van damme the bioepic

[pete]

[The Sheriff]

van damme says "cacahuete" meaning drugs? what the fuck is that? a cacahuete is a peanut! crazy frenchmen and their weird ass lingo

[B.C. Long]

New trailer.



Looks awesome.

[MacGuffin]

New Trailer here.

[pete]

it's dubbed!

[pete]

no it's not!
it's great.  It really is.  begins like a satire, then ends like a movie - nothing too meta, but it ends like a great movie.  not too much action, the centerpiece is this amazing monologue that he delivers.  great direction, great script, and great acting.  it's a heist movie that is very character driven, and that character happens to be JCVD.  it's half Dog Day Afternoon and half Adaptation.  The heist serves as a well for all sorts of drama playing out - between the hostages, their family, the cops and crooks, the criminals amongst themselves, and van damme who is caught amidst all of this.  the guilt, the regret, the wariness...all the baggage that a has-been movie star brings with him becomes drama, and they all play out.  though it's hard to explain what I mean without giving away the plot. 

it was very savvy, but there were parts that felt - not sure if honest was the right word - perhaps sensible.  the movie's come up with some real great ballsy reasons (emotional and cerebral) for why you should root for some millionaire who is no longer relevant or entertaining.  it might not be the real JCVD, but the one in the movie is certainly worth a damn, certainly worth a damme.

go take a chance on this movie.  it's really good.

[cinemanarchist]

Is his monologue all it's cracked up to be?

[pete]

I think so.  I wouldn't hype it up anymore though.  I went in there knowing nothing of this little monologue and came away moved.  maybe it wouldn't've worked if I was prepared.

[SiliasRuby]

Soooooooo fucking good. Has heavy shades of70's type cinematography and elements of Dog Day Afternoon. I was mezmorized by his performance and surprisingly a very funny film in some moments. Go out and search for this film if you can.

[Gamblour.]

Is his monologue all it's cracked up to be?

Yes, very meaningful, definitely the best part of the film.

I saw this a while back, I liked it in general, but if this had been what William Shatner's album Has Been was to Shatner, it would've been better. It's tone was a little too serious and the story was a little too cliched without really addressing that fact, even though the film knew it was cliched. I could've done with a bit more humor, but that's just me. This is a good film, but takes itself a little too seriously. Lots of great moments.

[Stefen]

How great was this? Who would have thought that Van Damme could act? I sure didn't.

I came into this not knowing anything about it. I mean, I'd heard things here and there but I thought it was going to be a documentary about his life. I couldn't name the plot of a single Van Damme movie since they all go together for me into one movie so I have no idea why I even chose to watch this. I was hung over and tired and wanted something to just zone out to. From the opening, I was hooked. I couldn't tell if it was an action movie, a documentary, a thriller, a biopic or a comedy. Even after it ended I still don't know what I would consider it. I guess just a good movie would suffice.

The way the action and drama is seamlessly interweaved is really great. It's got a very solid script. Good direction, good acting. Just a really good movie.

How come this hasn't gotten more play?

[Pas]

the opening sequence is awesome, so is the very hyped monologue. I didn't care very much for the hostage thing but all the rest was very good indeed

[Stefen]

The hostage thing worked for me if only for the reason it played out. If you knew what was going on right away, it may not have worked. But there's a certain mystery to the story that unfolds beautifully as the running time continues.