Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, I’m pretty sure I have never seen the TV series ‘Planet Earth’ but since this movie had a solid reputation, I was quite eager to check it out. Indeed, when it was released, this movie was a huge critical and commercial success and it turned out to be the second-highest grossing nature documentary of all time (behind ‘March of the Penguin’). Eventually, I have to admit it, I thought it was a gorgeous picture and, only for this reason, it is really worth checking it but, to be honest, I can’t say I was really blown away by the whole thing. I don’t know, even though it was visually quite appealing to behold, in my opinion, there was nothing really original or ground-breaking about the whole thing. On top of that, the whole environmental message (even though it is a really important topic) was quite pedestrian and actually rather bored me (If you want to see a powerful enviromental documentary, I would suggest ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ instead). Still, even though I don’t think it is such a great documentary, there is no denying that it is still very well done and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. I remembered it very well though, the first time around, after hearing here and there that this movie was really awesome (according to Roger Ebert, it was even the best movie released in 2007), I had some huge expectations. However, to be honest, this movie turned out to be slightly disappointing after all. Sure, I have to admit that I did like the damned thing but I still think it is kind of overrated. Above all, what bothered me the most was that the whole thing was trying too hard to be smart and clever but eventually it didn't really sound natural or convincing. Eventually, Juno did sound like a very intelligent person but if she was so smart, how on earth could she get pregnant like this?!? However, I’m glad I gave the damned thing a second chance because, even if I was still not completely sold, I was this time around much more able to see its qualities. Indeed, even if Cody’s dialogues were still too elaborate, there was actually something really genuine about these characters and the whole cast gave some really solid performance, especially Elliot Page. Another thing that I enjoyed was the fact that the movie didn’t really follow a linear structure, even if it was still nothing really groundbreaking. Concerning Jason Reitman, I guess this movie is still considered as his magnum opus, even if I personally preferred 'Thank you for smoking', his directorial debut, but more problematic is that even though 'Up in the air' turned out to be another (deserved) critical success, everything else he made afterwards didn’t make so many waves after all so he never became such a great director after all. Anyway, to conclude, in my opinion, this movie is funny and entertaining but not really much more than that and I don’t think it is such a masterpiece after all.

I already saw this movie but since it was a while ago and since I had it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. First of all, being a huge fan of Martin Scorsese’s work, obviously, I had to watch this movie at some point. Apparently, it has actually reached a cult status but, to be honest, even though I did like it, I still consider it a minor piece in his illustrous career. I mean, sure, it was interesting and entertaining enough but not much more than that as far as I was concerned. For example, Griffin Dunne seems to be a nice guy and he did deliver a solid performance but can you compare him with Robert de Niro at the top of his game? I don't think so. Concerning Rosanna Arquette and Linda Fiorentino, they were actually quite interesting, especially Fiorentino, but, unfortunately, the story didn't focus on them. Basically, the whole thing reminded me of all those countless quirky indie and mainstream comedies during which an average guy meets all kinds of excentric characters during some wild night and, even though this movie might be the best one ever made in this genre, I still think it is a rather weak gimmick. Anyway, to conclude, even if it never blew me away, it remains a pretty good movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Scorsese's work.

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but John Waters remains a very interesting director so I had to watch this flick at some point. Unfortunately, I have to say that I was quite disappointed by the whole thing. I mean, sure, there were a few good ideas and it had some potential but the end product was just pretty lame. For example, you get to see Selma Blair with some huge tits on the poster which sounded so far-out but when you finally get to see her on the screen, the joke grows old very quickly and it was pretty much the same issue for everything else in this movie. I didn’t even know before but this movie was released with a ‘NC-17’ rating which actually made more or less sense when you watch the damned thing and this rating is usually considered as the kiss of death for most movies. Anyway, it was clearly a big stepdown after the already flawed but still interesting ‘Cecil B. DeMented’ and ‘Pecker’ and Waters has not directed anything else during the following decade. To conclude, it was pretty weak and you should watch it only if you are a big John Waters fan and you absolutely want to watch all his movies.

Nowadays, Disney is not only ruling the animation world but also the whole box-office above all thanks to these massive Marvel blockbusters and with the upcoming multiple Star Wars features, their status won’t change anytime soon. Before that, Disney was famous for some rather lame family features and for this reason, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since there was a decent cast, I thought I might as well give it a try. In fact, there was not even one single big star in this movie (Patrick Swayze, Oliver Platt, Nick Stahl, Scott Glenn, Stephen Lang, Catherine O'Hara, William H. Macy) so the whole thing was rather hopeless to get any attention and it is nowadays pretty much completely forgotten (it was indeed a huge flop when it was released). Still, I thought it was a rather harmless family movie and I thought it was not bad at all after all. Indeed, even though it was nothing really mind-blowing, it was still pretty entertaining, especially for the kids. Of course, it was still too pedestrian and it was not enough challenging or interesting for me but I still think it is worth a look though, especially if you need to entertain your children.

Like anyone else, through the years, I have followed Dwayne Johnson’s status slowly grow and, nowadays, he is definitely one of the biggest action stars in the world. To be honest, with his first roles in the Mummy franchise, I was hardly convinced but it didn’t take long before the big guy displayed his potential. Indeed, within a few years in this new acting career, he showed up in this flick and it was the first time that I thought that this fellow might have what it takes. Indeed, in this movie, you could really feel he could be the next action star (does the role have already been taken by Jason Statham though?!?). Anyway, to be honest, the story was nothing great or really original but the movie itself was quite enjoyable and entertaining. For Peter Berg, it was his second directing effort and I thought it was quite an improvement on his debut ‘Very Bad Things’ which is considered as a cult-classic by some but I seriously disagree. Berg would keep making bigger and bigger movies until the very lame ‘Battleship’ and it seems that he's back making some smaller dramas like the acclaimed 'Lone Survivor'. To conclude, I thought it was a decent action flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Personally, I never really understood the appeal of 'Flodder'. I mean, I'm pretty sure the whole thing is pretty much unknown abroad but in the Netherlands, it was really popular resulting in 3 movies and a TV show which has lasted no less than 5 seasons. Personally, I didn't really like the first movie and this sequel was not worse or better, in my opinion. Anyway, this time around, the Flodders go to America and it was obviously supposed to be hilarious and all. I have to admit it though, it was a good idea to move them to a different setting, to make them interact with some new characters with a different culture but the whole thing was still pretty lame. Indeed, once again, the jokes were terrible and the characters were just really obnoxious. Basically, the whole thing was just another excuse to throw some even more lame jokes. To be honest, you still had here and there a few good scenes (like the one with the naked basketball game) but they were way too sporadic to lift up the whole thing to an acceptable level. To conclude, I didn't like it at all and I don't think it is really worth a look.

Personally, I never really understood the appeal of 'Flodder'. I mean, I'm pretty sure the whole thing is pretty much unknown abroad but in the Netherlands, it was really popular resulting in 3 movies and a TV show which has lasted no less than 5 seasons. As a matter of fact, in the Netherlands, this first installment is a huge classic and it is even one of the most successful movies ever released out there. Honestly, I really don't get how it has become so popular... Indeed, I'm pretty sure that every Dutch person between 30 and 50 years old have seen this movie at some point and most of them really love it and it just blows my mind. I guess it is not my type of humor but, in my opinion, the jokes were pretty lame, the characters were really obnoxious and even the typical 80's music was annoying. Allright, I have to confess, there were a few good scenes but the whole movie was rather lame and not really entertaining, in my opinion. To conclude, even though it is a huge classic in the Netherlands, I think it is actually pretty average and I don't think it is really worth a look.

When I heard the good buzz about this movie, I was so excited. Indeed, I loved 'Snatch.', it is one of my all-time favorite movies but everything Guy Ritchie has done ever since was downright disappointing so I was really glad to hear that he made a come-back with this movie. Unfortunately, to be honest, it didn't really blow me away after all. I mean, sure, I did like it but I thought it would be way better than this. I guess I'm still hoping with every new movies delivered by Guy Ritchie that he will make something amazing like he did in the good old days but I'm afraid it won't happen any time soon... Anyway, it was still a rather enjoyable and entertaining movie, no doubt about it. For example, Tom Wilkinson and Mark Strong really stole the show and they made me laugh throughout the whole thing. Toby Kebell who I had never seen before was also a great revelation. On the downside, Gerard Butler was decent but not much more. I mean, he is prominently displayed on the poster but he was not even really the lead character and he never reached the level of Jason Statham who was totally bad-ass in 'Snatch' and 'Lock, stock...'. Furthermore, the plot was entertaining but I personally have enough of those convoluted British crime features, it is really time for Ritchie to up his game and show he is not just a one trick pony. To conclude, before watching this, you shouldn't expect too much like I did but it was still a fun movie and it is definitely worth a look and if you enjoyed Guy Ritchie's previous efforts, you will definitely like this one as well.