Review of Red Road (2006) by Eric J — 11 Sep 2007

2 Days in Paris.

RATING (0 to ****): **1/2.

It would be unfair to compare Delpy's "2 Days in Paris" to the "Before Sunrise" films which she starred in, so I won't, except to say that this film manages to never direct our attention towards those two films despite a slightly similar premise.

That being said, "2 Days in Paris" is quite amusing if not forgettable, and while our romantic leads are somewhat unique, when politics come into play, every character is turned into a stereotype (whether depicted as good or bad). Contrary to most actors in the director's chair, Delpy doesn't allow her roles behind or in front of the camera to crowd over the production, although she does have a few fun visual gimmicks: while her own character is officially a photographer, it's her boyfriend (Adam Goldberg) who takes all of the pictures, many of which we get to see if only in flash-frame sequences. My personal favorite, though, is when she draws on the screen much like a football playmaker does, to describe things that her voiceover just won't do the trick for.

If I had a real complaint, it's the ending which changes its mind quickly. Still, I look forward to seeing Delpy's next film as a director.

"2 Days in Paris" runs 97 minutes sans end credits.

Red Road.

RATING (0 to ****): **1/2.

My love for subtlety in film was put to the test with the latest Zentropa production, Andrea Arnold's "Red Road". Moving at a slow pace and keeping details very, very concealed, I wouldn't exactly call it a thriller, although it does keep us guessing (your guess will likely be wrong, too) and was probably the best way to tell this story. I'm not entirely sure if what was revealed to us was entirely worth the wait.

"Red Road" runs 111 minutes sans end credits.

Batman Returns.

RATING (0 to ****): **.

"I know Tim Burton hasn't read a comic book. I saw 'Batman". -Kevin Smith.

Whatever crimes Schumacher committed against the "Batman" franchise, I still don't think Burton's vision of it fared too well, either. While it's been too long since I've seen his previous "Batman", I think it might say something that Jack Nicholson's performance was the only thing I remembered.

"Batman Returns", unfortunately, just doesn't have villains [b]or[/b] performances like Nicholson's Joker. About the best you can say about it is that it tries, giving us a double-dose of the tragic Penguin (Danny DeVito) and Catwoman (Michelle Pfiffer).