Reviews by johanlefourbe

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Robin Williams , I thought I should give it a shot. Indeed, Robin Williams can be a funny actor and sometimes, he can be great in dramatic parts as well (Actually, I think he is even better in thrillers like ‘One Hour Photo’ or ‘Insomnia’ but never mind…). Unfortunately, quite often, he can be downright obnoxious and, in this flick, Williams played once again one of this hysterical and annoying characters. I have to admit though, the story was actually interesting and there was actually some potential but the end-result was so over-sentimental, it made it really difficult to enjoy the movie. You should check the review by Ebert & Siskel, they explained way better than me why this movie was a failure (check the videos linked to this movie). With this movie, there is no middle ground whatsoever, it just goes constantly for the cheap emotional shots. Apparently, even the real ‘Patch Adams’ himself despised the movie and the way he was portrayed so that’s not really a good sign. To conclude, even though, I don't think it was as bad as Ebert & Siskel said, it was still an average biographical drama and it is not really worth a look.

Before his career took a new turn with movies such as 'Broken Flowers', 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou', 'Lost in Translation' and 'The Royal Tenenbaums', Bill Murray was mostly famous for such laugh-out-loud performances. Apparently, this flick is a real cult classic starring Bill Murray and many Murray's fans will tell you that it is one of his best movies so I had some rather high expectations before watching it. Honestly, I can't say I was really blown away by the whole thing though. I mean, Bill Murray was indeed pretty good and he made me laugh many times but Geena Davis was not really convincing and wasn't really funny at all in my opinion. And it was about the same thing with Randy Quaid. Furthermore, even though I did enjoy the heist very much, the rest of the movie was not so inspiring and rather comic routine, in my opinion. I don’t know, to be honest, while watching this, I had sometimes the feeling to watch some obnoxious characters stuck into a tedious plot. Still, I have to admit, it remains a funny and entertaining flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Murray's work.

If I remember correctly, this movie was one of the first I went to see with Nick, my step-son. Indeed, for already 5 years, we have been every months to the movies together (our last movie was ‘Thor: The Dark world’ by the way) and we always have a blast. Back then, since Nick was still quite young, we would mostly watch animated movies and that’s how we ended up watching this flick in the theater. Honestly, I thought it looked different than the other CGI animated features we get nowadays, the market is terribly saturated, and I thought this flick could give a fresh approach on the genre. Eventually, it was indeed a rather well done flick and the whole thing was rather gorgeous to look at but, honestly, Despereaux was not really a fascinating character. Furthermore, the story was nothing really original or entertaining and eventually, I was rather disappointed by the whole thing. I don’t know, I thought there was a terrible lack of ambition and there was an obvious focus on the younger viewers so I definitely didn’t belong to the target group. To conclude, even though it was rather disappointing, it is still a well made animated feature and it is worth a look, especially if you have some young kids who need to be entertained.

Honestly, it is rather surprising that even though the first movie was a huge success, this movie didn’t do so well at the box-office and you could go even further by saying that it was actually a flop. Maybe it was the fact that they waited relatively too long to release this sequel and the hype was gone. I have to admit it, I did see the first one in the theater and saw this sequel only on DVD. Still, usually, when you deal with such high profile book adaptations like ‘The Lord of the Rings’, ‘Harry Potter’, ‘Twilight’ or ‘The Hunger Games’, when the first installment is such a success, the rest follows pretty smoothly. Well, this franchise must be the exception to the rule, I guess. Anyway, even though it wasn’t a big hit, I thought it was not bad at all. In my opinion, the story was actually better balanced this and it was not so rushed like it was in the first movie. However, somehow, I have to admit, I did miss the sense of wonder that I got the first time. Basically, at that point, you have been there, done that and bought the T-shirt a couple of times, I guess. Eventually, 2 years later, they came up with a 3rd installment which wasn't a big success either but they are still talking about continuing to adapt the other books, even though you might wonder if it would be a sensible business decision. Anyway, to conclude, I still think is still a decent, well made and entertaining fantasy feature and if you like the genre, it is definitely worth a look.

Even though he makes nowadays only average movies, Robert De Niro remains my favorite actor. On top of that, I thought that 'A Bronx tale', his directing debut, was a pretty good flick so I was really curious to see his second directing effort. First of all, with Matt Damon as a lead, you definitely have a good start and he delivered the goods as usual. On the other hand, I must admit it, I was not so convinced by Angelina Jolie. I mean, I'm not so sure if I was bothered by her acting but her character didn't have much to do during the whole thing. A part from that, the rest of the cast was composed of very dependable character actors and they all did a decent job. Furthermore, something I really liked was the fact that they decided to show the first CIA agents not as some super-hero spies like James Bond but as some desk persons with glasses and suits. However, in spite of those good elements, it was still a flawed movie though. Indeed, the main issue here was basically with the story itself. Eventually, even though the subject was rather spellbinding, the movie never really succeeded in mesmerizing me and I was left rather unmoved by the proceedings. Still, it remains a very well made flick about a fascinating subject and it is definitely worth a look.

Basically, it is one of those movies that you keep hearing about with one hell of an infamous reputation. I mean, when you check the cast, you wonder how it could be so terrible. With this in mind, I became really curious about the damned thing and I thought I should check it out to find out for myself. Oh boy... Indeed, I must admit, it was a real mess and it definitely deserves its poor reputation. I mean, when you think about it, it's just too bad when you consider the impressive cast (Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Andie MacDowell, Goldie Hawn, Garry Shandling, Jenna Elfman, Nastassja Kinski) and it is even more sad when you consider that it was Beatty's last movie. I hope for him that he will make at least one last movie so he can end up his career on a more positive note... You keep hearing about a new project he might be directing and starring and I hope for its legacy that it will eventually happen at some point. Anyway, why was this movie so bad? Basically, the story was not entertaining at all and really convoluted, the characters were neither funny or even a bit interesting and above all, the whole thing was just plain boring. To conclude, it actually had some potential but even though it is not the worst movie I have seen, it is still pretty bad and not worth a look whatsoever.

Honestly, I had never heard of this movie before but since I’m a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock’s work, I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, even though it is not indeed one of his most famous features, I still thought it was actually pretty awesome. To be honest, it used in fact a rather standard gimmick used by Hitchcock, the story of an ordinary man stuck into a devilish plot but, this time, like many times before, it was quite flawless. First of all, the great Henry Fonda was playing the lead (I think it was the only time he worked with the great master) and he delivered a sober but great and totally believable performance. I really wish I would watch more movies with this guy, he is definitely one of my favorite classic actors. Furthermore, like I mentioned before, the plot was actually rather mundane but thanks to Hitchcock amazing directing, the whole thing was completely spellbinding to watch and I was captivated from the beginning until the very end. To conclude, even though it doesn’t get much credit, it is actually a really a good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Hitchcock's work.

Bille August is one of the few directors who managed to win two Golden Palms at the Cannes Film festival and what is even more impressive is that he managed to win them back-to-back so I became really interested in his work. The funny thing is that, by now, I have managed to watch 5 movies directed by this guy but still not his Golden Palm wins (‘Den goda viljan’ and ‘Pelle erobreren’). What’s even more saddening is that his subsequent movies were unfortunately not really impressive and this flick is a pretty good example. I have to admit, it wasn’t a complete failure as it did feature some good performances by Connie Nielsen and Aidan Quinn, the directing was decent was the story was interesting as well. However, in my opinion, August didn’t seem to manage to keep the whole thing focused and it tends to get rather convoluted at some points. Also, it didn't help that they went often for the cheap thrills instead of focusing on what's going on with the characters. To conclude, even though it was rather flawed, it was actually far from being a bad movie and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Bille August’s work.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I’m a huge fan of Orson Welles’ work, I was definitely eager to check I tout. After directing ‘Citizen Kane’, considered by many as the best movie ever made, at only 26 years old, he went to direct ‘The Magnificent Ambersons’, another massive feature, another classic, but the production was a nightmare and we never got to see the movie meant by Welles. He then took a 4 years break and came up with this flick, something much more modest, at least in terms of production, and it must be one of the least known movies directed by the great master. Indeed, it is basically a rather standard spy thriller but it seems that Welles just couldn't direct a bad movie, even with a rather pedestrian plot like this one. Indeed, even though the story was rather routine, the performances were very good, the directing was, as expected, quite awesome and, as a result, the whole thing was rather spellbinding to watch. To conclude, to be honest, it is never comes near the other masterpieces directed by Welles, but it is still an interesting picture and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in his work.

This is the last movie directed by the late Anthony Minghella and since I enjoyed most of his movies, I really wanted to check it out. Honestly, I find it rather difficult to judge this flick. I mean, I did like it but I’m not sure if it was actually really good. In my opinion, the main issue was that the story didn't work out very well, it was rather convoluted and far-fetched. Still, somehow, there was something spellbinding about the whole thing. To start with, there was an impressive cast (Jude Law, Robin Wright, Juliette Binoche, Vera Farmiga) and the characters were rather intriguing, even though their actions were rather bewildering sometimes. But still, thanks to the good performances and the decent directing, there was an interesting mood so I still enjoyed this movie and I was rather hooked. I don’t know, maybe I was in the right mood and if I re-watch it I would be amazed about how preposterous the whole thing actually is. Anyway, to conclude, even though the whole thing was really deeply flawed, I actually liked this flick and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Anthony Minghella’s work.