestly, in my opinion, the plot was in fact rather thin and you can't say that the characters were very well developed either but the directing was just really impressive. It is even more impressive when you think that it was Spielberg's very directing effort. Back then, he didn't have such a huge budget as nowadays but I think  it gave this feature some kind of purity, a simplicity which was sometimes lacking in the movies he made later on in his career. Later on, he would make ‘The Sugarland Express’ which was rather weak but it is with his 3rd movie, a little movie called ‘Jaws’, that Spielberg would break all kind of records, something he would keep on doing throughout the 80’s and the 90’s. To conclude, even though this movie was maybe nothing really groundbreaking after all, it is a very solid thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Steven Spielberg's work. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seemed to have a decent reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I was actually caught out of guard by this movie as it turned out to be such an intense and intriguing drama. Indeed, for most of the duration, I didn’t really know what they were getting at with this story but, while it could have been frustrating, I thought it was actually quite fascinating. I’m not surprised that it was adapted from a play since most of the action took place in the Delaney’s house with only a handful of characters involved but I was just so impressed by the dialogues and the depth they brought to Lola and Doc Delaney. Back then, there were some critics that Burt Lancaster was actually too young to play that part and I have to admit that it was probably the case. Eventually, you have to get used to the idea that this man was actually married with this woman who seemed to be much older than he is. And, yet, Lancaster gave here a strong performance but, even though he was displayed on all the promotional material, I was above all so impressed by Shirley Booth who received an Academy Award for her work here. I wonder who she was but it made sense since it was actually her acting debut and she was above all a theater actress. Anyway, she was just brilliant, playing the most ordinary woman that you could possibly imagine and, yet, there were so many layers in her performance, it was just mind-blowing. I think it also gave a ghastly but realistic look on what alcoholism can do to an individual and their relatives. In my opinion, it shows how ridiculous it is that it is socially acceptable to drink when you can’t even smoke a cigarette in peace when drinking obviously can actually have such a devastating impact. Anyway, to conclude, for some reason, this movie touched me really deeply and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

The main reason why I ended up watching this movie was that I was quite eager to check what Miranda Jully delivered 15 years after her heralded debut 'Me and You and Everyone We Know’ (I have to admit that I completely skipped ‘The Future’ but I guess I will watch it as well at some point). Well, even though the damned thing turned out to be intriguing, to be honest, I thought it was actually mostly unpleasant to watch though. On the other hand, I always had a weak spot for heist movies and, even if I had a hard time to swallow it at first, eventually, I have to admit that it was probably not a bad thing to show that all con-artists are not as slick and charismatic as Frank Abagnale Jr. or Danny Ocean are. It’s just that it was not really fun to behold and, combined with the fact that this couple pretty much traumatized their only child, the whole thing was actually rather sad and depressing. Another thing that bothered me was the fact that the character played by Gina Rodriguez didn’t make much sense. I mean, I don’t blame Rodriguez, she delivered a solid performance and I understand that they wanted to add someone to this trio to mess up the whole dynamic in this group. However, I simply don’t believe that an average girl like her would decide to tag along with this group of losers, in fact, I don’t see why anybody would decide to join them. Still, there is no denying that Evan Rachel Wood gave such a strong performance here, probably the best performance of her career so far, no less than that. Indeed, she completely disappeared into this character who was just so complex with so many layers and, even if the material did not always work, she was always quite fascinating to behold. Anyway, to conclude, even if I had a hard time to really care about the damned thing, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.