Reviews by johanlefourbe

I have noticed that this movie didn’t get much love when it was released, both from the critics and the audience, so I was eager to check what was actually the fuss about it. Well, first of all, I want to point out that, even though I did enjoy the 1^st installment, I didn’t think it was so amazing like apparently everyone else. As a result, I can't say I was really disappointed by this sequel. Still, I would have to admit that it was indeed a step-down for this promising franchise. Indeed, there were many issues but, above all, it was too long, too clunky and just too cheesy. For example, the end-credit scenes with a cameo by Lynda Carter was maybe cute and harmless but it was also terribly cheesy. Considering the story itself, the whole concept of the Dreamstone granting you any wish was such a lazy and lame narrative gimmick. Seriously, was it the best thing they could come up with? And how convenient was that the damned thing was actually brought up to Diana’s office? Eventually, they should have focused more on the fact that, because Diana is immortal, she is therefore terribly lonely, a fact which was barely brushed by this movie. In fact, even if Steve Trevor didn’t die during the first movie, by 1984, he would still have been long dead which was a fact never acknowledged during this movie. I thought it was also rather disappointing that they didn’t do anything interesting with the 80’s setting. Basically, the story took place during this time period only because it was convenient for the makers so they didn’t need to bother with the other members of the Justice League. Furthermore, the action scenes which were pretty awesome in ‘Wonder Woman’ were here rather awkward and never really convincing. Finally, this flick with a running time of 150 mins was just too damned long and there is absolutely no good reason why such a rather brainless blockbuster should last for so long. At least, Gal Gadot who was basically born to play this character was once again really good but she definitely deserved a better story. Anyway, to conclude, I might have been too generous with my rating here but, if only to see Gadot shining again, I still think the damned thing 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 was really eager to check the damned thing. I was also rather curious to see what Paul Dano would do with his directorial debut. Well, at least, he definitely provided an impressive acting showcase as Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan both delivered some strong performances. The young Ed Oxenbould was also pretty good but his task was actually much more difficult since he was basically a passive victim. To make it even more tricky for him, he had to show what his character was going through without much dialogue. And yet, in spite of the fine work of the cast involved, I still struggled to connect with the damned thing though. I guess the main issue I had was that the two main characters were just so downright unpleasant. Indeed, it has been a while since I have seen 2 parents who were so selfish and so full of self-pity. Of course, your first reflex would be to blame the father for leaving his wife and kid because he basically didn’t know what to do with himself. However, as soon as he was gone, the mother started to show such a bewildering behavior. Seriously, it got so bad that, after a while, I can’t say I was really rooting for her either. What was left was such a poor sweet boy who was basically witnessing his family imploding from the inside out which was rather depressing to be behold and, sometimes, even borderline infuriating. Anyway, to conclude, even if I had a hard time to connect with the material, the damned thing was very well made and the cast was involved was really strong so I still 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 decent cast involved and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I’m not sure if I really cared about this story but there is no doubt that Maggie Smith and Alex Jennings both delivered some really solid performances. Indeed, in contrary to the rest of the movie, Smith and Jennings were never really particularly kind to each other but it made their characters so much more interesting to behold. Without them, I seriously wonder if it would have worked at all since, even if the material was not bad, the tone was just too quirky for me. On top of that, they constantly focused on the fact that the past of this woman must be so interesting. As a result, they added a couple of twists regarding her past but, to be honest, I could have done without them. The first one, the fact that Miss Shepherd was apparently a talented pianist, was actually ruined by the opening scene. The second one, the fact that Miss Shepherd was at some point involved in a fatal car accident, was actually seriously predictable and therefore rather anti-climactic. Eventually, the argument made by this movie was that each homeless man or woman might have a fascinating background but is it the only reason why we should actually care about them? In fact, that’s actually the opposite of how Maggie Smith played the character and the main point of interest, at least, as far as I was concerned, was the relationship between this man and this woman. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, thanks to Smith and Jennings, I still think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since I have a weak spot for Alice Eve, I thought I might as well check it out. Well,  Eve was quite charismatic, she also really made the most of this material and it was pretty neat to see her in a Western taking place in New Zealand. Unfortunately, this movie still never really worked though. First of all, I actually think the damned thing actually had some potential but the tone was not raw enough for me. A bigger issue was that too much stuff didn’t make much sense. For example, how did the main character figure out that her son was in Goldtown? Seriously, I watched the scene in the post-office twice and I still didn’t understand how she came to this conclusion. The bad guy was also rather bewildering. I mean, he stole their money, he killed David Lockton but that was apparently not enough, he also wanted to have Charlotte Lockton for himself so that’s why he kept her baby? The only thing that could have make it work was if they might have chosen an actor who would have played the character as seriously unhinged but, for some reasons, they ended up with Jack Davenport who gave a completely lifeless performance. Another thing that didn’t make sense whatsoever was that Joshua McCullen was working for the Locktons, he stole most of their money and within 3 months he managed to build up a hotel in Goldtown? Seriously, the timing felt way off since it was pretty obvious that the guy had been a major public figure in this little town for quite some time already. Anyway, to conclude, I’m afraid it turned out to be another rather half-baked project for the lovely actress and I don’t think it is really worth a look.