Reviews by johanlefourbe

I don’t know if you have noticed but I’m extremely obsessive concerning my movie watching. As a result, I sometimes end up watching the most obscure movies you can think off just because one of  two actors I like were involved in the damned thing. This movie is a perfect example. Indeed, it is a really obscure feature (I was the very first listal user who actually rated it and, by now, not even 10 members have rated it so far) and I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since I’m a big fan of Jeff Bridges, I thought I might as well check it out. Eventually, I kept wondering how this fine actor ended up in such an underwhelming feature. I mean, it was pretty obvious that he was a low budget production so it wasn’t for the paycheck, maybe, he needed to make a favor to someone else. Anyway, Jeff Bridges delivered, as usual, a decent performance but the movie itself was really average and I really had a hard time to care about the whole thing. To conclude, it was really weak and I don’t think it is worth a look, even if you are interested in Jeff Bridges’s work.

It has been a while since I wanted to check this flick. Indeed, the ratings were pretty good and there has always been something quite appealing about Isabel Coixet's work. Eventually, I have to admit that I ended up with some mixed feelings about the damned thing. I mean, I thought it was a rather intriguing movie and I liked it because the performances and the directing were very good. But the film was not flawless after all. Indeed, Roger Ebert didn't like this movie at all and he explained it pretty well in his review. Basically, one of the main issues was that, if you look at it carefully, the main character was actually so f*cking selfish. Indeed, every time she made a decision, she didn't care at all about what everybody else might think, feel or whatever. The other issue, for me, was that she was supposed to be some kind of ‘white trash’ girl but she acted, sounded, behaved more like a poet/philosopher so it didn't really fit, in my opionion. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of these flaws, I liked the movie for the reasons explained earlier, and even though it might not be a masterpiece, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

From all the movies directed by Mel Brooks that I have seen so far (I’m missing only ‘Dracula: Dead and Loving It', ‘High Anxiety’ and ‘Silent Movie’), this one was probably the most disappointing one. I mean, sure, it wasn’t the worst I have seen from this director but, considering its stellar reputation,  I was expecting a lot from this movie. Indeed, it is probably one of the most popular comedies ever made and it is definitely a classic but, personally, I thought it was seriously underwhelming and I really couldn’t see what was so great about the damned thing. I mean, sure, the concept was interesting and it was really smart to parody the Star Wars franchise but, at the end of the day, there were just a few decent jokes. Seriously, I had to smile a few times during the whole thing but I never thought that it was actually hilarious. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t really impressed by the whole thing and Roger Ebert didn’t really care for it either. To conclude, even though it wasn’t really awful, I really didn’t like it much but, if you are a fan of the genre, there is a fair chance that you might end up enjoying it more than I did. 

I have nothing against Steve Martin but most of  his movies are usually rather lame so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this flick. However, the ratings were pretty decent and Roger Ebert really loved the damned thing so there was some hope. Unfortunately, I thought that it was really disappointing and I really had a hard time to care about the story and the character involved. I don’t know, maybe it had to with the fact that I’m French so ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ is a really classic story in my home country and I don’t think I really needed a modern comedic twist on this timeless tale. Above all, I was just rather bored by the whole thing and I didn't think it was funny at all. At the end of the day, it is all supposed to be harmless, whimsical and charming but I just didn’t connect at all with the whole thing. Basically, even if you handle this concept within a drama, it is already difficult to take it really seriously but, in a comedy, I think it was just completely hopeless. Anyway, to conclude, even though I have seen worse, I thought it was pretty weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look.

Even though this movie is really obscure, since there was a really nice cast, I was really eager to check it out. Eventually, even though the whole thing really had some potential, even though there was indeed a very good cast (Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman, Kirsten Dunst, Holly Hunter) who delivered some decent performances, the whole thing didn’t really convince me.  Apparently, this movie was the directing debut of Ed Solomon (it would be also the last one he made), a writer behind some decent movies like ‘Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure’,  ‘Men in Black’ or ‘Now You See Me’ but also some rather misguided project like ‘Charlie's Angels’ or even awful like ‘Super Mario Bros.’. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, basically, even though the story was not bad and the characters involved were actually rather interesting, the whole thing just tried way too hard to be thoughtful. Indeed, at the end of the day, I thought it was actually rather pretentious and even slightly underwhelming. It is one thing to have some messed up characters but I’m afraid it is not enough to make a really compelling movie. To conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch, thanks to the fine actors involved,  and I think it is worth a look.