Michael Lynch, the ordinary decent criminal of the title, is an ordinary Irish fellow who happens to make a living as a professional bank (and whatever else you got) robber. He has a big household, is married to the beautiful Christine, and is also sleeping with Christine’s sister, Lisa, out in...

On more than one occasion in writer/director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amelie a character leaves his motorpad unattended and unlocked for long periods at a time, but it’s always there when he comes back for it. In another scene, the heroine witnesses a corner grocer browbeating his helper and...

I will be the first to admit that my history is not as sharp or as extensive as I would like it to be, but I am reasonably sure neither the French nor the Native Americans knew martial arts in the 18th century. Mind you, I could be wrong, but I’m quite sure I’m not. The above statement aside,...

I have only seen two Guy Ritchie movies (he’s made 3 so far) and I can reasonably determine what the third movie will be like: 1) It will have a multitude of characters, some of which comes and goes at the whim of Ritchie, who is his own writer, and thus he’s his own creative partner; 2)...

My knowledge of England and all of its districts, ‘burbs, provinces, or whatever they call them over there, is as extensive as my knowledge of, say, particle physics — which is nonexistent. So, as I sit down to watch Essex Boys, a movie that takes place in Essex, which I assume is a town...

Bandits is a German movie about a rock band made up of 4 different women with only one thing in common — they’re all currently serving sentences in prison. The band is led by vocalist and anti-social Luna, a gifted magician and songwriter with aspirations of becoming a rock star; Angel, the...

Barrels concerns the problems of 4 British buddies who owe a big shot mobster name Hatchet Harry $500,000 English pounds and must get the money together in one week. The problem came about when the four buddies saved up $25,000 each in order to deal their friend, a card shark name Eddie, into a high-stakes...

The French film “Vidocq” is an interesting failure. It is breathtaking in its visuals, has an interesting narrative, but its execution is so erratic that I am left to wonder if one-name director Pitof is auditioning to direct a Nine Inch Nails music video instead of trying to make a coherent...

Credits are a strange thing. The credits that roll after the stars’ names have flashed are inconsequential to the moviegoing public. Hence, most people have no idea who, or what, a “Line Producer” is. A Line Producer, in short, is the man who controls the purse strings of a movie’s...

First let me congratulate Bjork on her first and (according to her) last performance as an actress in a motion picture. Bjork was seemingly born for the role of Selma, a mousy, even childish woman who, surprisingly actually has a son to care for, even though it’s a miracle she can care for herself....

It’s somewhat ironic that I’ve just finished reviewing an excellent period adventure movie in Akira Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai” and now I’m about to royally trash another period adventure movie. To begin with, let me state that I am big fan of Luc Besson, whose “La...

I must admit to being extremely frustrated with director Christophe Gans’ French version of the popular manga comic book. My frustration is part annoyance and part sadness. The annoyance comes from the fact that the movie is almost a scene-by-scene copy of the Crying Freeman anime (the Japanese...

“Chocolat” is a cheat. For me, that is. The movie has gotten a lot of exposure, what having been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and all. It’s a fine little movie, perhaps a little too sweet on top (pun intended), but all in all, it is a well-filmed, well-directed, and finely acted...

“La Femme Nikita” is the movie that catapulted French action director Luc Besson to international stardom, as well as convincing the world the French were capable of more than just moody films about the nature of humanity and all that other good stuff. “Nikita” proved so successful...

Francois Truffaut’s “Small Change,” in my humble opinion, is the best French movie I have ever seen. It is also the best film from the group of “new wave” directors of the ’60s, including Truffaut and fellow movie critic turned filmmaker, Jean Luc Goddard. The two...

“Baise Moi,” which translates from French into “Rape Me” in English, is an oddball of a movie — if you can call it a “movie” at all, that is. The flick is controversial only in the sense that it shows hard-core sex in what purports to be a mainstream film. The...

“Run Lola Run,” if nothing else, certainly lives up to its billing. Our heroine, played by a orange-haired Franka Potente as the titular character, certainly does a lot of running. I’ve never seen a movie by Tykwer before, but he’s certainly someone to watch out for. There is...