Reviews by johanlefourbe

This movie reminds me of ‘The Cold Light of Day’, a movie I have just watched a couple of days ago. I know, it is an action flick and this one is a comedy but, basically, both of them have a pretty cool title which basically has nothing to do with the actual plot. Anyway, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but I always find that Danny Devito is actually a very funny and underrated actor so I thought I might as well check this flick. Concerning Martin Lawrence, the guy is usually ok but nothing great but what happen if you put them together? Not much, I'm afraid.... There were a (very) few good jokes but the plot was just not really entertaining and the whole thing was rather predictable and not really funny. Eventually, unsurprisingly, it was a commercial and critical failure when it was released. The weird thing is it was originally a project for the late Heath Ledger which is something really difficult to imagine. At least, it was nice to see the rather unknown but really charming Carmen Ejogo (apparently, she is married with Jeffrey Wright, the lucky bastard). Anyway, to conclude, it is a rather lame comedy and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

I had no idea what to expect from this flick and, to be honest, I’m not really sure why I actually watched it in the first place. My best guess is that I watched it because William H. Macy was involved but since he wasn’t playing the main character, it was pretty much a waste of time. I’m afraid. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of spoofs in general but this one actually had some potential. Unfortunately, you could see from the start that they settled for some lame jokes and a rather predictable plot. On top of that, the stellar cast was not bad but not really impressive either (Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Holly, Rob Schneider, Harry Dean Stanton, Bruce Dern, William H. Macy, Rip Torn) and, from the moment that you have Rob Schneider in the mix, you can be sure that you will watch a rather lame comedy. For the director David S. Ward, it was quite a step-down after the really enjoyable ‘Major League’ (on the other hand, he had already made the rather abysmal ‘King Ralph’ so this movie was maybe just a confirmation). Anyway, to conclude, the whole thing was quite underwhelming and it is definitely not worth a look, even if you like the genre.

After hearing so many good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out and I was expecting something great. Unfortunately, even though I thought it was indeed pretty good, I must admit that I was actually little bit disappointed by the whole thing. In my opinion, it was basically based on a gimmick which consisted in putting a film noir in a modern settings with a bunch of teenagers which was an interesting approach but it was not really mind-blowing. Somehow, this gimmick was a big critical success and, as a result, it became a cult-classic with many fans but I never thought it was really fascinating. Still, if you put this aside, it remains a well directed picture with a very good performance by the always reliable Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Later on, Gordon-Levitt would work again with Rian Johnson and they would make the even more successful ‘Looper’. On top of that, in the near future, Rian Johnson will follow up J.J. Abrams and will direct one of those new Star Wars installments so it seems that his career is doing pretty well right now. Anyway, to conclude, coming back to our main feature, even though I don’t think it is really a masterpiece, it is still a pretty good feature, a really solid directing debut, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Reese Witherspoon and Mira Nair’s work, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, I thought it was a decent watch but, not much more I’m afraid. I mean, sure, it wasn’t completely worthless and it was in fact a really gorgeous picture and I thought it was rather well directed as well. Furthermore, the actors all delivered some decent performances but still the movie failed to really impress me. I guess I was rather bored by the whole story and didn't care much about the characters involved. It was obviously based on a really prestigious book and, apparently, it is a rather lenghty book and even the great Stanley Kubrick decided to direct ‘Barry Lyndon’ instead because he thought it was just too long. Therefore, it seems that they rushed through the whole thing and the story and characters were not very well developed. On top of that, the main character, Becky Sharp, is notoriousy a rather dark cynical anti-hero while, in this movie adaptation, they gave a very much positive portrayal of this character which was rather disappointing. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think worth a look though, especially if you like the genre.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since it was starring and written by Steve Martin, I thought I might as well check it out. Honestly, I keep watching the movies with Steve Martin but they always fail to really entertain me. For example, this movie is actually one of his better efforts but still I can't say I really enjoyed it. I guess I never really cared about the story or any one of the characters involved. Basically, it is a rather whimsical comedy trying to sell you the idea that Los Angeles is actually a quirky city. Above all, the whole gimmick of the talking freeway billboard was seriously misguided and rather lame, in my opinion. At least, this movie displayed that Sarah Jessica Parker could play someone attractive which was quite an achievement (even Parker herself admitted that it was thanks to this movie that her status has changed and, following this movie, the producers finally believed that she could play some ‘sexy’ characters). Anyway, to conclude, even though I wasn’t really completely blown away, it was still a decent comedy and I think it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Steve Martin’s work.

I always liked Bruce Willis and I still think he is one of the best action movie stars around. Since John McClane is his most famous character, it was rather expected that they would made a new sequel at some point. On the other hand, I though it was rather surprising that they took 12 years to bring another sequel since the last installment was the highest grossing movie released in 1995. And how was the end result? It was not bad and rather entertaining but some of the action scenes were way over the top. That's te biggest issue with this franchise. Indeed, each time around, they make sure that the whole thing gets bigger and louder but, as a result, it kind of gets pretty often rather ridiculous. Furthermore, we have entered the age of the CGI overdosis so the makers don't have any physical limits to stop their imagination and it is rather difficult to relate with an action scene which is pretty much practically impossible. Still, even at 52 years old, Bruce Willis was totally awsesome, badass and completely convincing. To conclude, even though it is obviously the weakest installment in this franchise, it is still worth a look, especially if you're a big fan of action movies.

Even though I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick, since I have a weak spot for Charlize Theron, I was definitely eager to check it out. Basically, it is one of her more obscure movies but I thought it was actually pretty good. It was in fact directed by her boyfriend at that time, Stuart Townsend. What happened to him by the way?!? He seemed to have a rather promising career, he was even cast as Aragorn for 'The Lord of the Rings', but then he was dumped after a few days of shooting, replaced by Viggo Morstensen and since then, nothing much, I'm afraid. Even Charlize Theron has dumped him... Anyway, I thought his directing debut was a rather well made and thoughtful picture. It deals with some interesting issues like can you change the world? or should we accept it as it is? if we decide to try to change it, do we have a chance to succeed and how far should we go? Should we hurt people in the process? Of course, the movie doesn't give any answers on those questions but it provides some interesting views and reflections. To conclude, I actually liked this movie and it is definitely worth a look.

Since I have always been interested in Lasse Halstrom’s work, I was really eager to check this flick. In fact, this movie was the first American production directed by the Swedish director but, unfortunately, it is nowadays pretty much forgotten. I thought it was pretty good and I would go as far as saying that it is one of the most nuanced romantic movies I have ever seen, it had a lot of potential and it could have been a great movie. Unfortunately, there was this very annoying twist at the end and it kind of ruined the movie for me. Indeed, up to that point, they managed to create this really sweet and believable relationship involving those two 3 dimensional characters (Michael Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter were both great here) and, unfortunately, they felt they had to add a dramatic climax but I thought it was really pedestrian and misguided and it really diminished the impact of this otherwise beautiful love story. 2 years later, Lasse Hallstrom would come back with another feature called ‘What's Eating Gilbert Grape’, a great movie starring Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio and it would become one of my personal favorites. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it is still a rather unique picture and I think it is definitely worth a look.

Recently, they have made 2 movies about some major Royal figures (‘Diana’ starring Naomi Watts and ‘Grace of Monaco’ starring Nicole Kidman) but both were some huge flops, critically and financially. Indeed, it seems rather difficult to make a decent feature focusing on such iconic personalities but Stephen Frears did manage to make one which was really well received. To be honest, being a French guy, I'm not a big fan of the Royals, in England or anywhere else in the world but, still, after hearing so many good things about this flick, I was really curious about the damned thing. Eventually, I wasn't disappointed. Indeed, to start with, instead of going for something really straightforward like telling us her whole life, they decided to focus on a specific event which was very interesting and I thought that it was just very well developed and written. On top of that, Helen Mirren gave an amazing perfomance and, as a result, she won the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role which was completely deserved. To conclude, I thought it was a really solid biographical drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested by the subject.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Sandra Bullock, I was quite eager to check it out. Indeed, I really think that Sandra Bullock is a really charming actress but, to be honest, most of the movies she's in are usually pretty much average and this movie is actually a very good example. I mean, at least, for once, she was starring in a thriller with a sort of time travelling concept instead of her usual romantic-comedies and we should praise her to do something really different than her usual stuff. On top of that, Bullock was allright, the mood and directing were actually pretty good but how was the end-product eventually? I’m afraid it was still rather average. Basically, it is an overly convoluted thriller which tries to be a major mind-f*ck but the story was just too weak and the twists at the end were almost unbearable and really annoying. To conclude, even though the whole thing actually had some potential, I thought it was just a rather weak thriller, I don’t think it is really worth a look and you should watch it only if you're a huge fan of Sandra Bullock fan.