Reviews by johanlefourbe

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out again. Well, to be honest, I have to admit that I didn't remember much about it so it was definitely worth it to watch it again after all these years. First of all, I have to mention that, even though it was a critical success, I actually had a hard time to care for ‘Sweetie’, Campion’s directing debut (it is actually also available on Netflix so I will also give it another shot pretty soon). However, I really enjoyed this 2nd directing effort though. I have to admit that I never heard of Janet Frame before watching this movie and, this time, it did actually slighly bother me that I was supposed to be fascinated by her life story while I still didn't have read a single line of her work, even after all these years (the fact that I barely read nowadays probably doesn't help though). Anyway, even if it was maybe nothing really ground-breaking after all, I thought it was still a really strong story though. Indeed, I have always been interested in movies dealing with mental illness and this movie might be one of the best I have seen about this subject. By the way, even though it was awful that she was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, I have to admit that her behaviour did display some symptoms linked to this disease by what was the matter with her after all? Well, maybe she was just rather odd and asocial and not much more than that but the movie eventually never really went much further than this. Still, there is no doubt that Kerry Fox, in her acting debut, gave here such a strong performance. Seriously, she was pretty much pitch-perfect. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, to conclude, even though it seems to be rather forgotten nowadays, I thought it was a very interesting biopic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Jane Campion’s work.

I already saw this movie but, since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. In fact, I actually forgot that it was only Kenneth Branagh’s 2nd directorial effort. Anyway, it is one of these typical preposterous thrillers that they used to make back in the 90's but this one actually really worked, at least, for me. The whole thing was obviously inspired by Hitchcock’s work but in a good way and it didn’t stop there as there was also some reincarnation involved and not one but two romances. Indeed, back in those days, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson were definitely a golden couple and they had some very nice chemistry together. I guess it might seem odd to see these two British actors playing some American characters (in fact, it would be the only movie set in the US for which Branagh would play the lead) but I thought that they were both pretty convincing. Above all, the tale, even if it was really far-fetched, was quite entertaining and even the ending which was seriously campy, didn’t bother me since it did fit with the rest of the movie. Eventually, out of the 4 movies Branagh and Thompson would make together, it was definitely one of the best (I still think I prefer ‘Peter's Friends’ which is terribly underrated in my opinion). Following ‘Hamlet’ which was probably his most ambitious project, Branagh spent most of the 2000’s directing some really obscure features and he would make his come-back thanks to Marvel who would hire him to direct ‘Thor’ which was decent enough. Since then, he has been focusing on some blockbusters but the end-results were rather underwhelming (‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit’, ‘Cinderella’). Anyway, coming back to our main feature, to conclude, even though it might not be a masterpiece, I really enjoyed the damned thing, I believe it is a really entertaining thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Honestly, it has been a while since I have seen this flick. I think it must have been 18-20 years ago (Oh dear, I feel old now...). Frankly, I didn't really care a lot at the time about this historical murder but since I grew wiser (at least, I hope so...), I thought I should re-watch it. Anyway, after 'Platoon', it is probably the most heralded picture directed by Oliver Stone and easily the most controversial one. Indeed, back in those days, Stone still had some balls, especially compared to the rather friendly 'W.' and above all compared to the terribly mushy 'World Trade Center'. Even if you put aside the controversial aspect of the subject, it still remain a fascinating and really entertaining flick. Plus, Oliver Stone had a great cast at this disposal (Kevin Costner, Jack Lemmon, Vincent D'Onofrio, Gary Oldman, Sissy Spacek, Joe Pesci, Walter Matthau, Tommy Lee Jones, John Candy, Kevin Bacon, Donald Sutherland, Martin Sheen). The greatest achievement, in my opinion, is that they managed to take a major page of history, shading some lights on these very dark times and also entertain the viewer at the same time. To conclude, it is a really good historical thriller, a classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.