Reviews by johanlefourbe

I did watch this movie way before Lindsay Lohan became such a mess (she might have been in trouble already but nothing compared to what’s going on nowadays) and, even before that, back in those days, she still had the potential to become a huge star (maybe not a great actress but that’s another matter altogether). Anyway, I didn’t expect much from this flick but I thought Lohan was alright (at least, she still looked healthy here) but the movie itself was quite boring. I mean, they took the old Herbie concept (which wasn't great in the first place already, if you ask me) but they didn't add anything new to the mix. I have to admit it though, I'm probably not the best person to review this flick though since I don’t belong to the target audience and I did like those old Herbie movies when I was a kid. Still, I don’t think it was a great idea to mix this teen-star with this weird car, I mean, during the whole thing, you wonder what’s the movie actually about, about her or about the car? Anyway, I guess it is actually a decent movie if you are younger than 13 years old but otherwise it will probably bore you to tears.

Hilary Swank is a peculiar actress. From time to time, she picks up an amazing role but the rest of time, she just chooses some forgettable flicks but she still managed to get 2 Academy awards in the process. Unfortunately, this movie won't get her an award this time. Actually, I'm not so sure what to think about about this movie. On one hand, it is a rather well made horror-thriller, I enjoyed the mood and I was rather jumpy during the whole thing. Idris Elba was also pretty convincing and gave a good performance. However, on the other hand, I thought the movie was not very well written (She was first a missionary but then, within a few years, she managed to become a college teacher with enough money to buy some fancy equipment and to make some expansive field trips...) and the dialogues  were sometimes rather ridiculous. It also bothered me that Swank looked way too good for the part, always wearing some tights pants with a small top or a nice dress and they always managed to get her butt in the foreground. I mean, come on, she was supposed to be a scientist, not some kind of bimbo! Anyway, in spite of these flaws,  it is still failry entertaining and I thought it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

On the cover of the DVD, they wrote 'with Academy award winners Timothy Hutton and Mira Sorvino'. Well, indeed, a long time ago, they did win these prestigious awards and they both had a promising career. However, they eventually left the A list at some point and it is not with such flicks that they will come back anytime soon. In fact, I have to admit that Sorvino was actually not bad in this movie and she even provided a decent perfomance (same for Mario van Peebles). However, I wasn't not really convinced by Timothy Hutton. In fact, I'm not sure if he really gave a bad performance or maybe it was just that his character was such an annoying pathetic whining loser. Seriously, with such a character, it made it almost impossible to care for the whole thing. It was basically a rather typical quirky indie feature which tried to be deep and thoughtful but it failed pretty bad, I'm afraid. The main character was indeed a real pain in the ass, he threw his life away and messed up his wife and child in the process to reach his goal to write a play. And of course, at the end, the play came out and it became a success...The funny thing was that they did show a bit of the play and it did sound actually pretty good. Anyway, even if the whole thing did have some potential, the end result was rather underwhelming. To conclude, it is not very bad actually but it was still not really worth a look.

Honestly, beforehand, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Denzel Washington, I thought I should check it out. Indeed, nowadays, it is a rather forgotten movie but it's a shame since it is actually a really impressive drama. Denzel Washington who was at the beginning of his illustrious career, had actually a small part but his character was very important . Basically, it is a very good court drama which deals with some very sensitive issues, like racial murder and I thought that it went pretty deep into the human psychology. I don’t know, there is always some added tension when a court drama deals with soldiers and this movie was not an exception. On top of that, there were some impressive performances and the whole thing was just spellbinding to watch. Eventually, 15 years later, Denzel Washington would make another movie with Norman Jewison, ‘The Hurricane’ and even though it was indeed a pretty good flick, I enjoyed this one even more. To conclude, even though it is now pretty much forgotten, it is actually really good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

When I watched this movie, I really had no idea it would be Joaquin Phoenix's last movie. However, fortunately, in the mean time, he is back from this BS retirement thing. Anyway, I thought it was a pretty good flick like all other movies directed by James Gray, except he didn’t wait 7 long years to make it (it was released only a year after his previous directing effort ‘We Own the Night’). To start with, this movie had a rather amazing mood (even though, I have to admit it, the whole thing was actually rather depressing) and it was really well shot, something I always enjoy in James Gray’s work. As usual, Joaquin Phoenix delivered an amazing performance and even Gwyneth Paltrow showed that she could be a terrific actress, in spite of what most of us might think. Still, I thought that the story was actually nothing really original, and there was something slightly annoying about these characters but it was definitely an intriguing approach and they gave an interesting turn to the triangle romantic dilemma. To conclude, it is a rather grim romantic drama and many viewers won't appreciate it but I thought it was pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in James Gray’s work.

Even though this flick was rather poorly received and flopped, since it was directed by Steven Soderbergh, I still wanted to check it out. I mean, a movie directed by Soderbergh with George Clooney, Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguirre did sound like a winner to me. How could it go wrong? Unfortunately, I have to admit it, it was indeed, quite disappointing. Basically, it is a tribute to the movies from the 40's, it was beautifully shot and the actors did deliver some pretty good performances but the story was far from being spellbinding, I’m afraid. Like some other movies directed by Soderbergh (for example 'Full Frontal), the movie seems to remain an exercise, an experiment which doesn't really interest anyone expect Soderbergh himself. By now, he has officially retired (or is it another hoax? We will know soon enough I guess) and he is done experimenting for the time being. This movie was also one of the last George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh would work together and it won’t be remembered as one their best efforts, that's for sure. Still, in spite of its flaws, it is far from being a bad movie and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Soderbergh's work.

Since I heard some pretty good things about this flick and since I have a weak spot for Bruce Willis, I was really eager to check out this movie. It was also the last movie directed by Richard Donner (did he actually retire? ) and it was a huge improvement on his previous directing effort, the rather lame ‘Timeline’. Anyway, after all these years, Bruce Willis remains my favorite action stars but, I have to admit it, nowadays, he is actually way too old to play most of his parts. Fortunately, this movie is however an exception and shows he could do something else and play some more believable characters. At last, Bruce Willis plays an old cop and not some kind of super hero and I think he pulled it off very well. Mos Def, an actual hip-hop artist and not a 'real' actor, delivered a good performance as well and I think they were together a good combination. Of course, the plot was pretty pedestrian and rather predictable but it was still entertaining enough in my opinion. To conclude, it is nothing exceptional but it remains a good action flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to see Bruce Willis doing something rather different than his usual stuff.

James Dean is a real legend, even though he has made only 3 movies (in fact, he has made actually other movies but with a very small part). So, I was really curious to see those flicks to finally find out if the guy was actually any good. This movie was the first of his that I have seen and I have to say I was indeed really impressed. Honestly, even though the directing was really good, I thought that the story tended to get a little bit overdramatic but the performances, especially by James Dean, were nothing short of amazing and, as a result, the movie was just spellbinding to watch. It does help that this movie was an adaptation of a classic book written by John Steinbeck. Later on, I have also watched ‘Rebel without a cause’ and even though it was indeed pretty good, it was hardly as impressive as this picture was (I still need to see ‘Giant’). Anyway, after watching this flick, I have to admit that the legend was true, James Dean was the real deal and the dude was really talented. To conclude, it is a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in James Dean's work.