Reviews by johanlefourbe

Since I kept hearing good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. I mean, come on, the whole thing really looked awesome and, in my book, a movie starring Sean Connery and Michael Caine in all their glory, it doesn’t really get better than that... So, it really sounded like heaven to me and, boy, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, they were both rather awesome and I just loved this adventure flick. It is a rather typical adventure flick featuring 2 rogue soldiers both terribly witty, arrogant and quite charismatic. Of course, you could argue that there was not much depth in this tale but, I thought that the plot was actually really intriguing and just plain entertaining. Not surprisingly, it is Sean Connery’s favorite role and it must be one of the best movies directed by John Huston. Apparently, it took Huston more than 20 years to finally get this movie done and at first he wanted to make it with Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart, then with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, then with Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole and even with Robert Redford and Paul Newman at some point but Newman himself advised him British actors should play the roles. To conclude, I think it is a great adventure flick directed by the great John Huston, it completely deserves its reputation and it is most definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I had already seen this one but it was really ages ago so I thought it was time for a re-watch. Eventually, this time again, I wasn't disappointed by the damned thing. Indeed, up to that point, David Cronenberg had been involved with some rather gruesome horror features for a limited audience and it was his second mainstream project, after 'The Dead Zone' which, for some reason, didn't really work for me. The most startling aspect about this movie, in my opinion, is that it seamlessly combines 3 different genres: horror, science-fiction and romance. Even more surprising was that this mix worked so well. Obviously, it still retained its B vibe that you can find in Cronenberg's previous work which was definitely an asset but it was also why I wasn't probably completely blown away. I mean, I did really enjoy the whole thing but most of it still remains a preposterous freak show. Still, you have to give the guy some credit since he managed to make something quite fascinating out of this material whereas another director would have probably ended up with something much more underwhelming. To conclude, I really have a weak spot for this movie, it is a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I already saw this movie, in fact, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released, but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, when rewatching the damned thing, to be honest, I was actually surprised by how ugly this movie was, above all the background decors and the human characters. Seriously, this movie didn’t grow old very well, that’s for sure. The other issue was that, even though some of the jokes were not bad at all (B.O.B. voiced by Seth Roger was quite hilarious), most of them were just so random and actually rather pathetic. Eventually, in contrary to Pixar, with Dreamworks, it has always been rather hit-and-miss with their animated features. Indeed, sometimes, they would have some big hits like ‘Shrek’ or ‘How to train your dragon’ but they would usually produce 3 or 4 underperforming features between those hits and, basically, this movie was one of those. It’s too bad because, the concept was actually pretty awesome and there was definitely some potential. However, I wish they explored more the possibilities provided by this great premise but, unfortunately, the story turned out to be so generic and predictable. Basically, it was a typical Dreamworks effort, it did have some potential but it displayed also an obvious lack of ambition and there was obviously no actual desire to deliver something really remarkable. Anyway, to conclude, it was nothing ground-breaking whatsoever but it was still one of the few animated features by DreamWorks which actually had a decent concept and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I have no idea what to expect from this flick but since the cast was pretty neat, I thought I should give it a try. First of all, you may have noticed that Vince Vaughn has tried only a few times to leave behind his comedic style and the result was most of the time, let's say, dramatic... Except for this flick though. Indeed, to start with, the premise was very intriguing. Indeed, imagine your best friend is in jail and he wil stay there for maybe 30 years but if you turn yourself in, he will then spend 5 years in jail but then you'll have to spend 5 years in jail as well. Quite a dilemma, ain't it? I thought it was really fascinating and Vince Vaughn was quite convincing delivering an impressive performance. I could completely relate to him and what he was going through. To be honest, the directing was decent but nothing really impressive and the movie unfortunately tends to lose focus from time to time, above all with some unnecessary romantic intrigue and annoying twists. Still, in spite of its flaws, it remains an intriguing and entertaining movie and it is definitely worth a look.

Since I’m a huge fan of David Cronenberg’s work, of course, I was really eager to check this flick. Basically, it is one of those old-fashioned horror movies that Cronenberg used to make before he became more mainstream. At the end of the day, you either dig those movies or you don’t but I thought it was pretty good. Indeed, the special effects were quite awesome and gruesome and I really enjoyed the nightmarish atmosphere created by Cronenberg. It is something typical from this director and I always found it quite fascinating. To be honest, I was actually expecting something more from the plot but it was entertaining enough. Apparently, it figures since the production was rushed, starting without a finished script so it could explain why the story was not completely satisfying. Apparently, the whole experience was not really pleasant for David Cronenberg and he had to finish the movie in two months, writing and shooting at the same time. Still, this movie was a modest success and it even spawned a few sequels which I haven’t seen. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, I still enjoyed the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in David Cronenberg's older work.

Basically, it is again one of those really obscure movies that almost no one has seen here on Listal (I wasn’t even able to find a trailer on Youtube…). Indeed, I have noticed that John Sayles is a rather underrated director, especially on Listal, but he actually makes some pretty decent flicks and this movie is a good example. To start with, there was no real plot whatsoever and it dealt with a bunch of interesting characters living in a small community in Florida. In my opinion, all those characters seemed and felt real and they were all very well portrayed by the solid cast (Angela Bassett, Edie Falco, Timothy Hutton, Mary Steenburgen). Basically, there was no shootings, car-chases, explosions or all that crap, you just got here a real slice of life and I thought it was really refreshing and intriguing. Still even though I enjoyed most of it, I have to admit it, there wasn't much going on and you wonder if those characters really deserved 140 minutes of our attention. Anyway, to conclude, even though it might not be flawless, it was still a realistic and intriguing drama and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in John Sayles’s work.

Even though I wasn’t expecting much from this flick, since I'm a big fan of Clint Eastwood, I still wanted to watch this flick. To be honest, it is nothing mind-blowing whatsoever and it is definitely one of his weaker efforts. I mean, it seems that, at that time, Clint Eastwood was still practicing his director skills (it was his 4th directing effort) and it is how the movie felt to me. It was also as if Eastwood wanted to prove the whole world and himself that he could pulled off all those climbing scenes (as a matter of fact, Eastwood did all of his own stunts and some of them were indeed pretty impressive.). Even though I was glad for him that he could pull it off, it wasn’t really interesting or entertaining to watch. Still, I make it sound as if it was a bad or boring flick but it was actually not bad at all. I mean, as usual, Clint Eastwood was quite awesome and delivered a good performance and the only issue was really that the plot was just some action movie routine and it was nothing really original. Still, even though it is not one of Eastwood's masterpieces, I think it is rather entertaining and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Clint Eastwood’s work as a director.

Since I have never heard of this flick before, I had really no idea what to expect but since there was a pretty nice cast, I thought I should give it a try (there was also something quite mesmerizing about the title). Eventually, I thought it was surprisingly good and I actually really enjoyed this movie. Indeed, in my opinion, it displays one of the best performances delivered by John Travolta since 'Pulp Fiction’, maybe his best one (alright, he was pretty good in ‘Face/Off’ as well…) . Indeed, he portrayed here a rather eccentric and enigmatic man and he did a great job. Furthermore, I thought that Scarlett Johansson was pretty good as well and they both had some good chemistry here. Furthermore, the movie was quite well directed and first time director Shainee Gabel managed to create a nice mood. Eventually, my only point of critic would be that the story was not always compelling and, I have to admit it, it wasn’t really original either. Eventually, the whole thing tended to drag along a little bit for its own good. Still, in my opinion, it is a well made drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in John Travolta’s work.

Honestly, I have absolutely no idea why but I was really intrigued by this movie and I was quite eager to check it out. I don’t know, I guess I was titillated by the trailer which made me believe it would be some kind of teen version of 'Fatal Attraction'.... Obviously, it never reached the level of this classic. I mean, obviously the directing was very average and the acting was even more abysmal. Indeed, I always had a weak spot for Erika Christensen, an interesting actress who never really managed to breakthrough, but here, she was seriously underwhelming and not really convincing as a pycho stalker. Above all, the plot was pure thriller routine and I thought the ending was just dowright laughable. Like most of the US thrillers, they wrapped up the whole thing with some really idiotic twist and, in this case, it was really tedious. I mean, somehow, I still believe that the whole thing had some potential but the makers obviously didn’t have any ambition to make something remarkable so the end-result was just terribly underwhelming. To conclude, it was a very average thriller and I don’t see any reasons why you should watch it.