Film Reviews by JD3

As a big fan of the Great Man's work I put this on my list only to be disappointed.

Expecting the cinematic flourishes the detailed character drawing and tension of his earlier works I was faced with a flimsy story that had no sense that it was anything to do with Kurosawa. There is a featurette which goes someway to explaining why this is.

Stick with Ikiru, High and Low et al if you wish to eperience his best work

Not a big fan of Monsieur D. but this is a gem and according to the extras he did it for free as he liked the script so much and the directors could not afford a star of his magnitude.

I concur completely with JD - my initials namesake! - Retirement party a gem, as is supermarket trolley in car park to which I would add:

Fish counter; various phone scenes; job interview and of course the golf course.

Very touching but most of all a funny film with some LOL moments.

(And I confirm this is a completely separate JD review)

Wish I had read RD's review before hiring this drivel. Unlike RD I gave up after 15 mins but used the FF button to check if any improvements..there were none.

Having got into the whole Chinese...Korean genre I rented this without trepidation.

Should I have rented this?

How was I to know it was just atmospheric?

It clearly appeals to many people..

Then there was the long tracking one shot which I missed due to my habit of fast forwarding films I don't like

Expect nothing and indeed everything and go and rent 'Bedevilled' instead.... which made my night!!

Atmospheric slow burner but stay with it for enjoyable Korean gorefest...

The ending is questionable.. but for fans of the genre it will just lead to a heated but enjoyable debate

I decided to create a category in my CP lists for 2nd viewing.. I. E. Catching up on all those old films I have seen and give them a second chance. It had been working fine until this film. OMG what a waste of time.. This truly is one of the worst films of all time.. Everything sucks.. Acting.. Over acting... Complete over acting.. My memory obviously played tricks...but only plus point is that I learnt a new word.. This was based on the Umberto Ecco book but was in fact a palimpsest.. Look it up.

Having been introduced to Sion Sono by watching 'Cold Fish' and 'Guilty of Romance' (which are both stunning works) I put a host of other SS films on my list. This one came through this week and I am so glad I did not watch this first as I would never have watched another of his movies. It is nearly 4 hours long which is 3 and a half hours over length. It is mad and infuriating and don't get me started on the Bolero theme! I had to turn the volume off for long periods. Seriously he does very good work but in my opinion start with the others and if you like them give this a chance but don't expect much.

I can't begin to be as thoughtful as JS in his/her review but this film stayed with me long after I finished it. Intellectual yes but thought provoking too. A mix of many genres but so definitely French. 2 stand out performances from the leads. This could easily be a stage play and reminds me a little of Polanski's 'Venus in Fur' in its restrained intensity. A good watch!!

As PG the other reviewer rightly points out 20 mins of a baby screaming usually does for me but I thought I would give it a chance. Wrong. Not one redeeming feature in the entire film. I thought Moon was the worst space film I had seen.. Now this has topped it. I really only like posting positive reviews but if I can save just one of you from enduring this it will have been worth it.

Cinema Paradiso need to revise their Star rating to accommodate this piece of utter drivel. I agree with Alphaville. Terminally boring but with added revulsion. How this got a comedy tag is beyond me. Then again takes all sorts?

Didn't get this with CP as Amazon had it for free.. But what a film.. The French equivalent of The Full Monty.. Sublime. 2 hours raced by. 5 stars.

Opens poorly, gradually gets worse and well you can guess. Unconvincing acting and direction is abysmal.

Cinema Paradiso really needs another star level for this level of cinema.

If you avoid 1 Sci Fi film avoid this one.

It's only saving grace is that it is SO slow you can fast forward through major chunks and not miss a thing.

I love Natalie Portman. I would watch a film of her reading a menu but totally miscast and let down by a horror of a script and plot but I hesitate to use that word.

So bardem thinks he can do a brando by talking like he's got cotton wool in his mouth. I caught every other 8th word. Either that or the dvd was out of whack. I think the former as stupidly the film subtitled the Spanish swearing immediately switching back to unintelligible English once the swearing had ended.

Overall could have been enjoyable film but spoilt by this

Now to the positives. Why should you watch this film? Why should you watch any film?

Because it stars penelope cruz. Frankly I would watch PC if it was a film about paint drying.

Her only blemish for me is vicky Christina Barcelona.. But I'll forgive anyone a mistake.

So although I've given 2 stars.. Watch it and maybe you'll make sense of it dialogue wise.

How happy was I when I was forced to switch from lovefilm to cinema paradiso and found they had this gem which lovefilm didn't carry. Two outstanding performances from Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon which deserved their Oscar nominations. Louis Malle paints such an accurate picture of the time you immerse yourself in the seedy underbelly of Atlantic city from the off. A story of hope over despair and touching relationships it stands the test of time. It will always get 5 stars from me.