Roland Menou
- 2006
Jointly written by an eight-member French comedy troupe called Les Quiches (Alexandre Brik, Vanessa Pivain, Deborah Saiag, Benoit Petre, Mayane Delem, Mika Tard, Morgan Perez and Isabelle Vitari) and co-directed by four of the eight (Petre, Saiag, Tard and Vitari), Foon is a kitschy, campy Euro musical comedy that sends up contemporary American high school life. The creative team authored the script in a deliriously silly cross-pollenization of French and English ("Franglais") that yields expressions from 'Si vous please' to 'Thank you beaucoup.' The action at the heart of the story centers around the revered prom -- an event that functions as the battleground for a classical rivalry between the in-crowd (called "Foons" as an amalgam of "Fun" and 'Cool") and the dorks. Foon also satirizes numerous motion pictures, with satirical references to films such as Carrie, What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?, and the Zapruder footage of the Kennedy assassination. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexandre Brik, Mayane Delem, (more)
Dan Brown's controversial best-selling novel about a powerful secret that's been kept under wraps for thousands of years comes to the screen in this suspense thriller from director Ron Howard. The stately silence of Paris' Louvre museum is broken when one of the gallery's leading curators is found dead on the grounds, with strange symbols carved into his body and left around the spot where he died. Hoping to learn the significance of the symbols, police bring in Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), a gifted cryptographer who is also the victim's granddaughter. Needing help, Sophie calls on Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), a leading symbologist from the United States. As Sophie and Robert dig deeper into the case, they discover the victim's involvement in the Priory of Sion, a secret society whose members have been privy to forbidden knowledge dating back to the birth of Christianity. In their search, Sophie and Robert happen upon evidence that could lead to the final resting place of the Holy Grail, while members of the priory and an underground Catholic society known as Opus Dei give chase, determined to prevent them from sharing their greatest secrets with the world. Also starring Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, and Alfred Molina, The Da Vinci Code was shot on location in France and the United Kingdom; the Louvre allowed the producers to film at the famous museum, but scenes taking place at Westminster Abbey had to filmed elsewhere when church officials declined permission. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, (more)
