Freddy's Cine It

Hey everyone, and welcome back! While I've been posting regularly, it took me a little while to wrap up my thoughts on Luc Besson's filmography and put together this top 5 video. It's been 384 days since my last post on this topic, so I know this video is long overdue, but I hope you'll agree that it was worth the wait! Video Format: For the Visual Film Lovers For those who prefer watching over reading, this video is an easy-to-digest introduction to Luc Besson's movies. I've been wrestling with how to present my thoughts on a director whose career, for me, went from "Cinéma du look" to "cinema don't look." I apologize for the monotonous AI voice in the video; I'm just not that comfortable speaking English with my accent just yet. But...

From cinema du look to cinema don't look After delving into Luc Besson's body of work as a director, I must say that overall, he comes across as mediocre. His greatest contributions to cinema came early in his career. In my opinion, the only movie that truly matters is The Big Blue. Alongside Léon: The Professional, these seem to be the only personal films Besson decided to write. The Big Blue draws from his personal connection to the sea through his parents, while Léon reflects his controversial romance with a very young girl. The rest of his filmography ranges from average to outright garbage. With his latest films, it feels as if he has sold his soul to the devil, creating some demonic movies. Why would I say such a stupid thing? Because movies like Adèle Blanc-Sec, Valerian, and Dogman drained my energy with their sheer badness. Since Jean Reno's departure from Besson's movies, nothing truly unique has happened. His style is not distin...

Director: Luc Besson Producers: Luc Besson, Virginie Besson-Silla Screenplay: Luc Besson Starring: Caleb Landry Jones as Douglas "Doug" Munny Jojo T. Gibbs as Detective Munny Marisa Berenson as Marie Munny Clemens Schick as Emile Grace Palma as Young Doug Music: Éric Serra Cinematography: Colin Wanders Editing: Julien Rey Release Date: September 1, 2023 (Venice), October 6, 2023 (France) Running Time: 123 minutes Language: English   ***SPOILER ALERT*** Dogman: Luc Besson's Latest Misfire Let's start with a quick mention of Anna, which I decided to skip because I had already seen it on TV and it sucked. It felt like a rehash of Nikita set in Russia with bad accents. Helen Mirren’s performance was a particular disappointment. And finally, w...

Director: Luc Besson Producers: Virginie Besson-Silla Screenplay: Luc Besson Starring: Dane DeHaan as Valerian Cara Delevingne as Laureline Clive Owen as Commander Arün Filitt Rihanna as Bubble Ethan Hawke as Jolly the Pimp Herbie Hancock as Defence Minister Kris Wu as Sergeant Neza Music: Alexandre Desplat Cinematography: Thierry Arbogast Editing: Julien Rey Release Date: July 21, 2017 (USA) Running Time: 137 minutes Language: English   ***SPOILER ALERT*** Overloaded and Underwhelming And we’re back in the shit! I’m starting to get in a hurry to finish Luc Besson’s movies. "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" is boring, boring, boring, because there are too many aliens, too many gadgets, too many costumes, too much imagination...

Director: Luc Besson Producer: Virginie Besson-Silla Screenplay: Luc Besson Starring: Scarlett Johansson as Lucy Morgan Freeman as Professor Norman Choi Min-sik as Mr. Jang Amr Waked as Pierre Del Rio Music: Éric Serra Cinematography: Thierry Arbogast Editing: Julien Rey Release Date: July 25, 2014 Running Time: 89 minutes Language: English/Taiwanese Mandarin/Korean/French   ***SPOILER ALERT*** Revisiting Lucy Here we are with another movie revisit, this time for "Lucy," the follow-up to "The Family." When I first saw this film in 2014, I was very critical of its scientific aspects (I’ll leave my 2014 comments below). However, watching it now, I found myself having fun! It’s stupid but entertaining, and I’m giving it a higher score. This is one...

Director: Luc Besson Producers: Ryan Kavanaugh, Virginie Silla Screenplay: Luc Besson, Michael Caleo Starring: Robert De Niro as Fred Blake/Giovanni Manzoni Michelle Pfeiffer as Maggie Blake Tommy Lee Jones as Robert Stansfield Dianna Agron as Belle Blake John D'Leo as Warren Blake Jimmy Palumbo as Di Cicco Music: Evgueni Galperine, Sacha Galperine Cinematography: Thierry Arbogast Editing: Julien Rey Release Date: September 13, 2013 (USA) Running Time: 111 minutes Language: English   ***SPOILER ALERT*** Revisiting "The Family": A Second Look Here we are for Luc Besson's 16th movie, The Family. I'm revisiting this movie, which I watched 10 years ago and initially gave an average score, leaving just one stupid remark: "I just fell i...

Director: Luc Besson Producer: Virginie Besson-Silla, Andy Harries Screenplay: Rebecca Frayn Starring: Michelle Yeoh as Aung San Suu Kyi David Thewlis as Michael Aris Jonathan Raggett as Kim Aris Jonathan Woodhouse as Alexander Aris Susan Wooldridge as Lucinda Philips Benedict Wong as Karma Phuntsho Donatienne Dupont as Ma Ma Music: Éric Serra Cinematography: Thierry Arbogast Editing: Julien Rey Release Date: September 12, 2011 (Toronto), November 30, 2011 (France) Running Time: 132 minutes Language: English, Burmese   ***SPOILER ALERT*** The Lady: A Return to Form for Luc Besson And the Lady comes to save it all. Thank you! After watching Arthur and Adèle Blanc-"Seca", my faith in Luc Besson is restored with this movie. Though Besson hi...

Director: Luc Besson Producer: Luc Besson Screenplay: Luc Besson Starring: Louise Bourgoin as Adèle Blanc-Sec Mathieu Amalric as Dieuleveult Gilles Lellouche as Inspector Caponi Jean-Paul Rouve as Justin de Saint-Hubert Jacky Nercessian as Professor Ménard Philippe Nahon as Professor Espérandieu Nicolas Giraud as Andréj Zborowski Music: Éric Serra Cinematography: Thierry Arbogast Editing: Julien Rey Release Date: April 14, 2010 (France) Running Time: 107 minutes Language: French   ***SPOILER ALERT*** What the fuck, Besson? 13th movie by Luc Besson and I ask: what the fuck Besson? What has happened to this director since "Arthur and the Mini Vomits"? Another uninspiring and totally boring movie. I ordered some food 40 minutes in just...

Director: Luc Besson Producer: Luc Besson Screenplay: Luc Besson Starring: Jamel Debbouze as André Moussah Rie Rasmussen as Angela Gilbert Melki as Franck Serge Riaboukine as Pedro Akim Chir as Samy Music: Anja Garbarek Cinematography: Thierry Arbogast Editing: Frédéric Thoraval Release Date: December 21, 2005 (France) Running Time: 91 minutes Language: French   ***SPOILER ALERT*** A Charming but Flawed Film So, I'm writing this review for "Angel-A" after "Arthur" even though I watched "Angel-A" first, Luc Besson's 10th movie after a six-year hiatus following "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc." I was so mad at "Arthur" that I had to write the hateful one first and get it over and done with...