Retrospective:Andrei Tarkovsky

The Steamroller And The Violin(1961)->8.5/10

Ivan's Childhood(1962)-10/10->An evocative and poetic journey,upped by ingenious editing and camerawork and of course the performance by Kolya Burlyayev.

Andrey Rublyov(1966)-10/10->Slow,poetic and complex,this story of a struggling painter which loses every drop of faith because of the political system in Russia is an astonishing epic,which stands it's ground as one of the best films ever made due to Tarkovski's imaginative and sturdy direction,the beautiful images and the fantastic subject.

Solyaris(1972)-8/10->Even though it is too contemplative,Solyaris is a smart SF which raises many questions about our existence and succeeds in answering the most.Also,the unpredictable ending is very good.

The Mirror(1975)-7/10->Although the narrative is incoherent and disjointed,The Mirror still is a beautiful film with much to offer to Tarkovsky's fans.

Stalker(1979)-9/10->Stalker,a SF with poetic connotations,stands out with its somber atmosphere,Tarkovsky's vision of the future(the impressive production design being made by him) and original story.Not his best work,but it still is terrific.

Tempo Di Viaggio(1983)-8/10->A very interesting documentary due to Tarkovsky usual style seen even in a documentary and the insightful look in his mind.

Nostalghia(1983)-4/10->There are some intelligent scenes and the film is beautiful in imagery,but Nostalghia suffers from a dull script and a boring and frankly,annoying pace.

The Sacrifice(1986)-7.5/10->While the visuals remain the same (as poetic as ever),Tarkovsky makes his story more accessible,a very unusual thing for him.Other than that,Josephson gives a terrific performance and Tarkovsky does revisit many of his themes on life and he delivers them,but with less cinematic punch.

23-29 December

Monty Python's Life Of Brian(1979)-9/10->Like all the films made by Monty Python,it's profane,poignant,satirical and hilarious.Also,this is quite an original take on the story of the birth of Jesus.

Defendor(2009)-4/10->Although Harrelson does a good job and it is funny,but Stebbings never seems to know how to set the right tone and it is too modest for its premise.

Carnage(2011)-7/10->The performances are top-notch and Polanski's direction remains as valuable as ever,but the film can't seem to shake off the feeling that it was made for a stage,not a camera.

Contagion(2011)-5/10->Even though the performances are fantastic and so are the soundtrack and the cinematography,Contagion lacks substance and credibility.

Moneyball(2011)-7/10->Although it lacks focus and it's overlong,Moneyball still is a touching and interesting (even for people who aren't interested in the sport) film featuring Pitt's best performance since Inglorious Basterds.

Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol(2011)-5/10->It might very well done(from a technical point of view) and entertaining,but it suffers from an aberrant plot and unintentionally humourous moments.

The Trial Of Joan Of Arc(1962)-7/10->Even though the subject is overly undermined,Bresson makes an impressive effort turning this into a smart nutshell.

Dekalog(1989)-8.5/10->Even though oftenly,exceeding in melodrama and bland dialogue,Dekalog remains a very thoughtful,poetic and unfliching film about life due to Kieslowski's attention not only to the esthetics of the images,but also his characters's every single emotional peer.

A Short Film About Killing(1988)-9/10->Whilst the premise might not be too original,Kieslowski brings his own trademark to it,discussing morals under some a cover of beautiful camerawork portraying a miserable world.

Three Colors:Blue(1993)-6/10->This is overly ambitious,but not original and Kieslowski's thorough character study formula seen in his previous films,seems to disappear,the director paying attention,mostly to the imagery.But,the film is quite powerful and beautiful,due to Binoche's performance and the camerawork.

Three Colors:White(1994)-4/10->The acting might be good and the imagery is (as always in a Kieslowski film) beautiful,but the middle part of the trilogy suffers from Kieslowski's mistake of trying to combine an emotional story with unfunny humor.Also,the film suffers from a bland narrative and absence of engagement.

Three Colors:Red(1994)-6.5/10->Much more passionate and vivid than the other two films in the trilogy,this is an appropiate ending to the trilogy which represents the inferior work of an otherwise great director.

Camera Buff(1979)-8/10->Very up-close and personal,Camera Buff is a interesting commentary on the freedom of speech and also a great character study,backed up by a strong performance by Stuhr.

16 December 2011 - 13 January 2012 (SHORTS)

Caught In The Rain(1914)->7/10

Laughing Gas(1914)->4/10

A Submarine Pirate(1915)->5/10

Cupid's Rival(1917)->3/10

The Metamorphosis Of Mr. Samsa(1978)->7/10

The Metamorphosis(1975)->8/10

16-22 December

This Is Not A Film(2011)-10/10->A powerful introspection into a director's interminable struggles,This Is Not A Film is a subtle rebellious message towards any oppressor.

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975(2011)-7/10->What The Black Power Mixtape lacks in coherence,it makes up for it in unique archive imagery and smart commentary.

The Story Of Adele H(1975)-8/10->Robinson and Adjani both give terrific performances and Truffaut's direction is great,but the rest of the acting is really stale.

Camille Claudel(1988)-6/10->Although Adjani does an excellent job,the cinematography is beautiful and Nuytten succeeds in reacreating that specific era,Camille Claudel is an overly meandering and overly melodramatic film.

Fatal(2010)-6/10->Fatal is a bit more than an average comedy,because it is sort of compelling and hilarious.But,other than that it's really formulaic and cliched.

Nackt(2002)-6.5/10->It might fall flat in certain moments because its slightly amateur-ish writing,but the acting and the complexity of the characters make this worth a watch.

Niko And The Way To The Stars(2008)-2/10->A re-hash of other great movies and characters, the only good thing about NATWTTS being the animation.

Tyrannosaur(2011)-8/10->A gripping,dark and brutal character-study,with A-class performances from the leads,especially the one from Mullan.

The Inbetweeners Movie(2011)-6/10->Even though it's overly repetitive and not as compelling as it could be,The Inbetweeners Movie is still a lot of fun and hilarious.

Les Choristes(2004)-7/10->While not being too original or unpredictable,Les Choristes features some good performances from Jugnot and the children and it is a powerful movie.

La Dolce Vita(1960)-10/10->With a power-house performance from Mastroianni,plenty of iconic scenes and Fellini at the top of his game,La Dolce Vita is a masterpiece about the bitterness of the so-called "sweet life".

Duck Soup(1933)-8/10->Although the absurd portrayed in the film is fantastic and the humor is like nothing you've ever seen before,but the film's narrative line is completely disjointed.

Fight Club(1999)-9/10->The solid acting,the unique atmosphere,the tension which Fincher so competently builds up and the smart script make Fight Club one of the best films of the late 90's.

11 November-15 December (Shorts)

So,this is a new thing.I guess it will be a monthly thing,seeing that I see very few short films.I will update this post when I see some more.In time,I will try to attach some three-word reviews to them(not that the reviews for the feature-films are very long).Until then,enjoy!

Deus Irae(2010)->7/10

Danny Boy(2010)->5/10

To My Mother And Father(2010)->4/10

Night Fishing(2010)->7/10

All Flowers In Time(2010)->8/10

The Death Of An Insect(2010)->6/10

Old Man And The Lady(2009)->7/10

The Illustrated City(2010)->9/10

How To Pick Berries(2010)->8/10

Stagecoach(2010)->4/10

Onni(2010)->7/10

Save The Rhinoceros(2011)->6/10

The Scoop(2010)->5/10

Sweet Mov(i)e(2010)->5/10

The Duffers(2010)->8/10

Berik(2010)->8/10

Little Children,Big Words(2010)->8/10

Incident By A Bank(2009)->9/10

Derby(2010)->8/10

Jessi(2010)->6/10

The Wolves(2010)->10/10

The Unliving(2010)->7/10

Silent River(2010)->7/10

The Wholly Family(2010)->8/10

La Gran Carrera(2010)->4/10

Entr'Acte(1924)->8/10

Paris Qui Dort(1925)->7/10

We Will Be Happy One Day(2011)->7/10

9-15 December

Moon(2009)-6/10->Rockwell gives a great performance and the visuals are spectacular,but Moon gets rather dull and formulaic in the last half hour.

Martha Marcy May Marlene(2011)-7/10->While lacking originality and a bit of strength in Durkin's directing,the film still benefits from fantastic performances(especially from new-comer Elizabeth Olsen and Hawkes) and a haunting,smart,psychological story.

La Regle Du Jeu(1939)-10/10->With impecable direction and writing from Renoir,this honest and harsh social commentary wins over the audience through its original look at the French bourgeoise.Also,the satire is almost literally,delicious.

La Grande Illusion(1937)-10/10->Probably one of the first and the greatest escape movies ever made,La Grande Illusion benefits from an unforgettable performance by Stroheim and Renoir's simple directing style which "reeks" of honest and veritable cinema.

Laura(1944)-8/10->Even though it borrows heavily from Rebecca(1940),Laura still is a competent film noir,due to Preminger's subtle direction and Tierney's performance.

A Nous La Liberte(1931)-8/10->With great wit and satire,Clair reaches Chaplin-like comedic genius,but he also makes his film stand for its important political message.

Bad Teacher(2011)-5/10->Even though Diaz gives a good performance and the premise is great,it's formulaic,it lets down its premise and it isn't as funny as you might expect it to be.

Pickpocket(1959)-10/10->Pickpocket features tight and realistic imagery,a great performance from LaSalle,but the thing that shines the most here is Bresson's masterful and subtle direction,which makes this character study so much more interesting,by combining strong narrative with scenes about the poetry of stealing.Cinematographic perfection.

Vorbitor(2011)-9/10->With an inspired premise and two smart directors,Vorbitor is an original documentary and probably,one of the best Romanian films of 2011.Also,besides it being an emotional and insightful documentary,it's quite humourous from time to time.

2-8 December

Paranoid Park(2007)-8/10->Paranoid Park's narrative might be a bit disjointed (even though it's one of the things it relies most on),but Nevins pulls off a great performance and Van Sant yet again captures the pros and cons of being a teenager in this intriguing,bold,low-key and intelligent film.Also,Doyle's cinematography shines as always.

50/50(2011)-8/10->Even though it's utterly predictable,Levine masterfully combines dark humor with touching scenes,backed up by a terrific soundtrack,great performances from Levitt and Kendrick and an usual,but still good,one from Rogen.

The Ides Of March(2011)-5/10->It's very well acted and it is unexpectedly self-confident,but this is an average political drama that doesn't bring anything new and it fails as a thriller.

Madame de...(1953)-10/10->Madame de... is a sumptuous and slow,but engaging melodrama,which benefits from a stunning performance from Danielle Darrieux,the brilliant script and Ophuls's rich direction.

Punch-Drunk Love(2002)-9/10->This is an odd and unforgettable experience,due to Sandler's opulent performance,the tasteful humor and Anderson's smart direction.

Warrior(2011)-6/10->Even though Warrior is overly-clicheic and unoriginal,the performances from Edgerton,Hardy and Nolte are notable,it is a bit emotional and the fighting scenes are spectacular.

House(1977)-9/10->Not making much sense is House's main perk,that,the visuals and the effects.Other than that,there's not much that can be said about the film.

Face/Off(1997)-7/10->An elegantly violent and overly-stylized cat-and-mouse game,with great performances from Cage and Travolta,but it does run out of steam eventually (it could have been better running under 100 minutes) and the ending feels really sloppy.

Chico & Rita(2010)-7/10->It falls into a lot of clichees and it sometimes hits the wrong note,but the visuals are fantastic and so is the soundtrack and in the end it's a sweet little film.

Colour Me Kubrick(2005)-4.5/10->The movie benefits from a hilarious performance from Malkovich,the premise is absolutely fascinating,but this offers us no insight whatsoever on Kubrick and the man who tried to be him and it becomes fairly tedious after some time.

L.A. Confidential(1997)-9/10->With perfect acting,smart twists and a distinguishable 50's cool,L.A. Confidential is a great film and it would have been terrific without his ending,which is a big letdown.

Le Quattro Volte(2010)-10/10->This is a documentary which aims to study life. It succeeds not only that,but it also tells somewhat of a compelling story through the imagery.A slow and profound observation.

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane(2006)-5/10->It isn't very original and it certaintly isn't a good film,but ATBLML is an entertaining slasher-flick.And it has some good twists.

Like Crazy(2011)-6/10->Felicity Jones gives a great performance,the characters are very expressive and it feels more intimate than the usual love stories in films,but it is too scattered and story is treated a bit too shallow.

Me,Myself & Irene(2000)-5/10->The first half is funny and engaging,but the second half is tedious and the jokes become tiresome.

Love Is The Devil(1998)-8/10->Whilst not being too insightful on Bacon's life and who he was,Love Is The Devil is one of his paintings. Visceral,raw,grotesque,mad,grim,disturbing and much,much more.Also,Jacobi is spot-on as Bacon.

Man With A Movie Camera(1929)-10/10->A quaint and fascinating film,with inventive cinematography,great editing and plenty of intelligent allegories.Truly,a hidden gem.

People On Sunday(1930)-8/10->Even though the concept might seem conventional to some,People On Sunday is a film with excellent performances(even though the people are unprofessional actors),some beautiful shots and it's quite evocative for a film with such a simple premise. A reminiscent of a lost era.Too bad that almost a quarter of the movie was lost.

Take Me Home Tonight(2011)-5/10->Some parts are funny and the acting is amiable,but this is unoriginal and it fails to recreate the feelings great movies about teens gave us.

Dylan Dog:Dead Of Night(2011)-2.5/10->The effects are well made and Routh gives an OK performance,but the rest of the acting is terrible and there are no scares or laughs,so it fails at being a comedy and a horror film.

Kevin Hart:Laugh At My Pain(2011)-6/10->It isn't a real movie,it's a show,but it still is hilarious.

25 November-1 December

A Dangerous Method(2011)-6/10->Cronenberg builds up a good atmosphere with the interesting imagery and the use of Shore's score and the performances from Mortensen,Fassbender and Cassel(his 10 minutes being,probably the best of the film) are great,but Knightley forces an annoying accent (and some "hard to watch" moments),it turns out to be too melodramatic and this is unusually restrained (in terms of shock) for a Cronenberg film.

Cairo Station(1958)-9/10->Even though their stories are quite simple,the transformations that the characters suffer are of a great magnitude.Also,the tension created by Chahine's character is terrific and so is the ending.

Where The Wild Things Are(2009)-8/10->The beginning might be farfetched,but this is a beautiful,heartfelt movie about growing up with great performances,an amazing soundtrack and beautiful imagery.Also,when the film takes a darker turn it feels as if it's reached its peak.

Tinker,Tailor,Soldier,Spy(2011)-8/10->This is a meticulous and smart film,even though it never is as subtle as the miniseries with great editing and a wonderfully built atmosphere.Also,the whole cast is great,but it's Oldman and Cumberbatch who shine.

Hesher(2010)-6.5/10->The story is actually great,the dark humor is relentless and Levitt gives a good performance,but it could have been way better if Susser would have taken more interest in his characters.

The Twilight Saga:Breaking Dawn-Part 1(2011)-3/10->The acting is OK,but the editing is terrible,the film is unintentionally hilarious,slow and the scene in which Bella gives birth is horrible and completely out of context with the whole story of the film.

The Change-Up(2011)-6/10->The humor might be too crude for some,it's predictable,formulaic and it isn't subtle at all,but the humor,Bateman and Reynolds make this work.

The Rum Diary(2011)-4/10->The performances are good and the cinematography is surprisingly superb,but this doesn't match the zanyness in "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas",nor does it capture the essence of Thompson's material.

The Help(2011)-7/10->Davis gives a power-house performance and there are some heartfelt moments,but it's overlong and it sort of just pushes its message too hard.

18-24 November

Primos(2011)-6/10->The first 40 minutes or so are hilarious,the performances are good(especially the one given by Adrian Lastra),some of the scenery is beautiful and even though it borrows a lot from The Hangover it has enough original jokes to stand on its own.As a comedy.But in the second melodramatic,formulaic half,Primos becomes unbearable.

The Untitled Kartik Krishnan Project(2010)-6.5/10->The story,the twist and the writing are great and so are the final shots of the film,but it isn't acted very well and there are some editing mishaps.

Gandu(2010)-7.5/10->Even though it starts to focus on its actual story well after the first half,Gandu is electric,well acted and artistic (particulary when it doesn't try).Also,the soundtrack is fantastic.

Big Tits Zombie(2010)-1/10->Atrocious acting,horrible effects,a crappy use of 3D and most of all,even though it's title promises mindless entertainment,it doesn't provide.

Kill Me Please(2010)-9/10->A mix between hilarious black humor,black and white cinematography and a great cast,Kill Me Please goes way over the viewer's expectations.

Homme Au Bain(2010)-5/10->Sagat gives somewhat of a good performance and the film studies his character carefully,but Honore aims more to shock than to develop his main character's story,which practically goes nowhere.

Reign Of Assassins(2010)-8/10->Yeoh gives a great performance(as always),the fight scenes are spectacular and the story might feel stale at the beginning,but it recovers itself along the way.

The Myth Of The American Sleepover(2010)-6/10->The whole cast gives some amiable performances and the film is entirely realistic,but this is unexpectedly tedious and it falls really flat for a movie about teenagers.

Cold Weather(2010)-8.5/10->With great indie-type humor,solid performances,beautiful cinematography and good suspense,Cold Weather ends up being a lighter version of Brick(2006).It's only flaw being,building up so much suspense to its meandering conclusion.

Faust(2011)-7/10->Very philosophical,yet slightly incoherent,Faust succeeds in keeping an alert tone until the last 20 minutes of the film.Also,the combination between the scenery and the bizarre,yet beautiful cinematography is a winner and so are the performances by Adasinsky and Zeiler.

Vatel(2000)-3/10->Vatel might feature some beautiful scenery and a good performance from Roth,but other than it's just another tedious costume-drama that goes nowhere its characters or story.

Daca Bobul Nu Moare(2010)-10/10->The director shows the same amount of interest to all of the film's narrative threads,a thing which is to be admired and even though the film presents a miserable world and some deeply disturbing scenes it features some wonderfully poetic images.An unique experience,very different from the usual Romanian films.

The Flowers Of St. Francis(1950)-8/10->It might too light-hearted for some,but this is not as rigid and formulaic as all the movies about faith and the acting is great.Short,but effective.

11-17 November

Immortals 3D(2011)-4/10->The visuals are stunning(even though Singh doesn't have a clear idea on how to use 3D),Rourke is a hell of a villain and the ending is unpredictable,but still,Immortals is a mess,with everything reminding us of a better film.Snyder's 300.

Michael(2011)-9/10->Schleinzer borrows most of his elements from Haneke's films:the characters,the pace,the bleakness and the conclusion,which "wrecks" its characters.Consider it to be an homage,for he brings some originality to the well-known style and it grasps the essence of it.

Intolerance(1916)-9.5/10->It's very ambitious and demanding of its viewers,but still Intolerance is one of the pillars of dramatic film,it stands for it's title and it's faithfullness to his main theme.

The Birch Wood(1970)-8/10->It's a beautiful and heartbreaking film,backed up by good performances and great cinematography,even though it isn't too insightful on its characters.

Catfish(2010)-8/10->A true nail-biter,this builds up slowly,until it's totally unpredictable conclusion. It's main flaw being the ending,which makes the viewer question the reality of the film.Still remains,a gripping mystery.

Kids(1995)-3/10->Although Kids should be a harsh social commentary and it should make us feel some sort of strange compassion to its characters,Kids ends up being just shocking and the characters are truly despicable.And as Rita Kempley from Washington Post puts it Kids "is virtually child pornography disguised as a cautionary documentary".

Half Baked(1998)-5/10->Even though some of the jokes fall flat and the script is uneven,most of the humor is hilarious and Chappelle has enough charisma to turn this into an almost acceptable comedy. 

This Is Spinal Tap(1984)-9/10->It's a hilarious mockumentary and it actually is insightful on the absurdity of the rock-and-roll world.Almost flawless.

Election(1999)-7/10->Election is a film with dark humor,with genuine characters and great performances from Broderick and Witherspoon,but has its dull moments and it is only a small glimpse of what Payne can do.

Memories(1995)-7/10->Magnetic Rose is some sort of "2001:A Space Odyssey" and it captures that type of atmosphere with its story and great visuals.Stink Bomb is somewhat humorous,but it is repetitive.Cannon Fodder is the segment that shines,with a consistent suspenseful tone and a stunnning story.

4-10 November

Mildred Pierce(1945)-9/10->Featuring a great performance from Crawford and tense dialogues,Curtiz makes this seemingly dramatic family film,a suspenseful film-noir.Almost perfect.

Boy(2010)-8/10->It's a charming and funny film about growing up,with genuine characters and touching moments,but Boy tries too hard to keep balance between drama and comedy. It doesn't really succeed.

Anonymous(2011)-6.5/10->Emmerich's direction is fairly impressive,the visuals are stunning,Ifans and Hogg are great,but it bombards us with the characters' emotions and the second half doesn't seem as insightful as the first one.Emmerich's best film?You bet.

Mildred Pierce(2011)-6/10->It's quite faithful to the original,Winslet gives a terrific performance and it brings some sort of soothing nostalgia,but Mildred Pierce gets really slow and boring.

The Shining(1980)-8/10->Some moments might be confusing,some might be ridiculous and it takes out a lot of parts from King's novel,but it brings out the essential in the source material,Nicholson gives an unforgettable,genuinely mad performance and Kubrick builds a fantastic atmosphere,by combining the score with effective scares and some elegance.

30 Minutes Or Less(2011)-4.5/10->The cast does a pretty good job,it's entertaining,but only a quarter of the jokes are funny,another quarter are repetitive and half feel unoriginal.Disappointing.

Beavis And Butt-Head Do America(1996)-7/10->The plot's idea is completely preposterous and this might be only for the fans of the original show,but this has no bounds,it's hilarious and it actually works as a pretty great spin-off.

11-11-11(2011)-1/10->Wooden acting,idiotic ending,no scares whatsoever,terrible direction,there are no words to describe this film.One of the year's worst,if not of all time.

Desire(1936)-8/10->Witty,romantic,suspenseful(at times) and Dietrich gives a magnificent performance.Also,Dietrich and Cooper have a lot of chemistry.

Team America(2004)-4/10->Even though the satire is great,Team America tries to squeeze too much of it in and it gets repetitive quite fast.

Retrospective:Pedro Almodovar

Pepi,Luci & Bom(1980)-7/10->Bizarre characters,hilarious,yet shocking dialogues,a lot of self-ironic behaviour make this worth your while,even though Almodovar goes nowhere with his characters.

What Have I Done To Deserve This?(1984)-9/10->Funnier than his first movie,better acted and a lot more centered on its incredibly bizarre and special characters,What Have I Done To Deserve This? is a weird story told in a distinguishable way Almodovar has set in only two movies.

Matador(1986)-7/10->With a great performance from Banderas,plenty of smart,sexual metaphores ,Matador is a depraved,strange,yet great psychological drama,but,Almodovar tries a bit too hard to shock the viewer visually,but not in the storyline and the shocks get quite tedious after a while.

Law Of Desire(1987)-6/10->It's bold and shocking,well acted and the dialogues are really well written,but Law Of Desire loses his story more and more,whilst Almodovar gets almost infatuated with his characters.

Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown(1988)-10/10->Probably his most artistic film so far(1988),WOTVOANB is fantastically acted,humourous and emotional,stylish,short and energetic.Also,it has genuine wacky characters.

Tie Me Up,Tie Me Down!(1990)-8/10->Even though its plot has some holes,Banderas and Abril's performances are fantastic,it's a fascinating film about love and there is some sick humor,even though this is mostly an emotionally gripping film.

High Heels(1991)-8/10->Abril and Paredes make a good mother-daughter pair in this funny,somewhat melodramatic film,in which Almodovar makes his characters take some rather unpredictable forms.

Live Flesh(1997)-8.5/10->A very ironic and sincere film on daily life and chance,backed up by Bardem's performance,a great score that fits in with the general mood of the movie and great cinematography.Also,the movie is either very sincere about its views on life,or very creative(in terms of humor).Not both at the same time,sadly.

All About My Mother(1999)-10/10->A constant homage to classic films,fantastically acted and it's one of the few films that are such insightful,feminist studies.And Roth gives one of the best performances I have ever seen.Majestic.

Hable Con Ella(2002)-8.5/10->The narrative Almodovar has built has some missteps and the themes in the movie seem a bit recycled by him,but the way he tells the story in a very mysterious and bold way,it's compassionate.Slow,yet rewarding nonetheless.

La Mala Education(2004)-9/10->The acting is impecable and the way the real story weaves together with the scripted story is great.Also,it works not only as a drama,but also as a film-noir.

Broken Embraces(2009)-8/10->Not one of Almodovar's recent best,but Broken Embraces is another great film-noir,Cruz and Homar give terrific performances.

The Skin I Live In(2011)-9/10->One of Almodovar's sickest,but one of his smartest films,filled with twists,first class performances from Anaya and Banderas and beautiful cinematography.Also,he gives the film only a pinch Almodovar-esque humor.And that's enough.

Labyrinth Of Passion(1982)-6/10->To some it might be funny,to some it might be just shocking and even though Almodovar deviates from one subject to another,the acting and the fun are worth it.

Dark Habits(1983)-6/10->Dark Habits is hilarious,dramatic and bizarre,but it is really disjointed,even though it's really fun.

Kika(1993)-5/10->It's as zany and hilarious as Almodovar can get,but Almodovar gives up coherent storytelling for some great,funny scenes.

The Flower Of My Secret(1995)-7/10->It's compassionate,beautifully filmed and Paredes gives out her truly best,but towards the second half of the film,it seems as if Almodovar lost interest of his main character.

Volver(2006)-8.5/10->Cruz gives a terrific performance in this touching,feminist,melodramatic comedy about refinding your roots.A tribute to women all around.

Zilele Filmului German(The Days of German Film)

Stopped On Track(2011)-9/10->A highly emotional movie,which benefits from strong direction,good acting and terrific poetic moments,but it might feel a bit too slow,towards the end.

3(2011)-4/10->Even though it has good performances and good cinematography,this isn't capable of developing the characters or the interesting premise.

Dreileben:Beats Being Dead(2011)-7/10->It's a very strange love story,that doesn't really hold back,with good acting and some beautiful cinematography,but the ending is very unnecessary,confusing and unsatisfying.

Dreileben:Don't Follow Me Around(2011)-6/10->It's interesting to watch the main story and the actual crime story weave together and the acting is good,but as its predecessor it has huge problems with its ending and it sort of loses the viewer's interest in the last 20 minutes.

Dreileben:One Minute Of Darkness(2011)-5/10->Even though,this finally takes it's criminal character and develops it a lot,it switches to another one in the end for no particular reason and does almost nothing with it.Could have been a great ending to this very bizarre trilogy.

Die Fremde(2010)-6/10->Die Fremde is a very bleak drama,with a superb performance by Kekili,but it is let down by Aladag's lack of competent direction and it's overlongness.

I Only Want You To Love Me(1976)-8.5/10->It's a very complex and heartbreaking film with great performances from the leads,interesting cinematography and sharp direction from Fassbinder.

28 October-3 November

Best Intentions(2011)-10/10->http://moviereviewsbymarcsolomon.blogspot.com/2011/10/movie-reviewbest-intentions2011.html

The Adventures Of Tintin 3D:The Secret Of The Unicorn(2011)-10/10->It's quirky,beautiful,a good use of 3D and Spielberg respects the source material.Pitch-perfect.

Sleeping Beauty(2011)-3/10->Even though,it's a great idea,Sleeping Beauty ultimately fails in giving us a conclusion,Browning is terrible and it just turns out utterly grotesque.

In A Better World(2010)-6/10->It has a good subject,a couple of good performances and beautiful cinematography,but In A Better World is too melodramatic and cliched.Not qualified for an Oscar.

Stopped On Track(2011)-9/10->A highly emotional movie,which benefits from strong direction,good acting and terrific poetic moments,but it might feel a bit too slow,towards the end.

Bridesmaids(2011)-2/10->It has 2(maybe) funny moments and Wiig is fun to watch,as always,but Bridesmaids,is clicheic,gross,overlong and utterly unfunny.

Tomboy(2011)-7/10->It's an interesting and harsh film about growing up and Sciamma knows what to do with the characters,but it's very predictable and a bit too short.

King-Kong(1933)-8/10->King-Kong today,surely won't be taken seriously. The staging is mostly ridiculous,but the quirky dialogue,the,perhaps,thorough direction and the surprising amount of impredictability make this work.It's one of the greatest monster movies(and probably the first),which is upped by a great zany performance by Armstrong.Iconic.

21-27 October

Alien(1979)-10/10->http://moviereviewsbymarcsolomon.blogspot.com/2011/10/movie-reviewalien1979.html

Aliens(1986)-4/10->Well,it's far more entertaining and quotable,Cameron assembles a great cast and stages some good scares,but this is too long,overly clicheic,messy and it fails to reach the intelligence of its predecessor.

Alien 3(1992)-4/10->There are some good suspense filled scenes and Dutton out-acts everybody,but the ending is cliched to the maximum,Weaver is overly theatrical and Fincher puts a price more on explosions and yelling,than actual development of the story.

Alien:Resurrection(1997)-8/10->Even though the plot might seem preposterous to some,the quantity of the gore is a bit too high and it takes itself a bit too seriously,Jeunet's imaginative direction,the editing,the cinematography,Perlman,Ryder and Pinon make this a great movie and a perfect ending for a (classic) franchise.

Submarine(2010)-10/10->This a quirky and sweet chronicle of true romantic love,backed up by great performances,a strong narrative,mesmerizing imagery and a suitable soundtrack.

Comedian(2002)-8/10->This is an insightful documentary on creating comedy and the hard-ship of it,but it could have been a bit bigger.Plus,it's fun to see Seinfeld act a whole lot differently than on his show.

The Woman(2011)-5/10->The choice of music is completely parallel with the film and the script is weak in the beginning,but McKee makes this work through the use of relentless gore(not so many scares,but hey it's a slasher film) and the acting is surprising only in the second part of the film.Also,the editing might feel very confusing in the last 20 minutes.For horror-slasher fans only.

Atrocious(2010)-5/10->It has an interesting premise, with good acting and a great twist attached to it,but nearly nothing happens in Atrocious and the camera is way too shaky even for a film of this kind.

Chopper(2000)-7/10->Bana shines as Chopper,but this also benefits from good cinematography and Dominik's direction,but his script has a lot of flaws.

The Good,The Bad And The Weird(2008)-9/10->http://moviereviewsbymarcsolomon.blogspot.com/2011/10/movie-reviewthe-goodthe-badthe.html

I Saw The Devil(2010)-10/10->Bleak,relentlessly violent,well acted,smart,tensionate,this succeeds in making a point about the sick and sad world we live in.Also,for such a dark film,it's quite beautifully shot.

Margin Call(2011)-9/10->Chandor not only assembled one of the greatest casts we have yet to come across this year,but he has written tense dialogues and a script that rather focuses on the people involved in this situation rather than the actual situation.Probably the best film about the financial crisis up to date.

Galaxy Quest(1999)-7/10->The plot is a bit farfetched,but the cast is perfect and smart satire make this a great parody.

Fast Times At Ridgemont High(1982)-5/10->It's well acted,funny and these are some good stories,but their weaving together is unsuccessful and Crowe's script seems highly amateur-ish.

Dazed And Confused(1993)-9/10->Linklater has incredible interest for his movie's characters and he tries to make each and every one of them special.He succeeds,being sustained by a great ensemble cast,a good script and a far more than satisfying ending.

Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance(2002)-7/10->This is a very slow film and Park seems to have an eye more for gore than character development,but this is nonetheless,a rewarding film with bizarre, yet great performances.

Oldboy(2003)-10/10->Oldboy is a powerful film with a visceral performance from Min-sik Choi,Park's capability to turn even the most violent scenes into strange poetry.Full of gripping moments,unexpectedly great dark humor and great cinematography.Easily one of the best films made between 2000-2005.

Lady Vengeance(2005)-5/10->It is a compelling film with some sort of elegant violence attached to it and beautiful cinematography,but Lady Vengeance feels incoherent in the start and the main character doesn't seem as good(in terms of construction and development) as the previous two.

Infernal Affairs(2002)-9/10->A fierce and taut cat-and-mouse type of film,which benefits from short and tense dialogues,good acting and great twists.

Infernal Affairs II(2003)-7/10->This is not as well-written or unpredictable as the first one,but it still works as an average thriller.

Infernal Affairs III(2003)-3/10->Even though Leung gives a great performance,but this is surprisingly incoherent and it isn't a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.

Movie Review:Best Intentions(2011)

Director:Adrian Sitaru

Writer:Adrian Sitaru

Cast:
Bogdan Dumitrache->Alex
Natasa Raab->Mother
Marian Ralea->Father
Alina Grigore->Delia

SPOILERS AHEAD

Best Intentions is a film directed by Adrian Sitaru,director of such films as Hooked(2008),Waves(2007),Lord(2009) and The Cage(2010),which follows four days from Alex's life,which takes a strange turn,when his mother is put into a hospital,because of a cerebral stroke.

One of the main pillars of the movie is the main idea of the director.At one point,the main character,Alex,talks about some sort of tranzitive disease,which he suspects his mother has.This is the main line,the movie roots for.Alex,yearning to help his mother,fills himself with so much negative energy,that in the end,he becomes even more damaged than his mother,who is finally cured.

The second main pillar of the film,is Dumitrache's performance.He gives such a phenomenal performance(a rare thing for Romanian cinema,seeing that in the past year,no performance,has impressed me in such a manner),it even is comparable to Tilda Swinton's performance in We Need To Talk About Kevin(2011),another film about a family member which struggles with her family's difficulties(Review here:http://moviereviewsbymarcsolomon.blogspot.com/2011/09/movie-reviewwe-need-to-talk-about.html).It's very interesting to compare the two.Even though,the characters have almost nothing in common,the acting does.They are both capable to make their characters a puzzle,just assembling it,showing all their character's sides,alone,without trying to get help from the director.

Another fantastic thing about the film,is the variety of characters and the director's capability to conjure them all,in such a way,that every character gets his unique moment.The easily neurotic son,the happy-go-lucky sick mother,the father which is apparently very restrained,the girlfriend which tries to comfort the son and ultimately,sort of,succeeds,the female character resembling Frank from Donnie Darko(2001),the crazy woman which is strongly convinced that she is cured and a lot more characters.

A surprisingly innovative thing,which is the film's main gimmick,is the POV way of filming.A lot of people are not satisfied with this,because of the constant movement and that upsets.I think that this is a very good thing for a drama.It gives it more humanity.It makes it more natural and even,more special.

Best Intentions is a very well-made drama,with great performances,cinematography and directing,which will make you take a hard look at your own life after the film.

FINAL GRADE:10 OUT OF 10

Movie Review:The Good,The Bad,The Weird(2008)

Director:Jee-woon Kim

Writers:
Jee-woon Kim
Min-suk Kim

Cast:
Kang-ho Song->The Weird
Byung-hun Lee->The Bad
Woo-sung Jung->The Good

It's amazing what Kim accomplished to do in this film.First of all,he made this a ton more entertaining than the original.This film runs just under 135 minutes.There was not a minute when I got bored.All the stunts are mind-blowing.Even the ones in small scenes.Plus,it started off with a punch.In the first 15 minutes,a classic train chase scene is portrayed.

But,this is not only a commercial film.Kim develops his characters slowly and we figure out something about them and only in the end we can take the pieces and make the puzzle.But here is his problem.It's normal for The Weird to get most of the screen-time seeing that he is a new character and all,but The Good remains the same the whole movie.I mean maybe Kim tried to tell us that we have seen enough of him in Leone's film.Eastwood was the main character(Blondie/The Good) there and his character became so iconic,he had such great quotable lines.But here,he(Woo-sung Jung) does not only not get enough screen-time,but the film's main showdown is between The Weird and The Bad,rather than the whole three of them.

What I really liked about the film was its low quantity of blood.Most of the action films these days,feature tons of blood and gruesome moments.The Good,The Bad And The Weird features violence.Very little blood.It's somewhat of a grade of faithfullness towards the original.

Another impressive thing about the film is its unusual embracive nature about itself in the ridiculous or funny moments.It never takes itself seriously,but it does embrace its foolish nature when it has to.And there are not many films that do that.Kudos for that,Mr Kim.

What is The Good,The Bad And The Weird? Explosion-filled fun,backed-up by great humor,great acting and fantastic character development.This is what all action movies should look like nowadays.But then again...Which would we call special?

-1:For Kim's incredibly low interest for Jung's character.

FINAL GRADE:9 OUT OF 10

Movie Review:Alien(1979)

Director:Ridley Scott
Writer:Dan O'Bannon
Cast:
Sigourney Weaver->Ripley
Tom Skerritt->Dallas
Ian Holm->Ash
John Hurt->Kane

SPOILERS AHEAD


First of all,this movie is for everybody.Not only for horror fans.And in my opinion,when you want to introduce someone to the monster-horror movie genre,you do a double-bill screening at your own place and you show this movie and Romero's "Night Of The Living Dead".Second of all,this is not only a huge influence on the monster-horror genre,but also the claustrophobic-horror/thriller[Buried(2010),Panic Room(2002),The Cube(1980),Phone Booth(2002),Descent(2006),etc.].And it kind of has everything.

I have a problem,though.I can't decide which is the best thing about the movie.Is it Scott's direction or the scene in which Ripley struggles to throw the alien in space?Well,Scott starts off with these people's daily life on a ship.Everything is nice and smooth.Tension starts to arise when they start questioning themselves,ultimately making us toss and turn.Now that's some good direction.Also,he really doesn't rely on the fact that this is supposed to be a horror movie.In the first hour and 15 minutes,this is more about them dealing with fear.Then in the last 35 minutes,he shows us the monster and everything becomes more alert and scary.

The scene in which Ripley struggles throw the alien into space,is probably the best scene in the movie.First of all,the way it's written is brilliant.Also,this is Weaver's best time to shine given the fact that is the best written material in the whole movie.And the editing is perfect.The suspense grows in parallel with the sound.At one moment it becomes unbeareable.Even after writing this,I can't decide.

Conclusion?A classic and nevertheless major influence on all horrors and thrillers(and more?) to come out of Hollywood in the past 30 years.One to watch.10/10

14-20 October

The Coast Guard(2002)-6/10->It's an original,powerful and poetic film sustained by a great performance by Jang's great performance,but it falls flat and tiresome in some scenes and the ending is very messy.

POM Wonderful Presents:The Greatest Movie Ever Sold(2011)-7/10->This is an energetic,witty film and it benefits from Spurlock's undeniable entertaining charm,but it's not as insightful as it should be.But,hey. It's really a lot of fun.

Silent Sonata(2010)-5/10->A strange film,but not in a good way,this war drama is disjointed and surprisingly boring,even though it runs just under 80 minutes.Otherwise,the cinematography is magnetic and the acting is either too theatrical or just right.

The Green Wave(2011)-5/10->The idea of combining animation with live-action isn't too bad and the topic it debates is interesting,but The Green Wave fails in making the most of it. 

Hadewijch(2009)-8/10->Sokolowski's acting is great,the cinematography is beautiful and the turn of events is unpredictable,but the explosion scene is ridiculous and the ending is rather unsatisfying.

The Driver(1978)-9/10->It's fun to see O'Neal and Dern have at it,the car chases are spectacular,some scenes are filled with great suspense and Hill's direction is sharp.

This Must Be The Place(2011)-6.5/10->Sean Penn gives a terrific performance,the cinematography is beautiful and the quirk is good,but Sorrentino's storytelling is very light.

Bullitt(1968)-6/10->McQueen is terrific,the cinematography in some particular scenes is great and the infamous car-chase scene is worth it,but it's a bit too long and it seems very uneven and the script is just too dull in some places.

Zatoichi(2003)-8/10->Kitano gives a hell of a performance,it's overly violent,entertaining and even it's not quite original or unpredictable,this still is a competent and compelling samurai movie.

Rundskop(2011)-8/10->It might start off dull and it might give you the impression that it doesn't go anywhere,but Bullhead benefits from great acting,a great turnout and an incredibly alert tone after the first 30 minutes.Also,the script part is fantastic because the dialogues are tense and it's the little details that make this a good cinematic piece.

Cirkus Columbia(2010)-6.5/10->It has a good premise,good acting and it's quite beautifully executed,but it feels too long and this should have been done a bit more special.

Anim'Est International Animation Film Festival-6TH Edition

Crulic:The Way To Beyond(2011)-4/10->Ivanov is spot-on as Crulic and the animation is fairly impressive,but it starts off messy,it ends up utterly incoherent and it tries too hard to be a poetic melodrama,even though there are some hilarious moments.

George The Hedgehog(2011)-8/10->It has a good premise,its funny as hell and all in all even though it's a bit short,this is a great animation.

Tokyo Godfathers(2003)-9/10->Funny,emotional and even suspenseful,Tokyo Godfathers succeeds in telling a compelling story which is upped by the dialogue,music and capability to thread three stories that have the same amount of impact on the viewer.

Paprika(2006)-10/10->With a mind-blowing premise,story and eye-popping animation scenes,Paprika is a fantastic film.Also,it will demand your full attention. It will get it.

Midori-Ko(2010)-3/10->Midori-Ko has an original premise and it uses an original animation technique,but it's incoherent and at a point it just gets insane.Still,it could have been a short film.

Perfect Blue(1997)-9/10->A troubling story that will have you on the edge of your seat,this uses Lynchian logic and Hitchcockian suspense.The ending is sort of disappointing.

Le Roman De Renard(1930)-10/10->Incredibly well-made for it's time,this is an entertaining,yet intelligent animation film for everyone to watch.

Une Vie De Chat(2010)-9/10->Darker(even though there are a few humourous moments) and more exciting than most animations made these days,Une Vie De Chat's only flaw is its length(just 64 minutes for such an intriguing subject?).

Oblivion Island:Haruka And The Magic Mirror(2009)-8/10->The animation is top-notch and this is a very colorful,sad and joyful film,even though the outcome is not very original.

Piercing I(2010)-4/10->Good premise and good start?Yes,but this is poorly animated and it is completely dull.

Les Films De Cannes A Bucarest-2th Edition

Le Havre(2011)-9/10->http://moviestoonsandgames.blogspot.com/2011/09/movie-reviewle-havre2011.html

Habemus Papam(2011)-8/10->Even though it is quite predictable and it is a bit tedious,Habemus Papam is worth seeing just for Piccoli's fantastic performance and the grand finale.

Drive(2011)-10/10->A tense and overly violent thriller,that strikes us because of its very special cinematography,Refn's unique directing style and Gosling's powerful performance.This is the sort of films that should be made these days.Perfect.

Melancholia(2011)-10/10->Though the concept might seem ridiculous to some,Melancholia's visuals are extremely unique and the acting is fantastic.   

La Vie De Jesus(1997)-9/10->While the explicit sex scenes might not be stomached by some,this is a brutal,slow-paced film,with great direction,an interesting main character and great cinematography.A day by day drama that will surprise you.Also,it's a promising debut by Dumont.

L'Humanite(1999)-10/10->One of the most slow paced films i've ever seen.But that is minor compared to the acting,extremely harsh realism,satisfying conclusion,terrific character study and beautiful(though there is nothing beautiful in this film other than this particular element) cinematography.This will truly haunt you and it will change certain views you have.

Flandres(2006)-6/10->It doesn't have the emotional impact his(Bruno Dumont) previous films had,but it still is a nice try and the cinematography succeeds in bringing out the beautiful in Flandres.An OK film.

Play(2011)-5/10->It starts off pretty well and the acting is good,but towards the second half it feels tedious.Shame,because the subject was great. 

Elena(2011)-6/10->It has some powerful moments and Nadezdha is great as Elena,but it's a bit too simplistic,too slow-paced and the ending is unsatisfying.

Route Irish(2010)-4/10->Womack is OK in the main role and it is gripping most of the times,but it turns out to be extremely melodramatic and the writing is amateurish.

Dogville(2003)-9/10->Trier not only assembled one of the greatest casts in cinema in the 21st century,but he has written a three-hour piece that never runs low on steam,benefits from a strong narrative and the idea of this experiment is genius and very well played through,but the ending seems rushed.

Hors Satan(2011)-6.5/10->This is very bizarre and slow-paced,but it's unpredictable,the main actors seem to have some sort of weird chemistry and the cinematography is great.

The Tree Of Life(2011)-9/10-> http://moviereviewsbymarcsolomon.blogspot.com/2011/10/movie-reviewthe-tree-of-life.html

Movie Review:The Tree Of Life

Director:Terrence Malick
Writer:Terrence Malick
Cast:
Brad Pitt->Mr. O'Brien
Sean Penn->Jack O'Brien
Jessica Chastain->Ms. O'Brien
Hunter McCracken->Young Jack



Where should i start?Well,first of all,I think I need to see this again.I was emotionally overwhelmed when i came out of the theatre.For the people who think this is just a philosophical film about life,they are wrong.The Tree Of Life is a deeply-emotional film.

Before the film(I saw the film during a film festival),a romanian director(Andrei Ujica) summed up Malick's history and he told us the origin of the script.Malick has studied philosophy at Harvard and he learnt german just to read a philosopher's book which he later translated.In the 80's Malick wrote a script about the basis of humanity called "Q",which hadn't been done back then because there were no resources back then to make a film so imaginative.

Malick's film is this century's "Space Odyssey"(an imaginary rejected title for this film being "1951:A Terrestrial Odyssey).It has a lot of eye-popping visuals(most of which are computer-made) which is combined with epic classical music.Also,Malick uses long-shots and has his characters pose ravishing philosophical questions in the background.And what surprised me about the film is that it didn't turn to clichees at all.

One of the problems(2 minor problems) I had with this film,was some of the acting.In my opinion,the kids were the best.Chastain fitted the role perfectly(or it seemed so),but Pitt was utterly ridiculous as the father.Not only the way he talked,but his actions were so cartoonish.And Penn.Well,I actually thought that after the 2 scenes he appeared in,near the beginning of the film,the audience will not see him again.Wrong.He appears again at the end.Here is a problem more of quantity of material featuring the character than acting.

The second problem(sort of) was Malick's storytelling bizarre technique.Sometimes,the movie just skipped to a random shot of something,stayed there for half a minute,then came back to the original shot.

What to expect from this movie?An emotional,philosophical film about life with mesmerizing shots(this is probably the best film of the year in terms of cinematography) that will overwhelm you.What will you do after this film?Probably hug all your family's main members. 9/10

7-13 October

NEDS(2010)-9/10->This is overly violent,raw,unpredictable and the performances are unbelievably great.This marks Mullan as a director to watch.

Millennium Actress(2001)-9/10->It has an original premise,plenty of impressive visuals and a big heart,but it might feel a bit too short.

Three Extremes(2005)-7/10->Fruit Chan's segment is interesting and Doyle offers us quality filled cinematography,but the ending is disappointing.Park Chan-Wook's segment is a psychological thriller that never disappoints in giving us suspenseful dialogue and a killer ending twist.Not as frightening as it should be,though.Takashi Miike's segment is very puzzling,scary and the ending is very good,but it might feel a bit too overtheatrical.All in all,it's a good enough omnibus.Edgy enough,but not scary enough.

30 September-6 October

Les Petits Mouchoirs(2010)-5/10->The cast is great,the humour is priceless and the characters are developed,but it's too long and somewhere  near the second-half,it loses its "equal parts funny,equal parts dramatic" and it fails to accomplish setting the right tone.

America(2010)-2/10->Good acting.But that where the good in America stops.It's dull incoherent in terms of storytelling techniques.The premise was OK,but it's completely underdeveloped.

Ave(2010)-7/10->Ave is well-acted and unpredictable,but the main character feels a bit too underdeveloped and it should have been longer.

The Unintentional Kidnapping Of Elfriede Ott(2010)-9/10->Original humor,interesting premise,good music,this has almost everything a perfect comedy needs.The outcome might be predictable,but the ending is priceless.

The Furious Force Of Rhymes(2010)-8/10->As insightful as it can get,The Furious Force Of Rhymes is fast,loud and short.

The Artist(2011)-10/10->Dujardin gives an award worthy performance,in this partly sweet and funny  and partly dramatic film.Great use of music and cinematography.One of this year's musts.

23-29 September

Johnny English:Reborn(2011)-5/10->Most of the jokes are funny and Atkinson is as likeable as he'll ever be,but at one point the jokes start getting repetitive towards the second half and it's predictable from start to end.

The Turin Horse(2011)-5/10->It's beautifully shot and the sound is impecable,but really nothing happens in this movie and that's shame because the subject had real potential.

We Need To Talk About Kevin(2011)-10/10->http://moviestoonsandgames.blogspot.com/2011/09/movie-reviewwe-need-to-talk-about.html

3(2011)-4/10->Even though it has good performances and good cinematography,this isn't capable of developing the characters or the interesting premise.

Le Havre(2011)-9/10->http://moviestoonsandgames.blogspot.com/2011/09/movie-reviewle-havre2011.html

Habemus Papam(2011)-8/10->Even though it is quite predictable and it is a bit tedious,Habemus Papam is worth seeing just for Piccoli's fantastic performance and the grand finale.

Movie Review:Le Havre(2011)

Director:Aki Kaurismaki
Writer:Aki Kaurismaki
Cast:
Andre Wilms->Marcel Marx
Kati Outinen->Arletty
Jean-Pierre Daroussin->Monet
Blondin Miguel->Idrissa

THERE MIGHT BE SOME SPOILERS AHEAD


Le Havre is a film about a shoe-shiner that attempts to save an underage immigrant.It's a good premise,but this subject feels more appropiate for a drama,more than a comedy.This was my opinion,before the movie.But,when the movie started,I was surprised by the unbelievable amount of tasteful and quirky humor.

There is some sort of resemblance to Sylvain Chomet's film,L'Illusioniste(2010),which is also about an old man that takes a young girl under his wing,but that isn't why I thought they seemed to very much alike.It's the fact that Le Havre(even though it's not an animation feature)feels very cartoonish.The characters mostly.Especially,the nosey(no pun intended) cop,Monet.Plus,the main character,Marcel is as cynical as The Illusionist was.

Also,Kaurismaki uses colorful sets and balanced cinematography(in terms of color),which gives us the sensation of an animated film.

A thing that I didn't like about this film,was the obvious cliche on which it stands.That Marcel keeps growing on this kid,Idrissa.I know that this couldn't have been any other way(or I can't just figure one out) and it bugs me.

I loved this film's compability in different genres in some scenes.Most of the scenes with Monet have a noir aura around them.The scenes with Marcel and his wife are very romantic.And so on and so forth.

This ends up being much,much more than a light comedy; it ends up being an emotional,special and witty film.I haven't seen anything else by Kaurismaki 9 out of 10.

Movie Review:We Need To Talk About Kevin(2011)

Director:Lynne Ramsay
Writers:Lynne Ramsay and Rory Kinnear,based on the novel by Lionel Shriver
Cast:
Tilda Swinton-Eva
John C. Reilly-Franklin
Ezra Miller-Kevin

SPOILERS AHEAD


We Need To Talk About Kevin starts off with an abstract scene which shows a room in which the curtains are beaten by the wind.Not really important.The second scene shows us a tomato fight in which Kevin's mother,Eva is taking part.Here,Ramsay uses a smart metaphor.Eva is drowned into a ton of tomato juice,which is suggested to be the blood-bath,Kevin provokes at school.

Well,first is first,Swinton delivers one of the best female performances this year,because she is able to emote all of her character's feelings.Sad,angry and happy(a rare feeling for this particular character).Actually,she is helped to conjure those feelings perfectly by the writing.

Most of the people haven't seen Ramsay's previous films.I've seen one of them,Morvern Callar(2002),so I might say she has an unique style.A messier style.In the first 40 minutes of the movie there is a lot of "shakiness" in the image and some of the moments in which we only hear music are out of focus.But,it is like this in order to underline that our main character is troubled by the events,her son has triggered.Also,her storytelling techniques are also,very strange.

Miller is spot-on as Kevin.His way of telling his character's monologues,his way of restraining his emotions in order to intrigue us.When I saw him in City Island(2009),I didn't think he was very well-casted,because he had the features of a dramatic character.In my opinion,he resembles Arno Frisch,which played the Benny(a sociopath) in Benny's Video(1992) and Paul(another sociopath) in Funny Games(1997).Both films were directed by Michael Haneke.

Ramsay keeps reminding us that this is viewed from the mother's perspective.For example,when Eva hurts Kevin(when he was younger),he takes him to the hospital and there the doctor tells Eva that Kevin is a wonderful kid,even though we see him as an asshole.

People might tend to compare this with Elephant(2003),a film that is based on real events,but compared to this one,it fails to dissecate the mentality and behaviour of the troubled teenager,mostly because of its running length(81 minutes) and its focus on other characters than the killers.

All in all,this is a great film that succeeds in being both a deep character study and a raw,gut-wrenching drama. 10 out of 10.

16-22 September

Drive(2011)-10/10->A tense and overly violent thriller,that strikes us because of its very special cinematography,Refn's unique directing style and Gosling's powerful performance.This is the sort of films that should be made these days.Perfect.

Suicide Room(2011)-2/10->With bad acting and incoherent storytelling,Suicide Room shows us how   an interesting premise can go terribly wrong in the first half hour of a film.

Silent Souls(2010)-9/10->It might be too slow-paced for some(even though it runs just under 80 minutes),but Silent Souls is eerily beautiful,it benefits from a strong narrative and it's an ultimately,thought-provoking experience.

Melancholia(2011)-10/10->Though the concept might seem ridiculous to some,Melancholia's visuals are extremely unique and the acting is fantastic.   

09-15 September

Another Year(2010)-9/10->With a simplistic,yet intriguing premise,Leigh directs an often-humorous,unique story about life and love.Also,it benefits from fantastic performances from Broadbent and Manville.A bit overlong,though.

Kill The Irishman(2011)-7.5/10->Even though it fails to be realistic for time to time and some moments are overly theatrical,Hensleigh succeeds in directing an insightful picture on the life of a mobster that just wouldn't die.Also,Stevenson and D'Onofrio give confident performances.

Everything Must Go(2010)-9/10->This is a sweet,little film with Ferrell in his best shape,a great performance from newcomer Christopher Jordan Wallace,smart dialogue and intelligent humor.

Attack The Block(2011)-9/10->Thrilling from the first five minutes,till the last,this is a stylish sci-fi flick with some hilarious moments.Also,extremely gory and unpredictable.

One Hour Photo(2002)-8/10->This features Robin Williams in his creepiest performance ever and it has unpredictable twists.

The Believer(2001)-8/10->A smart and tense film which is sustained by Gosling's terrific performance.

The International(2009)-6/10->It's beautifully shot,competently edited,Owen gives a good performance and the Guggenheim action scene is fantastic,but The International ends up being incoherent,it's premise is not believable at all and the ending is unsatisfying.

The Adjustment Bureau(2011)-4/10->Damon is great and this has a very intriguing premise,but the premise is underdeveloped and debutant director Nolfi fails in building a coherent and steady storyline.

The Guard(2011)-10/10->Half comedy,half thriller,Donagh succeeds in setting the right tone when he has to and this benefits from genuine Irish humor and Gleeson's performance and character.Also,it's a very quotable movie.

13 Tzameti(2005)-10/10->Babluani succeeds in crafting a Hitchcockian atmosphere by combining the score with the stunning cinematography.Other than that,it works as a suspenseful and smart thriller,but it also works as an unflinchingly violent social commentary.

2046(2004)-5/10->Doyle's cinematography is as appealing as it will ever be and Leung gives a fine performance,but Kar Wai doesn't succeed in doing what he wants,which is re-creating the atmosphere in "In The Mood For Love" and he makes this feel like a bad re-hash.

Eros(2004)-3/10->Antonioni's segment is incoherent and meaningless,even though it's beautifully shot.Soderbergh's segment has a good premise and the dialogue is smart,but the ending is disappointing and also the quantity of erotic content is disappointing.Kar-Wai's segment is the only one that succeeds in living up to the title of this omnibus and it also has good acting and fantastic cinematography.

The Last Exorcism(2010)-6/10->This has good twists and good acting,but it isn't half as scary as it should be.

Innocence(2004)-9/10->This has a very original premise,good acting and outstanding cinematography,but this gets too bizarre and a bit too long.

Mean Machine(2001)-5/10->This is a good take on the original,the humor is ok and the acting is great,but it's cliched and it isn't able to set the tone right. 

Haute Tension(2001)-6.5/10->Indeed it's very suspenseful,very gory and DeFrance pulls off a great performance,but the ending is too unbelievable.

Morvern Callar(2002)-8/10->With stunning cinematography,great editing and Morton giving out her best,Morvern Callar turns out to be an unique film.

Tilva Ros(2010)-8.5/10->This is a harsh portrayal of friendship,that excels because of its capability to be truthful,good acting and killer cinematography.

Loverboy(2011)-4/10->The cinematography is beautiful and Pistereanu shows us yet again that he is one of the most important rising stars in the Romanian film industry,but Loverboy is utterly predictable and most of the dialogue is too dull and uninspired.

Le Gamin Au Velo(2011)-9/10->This is a very bleak film with top-notch performances from its leads and it's beautifully filmed,but the ending is highly unsatisfying.

Oslo,31 August(2011)-10/10->A powerful and gut-wrenching film,which benefits from Anders Danielsen Lie's performance,a smart script and mesmerizing cinematography.

Eldfjall(2011)-8/10->Even though this is a simplistic matter of subject and it feels a bit empty in some places,Eldfjall still surprises us with a fantastic performance from Juliusson,terrific cinematography and a shocking ending.

2-8 September

Symbol(2009)-9/10->It has a really creative premise,it provides some sort of food-for-thought and the cinematography is quite beautiful,but the director's storytelling techniques are a bit questionable.Also,it's one of the funniest films I've ever seen.

Horrible Bosses(2011)-8/10->With unpredictable twists,a perfect cast and its terrific humor,this might be 2011's funniest movie.

Life In A Day(2011)-10/10->Life In A Day is very special due to its editing,visuals and its capability to proove that people today still have a creative mind.

Midnight In Paris(2011)-10/10->Allen returns with a fantastic premise,a great cast and some of his best dialogue better.One of his best.All time.

Notre Jour Viendra(2010)-8/10->Cassel's performance,the cinematography and an interesting premise,surpass some of its dialogue's flaws. 

Red State(2011)-9/10->With a sublime performance from Parks,good cinematography and tense dialogue,Red State comes out as a shocking and harsh social commentary on religion and its effects on people.Truly frightening. 

Barney's Version(2010)-9/10->This might be a bit too long,but Giamatti and Hoffman are great,the score is fantastic and the magnificent cinematography make up for it.Great ending,too.

Russian Ark(2002)-6/10->It's an interesting concept the cinematography is great and the narrative part is good,but this gets tedious quite soon.

Bungalow(2002)-9/10->Stunning cinematography,good acting and sharp direction make up for the unrealistic premise.

Windows On Monday(2006)-9.5/10->Even though the premise is quite simple,the unpredictablity of the turning of the situations after the beginning that is combined by Kohler with some terrific character study,make this a great piece of art.

Sleeping Sickness(2011)-9/10->The cinematography is stunning,the premise is good and the acting,too,but this could have been more exciting.The ending is also,great.

The Forest For The Trees(2003)-10/10->With a fantastic performance from Lobau and a simple premise,Ade turns this into a bleak character study which resembles Haneke's earlier work.Touching,yet unsettling.

Everyone Else(2009)-9/10->Ade succeeds in unraveling this slowly,but even though it is quite slow,this captures our attention with the cinematography,good acting and intelligent dialogue.Also the ending ,but this is not as bleak as her previous film.

Vegas(2009)-8/10->The idea is original,the cinematography is truly impressive and the acting is great.It's only flaw might be its unsatisfying ending.

Zero(2009)-6/10->This is overlong and unecessarily messy,but Borowski does an OK job developing the intriguing premise and the cinematography is good.

Friends With Benefits(2011)-9/10->Kunis and Timberlake have strong chemistry and Gluck adds smart dialogue and really funny humor.Worthy follow-up (for Gluck) to Easy A.

Paris,Je T'Aime(2006)-7/10->http://moviestoonsandgames.blogspot.com/2011/09/parisje-taime.html

New York,I Love You(2009)-4/10->This doesn't even respect the rules of the original idea.This is formulaic and really the writing is really farfetched.

Bad News Bears(1976)-8.5/10->Matthau gives a great performance and this is quite the controversial kid comedy.

Bad News Bears(2005)-5/10->It certainly is more profane than the original and Thornton is as great as Matthau,but this is less exciting and not as funny as the original.

13 Assassins(2010)-10/10->This is a stylish,bold and bloody action flick.It might be a little overlong,but this isn't boring due to Miike's capability to create suspense.Also,the battle scene towards the end,might be one of the most competently made battle scenes ever.

Balada Triste De Trompeta(2010)-9/10->An overly-violent black comedy with clowns.Terribly funny,well-acted and benefits from Iglesia's sharp direction.Also,smarter than you might think.

Pina 3D(2011)-10/10->The most human and touching(no pun intended) 3D experience,we've seen so far.Wenders combines eye-candy with heartfelt confessions.One of the year's best.