Dobermann follows the title character (Vincent Cassel) and his group of bank robbers as they evade the law and particularly a maniacal cop, Cristini (Tcheky Karyo). The tone of the movie is set right away with the opening sequence, at the end of which a gun is given to a baby at his Baptism. The rest of the story, based on cop novel, is fairly simple; bad guys versus good guys, or is it?
Tag Archives: Romance
Valentine's Day (2010)
What with director Richard Curtis’s “Love Actually” becoming a bonafide crowd pleasing classic featuring an ensemble of the greatest British actors around with the heavy theme of love conquering all, it was only a matter of time until American studios decided that Americans needed their own love themed ensemble classic, in spite of the fact that most people who love “Love Actually” don’t mind that it’s British. Nevertheless not ones to just stand back and let the Brits have the love, “Valentine’s Day” is a two hour Hallmark card, one that doesn’t enlist the best American cast, but the hottest, with the newest and most in vogue engaging in their own mini-plots vested in the themes of the exploitative of holidays: “Valentine’s Day.”
I Love Sarah Jane (2007)
With the rising popularity of Mia Wasikowska taking the reigns of Alice in Tim Burton’s 2010 revival of “Alice in Wonderland,” and her show stopping performance in the HBO series “In Treatment,” I took a second look at Spencer Susser’s science fiction horror short “I Love Sarah Jane,” a very good epilogue to a larger story I originally reviewed in 2008 for the Sundance internet short showcase. “I Love Sarah Jane” is a teen romance set in the post-apocalyptic world overrun by the walking dead.
Grease (1978)
Frankly I’m very annoyed at the latest promotions to push “Grease” as the original “High School Musical.” While it is true in a sense that this was a hit movie musical about high school students, “Grease” is a wonderful musical masterpiece with amazing dance and singing numbers, catchy tunes, and a story that’s pretty trite but otherwise simple enough to sit and enjoy for its lightweight emotional fodder while Disney’s high profile movie was just a fad for tweens between naps at grade school. “Grease” is one of the last of its kind, a musical that continues to be relevant and masterfully splices in its numbers in to its narrative with smooth precision to where it flows naturally within the scope of the characters and conveys their sadness and joy.
Tombstone (1993)
I remember many years ago before Gene Siskel died where he and his co-host Roger Ebert were mulling the success of “Tombstone” and explained that originally “Tombstone” was not screened for critics. Usually when a movie is not screened early for critics it means the studios have no faith in their film. So what they did was not screen “Tombstone” while they screened “Wyatt Earp” pegging the latter for big success while the former they expected to come and go. The two films arrived in theaters in practically the same time. “Tombstone” became an instant Western classic while “Wyatt Earp” remained a not as widely accepted Western drama in spite of still being generally respected by movie critics around the world starring Oscar bait Kevin Costner. Let’s be honest here though, the reason why “Tombstone” is such a widely revered Western classic is because it’s a pretty stylized and embellished Western actioner.
The Girl Can’t Help It (1956)
If you’re willing to deal with the pre-requisite fifties camp that comes along with this hyper energetic romance musical, then “The Girl Can’t Help It” is pretty much the lightning in the bottle that is the ethereal beauty of Jayne Mansfield. A classic story of the underdog pushed in to becoming a star, “The Girl Can’t Help It” is a wonky romance comedy that stars the immortal Mansfield as the innocent Jerri Jordan, a long leggy, busty, pouty, soft spoken gal seeking only happiness. Pushed in to becoming a star by her dictator soon to be husband Fats Murdock, he insists she become a big music star so he can have something to like about her. Aside from the fact she’s sweet, endearing, intelligent, can cook, is faithful, and insanely beautiful, he just wants to turn her in to a music star and live vicariously through her.
The Heartbreak Kid (2007)
So this is how far Ben Stiller has come in his years. He went from rather ingenious comedy in his old FOX show now starring in remakes of romance comedies that try to break free from the doldrums with over the top sex comedy, and utterly flat improv with his father who plays (surprise, surprise!) a wacky outspoken senior citizen. And trying to break from the conventions, he also pretty much dives head first in to them with endless montages set to forgettable pop rock, and there’s even a prat fall with a bad stunt double that the Farrelly brothers rely on when everything Stiller does fails to draw even the slightest of chuckles.