Reviews by johanlefourbe

Even though it is a rather obscure feature, for some reasons, I was really eager to check it out. Well, the whole thing turned to pretty good. Indeed, the directing was really solid and, above all, all the children involved gave some really impressive performances.  Yet, the whole thing didn’t manage to completely blow me though. Maybe it was due to the fact that I saw ‘Bully’ before. Indeed, both movies were really similar as they were dealing with some teenagers and how they managed to get revenge from their bully but ‘Bully’ was actually better in my opinion. Another small issue with this movie was that it was actually slightly too short in my opinion. Indeed, the whole thing felt pretty intense but, somehow, the ending felt flat and I think they could have developed this tale a little bit more. Still, it wasn't a big deal as it was a chilling and fascinating story.  For Jacob Estes, this movie was definitely a strong directing debut and even though many, including myself, expected a lot from this guy, during the next 10 years, he would only direct the really obscure ‘The Details’ starring Tobey Maguire. Anyway, to conclude,  even though this movie wasn’t really flawless, it was still a strong drama and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Since it was one of the last movies with Kate Winslet which I hadn't seen yet, I was really eager to check this flick. Furthermore, there was a really impressive cast involved (James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, Steve Buscemi, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker and Christopher Walken) so I had some rather high expectations concerning the damned thing, even if I'm not a big fan of musicals. Well, to be honest, the whole thing turned out to be a huge disappointment, I’m afraid. Eventually, the main issue I had was above all with the story but the characters were not really interesting either. Eventually, I was just really bored by the whole thing. At first, I was really hoping that it would get better at some point but even Christopher Walken in his awesomeness couldn't make it more entertaining. Apparently, Roger Ebert really loved the damned thing so maybe it is matter of taste but I just couldn’t care at all for the damned thing. At least, I have to admit it that the really sexy poster (actually featuring Kate Winslet) was really awesome but it would be probably the only positive thing I could find regarding this movie. To conclude, in spite of the interesting cast, I can't possibly recommend this movie and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but someone gave me an illegal copy of the damned thing so I thought I might as well check it out. Indeed, ever since Robert Pattinson showed up in the ‘Twilight’ franchise, the guy got a terrible reputation and everything he touched was automatically labelled as ‘garbage’ which was probably not really fair. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even though I had some rather low expectations, I thought it was not so bad after all. Indeed, first of all, the whole thing looked really neat and the three leads (Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Christoph Waltz) all gave some convincing perfomances. It was actually quite refreshing to see Pattinson in something else than 'Twilight'. Unfortunately, the story was rather weak and it would have been more interesting if the characters would have been more nuanced. Indeed, the character played by Pattinson was just way too nice and the character portrayed by Waltz was just way too despicable. To conclude, some amazing movies have been made in the past about the circus ('The Circus' by Chaplin, 'La Strada' by Fellini) but even though this flick was not one of them,  it was rather well done and entertaining enough so I think it is still worth a look. 

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I had it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, even though this movie has quite an impressive reputation, to be honest, I always had a hard time to connect with the damned thing. I mean, as usual with Studio Ghibli, the animation was really neat and this story dealing with a post-apocalyptic world had a nice dark edge but it was still missing something. In my opinion, the biggest issue was actually with the main character. Indeed, Nausicaa was a bright kind and courageous princess but that was exactly the problem. Basically, she must be the most flawless character ever created by Hayao Miyazaki but she was so flawless that, as a result, she became in fact rather boring, I'm afraid. The other characters were even less interesting which didn't help either. I undestand that, in this dark and chaotic world, she was supposed to be some kind of beacon of light but this approach actually really backfired in my opinon and I really had a hard time to care about what she was going through. Anyway, to conclude, even if I wasn't not really blown away by the damned thing, I still enjoyed it since there was so much creativity and imagination displayed and it is definitely worth a look though, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I thought it was a really gloomy and depressing movie. Basically, after ‘Monster’ and ‘North Country’", Charlize Theron shows once again that she definitely can play a white trash woman. Concerning  the other  actors, they all delivered some good performances and the directing was decent as well. Unfortunately, I can't say I really enjoyed the damned thing. The main issue was probably that none of the characters was really interesting. Joleen (the mother played by Charlize Theron) was basically a total bitch, she dropped her kid for months and when she came back, we were supposed to rejoice but it didn't work for me. James (the brother played by Nick Stahl) was a pathetic loser who barely could take care of himself and who was completely incapable of taking care of his niece. Randall (the colleage  played by Woody Harreslon)  was a drunk spending his free time playing quarters and finally, Mr. Reedy (the father played by Dennis Hopper) was pretty much a sadistic dictator. Tara (the little girl played by AnnaSophia Robb) seemed to be a bright kid but she was surrounded by some serious morons so her chances for a better future were rather thin. Do you get my point? Well, I really didn't care about those characters and the story was neither entertaining, interesting or emotional. In spite of its flaws, as it was a rather well made drama with a decent cast, I still think it is worth a look though.

To be honest, I have to admit it, when I first heard about this movie, I wasn't really excited to watch the damned thing. Indeed, the poster, the subject, it just didn't really appeal to me at all. Well, I have to admit it, it turned out to be much better than I expected and I thought it was eventually actually pretty good. Indeed, it was dealing with a decent story and I was interesting to discover how they managed to make those all-nude revues in England during WWII. Unfortunately, they used a very basic and predictable structure and, as a result, the whole thing was never really mind-blowing. For example, you get to see Laura Henderson hiring Vivian Van Damm and, at first, they don’t get along but, of course, towards the end of the movie, they have become pretty much best friends. Still, Stephen Frears is a very competent director and Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins both gave some solid performances. To conclude, even if it was not a masterpiece whatsoever, I thought it was still a rather charming and entertaining picture and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Stephen Frears’s work. 

To be honest, at first, I didn’t expect much from this flick. I don’t know, maybe it was the lame poster, the lame title or the fact that Matthew Broderick might be one of the most underwhelming actors out there. On the other hand, since it was directed by Mike Nichols, I thought it might be worth a look. Eventually, I must admit it, I really loved the beginning which was really well directed and the mood was really well set. Furthermore, the whole thing was quite hilarious, Broderick didn't bother me and the guy was even pretty good in this flick. And, of course, Christopher Walken was, as usual, pretty awesome. Unfortunately,  the second half turned out to be rather weak. Indeed, the whole thing started to really slow down and it was not so fun anymore. On top of that,  the end was just downright disappointing. Indeed, the message provided (‘In the army, I had the best time of my life...’) was just rather stupid and it was a really lame way to conclude the story . Furthemore, I thought it really contradicted pretty much everything that was told during the rest of the movie. Still, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, Anyway, I thought it was a decent watch and I think worth a look.