Reviews by johanlefourbe

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.

First of all, I have to admit that I have never really been a fan of the cartoon. I mean, when I was a kid, I saw it from time to time and I thought it was alright but it never blew my mind whatsoever. So, I didn't expect much from this flick but somehow, I still end up watching it. The most amazing thing is that this movie was actually a box-office success. Apparently, many parents ended up bringing their kids to watch it and only because it was a known brand, they didn’t even bother checking beforehand if it was actually worth a look…. Big mistake! Even though the legendary cartoon was not really that great, it certainly didn't deserve such a poor adaptation. The cast was made of some of the most underwhelming actors of this generation (Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, I leave out Isla Fisher because I still have some hope for her) and they were all completely obnoxious. Furthermore, the jokes were moronic, the story was not entertaining whatsoever and this flick was just a shore to watch. Anyway, even though it was very poorly received, since it made some money, they even ended up making a sequel… To conclude, it is a bad movie and you should avoid it.

Throughout his career Kevin Costner has made 3 baseball movies and, in my opinion, this one was easily the best of them and, actually, pretty much the only one I actually really enjoyed. Indeed, ‘For Love of the Game’ was universally panned and was pretty lame but ‘Field of Dreams’, usually considered the best of the bunch, was actually rather underwhelming. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I thought that Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon were both pretty good and Costner has never been better than when playing such melancholic characters. Furthermore, there was an interesting grittiness and I liked how realistic the movie looked and sounded. Indeed, the characters were really three dimensional and I enjoyed the fact that the story was down to earth and entertaining at the same time. Unfortunately, I wasn't so thrilled by Tim Robbins whose performance was too over of the top and it didn't really fit the tone of the movie. Still, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was a pretty good sport feature, probably one of the best I have seen as a matter of fact and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a pretty cool cast, I thought I should check it out. In my opinion, this movie really had some potential. Indeed, the story was quite intriguing and I thought that Jared Leto and Salma Hayek were both impressive and delivered some very good performances. I always had a weak spot for Salma Hayek but, to be honest, it is not very often that she get something really substantial to chew on but it was definitely the case here. Unfortunately, the whole thing didn’t completely convince me and the main issue was that they never really knew where it should actually focus. What was it really about ? Was it about the killers? Was it about the cops? As a result, the whole thing was a little bit messy. In my opinion, the plot should have focused on the killers since they were the most interesting characters. Still, in spite of its flaws and the fact that it is a pretty obscure feature, I think it remains a rather well made and intriguing crime thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Jane Fonda used to be one of the best actresses around and I still have to see most of her classics (so many movies, so little time…) so when I heard she would come back from retirement after 15 long years, I was rather thrilled. But why on earth did she choose this flick?!? Couldn't she get anything better than this?!? I mean, to make a romantic comedy with her and Jennifer Lopez was actually a pretty good idea but the plot was just really moronic and actually rather annoying. Basically, it is one of those romantic-comedies with some phony and pointless conflict which is of course solved fairly easily at the end. After watching this movie, I had a terrible feeling of waste… Maybe she had the De Niro syndrome. Indeed, Robert De Niro has made quite clear that, at his age, he is not looking for challenging parts anymore and basically take the jobs without going all method acting on us, making some fairly mediocre features and cashing his paycheck at the end. To be honest, I have seen worse romantic comedies but it remains a very average flick and it is not really worth a look. Hopefully, the great Jane Fonda will get some better parts in the future (unfortunately, it has not happened yet…)