Rating: 
Summary: Total Nonsense. Unalloyed Pleasure
Review: This movie takes its basic theme from an episode in French history when in the 1760s the Gevaudan region in the south was terrorized by a mysterious beast that may or may not have been a wolf. However it's not a historical movie but an exercise in more or less total hokum with a historical point of departure. Natural historican Gregoire de Fronsac (Samuel le Bihan) arrives in the region to investigate with his American Indian sidekick Mani (Mark Dacascos). The plot then proceeds to thicken magnificently.This is much less a horror movie than a historical romance/detective story. If a horror movie is what you expect you may be a bit disappointed. If you want to be hugely entertained by romance, mystery, intrigue, drama, magic, martial arts and general derring do, beautifully filmed, beautifully acted and directed with immense panache, you will get your money's worth. All this and Monica Belluci too. Total hokum then, but colossal good fun. I know of no film in English remotely like it. See it.
Rating: 
Summary: The French are terrible at making movies
Review: This movie made no sense.(I mean it kinda did, but it was just stupid). The trailer had me excited to see it because it looked like it was going to be action packed. There was no plot and the acting was horrible. I'm very skeptical of French movies now.
Rating:
Summary: Dacoscos is back!
Review: One of the best movie's i've ever seen and i don't say that lightly. From the story to the acting straight to the kung fu all top notch.
Mark Dacoscos is a fantastic presence on screen he might have been away doing not so amazing roles (crow stairway to heaven), but he's back and kicking ass, he is seriously underated.
Rating:
Summary: Perfection.
Review: Elegant, polished, well-made film. I cannot find any flaws with this one, and that is saying a lot. I really felt for the characters in this film, especially Mani, and the retribution that his partner plays out in the end is quite striking. The woman who plays his love interest is quite enchanting, and I really liked her as well. Monica Belluci's character is also interesting, and I thought she was very good in this movie. All in all, a perfect movie. I cannot find a flaw with it. It's got mystery, horror, drama, romance, action, intruigue, and more...something for everyone, although I feel sorry for those who didn't like the movie because they thought it was supposed to be about werewolves. Please. This really reflects quite poorly on the average intelligence level of most Americans.
Rating: 
Summary: Unexpected Cinematic Treat....
Review: This review refers to the Universal DVD(single disc) edition of "Brotherhood Of The Wolf"(Le Pacte Des Loups)..... Martial Arts films are usually not my first choice when it comes to selecting a film to view. But every once in a while(about semi-annually), I relinquish the DVD player to the rest of my family, secretly hoping they will pick an old Grant-Dunne film(this will NEVER, EVER happen). I was not surprised when they chose this one. I was however, delighted to see they were watching a French film, and sat down to see what it was all about. The big surprise was that nearly 2 and 1/2 hours later, I was the only one left, still sitting through all the credits,and taking in the beautiful end music. The film captivated me right from the start. The artful photography,the chilling story and the beautiful romance, kept me so engrossed, I didnt even realize how much time had passed.
The tale is set in 18th century France. A horrible beast is terrorizing the land and woman and children are it's favorite victims.The stories of the beast grow through the land prompting the King to send Gregoire de Fronsca, animal expert and a bit of a philospher to investigate these grizzly events.Together with his trusted blood brother,Mani, an American Iroqoui,they follow their instincts and a trail that leads to some deep dark secrets. There are lots of beautifully filmed action sequences, suspense, thrills and chills, and romance along the way.It was wonderfully directed by Christopher Gans and well acted. The cast includes Samuel Le Behan, Vincent Cassel,Emilie Dequenne, Monica Belluci, and Marc Dacascos as "Mani".The cinematography(Dan Lausten), the music and the costumes all add up to a cinematic treat. The DVD presents excellent picture and sound. The anamorphic widescreen(2.35:1) shows off all the wonderful scenery and lush color. It may be viewed in the original French Dolby Dig 5.1(go to language settings for this or it will default to English), and also in English 5.1. There are subtitles in English and Spanish and there are nice captions in English as well. The features include deleted scenes introduced by the director, bios on some of the cast and filmmakers, production notes and a theatrical trailer. Recommended for those who enjoy action, adventure,chills, romance, and fine filmmaking. It is however rated R for sexual and violent scenes. Go for it......Laurie
Rating:
Summary: the beast stalks the land
Review: awesomely made and shot. the beast effects are top notch and the pulsating karate fights kick major ashhole. there are some down falls to this, being in dubbed and you cant understand some of the actors because their corny and its a French movie. though you get to see a american actor Mark Dacoscos(Cradle 2 The Grave, D.N.A., Redline and Double Dragon) in this movie, but he speaks another language which is odd and theres some nudity. the end where the bad guy pulls out that bonechain weapon is one of the highlights, others include where Dacoscos and LeBihan are fighting the beast and where LeBihan gets his revenge after Dacoscos' death.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Try, But...
Review: Sherlock Holmes type mystery set in France during the late 18th century: a French Version of Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskerville" so to speak. Imaginative but far fetched plot that ends up being rather disappointing in the end. The acting holds water and the characters are given depth. The main character's Indian sidekick seems a little too P.C. for my taste: a common habit in propaganda these days that achieves nothing and limits the artistic quality of a movie. The fight sequences also take away from the mood of the story with the computerized "Matrix" style flying roundhouse kicks, etc. Although the monster of the story builds suspense and mystery which keeps the audience intrigued, the ending is almost anticlimactic by virtue of being too surreal and unbelievable: the monster should have remained a supernatural beast. The idea of the Church being against the crown during that period is equally laughable: making it seem as if the writer of the film hasn't done his history as to pre-revolutionary France. Entertaining to watch once or every once in a while but I wouldn't buy it. For that style of movie, I would recommend watching Tim Burtons's version of "Sleepy Hollow" instead.
Rating:
Summary: Only Movie I Ever Walked Out Of
Review: If I could have given this movie 0 stars I would have. It was the worst movie I have ever had the misfortune to see at the cinema and as I said the only movie I have ever actually walked out of (though I found out later we only missed 6 minutes from the running time). The plot was so cumbersome and ridiculous (scenes would chop to a new location and subplot with no introduction or back story and once they were finished be forgotten for the rest of the film). The fight scenes were so ridiculous as to make me groan a few times. Why they thought we would believe a kung-fued up indian in france in the 18th century really boggles the mind. The extremely poor editing and frequent use of closeups and foolish camera angles during the fight scenes I believe were used to disguise the utter lack of choreography. This was actually billed as being a French Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and that may have had something to do with my utter loathing of this film. I might recommend seeing this movie with a bunch of friends and a few beers and use it as a comedy to pick to pieces and laugh at but I am not sure if even this would work and I will not part with even 1 more cent on this movie to find out. Historical accuracy aside (and this movie is actually as historically accurate as Braveheart) this movie has one redeeming quality and that is that they have used the lovely Monica Belluci (though she does seem to be in a lot of bad movies but we must hold to L'Appartment and not think too badly of her choice of roles). The acting was laughable, plot convoluted (when you could find it amidst all the idiocy that peppers this film), special effects done by a three year old with some glue and sticks apparently and lurid tittilation!! - I think Bret Fetzer was so bored he began to hallucinate.
Rating:
Summary: The French answer to Hollywood and Hong Kong...
Review: A stunning attempt to make an action/horror/historical film goes awry in this rather lengthy effort. Set in the mid-1700's France, a series of gruesome murders take place appearing as if a giant wolf is ravaging innocent travellers and villagers. As the King sets about to solve the dilemma using scholars and military, a deeper story unfurls involving Catholic and political implications with a terrifying beast providing the core mystery. As usual, the French have a difficult time making a cohesive and entertaining story, but will probably blame America because we can't 'understand' anything unless WE made it ourselves. In truth, the basis for an excellent film is behind 'Brotherhood' but the lack of directorial and script editing skills slowly carved away the ability for this film to relate to most viewers. Events are poorly established most times, and the visuals wobble between lush and embarrassingly immature. Despite some bad dubbing, it was a nice matinee flick, but the inclusion of copious kung fu fightin' and Mad Max leftover characters made me feel we weren't in France anymore, rather post apocolyptic Mongolia. A better effort at 'historic horror' would be the uber-ridiculous 'Ravenous' which seems to stay in the period and not bring in too much oddity from around the world to cover a rather straightforward story, but goes to the heart of the characters, their fears, loves and desires. The most confusing element is the Wolf itself. After watching an entire film where the populous in it cries 'Wolf Wolf Wolf DEMON!', and the entire story revolves around this mysterious creature, when they 'reveal' the beast at the end it becomes 'Oh yeah, the wolf was this thing from Africa, or sumthin'....ah dunno....'. Odd.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Bad Movie
Review: This is billed as a Sci-fi/Kung-fu movie, but it really isn't much of either. While the photography and scenery was quite nice in the beginning, the movies went downhill. Fast. If you enjoy watching indescriminate cuelity to animals and people alike, brutality and murder on a massive scale and incestuous rape, then this movie is for you. Few of the characters had any redeeming qualities, and I found the ending to be a total letdown. I cannot recomend this fim to anyone, and would give it 0 stars if I could. After watching this movie, I felt dirty and violated.
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