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L'écume des jours (2013)
False advertising in the preview and in the end a very depressing film
I stumbled into this movie after seeing the preview and thinking this would be a nice clever movie to watch and it was for the first half-- until Chloé becomes ill. The movie starts with vibrant colors, wonderful visual action, meals that are literally animated. Just look at the photos on IMDb. All happy. I really enjoyed the first half. Then Chloé gets a lung infection and her lover/husband Colin goes on a quest to save her. The film turns dark (literally) and by the end I felt like I'd been watching John Hurt in "1984". That crushed. You have been warned.
The Tourist (2010)
Romantic caper movie
Lovely little movie. Good fare for a date night. A quiet mosey of adventure where a woman under police surveillance is told to catch a train to Venice and strike up a friendship with a random stranger on the train--a math teacher on vacation is the winner: dinner on the train, a parting of ways, a chance meeting and shared taxi ride. She is orchestrating, he is along for the ride. In Venice, mobsters in search of their stolen money join the hunt. It reminded me a bit of Charade with the roles of Hepburn and Grant reversed: Jolie as the one in control and Depp as the person in over their head, but trying to keep up. I enjoyed the movie for what it was, think spy movie or caper movie, not action or heist (though there is a little of both bullets and action), with beautiful scenery (people and Venice) along the way.
Constantine (2005)
Enjoyed this horror film that is more in to themes and ideas than violence
I enjoyed this movie. It's a toned down horror movie more akin to Stigmata than Event Horizon. I haven't seen the comic book, so the movie was new and fresh to me. I thought the acting was good. I usually find Keanu Reeves a little stiff in his acting, but here he moved well and brought the right ambiance to his character. Rachel Weisz is wonderful as the police detective who refuses to believe her sister's death was suicide. When we first meet Rackel's character Angela she is confessing to a Catholic priest that she has killed yet another man. She can't understand how she manages to kill so many criminals when most police officers go three years without even drawing their guns. Angela always knows where the criminals are going to be and she always kills them. I was hooked. Tilda Swinton puts a nice twist on the angel Gabriel.
Sets are suitably dark and oppressive (I thought if they'd just added rain it would have looked like Blade Runner). The story is thoughtful within the universe it has defined.
Spartan (2004)
A tight intense hostage film
The film follows field agent Scott (Kilmer) as he participates in the investigation of the disappearance and possible kidnapping of the President's college age daughter. The film is from Scott's point of view. Viewers get the same information Scott gets (even less). There are no scenes to give the big picture and few clues about what other characters are doing. I think this may be what frustrates people about the film. Viewers, like Scott, have blinders on. The information received may be true, false, in material, or purposely misleading. I very much enjoyed the ride. You have to work at understanding what's going on.
The dialog is fast and technical. The violence is quick and brutal. I found it believable and scary that civil rights would go out the window for anyone in the path of federal agents looking for the President's daughter.
In an early scene, Ed O'Neill pulls Scott/Kilmer into a stairwell and asks him what he is willing to do to get the girl back and Scott says whatever it takes. I see this scene as key to everything that Scott does through the rest of the movie. At the end, when I extrapolate the off-screen events that must have taken place to get Scott to his destination, it is well apparent that he has held to his original statement of whatever it takes, no matter what the cost, personal or otherwise.
The Princess Diaries (2001)
Forced and dull
I went to see this opening day and the theatre was pretty full.Mostly younger girls (I suspect the target audience). I was looking forward to this film and the trailers looked good, but what a disappointment. Great actors, abysmal situations. The silly bits weren't. The romance didn't click. Perhaps it was a case of throwing everything but the kitchen sink into a picture and forgetting to build something. Two relatively recent movies that did seem to get it right are "She's All That" (where the guy actually cares about the girl) and "Parent Trap II" (where there is silliness and 'tension' and coherency). The audience was pretty quiet during the film (except where there were some nicely funny bits), but mostly it was a drag.
American Beauty (1999)
Slow study of dysfunctional neighbors (doesn't live up to the hype)
I found myself checking my watch at the 25 minute point (and a couple of more times during the film). The various story lines of the main characters (Lester, Carolyn, Jane, Angela) searching for their identities just seem to drag on until a tragic chain of events brings things to a close. I felt I'd seen most of the themes explored (written) better in other movies (Hurley Burley comes to mind). Perhaps the difficulty was trying to have too many threads.
The acting was excellent. Chris Cooper really grabbed the screen as the all American military man raging against a morally declining world which he cannot save/help despite has vain efforts.
There are some funny moments; there was gentle laughter here and there, but I got the feeling the audience couldn't decide whether to laugh, wince or squirm. When the film ended the audience exited in dead silence (last time I remember an audience this quiet was after Saving Private Ryan).
Stigmata (1999)
Excellent visual qualities and subtle deep storyline
The colors and visual texture of the movie are stunning. Go see the movie in a theatre (and sit in the front half of the theatre). Patricia Arquette works well as a person that is having unexplained things happening to her body. I did not find the movie scary nor anti-religious. In fact, it poses some very fundamental questions about Christianity and the nature of organized religion. Ignore the obvious political-religious superficial elements of the movie and ponder (enjoy) the deeper themes involved. I highly recommend this film.
Ever After (1998)
Enjoyable by all ages.
9 times, I never see a movie 9 times, but I did for Ever After.
I think this is a movie that can be enjoyed by all ages and will become a classic.
'A' for witty one-liners.
'A' for Anjelica's facial expressions.
'A' for music.
'A' for costumes and location.
'A' for detail. Did you notice the live white Gyr Falcon in Pierre Le Pieu's castle?