Reviews by johanlefourbe

Because of its notorious reputation, I was quite eager to check this flick even though I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. Eventually, I thought it was not bad at all and it is actually a decent peplum in my opinion. First of all, the whole thing was just gorgeous with some awesome sets and costumes (even though, I have to admit it, some of those costumes did look ridiculous sometimes). Furthermore, even though the production was a mess (it turned out to be the most expensive movie made that at the time and it remained so for a couple of decades), it still remains quite a fascinating story. The main issue was that, in my opinion, Elizabeth Taylor was not the best choice to portray the title role. In mean, obviously, she was probably one of the biggest stars at the time and also a tremendous actress but, in my opinion, she did not look like the part at all. Also, even though the story was quite interesting, it was a very long movie (more than 4 hours) and, unfortunately, it did loose some steam and focus from time to time. To conclude, it is definitely not a masterpiece but it is far from being a bad movie and it is definitely worth a look.

Before it came out, if I remember correctly, there was a pretty good buzz about it and many thought it had a good shot at the oscars. It seemed that Eddie Murphy would make his long awaited come-back with this flick and Murphy himself thought that he would even eventually win an Academy award but the whole thing had just a modest success and Eddie went away empty handed. Anyway, after watching so many bad flicks with Eddie Murphy, I must say that it was quite refreshing to see him in a better movie. Indeed, Eddie Murphy was pretty good and the rest of the cast did a good job as well (Jamie Foxx, Danny Glover, Jennifer Hudson and even Beyoncé Knowles). Of course, Jennifer Hudson really stole the show and I think she was quite awesome here. For an acting debut, it was really impressive. After that, Hudson has remained in demand as an actress but, to be honest, she hasn’t done anything really amazing since then. Still, the whole thing was not great because the story was just a rather standard biopic routine and, therefore, it was rather underwhelming. Still, in spite of its flaws, it remains a well made and entertaining flick and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Wayne Wang’s work, I thought I might as well give it a try. Indeed, I have seen a few interesting flicks directed by Wayne Wang so I was eventually curious to check this one as well. Eventually, even though it was nothing really mind-blowing whatsoever, I thought it was a rather well made family feature and it was better than the usually underwhelming movies in this genre. Indeed, first of all, the whole cast gave some good, believable and convincing performances. However, like most of the kids flick, the story was still a little bit underwhelming for me. I don’t know, even though we have 6 dogs (I know…. That’s a lot… there are not mine, it is a hobby of my wife…), I usually have a really hard time to care about movies involving pets, even when they are above average like this one. Concerning Wayne Wang, even though he is still quite productive, his movies come and go without being noticed and I’m afraid that this movie was quite forgettable as well. Still, even though it is nothing amazing, I still think it is worth a look and it is especially suited for young children.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since Naomi Watts was involved, I thought I should give it a try. Indeed, I watched this movie above all because of Naomi Watts but she actually had only a small part in it. Apparently, she made this movie a few years before she reached fame with 'Mulholland Dr.'. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I thought it was actually a really gorgeous movie with some beautiful sets and costumes. Furthermore, all the actors involved gave some pretty good and convincing performances. This time, the lead was not played by Naomi Watts but by Catherine McCormack, a charming actress we had the pleasure to discover in ‘Braveheart’ but it seems that she never really managed to breakthrough (apparently, she actually prefer working in theater plays then in movies). Still, I was missing something in this movie to make it truly remarkable . Indeed, even though the story was quite interesting, it was nothing really mind-blowing and, therefore, it struggles to stand out from the other movies of this genre. Still, in spite of its flaws, it remains a solid costume drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in like the genre.

In spite of the terribly lame title, I still wanted to check this flick above all because of its interesting cast. Indeed, there was a pretty cool cast (John Goodman, Elden Henson, Robert Carlyle, Sean Astin, Marisa Tomei) and, eventually, it was not bad at all. Apparently, the director made two movies with the same title, and the short older version was used as flashback sequences in this new full length version (I hope I didn’t lost you here…). Anyway, all the actors involved gave some pretty good perfomances and the whole thing was rather sweet. Personally, I always had a weak spot for Robert Carlyle (too bad we don’t hear much from him anylonger) and Marisa Tomei (who has somewhat made a comeback those last years) and they had a very good chemistry but, still, at the end of the day, the story was rather weak and I can't say I was blown away by the whole thing. I don’t know, I always had a hard time to care about movies dealing ballroom dancing or even dancing in general and this movie was not an exception, I’m afraid. To conclude, even though it is nothing exceptional, it is far from being a bad movie at all, it has its charm and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick. Personally, even though Ashton Kutcher seems to have a rather poor reputation, I have nothing against him and I don't find him horrible but I can't say I find him inspiring either. Eventually, this flick was not bad but the main issue (like most of the remakes) is that you keep wondering if it was really necessary to remake such a classic. On top of that, even though they try to convince you that it was edgy to switch the colors of the characters, I think that if they kept the same setting, it wouldn’t have been accepted to have white characters displaying such a racist behavior. On the other hand, to have some black folks showing some major racial prejudices was not a problem and it shows how far we have moved from our past sins towards the black nation (not very far, apparently…). Anyway, after leaving such thoughts, I have to recognize that Kutcher and Saldana made a cute and believable couple and Bernie Mac was, a usual, pretty funny. To conclude, beside being a totally unecessary and possibly misguided remake, it is a rather well made and unoriginal romantic comedy but if you love this genre, I think it is worth a look.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since there was a decent cast, I thought I should check it out. First of all, I think that Paul Bettany is a very talented actor but, honestly, I mostly see him in average movies (‘Priest’ and ‘Legion’ were especially disappointing) and this flick was not an exception. To be honest, I always had a weak spot for tennis (very often I find it actually more enjoyable to watch than football/soccer), it was not a bad movie at all and Paul Bettany was actually very good and completely convincing as an average tennis player who seems to finally get some success late in his career. I also enjoyed James McAvoy (who would break through eventually a year later with ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’) and he gave a quirky performance. So, basically, Bettany and McAvoy were good but, unfortunately, the plot was just an average and predictable romantic comedy so even though it was quite entertaining, I still had a hard time to care about the whole thing. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, I think it really had some potential and I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like romantic comedies.

Even though I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick, I was still intrigued above all because of its impressive cast. Indeed, just check this out : Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Everett, Stanley Tucci, Calista Flockhart, Anna Friel, Christian Bale, Dominic West, David Strathairn, Sophie Marceau, Sam Rockwell! I mean, you might wonder how they managed to get all this star power on this project but nevermind. On top of that, they all gave some very good performances and the movie really looked gorgeous. However, I must admit it, even though I had a lot of respect for the all work involved, I thought that the story was not really spellbinding whatsoever and I got bored from time to time. I mean, I haven’t read the play (even though I have studied English at College level for 4 years without ever reading Shakespeare ) but, apparently, it was rather faithfull to the original play. I don’t know, even though the plot is quite whimsical, pretty chaotic, it was therefore also rather silly and I had a rather hard time to care about the whole thing. Still, even though it was not really amazing, it remains an intriguing play adaptation and it is worth a look, especially if you are into Shakespeare.

At only 23 years old, John Singleton directed the amazing 'Boyz n hood' and many of us, including Roger Ebert, thought he would become one of the most important movie directors. Eventually, even though some of his following movies were not bad at all, none of them were great whatsoever. This movie is a good example. Indeed, it is just another average sequel for an average action movie. The directing is actually pretty decent and they changed the scenery to Florida but still, in my opinion, it was not really worse but it was also not better than 'The Fast and The Furious' and it was just as underwhelming. Ok, so you've got some pimped rides and some hot chicks but where is the goddamned plot?!? Oops, we forgot to add a plot but who cares? This time, Paul Walker has to carry the whole thing without Vin Diesel and it definitely shows on the screen. On the other hand, you have Tyrese Gibson and Eva Mender who were not bad, I guess. For the franchise, it was a step down from the previous installment and you would have though they have would have been done after the even less appealing following sequel but, surprise, the 4th installment was a huge success, basically re-launching the whole damned thing, and they are just done with the 8th movie by now. Go figure... Anyway, in my opinion, it was an average flick but you may end up enjoying it more than I did if you loved the first movie.