Reviews by johanlefourbe

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was starring Russell Crowe (he even directed the damned thing) and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I didn’t expect it to be so lame after all. I understand Crowe has now entered a phase in his career during which he just wants to do whatever he wants and doesn’t give a sh*t anymore about what everybody else might be thinking, good for him, but, seriously, what was the point in making this movie? It couldn’t be the money since he probably didn’t get much to do it and basically no one saw it when it was released but it couldn’t have been the abysmal story or concept either (was there an actual concept involved here actually?). Anyway, I always had a weak spot for movies dealing with poker and, with such a title, you might have expected to see plenty of playing action but you will be really disappointing since they only played for a short while after all. I guess the basic idea was to show that the main character was going through life as if it was some kind of poker game but I can’t say the end-result was deep whatsoever. Concerning the characters, none of them was interesting but the fact that they were not developed at all probably didn’t help either. Sure, Elsa Pataky is still really lovely but what was the point of her character who showed up for 10 mins to deal some cards and then completely disappeared afterwards? Eventually, even though ‘The Water Diviner’ was not a bad directorial debut, this sophomore effort was just abysmal and it seems that Crowe should just stick to acting. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing was actually a waste of time and you should probably avoid it. 

The main reason why I wanted to watch this flick was because ‘Fury Road’ was  such a huge commercial and critical success. However, for some reason, it seems that I forgot that I was actually never a huge fan of ‘Fury Road’ in the first place (I even saw the damned thing a 2^nd time in case I might have missed something the first time around. My conclusion was that I did not). Well, I’m not surprised that this sequel didn’t turn out to be such a huge box-office success after all. It’s not that it was bad, it’s just that it is really an acquired taste and it seems that ‘Fury Road’ was just a struck of luck back then. Anyway, coming back to our main feature, I have to admit that Furiosa was definitely a badass character and it was pretty cool to make a movie about her origins. However, the main issue was probably the fact that the damned thing was too long. Indeed, it was 30 mins longer than ‘Fury Road’ and such action movies should never last more than 2 hrs. In this case, it took maybe 1 hour before Anya Taylor-Joy finally showed up. By the way, she is definitely one of the most fascinating actresses at work nowadays and she delivered another strong performance here. The funny thing is that I was convinced that she was much smaller than Charlize Theron but, in fact, they are both about the same size. Anyway, there is something really statuesque about Theron and, in spite of Taylor-Joy’s impressive talent, I’m afraid she doesn’t have the same physical presence though. Concerning the action scenes, well, George Miller is pretty much the all-time master in this genre and I guessed they worked fine but I can’t say I was really blown away though. Anyway, to conclude, even if I’m still not a huge fan, I have to admit it was still a decent action flick and it is definitely 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 it was directed by George Miller, I thought I might as well check it out. Eventually, it turned out to be a very classic tale but the fact that the story was fairly derivative was not a problem at all. Indeed, it was actually pretty neat to see Miller giving his own twist on this old genre and the damned thing was visually really nice as well. Furthermore, Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba were some perfect choices to play their respective characters and they had an interesting chemistry together, up until a certain point though. Indeed, as far as I was concerned, I think it was a huge mistake that, I think right before the 3^rd act, Alithea suddenly professed her love for the Djinn and, apparently, he did share the same feelings. Seriously, it came out of nowhere and, while these 2 characters definitely had an interesting connection, it seemed to be obvious that it was an intellectual connection and not a romantic one. Unfortunately, I’m afraid this approach actually pretty much derailed the whole thing and I wish they just left these characters alone in this hotel room in Istanbul debating the meaning of life and what was the basis of a great story. Indeed, I really liked the idea of this scholar specialized in narrative study who would meet an ancient Djinn who would tell her the most incredible stories that she had ever heard. Eventually, without making a single wish, by telling his tales, he would already give her the greatest gift she could ever wish for. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in George Miller’s work. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it seemed to have a decent reputation, I thought I might as well check it out. To be honest, even though I’m well aware of who David Bowie was, I’m not really familiar with his work and I don’t even have one single CD from this artist. In fact, even after watching this movie, I still don’t think I will rush to buy one of his albums and that’s probably the issue I still have with Bowie. Sure, as I expected, the guy was really fascinating, this movie clearly displayed that he was a real artist but, unfortunately, I’m afraid I still don’t care about his music though (I think I will still buy his Best-Of at some point just to make sure though). Anyway, it was still really cool to get to know this incredible rock star who had such an impressive career. Concerning the movie itself, I understand that they wanted to go for something else than a traditional documentary going through his whole career stating the major facts along the way and the end-result was indeed pretty neat. It was above all really interesting to hear Bowie sharing his thoughts. However, this approach also had its downside though. Indeed, the end-result was basically more than 2 hrs of chaotic and random images being thrown at you pretty much non-stop and it was sometimes more exhausting than entertaining or interesting to behold. For example, not so long ago I did re-watch ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’, a fascinating and really weird movie starring Bowie, and I have noticed that through this whole documentary, they kept showing bits and scenes from this movie while it almost always had nothing to do with what they were talking about at that specific point. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t completely blow me away, it was still a really solid documentary and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in David Bowie’s work. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was directed by François Ozon and since it was available on Disney+, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, eventually, I really enjoyed the damned thing and it might even be my favorite movie directed by Ozon so far, no less than that (I actually gave ‘Sous le sable’ a higher rating but I saw it ages ago and I actually barely remember it). Indeed, it was such a pitch-perfect romance with two charismatic boys who had such great chemistry together. I just loved the fact that they were acting like regular guys, like I was around that age when I was living in France, and the fact that they loved each other didn’t matter at all. The two actors (Félix Lefebvre and Benjamin Voisin) were both also really strong. Eventually, the only thing that prevented this movie from being really great was the mixed chronology which was, as usual , such a misguided gimmick. Indeed, not only it really spoiled what happened to David way too early but it also created some completely unnecessary suspense regarding what might have happened to Alex. Basically, during the whole duration, you wonder what was all this fuss about but, in fact, you found out that it was no big deal whatsoever as he was caught by the police for some very minor charges. At some point, Kate made a very interesting remark, about the fact that Alex didn’t really love David for who he was but for what he actually represented to him. I don’t think it was necessarily true but it was an interesting idea and I wish they went deeper into this instead of all this useless judicial shenanigans. Anyway, to conclude, even if it wasn’t flawless, I really enjoyed the damned thing though and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in François Ozon’s work. 

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since I have weak spot for Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield, I was quite eager to check it out. To be honest, I have to admit that I had never heard of Tammy Faye Bakker and it was pretty neat to get to know this rather incredible woman. With her garish make-up and her deep religious feelings, I really didn’t expect her to be such a nice lady after all. Of course, this movie was told solely from her point of view and it was therefore only positive regarding her but you can’t argue that it was quite impressive and inspiring how this TV- evangelist stood out for gay people and AIDS victims. Furthermore, I’m not surprised that Jessica Chastain finally won her first Academy Award with this movie as she gave here easily one of the best performances. And, yet, even though the material was really interesting, the movie itself didn’t completely work though. I think the biggest issue was their refusal to spend too much time on Jim Bakker. Sure, Tammy Faye was obviously the main character here but they both had such a huge influence on each other’s lives (I guess that’s what happens when you are married for 30 years) and it was just weird and, above all, rather unsatisfying that we didn’t learn much about Jim Bakker after all. I guess he was some kind of narcissist but, once again, it was hard to tell since you spend so very little time with the guy after all. As a result, it’s never clear what Tammy Faye was going through at the time. Was she aware of what was going on? If not, it did make her look like a fool. If she was aware, then she was pretty much an accomplice. However, the makers never really made up their mind which way they should go. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I thought it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in the subject matter. 

Even though this movie was a flop when it was released, since it was directed by Doug Liman, I was still eager to check it out. Well, even though this movie didn’t get much love, I think the concept was actually cool and, in my opinion, it had so much potential. Indeed, I just loved the idea of this young man, illiterate, who grew up without women on this wild unknown planet suddenly meeting a girl who grew up on a spaceship and who was never been in contact with nature. I mean, they could have explored how this relationship evolved and the possibilities were rather endless. Unfortunately, they spent most of the duration focusing on some kind of ‘ET-phone-home’ mission which was just so underwhelming. Concerning the ‘Noise’, it was visually pretty neat and the concept was not bad but I’m afraid it was rather poorly developed after all. Indeed, most of the time, we just heard what the characters were going to say anyway which made the whole thing rather pointless. It was also not consistent enough in the sense that, too many times, the characters were all completely silent which was obviously not possible. Eventually, even though the ‘Noise’ must be, well, noisy and annoying, on the long term, I think it could be a blessing in the sense that you can’t hide anymore who you actually are which would be, in my opinion, a good thing. Sure, some people like the Mayor and the Preacher would be able to master the ‘Noise’ but it would then mean that they are definitely hiding something. Concerning Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley, I thought they were not bad and they had a solid chemistry together. Anyway, to conclude, I was probably too generous with my rating here but, even if the damned thing turned out to be really half-baked, I still liked the concept and I think it is worth a look, even if it could have been so much better. 

Even though I really enjoyed the original ‘Scream’ (I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released. Yes, I’m that old…), I didn’t care for any of the sequels. However, since this one turned out to be fairly successful when it was released and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, to be honest, I was hardly impressed by the end-result after all. Sure, there were a couple of nice ideas such as the fact that the victim at the beginning actually survived through the whole duration. I also liked the idea that the main character was the illegitimate child of Billy Loomis. However, the fact that Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega both headlined the next instalment slightly ruined these ideas because, well, it was previous that none of them would die and it was fairly certain that neither of them was one of the killers either. Anyway, what bothered me the most was that they tried too much to be clever with all this meta stuff. Still, the cast was really cool, I especially enjoyed Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega who were both so charismatic (especially Barrera, such a shame that she pretty much derailed her career with some political statements) and the legacy cast was really game as well. The other thing that bothered me was that the 3rd act was rather underwhelming mostly because the two killers were just too random. Above all, it was especially lame because Amber (played by Mikey Madison) was only 1.60 meters and there was no way such a small girl could be this tall freakishly strong Ghostface killer. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really impress me, I have to admit that it was still a decent watch though, probably even the best sequel so far in this franchise and it is actually worth a look, especially if you really like the genre.