Reviews by johanlefourbe

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.

Honestly, even though I had some rather low expectations, I must admit it, this movie was actually not bad at all. The only issue is that I first saw the original version, I guess. In the original French movie, Vincent Cassel played the same part as Josh Harnett, Monica Bellucci played the same part as Diane Kruger and Romane Bohringer played the same part as Rose Byrne and they all provided some better and more believable performances in the French version. Furthermore, honestly, Diane Kruger is quite charming but you can't say she was the best actress to replace Monica Bellucci. In my opinion, someone like Angelina Jolie would have been a better choice, anyway someone more mysterious than the plain looking Kruger. Furthermore, they really massacred the ending which was way more twisted and weird in the original version. I mean, I have to admit it, the ending in the French version actually barely did make sense but it was refreshing. With this US version, they chose the more logical, straightforward ending and, guess what, it was even more unsatisfactory. Still, as a stand-alone feature, it is a rather well made romantic drama and it remains a spellbinding story. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it is a decent remake and I think it is actually worth a look.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this flick. I don’t know, I thought it would be some kind of female 'Midnight Express' rip-off and since I didn’t really like ‘Midnight Express’(I need to re-watch it though), I thought it would be even more underwhelming. Eventually, I have to admit it, it was not bad at all after all. Of course, the story was not really original and rather pedestrian (above all, the fact that those girls were conned by a drug smuggler was rather disappointing) but I thought it was a rather well made drama and both leads, especially Claire Danes, delivered some good performances. Apparently, the two girls couldn’t stand each other on the set but I thought that their characters did have some good chemistry. Another positive thing is that the ending was also rather unexpected. In the same genre, I would rather recommend ‘Return to Paradise’, an even more obscure flick starring Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix, which manages to stretch the genre to something more interesting. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, it remains a decent drama and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, I have seen half of the movies directed by Mel Brooks and, I have to admit it, I'm not a huge fan of his work. I mean, by now, I have seen 'Blazzing Saddles', 'Young Frankenstein' and 'Spaceballs' and even though I enjoyed these classics, I can't say that they really blew me away. However, there is one big exception and it is this movie. Indeed, this flick is by far his best one and I really loved it. First of all, it was not a parody, a genre which I am not really found of. No, this is a comedy with some completely pitch black humor and the whole thing was just hysterical. Furthermore, the main characters were no heroes whatsoever, they made fun of old ladies, of nazis and many more things. Considering how outrageous this feature is, it must have been quite a riot when it came out in 1968. About 40 years later, they released a remake starring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, based on a the famous musical and even though it was also produced by Mel Brooks himself, I thought it was terribly underwhelming. Anyway, to conclude, this movie is a great classic, it is completely hilarious and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Mel Brooks's work.