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Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)
lovely
I've only read the first page of the comments, but I would like to add mine.
Amelie battles against the philosophical introspection way-of-life; living in her mind, in her dreams, rather than living life. This way-of-life is often associated with introverted; however, the movie makes the point that she is not the only type to suffer: people are dominated by their memories, past loves, history, Renoir.
The point of the movie is that living is far greater, mysterious and exciting than dwelling in the confines of our minds. Dreaming of a tango can never compare to dancing the tango.
Amelie in the end triumphs.
The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991)
good for only cable
there's not much more to say about this movie that hasn't been said by the other reviewers. I will however add some ideas. This movie came out in the early post-Die Hard era, and it is basically the same formula, but different scene, society, and stars. But that last word is the problem. In every action movie I've seen, they've had at least an identifiable star: Bruce Willis of course, Arnie, Sly, etc etc; it seems an action film can only work if the movie has a big star we can identify with.
Here is the spectacular failure of the Taking of Beverley Hills. Who is Ken Wahl? Sorry I have no idea who he is, and it is because of this that I believe the movie falls down -- at least in a repeat viewing a decade after the movie was made. The character Wahl plays -- Boomer -- is a cocky, superstar quarter-back; a millionaire and a babe magnet. This is what we are supposed to believe. But we can't, and why not? Because we the audience realise that Ken Wahl is a no-name, and his strutting around like God's gift is more unrealistic than the rest of the film -- and yes I'm including that bizarre masterplan of taking control of the city. In short you need a HUGE star to play a guy with a massive ego, like Boomer. Wahl can't do it, and the fact that he is a no-name today, makes the whole thing very comical. It was like they got some guy that lives down the street from me, groomed his eyelashes and his hair, put him in front of a camera and told him to act really suave. Doesn't work!
Perhaps we can forgive the producers of the movie for the Ken Wahl mistake. They thought that this movie would launch him into eternal super-stardom......... actually that idea is funnier than the movie itself. hehe!
The Karate Kid Part III (1989)
not very good, was it
*spoilers*
nowhere near as good as the first two. I saw all three in a row, and watching this last did not let me sleep with ease. there are many problems with the movie, and I think most of them can be put down to plot flaw: there are openings of ideas here, but no conclusions to those same ideas.
For example: 1) the love interest -- we needed one sure, but it wasn't really there; the girl didn't even turn up at his tournament defence. what happens with her? goes home for thanksgiving *bah*. she wasn't cute either (another problem). 2) we don't know what happens to Myagi's store in the end, thanks to the typical ending of the movie. 3) what happens to the bad guys? Danny just beats the challenger in the tournament, but the evil sensei and his financial backer don't get beat up or anything -- same problem I guess with the first, but KK2 resolves this, and the 'reformation' of the Cobra Kai fighters at the end of KK1 helps too.
other painful facts: - the sheer stupidity of Danny Laruso. I mean he is REALLY REALLY dumb in this movie; I know it's sposed to be part of the plot, his 'confusion', but we have to have some sort connection with reality right? Danny isn't particularly bright throughout the series, but he really peaks in this one. - Myagi plays a comparatively minor role. - Danny doesn't learn a 'special move' to implement in the end fight. - Macchio starts to look his age, and not uhh 17 or whatever he was sposed to be.
stick to the first two.
Whitesnake: Trilogy (1988)
paragon of eighties rock
These rock videos come from the 1987 self-titled album by Whitesnake. They are classic glam-rock videos, with the words and music telling one story and the pictures trying to uhh tell that story again, with varying success. Not that we care about what the pictures are trying to say -- no, we are made to care, and crave, for the curves on Tawny Kitaen, quintessential groupie, who plays a starring role in each video. naturally when you get to see these videos on MTV or whatever, you'd look at the interaction between David and Tawny, and forget about the music. sound familiar? (Britney et al). On repeated viewings there is some kind of relation between the three videos, and not just the white and black Jaguars (automobiles). I'm not going to spoil that for you though hehe. More trivia: John Sykes plays the solos in The Still of the Night and Is This Love, but does not appear in any of the videos. Vandenberg plays the solo in Here I Go Again. So I know, no one is going to actually watch this video, surely it's lost for time. But don't shirk away from watching the videos when they appear on MTV or VH1 or whatever music channel.
Whitesnake: Fourplay (1983)
classical rock, pre-glam
a classic rock video by Whitesnake. They play four songs: Fool for your lovin', Don't Break My Heart Again, Here I Go Again and Guilty of Love. We recognise the 1st and the 3rd songs. Coverdale would re-record these songs in his glam-rock lineup in 1987 with John Sykes on lead and 1989 with Steve Vai. If you've heard the glam-rock recordings of these songs, the performance in this video is really nowhere near as nice. Sykes is a legendary rock guitarist, and the name Steve Vai speaks for itself. Moody or Marsden (whichever is the lead guitarist in Fourplay) despite not performing for that late-eighties genre and more of a seventies blues guru, really can't carry the solos in these songs. the guitar parts in general are weak compared to Vai and Sykes' interpretation -- naturally. That said, it is fun to see the down-to-earth blues interpretation of these songs, even if we don't get the amazing guitar pyrotechnics of the more recent recordings.
I'm a late-Whitesnake fan mainly for the guitar work, but if you really like the songs, and Coverdale's voice, which are great as always, try and get your hands on the video.
Whitesnake: Super Rock '84 (1985)
nice set
This is the first and only live Whitesnake material I've seen and as expected it is energetic, loud and sweaty. We should only expect this much from a (at the time) classic rock band with the charismatic Coverdale as lead singer, complemented by the great John Sykes. This band know exactly what they are doing and know how to entertain the Japenese audience. There are a few downers though. 1) The video cuts to interviews with the band members, one at a time, and drops the music into the background. You'll notice this after five minutes, and we miss out on a Sykes solo because of it -- who wants to listen to Cozzy or the bass player while there's a solo going on. 2) Coverdale, right throughout the set, invites the audience to sing the hooks of most of the songs again and again and again. I can tolerate this for one or at most two songs in a set, but Coverdale's practice does get tedious. 3) Cozzy's drum solo goes for too long and I'm not sure about the whole "complementing the classical pieces, Mars from the Planets Suite" thing. Seems a tad out of place. Other than that, great rock, good quality footage and good music.