Update

Charlie's French Cinema Nudity site is updated. Monstrous update this week, which I believe to be his largest issue ever, and possibly his best. Lots of great stuff.

His comments: "A couple of former Miss France, last Cesar's best actress, a sitcom star in her first nude scene, some gifted newcomers, some big names in their youth or never aging, some TV stars and their regular topless scene, even obscure short movies: you name it, you get it."

Including Monica Bellucci in Le Concile de Pierre and (you're not gonna believe this) Charlotte Rampling naked yet again - at age 60! In all honesty, she looks pretty good. Offhand, I can't name anyone else her age who would look that good without clothes. Except maybe Paul Sorvino, but I can't really make that decision until I see Big Paulie in the buff.

 

 

The Good German

A war correspondent (George Clooney) returns to Germany, supposedly to continue the job he had before the war, but actually to find and get back together with his pre-war lover (Cate Blanchett). He is met at the airport by an enlisted man (Tobey Maguire) who has taken advantage of his motor pool job, with easy access among all zones in Berlin, to build a sizeable black market and prostitution business. Oh - and his girlfriend just happens to be Cate Blanchett!

The first act is from Maguire's point of view, the second act from Clooney's, and the last from Blanchett's. A great deal of intrigue revolves around Cate's husband, and what she did during the war. The Russians and Americans are both very interested in her and her purportedly dead husband.

The Good German (2006) was an attempt by Steven Soderbergh (producer/director) to make a classic 1940s noir. He used nothing but 1940s vintage cameras and old film stock, and set it in post-Hitler Germany, shortly before the Potsdam Conference. There was no problem with Soderbergh's attempt to make a film in an old style. As a technical achievement, The Good German is wildly successful, and captures the exact look and feel Soderbergh was after. Additionally, he got vintage performances from most of his cast.

What he didn't do was create a good movie.

Like the films from the 40's, the visual style put emphasis on the story but, unfortunately, the story just didn't hold up well. The structure of the film required revealing the mystery a little at a time, which meant that we couldn't know too much about the main characters until it was time for the key plot twists, and hence never had anyone to root for.

For me, this was an interesting experiment, and proved that classic noir can still be made today. I would like to see more done in this vein, but starting with a more suitable story.

• IMDb readers say 6.2. The film only grossed $1.3M against an estimated $32M budget.
• The film was nominated for an Oscar for its music
• C-, and only for a limited audience, despite the big stars and big-name director.

Robin Weigert, as Blanchett's friend and coworker, shows breasts as a stripper, and partial buns trying to seduce Clooney.

 

The Breed

Five college students head to an isolated island for a weekend of fun. Heading up the group are two conflicting brothers, studious Matt (Eric Lively) and party boy John (Oliver Hudson). Also along for the ride are party girl Sara (Taryn Manning), Noah (Hill Harper), and Nicki (Michelle Rodriguez), the object of both the brothers' affections. But the kids are not alone; it appears a pack of wild dogs is roaming the island. And these aren't just any wild dogs, they are genetically enhanced, smart dogs from a training center located across the island.