Reviews by johanlefourbe

Since this movie seemed to have a solid reputation (it is included in the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. Well, Mario Peixoto definitely delivered a strange movie here, that’s for sure, and I have to admit that I had pretty much no clue what the damned thing was actually about. Apparently, one woman had escaped from prison, another woman had left a bad marriage and there was a man in love with someone else's wife but, to be honest, it didn’t get all that at all. It’s also interesting that this movie would be Peixoto only directing effort but, even if the guy was only around 21 years old at the time, his movie would still manage to become one of the best Brazilian movies ever made, no less than that. Anyway, even if I didn't really get what it was all about or what the hell was actually going on, I have to admit that I really dug the beginning scenes though. Above all, I think I especially enjoyed the melancholic haunting score and, in combination with the surrealist visuals, it made the whole thing quite spellbinding to behold. Unfortunately, they didn’t stick to this score and, after 15 mins, they went instead for some generic violin tune which was not awful but this movie definitely didn’t have the same impact at all anymore. As a result, I had a hard time to keep my focus on the damned thing. Furthermore, even though I do appreciate a surrealist/experimental movie when it is rather short, 2 hours of this was just seriously challenging though. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was not easy watch, it was definitely an interesting watch and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, before watching this movie, I had some mixed feelings towards the damned thing but since it has such a strong reputation, I still wanted to check it out. Well, fortunately, it turned out to be much easier to swallow than ‘Triumph des Willens’ which was a very interesting but also really despicable and nauseating movie. Sure, it was still some Nazi propaganda but it was also more than that. Indeed, it is a neat record of some vintage Olympic games as well and you can say whatever you want about Leni Riefenstahl but she definitely knew how to shoot a movie. For example, during many of the competitions displayed in this movie, she used some slow-motion which might seem like an obvious choice but I never saw sports being shot this way and I thought it was just so efficient and even quite beautiful to look at. To be honest, I’m not so sure about the introduction with these Greek statues. Sure, it was quite artistic but it felt also rather pretentious (on the other hand, what else should you expect from such a propaganda piece?). However, I have to admit that the transition to the discus thrower was pretty neat. The opening ceremony was also an interesting part. It’s in fact pretty much the same that we have nowadays, except for the fact that some delegations were giving the Nazi salute towards Hitler which was expected from Germany’s allies. However, I was rather appalled that the French athletes who do it as well but I guess these morons didn’t know that Germany would invade their country only a few years later. It was also something quite fascinating with this movie, the fact that while you had all these countries involved in some friendly sports competition, only a few years later, most of them would be eventually involved in one of the largest world conflicts we ever had. And, of course, it was just awesome to see Jesse Owens kicking their Nazi butts time and time again. Anyway, to conclude, this film definitely deserves its stellar reputation and it is absolutely worth a look, especially if you are interested in such historical features. 

I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Mila Kunis and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, during the first scenes, I actually thought for a while that it might be some kind of dark satirical comedy with this voice-over constantly making some sharp witty comments. For example, at some point, the main character said/thought that she used to be chubby when she was a teenager as if it was her biggest issue at the time. Well, obviously, it turned out to be definitely something else after all, that’s for sure, in fact, it was so intense that I did end up with a major headache. However, I don’t think it was bad, not at all, it’s just that the damned thing was so scattered. Indeed, not only the main character seemed to be at first an arrogant social climber, there was also some back-and-forth between the past and the present, a gang rape, a mass school shooting, some social media shaming, seriously, it was just all over the place. And, yet, some of it was pretty good. For example, all the flashback scenes involving Chiara Aurelia playing a younger version of the main character were solid but it was so jarring to get back to Mila Kunis each time. It was also bewildering that she would choose a husband coming from exactly the same vapid social background as the guys who raped her. Still, the material definitely had some potential and one of the most interesting aspect was how much empathy they showed towards the 2 mass shooters. Anyway, to conclude, even if half of it didn’t really work, it was still an intriguing movie and I think it is worth a look. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a solid cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. I have to admit that I didn’t know much about Charles Cullen before watching this movie but it turned out to be a really strong and actually quite shocking story. Indeed, after ‘Afterschock’ also released in 2022, it was another movie giving a very dark and even appalling image of the US healthcare system. Sure, Cullen was a really messed up psychopath but how all the hospitals he worked for pretty much did nothing to stop him was probably just as shocking as what he did. Unfortunately, in spite of this strong material, the movie itself turned out to be a decent watch but, to be honest, not much more than that. Above all, I think it was a mistake to tell this story from Amy Loughren’s perspective. Sure, I understand that she was instrumental in his arrest but they really spent too much time on her personal issues which eventually had very little to do with Cullen. Furthermore, the ending, how he supposedly refused to confess his crimes to the police but would confess to her, obviously never took place and it was rather ludicrous. Concerning the actors involved, I have to admit that, after being fascinated by Jessica Chastain, she was starting to annoy me for always playing some supposedly super strong/talented/ambitious women but she did a fine job here. However, I was above all impressed by Eddie Redmayne who delivered once again such a some strong performance. Still, I wish they spent more time on his character but they were not helped by the fact that Cullen never really explained why he did all this. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, the damned thing was still pretty good and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.  

Since this movie seemed to have a really solid reputation (it is included in the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. There are apparently 3 versions of this movie (in French, in Italian and in English) but Jean Renoir apparently preferred the English version and, fortunately, it was the version that I saw. Well, it was definitely something completely different than the other movies directed by Renoir that I have seen so far and, above all, it was visually pretty neat (the restored version I saw on YouTube was pristine but it’s too bad there were some commercials every 5 mins). Still, to be honest, I actually had a hard time to care about the damned thing. I mean, what was actually the point of this movie? Apparently, it was supposed to be some kind of homage to the Commedia dell'arte, an early form of theatre originating in Italy, but beside this information, I have to admit that I didn’t know much about this Art form. At least, there is no doubt that Anna Magnani was super charismatic. I wonder if I ever saw her in another movie before but she was really the best thing in this movie. I really did appreciate the fact that even though she was attractive, she wasn’t your classic movie star, there was something really relatable about her which made her quite fascinating to behold. Still, did I really care about her character? Not really and the other characters were even less interesting, even if I have to admit that the Viceroy did have a couple of cool lines. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really work for me, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Jean Renoir’s work. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a really solid cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, the damned thing turned out to be so much worse than anything I expected. Seriously, it was hands down the worst YA novel adaptation I have seen so far and you have a bunch of them out there which are seriously worthless. Eventually, the concept was basically some cheap knock-off of ‘Harry Potter’ switching witches with vampires but, above all, the biggest issue was that the execution was just awful. Indeed, they mixed some convoluted vampire mythology with some high-school comedy and a couple of half-baked romances and, even though this mix might have worked in the book it was adapted from, it never worked at all in this movie. I mean, right from the start, there was this seriously awkward intro during which who were the main characters, where they were, what they were actually doing, it was all seriously murky and it never really got better afterwards. Indeed, from this point on, they just jumped from one boring barely sensical scene to the other. The only silver lining was that the story at least slowly made more or less sense but the journey to get to the end was really bumpy and it was certainly not entertaining whatsoever. At least, I have to admit that Zoey Deutch tried really hard to deliver a plucky main character and I won’t blame her but there was not much she could do with this completely abysmal material. However, the rest of the cast (Gabriel Byrne, Olga Kurylenko, Sarah Hyland, Claire Foy, Joely Richardson) was completely wasted playing some poorly developed and really lame characters. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing turned out to be pretty much an unwatchable mess and you should probably avoid it, even if you actually like the genre.

Since this movie had a really solid reputation (it is included in the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list among other things), I thought I might as well check it out. Well, Barbara Loden did deliver a strange movie here. By the way, who was Barbara Loden actually? Apparently, she did show up in only a couple of movies and she was mostly famous for being married with Elia Kazan until her untimely death. Anyway, coming back on her directorial debut and only film she directed, it turned out to be some kind of combination of ‘Bonny and Clyde’, ‘Badlands’ and another movie which I can’t remember right now. Eventually, what should we think about Wanda, the main character? Sure, she was attractive but Loden definitely didn’t sugarcoat this portrayal as her character was the most aimless woman I have ever seen. Basically, she is a woman who doesn’t know why she exists (in fact, most of us pretty much pretend we do but that's another story, I guess) but it didn’t seem to concern her that much. Well, it sure did give me some panic attacks when I was around my 20’s. Still, she was definitely not cheerful though, that’s for sure, her life, even herself,  was basically completely empty and the whole thing was therefore seriously gloomy. At some point, she did get involved with a guy called Mr. Dennis and the whole thing became even weirder than it already was. By the way, for some reason, I thought that Norman Dennis was some kind of unhinged version of Walter White and I really wonder if this movie was an inspiration for Bryan Cranston when he created his iconic character because there were so many similarities. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was maybe not the easiest movie to watch, it was an interesting watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I didn’t have some huge expectations regarding this movie but since there was a decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, it turned out to be another typical Michael Cera vehicle and I guess we don’t hear much from him anymore because he never managed to be cast in something else than such roles of spineless losers. And, yet, this movie was not bad though. Indeed, the way the character was aching for sex but also to just have a girlfriend was actually so recognizable and Cera was actually quite pitch-perfect. Concerning Portia Doubleday, who was this girl with this incredible name?!? Indeed, I had never heard of her before and I wonder what she has done afterwards. Well, even though she was really cute and they made an effort to match their taste and interests, to be honest, I don’t think she had much chemistry with Cera though. Concerning the concept of this movie, the reason why it got this title, well, to be honest, I didn’t care much for it. I mean, if they really had pushed it very far or made it really dark, maybe, it would have been interesting but the way it was handled in this movie was too much aimlessly all-over-the-place. It was the same issue with the cast. Indeed, this cast was pretty neat (Zach Galifianakis, Steve Buscemi, Fred Willard, Ari Graynor, Ray Liotta, Justin Long, Rooney Mara, M. Emmet Walsh, Mary Kay Place) but most of them did end up with only a few scenes after all. As far as I was concerned, I was above all pretty neat to see Rooney Mara only 2 years before she got her breakthrough with ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ playing some kind of oversexed nympho even if it was only for a couple of scenes. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though and I think it is worth a look, at least, if you like the genre.