Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, since this movie was yet another remake of a Japanese horror movie and since it had received such low ratings, I wasn't expecting much from the damned thing but since it was starring Shannyn Sossamon and Edward Burns, I thought I might as well give it a shot. Eventually, even though it was indeed rather weak, it was actually not so bad after all. Basically, it was some kind of combination of 'The Ring' which I love (The Japanese version) and 'Final Destination' which was not bad. Honestly, I'm not sure if I did really understand the whole cellphone thing but it didn't matter very much. Eventually, the directing and acting were average and the special effects were pretty shabby but it remained watchable with a (very) few scary moments. By the way, what the hell happened to Edward Burns?!? 20 years ago, he seemed to be a talented actor with a lot of potential but he keeps showing up in the most average flicks and I can't remember the last time I watched a good movie with this guy. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen worse, it was still a weak horror remake and it is not really worth a look, even if you like the genre.

Even though I did like 'Taken', I still think it was rather overrated. Still, I was rather curious to see Pierre Morel's following directing effort, even though, this time, his new flick didn't get the same positive reception. Well, to my surprise, I actually really enjoyed this movie, at least the 1st hour. I mean, the plot was rather pedestrian and even though the action scenes were decent, it was nothing I haven't seen 100 times before. In fact, the one thing I really enjoyed was Charlie Wax. Indeed, JohnTravolta was already pretty bad-ass in his previous movie ('The Taking of Pelham 123') but, here, he definitely took it to the next level. Seriously, the guy kicked some serious ass and he made me laugh so many times. Unfortunately, during the last 30 minutes, the whole thing lost some steam and it was pretty obvious that the makers got lazy as the ending was just a succession of endless and boring action scenes and some sentimental crap. It was too bad because, before that, it was a really entertaining action flick with Travolta completely stealing the show with some awesome one-liners. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, it was still a fun action flick, much better than I expected it to be, and it is definitely worth a look. 

Nowadays, we don't hear much from Keira Knightley but it seems that she keeps showing up now and then in costume dramas like this one. To be honest, I have to admit that I didn't even know that the movie was based on actual events before watching the damned thing but I don’t think it mattered really much. Anyway, basically, it was a very well made costume drama with some decent directing, some solid acting by a nice cast (Keira Knightley, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Rampling, Dominic Cooper, Hayley Atwell) with some exquisite costumes and set-dressing. Unfortunately, like most costume dramas, even though the plot was not bad at all, as usual, I didn't care much about the ordeal of these spoiled nobles. I mean, outside their castles, there was also the common people dying of hunger so why should we feel sorry for them ? Only because they got stuck in some bad marriage? Furthermore, at some point, I also had the feeling that the whole thing was slowly turning into a soap which didn't help much either. Anyway, even though it didn’t really blow me away, it was still a decent watch and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

First of all, even though I have a lot of respect for Quentin Tarantino’s legacay, I do believe that he is actually the most overrated director at work nowadays. I mean, I do love all the movies he has delivered in the 90's ('Reservoir Dogs', 'Pulp Fiction', 'Jackie Brown') but everything he has done in the 2000's ('Kill Bill', 'Grindhouse', 'Inglourious Basterds') was not as awesome as everyone seemed to believe, at least, in my opinion. And when you check the movies he has produced, the quality actually went down even more. For example, he has produced this dark comedy and since there was his name on it, I thought I should give it a try. Unfortunately, the whole thing was just pretty bad. I mean, the main character was obessed with violent crimes and it seemed rather intriguing but the tone was just wrong. Because of this, the characters were more obnoxious than interesting and, even though it was supposed to be a comedy, it wasn't funny at all and the whole thing was just so boring to watch. To conclude, I thought it was pretty bad and it is not really worth a look, even if you are a die-hard fan of Tarantino's work.

P.S.: Since then, Tarantino has released the 'The Hateful Eight' which I really loved but everything he has done before until 'Jackie Brown' was still seriously overrated.

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I have it on DVD, I thought I might as well check it out again. In fact, I remember very well the first time I saw the damned thing. Indeed, since I kept hearing good things about this flick, I was really intrigued and definitely eager to watch it. First of all, you can argue whatever you want about this movie but it features the best performance ever by Kevin Bacon and it is a shame he didn't get more recognition for this impressive piece of acting. Of course, it was a very controversial picture, especially nowadays when we are confronted on a regular basis on the news with people arrested for pedofilia. Indeed, the general attitude is to consider this people as some sick monsters but the makers of this movie chose a really different approach. Basically, according to them, pedofiles are not some kind of monsters but some very sick people and most of them actually struggle with their unnatural feelings during their whole life. Eventually, the makers tried to make you care for a pedofile and, of course, some people won't accept it but I thought it was quite fascinating and heartbreaking to behold. Anyway, to conclude, it is a very heavy and controversial drama but if you are open-minded, it is actually definitely worth a look.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this movie but, somehow, I still ended up watching the damned thing. First of all, even though Alexis Bledel has reached fame with 'Gilmore Girls', she is apparently still struggling to find some success on the silver screen and it won't change anytime soon if she keeps showing up in such tedious productions... Same thing for Michael Keaton. Back in the 90's, he was a really popular actor but since at least a decade, he hasn't done anything really interesting. Coming back to our main feature, I was really surprised to read that Roger Ebert actually liked this movie... I mean, the concept had some potential but the end-result was just so uninspired, so predictable and, above all, so boring, I couldn't wait it to end. In fact, the subject was actually interesting and they could have made a more serious feature or a funny comedy dealing with the stuggles students face after graduation. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be and, above all, I didn't care much about the main character who was rather selfish and borderline obnoxious in my opinion. Anyway, to conclude, I have seen worse comedies, but this one was still really weak and it is not really worth a look, even if you like the genre.

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.