Reviews by johanlefourbe

Even though it has been a while since I have seen this flick, I still remember it very well. Indeed, back in those days, I was watching quite a lot of very cheap DVDs that I would buy in bundles and, while most of them were rather weak and completely forgettable, this one actually clearly stood out from the rest. Indeed, I just loved the set-up, I would go even further, I thought it was one the best set-ups I have ever seen and the whole thing was just really fascinating to behold, at least during the first half. Indeed, I thought it was just awesome to have all these characters dropped in some warehouse without any knowledge of who they are and how they ended up here. Unfortunately, like any other thriller, they had to explain what the hell was going on and that’s when the whole thing started to become rather underwhelming. Above all, I thought that the end was just terrible and it pretty much really ruined it for me. Indeed, seriously, there were something like 3 different lame and stupid twists which was too bad because it really had some potential. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it was an intriguing thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, since it is a rather obscure feature, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from it but since I always had a weak spot for Robert Redford, I was quite eager to check it out. On top of that, I have always been a big fan of movies dealing with politics so I was definitely intrigued by the whole thing. Eventually, I thought that Robert Redford gave a very good performance and the whole movie was rather fascinating. Basically, it is some kind of mockumentary but it never goes over-the-top and I really enjoyed the realistic approach their took. What was also uncanny was that even though this flick is already more than 40 years old, the mood around a political campaign and the rather dirty tactics are still pretty much the same nowadays. On top of that, also something quite brilliant displayed here, is the fact that no matter if someone shows up with some fresh new interesting ideas, someone radical pretty much doesn’t stand a chance and, to have a shot at winning, you always have to moderate your message, you always have to avoid any possible controversy and therefore, as a result, give a really bland and generic message that can be easily swallowed by the lowest common denominator. To conclude, even though it was not a masterpiece, I thought it was a really good political satire and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, since it is a rather obscure movie, I wasn’t expecting much from it but since I have a weak spot for Wesley Snipes and Linda Fiorentino, I thought I might as well check it out. Eventually, I have to admit it, I was rather positively surprised by the whole thing. Of course, it was not really ground-breaking but I thought it was actually better than most of the other average action movies starring Wesley Snipes. Indeed, the set-up was decent ande the whole thing was entertaining enough. Concerning Linda Fiorentino, unfortunately, this would be her very last movie (I don’t count the very obscure ‘Once More with Feeling’ which was barely seen by anyone) and I think it’s a shame we don’t see her anymore. Obviously, she was no Meryl Streep but she was really charming and she definitely had some skills. Concerning Wesley Snipes, the situation is not much better, I’m afraid, and it must be 15 years since he has released something really significant commercially or critically. To conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was a decent mix thriller and action and I think it is actually worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Basically, it was another really obscure French movie that almost nobody saw on Listal (I was even the only 3rd user who has rated this movie). First of all, even though Robert Guédiguian doesn’t seem to be very well known abroad, he always had a stellar reputation in France but, to be honest, I always had a hard time to connect with his work. However, the theme of this movie sounded really intriguing and I thought I might as well check it out. Eventually, it reminded me of ‘W.’ in the way that this movie tried to focus on a famous French president who had also a controversial history but, just like with ‘W.’, the makers were so careful to prevent offending anyone that nothing really shocking or fascinating really happened during the whole thing. Another issue was that everything involving Jalil Lespert’s character had nothing to do with Mitterand and was therefore uninteresting and rather pointless. The whole thing was still quite intriguing to behold though and I was really impressed by Michel Bouquet who gave a very good performance. To conclude, I thought it was a very interesting flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you care about contemporary French history.

During the last decade, Nicolas Cage’s work has become increasingly disappointing and, even though I have been defending him for many years, I have to admit that his movies are nowadays terribly underwhelming. As a result, some of his older movies which seemed pretty weak when they were released now seem actually to be pretty decent after all. This movie is a perfect example. Indeed, basically, it was a rather predictable comedy but it was still fairly enjoyable and Shirley Maclaine and Nicolas Cage were both pretty good in this. Especially Cage, back in those days, not matter how lousy or dubious the material was, the guy would always deliver a bad-ass, sometime over-the-top but quite often hilarious performance. In the same genre, you have also ‘’ Honeymoon in Vegas’ with an ever more ridiculous premise but it didn’t stop Nicolas Cage to give a really compelling act anyway. Gosh, I really miss those days and, hopefully, some day, this fine thespian will finally wake up and get his act back together but I highly doubt it will happen anytime soon. Coming back to our main feature, even though it was nothing really ground-breaking, I thought it was a decent comedy and it is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Right now, the biggest thing in movie land are nowadays obviously the super-hero features but some already predict that, at some point, the mainstream audience will eventually get bored with this fad and the next rage could be the video game adaptations. However, currently, except for a few exception like ‘Silent Hill’, the first ‘Resident Evil’ installment or even the ‘Tomb Raider’ flicks, virtually all the video game adaptations have been terribly disappointing and some big flops at the box-office. This movie was a perfect example. In fact, the whole thing actually had some potential. Indeed, the main character was really bad-ass, Timothy Olyphant actually did a pretty good job in this movie and the action scenes were well done. What kind of ruined the movie for me was basically the romantic relationship between the lead character and Olga Kurylenko. Sure, Kurylenko is a really charming lady but, seriously, it just didn't fit the character at all. 8 years later, they will reboot the whole thing with Rupert Friend to play the lead this time but, to be honest, I really doubt that it will be much better than this first feature. Anyway, coming back our main feature, even though the whole thing had some potential, I thought it was pretty weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

Honestly, beforehand, I had never heard of this movie before but since the cast was pretty nice, I thought I should give it a try. Eventually, I thought it was actually not bad at all and there were many things I enjoyed concerning this little unknown and obscure movie. First of all, I thought that Michael Keaton was really good in this movie and it was nice to see him in such a good shape as it doesn't happen very often those days (he did make an impressive come-back with ‘Birdman’ in 2014 though). The other big star, Robert Downey Jr., had a very small part and played one of these typical weird eccentric characters. To be honest, I never really cared about such characters because I always find that the writers give them such a weird attitude just because those characters don’t have anything actually interesting to say. Anyway, like I said before, it was just a small part. My main issue was actually with the story which as not riveting enough, at least, that's my opinion. Still, the whole thing had some potential and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you have a weak spot for Michael Keaton.

To be honest, before watching this movie, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a pretty cool cast, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, eventually, I thought the whole thing was just really underwhelming. I mean, is there anything worse than a weak thriller? Yes, a paranormal thriller with some religious undertones. Basically, that’s a trend that started more than 40 years ago with ‘The Exorcist’ (already one of the most overrated movies ever made in my opinion) and I’m afraid we’ll be getting such features for a very long time. It’s too bad because the whole thing actually some potential. Indeed, I really liked the cast (Kim Basinger, Christina Ricci, Rufus Sewell, Ian Holm) and I have to admit that the topic of the movie was actually pretty cool but, eventually, the whole thing was just poorly developed and it was just a really average flick. Concerning Kim Basinger, by now, I have seen more than half of all her movies and I’m afraid that she is pretty much just another gorgeous lady with not many acting skills, I’m afraid. To conclude, I have seen worse but still don’t think this movie is really worth a look.

Since this movie has a really solid reputation, I was really eager to check it out. On top of that, because this movie was another adaptation of 'Alice in Wonderland', I assumed it would be fine to watch it with my kids. Fortunately, I ended up watching it on my own but I guess it would have been a little bit too much for them. Indeed, it is a basically a really weird picture with some very nice animation. Somehow, it reminded me of 'Where the Wild Things Are'. Basically, Spike Jonze spent years developing this children book and even though the end-result was intriguing and appealing, it was also really dark and, therefore, it pretty much lost its purpose since it wasn't any longer a children story. Well, I had pretty much the same feeling here but, on the other hand, aren't we allowed to expand on a traditional children tale like this one to develop and explore our own fears and neuroses? Ok, maybe, I'm going too far in my analysis but there is no doubt that it must be the most nightmarish version of Lewis Carroll's tale. To conclude, even though I wasn't completely blown away by the whole thing, I really liked it and it is definitely worth a look.

Nowadays, it seems that Adam Sandler, just like Will Smith and Johnny Depp (they were the last 3 big stars who could secure a box-office hit every time around), has pretty much lost his touch. Indeed, a couple of weeks ago, they released his last picture called 'Pixels'. It must have seemed ambitious for some but it looked pretty lame to me, anyway, it was yet another flop for the supposedly funny guy. Anyway, with this in mind, it is actually interesting to look back to his older work like this movie for example. Indeed, it was pretty much one of those typical lame Sandler pictures with a lame premise and it is basicaly a lame movie. But check the gross. Basically, loads and loads of people actually paid some expansive theater tickets to see this feature back then it was released. Personally, I saw it for free on TV but still felt ripped off. At least, we got to see Jessica Biel in her underwear but, while writing this, I feel kind of depressed that it was my big highlight while watching this flick. To conclude, sure, Adam Sandler has made worse since then but, still, you should pretty much avoid this movie, expect if you're a big fan of this guy.