Reviews by johanlefourbe

I remember it very well, before this movie was released, there was a pretty good buzz about it. Indeed, after the critical success of ‘Hustle & Flow’, there was some pretty high expectations concerning Craig Brewer’s directing follow-up. Eventually, even though it has somewhat become a cult-classic for some people, it didn’t really find an audience when it was released and it is not really surprising. Basically, it is a rather weird movie with some very peculiar theories, for example that you can cure something like nymphomania with blues. In my opinion, I think there are 2 ways to handle this flick. You either take it seriously and you won't like it because it is rather unrealistic or you don't take it seriously, you loose yourself in this rather messed up world and you may end up enjoying it. I guess I was pretty much in between. I mean, the directing was very good and all the actors involved (even Justin Timberlake) provided some solid and decent performances but, somehow, I can’t say I was really blown away by the whole thing. I guess my main issue was that I was never really fascinated by the story or by the characters involved. Still, in spite of its flaws, it remains a really intriguing feature and it is definitely worth a look. 

Back in the 90's, I used to be a big fan of Wim Wenders and I would try to watch all his flicks and therefore I was really eager to check this movie. Unfortunately, during the last decade, his work wasn't really mind-blowing anymore and this movie is a perfect example. I mean, it is not a bad movie at all, indeed, the subject was very topical and interesting, the whole thing was very well directed and it featured a solid performance by Michelle Williams who is definitely one of the most inspiring actress at work nowadays. Unfortunately, I’m afraid it was not enough. Indeed, the movie never really took off and the slow tempo familiar to Wenders directing style, a style which was truly amazing in some of his masterpieces like ‘Paris, Texas’ (which was made exactly 20 years before this flick),  eventually got on my nerves this time. The fact that I didn’t care much about the characters involved didn’t help either, I guess. Basically, the movie started promisingly but eventually never delivered. Still, in spite of its flaws, it remains an intriguing feature and I think it is definitely worth a look especially if you are interested in Wim Wender's work.

I have noticed that John Hugues’ movies are really popular but, honestly, except for ‘The Breakfast Club’, none of them have really impressed me and this movie was not an exception, in the contrary. Indeed,  it was the last movie directed by the late John Hughes and I thought it was, by far, his worst one. I mean, I mentioned earlier that I wasn’t a huge fan of his work but, at least, they were at least fun and entertaining whereas this flick was just seriously tedious to watch. Seriously, not only the plot was obviously impossible but, above all, it was just terribly sentimental and cheesy. On top of that, James Belushi is not among my favorite actors and he didn't blew my mind once again here. Like I said earlier, the whole thing was just so sentimental and, above all, just plain boring. As a result, I didn't care at all about the story or the characters involved. Surprisingly, Roger Ebert actually did like this flick, even more than ‘Home Alone’ which is also overrated in my book though. To conclude, it is a shame that John Hugues ended his directing career with such an underwhelming flick and it is definitely not worth a look in my opinion.

Since it is a huge classic, I was really eager to check this flick and I had some really high expectations before watching it. Eventually, even though I did enjoy it, it was not good as I expected it to be. I mean, it is a decent flick, entertaining and funny but I didn't see anything great about it and I was definitely not blown away by the whole thing. Still, it was quite awesome to see Sean Penn at the beginning of his career playing a stoner but, thank god, he managed to escape typecasting. It was also fun to see a whole bunch of actors at the beginning of their career (Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, Vincent Schiavelli, Forest Whitaker, Eric Stoltz, James Russo, Nicolas Cage, Anthony Edwards). I guess, it is basically a matter of taste, and if you are into this kind of comedies, you will probably love it but otherwise, you won't see what was so awesome about it (for example, Roger Ebert really despised it). Anyway, to conclude, I don't think it is a masterpiece but it is still a good movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out again. First of all, before watching the first transformers flick, I had some rather low expectations but I have to admit that I was eventually actually pleasantly surprised. I mean, sure, it was definitely not a masterpiece but it was a very well made and entertaining blockbuster (at least, the first time around, I’m afraid this first installment didn’t grow old well either). Unfortunately, this sequel turned out to be a big disappointment. Above all, the story was just really lame. Not only it was again way too long but the plot was just too similar to what happened in the previous movie (indeed, instead of looking for some weird MacGuffin called the Allspark, now they were looking for another weird MacGuffin called the Matrix). Above all, I never understood why these movies had to be so self-serious, joyless and pretty much humorless. I mean, we are talking about some freaking cars transforming into some giant robots, not some heavy WWII drama dealing with the holocaust… At least, there were still some awesome action scenes but I didn't care much about what was going on the screen and the end was just way too preposterous. In my opinion, the biggest mistake they made was to bring back Michael Bay as director. I mean, he actually did a decent job on the first installment but he seriously lacked any ambition to make something else out of this material the second time around. 'Let's bring more giant robots and blew even more stuff!! And when we are it, why not blow up the pyramids?!?'... Another director could have brought another vision, a fresh look, and it could have been more interesting than this tedious stuff. Anyway, to conclude, I didn't really like it much and I don't think it is really worth a look, except if you want to watch a really dumb-ass blockbuster.

I know, it is rather common nowadays to trash Nicolas Cage but I still believe he is actually a very good actor and therefore, I keep watching his movies whenever I get the opportunity but I have to admit it, it has become a rather ungrateful task lately. The main issue with him is that he makes about 4 very average movies and then a good one, then 4 very average movies and then a good one,.... Unfortunately, this flick doesn't belong to his good movies, that’s for sure. Indeed, the story was just lame and the jokes were not funny whatsoever. When you read interviews with Nicolas Cage, he makes a good case that all his choices, even the weirdest ones, are made conciously in order to remain as versatile as possible. In this case, this time, he wanted to show up in a broad and unsubtle comedy but, on the other hand, this whole theory seems to be a good excuse to cover up his numerous mistakes. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen much worse (even from Nicolas Cage), it is still pretty damned average and it is not really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of Nicolas Cage’s work.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick and I don't know why exactly but I actually thought that a movie combining Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone could be an interesting watch. Well, eventually it wasn’t really good, I’m afraid. I mean, at the time, it was one of the very few box-office hits for Sylvester Stallone during the 90’s. Sharon Stone became famous just 2 years earlier with ‘Basic Instinct’ and, at the time, she was still a bankable name but after a series of flop (Honestly, except for ‘Casino’, has she done anything really interesting after ‘Basic Instinct’ ?), her career is pretty much hopeless nowadays. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, it is actually not completely worthless but the whole thing was just pure routine and didn't give anything really exciting or interesting to chew on. I still believe that it had some potential though but the fact that both Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone have some rather limited acting skills didn’t help either and there was not much chemistry between them. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen worse, it is and remains an average action flick and I don’t think it is really worth a look. 

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but, in my opinion, Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones are both some tremendous actors and a movie starring both of them was a must see in my book. So, with this in mind, I ended up watching this flick but, unfortunately, I thought it was pretty disappointing. Basically, it was released the same year as ‘Speed’ which had many of the same elements and while ‘Speed’ was a box-office hit, this flick was pretty much a flop which wasn’t really surprising. I mean, it was actually watchable and both Bridges and Jones did their best with the material but, at the end of the day, it is and remains a rather unoriginal and forgettable action flick involving some terrorist. Instead of a bus and some amazing actions scenes, they gave us some shabby political message to add some credibility to the whole thing but it was not really convincing. I’m afraid. Furthermore, the way they connected the two main characters was also pretty lame and unnecessary. To conclude, honestly, it is not completely worthless but it still remain an average action flick and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

Back in the 90’s, I saw ‘Unstrung Heroes’ which was Diane Keaton’s directing debut and even though it was barely seen when it was released, I thought it was a decent drama so I was quite eager to see her following directing effort. It was written by Nora Ephron and her sister and it didn’t become a success like other movies she wrote like ‘When Harry Met Sally...’ or ‘Sleepless in Seattle’. To be honest, since I kept hearing only bad things about this flick, I really had some low expectations about it but, eventually, I was actually pleasantly surprised. I mean, obviously, it was nothing really amazing but I thought it was still a rather well made romantic comedy. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the way the relationships between the sisters and the mother were set and I thought that the 3 actresses involved (Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton and Lisa Kudrow) gave some good performances. On a side note (not really important but still…), it was probably one of the last movies in which Meg Ryan still looked quite charming. To conclude, even though it is a rather predictable and unoriginal rom-com, it was still not bad at all and I think it is actually worth a look, especially if you like this genre.