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Femme Fatale

Femme Fatale

List Price: $14.96
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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This is a Stupid Stupid Film, DePalma should hide in shame
Review: This is the prime exampled of films released primarily for an american audience that throws a bit of euro scenery and trash into it to make people from Podunk, Kansas and Moose Dropping Idaho think that Europe is some kind of sensual land with exotic women.

The most exciting thing about this film was seeing my favorite French actress, Sandrine Bonnaire, enter the Cannes movie house. This is a cheap stupid film with a lesbian bathroom scene. Although the movie was shot in great locations in Cannes and in Paris, the whole premise, jewel thivery and an alternate reality is about as believable as Saddam's Weapons of Mass Destruction.

This film is so crummy it even manages to screw up movie shots on the bridges spanning the Seine, on which I have had many a nice night. All copies of this film should be put onto a cargo plane and flown over the ocean and dropped into the sea. The randy nerds that wrote great reviews of this film should graduate high school before they are allowed to post to these forums.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Roxie52 review
Review: What a fantastic film, and thank you Brian de Palma for bringing us another great flick.

I'm sorry, Roxie52, your review left you eating crow. I won't divulge your innacuracy, and misunderstanding of the opening scene, and how Rebecca 'steals' the diamonds, but you should have watched the entire movie to realize your embarassing assesment of her actions and the movie in general.

I rarely have any patience or give creedence to someone who "turns off" the movie before its over, and the reviewer listed above did just that. But, alas, its their loss, not the viewers of this twisted, erotic thriller that made my night.

Watch the movie with a glass of wine, or whatever you palate thirsts for, and rejoice in another De Palma classic!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Utter Nonsense
Review: We only watched about 45 minutes of this film before turning it off. What garbage. The opening scene of the jewel heist, that so many here have raved about in their reviews, was about the dumbest thing ever. Wouldn't that model notice that her jewels were being clipped off of her? Wouldn't she get a little upset? You can't tell me that she was so enthralled in kissing Rebecca Romijn that she didn't notice.

That was the first warning. What came next was more shear stupidity. Okay Romijn double crosses her buddies, and one of them is wounded and ends up in jail. In the meanwhile, is some convoluted tale of Romijn being mistaken for another women, of being thrown off of a balconey by one of the partners who wants his share of the diamonds (would you kill someone if they had several million of your money???)--and the clincher...Romijn flies threw the air and crashes, without a scratch, broken bone, bruise, nothing. This couple, who thinks she is someone else, miraculously do not call an ambulance or take her to the hospital. They take her home, and then leave her alone. Leave her alone after they assume she tried to kill herself.

Is this plot stupid enough? We shut it off a few minutes later because the idiocy kept growing. Really, I think people who wrote glowing reviews just liked looking at Romijn. Eye candy every time. Unfortunately, it's not brain candy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Femme Fatale - Excellent and Overlooked
Review: To view Brian DePalma as simply another thriller does the movie injustice. This movie is about the voyeurism that pervades in the world today. In the very first scene of the movie, you see Rebecca Romijn-Stamos watching Double Indemnity. Her image is plastered on the screen of the movie. Visually, DePalma is telling us that she is projecting herself into this movie. Later in the movie, DePalma uses split screens and other tricks to display how everyone is watching everyone else. Antonio Banderas actually plays a papparazo in the movie who watches Stamos' every move. It is not surprising then that a major part of this movie is Stamos' jewel thief taking on the role of her French look alike. She has a tendency like most Americans to project herself into the lives of others. Rather than living their own lives, all of the characters watch others or pretend to be someone other than themselves. DePalma has created a suspense movie, yes, but the movie's real story lies purely in visual storytelling. Much like David Lynch, DePalma loves to tell stories visually, and most people who see the movies will admit the slick visuals while remaining oblivious of what the images are telling them. Only upon carefully watching the movie more than once does the mastery of DePalma's use of style and technique make itself apparent. Like with Lynch's Mullholland Drive and some of DePalma's earlier works, this is a movie attempting to truly see movies rather than just hear them.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Theatrically Challenging? Please!!!
Review: Well, this movie tries to transport you between different times and end up confusing you. To some, this is called theatrical challenge; to me, however, it's a plain dis-organization. The participating actors are talented, but the disinteresting nature of the story makes me to give this movie THREE THUMBS DOWN.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Only one scene worth watching.
Review: One great striptease scene, but even then you won't see any full flesh.
Rent it if you have to watch don't buy it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Interesting cinema... but cold
Review: Brian DePalma's Femme Fatale is a film noir told from the perspective of a femme fatale, named Lilly, who's played by Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. If you're familiar with the film noir genre, then you know for a fact that the femme fatale is usually the most conniving character of them all. She is a villain, whose evilness never really registers with the conflicted male hero until after (a) they've had sex (b) she has manipulated him into killing her husband and (c) she points a gun at his face. In these movies, the brain knows no war between it and the penis that the penis hasn't won. The male hero of Femme Fatale is an ex-paparazzo, named Nicolas Bardo, played by Antonio Banderas, who is paid a hefty sum to photograph Lilly, the wife of France's American Ambassador, for a tabloid magazine. Because Lilly would rather remain anonymous - she has enemies of her own, too, yah know - she goes on a mission to coerce the photographer into doing a dirty deed for her (i.e. rob her husband).

What separates Femme Fatale from most film noirs is its pretzel narrative. Like David Lynch's hypnotic Mulholland Drive, the film blurs the line between reality and dreams. There's a moment in the movie where Lilly, who is a blonde, meets her brunette look-a-like. Not once does Brian dePalma ever explain their relationship (are they sisters; does the brunette represent a possible future for the blonde...). If my memory serves me correct, Lilly isn't French, but an American, who can speak French. However, her parents are French. And the brunette, I suppose, is French, too... Or maybe I'm wrong... Or maybe, trying to understand their bond is totally irrelevant (Lilly does tell the brunette that she is "her fairy God mother," but who knows, that might have been a sarcastic remark). But by the end of the movie, we do learn that one of their actions plays an important part in determining where both of their lives will ultimately lead... yeah.

Believe it or not, the film's complicated plot isn't its flaw (after all, mystery, however complex, is always interesting). My problem with the movie is that it substitutes engaging the heart for wowing your eyes with elegant eye candy. Attentive viewers will realize that there is an awesome amount of voyeurism to be found here (i.e. Brian DePalma's camera consistently observes his characters spying on other people through their cameras). But it is this outsider's perspective that hurts Femme Fatale the most, because none of the characters are interesting, or worth caring for, as a result. I suppose that DePalma used Rebecca R. as an attractive decoy for her drooling fans. But for me, her thin physique (not to mention, her minimal acting range) has absolutely nothing on the voluptuousness of Laura Elena Herring, who played the mysterious brunette femme fatale of Lynch's Mulholland Drive.

However, because Femme Fatale (a) struts with the grace of a ballerina, (b) has a distinctive visual look and (c) dares to make a puzzle of it self, it is ten-times more interesting than the mindless straight-to-video skin-fest one might expect this film to be.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Extended silence and to top it subtitles...dag!
Review: This flick started off VERY interesting with the whole "James bond/Mission impossible 2" heist theme (I love movies about heists)
The lesbian scene was a bit too long and not really that much important...but I guess some people beg to differ on this one.
Well what started off as a promising flick had too many plots that ruined the movie. They should have made it where as Stamos's character was on the run from those Creole/Haitian/African criminals and teams up with Banderas's character to help her fight them off or something...instead they make this movie a "premonition" of events that have the possibility of happening but which she still has the control to prevent and change. I could've even tolerated the stealing of the identity and playing it off as the other chick storyline too and the directors flipping creatively from there...almost like "The talented MR Ripley" or something (now THAT'S a great Flick!!)but they didn't.
Alot of the times there is little or no talking in the movie seing the split screen,and then reading subtitles on the bottom and trying at the same time not to miss anything while reading them...it gets annoying.
I really don't like movies that have the "seven years later"..."sometime later" and the "seven more years later"...and no explanations for the time we don't see in between,and then having unexplained results.
How the hell did Stamos's character get thrown over a balcony, fell through glass...and had absolutely no cuts bruises, broken bones???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
How the hell did this event happen and absolutely NO cops turn up to question what happened in terms of "who what when how and why" she ended up thrown over a balcony??????
Antonio Banderas as a high rated actor sucks! He reminds me of Christopher Lambert (they even talk in the same "I got hot sauce in my mouth" way) his star quality right now is at a "2" I personally don't rate him...even in "Ballistic Ecks vs Sever"...the woman in his movies ALWAYS steal the show from him.
What happened to veteran actor Peter Coyote in this movie? Like no screen time was given to him and ALOT of it was wasted on Banderas murdering the English language with his heavy accent..."Yu dun't bi-live enthin I say so far?!"
~~SIGH~~
This flick on a whole could've been done better by a great like De Palma...this movie kind of reminds me of the similar ending to "Body Double"...accept I liked that one because it was funny, erotic, and suspensful...this was boring,boring,and boring.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fatale Beauty
Review: This is a beautiful film. For the first hour and a half you could be fooled into thinking this is De Palma bringing us a superstylish, technically brilliant product that is at its heart rather cold and hollow but no. In its final scenes this film reveals itself to be deeply emotional on an unexpected level and even profound. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos gives a brilliant multi-layered performance in this her first "proper" movie acting gig.
Femme Fatale is filled with De Palma's trademark signature style but he takes things to a new level this time.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: erotic
Review: this is defenitly erotic and it has some seamy moments including the beginning with Rebecca Romijn Stamos and that one girl and when Stamos does the little dance for Banderas. Antonio must of loved that and must of made Melanie jealous. also theres a nude scene involving Stamos in the water(John Stamos im jealous of you) a little confusing at times and a little off kilter. but all in all it was enjoyable and it was a nice treat


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