Reviews by johanlefourbe

I didn't have some high expectations concerning this movie but since my step-daugther brought the DVD home, I thought I should give it a try anyway. Eventually, the only positive thing I can say about it was that it was not as bad as 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' which was just really terrible. At least, the animation looked pretty good as well, I have to admit it. Unfortunately, there was nothing else to enjoy about this movie and the story was especially really idiotic. I mean, to make a family feature about the Easter Bunny, why not? To make it about the Easter Bunny who wants to become a drummer was kind of lame but to make it about a guy who literally wants to become the actual Easter bunny... That was just so stupid and completely ridiculous. Of course, my 6 year old daughter enjoyed it but young children would enjoy anything because they find it so neat to watch a movie, especially when grown-ups are watching as well. Furthermore, combining live action and animation is not necessarily a bad idea but if the only thing they can come up with is this movie and 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' than it is not really worth the trouble at all. Anyway, to conclude, even though the animation did look pretty good, it was rather lame and it is not really worth a look, even for young kids.

Since I had never seen a movie directed by René Clement before, I didn't know what to expect but since this movie is a classic, I thought I should give it a shot. Eventually, it actually turned out to be definitely one of the saddest movies I have ever seen. First, they gave us this opening with this famous melancholic guitar tune which kept coming back throughout the whole thing. Then, in the very first scene, there was this 5 year old girl holding her dead dog while both her parents were being shot by a plane. I mean, it was just 5 minutes into the movie and I was already a total wreck...Then, they kept bringing again and again some heartbreaking scenes and, as expected, the end was also completely devastating. A few weeks before, I actually saw 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' and  everybody seemed to think that it was a major tearjerker but even though it was indeed pretty heavy, compared to this feature, it was actually a piece of cake. A part from that, the acting by the kids was just really impressive and I also enjoyed the writing. Indeed, all the characters were three dimensional and felt really genuine in the sense that they were sometimes nice and sometimes pretty nasty, even the two children. I have to admit that I didn't care much about the whole cross stealing thing but, a part from that, this movie was really impressive. To conclude, it was one of the most emotional movies I have ever seen and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

Back in 2012, this movie was my top priority. Eventually, was is it any good? Yes, it was pretty awesome. Was it better than 'The Dark Knight'? Absolutely not... In fact, I even think that 'Batman Begins' was better but it is definitely a tribute to Nolan's skills that even though this movie was a disappointment, it was still quite impressive. This movie had basically one huge obstacle : its predecessor was near perfect and it was an impossible task to reach again such a level of awesomeness. On top of that, there were just too many characters involved. For example, Anne Hathaway really impressed me as Catwoman but she didn't have much to do. Tom Hardy was also impressive and Bane was a pretty cool villain but he didn't come near the Joker in terms of mayhem and personality (Furthermore, while the Joker remained a mystery which was his greatest strength, they gave a more detailed background for Bane but this back story wasn't really impressive and the twist at the end, which wasn't really a surprise, made him merely a henchman which belittled even more this character). Furthermore, you barely got see the Batman which would have been fine if they didn't already use the same trick in the first movie. Still, I was entertained throughout the whole thing, it was filled with some great actors and the directing was really strong which is something we got used to with Christopher Nolan. In fact, the first hour was great, probably as good as 'The Dark Knight' was and there were some rather emotional scenes, especially the scenes featuring Michael Caine who was just heartbreaking. To conclude, we have been accustomed to get greatness everytime from Mr Nolan and it wasn't so great this time around but it was still fine but it is really time for him to move on to something else. I can't wait to see what he will do next and it will be, again, my top priority. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, this farewell to the Batman was still a very good flick and it is definitely worth a look.

To be honest, I didn't really know what to expect from this movie but since it is a classic, I thought I should give it a try. Well, basically, even though the damned thing has a really solid reputation, I thought it was a rather standard Western story. Indeed, it was a generic tale about some simple farmers who are bullied by some evil cattle baron and, of course, a mysterious stranger passes by and saves the day. Seriously, it wasn’t original at all and it was completely predictable but I guess I shouldn't forget that this Western was made 60 years ago and it was made before many other Westerns would use afterwards the same template. Still, the directing and acting were solid and I did like the attention they gave to the details. It was also interesting to notice that there was barely any shooting during the whole thing, there was one big fight though. In fact, the main character was without a gun during the whole thing and it was a nice approach. Indeed, instead of making the shootings look cool like most other Westerns, they displayed here that, even though such shootings were sometimes inevitable, the consequences were usually dreadfull. Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn’t really blow me away, it was still a decent Western and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a really neat cast involved (Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Anthony Quayle, Treat Williams, Larry Hagman), I was definitely eager to check it out. Eventually, I wasn't disappointed, that’s for sure. Indeed, it turned out to be a very solid WWII thriller and, for once, the main characters were the Nazis and not the allies and, in my opinion, this approach was terribly refreshing. Of course, like every decent human being, I'm horrified by what the Nazis did but WWII movies tend to be so black and white when in reality, I believe things were more complicated. Anyway, this time around, the main characters were the Germans and, as a result, you did get another perspective on this conflict. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the actors involved especially Michael Caine who was terrific as usual. Ok, I have to admit it, the story was nothing really mind-blowing but I thought it was a decent WWII thriller and I was entertained throughout the whole thing. Anyway, to conclude, I thought it was pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.