The movie is a French adaptation of a Harlan Coben best-seller. It is a thriller- probably the best one Coben has written so far. A doctor and his wife are once assaulted while bathing in a lake. The wife dies, the doctor tires to get on with his life. 8 years later, he receives an email, that shows him a video of his wife still alive and walking. The suspense starts there. Is it possible? Is it true? What happened- and what happens next?
Guillaume Canet who directed the movie has created a small miracle. He made a French movie with a French cast that doesn’t look French art all. In fact, it could take place anywhere. The actors are very sober throughout the whole play, but it keeps you riveted in your chair. The twists are not always fully convincing but you enjoy nonetheless what is with no doubt a great thriller. You have enough holes and clues to make you feel clever in front of the mystery without being fully capable of resolving the mystery. Women characters are very solid and present. Guillaume Canet makes a cameo appearance in very clever way.
I wish this film has a long carreer. It was very good. Mr Canet, I salute you.

The main actor used to be in ” 3rd rock from the Sun” and I retained him as a good actor. Now I stopped watching this piece of crap after 45 minutes of intense boredom. It was supposed to be as good as ” Donnie Darko”. Donnie Darko was a masterpiece. This is not even a pale copy. Avoid at all costs.

Anyone who’s been through University will instantly re live memories of that good old time. Although the picture here definitely gives a feeling of optimism that most of us didn’t – at the time- felt, it is sweet to know what it is all about with still retaining the surprise element. James MacAvoy is great at showing the complexity of the situation his character is in. The females character are all well represented. This is a movie worth seeing – and I’ll make sure my kids will watch it too.
A must.
Oh, the story?
It is a good one.

Anthony Hopkins is typecast, sadly, since playing Hannibal. This means that his roles oscillate between the cold blooded sadistic murderer and the humanist idealistic man who comes towards the end of his life. Great. In this movie, Hannibal is back, with a bit more of humour.
The story is simple: a man discovers his wife is cheating on him. He has some pride so he decides to kill her and perform what seems to be the perfect murder. But then he comes across his Nemesis, although at first he appears to be his salvation. Ryan Gosling in the role of the arrogant young prosecutor ( I think that’s what he is) is quite brilliant. Although the movie has some lengths and is a tad too much clean, the story remains catching and the frustartion keeps building up throughout the entire session. When the end comes, you just go ” ahhh”. Of course. All the keys were there, since the beginning. Everything is perfectly logical and polished. It is a great movie to watch on dvd.
Gosling is an actor I am looking forward to see again. His sad puppy’s eyes don’t always do the trick but his acting is impeccable. Hopkins is Hopkins. That’s okay.

I have a soft spot for Sandra Bullock. I find her choice of scenariis interesting and quite diversified although she’s a bit typecast when it comes to romantic comedies. Anyway. This movie was on sale so I decided to give it a go despite the very bad reviews it had received.
I actually found out that it was not that bad. Not very exciting or imaginative, although the starting idea was not bad- a man and a woman fall in love through the letters they send to each other. Problem is: for her it is year 2006, for him it’s 2004. Are they going to break the loop? Of course they are, you great neenee. It is a romantic comedy, remember?
For once Keanu Reeves showed a bit more sentiment onscreen and Sandra Bullock was less bubbly then usual. They were not bad together- but it wasn’t their frist time either.
I have to confess that I watched it while I was doing a week worth of ironing, so I might be twisted.

By now I guess most people know that I am no fan of Sandler but more or less keen to please my husband and children so I watch his movies. My youngest son was keen so I sat down on Friday night and watched it. Oh joy. Where do these writers find their ideas? What carpet are they smoking? Can I have the same? Anyway. The hero is a workaholic who neglects his family in the name of devotion & duty towards them. We all know the kind of guy – the one who is never home but swears that all he’s doing is for the ones he sees and respects the least. It usually ends up in divorce and tears. So it does in this story too- with a difference: thanks to a magical remote control, Sandler can fast forward or revisit moments of his life. As no present is without string ( even ” Groundhog day” was clear about that, and this was a great movie), the morality is safe at the end and you have a happy ending. I wish I could hate the whole concept. And one thing I didn’t get was the fact that the main character didn’t try to simply pause the whole world while he was filling up his duties in order to spend more time with his family. But I suppose that this would be a woman’s dream. Men prefer to run away from problems, or so this is what this movie tells.
Sadly the bottom line was hitting home in my case. In the name of love, I spend hours to try to make a living and when I am not, I clean the house and – at the moment- unpack frantically the numerous boxes that are still in every room. And we moved in almost 3 weeks ago! I feel old and tired, as I used to be able to accomplish such a task in a few days only. Now I don’t see the end of it – but let’s forget this. The truth is that I am doing all this believing that I am getting the place sorted for better times with my loved ones. I am working my butt off to buy them what I imagine they desire- and make sure there is a roof above our heads. I do a lot of things because I trust they are my responsability. And my family is probably sitting on the bench watching me run in every direction like a headless chicken.
So I reluctantly agree that Sandler’s movie has a point – and a huge one. We have forgotten what all this is about- and we are not even questioning our belief anymore. I doubt that a simple movie is going to wake up nations, but it had a very valid point. I do not urge you to see it, but if you are too busy to take the time to have fun with your family, you may want to have a glimpse of what awaits you before it is too late. Enjoy?

I watch French movies when I have a huge pile of ironing to do. Why French movies? because most of the time, they are a waste of time although I like to know what seems to make the French people happy – and this film had quite a few good reviews over last summer. I also enjoy Charlotte Gainsbourg presence, as she has un je-ne-sais-quoi that is half vulnerable and half fascinating. And with time her acting improves so it is quite interesting to watch. Alan Chabat – her partner in the movie- is usually witty and funny, but so far , I hadn’t been impress with any of his past performances.
So here you have a very French movie. The story is about a single guy who is coming from a very matriarcal background and who, to try to deliver himself from the painful intrusion of his mother and sisters in his personal affairs, hires a girl to pretend that he’s about to get married in order to be jilted at the altar and become a victim of the evil intentions of his family. Of course things don’t go according to plan and you can guess the end. Mothers, it seems, always do know best. [ I have my own doubts about this one on a personal point of view and would be even more afraid to consider this when we are talking about my own kids, but here you go]. A few lines were striking and really unexpectedly funny and my two hours of ironing went by quite quickly. I still like Charlotte Gainsbourg and Alain Chabat was charming. For French movies amateurs only.

Four middle aged guys who like to ride their motorcycle decide to take a few days off and hit the road. Of course this journey is not only external but lead them to some discoveries about themselves and gives them back their mojos. Funny, superficial but with some good moments. I love Travolta and always did, although he wouldn’t be a fantasy [ neither would be Johnny Depp, so here you go], but his acting qualities are in my view underestimated. This movie certainly doesn’t help in this sense although the basic idea was original. I had two hours of light fun. And no, I don’t know if I could have any sort of heavy fun.

This is a movie that you should watch with your kids, especially if you have teenagers among them. The story is not far away in spirit from Little Miss Sunshine- i.e. the reunion of a family that is losing all contact between its members but who finally regain harmony by the end of the movie. It is Hollywood & Robin Williams, so it’s heavy and over the top but still funny. Interestingly, if you go beyond the cliches, you may discover that there is plenty to talk about with this one. Since watching it, when I have a bad moment to go through with the kids, I just offer to rent a ” big rolling turd” for the Summer – and for some unknown reason, it sort of introduces a brief moment of humour sufficient to dissolve any potential retaliation. If it were only for this, definitely worth it! Why play fair?! Enjoy.

This movie deserves to become a cult or a classic. Although the story was not so new – a family that is going completely off rails finds redemption while trying to travel to an unlikely beauty contest- the quality of the script and of the game of the actors was good enough to let you forget about the cliche of the situation. A special prize goes to the kid who plays the reluctant teenager- I hope we will see him again in many movies. His acting was incredibly convincing. The story itself is generous and unforgiving. I watched it with my boys and my husband – and this was a winner. I recommend it, it is funny, bittersweet, incredible and highly enjoyable.