luminous_luciano

The classic stage and television actress, Andrée Lachapelle, is a veteran of many TV series and "would-be soaps" made in Québec - the equivalents of Dynasty, Dallas, Falcon Crest, Knots Landing and all the rest of them, back in the day. She is indeed, among the Québec contingent of lady thespians, the one star that rivals in sheer refinement the likes of Michelle Lee, Linda Evans, Jane Wyman and Linda Gray to name but those. The facts speak for themselves: Mme. Lachapelle was selected to be a part of virtually all the major soaps made in her province of birth - and, when Dino Risi and Vittorio Gassman came to town (Montreal, that is) to shoot their 1979 gem titled "Caro Papà", it was her, the most elegant of all local ladies, that they chose to play the part of Gassman's wife.

There is no one quite like Andrée Lachapelle in all of Québec - not even Élise Guilbeault or Joanne Côté or Isabel Richer match her elegance. And, as for her elegance, she seems to be eternal. That explains in part how she could play here, in 1996, at 65 years of age, the love interest of a man half her age (played by the usually fiendish Normand D'Amour - she was born in 1931 and he in 1962!) The catch here is that the love triangle is completed by Mireille Deyglun - real-life daughter of a Janine Sutto who has aged much less gracefully - but here, she is playing the part of Mme. Lachapelle's own daughter. Mother and daughter loving the same man - how intriguing. How unique a situation. How very soapish.

All the elegance of Andrée Lachapelle, the refinement of the very aristocratic (by birth) Mireille Deyglun and the amazing and diversified supporting cast (which includes a plethora of local talent, such as Alexis Martin, Francine Ruel, Élise Guilbeault herself, Ginette Reno and even the boxer turned comedian, Deano Clavet - a plethora that gives one a very accurate overview of the sad state of affairs in Montreal, Québec indeed!) could NOT save this watered-down semi-thriller (which does involve blackmail eventually) from sinking rather slowly - and painfully.

Francine Ruel is more of a Québec TV version of Rosie O'Donnell (minus the loudmouth) than a fine actress; Ginette Reno is more of a singer than a thespian too... They are both adequate here though.

Kudos to Jean-Pierre Bergeron and Jacques Godin for making the most out of their roles as well.

Blackmail, unlikely love triangles, may-December romance, shady characters and going-ons, betrayal, sex, lies and cheap production values (not videotape, but it could easily have been!) As I recall, this was a privately financed one-time production made for TQS - it needed to have as many sensationalistic elements as possible, TQS being renowned for being "the black sheep of television" (as a matter of fact, it's their slogan.)

If you like outlandish soap-operas, daytime or prime time (and this was made for prime time) - you'll like this, I guess...

Few artists span the decades, the mediums and the continents the way Line Renaud does. A true Diva -with a capital D, yes- Line Renaud is certainly of this prestigious elite and what endears her to her public and faithful fans is not so much her accomplishments, which are astounding, but her kind nature and all-around wholesomeness, apparent since day one, when she produced herself under the nom d'artiste of Jacqueline Ray.

This documentary reflects to the utmost degree the grandeur of the woman and all of her importance in both the history of her native country as in that of show-business overall. An accomplished singer and actress, she has also been the voice of aids awareness and fund-raising in France. Her devotion to her craft, her loved ones and her country knows no bounds - and we see the progression of that, decade by decade, year by year, all throughout this fascinating time capsule extremely well-narrated and well conceived as well.

Line Renaud is, all at once, the Doris Day, Elizabeth Taylor, Amalia Rodrigues, Debbie Reynolds, Michèle Richard, Joan Baez and Dusty Springfield of her nation! She combines the talent and qualities of all of these -and more- either on stage (as either an actress or a singer) on film or in real life. All the evidence of that is made amply available here through vast archival material from many sources, footage that shows the extent of the amazing career this fascinating lady has enjoyed and continues to enjoy to this day. From Bob Hope to Madonna - everyone makes a cameo here! Even Woody Allen is mentioned here - this first lady of entertainment has affected them all and, through her touching and often groundbreaking work, she has moved us all too, no matter where we are on the planet and whether we speak French or not!

Louis Gasté (Loulou) was her husband, great love and invaluable supporter since the very beginning. With him by her side, she toured the planet, went everywhere, recorded the same hit song in five different languages and did what none had done before - creating envy amongst several of her peers which caused a need to exile, for a while... "Qu'à cela ne tienne", as they'd say in Paris, it was then that Line Renaud conquered American audiences as well! Proof enough that one should always look at the bright side - and, with Line Renaud's music, one can do only that!

The most touching part of this documentary may well be the footage where we see Line with her mother and grandmother, together for the final time... The three women who survived the horrors of war together, smiling, reminded me a lot of my own family's matriarchy - and, having lost my father recently, I also found deeply touching the scenes in which Line's anguish is apparent, at Loulou's funeral... One can only come to a single conclusion: the kindhearted Line Renaud deserved to be spared any grief.

This great film about a greater than great lady is thus highly recommended.

One had to expect only the most memorable results from an association between Taurus Films and Warner Bros. - and as much as I disagree with many elements of the end product, 1997's The Devil's Advocate certainly is that; memorable...

I lament the fact though that, like quite a few other similar offerings, it offered only the most violent and repulsive resolution as a possible means of triumph over evil. I guess that they catered to the most obvious common denominator in doing so, and since almost everyone out there would take the easy way out if they were faced with the Adversary himself, they thought that it was the way "to go" - literally... Also, quite obviously, almost everyone else out there is self-loathing to the extreme, so double the reason right there to go this route, I suppose.

Neiderman's novel, which served as the basis for this one, was itself inspired by various other opuses, it is evident, as the movie itself is reminiscent of previous fare in the same genre as well... Disappointing, as is the choice of first name for the actual advocate here...!

The devil's DAUGHTER though is a true and true temptress... No disappointment there!

Not one but TWO suicides mar "The Devil's Advocate" - first, the poor MaryAnn, portrayed magnificently by Charlize Theron (between this and being "The Astronaut's Wife", she really doesn't know how to pick'em! May have been why she turned into a Monster afterwards...?) And then the title character himself (it still feels awful to call any lead character "Kevin" - let's say Keanu instead! Darn - that sounds odd too... Not as much though! At least, this isn't a Bill & Ted feature... *Whew*!). And it is not quite acceptable to wipe everything off at the end and still have the mandatory "happy ending" - complete with EVIL STILL LURKS AND IS MOST DEFINITELY NOT DEFEATED AT ALL after taste - after TWO GRUESOME SUICIDE SCENES! At least, "Fallen" was not so hypocritical and stuck with its "very unhappy ending" - for pure logic's sake! Both films err in the same manner anyway though - to pretend that the only way to elude an opponent such as the ultimate Adversary (no, it isn't Death! Death is, in many ways, either but a tool or even a friend...!) is through auto-destruction and nothing else is simply the WRONG MESSAGE TO SEND... There's no either way to battle the devil in Tinseltown? In real life there are plenty: crucifixes, holy water, prayer! Alas, none of these are regular props in these flicks... Lots of kiddies watch these films, you know! Hollywood has to be more careful with this sort of thing... They want not to spread such things as "piousness" and "faith" now...! We dare not offend nor alienate all the other beliefs now...! As it already the case, only the sun will destroy vampires - lest we make them vulnerable to ALL symbols of ALL religions, we make them invulnerable to all and do not even broach the subject anymore! Alas, the first bloodsucker, Dracula (or Polidori's character that prefigured Drac...) were NOT vulnerable to the sunlight but were vulnerable to other things... Guess what it was now!

No heroes should simply escape the conflict by blowing themselves up... Hopefully, Jack Sparrow never considered eluding Davy Jones' Locker Room by offing himself too now! Surely not; it is a Disney movie and they want another sequel anyway!

I know that I lauded Al Pacino's performance in Carlito's Way - but, here, I shall remain silent about his histrionics as "the devil"...

It is amusing though to note that both "Fallen" and "The Devil's Advocate" (as also "Interview With A Vampire", of course) had a Rolling Stones song playing as they finally rolled the end credits... Sexagenarian, sex-obsessed rock'n'rollers who are STILL going strong; they must have indeed struck a deal with the devil (but they're not vampires - no) - hence the music fits on more than one level here!

The true star of this one is Michèle-Barbara Pelletier, one shining beacon of hope from a new generation of Quebec actresses (along with Isabel Richer and Céline Bonnier, most notably) who could have international careers... But they probably won't because of their knack to speak French the way they do (joual québécois, which is Quebec slang) and their inability to speak English without a thick accent too. Nonetheless, they have that star-quality to be huge - if only in Quebec!

Virtually all of these talents have, in fact, been seen in international productions - only, in very smallish roles. Even Véronique Cloutier, who gets top billing here despite this being her first and nearly only time acting really (unless one counts her apologetic speeches during the scandalous revelations about her pedophilic father, talent agent Guy Cloutier, as "performances" as well...) - even "Vero" had previously been seen in a very small role in "Frankenstein And Me", a forgettable piece of children's fare that was nothing more than a cheap American production shot on Canadian soil to save on production costs... Vero played a vampire in that one. Here, in Music-Hall, she is just as believable as a full-of-herself little witch as she can be in real life, I'm sure...

Patrick Huard really lets loose here - in one of his "carte blanche" roles, he sets out to prove that he can play "something else". One can only be mildly convinced since he usually is "nutso" in his numerous talk-show appearances - so what is really new here? The extreme edgy side? The violence? Not enough...

Serge Postigo seems to be playing the same role over and over again - as he's done on countless "téléromans" on Quebec television (mostly for the SRC - the French equivalent of the CBC) - and here, once again, there is no exception to that sad career pattern...

Claude Blanchard is actually likable here - as a sort of gruffy big bear with some heart somewhere in there would be... R.I.P. Claude - you were great.

Annie Dufresne is some sort of a performer too - and some sort of an actress as well. One cannot readily tell... She comes off as the bimbo of service here, nothing more though...

Julien Poulin, most famous for portraying the buffoonesque "Elvis Gratton" in two films (or wastes of celluloid - depends on one's tastes, really) AND a TV series that served as a prelude to the films, mercifully DOES NOT sing in this one (oops - does this count as a "spoiler", tell me?!?)

Notable also is the appearance of the ravishing Bet E, in this thing - Bet E. is a real-life singer and was singing fado as a part of a very successful duo soon thereafter (Bet E. & Stef.)

Music-Hall is full of clichés about show business and about the pitfalls of RUNNING a business... Add to that clichés about artists' vanity, attitudes and tendencies for self-destruction - AND the bad acting - and one gets fed up real quick. It was NOT just because the last few episodes had been pre-empted on their original scheduled air-dates that viewer-ship was actually DOWN for the climactic episodes (something totally unheard of in mini-series lore!) It really was because NOBODY CARED ABOUT ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS! Least of all the supposed heroine portrayed so uninterestingly by Veronique Cloutier (she is also the sister-in-law of hockey player José Théodore - for how much longer, that we do not know! For he was seen hanging out with Paris Hilton, see... Better that than doing what Guy did, but still... The link to a goalie is omitted on her IMDb page here, so I thought I'd add this too in my review here... sorry, "comment"!)

I can't believe they didn't have a role for Élise Guilbeault or Sylvie Drapeau in this one... One can only be glad they did not find a part for Sarah-Jeanne Salvy though - enough nepotism as it is going on around here! Not just Guy Cloutier (still as white as snow in 2002) pulling strings for his daughter, but really Fabienne Larouche giving out roles to her "favorites" - or pulling those strings so they'd get them. Fabienne Larouche is like a mixture of Anne Rice and Judith Krantz - but with much less at her disposal to really flesh it all out. Michèle-Barbara Pelletier may have given the character written for her some "life", somehow - but usually, Larouche does not get so lucky and her characters' lack of depth shows badly, for no thespian on Earth could do much with so little...

One final note, about the presence of Murray Head here. It brings to mind that horrid film that the late Richard Harris came to Canada to do one time. The great Oliver Reed did that as well. These Englishmen who, just for the MONEY, will associate themselves with Canadian "arts" fund programs - lending these productions the credibility they lack and desperately require if the end product can be "exportable" in any shape or form (despite, again, the horrible Quebec slang!) At least no one got to LISTEN to DR. MARSOLAIS speak said slang, since he had a non-speaking bit part here - for, to know that this guy is really a doctor and that he speaks that way is quite the dishonor for the whole "Belle Province" and Canadian Winter Wonderland overall - not to mention the whole blamed medical profession there! Audiences were lucky in THAT small way, at least - unlike me, who had to listen to the not-so good doctor's arguments at length, during the most stressful of times...

Hmm... I think Dr Marsolais voted on this one...

That is the title by which I first discovered this gem of a film - and it will always be a ball for me because of it! Call me stricken with nostalgia and sue me, will you?

Surely she has been mentioned, since I am the 90th commenter / reviewer on this film herein - but I must make special mention of Fiona LEWIS here. She was simply remarquable in her small role here. In the genre, she showed range some eleven years later in her considerably meatier role in BRIAN DE PALMA's THE FURY where she is hired to seduce and keep under control a younger man with awesome mental powers... Here, in "F.V.K.", she has no assignment per say except maybe the natural instincts of self-preservation that kick in! And one has to admit that she does a better job than the female lead of this film, the sensual and superb Sharon Tate. Of course, Fiona and Sharon being the two "tastiest dishes" available on the menu, from the vampires' point of view, BOTH of them are doomed from the start, no matter how smart about avoiding danger that either one of them may be... With inept defenders such as Professor Alombrius (magnificently played by Jack MacGowran - what a cooky performance! He proved to be a comical genius with this role alone!) and the cowardly assistant brilliantly played by Roman Polanski himself (a far better performance than, say, when he played himself in a Michel Blanc film about identity theft...!) - the two ladies simply COULD NOT BE SAVED AT THE END OF THIS FILM!

I guess that, since vampirism in classic fashion is simply a new lease on life (or un-life), it matters little that they get bitten. That only makes two very sensuous new female vampires - and the fangs displayed by Sharon Tate fit her better than those shown off by other vampires, especially that sleigh rider...

FERDY MAYNE was a stroke of casting genius - he made for a more than believable fearsome lord of the vampires, one that could have rivaled even the king of the genre, Dracula himself, Christopher Lee! In those days, the horror genre was distinguished and refined and Hammer mastered the artform to the utmost perfection. Lee had the coveted role of the Count, but Mayne would have done just as well, judging from his turn as a bloodsucking aristocrat here! He was terrifying, in classic Gothic Hammer style and manner, in this, a comedy! Imagine what he would have been like in the real thing...

Having said all that, SHARON TATE remains THE reason to watch this film for me - it is just that her astounding grace and beauty are immortalized, when she was to leave so abruptly and violently only two years after shooting this film which is now, hence, a time capsule that preserves her grace forevermore.

The theme music of this film will haunt you for days and days to come after viewing it - it is, in my opinion, the greatest and most appropriate film music for an opening credits sequence that was ever devised - so, you have been warned!

It is lamentable to see the opportunity of issuing the complete DVD history of THE storyline in sports entertainment that mattered the most get tarnished by the preoccupations of the moment of one Vinnie Mac. These preoccupations were to promote and make successful the WWE's version of the nWo - and it was fully deserved to see it not live up at all to unrealistic expectations, despite the involvement of Ric Flair and even Arn Anderson. For, make no mistake about it - the nWo success was highly due to the presence of the true defenders of old school wrestling, the true WCW champions and the true tradition that the nWo was only mimicking; and that was The Four Horsemen! The three-way and sometimes four-way war that the arrival of the nWo generated (Horsemen, Dungeon of Doom, nWo and... Sting & his friends, basically) was truly a unique situation that could not be replicated. Neither could the "corporate takeover" angle (though this nWo version 2.0 was just a little bit better than the pathetic "alliance invasion", when a depleted WCW and an equally-shorthanded ECW formed said alliance. What was exactly the highlight of this whole thing again - Stephanie McMahon telling Classie Freddie Blassie that the WWF was dead -or was it already WWE- and so was he? And, shortly thereafter, Mr.Blassie did pass away - but that is another story of course - unscripted this time).

It is understandable that Vince McMahon thought that this would work out wonderfully well. He had seen the phenomenal success of the "nWo vs WCW" angle; and he had also seen - first hand since he was a part of it - that "Stone Cold feuding with the boss" had saved his company from going under (which they very nearly did in the heyday of the nWo saga in WCW). Hence, "Mr. McMahon" was convinced that "Stone Cold vs the nWo" (or his "shot of poison" into the arm of the WWE, as he called it then) was going to work wonders for his sagging ratings and stagnant wrestling story-weaving crew... and it could not get the job done. It was redundant to see the same faces play the same roles all over again - only to accommodate the likes of Stone Cold and the Rock who had not been a part of it the first time around since they were not in WCW. To see Flair align himself with the nWo briefly, out of hatred for Austin, was totally ridiculous and out of character when one remembers the memorable Horsemen-nWo clashes of 1996, 1997 and 1998. Ahh, those were the years...

Ultimately though, I am tempted to say that this entire exercise failed so miserably because LARRY Z wasn't there to comment on it! Larry Zbysko, then of the WCW broadcast team and today of new rival TNA, had added this brilliant bit of color commentary in 1996 in an episode of WCW Monday Nitro on TNT that shortly followed in the wake of the nWo formation. He had likened Hollywood Hogan to the antichrist of wrestling then - complete with three "6s" on the back of his head! This was much in sync with the whole "Novus Ordo Seclorum" mystique that the nWo developed in a hurry - and it did measure up to the aura of greatness of a group that represented excellence, such as The Horsemen did and still do in the memory of connaisseur fandom. Alas, for the nWo, it was only to really last through those three initial years of its existence... Years that are BARELY covered in this DVD...

What an underrated yet truly great film! The Brian De Palma-Martin Bregman-Al Pacino association sparks obvious comparisons to 1983's Scarface, their first collaboration - however 1993's CARLITO'S WAY is the richer film in so many important ways. It has so much subtext, emotion, delves far deeper into the mind and even the soul of its main character with the result that Carlito Brigante becomes someone you root for and care about - which was not necessarily true about Tony Montana, despite his gory end in "Scarface"...

The name "Brigante" makes one who speaks French immediately think of "brigand" - a bandit from the gutter right there. The irony here is that it is the name of the reformed criminal and very much worthy human being that we wind up 100% behind in his hopeless quest for a brand new life... a future... and el paraiso.

The romantic scenes were an oasis of bliss amidst the grisly world and tangled web that was weaving itself around Carlito as the movie unfolded (thanks to Carlito's crooked counselor but also, quite ironically too, thanks to Carlito's own willingness to reform and "be good"...) Verily, the romance with Gail (what a luminous -what else- performance by Penelope Ann Miller) is what humanizes this film. Whereas Scarface was soulless almost, cold and all about the underworld, this film has a soul and this romance is it. She is the angel who can lead the way to the dream of El Paraiso for Carlito - the sharpest contrast there could be; he dresses in black and she is blonde, with a porcelain complexion and ethereal almost! The problem is that she is not the only ethereal presence in the film, and the other one is a ghastly one that haunts him and will never go away until it destroys him. That ghost finds an eerie embodiment in "Benny Blanco" (another -of many reasons- to hate John Leguizamo; this role right here!) and Carlito will pay the price for sparing someone that could come back to haunt and hurt him... This unfortunate bit is my lone gripe against this masterpiece; but a happy ending would have cheapened this ode to the human frailty, probably...

For, indeed, Carlito's Way has a message - and that message is that, no matter what we do, we cannot escape what we are - "our way"- and we are destined to follow the course of that until the end. No matter what our intentions are.

The supporting cast is phenomenal here, Penelope Ann Miller and Sean Penn especially. Special mentions go to Luis Guzman and even one Viggo Mortensen, who is far from his Aragorn form here - which only proves that he has some range... He is no Pacino, but then again few are... or ever will be.

Think of it: Al Pacino has played it all; here, he is the fallen one seeking redemption. And achieving it, though not in the happy ending formulaic way. This same splendid thespian has played the same type of role before - and none were quite alike! Each role has his unique feel and proper substance. Pacino even played the fallen angel who will never seek redemption and he was MORE than believable in that role as well! Truly, he is one of the GREAT ONES. And Penelope Ann Miller holds her own opposite this great thespian. Unlike what many have said, she was NOT miscast here. AT ALL. She hits every note she has to hit, in a truly luminous performance. I would say that she has the same attributes too; every role she undertakes, she gives it a new twist, even if only through some small, almost imperceptible nuances and nothing else, making it all, in the end, new and fresh. One has only to compare all of her previous roles - Gail is unique. And beautiful - not just to Carlito either. That old Joe Cocker song never found a better subject to "give it life" than this character right here.

This film does leave us with a sad ending though - a lyrical one but one we were hoping not to see. Gail's fears and words come true in the end - and it is bitter irony to realize that we could have had the "happy ending" here only if Carlito had kept his "way" like it used to be - ruthless all the while through.

It is always amusing and befitting -in a most kismet-rich way- when one comes to realize that many productions that have garnered your attention, admiration and acclaim have one thing in common... In the case of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The X-Files, Strange Brew, ER and Miracle Mile - it is Steve De Jarnatt. Who knew? I sure did not - until just now! Superman De Jarnatt (super for his multi-talented multi-tasking) has served as writer, director or producer on all of these - and Miracle Mile is unquestionably his masterpiece. I would even give him kudos for daring to try something new with Cherry 2000 and Futuresport (which featured Superman Dean Cain incidentally) - however, by the time he got to those, he had already committed his chef d'oeuvre. And, once again, that is Miracle Mile.

"MM" is not entirely about mass hysteria at all - it focuses on a very small cast of characters for three quarters of the movie and that is its strength. The main character, so convincingly portrayed by Anthony Edwards (before he went both "strictly quality TV" and bald) is indeed the perfect everyman thrown into extraordinary circumstances that, deep down, strike a chord in everyone of us. What happens to this character is, secretly, our greatest fear to us all - and cold war or no cold war... 80s or new millennium... THIS COULD STILL HAPPEN! That is why this movie has remained timeless, despite the many tiny eighties thingies that age it... and annoy the eagle-eyed keen observer! Mare Winningham is a touching ladylove for the hero - much more than a mere love interest too... She is the reason why our hero is so human - the reason why he tries to do "the right thing", in this, the ultimate no-win situation... Mare has had roles like this often enough to win my respect and admiration - she was equally touching in Turner & Hooch... And she was better still in Wyatt Earp.

Mare's reaction to Edwards' words -as he evokes Superman of all things to signify how much he loves her- is simply the sweetest thing ever delivered by any actress in the history of film! (Supes sure can turn a piece of coal into a diamond... However, he's never around when he's truly needed. In this situation... nor during 9/11. But I digress...)

Kurt Fuller... I never thought I'd comment on his performance in a "major motion picture"... He dies a good death in this one ; which certainly eclipses all that he's ever done on TV fare such as "Time Cop". The deaths that take the cake here though remain the cops on fire... However, Fuller's demise is much more meaningful - see the film and you'll know why.

This movie's magic is greatly enhanced by the mesmerizing music of Tangerine Dream - NO ONE can score a film like Tangerine Dream! Not even Enya! They are, quite simply, the best of the best. I wish they'd wise up in Hollywood and get Tangerine Dream to score more films - whether collectively or individually, for the guys that make up Tangerine Dream are effective in any working conditions! As Superman himself once said (Christopher Reeve - not this new guy now!) about John Williams' music greatly enhancing his powers - likewise "TD" makes this film atmospheric even in its rather ordinary quasi-John Hughes moments... Quite the feat indeed! As another reviewer/commenter suggested here, it is an excellent idea to see this film once a year. A reminder that the nuclear threat is STILL OUT THERE is always good, I say. This movie is a lesson in humanity - 101! Every type of behaviour is on display here ; and the mass hysteria sequence is deplorable but completely understandable.

The last time I saw this film was... in 1999, fittingly! On the eve of the new millennium (that really only started in 2001) and in December too. I never took the time to see it again since then - but each new year that is rung in, I do think of this film! Seems like each extra year we get -each extra mile we go- is a miracle indeed in the crazy world we live in... It sure is a miracle no one has "pushed the button" yet - is it not?

I don't recall much anymore from the few episodes that I caught - and I know there were only 13 or so - but this is MUCH better than the "Garfield And Friends" show (...) that the so-called "coolguy" here was eagerly awaiting way back then!

It is, if memory serves me right, also less crude than the Ren & Stimpys or Beavis & Buttheads of the day... and a whole lot more intelligent fare than the Itchy & Scratchy portions of the Simpsons! As for any "connection" to Tom & Jerry... sheesh... T&J were BORING - this was not!

None of you guys noted that Shnookums & Meat = S&M! The show is RIFE with hidden meaning! NO OTHER TOON made recently compares to it - not Cowardly Dog, CatDog, Grim Adventures of (I forget their names!) and the rest! The cat & dog duo was priceless. The super-hero parody was priceless (I mostly remember the "Superwaterbuffalo-oooooh" baritone voice... *lol*) and the Western serial send-up was priceless too!

And another thing none of you guys underlined... this was directed by SETH McFARLANE! It led to FAMILY GUY! It was, in effect, his stepping stone! Personally, I can't stand Family Guy (or King of the Hill... or The Simpsons themselves!). But if THIS SHOW was resurrected - I would want to WRITE FOR IT!

Shnookums and Meat... Action League Now!... Futurama... those are the few toons I have liked - ever! All short runs... all under-appreciated... and all innovative! (And all three with more potential for longer runs than The Tick or Earthworm Jim - IMHO!) "S&M" (*lol*) may have been shunned by both Disney fans and the opposite breed of fans (...) but it found the audience it was worthy of in Canada - as it was the main piece, week after week, of a Saturday morning line-up on the CTV network... Goes to show that someone"s "trash" is another's treasure... hmm?

Look at the stars of 1969's Guns of the Magnificent Seven - George Kennedy, James Whitmore, Monte Markham, Reni Santoni, Bernie Casey, Scott Thomas, Joe Don Baker... though the latter one matches, in sheer inexpressiveness, one Robert Vaughn - the rest of the cast hardly matches up with the star-studded original line-up (the Brynners, McQueens, Bronsons, Coburns & co.). Yet this film is indeed far-more action-packed than its illustrious predecessors (who all had tough gunslinger Yul Brynner in them; but then again, so did Westworld and... ugh... Futureworld! But that is another story...) Thus, I am tempted to theorize that, not just here but around the world, 1969 was dominated by... props! The true stars of so many mainstream releases were the premises, the themes or the sets - and, in this case, as the title clearly emphasizes, the guns! Let's face it, most of these guys are not "magnificent" - but they are reliable TV actors for the most part - and they delivered the goods here! And this was seen in many more 1969 productions - the new Bond was unknown George Lazenby, who mattered less than all the gizmos 007 used... There was a sequel to the Planet of the Apes released too - it mattered not that it really starred James Franciscus all throughout and merely had a cameo by Charlton Heston near the end of the film - what mattered was that the planet was revisited (and re-exploited!). Closer (in spirit as in style) to Guns, The Wild Bunch was all about gunfire and violence - it mattered little to the average moviegoer that it gave a slightly over-the-hill William Holden another chance... and co-starred Ernest Borgnine in the closest thing to a major role he'd get since Marty... Need I go on...? George Kennedy and William Holden almost - ALMOST - could have switched films in 1969... and few would have noticed! (Sam Peckinpah would have though - and that is what really matters!).

James Whitmore is a solid, rock-solid actor - I will always remember his many guest spots on various TV dramas - most notably his turn as an alien in The Invaders! Michael Ansara makes for a debatably adequate villain of service... him I remember for rather silly appearances in shows such as Lost In Space! He matched up well with Guy Williams - when Guy was Zorro too! Note the presence, also, of an illuminary here - Fernando Rey, the Portuguese/Galician actor who, in typical Hollywood supporting role attribution fashion, is given a bit part here... Hey - Hollywood had no clue what to do with enchanting leading ladies such as Romy Schneider and Catherine Deneuve when THEY came to Tinseltown... Thus, it comes as no surprise to me that the pet actor of the great film director Luis Bunuel -Rey- was so poorly treated in the USA! Fernando Rey was, at best, an exotic flavour du jour for casting agents - and on par with the likes of Charles Durning or E.G. Marshall... maybe! He was, by sharp contrast, a major actor in Europe - and Portugal's answer to Laurence Olivier, no less! Then again - what did Hollywood really do for Laurence Olivier himself, ultimately...? Most people will completely miss Fernando Rey's performance here - if they blink an eye! What a shame really...

All in all - in conclusion - Guns of the Magnificent Seven is a good one... a very good one! Lots of action - and more than meets the eye, on many levels!

The gas attack scene is impressive without a doubt... and there is certainly here a chillingly accurate rendition of the horrors of war... The comparisons with later films such as Jacob's Ladder are fine as long as this one gets the nod as the superior one (no cheap letdown surprise in the end!).

But what makes this film stand out for me is that it breaks a barrier - an important one even for the ''sexy year'' of 1969...

For the first time ever to my knowledge we had two major female stars embrace in such a suggestive way it left nothing to the imagination and it was thus the first ''big'' sapphic display with two stars!

We would have to wait until the 80's for another such exhibition - Catherine Deneuve (the new Capucine?) and another Suzy (Susan Sarandon) in The Hunger.

Capucine was a major star - bigger than Suzy Kendall at the time. She had co-starred with William Holden, Peter Sellers and David Niven... To see her cast as this very sapphic Dr.Saforet was indeed... surprising.

Both actresses perhaps paid with their careers for their daring avant-gardedness here, in this most unique war film, or so it seems...

Élise Guilbeault is easily Québec's Catherine Deneuve, Greta Garbo, Sarah Bernhardt and Melina Mercouri all wrapped up into one magnificent woman!

A splendid thespian, one who is commendable in everything that she has ever done and who invests all of herself into every role, she has been the perfect example for an entire generation of actresses in her stomping grounds of Montréal, QC. - the likes of Isabel Richer and Sophie Lorain, themselves remarkable, have more than consciously followed in her footsteps whether it is by imitating her approach to a role or by emulating that total abandon / immersion into the role...

And so, ÉLISE QUITE SIMPLY IS EMMA; they are indissociable in the eyes of the audience - much like REGINA DUARTE was A RAINHA DA SUCATA for the Brazilian fans of the classic telenovela... or Joan Van Ark was her KNOTS LANDING counterpart, Val... In Élise Guilbeault's case, of course, her real life preference for younger men (which mirrors Emma's own ongoing tryst with a younger gent on the show) helps considerably in that...

Evidently, Emma is a soap, a telenovela, "un téléroman" - it is meant to emulate life in all of its minor little details (say, like CORONATION STREET has done so very well for so very long too) and Emma manages to constantly be all that its genre can deliver.

And yet both are the very best in the genre from roughly the same period too - a veritable golden age for Globo!

FERNANDA MONTENEGRO and PAULO AUTRAN carry this show on their respective legendary shoulders; she would win the Oscar almost two decades later and he rose to the occasion in splendid fashion as the infamous ''bigode preto'' here!

GLORIA MENEZES was a desirable leading lady in this turn-out, one who falls for a younger man - she is touching as the recently widowed dignified lady overwhelmed by her senses... MARIO GOMES is hilarious as Nando, the dim-witted object of her affections...

Noteworthy of mention are the illustrious ARY FONTOURA and REGINA DUARTE - the once and future RAINHA DA SUCATA herself; that soap's stars had minor roles in this one whereas this soap's stars had supporting roles in RAINHA... hence the possible confusion for some... including yours truly! Everybody wins in the end though, out of this "exchange"... For Fontoura and Duarte truly shine in minor but once again scene-stealing roles...

Great fun - watch it with some friends!

While clearly not the first in its eclectic genre, this classic is definitely a great round-up of all that is surreal - all that the ''mechanics'' of both surrealism as those of dream can be deemed to be all about... Said mechanics fascinated Cocteau, to the point that he had to make this, his final film, a very original ''sequel'' of sorts to his classic ORPHÉE. If only all sequels since had been so original!

The cameos are indeed plentiful as also unexpected; many great stars of 1959 show up, from all fields as all continents! In this, the movie has a time capsule quality that only adds to its surrealness...

Most amazing though is the cameo that is not and could have been; Chaplin, who admired Cocteau -and it was mutual- through the language barrier and everything else that separated them... They had met on a cruise and greeted each other as brothers, though unable to exchange a single word almost... Surely he would have accepted to don the clothes of the Tramp one more time for this unique film... What a surreal addition to an already singular film it would have been! Although, on that cruise, through interpreters, Chaplin had confided that he was sad that he had become rich while playing a poor man... Cocteau admired him all the more for that...

Throughout "Le Testament d'Orphée", the film-goer has the impression of walking through someone else's dream - the director's dream. It is the goal of every film director to have his or her audience view things as if through the director's own eyes - well, I don't think anyone has ever succeeded quite like Cocteau did in this one, his cinematographic swan song as it was as well...

Le Testament d'Orphée is thus highly recommended for so many reasons; Bergman fans as well as those left unimpressed somehow by "Un Chien Andalou", because it was too short; those few will undoubtedly appreciate the long treatment given to this by the master, Jean Cocteau...!

A RAINHA DA SUCATA was a monster hit in all the Portuguese-speaking markets for lots of reasons;

The acting is superb - REGINA DUARTE is touching, moving and splendid in every scene

CLAUDIA OHANA is as desirable as ever and magnificently represents a third generation of Brazilian actresses with talent equal to their voluptuousness

Note also the great performances - maybe their best ever - of GLORIA MENEZES, ANDREA BELTRAO and RAUL CORTES as the enigmatic butler... As for DANIEL FILHO, let's just say that he was born for the role that he played here !!!

One would be remiss also if the great ANTONIO FAGUNDES went unmentioned - his presence on this show added all the charm it required and it was also a great springboard for himself - he definitely moved on to greater and better things on a personal level (here he is, admittedly, only comic relief from the, at times, suffocating drama being played out - but such quality comic relief!)

A RAINHA DA SUCATA so well rounds up its time - late 80's / early 90's - it is a virtual time capsule! Definitely rivals DEUS NOS ACUDA - a must-see too! Definitely as good a time capsule as GUERRA DOS SEXOS too - with Fernanda Montenegro that one - and a cameo by... a rainha herself, Regina Duarte!

Jean Piat is the quintessential masked justice-seeking swordsman - almost as if Zorro had been transposed to pre-Revolution France...!

Sacha Pistoëff makes for a devilish foe; as was his casting lot most of the time throughout his career...

And the supporting cast is way beyond adequate (more on that below!)

LAGARDÈRE is a mix of CYRANO, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, even THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE-DAME and ZORRO - and such witty repartee is exchanged too...!

Far better than the movie remake recently made starring Daniel Auteuil in the title role, THIS Lagardère truly delivers on all fronts

Note also the presence of JACQUES DUFILHO, a legendary stage actor who, in his comic turn here, proves he could have been as funny as the great LOUIS DE FUNÈS if he had so chosen!

''Si tu ne viens pas à Lagardère, Lagardère ira à toi!'' said the mantra spoken by the hero in full regalia - literally; ''if you do not come to Lagardère, Lagardère shall come to you!'' - it makes a poor advertisement for a movie or a DVD though...! The viewer might be tempted to take it literally indeed and wait for the darn thing to come to him on TV! But since that worked against the Auteuil film only in France, it is not a factor in North America or elsewhere in the world, I dare believe - if you want something as good as The Musketeer and Zorro, as literate as Cyrano and all-around thrilling, do not hesitate to ''go to'' LAGARDÈRE!

Imagine Bozo the Clown and Charlie Chaplin's tramp getting together in an allegorical, philosophically-rich happy foray into the thousand-and-one aspects of everyday life... "Sol" is the philosopher of the two while "Gobelet" (the late great Luc Durand) is the more child-like of the two...

Note that Sol (Marc Favreau) was a one-man show virtuoso in Québec, Canada - and since the show's demise, he had gained, until his own untimely passing, wide praise and acclaim for all of his appearances on stage in the guise of the loquacious Sol, who substitutes ludicrous French words for the correct French words with wit and flair. A clown like no other - still, only in Québec's so-called "star system" could a clown from a children's show move on to this kind of career... There was only one other who came close - Patof - but he merely stuck to the same children fare material in his post-cancellation appearances, simply reprising his TV character... Sol does have the monopoly in this field of clowns making clever plays on words - Slava, the recent phenom-clown from Russia is essentially a stage act himself - and is completely stoic, a mime à-la-Marcel-Marceau if you will. Sol will hold on to this monopoly I guess - for a long time to come, in historical records.

Of Marc Favreau's collaboration with Luc Durand, I have nothing but fond memories. Durand co-wrote the show. And I highly recommend just about any episode - but in particular the one featuring Judith Paré as a somewhat mischievous mermaid! Each episode though was a little gem in its own right; and it never failed to be sophisticated, even though, essentially, nothing more than simple material meant primarily to amuse and stimulate a child's imagination.

Sol et Gobelet remains, thus, nothing short of this: great TV fare that would have taught even Mister Rogers and Captain Kangaroo a thing or two...! A classic true and true! But - seulement en français, oui!

The role of a lifetime for Lima Duarte, the Walter Matthau or Leo Mckern of Brasil! Although he stars - and gets the girl, against all odds - the Globo creative people thought it wise to make ample use of their stable of stars and insert several less interesting characters as mere... eye candy? The usual suspects are there, in supporting roles really... and Betty Faria and Jose Wilker (isn't it? Naming him by sheer memory here...) make for... yet another improbable couple actually!

A special telenovela nonetheless, rife with patriotic pride and the triumph of the everyman! Technically average for the most part, since shot for television and thus, on a tighter budget, the series is still epic in scope... An unmistakable Globo production!

AMOR COM AMOR SE PAGA (literally; love is repaid with love) was a masterful adaptation of Molière's L'AVARE, here modernized and reacclimated to Brazilian society! ARY FONTOURA is simply irresistible as the old penny-pincher harboring a heart of gold under tons of grumblings and ruffian mannerisms... So irresistible is his performance that he makes one forget about the classic LOUIS DE FUNÈS version, which at least was faithful to Molière's original intent since made in France! (As well as set in the same era as Molière had written it!). Also of note; the presence of the charming CLAUDIA OHANA, also seen in OPERA DO MALANDRO (a feature film, not a soap) and several other telenovelas such as RAINHA DA SUCATA... Her mere presence enlightens the screen; watch it, you'll see...!

Watching this will teach every aspiring soap writer how it's done - one has but to follow the masterful example here, really!

Wow - it was fated that I had to be the only one to review this gem on the exact 20th anniversary of its broadcast too - I am honored!

Too bad Dean Martin gave up on Matt Helm just as James Bond was in chaos in the wake of Sean Connery's departure... In 1969, the new Bond was an unknown and only had one true lady with "man appeal" on his side; Emma Peel herself, Miss Diana Rigg! Helm had all kinds of chicks, especially the sublime Miss Sharon Tate... On that advantage alone, Matt Helm could have overtaken James Bond's spot! Alas such a feat had to be accomplished by a total parody such as Powers many years later... Mind-boggling too when one considers the fact that Powers never had anyone even remotely close to the elegance of a Rigg or Tate next to his ridiculous frame...!

Matt Helm though -just as James Coburn's Our Man Flint series- was a far more subtle parody of the Bond myth... Thus worthier of eclipsing it than the ridiculous farce that Austin Powers and his mojo are! History tells us though that both Helm and Flint failed... and Powers is the one to finally outsell at the box-office the once-invincible Bond...

After Connery, the lure of the Bond role was great... and at the same time quite frightening surely. Any actor would want the role; but likely not to remain type-casted. The genial idea to cast an unknown proved to endear the character to all of maledom; since anybody could play him, in all likelihood anybody could BE like Bond!

The true merits of this film are indeed elsewhere though; the fight sequences are not neurotic but... unique. No more easy bouts for Mr. Bond; at a time when his clones (most notably TV's Napoleon Solo) had too many easy fights, THIS Bond goes definitely against the grain... An initiative that reeks of realism and should thus be lauded!

The ending, and all-around tantalizing involvement of the magnificent Diana Rigg, remains THE reason to put this Bond film in a special place... ABOVE ALL THE OTHERS!