CHICAGO – In anticipation of the scariest week of the year, HollywoodChicago.com launches its 2024 Movie Gifts series, which will suggest DVDs and collections for holiday giving.
Vincent Cassel
The Artist’s Obsession in ‘Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 24, 2018 - 4:54pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The art masters, and the masterpieces they have created, become a background culture in our lives… even if we don’t necessarily know the artist. Paul Gauguin is one of those painters-as-cultural-influencer, and a vital point in his artistic life is told in the film “Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti.”
Matt Damon is Fighting Mad in Tense ‘Jason Bourne’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 30, 2016 - 6:02am Rating: 4.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – To come back to a character that everyone thought he had left behind, Matt Damon needed the right creative team. He got it again in co-writer (with Christopher Rouse) and director Paul Greengrass, and together they fashioned a paranoid spy tale in the rat-a-tat “Jason Bourne.”
Danny Boyle Nearly Mesmerizes with ‘Trance’
Submitted by BrianTT on April 11, 2013 - 2:07pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Danny Boyle’s “Trance” is an undeniably well-made thriller that works back in on itself a few too many times for disbelief to stay suspended but delivers enough escapist entertainment to be considered a success. It’s totally ridiculous and yet never boring, propelled by the quick-cut style of the man who brought similar momentum to “Shallow Grave,” “Trainspotting,” and “28 Days Later.”
David Cronenberg’s ‘A Dangerous Method’ Needed More Risk
Submitted by BrianTT on December 16, 2011 - 2:07pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – There are glimpses of actual danger in David Cronenberg’s divisive “A Dangerous Method” with Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, and Keira Knightley, and the film has a lingering power as it’s easy to roll around your brain and contemplate its themes, but I wanted a bit more actual risk to the filmmaking. Easily the masterful director’s most straightforward work in some time (possibly ever), this is a worthwhile piece that nonetheless disappoints in the context of the rest of his filmography.
Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Darren Aronofsky Stage Mesmerizing ‘Black Swan’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 2, 2010 - 7:14pm Rating: 5.0/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” pulses with the kind of energy and life that we only see from cinema a few times a year. With creative expression rarely seen in American film and one of the best performances by an actress that you will ever see, “Black Swan” is a film that resonates for hours and even days after you see it. You won’t easily shake this masterpiece. And you won’t want to.
Violent, Extreme Crime Saga of ‘Mesrine: Public Enemy #1’ With Vincent Cassel
Submitted by BrianTT on September 2, 2010 - 9:45pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – When we last left Jacques Mesrine in “Mesrine: Killer Instinct,” he was robbing banks, killing cops, and escaping from jail. In “Mesrine: Public Enemy #1,” Jacques Mesrine robs banks, kills cops, and escapes from jail. The second half of the “Mesrine” saga contains most of the same strengths and flaws as its predecessor and one has to wonder if the two films couldn’t have been merged into a stronger and more accomplished single project.
Vincent Cassel Gives Riveting Performance in ‘Mesrine: Killer Instinct’
Submitted by BrianTT on August 26, 2010 - 7:36pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – The film around its riveting central performance may be a little more flawed than the entire project’s international reputation would have you believe but Vincent Cassel alone makes a trip to “Mesrine: Killer Instinct” worth the time and emotional effort. Be warned that this is not a crime epic for the faint of heart and those who have difficulty with an anti-hero protagonist may be turned off but those attuned to this kind of storytelling will find a lot to like here.
