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raphrousseau
Reviews
Calypso Is Like So (2003)
A short but funny cartons
This is the story of Robert Mitchum and a journalist who meet each other. It's very very with a lot of movie references. The script is funny even if it's so good that's it's too short. I had the chance to see the director's next pilot for a series last week-end. And it gets better and better. Have fun if you got the occasion to see it. I 've got to say that the sound and music are nice and add to the fun. It is gonna be screened at the Annecy festival of short films, the biggest in Europe. I do hope it's gonna win a price because it deserve it, really. Note that the voice of the journalist is performed by Claire Keim, a young French actress getting better and better at her job. I wish it could have been a longer movie.
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
One of the worst movies ever in the history of cinema
!!!WATCH OUT, THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS!!!
I won't waste my time to sum up the story. The script is slow and stupid, giving birth to one of the most boring film I have ever seen in my life. I am not surprised that Kubrick died before finishing it because it's so bad that he spent 9 years of his life working on it, and he died before putting a final hand to it. The script is incredibly idiot. For example, Tom Cruise's character is supposed to be a great Doctor and, when he goes to see a prostitute he doesn't even use a condom! So he gets HIV positive.
The image has a very good quality and this aspect of this Z-rated-late-night-TV-Show kind of film, is probably the best. The colors are really worked. But the action and the dialogs are so flat that even if there are good actors, they don't have any occasion to prove it here.
The good thing is I didn't go to the theater to see this movie. A friend of mine lent it to me, on tape. I almost fell asleep in front of it. This is such a bad movie that I'm sorry that it was Kubrick's last one. He could do much better. It's a bad souvenir left by a great director getting too old. Do yourself a favor: Don't waste your time and money and don't see this movie--cold, slow and empty as it is.
Le locataire (1976)
Roman Polanski at his very best
This psychological horror movie is great. The fact that Roman Polanski plays the main character adds to the genius of this film. You got to see it, if you look for a psychological movie which takes place in Paris, a detail that add some charms to it.
This is part of Polanski's apartment series, including also Repulsions. "Le locataire is truly claustrophobic and very realistic about certain quarters in Paris. Truly horrifying, this may be Polanski's best movie in the genre.
Of course, it depends what you're looking for, but this is a splendid stay-on-the-algae-of-your-seat kind of movie. The only frustrating aspect is that it's not available on DVD in Europe as i type this. There is no zone 2 DVD of this movie for the time being. I hope it's gonna be on the market soon.
La demoiselle d'honneur (2004)
A very good Chabrol movie...very close to being a master-piece
This is a very good Chabrol movie. To me, probably his best since "Merci Pour Le Chocolat". The "atmosfear" was captivating, the script well written. The casting is great. The sets were mysterious (the old castle, for example). Well, to make a long story short, if you like Claude Chabrol's suspense movies, please, do yourself a favour and watch this one. Much better than the previous one, "La Demoiselle D'Honneur", was, I think, innovative enough to mark the mind of even his (Claude Chabrol's) long time fans in the deepest way. If he's physically getting old, as we all do, Chabrol's mind is still very sharp and a joy to explore. In a word, the French Hitchcock is back in top form ! May be the Ruth Rendall background of this movie gives it its best aspects. "La Demoiselle d'Honneur" is a kind of child-movie to an older Chabrol's masterpiece called "La Cérémonie".