Reviews by johanlefourbe

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.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since my step-son was fond of the cartoon which was broadcasted on TV at the time, I thought we could give it a try. Back in those days, there was not much else to rent at the DVD shop (which has by now closed down ages ago), so we ended up watching this flick. Eventually, I have to admit it, I was actually rather positively surprised. I don't think I ever really paid attention to the TV show but this full length adaptation was quite gorgeous which was something you wouldn't expect from an European production (It might even be a French production but I'm not completely sure). So, it was really beautifully made which made the whole thing quite intriguing but, unfortunately, the story was quite weak and uninteresting and, therefore, I didn't care much for the whole thing and what was going on. It was pretty obvious that the makers were targeting a (very) young audience so there wasn't much to enjoy for the rest of us . Still, in spite of these flaws, it remains a visually intriguing animated feature and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Actually, I still have to see 'Flags of our fathers', but I was quite lucky to catch this one already. First of all, it was quite interesting that this movie was Clint Eastwood's actual first 'attempt' to make a war drama but, eventually, you could say that he was quite successful, once again. Indeed, the movie looked great, the story was completely spellbinding and I loved the fact that it was focusing on the 'bad guys' for once, and, in the process, they gave the enemy a human face, a voice and some emotions. I really wonder what the Japanese audience made of this movie, maybe I should check it out some day. Eventually, this flick was praised while 'Flags of our fathers' was deemed rather disappointing. Indeed, this movie was eventually nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and this time, Eastwood lost against Scorsese when 3 years before, it was actually the over way around, when Eastwood won with 'Million Dollar Baby' and Scorsese lost with 'The Aviator'. Anyway, I think it is absolutely a great achievement, a very good war flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Clint Eastwood's work.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Drew Barrymore, I thought I should check it out. As you may already know, it is basically a live version of the ever popular fairy tale and I thought it was not bad. It was rather unexpected to see Drew Barrymore in a fairy tale like this one and she was a rather unexpected choice but she was actually pretty good. Anjelica Huston is always dependable when playing the bad guy and she was also pretty good in this. It was also pretty nice to see Jeanne Moreau, the French icon, in an American production like this one. Furthermore, the movie looked quite awesome with some nice sets and costumes. However, somehow, it didn’t really blow me away though. Indeed, I felt a little bit underwhelmed by the story as they didn't add anything new to it or they didn't try to give it a new direction. That’s the problem with this kind of adaptations, you are so familiar with the original tale, if they are too faithful, it becomes rather boring. Still, even though it wasn’t nothing really amazing, it still remain an interesting adaptation and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since there was Salma Hayek and Colin Farrell together in this flick, I thought it should be interesting and I was really eager to check it out. Unfortunately, in spite its potential, I thought it was seriously a huge disappointment. I mean, the whole thing looked pretty good, the movie was well shot, there was a nice mood but, somehow, it was terribly underwhelming. Above all, I thought the whole thing was just poorly written with a really annoying voice over. Basically, it is obvious that they wanted to create a film noir atmosphere which seemed to be a good idea but the end-result was a failure, at least, that’s my opinion. Honestly, I really had a hard time to care about the story which was terribly pedestrian and the characters involved who were terribly bland. It's too bad because the material was pretty good and the whole thing really had some potential but it just didn't work out. I guess, you get to see Salma Hayek naked (she must have been relieved that almost no one saw this flick) but I’m not sure you should see this movie just for this reason. To conclude, it is not really a bad movie but it was still very average and I don’t think it is really worth a look, even if you are a fan of this genre.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since I’m a huge fan of Cate Blanchett, I thought I should check it out. Indeed, I think Cate Blanchett is an amazing actress and I would watch anything she's in it. Basically, this time, it was a small Australian drug drama which is rather unknown, probably one of her more obscure features and I think it is actually quite underrated in my opinion or maybe it is just an unknown. Alright, I have to admit it, the story was actually rather standard but I thought it was interesting enough. Furthermore, Blanchett but also Sam Neill and Hugo Weaving all delivered some amazing performances here. On a side note, it was also rather surprising to see Dustin Nguyen (yeah, one of the guys from ‘ 21 Jump Street’, a TV show I used to watch when I was a teenager). It must have been ages since I saw this actor in anything and I didn’t expect to see him in some gritty drug drama like this one but he actually did a decent job. To conclude, even though it is nothing really amazing, in my opinion, it remains a well made drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Cate Blanchett's work.

I think that John Waters is a very interesting director and it is the reason why I wanted to watch this flick and, as a matter of fact, I wanted to see this movie for many years already. Still, honestly, when was the last time John Waters has actually directed a good movie? Not so long ago, I also saw his last movie, ‘A Dirty Shame’, and the whole thing was seriously quite pathetic. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, it wasn’t really good either. I mean, the premise was actually not bad and quite promising and Christina Ricci delivered a very good performance as usual. Unfortunately, the whole thing was still rather underwhelming. I mean, like I said before, the plot was at first intriguing but it didn't really go anywhere and, in my opinion, the whole thing was actually rather pointless. On top of that, the lead character was not really interesting and he was rather a wimp, in my opinion. To conclude, this flick definitely had some potential, it was not bad at all but it could have been way better than this but still, it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in John Waters' work.