Reviews by johanlefourbe

Do you know what is worse than a movie starring Eddie Murphy? A sequel starring Eddie Murphy... At least, at the time, his movies were still making some money so it was rather understandable that the producers were still making those flicks but, nowadays, it has become quite pathetic and a potential come-back from Murphy seems more and more unlikely. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I have to admit it, the first installment was actually not bad at all (at least, it was better than ‘The Nutty Professor’ which I found rather underwhelming). Indeed, it was even rather entertaining but this sequel was rather lame and completely unnecessary (on the other hand, it is quite usual with sequels). Of course, the concept was rather idiotic but that wasn’t the problem, the main issue was that the plot was just really boring and the jokes were not really funny whatsoever. Obviously, the main appeal in the first movie was that the main character was suddenly able to communicate with animals but, this time, they had to come up with something new, so they came up with this pedestrian story of saving some forest. To conclude, I don’t think it is really worth a look and, in my opinion, you shouldn't waste your time with this (like I did...).

Since I'm not a big fan of those 'Rush Hour' flicks, I wasn't expecting much from this. Indeed, by now, I have seen all the US movies starring Jackie Chan (I think I’m only missing ‘The Tuxedo but I’m not optimistic) and, honestly, most of them were pretty much garbage (on the other hand, I have started watching some of his Hong-Kong productions and they didn’t impress me either). Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I have to admit it, I was actually really positively surprised. Indeed, even though it must have sounded really silly on paper, the combination of Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan actually worked like a charm and, somehow, they surprisingly perfectly fit in the Western world. I mean, this genre is pretty much dead by now (the recent flops of ‘The Lone Ranger’ and ‘A Millions Ways to Die in the West’ won’t help either) so it was quite refreshing to see such a fun and unpretentious Western and since it was rather successful at the box-office, they even made a sequel. Obviously, the story was rather standard but it was entertaining enough and I was rather captivated until the end and I think it is actually worth a look.

Back in 2002, Joel Zwick made ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding´ which was supposed to be a small independent film but it turned out to be eventually a massive success, it even became the second most profitable film of all time after ´Paranormal Activity´. Well, I saw it and even though I did like it, it was nothing really amazing in my opinion. Anyway, two years later, Zwick came again with another small indepedent feature, once again starring John Corbett, with even a small-blink-an-eye-and-you-will-miss-it cameo by Tom Hanks but it was eventually a huge flop which wasn’t even released theatrically in the US, if i’m not mistaken. Personally, even though she may be not a great actress, I think Kim Basinger is very charismatic and I always try watch her movies when I have the chance so I still wanted to check this flick. Unfortunately, this may be her worst effort I have seen so far. I mean, the plot was just lame and I didn't care at all about what was going on with the characters involved. After that, Joel Zwick went back directing TV-shows episodes like he used to do and he won’t be directing another theatrical feature for a very long time, I’m afraid. To conclude, it was a boring flick and it is definitely not worth your time.

Once again, Luc Besson shows he is a professional in disposable garbage. Indeed, even though he was never one of the my favorite directors, the guy was still one of the most interesting French directors back in the 80´s and the 90´s but, at some point, he decided to take a break from directing and, instead, he decided to write and produce a lot of commercial movies usually successful at the box-office but also rather underwhelming. This flick is a perfect example. I mean, it was not bad and there was definitely a potential in the concept of a Western starring BFFs Penélope Cruze and Salma Hayek. However, the end-result was unfortunately terribly disappointing. Basically, it was completely not original, and full of things I have seen like 1000 times before. Personally, I have nothing against Penélope Cruze, her Spanish movies are usually pretty good, but I don´t think she has ever made one single good flick in English, especially in the US. Concerning Salma Hayek, I actually think that she is a rather interesting actress but together they couldn't do anything to make this more exciting for me. To conclude, I think this flick is not really worth your time unless you're looking for some brainless entertainment.

I’m not sure if Eric Rohmer (who passed away just a couple of years ago) was really well known abroad, but in France, he was always considered a major director. To be honest, I don’t think I’m really an expert in his work but I have still managed to watch a third of all his movies. Indeed, the late Eric Rhomer was one of the most important French directors of the last 50 years and I try to catch all his movies whenever I have the chance. This flick was one of his last efforts and it was definitely an intriguing feature, something different than his usual work. Indeed, this time, he went for a costume drama during the French revolution. For the first time, Rohmer used some digital effects which would explain why the budget (6 millions euro) was much bigger than his usual very small budgets. Anyway, even though I wasn´t completely blown away by the whole thing, I thought it was pretty good and it a rather well made costume drama, even though, as usual with this director, the focus was put on the two main characters. To conclude, I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you're interested in French cinema.

Honestly, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a pretty cool cast, I was really eager to check it out. Indeed, this is a rather underrated and/or unknown movie and I think it is a shame because it is actually a really intriguing flick. Personally, I rather watch smart people than attractive people in a movie and, when you think about it, there are not many movies which actually deals with people using their brain. Anyway, smart characters are much more interesting, at least, that’s my opinion. In this movie, you have 3 very intelligent characters very well played by Anthony Hopkins, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jake Gyllenhaal. Furthermore, it doesn’t stop there, the movie also deals with obsession and how it can drive you mad. All these are subjects I found rather fascinating and the acting was very good and so was the directing. It is interesting to note that, 7 years before, John Madden directed ‘Shakespeare in Love’ another movie also starring Gwyneth Paltrow which was a massive financial and critical success (it was one of the most controversial winner of the Best Picture Academy Award). Well, this movie was barely noticed but it was much better in my opinion. To conclude, I think it is a very interesting feature which deserves much more credit and it is definitely worth a look.

Beforehand, I had some rather low expectations about this flick but still, somehow, I thought I should check it out. First of all, I have to point out that I have nothing against Chris Rock and, as a matter of fact, sometimes, he can be pretty funny. However, in spite of his efforts, with this movie, it just didn’t really work for me. I mean, from the very beginning, the whole concept of reincarnation didn't appeal to me so I never really got involved in the whole story. To be honest, I haven't seen the original version directed by and starring Warren Beatty so I can’t compare both movies, as a matter of fact, this was also a remake of an even older flick called 'Here Comes Mr. Jordan' made in 1941. It also interesting to note that it was the 2nd directing feature for the Weitz brothers whose directing debut was the surprise success 'American Pie'. Basically, this remake is a weak comedy with a weak storyline and a very few funny jokes here and there but not much more than that, I'm afraid. To conclude, in my opinion, it is a rather average comedy and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

I remember it very well, when I was a kid, I saw the trailer for this flick and, at the time, I thought it looked quite awesome and I really wanted to see it back then. If I remember it correctly I did watch the sequel in the movie theater but I was just terribly disappointed. Anyway, concerning this first installment, even though I really wanted to see when it was released, it didn't happen and it took me about 20 years to finally watch the damned thing. Anyway, was it worth the wait ?!? Not really, I´m afraid. I know, it is now more or less a classic but I thought it was rather underwhelming. Of course, if you compare it to the recent awful parodies they make nowadays (I won´t even name them… Seriously, who watched those flicks ?!??) To be honest, I think I´m just not a fan of this genre, as a matter of fact, I didn´t care much for ´The Naked Gun´ either so that says a lot. Still, I think 'Airplane' is pretty cool but this one was just not really funny. To conclude, I didn´t really like much this flick and you should watch it only if you're a huge fan of this genre.

Even though I didn't expect it, there was a lot of interesting things is going on with this feature. First of all, it was one of the last pictures directed by the late Sidney Lumet. With this feature, Lumet went back to the courtroom movie, the genre with which he started his career (his directing debut, one of the best movies ever made, was '12 angry men') but this time, it was not a drama, it was a comedy. I have to say the material was actually quite fascinating. Obviously, it has been dramatized but still what a story! Furthermore, I was also quite blown away by Vin Diesel. Who thought he could play so well?!? Indeed, he really managed to make his character hilarious but also, endearing. On one hand, he seemed to be telling some bullsh*t all the time but, on the other hand, he was actually saying really what he was thinking. I know it doesn't seem to make much sense... The movie was still not flawless though.  For example, there was one scene at the end when Jackie votes "NO!" and then all the characters in the room stand up and say "NO!" as well... It wasn't really realistic but it was a minor issue. A bigger problem was that the movie obviously took side with the gangsters and it would have worked even better if the whole thing was more balanced. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was actually a rather fascinating tale, it is a very underrated movie and it is definitely worth a look.