Wicker Park

Wicker Park : Widescreen Edition
$4.89
dvd

Wicker Park (El Apartamento) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]
$20.87
Sinopsis Desde el momento en que Matthew vi��� a Lisa por primera vez, se convirti��� en su obsesi���n. Ella pasaba frente al escaparate de la tienda en la que ���l trabajaba en el barrio de Wicker Park en Chicago y ���l quedo prendado, le sigui���, se conocieron, y en seguida se enamoraron. Todo en su relaci���n parec���a perfecto, hasta que un d���a ella desapareci��� sin dejar rastro. Dos a���os despues, , todas esas preguntas sin resolver a���n lo atormentan. Y entonces un buen d���a, Matt cree ver en un bar a una joven que podr���a ser Lisa. A partir de ese momento comienza una obsesiva busqueda de la mujer que le robar��� el coraz���n a���os atr���s, b���squeda que lo sumergira en un misterio en el que cada revelaci���n resulta ser m���s terrible que la anterior.

Wicker Park
$14.98
Now, Lets be honest folks. You're in what we used to call a record store, looking for a film with some mystery, some action, some suspense; you know few of the current group of stars and up-and-comers, few of the current (last 20 years) crop of movies, and you come on a DVD whose blurb on the front cover reads, "dangerous, sexy thriller" , whose back cover includes the words, " a sizzling, action-packed noir thriller that will leave you breathless" . Isn't it reasonable to expect at least a little bit of "dangerous", just a particle of "thriller", perhaps not a "sizzle" but certainly a sputter or two, maybe not packed with action but with at least some movement, and as for "noir", at least a bit of grey or a smidgen of charcoal. Did we get any of this, not on your life. At the end of the first hour of excruciating absence of even a whimper never mind thrills, I began to figure we were in for a very, very slowly developing Hitchcockian ordinary people find themselves in extraordinary circumstances type of film; by the end of the film, I was still waiting.
Forewarned, you might enjoy this mirthless romantic travesty. Don't get me wrong, There is almost no evidence the creators sought for comedy. I just want to give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps a mild ha (not ha! ha! ) would be elicited from some easily pleased viewers but, on the whole none of the players seemed to be directed to show some flair; no, I take this back, there were a few minutes at the very beginning in the dance studio where a rehearsal was briefly shown-that had a soupcon of sizzle, no more, but more than anything else in the film.
Now, being forewarned by the Amazon reviewers, knowing what you were to see, and wanting it, you might enjoy yourself. Perhaps, if you are familiar with one or more of the stars and live to see him or her perform in anything, you might enjoy yourself.
I am still waiting for some danger, thrill, or sizzle...but, I have given up on finding it on this disc.

The Apartment
$9.98
One facet of this movie that no one mentions but it really is a factor is that two of the actors on the screen are perhaps the sexiest, most magnetic and charismatic stars movie goers have seen in awhile. These two are Vincent Cassel and Monica Bellucci. They made the movie in 1996 and actually married one another in 1999. IMDB lists them as still married. So perhaps the film was helped by this real life sizzling and chemistry. It is difficult to shoot a film involving love, attraction and sexuality if the two actors are absolutely flat with no chemistry between them. This French film involves them as former lovers who cannot find one another again. He does spot her one day and follows her to her apartment. However, when he hides in her apartment, he discovers it is someone who looks like her who lives there. But he was sure he saw her, not this other woman. This is a very nuanced, layered film. Cassel is definitely the lead because the camera is always on him and he is the one who is searching. Just writing about it, I feel another watching coming on! Some have compared this to Hitchcock and De Palma and it is a fair comparison. Truffaut was another Frenchman who paid homage to Hitchcock with THE BRIDE WORE BLACK. This film is like that one in style, elan and suspense.