3-Iron
36 Quai des Orfevres
House of wax
3-Iron
With "3-Iron" ("Bin-jip") notable South Korean director Kim Ki-duk ("Samaria," "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring") has created an alluring and mesmerizing romantic drama. It's a mystical and strange love story with emotional depth and highly symbolic, spellbinding visuals. The feature is skillfully crafted and well told. It's very much a Ki-duk movie, but here the director is a lot less obsessively moralizing and pretentious than he can sometimes be. The two almost otherworldly main characters are strikingly radiant together. These two soul mates share a beautiful, virtually speechless relationship - a relationship deeper than words. The simplicity of the movie is captivating and the poignant and enigmatic narrative is really quite wonderful. "3-Iron" is certainly a feature that isn't easy to put out of your mind.
1/2 ( Julie Vinten )
Once again Korean director Kim Ki-duk ("Samaritan Girl") presents a distinctively original look at life in the big city. Tae-suk (Jae Hee) is a strange young man. He rides around on a big expensive BMW motorcycle but breaks into people's homes. He doesn't steal anything; instead the homeless teen eats, takes a bath, does laundry and fixes stuff that's broken. One day he breaks into a house and ends up rescuing housewife Sun-hwa (Lee Seung-yeon) from her physically abusive husband. Together they continue breaking and entering. The new lovers never speak to each other, adding an absorbing mystic quality to this sweet and tender modern fable. "3-Iron" is a work of art, similar to a moving painting. The only special effects in Kim's must-see film are the superb actors.IIII1/2
1/2 ( Laimons Juris G )
36 Quai des Orfevres
This French crime drama is a strong and intriguing piece of filmmaking. The depiction of the complex characters is very powerful, yet beautifully unassuming. There are some action scenes in the feature, but it's focus is really the emotional life of the characters. Olivier Marchal shows himself as a resourceful director with flair for cinematic flow and atmosphere. Marchal manages to tell the individual stories of everyone in his ensemble cast - without things ever getting messy. Some of French cinema's finest actors are assembled here, and it's especially exciting to see Gerard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil play off each other with grand force. In fact, the whole cast is great, and the vibrant performances play a crucial part in the overall success of this movie.
( Julie Vinten )
The term "Scotland Yard" is familiar to most Sherlock Holmes' fans around the globe. In France, the term "Quai des Orfevres" is just as well known - it is the address for the Criminal Investigations Division of the Paris police department. Two of French cinema's biggest stars, Daniel Auteuil and Gerard Depardieu, help create an exhilaratingly intense and involving crime drama. It's good cops versus bad cops versus criminals in this engrossing tale of corruption and greed. In a novel twist, the harrowing story is directed (Olivier Marchal) and written (Dominique Loiseau) by ex-police officers. Based on their real-life experiences in the 1980s, the action moves faster than a speeding bullet. After a seemingly endless string of mediocre parts in second-rate pictures, Depardieu has finally found a juicy role.
( Laimons Juris G )
House of Wax
Those who love to hate Paris Hilton will likely be very pleased about her gory death in this movie. Other than that, "House of Wax" doesn't offer much to get excited about. It's a typically mundane teen slasher-flick where law dictates that if you are young, have sex and get drunk, you are, by god, going to suffer a most painful death. "House of Wax" is boring and formulaic, which isn't a surprise, but it's frustrating nonetheless. The kids are so annoying that the only thing in this movie, which brings some sort of satisfaction, is watching them get exterminated one by one. One partly redeeming fact, however, is that the filmmakers seem to have understood that they aren't making film history, but just manufacturing a cheap and instantly forgettable little fright-flick.
( Julie Vinten )
Most of the horror flicks being released these days range from really awful to awfully average. Though the movie takes forever to get going, "House of Wax" becomes an enjoyable fright-fest despite its stereotypical nuts and bolts. It actually gets better as it merrily rolls along to its mind-boggling conclusion. The attractive and appealing cast features Elisha Cuthbert as our heroine. The likable, cute-as-a-button actress lights up the screen without trying. Paris Hilton, who is famous for being obnoxiously famous, plays her best bud. Hilton's death scene is well worth the price of admission; at the screening yours truly attended, the audience cheered wildly. The charismatic Chad Michael Murray does a noteworthy turn as Cuthbert's hard-edged twin brother. Hold onto your popcorn and enjoy the final meltdown.
( Laimons Juris G )
