Une liaison pornographique (1999)
Starring Nathalie Baye and Sergi López.
Directed by Frédéric Fonteyne.
Kilgore rates it: 6 (out of 10)
IMDb rates it: 7.2 (out of 10)

I only rented this movie because it stars the beautiful French actress Nathalie Baye, who played Leonardo DiCaprio's hot mom in Catch Me if You Can. Mme. Baye turned 51 years old the year she made this film, and I could care fuck-all what you think about that.

Une liaison pornographique is marketed in the US as An Affair of Love, but the French title seems more accurate to me. The plot concerns an unnamed woman and an unnamed man who meet through a sex personals ad, which is somewhat prescient given that... well, never mind about that for now. This being a French movie, He and She talk a lot, and along the way we get to learn about love and sex and relationships and stuff, although mostly I learned that Mme. Baye's body is just as lovely as I had suspected, even if we don't get to see much of it. It's a charming film, though, driven by its sexual tension and its well-defined characters.

Strangely for a French film, though, when the characters finish having sex, they lie rigidly side by side with the sheet down around his waist and pulled tightly up over her breasts. Who does that?

Mystery Men (1999)
Starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Janeane Garofalo, Greg Kinnear, Kel Mitchell, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Reubens, Wes Studi, and Claire Forlani.
Directed by Kinka Usher.
Kilgore rates it: 9 (out of 10)
IMDb rates it: 5.8 (out of 10)

This was the third time I watched Mystery Men, and I've liked it better each time I've seen it. This film tells the story of a group of pretend superheroes with idiot "powers": The Shoveller fights with a shovel, The Blue Raja throws forks, Mr. Furious clenches his fists and grunts like a warthog getting a handjob, and The Invisible Boy can turn invisible if nobody is looking, including himself. The story strikes simultaneous chords of goofiness, cleverness, and touching sincerity. Excellent performances here by William H. Macy, Ben Stiller, and a smug Greg Kinnear as Captain Amazing, the real superhero of Champion City. Don't miss the "Bionic Man" sound effect.

+posted by Lawrence @ 6/08/2004 09:52:00 PM