French Movie Reviews »
Renaissance (2006) Movie Review
As computer processing power has increased over the years, we’ve seen more and more creative integration of CGI into film. For the most part, the technology has been restricted to rendering ever more convincing...
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Empire of the Wolves (2005) Movie Review
As is usually the case with movies that involves people trying to figure out who they are, and discovering that all they know was never real to begin with, the journey ends up being...
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Cache (aka Hidden, 2005) Movie Review
“Hidden” is the latest film from German auteur Michael Haneke, director of “Code Unknown” and “Funny Games”. The film has already garnered a multitude of awards, including the best director and Jury prizes at...
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Malefique (2002) Movie Review
French horror has been enjoying somewhat of a revival over the last few years, with films such as “High Tension” and “In My Skin” enjoying international success. “Malefique” is another such slice of full...
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Banlieue 13 (aka District 13, 2004) Movie Review
Leave it to Luc Besson, the man behind “La Femme Nikita” and “Leon”, to single-handedly keep the phrase “French action movie” a viable option. The prolific writer/director/producer has had his hands in almost every...
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Clean (2004) Movie Review
“Clean” is a film best known for the remarkable central performance of actress Maggie Cheung, for which she won the top award at the 2004 Cannes film festival. Also of interest is the fact...
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Unleashed (aka Danny the Dog, 2005) Movie Review
Generally speaking, Jet Li’s western films have been hampered by indecision on the part of the filmmakers as to how to handle his onscreen persona. Since English is not Li’s first language, he is...
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Kaena: The Prophecy (2003) Movie Review
Truth be told, the only notable thing about “Kaena: The Prophecy”, which is hyped as the first French 3D animated film ever, is that American movie star Kirsten Dunst is the voice of the...
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Samurai (aka Samourais, 2002) Movie Review
Generally speaking, blending genres is a good idea, and while it requires a delicate touch to pull off, when properly handled the result is a film that appeals to the viewer on several levels,...
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In My Skin (2002) Movie Review
Cannibalism is a popular theme in lowbrow exploitation cinema, exemplified by films such as “Cannibal Holocaust” and “The Untold Story”, though the subject rarely rears its ugly head in more artistically and critically acceptable...
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Immortel ad vitam (aka Immortal, 2004) Movie Review
It seems like 2004 will be known as ‘The Year of the Virtual Movie Set.’ “Immortel” is one of four films that are garnering notice this year for being almost entirely filmed on blue/green...
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Secret Agents (2004) Movie Review
The French don’t generally do a lot of straight action movies, or if they do, you don’t hear a lot about them. “Crimson Rivers” (which starred “Secret Agents’” Vincent Cassel) was a stab at...
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Dead End (2001) Movie Review
“Dead End”, a French production by French filmmakers with an all-American cast, is all geared toward “getting” the audience with a slick Twist Ending. So, knowing that, your only recourse is to sit through...
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Fureur (2003) Movie Review
“Fureur” is one strange movie. It’s mostly in French, shot around the Chinatown community in France, and it counts among its cast members a variety of Asians, including but not limited to Chinese, Thai,...
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High Tension (2003) Movie Review
The French Slasher movie “Haute Tension” has been re-titled “Switchblade Romance” for its North American release. Why? I don’t know. I suppose movie execs are talentless hacks whether they are in France or America....
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The Nest (2002) Movie Review
2002′s “The Nest” probably surprised a lot of people, myself included, who didn’t think the general French movie industry was capable of producing anything other than films about how great it is to have...
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Dobermann (1997) Movie Review
It would be a mistake to consider Jan Kounen’s “Dobermann” an actual movie. It’s a 90-minute music video in the guise of a “clever” crime thriller with hidden desires to be cheap splatterpunk nonsense....
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Riders (aka Steal, 2002) Movie Review
“Riders”, a movie about four tight-knit thieves (supposedly) under 30 who uses their extreme sports ability to stick it to The Man by robbing them and giving to their retirement fund, does these things...
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Bloody Mallory (2002) Movie Review
Parts “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and parts “John Carpenter’s Vampires”, the French film “Bloody Mallory” is all goofball. It would be a big mistake to take anything that transpires within the film seriously, mostly...
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Irreversible (2002) Movie Review
“Irreversible” opens slowly, quickly shifts into a chaotic but exciting series of events, before falling back down to Earth and eventually becoming dull. The French film opens with writer/director Gaspar Noe trying to prove...
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