Reviews by johanlefourbe

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. 

To be honest, since it is a rather obscure feature, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from it but since both Michael Sheen and Simon Pegg were involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Anyway, eventually, I thought it was a really weird movie and I can’t say I was really able to connect with it. Apparently, it was actually based on some British TV show called 'The league of Gentlemen'  and I’m pretty sure that the people more familiar with this TV-show would appreciate it more than I did. In fact, it reminded me a little bit of ‘Guest House Paradiso’, another really obscure feature based on some successful British TV-show. At the end of the day, I usually watch such movies just because of a few interesting cameos (as a matter of fact, Simon Pegg had a cameo in both movies) but I don’t think it is in fact such a great ideo to watch any movie just for some random cameos. Still, coming back to our main feature, even though it was quite weird, I thought it was not bad at all and fairly entertaining. To conclude, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like British humor.

Nowadays, thanks to the Marvel universe and the recent Star Wars revival, Disney is pretty much ruling the box-office. They are pretty lucky because their own live-action features tend to be seriously underwhelming and very often under-performing at the box-office. This movie is a perfect example. Not to be confused with the great classic directed and starring Charles Chaplin, I wasn’t expecting much from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Bruce Willis, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, eventually, I can't say I enjoyed the damned thing. I mean, I really like Bruce Willis but this movie was just really lame. The ‘kid’ himself was also quite annoying which didn't help at all. Indeed, at the end of the day, the appeal of the concept was already limited to start with and, since the younger version of the main character turned out to be rather painful to watch, the whole thing was then pretty much hopeless. At least, I think we should praise Mr Willis for trying a family feature for once but, in my opinion, this was quite a failure. To conclude, even though I have seen worse, I thought it was pretty and I don't think it is really worth a look.

[Link removed - login to see]To be honest, since it is rather obscure, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Simon Pegg, I thought I might as well check it out. Eventually, even though it was nothing really amazing, I thought it was not bad at all. Above all, I really loved the introduction. Indeed, David Schwimmer basically gets a new job at your average call-center and he gets his training done by Simon Pegg. Well, the couple of scenes that followed after that were the most convincing (and hilarious) bits I have ever seen dealing with a call-center. I mean, if you, like me, ever had any work experience in this environment, you really need to see this movie because it was just pitch-perfect. Unfortunately, they spent just 5 or 10 minutes there and the rest of the movie had nothing to do with this subject. Still, I really like Simon Pegg and he was quite funny in this. However, at the end, the numerous twists were quite annoying and I found the ending, even if it was inevitable, rather sad. Still, it is definitely worth a look if only for the hilarious call-center scenes at the beginning.

Indeed, it is definitely my favorite Science Fiction flick and even one of my favorite movies of all time. Furthermore, by now, I have seen all the movies directed by Ridley Scott and it is easily his best one. Basically, the look and the mood were great, the story was just plain fascinating and the cast was also pretty awesome. Back then, Harrison Ford was in the zone, and everything he touched turned into gold and it is hard to believe  that, when this movie was released, it was actually a flop. You could blame the marketing but I'd rather believe that it was just way ahead of its time and nowadays it has reached a huge cult status which is totally deserved in my opinon. I guess it is/was maybe too slow for some viewers but it didn't bother me, in the contrary. Eventually, after 35 years, they will finally come up with a sequel and even though you might wonder if this movie really needed a sequel, since it will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, one of the best directors at work nowadays, there is a chance that it could turn out to be pretty awesome. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, even if you don't like it, you would have to at least recognize the fact that it has influenced all the SF movies that came afterwards. Anyway, it is a great classic and a must see for any movie lover.

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. Anyway, I can't say I really enjoyed the whole thing. I have to admit it, I did like the first Indian dance/song but that was about it, I’m afraid. Indeed, basically, I was just so bored during the whole movie and I usually like romantic movies but this one was just really tedious. Still, it might be more enjoyable if you are fan of Bollywood productions (However, I want to point out that this movie is NOT an actual Bollywood production , it is in fact a British production trying to westernize a Bollywood flick), you may end up enjoying more than I did. Above all, I thought it was just really sad to see the always charming Aishwarya Rai in something so underwhelming. To conclude, even though I have seen worse, I thought it was pretty weak and I don’t think it is worth a look.