http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/jcvd-review/
J.C.V.D.
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Dragonrage
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Dragonrage
- Posts: 8424
- Joined: 06 Oct 2006, 09:44
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Posebice su me razveselili ovi dijelovi recenzije...A$H wrote:
But I would never have dreamed of saying that Van Damme was a good actor. Until now. Jean Claude Van Damme, when given the right material and a director who knows how to work with him, is one hell of a good actor. His face has taken on a good amount of character as he has aged, he makes himself remarkably vulnerable in this which works wonders, he proves to have natural timing and a gift for comedy and he should have started working in his native language years ago. He’s got the goods, he’s just never really been given much of a chance to show it before.
Funny without relying on punchlines, clever, insightful, neatly balancing action with drama, impeccably crafted and blessed with a charismatic star willing to simply lay it all out there and let things fall where they may, JCVD is a revelation.
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Dragonrage
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- Joined: 06 Oct 2006, 09:44
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- Contact:
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Dragonrage
- Posts: 8424
- Joined: 06 Oct 2006, 09:44
- Location: Zagreb
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Evo film rasturio i na Toronto Film Festivalu...
http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/jcvd-review/
http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/09/05/ ... hris-jcvd/
http://www.cinematical.com/2008/09/07/tiff-review-jcvd/
http://twitchfilm.net/site/view/jcvd-review/
That JCVD is able to show you a new face to its star and subject at all makes it a major accomplishment. That it does so with such an incredible sense of style, insight, and pure entertainment value makes it a revelation. Ladies and gentlemen, after spending decades turning out lowest-common-denominator action pictures Jean Claude Van Damme has just made a truly great film. No matter what criteria you may use to judge it - scripting, cinematography, humour, action, even dramatic performance - JCVD is one remarkable piece of work. Yes, I flat out love this film.
http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/09/05/ ... hris-jcvd/
http://www.cinematical.com/2008/09/07/tiff-review-jcvd/
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Dragonrage
- Posts: 8424
- Joined: 06 Oct 2006, 09:44
- Location: Zagreb
- Contact:
Novi trailer...Američki...za kino distribuciju...
TRAILER 2
I par novih recenzija sa Toronto film festivala te Vancouver international film festivala...
http://www.tiff08.ca/filmsandschedules/films/jcvd
Najbolji filmovi Toronto film festivala...
Top Ten
Sugar—Most folks caught this film at Sundance and it’s a testament to the film’s merits that it was included in the TIFF World Cinema lineup. It was—hands down—my favorite film for being so full of heart. Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden are compassionate filmmakers who capture the dignity of marginalized communities. Their work is genuine.
JCVD—I’ve dismissed Jean-Claude Van Damme’s career without having seen a single one of his movies, which is perhaps why I was so surprised and thoroughly entertained by this accomplished self-reverie. It reveals a depth and vulnerability behind the macho veneer that I would never have suspected. One can only hope that Van Damme is allowed the chance to flex an ability to act heretofore ignored. JCVD‘s upset of expectations and mediated fantasies was masterful.
L’Heure d’été (Summer Hours)—Eschewing his recent pretenses at genre films, Olivier Assayas has returned to French roots to offer a nuanced family portrait and a philosophic rumination on the contrasting role of art in personal and public spheres. As a collector of art myself and the executor of two estates, I was quite moved by concerns I’ve rarely seen articulated in film.
Un Barrage Contre le Pacifique (The Sea Wall)—By merely lifting an eyebrow Isabelle Huppert can make you feel 75 different conflicting emotions. Rithy Panh’s political consciousness is in direct service to Marguerite Duras’ anti-colonial narrative of a courageous woman resisting the inevitable waves of unjust colonization. By complicating the dynamic of inequitable power hierarchies, Panh reaffirms the value of unexpected cross-class solidarities and communal perseverance.
Waltz With Bashir—Dazzling animation serves to help distance the viewer from horrific events. The shadow of the Holocaust slants across repressed memories and haunts survivors by way of unrelenting guilt. If history—by necessity—must be engaging to demand attention, cinema affords the opportunity to remember our human failings so that we need not—hopefully—repeat them.
Tokyo Sonata—Stretching his grasp of alterities to include laugh outloud humor and a whimsical score, Kiyoshi Kurosawa successfully reveals the hope beneath apocalyptic collapse. He has broadened his range with this family melodrama and emphasized the fragility of everyday constructions. Nothing is more horrifying.
Les Plages d’Agnès (The Beaches of Agnès)—A biographical documentary as remarkable as this one underscores how remarkable a personality is Agnès Varda. Imaginative, fearless, creative, she opens herself up to reveal sandy terrains of memory. Playfully walking backwards in time while glancing askew in wind-tossed mirrors, she reminds of the reverse footage of Jean Cocteau who rendered memory and dream as a means of in-camera editing. Memory is, afterall, the best of special effects.
Revanche—This film starts as a slow burn, shifts from the urban to the rural, and becomes a psychological thriller of revenge held in abeyance. Negotiating by way of secrets, rage and grief are barely tempered. Violence smolders like sexuality beneath the skin and retribution is only one cruelty away.
35 Rhums (35 Shots of Rum)—Another exercise in abeyance and enthrallment, Claire Denis presents a straightforward and simple treatment of Ozu’s Late Spring. Shades more accessible than L’Intrus, this is not her best work but it’s compelling nonetheless, punctuated here and there by poetic rapture.
Che—Again, another example of cinema in service to the history lesson, essential in today’s amnesiatic classroom. The first film is inspiring; the second defeating. They remind of the human qualities that make all ideologies fallible, especially revolutionary ones, which are so contingent upon the human and limited ideals they orbit.
TOP TEN
A Film With Me In It
The title is apt, yes, as the writer is also the star but more importantly from where I sit, this is a film with Dylan Moran in it and he’s just brilliant. A black comedy that skimps on neither the blackness nor the comedy it just gets funnier as the bodies pile up. My review here.
Detroit Metal City
Sometime you want a film with subtext and layers of deeper meaning, sometimes you just want to laugh your ass off. Detroit Metal City made me laugh my ass off playing its ridiculous premise to absolute perfection. My review here.
JCVD
I’ve been proclaiming my love for this film since catching it in the Cannes market back in May and I’m not going to stop now. Smart, funny, impeccably crafted and featuring a shockingly strong dramatic performance from the Muscles From Brussels himself, Jean Claude Van Damme. JCVD deserves to be more than a cult hit. My review here.
Martyrs
I said going in that Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs would be one of the most divisive films of the festival and I was proved correct. Love it or hate it everybody has a strong reaction to it, which means it must be doing something right, and I firmly believe that this is such a smart film with so many layers of meaning that it will become a major touch point for years to come. My review here.
Rock N Rolla
It’s been a long sojourn into the wilderness but Guy Ritchie is back in a big way. The swagger has returned along with the smarts and it certainly doesn’t hurt that he has by far the best cast he has ever worked with for this one. Gerard Butler has the makings of a major comic action star. My review here.
Slumdog Millionaire
The latest from Danny Boyle took home the Audience Choice Award and I’m not about to argue with the public’s choice. Funny, tragic, inspiring, horrifying ... Boyle plays a lot of cards here and he plays them all well. The fact that it’s not in English means it’ll probably be one of the Scotsman’s weakest performances at the box office, which is tragic because it stands with Trainspotting, Shallow Grave and Millions as absolutely top tier stuff. My review here.
Tokyo Sonata
The latest from Kiyoshi Kurosawa finds him stepping into some new territory, leaving the ghosts behind to instead tell the story of a family breaking down, and his step is sure and certain. An insightful, lyrical and surprisingly funny film. My review here.
Waltz With Bashir
I don’t think masterpiece is too strong a word to apply to Ari Folman’s stunning animated war documentary / memoir. Like Spiegelman’s Maus did for his experiences as the child of holocaust survivors, Waltz With Bashir reframes Folman’s experiences fighting in Lebanon so effectively that they become shocking fresh and universal. This is truly haunting stuff. My review here.
White Night Wedding
On one hand this is a major departure for Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur who leaves behind the crime trappings of his recent work in favor of romantic-comic-tragedy but on the other hand it’s more of the same, which means stellar writing, sharp direction and a very strong cast. The genre blend makes it a harder sell than his last couple films but it’s probably Kormakur’s best film yet. My review here.
The Wrestler
The latest from Darren Aronofsky trades in his normal stylistic flourishes for a simple, compelling character study of a man on the fringes. Mickey Rourke is an absolute powerhouse in this film, which went on to be the big buzz title of TIFF. My review here.
TOP TEN
Blindness
Ignore the Cannes buzz on Fernando Meirelles adaptation of Nobel laureate José Saramago’s novel. It may just be the first apocalypse film that is wearing a dinner jacked and bow tie (Michael Haneke’s Time of the Wolf is perhaps the closes analogue). However, when the clothes comes off, it reveals the stinking humanity contained underneath and pulls no punches. While I did not care for the last couple minutes of the film (which were unnecessary and perhaps even facile without the film continuing for another act), everything up to that point is stylish, brutal, and above all questioning on how different people utilize ‘privileged’ when it is handed to them in the strangest of circumstances.
JCVD
Believe the hype. Jean Claude Van Damme proves his acting chops by maximizing pathos and humour in a refreshingly fictional biopic. The film was worth seeing for the first 5 minutes, perhaps the greatest intro to a Van Damme flick of all (or any) time. The film has only the slightest misstep in the middle with pacing and convoluted structural trickery, but it is easily forgivable due to the audaciousness of the story and situations (A great throwaway scene in the film should convince celebrities to take a limo (or personal driver) and not a cab from the airport).
Pontypool
Probably the worlds first semiotic zombie film, the film defies expectations at every turn and plays out much more like a science-fiction chamber piece. A career topping performance from character actor Stephen McHattie, who gets to chew mightily on Tony Burgess’s sharp screenplay. If language and meaning and communication are of any interest to you, look past the Z-word (which is never uttered in the film) and give this one a shot. It is nice to see that there is a number of intelligent genre flicks coming out of Canada.
The Skycrawlers
Stylish. Epic. And Gorgeously produced on a grand canvas fusing 2D and 3D animation techniques, The Sky Crawlers is Mamoru Oshii’s most accessible film, a reasonably straightforward war love story. Yet at the same time, no Oshii-ness is ever sacrificed in the telling, and the love story is strengthened by the not-so-odd austerity of the piece. If Hayao Miyazaki’s Porcco Rosso is Japan’s animated Casablanca, then The Sky Crawlers is worthy of Metropolis. Using a pastiche of elements of contemporary science fiction (From Ender’s Game to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) mashed up with stirring World War II aerial dogfights and a his unique brand of austere and cold melodrama, The Sky Crawlers certainly will not be for everyone. The film is a feast for the senses, not only in the gargantuan fighter plane battles, which may be safe to say are the best ever committed to celluloid (and yes, that includes Hell’s Angels and the space climaxes of any of the best of the Star Wars pictures).
Synecdoche, New York
Sure to batter folks around on an intellectual level as well as (by the end) and emotional level. This is clearly screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s 8 1/2. One of the most stunning graduations of screenwriter to director, the film is akin to starting at the dark center of those Russian dolls and peeling your way out, shell by shell. A large ensembles of the best actors working today give the heady stuff the emotional and human resonance the picture needs. A film I suspect will get even better with age.
Tears for Sale
If you see one Serbian digital backlot gypsy film about women losing their virginity in a town filed with bats and landmines, I humbly suggest Tears for Sale. Combining spectacular imagery with a very playful mulch of eastern European European myth and WWI tragedy, comparisons to Jean-Pierre Jeunet are apt, but only scratch the surface here. I do not believe I had more pure fun at TIFF than this film. The mine-yard, spiderbrandy, girls fighting on broken glass, ghosts, F. Scott Fitzgerald, occult promises, breasts, and the explosive climax culminated to a rare visual treat.
Tokyo Sonata
I do not believe I have ever witnessed a Japanese director implode the social mores of their native country, and then rebuild them up from scratch so elegantly, emotionally and delightfully as Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Unequivocally earning labels such as Masterpiece and Auteur (putting him very much on the level of the more famous Kurosawa - that would be Akira), Tokyo Sonata is brimming with ideas and complicated social situations involving family, ego, desperation and desire. At no point did the picture feel manipulative or dishonest, and in unabashed tears are earned in the final act. If you see one Kiyoshi Kurosawa film (and shame on you then for just watching one), it should be this one.
Vinyan
Fans of great poetic horror films or simply good old fashioned exploiters should be flocking to the child-in-peril shocker Vinyan. Taking a page from the recently resurfaced cult classic Who Can Kill A Child, it is most definitely not meant to be processed literally. Adding in the tactile desensitization of Werner Herzog’s jungle tales of woe and the visceral sights and sounds of Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible, Vinyan is for those game to soak up an horrific inevitability: Our world is destined to never get along when different cultures collide on the crest of 21st century natural disasters.
White Night Wedding
White Night Wedding is very likely the best film from Icelandic director (and Twitch favourite) Baltasar Kormákur. The film is a whopper of an ensemble piece (adapted from a Chekhov play) that sees a lot of characters who all have many motives and schemes on the go. Everything culminates and collapses and recombines in one of the most intense forms of celebration: The Wedding. It is not often that a dramatic comedy is the ‘full package’ in terms of emotional resonance, humour, wit and pathos. Furthermore have a new favourite character actor, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (who is also in the other 2008 Icelandic wedding comedy, Country Wedding).
The Wrestler
The Wrestler is built kind of like the sport that it is set in. The story is familiar, a bit shop-worn, even contrived, and perhaps a bit faked. While things are playing out on screen, it archives a genuine emotional workout: the best kind of cinematic magic. The film is a weepy and a crowd- pleaser in the best sense of both of those terms. Above all, it shows a talented filmmaker at the pinnacle of his career, working with two actors at the pinnacle of their game. All those rough years boxing and slumming serve Mickey Rourke’s features well in this one, and he carries the film mightily. While it may or may not do any favours to legitimize the modern cartoon that is WWE, it is a strangely positive love-letter to the sport (witness the charming ‘shop talk’ in the Wrestlers greenroom) and those who grind themselves away practitioning it.
TRAILER 2
I par novih recenzija sa Toronto film festivala te Vancouver international film festivala...
http://www.tiff08.ca/filmsandschedules/films/jcvd
http://www.nowtoronto.com/guides/tiff/2 ... ay_id=1758hilariously entertaining, surprising film, JCVD tells the comeback story of a screen hero who has been on the receiving end of kicks that are getting harder and harder to take.
http://www.bombippy.com/archives/2008/09/jcvd_2008.phpThis Hail Mary pass of a performance should make Hollywood take Van Damme's calls again.
http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/blog/20 ... y_2_s.htmlI found the film to be unique and quite enjoyable despite the comparisons to Being John Malkovich (1999).
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/story ... 6e3f6fdedeDirected with distinct Godardian overtones by Mabrouk el Machri, "JCVD" is one of the damndest things I've ever seen, and it forces you to consider Van Damme, who plays along brilliantly, in a whole new light.
http://www.exclaim.ca/motionreviews/gen ... fid1=33461This is all performance, and Van Damme kicks the demon of his own alter ego to the curb with compassion and incredible vulnerability. Combined with El Mechri's heavy dose of film noir style and the Old World, European setting, the movie feels haunted by the ghosts within, as well as outside, the frame.
http://www.cinemamontreal.com/aw/crva.a ... C_V_D.htmlThe film is also often very funny in its observations about the cult of celebrity, and El Mechri’s direction is stylish and intense. And finally, a sentence I never thought I’d type: Jean-Claude Van Damme gives a great performance.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tiff/story/2008/ ... views.htmlThis movie moves with a good pace and had some very interesting character actors to carry it and make it very entertaining.
The rumours are true: the Muscles from Brussels can act. And he can be very funny – intentionally so.
Najbolji filmovi Toronto film festivala...
Top Ten
Sugar—Most folks caught this film at Sundance and it’s a testament to the film’s merits that it was included in the TIFF World Cinema lineup. It was—hands down—my favorite film for being so full of heart. Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden are compassionate filmmakers who capture the dignity of marginalized communities. Their work is genuine.
JCVD—I’ve dismissed Jean-Claude Van Damme’s career without having seen a single one of his movies, which is perhaps why I was so surprised and thoroughly entertained by this accomplished self-reverie. It reveals a depth and vulnerability behind the macho veneer that I would never have suspected. One can only hope that Van Damme is allowed the chance to flex an ability to act heretofore ignored. JCVD‘s upset of expectations and mediated fantasies was masterful.
L’Heure d’été (Summer Hours)—Eschewing his recent pretenses at genre films, Olivier Assayas has returned to French roots to offer a nuanced family portrait and a philosophic rumination on the contrasting role of art in personal and public spheres. As a collector of art myself and the executor of two estates, I was quite moved by concerns I’ve rarely seen articulated in film.
Un Barrage Contre le Pacifique (The Sea Wall)—By merely lifting an eyebrow Isabelle Huppert can make you feel 75 different conflicting emotions. Rithy Panh’s political consciousness is in direct service to Marguerite Duras’ anti-colonial narrative of a courageous woman resisting the inevitable waves of unjust colonization. By complicating the dynamic of inequitable power hierarchies, Panh reaffirms the value of unexpected cross-class solidarities and communal perseverance.
Waltz With Bashir—Dazzling animation serves to help distance the viewer from horrific events. The shadow of the Holocaust slants across repressed memories and haunts survivors by way of unrelenting guilt. If history—by necessity—must be engaging to demand attention, cinema affords the opportunity to remember our human failings so that we need not—hopefully—repeat them.
Tokyo Sonata—Stretching his grasp of alterities to include laugh outloud humor and a whimsical score, Kiyoshi Kurosawa successfully reveals the hope beneath apocalyptic collapse. He has broadened his range with this family melodrama and emphasized the fragility of everyday constructions. Nothing is more horrifying.
Les Plages d’Agnès (The Beaches of Agnès)—A biographical documentary as remarkable as this one underscores how remarkable a personality is Agnès Varda. Imaginative, fearless, creative, she opens herself up to reveal sandy terrains of memory. Playfully walking backwards in time while glancing askew in wind-tossed mirrors, she reminds of the reverse footage of Jean Cocteau who rendered memory and dream as a means of in-camera editing. Memory is, afterall, the best of special effects.
Revanche—This film starts as a slow burn, shifts from the urban to the rural, and becomes a psychological thriller of revenge held in abeyance. Negotiating by way of secrets, rage and grief are barely tempered. Violence smolders like sexuality beneath the skin and retribution is only one cruelty away.
35 Rhums (35 Shots of Rum)—Another exercise in abeyance and enthrallment, Claire Denis presents a straightforward and simple treatment of Ozu’s Late Spring. Shades more accessible than L’Intrus, this is not her best work but it’s compelling nonetheless, punctuated here and there by poetic rapture.
Che—Again, another example of cinema in service to the history lesson, essential in today’s amnesiatic classroom. The first film is inspiring; the second defeating. They remind of the human qualities that make all ideologies fallible, especially revolutionary ones, which are so contingent upon the human and limited ideals they orbit.
TOP TEN
A Film With Me In It
The title is apt, yes, as the writer is also the star but more importantly from where I sit, this is a film with Dylan Moran in it and he’s just brilliant. A black comedy that skimps on neither the blackness nor the comedy it just gets funnier as the bodies pile up. My review here.
Detroit Metal City
Sometime you want a film with subtext and layers of deeper meaning, sometimes you just want to laugh your ass off. Detroit Metal City made me laugh my ass off playing its ridiculous premise to absolute perfection. My review here.
JCVD
I’ve been proclaiming my love for this film since catching it in the Cannes market back in May and I’m not going to stop now. Smart, funny, impeccably crafted and featuring a shockingly strong dramatic performance from the Muscles From Brussels himself, Jean Claude Van Damme. JCVD deserves to be more than a cult hit. My review here.
Martyrs
I said going in that Pascal Laugier’s Martyrs would be one of the most divisive films of the festival and I was proved correct. Love it or hate it everybody has a strong reaction to it, which means it must be doing something right, and I firmly believe that this is such a smart film with so many layers of meaning that it will become a major touch point for years to come. My review here.
Rock N Rolla
It’s been a long sojourn into the wilderness but Guy Ritchie is back in a big way. The swagger has returned along with the smarts and it certainly doesn’t hurt that he has by far the best cast he has ever worked with for this one. Gerard Butler has the makings of a major comic action star. My review here.
Slumdog Millionaire
The latest from Danny Boyle took home the Audience Choice Award and I’m not about to argue with the public’s choice. Funny, tragic, inspiring, horrifying ... Boyle plays a lot of cards here and he plays them all well. The fact that it’s not in English means it’ll probably be one of the Scotsman’s weakest performances at the box office, which is tragic because it stands with Trainspotting, Shallow Grave and Millions as absolutely top tier stuff. My review here.
Tokyo Sonata
The latest from Kiyoshi Kurosawa finds him stepping into some new territory, leaving the ghosts behind to instead tell the story of a family breaking down, and his step is sure and certain. An insightful, lyrical and surprisingly funny film. My review here.
Waltz With Bashir
I don’t think masterpiece is too strong a word to apply to Ari Folman’s stunning animated war documentary / memoir. Like Spiegelman’s Maus did for his experiences as the child of holocaust survivors, Waltz With Bashir reframes Folman’s experiences fighting in Lebanon so effectively that they become shocking fresh and universal. This is truly haunting stuff. My review here.
White Night Wedding
On one hand this is a major departure for Icelandic director Baltasar Kormakur who leaves behind the crime trappings of his recent work in favor of romantic-comic-tragedy but on the other hand it’s more of the same, which means stellar writing, sharp direction and a very strong cast. The genre blend makes it a harder sell than his last couple films but it’s probably Kormakur’s best film yet. My review here.
The Wrestler
The latest from Darren Aronofsky trades in his normal stylistic flourishes for a simple, compelling character study of a man on the fringes. Mickey Rourke is an absolute powerhouse in this film, which went on to be the big buzz title of TIFF. My review here.
TOP TEN
Blindness
Ignore the Cannes buzz on Fernando Meirelles adaptation of Nobel laureate José Saramago’s novel. It may just be the first apocalypse film that is wearing a dinner jacked and bow tie (Michael Haneke’s Time of the Wolf is perhaps the closes analogue). However, when the clothes comes off, it reveals the stinking humanity contained underneath and pulls no punches. While I did not care for the last couple minutes of the film (which were unnecessary and perhaps even facile without the film continuing for another act), everything up to that point is stylish, brutal, and above all questioning on how different people utilize ‘privileged’ when it is handed to them in the strangest of circumstances.
JCVD
Believe the hype. Jean Claude Van Damme proves his acting chops by maximizing pathos and humour in a refreshingly fictional biopic. The film was worth seeing for the first 5 minutes, perhaps the greatest intro to a Van Damme flick of all (or any) time. The film has only the slightest misstep in the middle with pacing and convoluted structural trickery, but it is easily forgivable due to the audaciousness of the story and situations (A great throwaway scene in the film should convince celebrities to take a limo (or personal driver) and not a cab from the airport).
Pontypool
Probably the worlds first semiotic zombie film, the film defies expectations at every turn and plays out much more like a science-fiction chamber piece. A career topping performance from character actor Stephen McHattie, who gets to chew mightily on Tony Burgess’s sharp screenplay. If language and meaning and communication are of any interest to you, look past the Z-word (which is never uttered in the film) and give this one a shot. It is nice to see that there is a number of intelligent genre flicks coming out of Canada.
The Skycrawlers
Stylish. Epic. And Gorgeously produced on a grand canvas fusing 2D and 3D animation techniques, The Sky Crawlers is Mamoru Oshii’s most accessible film, a reasonably straightforward war love story. Yet at the same time, no Oshii-ness is ever sacrificed in the telling, and the love story is strengthened by the not-so-odd austerity of the piece. If Hayao Miyazaki’s Porcco Rosso is Japan’s animated Casablanca, then The Sky Crawlers is worthy of Metropolis. Using a pastiche of elements of contemporary science fiction (From Ender’s Game to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) mashed up with stirring World War II aerial dogfights and a his unique brand of austere and cold melodrama, The Sky Crawlers certainly will not be for everyone. The film is a feast for the senses, not only in the gargantuan fighter plane battles, which may be safe to say are the best ever committed to celluloid (and yes, that includes Hell’s Angels and the space climaxes of any of the best of the Star Wars pictures).
Synecdoche, New York
Sure to batter folks around on an intellectual level as well as (by the end) and emotional level. This is clearly screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s 8 1/2. One of the most stunning graduations of screenwriter to director, the film is akin to starting at the dark center of those Russian dolls and peeling your way out, shell by shell. A large ensembles of the best actors working today give the heady stuff the emotional and human resonance the picture needs. A film I suspect will get even better with age.
Tears for Sale
If you see one Serbian digital backlot gypsy film about women losing their virginity in a town filed with bats and landmines, I humbly suggest Tears for Sale. Combining spectacular imagery with a very playful mulch of eastern European European myth and WWI tragedy, comparisons to Jean-Pierre Jeunet are apt, but only scratch the surface here. I do not believe I had more pure fun at TIFF than this film. The mine-yard, spiderbrandy, girls fighting on broken glass, ghosts, F. Scott Fitzgerald, occult promises, breasts, and the explosive climax culminated to a rare visual treat.
Tokyo Sonata
I do not believe I have ever witnessed a Japanese director implode the social mores of their native country, and then rebuild them up from scratch so elegantly, emotionally and delightfully as Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Unequivocally earning labels such as Masterpiece and Auteur (putting him very much on the level of the more famous Kurosawa - that would be Akira), Tokyo Sonata is brimming with ideas and complicated social situations involving family, ego, desperation and desire. At no point did the picture feel manipulative or dishonest, and in unabashed tears are earned in the final act. If you see one Kiyoshi Kurosawa film (and shame on you then for just watching one), it should be this one.
Vinyan
Fans of great poetic horror films or simply good old fashioned exploiters should be flocking to the child-in-peril shocker Vinyan. Taking a page from the recently resurfaced cult classic Who Can Kill A Child, it is most definitely not meant to be processed literally. Adding in the tactile desensitization of Werner Herzog’s jungle tales of woe and the visceral sights and sounds of Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible, Vinyan is for those game to soak up an horrific inevitability: Our world is destined to never get along when different cultures collide on the crest of 21st century natural disasters.
White Night Wedding
White Night Wedding is very likely the best film from Icelandic director (and Twitch favourite) Baltasar Kormákur. The film is a whopper of an ensemble piece (adapted from a Chekhov play) that sees a lot of characters who all have many motives and schemes on the go. Everything culminates and collapses and recombines in one of the most intense forms of celebration: The Wedding. It is not often that a dramatic comedy is the ‘full package’ in terms of emotional resonance, humour, wit and pathos. Furthermore have a new favourite character actor, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (who is also in the other 2008 Icelandic wedding comedy, Country Wedding).
The Wrestler
The Wrestler is built kind of like the sport that it is set in. The story is familiar, a bit shop-worn, even contrived, and perhaps a bit faked. While things are playing out on screen, it archives a genuine emotional workout: the best kind of cinematic magic. The film is a weepy and a crowd- pleaser in the best sense of both of those terms. Above all, it shows a talented filmmaker at the pinnacle of his career, working with two actors at the pinnacle of their game. All those rough years boxing and slumming serve Mickey Rourke’s features well in this one, and he carries the film mightily. While it may or may not do any favours to legitimize the modern cartoon that is WWE, it is a strangely positive love-letter to the sport (witness the charming ‘shop talk’ in the Wrestlers greenroom) and those who grind themselves away practitioning it.
-
Dragonrage
- Posts: 8424
- Joined: 06 Oct 2006, 09:44
- Location: Zagreb
- Contact:
-
Dragonrage
- Posts: 8424
- Joined: 06 Oct 2006, 09:44
- Location: Zagreb
- Contact:
Film se otvorio ovaj vikend u američkim kinima, odnosnu NY-u...doduše u limitiranom prikazivanju...samo dvije dvorane, no i to je bilo dovoljno da gotovo sve predstave budu rasprodane i da film pokupi pozitivne kritike u nekim od najpoznatijih Američkih novina......
Recenzija iz Time magazina...
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0 ... ml?cnn=yes
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/rev ... jcvd_N.htm
Recenzija iz Time magazina...
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0 ... ml?cnn=yes
Recenzija iz US Today...ocjena * * * out of fourWith the star looking puffy and played out, and with so many references to his off-screen philandering and drug use, the movie bears comparison to Mickey Rourke's turn in The Wrestler, which like JCVD played the Toronto Film Festival, and which opens in the U.S. next month. (It happens that El Mechri's previous feature, Virgil, was also about a fighter on the skids.) But JCVD is sharper, crueler, way funnier than The Wrestler. The movie is a vision of the wages of fame that's part parody, part exposé, part justification.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/rev ... jcvd_N.htm
Though he portrays himself as a variation of the washed-up star, he is no last action hero. Rather, with JCVD, Van Damme proves he could make a viable career shift into humorous or dramatic character roles that hinge more on brains than brawn.
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Dragonrage
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john_constantine
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Dragonrage
- Posts: 8424
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Dragonrage
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BTW evo još jedna izvrsna vijest za Van Dammea i J.C.V.D. zbog koje će se sad vjerujem mnogi ovdje možda zgražati ili smijati...naime prema izboru i mišljenju poznatog časopisa Time, Van Dammeova izvedba iz ovog filma se nalazi na visokom drugom mjestu najboljih ovogodišnjih muških glumačkih izvedbi...odmah iza Heath Ledger ak Jokera iz The Dark Knighta!
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/ ... 63,00.html
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/ ... 63,00.html
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Dragonrage
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JCVD (2008) 4,5/5 - TRAILER
Odmah na početku moram reći ono što vjerujem mnogi ili neki znaju...ja sam tkz. Van Damme Fan, odnosno odrastao sam na filmovima tog lika, obožavao sam ih kao klinac i moram priznati da ih nisam prerastao ni dan danas, baš kao ni "Goonise", "Conana", Flash Gordona" i još mnoge druge filmove mog djetinstva. Također uvijek sam smatrao da je podcjenjen, i kao akcijska zvijezda i kao glumac, posebice u odnosu na druge mnogo hvaljenije mu kolege (Stallone, Willis, Schwarzenegger itd.) za kojima on i nije tako puno ili ponekad čak uopće nije zaostajao što se kvalitete filmova tiče. Uz to, on je od svih njih imao nekako najveće glumačke ambicije, ali i najviše izgleda za njih (izuzev Stallonea). A da je tome uistinu tako, dokazao je i ovim filmom kojim je osvojio veći dio kritike ali i popriličan broj šire publike koja ga inače baš i ne voli, ali na ovaj film gotovo da i nemaju zamjerki. Ja ću pokušat u ovom svom komentaru biti što objektivniji, ali nemojte mi zamjeriti ako se tu i tamo koji put zanesem.
Daklem, film je to koji na neki način pomiče i miče granice između stvarnosti i fikcije te na jedan polu-komičan, polu-ozbiljan, polu-"dokumentaristički" način prikazuje neke određene dijelove iz života danas propale akcijske zvijezde Jean Claude Van Dammea, njegove uspone i padove, probleme koji su mu obilježili karijeru i život kao takav (droga, gubitak djece na sudu, loše uloge i loši filmovi), a za koje je većinom sam kriv, te jednu izmišljenu situaciju gdje on kao javna i poznata osoba biva osumnjičen za pljačku banke te samim time i talačku situaciju u kojoj se nađe, iako je istina posve drugačija. Film krasi mnogo kvaliteta...od onih tehničkih pa do onih idejnih, glumačkih i režijskih te u cjelini ovaj uradak djeluje poput mješavine Tarantina i filmova Fracuskog Novog Vala (uz neizbježan dodatak "Being John Malkovich" i "Dog Day Afternoon"). Ispravite me ako griješim ali smatram da "JCVD" ima mnoštvo značajki jednog i drugog "stila", od montaže, fotografije, kadriranja, kamere, vizualnog stila i izričaja pa do narativnog segmenta filma, odnosno ne kronološkog pričanja priče čime se pojedine situacije prikazuje iz različitih perspektiva, što je Tarantinov zaštitni znak, baš kao i specifičan izbor glazbe u filmu, što je i ovdje slučaj.
Film se otvara jednom dugačkom akcijskom sekvencom snimljenom u jednom kadru u trajanju od nekih 3 i pol minute koju prati izvrsna pjesma "Hard Times" grupe Baby Huey. Inače moram da napomenem kako u toj sekvenci neki likovi, negativci koje Van Damme mlati, govore Hrvatski, ili bolje rečeno Srpski. U jednom trenutku te sekvence možete čuti poznatu repliku iz njegovog filma "Lionheart" - "prvo ću da te bijem ,onda ću da te karam" LOL, izvrstan hommage koji će vjerujem samo fanovi skužiti. Ali na stranu to. Ta sekvenca je istovremeno, uzbudljiva, zabavna, smiješna i trashy te prije svega funkcionira kao savršeni pokazatelj i primjer koliko je teško i nezahvalno biti propala akcijska zvijezda filmova B produkcije koji se svi snimaju na isti kalup i bez nekog određenog smisla i cilja...jedini i najvažniji cilj u svemu tome je novac, a ne kvaliteta. Ali neka vas to ne zavara, to je gotovo pa sva akcija koju će te vidjeti u ovom filmu te akcijske scene nipošto nisu osnova ovog filma kao recimo u slučaju njegovih prijašnjih naslova iz 80-ih i 90-ih godina.
"JCVD" je prije svega osvrt ne samo na Van Dammeovu karijeru, već i općenito na kompletni akcijski žanr 80-ih i 90-ih godina. Gotovo sve akcije zvijezde iz tog razdoblja se spominju ovdje na ovaj ili onaj način...Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Seagal, Chuck Norris, pa čak i Rutger Hauer. Spominje se i John Woo, jedan od najvećih i najboljih majstora akcije, koji iza sebe ima nekoliko kultnih remek-djela žanra kao što su "Hard Boiled", "The Killer" i još neki, a koji je se upravo zahvaljujući Van Dammeu i njegovoj upornosti probio u Hollywood koji tih 90-ih godina nije gotovo pa znao za Woo-a, iako je u domovini bio velika zvijezda. A i jedan od likova to posebno naznači. Kaže, "Woo bi još uvijek gađao glinene golubove u Hong Kongu da nije bilo Van Dammea". Da li zaista i bi...tko će ga znati, ali u ovom slučaju nije ni važno.
Kroz film saznajemo i to koliko je Van Damme nezadovoljan svojom karijerom, filmovima koje je snimio te svojim današnjim statusom zbog kojeg je "osuđen" snimati jeftine akciće u Bugarskoj produkciji. Ali on se sa time čak i šali na svoj račun. Nakon što mu Seagal otme ulogu zbog toga jer je odrezao svoj repić, Van Damme prihvaća ulogu u jefinom akciću za koji nije ni pročitao scenarij samo zato jer mu treba lova. I koliko god to bilo šaljivo, istovremeno je i veoma blizu istini. Inače nije nikakva tajna da Van Damme nikada nije bio zadovoljan filmovima koje je snimio, i tek rijetki zadovoljavao njegove kriterije, vjerojatno je zbog toga i odlučio učiniti nešto u svezi toga, i preokrenuti svoju karijeru naglavačke i krenuti ispočetka.
Mladi redatelj i jedan od scenarista, Mabrouk El Mechri je ovdje napravio lavovski posao. Em što je uspio iz Van Dammea izvući ono najbolje, ono što je dugo čučalo u njemu - izvrsnu glumačku izvedbu, uspio je i snimiti zabavan, tužan, nostalgičan te nadasve pametan film. Izvrsni i ponekad dugački (mirni) kadrovi, ekspresivni kutovi kamere, izbljedjela fotografija, tonalitet filma te izvrstan izbor glazbe (pjesama) su samo neki elementi kojima se on poslužio kako bi svoju viziju što bolje prenio na veliki/mali ekran. Inače valja naglasiti kako redatelj i nije Van Dammeovo obožavatelj, pogledao je svega par njegovih filmova dok je bio mlađi, pa ovaj film nije svjevrsni "fan spomenik" potonuloj zvijezdi što bi neki mogli pomisliti. Režijski je film isto veoma pametno odrađen, te taj, ajmo reći Tarantinovski pristup pričanja priče je zanimljiv iz nekoliko razloga. Kao prvo, redatelj nam na taj način ne otkiva sve karte odmah na početku, poigrava se malo sa gledateljima i sa smijerom u kojem bi radnja mogla ići, iako mi kao gledtaelji ne moramo i možda nečemo nužno povjerovati u to što vidimo. A kao drugo, na taj način je redatelj ujedno uspio malo razbiti ajmo reći, neku moguću "monotoniju" do koje je moglo doći da je odlučio cijelu priču prikazati linearno. Naime na šta konkretno mislim. Na taj način nas redatelj s vremena na vrijeme odvlači od cijele te hostage situacije i događaja koji se odvijaju u banci a koji ponekad i ne nude baš nešto pretjerano zanimljivo, te nam na taj način, kroz flashbackove daje uvid u neke druge segmente života gl. lika, uvid u njegove probleme o kojih je banka sam vrhunac.
Već sam spomenuo izvrstan izbor glazbe, ali spomenut ću ga opet. I ne samo izbor glazbe, tj. pjesama koje su se savršeno u klopile u cjelinu, već i onaj instrumentalni soundtrack kojeg je skladao Gast Waltzing, a koji zvući kao da ga je skladao Lalo Schifrin. Sve to skupa također pridonosi izvrsnoj atmosferi filma. A pjesme koje se pojavljuju u filmu, posebice već spomenuta "Hard Times" grupe Baby Huey s početka filma te "Modern Love", originalno u izvedbi Davida Bowiea, ali ovoga puta u izvedbi Marie Mazziotti s kraja filma, kao da pričaju životnu priču ovoga glumca. "Having hard time in this crazy times" kaže jedna, ili druga koja kaže "Its not really work, Its just the power to charm, Im still standing in the wind, But I never wave bye bye...But I try, I try". I ne samo da se Van Dammeova karijera može poistovijetiti sa riječima tih pjesama, već i mi sami ponekad.
Glumačka ekipa se uglavnom sastoji od nama/meni nepoznatih Francuskih glumaca, ali svi redom su izvrsni, pa čak i iznimno zabavni (posebno bih izdvojio Karima Belkhadraa koji glumi jednog od otmičara/pljačkaša, a koji je veoma naklonjen Van Dammeu, te je čest pokretač smiješnih scena). Ali naravno, ovo je Van Dammeov show, i on ga je na iznenađenje i oduševljenje mnogi odradio savršeno. Svakako valja izdvojiti njegov već toliko spominjan i hvaljen monolog koji je snimljen u jednom kadru koji traje nevjerojatnih 7 minuta. A ujedno je i nevjerojatan raspon emocija kojim Van Damme raspolaže u tom dugačkom kadru. Od mirnoće preko tuge, plača, pa do smijeha, i sve to iznimno uvjerljivo. I moram priznati da sam bio na rubu suza kada sam to gledao. E sad, da li je to bilo zato jer sam fan, ili je to zaista tako emotivna sekvenca...ne znam. Ali znam da je nekima taj monolog, iako izvrsno dglumljen, bio malo previše, previše se izdvaja od ostatka filma te nam daje do znanja da ovo nije samo film. Ali ja sam ga vidio kao svojevrsno razmišljanje gl. junaka u toj kriznoj situaciji. Svojevrsno preispitivanje svog života. Naime, smo čuli kako da u nekim kriznim ili po život opasnim situacijama, ljudi u jako kratkom vremenu preispitaju svoj život, svoje odluke, pogreške...e pa ovaj njegov monolog bi se mogao opisati tako. Inače, i izuzev tog monologa, mnogi su hvalili i hvale njegovu izvedbu, čak su se spominjale i nominacije za Oscara. E sad, koliko je to relano i moguće, to je drugo pitanje. Naime, ovo je izvrsna uloga, ali koliko je to materijal za Oscara, o tome bi se dalo raspravljati. Možda je bolje ne pretjerivati i zadržati se na zemlji. Uz to, govorimo o Van Dammeu, propalom akcijskom glumcu za kojega su mnogi misili da je i umro (LOL). Kako kaže ona stara, "jedna lasta ne čini proljeće", ali svakako može poslužiti kao dobar primjer da se sve može kad se hoće. I koje su na kraju negativne strane filma, pitaju se možda neki? Pa ne znam!? Možda to što je iz filma izrezano čak 40-ak minuta materijala koju redatelj navodno namjerava ubaciti u redateljsku verziju filma, možda činjenica da film ima marvicu praznog hoda (iako mu ja to nisam zamjerio), ili možda nešto što ja jednostavno nisam zamjetio.
Sve u svemu, Van Damme je dokazao da zna i može snimiti dobar film i glumiti kad hoće i kad redatelj/priča to od njega zahtijeva. Da li će svoju karijeru nastaviti u ovom tonu/smijeru, vidjet ćemo. Iskreno se nadam da kad snimi "UniSol 3" kojeg mora snimiti zbog pravnih zavrzlama koje uključuju i tužbu ukoliko ga ne snimi, da će takve i slične akciće ostaviti iza sebe. Ali da misli ozbiljno u svom naumu dokazuje i činjenica da je odbio punudu Sylvestera Stallonea da nastupi rame uz rame sa Stathamom, Jel Li-em i samim Stalloneom u njegovov nadolazećem akcijskom spektaklu "The Expendables" koji je najavljen za 2010. Umjesto Van Dammea, ulogu je naknadno prihvatio Dolph Lundgren, još jedna propala akcijska zvijezda 80-ih, stoga ovim putem, mnogo sreće i njemu. A šta se "JCVD" tiče...topla preporuka, jedna od najboljih ovogodišnjih filmova ( i to ne govorim kao fan, već općenito).
Odmah na početku moram reći ono što vjerujem mnogi ili neki znaju...ja sam tkz. Van Damme Fan, odnosno odrastao sam na filmovima tog lika, obožavao sam ih kao klinac i moram priznati da ih nisam prerastao ni dan danas, baš kao ni "Goonise", "Conana", Flash Gordona" i još mnoge druge filmove mog djetinstva. Također uvijek sam smatrao da je podcjenjen, i kao akcijska zvijezda i kao glumac, posebice u odnosu na druge mnogo hvaljenije mu kolege (Stallone, Willis, Schwarzenegger itd.) za kojima on i nije tako puno ili ponekad čak uopće nije zaostajao što se kvalitete filmova tiče. Uz to, on je od svih njih imao nekako najveće glumačke ambicije, ali i najviše izgleda za njih (izuzev Stallonea). A da je tome uistinu tako, dokazao je i ovim filmom kojim je osvojio veći dio kritike ali i popriličan broj šire publike koja ga inače baš i ne voli, ali na ovaj film gotovo da i nemaju zamjerki. Ja ću pokušat u ovom svom komentaru biti što objektivniji, ali nemojte mi zamjeriti ako se tu i tamo koji put zanesem.
Daklem, film je to koji na neki način pomiče i miče granice između stvarnosti i fikcije te na jedan polu-komičan, polu-ozbiljan, polu-"dokumentaristički" način prikazuje neke određene dijelove iz života danas propale akcijske zvijezde Jean Claude Van Dammea, njegove uspone i padove, probleme koji su mu obilježili karijeru i život kao takav (droga, gubitak djece na sudu, loše uloge i loši filmovi), a za koje je većinom sam kriv, te jednu izmišljenu situaciju gdje on kao javna i poznata osoba biva osumnjičen za pljačku banke te samim time i talačku situaciju u kojoj se nađe, iako je istina posve drugačija. Film krasi mnogo kvaliteta...od onih tehničkih pa do onih idejnih, glumačkih i režijskih te u cjelini ovaj uradak djeluje poput mješavine Tarantina i filmova Fracuskog Novog Vala (uz neizbježan dodatak "Being John Malkovich" i "Dog Day Afternoon"). Ispravite me ako griješim ali smatram da "JCVD" ima mnoštvo značajki jednog i drugog "stila", od montaže, fotografije, kadriranja, kamere, vizualnog stila i izričaja pa do narativnog segmenta filma, odnosno ne kronološkog pričanja priče čime se pojedine situacije prikazuje iz različitih perspektiva, što je Tarantinov zaštitni znak, baš kao i specifičan izbor glazbe u filmu, što je i ovdje slučaj.
Film se otvara jednom dugačkom akcijskom sekvencom snimljenom u jednom kadru u trajanju od nekih 3 i pol minute koju prati izvrsna pjesma "Hard Times" grupe Baby Huey. Inače moram da napomenem kako u toj sekvenci neki likovi, negativci koje Van Damme mlati, govore Hrvatski, ili bolje rečeno Srpski. U jednom trenutku te sekvence možete čuti poznatu repliku iz njegovog filma "Lionheart" - "prvo ću da te bijem ,onda ću da te karam" LOL, izvrstan hommage koji će vjerujem samo fanovi skužiti. Ali na stranu to. Ta sekvenca je istovremeno, uzbudljiva, zabavna, smiješna i trashy te prije svega funkcionira kao savršeni pokazatelj i primjer koliko je teško i nezahvalno biti propala akcijska zvijezda filmova B produkcije koji se svi snimaju na isti kalup i bez nekog određenog smisla i cilja...jedini i najvažniji cilj u svemu tome je novac, a ne kvaliteta. Ali neka vas to ne zavara, to je gotovo pa sva akcija koju će te vidjeti u ovom filmu te akcijske scene nipošto nisu osnova ovog filma kao recimo u slučaju njegovih prijašnjih naslova iz 80-ih i 90-ih godina.
"JCVD" je prije svega osvrt ne samo na Van Dammeovu karijeru, već i općenito na kompletni akcijski žanr 80-ih i 90-ih godina. Gotovo sve akcije zvijezde iz tog razdoblja se spominju ovdje na ovaj ili onaj način...Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Seagal, Chuck Norris, pa čak i Rutger Hauer. Spominje se i John Woo, jedan od najvećih i najboljih majstora akcije, koji iza sebe ima nekoliko kultnih remek-djela žanra kao što su "Hard Boiled", "The Killer" i još neki, a koji je se upravo zahvaljujući Van Dammeu i njegovoj upornosti probio u Hollywood koji tih 90-ih godina nije gotovo pa znao za Woo-a, iako je u domovini bio velika zvijezda. A i jedan od likova to posebno naznači. Kaže, "Woo bi još uvijek gađao glinene golubove u Hong Kongu da nije bilo Van Dammea". Da li zaista i bi...tko će ga znati, ali u ovom slučaju nije ni važno.
Kroz film saznajemo i to koliko je Van Damme nezadovoljan svojom karijerom, filmovima koje je snimio te svojim današnjim statusom zbog kojeg je "osuđen" snimati jeftine akciće u Bugarskoj produkciji. Ali on se sa time čak i šali na svoj račun. Nakon što mu Seagal otme ulogu zbog toga jer je odrezao svoj repić, Van Damme prihvaća ulogu u jefinom akciću za koji nije ni pročitao scenarij samo zato jer mu treba lova. I koliko god to bilo šaljivo, istovremeno je i veoma blizu istini. Inače nije nikakva tajna da Van Damme nikada nije bio zadovoljan filmovima koje je snimio, i tek rijetki zadovoljavao njegove kriterije, vjerojatno je zbog toga i odlučio učiniti nešto u svezi toga, i preokrenuti svoju karijeru naglavačke i krenuti ispočetka.
Mladi redatelj i jedan od scenarista, Mabrouk El Mechri je ovdje napravio lavovski posao. Em što je uspio iz Van Dammea izvući ono najbolje, ono što je dugo čučalo u njemu - izvrsnu glumačku izvedbu, uspio je i snimiti zabavan, tužan, nostalgičan te nadasve pametan film. Izvrsni i ponekad dugački (mirni) kadrovi, ekspresivni kutovi kamere, izbljedjela fotografija, tonalitet filma te izvrstan izbor glazbe (pjesama) su samo neki elementi kojima se on poslužio kako bi svoju viziju što bolje prenio na veliki/mali ekran. Inače valja naglasiti kako redatelj i nije Van Dammeovo obožavatelj, pogledao je svega par njegovih filmova dok je bio mlađi, pa ovaj film nije svjevrsni "fan spomenik" potonuloj zvijezdi što bi neki mogli pomisliti. Režijski je film isto veoma pametno odrađen, te taj, ajmo reći Tarantinovski pristup pričanja priče je zanimljiv iz nekoliko razloga. Kao prvo, redatelj nam na taj način ne otkiva sve karte odmah na početku, poigrava se malo sa gledateljima i sa smijerom u kojem bi radnja mogla ići, iako mi kao gledtaelji ne moramo i možda nečemo nužno povjerovati u to što vidimo. A kao drugo, na taj način je redatelj ujedno uspio malo razbiti ajmo reći, neku moguću "monotoniju" do koje je moglo doći da je odlučio cijelu priču prikazati linearno. Naime na šta konkretno mislim. Na taj način nas redatelj s vremena na vrijeme odvlači od cijele te hostage situacije i događaja koji se odvijaju u banci a koji ponekad i ne nude baš nešto pretjerano zanimljivo, te nam na taj način, kroz flashbackove daje uvid u neke druge segmente života gl. lika, uvid u njegove probleme o kojih je banka sam vrhunac.
Već sam spomenuo izvrstan izbor glazbe, ali spomenut ću ga opet. I ne samo izbor glazbe, tj. pjesama koje su se savršeno u klopile u cjelinu, već i onaj instrumentalni soundtrack kojeg je skladao Gast Waltzing, a koji zvući kao da ga je skladao Lalo Schifrin. Sve to skupa također pridonosi izvrsnoj atmosferi filma. A pjesme koje se pojavljuju u filmu, posebice već spomenuta "Hard Times" grupe Baby Huey s početka filma te "Modern Love", originalno u izvedbi Davida Bowiea, ali ovoga puta u izvedbi Marie Mazziotti s kraja filma, kao da pričaju životnu priču ovoga glumca. "Having hard time in this crazy times" kaže jedna, ili druga koja kaže "Its not really work, Its just the power to charm, Im still standing in the wind, But I never wave bye bye...But I try, I try". I ne samo da se Van Dammeova karijera može poistovijetiti sa riječima tih pjesama, već i mi sami ponekad.
Glumačka ekipa se uglavnom sastoji od nama/meni nepoznatih Francuskih glumaca, ali svi redom su izvrsni, pa čak i iznimno zabavni (posebno bih izdvojio Karima Belkhadraa koji glumi jednog od otmičara/pljačkaša, a koji je veoma naklonjen Van Dammeu, te je čest pokretač smiješnih scena). Ali naravno, ovo je Van Dammeov show, i on ga je na iznenađenje i oduševljenje mnogi odradio savršeno. Svakako valja izdvojiti njegov već toliko spominjan i hvaljen monolog koji je snimljen u jednom kadru koji traje nevjerojatnih 7 minuta. A ujedno je i nevjerojatan raspon emocija kojim Van Damme raspolaže u tom dugačkom kadru. Od mirnoće preko tuge, plača, pa do smijeha, i sve to iznimno uvjerljivo. I moram priznati da sam bio na rubu suza kada sam to gledao. E sad, da li je to bilo zato jer sam fan, ili je to zaista tako emotivna sekvenca...ne znam. Ali znam da je nekima taj monolog, iako izvrsno dglumljen, bio malo previše, previše se izdvaja od ostatka filma te nam daje do znanja da ovo nije samo film. Ali ja sam ga vidio kao svojevrsno razmišljanje gl. junaka u toj kriznoj situaciji. Svojevrsno preispitivanje svog života. Naime, smo čuli kako da u nekim kriznim ili po život opasnim situacijama, ljudi u jako kratkom vremenu preispitaju svoj život, svoje odluke, pogreške...e pa ovaj njegov monolog bi se mogao opisati tako. Inače, i izuzev tog monologa, mnogi su hvalili i hvale njegovu izvedbu, čak su se spominjale i nominacije za Oscara. E sad, koliko je to relano i moguće, to je drugo pitanje. Naime, ovo je izvrsna uloga, ali koliko je to materijal za Oscara, o tome bi se dalo raspravljati. Možda je bolje ne pretjerivati i zadržati se na zemlji. Uz to, govorimo o Van Dammeu, propalom akcijskom glumcu za kojega su mnogi misili da je i umro (LOL). Kako kaže ona stara, "jedna lasta ne čini proljeće", ali svakako može poslužiti kao dobar primjer da se sve može kad se hoće. I koje su na kraju negativne strane filma, pitaju se možda neki? Pa ne znam!? Možda to što je iz filma izrezano čak 40-ak minuta materijala koju redatelj navodno namjerava ubaciti u redateljsku verziju filma, možda činjenica da film ima marvicu praznog hoda (iako mu ja to nisam zamjerio), ili možda nešto što ja jednostavno nisam zamjetio.
Sve u svemu, Van Damme je dokazao da zna i može snimiti dobar film i glumiti kad hoće i kad redatelj/priča to od njega zahtijeva. Da li će svoju karijeru nastaviti u ovom tonu/smijeru, vidjet ćemo. Iskreno se nadam da kad snimi "UniSol 3" kojeg mora snimiti zbog pravnih zavrzlama koje uključuju i tužbu ukoliko ga ne snimi, da će takve i slične akciće ostaviti iza sebe. Ali da misli ozbiljno u svom naumu dokazuje i činjenica da je odbio punudu Sylvestera Stallonea da nastupi rame uz rame sa Stathamom, Jel Li-em i samim Stalloneom u njegovov nadolazećem akcijskom spektaklu "The Expendables" koji je najavljen za 2010. Umjesto Van Dammea, ulogu je naknadno prihvatio Dolph Lundgren, još jedna propala akcijska zvijezda 80-ih, stoga ovim putem, mnogo sreće i njemu. A šta se "JCVD" tiče...topla preporuka, jedna od najboljih ovogodišnjih filmova ( i to ne govorim kao fan, već općenito).
