Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, I have never been a huge fan of Luc Besson and, nowdays, the guy has pretty much become a real factory as he has been producing some of the biggest junk you can imagine (‘The Transporter’, ‘Taxi’, ‘Taken’, ‘Colombiana’,’3 Days to Kill’, ‘Unleashed’, …). I mean, it is not that those movies are all worthless, but they are all terribly disposable, you just watch them and you forget them instantly. Concerning his work as a director, I think his movies are often terribly pretentious (‘Leon’ is probably one of the most overrated movies ever made) but, I have to admit it, he still managed to make a few amazing movies and this one is definitely one of them. Indeed, the guy always had a stylish directing style (definitely his strongest quality) but I always found his stories actually rather underwhelming. With this movie, even though it is one of his less known directing efforts, I thought it was actually quite mesmerizing. At the time, Isabelle Adjani was one of the greatest French actresses and even Christopher Lambert who would turned out to be a really underwhelming actor was actually really good here. To conclude, even though it is a rather obscure feature, I really liked it a lot and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in French movies.

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I still have it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. The point is that, even though it didn’t get much love when it was released, I really liked it a lot and, in my opinion, it basically proves that Justin Timberlake can act. Timberlake was actually not the only interesting actor here and the cast was actually filled with a huge load of up-and-coming actors (Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Anton Yelchin, Olivia Wilde, Dominique Swain, Amanda Seyfried, Amber Heard, Lukas Haas). Above all, I thought it was just a very strong story. The fact it is a true story was, to be honest, not really relevant to me but still it makes the whole thing sounds even crazier. In my opinion, this movie shows that the youth can be sometimes completely disconnected from the real world and it can have some dreadful consequences. To be honest, while re-watching this flick, I was actually slightly bothered by the fact that most of the characters involved were just so clueless and even pretty stupid. As a result, I had a a harder time to root or care for them but it wasn't a deal breaker. Through the years, I have closely followed Nick Cassavetes's career and after watching most of his movies, in my opinion, it might be his best movie so far. It is at least way better than 'The Notebook' which is probably his most popular movie. Anyway, to conclude, I thought it was a really good flick and it is definitely worth a look.

Even though it has been ages since I last saw this movie, I remember it as if I saw it just a couple of days ago. Indeed, I was completely blown away by the whole thing and it became instantly one of my all-time favorites. To be honest, I have never understood why this movie never received more credit and it is, in my opinion, one of the least appreciated movie directed by Louis Malle. It seems that many people didn't care for the sex scenes because they were considered over-the-top and borderline ridiculous but I don't think the great qualities of this movie had anything to do with those infamous sex scenes. No, in my opinion, what made this movie so great to me was this fascinating story. Indeed, there was a great cast with Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche who delivered some really good performances and they were just mesmerizing to behold. On top of that, the suspense at the end was huge. Finally, this movie shows that love would make you do the craziest things. To conclude, I do believe this movie is seriously underrated, it is a great dark story about the obsession involved in any great love story and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Louis Malle's work. 

I remember exactly the first time I saw this movie. Back then, I was on holiday in Baltimore, my host family went to see this flick and they brought me with them. At that time, I had no idea what it was about and I was completely unaware about the whole hype surrounding this feature. To be honest, I had never seen anything like this before but, even though my host family didn't it like at all (I think there were expecting something more conventional), I thought it was a really engrossing experience. In my opinion, the biggest difference with the other found-footage features I have seen afterwards is that you don't actually see or hear anything really preposterous which made the whole thing even more unsettling. The other thing I enjoyed is that even though the 3 actors were amateurs, a typical trademark with this genre, they were actually really convincing and believable so I really cared for their predicament. I have re-watched it a couple of times through the years, I still think it held up pretty good and it is by far my favorite movie in this genre. Since then, this directing style has been copied to death because it is really cheap so you don't need many people to show up to make some money. To be honest, since I really liked this flick, I always had a weak spot for this genre but I have to admit that it is getting tiresome by now as there is unfortunately no more creativity involved. To conclude, even though this movie doesn't have a really good rep nowadays, I actually like it a lot and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre like I do.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect before watching this flick but I was eventully pleasantly surprised by the whole thing. Indeed, this is another underrated movie about politics, a subject which I always find really spellbinding. Furthermore, it is, I believe, one of the last great movies starring Robert de Niro and Dustin Hoffman as they both didn't do many great movies after that. Basically, in my opinion, it is a really funny and actually rather sharp satire with some very nice dark humor but still, it manages to never get too presposerous and, as a result, you still care about the story and the characters involved. Eventually, it is probably my favorite movie directed by Barry Levinson, a guy responsible for such (supposedly) classics like ‘Good Morning, Vietnam’ and above all ‘Rain Man’, also starring Dustin Hoffman. Unfortunately, this flick didn’t get much love when it was released, I think it is actually terribly underrated and I will definitely re-watch it at some point when I get the opportunity. To conclude, I thought the whole thing was just fascinating to watch, it is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to watch another great movie starring De Niro and Hoffman.

After winning his first best picture Oscar with the movie 'Unforgiven', Clint Eastwood’s following project was this flick. It might be surprising but, even though it is not really one of his most highly regarded features, it is, and by far, my all-time favorite movie directed by the great master. Indeed, I saw it in the movie theater when it came out, I was just 13 or 14 years old and it was the first time I almost cried at the end of any movie. I mean, I was a wreck at the end and it was the very first time I was so emotional after watching a movie. It was a very intense experience and therefore this movie became one of the major milestones in my movie watching. To be honest, even though  Kevin Costner was always charismatic, I actually never really cared much for his work. However, I thought he was great here, bringing a nice combo of coolness and melancholy to his character and he had a great chemistry with this young boy. In my opinion, Eastwood was really at the top of his game at that time, at least as a director. I mean, there was such a control of the tone here, it was quite masterful and the ending was just shattering even if it was slightly predictable. Anyway, even though it is not Eastwood's best known movie, it had a huge impact on me, I think it is actually his best one so far and, as a matter of fact, it is one of my favorite movies. Yeah, I think it is that great and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Clint Eastwood’s work.

I remember it very well, back then, in 2005, when ‘Crash’ won the oscar for the best picture it was a big scandal. Everyone thought that ‘Brokeback Mountain’ was pretty much a shoe-in to win whereas some loved ‘Crash’ and some hated it. Personally, I neither really loved it or hated it and I thought it was a decent movie but it was definitely not great and it had some huge flaws. Anyway, after that, Paul Haggis directed this movie and very few people actually noticed it when it was released. I think it’s a shame because it is actually a very good flick. Indeed, first of all, there was some terrific casting with Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron on top of their game and the story was rather fascinating. I would go as far as saying that it is the best movie about the Irak war that I have seen so far. Indeed, in my opinion, it is quite a spellbinding thriller which gives some interesting insights about post-traumatic syndrom following a war or any military duties. To conclude, even though it is pretty much forgotten nowadays, it is actually a very good flick and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

To be honest, it has been a while since I have seen this flick and I should definitely check it out again when I have the opportunity. I have noticed that it didn't get much love when it was released but I think it's a shame as I really liked it a lot. If I'm not mistaken, I think it was made just before the Monicagate (maybe I'm wrong!) so it was actually extremely sharp. Anyway, I think it is a very interesting movie about politics (a topic I find riveting) and the cast was very good as well. Indeed, John Travolta gave here one of his best performances and he managed to create a a multifaceted character who was obviously charismatic and likeable but also a terrible womanizer and therefore a little bit a loser. And yet, the guy was not a total idiot so it was quite a complex character. To play the wife, they chose Emma Thompson and she was also a great casting choice and, with Travolta, they made a really strong duo. To conclude, I thought it was a really solid political drama, probably one of the best in this genre, and it is definitely worth a look.

Even though it is not really one of the most highly regarded movies directed by Roman Polanski, it is actually my favorite one, as a matter of fact, it is one of my all time favorite movies. I mean, I have seen it when I was between 14 or 16 years old and it just blew me away. At the time, I had no idea you could make a love story which could be so twisted with such tormented characters. Eventually, it was one of those few movies that really changed my point of view about films in the sense that, after watching this movie, I understood that characters don't necessarily need to be good or evil, human characters are flawed and usually pretty messed up (though not always as messed up as in this movie, at least, I hope so...). Basically, the whole thing was just really fascinating to me. It is also rather interesting to point out that Polanski used his very own wife in the very 'demanding' female part. I really wonder what was going on in his mind but, considering his work and his rather chaotic past, it shouldn't be really pretty. Anyway, it is basically a love story full of destruction and sick obsessions. What is not to like ? Personally, I do think it is an amazing movie and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested Polanski's movies.