J.C.V.D.

[megladon8]

I can't find much information about this movie, other than this clip/teaser (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBmTA51qGzM).

Seems to be some sort of parody of Jean Claude Van Damme and his films...starring Jean Claude Van Damme...as Jean Claude Van Damme.

It's being released this June/July in France and Belgium, respectively.

[Acapelli]

:lol:

[Wryan]

"No, no. You snap because you're a nutjob."

His greatest dramatic role ever?

[Morris Schæffer]

Born Jean-Claude van Varenberg. I think Van Damme was the name of his Karate instructor.

[megladon8]

I wonder if it will cover his infamous loss of the Predator role.

[KK2.0]

it must be a nice diversion (a diversion!) until the Steven Seagal biopic arrives.

[Eleven]

I was just thinking JCVD needed to do his own Takeshis'.

[Rowland]

Trailer (http://www.joblo.com/video/arrow/player.php?video=jcvdfull)

[Stay Puft]

Trailer (http://www.joblo.com/video/arrow/player.php?video=jcvdfull)

Epic! :lol:

[megladon8]

Wow, this is being received really well.

[Morris Schæffer]

Wow, this is being received really well.

Does that mean you ever doubted one of my countrymen?:twisted:

[Rowland]

Wow, this is being received really well.Really, where at?

[Raiders]

Really, where at?

TIFF. I know James Rocchi at cinematical really liked it and I remember D'Angelo's not-so-positive review mentioning the film was getting raves.

[Rowland]

TIFF. I know James Rocchi at cinematical really liked it and I remember D'Angelo's not-so-positive review mentioning the film was getting raves.Oh yeah, I know that, I was just wondering if there was a slew of raves he's read, because I'd like to read them myself. Michael Sicinski (http://academichack.net/TIFF2008.htm) gave it a 7 out of 10 (which is good for him), and Theo Panayides (http://theofest.blogspot.com/) gave it a 66 (also high for him).

[Saya]

New trailer (http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/jcvd/trailer)

[number8]

So this is one of the best movies I've seen this year. Going in my top 10 for sure.

[Ezee E]

This is playing in Denver now. I'm thinking of checking it out.

[number8]

This is playing in Denver now. I'm thinking of checking it out.

I have a feeling you'll love it.

[eternity]

This is actually pretty damn good. A visual treat and Van Damme is surprisingly great. It's got its fair share of problems, but I like it.

[number8]

How about that monologue, huh? Apparently, it was completely Van Damme's improv, as was most of his dialogues.

And the opening tracking shot was amazing! I can't get over how awesome this movie is.

[eternity]

How about that monologue, huh? Apparently, it was completely Van Damme's improv, as was most of his dialogues.

And the opening tracking shot was amazing! I can't get over how awesome this movie is.

Agreed. Agreed.

[Morris Schæffer]

Guys, what language is this movie? I obviously don't want to watch some dubbed version, but which is the native language? French with occasional bits of English or English with occasional bits of French?

[eternity]

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61eBZiNl4AL._SS500_.jpg

Fuck me sideways.

[number8]

HAHAHAHAHA.

[Morris Schæffer]

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Wait, why am I laughing? The cover? The tagline?

[EvilShoe]

HAHAHAHAHA!!!

Wait, why am I laughing? The cover? The tagline?
The fact that they're marketing the movie as yet another JCVD action extravaganza. Which it isn't.

Now laugh, Morris. Laugh.

[Morris Schæffer]

The fact that they're marketing the movie as yet another JCVD action extravaganza. Which it isn't.

Now laugh, Morris. Laugh.

Hahahaha :)

Have you seen the movie btw?

[The Mike]

I'm excited to know that the movie will hold up til 2023! Thanks Nostradamus inspired DVD cover! :pritch:

[EvilShoe]

Hahahaha :)

Have you seen the movie btw?
Not yet, but I've been meaning to.
(Main language is French, btw)

[balmakboor]

I'm excited to know that the movie will hold up til 2023! Thanks Nostradamus inspired DVD cover! :pritch:

I didn't get what you meant at first. But, yeah, they don't have much faith in his ability to top this for a while.

[Ezee E]

On Netflix Instant Watch.

:pritch:

[Ezee E]

Good stuff for sure, and something I should watch again, because the Instant Watch feature has it dubbed, which certainly hurt the movie for me.

Clever movie though, and stylized pretty damn well. More people should watch this.

[ThePlashyBubbler]

Kind of long, but here's the review I wrote up for this earlier in the semester for class.



JCVD begins with an action-packed long take following Jean-Claude Van Damme as he crouches, shoots, and tosses grenades at a parade of adversaries; it’s a jarring combination of stylistic grace and balls-out action, probably what would happen if Martin Scorsese directed a Rambo film. When the backdrop of the scene literally falls away and it’s revealed to be a film set, it’s only the first hint that this ain’t your typical Van Damme picture.

Directed by Mabrouk El Mechri, the film stars Van Damme playing a marginally fictionalized version of himself – an also-ran action hero, now beaten up by real life instead of by bad guys. The life he’s known is rapidly fading – first he loses his daughter in a humiliating child custody battle, and then a film part to also-also-ran Steven Seagal (“He promised to cut off his ponytail”).

Out of both work and money, Van Damme returns to his hometown of Brussels where he is still a national icon. While trying to wire for some cash, he becomes entangled in a hostage situation at a local post office, which only escalates when the police, and the public, realize who is inside. The police quickly assume that he must be responsible for the robbery, which the actual perpetrators are quick to go along with. It isn’t long before a crowd gathers outside the bank to cheer him on, Dog Day Afternoon style.

By constructing such a typical movie scenario, the filmmakers have placed Van Damme in a familiar element, and yet something is amiss. The focus is not placed on roundhouse kicks to the face or a grand scheme for escape, but rather Van Damme’s inner psychological torment.

One of the film’s largest questions is asked early on by the lawyer handling Van Damme’s child custody hearing: what is the value of this man, responsible for such mindless violence? His own action films, relics from the past become evidence for his incompatibility as a parent. As the lawyer rattles off the myriad killings in each film, he is missing the point – it was all for our entertainment.

JCVD works on a similar wavelength as this year’s The Wrestler; both concerned with reexamining, if not redeeming the cultural icons of yesteryear. Van Damme’s status as a recognizable cultural figure is part of the film’s conceit. We are invested in Van Damme (the character in JCVD) because we already know Van Damme (the actor). The film is as much about the cultural perception of movie stars, and their status as symbols, as it is about a man stuck in a hostage crisis.

A basic knowledge about Van Damme’s career isn’t crucial to one’s understanding or enjoyment of the film, but for those diehard fans, it will be an added bonus to see the actor participating in the deconstruction of his own mythos.

In fact, this is a film entirely informed by movies, and not just those in Van Damme’s personal canon; the use of a non-linear structure, jump cuts, and inter-titles call to mind early Godard. All the cinematic trickery occasionally causes the film to straddle the line between parody and serious rumination. However, it succeeds in unpacking Van Damme’s on-screen image and placing it into a startlingly fresh new context.

Some have compared the self-reflexive nature of the film to Fellini’s 8 ½ and Fosse’s All that Jazz. The chief difference is that here, by playing himself, Van Damme becomes his own surrogate. After a career of roles that demanded he flex his muscles instead of emote, the raw sincerity in Van Damme’s performance is both unexpected and refreshing. This is his redemption song, the rest of the cast merely his accompaniment. If the film’s deconstruction of Van Damme’s on screen persona at first seemed satirical, it’s his empathetic performance that grounds it in a hard-worn reality. It’s there in the small details – the way he fidgets in his seat at the child custody hearing; the look in his eyes when he tells one of the bank robbers that he hasn’t slept in two days, that almost make one want to revisit his older work to make sure we weren’t missing this all along.

Oddly enough, it is the most iconic scene in the film in which Van Damme readily renounces his iconic status. Quite literally addressing the audience by speaking into the camera, he expounds on what it has been like to live in the spotlight of thousands, yet be respected by significantly fewer. It’s a remarkably moving scene, and El Mechri smartly keeps the camera steady on Van Damme’s weary face as he speaks.

All at once he is the character, the actor, the action hero, the cult icon, himself. And perhaps for the first time, sincere.

[Boner M]

This was kind of a non-starter. Toneless, annoyingly over-stylised, devoid of any fresh insight into the cult of celebrity or anything else for that matter. A few amusing moments, and Van Damme's performance is impressive, but his conviction seems to come only from narcissism and vanity. And why does the film devote so much energy to the rote genre mechanics only for them to be endlessly undermined? I dunno, this was pretty underwhelming all-round.