Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seems to have a decent reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though I had never heard of this movie before, it is actually considered as one of the best movies delivered by Fritz Lang, no less than that, but I would have to agree with this assessment. Indeed, it must be the most intriguing film noir I have seen. What stroke me the most was the fact that all these characters were rather pathetic. Indeed, I don’t think this movie displayed much love towards its characters since it was basically about a couple of losers trying to con another loser, not really much more than that. To make the whole thing even darker, you had not one but two maybe even three really toxic ‘romantic’ relationships. It was also interesting to see Edward G. Robinson to play something else than his usual tough guys, in fact, he was actually playing exactly the opposite which was really unexpected but definitely neat. Concerning the rest of the cast, Joan Bennett was also pitch-perfect playing the most vapid and delusional femme fatale I have seen as she was desperately in love with her pimp who seemed to be really worthless. After all these, I have to admit that the whole thing might not sound really appealing and, indeed, it was all rather bleak, filled with some fairly unlikable characters and, yet, that’s probably why I liked the damned thing so much. A nice touch which was unexpected was when, towards the end, Christopher Cross’s boss fired him after he stole some money but didn’t press charges because, somehow, the guy understood that we are all capable of doing crazy things when we are in love. Anyway, to conclude, it was a really strong film noir and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I have finally started to dig into Buster Keaton’s work only recently but, since then, I have seen my share of movies starring the classic comedian and, by now, I think I have a good understanding of his work. Anyway, this short apparently does have a solid reputation and it turned out be pretty good indeed. Sure, as usual, it was all rather random and chaotic but that’s inherent with the genre, I’m afraid. At least, the title made sense since Keaton’s character kept getting into trouble with various cops and was even chased by 100’s of them towards the end. Eventually, the only thing that didn't really work for me and prevented this short from becoming really awesome was the horse. Sure, it was fun for a while but they got stuck too long on this running joke. When he brought it to some ‘goat gland specialist’, a really obscure reference to a quack doctor from back then, the whole joke was also completely lost on me. A part from that, it worked so well though with some non-stop jokes and slapstick and most of the damned thing was actually quite hilarious. Anyway, to conclude, even though the material was maybe too slight, it was still a really solid silent comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about W.C. Fields, I was quite eager to check one of his movies. Well, apparently, Fields didn’t have such a prolific career and this movie turned out to be one of his more obscure shorts. Still, I have to admit that I really enjoyed the damned thing. To be honest, the beginning scenes were rather clunky and, for some reason, they didn’t start with the main character played by W.C. Fields but instead focused on some other customer staying at his hotel. Then, they finally got to the fakest golf course you could imagine and, well, in spite of its title, not a single golf ball was actually hit by this so-called ‘specialist’. And, yet, I was really entertained. Indeed, in contrary to the other comedians of this time period (Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Laurel & Hardy),  Fields played his character as if the guy was, well, mentally deranged which was often quite hilarious. The fact that this partner was a promiscuous woman with some questionable habits made them an irresistible couple. Concerning the silent caddy, he was not bad but, considering how daft the other two characters already were, I think someone straight would have worked better as a counterbalance.  Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a solid vintage comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this movie, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, I was actually quite blown away by the damned thing which turned out to be even better than I expected. I have to admit that I always wondered why Jean Vigo had such a strong reputation since the guy managed to direct only one full-length feature film and a few shorts but, after watching 3 of them (pretty much his whole filmography), I really understand why now. In this case, it is amazing how much emotion he managed to generate in me with what was supposed to be a rather rather harmless travelogue about a touristic city on the French Rivera, with no story, no main characters and no dialogues. I know that many viewers focused on how it was satirical towards the wealthy people living in this city but, while it was definitely one of his goals, I think this description is actually too reductive. Indeed, there was also something soothing about this seemingly random mix of images and the fact that the score perfectly fit the visuals was also a great asset. I think it was also the oldest movie I have ever seen with some aerial shots of a city so the damned thing was also visually really neat. Anyway, to conclude, for some reason, this short was just spellbinding to watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Jean Vigo’s work. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have seen all the other movies directed by [Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see], I was quite eager to check this one as well. In fact, before watching this movie, I first re-watched ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’ since it was ages ago that I saw the damned thing and, fortunately, I have to admit that it was slightly better than I remembered. However, even though I have always gave Kevin Smith some slack ever since I saw ‘Clerks’ almost 30 years ago when it was released, this movie was just too weak though. I mean, making another Jay and Silent Bob movie, why not? But why delivering a movie which was so similar to the previous installment? Sure, Smith argued that this movie was supposed to make fun of reboots, remakes, and sequels while simultaneously being all three at the same time but I think the damned thing was just lazy, way too random and barely entertaining at all. At least, the idea that Jay discovered he actually had a kid with Justice was pretty neat and, if the movie had focused more or only on this, I think it could have been actually neat. Unfortunately, pretty much nothing else did work though. The most annoying running joke was probably to see Silent Bob furiously tapping on his smartphone to show what he feels with some emoji’s. Furthermore, even if it was mildly amusing to see Chris Hemsworth welcoming people at Chronic-Con, it was just weird and random to see Matt Damon showing up out of nowhere as Loki who was/became, apparently, Jason Bourne following the events in Dogma. Anyway, to conclude, after the abysmal ‘Yoga Hosers’, I’m afraid it must be the weakest movie delivered by Kevin Smith so far and I don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of his work. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seems to have a decent reputation (it was included in ‘The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made’ selected by the New York Times, among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I have to admit that I was actually quite impressed by the damned thing. First of all, I’m not sure if it was the first one but it was definitely one of the first horror anthologies ever made and it is easily the best one I have seen, no less than that. To be honest, the beginning was rather clunky with Walter Craig showing up at this farm and acting like some kind of zombie. However, as soon as he explained why he was acting so oddly, I was completely hooked though. As pointed out by another Listal member, this anthology really felt reminiscent to ‘The Twilight Zone’ and, basically, each tale felt like some ‘Twilight Zone’ episode and it’s definitely a compliment. Another interesting thing with this anthology was the fact that, even though it was involving 3 directors, it felt really homogenous in style and quality which is something so rare with such anthologies. Concerning each separate segment, they all focused on things which were inherently creepy by nature (car accidents, hide and seek, mirrors, dummies and… golf!) and I was surprised that each one of them turned out to be actually quite entertaining. However, even if the first scenes slightly bothered me, I think I enjoyed above all the overarching story taking place at the farmhouse. Indeed, there is nothing more unsettling that a total stranger telling you that they have seen you in their dreams and predicting all kinds of ominous things. Eventually, I still think it was missing something to become truly amazing but it wasn’t far from it though. Anyway, to conclude, I really enjoyed the damned thing 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 I have a weak spot for Keira Knightley and since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, first of all, I have to admit that I had never heard of these murders and it was pretty neat to see a movie focusing on this true tale. Eventually, it was definitely a strong story but the movie itself was not bad but not much more than that, I’m afraid. I mean, visually, it looked fine and quite convincing. Furthermore, Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon both gave some solid performances. Unfortunately, the whole thing felt rather flat and I think it mostly had to do with the fact that they never made up their mind if they should focus either on these murders or on these 2 women who covered them. As a result, each time you think you will learn something interesting or even crucial regarding this case, they then cut to display instead the struggles faced by Loretta McLaughlin either at work or at home. However, even in this area, this movie never really convinced me either. I mean, for starters, even though Jean Cole was also paramount in breaking this story and even though she probably had to face the same or some similar obstacles as Loretta McLaughlin did, for some reasons, Carrie Coon’s character turned out to be barely developed after all. Concerning Keira Knightley’s character, I’m afraid they never went really deep enough. I mean, it was intriguing that her husband did fully support her at first but, fairly soon, it became rather repetitive and barely interesting to see her rushing at work and dropping everything else while her husband kept getting more and more annoyed in the process. Eventually, the most interesting scene was when, at the end, when everything was wrapped up, she chose to go have a drink with her colleague instead of going home to her husband because you finally got a glimpse of who she might actually be after all. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it seems to have a decent reputation (it was included in ‘The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made’ selected by the New York Times, among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, I was at first slightly worried and I thought there was no way that something so quaint could appeal to me. Furthermore, it is pretty obvious that it was based on a play since most of the action was taking place in the house of the Day family which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but there is no way that this story really required almost 2 hours of running time. And, yet, somehow, the damned thing still worked after all. Indeed, at first, I thought Clarence Day Sr. was just way over-the-top but I have to admit that the guy grew on me after a while. Eventually, it was above all thanks to William Powell who managed to deliver here such a fine and perfectly calibrated performance. Even thought you might think that the sole purpose of this character was to be fun and entertaining, he was actually much more complex than that. At the same time, you had to understand why everyone in his family feared his tantrums but you had to believe that they also deeply loved him in spite of his major mood swings. Finally, he had to be a believable character and not just some oversized caricature. Unfortunately, the other characters were not so well developed as they were basically only there to interact with Clarence Day Sr. At least, it was pretty neat to see a young Elizabeth Taylor at the beginning of her career and I was really surprised to find out that she was only 15 years old at the time. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t blow me away, it was still a decent watch and I think it is 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 decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even though I have never been a fan of such classic musicals, in fact, musicals in general must be the genre I care the least for, I have to admit that this one was actually not bad. Sure, the plot was just paper-thin and there was actually barely any link with Easter but I thought the damned thing was actually fairly entertaining. Indeed, the main attraction with this movie was obviously to see Judy Garland and Fred Astaire working together and it seems that they were at the top of their game back then. It had been a while since I saw Astaire delivering such cool dancing moves and, concerning Garland, even if she was maybe not the best dancer in the world, I think she was probably even more charismatic than Astaire was. It’s too bad they didn’t try to develop their relationship a little bit more though. Indeed, why did Hannah fall in love with Don? Only because he was such a great dancer or because he saw her potential when nobody else did? The second option might have some merit but, first, there was the fact that Don picked her up completely at random and not because he thought she had any talent but, above all, I never had the feeling that he actually really cared for her. The conflict with his former partner Nadine was also rather half-baked. Eventually, you can only wonder what would have been the end-result if they had spent slightly more time on the story and the characters instead of delivering so many elaborate dance sequences but, in my opinion, that’s something that could be said about most musicals. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it turned out to be a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.