Reviews by johanlefourbe

Honestly, this is a really obscure flick (I was only the 2nd listal who actually rated this movie) and I really wonder how I actually ended up watching the damned thing in the first place. I guess I watched it above all because I had heard a lot of good things about Joseph Losey but since I never had the opportunity to watch one of his movies, I thought I might as well check this one out. Eventually, I thought it was an interesting watch, the directing was decent and the story was not bad but, to be honest, I was kind of bored during some parts. I guess I was unlucky since the very same year, Losey did release ‘The Servant’ which would be one of his best movies so I guess I didn’t really pick up his best work (in fact, this week, there is ‘The Go-Between’ on the BBC so maybe I will check this one). It was also a Hammer production, famous for their gothic horror features but they also produced such cheap science-fiction features like this one. Anyway, to conclude, even though it wasn’t really great, it was still an interesting introduction to this director and I will definitely check his other movies when I have the opportunity.

I always had a weak spot for Halle Berry but, honestly, ever since she won an Academy award for ‘Monster’s Ball’, most of her movies have been rather disappointing and this movie is actually a perfect example. I mean, to have a movie starring both Halle Berry and Bruce Willis sounded like a great idea, the whole thing definitely had some potential so I was rather curious to watch this flick. Eventually, it was at first quite promising as the directing was pretty good and the story was quite intriguing. Unfortunately, like most of the modern thrillers, it went so over the top at some point, there were just so many pointless twists that, after a while, I pretty much lost interest in the whole thing. Concerning James Foley, a director with a decent track-record, it was quite a step-down (especially if you compare it ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ which has become a really cul-classic) and this movie would be his last theatrical release in the last 7 years. To conclude, even though it could have been a decent thriller bad because of a really ludicrious script, I thought the whole thing was really weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look, even if you like the genre.

Before watching this flick, to be honest, I thought it would be completely terrible. I mean, it has been years since Renny Harlin has directed anything really impressive and the whole concept seemed rather lame to me. The funny thing is that they obviously tried to make some kind of Harry Potter clone but with some older characters but like most of what Renny Harlin does, it ended up being a flop. The funny thing is that with 'Twilight', which was released only a few years later, they pretty much went for the same concept but, this time, they had some major success. Anyway, to my surprise, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, as a matter of fact, my wife really enjoyed it (she completely refuses to get some more education concerning movies.... What can I do?!?). Of course, it was still nothing great whatsoever but I honestly thought that it remained watchable. To conclude, it is an average story, with some average acting and directing but, still, there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes. In this case, you should probably watch it at your own risk but you should definitely not expect anything really amazing.

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.