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Reviews
Arlington Road (1999)
Jeff, you can do better than this!
This is a rather boring big budget "thriller". It's quiet empty too. The whole story could have been told in half the time. It's not really a bad movie, but it could not hold my attention, allthough the ending gives, after all, a nice twist to it. In fact it's a bit of a waste of a bunch of very good actors.
À vendre (1998)
Complex characters
This is an entertaining tail of a bunch of complex characters and their history, as a private detective tries to find out about their past ( and his own!). Unfortunately the film totally collapse in the last 10- 15 minutes. I don't see the use of this "epilogue" at all, and for reasons ( budget?) that are not clear to me, this part of the film is suddenly filmed on video. This gives a strange contrast to the rest of the film, that's nicely shot.
The Avengers (1998)
There's only one John Steed!
The movie starts off quite promising; like an episode of the original series, made with a lot more money. But money isn't everything! The movie lacks that special feeling of the series, that made it so special, with all the cardboard props and ridiculous gadgets. Sean Connery isn't really convincing as bad guy either. And there have been more Emma Peels, Tara Kings and Purdy's, bur there's only one John Steed, and that's NOT Ralph Fiennes!
Dropouts (1999)
Entertaining
Not a masterpiece at all, but a very entertaining portrait of a bunch of dropouts roaming the streets of Amsterdam during the summer of 1997. On the other hand: maybe the picture you get of the life of these bums is a bit too bright: the sun is shining all the time, and it only rains once! That's not a very realistic picture of the Dutch climate these people have to endure. Finally: the film is a bit long!
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Poetry and war
Very poetic movie about the horrors of war and the beauty of life. In the same league as Coppola's "Apocalypse Now". This film makes Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" look like an episode of The A Team.
Very Bad Things (1998)
A very dark "comedy"
This is a very dark and violent comedy. In fact at times it's disturbingly violent ( in a very direct way, unlike for instance the much more abstractly violent scenes in Tarantino's movies), and makes one wonder if it's really a comedy. But on the other hand as the story evolves, it becomes so absurd, that it can be nothing else than some sort of a comedy. It's quite an entertaining study of what people might do, to save themselves from situations that become more and more extreme. At times it's not a pleasant movie at all. The music is quite good, and adds a strange feel to some of the scenes.