Wow, this was SO mediocre.

I know the director can do better: his first film was excellent. And we all know George Clooney can do better.

(en français)

Based on the true life of French gangster Jacques Mesrine, sometimes compared to Dillinger.

These are gritty violent and nasty movies. They’re not stylized glamour pieces AT ALL*. I liked the first one better. You could see the evolution from a frustrated angry young guy into a vicious gangster. Not excusing it at all, but you could sort of see where he got set on his path. By the second movie, he is far too into his legend and convinced that people see him as a folk hero** while much of his violence is the result of his inability to control his own anger.

Vincent Gallo is really great in this role…and really horrifying. Although repellent at times to a degree that it was hard to believe that woman after woman would agree to be involved with him. But I partially have a rough time with that actor due to Irreversible, a movie I hope none of you are ever forced to watch. Horrifying.

These were both good, both were seeing. But be prepared.

*i.e., this ain’t no Public Enemies.
**He broke out of a prison that had insanely inhumane conditions (later closed on that account) and then went back and tried to help others escape.

Basically a female Jason Bourne movie. AND WHO WOULDN’T LOVE THAT. Angelina knows how to play fierce. The fight scenes were excellent. There was never a moment of hesitation.

Sure there may have been a few too many twists and turns and a few too many plot situations at which you had to suspend your disbelief. SO WHAT. It’s an action flick. It was fun! Entertaining! Great chases! And fights! FIGHTS!!

I guess I’m just a little sick of action movies getting panned for being…wait for it! (a.k.a. Barney)… ACTION MOVIES.

I was entertained. I wanted to immediately sign up for a million karate classes and get in lots of fights. And that’s exactly how I want to feel after a movie like this. Thumbs up.

For the most part, I really liked this flick. Good performances, great chemistry between ALL the actors really, well-written dialogue.

There is a lot of disagreement on this flick out there in the world wide web, including MANY articles that slam it for being a straight dream of what gay life is like…or something along those lines.

What I liked was I felt it was a very realistic portrait of a marriage and the possibility that infidelity isn’t necessarily the be all/end all of a relationship. I felt it was very true in its portrayal of how a family works (both when it works well and when it so badly does not) and what makes a family truly a family to begin with and the kinds of things that happen in a looooong long-term relationship and how making the CHOICE to be married to someone is a choice you have to keep making over and over and over again.

So basically it seems that everyone thinks Tom Cruise is sooooo crazy now that he’ll never get a decent review again in his life. Did they not see that he was crazy before the couch jumping? It’s not like he JUST became a scientologist.

Eh, whatevs, losers. Not an academy award winning drama, no. But a perfectly fun, suitable entertaining action flick? Yes.

I mean, what were they expecting???

In a funny side story, so I had seen Inception on that Saturday, this on the Sunday, and then on the Monday I went in for my shoulder surgery. I was really wacked-out confused waking up from the anesthesia (plus at that point you haven’t eaten in like a million hours) and I had this drug-induced sort of daydream hallucination that Peter Sarsgard (from K&D) was pushing Leo (from Inception) in a wheelchair through the recovery room (some random dude in real life was getting pushed around). It was QUITE surreal, lemme tell ya.

Why didn’t anyone see this? Bunch of yahoos. It was capital-G Good. And not at all a Gladiator remake. Yes, it’s a period piece and yes, it stars Russell Crowe but the similarities really end there.

Well done. Compelling. He and Blanchett have great chemistry. This is really the pre-story of the legend.

I think my parents are likely to both vote this one picture of the year. It was quite good.

Perhaps it’ll make back the kajillion it cost to film on the international circuit since it got panned so badly by obviously moronic US reviewers that no one went to it here.

So much potential. So badly executed. Felt rushed and sloppy. Boo.

p.s. if you really want to see a good Ashton Kutcher movie, watch A Lot Like Love.