jytou's Reviews

The Eagle (2011)

4/10

2 January 2013

Warning: Spoilers

If you want to see an action movie featuring Romans, without thinking beyond the entertainment, then go ahead. It has a plot and action, and the actors are doing their job.

Of course, if you think that it is okay to "restore your family's honor" by killing a lot of people, that Romans were just good guys bringing civilization to barbaric tribes, you can go ahead, you'll love it.

However, if you believe that honor is not worth killing a whole bunch of people, that Scots were simply defending their lands against a brutal aggressor who was taking their country by force, although Romans believed they were the "civilized" ones, and that being a traitor shouldn't be rewarded, then don't watch this movie, all these aspects will break the entertainment.

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Holy Smoke (1999)

1/10

They couldn't make a real movie, so they made a soft porn

14 February 2009

Warning: Spoilers

It's so hard to find a philosophical movie about India. When I took this movie from the local library (fortunately I didn't pay for it), I was hoping to see a teaser about Buddhism, or at least something funny about sects, but again I was wrong, and once again I understand that nobody in the film industry can make a real movie about India, Buddhism, or inner vacation. It doesn't even get close to this point. Don't search any philosophical ideas in this movie, you'll much more find every kind of porn fantasy: peeing naked woman, two men and women half naked, old man and young woman sex, man having makeup, gay/lesbians, etc. As they couldn't make a real movie, they tried the cheapest catches with naked women. My biggest movie mistake in my life, I watched it until the end to make sure and warn everyone not to watch it and waste 140 minutes from your lifetime, unless you're willing to wake up some sick feelings from strange fantasies. I was shocked seeing Kate Winslet in this movie, I really wonder how they made her sign the contract, it's definitely not the same woman who made Titanic a few years before. If your goal if to see her naked (and more), I'm not even sure it's worth renting this movie. Actors are overacting, I kept asking myself during the whole movie if it was the director's mistake or the actor's mistake, but the result is really bad, I guess they really smoked something while making this movie.

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Le grand rôle (2004)

5/10

Good subject and script, but they missed it!

16 October 2004

After all, the movie itself is not that bad, I mean that the story is good, the subject is good and there is something to think about when you leave the theater.

But they missed it.

The first half is boring and the actors are bad (except for Mrs Bejo who really does a good job throughout the whole film), you don't feel the subject at all. Just like a bad TV movie.

The second half is a bit better, but it still does not make it a good film.

About the actors, I found them bad apart from a few exceptions. François Berléand is a good actor and didn't deceive me, but he doesn't appear a lot. As I said, Mrs Bejo does a great job, maybe she saves the film from being *really* bad. Except for the "Yiddish scene" (yes, he's still a good actor for sure when he makes an effort ;-) ), I found Stephane Freiss pathetic, and it disappointed me. Fortunately, Peter Coyote gives us a nice scene full of emotions in the last minutes of the film, but it can't save the whole film.

Too bad, I'm disappointed there because they could have made it a lot better.

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Il était une fois Jean-Sébastien Bach (2003)

3/10

Bad film, but good documentary

27 August 2003

When I went to see this film, I didn't thought I was going to see a masterpiece, I expected to see a documentary on JS. Bach. Well, I must say I got it.

I found the actors rather bad (except for a few exceptions), Jean Rochefort (whom I do like) is not as convincing as expected, the quality of the image is rather poor (well, do bear in mind it's a small French film), there's nothing special in the filming itself, and if you don't love music you'll get bored very quickly because of long "concert" scenes. Things have been done rather quickly and even though the costumes are good, all efforts to make the spectator move to the XVIIIth century have not been made, we can even see some cars in the background of a scene!

The worst point of this film is music/image synchronization. It's really obvious that actors are not playing the music (except in one or two scenes). Well, I'm a pianist myself so maybe as a non musician you won't notice anything. But when Bach conducts the orchestra and his beating with his arms is not synchronized with the music, I guess even non musicians could get annoyed.

You can't compare this film to others on the same theme (musicians' biographies) such as "Amadeus" or "Immortal Beloved" (that's on Beethoven), those are films while this one is a documentary. After all, if you're interested in Bach's life and too lazy to read a book about it, then you could go and see it.

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