Reviews by johanlefourbe

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.

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.