Up to His Ears (1965)

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Turbulent, fast-paced comedy adventure (one of the best of its time) about unhappy billionaire Belmondo, whose suicide attempts keep failing. When he hires some killers to do him in, he falls in love with beautiful Andress and wants to reverse the deal. Belmondo is ideally suited to this role, exotic locations and lots of stunts make this a joy to watch. A worthy companion piece to the Bond movies of that time. Based on a Jules Verne novel. Score by Georges Delerue. English title: UP TO HIS EARS. ...if you haven't seen it, seek it out... an absolute must! Text-book example of a fast pace... still unequalled in its mad-cap sequences

Mostly inane, disjointed production, not worth your time, except if you wish to see what in the mid-60s did inspire George Lucas and Spielberg at the inception of Indiana Jones. Dated, at best. Yes, it is filmed on location; yes, it might be a spoof of the then-budding Bond movies; yes, it is a tad above the weak French action movies of that time (as opposed to the French films noirs of the 50s, which were excellent) but thisis plodding at best, if not outright boring. Despite Andress' charm (and certainly not her "acting"!), and some stage presence by Belmondo,skip this one (unless you are a film or pop culture historian, with minute archival interests). See "The Man from Rio" instead; althoughit, too, is dated it moves much more smoothly and shows what made Belmondo famous (and also offers on-location shooting). Even with its film history relevance, a 3 out of 10 is still generous.

Back in the '60s, everyone loved a cool spy flick. James Bond, Derek Flint, Harry Palmer (and even Maxwell Smart) were the famous secret agents, but probably not as many people remember "Les tribulations d'un chinois en Chine". It has French everyman Arthur Lempereur (Jean-Paul Belmondo) getting involved in espionage in Hong Kong. A really fun scene is the whole chase scene. However, in my opinion, the intrigue and stuff gets overshadowed by Ursula Andress's presence. There's one scene in particular that will very likely remind you of her role in "Dr. No".So, there always had to be spy stories involving hot babes. A flick similar to this one is "Die Holle von Macao" (also called "The Corrupt Ones") which starred Elke Sommer. You'll probably like both movies.

I won't say much as you need to see the movie to be caught by it's adventure theme that's never stop. Bebel is great, Ursulla, sexy of course, and the plethora of second characters make a kind of in movie family. If you like to travel and enjoy visual humor, this movie is for you.