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The Chameleon (2010)
Festival des Films du Monde, 31 August 2010
I have seen this movie yesterday and the director went on to ask that we post reviews of his movie on this very site during the Q&A, so I shall oblige. The heart of the problem seem to be that his vision was rejected by the producers and that the final cut done by the producers is such a disgrace that he is going around in festivals to show his own cut.
When I asked him if or when the movie would be released in North-America, he answered that it would most likely go directly to DVD, which is a shame cause it really was a tense, effective thriller, faithful to the real events it depict in a stylistically gorgeous mastery. It is a psychological thriller with great actors and a subtly photographed scenery of the deep south, in the down and dirty poor neighborhood of the drugged and drunk underclass. Of course, it isn't really uplifting, but the characters are real people playing out their desperation. The narrative is well constructed and keep you interested through out, especially in the case you had no idea about the event it portrays, you'll get drawn to it only through the sheer magnetism of the central character, who also happen to be despicable in many ways, like everyone else around him.
So, let's hope you'll get a chance to see this, the way it was intended to be seen. The director's cut wasn't longish or uselessly shocking, one part that was deleted involved the main character shaving his whole body in the first scene. Perhaps, for the prude and easily upset, it could be disturbing, but isn't that key to building tension in a thriller, to disturb the audience. This first scene should be in the movie, cause it is key to the psychology of the main character. Seeing a grown man shave the hair off his chest shouldn't be cause for concern, especially these days when many men are doing it to follow a trend that made hairy men undesirable. It's a surprising scene, as it is something I never seen depicted on screen, but I don't believe it would offend neither men nor women. There is no actual nudity and very little violence in this movie.
To conclude, if you have a chance and it is playing in a festival near you, try to see it and review it too. I believe it should get to be seen and get a proper distribution. It's a solid thriller that wasn't just meant to do the festival circuit.
Death Sentence (2007)
Strange
I'm one of those people who's naive enough to believe if you tell the police you are killing people, they arrest you. Apparently not, as long as the ones you are killing are criminals, police don't arrest you for confessing.
This movie is horrible anyway... it's only good for video games fans who like it ultra-violent and nonsensical. It's a melodrama without any character development, a paper thin storyline serving as an excuse to show a lot of bloodshed for thrill-seeking acne-ridden teenagers.
Did I mention it was also morally twisted. We'd all be out killing each others off until no one is left standing if we'd follow the patterns of the main character. The whole pretext for this relentless killing is also non-existent, the short courthouse part of this melodrama is absolutely unconvincing and false. There is no way the lawyer could come to those conclusions, knowing the facts at hand.
I Am Legend (2007)
Pathetic
There isn't really much to be said about it outside the fact that it was a typical Hollywood fare. Lots of noise, lots of flashy pictures, totally nonsensical, dim-witted characters in a false reality, selling cars and whatever else you can mash in the CGI world. It's a bit like Cast Away taking on the idea of Robinson Crusoe. Take a good book, dumb it down, until you get close to what your audience is suppose to be. Make it unbearably stupid, put an actor that is the idol of the day, be it Will Smith or Tom Hanks... and people will come. It's explosive! I gave it 3 cause of the effects... and one last thing, I was rooting for the infected. If that character is what's left of humanity, better without it.