I was a little disappointed, I get the feeling the package would work better in a theatre. My favorite shorts were Bastille, the Coens' one, the one with Natalie Portman, the muslim one, the mime one and the stabbing one. Also enjoyed the vampire one, Payne's, Van Sant's, and Doyle's. The problem is that while half the shorts are good, the other half are unremarkable, incomplete, or boring (The singing one, the Maggie G. one, the Craven one, the Hoskins/Rowlands one, the opening one, etc.), and it kind of dragged down the experience for me. I'd had enough when the movie ended.

One of the most disappointing films ever....Wasn't bad, but I thought it would be so amazing...some were great, most were too plain. The one with Natalie Portman was the best of course.

So I hadn't heard much about this prior to watching it. Just a few people raving but no in-depth reviews.

I wasn't disappointed overall though. There were a few shorts (detailed below) that I didn't care for, but there were enough that were amazing that it made it worth watching. I like the concept of the 5-minute short though, especially the work from some of these well-known directors. It didn't allow them time to over-do or get "arrogant" (for lack of a better term) and instead forces them to focus solely on telling the story.

Anyway, in order:

* Montmartre - I actually enjoyed this. I think it was a perfect opening piece because it set the tone. Cute concept and it worked. 7/10

* Quais de Seine — My favorite of the entire film. Perfect in just about every way. One of the most moving and most impactful (at least to me) of the entire film. 10/10

* Le Marais — I didn't care for this one. As Xiayun said, it is a one-joke plot and the ending was too ambiguous. 3/10

* Tuileries — Funny. Steve Buscemi does work well here, even without uttering a word. Silly, but amusing. 6/10

* Loin du 16e — Heartbreaking. Sandino is perfect in the role. 7/10

* Porte de Choisy — Like most of the rest, I didn't get this. I felt it was a complete waste of time. 2/10

* Bastille — Another heartbreaking film. I was a little disappointed by the conclusion though. It just felt like something was missing. 6/10

* Place des Victoires — Though the subject matter is very emotional and the acting is superb, I didn't feel the film captured the emotions properly. The magical cowboy was a little too ... out there for me. 5/10

* Tour Eiffel — Adorable. Enough said. 7/10

* Parc Monceau — My second favorite. I loved the single-shot direction and the dialogue was so perfect. And right when you think you have it all figured out...it twists it again. 9/10

* Quartier des Enfants Rouges — I don't like Maggie G. at all. This only solidified it. She has the deer-in-the-headlights look down pat though. Congrats Maggie! 3/10

* Place des fêtes — Very moving. I didn't get that he had died the first time I watched it though so I didn't feel the full effect until a second viewing. 8/10

* Pigalle — It was cute. But it didn't quite work for me. 5/10

* Quartier de la Madeleine — My reaction to this? What the hell...? 1/10

* Père-Lachaise — It was amusing, but didn't quite work. Mortimer was great. Sewell, not so much. 5/10

* Faubourg Saint-Denis — I wanted to love this one. And I mostly did. I just felt that the monologue in the middle was a bit too...overwrought. 6/10

* Quartier Latin — Fantastic. Almost. Gazzara was a terrible casting choice. Perfect dialogue though. And excellent ending. 6/10

* 14e arrondissement — Disappointing conclusion. This, to me, belonged somewhere in the middle, but I can see why it was the ending piece. It was sweet, but it just didn't work for me. Maybe if it had been someone reflecting on an experience long in their past, it would have worked better. The elementary French really bugged me too. 5/10

Overall, I'm going to go with a B+. Some really amazing pieces and a few that were very underwhelming. Looking forward to the New York follow-up though.

Then you're crazy . Some people shouldn't even be allowed to have opinions .

I swore I'd posted my thoughts on this a long time ago but I guess not.

PARIS, JE T'AIME - 7/10 (B-)

Some great segments here and some not-so-great segments...

LOVED/REALLY LIKED:


FAUBOURG SAINT-DENIS

This was my favorite. Tykwer's short is brilliant and I loved the idea of a guy who is blind looking back on his relationship with his girlfriend.

TOUR EIFFEL

I just found this one really neat.

14TH ARRONDISSEMENT

I loved Margo Martindale in this. The story was funny and touching.

QUARTIER DES ENFANTS ROUGES

It probably helped that it starred the lovely Maggie Gyllenhaal, but I really enjoyed this one. The end was sad.


PRETTY GOOD/DECENT:


QUAIS DE SEINE

This was alright. Nothing special.

TUILERIES

This was pretty neat.

LOIN DU 16IEME

This was nice, and sad.

BASTILLE

PLACE DES FETES

QUARTIER DE LA MADELEINE

Unique and beautifully shot.

PERE-LACHAISE

Nice. I really liked Emily Mortimer in it.

QUARTIER LATIN

This was "decent," but weak. Just barely receives a passing mark from me.


BAD/HORRIBLE:


PORTE DE CHOISY

This one was terrible and by far the worst. I can't see how someone could like it.

MONTMARTRE

LES MARAIS

I wish I could have loved the only gay-themed segment, but it just wasn't very good. Once again Gus Van Sant has created something that I don't like.

PLACE DES VICTOIRES

This should have been much more effective than it actually was. Quite simply, I didn't care at all.

PARC MONCEAU

PIGALLE


I was hoping for something amazing, so I was definitely letdown. But this is still a decent experimental film with some moments of greatness. I love the Feist song played over the end and in the film's trailer.

She has mastered the dumb broad look very well. I guess that should count for something.

Dumb broad look? Haha. You are funny, but not funny funny, more like funny tragic. Maggie Gyllenhaal is amazingly talented. Go watch Happy Endings again.