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.