Harrison Ford lost in Paris

Frantic (1988)

Funnily enough this is one of the best thrillers ever made but it's also one of the dumbest ones as well. Roman Polanski knows how to build tension and the story telling is the best part of this movie. Too bad the story is so ridiculously unbelievable that I just can't watch this one with a straight face. I need to spoil it a bit, but believe me it doesn't affect the viewing much at all as you'll still see a technically brilliant thriller and how idiotic the story is, even if you know the part which kind of makes the whole movie seem ridiculous. It's of course the whole elaborate plan of switching suitcases to smuggle something into the country but then instead of switching them back they rather kidnap the wife and of course without telling the husband about it, so he's left there to figure things out himself. I mean come on, that feels almost like an insult towards the intelligence of the viewer or then the bad guys are deliberately portrayed as idiots, which would be kind of like saying that your movie is not worth taking seriously. Either way, that's the downfall of this movie. And it's a shame as otherwise this one is a brilliant Hitchcockian thriller. Harrison Ford is great as the doctor lost in Paris while trying to find his wife and Emmanuelle Seigner is a perfect counter part for him. That with Polanski's style and great score by Ennio Morricone make this a highly enjoyable thriller. Too bad I just can't see past the stupid plot on this one, especially since the movie reminds you of it in every turn on the way.

67%

Vampires indeed are a laughing matter

The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)

This is one of the finest horror comedies ever made and even though I already know all the best jokes by heart I still find myself revisiting this from time to time. That means this is a true classic that has stood time very well. The plot is simple, a professor and his assistant travel to a small village in hopes to slay some vampires and they end up in a heap of trouble. It's very straight forward even though it does have quite a few twists in it. And that's actually one part which makes this movie so great, it works as fun brainless entertainment but on the other hand it also has some very clever twists in it as well. Then there's the comedy and what a brilliant mix of goofball and witty it is. This movie looks simply stunning and luckily the prints of which the surprisingly few DVD's that are around were made from are in a good shape. My only complaint about this movie is the music, even though it's great most of the time there are a few moments where it goes all crazy and starts to annoy me. But that I can surely live with as this is truly a classic masterpiece.

98%