 Arthur and the Invisibles 2006  PG, 95 min.
Genre: Family / Fantasy
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Freddie Highmore, Mia Farrow, Penny Balfour, Doug Rand, Adam LeFevre, Jean Bejote Njamba, Serge Blumental, Madonna, Jimmy Fallon, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Chazz Palminteri, Emilio Estevez, Snoop Dogg, David Bowie
Ten-year-old Arthur's (Freddie Highmore) grandfather disappeared four years ago and left behind notebooks filled with stories about a place in the back field of their farm. That area marks the spot of the magical land of the Minimoys where tiny invisible people live. The land is also where Arthur's grandfather hid a treasure. While Arthur and Granny (Mia Farrow) are waiting for the grandfather to return, bank collectors decide to take over the family farm. Arthur tries to save the farm by finding his way into the magical land where he meets the King (voice of Robert De Niro) and his daughter (voice of Madonna)–a big step in Arthur's adventure in which he has three days to rescue the treasure and his grandfather. In the process, Arthur tries to prevent the evil wizard Maltazard the Cursed (voice of David Bowie) from taking over the Minimoys' land.
|  | |
The Big Blue 1988 PG, 119 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Rosanna Arquette, Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno, Paul Shenar, Sergio Castellitto, Marc Duret, Griffin Dunne
Boyhood friends (and rivals) meet again during free diving championships, both having held deepest dive records. Thus, the old rivalry heats up again. Meanwhile, Joanna (Rosanna Arquette) had met Jacques (one of the divers) and now follows him to the competition in the Mediterranean off Italy in attempts to gain his love. So-so, but the underwater photography is good.
| | |
 The Fifth Element 1997  PG-13, 122 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker, Luke Perry, Brion James, Tommy "Tiny" Lister, John Neville, Indra Ove, Lee Evans, John Bluthal
New York cab driver Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) becomes an unlikely hero when a scientifically cloned woman, Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), comes crashing through the roof of his cab. She is escaping those who would cause harm to the Universe, and the future now rests on the actions of Korben and Leeloo.
| | |
Le Dernier Combat 1983  R, 92 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi
aka: The Last Battle
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Pierre Jolivet, Jean Bouise, Fritz Wepper, Jean Reno, Christiane Kruger, Maurice Lamy, Petra Muller, Pierre Carrive, Bernard Havet, Michel Doset
Only a few people remain on the devastated Earth after the big war, and those people can't talk. Thus, in Luc Besson's first film, there is no dialog. It is a story of the struggle for survival, shown from the standpoint of "The Man" (Pierre Jolivet). Nicely directed but slow, and the low budget shows.
| | |
Leon 1994  R, 110 min.
Genre: Action / Drama / Thriller
aka: The Professional
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Gary Oldman, Jean Reno, Danny Aiello, Natalie Portman, Peter Appel, Michael Badalucco, Ellen Greene, Frank Senger, Geoffrey Bateman, Tommy Hollis, Elizabeth Regan, Carl J. Matusovich, Lucius Wyatt Cherokee, Luc Bernard, Kent Broadhurst
Twelve-year old Mathilda (Natalie Portman) lives with her family in a slum, and her father (Michael Badalucco) works for drug agents. One day, Mathilda returns home to find that most of her family has been killed in a botched drug deal. Corrupt Drug Enforcement Administration boss, Stansfield (Gary Oldman), ordered her family's murder. Mathilda takes refuge in the apartment of hit man Leon (Jean Reno) from whom she hopes to learn how to exact revenge on the killers. Leon becomes transfixed by Mathilda, and his life appears to be changing. Mathilda's intended victim is Stansfield, but her plans to avenge the murder of her family fail, and Mathilda is captured. Now, Leon must rescue Mathilda.
| | |
Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc 1999 R, 148 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, Dustin Hoffman, Pascal Greggory, Vincent Cassel, Tcheky Karyo, Richard Ridings, Desmond Harrington, Timothy West
The inspired teenage heroine, Joan of Arc (Milla Jovovich) leads the French forces against the English to free her country from foreign domination. This film features realistic 15th-century combat scenes–flaming arrows, catapults, etc.
| | |
 Nikita 1990 R, 115 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama / Thriller / Romance
aka: La Femme Nikita
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Anne Parillaud, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Tcheky Karyo, Jeanne Moreau, Jean Reno, Jean Bouise, Philippe Du Janerand, Roland Blanche, Philippe Leroy, Marc Duret, Patrick Fontana, Alain Lathiere, Philippe Leroy
A drug addict who commits robbery and murder, Nikita (Anne Parillaud), is tried, convicted, and then sent to a school for special operatives. She is given a second chance when she is recruited as a hired assassin, then is pronounced dead and presumed buried. One night, Nikita is enjoying a dinner at a restaurant when she is handed a gun and told to kill the man seated next to her. She does and heads back to headquarters where she is told she has graduated. Thus begins her double life, but she is torn between this new life and leading a normal one. Remade in 1993 as "Point of No Return."
| | |
Subway 1985 R, 104 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller / Romance
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Isabelle Adjani, Christopher Lambert, Richard Bohringer, Michel Galabru, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jean Bouise, Jean-Claude Lecas, Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, Jean Reno, Eric Serra, Arthur Simms, Alain Guillard, Constantin Alexandrov
Fred (Christopher Lambert) is a safecracker who steals major documents from the safe belonging to Helena's (Isabelle Adjani) husband (Constantin Alexandrov). Now–with the Metro police, the husband's thugs, and Helena in pursuit–Fred takes refuge in the Paris metro where he lives with a strange assortment of characters in a punk sub-culture.
| | |
| 1. Arthur and the Invisibles (2006)
2. The Big Blue (1988)
3. The Fifth Element (1997)
4. Le Dernier Combat (1983)
aka: The Last Battle
5. Leon (1994)
aka: The Professional
6. Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
7. Nikita (1990)
aka: La Femme Nikita
8. Subway (1985)
In The News
|
