Reviews by johanlefourbe

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since it was starring Sylvester Stallone, I thought I might as well give it a try. Back then, Stallone’s career was going through a major dip but he would finally manage to make an impressive come-back 4 years later with ‘Rocky Balboa’. First of all, I have to admit that I was very surprised by the impressive cast involved (Sylvester Stallone, Kris Kristofferson, Jeffrey Wright, Tom Berenger, Stephen Lang, Robert Patrick, Sean Patrick Flanery, Dina Meyer, Polly Walker). Unfortunately, the story was rather weak, I’m afraid. Indeed, the whole concept of a rehab clinic specializing in treating law enforcement officials was rather far-fetched and the whole thing never remotely managed to convince me at any point. As a result, the movie was just rather underwhelming and it was basically another rather hopeless thriller with a really convoluted plot. I mean, come on, when you movie has such lame titles like ‘D-Tox’ or ‘Eye See You’, you should know you are already in trouble. To conclude, I thought it was pretty weak and I don’t think it is really worth a look, except maybe if you are a die-hard fan of Sylvester Stallone. 

Basically, there was a time when I would go to a video game shop (which is now closed) and I would buy there on a regular basis 5 DVDs for 5 euros and, sometimes, since I would be missing 1 DVD, I would pick up pretty much anything at random just to reach 5 movies. Anyway, following this amazing process, I ended up watching some rather obscure movies and this one was definitely one of them. To be honest, since it was a Luc Besson production, I didn’t expect much from it it but, at least , I have to admit it, every single scene involving Michel Muller was pure gold and Jean Reno did deliver a decent performance.  However, these Japanese chick was so just f*cking annoying.... As a matter of fact, I don’t think she was in fact the worst issue with this flick. Indeed, what really bothered me the most that the whole thing was just full of terrible cliches about Japanese people. To make things worse, even though the action was taking place in Japan, everybody was apparently able to speak some  perfect French there. To conclude, even though I have seen worse, I thought the whole thing was just very weak movie and it is not really worth a look.

After his impressive directing debut ‘Control’, there was a really good buzz about his next directing effort, especially since it was starring George Clooney. Eventually, I have even seen the damned thing in the movie theater and even though this movie didn’t get much love, I thought it was actually pretty good. Indeed, first of all, just like with ‘Control’, the whole thing was really beautifully shot, I also enjoyed  the great mood created here and George Clooney was, as usual, very good here. Unfortunately, to be honest, there was nothing much really going on during the whole movie. Indeed, not only there was no action scenes whatsoever, there were also a very few dialogues as well. At the end of the day, you either love this approach (Roger Ebert thought it was really amazing) or it bores you to death (what happened to most of the viewers, I’m afraid). In my case, I was in between those two groups as I was able to appreciate but it didn’t completely work for me. At the end of the day, it seemed that it provided too much mood and nice visuals instead of some actual substance. Still, to conclude, even though it was maybe not a real masterpiece, I thought it was still pretty good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

Before watching this flick, I had some mixed feelings about the damned thing. Indeed, on one hand, the whole thing looked rather lame to me but, on the other hand, the casting was pretty awesome with some of the best Dutch actresses working together (Monique van de Ven, Monic Hendrickx, Susan Visser, Georgina Verbaan). Eventually, I thought it was not bad and the whole thing definitely had some potential but I still can’t say that I was really blown away. I mean, all those actresses did a fine job but, like many other Dutch movies I have seen, the whole thing still looked really cheap. Even worse than that, I think they really messed up the tone as I was never sure during the whole thing if I was watching a comedy or a drama. On the other hand, apparently, Esmee Lammers took over the directing duties only 2 months before shooting began so she probably did what she could during this short preparation time. For her, it seems that this movie was in fact a step down after the promising ‘Lang leve de koningin’ and ‘Tom & Thomas’ and she hasn’t release anything new during the last 10 years.  Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was a decent watch  and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Dutch movies.

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie but since I always had a weak spot for Frances McDormand, I thought I might check it out. Next to her, Amy Adams was playing the other lead and that’s something that worried me at first. Nowadays, Amy Adams is probably one of the most heralded actresses at work and it shouldn’t take much longer before she wins her first Academy award (she has been already nominated 5 times in the last 10 years). Personally, I must admit that I always had a hard time with this actress and it is only recently that I started to really appreciate her more. Basically, the main issue I always had with her is that she kept playing some supposedly quirky but eventually rather annoying characters and this movie was a perfect example. Still, even so, I thought this movie was pretty good. Indeed, I really like Frances McDormand and she was very good as usual and I have to admit Amy Adams delivered a solid performance. It was a beautiful movie as well (decors, costumes, mood, directing,...). To conclude, it was nothing great but I thought it was still fairly enjoyable and it is definitely worth a look.

Basically, there was a time when I would go to a video game shop (which is now closed) and I would buy there on a regular basis 5 DVDs for 5 euros and, sometimes, since I would be missing 1 DVD, I would pick up pretty much anything at random just to reach 5 movies. Anyway, following this amazing process, I ended up watching some rather obscure movies and this one was definitely one of them. Eventually, I have to admit it, I thought it was not bad at all and even fairly entertaining. Indeed, I always had a weak spot for Steve Coogan and I thought he was really funny in this movie. To be honest, I didn’t care much for the other characters and, obviously, the story was really absurd. Basically, it could have turned into something really lame and stupid but, at the end of the day, I though it worked fairly well. Indeed, mostly thanks to Coogan, the whole thing was usually quite hilarious. To conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was actually pretty good and if you are like me and you really enjoy Steve Coogan's humor, you should definitely check this one out.

Since I kept hearing some pretty good things about this flick, I was quite eager to check it out. Eventually, it turned out to be one of the most hardcore movies I have ever seen. Indeed, I thought it was such a very heavy movie and, actually, I'm still shaken up right now while I’m writing this. Basically, like any average human being, I find movies dealing with pedophilia very difficult to watch and this movie must be the most horrible one I have seen dealing with this dreadful subject. So, you basically get the idea, it is dark and really unsettling to watch and, yet, I thought it was a very powerful drama. Indeed, after watching a few of his flicks, Gregg Araki finally convinced me he could made a very good movie  (on the other hand, I must admit that I have seen only 3 of his directing efforts but this movie was definitely the best one). Furthermore, Joseph Gordon-Levitt once again displayed his incredible talent and he remains an actor to watch in the future.  To conclude, even though I really liked it, this flick is definitely not for everyone but if you have a strong stomach, it is definitely worth a look.

Since this movie was directed by Peter Weir, starring Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver, it sounded really promising and, on top of that, it was definitely one of the coolest titles I have came across. Eventually, the first thing I enjoyed about this movie is that it was dealing with a part of history  that I didn’t know at all.  Furthermore, the story was fairly realistic and quite spellbinding to watch. On top of that, Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver both delivered some solid performances and they had some great chemistry together. However, even though I thought it was really a good flick, there was still something that actually really bothered me. Indeed, I thought it was really confusing that Linda Hunt was playing a man. Why they didn’t change this character to be a woman or why didn’t they hire a man to play this part is seriously beyond me. Basically, back then , Linda Hunt was completely unknown so it didn’t really bother anyone at the time but, seriously, it must be the most confusing casting choice I have ever seen. But, fortunately, a part from that, it was a fine movie. To conclude, I though it was a very good thriller and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.