Paranoia (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Robert Luketic
	Actors: Liam Hemsworth (The Expendables 2), Gary Oldman (The Fifth Element), Harrison Ford (Ender's Game), Amber Heard, Julian McMahon (The Fantastic Four 1-2), Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Always)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 28.04.2014, HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: Adam Cassidy (Hemsworth) is a young ambitious engineer in the field of mobile phones. His arrogance will place him in the middle of the competition between two big companies.
Review: There is something wrong about this movie. As I have recently said for Snow White and the Huntsman in a different style, Paranoia seems to regroup all the elements to make a good movie: industrial espionage, young attractive actors (Hemsworth, Heard), classic older actors (Oldman, Ford, Dreyfuss), high tech, a subject close to the modern young audience (smartphones) and trendy music. But the mix doesn't take. The rhythm is too slow and I came to wonder: "when is something happening in this movie?". It is a waste of the great talent of Ford, Oldman and Dreyfuss who act really well taken separately. Too bad they are drowned in the middle of this poor story.
Rating: 2 /10

Escape Plan (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Mikael Håfström (The Rite)
	Actors: Sylvester Stallone (John Rambo), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator 1-3), 50 Cent
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 25.04.2014, HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: The job of Ray Breslin (Stallone) is to ensure that prisons are escape-proof. His latest (forced) assignment in a futuristic prison will put him in contact with Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger).
Review: The movie starring the two huge action heroes from the 80's was finally made in the 2010's. It is definitely too late for this and Arnold should seriously forget about acting, his time has passed, but the movie is finally not as bad as I was expecting. Arnold has a better role as in his latest appearances in The Expandables 1-2 and The Last Stand, and he acts better as well. Stallone is simply true to himself. The story is not really original although movies purely about jailbreak are rare (I am thinking about The Great Escape, Fortress that I await in Blu-ray, Escape from Alcatraz, Lockout), and they try to compensate for that with a semi-twist at the end. The movie contains quite a few scienific unconsistencies and scenario loopholes, and it is edited in a way that anybody can understand what is going on: when they talk about something that happened earlier, you see it in flasback. This is more and more common in movies, maybe to help the part of the audience that is not always following the movie. All of this make it an average experience.
Rating: 5 /10

The journey (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Chiu Keng Guan
	Actors: Ben Andrew Pfeiffer, Lee Sai Peng, Joanne Yew Hong Im
	Country: MAL
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 29.04.2014, Teatro nuovo, FEFF2014
Synopsis: Bee, a Malaysian girl, and Benji, a British guy, are coming from England to Malaysia to get married. Bee's father is reluctant to accept a white member in the family.
Review: The story turns fast to a road movie through Malaysia, showing amazing touristic pictures and places where people live. The conjunction of several languages, English, Mandarin, Malaysian in the same movie paves the way to a movie about tolerance. The acting of the stubborn father is very good. He really has a photogenic although rude face. The journey is a journey across Malaysia, across its culture, and in particular the Chinese culture, omnipresent. It is a feel good movie that the whole family can enjoy and learn something about. It is not a question of keeping the tradition against the Western culture. The question is to marry both and that both respect each other.  The only movie from Malaysia presented this year in the FEFF2014. It might be a pity, because the quality is quite good. This was a hit in the Malaysian box office, for sure sue to the tolerance and opening transmitted by the story.
Rating: 5 /10

Personal tailor (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Feng Xiaogang
	Actors: Ge You, Bai Baihe, Jacqueline Li, Ryan Zheng
	Country: CN
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 29.04.2014, Teatro nuovo, FEFF2014
Synopsis: Personal Tailor is a company making dreams real for a given time. Some people decide to become indie artists, or local politician, rich woman, or just have a 18-years party.
Review: Feng Xiaogang manages to build a picture of the Chinese society including new rich, pollution, corruption in a set of merciless short stories. The director of Aftershock masters the photography, colour and picture composition as usual for good Chinese director but this time also the directing of actors, who all play roles as a role. Maybe this helped. All the critics against the current society situation is direct and coming from the common people. This mitgh make it more acceptable for the Chinese population and political class.  One weakness of the movie is in my opinion the fact of showing several pictures without a very thin common driver, as if it was finally a kind of collection of short movies.
Rating: 6 /10

3D naked ambition (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Lee Kung-lok
	Actors: Chapman To, Josie Ho
	Country: HK
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 28.04.2014, Teatro nuovo, FEFF2014
Synopsis: A group of Honk-Kong AV movies viewers decide to sponsor their own movie in Japan. As the main male actor dismissed, one of them is chosen to make the job. He is married and shy in the first shot but meets success.
Review: The first half hour has a lot of energy and lead to statements like "I did not know that a woman could dominate the man. Now I feel much better. " image of the women emancipation reaching in Asia. But afterwards the movie turns to a competition of sex comedy as if all the ideas had been dried out. The actors that transmitted the energy of the first part do not manage to continue in the second part.  It seems like the movie tried to parody something in the Pinku movies and finally ended the same way.
Rating: 2 /10

Black coal, thin ice (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Diao Yinan
	Actors: Liao Fan
	Country: CN
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 28.04.2014, Teatro nuovo, FEFF2014
Synopsis: A former cop tries to step in back by investigating on a strange murder who dispatches body parts all over coal plants.
Review: Diao Yinan sets us in a dark atmosphere with industrial cold pictures and behaviours far from the Communist ideal, verbal violence and threats, thieves, etc. The story gets built-up complexely but ends strangely simply. The photography and picture composition are worked a lot but the story lacks of rythm.The acting is ok. This movie won the Golden Bear in Berlin. Therefore it was surrounded by lots of media.
Rating: 4 /10

Sweet alibis (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Lien Yi-chi
	Actors: Alec Su, Ariel Lin, Matt Wu, Lei Hong
	Country: RC
	Genre: Comedy, Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 28.04.2014, Teatro nuovo, FEFF2014
Synopsis: Starting from a dead dog investigation, a newbie and a quiet experienced policeman find out associations to this murder and other ones.
Review: With this kind of plot, this polar might have turned like a Lethal weapon movie, but turns out to be funny as neither the maffia boss nor the police boss are taken seriously. All of them are rather ridiculous. And the key of the crime story (having something from Breaking Bad) is coming from an unexpected character. The directing enhances perfectly the derision of both police and criminals.  This year, Taiwan is strongly represented at the FEFF2014 with many movies.
Rating: 5 /10  The second poster depicts almost the first scene of the movie

Nobody's child (1960)

Cover	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1960
	Director: Bu Wancang
	Actors: Josephine Siao Fong-gong, Wang Yin
	Country: HK
	Genre: Melodrama
	Conditions of visioning: 28.04.2014, Teatro nuovo, FEFF2014
Synopsis: In the 30s a young girl is abandonned by her adoptive parents to a nomadic performer.
Review: The story opens a window in the history of Hong-Kong and the mainland China of the 30s by explaining the way money ruled the relationships between people by building classes. It shows time to time also the respect of human being that remains above this as well as the compassion. The positivism and the eagerness of the young child looks like a setting of the Maoism, upcoming in the movie, just arrived in the reality. The acting is not exagerated but caricatured what makes the acting close to the masked No theater. The directing focuses on the photography and picture composition.
Rating: 3 /10

Far East Film Festival 2011

In preparation to the visit of JoRafCinema to the Far East Film Festival from April 25th to May 3rd (link), I wanted to share with you my experience of this film festival. 

Fifth episode happened in 2011 after a one-year break. 

After more than 6 hours of car driving because we took the wrong pass through the Alpes, instead of 4 hours, we arrive finally at Udine. We need another 20 minutes to find the bed and breakfast, because neither Jo nor I [Raf] had the address or the phone number of the B&B. But using our memory, we find the way only by starting from the center of the city. Just the time to get the keys and let the bags in the room and to throw the money to pay the Black Dragon pass and the first film was already starting. 

Teatro nuovo (main FEFF theater) entrance by night

The Great Yokai War (2005)

	Also Known As: Yôkai daisensô (original)
	Year of first release: 2005
	Director: Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Audition, Gozu)
	Actors: Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Chiaki Kuriyama (Battle Royale, Kill Bill 1-2)
	Country: J
	Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
	Conditions of visioning: 31.03.2014 and 24.04.14, DVD, Home cinema
Synopsis: A young boy is the key to end the upcoming war initiated by the world of the Yokai (fantasy monsters).
Review: After watching Yatterman, I had promised myself not to watch any more movies by Takashi Miike, even though I could find some interesting elements in  Ichi the Killer, Audition, and even Gozu. Well that was five years ago and meanwhile I had bought The Great Yokai War at the FEFF in Udine, and have now decided to finally watch it. It is supposed to be an interesting adaptation of a children's story by the director Miike, known for the craziness of his movies and for shooting five of them per year. It starts well, and the design of the Yokai (traditional Japanese monsters) is funny, but soon the movie become all one can hate about this kind of Japanese cinema: slow, verbose, useless, senseless, not well played, inappropriate music. I had to wait a couple of weeks before finally watching the last half hour. This is not a good movie. The story is based on a manga, and I have read in the Mad Movies magazine about the previous three adaptations from the 60's. This one is a kind of remake of the second, but probably the worst of all. The ending looks like it cost a lot, with a large number of funny-looking Yokais and robots animated in stop-motion, but the feeling I had is the same as during the rest of the movie: boring.
Rating: 2 /10

Clerks 2 (2006)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2006
	Director: Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Red State)
	Actors: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson (Deathproof), Kevin Smith (Die Hard 4.0)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 16.04.2014, SD DivX, 16" computer screen
Synopsis: After their Quickstop convenient store burns down, Dante (O'Halloran) and Randal (Anderson) work in a fast food restaurant. Dante is engaged.
Review: After his first movie and revelation, the black & white Clerks, Kevin Smith released this long-awaited sequel more than ten years later. While the first movie was following the couple of friends in their twenties, not so long after college and wondering about their future, Clerks 2 follows the same bunch now in their thirties, wondering if their life should now evolve or stay the same. Clerks 3 is in preparation, logically another 10 years later. According to Clerks there seem to be three type of people in the world. The first are the successful, represented in the Clerks movies by cameos from Smith's friends Ben Affleck and Jason Lee (known from the My name is Earl TV-series). The second are the unsuccessful but who accept their fate and make the best of it, this is Randal. The third are the undecided, too lazy or dumb to be successful but who often would like to be, this is Dante. The conclusion of both movie could be: accept your situation and try to change it only to do something you really want to do. This is far from the American dream. As in all of Smith's movies (at least partially until Red State which is great also in a whole different genre), there are tons of (geeky) dialogs and arguments, and no fewer insults and crude sexual descriptions. Clerks 2 is not as spontaneous and surprising as Clerks, but the same style is easily recognizable and appreciated. It makes me want to see again the other movies by Kevin Smith I have bought some years  when I started to discover and like his style.
Rating: 7 /10

Les Barbouzes (1964)

	Also Known As: The Great Spy Chase (English)
	Year of first release: 1964
	Director: Georges Lautner (Les Tontons Flingueurs, Le Professionnel)
	Actors: Lino Ventura (Le Silencieux), Francis Blanche, Bernard Blier
	Country: F
	Genre: Comedy, Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 20.04.2014, DVD, 16" computer screen
Synopsis: Spies from the old continent compete for retrieving capital patents from a young widow.
Review: I knew that this movie was a parody of spy movies and I thought I had seen it once, but watching it this time didn't ring any bell. The DVD is sold in a box-set together with Les Tontons Flingueurs as it is from the same period, director, screenplay writer and with many of the same actors. But although I love that other one, I found it more difficult to appreciate Les Barbouzes. The offbeat humor is quite special, so is the 'experimental' soundtrack. Still I could appreciate the irony, the actor's play and some crispy dialogs written by the famous Michel Audiard (a third DVD in the box-set is dedicated to him), like my favorite: "- Retirement is better taken young. - More importantly it is better taken alive! Not all of us can afford it!". It is unrealistic that almost only French actors play in this supposedly international movie (like the French, German, Italian and Russian spies) but I accept that. It is funny that those four countries of the Old Continent compete and cannot come to an agreement, but we realize they have a lot in common (they have no money and have to rely on charm to get what they want) and when an outsider emerges (USA with money, China with sheer numbers) they are quickly and efficiently uniting against it.
Rating: 5 /10

The Towering Inferno (1974)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1974
	Director: John Guillermin (King Kong 1976)
	Actors: Paul Newman (Torn Curtain), Steve McQueen (Bullit, Sand Pebbles, The Great Escape), William Holden
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 14.04.2014, Bluray, Home cinema
Synopsis: The tallest building in the world is being inaugurated in San Francisco and its architect Doug Roberts (Newman) discovers that the electrical circuits could cause a fire.
Review: I have seen several times this big disaster movie of the 70's when I was younger, but I couldn't remember how they could fill its 165 minutes of length. Well it turns out they do it like they always did at that time, by slowly introducing the places and the characters, and the relationship between them, especially the tensions, so that the viewer is ripe when the disaster starts after 30-60 minutes of movie. I didn't remember that the action was taking place in a fictional building that doesn't exist in San Francisco, because the special effects make it very believable. The movie is well shot and the tension slowly rising so that I surprised myself holding my breath when the heroes were rescuing some kids through a thick cloud of smoke, and I felt relieved and refreshed when water flows at the end. The music is very good too, belonging to the best period of John Williams (I had recognized since the first scenes some common tones with Jaws or Jurassik Park). It is pleasant to meet some many known actors: William Holden (The Wild Bunch, The Bridge on the River Kwai), Faye Dunaway (Bonnie and Clyde), Fred Astaire, Richard Chamberlain (Allan Quatermain), O.J. Simpson (The Naked Gun), Robert Vaughn (Bullit), Robert Wagner (Austin Powers), but the movie seems to really have been made so that the two superstars McQueen and Newman meet. Some action scenes seem a bit stretched, and McQueen seems like a super-man (he is everywhere and the only one able to do everything), but in general I appreciated this movie, at the top of its sub-genre. I may soon continue on this series by watching Earthquake with Charlton Heston!
Rating: 7 /10

Far East Film Festival 2009

In preparation to the visit of JoRafCinema to the Far East Film Festival from April 25th to May 3rd (link), I wanted to share with you my experience of this film festival. 

Fourth episode happened in 2009.

The best place to have a Martini or a Spritz Aperol between two movies

Far East Film Festival 2008

In preparation to the visit of JoRafCinema to the Far East Film Festival from April 25th to May 3rd (link), I wanted to share with you my experience of this film festival. 

Third episode happened in 2008.

Mother (2009)

	Also Known As: Madeo
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Joon-ho Bong
	Actors: Hye-ja Kim, Bin Won,
	Country: ROK
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 18.04.2014, Bluray
Synopsis: A mother lives quietly with her twenty-eight-year-old son, Do-joon, providing herbs and acupuncture to neighbors. One day, a girl is brutally murdered, and Do-joon is charged with the killing. Now, it's his mother's call whether to prove him innocent or to leave him imprisoned.
Review: To continue the preparation for FEFF 2014, I decided to watch a movie by the director of The host and the more recent Snowpiercer. I have been again amazed by the directing. The viewpoint of the camera and the light on the people, on their relationships, on their feelings is very well mastered. The acting of the mother is excellent, as I recognized some expressions from my mother as well. Her ability to make everything for the best of the child, even if the story has not been all the time so nice. The acting of Bin Won, the son, is not so good, but this might be due to his exagerated role.  Joon-ho Bong is definitely one of the most talented and sensitive writers and directors since 2000.
Rating: 7 /10

Ondine (2009)

	Also Known As: Ondine - Das Mädchen aus dem Meer
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Neil Jordan
	Actors: Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Alison Barry
	Country: IRL, USA
	Genre: Drama, Romance
	Conditions of visioning: 16.04.2014, Bluray
Synopsis: On the coast of Cork, Syracuse is a fisherman living alone. His precocious daughter, Annie, about 10, has failing kidneys. One day, a nearly-drowned young woman comes up in his net; she speaks oddly, calls herself Ondine, and wants no one to see her. He puts her up in an isolated cottage that was his mother's. Annie discovers Ondine's presence and believes she's a selkie, a mythical seal turned human while on land.
Review: I find the story excellent as a mix of reality and legend or dream. The rythm is perfectly adapted to this ambiguity. The wonderful scenery of Ireland makes also the belief in the legend more realistic. The acting is excellent. Not only Colin Farrell but also Alicja Bachleda. The most impressive to me is the directing. Neil Jordan manages to generate ambiguity in the viewer point of view with the use of slow pictures at the water level, with the daughter Annie telling stories of Selkies, with the strong will not to be seen by anyone, with the often swimming scenes in expected cold water, with the pictures of fairy streams down to the see, with the isolation of the house, with the colours and with the greys in the pictures, with the music by Sigur Ros (one of my favourite bands). As usual, the reality is much more basci and stupid and awful than the dream and the fairy tales.
Rating: 8 /10

99 francs (2007)

	Also Known As: 39,90
	Year of first release: 2007
	Director: Jan Kounen
	Actors: Jean Dujardin, Jocelyn Quivrin,
	Country: F
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 08.04.2014, Bluray
Synopsis: The life of Octave Parango, a flamboyant ad designer, filled with success, satire, misedry and love.n
Review: I watched this movie because people working in the ad branch told me it is not so far from reality. It is a bit funny and shows the absurdity and superficiality of this type of working life and of market. Some excellent ideas for directing and cut reminding a bit Snatch. The movie does not manage to propose an interesting goal to me, even if several times the jump from the top of the building is referenced.
Rating: 6 /10

Four lions (2010)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2010
	Director: Chris Morris
	Actors: Riz Ahmed, Arsher Ali, Nigel Lindsay, Kayvan Novak, Adeel Akhtar
	Country: GB, F
	Genre: Black comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 11.04.2014, Bluray
Synopsis: Four incompetent British jihadists set out to train for and commit an act of terror.
Review: This is a jewel of good humouristic ideas reminding me the Monty Python. Everyone is fooled, the would-like-to-be-terrorists, the policemen and the society around them. The story becomes therefore more realistic. The story and the acting are good. The scene of the first bomb test is hilarious. I missed some rythm in the story to keep the suspense. It is also brave to make this kind of movie when you know the reaction against some critic.
Rating: 6 /10

Dom Hemingway (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Richard Shepard
	Actors: Jude Law, Richard E. Grant
	Country: GB
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 14.04.2014, Schauburg, OV sneak preview
Synopsis: After spending 12 years in prison for keeping his mouth shut, notorious safe-cracker Dom Hemingway is back on the streets of London looking to collect what he's owed.
Review: After the very good Filth the next British try to get on the wave of hipe vulgarity is Dom Hemingway. The acting of Jude Law and Richard Grant is very good even if only one way. The big mistake here is the story. When you think the story is introduced and is going to start, it changes so that it is like another introduction. So that at the end, there is almost no story. The verve of Jude Law monologues is funny once, and after one hour starts to be very boring. One good idea from the directing is the comparison of the baboon pictures with Dom Hemingway.
Rating: 2 /10

Planes (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Klay Hall
	Actors (voices): Carlos Alazraqui, Dane Cook, Stacy Keach
	Country: USA
	Genre: Animation, Comedy, Adventure
	Conditions of visioning: 13.04.2014, SD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: A young crop-duster dreams of racing around the world with champions.
Review: Even if it is not my favorite Pixar movie, I liked Cars because it was more than a cartoon for kids, as often with Pixar productions: there is always something for adult to watch in their films. Cars 2 didn't have the novelty effect, but was going even further thanks to a clever spy story. Planes is nothing like that. It was clearly built to cash money from the parents of the kids who loved Cars. It recycles elements of the movie with four wheels (the races, the mentor) while adding the underdog story which can only please the kids. But there is no depth to any character or plot elements. It is all very linear and predictable in spite of the third dimension offered to the action (note that the hero is actually afraid of heights and thus flies only in two dimensions). The movie even seem to turn the kids more stupid by neglecting any kind of logic in geography: the distances and location visited don't make sense, the Canadian contestant wears a German flag and speaks with a strong improbable French accent! This thing of filling the movie with strong accents also starts to annoy me: it just reinforces clichés under the pretense of internationalization. I thought I wrote the same critic about another recent Disney movie but actually it was for the 60-years old Lady and the Tramp. There are still a few good flight scenes in the movie, the nice idea of the aircraft-carrier, and an impressive but unfortunately too short 10-seconds World War II scene.
Rating: 3 /10

Goodfellas (1990)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1990
	Director: Martin Scorcese
	Actors: Ray Liotta, Robert de Niro, Joe Pesci
	Country: USA
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 06.04.2014, Private sneak, DVD
Synopsis: Henry Hill is Irish and wants to become a gangster. He starts at school or instead the school. One day he takes part in a big robbery with Jimmy Conway and Tommy De Vito, two other gangsters who have set their sights a bit higher. His two partners kill off everyone else involved in the robbery, and slowly start to climb up through the hierarchy of the Italian  Mob.
Review: I would say, the classical story of the rise and fall of a gangster. This time the difference from Irish to Italian within the Mafia is clearly made, while usually the Irish guy is policeman and the Italian is gangster. The acting is very good and the camera is driving well making some long-take (plan-sequence in French) scenes memorable. But the story is not original enough to bring more points to this movie.
Rating: 6 /10