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mariannec
Reviews
Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
Enjoyable at the least
I've watched this movie recently, not expecting much and to my surprise I found it quite fun. It took me 15 minutes to really get into it, although it may be less for non-French viewers (the clichés about the French always bug me, some of us actually *do* speak English quite well), but once I was in, I really enjoyed myself. Of course you have to go past the obvious tricks and anachronisms first. Easy trick: the villain is a vile snakelike female who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Anachronism: you name it! my favorite being the picture of Passepartout next to a pig! When you think of what an event it was to take a picture at that time, you don't believe that they would ruin one on a pig, moreover in a small village in China. But as I said, once you get past all this you can begin to laugh, and after all the movie is made for younger audiences (at least I hope). Most of the characters are funny, I'll pass on Arnold's scenes, but I particularly like Phileas Fogg, the clumsy genius full of good intention but never in the good direction. He talks too fast and too much and as a result some of his lines are really delightful (see the "quotes" section). And of course there are the action scenes. Being a big fan of Jackie Chan's, I was really pleased to see him doing his usual stunts with bizarre props (a bench, a ladder) or in strange situation (with cuffs!). All this plus some slapstick jokes eventually make it a fine film to watch. Don't get me wrong, it's not a super duper great movie, I only gave it a 6, but if you can borrow it and spend a nice evening with family or some easy going friends, you'll find yourself laughing at some point. If not, well you can have the last slice of pizza.
Mon idole (2002)
You never know what's next
Great movie, and funny too. François Berléand's performance is unique. For an hour and a half you don't know how it's going to end. And when you think you know what's next, you're wrong.