Medellin is being filmed with majesty. The theme is interesting and original, but not very well developed. The writer becomes too easily entrenched into the criminal path. Also, we do not have many hints to understand his despair, his story. But this is not as bad as the acting; too bad, but it is disturbing, especially the young killers...
Reviews
13 Reviews
The Taste of Others
(2000)
Don't miss it
19 June 2000
That is one of the best movies I have seen so far this year. It is clever, interesting despite a few "longueurs", and well played. My guess is that soon, Americans will make an American version of this movie, as they did with Three Men and a Baby, or Nikita. Probably because this movie may look "too French" to American moviegoers; But, go and see this movie in its original format: it proves that the French cinema is alive and in good shape.
What a great actress
19 June 2000
I am giving a 9/10 to this movie, and Elizabeth Taylor deserves at least 7 of these points. I don't know her very much, and would have thought that she was just a "star" and not a real actress. But now I have to think again: she absolutely steals the movie. Very impressive. And troubling. A movie that sticks with you for a long time after you have left the theater.
The End of the Affair
(1999)
The most conventional movie I have ever seen
8 January 2000
How can the same director who gave us "The Crying Game" with its provocative situations and characters, come up with something as banal and boring as this? It really looks like a small-scale, small-budget television piece, and the interesting thing is that you can watch it without sound, because the story is so simple and predictable. But, even there, they will show you many scenes twice, to make sure that you understand that reality is different depending on the person who is looking at it. Wow... I was expecting a nice recreation of the London atmosphere after the war; we were offered one aerial view of London and a couple of outside scenes where we can streets and houses. The rest of the movie could have been filmed anywhere in the world. A final point to illustrate my deception : I sincerely think that there are better ways to suggest the heroine's growing illness than the gross coughing Julianne Moore was asked to simulated. In my opinion, this movie has been made with a deliberate disregard of all the advances made in movie-making in the last forty years. It is so strange to see, back to back, a movie like this one and a movie like "Being John Malkovich"...
Rembrandt
(1999)
Esthetic and cold as a still life painting
9 September 1999
This is a very conventional biographic movie. It looks like all the money and efforts have been invested in recreating the paintings of Rembrandt, the decoration, the costumes, but unfortunately, less attention was devoted to finding the soul, to explore new ways to illustrate the success then the misfortune of a genius unfit to live in his own era. The characters are barely sketched, the actors seem to concentrate on looking like the originals -which is well achieved, especially by Rembrandt's wife - but they forget to act, to live. And don't expect any explanation about the nature of the Rembrandt's genius, about the great debates of the 17th Century or the social life in the Netherlands at that time. My guess is that this cold movie will soon be forgotten.
Maggie Smith at her best!
3 September 1999
Just thinking back at that movie, seen many years ago, I feel good. It is a clever and fascinating movie, out of which you both learn and get entertained. Great story, great cast, great direction. But, more important, Maggie Smith steals the show: a performance like you will rarely see one. She displays a sensitivity and a subtlety that I have rarely seen in a performance. What a great actress! Don't miss it!
Place Vendôme
(1998)
Want to see a great performance by a great actress?
2 September 1999
Only for Catherine Deneuve's performance, this movie deserves your attention. She is troubling, beautiful, captivating. A whole life's experience is generously invested in this performance. The story is not bad, some other performances are not as satisfying (e.g. Dutronc), but it is an enjoyable movie overall. And again, a great lesson in acting.
A great "I laugh- I cry" movie!
2 September 1999
This a very good movie, entertaining, not necessarily what you would expect from a drag queen movie because of the sensitive description of the characters and the interesting Australian landscape. Flamboyant and touching!
Robert et Robert
(1978)
Some good laughs
2 September 1999
I don't remember much about this movie because it's been a while that I have seen it, but I remember having laughed very spontaneously and honestly at several places in the movie. The story of two friends having problems to adjust to their environment, there are good performances and a good direction. I wish I could see it again.
Cabaret
(1972)
One of the best movies ever!
2 September 1999
How come it is not ranked higher - among the top 250? This is certainly one of the best movies ever made, great performances from Liza Minelli and Joel Grey, great direction, great story, great music. More important, this movie has a soul, a color, which makes it unforgettable. One of my best!
Finding Graceland
(1998)
a good idea, a straightforward movie
2 August 1999
The idea is great and the game played between the movie and the spectators with respect to the believability of the whole thing is stimulating. However, the direction is rather conservative, slow and out of focus at times, and the actors are not at their best. Lack of enthusiasm? Too bad... and not a bad entertainment nevertheless.
Paparazzi
(I) (1998)
Entertaining, and actual
30 July 1999
I went to this movie without knowing what to expect, and I spent a very good time. It is funny, perhaps a little bit overdone, well played and well cast. And an interesting topic, these days. Some good laughs, some great surprises!
The Killer
(1989)
A bad imitation of Miami Vice
30 July 1999
Hard to believe the ratings and the positive comments on this movie, except if we account for sarcasm. Of the few people who stayed in the theater, yesterday, most of them were there to laugh at the movie rather than enjoy it. So, it is hard to believe in the (tiny) subplot about loyalty and friendship when the story is about killing 145 people to find a pair of cornea for a lousy cabaret singer. (A great feminine role, by the way: makes you think that feminists might have a cause after all.)The main problem is that someone should have tell them that an important ingredient of a movie is a screenplay. But the producers appear to have decided to invest, instead, in some special effects (gun sparks and gore) that make you regret the average episode of Miami Vice. Which was a tv series, should I remind you; not a full feature movie.
Tell Your Friends