Reviews by johanlefourbe

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.

After hearing so many good things about this movie and since it became a cult classic pretty much overnight, I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, I must admit it, I was a little bit disappointed. The point is that, even though it was rather well made and quite funny, I didn't think it was really revolutionary whatsoever. Still, it was quite entertaining, no doubt about it, and I especially liked the combination of rudeness and sweetness. Furthermore, I also enjoyed the fact that all the guys looked and sounded real which was definitely the best part of this flick. I thought it was really refreshing and it is definitely the biggest asset of most of the movies produced/written/directed by Judd Apatow. On the other hand, and that it is the major flaw coming from Apatow’s work, the women didn't really convince me. Indeed, while the guys were really realistic, the chicks were usually some nerd wet dreams fantasy. For example, do you really believe that these women would end up with those guys?! I don't think so... Still, to conclude, I don't think it is a great flick but it is still pretty good and entertaining and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this flick but since Danny DeVito was starring in it, I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was not bad at all and actually quite entertaining. Basically, it is a rather standard kidnapping comedy and it pretty much followed the formula but, I must admit it, there were many funny scenes. Even though Danny DeVito was pretty funny as usual, above all, I thought that Dave Chapelle was quite hilarious and I wish I would see more movies with him. Later on, Dave Chapelle would become  pretty famous in the 2000’s with ‘Chappelle’s show’. Eventually, he would abruptly leave the show in 2005 in mid-production and during the last decade, he had a rather low profile and he has almost completely disappeared from the public life. For both Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, this movie was their directing debut and even though the end result was decent, it didn’t get much love when it was released and it would be their only directing credit. Anyway, to conclude, it is nothing great whatsoever but I thought it was still quite entertaining and I believe it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Nick Nolte, I thought I should give it a try. I have noticed that this movie has somehow became a cult classic among action movie fans but, personally, I really had a hard time to share their enthusiasm. I mean, first of all, it is kind of difficult for me to take a movie seriously when it has such a title... Honestly, even though it is supposed to sound catchy, I think it is actually pretty lame. Anyway, I have to admit it, an action movie starring such actors like Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe and Michael Ironside can’t be completely worthless. Furthermore, the directing by Walter Hill was also pretty solid and the actors did a decent job. So, indeed, it was not completely bad and somewhat entertaining but I guess I'm not a huge fan of those 80's cheesy action movies which are deadly repetitive and predictable in my opinion. To conclude, I didn’t enjoy it much and I don’t think it is really worth a look but, still, if you love the genre, you may end up enjoying it more than I did.

Oh dear… Eddie Murphy must have one of the most pathetic careers in Hollywood. I mean, back in the 80’s, he was a huge star and a massive box-office draw but, from the 90’s until now, he has made some really dubious choices and all his movies are nowadays terrible and some massive flops. This movie is a fine example showing how misguided his choices can be. Indeed, following their success with the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ franchise, Disney decided to adapt another of their attractions. What they didn’t realize is that to adapt  ‘Pirates…’ sounded actually terrible on paper and they just got terribly lucky that it became such a success. Anyway, unfortunately for them, this new adaptation was this time a real flop ... First of all, Eddie Murphy can be funny (even though it has been a while the last time he actually made me laugh) but I barely can stand him when he stars in a family feature. Furthermore, the whole thing was neither funny or scary or even entertaining for that matter. I mean, if they took some risk, made a mix of traditional horror with some good old R rated humor by Murphy, it could have worked but it wasn’t meant to be, I’m afraid. To conclude, the whole thing was just plain boring and you should probably avoid it.

Before making the transition to dramas, becoming a "serious" actor and winning 2 oscars in the process, Tom Hanks actually starred in such comedies throughout the 80's. Even if I enjoyed some of those ('The money pit' for example, was not bad at all and ‘Big’ was pretty good as well), some of them were actually kind of lame. In my opinion, this flick (which was Tom Hanks’ 3rd movie and 2nd lead part) definitely belonged to the 2nd category. I mean, the concept actually had some potential but I was actually surprised by how the whole thing was not funny or entertaining whatsoever. Basically, it is one of these comedies which teases about some supposedly sexual content but, at the end of the day, it was pretty harmless. Eventually, the only memorable thing, to me, was the scene during which Monique Gabrielle displayed her stunning body (it lasted just for 30 seconds but it was quite unforgettable whereas I barely remember anything that happened before or after). To conclude, even though I have seen worse, it remains a really average comedy and you should watch it only if you are a huge Tom Hanks fan or if you love those lame comedies from the 80's.

Basically, it is one of these movies I wanted to see for years. Indeed, the title sounded really cool, I always had a weak spot for Robert Redford and with Sydney Pollack, they made a really strong team. Eventually, I thought it was pretty good but, honestly, I was expecting more from this flick and it didn't live up to my expectations. Still, it remains a very well made and solid thriller but, in my opinion, the plot was not really strong. I mean, it was a decent story but nothing actually really mind-blowing. The set-up was pretty cool as it was involving an analyst, instead of the usual trained spies but, unfortunately, since this analyst was played by Robert Redford, he was still pretty bad-ass and resourceful (He even managed to get Faye Dunaway in the sack which would have made James Bond proud). Still, it was entertaining, Robert Redford remains a very dependable actor and he delivered a good performance, as usual. Eventually, the best thing about this flick was Max von Sydow who was a very cool bad guy. To conclude, even though it is not a masterpiece, it is a typical but entertaining 70's thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I always had a weak spot for Claire Danes, I was still eager to check it out. Unfortunately, this flick is not among her best work... Indeed, according to Imdb, it is actually even her worst movie so far. To be honest, even though it didn’t think it was indeed anything really amazing, I thought it was still mildly entertaining. Basically, it is a rather standard undercover cop movie involving young folks (à la '21 Jumpstreet') but there was absolutely nothing remotely original or really interesting about it. Basically, the concept was decent, the young actors were pretty good but the story was just terribly generic and underwhelming. Apparently, it was another failed attempt to adapt a fairly successful TV show and the whole thing was a flop at the box-office. Still, above all thanks to the charismatic cast, it was still quite watchable but I don’t think I will re-watch it anytime soon. To conclude, there is a good chance that my rating might be too generous on this one but I still think it is worth a look though, especially if you are interested in Claire Danes' work.