Rating: 
Summary: Murder Mystery with Style
Review: Supposedly the first French police investigation film, Crimson Rivers adds flair and style to a well-worn genre. There are plenty of films about police tracking killers but this drama feels spontaneous and suspenseful. The cinematography adds a dark, mysterious beauty to the brutal events. There are several interesting plot twists and fans of Jean Reno won't be disappointed. Vincent Cassel, as the dumb young cop, provides a great counter-point to Reno's hard nosed detective.
Rating: 
Summary: English
Review: The Australian Disc is in dubbed English (very very smooth) highly well done at that with the real actors.You may wish to check the USA region for a english choice within
the menu options. Strange if there is not one. Just a thought. Don't miss this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Almost as creepy as the book
Review: The film's title is derived from a university town's slogan. Nestled up in the Alps, all isolated, is a town of inbreeding professors and students. The relationship with the nearby town is very intersting, although the film does not go there to far, with the exception of a doctor and several interviews conducted by Vincent Cassel (La Haine) and Jean Reno, in response to some murders. The film is directed by the cutie Mathieu Kassovitz (Amelie Pulain). I enjoyed this film for the location and the atmosphere which was created. However, the ending was not quite as surprising as the intended.
Rating: 
Summary: good not great
Review: the previews for this film led me to believe it was going to be incredible. knowing jean reno is in the film is a huge plus, lots of elaborate, 'scary' corpses and the beautiful mountain backdrop. however, this film is a bit of a let down. it transforms from an interesting thriller to a sort of movie of the week with a (i hesistate to say this but....) 'surprise' ending that's kind of lame. there is a fight scene that doesn't really have a whole lot of narrative importance but i really like it. this film is very, very watchable but it's no landmark in cinema history.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply awful
Review: There is no way to describe how bad this film is. Don't get me wrong, the photography is excellent, just superb. The visuals are absolutely stunning. The problem is that there's plot and acting getting in the way of the pretty pictures. And I use those two terms very, very loosely. I'm a huge fan of the various genres in this movie: giallo, kung fu, thriller, sci-fi, etc. Sticking them all in one movie is just plain silly. Ten minutes into the film we figured out the plot, down to the scientific term, and the reason that the first victim was chosen. It was so painfully, mind-numbingly obvious that at first I thought it was a fluke. No, it just kept going. And the sad thing was that the movie acted as if it was going to be a surprise! The foreshadowing is so thick and obvious that we actually guessed the "surprise" ending by 2/3 of the way through. I am not a genius, and I was not even sober, but neither of those were requirements for putting together the pieces of this "Ages three and under" puzzle. The acting. Oh goodness, where to start? I love Jean Reno, have ever since I first saw The Big Blue. What happened to him? The other cop, what a joke. How hysterical is it to watch this guy come out of nowhere, pick a fight with a long-haired skinhead (yup), and then start doing kung-fu? All suspension of dis-belief went out the window. To then have that same character jump all over poor Jean's character for roughing up someone who deserved it... too much. The posturing between the two cops was asinine and reminded me of a terrible Lethal Weapon rip off. In fact, the entire movie was a patchwork of other movies. Long, boring, and completely unbelieveable. The hilight of it all is the series of interviews with key members on the DVD. These people actually though they were being original! They gushed about how they hit upon the original idea (I'm not making this up) of shooting before the script was finished. Well golly, Hollywood never tried that one with disastrous results! The entire thing was so over-the-top self-congradulatory that I could barely breath through all of the laughter. It reminded me exactly of the behind the scenes sequences for the Hong Kong movie Armageddon. What a joke! There are no spoilers. The entire movie is obvious. If you have watched even a handful of movies over the years you will see all of the plot twists and themes coming a mile away. This movie will seem to drag on for hours. I paid good money for this movie and I wouldn't ask my worst enemy to sit through it.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the best thriller of the year
Review: This classy cop buddy movie is a rare treat, something we don't see often enough in the all-stodge-patty age of the MacGibson franchise. It's been a long time since I enjoyed a film this much. One word of warning, though, it's a French language film released in the UK with subtitles so if you don't speak French or read faster than people talk you're wasting your time. The plot has a veneer of intelligence, boosted by the quality of the direction and photography, and seductive use of the fabulous, "wish you were here" French mountain scenery. Two cops follow separate paths to the same murder victim's front door. One trail follows the film's signature grotesque serial killings and the other a seemingly random series of minor real-world crimes. Tension builds in the increasingly Gothic atmosphere of the isolated mountain town, relieved neatly with each switch to the younger cop's urban investigation. The story weaves each cop's story up to their inevitable meeting, clash of wills, and a partnership based on grudging respect. The worst you can say is there's a slightly Scooby Doo ending as the sinister forces at work are exposed. Jean Reno rumbles through the part of Neimans, the cerebral legend-in-his-own-time with a handy line in kicking down doors, like an on-form Nick Nolte with all the screen presence Sean Connery has forgotten. Vincent Kassel is great value as action-man Max, the reluctant partner, a young urban maverick cop driven by unexpected Catholic guilt. Reno gets the best deal, ambling from one no-holds-barred grotesque corpse to the next, but Kassel isn't short-changed in his edgy quest to solve a 20-year-old child killing. Kassel's stand-out scene is a kick-ass martial arts duel with a skinhead gang, mirroring the game-console beat-em-up tournament he interrupts. Reno's stand-out scene is .... well, any of them. Things get a bit Holloywood at the end, and the conclusion is all very unlikely, but the journey is so good you can forgive the deja-vu when you arrive. I wish I had time to see it again!
Rating:
Summary: Top Actors, less than adequate direction and story
Review: This film has a lot going for it including the great Jean Reno and the French Alps scenery and a very competent cinematographer who gets some great shots from a helicopter. The plot is weak though. And except for the two main actors(who did their own voices in English) the dubbing is very poor(whoever did Dominique Sanda's dubbing is not French nor an actress). The film is supposed to be scary and suspenseful but it isn't either partly because the poor script and poor dubbing never let you forget you are watching a mediocre film. However, Jean Reno makes as much as he can out of the part(he is always an interesting presence even if the scriptwriters couldn't think of anything much for him to say). The lead French actress has a great face and intriguing independent presence but she too is given little to do or say. I enjoyed watching those certain elements but couldn't help imagining how much better it could have been. The plot begins to get ridiculous as it goes on but I couldn't help rooting for the film all the way through out of sympathy for the actors and love of the scenery.(They were really only a couple of rewrites away from a decent movie)
The film tries to cover about three different genres but succeeds at none of them. As a serial killer picture the most intriguing part is during the opening credits when just music is playing and the camera pans over the still undiscovered first victim but once the script opens its mouth you are more likely to chuckle at the awkwardness of the story than to gasp at the discovery of yet another body, as a conspiracy picture it is too obvious and becomes a hopeless muddle, and as a buddy cop picture there just isn't any character development and so no relationships of any substance develop either. For an American though it is like watching a French Alps episode of the travel channel. The locations are all unique and most of the European actors are unfamiliar so the experience is like travel. It would perhaps be better just to watch it in French with all the real voices. You might learn a phrase or two. Perhaps the worst fight sequence in film history. Also the worst cameo in memory(Dominique Sanda is wasted). By the end it doesn't matter much that what happens is ridiculous because the director has already lost us.
Rating:
Summary: Good thriller!
Review: This is a good movie, Mr. Reno is excellent as usual. I like the story, and the comments after the movie are a good insight to what it takes to turn a book into a flick.
Rating:
Summary: Very good!
Review: This is a very good franch movie with some "Silence of lamb" spirit in it. There's good connection between two murder cases in defrent region in France and you will be surprised by how they get together in the end. I recommend this movie to all who likes trillers and crime movies.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT START BUT FEW ANSWERS
Review: This thriller begins dramatically when we are thrust into a morgue where your generic morgue person is minutely examining a grusomely murdered young lady. Later there is a second, and third. Although the scenes are grisly, it's so well-done that you know right away the talented special effects folks are displaying their talents. Unfortunatly, the movie goes nowhere from this promising opening. Two detectives, one a fiery chap disposed to demonstrate his prowess at every opportunity. The other officer is a legendary older fellow. These two set out to find the murderer, and find instead a eugenics lab isolated in the French Alps whee genetic engineering is being conduct to create creative,computer geniouses. By this time the ordinary viewer should be thoroughly confused. There is a supplot of a young girl killed 20 years ago when run over by a truck. Ah, but she wasn't. Inexplicably, her mother, who knows the girl is alive becomes a cloistered nun and rants on about demons controlling everything --not convincing. The denouement occurs on a snowy French Alp, where everyone but the villain is deposited in a perfectly formed snow tunnel. Now I could tolerate all this if somepone would please tell me, WHO THE VICTIMS ARE AND WHAT WAS THE MOTIVE TO KILL THEM! This vital question is never answered! I suggest this course of action, read or watch the Christie books/movies, go out and find SEA OF LOVE, with Pucini; and if this doesn't work reading the vastly underrated Josephine Tey.
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