Reviews by johanlefourbe

When I first heard of this movie, I thought the concept did sound really cool and, even if it turned out to be a flop at the box-office, I still wanted to check it out. Indeed, I loved the idea of Jake La Motta facing Rocky Balboa, even if they were both around 70 years old each. And, to my surprise, even though the critics completely dismissed this movie when it was released, I thought it actually was not so bad at all after all. Sure, the story was fairly generic and completely predictable but, in my opinion, these 2 boxers, their rivalry, how they ended up in this spot, all these elements were all fairly well developed and actually really entertaining. Even the minor characters such as the one played by Kim Basinger, Jon Bernthal, Alan Arkin and Kevin Hart worked fine. The only exception would be Frankie Brite played by [Link removed - login to see][Link removed - login to see] who had so very little impact on the story that he could and probably should have been removed. Eventually, the only thing that didn’t really work was the tone. Indeed, they went for some comedy and they even leaned towards parody which was a rather misguided choice. Eventually, it is hardly surprising since it was directed by Peter Segal, a guy with a not really impressive track-record (for example, he was behind 3 Adam Sandler features among other things). In fact, with such a director onboard, it could have been so much worse. Still, even without going for a dark gritty drama, with such intriguing characters, if they would have gone with a slightly more serious approach, it could have been actually pretty good. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it turned out to be actually a decent watch and I think it is actually worth a look, especially if you eager to see a confrontation between Jake La Motta and Rocky Balboa.

I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since it was starring Bruce Willis, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, for once, Willis didn’t show up for an awful cheap-ass action flick, this time, he got involved with an awful Chinese propaganda war film but, to be honest, the end-result wasn’t much better, I’m afraid. It’s too bad because the story of what happened in Chongqing during WWII was actually interesting but the whole approach was actually so misguided. Indeed, they gave us so many characters, all seriously underwhelming, and they were all involved in some random tedious sub-plots. At least, Bruce Willis did show up for more scenes than he usually do in his direct-to-VOD work (indeed, even if he is always displayed prominently on all the promotional material, he usually shows up for only a couple of scenes) but his performance was still pretty pathetic though. On the other hand, you might wonder why they did put Adrien Brody on the poster since he had only a couple of scenes. Maybe it had to with the fact that the original cut ran over 5 hours so many storylines were probably drastically shortened in the process (Bingbing Fan for example did end up with only with 9 seconds of screentime with a completely random scene at the beginning of this film). Anyway, the whole thing was pretty much an unwatchable mess. Indeed, it featured some of the least convincing and ugly CGI I have seen in a very long time (I have to admit that the numerous explosions were actually well done and quite horrifying to behold but that was pretty much the only thing working with this movie). Even the editing was borderline amateurish with no proper transition between many scenes. Anyway, to conclude, it was a poorly made and, above all, really boring Chinese propaganda feature and you should probably avoid it. 

I didn’t care much about ‘Ouija’ but since this prequel was directed by Mike Flanagan and since it seemed to have a decent reputation, I was quite eager to check it out. To be honest, I didn’t remember much about ‘Ouija’, except that it was pretty lame. I was in fact pretty sure that there was basically no connection between the two movies. It’s only afterwards that I discovered that it was actually taking place in the same house and some of the characters were even actually returning. Anyway, Flanagan did a fine job here, even if he didn’t focus too much on the Ouija board after all. Indeed, in fact, it could have been easily removed and the whole story would still have worked. Anyway, the mood was neat, the end-result was actually pretty creepy and I have to admit that, even if I wasn’t scared sh*tless, I was definitely pretty spooked though. On top of that, even if the characters were not very developed, the Zanders were charismatic enough and I actually cared about what they were going through. Flanagan also uses very often the same actors with all his movies and miniseries (Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel) and they were all fine here. Even Annalise Basso, who wasn’t a Flanagan regular, did deliver a solid performance. Eventually, the only thing that didn’t really work out for me was when they tried to explain what was actually going on (which had eventually nothing to do with the Ouija board) which was rather convoluted and not really interesting. However, it was still rather impressive how much Flanagan managed to achieve with some seemingly hopeless material, especially if you would compare his work to the borderline abysmal previous instalment in this franchise. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was maybe not a homerun, it was still a solid horror feature and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was directed by Anne Fontaine, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, it turned out to be a decent portrayal of a young boy (and man) struggling with his homosexuality within an intolerant and hostile environment. In fact, the impact was so huge that the poor guy was still pretty much lost, even after finding some kindred spirits. Eventually, it was a good reminder that, even if we are supposedly living a in a ‘modern’ and ‘progressive’ society, many gay kids still fall in a total vacuum with no support whatsoever which must be so heart-breaking and terrifying. Furthermore, Finnegan Oldfield and Jules Porier both gave some solid performances of the same character at different stages of his life. Still, the whole thing did remind me of a Dutch movie I saw recently during which a young woman was reminiscing about her tragic youth and both movies had basically the same issue. Indeed, to make it all more complicated or sophisticated than it actually was, they went for a mixed-up chronology which is such a lazy and overused gimmick. To make things worse, in this case, in the scenes when Marvin was older, the guy didn’t do much, except sulking by himself in the corner. As a result, you might wonder why so many people seem to be interested in him as he did nothing really fascinating. I mean, I have to admit you could sense that there was something boiling inside of him which did result in his successful play but, in my opinion, Anne Fontaine never really managed to really translate it to the screen. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was maybe not really ground-breaking, it was still a solid drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in this subject. 

Less than 2 years ago, I saw ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’. Back then, I had never heard of Fred Rogers before but the guy turned out to be so interesting that I became quite eager to see this documentary, especially since it had been so well received when it was released. Well, even though there is no way that such a children TV program would appeal to me now or even when I was a kid, I was amazed by how Rogers managed to touch me. Eventually, it is usually slightly annoying when they keep praising someone in such documentaries but this movie is one of the very few exceptions as, in this case, it felt completely justified. Indeed, Rogers is probably one of the most inspiring guys I have ever seen and to hear him speaking is actually such a life-altering experience, at least, as far as I was concerned. Seriously, I was on the verge of tears by the end of this movie. One of the very few critics made towards him was the fact that he might have spoiled a whole generation of children with his gentle approach but it was hardly convincing. I mean, how can you ruin a child by telling he/she is a special at a very young age and by telling them that they deserve to be loved? What would be then a better alternative? Basically, it is all about the power of love and compassion, some concepts Fred Rogers managed to master very early on in his life. There was also some discussion about the fact he was actually a religious man but, even if I’m not religious myself, I still felt such a deep connection with him. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing was just quite fascinating to behold and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Fred Rogers.