Two Words, One Answer.
liaison
 Dangerous Liaisons $14.98 Movie redeems itself in the last 20 minutes almost making you forgive the first hour and a half that you must suffer through. Namely you will suffer through Malkovich's gaudy American accent as he goes around deflowering virgins in his flowery French turn-of-the-19th-century attire. Perhaps this movie would have been better enjoyed with the French voice-over and subtitles. At least it would have lent some credibility to the detailed costumes and sets. Second, most of the seducing and getting seducted that seems to be most of this movie comes off somewhat forced. It's hard to beleive any woman could be seduced by Malkovich's character. His overlong, lingering looks are enough to turn your stomach. In Dangerous Liasons, you get to see a lot of Hollywood stars back in their prime. You get to see "a lot" of Uma Thurman, almost worth the price of admission alone. In spite of this, much of the acting is kind of wooden - bland accents not helping matters and the story is rather boring as well up until nearly the end of movie when everything is finally put into perspective, and some of the acting actually gets pretty good (Close in particular). It takes a long time to generate much suspense or interest. Or beleivablility! A man who goes through the task of deflowering both Uma Thurman AND Michelle Pfeifer for the sole purpose of getting a roll in the hay with Glenn Close?! Come on!! OK, I'm joking. By the end of the movie we have a deeper understanding of the characters (and certainly more than enough time invested in them) and can all the more savor the final ironies. It still gives me chills to think of the closing scene with Glenn close wiping off her make-up. Let me just say that prior to the ending of this movie I was ready to give it a whopping 3 stars. The movie ends so well however that I nearly forgot all the gripes I'd been compiling the first long hour and a half. A little background prior to seeing this movie would have helped. From the footnotes in the special features: "France was under the rule of King Louis XVI when Choderlos de Laclos wrote 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' in 1782. Marie Antoinette was queen."  Les Liaisons dangereuses (Oxford World's Classics) $10.95 I purchased this and unfortunately found that in the Kindle edition the text is in French rather than english. Very disappointing.  Amber Fossil Large Specimen Piece $45.00 Unique Collector Specimen. Insect trapped in Amber stone. Comes in 1 x1 inch Magnifier Box. |
|
