FritzdaCat

Someone must have thought really highly of this film, or it wouldn't have won the Grand Prize at Sundance 2005. I was just forty shades of bored. "Forty Shades of Blue" chronicles the emotional journey of Laura, the Russian common-law wife of Alan James (Rip Torn), a legendary music producer with a drinking problem and a wandering eye. When Laura embarks on an affair with Alan's stony-faced son Michael (Darren Burrows) the ensuing love triangle should be as hot as the Memphis summer. Instead it falls flat. Even the sex scenes are drab. There are only two remarkable things about "Forty Shades of Blue." One is what could be described as a nuanced performance by Dina Korzun as Laura. This actress can say a lot without talking, which is merciful given the dreary quality of most of the dialog in this film. The other thing is her haunting rendition of the title song. Buy the single, skip the film. 2 stars out of 5.

Action-packed cop movies are fun in any language, and German is no exception. In fact, the language lends itself quite well to a Dirty Harry-style Swiss narc who likes to stomp ass first and ask questions later. Strahl is an obsessive, angry cop who actually gives a damn about his job. His violent temper and obsession with busting an Armenian drug trafficker get him mixed up in the Zurich underworld deeper than he intended. This familiar and beloved cop-movie plot works great in the able hands of first-time director Manuel Flurin Hendry. (This film was actually his senior project for film school.) The action is fast-paced and fun, and acting kudos go out to Roeland Wiesnekker, who plays Strahl. If this is what director Hendry did in film school, I'll be looking to see what he does after graduation. 4 out of 5.