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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The French Girl in Books
Feb 12, 2018
Slow-moving yet mesmerizing thriller
Kate and five of her friends spent a week at a French farmhouse whilst students at Oxford. All goes well until the last night of the trip, when there's a huge blowup among the group. And, always, flitting at the edges is Severine, the French girl who stayed next door where the group was vacationing. After that night, Severine disappeared, but her body was never found. Until, ten years later, it turns up in a well behind the farmhouse. Suddenly Kate and her friends are being questioned by the French police, bringing up old memories, and jeopardizing the life Kate has worked so hard to create.
This novel takes some getting used to. Kate herself takes some getting used to. For instance, Kate "sees" Severine, as in she imagines Severine is watching her--sometimes she just sees her skull, sometimes Severine's entire body is following Kate, or languidly sitting in her apartment. In the beginning, these mentions are odd and a little creepy and the book moves rather slowly, making it hard to keep your interest. Kate and her group of friends still seem like the gaggle of college students they were ten years ago when Severine disappeared--and you find yourself wondering why you should care about any of them and their manufactured drama. It's hard to get invested in these somewhat spoiled, immature characters.
Luckily, I have to say, there was still some sort of pull about Kate that made me want to keep reading. You can't help but remain curious about what went down that night between the six friends and if one (or more) of them truly had a hand in Severine's death. It was enough to keep me reading, and I have to admit, Kate grew on me, I found myself feeling almost protective of her as the book wore on. You have to buy-in to the Severine premise a bit, but I won't lie, by the end, I liked the darn woman. What can I say? Elliott also does a good job in keeping you guessing, always casting suspicion on each friend, so you never quite get a handle on exactly what happened that week.
Overall, this one is a slow-moving thriller. It's focused on the build-up of its characters and meandering along to its reveals. If you're looking for a fast-paced, twisty mystery, this isn't it. But if you want to get sucked into the lives of your characters and discover some surprising things along the way, you'll enjoy this one. 3.5+ stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss in return for a honest review. More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/.
This novel takes some getting used to. Kate herself takes some getting used to. For instance, Kate "sees" Severine, as in she imagines Severine is watching her--sometimes she just sees her skull, sometimes Severine's entire body is following Kate, or languidly sitting in her apartment. In the beginning, these mentions are odd and a little creepy and the book moves rather slowly, making it hard to keep your interest. Kate and her group of friends still seem like the gaggle of college students they were ten years ago when Severine disappeared--and you find yourself wondering why you should care about any of them and their manufactured drama. It's hard to get invested in these somewhat spoiled, immature characters.
Luckily, I have to say, there was still some sort of pull about Kate that made me want to keep reading. You can't help but remain curious about what went down that night between the six friends and if one (or more) of them truly had a hand in Severine's death. It was enough to keep me reading, and I have to admit, Kate grew on me, I found myself feeling almost protective of her as the book wore on. You have to buy-in to the Severine premise a bit, but I won't lie, by the end, I liked the darn woman. What can I say? Elliott also does a good job in keeping you guessing, always casting suspicion on each friend, so you never quite get a handle on exactly what happened that week.
Overall, this one is a slow-moving thriller. It's focused on the build-up of its characters and meandering along to its reveals. If you're looking for a fast-paced, twisty mystery, this isn't it. But if you want to get sucked into the lives of your characters and discover some surprising things along the way, you'll enjoy this one. 3.5+ stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss in return for a honest review. More at http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/.
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Medusa Touch (1978) in Movies
Feb 10, 2019 (Updated Feb 10, 2019)
Rather ropey Omen rip-off with Richard Burton, Lino Ventura and Lee Remick (told you so). A French detective seconded to the London police (zis is ze co-production, bien sur) investigates the life of a writer and noted grump who has just had his head bashed in (Burton); the victim believed he had the power to cause disasters and gradually le inspecteur comes to agree with him.
Some genuinely interesting ideas, but a peculiar narrative structure and obviously low budget are definite limiting factors. Film makes good use of its biggest asset, Richard Burton, who gives his various misanthropic rants 110% and seems to be genuinely off his head (one wonders if he spent most of the shoot wrecked). Playing spot the cameo is also somewhat entertaining. Climax is a bit disappointing though; the whole film is never quite as chilling, powerful, or convincing as it thinks it is.
Some genuinely interesting ideas, but a peculiar narrative structure and obviously low budget are definite limiting factors. Film makes good use of its biggest asset, Richard Burton, who gives his various misanthropic rants 110% and seems to be genuinely off his head (one wonders if he spent most of the shoot wrecked). Playing spot the cameo is also somewhat entertaining. Climax is a bit disappointing though; the whole film is never quite as chilling, powerful, or convincing as it thinks it is.
Lenard (726 KP) rated The Hustle (2019) in Movies
Jul 1, 2019
When I first heard they were making a gender-flipped version of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," I feared that it could be misogynistic based on the end of the English language remake of the French original. The Frank Oz-directed "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" is a classic comedy with a original twist. This female-centric remake is rarely funny and inoffensive. Anne Hathaway gets to practice three of her Meryl Streep accents. Rebel Wilson plays the uncouth low level con artist piggishly. When the two met on a train to St Tropez where Anne runs elaborate cons on rich tourists, Anne is not threatened but she realizes Rebel could ruin her trade. So she continuously schemes ways to rid herself of the slouch. The whole movie could have ended if Rebel just found a real policeman and unmasked Anne, but that would not make great cinema so we are stuck with this stinker.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Populaire (2012) in Movies
Nov 30, 2019 (Updated Nov 30, 2019)
Charming, feather-light French rom-com. The plot is typical of the genre: two beautiful young people meet near the start and are instantly attracted to one another, and the script has to contrive reasons to keep them apart for the best part of two hours. The incidental material this time around concerns typing very quickly, and the way the film drolly converts sports movie cliches into a word-processing context generates a lot of gentle humour.
Mainly succeeds due to a hugely charming performance by Deborah Francois, though; also through simply being very well put-together in nearly every department. It's not trying too hard to be clever, or deep, or deliver a big message - in fact, some might find the gender politics a bit problematic, but if you complain about that I really think we're in butterfly-on-a-wheel territory. Nice to look at, light and fun.
Mainly succeeds due to a hugely charming performance by Deborah Francois, though; also through simply being very well put-together in nearly every department. It's not trying too hard to be clever, or deep, or deliver a big message - in fact, some might find the gender politics a bit problematic, but if you complain about that I really think we're in butterfly-on-a-wheel territory. Nice to look at, light and fun.
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Amélie (2001) in Movies
Mar 3, 2020 (Updated Mar 3, 2020)
The colour palette (2 more)
The humour
The romance
Where to start in one of the most perfect films ever realised? The photography and colours are an artwork enough to make this a classic. Then there is the music of Yann Tiersen, so French, so romantic, so tinged with sadness in just the right way. It is a love story. But a love story about fear and shyness; about moments of melting and regret. A film about people and their history and passion, and failures. A film about the heart beating against all odds. A nostalgic film, but a very modern one too (in 2001); a feminist film, with a powerful message against looking backward too much! We can’t help but feel every melancholy cry of Amélie’s wonderful soul as she looks for love and fears it may never appear. If your eyes are dry at the end, then you are broken.
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