Reviews by johanlefourbe

Even though I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick, a Western starring Clint Eastwood is always a treat, so I was really eager to check it out. The fact that it was directed by the great Don Siegel made it even more interesting. If I’m not mistaken, it was the 2nd movie he made with Clint Eastwood, the first one being ‘Coogan’s Bluff’ and they would make almost 4 movies back to back ending with their seminal classic ‘Dirty Harry’. However, I wasn't really convinced by the addition of Shirley MacLaine in the mix but she didn't bother me much. On the other hand, it was nice to have a strong female character in a Western for once but, somehow, it didn’t connect with this one. Originally, Elizabeth Taylor was linked to play this part but, for various reasons, it didn’t happen and, apparently, Shirley MacLaine didn’t get along with Don Siegel and even Clint Eastwood didn’t really know what to do with her. Eventually, it is not really a revolutionary flick, Eastwood basically plays the same character he has always been playing so far but it remains an entertaining Western and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are looking for a good old Western starring Clint Eastwood.

I already saw this movie a couple of times times but since it was a while back and since I'm planning to watch 'Clerks 3' pretty soon on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out again. Since I'm a huge fan of 'Clerks', of course, I really had to see this flick when it came out. Well, eventually, this sequel was unfortunately not as good as its predecessor but it was to be expected and I stil enjoyed the damned thing. First of all, even though some might argue that this movie had a more polished professional look, I actually missed the raw look and the whole thing didn't feel as authentic as the first time. Indeed, whereas the Quick Stop felt genuine because, well, it was actually a genuine convenience store, this time around, the fast-food restaurant felt fake and it figures because it was made up for this movie. Seriously, it would have been so awesome if they could have used a real fast-food chain but it was mere wishfull thinking since there is no way that a real fast-food chain would have given their approval. Furthermore, Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson have never been some great actors but the dialogues were so great with the first installment so you didn’t notice or care for this lack of skills. However, 12 years later, they didn’t improve as actors but, at least, Kevin Smith’s dialogues are still pretty funny and he managed to bring here and there some hilarious scenes. Eventually, as I mentioned before, in spite all these flaws, I still really enjoyed the damned thing though. Indeed, it was just awesome to see again those characters I loved so much 12 years later and even though the whole thing was maybe nothing really amazing, it is definitely worth a look and a must see for any respectable fan of Kevin Smith's work.

Since I kept hearing good things about this flick, I thought I should eventually check it out. Indeed, even though it was a rather small independent film, and despite never holding the number one spot at the American box office, the movie went on to earn a massive $369 million. Eventually, a couple of years later, it would loose the 1st place as the highest-grossing independent film of all time, a spot taken by ‘The Passion of the Christ’. To be honest, even though I thought it was pretty good, it wasn't really mind-blowing in my opinion. What I particularly enjoyed is that the romantic leads really looked like real people and not like your typical Hollywood stars like Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. However, the story was not very original and rather predictable. Concerning Nia Vardalos, it seemed to be a big fairy tale for her, as she started this story in a one-woman play called ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ which was then turned into a huge success at the box-office. So , it seemed that she had a bright future ahead of her but she didn’t get much success since then. Still, to conclude, it is a rather entertaining and well made romantic comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

When is the last time that Ivan Reitman has directed a hit? Back in the 80’s, he has directed some major classics like ‘Ghost Busters’ but in the 90’s, his movies were already becoming rather underwhelming and, nowadays, his work is not really worth a look anymore. This time, the fact that Uma Thurman was involved was not much reassuring. I mean, I have a lot of respect for her but, for every good movie she makes, she makes at least 5 very average or even bad movies. This flick is a good example of how disappointing their careers have become for both of them. In this age of massive blockbusters about super-heroes, the concept was not bad at all and rather original but the end result was just so underwhelming. Indeed, at the end of the day, the story was lame, the jokes were not funny and I was bored by the whole thing. Basically, it was pretty tricky to mix your average super-hero feature with a romantic-comedy and the makers seriously failed to deliver something decent. To conclude, even though this project did have some potential, it was eventually a rather tedious comedy and I don’t think is really worth a look, even if you are interested in Ivan Reitman’s work.

Back in the 80’s, Rob Reiner was one of the most successful directors at work. I mean, just check his track-record, it is quite impressive (‘This Spinal Tap’, ‘The Sure Thing’, ‘Stand by Me’, ‘The Princess Bride’, ‘When Harry Met Sally...’, ‘Misery’, ‘A Few Good Men’). But then, he made ‘North’. To be honest, I have seen this movie once and I didn’t think it was that bad after all. I mean, I thought I would watch the worst movie ever made so that’s probably why. Anyway, it was a massive flop, both financially and critically, and it seems that already 20 years later Rob Reiner has still not recovered from the damage. This flick is a pretty good example. I mean, even though it received some tepid reviews, I thought it was not bad at all and I especially enjoyed the A list cast (Kevin Costner, Jennifer Anniston, Shirly MacLaine, Mark Ruffalo, Richard Jenkins). Still, I can't say I was really fascinated by the story which felt rather convoluted to me. Of course, the whole concept was rather misguided from the start but the end-result could have been worse. To conclude, it is a rather entertaining romantic-comedy but still very routine and it doesn't really sparkle whatsoever but, somehow, I still think it is worth a look, but don’t expect anything amazing.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Demi Moore, I thought I might as well give it a try. Indeed, even though she was definitely on the A list back in the 90’s, somehow, it all started to slow down for her and between 1997 ('Deconstructing Harry') and 2006 ('Bobby'), she only made 3 movies. It isn't much and you may think that she decided then to focus on quality instead of quantity. Unfortunately, I'm afraid it wasn’t really the case here... Indeed, one of those flicks was 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' (obviously, not a real masterpiece) and later on she did this paranormal thriller. Eventually, it was not a success either, either financially or critically. Basically, the story was very average, it is one of those rather convoluted and underwhelming thrillers with the usual annoying twist ending. The fact that Demi Moore's acting was not really convincing didn’t help much either. On a positive note, it was fun to see Henry Ian Cusick, one of the major actors in ‘Lost’, but that was a rather small compensation. To conclude, it is not a really bad movie but it is not really worth a look either.

Even though he is way past his prime, I still try to watch all the movies starring Robert De Niro. This movie is probably one of the most obscure he has made in the last decade but it was not one of his worst (alright, it doesn’t mean much nowadays…). I hadn't heard much about this flick but I was rather intrigued since there was a rather impressive cast (F. Murray Abraham, Kathy Bates, Gabriel Byrne, Geraldine Chaplin, Robert De Niro, Émilie Dequenne, Harvey Keitel, Samuel Le Bihan, Dominique Pinon). Unfortunately, even though the story was intriguing, I can't say I was really fascinated by the whole thing and eventually, I was rather underwhelmed. The point is that I don’t really get what all these actors saw in this story. I mean, when you see all these names on the cover, you expect some massive work of Art, an award pretender, but, eventually, you get a rather tedious affair. After making some research, I found out it was based on a very acclaimed book of the same title, a book which has been adapted already twice before. So, maybe the book was great but this adaptation was rather forgettable. Still, in spite of its flaws, it remains a decent watch and I think it is worth a look somehow but don’t expect anything really amazing.

Since I’m huge fan of Clint Eastwood’s work, I was really eager to check this flick. First of all, it was not surprising that for his sophomore directing effort Clint Eastwood decided to direct a Western. Back in those days, it was the genre he was the most associated with and it was pretty much compulsory that Eastwood would star in all his directing effort otherwise the studio wouldn’t back his projects. As a result, Eastwood had to also play the lead in most of the movies he directed even he was solely interested in directing the damned thing. Anyway, back to our main feature, Clint Eastwood is the last Western living legend and it has always been a pleasure to see him kick some ass. To be honest, this flick was nothing really original whatsoever but it was very well made and entertaining enough. Out of the 4 Westerns he has directed, it was probably the least interesting one but it doesn’t mean it was bad, not at all. To conclude, I thought it was a pretty good movie, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are looking for a good old-fashioned Western directed by and starring the great Clint Eastwood.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a decent cast, I thought I might as well give it a try. Eventually, I thought it was not bad at all. Indeed, the mood was well set and there was a good cast (Cher, Dennis Quaid and Liam Neeson who was still rather unknown at the time). Furthermore, I thought that Cher and Dennis Quaid had a pretty good chemistry, even though it was rather disappointing that they still ended up together. Basically, it is a typical whodunit and, even though it was actually rather entertaining thanks to the intriguing characters and the work provided by the actors, the conclusion was rather underwhelming. I mean, to start with, since it is a thriller, you have the usual annoying twist and routine action scene at the end and the whole conclusion was not really satisfying (Roger Ebert further developed this failure in his own review) but it didn't ruin the movie for me. To conclude, it is nothing really original or amazing whatsoever but I thought it was a well done and entertaining thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this flick. Basically, it is once again one of those remakes of a popular French comedy (it is usually not a good omen...) and the fact that I found Martin Short most of the time really obnoxious didn’t help either. Eventually, I must admit it, it was not bad at all after all which was rather surprising. Short was indeed rather annoying but he didn't ruin the movie and there were actually many over the top and really hilarious scenes. I wonder if I saw the original French movie starring Gérard Depardieu and Pierre Richard (I used to find him hilarious when I was a kid). Back then, Francis Veber (who also directed this remake) made 3 movies back-to-back with those guys and these movies were big successes in France. There is a fair chance that the original was actually much better but I was still really entertained by this US version which displays the versatility of Nick Nolte, a great thespian and probably one of the most underrated actors ever. To conclude, even though it is far from being a masterpiece, I think it was decent comedy and it is definitely worth a look.