Reviews by johanlefourbe

I must have been about 11 years old when this movie came out and, back then, it was in fact a big event. Eventually, I had a good time watching this and I thought it was pretty good when I saw it at the movie theater but it did receive some rather poor reviews and it was not a real success at the box-office. Eventually, 20 years later, I watched it again with Nick, my step-son, and, honestly, I have to admit it that I still enjoyed the damned thing. Indeed, basically, it is one of those typical huge Spielberg productions with some breathless action scenes, some great set-pieces and a really impressive cast (Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith, Phil Collins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Glenn Close). In my opinion, Robin Williams was basically born to play this part and the whole thing was indeed tailor-made for him. Obviously, like most of the features directed by Steven Spielberg, it worked fine as some popcorn entertainment but it was not really deep whatsoever and it tends to drag a little bit. Still, even though it is obviously a minor Spielberg effort, I think it remains an enjoyable family feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially for young children.

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for John Boorman ‘s work, I was quite eager to check it out. Nowadays, Boorman is pretty much forgotten but from the 60's until the 00's, he had delivered some major movies such as 'Deliverance'. Back in the 80's, he also directed this forgotten gem. It features one of the best performances by Power Booth who was never really known for his subtle acting. I have to admit that it is a rather generic plot about a young white boy who spend 10 years in the Amazon jungle before his father, played by Power Booth, finds him back. There was also the old ecological message (which was actually some kind of new hype back then) but still I really enjoyed it. Indeed, the directing was quite amazing with some beautiful shots and you could feel they did some research about the tribes represented there. At least, it seemed rather believable and definitely mesmerizing to watch. Above all, even though the plot was rather generic, I was touched by the characters and what they were going through. Anyway, to conclude, in my opinion, it is a forgotten gem and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in John Boorman's work.

Since this movie was on the list ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’, of course, I was quite eager to check it out. First of all, to  be honest, I have to admit that I have never been a huge musical fan. As a matter of fact, I recently saw ‘La La Land’ and even though , it was a big critical and commercial success, I still had a hard time to care about the damned thing. Well, coming back to our main feature, since it is a huge classic, I still had to watch it at some point. Well, even though I usually prefer Gene Kelly, I must admit that Fred Astaire was really awesome in this flick. Indeed, together with Ginger Rogers, they had some great chemistry and they gave some really strong dance scenes here. Furthermore, I laughed a few times, above all  thanks to the supporting cast which was pretty good. Still, even though I'm well aware that it is inherent to the genre, the plot was just so silly and frivolous and I really had a hard time to care about the story and the characters involved. Still, it is and remains a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like this genre.

I didn't expect much before watching this damned thing and, indeed, it turned out to be  nothing great. It's a sad thing that such a fine director like Roland Joffé would end up directing such a generic horror flick. Furthermore, I’m really getting fed up with this whole torture porn hype. Seriously, it is such a boring and uninteresting genre.... Anyway, coming back to our main feature, it was a really weak 'Saw' copycat with an omnipotent serial killer who sees and hears everything and who seems to have an illimitated budget and no day job whatsoever. To be honest, I always had a hard time to believe such a premise but, here, it was even more difficult than usual. I mean, usually, I never cared about the usual twist at the end but, this time around, I figured out right from  the start and the end-result was just rather weird. Indeed, if you are in captivity, with a strange guy, you might maybe end up having a close relationship with him, to kiss him would be already  a stretch, but do you really think that you would have sex with this guy, when you just have been tortured and when a psycho is filming the whole thing?!? I really I don't think so .... Anyway, to conclude, it was a really weak horror flick and I don’t think it is worth a look at all. 

Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this flick, I thought I should check it out. First of all, to be honest, in my opinion, the concept was actually pretty lame when you think about it and the whole thing could have been pretty average (like, for example, 'Made of Honor'). Eventually, in spite this weak concept, I have to admit that they still managed to deliver a rather enjoyable comedy. Indeed, the whole thing turned to be actually quite entertaining, above all thanks to the characters which very well written and also well played by Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. I mean, during the whole thing I was expecting that something really weird or annoying would happen concerning Segel's character but, fortunately, it never happened. Indeed, these 2 guys just happened to have a great connection, even though they were quite different from each other and their relationship was just really genuine and believable. As a side note, I must say that the couple Jon Favreau-Jaime Pressly was just hilarious as well. To conclude, even though the whole concept was actually not really good at all, the characters were very well written and played that I still enjoyed the damned thing and, in my opinion, it is definitely worth a look.

Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this flick, I was quite eager to check it out. Furthermore, ever since I saw Richard Jenkins in 'Six Feet Under', I always had a weak spot for him and it was pretty neat so him playing the lead for once. Op top of that, in the process, he even received Oscar nomination which was completely deserverd. Still, I must admit that it took me a while to get into this story though. I mean, Jenkins and all the other actors involved were really good but I didn't really care much about the story or the characters. Still, thanks to the solid acting, it still worked fine. Furthermore, even though the story was not really original, it was still an interesting reflection on the status of the immigrants in the USA and on the impact it has on an American citizen who didn't care about anything anymore.  Concerning Tom McCarthy, by now, I have seen all his directing efforts (except ‘The Cobbler’ which sounds rather dreadful) but, , to be honest, I thought they were all slightly overrated, even ‘Spotlight’ which managed at the time to win the Best Picture Academy Award. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, to conclude, even though it didn’t really blow me away, it was still a decent watch, if only for Richard Jenkins’s performance and I think it is definitely worth a look.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this movie and the only reason I watched the damned thing was that I have a weak spot for Christina Ricci. Unfortunately, a part from her, the whole thing was nothing really mind-blowing, I'm afraid. Indeed, basically, it was one of those typical thrillers which builds some mystery at the beginning and, I must admit, I was rather intrigued by the whole thing. Unfortunately, as it is always the same issue with this kind of movies, at some point, sooner or later, they will have to explain what's going on and they will always come up with the most preposterous supernatural explanation. Of course, this movie was not an exception. I know, I shouldn't ask such a movie to be realistic but, at least, even if they provide the weirdest explanation, it should always be entertaining and it wasn't really the case here, that's for sure. To be honest, the directing was not bad, the acting was not bad either but I honestly couldn't care less about the story. To conclude, it was just a really average paranormal thriller and it is not really worth a look in my opinion.