jean-francois richet's "mesrine:" not really sure how to begin a movie review about this because it felt like a heavy stylistic (though not really a failed attempt) medley of cult films like "thelma & louise," "bonnie & clyde," "natural born killers," and "the prophet" with a lot of tarantino/goddard-esque touches. the film was a hubbub of quintessential 1970's child molester 'staches, beards and gunshots with actors who looked like a french bruce springsteen and a young german looking chuck norris. some scenes did have redeeming qualities in terms of originality, but it was absolutely far from cohesive in terms of a successful execution, both from a technical and narrative standpoint. richet seems more of a movie alchemist who takes what's already been done, and tries to somewhat pass it as something new, than an actual filmmaker. nonetheless, it was highly entertaining, especially vincent cassel's mustache which seemed like a separate entity with its very own character. overall, it might be a dodgy 3-star rating or a steady 2 1/2... the extra half is credited to gerard depardieu, who seemed to be the only cohesive element in the cinema experience.
speaking of action movies... a riveting crime-action film that deserves 4 solid stars is australia's very own "animal kingdom" by david michod. hands down one of the best movies this year, brilliant in its very own genre. a definite loss if you miss it.
what can i do? ^_^
