Reviews by johanlefourbe

Well, it turned out to be such a depressing movie. It was in fact Michael Haneke’s directing début and there were already many of his trademarks : the sober and ascetic directing, the unknow actors (at least, to me), the osbcure plot and the pessimistic view on humanity. Anyway, by now, I had seen most of the movies directed by Michael Haneke so I should be used to it but still. Indeed, honestly, if you are somber or in a gloomy mood, you should definitely not watch this flick. Eventually, I did like it but it did hit me like a truck. As usual, he apparently tried to make a strong statement but, as usual, you never can be sure what it was but that's what awesome is about Haneke's movies, you have to figure it out for yourself. Still, I have to admit that it was a rather slow movie and it took me a while to understand what was going on but the last 20 minutes were really heavy. Since it was all very depressing and since there was actually no much going on during the whole thing, many viewers won't like it, that’s for sure. As far as I was concerned, I thought it was pretty good and thought-provoking and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Haneke's work.

Since this movie had a really solid reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, it turned out to be one of those typical screwball comedies from the 30's but, to be honest, I have never been a huge fan of the genre. Indeed, even though the plot was supposed to be ridiculous and shouldn't be taken too seriously, I still had a hard time to care about what was going on. On top of that, during the first 10 minutes, I wasn't really convinced by Cary Grant playing a nerd. Fortunately, as soon as Katherine Hepburn finally showed up, the whole thing started to grow on me. Indeed, I thought she was pretty amazing and, with Cary Grant, they had some really good chemistry and the whole thing became then quite hilarious. I have to admit it, it had been a while since I laughed so much. However, during the second half, the whole thing did loose some steam but it was still quite enjoyable anyway. To conclude, even though I'm not a big fan  of such screwballs comedies, this one is a classic, I really enjoyed it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I kept hearing some great things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, I was really impressed by the damned thing and I think it completely deserves its stellar reputation. Apparently, back in those days, the biggest rival to Alfred Hitchcock was the French director, Henri-George Clouzot. They were actually both competing to make this movie but, eventually, Clouzot was the one who had the honor to adapt this best-seller and he did it with great success as it became an instant classic. Indeed, some older movies didn’t grow old very well but this one is still pretty damned amazing, even after all these years. Basically, the directing was quite amazing and provided a mesmerizing eerie atmosphere. The cast included one of the biggest French stars Simone Signoret and also Vérat Clouzot and they both gave some impressive performances. In my opinion, this movie is the perfect example that you don't need any shootings, explosions or chases to make a fascinating thriller. The characters, the dialogues, the shots build up the tensions, that's it and that's more than enough. To conclude, it is a great classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

To be honest, I wonder how I actually ended up watching this flick. Indeed, at first, I thought that it was included in the list ‘1001 movies you must see before you die’ but it wasn’t the case. Anyway, with such a title, you would get nowadays something really cheesy but more than 70 years ago, it was a really different kind of ball game. Indeed, with this movie, they gave a completely different approach to the zombie concept than the bloodsuckers we are used to get today. To be honest, the story was rather unfocused from time to time but, even so, the whole thing was usually quite mesmerizing to watch. In  my opinion, it was above all thanks to the eerie directing with some great use of black and white and the shadows and lights. I have to admit it, it was also sometimes borderline discriminating (for example, the natives were either some obedient servants or some primitive savages) but it was tolerable and it was not surprising for a movie produced 70 years ago. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was a decent classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I kept hearing some good things about this flick, I thought I should check it out but I actually hard a hard time to enjoy it, probably due to my personal background. Indeed, my father is Dutch and came to live in France and, of course, is fluent in French. I'm French and went to live in the Netherlands and learn the language within 2 years pretty much on my own (indeed, my father apparently never thought it would be a good idea to teach me his mother-tongue). As a result, it was rather infuriating for me to see this Mexican woman who was living in  the USA for 6 years or more and still didn’t speak any word of English. And it was the same issue with her bosses. Indeed, they hired someone who didn’t speak any English but they still didn't try AT ALL to learn a few Spanish words so they could communicate with her. Furthermore the whole thing was basically about a boss who wants to f*ck his Mexican maid, no more no less, and Téa Leoni's character was beyond obnoxious and not funny at all. Actually, the only redeeming feature was, surprisingly, Adam Sandler. Indeed, he gave her a very good performance and his character was really believable and likeable. Without him, this flick would have been really terrible. Another thing that really bothered me, except that I couldn't buy the fact that Paz Vega would fall in love with Adam Sandler, was the ending. Flor (the mother) asked Cristina (the daughter) is she really wanted to become someone else than her mother but it was something really stupid and pathetic to say. Indeed, she was born and bread in Mexico whereas her daughter grew up and will probably spend all her life in the US so they WILL be different, it was just inevitable. It was something she should understand and accept, otherwise, she should have stayed in Mexico. Anyway, eventually, I didn't enjoy this movie but I was probably not the right audience for this and if you want to see Adam Sandler eventually shining as an actor, you should actually check this one out.

Back in those days, Katharine Hepburn was the best actress around and it has always been a pleasure to watch one of her movies (as a matter of fact, I have seen only 6 movies starring this actress and it is a terribly low digit). Since this flick was one of her classics, I was really eager to check it out and it turned out to be an interesting romantic-comedy. I mean, you had the usual slapstick common for this period but it had also some actual serious thoughts about women rights. Actually, I think they tried to deal with a sensitive subject but, to make it more bearable to watch, they did hide it behind an innocent comedy so the viewers back then wouldn't be shocked with what was actually a critic on our modern society. In fact, I wonder if they could make such a comedy nowadays. Eventually, the issue would be that we 'think' that man and woman are equal so it wouldn't work but it could be interesting. Anyway, to conclude, it was still an enjoyable romantic-comedy with some strong chemistry between Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like those good old comedies.