Saw 'The Crimson Rivers'.....

[FAST FRED]

.....via NETFLIX rental and we enjoyed it.

The Link

Starring Jean Reno ("The Professional," "Ronin" and "The Da Vinci Code") and Vincent Cassel ("Black Swan," "Eastern Promises" and "Irreversible") as two French detectives who link their strange cases together, solve several mysterious murders and expose a dark secret.

Stylistically and in substance it's a mashup of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"/"The Girl Who Played with Fire"/"The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" trilogy and Sylvester Stallone's "Cliffhanger," producing a visual, suspenseful, gritty, action-packed, horror/thriller.

I found this flick's ending was not done nearly as well as the setup or the buildup, but we still liked it.

And the film's scenic location and overall vibe added to our viewing pleasure.

IMHO, it's comparable in entertainment value to the last two James Bond flicks with Daniel Craig, "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace" and it's presented in French with English subtitles.

We recommend it as being worth a rental to those who dig the genre.

Anyone seen it?

 

[Perham1]

Cool!

I've been a big fan of this movie for a long time. I agree with everything you've written. While the actual plot is kinda goofy the mood, scenery, style, tone, etc. all come together, imo.

The sequel (can't remember the name) is ok, but not as good.

 

[FAST FRED]

Perham1, I wasn't aware of the sequel but now it's in my queue.

Thanks.

 

[Perham1]

Another movie that's is kinda like this, in the sense that "how" the movie is done is more important that "what" the movie is about, i.e., style, tone, etc. is "Smilla's Sense of Snow".

Also, "Ghost Writer" (recent movie with Pierce Brosnan) also has that cold, grey, style; a mood that expertly permeates the entire fabric of the film.

But then, I'm a winter/cold kind of guy. I like that season and like the cold/snow better than our overly hot summers.

All are good movies to watch while enjoying a good mug of hot chocolate. You'll need to get your warmth somewhere.

 

[bevo barry]

I thought, as I watched Smilla's Sense of Snow, that I was viewing a real jewel of a movie. But that flick deteriorated mightily as it approached its end. And the special effects boys gave us that abortion of a meteor. Laughably bad.

 

[Third Coast]

Speaking of foreign films, two that I really enjoyed were "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "The Girl Who Played with Fire" ...and I'm usually not into subtitled films that much. Both are available streaming, or DVD on netflix.

I hear Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, that plays the title character in both films is making, or has completed her first English speaking major film. She is also in the Sherlock Holmes sequel. I believe she may be a star in the making.

 

[Perham1]

This is what Roger Ebert had to say about Smilla's Sense of Snow.

Here is a movie so absorbing, so atmospheric, so suspenseful and so dumb, that it proves my point: The subject matter doesn't matter in a movie nearly as much as mood, tone and style. ``Smilla's Sense of Snow'' is a superbly made film with one of the goofiest plots in many moons. Nothing in the final 30 minutes can possibly be taken seriously, and yet the movie works. Even the ending works, sort of, because the film has built up so much momentum.