Reviews by johanlefourbe

When you see the promotional material for this movie, it felt really similar to 'Van Helsing'. I mean, James Purefoy was pretty much a stand-in for Hugh Jackman, the costume and hat were so similar and it seemed to be in a similar genre. Actually, after watching the damned thing, I discovered that Solomon Kane is actually a fictional character created by the pulp-era writer Robert E. Howard (the guy who also created Conan). Anyway, was it any good ? Not really, I'm afraid. I mean, the directing was not bad, there was a decent cast (James Purefoy, Max von Sydow, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Pete Postlethwaite, Jason Flemyng) but the special effects were not really convincing and, above all, the whole thing was just really poorly written with some major plot holes. For example, what was this all about between Kane and the Devil?!? Did he sell his soul or something? It was never properly explained and many other things were rather obscure as well. Furthermore, there was a total lack of humor and, as a result, the whole thing was rather boring to watch. Not so long ago, I saw also 'George and the dragon', another medieval feature starring James Purefoy, but even though this movie was an slight improvement, it was still really average. Anyway, to conclude, it was a disappointing flick and it is not really worth a look, only maybe if you love this genre.

What an intriguing picture... It is rather weird when you think that this movie was a big box-office success and one of the highest grossing pictures coming out that year. Can you imagine if they would release today a movie with a similar story? I have to admit that I'm not a religious person, I don't even believe in God so it was rather difficult for me to understand why such an attractive bright young woman would choose such a way of life and the fact that the makers didn't provide much of an explanation didn't help either. Anyway, the beginning was some kind of combination of a military bootcamp and a jail and it was only after the 1st hour that I finally got caught up by the whole thing. Indeed, the interesting thing about this picture was the inner struggle which any nun must be going through during her whole life. Indeed, this way of life is completely dehumanizing and deprives you of ALL your feelings but a non is and remains a human being and she must consequently fight against her nature through her whole life. And we are not talking about carnal desire here, just the fact of being proud after doing something good is already a sin and has to be punished. So, I thought it was quite fascinating and Audrey Hepburn gave a really strong performance, probably her best I have seen so far. The weakest point with this picture was that I never really understood her motivation. I mean, if she just wanted to help sick people, she simply could have become a nurse instead of a nun. Anyway, it was still a very interesting movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you interested in Audrey Hepburn's work.

To be honest, before watching the damned thing, I wasn't expecting much, especially since one of my listal friends warned me that it was a big piece of sh*t. Well, with such low expectations, I must admit that it wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be. Of course, it was still a really weak comedy with a moronic plot but I have seen worse. First of all, you had a really neat cast (John Goodman, John Hurt, Peter O'Toole) and you have to give some credit to John Goodman who managed to make his character somewhat likeable. The main issue with this flick was that it is based on a really stupid idea which was 'what would happen if an obnoxious American would become the new king of England?'. Seriously, this concept didn't sound funny even on paper and, indeed, it wasn't. Even the whole clash between the American and British culture wasn't entertaining at all. Still, thanks to the actors involved, the whole thing remained somehow watchable. Anyway,to conclude, it did seem to be awfull and, even if it was not so bad after all, it was still really average and it is not really worth a look, I'm afraid.

I remember it very well, when this movie was released, in the Netherlands, it turned to be pretty successful and that's the main reason why I wanted to check it out. Basically, back then, they made a big fuss because Rutger Hauer, the most famous Dutch actor ever, was finally starring again in a Dutch production after several decades but, honestly, he was in the movie for maybe 10 minutes so you shouldn't watch this flick because of him. Anyway, concerning the movie itself, I thought it was not bad but, to be honest, it wasn’t really great either. I mean, I did enjoy the directing and the actors did a decent job but some parts of the story felt overly dramatic to my taste. I don't know, maybe there was something missing in the story to make it truly compelling to watch which is something I unfortunately come across too often when watching Dutch movies. On one hand, they don't always lack the ambition but, on the other hand, they are very often way too bland to become truly remarkable. Anyway, in spite of its flaws, it was a decent drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.

Since I'm a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock, I really had to watch this flick at some point. Eventually, I wasn't disappointed, that's for sure. Basically, it turned out to be one of his best and I absolutely loved the damned thing ('Vertigo' still remains my all-time favorite though). It was basically one of those typical Hitchcock thrillers during which an ordinary guy gets involved in some kind of conspiracy with some rather extraordinary circumstances. Nowadays, we live in an age where our heros are either some tough guys with no wit or sense of humor or some super-heros with super powers and, as a result, are pretty much invincible but I think that Hitchcock’s approach was so much more interesting because you could really identify with this poor fellow who tried to get through this ordeal in one piece. I mean, of course, Cary Grant was really charismatic, witty and clever but he was definitely not a spy and he constantly had to use his brain to get out of trouble. So, the acting was really good, the directing was just awesome and the whole thing was just completely entertaining from the beginning until the end. To conclude, it is a great classic, I loved it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Hitchcock's work.