Reviews by johanlefourbe

I have never been a fan of spoof movies but since it is a huge classic, I thought I would definitely enjoy this one. Eventually, I thought the whole thing was pretty disappointing... Of course, there were here and there some funny jokes but I can't say I was laughing throughout the whole thing. Like another Listal users pointed out in her review, maybe back then these jokes were timely but 25 years later, most of those jokes don't really work anymore. I guess it would be the same thing when people will watch 'Shrek' 25 years later, they will miss many pop-cultural jokes that were relevant when it came out. Furthermore, I find Leslie Nielsen more annoying than funny in his iconic part. I know, that's the whole point, he is supposed to be annoying but I didn't find him really funny, just plain stupid. Eventually, I spent most of the time watching the movie decrypting the jokes to get their meaning and I got most of them but my reaction was usually 'oh yeah! that's what they meant. Pretty clever, not bad, next joke...' and, once in a while, they would be something hilarious popping up and I would be laughing but that wasn't often enough. To conclude, I know, it is a classic but I didn't like it but if you love the genre, there is a good chance you will enjoy it more than I did.

Wow.... It has been a while since I saw such a weird movie... Where should I start? Let's take the very first scene... I mean, I heard about the notorious non-simulated blowjob scene but I didn't know it was right from the start... Basically, it hit me like a train. What was this all about? On one hand, the scene was rather well made and definitely striking and the whole endeavour was absolutely bold. But, on the other hand, it was also really distracting because during the rest of the movie, I kept thinking again about what happened back then when I was supposed to focus on what was going on at that moment. A part from this, there was some kind of a plot dealing with the kidnapping of a baby but like some other directors like David Lynch, Carlos Reygadas didn't care much about the plot. What you have instead is a succession of weird scenes which goes all very slowly and I'm not sure I really understood what was going on. What was the motivation of the characters? What was the motivation of the director? I can't say I have an answer. Still, I make it sound as if it was a bad movie but it's not. Indeed, I cannot completely dismiss it. The directing, for example, was really good and the whole thing was quite mesmerizing to watch. The natural acting by the non-professional actors was also really efficient and the use of sound and music made the whole thing even more spellbinding to watch. To conclude, I don't think it was really amazing but it remains a bold movie and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in experimental movies and if you don't mind explicit sex scenes.

Samuel L. Jackson is really badass and I would watch anything starring this guy. And thank God he was there, otherwise the whole thing would have been really boring to watch. I mean, don't get me wrong, it is a decent sport flick based (how surprising!) on a real story and it was rather entertaining. But it is decent, nothing more, since it follows the usual rules of the genre without much inspiration(the coach arrives at the school, they hate him but of course, he is a freaking genius so they start to win games and eventually, they love him pretty bad...). Furthermore, I didn't really buy the whole studying thing. I mean, you need more than a few scenes showing the players with some books to convince me that this movie was not about sport but about studying. They try this way to give some extra meaning but I didn't work out very well. Still, in its genre, it is not bad and rather entertaining, just really predictable. On a sidenote, it is also interesting to notice that Channing Tatum gave his acting debut in this film. To conclude, it was allright and it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Can you believe they will release in 2012 a 4th live action movie of Astérix and Obélix?!? I always wonder how big is Astérix abroad, what I do know is that he is pretty huge in France. Personally, I have read many comic-books, saw many animated films and enjoyed many of those, especially when I was a kid. However, I was rather skeptical about a live adaptation. Of course, financially speaking, it was a good move considering how popular he is and, indeed, it was a big box-office success in France. I was spektical because the appeal of Astérix is most of all based on its visual appeal (the way the characters look and also the visual humor is very important) and it seemed rather impossible to make it work with some 'real' people. Eventually, I thought the whole thing was rather disappointing. I mean it was fun to see all those characters come to life, Gérard Depardieu and Christian Clavier were great casting choices but I thought the whole thing was rather boring to watch. Indeed, the comics and cartoons were really fun but this adapation (and the sequels as a matter of fact) didn't work for me. To conclude, I didn't like it and I don't think it is really worth a look, expect maybe if you are a fan of the comic-books.

Michael Caine is awesome. Whereas other actors such as Sean Connery and Peter O'Toole are (understandably) retired, Caine just keeps making more movies. Usually, he only has a supporting part but, once in a while, he still gets to play the main character and that's the main reason why I wanted to check this flick. As usual, he delivered a terrific performance throughout the whole thing. However, it's too bad the marketing was rather misleading. Indeed, when you check the posters, it seems that Michael Caine is some kind of tough guy but he is actually just a very old man, no superman or Rambo, he is scared sh*tless throughout the whole thing and it made the story much more compelling to watch. Furthermore, without Michael Caine, it was just a decent vigilante flick, not much more than that. I mean, the directing was decent but it just followed the rules of this genre, that's all. Personally, especially in this case, it was  dealing with some very complex issues and the answers provided here (just kill the bad guys!) was way too simplistic for my taste. Still, it was entertaining and very well made, Michael Caine was just terrific and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Back in the 70's and 80's, Isabelle Adjani was the most highly acclaimed French actress, she was even bigger than Catherine Deneuve back then (she won a staggering 5 Césars (the French Oscars) during her career). Unfortunately, after 'La Reine Margot' released in 1994, her career went nowhere and in France, she came more often in the news concerning her private life than for her (disappointing and sporadic) new features. It's too bad because she was a terrific actress and it is always with pleasure that I watch the movies she made in her golden period. For example, this movie is a typical French thriller with a rather far-fetched story and an obligatory twist at the end. Adjani gives again an electrifying performance and carries the whole thing on her shoulders. The rest of the cast was also pretty good, it was pretty funny to see Alain Souchon (a famous singer in France) as an actor and I thought he gave a decent performance as well. Even though the story is not really amazing, I still prefer this kind of thrillers because they focus on the characters whereas American thrillers usually focus on action scenes like shootings, chases and explosions. To conclude, it is a pretty good thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like French movies.

Since I kept hearing good things about this flick, I was really curious about it. First of all, I have to admit it, I'm a sucker for romantic comedies, I have watched many of them through the years but, honestly, 90% of them end up being usually rather disappointing. Not this one though. I mean, during the first 10 minutes, it seemed to be one of those typical 80's highschool comedies, fairly decent but nothing amazing. But then, when they finally got to know each other, I got really hooked by the whole thing and, in my opinon, it is easily one of the best romantic comedies I have seen. I just loved how genuine the relationship was and also these characters. The relationship between the daughter and the father was also very interesting and complex and, in a lesser movie, he would just argue with his daughter to add up some drama but, here, they developed it to another level and it was quite impressive. Basically, it was a rather simple story, which has been told many times before and after but, this time around, they were dealing with some intriguing 3 dimensional characters and the whole thing was quite spellbinding to watch. To conclude, it is a classic, I really liked it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I kept hearing some good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out and I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, I thought it was a really good drama with some comedy but not too much and some terrific acting. Honestly, I thought the whole thing was pretty flawless with a fascinating story with some very intriguing characters. My only complain would be that there were 2 very interesting plots (the children meeting their donor father and the lesbian mothers having a rough patch in their relationship) but the way they merged both stories felt pretty random and forced. The amazing thing is that even if it was a mistake, it also had a positive effect. Indeed, before that, the donor father was way too good to be true but, then, after his disastrous actions, he finally got a human face and it made the character even more interesting. The cast (Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson) was pretty amazing and I was above all impressed by Annette Bening. Indeed, after 5 minutes, I completely forgot I was watching Bening on the screen, I only saw a fully fledged character and that's what acting is or should be about. To conclude, I thought it was a really fascinating drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I'm pretty sure I already saw this one but it was really a long time ago so it was really time for a re-watch. And, once again, it was just another great flick by Alfred Hitchcock. What I love about his thrillers is that they are smart and totally make sense. I mean, when the protagonists go further with their actions, take some crucial decisions, you understand why and it makes the whole thing much more compelling to watch. In modern thrillers, they make up the most preposterous plots with some random twists to 'surprise' you but, most of the time, I'm rather bored by those, especially after watching Hitchcock's work. I mean, the directing here is pretty much flawless and the writing is just excellent with 3 main characters who are not really bad but not really good either but all completely spellbinding to watch. The most amazing thing is that it is actually a rather simple story which takes place mostly in one building (it was a play adaptation, that's probably why). Nowadays, they try to make it all complicated but it ends up being rather preposterous and sometimes even stupid. To conclude, it is a great thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Hitchcock’s work.

Since I have weak spot for Frank Oz work as a director, I was really eager to check this movie, especially since the ratings were actually pretty good. Eventually, even though I really really wanted to like it, I still think that something was missing. I mean, I really loved the concept, the cast (mostly made of unknowns) was really good and there were definitely some funny bits here and there but it just didn't really worked for me. Indeed, during the whole thing, I was waiting for something really hilarious to happen but I didn't happen at all and I thought they were streching the jokes for way too long (for example, when Alan Tudyk takes some drugs by accident, of course, it is funny for the first 5-10 minutes but it goes on and on until the very end of the movie). As a result, since they spend so much time on those jokes, you barely learn anything about the characters and that was too bad. Still, it remains a great concept, to have the whole thing taking place during one funeral which becomes a total disaster and there were many funny scenes (like the first scene with the wrong coffin was just awesome). To conclude, it didn't really blow my mind but it remains a well made and solid comedy with some good old British humor and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.