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Testud has certainly been quite busy in recent years. Her breakthrough came a little late; it was in the German film Beyond Silence (1996) which was nominated for an Oscar among others. You're right about Aime ton père -- it wasn't very good (both Depardieus were there, I think). Her other popular film is Les Blessures assassines.
I thought we discussed Aime ton père earlier. The interest was seeing both Depardieus and the gossip value (both director Jacob Berger and young Depardieu have famous, dominant fathers); thoroughly useless movie as a movie though. Have not seen Les blessures AKA "Murderous Maids".... I believe it was shown here in theaters but somehow I missed it. Looks like it would be up her alley. I was impressed by her relentless intensity in Stupeur et tremblements, a narrow and unpleasant but compelling and riveting film;* she seems a bit one-note, but that can work well in character roles, given the intensity. Coincidentally Stupeur...etc. was directed by Alain Corneau who also directed Depardieu père et fils in Tous les matins du monde.
*It was also remarkable that she spoke only Japanese in it. If this isn't a language she knew before and she just learned the lines phonetically, that's another sign of her awesome devotion and focus.
I haven't seen Stupeur (I think it's releasing on DVD soon), but how could it be "a narrow and unpleasant but compelling and riveting film," all at the same time, or maybe that's one of its qualities?
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George A. Romero's Land of the Dead (2005)
Can Alain Corneau's Fear and Trembling (Stupeur et tremblements) be both a "narrow and unpleasant and compelling and riveting" film?
I think so. I might even argue that a number of Robert Bresson's films have both sets of qualities. That's the way they happen to work. In Bresson's case, I'd have to say many of them are also great films. I'm not trying to make that claim for Stupeur et tremblements, but without being in any sense a pleasant experience it's still worth watching, especially if cross-cultural encounters interest you. See it and decide for yourself.
CONSTANTINE
I watched the DVD yesterday- Rented it with "Assault on Precinct 13"
Constantine is the film version of "Hellblazer", a very popular comic book.
It's pretty damn good- especially the camerawork and editing.
Some shots remind the viewer of Kubrick- I shit you not.
Tracking shots, crane shots, close-ups- all shots are pristine and well thought-out.
The story is about exorcisms, Satan, hell, angels (yes, with wings) and a golden gun that I wish I owned.
That's all I'll say. Clive Barker could have been the guy who wrote it.
Keanu Reeves is our Exorcist. He's looser and more moody than Neo but it's hard not to compare his acting with what he did in the Matrix movies. He's the go-to guy for dealing with Hell and it's repercussions.
*SPOILERS*
The scenes of Hell and Satan himself are what makes this film extremely entertaining. It's worth sitting through all of the fantastic completely unreal scenarios to see Peter Stormare as Lucifer. His scenes are worth seeing over and over. (Stormare is one of the best character actors in the biz- he was Jeff, the retard who loves Selma in Trier's Dancer in the Dark)
Peter chews the scenery...
That gun Keanu wields is a monster. A gold fat-barrelled cannon, it's bullets are made by a kid who drives a cab (and turns out to be a major supporting player). Think of the gatling gun Jesse Ventura used in Predator- only this one is beautiful and can be held shoulder-high.
The sfx are excellent. It's the kind of sfx that are needed for a surreal, completely outrageous story like this.
It would be easy to scoff at this movie, but I felt we got my money's worth. An above-average action film with high production values.
This is one I can get at Blockbuster. Nicheflix not necessary. I hope to watch it soon.
Damn good, indeed.Quote:
Originally posted by Johann
CONSTANTINE
It's pretty damn good- especially the camerawork and editing.
Some shots remind the viewer of Kubrick- I shit you not.
Tracking shots, crane shots, close-ups- all shots are pristine and well thought-out.
The sfx are excellent. It's the kind of sfx that are needed for a surreal, completely outrageous story like this.
Great review arsaib4- I missed it.
There's a lot of writing here from some members and I miss some reviews.
I'll probably buy Constantine on DVD- it's a way better time killer than most action movies.
It's the kind of film End of Days should have been.
Thanks, dude. I hope you channel more of your energy talking about films. ;)
OK, I get it- I'll try to stop with the politics.
:)
I saw "Wedding Crashers". Certainly not an "art film" by any stretch of the imagination, but very funny in parts.
Vince Vaughn is rarely used properly. I thought he was, for the most part, quite unfunny in "Dodgeball", "Old School" and "Be Cool". His friend, Jon Favreau, seems to be able to get the best out of Vaughn with very funny manic roles in "Swingers" and "Made".
The same can be said for Owen Wilson who can be very funny ("Bottle Rocket", "Meet the Parents", "Zoolander") or not so funny ("I Spy", "The Royal Tennenbaums")
"Wedding Crashers" uses the talent of both comic actors to great effect and when it focuses on comedy it can be uproarious.
Will Ferrell is at his best in a cameo role here. Ferrell is great for cameos and small roles because he is a scene stealer: "Zoolander", "Austin Powers", "Starsky & Hutch". I feel that he tends to shout all his lines and often confuses "over the top" with funny.
That may be true of Ferrill, but I was pretty damn amused by Elf.
I must say that I'm intrigued by Wedding Crashers. It's certainly not an art film but even some of the snobby critics consider it worthwhile.
I also liked Elf quite a bit.
I want to see Wedding Crashers, though I'm wishing I could avoid the last part where it goes soft and mushy. Elf was pretty good, but Ferrell isn't verybally funny the way Vaughan and Wilson are. You have to give Wilson credit for writing with Anderson. His laid back persona conceals a decent brain obviously.