Spy Games

Rating:
Summary: Spy Games
Review: Although I rated the movie 2 stars, I give 5 stars to the soundtrack. The plot of the movie was extremely spastic. The scenarios jumped around so much, without much cohesion, that one feels like they are spending most of the movie trying to discern what is going on and where it is leading. I enjoy movies with complicated plots, but somewhere along the line they need to be tied together. In my opinion, this one did not. I only watch movies over again when I have really enjoyed them. When this movie was over, I felt like I needed to watch it again to figure out the whole purpose. HOWEVER, this movie is worth watching solely for the purpose of listening to the 5.1 soundtrack. It has one of the best audio musical formats I have heard in a movie. In fact, sometimes the music overpowered the dialog, which, in the case of this movie, was just as well.

Rating:
Summary: Oh boy...
Review: I don't have any in-depth criticism or profound ideas in this review, but the one thing that I will say is that this is a film which ranks with worst films of all time. I should point out that this type of film -- the labrynthine espionage film -- is a particular favorite of mine, but this film is made so poorly, so unintelligibly, and with a complete lack of any type of originality, wit or invention, that it is impossible to like it. I saw a pan-and-scan version of this film, so maybe the widescreen print will be better. But, many of the problems of the film don't concern the aspect ratio or cinematography. There are some horrible editing gaffs (in one sequence Bill Pullman's character jumps about 50 feet and to the other side of the room to catch a phone, then in the next shot he is on the OPPOSITE side of the room and walking out a door) and a handful of illogical plot twists (one scene, involving a mysterious background, has a character completing a job which requires this background to be complete, but when another character walks in, he says to him, 'Come on, stop sitting around and help me finish this background so I can start this job...'). The worst element, though, is that the filmmakers and the cast believe they are making some hip and edgy product. It's painful to watch, because all the jokes are telephoned in miles ahead of time, and are spoiled by horrible comic timing, poor editing, and the type of music score that starts playing sounds on 'funny' instruments to tell you it's time to laugh. This is about as bad as they come, unfortunetly.

Rating:
Summary: This is a piece of gold!
Review: I love this film, and so will you. I saw this film by the first time at the movie theatre and I had difficulties to sit on my chair because it was so funny. Järvi-Laturi achieved to create an unique athmosphere to this film, for example scenes from Lappland are superb. Super-star Pullman is one of the most interesting actor in Hollywood at the moment and his performance in this movies is even better than in Independence Day! You have missed a lot if you haven't seen this movie. Best Buy Movie!!!

Rating:
Summary: delightful little romantic thriller
Review: I must say I'm amazed by the vitriol the southerners have spilled on this entirely amiable little film. I found the movie an absolutely delightful surprise, never even having heard of it before stumbling upon it in the video store. The romance is sweet and sexy and completely charming, the satire of the Cold War extremely witty and clever, and the faintly submerged parody of Cold War and spy thrillers genuinely hilarious. The plot SEEMS complicated, but that is just parodying the intricacy of straight thrillers. When you get down to it, the plot of Spy Games is neither very complicated nor hard to follow. It's not trying to be the brilliantly tortuous Defense of the Realm; it's parodying and paying homage to movies like that at the same time. It reminded me very much of the great British TV movie Sleepers, which seems to be unavailable in any form now.

That said, however, the thriller aspects are just loopy and lumpy enough that they probably wouldn't carry the movie by themselves. But bolstering them is the genuinely sexy, sweet, believable adult romance between Bill Pullman and Irène Jacob.

I don't understand the criticism of the dialogue, either (or the complaint about the unintelligibility of the "presumably Finnish" actors-the cast consists mainly of Americans, French, and German performers; the only Finns I can remember who even HAVE dialogue are the shopkeeper and the hotel maid and bellboy). I wouldn't describe it as a golden script, by any means, with every line a winner (a fair amount of exposition is required in any movie like this-and the performances are so quirky and funny that I liked even these parts), but much of the dialogue is so funny that I'm laughing out loud just remembering it.

The movie is very European, from its attitude and sense of humor to its pacing and overall sensibility. That may be an acquired taste, but I thought this was the best movie I've seen in about the last year.

Rating:
Summary: "Historiaa Tehdään Öisin"
Review: Ilkka Järvi-Laturi one of the Finnish great film directors brings something different to the screen with major stars! I heard that this movie was flop in America. Well, I'll understand that, this picture touches only Finnish people and especially people who lived in the capital. Almost every exterior shots have been filmed in Helsinki, only some short parts in northern Finland. The reason why this film interest so many Finns is that, Bill Pulman is in locations where you don't really imagine see that fellow -big Hollywood name. Anyway, this is the first large budget Hollywood picture, where city of Helsinki plays in it's own! (Not some Russian city, like all other films before that).

Rating:
Summary: Bruno Kirby is the catalyst
Review: Max (Bruno Kirby) is a conniving entrepreneur. He tries to make a deal with a Russian by copying and selling a painting, stolen from Russians that stole it from Nazis that stole it from France. Instead he is given the job of delivering a tape to people in Helsinki. He must pose as a "Reindeer condom" distributor.
It turns out that the tape on the surface is a porn tape which sees a lot of mileage in this movie, which is somehow embedded with a coded message. The CIA wants to be sure it does not reach KGB hands.
Of course the cold war is supposed to be over but enter Harry Howe (Bill Pullman) CIA, and Natasha Scriabina (Irène Jacob) KGB, supposed lovers. Toss in Dave, a renegade CIA agent and you have a strange mix.
Everyone is out for them selves and still has to be civil. A substitute video is produces and we get to watch. Will Harry and Natasha get over their different backgrounds? Will Max ever make a profit? Someone is bound to be shot. The real question is, is Louise Hodges (Porn Woman) now an actress?

Rating:
Summary: usa spy + ussr spy =sex ,love,confusion
Review: see a silly fun movie...irene is funny in this ...bill pullman and her skiny dip in cold waters ...bill is a lucky man ....RED the DVD were is it? i am waiting.

Rating:
Summary: A jumbled mess
Review: The Cold War is over and two adversarial spies (Bill Pullman and Irene Jacob) fall in love and dream of living a normal life. There is trouble in paradise, however, since they find themselves on opposite sides of an attempt to pass satellite codes to the Russians encoded into a homemade porno film. This is a good premise for an international thriller, but the execution does a belly flop.

This film was produced in Finland to very low filmmaking standards. Since I haven't seen many Finnish films, I can't say whether this is typical or atypical, but it was full of bad scene setups, plot inconsistencies and generally poor directing. The soundtrack was jazzy and nice, but it often didn't fit with the scenes to which it was applied.

Director Ilkka Jarvi-Laturi was trying to present this as a lighthearted romantic comedy and international thriller, but it was marginal on the first count and a disaster on the second. Bill Pullman can carry off the lovable romantic hero role, but as a spy, he is a joke. Irene Jacob was better at handling the two aspects of the role, but the dialogue was so excruciating that her acting talent and beauty were not enough to save it.

Jacob and Pullman had some chemistry in the romantic scenes, but both seemed flummoxed in the comedic espionage scenes. This was some incredibly bad writing and it must have been very difficult for these actors to say their lines without kecking.

This film is a jumbled mess with terrible writing and amateurish direction. I rated it a 4/10. Be sure to miss it.

Rating:
Summary: A jumbled mess
Review: The Cold War is over and two adversarial spies (Bill Pullman and Irene Jacob) fall in love and dream of living a normal life. There is trouble in paradise, however, since they find themselves on opposite sides of an attempt to pass satellite codes to the Russians encoded into a homemade porno film. This is a good premise for an international thriller, but the execution does a belly flop.

This film was produced in Finland to very low filmmaking standards. Since I haven't seen many Finnish films, I can't say whether this is typical or atypical, but it was full of bad scene setups, plot inconsistencies and generally poor directing. The soundtrack was jazzy and nice, but it often didn't fit with the scenes to which it was applied.

Director Ilkka Jarvi-Laturi was trying to present this as a lighthearted romantic comedy and international thriller, but it was marginal on the first count and a disaster on the second. Bill Pullman can carry off the lovable romantic hero role, but as a spy, he is a joke. Irene Jacob was better at handling the two aspects of the role, but the dialogue was so excruciating that her acting talent and beauty were not enough to save it.

Jacob and Pullman had some chemistry in the romantic scenes, but both seemed flummoxed in the comedic espionage scenes. This was some incredibly bad writing and it must have been very difficult for these actors to say their lines without kecking.

This film is a jumbled mess with terrible writing and amateurish direction. I rated it a 4/10. Be sure to miss it.

Rating:
Summary: boring
Review: The script is clever i admit, but when it becomes a movie, it makes me fall asleep. Jacob is wooden; i do like her but she can play limited roles, very limited. (Although, actually in this movie, this is not important completely.)