En attendant Cannes...
Apr. 25th, 2006 06:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chaniI went back to the movies and saw 2 films in 4 days. V for Vendetta and Inside Man. One is really better than the other. Guess which one?
I thought it might be original, even though I didn't know the book it's based on. The idea of a totalitarian Great Britain was appealing. I don't know why but I thought it might be like in Jasper Fforde's novels.
Well it was not. I don't like to throw tomatoes but V for Vendetta is a flop. The story borrowed stuff from Georges Orwell's 1984, Phantom of Paradise, Clockwork Orange even, without never finding its own tone and universe. It's lenient and heavy, extremely wordy, indulging in too many easy expedients (like the domino effect leading to the big red V,) that have been overused in action movies and romance flicks. You can see right through it. It didn'treally explore the idea of terrorism which would have been so interesting, it never succeeded in making the totalitarianism believable, and it didn't manage to move us with the love story between V and Evey. Maybe a love story between Evey and Valeries would have saved the film...The bit when she read Valerie's words and kissed the paper wasn't bad, but no they didn't want to go that road. Like everything else, the homosexuality side-plot was simply skimmed over.
The actor behind the mask was okay, the mask was rather expressive, Nathalie Portman wasn't bad, Stephen Fry gave us his usual gay performance, so the cast was rather good and the actors made the most of what they had, but the scenario is so slim and farfetched , and the direction is so showy that you end up thinking "a lot of fuss about nothing".
Well it was not. I don't like to throw tomatoes but V for Vendetta is a flop. The story borrowed stuff from Georges Orwell's 1984, Phantom of Paradise, Clockwork Orange even, without never finding its own tone and universe. It's lenient and heavy, extremely wordy, indulging in too many easy expedients (like the domino effect leading to the big red V,) that have been overused in action movies and romance flicks. You can see right through it. It didn'treally explore the idea of terrorism which would have been so interesting, it never succeeded in making the totalitarianism believable, and it didn't manage to move us with the love story between V and Evey. Maybe a love story between Evey and Valeries would have saved the film...The bit when she read Valerie's words and kissed the paper wasn't bad, but no they didn't want to go that road. Like everything else, the homosexuality side-plot was simply skimmed over.
The actor behind the mask was okay, the mask was rather expressive, Nathalie Portman wasn't bad, Stephen Fry gave us his usual gay performance, so the cast was rather good and the actors made the most of what they had, but the scenario is so slim and farfetched , and the direction is so showy that you end up thinking "a lot of fuss about nothing".
I really like Spike Lee. I think he's a great director.
Inside Man isn't a masterpiece, it doesn't reach the level of the superb 25th Hour, but it's a good movie, very entertaining with a great cast, beautiful shots, a creative filming-style and some moments that are simply precious.
I wouldn't say that the screenplay is terrific. I don't know who wrote it, but it isn't Usual Suspects. It isn't that the story is bad, it's rather refreshing, but I wasn't surprised by the supposed twist and I found it rather predictable actually. So I didn't like the movie for its suspense!
The side-plot with Jodie Foster isn't that great either, it seems forced on us. But she managed to look cold and hot at once, and her name Madeline White was a good joke making of her character a walking cliché but she's pretty legs and it's Lee's point of view!
The stuff I liked then: well Denzel Washington was good and rather human, and so was Clive Owen as the mastermind Bank-robber, and I loved our Operative from Serenity, Chiwetel Ejiofor who here plays Washington's sidekick. He's delicious. In interludes that are actually post-robbery, we see Denzel Washington and Chiwetel Ejiofor having "individual interview" of all the hostages/suspects. As they're interviewing the "big tits" woman, Chiwetel is filmed in a very tight shot, but we understand that he can't help watching the boobies!
Above all it's Spike Lee's skill as a director in use of camera angles, dual cameras, motion shots, cutaways that make the film worth seeing. But some entertaining moments are also there to make you smile (like when the cops are arguing over Owen's riddle after they solved it ) while giving sometimes a bit of a message about education (when Owen is taking a look at the so violent video game the only kid among the hostages plays with), about our society failings (the annoying woman with the blackberry phone in the bank!), about New York's cosmopolitanism (of course there's someone who understands Albanian in the streets !).
At the end of the day, Spike Lee just made a film about New York again!
Inside Man isn't a masterpiece, it doesn't reach the level of the superb 25th Hour, but it's a good movie, very entertaining with a great cast, beautiful shots, a creative filming-style and some moments that are simply precious.
I wouldn't say that the screenplay is terrific. I don't know who wrote it, but it isn't Usual Suspects. It isn't that the story is bad, it's rather refreshing, but I wasn't surprised by the supposed twist and I found it rather predictable actually. So I didn't like the movie for its suspense!
The side-plot with Jodie Foster isn't that great either, it seems forced on us. But she managed to look cold and hot at once, and her name Madeline White was a good joke making of her character a walking cliché but she's pretty legs and it's Lee's point of view!
The stuff I liked then: well Denzel Washington was good and rather human, and so was Clive Owen as the mastermind Bank-robber, and I loved our Operative from Serenity, Chiwetel Ejiofor who here plays Washington's sidekick. He's delicious. In interludes that are actually post-robbery, we see Denzel Washington and Chiwetel Ejiofor having "individual interview" of all the hostages/suspects. As they're interviewing the "big tits" woman, Chiwetel is filmed in a very tight shot, but we understand that he can't help watching the boobies!
Above all it's Spike Lee's skill as a director in use of camera angles, dual cameras, motion shots, cutaways that make the film worth seeing. But some entertaining moments are also there to make you smile (like when the cops are arguing over Owen's riddle after they solved it ) while giving sometimes a bit of a message about education (when Owen is taking a look at the so violent video game the only kid among the hostages plays with), about our society failings (the annoying woman with the blackberry phone in the bank!), about New York's cosmopolitanism (of course there's someone who understands Albanian in the streets !).
At the end of the day, Spike Lee just made a film about New York again!
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no subject
Date: 2006-04-26 08:04 am (UTC)*shyly puts head in crack of said door*
Hi!
Uhm, this is rather embarrassing, but... I've seen you around at poshcat's and fer's LJ's and I noticed the "french" part in your username and *dies a little* do you think I could ask you to help me with the translation of two sentences? I have googled my little heart out and asked LEO and everything, but it must be some idiom or something... It's something that was said about a friend of mine in a french forum and it's probably nice, since they know he reads at least a little french, but we can't get quite behind the meaning?
I'm sorry to barge in like that, we don't even know each other... but it might be a nice start we laugh about later?
I'll sit over here and wait if I might bother you with the sentence...
*slinks into corner*
no subject
Date: 2006-04-26 01:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-26 03:17 pm (UTC)They are talking about M's performance at a kite competition, and while I get the first sentence (added it for cotext) the answer is all greek to me.... *hee*
"Tu as raison Alain, Malte est en pleine progression, je l'ai vu voler a Berck, énorme potentiel"
- "Il manque plus qu'il se mette a la mauresque!"
no subject
Date: 2006-04-26 03:58 pm (UTC)As for the second quote I'm at a loss...Must be some kite argon that I don't know, but if I translate it literally: "It really would be the end if he went all Moorish !" (or "if he went into Moorish" perhaps ?).
I have no idea what that Moorish bit means btw...
no subject
Date: 2006-04-26 04:11 pm (UTC)Thank you so much for trying to help. I guess we'll never really know (since he's to shy to ask...), but at least it isn't "He a big ol' ass" or something...
Thanks again!!
no subject
Date: 2006-04-26 08:43 am (UTC)Ou alors y aller le soir.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-26 04:03 pm (UTC)Un truc marrant que j'ai oublié de mentionner, c'est que dans "V" il y a une scène qui parait totalement pompée de la série des années 80 "V" (tu sais avec les extra-terrestres d'apparence humaine mais lézards en dessous qui débarquent et bouffent les humains, mais la résistance se met en place etc...oui j'ai regardé pas mal de conneries dans ma jeunesse! ;- )). Je me suis demandée si c'était un clin d' oeil ou simplement un manque de créativité!