Reviews by johanlefourbe

First of all, I'm really surprised that this movie has such a low rating here on Listal. Indeed, I was actually quite blown away by the damned thing as it was easily the best gangster movie I have seen in many years. I have to admit that I was not really familiar with this Italian crime syndicate, the camorra, but it seemed pretty realistic to me. The biggest difference with such classics like 'Goodfellas' or 'Scarface' was the directing style. Even 'Cidade de Deus' which was rather rauw was still very stylish in its directing compared to this movie. Here, they chose a very realistic documentary approach and it worked very well. The other big difference with those pictures was that there was absolutely no glamor in this life style, none of the characters seemed to be rich, or had a nice car or a big house. It was actually quite depressing and hopeless and the only reason I could think why they would 'choose' this way of life was because there was literally nothing else to do for them. There was also no lead character but several story lines which were all really dreadfull and heartbreaking to watch. It was an interesting approach but not all the stories were easy to follow and you only got to know a little bit of each character. Still, it was a very well made and fascinating movie and it is definitely worth a look.

I already saw this movie (I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released) but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. First of all, I have to admit that, even if I know more or less the rules of baseball, since I'm European, I'm not really familiar with this sport. However, it didn't really matter since this movie was dealing with the business side and, in fact, this story line could have been applied to many other sports. Indeed, they developed here a very interesting theory that sports managers overpay their stars and neglect underrated players who could play for less than half the same price and still are just as effective. So, in Oakland, they bought some undervalued players solely based on their statistics. Unfortunately, they spent very little time actually explaining how it all worked and I wish they did spend more time to explain the whole concept. Honestly, after that, it basically followed the usual pattern of any sport movie (they kept losing and losing and suddenly they kept winning and winning...). Something surprising was that the great Philip Seymour Hoffman showed up in a very thankless role. As usual, he completely disappeared behind his character but he had almost nothing to do during the whole thing except grumbling against this new strategy. On top of that, the real Art Howe was actually supporting the Moneyball concept from the beginning. You had also Jonah Hill who gave a solid performance but I wish they developed his character a little bit more. I mean, he was a geek who could manage statistics pretty well but, aside from that, you pretty much learned nothing about him. What was left was Brad Pitt who basically carried the movie on his shoulders and he did it very well. Indeed, there were so many layers with his character, it was just fascinating to watch. This visionary manager who couldn't stand to lose (the reason why he probably didn't make it as a player) was definitely one of the most convincing performances by Pitt. Anyway, to conclude, it was a very interesting and entertaining sport flick which showed a different side of this world, and, even though I wasn't completely blown away, I really enjoyed it and it is definitely worth a look.

Since 'Nosfertatu' was released in 1922, vampires have always been an endless source of inspiration for movie makers and 90 years later they still come up with some original ideas about the subject which is rather impressive. This movie was a good example. Indeed, the approach was quite original. This time around, it took place in the future and almost everyone had become a vampire so they were dominating our Society and, for once, they didn't have to hide. The humans were actually the one hiding since they were hunted for their blood. Another interesting thing was the shortage of blood which made you wonder how those vampires would survive in the future. All those aspects were really interesting and I really enjoyed the directing and the set dressing which provided a nice vision of this futuristic vampiric world. However, I still can't say that I was blown away by the whole thing. I mean, the main cast (Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill, Willem Dafoe) was pretty good but their characters were not developped enough and they were rather stereotypical (the sensitive doctor vampire, the gready businessman vampire, the hotshot redneck,...). Furthermore, instead of developing the implications of such a world, they decided to throw some well-made but rather pedestrian and boring action scenes. To conclude, even though it was not a masterpiece whatsoever, I have to admit that it was still an original, entertaining and well-made vampire flick and it is definitely worth a look.

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Clive Owen, I thought I should give it a try. Indeed, back in 1998, Clive Owen got his breakthrough performance in 'Croupier' and, 5 years later, he was reunited with the same director Mike Hodges to make this flick. First of all, I really liked this title which was pretty awesome, so that was a good start. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the directing which created a nice gritty look and there was a good and effective cast (Clive Owen, Charlotte Rampling, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Malcolm McDowell). However, even though the story was entertaining enough, it was not really mind-blowing whatsoever. Basically, it was pretty much 'Unforgiven'  taking place in the UK nowadays this time. I mean, basically, I have seen this kind of stories of a gangster coming back from retirement to avenge himself too many times before and, in my opinion, they didn't add much to this formula, I’m afraid. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it remains a well made and entertaining flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I didn't expect much from the damned thing but since it was broadcasted on one of my TV channels, I thought I might as well check it out. Basically, at the beginning of the 2000's, following 'Pitch Black', 'The Fast and the Furious' and 'xXx', Vin Diesel was heralded as the next big action movie star. Well, fast-forward a decade later and we can say that Vin Diesel never really managed to reach this status after all. I mean, after a string of decent box-office successes, this movie was in fact his first flop. Basically, the whole thing tried to be some kind of throwback to those macho action movies from the 80's and I have to admit that the directing was not bad, with a rather gritty and stylish look. The action scenes were also decent but nothing really impressive though and, eventually, I can't say I really enjoyed the damned thing. I mean, Vin Diesel was quite charismatic and he had the potential to be badass but the story was just really weak and even rather boring. Furthermore, they tried to add a stupid twist at the end but it made the whole thing even more non-sensical. Basically, the plot-holes were just so huge that a train could pass through them. To conclude, it was an average action flick and I don’t think it is really worth a look, only maybe if you are a huge fan of the genre.

At some point I bought the DVD for this film but, for some reasons, I gave it to a good friend of mine at the time who obviously didn't care at all for this movie (In fact, after all these years, I'm pretty sure he never have watched the damned thing) and I really now regret this decision which seemed to be a good idea at the time. Anyway, since I heard many good things about this movie, I was really eager to check it out but, to be honest, I didn't expect it to be so good. Indeed, it was the most hilarious movie I had seen in years. In fact, I'm usually really critical about comedies but this one was just a real riot, especially the first 30 minutes. There were some familiar faces (Tom Hollander, James Gandolfini, Steve Coogan) and some people I had never seen before (Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison, Mimi Kennedy) but they were all great, especially Peter Capaldi. Usually, comedies go for the cheap jokes but, here, it was the opposite, it was very smart, very witty and so funny. Furthermore, I'm a huge fan of movies dealing with politics and it must be the best political satire I have ever seen. Basically, according to the makers, politics have nowaydays not much to do with ideologies anymore but it is all about communications, strategies and allegiances. So, the whole thing was just hilarious, very interesting to watch and it is absolutely and definitely worth a look, especially if you like some good old British sense of humor.

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, even though this movie doesn’t have a stellar reputation, I have to admit that I have actually a weak spot for the damned thing and I would even go further and say that it is, in my opinion, actually superior to ‘Pretty Woman’. I mean, sure, half of the movie was pretty much the usual generic and predictable stuff that we would get during the following 3 decades with every single romantic-comedy starring Julia Roberts. However, the other half was actually really solid though. Indeed, the characters were quite realistic and they were all involved in some romances that were actually believable. On top of that, for once, they didn’t have a fancy creative job and they actually worked in a pizzeria which was quite refreshing. Concerning Julia Roberts, I have to admit that she was quite charming but, above all, I thought that her character was more flawed and interesting than her usual characters. Indeed, at some point, she pointed out that, except for her pretty face, she didn’t have much else going on which was pretty much one of the deepest comments ever coming from a Julia Roberts character. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really mind-blowing, it was still a decent romantic-comedy and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.