4-10 January

Le Grand Soir (2012)-7/10-> Completely insane and refreshingly humourous, Le Grand Soir might be a bit uneven, but otherwise it's a nice experience.

The Paperboy (2012)-3/10-> It's not a tribute to anything, it's just a mix of southern trash and sick sexual fantasies. The imagery is nice, despite the content.

Zero Dark Thirty (2012)-8/10-> Much more suspenseful and well written than The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty is actually one of the best American films I've seen this year. Also, Chastain shines throughout.

The Impossible (2012)-5/10-> The acting is pretty strong, but The Impossible tries too hard to be compelling and ends up being really corny.

Seven Psychopaths (2012)-8.5/10-> Seven Psychopaths is powerful and complex cinema, although it might not look like it. Its' main strength is as always with McDonagh its' script with his witty dialogues and coherent and smart storytelling, but the ensemble cast is also fantastic.

Django Unchained (2012)-7/10-> The first 45 minutes are great and also the last 45 minutes, but that leaves us with 75 minutes, which of course are necessary for the story to stick well, but they are too long and somewhat aimless. 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)-6/10-> Not as bad as I was expecting it to be, The Hobbit is an entertaining, funny and sometimes powerful film. Although, I think, Jackson has wasted all the material from the book in this here first part of the announced trilogy.

A Glimpse Inside The Mind Of Charles Swan III (2012)-3/10-> The plot is great, but this is a failed Wes Anderson movie attempt, non-humourous, boring and uninspired.

Smokin Aces (2012)-4/10-> Smokin Aces is a lot of fun and the cast is big enough to hold it up in some moments, but its' story is too incoherent and the twists are too often.

21 December 2012- 3 January 2013

The Imposter (2012)-7/10-> An OK made documentary, but sometimes the viewer can't be too certain about the veridicity of the story.

Flight (2012)-7/10-> Flight is overlong and predictable, but Washington's capturing performance and the good script make this one of the best American movies I've seen in quite some time.

Dredd (2012)-6.5/10-> Not only entertaining, but also impressively stylized, Dredd is a full-on B movie. But it works.

Cloud Atlas (2012)-4/10-> Cloud Atlas is an achievement of some sort, but its' narrative is too sprawled and the acting is uneven and flawed.

Frankenweenie (2012)-6/10-> Not bad, but it's the usual kind of treatment we get from Burton.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012)-8/10-> A fascinating insight of a fascinating artist, funny, dramatic and compelling.

GoldenEye (1995)-5.5/10-> Your typical James Bond vehicle, entertaining, but overlong and sometimes dumb. Bean and Janssen do a great job, though.

Liberal Arts (2012)-7.5/10-> Not as complex as it could be, but Liberal Arts is a sweet and smart film, with ace performances from Josh Radnor and Richard Jenkins.

Lincoln (2012)-4/10-> Incredibly formulaic and really really long, Lincoln gets saved by the good performances from most of the cast.

Life Of Pi (2012)-4/10-> Visually incredible, even though most of it is CGI, but Life Of Pi is mostly disgusting and boring religious propaganda.

This Is 40 (2012)-6/10-> Quite funny, but This Is 40 is overlong and very uneven.

John Dies At The End (2012)-6/10-> To call this movie original would be an understatement, but the special effects are a bit flawed and false.

Skyfall (2012)-7.5/10-> The latest installment in the Bond series is one of the best ever made, the Craig serie going in deeper into Bond's origins and life.

Hit And Run (2012)-3/10-> Not funny and not fun, Hit And Run has a few acceptable moments, but moments can't hold up a film.

Red Hook Summer (2012)-1.5/10-> Spike Lee's ultimate worst: bad acting, bad storytelling, bad music, bad everything and everywhere. 

7-20 December

Historic Centre (2012)-5/10-> Kaurismaki isn't anything special, he sticks to his usual recipe (if not a bit colder), which is not necessarily something bad.

Costa is disappointing, starting off with some of his usual picturality and continuing with a meaningless and dull part.

Erice is the most accomplished of all, sending off emotions and knowledge to the audience.

Oliveira has no plot whatsoever and it's there just for the sake of the director, probably.

Fortress (2012)-8/10-> One of the best documentaries I've seen in a while, Fortress is a humourous and also dark account of the Transnistrian country. Beautifully shot, very well made and wound together.

Quitting Smoking By Smoking (2012)-8.5/10-> One of the most honest and revealing films about smoking, Quitting Smoking By Smoking is not necessarily very personally made, which makes it even better to watch.

The Man With The Iron Fists (2012)-1.5/10-> The mix borrowed elements, terrible acting and haywire editing make this a really bad film, if not actually the worst of this year so far. 

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)-7.5/10-> It's mostly predictable, but the film has what not most of the films with teenagers have. It has a heart and an ability to actually capture the struggles of adolescence.

Pieta (2012)-6/10-> You might have seen this story in another form, but that doesn't  necessarily make Pieta a bad film. It's got some originality and the outcome is great.

22 November- 6 December

The Ruined Map (1968)-4/10->It nails an original atmosphere, but The Ruined Map is too incoherent and some moments are either too complex or either too stupid to understand.

Moara Cu Noroc (1955)-7/10->One of the few good adaptations of Romanian literature from that period, Moara Cu Noroc has good acting and a good script which respects the source material, but in my opinion it could have been bigger.

Something In The Air (2012)-8/10-> A powerful film, Assayas's latest is a beautiful piece on the French student movement of the early '70s.

More Than Honey (2012)-5/10->It's too slow and light,but otherwise More Than Honey is a good documentary.

The Details (2012)-5.5/10->A bit inconsistent, but otherwise The Details achieves its' black comedy standard, by becoming more shocking (not necessarily funny) as it goes along. And Maguire is a damned good pick for this role.

L'Enfer (1994)-4.5/10->Unexpectedly predictable and common, L'Enfer works as an OK film about jealousy with a good performance from Cluzet and that's it.

Gerry (2002)-8/10->It's very slow, but ultimately worth it.

EFA 2012: The Films and The Awards

Best Film

Winner: 

Amour

Nominees: 

• Barbara
• Cesare Deve Morire
• Jagten
• Shame 
• Intouchables

Did the winner deserve its' award? : Sure, "Amour" is pure cinema.

The other nominees : Except "Barbara", I didn't like any other film from the nominees for Best Film. I really hated "Intouchables" and the others aren't that bad, but they aren't that good either.

Omissions? : The biggest one is Benedek Fliegauf's "Just The Wind" (which is my favorite film of this year so far) and Paradise:Love.

Best Director

Winner:

Amour

Nominees:

• Once Upon A Time In Anatolia
• Shame
• Jagten
• Cesare Deve Morire

Did the winner deserve its' award? : Seeing the other nominees, yes. Seeing the fact that it also got Best Film, no.

The other nominees : Weak, weak competition for Haneke. I don't even see how "Anatolia" is still eligible.

Omissions? : I stand with the first two films I said in the first category. But I would also add "Holy Motors".

Best Actor

Winner:

Jean-Louis Trintignant for Amour

Nominees:

• Francois Cluzet & Omar Sy for Intouchables
• Michael Fassbender for Shame
• Mads Mikkelsen for Jagten
• Gary Oldman for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Did the winner deserve its' award? : Tough competition for Trintignant. But, yes, he gives one of the most compelling roles of the year.

The other nominees : Good actors giving good performances.

Omissions? : Yes. Schoenaerts for "Rust & Bone", Serban Pavlu for "Everybody in Our Family" and Denis Lavant for "Holy Motors".

Best Actress

Winner:

Emmanuelle Riva for Amour

Nominees:

• Emilie Dequenne for Our Children
• Nina Hoss for Barbara
• Margarethe Tiesel for Paradise:Love
• Kate Winslet for Carnage

Did the winner deserve its' award? : I liked Tiesel more, but Riva was just fine.

The other nominees : Good nominees, excepting Winslet.

Omissions? : Lola Creton for "Apres Mai" and Olga Dihovichnaya for "Twilight Portrait".

European Screenwriter

Winner:

Jagten

Nominees:

• Amour
• Carnage
• Intouchables
• Beyond The Hills

Did the winner deserve its' award? : The script is good, but not great.

The other nominees : "Amour" and "Beyond The Hills" are alright, "Carnage" is much lighter than it should be and "Intouchables" is atrocious.

Omissions? : "Just The Wind", "The Exchange" by Eran Kolirin, "Tabu" by Miguel Gomes and "Apres Mai" by Olivier Assayas.

Carlo Di Palma European Cinematographer Award

Winner:

Shame

Nominees:

• Faust
• Once Upon A Time In Anatolia
• Amour
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy

Did the winner deserve its' award? : Yes, the second best part about "Shame" is the cinematography.

The other nominees : "Once Upon A Time In Anatolia" and "Faust" are the most dazzling here, but "Amour" and "TTSS" aren't half bad either.

Omissions? : I don't know if they're eligible, but my favorites for 2012 are "Laurence Anyways" and "Post Tenebras Lux".

European Film Academy Animated Feature Film

Winner:

Alois Nebel

Nominees:

• The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists
• Arrugas 

Did the winner deserve its' award? : No, the film is beautiful visually, but otherwise it's a mess.

The other nominees : Well there's not much of a competition here. "Arrugas" is fine, haven't seen "The Pirates!" yet.

Omissions? : Haven't seen any good animations this year.

European Film Academy Short Film

Winner:

Superman, Spiderman or Batman

Nominees:

• The Ambassador & Me
• Back Of Beyond
• Beast
• How To Pick Berries
• In The Open
• Morning Of Saint Anthony's Day
• Objection VI
• Out Of Frame
• Silent
• Tomorrow It Will Be Good
• Two Hearts
• Two Ships
• Villa Antropoff

Did the winner deserve its' award? : Yes, of course. Not only this one of the best Romanian shorts I've seen this year along with "From Now On",  but one of the best shorts I've seen this year.

The other nominees : I have seen only a few of them; "How To Pick Berries" is pretty, "Morning Of Saint Anthony's Day" is weird,but good, I didn't get "Out Of Frame", "Silent" is a nicely done love story and "Villa Antropoff" is a funny critique on modern society.

Omissions? : No, not really.

(the categories I haven't commented are either the ones I haven't seen nothing from, or the ones I don't really know what to say about)

9-22 November

Magnolia(1999)-9/10->Overlong and a bit messy? Sure, but the whole complexity of the narrative and how it's wound together make up for that. Also,the cast is excellent, maybe one of the most impressive American casts to ever come together onto the screen.

Belle Toujours(2006)-7.5/10->While it does have the pace of the predecessor (and that's a flaw more or less), Belle Toujours shows us the point of view of the best, but neglected character from Bunuel's film, having a great script, filled with terrific dialogues.

Everyday(2012)-7/10->It's slow and predictable,but this is a very realistic, emotional and up front observation of a family.

POLA X(1999)-10/10->POLA X is definitely Carax's masterpiece,a strange,intense and dense film,starting as one film and ending up as a completely different.Excellent,but completely underrated.

Tokyo(2008)-5/10->Gondry takes too long to get to his overly cliched point,Carax serves up a plate of his usual bat-shit crazy originality and Joon-ho starts off with a great idea,but he goes into schmaltzy predictableness.

Lawless(2012)-2.5/10->Messy,not as well acted as it should be and it's more lifeless than the subject actually is.The pros are the ending and the cinematography.

In Another Country(2012)-7/10->A quirky and light film,"In Another Country" benefits mostly from Huppert's triple performance.

The Fly(1986)-5.5/10->Goldblum gives a great performance and Cronenberg succeeds in making the audience emphatize with its' characters,but it is too gory for its' own good.You either make a horror story or a love story.

Compliance(2012)-9/10->Tensionate,convincingly acted and minutely directed,Zobel brings out the sinister in the story and though he doesn't show us a lot,it shocks us with the gripping suspense and actions of the characters.

12 October-8 November

Killer Joe(2011)-7.5/10->A proper revival for Friedkin, this crazy and violent film shows McConaughey in his most convicing and absorbing role so far. Completely insane, completely worth it.

On The Road(2012)-5/10->Salles manages to nail most of the atmosphere of the book and the cinematography is great, but the characters and the film itself never are as daring or as open-minded as the terrific source material.

Berlin Calling(2008)-6.5/10->Starts off great,sending the audience an unique vibe and Kalkbrenner is fantastic (as an actor and as a musician), but it feels dull in some moments.

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford(2007)-8/10->It's slow, but the runtime allows Dominik to properly build his characters and it gives the film a very contemplative and unsettling air (which Deakins helps to build), driven from classic westerns. Great performances from Pitt and Affleck.

Sin City(2005)-6/10->Beautifully violent and it contains some great moments of violent poetry. Fun,but rarely smart.

Something From Nothing:The Art Of Rap(2012)-6/10->It's nicely wound together, but the rappers should be aloud to speak more. Way too short in my opinion.

Mr. Nice(2010)-3/10->Has a great first half hour, but the acting and the cinematography are bad, and it never fully extents its' great plot.

Savages(2012)-4/10->Savages is often incoherent and tangled, the ending is bad and the film is way too long (like all Stone films), but the acting is amiable and it's sometimes refreshing to see Stone hasn't lost his talent of making fun, violent movies,which he showcased in "Natural Born Killers".

The Bay(2012)-6/10->It's not scary, the so-called scares being gruesome and very few, but The Bay relies more on suspense and originality of the story and outcome than most found-footage flicks.

The Watch(2012)-3/10->Rarely funny, relying mostly on dick jokes, but the cast helps the movie not ending up useless.

Mauvais Sang(1986)-10/10->A beautiful and unique film, Mauvais Sang is an original combination of Melville's suspense and poetry and Kubrick's imagination.

Rust And Bone(2012)-7/10->Cotillard doesn't do too much, it's often predictable, but Schoenaerts is fantastic, the ending is good and the camera work is terrific.

Ils(2006)-5.5/10->A chilling horror, Ils is a tense and scary film, with an unpredictable outcome, which will make the viewer shake in its' seat. 

Belle De Jour(1967)-6/10->A bit too passionless and dull for its' own good, Belle De Jour works mostly because of Deneuve's acting and charm.Also, Piccoli is a treat.