Reviews by johanlefourbe

I already saw this movie but since I just bought an awesome brand new TV, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, first of all, I have to admit it, even though I had heard about him, I can't say I was really familiar with Thor before watching this movie the first time around. Anyway, what made this movie really intriguing to me was that they managed to get a very interesting director (Kenneth Branagh) and a very nice cast. Eventually, Asgard looked  impressive with some awesome special effects and they managed fairly well to mix the lyrical Asgard with our more pedestrian Earth and, of course, Chris Hemsworth was also very well cast. Still, the whole thing didn't really convince me. I mean, if you would remove Asgard and all what happened there, the whole thing took place only in a small city in New Mexico. So, the scope was really small and it wasn't what you could call a great and awesome adventure. Furthermore, I think it was quite a shame to have such a great actress like Natalie Portman playing such a thankless role. To make things worse, I didn't really believe in her relationship with Chris Hemsworth and there was frankly not much chemistry between them. Still, the story actually had some potential but, in my opinon, it would have worked much better if they would have split the whole thing into 2 movies. Indeed, the first movie would have taken place only on Asgard, showing how Thor and Loki grew up and how Thor became so cocky and arrogant. Towards the end, Odin would realize that Thor was actually unworthy of his powers and would banish him to Earth where he would meet Jane somewhere in the desert. The 2nd movie would have taken place on Earth with a powerless Thor who would then learn how to become worthy and, towards the end, against his expectations, he would finally earn his powers back, come back to Asgard and leave behind the love of his life. However, I have to admit that after rewatching the damned thing, it didn’t bother me that much anymore. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was actually really entertaining and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like this genre.

Before becoming a huge Hollywood star, Russell Crowe started his career in Australian productions and he actually gave his breakthrough performance in this flick. Well to be honest, I ended up with some mixed feelings about the whole thing.  First of all, I have to admit that it was an intriguing depiction of the Skinheads. Indeed, basically, they are some young white guys with some low self-esteem, no skills, no education, no social or financial leverage and not much hope for a bright future. Eventually, when they become skinheads, they finally find a sense of community, some companionship and an ideology which finally gives some meaning to their miserable life. However, the makers provided some rather ambiguous views on this movement as they made it look almost attractive with some catchy skinhead songs. Furthermore, those guys seemed to have usually a good time and even some pretty cool parties. On top of that, the directing and acting were honestly rather weak, except, of course, for the performance provided by Russell Crowe. Indeed, Crowe really stood out from the rest as he gave such an intense and powerful performance, it was really spellbinding to watch. To conclude, even if I think it was rather flawed, it was still very interesting and it is definitely worth a look, at least to see Russell Crowe shining in one of his best roles.

I already saw this movie but, since it was a while back and since it was available on Disney+, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I have to admit that it wasn’t such a huge disaster after all. However, it is pretty obvious that Disney back then was still struggling to get its mojo back and, even though this movie was an improvement on the really abysmal ‘Chicken Little’, it was still pretty weak though. At least, the animation was decent enough but it was still clearly a step back from the stellar animation delivered by Pixar, even back then. Eventually, the main issue was that the concept was just really misguided and the end-result was pretty much a convoluted mess. On top of that, the Bowler Hat Guy was probably one of the most pathetic bad guys ever delivered by Disney (seriously, the guy didn’t even have an actual name, for crying out loud). And yet, I have to admit that the idea of a young teenager going back in time and becoming his father’s best friend was actually really neat. Furthermore, if Lewis was terribly bland and uncharismatic, Wilbur was actually an entertaining character and I wonder how the whole thing would have turned out to be if it had been told from his point of view instead. On top of that, even though all the jokes were seriously random, some of them were actually pretty funny. Anyway, to conclude, even if it wasn’t the worst CGI feature delivered by Disney at that point, most of it still didn’t work and I don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you have some really young kids to entertain.

Since 'The Blair Witch Project' turned out to be a surprising success, the found-footage genre has become really popular for movie makers but it is not  surprising since it is a very cheap way to make movies. I have to admit that I  have actually a weak spot for this genre and, not like many other viewers, I don't really mind the shaky-cam. Anyway, since this feature is pretty much a classic in this genre, I was really eager to check it out. Well, basically, the whole thing started like a very boring TV-show but then, thanks to the filming style and the total lack of music, the whole thing became spellbinding to watch. On top of that,  you get some seriously surprising and shocking scenes along the road. To be honest, most of the movie was not really scary but those few scenes I mentionned before were rather unsettling. Eventually, when you think about it, it was a just a rather basic zombie story which didn't add much to the genre but I have to admit that it was still quite entertaining. Furthermore, like 'Fragiles', one of the previous movies directed by Jaume Balaguero, the ending was also really awesome and quite impressive. Anyway, to conclude, if you don't mind the shaky-cam, it is a very well made and entertaining movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Back in the 90's, the Hughes Brothers impressed with their amazing directing début, 'Menace II society', which is, in my opinion, the best movie in this genre, even better than the acclaimed 'Boyz'n the Hood'. Unfortunately, in the next 20 years following this promising flick, they never really lived up to those expectations. However, after all these years, they finally managed to direct a big budget production starring no less than Denzel Washington. First of all, I must say it was, visually speaking, easily their most impressive movie so far. It was not really black and white but there were barely any color and it was a perfect fit for this futuristic world and they were some very nice shots throughout the whole movie. Furthermore, Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman were both delivered some decent performances. Unfortunately, the whole thing still turned out to be rather disappointing. I mean, I do have a weak spot for such post-apocalyptic movies but I have seen so many of them and if they really want to impress me, they should really bring something new to the formula. And that was the main issue here, the plot was nothing I haven't seen before so even if I wasn't really bored, I can’t say that I was seriously entertained either. They did try to add some religious angle but it was never really convincing. I mean, that Carnegie wanted to manipulate people with religion sounded like a good plan but did he really need a bible? Indeed, you can find enough gurus who founded their own cult, with their own rules and their own 'books'. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing original whatsoever, it was still a well made post-apocalyptic flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.