Reviews by johanlefourbe

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…)

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since Amy Heckerling has a rather decent track record, I thought I might as well give it a try. Eventually, to enjoy this movie, it all depends if you can stand Jason Biggs or not. Back in those days, he was still surfing on his new fame (which is pretty much gone by now) and, for this movie, he basically does about the same thing he did in all those 'American Pie' flicks. In my opinion, the whole thing was not really funny and not really bad either but pretty much right there in middle. I always had a weak spot for Greg Kinnear and he can't do anything bad in my opinion and thanks to him, the movie was not a total pain to watch but it would be great if he could pick some slightly more interesting projects. There was still one scene that which seriously didn’t work for me. Indeed, what most bothered me was when a couple of characters plans to drug some girls to take advantage of her. I mean, it seems that the makers tried to make us believe that it was funny but I thought it was actually cringe-inducing. Anyway, to conclude, it is a rather average romantic comedy and it is not really worth a look, even if you really like the genre.

By now, I have seen this movie already twice. First, on my own and then a 2nd time, with Nick, my step-son, because he loves dragons. Anyway, in my opinion, this flick really had a lot of potential. First of all, the cast was quite awesome (Christian Bale, Gerard Butler and even Matthew McConaughey who never looked so badass with his baldhead and tattoos) and if they would make another movie together nowadays, it would be quite an event. Anyway, I really enjoyed the concept about those dragons ruling the world. Furthermore, the special effects were pretty cool and the dragons looked great. So, they had all the ingredients to make one hell of a flick about dragons but somehow, it didn’t really work out. Indeed, they unfortunately rather messed up the story, they tried to make it look and sound serious and edgy but it just wasn’t really convincing. Basically, it was a rather weak story with some major plot holes. Eventually, the end result was underwhelming and even though it could have been a pretty cool flick, it is not really good and I don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of the genre.

There was a time when Madonna tried to be an actress but those attempts have been mostly laughed at and, at some point, she pretty much stopped acting altogether (apparently, she is nowadays directing but those movies were barely seen and not very well received). Personally, I always thought that the hatred about her acting was rather exaggerated. I mean, ok, she never really blew me away as an actress but, quite often, she delivered some decent performances and this movie was a perfect example. Indeed, honestly, I thought it was not bad at all, at least, not as bad as I thought it would be. First of all, Rupert Everett is a pretty good and underrated actor and, as usual, he did a good job here and, in my opinion, Madonna was honestly not bad either in this movie. Basically, the biggest issue was that they tried to mix comedy with drama and the end result was just a big mess. Honestly, it really had some potential and it is definitely not one of the worst movies ever made as some people seem to be think. Still, I have to admit it, it is still pretty average and not really worth a look.

Basically, it is one of those very obscure movies which almost no one has seen on Listal but since there was a pretty cool cast, I was still wanted to check it out. Eventually, even I thought the subject of the movie was quite interesting, the end result was unfortunately rather disappointing. I mean, James Woods and Glenn Close are both some very good actors, they did their best with this material but they couldn't possibly save this flick. Indeed, what bothered me the most eventually was how all the characters were just so stereotypical, they didn't have any thoughts or emotions of their one, they just kept reacting following the pattern of their character and it was just rather underwhelming. I don't know, maybe when it was released it was really topical (even so I'm pretty sure it was barely seen at the time), the whole thing felt rather corny and quite predictable and even though it was rather intriguing at first, I lost interest in the characters and what they were going through pretty quickly. To conclude, I have to admit it, it was not really bad actually but it still remain an average flick and it is not really worth a look, except maybe if you love the genre.

The first time I saw this movie was something like 15 years ago so I thought it was time for a re-watch. Eventually, even though I wasn’t completely blown away by the whole thing, I thought it was still pretty good though. I mean, basically, it is one of those great romantic epics and it also works as an impressive love letter to Africa. At the end of the day, the biggest issue I had is that I usually wouldn't care for such characters but Meryl Streep and Robert Redford both gave some really strong perfomances. Indeed, they both completely fit the parts and they definitely swept me away. While watching this, I kept thinking though that I would probably be more interested by a story dealing with the natives instead of a story dealing with some white people in Africa. Concerning Robert Redford and Sydney Pollack, out of the 7 movies they made together, it is probably the most famous one and, I have to admit, probably one of their best movies. Anyway, to conclude, even though I’m not a huge fan, it is and remains a romantic classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but somehow, I thought I should check it out. Eventually, it was pretty bad, as a matter of fact, it was even worse than I thought it would be... I mean, Will Ferrell can be quite funny but he can be also quite obnoxious and in this flick, he just got on my nerves the whole time. The other guy (I don't remember his name and I don't care...) portraying his brother was not better either. I know, the whole thing is really stupid and I'm well aware of the fact that it is supposed to be that way but the flick was just not funny at all and completely tedious to watch. Personally, I always had a hard time to care for comedies dealing with stupid people (I seriously even despise 'Dumd and Dumber') and this movie was probably one of the worst in this genre. Apparently, this flick was based on a very popular SNL skit but like most movies based on SNL, the transition didn't work at all and the end result was just quite worthless and cringe-inducing. As a side note, you get to see a very young Eva Mendes in one of her very first parts but I wouldn't recommend to watch this flick only for this reason since she is there only for a few minutes. Anyway, to conclude, it is a pretty bad flick, it is not worth a look and you should definitely avoid it.

After hearing so many bad things, I wasn't expexting much from this flick but Wolfgang Petersen is quite capable of making some spectacular blockbusters so I thought I should check it out anyway. To start with, I haven't seen the original version so I can't compare the two movies and, as I mentionned before, I had some rather low expectations since I only heard lukewarm reactions about it. Eventually, I didn't think it was that bad at all after all. Indeed, I thought it was actually a rather well made and quite entertaining disaster flick and there were some awesome action scenes. Of course, the story and the characters were nothing spellbinding but they were not supposed to be really amazing. Indeed, it was the usual combination of stereotypical characters but it is inherent to the genre and it didn't really bother me. To conclude, even though it has a rather poor reputation, I think it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are looking for some brainless entertainment.