Advantages: poor dialogue, good to start but deteriorates badly
Disadvantages: poorly paced

...Every school kid knows the story of Joan of arc. The real question here, is does the film live up to the immortal tale of the girl who saved france from her enemies and claimed to have bought a message from god, the answer is simply no. Milla Jovovich is superb as Joan and the film strats brightly, the period costumes and scenery are superb and is truly believable of the time period, and all of the other actors involved are quite satisfactory, inlcuding John Malkovich, the trouble is i keep expecting Keanu Reeves to jump into his head (check out being john malkovich review), and for the first half of the film, the action is superbly violent and true to life, unfortunately the story just rubs out of steam and the film dissappears staright up its own backside. More times should have been spent on the victories the army achieved with joans... Read review

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Advantages: Good movie that is well done all the way around
Disadvantages: Joan looked pretty nuts.

...I saw this movie last night. I remember when this first came out in the theaters, there was a television miniseries about Joan of Arc about the same time with LeeLee Sobricki (I may have spelled this wrong). It was pretty good, especially LeeLee, she had done a fantastic job. I heard that “The Messenger” in the theaters was a disappointment. I wasn’t disappointed at all. I only saw two differences between the two movies. The first was that Milla Jovavich was playing Joan of Arc. The second is that this movie, ‘The Messenger”, is pretty graphic. Naturally I don’t think it totally did justice to Joan of Arc. It tended to make her look a little bit nuts. But I think it did her justice on a few other facts though. When she was imprisoned, she had been tortured, raped, and forced into wearing men’s... Read review

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Advantages: Hypnotic film with an understated yet compelling performance by Florence Carrez.
Disadvantages: -

...How did an illiterate, 19-year-old peasant woman in the early 15th century become such a headache for the Bishop of Beauvais and his English controllers? Well, that 19-year-old just happened to have made history by leading thousands of French soldiers to triumph over the English occupiers in the final phase of the Hundred Years' War (1337 to 1453). Even more amazing, that same woman had had no previous military training whatsoever. And yet the armies followed her bidding with little question, and for their pains, got results - big, history-making results, as in the eventual retreat of the English from France in 1453. That woman, as you might guess, was Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc to the French). Some Background. So how exactly did she accomplish such feats? We get some illumination on the enigma of Joan from the amazingly... Read review

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Advantages: See review
Disadvantages: See review

...Historical films can be a curious affair. In order to satisfy the simple requirements of a modern day cinema audience, it is more often the case that the choice of subject matter tends to revolve around famous conflicts - these offer plenty of opportunity to dazzle the viewer with special effects and choreographed battle scenes. Luc Besson's epic film Joan of Arc - The Messenger has most certainly opted for this type of story telling. The plot of the film is simple - and yet confusing. The film essentially portrays the life story of Joan of Arc, from early childhood right through to her untimely demise at the age of nineteen. Raised in a French peasant village, we see right from the start of the film that Joan experiences holy images, and voices which (although we never actually hear them) instruct her in god's will. Deeply... Read review

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Advantages: Meoldies
Disadvantages: Bland and twee

...Orchestral Maneouvres In The Dark were one of the pioneering synth based bands who emerged in the wake of new wave in the late 70’s/early 80’s, consisting largely of bassist Andy McCluskey and synth player Paul Humphreys. They managed to come up with a masterpiece album - Architecture and Morality - in 1981, perhaps the most exquisitely lush study in nostalgia ever released by a rock band. The album yielded the atmospheric hits Souvenir, Joan Of Arc and Maid Of orleans (The Waltz Joan Of Arc), singles which made number 3, 4 and 5 respectively in the UK charts. Lyrically, their obsession seemed to be with the past; when on the road, the two had a penchant for visiting museums and castles. For many OMD were too bland, superficial and twee to be taken seriously. They certainly could pen a good tune, but they were just too nice... Read review

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Advantages: Truer To The Historical Legend, Leelee Sobieski Stars, Great Performances, Charlotte Church Vocals, Inexpensive, Captivating
Disadvantages: You Might Well Have A Tear In Your Eye By The End, Two Sided Disc, Long Film.

...JOAN OF ARC - RATED 12 This is one of the best versions of the legendary Joan of Arc I've seen. The acting is excellent, no cardboard characters. Many well known stars, excellent story line, plus some backing vocals by Charlotte Church, make this a must see movie. DIRECTOR, CAST, WRITERS: Directed by Christian Duguay. Starring: Leelee Sobieski, Chad Willett, Jacqueline Bisset, Powers Boothe, Olympia Dukakis, Neil Patrick Harris, Robert Loggia, Maximilian Schell, Peter Strauss, Jonathan Hyde, Maury Chaykin. Guest appearances by Shirley MacLaine also starring Peter O'Toole as Bishop Cauchon. Written by: Michael Alexander Miller, Ronald Parker DVD FEATURES: · Picture Format: PAL 4:3 Academy · Colour Mode: Colour · Region Code: 2 · Feature Duration: 180 minutes approximately · Audio Content: Dolby Digital Stereo · · Special Features... Read review

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Advantages: Jovovich's eyes
Disadvantages: Over the top

...A startling piece of cinema is Luc Besson's telling of the tale of St Joan, the Maid of Orleans, but then he did have a pretty emphatic and passionate piece of history from which to work, so any film about Joan of Arc is going to be pretty memorable. I'll come back a little later to the film itself, promise, but let's dwell just a little on the legend of the character first and indulge ourselves... Joan of Arc was a passionate, legendary hero of the French people in the 15th Century, when the country was seen as fair game for looting, pillage, rape and occupation by her near neighbour England. She had a meteoric, inspiring life and singlehandedly (for a time) resisted the grubby mitts of the persecutors. She was born on 6 January 1412 in the village of Domremy, the youngest of five children, daughter to Jacques and Isabelle d'Arc... Read review

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Advantages: great gameplay, plenty of downloads to keep you busy
Disadvantages: After a while the sounds can become annoying.

...I bought this game when it first came out and I still play it as much now as I did then! It has good graphics and even better gameplay and the sheer number of people who play it online shows you how hugely popular the game is! There are several types of gameplay to make it even more addictive, you have your usual conquer thy neighbour game where you have to completely destroy the other nations, then there is a regicide game where you have to wipeout all the other nations kings and not forgeting the the one where you have to collect all the relics on the map and you do anything to get them! There are also a number of scenerios to play through such as the William Wallace campaigns where you are William Wallace fighting agains the English or you can play as Joan of Arc fighting against the English! (How come every one was fighting... Read review

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Advantages: Windows
Disadvantages: Religion

...Notre Dame must be one of the most famous churches in the world, and visiting it you can really see why. The church is situated on Ile De La Cite, in the heart of Paris on the Seine. The foundation stone was laid in 1163 beginning the long and illustrious history of this impressive Catholic church. Kings were crowned here, Joan of Arc was canonized here in 1920 and perhaps most famously of all Victor Hugo wrote about the church. The building itself is huge and imposing, with an incredible architectural design which is both intricate and solid looking. Entry to the church is free but you must be careful what you take photos of, never wear a hat, remain fairly silent and dress decently (this means covered shoulders for women). The silence is enforced by this weird guy saying 'shhhh' through a speaker system every few minutes. You can pay... Read review

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Advantages: A wonderful parkwith tonns to do
Disadvantages: Not in the centre of Philadelphia

...There are also lots buildings of historical interest and monuments left over from when the park was the venue for the USA centennial exhibition in 1876. The zoo is the oldest in the country, (although I did not actually go and visit...I don't like zoos) Dotted around the park are some monuments and statues like a huge (bronze, If I remember right) of joan of Arc on horseback and the beautiful sea-horse fountain and so many gardens and cherry blossom lined avenues; the aromas make you giddy. As parks go this one is really second to none; with enough to do to tire out the most hyperactive child and put the most agitated adult in a state of peace and harmony. It is just too large to see all of it, but whenever I visit Philadelphia I go and see a little bit more. Most definatley a place to visit for all the family... Read review

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