May 5, 1999
Emporte-moi (1999) **
Directed by Lea Pool. With Karin Vanasse, Pascale Bussieres and Monique Mercure. Nostalgic, often meandering drama about a young girl (Vanasse) growing up in Montreal in the early 1960's. She divides her time between fighting with her Holocaust survivor father, french-kissing her brother, having an adolescent crush on a girl, imitating Anna Karina in "Vivre sa vie", running away from home, and collecting stray dogs.
Elvis Gratton II: Miracle a Memphis (1999) **
Directed by Pierre Falardeau. With Julien Poulin, Yves Trudel and Jean Chretien. Is Falardeau a chauvinistic xenophobe? Well, he obviously loath the American culture and the Canadian federalism, but he reserves his strongest hatred for those pure-laine Quebecers (like Elvis Gratton and Jean Chretien) who dare to look beyond the narrow confines of the separatist/nationalist perspective. But Falardeau is still one of Quebec's best filmmakers and even this mean-spirited, eneven, and often desperate farce is infinitely better, funnier and more intelligent than most local comedies.
Le Dernier souffle (1999) *
Directed by Richard Ciupka. With Luc Picard, Julien Poulin and Donovan Reiter. The latest attempt by the Quebec film industry to recapture the local market from the Hollywood domination by producing Hollywood-style commercial blockbusters. It features the most bizarre cast of heroes and villains representing every corner of the political spectrum: FLQ, MUC police, FBI, neo-nazis, right-wing militia, and the Russian mob. The film is rarely boring, but always contrived, and hopelessly conventional.
Quand je serai parti...vous vivrez encore (1999) *
Directed by Michel Brault. With Francois Reddy, David Boutin and Claude Gauthier. Patriotic, heavy-handed, slow and unbearably tedious historical drama about the 1838 rebellion of Freres Chasseurs against the British tyranny. Led by Chevalier de Lorimier, the insurrectionists were quickly routed, captured, tried and executed. The film will annoy both sides: the francophones will be depressed by its defeatist attitude, while the anglos will squirm over the intensely negative portrayal of their ancestors.
Matroni et moi (1999) *
Directed by Jean-Philippe Duval. With Alexis Martin, Guylaine Tremblay and Pierre Curzi. First the good news: The dialogue is superb, expertly mixing pretentious intellectual mumbo-jumbo with down-to-earth, obscenity-ladden gangster lingo, and creating a delightful cacophony of verbal contrasts. But now the bad news: The film stinks, wasting its qualities on an idiotic plot, annoying characters and desperate jokes.
Jacob Two Two Meets The Hooded Fang (1999) *
Directed by George Bloomfield. With Gary Busey, Miranda Richardson and Max Morrow. After a very promising start, this bizarre children fantasy quickly degenerates into a series of violent, unpleasant and vaguely dickensian confrontations involving enslaved kids and their adult tormentors. Written by Mordecai Richler, this alleged kidpic has a very R-rated sensibility. Give it a pass and see Elmo in Grouchland instead.
Le Grand serpent du monde (1999) **
Directed by Yves Dion. With Murray Head, Zoe Latraverse, Gabriel Arcand and Louise Portal. Imagine, if you will, a middle-aged bus driver from Montreal. He's into philosophy and young women. Night after night, he picks up the same people from the same bus stops: a mentally-challenged excentric, an old lady with a dog, a man who could be a vampire and a seductive young girl. The film - slow, meditative and artfully directed - explores their alienation with a flegmatism worthy of Wim Wenders.
Souvenirs intimes (1999) *
Directed by Jean Beaudin. With Pascale Bussieres, Yves Jacques and James Hyndman. Hopelessly pretentious film about rape, revenge and forgiveness. Characters suffer, torture each other, scream, suffer some more, reveal their true identities, fight, and finally reconcile.
Alegria (1999) *
Directed by Franco Dragone. With Frank Langella, Julie Cox and Rene Bazinet. Some film are just so irritating in their utter and insufferable mediocrity, they compel viewers to kick the chairs, throw the popcorn at the screen, spill their drinks and scream like wounded hyenas. This cinematic adaptation of the famous Cirque du Soleil spectacle is a case in point. It's like a cross between "Oliver Twist" and "Big Top Pee-wee", made by tone-deaf fashion victims.
Laura Cadieux.. la suite (1999) *
Directed by Denise Filiatrault. With Ginette Reno, Dominique Michel and Pierrette Robitaille. Remember, it ain't over until the fat lady sings. But while Reno & Co.'s can-can number is literally side-splitting (remember those dancing hippos in Fantasia?), the rest of the film is downright pathetic. Who wrote that dialogue? And while it's supposedly set on a Saguenay cruise ship, we don't even see a single rocky cliff! Did they run out of money and couldn't shot a single scene at Cap Trinité or Cap Eternité?
Pin-Pon le film (1999) **
Film pour enfants de Ghyslaine Côté. Avec Yves Soutières, Thomas Gratton, Philippe Lambert, Julien Poulin. Les tout-petits seront enchantés par cette gentille comédie pleine d'humour et de la joie. Même les parents auront un sourire aux lèvres en regardant les démélés rocambolesque de trois clowns en balade. Les aventures du Pinpin, Ponpon et Pouet Pouet ne sont peut-être pas aussi excitantes que celles de James Bond (moins d'explosions, par exemple...), mais elles vont sûrement réjouir ceux et celles qui savent apprecier une joile chanson melodieuse, un beau numero de danse et une plaisanterie de bon gout. L'intrigue est plutot mince (on part en camping, on dessine des papillons, on attrape des poissons...), mais on ne s'ennuie jamais.
Little tots should be enchanted by this pleasant comedy about three gentle clowns going on a camping trip. The humor is simple (lots of slapstick, very little sophistication), the songs are marvelously melodious and the pacing is quite energetic. Pinpin and Ponpon are no Laurel and Hardy, but their innocent charm is quite infectious.
April 4, 1999
My Grandmother Ironed The King's Shirts (1999) ***
Heavy Rotation (1999) **
Watt directed this bizarre Japanese cartoon about some really mean teddy bears.
Suprise Cinema (1999) ***
The Old Man And The Sea (1999) ***
Beautiful adaptation of Ernst Hemingway's famous novel. Directed by Alexandr Petrov. An IMAX cartoon that won an Academy Award for best animated short.
Sandland (1999) **
A story about a shipwreck and a mysterious witch. A visually impressive German film. 3-D computer animation. Directed by Heiko Lueg.
March 3, 1999
Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Epidemia sukcesu (1999) ***
"Pielgrzymka" *
"Nasz pan premier" **
"Pada snieg" **
"Wszyscy dla wszystkich" *
"Geografia" *
"Za stolem" ("Zmiana na lepsze") **
Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Kazdemu za swoje (1999) ***
"Los Caballeros degrengolada" **
"Piaskownica" ("Skumbrie w tomacie") **
"Idzie kondukt przez ulice" *
"Kazdemu za swoje (z horacjusza)" **
"Wszystko plynie jak to szambo" **
"Hej radoscia oczy blysna" ("Ryba, brzana, kielbik") ***
"Znikly pacholy" **
Kabaret Olgi Lipinskiej: Don't worry be happy (1999) ***
February 2, 1999
Cruel Intentions (1999) **
Directed by Roger Kumble. With Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillipe and Reese Whitherspoon. Expecting a nightmare of depravity like "Wild Things", I was cruelly disappointed by this contemporary adaptation of "Dangerous Liaisons", set among Park Avenue's preppies and debutantes. There is very little perversity in this piece of monumental anachronism, which tries to adapt the (im)moral values of debauched French aristocrats to the lifestyles of brothers and sisters of Monica Lewinsky. The result is a laughable mess, both tedious and campy. It takes more than ravished virgins or horny stepsisters to arouse my interest. **
The Faculty (1999) **
Slimy (but drugs-free) alien creatures take over the bodies of teachers and students in a small-town Ohio high-school. And so the local Breakfast Club members (a nerd, a gorgeous cheerleader, a quaterback, a drug dealer, a taciturn outcast and a Southern belle) have to stop this Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The best scene has the kids sniffing dope in order to flash out the traitor in their ranks. Mindless and predictable, but actually quite fun.
Entrapment (1999) **
Directed by Jon Amiel. With Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Ving Rhames. An ordinary caper flick about an insurance investigator (Zeta-Jones) teaming up with a seasoned art thief (Connery) to pull off a daring bank robbery. The first hour, set mostly in the medieval Scottish fortress of Castle Duart, is hopelessly tedious. Then, the film moves to Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur (the world's tallest buildings) for a moderately exciting climax. But since Zeta-Jones is young enough to be Connery's granddaughter, don't expect much sexual chemistry between the leads.
Encounter In The Third Dimension (1999) **
Directed by Ben Stassen. With Stuart Pankin and Elvira. An IMAX showcase of 3-D computer animation. Plenty of eye-popping rides and other thrills.
In Too Deep (1999) **
Directed by Michael Rymer. With Omar Epps, LL Cool J and Nia Long. An African-American Donnie Brasco, with a black cop (Epps) working deep undercover to expose a ruthless drug lord (Cool J). The opening scene is terrific, using cross-cutting, flashbacks and brechtian distanciation in a new and exciting way. But then, unfortunately, the film settles comfortably on a conventional narrative path, with few surprises or thrills.
The Insider (1999) **
Directed by Michael Mann. Exciting tale about a tobacco-industry whistleblower.
Edge Of Seventeen (1999) **
Directed by David Moreton. With Chris Stafford, Tina Holmes and Anderon Babrych. Set in Sandusky, Ohio in 1984, it's a tender coming-of-age/coming-out-of-the-closet drama, where the issues of sexual identity, friendship and love are debated at length. Less explicit than most contemporary lesbian films, but quite remarkable for its sympathetic portrayal of straight folks (parents, girlfriend, etc.).
Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999) **
Directed by Michael Patrick Jann. With Denise Richards, Kirsten Dunst and Ellen Barkin. Any film that has teen beauty pageant contestants puking their guts out in unisson, can't be all bad. But even that scene isn't as tasteless as the sight of Richards dancing with a crucified Jesus. A badly made, often desperate satire, shot in a documentary style, with plenty of truly outrageous bits, and a delightfully quirky performance by Brittany Murphy (watch her, she's a new-star-in-the-making).
Genghis Blues (1999) **
Documentaire de Roko Belic. Avec Paul Pena. Gagnant d`une dizaine des prix dans plusieurs festivals sur quatre continents, ce documentaire remarquable nous présente deux portraits très intimes: celui de Paul Pena, un musicien blues de San Francisco, et celui de Tuva, une ancienne république soviétique située au centre du continent asiatique, quelque part entre la Mongolie, la Chine et la Sibérie. Le film, tourné par un cinéaste indépendant Roko Belic, prend la forme d`un carnet de voyage de Paul Pena au Tuva en 1995 pour y participer à un festival de la musique folklorique. Les chanteurs tuviens s`expriment avec leur gorges, produisant des sons uniques dans leur genre. Paul Pena reste le seul musicien Occidental qui a réussit à maîtriser cette inhabituelle technique vocale, gagnant même plusieurs prix lors du festival en Tuva.
Blue Streak (1999) **
Directed by Les Mayfield. With Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson and David Chapelle. A robber (Lawrence) pretends to be a cop in order to recover his loot. This action comedy has a lot going for it - it's fast, funny, and often quite exciting. And yet, like most such Hollywood flicks, it fails to make any impression whatsoever. It's a cinematic equivalent of cotton candy - totally insignificant.
Drive Me Crazy (1999) **
Directed by John Schultz. With Melissa Joan Hart, Adrian Grenier and Stephen Collins. Great songs, gorgeous babes, lousy movie. Hart, with her pouty little mouth and mischievous smile, makes Alicia Silverstone look like an ugly duckling. Unfortunately, her transcendental beauty and considerable acting abilities are completely wasted in this boring teenpic about dates, parties and makovers. It's less offensive than its virtual clone "She's All That", but nowhere nearly as enjoyable.
Baby Geniuses (1999) **
Directed by Bob Clark. With Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd and Kim Cattrall. A toddler genius escapes from a secret lab and reunites with his twin brother. A "Home Alone"-in-diapers, with little kids outsmarting adults and kicking them where it hurts. The kids are unbelievably cute, but some scenes (like where a tot is imitating John Travolta) actually use animation effects.
Galaxy Quest (1999) **
Directed by Dean Parisot. With Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub. Imagine William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and the rest of the Star Trek cast (they actually have different names, but don't let it fool you) being asked by friendly aliens to lead their starship to victory over a race of evil(and slimy) space invaders. Imagine hard-core Trekkies helping to repair the ship's engines. (And this after being mercilessly ridiculed as delusional geeks). Imagine a solidly entertaining sci-fi/adventure film that gleefully deconstructs itself in order to unabashedly celebrate the Star Trek phenomenon.
Inspiré de la grande aventure de la série Star Trek, "Galaxy Quest" est un film à la fois complexe et divertissant. Essayez d'imaginer William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy et les autres acteurs de la fameuse série télé, qui se retrouvent engagés (ou plutôt kidnappés) par des bons extra-terrestres pour combattre leurs méchants ennemis. Ne vous laissez pas dérouter par le fait que les acteurs portent des noms differents - ici, la fiction et la réalité sont entremélés d'une facon extrêmement ingénieuse. On assiste, en effet, à une fascinante analyse brechtienne du phénomène Star Trek, avec des aventures saisissantes, des gags superbes et des effets spéciaux à vous couper le souffle.
Deuce Bigalow Male Gigolo (1999) **
Directed by Mike Mitchell. With Rob Schneider, Arija Bareikis, Gail O'Grady, Jacqueline Obradors and Oded Fehr. Another "fart & puke" comedy - crude, coarse, unrefined...and occassionally quite funny. Schneider plays a fishtank cleaner who decides to become a male gigolo. Well, the pay's better... Plenty of un-PC humor in this one. Turette's syndrome, narcolepsy, obesity - all are fair game.
Cette comedie produit par nulle autre qu'Adam Sandler n'est pas aussi débile qu'elle prétend, mais elle est loin d'être un chef d'oeuvre... Rob Schneider y joue un nettoyeur des aquariums qui décide un jour de changer de boulot et devenir...gigolo. Ca paie mieux...paraît-t-il. Malheureusement, il tombe amoureux d'une jolie cliente qui n`apprécie guère son choix de carrière. Ah, les femmes difficiles... L'humour est grossier...et souvent assez drôle...tant qu'on n'y pense pas trop. Toutes les vaches sacrés (les handicaps, les maladies, les défauts physiques) sont ridiculisées sans merci. C'est peut-être pas "politiquement correcte", mais ici, on s'en fiche royalement.
Limbo (1999) **
Directed by John Sayles. Set in Alaska, the film has the most unforgivably obtuse ending imaginable.
Life (1999) **
Directed by Ted Demme. With Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence and Ned Beatty. It's often very funny, but Murphy's latest isn't really a comedy, but a serious drama clearly inspired by "The Shawshank Redemption" (though unfortunately not nearly as good). Underneath the humor hides a profound condemnation of the racial persecution of Blacks in America in the 20th century. Many scenes are quite moving.
The Legend Of 1900 (1999) **
Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. With Tim Roth, Melanie Thierry and Bill Nunn. Bizarre tale of a brilliant pianist (Roth), born and raised on a luxurious ocean liner, who's afraid to set foot on dry land. This visually amazing, often flamboyant film has channeled its entire creative energy into sets, costumes, cinematography and lightening, while blissfully ignoring such mundane matters as pacing, character developpment and dialogue. It's quite original, all right, but in a very frustrating and pretentious way. Either an allegory about staying in a mother's womb, or just an artsier version of "Titanic". Clearly influenced by Emir Kusturica, it's Giuseppe Tornatore's first English-language (e)pic.
Tea With Mussolini (1999) **
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli. With Joan Plowright, Maggie Smith, Cher and Judi Dench. What's next, "My Dinner With Hitler"? "Milosevic In Love"? Actually, it's a gentle, almost apolitical little drama about a group of excentric English and American ladies in Florence during World War II. Refusing to return home, they are interned as enemy aliens by the Fascist authorities, making life truly miserable for their captors. Often quite funny, the film enfolds at a leisurely pace of a traditional comedy of manners.
Teaching Mrs Teangle (1999) **
Directed by Kevin Williamson. With Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes and Marisa Coughlan. Blonde vixen Coughlan steals the movie with her wacky Exorcist impersonation.
The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) **
Etats-Unis. Drame d'Anthony Minghella. Avec Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett et Philip Seymour Hoffman. Pendant un long séjour en Italie, un riche gateux (Jude Law) fait la rencontre d'un jeune homme mysterieux (Matt Damon) qui prétend être son ancien camarade d'école. Gwyneth Paltrow et Cate Blanchett, deux rivales dans la course aux Oscars l'année dernière, font également partie de la distribution; malheureusement, elles ne partagent qu'une seule scène ensemble. Par contre, l'excellent Matt Damon nous fait preuve encore une fois de son incroyable versatilité dramatique. Et pour une fois, il joue le méchant. L'intrigue est très ingénieuse et pleine de rebondissements, mais il faut se poser une question: les policiers italiens sont-ils aussi incompétents dans la vraie vie que dans ce film?
In sunny Italy, a rich preppie boy (Law) befriends a mysterious young man named Tom Ripley (Damon), who claims to be his old college buddy. Well-acted and quite ingenious at first, this complex murder mystery suffers from a serious lack of credibility. In the real world, Ripley's absurdly convoluted scheme would have collapsed as soon as the police had shown his photograph to all the witnesses.
Stir Of Echoes (1999) **
Directed by David Koepp. With Kevin Bacon, Ileana Douglas and Kathryn Erbe. Bacon plays an ordinary man who gets hypnotized by his sister-in-law and becomes something of a clairvoyant lunatic, getting flashbacks and flash-forwards of various tragedies. It's The Sixth Sense without the mystery and the knockout ending. A relatively well-made mediocrity that just repeats the same old horror-movie cliches over and over again.
Stuart Little (1999) **
Etats-Unis. 1999. Film pour enfants de Rob Minkoff (Le Roi Lion). Avec Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, Jonathan Lipnicki, les voix de Michael J.Fox et de Nathan Lane. Une famille adopte une petite souris blanche... et très bavarde. Très vite, Stuart devient un membre de la famille à part entière. Mais le chat de famille a d'autres idées en tête. Des idées, disons, culinaires... Nous voilà donc avec une comédie plutot mignone, mais très excitante, pleine des minous féroces qui s'acharnent après notre héro miniscule. L'intrigue (inspiré en partie par "Annie"), est mené tambour battant, avec beaucoup d'action, du suspense et de l'humeur. Un seul défaut: les parents de Stuart, beaucoup trop parfaits pour être vrais et dont la gentillesse excessive frôle un peu la caricature.
Arlington Road (1999) **
Directed by Mark Pellington. With Jeff Bridges, Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack. A university professor (Bridges) befriends a next-door neighbour (Robbins), who might be a dangerous terrorist. Inspired by Oklahoma City, Ruby Ridge and Waco, the film delves into the muddy waters of the right-wing anti-government radicalism in America. Deceptively simple and almost boring at first, the plot takes a truly surprising turn near the end.
Any Given Sunday (1999) **
Etats-Unis. 1999. Drame sportif d'Oliver Stone (Natural Born Killers, JFK, Platoon). Avec Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, James Woods, Jamie Foxx, Dennis Quaid. Après la Guerre du Vietnam, l'assassinat de JFK et le Watergate, voilà que le cinéaste controversé Oliver Stone s'interesse soudainement... au football. Un vieux entraineur (Al Pacino) doit faire face aux pressions de la proprietaire du club (Cameron Diaz) qui veut se debarasser d'un vieux joueur légendaire (Dennis Quaid) et le remplacer par un jeune joueur plus dynamique (Jamie Foxx). L'inimitable James Wood fait aussi partie de cette distribution superbe. Coté style, "Any Given Sunday" est un film incroyablement dynamique, avec des mouvement vertigineuses de caméra, un rythme narratif époustouflant et un montage endiablé. Evitez surtout les sièges du premier rang dans les cinémas...
Anna And The King (1999) **
Directed by Andy Tennant. With Chow Yun-Fat and Jodie Foster. The fourth motion picture based on Anna Leonowens' memoirs as a governess in the court of King Mongkut of Siam in the 1860s. While the sets and the costumes are very beautiful, the script is horribly dated, even racist. By the standards of her times, Anna Leonowens was certainly a very progressive, almost feminist heroine. But today, her memoirs' blatantly Eurocentric perspective is much harder to swallow.
The Green Mile (1999) **
Directed by Frank Darabont. With Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt and James Cromwell. A black death-row inmate in a Louisiana prison in 1935 performs amazing miracles. His curious jailers (who chase after mice between executions) ask him to cure a woman who's dying of cancer. All the qualities and all the flaws of a typical Hollywood melodrama are brought together in this 3-hour-long cinematic endurance test adapted from a story by Stephen King. It's always interesting, but extremely heavy-handed.
Que dire de ce drame solidement écrit, très émouvant et bien joué, sinon qu'il réunit en lui toutes les qualités et tous les défauts d'un ambitieux mélodrame hollywoodien? Et que dire de cette histoire d'un guérisseur de race noire, condamné à mort en Louisiane en 1935, sinon qu'elle provoque autant d'admiration que de frustration? Adapté d'un roman de Stephen King, "The Green Mille" est un curieux mélange du fantastique (les guérissons miraculeuses) et du drame social (la peine de mort). On nous présente une vision assez particuliÞre du monde pénal, avec des gardiens qui chassent des souris, qui participent aux exécutions, et qui deviennent témoins des miracles surprenants. On ne s'ennuit jamais, bien que l'intrigue traine un peu en longeueur. Et pourtant, côté style, le film souffre d'un académisme facheux. Comme toujours chez Stephen King, on ne réussit pas à transposer les ideés du maître en termes purement visuels.
Goodbye Lover (1999) **
Directed by Roland Joffe. With Patricia Arquette, Dermot Mulroney and Ellen DeGeneres. Having exposed the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia and condemned the persecution of Indians in South America, the author of The Killing Fields and The Mission decided it might be fun to make a trashy erotic thriller about a slutty bitch (Arquette) who sleeps with her brother-in-law while preparing a string of bloody murders. DeGeneres steals the movies as a sarcastic cop always poking fun at her anal-retentive partner. The first hour is excruciatingly boring, but the ending is a hoot.
American Movie (1999) **
Documentaire de Chris Smith. Avec Mark Borchardt, Mike Schank. Une véritable poupée russe cinématographique, "American Movie" est un film documentaire indépendant ayant pour sujet le tournage d'un... autre film indépendant. Mark Borchardt est un jeune cinéaste qui s'acharne à realiser un court métrage d'horreur dans une petite ville américaine (Menomonee Falls au Wisconsin). Il n'a pas d'argent. Ses acteurs ne savent pas jouer. Il fait froid. Bref, le tournage est un désastre total et le film, intitulé "Coven", ne sortira probablement jamais en salles. Par contre, ironiquement, "American Movie", le documentaire sur le tournage chauchemaresque de "Coven", est devenu une une belle réussite. Il a remporté entre-autres le Grand Prix du Jury à Sundance, suivi d'éloges de la presse et du public cinéphile.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)