Reviews by johanlefourbe

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since it was directed by Ben Sombogaart , I was still eager to check it out. On top of that, this movie won the Golden Calf of the best Dutch movie of the year so I thought it should be pretty good. Well, eventually, I was amazed about how underwhelming the whole thing was. Indeed, seriously, this was the best Dutch movie released in 1999?!? Even though I have a weak spot for Dutch movies, it shows that the Dutch movie industry is actually pretty pathetic. On top of that, I'm not a big fan of Dutch children movies in general and this one was just really very average and seriously boring to behold. I don’t know, maybe it was loved because it was an adaptation of a book written by Annie M.G. Schmidt, by far the most heralded Dutch children book writter and pretty much a legend in the Netherlands. Some viewers complained that this movie was actually racist with all its cultural stereotypes but, even though the whole thing was indeed pretty awkward, it still remains a rather harmless familly feature so it shouldn’t be analysed too much. To conclude, I really didn’t like this flick and I don’t think it is worth a look, except if you really love the genre.

Since this movie had a really solid reputation, I was really eager to check it out. Indeed, many consider this movie as being the best adaptation of this Shakespeare classic. It always thought it was rather weird and actually really embarassing that even though I have studied English at college level (I even have a Master), I have actually never read anything written by William Shakespeare. Anyway, I thought that the whole thing was inderdaad quite gorgeous and very well done. Above all, it was really neat that they, for once, used some actors that were about the same age as the characters from the original play. Still, I have to admit that I still had some trouble to really connect with the damned thing. I mean, indeed, it is apparently really faithfull to Shakespeare’s work and while this faithfullness makes it interesting, it makes it also sometimes rather tedious to watch. Basically, it is a matter of taste and even though I respect this illustrious work, I must admit that it is not really my thing. To conclude, even though I wasn’t completely blown away, it remains a really solid adaptation and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I kept hearing some really great things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out and I had some rather high expectations. Indeed, according to Roger Ebert, it was apparently one of the best movies released in 2005. In fact, according to him, it was so good that it was even better than ‘Brokeback mountain’ so the whole thing should be pretty damned amazing. Well, I finally saw the damned thing and, to be honest, I was rather disappointed and I wasn't able to see what was so great about it. I mean, sure, it was not bad at all, the actors delivered some solid performances and I really liked the directing as well. At the end of the day, the biggest issue I had with this flick was that the story was neither really interesting, entertaining or captivating enough. On top of that, this movie was hailed for being Amy Adams' breakthrough performance, earning her first Academy Award Nomination but, to be honest, I thought she pretty much gave her typical hysterical girl act. To conclude, even though I thought it was rather disappointing, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I kept hearing some really good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out and I had some rather high expectations concerning the damned thing. Eventually, to be honest, I thought it was not bad, there were indeed some good jokes and it was nice to see all those great comic actors all together in one movie but that was about it for me and I can’t say that I really was blown away by the whole thing. I mean, sure, it was not bad but I don’t think it was really great either. Basically, it is the kind of humor mostly based on the fact that all the characters are completely moronic and, at the end of the day, it all depends if you're in this kind of humor and I guess I'm not. In this genre, I have to admit that it must one of the best I have seen and some of the scenes were indeed really funny though. Anyway, to conclude, even if I thought it was slightly disappointing, I have to admit that it was still a decent comedy and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick but since I have weak spot for Jason Statham, I thought I might as well give it a try. First of all, concerning Statham, even though the guy has built up a solid career as an action star, in my opinion, his gimmick has become terribly repetitive and it has become pretty much impossible to differentiate his movies which have all started to look identical. It’s funny to see how his status has evolved though. Indeed, just at the beginning of his carrer, he starred in ‘The One’ also with Jet Li and Jet Li was the lead actor but, now, the roles have been reversed. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I have nothing against Jason Statham and Jet Li, they did what they could with this material and the directing was efficient enough but the story was just way too preposterous for me. To conclude, it’s too bad because the whole thing actually had some potential but, eventually, it is just a rather average action flick and I don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of the genre.

Obviously, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but, somehow, I still ended up watching the damned thing. Indeed, even though I always had a hard time with Adam Sandler, I think that his buddy Roy Schneider is even worse and probably one of the worst actors around. He is basically the Uwe Boll of acting... Dramatic! I have to admit it though, this movie is not his worst one and there were actually some redeeming features. Indeed, Anna Faris and Rachel McAdams were both pretty good and pretty much saved this movie from total wreckage. At the end of the day, the main issue is that it is a rather stupid set-up and there was no way that the whole thing could have been somewhat satisfying. Still, even though Rachel McAdams was not even the main character, even though she unfortunately didn’t have much screen time, I thought she was actually pretty impressive with a rather thankless part and it’s a tribute to her talent that she managed to do something interesting with this material. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen worse, it remains a very moronic movie and I don’t think it is worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of the genre.

It is a rather a obscure movie so I wasn’t sure what to expect from it but since there was a decent cast, I was quite eager to check it out. To be honest, I don't know why exactly but I really liked this movie. Maybe it was the fact that my wife is 10 years older than me and I have always been sensitive when a movie shows an older woman with a young guy. Anyway, all the actors involved (Topher Grace, Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne) gave some solid performances. Above all, I was really impressed by the chemistry between Topher Grace and Laura Linney and, even though the rest of the movie was rather pedestrian and just fairly entertaining, their convincing and touching relationship really made the whole thing worth to behold. Eventually, I didn’t care much for the other characters but this couple was really intriguing and, in contrary to most of the other movies dealing with this subject, they were still together at the end which I found really sweet and refreshing. To conclude, even though it was nothing amazing, I thought it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

What the hell happened to Shia LaBeouf? Within a few years, he managed to become the next-best thing following ‘Disturbia’, ‘Transformers’ and then ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ but, apparently, the guy seemed to be fed up with his new star status. Indeed, what followed was a massive erratic behavior and the guy has pretty much managed to become one of the most disliked actors in the business. I think it’s too bad because I think he is actually talented and this movie is a perfect example. I mean, sure, the whole thing was not very original and I even believe that the title was actually rather lame, but even so, I still liked the damned thing anyway. Indeed, in my opinion, Shia Labeouf did a good job and it is always a pleasure to see Elden Henson who must be one of the most unknown and underrated actors I know. Above all, Labeouf managed to make his character relatable and, even though not everything did work, I actually cared about what the guy was going through. And who wouldn’t fall for the always charming Amy Smart? To conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Basically, it is a really obscure French animated feature and, to be honest, I have no idea how I ended up watching this flick. I guess it was on TV and I thought it would be a nice feature to watch with the kids. Unfortunately, I thought the whole thing was just terribly underwhelming. I mean, I have always been impressed by the legacy of the French cinema. Indeed, I think it is a dynamic movie industry which has delivered movies in all kind of genres and some really amazing masterpieces ever since this medium has been invented. However, if there was one genre where the French never really impressed me, it would be in the animation department. I mean, they did produce a few gems (‘Le roi et l’oiseau’, ‘Astérix et Cléopatre’, ‘La ballade des Dalton’) but those flicks are mostly some childhood favorites and, above all, they have been made more than 30 years ago. This movie is a perfect example. Indeed, the animation was decent but nothing really amazing but, above all, I was just really bored by the whole thing. Eventually, maybe it can be nice watch for some very young children but otherwise, you'd better pass on this one.

Honestly, it is quite an obscure movie, I was the 2nd listal member who has rated this movie and only 4 members have rated this so far. With this in mind, I had no idea what to expect but since there was a nice cast, I thought I might as well give it a try. In my opinion, it is actually a rather terrible title and it seemed that the whole thing would be some wimpy drama. Eventually, I thought it was actually a decent feature with some fairly believable and interesting characters. Above all, the cast was very interesting (Peter Berg, Vincent D'Onofrio, Noah Wyle, Peter Coyote, Juliette Lewis, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Marg Helgenberger, Joshua Jackson) and they all gave some solid performances. Eventually, it is probably because none of them was ever actually a major star that this movie went by completely unnoticed. Anyway, unfortunately, I have to admit it, the story was not always captivating and, at some point, I didn’t care much about what the characters were going through. To conclude, I think it’s too bad because the whole thing had some potential but I still think it was not bad at all and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.