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Immortality

Immortality

List Price: $19.99
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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: HANDSOME PSYCHOTHRILLER HIDES OVERDRAWN HOKUM
Review: I saw this film under the international title of "The Wisdom of Crocodiles", which is a much more apt descriptor for this visually suave, emotionally semi-philosophical dive into vampire (or was it?) land.

A brave film if nothing else. The narrative is effortlessly constructed to intrigue, with some very decent writing. Especially in a scene with an innocuous looking Jude Law walking with a police constable, tossing around semi-baked ideas of the blurry lines that divides Good vs. Evil in the hearts of men. The soundtrack supports the superb screenplay immaculately.

Problem is, apart from dragging for the last half an hour, the movie ultimately leaves a taste of pointlessness. The entire narrative hinges on whether or not Law is a vampire, simply because we need to know why he acts the way he does. In the absence of that, it is merely a slow-paced tale of poof. Some dialogue about love and life is pretty competent, but the ending comes and goes without any sort of a clue as to what we've been watching.

Great actors and splendid camerawork squandered on something someone obviously thought was very clever and subtle. It is not.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I LOVED it!
Review: I wasn't sure what to expect after reading the other reviews of this film on AMAZON.COM, but I was willing to take the chance on a Jude Law film.

I would classify this as a drama/suspense movie, definitely not a "vampire movie." The concept is an interesting take on the whole vampire thing, but those expecting a horror movie, or lots of blood and guts, probably would be disappointed with this film. I didn't think it was a slow-moving film, as some of the earlier reviews had indicated -- I was completely engrossed from the get-go. Jude Law can even make his SILENCE interesting!

If you like smaller, well-made movies with great acting, this is definitely a movie you'll like. Give it a shot.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Well, I thought it was pretty good
Review: Jude Law gives his usual outstanding performance. This man has so much talent that it just isn't fair that he is also so pleasing to the eye. But I also found the supporting actors quite compelling in this film about a sort of emotional vampire -- a man who must feed on women who love him. Does seem like he should have had a couple of extra women around, though, in case there is a problem with one. At any rate, his relationship with the police detective who suspects him is really the best part of this film. I recommend it highly to anyone who enjoys a good thriller and, yes, a vampire movie without the usual amount of blood, etc.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Worthwhile Addition to the Genre
Review: Jude Law is hard not to like. Even when he's the bad guy, which he arguably is in this movie. He plays a vampire...of sorts. He has no fangs, but this doesn't stop him from biting ladies' necks...or chewing them.

Law's vampire feeds on women whom he has first led to fall in love with him. For his survival, he needs the emotions they carry in their blood. Not all these emotions, of course, are nourishing, so after each feeding he coughs up a little mineral sliver about the size of a bobby pin, which he labels and lovingly files away with his other records of his love. He picks up Lowensohn (who played a vampire herself in the interminably boring movie "Nadja"), with whom he appears to fall in love. Or does he? This remains ambiguous. Like Lowensohn's character, we can't know for sure.

There is surprisingly little gruesome violence in this one, though. A couple of scenes are uncomfortably gory, and one of them is entirely gratuitous. For some reason, filmmakers chose to keep a scene in which Elena Lowensohn's character performs a tracheotomy on a construction worker. It's a nasty, bloody scene that is meant to show us...what, her resourcefulness? If so, it is a character trait that is pointedly developed, but to no further end.

Still, there is a certain, interesting tension maintained throughout. Both actors are enjoyable to watch, and the subterfuge between Grlscz and the police is cleverly, uniquely handled. This movie is an enjoyable addition to the vampire genre.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: a movie that's going nowhere
Review: Jude Law plays this mysterious vampire/serial killer who meets his match in (i. e. falls in love with) Elina Lowensohn. An overlong film. Lot's of navel gazing and moments of expresionless facial shots. In short, a film trying to suck in the 'art-house' crowd. I have reason to believe that the title has been changed to give the prospective victim (the buyer) a clue to the flimsy plot! We've seen edgy vampires done before and this ain't it!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Inmortality
Review: Me ha parecido una pelicula que toca el mito vampirico de una manera totalmente original,cuenta la agonia de la vida eterna y del tener que matar pra poder vivir,la consisero una pelicula muy sensible y poetica ademas de elegante lo cual la hace una cinta altamente recomendable

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Only Law Will Live Long in Your Head Beyond This Movie
Review: This is a movie that wants you to think about it afterwards, but the plot is so clumsy and Jude Law's "love interest" is so nondescript that you can't help but forget about it a few minutes later. What the movie does have going for it is splendid cinematagrophy and another knockout performance by Law, who stars as a vampire who must make women fall in love with him before drinking their blood. At lease I think that's the idea, though we're never really sure as the film seems like a three hour epic that's been haplessly cut in length, losing the meaning of the central romance. Of course I'm not sure this is the case, but if it is I'm not looking forward to seeing the director's cut, as the love story is the film's weakest link. Still worthwhile, if only for the police interrogation scenes, which I wish there had been more of.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: fangs for the thinker
Review: This is not a typical vampire movie, and people expecting a toothily-grinning, blood-spattered thriller will be sorely disappointed. 'Immortality' is an artsy, ponderous, and deliberately paced psychological drama. Yes Steven, the main character, is a vampire, but he doesn't get much of a kick out of it. More than anything, it is a complication in his otherwise normal (he goes out in the daytime, has no trouble with crosses, can eat food) life. There is not much bloodshed, and no usual vampire lore. One of the better things about this movie is its unique perspective on the hows and whys of Steven's vampirism--he was not created, he is not supernatural, he is merely an evolutionary fluke.

It is not a perfect film. The cinematography and set design is gorgeous, but at times it feels as if the art direction might strangle the story. For the more action-oriented viewer it may be too slow and ponderous. But if you can get past those things, there's a pretty nice payoff. The plot and script are not quite brilliant, but it's an interesting premise, and there are some clever lines and exchanges.

What really carries the movie is the actors, Jude Law in particular. Elina Lowensohn is beautiful and charismatic and has good chemistry with Law, and I think the only reason her performance doesn't stand out as much is more to do with the writing of her character than her ability as an actress. Timothy Spall plays the policeman on Steven's trail, and he and Law play off each other well. But the show really belongs to Jude. He is a strong and accomplished performer, able to convey the often very subtle but strong emotions flickering behind Steven's cool surface. That he is one of the most beautiful men to ever grace the screen certainly doesn't hurt either. He is a magnetic film presence, all around.

The biggest problem is a vague one, that hard-to-pinpoint feel of a film that could somehow have been better than it is. Well, that and the gang of hoodlums who hassle Steven at one point, who I found too comical to take seriously, but they're quite a minor point. As a deep, meditative parable of a film (which is what it seems to want to be) it falls short in spots, yet it is too moody and philosophical to be considered a lark-ish bit of entertainment. It hovers somewhere between, often leaning towards the former. What it really comes down to is that people who like this sort of thing will probably like it, and people who don't won't, simple as that. Perhaps one needs to be in the right mood for it; but if it sounds at all interesting to you, I will say that it's definitely worth a look.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not A Good Thriller Film
Review: This movie has a meaning, but it doesn't really show it. It really shows how seductive and psychopathic people really can be.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Surprising... and disturbing
Review: This movie is wonderfully made. It depicts the story of a man (the very talented Jude Law), who thrives on the blood of those women who truly love him. It is full of disturbing surprises and vivid images.


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