Reviews by johanlefourbe

Even though I love movies and watch tons of them, sometimes, I just don’t connect with some directors, no matter how hard I try or how many time I spend watching their movies. Kim Ki-Duk might be the best example of this. Indeed, by now, I have seen 4 movies directed by this guy and this flick is the only one which actually convinced me. As usual, the directing was sober but still really beautiful and I really loved it and the acting was also quite impressive. Also, for the first time in a Kim Ki-Duk feature, I thought the story was actually more compelling than frustrating (which is the case with all his other features I have seen). Still, even though I thought the story was intriguing, I still wasn't blown away by the whole thing and, like the rest of his work, I think it is rather overrated. I don’t know, I have seen my share of Asian features and I usually like them a lot but I probably don’t get his work and each time around, I fail to see what is so amazing about them. Still, the next time I get the opportunity to watch one of his movies, I will definitely check it out because, even I don’t really understand him, the guy is an artist, that’s for sure. To conclude, even though I don’t think it is really amazing, it remains a beautiful and spellbinding movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I didn’t expect much from this flick, since it was directed by Lasse Halstrom, one of my favorite directors, and since my wife is a huge fan of ABBA, I thought we should check it out together. First of all, I don't really care about Abba. I mean, I don't think their music is really bad but it is definitely not my kind of music, that’s for sure. Therefore, I wasn’t the target audience and I’m afraid this movie would interest only the fans of ABBA. You could argue that it is indeed the whole purpose of this movie but I would disagree. Take ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ for example, even though it was conceived for the Beatles fans, it is actually a solid feature and can be enjoyed by someone (like me) who doesn’t really like their music. Therefore, in this case, the end-result was rather underwhelming. I mean, there was no real plot, they didn’t even try and all you get to see is a bunch of ABBA concerts but there was absolutely nothing really new or interesting about the group. Basically, just like their music, this movie was really shallow and boring. To conclude, I thought it was pretty damned average and this movie is worth a look only for the die-hard fans of this band.

Honestly, before writing this review, I had to check again what the hell it was about. Seriously, even though I have seen it quite recently, I kind of completely forgot what the hell it was about. It is how forgettable it was... Basically, it is a rather average romantic-comedy with the old tired body switch routine. At least, I have to admit it, Meg Ryan and Alec Baldwin were both quite charming together but they didn't succeed in making this more interesting for me. I mean, the body switch trick is one of the the worst movie gimmick I know and , in my opinion, only a handful of movies like ‘Big’ (which still wasn’t really a masterpiece) did use this gimmick with some satisfying results. Of course, you need some suspension of disbelief to be able to enjoy a story like this but, still, if the makers don’t provide an interesting setting or characters, it is pretty tedious to watch. I don’t know, I thought the whole thing was terribly pedestrian and predictable and, like I said before, 5 minutes later, I already forgot about the whole thing. To conclude, I have seen worse, but it remains a very average romantic-comedy and it is not really worth a look, even if you like the genre.

Honestly, I find it rather difficult to review this movie. Indeed, I thought it was a rather weird flick. Basically, it has barely anything to do with the original version. But on the other hand, it was actually not really a bad thing since I wasn't a huge fan of this 80’s ‘classic’. Furthermore, Romola Garai and Diego Luna (both of them are actually pretty talented if you check the rest of their career) were not bad and they had some good chemistry. Still, who am I kidding? Obviously, once again, the story was just really weak and the attempt to set the movie during the historical events in Cuba was just laughable. I mean, you either make a fluffy movie or you make a serious one, you don't mix these things by making a fluffy movie which such a serious historical background, it is really annoying and it just doesn't work. On the other hand, I’m obviously not the target audience and I think my wife who loved the original movie thought it was pretty good. Anyway, all in all, it remains a rather average dancing movie and it is not really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of the genre.

To be honest, if this movie was released nowadays (circa 2020), I'm pretty sure he would be a big flop. Indeed, back then in 2013, Will Smith finally got his first big flop, 'After Earth' and I'm afraid Will Smith's days of massive box domination are other (ok, 'Wild Wild West' was pretty bad as well but, back then, he did manage to recover from the blow but I don't see it happening this time). Anyway, coming back to our main feature, in my opinion, it was a rather typical Will Smith production. As usual, he picked up a standard blockbuster genre (here, the super hero flick) and managed to add something else to set it apart from the rest. On paper, it sounded half lame and half interesting and it could have been a huge flop but, somehow, it still mostly worked though. Indeed, I thought the whole thing was actually rather intriguing, the way it was dealing with the ups and downs of a basically depressed super-hero. Of course, it was still a blockbuster and the story was therefore far from being really satisfactory or really thoughtful whatsoever. Still, even though it was nothing really amazing, I think it is still a rather well made and fairly entertaining blockbuster and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you have a weak spot for Will Smith.

As a follow up to his impressive debut 'Layer cake', Matthew Vaughn decided to direct something completely different, a Fantasy feature. Since I kept hearing many good things about it, I eventually checked it out and I had some pretty huge expectations. Honestly, even though I did indeed enjoy it, I actually think it was a little bit underwhelming and I think the whole thing is rather overrated. I mean, yes, it was very well directed, the whole thing looked good, there was an impressive cast (Claire Danes, Ian McKellen (only narrator), Ben Barnes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, Sienna Miller, Peter O'Toole, Mark Strong) and they all gave some decent performances. Still, I was entertained by the whole thing but I was expecting more, especially after hearing so many good things about it. I guess, the main issue I had was with the story. Indeed, in my opinion, there were too many storylines, the whole thing was rather unfocused and I thought it was eventually rather messy. Still, if you compare this movie to all the garbage starring De Niro recently, you can say that the damned thing is pretty much a masterpiece. To conclude, even though I thought it was slightly disappointing, I have to admit it, it is a very well made and entertaining flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Matthew Vaughn’s work.

Jim Carrey has made many comedies through the years and even though some of them were hugely successful, some ofhers didn't work very well and this movie was one of those. With this in mind, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but eventually, I thought it was actually pretty good. I mean, I haven't seen the original version so I can compare both movies but I thought that this remake was quite entertaining. I mean, the whole thing is pretty simple, you either like Jim Carrey's humor or you don't but, usually, I find him pretty funny and he was pretty good in this flick. In a small part, Alec Baldwin was quite hilarious as well. The story was eventually entertaining enough but you shouldn't expect anything too thoughtful since it is and remains a pop-corn comedy. You can obviously slam it because it criticizes corportate business when in fact, it is just a commercial picture trying to make some bucks. Personally, I think that if you don't take it too seriously, it is actually quite enjoyable. Eventually, they did release this movie just a couple of years before the current economic recession and I think that they got lucky because people usually don't dig comedies about a recession when they themselves have to deal with it. To conclude, I actually liked the damned thing and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you enjoyed the previous comedies starring Jim Carrey.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since Sean Penn is one of my favorite actors, I was really eager to check it out. For this movie which must be one of his most obscure features, Sean Penn was working with one of the finest and most underrated actress, Kristin Scott Thomas. They were both pretty good here in this movie which was basically a very stylish romantic drama. Apparently, it is an adaptation of a book written by W. Somerset Maugham, a pretty good writer, and I wonder if the book worked better than this movie. Indeed, even though the whole thing was rather well directed, unfortunately, I thought that the plot was rather underwhelming. Indeed, even though the characters were rather intriguing, I had a hard time to really care about the whole thing. Basically, at the end of the day, it is a period piece about some rich and rather superficial people who complains about their life and spend their free time in some convoluted romances. Still, even though it was not really amazing, it remains a decent period drama and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Sean Penn's work.

To be honest, I have a rather hard time with John Belushi. I mean, in the last 30 years, the guy basically became a legend and I was really eager to check his work, expecting to discover a comic genius. Eventually, he just made 7 movies over 3 years so and, a little bit like James Dean, he came and went pretty quickly. However, by now, I have seen his two classics (this movie and ‘The Blues Brothers’) and, to be honest, even though I enjoyed both, none of them really blew me away. Indeed, since I kept hearing good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out, but, eventually, in my opinion, it is a little bit overrated. I mean, I have to admit it, it is and remains a good comedy with some funny scenes throughout the whole thing but I can't say it was really hilarious though. I mean, the whole thing was basically a standard college comedy with some gross humor and I guess I have never been a fan of the genre. Still, you can see how it has inspired all the similar movies that came afterwards, that’s for sure. Anyway, to conclude, even though I don’t think it is really that amazing, it is a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.