Le coeur à vif

The movie that will make all others shine. American Pie becomes an epic artistic accomplishment in comparison. To its credit, somehow it does manage to out-bore watching paint dry, out depress tax return season, and generally is the only movie i can think of that's worse than an hour and a half with your dentist.

This must be the worst movie ever made. 1.5 hours of your life are stolen from you with zero interest, humor, plot, story, emotion, or even drab dialog given back in return. How could they make a movie about nothing and just keep going sideways, on and on. I kept waiting for something to happen; a redemption that brilliantly ties it all together. Something to make it worthwhile. Surely the boring, depressing nothingness is like the start of Bolero, that we need hang in there to be amazed with some forthcoming stroke of brilliance tying it together? don't hold your breath, there's no crescendo in this one, the entire movie doesn't rise above a sad whimper.

There are basically 3 different stories that interconnect, actually two major stories and one minor one but in any case only one of them is actually done decently.

The arc involving Bill the Shy guy isn't bad. He's a bit of a stereotype but is charming and the incidents are amusing, if not altogether original. It could have been developed a bit more but then again, it's all been done better elsewhere.

The other major arc is a mess. The major problem is that the Timothy Hutton character is way too charismatic and astute to alienate everyone as he had done. I couldn't fathom why Sharon Stone would want to leave him or why his son detests him. Another problem is the Stone character - we get very little clue about her motivations or problems. There is a hint of a tragedy that took place - but it is never really developed. By that I don't mean that it needs to be explicitly stated, but how it changed the characters was never brought out. And the conclusion - well let's say that it's not implausible only because none of this subplot makes sense anyway.

The final arc with Hutton's best friend is too short to add much. It seems like filler. Actually, everything but the Bill story seems like filler.

This is yet another of those "indie" films made for Sundance with all the trappings of that genre, the "quirky" (in the 70's it was zany - now it's quirky...) characters and situations and the acoustic Grey's Anatomy soundtrack. Unfortunately, there's little of substance or interest underneath.

A decent film, but be in the mood for some introspection. Sharon Stone is great because, well, she's Sharon Stone. You always get the feeling she's just about ready to snap a full on crazy - but that kinda IS what is interesting about Sharon Stone. Sort of a female Jack Nicholson, but hotter in heels and a skirt.

The movie gives a snapshot of how we can all get lost in drudgery and mundane life. So don't view when you're really depressed. The film does a nice job with symbolism and there's an incident that unites the characters and pulls the story together. Good film to watch on a chilly night with some cocoa and buddy so you can have the discussion about how you feel SO much better about YOUR life and would NEVER slide into one of the character's way of life.

I'd give it a B-

WHEN A MAN FALLS IN THE FOREST is a movie that in Italy and few other European countries was released in theaters but in the US was released straight to video. And although this statistic might mean it's a terrible movie, it wasn't. Now please don't assume I loved it, but I mildly liked it.

The film is about the interwined lives of a group of people that are not really happy despite the apparences. Karen Fields (Sharon Stone) is a woman frustrated of her life and her separated at home husband Gary (Timothy Hutton) wants desperately to find the joy of live while being addicted to alcohol. Bill (Dylan Baker) is a janitor that is afraid of meeting new people and is annoyed by a family with kids that moved near his apartment and Travis (Pruitt Taylor Vince) is a man that lives marked by a trauma.

I liked the performances. Stone and Hutton were fine at playing an estranged wife and husband that after a while are reunited with their daughter that came for a visit, and Baker was good at the janitor. My issue was that some of the actions of Travis didn't make a lot of sense and I really hoped that the lives of the characters would have hugely improved but the ending left it open. As it is, it's a decent drama about the lives of some people with their problems but nothing more.

I don't think young people will appreciate this movie

though us older folk will understand the doldrums middle age can fall into this movie does that state justice with a good example of that proverb "be careful of what you wish for"

Sharon is not the total beauty you are used to but not hard on the eyes either ... Tim does a bit of a supposed spontaneous phone call that is a bit on the too good to be spontaneous side but doesn't detract from the essence of the theme and growth of the storyline.

to anyone who understands this state of depression and disillusion some aspects are a bit obvious but the story still does its job as a tear jerker of sorts.