Reviews by johanlefourbe

To be honest, I had no idea what to expect from this flick but since there was a very nice cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Basically, it turned out to be some kind of French version of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ which wasn’t necessarily a bad idea. However, even if it was clearly an ambitious project (it was in the fact the most expensive French movie ever made at the time), I’m afraid the damned thing never really worked though. Indeed, in ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, all the issues of imperialism and white saviour tropes were mostly compensated by some impressive epic directing by David Lean but Alain Corneau definitely didn’t play in the same league, I’m afraid. Indeed, even if the damned thing did last 3 hours, there was nothing much really epic about it. There was also the issue that, even though it was made 40 years ago, it still probably already felt outdated when it was released in the 80’s. Concerning the cast, even though the actors involved were really interesting (Gérard Depardieu, Philippe Noiret, Catherine Deneuve, Sophie Marceau), they were all rather weak. Indeed, Depardieu played Saganne as some kind of gentle empty giant but it was probably not the best approach as he never managed to make the guy really fascinating. Concerning Deneuve and Marceau, even though they were both really charismatic, they were actually also rather underwhelming but, at least, they had the excuse that their respective characters were really poorly developed. Eventually, the only one who managed to do something interesting with his character was Philippe Noiret. Indeed, he managed to find an interesting balance between displaying this veteran soldier as a competent experienced man but also as being arrogant, vain and probably missing the point about what was actually going in the Sahara back in those days. Anyway, to conclude, I think I was actually probably too generous with my rating here but I guess the damned thing might still be worth a look though. 

I had no idea what this movie was about but since it was directed by Todd Haynes and since it was available on Netflix, I was really eager to check it out. Well, to be honest, I thought it was rather surprising that Haynes would direct such a conventional drama at this point of his career. Not that there is anything really wrong with this flick, it’s just that if you are familiar with such court dramas dealing with class-action cases against some huge corporations, well, you won’t see anything new or really surprising. One notable exception would be the fact that Rob Bilott’s boss actually got his back and actually supported him in his seemingly doomed endeavour. Indeed, I was expecting him to tell him to back off so his reaction was refreshing but, to be honest, Tim Robbins didn’t do much else through the whole thing beside being rather patient and supportive with his employee. In a similar fashion, isn’t it sad that after 20 years in the business, Anne Hathaway is still stuck playing the helpless poor wife waiting at home that her workaholic husband would finally show up at some point? At least, you have to appreciate the fact that Haynes didn’t sugar-coat the damned thing whatsoever. Indeed, it was all pretty dark and gloomy, as it should be, and compared to this movie, ‘Erin Brockovich’ was pretty much a Disney family feature. Anyway, there is no denying that the whole thing was quite depressing. Basically, when companies get so big, they become pretty much untouchable and they basically can do whatever they want. As a result, even if they are sued, they can easily drag things for decades and, even if some people manage to stick around like Rob Bilott, the lives of the victims are pretty much ruined in the process, I’m afraid. Anyway, to conclude, even if it was nothing really original, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

To be honest, I had no idea what this movie was about but it seemed to be pretty cool and, since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, even if there were many things I really enjoyed in this flick, at the end of the day, it wasn’t a really strong story though. Indeed, the whole thing was basically some kind of black version of ‘Thelma & Louise’. Seriously, it followed the exact same pattern, even with the over-the-top tragic ending. Well, since I’m not really a huge fan of Ridley Scott’s classic, there was little chance that I would suddenly fall in love with this concept, especially since the makers didn’t bring anything really new, except the ethnicity and gender of the characters. As a result, you get a rather basic road-trip which is, in my opinion, one of the laziest genres. Of course, the characters keep making some quirky encounters and, of course, they bond with each other in the process. Some of the scenes still worked, like when they went dancing but too many other scenes, like when they went horse riding, were just too much. Still, there is no denying that Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith made such a charismatic couple together. Seriously, where this girl came from? Eventually, if the material was rather derivative, they were always convincing and always fascinating to behold. There was also the obvious link with the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests and the heart-breaking fact that, in the US, being pulled over by the police might be one of the most dangerous events occurring in the life of any black man or woman. All these ideas were interesting but to squeeze them into a generic road-trip was not the way to go. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though 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 decent cast involved, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, it has been a while since I have seen a movie which was so completely all over the place. Indeed, it was dealing with living on Mars, the first baby on Mars, growing up on Mars, discovering Earth for the first time around, kids growing up without parents, kids growing up in the foster care system, … Seriously, you could make a whole movie focusing only on each one of these ideas but it didn’t stop here, they also gave us a road-trip AND a teenager romance on top of that. So, there is no doubt that the damned thing was really scattered but some of these ideas were not bad. On top of that, Asa Butterfield was a perfect choice to play the main character and he made the most of this material. Concerning the rest of the cast (Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, Britt Robertson), it’s rather hard to pick which one had the most thankless role. Coming back on the teenage romance, they made a cute couple, even if Robertson was actually 10 years older than her character, but it was quite a stretch that the only person he would be chatting with online would turn out to be the perfect girl of his dreams. If we could all be so lucky but I’m afraid that’s not how the internet actually works, even when you are living on Mars… Like I said before, there was so much going on in this movie, it is hardly surprising that almost nothing was properly developed. And I shouldn't forget the last minute twist about Gardner's father's identity which was also so lame. Anyway, to conclude, my rating was probably too generous here but I think the damned thing was still watchable if only because it was a decent reminder that we should cherish more our planet after all. 

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since there was a pretty cool cast involved, I was quite eager to check it out. First of all, it was definitely one of the best titles I ever came across (in fact, it doesn’t mean anything and it has no link with the movie itself, it’s just a random sentence David Lowery wanted to use as a movie title) and I loved the poster as well so that was definitely a promising start. Well, I always had a weak spot for Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck, together they had a lot of chemistry and made a very charismatic couple. Concerning the rest of the movie, it was pretty obvious that Lowery had been inspired by Terrence Malick’s work which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, it was visually pretty neat and I really enjoyed the ephemeral poetic mood. However, it is also had most of the drawbacks from Malick’s peculiar approach to filmmaking. Above all, there was eventually very little attention given to the plot. Indeed, it was pretty much an excuse to separate these two characters in order to reach a seriously doomed love story. As a result, you don’t get any details on how the actual robbery went down or on how Bob Muldoon actually managed to escape from jail which was obviously intentional but what we got instead was never really fascinating, I’m afraid. Another issue was that, while this couple was always interesting to behold, even if they were in fact not together for most of the duration, I didn’t care much for any of the supporting characters. The fact that none of them was developed whatsoever probably didn’t help. Anyway, to conclude, even if not everything did work in this movie, there was still something quite spellbinding about this couple and I think the damned thing 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 kept hearing some really good things about it, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, the damned thing turned out to be quite sad and depressing, that’s for sure. Eventually, the most nauseating thing, at least for me, was the toxic masculinity constantly surrounding these poor girls. Seriously, it was pretty much everywhere, at school, at work, at home, in the public transports, … Even the seemingly gentle guy in the bus had a rather creepy agenda and helped them out just because he wanted to ‘score’. Of course, you might argue that not all guys are so bad but I’m afraid this description might not to be so far from reality. Concerning the whole abortion thing, well, it’s rather sad that, after years of women fighting to have the rights to make their own choices regarding their own body, it seems that the US are now going backwards on this matter (in fact, it is the case on many other subjects). What they seem to forget is that an abortion will always be a traumatic experience and, by making the whole process more and more awkward and complicated, it only makes the whole experience even more awful for all these poor girls and women, as displayed in this movie. Still, even if the movie was well made and newcomers Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder both gave some really strong performances, was this movie much better than any other movies dealing with teenager abortion released during the last 30 years? Indeed, at the end of the day, it was all a little bit dry and the fact that you never get to learn these two girls outside this major tragedy probably didn’t help. Anyway, to conclude, it turned out to be a really solid drama 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 included in the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list, I was quite eager to check it out. I have to admit that I’m not really familiar with Kenji Mizoguchi’s work but it is really neat to finally discover this great Japanese master. Anyway, I was rather impressed by how modern this tale actually turned out to be. Indeed, it was basically a story dealing with stardom, art, and love but it could just as well have taken place nowadays. Seriously, I could really picture a modern version dealing with the son of some popstar. Anyway, the main character was such a lonely guy who always lived in the shadows of his illustrious father and, basically, during his whole life, no one really ‘spoke’ with him. Instead, they kept giving him some empty and fake compliments and it’s so interesting because you can be pretty sure that’s how things still go nowadays with most celebrities. Of course, it might seem dubious that he would fall in love with the very first girl that finally tells him something real but I think it’s actually understandable. Indeed, for someone like him, to finally have an actual conversation with another human-being must have been quite intoxicating, even irresistible. On the other hand, you might wonder what Otoku really did get from this relationship but there is no denying that both characters somehow felt a deep connection for each other. I also loved the idea that an actor is like any other artist, in order to become great, they probably should have to face many obstacles because, eventually, how could you portray an emotion that you have never experienced? Anyway, to conclude, even if it might not be an easy watch, I really enjoyed the damned thing 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 I have a weak spot for Ana de Armas and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, I’m afraid it turned out to be even worse than my lowest expectations. Basically, I never really cared for the ‘The Fast and The Furious’ but do you know what is actually worse than the long-running action franchise? A cheap European knock-off like this one. Seriously, they even took the least interesting actor ever involved in Vin Diesel’s franchise and turned him into the lead. Concerning [Link removed - login to see]s, as usual, she was very lovely but, to be honest, she also gave here such a weak performance. Seriously, it’s difficult to believe that, the very same year, she would give her breakthrough performance in ‘Blade Runner 2049’. It’s not that the rest of the cast was better, it’s just that I didn't expect her to sink so low. Or maybe I did overestimate her. By the way, what I don’t get is that, even though it was a French production, there was no consistency regarding how the French characters were talking to each other. Indeed, sometimes, they would speak French for a while, then suddenly they would speak English with each other. Sure, it might be a minor detail but I always find this rather annoying. Of course, when you’re watching an action flick and you’re starting to pay attention on what language the characters are talking to each other, the makers probably did mess something up. Finally, I understand that they wanted to deviate somehow from ‘The Fast and The Furious’ by focusing on some vintage cars but developing a high-octane action flick around some 50 year old cars might not be the greatest idea in the world after all. Anyway, to conclude, the damned thing was a big waste of time, not only for me but also for all the people involved and you should pretty much avoid it.