Member SimonMW Posted November 6, 2008 Member Share Posted November 6, 2008 Just saw the trailer for JCVD starring Jean Claude Van Damme. It looks like it could be really entertaining! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chinatown Kid Posted November 6, 2008 Member Share Posted November 6, 2008 I'm looking forward to this as well, nice to see Van Damme making a transition to a different kind of film now that he is getting older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member bolofan Posted November 7, 2008 Member Share Posted November 7, 2008 Yeah, actually looks pretty good. Didn't he do another one last year that was supposed to be pretty good about a junkie cop or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member HyperDrive Posted November 8, 2008 Member Share Posted November 8, 2008 Mr. Van Damme is also talking Universal Soldier 3...... http://movieblog.ugo.com/index.php/movieblog/C2376/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Bravery Posted November 8, 2008 Member Share Posted November 8, 2008 I hear its a pretty good film, some funny moments and a couple of okay fights. I'm going to check it out this weekend. If I can find subtitles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Bravery Posted November 8, 2008 Member Share Posted November 8, 2008 Yeah, actually looks pretty good. Didn't he do another one last year that was supposed to be pretty good about a junkie cop or something? Until Death was pretty good, The shoot out at the end was entertaining, but I did find myself wishing there were fights in the movie. It is his best of the DTV movies he has done, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted November 8, 2008 Member Share Posted November 8, 2008 I just watched The Shepherd: Border Patrol, and I thought it was pretty decent for a direct-to-DVD release. He's still in pretty good shape, and can still deliver some amazing kicks. Also, he's one of those actors who has aged well, in that he's kind of got one of those craggly, old-school tough guy faces--kind of like Lee Marvin or Clint Eastwood. If he really worked to improve his acting, I think he could have a good career ahead of him playing older tough guys. I'm looking forward to JCVD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kungfusamurai Posted November 8, 2008 Member Share Posted November 8, 2008 I'm looking forward to seeing JCVD. But for me, Van Damme will forever be this guy: OPvW2iiwvns KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tigerstyles Posted November 8, 2008 Member Share Posted November 8, 2008 been looking forward to this for ages.. his new film Full Love looks mint too from the spec and photos.. also just watched Blu Ray Universal Soldier .. AWESOME quality and sound this film still kicks ass... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Alex Posted November 10, 2008 Member Share Posted November 10, 2008 saw it, loved it, easy top 10 of the year for me Not quite the campy high-five to my childhood nostalgia I expected, it's actually a pretty serious attempt to explore the odd celebrity status of an over the hill action star Van Damme does very awesome job admitting that at this point he's kind of a sad shmuck, which can't be an easy thing. Although I wouldn't necessarily call this a breakthrough acting role either, he's just being himself in an amazingly honest way Really really glad they actually included Hard Times and used it really well, I was afraid it was only going to be in the trailer. The whole 1take action scene in beginning set to the song is great. The only complaint I had was that the hostage situation was a little overwritten, the director tries to show the view from the inside of the post office as well as the reaction outside, and as a result doubles up a little too much. The movie never really drags, but a little trim in the middle wouldn't have hurt. just don't go in expecting an action movie, you'll be severely disappointed. it's really not about that at all, a character piece all the way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Li Ho Posted November 11, 2008 Member Share Posted November 11, 2008 I'm looking forward to seeing JCVD. But for me, Van Damme will forever be this guy: OPvW2iiwvns KFS For me he will always be the guy inthe background in Breakin'.Dont know if there is a youtube video.But if you watch the film, the part where turbo and ozone are breaking, I think @ the beach. Van Damme is in the background clapping his hands to the beat.He was also the predator(partly) in "Predator",uncredited of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chinatown Kid Posted November 11, 2008 Member Share Posted November 11, 2008 Someone posted a clip of that Breakin scene on here a while back with Claude doing some kind of weird gyrating/shaking in the background, it looked hilarious. Van Damme made some good action films back in the day like Bloodsport, Universal Soldier, Hard Target and one of my favorites Lionheart, and I was a fan. It's nice to see him back on film and finding work now that he's got older. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member KyFi Posted November 11, 2008 Member Share Posted November 11, 2008 And then of course, there's this clip! (R-rated, not family friendly) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_0kKACp11Y&feature=related Although, given that girl, you can't really fault him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kungfusamurai Posted November 23, 2008 Member Share Posted November 23, 2008 I watched JCVD yesterday and I thought it was pretty good. It didn't blow me away, though. Certain things I didn't like about the film made it hard to fully enjoy but I'll get into that after. May contain spoilers: I missed a bit of the intro, since I got to the theatre a few minutes after the scheduled start time (I thought there would be at least 10 minutes of trailers and commercials before it started, but apparently not). That beginning was really well done. I think it was a good 5 minutes of one long take. Actually the film contained a lot of long takes, but they weren't physically demanding like the beginning. The rest of the film played out as a drama, with Van Damme getting involved in a heist at a Post Office in Belgium where the police believe he is the one taking the people hostage. Through the style of broken chronology, we learn about what actually happened to Van Damme and the people in the Post Office. We also get some background information about JCVD's custody battle for his daughter, the problems he faced trying to get good film roles, and the overall sense that he's a misunderstood individual who has been unfairly ridiculed by the media and people. The ending is somewhat predictable, but I found it a little strange that it played out the way it did even though his role in the hostage taking would have been fully understood by the end of any trial. Maybe we're supposed to believe the Belgium justice system is a little overzealous? Okay, so that ending was a little annoying. What bothered me about the film was the pretentious, artsy aspect of it. Specifically I hated the washed out colors used, which is a played out cinematography technique. I would have preferred a realistic, true color style. The brownish tint the film has doesn't really add anything to it. I also found the broken chronology editing cliched. It was interesting when they first do it, showing us what really occurred in the time between JCVD was taking pictures with those guys at the video shop and the arrival of the SWAT team. But then the director kept doing it over and over again, filling in other things and showing us moments that felt superfluous. I guess the intent was to give us more insight into the problems that JCVD was encountering in the time leading up to the Post Office visit. There is one moment in the film where it really 'stops', which was the Van Damme monologue where he talks to the audience about his feelings and heartaches. I thought it was well done, but a little too long. But it was well-acted. The theatrical viewing experience was slightly marred by an annoying person in the back of the theatre who insisted on laughing really loud when no one else was laughing at moments that weren't even funny. And then during the slow parts (which was most of the film), he would let out loud yawns, like he was sitting at home watching the film on DVD. I think he was several rows behind me and several seats over, but it sounded like he was closer. I can't imagine how the people near him were feeling. Overall, I'd give the film a 7/10. It was definitely a refreshing change from the mindless action films that I sat through during the summer, with the exception of Dark Knight. I don't think this will resurrect Van Damme's career or endear him to people who think of him as a D grade actor. But I hope it's a wake up call for JCVD himself to try harder to get into better movies, even if it means playing second banana to a young guy or to Steven Seagal (a JCVD in joke) KFS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member emacs Posted November 25, 2008 Member Share Posted November 25, 2008 JCVD is, by far, Van Varenberg's best film. i saw the film in September with lowered expectations so maybe that's the partial reason for my sentiment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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