Reviews

Fernandel gives a memorably hilarious performance as a policemen in a French/Italian border town. The border line happens to go right through the middle of the house, where the protagonist was born. The complications arise, when he suddenly finds out that he was actually born on the Italian side and, therefore, is legally Italian. If you like French comedies and Fernandel, this one is a must.

The watching of There's something about Mary was one of the most bizarre movie-going experiences of my life. Everybody around was laughing, but I couldn't "get" a single joke. If your ideal of a good comic scene is one's testicles stuck in the zipper or sperm on the ear - than you might enjoy it. I didn't.

It is funny how many people take this mockumentary seriously despite the many hints throughout it - like Russian archive worker called Alexandra Nevsky or Stan-the-Man meeting the Prime Minister etc. The movie is a must for all silent movie buffs. Colin McKenzie, a cinematographer from New Zealand , who "invented" sound, colour and close-ups well before his European and American colleagues,is both hilarious and touching. Special appearances by Sam Neill, Leonard Maltin and some people, who "knew" McKenzie add "credibility" to this homage to the Silent Era. Extemely well conceived and executed.

This is definitely one of the best Italian comedies ever made, a movie you can watch over and over again... Mastroianni gives an excellent performance as an impoverished Sicilian aristocrat determined to get a divorce from his wife. There is only one complication - divorce is illegal in Italy at the time. However, there is also a law that justifies the killing of a wife if she is caught during an act of adultery. As with most others Germi's films, this one is a unique mix of situational comedy and social drama. Highly recommended.

It is true that Dumas once said that history was a nail on which he hanged his picture. Now, Dumas is a nail himself. Naturally, I cannot expect people at Hollywood to be 100% true to the original. Furthermore, many changes are necessarily for screen adaptations. But this movie has virtually nothing left form the book with the exception of characters' names.In the book, Philipe DOES NOT finally remplace Louis, D'Artagnan dies on the battlefield and NEVER has an affair with the Queen ( Louis XIV - as D'Artagnan's son? come on!!) etc. - the list goes on and on. It is a mystery to me how they could get Depardiueu to be in the movie - how could he possibly agree to play in a castrated version of his country's classic book? I can't say that performances were terrible. All actors do their best to save an awful script, but to no avail. Watch this one for laughs only, especially if you read the book and know the history of the period. The very end when they say something like Louis (undercover Philipe) will always be remembered as a king, who brought France peace and prosperity (Springtime for Louis and France...), made me laugh uncontrollably: Louis XVI's reign was a period of constant wars and poor hungry peasants.

This movie is one of Luis Bunuel's best and my personal favourite. Though it was filmed between Belle de Jour and Tristana, it has more in common with Bunuel's three last movies - Discreet Charm of the bourgeoisie, Phantom of the liberty and That Obscure object of desire. Bunuel is at his surrealistic and atheistic best. Though some moments may make almost anybody laugh, the movie is intended for highly educated audience, preferably familiar with the history of heresies and the Catholic Church - without this kind of knowledge much of film's charm will be missing. Milky Way may be called a road movie in a sense: two main characters are on a pilgrimage to Santiago-de-Compostella and while on their way, also travel through time - Milky Way is unique in the way it handles this time travel.

Despite the fact that this film is not as known as some other sea sagas, it has some spectacular battle scenes, which are quite impressive even today. The movie does contain some historical speculations ( like the prevention of France's invasion of England in 1797 ), but overall it is one of the most detailed and authentic depictions of what seamen's life looked like in the 18th century. It is highly recommended to anyone interested in the military history of the period. The primary reason I wanted to see that movie was the fact that Alec Guinness was in it. Needless to say, his portrayal of Defiant's captain is as strong and convincing as ever. Good captain vs. bad second-in-command ( Bogarte )opposition might not seem very original to a modern viewer, but again, excellent performances by both Guinness and Bogarte and many unpredictable plot turns make us forget about this semi-cliche.

Denis Maternovsky

"Ladykillers" is the movie that many modern comedy directors should see. This is what real comedy should look like. It is one of those rare pictures you can't say anything bad about. It is perfect in every way imaginable - script, selection of actors for the roles and performances themselves.Katie Johnson, a classic "little ol' lady", won a British Film academy award for her portrayal of a landlady, who rents an apartment to a criminal mastermind Guinness, who poses as Professor Marcus, a head of an "amateur music quintet", consisting of gangsters, trying to rob a bank. There is much more to this movie, than you can possibly expect from this plot outline. Denis Maternovsky