franck-25 Reviews

Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

A disappointment

[3/10 · 28 October 2007]

I found the book exceptionally great.

I found the movie a big disappointment... Esthetically speaking, it's ugly. All what's in the book could have paved way for nice photography. It would not have harmed the movie. Instead, I had the impression of watching a B-series science fiction film. The book would have deserved better.

I know that some people object that the style was intentional on part of the filmmaker. Well, the result is something that aged quickly and seems ridiculous now.

Read the book, it has not aged ! This movie should not be an excuse for not reading an exceptional work of art...

99 Francs (2007)

Good criticism of the advertising world

[8/10 · 28 October 2007]

This movie was made like a giant advertising with very rhythmic effects and fast moving pictures. At least, it will keep the eye entertained during the whole movie but there's more in it.

It describes in a fun way what everybody knows is a sad world. Drugs, sex parties, late work hours, pretentious people, and meetings with stupid people, this is the way it works in the advertising industry.

It's a very funny criticism of advertising and the way it's made. I feared it would not do justice to Beigbeder's excellent book but in fact it's quite good.

Most of all, Jean Dujardin is very good in his role. He could be one of those mens you see working at Publicis on the champs Elysees !

Some people may not like the movie because there is a lot of sex and drug taking inside the movie. Yet, it's a good social depiction of this world. Don't go with the children's (the rating is not very explicit about the real content of the film) and enjoy yourself.

The Fountain (2006)

Awesome and underrated movie

[10/10 · 28 October 2007]

This is a true work of art... And it is very hard to describe.

First point, the movie is gorgeous. Every still frame in this is a pleasure to watch. The colors are strange but good looking. At this point even if you don't understand anything to the story, the movie would be worth watching as it is a pleasure to the eyes.

For the story, it's a bit hard to understand. You must not switch off your brain a minute during the movie or you may end up with an incomplete story. It would be sad !

This is a very imaginative work combining three stories spanning three different historical period. And yet, those three stories are related in a way you'll discover as the movie unfolds.

It combines religion, mythology, science fiction and love in the same story. If I would explain you that story right here, you would think that the author of Requiem for a Dream has taken too much drugs. Don't pay attention to what people are saying about this story, it's impossible to do it justice with words. Go to the nearest theater or DVD shop and see this movie.

It may seems a bit pretentious at times. Right ! But the result is really awesome. We had not seen anything that ambitious since Stanley Kubrick's 2001 ! Is it as good as 2001 ? Time with tell.

Battle Royale II (2003)

A good mark for the surprise

[7/10 · 18 September 2006]

Well obviously this movie is bad. And clearly it didn't live up to my expectations regarding the first Battle Royale.

But yet when I seen it i was quite entertained. The way they praise terrorists and do fun with today's society was fun. It's so politically incorrect that I was glad someone put this into a movie. Don't think that I like terrorists, i hate them as much as you, but I thought this was a good way to criticize the foreign policy of the united states.

Well if i had to see that kind of movie everyday i would clearly become bored to hell. But this was different and if you give it a chance while keeping in mind that you'll only see a stupid action movie like that Hollywood produces, you may not find it that bad. It's not that worst than Alien vs Predator for example. And the particular "morale" is what makes it so special and at least a curiosity.

Moreover, you can find on the internet some informations of what Kinji Fukasaku had on mind when he wrote the movie. It was obviously a challenge to write such a movie and his son didn't have the guts to write it. Too bad that he died too soon, this movie could have been great, it's only a stupid action movie like too many others with a few fun things inside which makes it worth seeing one time but not more.

Battle Royale (2000)

A disturbing marvel

[10/10 · 18 September 2006]

I think this is the strangest film I ever saw : I liked it so much and it's difficult to describe why. Yet, I must pay deep respect to Kinji Fukasaku for such a masterpiece.

A masterpiece ? But this is all overacted ? Yes it's true ! The photography is not really nice ? It's true ! The plot is somewhat strange like the mobile phone scene in the end ! It's also true ! But all these defects tend to create a mood going from very serious (the movie can be very disturbing at times) to quite stupid (especially those romance scenes) and it's the contrast between the two which is the message of the movie.

In fact, you have to read the novel to see how Fukasaku's made a marvel here. If I had read the novel before, I wouldn't even have tried to watch the movie. Because it seems impossible to adapt it to the cinema without loosing it all. Yet Fukasaku's made it. And it really seems that all the defects in this movie like the overacting and the stupid romantic scenes are here to put the spectator in such a mood that he will understand by himself what was the essence of the novel and what seemed to be unexplainable with pictures rather than words.

It's a movie about the transition from the innocence of childhood to adulthood. You have to see the battle with all it's harshness as a metaphor when young adults discover the bad sides of life. When you see all the romance scenes, just remember when you were a teenager and try to get in such a mood only to be disturbed by the next violent scene. A few minutes after the fight officially begin, the movie will start to capt all your attention. And sure, you'll remember when you were young and start to identify with the characters.

In the end, the movie has a hopeful message for all youth discovering the world of today. It tells them not to refuse fight but to accept it. But to still trust the selected few who will become your true friends. And it tells you that those who do that will win instead of loosing.

A definite must see.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

It didn't live up to my expectations

[5/10 · 18 September 2006]

Well everybody told me this was an awesome movie. So I went to the theater with great expectations. I deeply respected Ang Lee's hidden tiger crouching dragon so I had a lot of expectations about that.

Sorry to say I was disappointed in the end. Not that the movie was bad, but I didn't find it so extraordinary.

Some of my friends are gay, so i know this can happen to anyone and that gays are normal people like you and me who only love men instead of womens. And I also know that it may be a quite difficult life to live even in today's society which is quite more tolerant than in the past.

But way, maybe because I knew it i didn't found the movie so revolutionary. Anyway reading all the comments, I may have been in a bad mood the day I saw it.

For the good points : The photography is really nice and the two actors are great : Don't know if they were gay or not. If they were not, really nice job guys !

In the Mood for Love (2000)

So beautiful yet so sober

[10/10 · 18 September 2006]

This movie is a real masterpiece. The two actors seems not to be playing but it just seems that they were really in love together : Their performance is awesome.

The movie is deeply romantic but yet it's not stupid like too many Hollywood's romance film. Everything there is very elegant, authentic and sober : The pictures, the music and the way the actor behave. In many scenes, you do not even need to consider the story or anything to be moved. What you see is beautiful in itself.

For people not used to Asian culture, the gap may be hard to bridge. But please take a chance to see it in the original language in a day when you are with an open mood and let this grow on you. You'll see an example of what movies should be.