Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Organnall Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Python Hyena Micmacs (2009): Dir: Jean-Pierre Jeunet / Cast: Dany Boon, Jean- Pierre Marielle, Julie Ferrier, Andre Dussollier, Yolande Moreau: Colorful and creative comedy from Jean-Pierre Jeunet whose Amelie captivates our imagination and A Very Long Engagement compels us. Dany Boon plays Basil, orphaned after his father was killed at war. After being hit by a stray bullet and survives, he finds refuge with a group of misfits in a junk yard where he schemes to bring down the arms dealers responsible for the bullet embedded in his head, and the mine that killed his father. Jeunet brings great creative impulses to his story but it lacks the character emotion of Amelie. Here the special effects seem to overrule the plot whereas in Amelie they accompanied and even propelled the story. Boon brings a silent film like passion to the film as he accepts his replacement at work with a new quest to bring answers and justice. His junkyard friends are mainly characters identified through some visual trait. Jean- Pierre Marielle plays Slammer, a skilled thief. Julie Ferrier plays Elastic Girl whom can shift her body to any shape. They are amusing but never propel personality. Andre Dussollier plays the harassed villain who is brought to justice. Yolande Moreau plays Mama Chow whose name is more interesting than she is. Imaginative yet misguided impression of the rise of the forgotten soul. Score: 5 ½ / 10

chgajowski47 So it's a fairy tale - but not one for (young) children - unless parents want to get into a discussion of what land mines do to people.Heavy duty documentaries make little impact - I think the gentleness and total lack of reality here is an antidote for the dead serious issue at the center. This reminds me a bit of Dr. Strangelove characters: yes, over the top but - so it's not as if the reality isn't perhaps more absurd. Not too heavy handed in my view - the audience doesn't really need to struggle to understand and that's okay.A bit Chaplinesque, as well. And an underdog story - common in the movies, but then all story lines are repeated, with different characters and context, and the question is - is it done well? Since in real life, the underdogs get slammed, it's nice to see them win in an engaging film.

paul2001sw-1 Jean-Pierre Jeunet's 'Micmacs' has definite echoes of his first film 'Delicatessan', a wonderful aesthetic (a strange mixture of world war two and contemporary), a story with an edge of darkness, but also with a quirky heart. It's more whimsical than that earlier movie, but fun in the manner of the best cartoons - indeed, it's rare to see a live action movie more imbued with a cartoon-y aesthetic, and the its visual imagination bursts from every scene.. Perhaps there isn't quite enough at stake you make you care desperately about the plot: it's a tale of bad people (and their downfall), whereas 'Delicatessan' was a (much scarier) story of a whole world gone bad. But it's a fun, sweet film with a definite sense of its own style: there's not too much not to like here.

ajs-10 This is a quirky French comedy (with subtitles) that, when it came out, attracted a few good reviews. On the strength of these I decided to watch it when it came up on TV recently. I have to say I wasn't totally blown away by it, but there are some nice touches and there are parts I actually found genuinely funny! But more of my thoughts later, here's a brief summary first (summary haters and those that don't wish to know anything about the plot please help the gang sort that junk while I write the next paragraph).When Bazil was young, his father was killed whilst clearing mines in North Africa. Amongst his effects returned to the family was a photo of the mine that killed him, and Bazil never forgot the logo embossed into the mine casing. Now grown up, he has a job at a video store. One evening a shoot-out occurs in the street outside and Bazil is accidentally hit in the head by a stray bullet. The surgeon decides it's too risky to remove the bullet and so Bazil leaves hospital only to find he is evicted from his apartment and his job has been given to someone else. He is given one of the bullet casings from the shootout, it has a different logo to the mine that killed his father but, again, Bazil commits it to memory. He now lives on the streets of Paris making a living busking. He is eventually taken in by a group of misfits who live in a junk yard. They make a living by recycling and selling things other people have thrown out. Lead by Tambouille, they include a contortionist, La Môme Caoutchouc, who Bazil has a bit of a thing for. Going about his job of collecting useful things to mend, Bazil comes across two buildings opposite each other. They bear the logos of the two companies that made the weapons that ruined his life. He decides to get revenge on the leaders of these two companies, Nicolas Thibault de Fenouillet and François Marconi. He ropes in his new found friends and this is where all the fun begins… I'll leave it there so as not to enrage the Spoiler Police any more than necessary.This is a very well made film with some really clever and inventive set pieces. It is visually very quirky, but in a nice way, and has a pretty decent soundtrack. Decent performances all round, particularly from; Dany Boon as Bazil, André Dussollier as Nicolas Thibault de Fenouillet, Nicolas Marié as François Marconi, Jean-Pierre Marielle as Placard, Yolande Moreau as Tambouille and Julie Ferrier as La Môme Caoutchouc.At the beginning I loved the quirky comedy, almost reminiscent of the great Jacques Tati (but not quite). Unfortunately it couldn't sustain its early promise and ended up falling pretty flat in the middle third. It seemed to pick up a bit towards the end, but by then, I'm afraid, it had lost a lot of its magic (for me). I somehow expected better from the director of the likes of Delicatessen (1991) and Amelie (2001), but sadly it didn't match up to its early promise. It's still quite an enjoyable film with some moments I found really funny and so I'll recommend it for one viewing, at least.My score: 6.2/10