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Reviews
De zaak Alzheimer (2003)
Good movie, a little formulaic
This was a decent, but formulaic movie based in part on real-life events. The plot was full of twists and turns, but it didn't take any viewer effort to figure anything out. The character presentations were one-dimensional and all decisions about their likability was also taken out of the hands of the viewer. The sound track was a little heavy and distracting at the beginning of the film, but fit the mood better by the end. The ending was satisfying and there was some social relevance (again with no shade of grey for the viewer to interpret) thrown in to enhance the experience. To sum up--a good, well-acted movie that will keep you entertained for two hours straight without straining your brain.
Nikita (1990)
Stylish, but a bit too far-fetched
I had high expectations because I liked Leon, or The Professional, so much, but this movie was just not as good. I rated it a 7 because of the stylish production and the great performances by the actors. If a movie with a fantastical plot premise is going to work for me, then the plot elements have to be plausible. I didn't buy the main character's reluctance to kill during the later parts of the movie. She had been completely nonchalant about killing and instinctively and unreluctantly violent at the beginning of the movie, and then she had been trained and indoctrinated as an assassin for 3 years. I suppose 6 months of looking at Jean-Hugues Anglade's disarming, happy/sad smile might have that effect, but I didn't buy it. I also can't believe that the French government would have tolerated its agents instigating all that shooting and destruction in a public restaurant, and I can't believe they would change their minds so quickly and order the killing a foreign ambassador. Another big distraction for me was that Anne Parillaud could not remotely pass for the age of the character--19 years old at the beginning of the movie and 24 at the end.