Reviews by johanlefourbe

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but since it was directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, I was quite eager to check it out. Indeed, those guys are some of the most highly regarded directors ever and they are usually considered responsible for what many calls ‘The Golden Age of British Cinema’. By now, I have seen 4 movies directed by them (‘The Red Shoes’, ‘Black Narcissus’,  ‘The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp’ and this movie) and all of them were included in the '1001 movies you must see before you die' list. Well, from all those movies I have seen, this is the only one I didn't really enjoy. I mean, the title was pretty good but the scope was rather small this time, compared to their other productions which were much more ambitious and, to be honest, I didn't care much about the story and the characters involved. I mean, the whole thing was well directed and it was not bad at all but I didn't really enjoyed it probably because it was not my cup of tea, I guess. Still, since it is a real classic, it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Since I have a weak spot for the 4 actresses involved (Frances McDormand, Catherine Keener, Joan Cusack and Jennifer Anniston) and the director (Nicole Holofcener) seemed to be rather interesting, I thought I should give this movie a try. Eventually, all 4 of them did a good job and provided some decent and entertaining performances but, in my opinion, there were too many characters and too many story-lines involved. As a result, the story didn't work very well, I’m afraid. Indeed, the issue with this kind of movies is that , instead of having a full-fleshed story, you end up with some multiple story-lines which all seemed rather half-baked. It's actually too bad because I  believe that the whole thing really had some potential. Indeed, all these characters were quite interesting but I think they actually deserved a better plot. Concerning Nicole Holofcener , even though this movie turned out to be a decent watch, I still haven’t watched anything else from this director which is too bad. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, in spite of its flaws, it was still fairly entertaining and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

Well, even though it is a rather obscure movie (I was only the 5^th listal member who rated the damned thing), since the Taviani brothers have a solid reputation, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, even though the whole thing was rather well directed and although there were some gorgeous shots here and there, eventually, I have to admit that I actually got pretty bored by most of the different stories. Sometimes, you hear people complaining that a movie is too long which is most of the time ridiculous. Indeed, if a movie is great, you won’t even notice how long it lasts. However, this movie is one of the very few examples that I was wondering when it would finally end. Basically, they gave us 4 stories and all of them were just so sluggish. Obviously, they were full of symbolism, so nothing was told straightforward which is fine if you get it but if you are not smart like me, it is actually rather frustrating to watch. To conclude, I really had a hard time to care about the damned thing, I guess it is definitely an acquired taste but I think it is still worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this movie but since it has a solid reputation, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually,  I have to admit that I was quite blown away by the damned thing. Seriously, I had never seen anything like this before and, while watching this movie,  I was really wondering why they never made more movies about this subject. The problem, if they would make a similar movie nowadays, if it would be fake, it wouldn’t really work but, if it would be for real, then most people would be probably outraged by the damned thing. Basically, this movie was made more than 80 years ago, when the movie technics were maybe not as elaborate as they are today but, on the other hand, there were no real ‘rules’ or actual censorship so the movie makers could still make pretty much whatever they wanted and get away with anything without much trouble. Coming back to our main feature, after all these years, it is still a really weird movie but, somehow, I think its 'weirdness' was actually positive, in spite of its controversial subject. Anyway, to conclude, it is a real classic and pretty much a must-see for any decent film lover.

I already saw this movie, in fact, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released but, since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. To be honest, back then, in fact from the very moment I heard that the Coen brothers would be making this movie, before I even watched the damned thing, I wasn't really convinced by this project. I mean, first of all, they can say whatever they want, even though it was maybe not a straight remake, this story had already been done before so why didn't they tell a new story instead? Anyway, when it was released, it was another critical success for the Coen brothers and it turned out to be their most successful movie at the box-office so far. At least, as far as I was concerned, since I haven't seen the version starring John Wayne, I wasn’t able to compare both movies but I think it was a good thing. Anyway, I did like the directing, the mood was pretty neat as well and the actors involved delivered some solid performances (Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin). I also laughed a few times but, to be honest, in my opinion, it was still eventually a rather generic Western. Fortunately, this re-watch did allow me to appreciate more this movie though. Indeed, the damned thing is actually very well done and the characters were also entertaining and well developed. However, to be honest, I still don't think that the story was really mind-blowing though. Anyway, to conclude, even though I think this movie is rather overrated (like many other movies coming from these directors), I still liked it and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in the Coen brothers's work.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but since there was a really nice cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, I have to admit that I had some rather mixed feelings about the damned thing. Indeed, on one hand, it  was really far from being flawless (in fact, Roger Ebert really didn’t like it at all for example). First of all, there were just too many characters and most of them were not developed enough (for example, Lena Olin is barely in the movie and she barely uttered a word at all) and also, some parts of the story just didn't work. On the other hand, in spite of all these issues, I still think I actually enjoyed the damned thing. Indeed, the directing was decent with a nice mood and , the cast was really interesting (Don Cheadle, Ryan Gosling, Jena Malone, Lena Olin, Kevin Spacey, Michelle Williams, Sherilyn Fenn) . Among them, I was above all impressed by  Ryan Gosling, Don Cheadle and Kevin Spacey (though, Spacey’s character was not developed enough). Eventually, I can’t help thinking my rating might be too generous here, I guess it is an acquired taste but I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre,