Reviews by johanlefourbe

Since I'm a huge fan of Michael Haneke, I was really eager to check this flick and, as usual, Haneke didn't disappoint me. In fact, it was interesting to see how similar this movie was to 'Elephant', a movie directed 10 years later by Gus van Sant. Indeed, the subject was similar and they both took the same approach to display the events without explaining them. The big difference was that Haneke had chosen to display the different characters who would be eventually involved in this tragedy. I must admit that I was wondering where the whole thing was going but it became really clear at the end. It was also a rather depressing movie to watch since all the characters were so sad and no one of them seemed to live a happy life at all. Maybe Haneke wanted to display that in our modern age, ruled by computers and televisions, it has become really difficult to connect with a one and another and, some of us who can’t cope anymore, chose to end it all in some kind of mayhem. Of course, it is a personal theory and I might have missed the point entirely. Anyway, pretty much like all Haneke's features, it remains an acquired taste but I really liked it and it is definitely worth a look.

Since this movie was included in the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list, I was really eager to check it out. First of all, when you watch this flick, you have to keep in mind that you are actually watching one of the first ancestors of our contemporary horror movies and it was pretty neat to see how much have changed in 70 years. Back then, there was basically no sex, no blood, in fact, to be honest,  nothing much happened during the whole thing when you think about it. Pretty muck like today, they made this choice mostly because they basically had no money but it made the whole thing even more effective. There was indeed constantly this eerie atmosphere which was not really frightening but it still made me uneasy throughout the whole duration. To show the impact of this flick, you should know that the horror movie technique of slowly building tension to a jarring shock which turns out to be something completely harmless is actually called a ‘Lewton bus’ after a famous scene from this movie. How amazing is that? Anyway, to conclude, even though it didn’t grow old very well, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, before watching the damned thing, I have to admit that I had some rather had low expectations. In fact, it was quite understandable since 'Shrek the Third' and 'Shrek Forever After' turned out to be both really disappointing. However, against all my expectations, this spin-off turned out be actually quite enjoyable. In my opinion, the masterstroke was that they managed to come up with an entertaining adventure and, instead of copying Shrek's world, they provided a mix of tale with a zorro-like universe. Furthermore, there were some really colorfull characters involved and Puss in Boots was great as lead character. On a side note, I'm glad I was actually able to convince my step-son to watch this flick in English (so far, we used to watch animated features in Dutch which is his mother-tongue). Indeed, Antonio Banderas really rocked the voice-over and the guy was just hilarious. In the second half, the plot did drag on but I was still entertained throughout the whole thing. Of course, as usual, the 3D didn’t bother me but the damned thing was still completely unnecessary. Anyway, to conclude, even though it seemed to be a cash-in (it was still a cash-in though), it was after all a fun animated flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like this genre.

When was the last time we saw a good movie starring Vince Vaughn ? Seriously, this movie was already his second Christmas feature and, even though it was not as bad as 'Fred Claus', it was still pretty damned average. In fact, Vaughn himself was actually not so bad and Reese Witherspoon was charming as usual but neither of them was actually funny and since I was watching a comedy, it was definitely a big issue. Furthermore, there was a really neat supporting cast (Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam, Tim McGraw, Kristin Chenoweth,…) but they all played some tedious characters so the whole thing felt like a big waste of talented actors.  I have to admit it, there were a few good scenes here and there and I did laugh a couple of times but there were also so many bad jokes, those jokes were even mean sometimes and it made the whole thing rather painfull to watch. Above all, the plot was just really generic and predictable. To conclude, even though it wasn’t the worse movie starring Vince Vaughn I have seen,  it was still pretty weak though and it is not really worth a look whatsoever, even if you are desperate to watch a Christmas flick.

Nowadays, I have Netflix and Popcorn and not only I have since then an endless selection of movies to choose from but, as a result, I have become slightly more picky regarding the movies I watch. Before, I used to watch pretty much anything as long as it was starring one or two actors I was interested in and, as a result, I would sometimes end up watching some really obscure features. This movie was a perfect example. To be honest, I didn't expect much from the damned thing and, indeed, it was one of those quirky indie romantic comedies with a ridiculous premise (this time, the big idea was that, if they don't fall in love within 28 days, they will kill themselves…). On the positive side, I must say that Eric Schaeffer was not bad at all and his character was the only thing I actually enjoyed, even though his obsession with his neighbour was rather annoying and ridiculous. Sarah Jessica Parker, before becoming Carrie Bradshaw for ever, was not bad actually but I couldn't stand her character who was so obnoxious and condescending. You also had Ben Stiller showing up in one of his clueless characters but I never thought his gimmick was really funny whatsoever. To conclude, the whole thing was pretty weak and without Schaeffer, I would have given it an even lower rating. Anyway, it is not really worth a look.