Reviews by johanlefourbe

To start with, you have to admit it, it is a rather lame title but, honestly, this flick actually really had some potential. Alec Baldwin, as usual, completely stole the show, Jeff Goldblum was quite funny and Nikki Reed was pretty good and convincing as well. So, the characters were all intriguing, and the actors all delivered some decent performances but they couldn't really save this mess. In my opinion, the biggest issue with this flick is that the whole thing was just really sleazy and exploitative, it definitely ruined the movie. The fact that I have a 19 years old step-daughter didn’t help either but to see a middle-aged guy having casual sex with this step-daughter was rather awkward. The makers try to make it look alright and fun by selling it as a comedy, but I really didn't buy it. Maybe I sound like a prude, but in fact, I don’t think I really mind the whole concept, it is above all the casual tone that bothered me. To conclude, I still think it could have been pretty good but eventually, at the end of the day, it is just plain average and not really worth a look.

Honestly, I didn't have high expectations before watching this but the end result was even worse than I thought. If I recall correctly, I rented this flick at the local dvd shop (which has been closed now for a couple of years already) and since we had already seen all the good animated features, we ended up watching this. Like I said before, I didn’t think it would be great but it was eventually truly underwhelming. I mean, the animation actually didn't look bad at all but the story was just so boring, it was easily one of the least entertaining animated features I have ever seen (and I have seen quite a few). Nowadays, the CGI animated market is massively competitive, above all dominated by the giants Pixar and Dreamworks, even Disney struggles and the other studios have to bring their best game if they want to succeed in this ruthless environment. Animated features like this one simply don’t stand a chance and within a few weeks, they disappear quickly from the box-office. Basically, the whole thing was just too standard, predictable and it was simply just boring to death. To conclude, it s pretty bad and not worth a look, only maybe if you are younger than 12 years old.

Back in the 90's, John Dahl made some rather amazing and underrated film noirs and since then, I have tried to check out all his movies. This time, he actually tried a totally different genre, the war drama and the end result was not bad at all but I can't say it was really mind-blowing either. I don’t know, all the ingredients were there to make a decent flicks, there were some pretty good actors (Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Sam Worthington, Joseph Fiennes, Logan Marshall-Green, Connie Nielsen) who delivered some decent performances and the story was quite interesting. Unfortunately, somehow, the movie never really took off and never got really inspiring or fascinating. It is probably due to the fact that none of the characters were really interesting which was rather surprising from John Dahl. Indeed, in his previous movies such as ‘Kill me again’, ‘Red Rock West’ , ‘The Last Seduction’ or ‘Rounders’, even though the plot was not always really strong, the characters were always rather murky and quite compelling to watch. Here, they were rather bland and stereotypical. Still, in spite of its flaws, it remains a well made war drama and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I don't know why exactly but, somehow, I had some rather high expectations before watching this flick. Eventually, it wasn't bad but I can't say I was blown away by the whole thing either. Basically, the major appeal was to see Shia LaBeouf before he made it big with ‘Indiana Jones 4’ and the ‘Transformers’ franchise. And indeed, LaBeouf definitely displayed some potential and delivered a convincing performance. On the other hand, I thought that Sigourney Weaver's performance was a little too over the top for me but I guess it has to do with the tone which remained rather sweet since it was a family feature. Furthermore, I thought that the story was not really fascinating whatsoever but, still, it was entertaining enough. I don’t know, in my opinion, I think the whole thing really had some potential and it could have been better if it would have been a little bit darker. Since it is a Disney production, of course, there was a fairly good chance that this production wouldn’t be too risky and would be really faithful to rules of the genre. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it remains a decent and well made family feature and it is worth a look but keep your expectations low.

Conversation between between Ridley Scott and Russel Crowe :

Scott : Russel, you know what I want to do ?
Crowe : No... what then?
Scott : I would like to spend a month in the South of France, drinking some wine, eating some good food...
Crowe: Sounds good to me. Actually, I'm tired of being the tough guy with all those exhausting action scenes...
Scott : I know! Let's shoot a fluffy romantic comedy in France!

6 years after booking an impressive and rather unexpected success with 'Gladiator', Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe decided to work together again but this time, they decided to do something completely different. Indeed, the second time around, they made this romantic comedy set in France. Honestly, the whole thing seemed to be actually a good excuse for them to go to the south of France to have a good time there. I don't think Russell Crowe was really the best choice to portray a romantic lead but he was alright and Marion Cotillard (before she reached fame in Hollywood) was charming as always. Of course, the movie was full of annoying clichés about France and the French people but the story was entertaining enough. To conclude, it is a rather standard but well made romantic comedy and it is actually worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ridley Scott's movies.

I didn't really know what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Tony Scott and Denzel Washington, I thought I should it a give it a try. First of all, you can say whatever you want about Tony Scott but the guy definitely can direct an action movie. It is like Denzel Washington. He basically spent his all career playing the same character over and over again (with a few notable exceptions) but I actually don't care since he always thrills me. Here, working together again (they made 5 movies together eventually), they both managed to transform this rather preposterous story into an explosive action feast and I was really entertained throughout the whole thing. You also have Val Kilmer and Jim Caviezel in supporting parts but I thought they were both rather under-used which was really too bad. Was it possible to get more, to get something better from this plot? I highly doubt it but it is a compliment to Scott and Washington's talent. To conclude, it is a rather standard but very well made action flick and it is actually worth a look, especially if you are looking for some brainless action flick.

Well, I thought it was a rather fascinating and unsettling thriller. Basically, there is one location and almost no action scenes so to keep you interested, they really needed to provided a good story and some pretty good performances. Fortunately, both Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page were both quite amazing , showing, in the process, two different faces of Evil. There is one thing I really found interesting is that there is no good guy here, only two twisted minds and, at the end, I didn't root for either of them and it made it sometimes difficult to care about the whole thing. I was rather amazed that, back then when the movie was released,  all over the internet, you could find some people claiming that Hayley Stark completely rocked, that she did the right thing, etc... Well, as far as I'm concerned, I thought she was a complete psycho and I'm pretty sure this is the point of the movie, not to show she is a heroin but to show that she is really messed up. The fact that Jeff Kohlver is a pedophile doesn't change the fact that she is a potential serial killer and I think it is pretty stupid to root for a psychotic serial killer, even when they are chasing pedophiles. My main concern with this flick is that I kept wondering what was the whole point of it after all. And I'm afraid the whole point was just to shock and put the viewers in a uncomfortable situation. No more and no less. Anyway, in spite of these flaws, I have to admit that it is still a good thriller and it is definitely worth a look.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Tom Hanks, I thought I might as well give it a try. Before becoming a ‘serious’ actor and winning two Academy awards back-to-back, Tom Hanks used to make some pretty goofy comedies and he was pretty successful at it. However, way before 'Philadelphia', Tom Hanks did appear in this unseen and rather unknown drama. Indeed, it must be the most obscure movie starring Hanks I have seen so far (I was only the 2nd person who rated it on listal and 2 years later, not even 10 persons have rated this movie) but I thought it was actually not bad at all. Indeed, Tom Hanks delivered a decent performance and the story was interesting and entertaining enough. However, I can't say I was swept away by the whole thing and actually nothing really thrilling happened. Basically, it is rather typical doomed love story with an historical background and, unfortunately, the makers din't add anything really new or intriguing to this formula. Still, in spite of these flaws and in spite of the fact that it is a really obscure feature, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Tom Hanks movies.

Before becoming a ‘serious’ actor and winning two Academy awards back-to-back, Tom Hanks used to make some pretty goofy comedies and he was pretty successful at it. Basically, this movie was one of those daft comedies and, honestly, I thought it could have been quite awesome. Indeed, in my opinion, it really had some potential, the subject was quite fascinating. There were also some really interesting characters, for example, the one portrayed by Tom Hanks and the whole thing had some really hilarious scenes. So, you had all the enough ingredients to make one hell of a comedy but, unfortunately, the whole storyline about the housewife (Sally Field) who tries to become a stand-up comedian wasn't compelling or interesting whatsoever and it kind of ruined the movie for me. The tone of the movie was pretty sarcastic which was really appreciated but from the moment Sally Field was on the screen, it became all mushy and rather dull. It’s too bad because the rest of the movie was actually pretty awesome. Still, in spite of these flaws, it remains a decent comedy with one of Tom Hanks’ best characters and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wanted to see this flick for a while and, boy, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, it must be one of the most destructive and fascinating love stories I have ever seen in a movie. The two leads were completely awesome and delivered some tremendous performances, they managed to create some truly alive and 3 dimensional characters. When the movie was released, there was actually a big fuss in Germany because Sibel Kekilli was previously in some porn movies but you really wonder how it has anything to do with her performance in this movie which was just brilliant. Birol Ünel was just as good and I would love to see more movies starring any of them. Furthermore, the directing by Fatih Akin was very impressive as well and the story was seriously spellbinding. Even though it deals with minorities living in Germany, they didn't spend their time developing some tedious stereotypes and instead you got some fascinating and pretty messed up characters trying to go through their lives struggling with the various cultures they live in and trying to find their own identity in the process. To conclude, the whole thing just blew my mind, it is a very good drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.