The theory of everything (2014)

	Also Known As: Une merveilleuse histoire du temps
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: James Marsch
	Actors: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones
	Country: GB
	Genre: Drama, Romance
	Conditions of visioning: 14.01.2015, Schauburg, English version with German subtitles
Synopsis: Stephen Hawking (Redmayne), a bright but shiftless student of cosmology, is given just two years to live following the diagnosis of a fatal illness at 21 years of age. He became galvanized, however, by the love of fellow Cambridge student, Jane Wilde (Jones), as well as a husband and father to their three children. Over the course of their marriage as Stephen's body collapsed and his academic renown soared, fault lines were exposed that tested the lineaments of their relationship and dramatically altered the course of both of their lives.
Review: The story is not only a biography of the cosmologist Hawking but rather a romance of a physics student getting strongly handicaped with a very Christian and convinced women. For this the acting of Jones is excellent. We see in her face and eyes how strong she is convinced to overcome the illness of her lover. We see also her moments of weakness or of doubt in front of his illness. In that sense it is a kind of Love story.  Because I admire Hawking to have brought cosmology to the large public (read A brief history of time), it was important to me to watch this movie. And I do not regret. It brings this kind of physicists that many people see as alien back to the level of human being.
Rating: 6 /10

Unbroken (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Angelina Jolie
	Actors: Jack O'Connell, Takamasa Ishihara
	Country: USA
	Genre: War, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 12.01.2015, Schauburg, OV sneak preview
Synopsis: After a plane crash in WWII, Olympian runner Louie Zamperini (O'Connell) spends a harrowing 47 days in a raft with two fellow crewmen before he's caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp where he becomes the "best friend" of tenant Watanabe (Ishihara). His struggle for life keeps strong over the years.
Review: This movie is one of the most expected by Hollywood in the coming Oscars 2015. And I do not understand why! Is it a question of celebrity, Angelina Jolie being director? Is it the realistic war movie similar to Saving Private Ryan? I do not know. The story of a hero becoming a nobody in a camp but still a hero resisting to the tenant does not touch me at all while Ryan did. The monotony of the story. A long part doing nothing in a boat. A long part being challenged or beaten by the tenant. It feels like a short film having been extended to more than two hours! Exhausting.  The main actor is by luck correct and a few scenes taken alone would have made a good short cut.
Rating: 3 /10

Zerkalo (1975)

	Also Known As: The mirror
	Year of first release: 1975
	Director: Andrei Tarkowskiy
	Actors: Margarita Terekhova, Ignat Daniltsev, Oleg Yankowskiy
	Country: SU
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 06.01.2015, DVD, Russian version with English subtitles
Synopsis: The thoughts, emotions and memories of Alexei, or Alyosha (Daniltsev), and the world around him as a child, adolescent, and forty-year-old. His mother (Terekhova), the war, personal moments. The adult Alexei is only briefly glimpsed, but is present as a voice-over in some scenes including substantial dialogue and lecture of poetry written by Tarkowskiy's father.
Review: It is a very personal movie. This is clear. The format is very personal as well, without respecting chronology, mixing colour, black and white and sepia. Out of this, we understand that Tarkowskiy loved his parents. But the movie does not light much emotion in me. I felt bored. But I have to admit that the story telling was very creative. Terekhova is actually the main character because she is present all along the movie. She also acting well her role. The read poetry slows down thealready slow rythm of the movie and sometimes gives the real rythm. Is might be the language that did not allow me to feel better the sounds and text. This does not complete yet my retrospective of Tarkowskiy moviesand actually makes me feel that his movies are good to learn the cinematographic form but not the story telling.
Rating: 4 /10

St Vincent (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Theodore Melfi
	Actors: Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts
	Country: USA
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 05.01.2015, Schauburg, OV sneak preview
Synopsis: Vincent is an old Vietnam vet whose stubbornly hedonistic ways have left him without money or a future. Things change when his new next-door neighbor's son, Oliver, needs a babysitter and Vince is willing enough for a fee to pay his debts. From that self-serving act, a friendship forms as Vincent and Oliver find so much of each other's needs through each other. As Vincent mentors Oliver in street survival and other worldly ways, Oliver begins to see more in the old man. And Oliver has to prepare a presentation on a saint.
Review: The story sounds a bit like Gran Torino, an old creepy guy who takes care of his young neighbour often left alone by the mother. But Bill Murray is not the bad guy. He is also not the good guy. His life between turf and women is actually like Post office by Bukowski. Naomi Watts acts greatly the Russian accent. Nevertheless there is not much rythm. The directing does not show any bad things nor any good things. It is pleasant to watch, but easy to forget.
Rating: 4 /10

Patriot Games (1992)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1992
	Director: Phillip Noyce (The Saint)
	Actors: Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones 1-4), Sean Bean (Cleanskin, Black Death), Anne Archer, Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction), James Earl Jones (Conan the Barbarian), Tora Birch (American Beauty)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 29.01.2015, DVD, Home cinema
Synopsis: During a visit to Great Britain with his family, former CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Ford) rescues a member of the Royal family from a kidnapping attempt. While doing so, he attracted the wrath of Sean (Bean), one of the kidnapper whose brother he killed.
Review: After The Sum of all Fears and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, I continue with the series of adaptation from the novels by Tom Clancy. I found that old DVD of Patriot Games in my vault and decided to watch it instead of buying a new Blu-ray. Well, it looks like the DVD dates from the early days of the technology, because the image quality is barely better than a VHS one! So I cannot really comment on the looks of the movie (I saw only poor grain, colors and compression) although I noticed the quality of the framing and some shots that probably look beautiful on a HD support. I didn't like the story so much, because the troubles Jack Ryan get into are only due to bad luck, and have nothing to do with his talents as analyst, or with his knowledge of Russia. And the threat is only on his family and not on the whole world like it is in his other filmed adventures. But this put aside, the story is very well told, in a very realistic fashion: no super-fast car races or action scenes involving the aging Jack Ryan who is not anymore as fit as when he was portrayed by Ben Affleck or John Cusack. The suspense is very well managed and shown by director Philip Noyce (I have ordered the Blu-ray of Clear and Present Danger that he also directed), and the terrorists are really extreme in their beliefs, in particular Ryan's archenemy played by a young Sean Bean.
Rating: 6 /10

Surrogates (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3)
	Actors: Bruce Willis (Die Hard 1-5, Moonrise Kingdom), Radha Mitchell (Pitch Black), Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction), Rosamund Pike (Tomorrow Never Dies), James Cromwell (Babe)
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF, Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 27.01.2015, HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: In a future where everybody stays at home and experiences the world through their robotic surrogates, agent Greer (Willis) investigates the murder of the son of the technology's inventor (Cromwell)
Review: I had seen this movie some years ago, and this time again I found that it was an OK techno-thriller (I have discussed about that definition in the review of Eagle Eye). The topic of controlling at a distance something that may not even look like you is also at the heart of Gamer produced the same year, but Surrogates treats it more like a classical thriller, unlike the crazy plot and directing of Gamer. But in both cases it is always funny to see the contrast between the surrogates and what people behind them really look like in the flesh. Bruce Willis is his usual self, and the other actors are OK. Radha Mitchell is unfortunately underused. James Cromwell plays a very similar role to his one in I, Robot. I liked the way the actors were made up so that their surrogates look slightly inhuman, and with a very soft skin. The story is quite classical with a few surprises, but nothing more.
Rating: 6 /10

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2003
	Director: Peter Jackson (Bad Taste, The Feebles, The Hobbit 1-3)
	Actors: Elijah Wood (Maniac, Open Windows), Ian McKellen (X-men), Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Carribean 1-3), Sean Astin (The Goonies), Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence), Christopher Lee (The Wicker Man)
	Country: USA, NZ
	Genre: Fantasy, Epic
	Conditions of visioning: 27.01.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: After the victories at Helm's Deep and Isengard, will men unite to fight Sauron's armies at the doorsteps of the city of Mias Tirith? And will Frodo survive in trying to destroy the One ring?
Review: While watching the third movie of the trilogy, I realized that its image quality is a little better than the second, and much better than the first. Surprising as they were shot at the same time an release only one year apart from each other. I also remembered the times when I was watching The Fellowship of the Ring in VHS (it is one of the last I bought before switching to DVD) on a tiny TV screen. How greatly has home entertainment technology evolved since! In Blu-ray I appreciate the epic action scenes like I didn't since watching the movie at the theater. And I could notice some details I had never seen before. But the image quality made also visible some limitations in the special effects, like the face of the main actors playing Hobbits not well pasted on the body of small persons, the shadows below CGI characters, or the details on Gollum's face. It is however funny that I am still annoyed by the same details: to save some money, sometimes the Hobbit actors play together with the human ones, but they are put closer to the camera, or on their knees to match the height, but it is for me always obvious that their heads and upper body looks too large in such scenes. The only convincing scenes to realize the size of Hobbits are when they are digitally shrunk, but I understand the money constrains. My pleasure in watching again The Lord of the Rings definitely grew when going from The Fellowship of the Ring to The Two Towers and The Return of the King, as shown by the increasing ratings of 7, 8 and 9/10. The latter is without a doubt (at least to me) an Epic conclusion to the trilogy. There are many heroic scenes that still give me the shivers: Gandalf entering Minas Tirith, the lighting of the beacons, the view of the armies in front of the city (much more impressive than in The Battle of the Five Armies), "Become who you were born to be", the arrival of the men of Rohan and their charge, the attack by the Oliphans, the crowing of the King and his bowing to the Hobbits... And contrarily to what is often said, I find it OK to have multiple endings lasting an hour, as it makes you appreciate even more the twelve hours you have just watched in that world you don't want to leave so soon. All those precious moments following the tune of Howard Shore's symphony. What a great soundtrack. I enjoyed it even more when I went to watch it played live at the Gasteig in Munich, for the three movies. I am definitely glad to have watched The Lord of the Rings in Blu-ray, but keep in mind that to appreciate it, you have to like Fantasy in the first place...
Rating: 9 /10

Brave (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman (The Prince of Egypt), Steve Purcell
	Actors (voices): Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson (Love Actually)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Animation, Fantasy
	Conditions of visioning: 25.01.15, HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: Merida is the oldest daughter of King Fergus and is destined to marry the firstborn of another clan. But all she dreams of is to live in the wild, fight and excel at archery.
Review: I am always keen on watching movies produced by Pixar, even more since I recently saw the The Pixar Story documentary. Brave is in line with what we are used to see from that studio but I am afraid to feel more and more the influence from Disney: more aimed at kids, more songs, less second level of meaning for adults. Paradoxically I rather preferred Wreck-it Ralph released the same year by the Disney Studios! The story is quite classical, there is some bravery, the conflict between the teenage girl and her parents (easy to identify for the average viewer) that will of course end-up well, the villain, a funny animal (the horse), most of the humour coming from either the triplet kid brothers or the old grumpy Scottish Lords... all the ingredients to make it a success. But it failed to conquer me. And it felt too obvious that the Scottish surrounding was supposed to bring exoticism...but not too much. Indeed the heroin has a strong accent when she introduces the movie ad concludes it, but the accent is more discreet during the rest of the time, not to loose the kids. The best I found in this movie is the animation of the long hair of the heroin. I have to admit I missed some scenes because I was in awe by watching that animation. But that is not enough.
Rating: 6 /10

Eagle Eye (2008)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2008
	Director: D.J. Caruso (I am Number Four)
	Actors: Shia LaBeouf (Transformers 1-3), Michelle Monaghan (Source Code, Due Date), Rosario Dawson (Death Proof, Clerks 2), Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo TV-series)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 25.01.15, SD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: After his twin brother's death, Jerry Shaw (LaBoeuf) gets mixed-up in a terrorist plot. Both him and Rachel (Monaghan) will be pursued by FBI agent Morgan (Thornton) and Air Force Officer Zoe Perez (Dawson).
Review: Looking for something easy to watch, I found this Eagle Eye on Netflix, with a topic and cover similar to the ones of Enemy of the State, and as it turned out some similarities with I, Robot as well. Actually the topic seems trendy those days as it also shows in X-men: Days of Future Past and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It is indeed what is called a SF-thriller or techno-thriller, although I cannot find a translation for the more accurate French description of "thriller d'anticipation", meaning that the movie takes place in the near future and involves technology that is apparently within our reach. The story is actually more interesting than I would have expected, and the movie contains two car chases (at 1/4 and 3/4 of its length) that are pretty intense and impressive. Too bad I could see them only in Standard Definition. The actors are not too bad, one can recognize in Shia LaBoeuf  the same style of nervous kid he has in the Transformers franchise (and actually ever since Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle) and Rosario Dawson and Billy Bob Thornton play something different from usual. But then the storytelling is a bit too easy-going: showing us TV news to summarize what is going on, or having the actors monologue to do so... this could have been done more cleverly.
Rating: 5 /10

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2002
	Director: Peter Jackson (Bad Taste, The Feebles, The Hobbit 1-3)
	Actors: Elijah Wood (Maniac, Open Windows), Ian McKellen (X-men), Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Carribean 1-3), Sean Astin (The Goonies), Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence)
	Country: USA, NZ
	Genre: Fantasy, Epic
	Conditions of visioning: 22.01.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Astin) moving towards Mordor encounter Gollum, while Aragorn (Mortensen), Legolas (Bloom) and Gimli enter Rohan.
Review: This second movie of the Trilogy was a difficult exercise, lacking the introductory scenes of the first and the conclusion of the third, and is considered as the weakest. But watching it again, I realized that I liked it better than the first! I attribute this to the first encounter with the kingdoms of men (the Rohirrim horsemen and the people of Edoras) to which I could better identify, and in particular their king Theoden played by Bernard Hill who delivers for me the best acting performance of all the stars in the three movies. I find the scene in which he regains his strength the strongest one of the movie, surpassing in intensity even the climax. Acting aside, I can also praise the quality of the editing, a most complex job knowing that we follow many different groups of character and that at no moment the viewer is disturbed by the changes, remind me of such a difficult exercise in Cloud Atlas. This dispersion (already present of course in the original books) is very well illustrated in that chart on the xkcd website. The ending is definitely epic and together with hints in the last quarter of the movie (Faramir, Gollum, Saruman, war with Orcs) places the viewer in just the right mood for watching The Return of the King.
Rating: 8/10

Sherlock - Season 3 (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Creators: Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat
	Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit 1-3), Martin Freeman (The Hobbit 1-3, Fargo TV-series), Una Stubbs
	Country: USA, GB
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: January 2015, HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: Sherlock (Crumberbatch) is back, but London has changed since he left, in particular Watson (Freeman) learned to live his life without him.
Review: Another excellent season for the series, with better stories than in season two, and a visual/sound identity finally well-defined. The duel with Moriarty was not the end, and the famous detective has in this season to face challenges which are not of the same nature as the ones he is the most familiar with. In The Empty Hearse he has to face his few friends and realize that their feelings were strongly affected when he was gone. The terrorist threat in this episode, although massive (and reminding a lot of V for Vandetta), serves only as background for the reunion between Sherlock and Watson. The Sign of Three is maybe the most original episode in this series to date. The challenge of being best man at Watson's wedding is for Sherlock more insurmountable that most of the mysteries he solved in his life. His speech is used to display he talents in the course of some short investigations that would not have deserved a full episode. And ultimately, the detective will end up on known grounds. Finally in His Last Vow we are introduced the terrible foe Charles Augustus Magnussen that I think to remember from the novels. In parallel, some revelations lead to major changes in the lives of the detective duo. Unfortunately I found the ending too predictable and long to arrive, with the clear message that Sherlock finally acknowledges Watson as his best friend. I enjoyed watching the three seasons of Sherlock back-to-back, especially since there are so few episodes, it feels like watching movies. It has some defects and limitations (due to the TV format) but after nine episodes I still think like I did during the first 10 minutes: it is an excellent and clever adaptation of the novels to modern times. Now I am maybe longing for more classic investigations in the fourth season.
Rating: 7 /10

Blue Streak (1999)

	Also Known As: Der Diamanten-Cop (Germany)
	Year of first release: 1999
	Director: Les Mayfield (Encino Man, Flubber)
	Actors: Martin Lawrence (Bad Boys 1-2), Luke Wilson (Scream 2), Peter Greene (The Mask, Pulp Fiction)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 20.01.2015, SD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: Before being arrested, Miles Logan (Lawrence) hides the diamond he just stole in a building under construction. When he is set free two years later, this building has turned into a Police station.
Review: Martin Lawrence seems to be stuck in this role of comic policeman. Four years after Bad Boys he is at it again, but this time the comedy comes from the fact that he is a criminal pretending to be a cop to get back his precious diamond. In that case, the diamond is like Hitchcock's McGuffin, an excuse for comedy instead of suspense in that case. We get to watch Lawrence dancing around and talking loud in his involuntary but successful attempts to be a good cop. His "side-kick" the simple detective played by Luke Wilson is not put forward enough, so the movie is a one-man show and doesn't reproduce the effect of Bad Boys. Easy to watch but didn't get good laughs out of me.
Rating: 4 /10

The Wicker Man (1973)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1973
	Director: Robin Hardy (The Wicker Tree)
	Actors: Edward Woodward (Hot Fuzz), Christopher Lee (The Lord of the Rings 1-3), Diane Cilento
	Country: GB
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 16.01.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: Ultra-catholic Seargent Howie (Woodward) flies to a remote island to investigate a dissapearing. He will be tested in his beliefs when facing the population and their pagan rituals.
Review: Some years ago when I started to read about The Wicker Man as reference in cinema articles here and there, I acquired the DVD of the newly re-discovered director's cut. On this DVD the scenes from the short version were in OK quality and the extended scenes in rather bad one. This 40th Anniversary British Blu-ray edition is an upgrade to the DVD one, and I pre-ordered it as soon as I learned about its release more than a year ago. Since I received it, I have been listening a lot to the movie soundtrack which is provided on CD in the box-set. I remembered that it was a good soundtrack from my original visioning and I still enjoy it a lot. It even motivated me to write an article about my collection of movie soundtracks. The two Blu-ray disk provide the "Final Cut" of the movie, supervised by its director, and tons of making-of material, interviews, commentaries... This "Final Cut" is I think the same as I saw on DVD but restored from a better copy (obtained from Roger Corman in the USA), so that the whole movie now looks much better than it did on DVD (but it is still quite fuzzy due to its old age), and the extended scenes are only marginally of lower quality. So what is this movie? I decide to classify it as Drama but it is often sold as Horror, Musical, Exploitation, Black comedy and it is indeed a bit of all. The whole interest of the movie is in the dramatic contrast between the catholic Police officer and the pagan population of the island, illustrated by some nude scenes (for the Exploitation label) or chanted ones (thus the Musical). Sometimes this contrast is so strong that it makes laugh (the Black comedy part) and finally only the ending is slightly Horrific. There are also parts of Thriller and Police investigation. It is definitely a Genre movie because the story is not told in a classic way. The atmosphere is unique  and I enjoyed in particular the chanted scenes which are actually fully part of the action (I didn't remember that) and for which I could now fully appreciate the lyrics thanks to sub-titles. This whole mix made it difficult to sell and distribute the movie in the 70's, and it also makes it difficult to describe it to you. But it quickly attained Cult status and I can confess I regard it like that. It had a strong influence on a generation of movie directors as shown in the Blu-ray extras: Eli Roth (Hostel, The Green Inferno), Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Sightseers), James Watkins (The Woman in Black), ... After visionning I can also notice the influence on Edgar Wright and his Hot Fuzz, police investigation taking place is a small isolated village whose inhabitants follow different rules to ensure the survival of the community, a movie that includes in its cast... Edward Woodward.
Rating: 9 /10

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2001
	Director: Peter Jackson (Bad Taste, The Feebles)
	Actors: Elijah Wood (Maniac, Open Windows), Ian McKellen (X-men), Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Carribean 1-3), Sean Bean (Game of Thrones TV-series), Sean Astin (The Goonies), Viggo Mortensen (A History of Violence)
	Country: USA, NZ
	Genre: Fantasy
	Conditions of visioning: 17.01.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: Frodo the Hobbit (Wood) is entrusted the Ring of Power that could help its Master Sauron enslave Middle-Earth. He sets on a journey to destroy the Ring helped by his trusted friend Sam (Astin) and Gandalf the Magician (McKellen).
Review: Back in 2001, I knew the director Peter Jackson from his debut Kiwi Horror movies Bad Taste, The Feebles and Braindead. Thus I was surprised that he was given the control of such a huge project that is the adaptation of Tolkien's supposedly non-adaptable masterpiece, although I had never read the books (they were not really known in France at that time). In 2001 I was very impressed by the whole story and couldn't wait to know the ending, so I quickly read the three-part book. So I am neither one of the fans that can criticize the movies for being unfaithful to the book, nor one that doesn't know the book, I am in a situation in between so I was not disappointed by the missing bits (Tom Bombadil etc...).  After recently watching The Battle of the Five Armies, I have been thinking about watching the LOTR trilogy again but I was not too excited by the first movie, partly because as it is the oldest of the now six-part adventure (including The Hobbit), it is the one I have seen the most. But I had to start with it, although I am more looking forward to the battles and heroism of the two next movies. I liked watching it again but it doesn't have the same impact as it did the first times I saw it. I will not spent too much time reviewing such a known movie, but I can say I am still impressed by the story-telling capabilities of Peter Jackson: direct, efficient and every shot being immediately identified as a Fantasy painting (the now famous "PJ shots", like the complex aerial views). Actually I had never watched the three movies in Blu-ray since I bought the collector box-set, but I had noticed that the image quality was not as good as I had expected. I spent time trying to adjust my projector for better contrast, resolution and colors but with limited success only. I can't tell if this image quality is due to the film medium used at the time (vs. digital shooting for The Hobbit), or to the fact that the box-set I own was released without the supervision by the director. In any case, it is far from looking as good as any of The Hobbit blu-rays that I own. I am anyway looking forward to the two next movies in which I will look for details that link them to The Hobbit movies like I did in this one (for example the closing scene of The Battle of the Five Armies is one of the first of The Fellowship of the Ring but shot through another viewpoint, very clever and satisfying for the fans).
Rating: 7 /10

Push (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Paul McGuigan (Sherlock TV-series - 4 episodes)
	Actors: Camilla Belle (Jurassik Park 2: the Lost World), Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds, Man of Fire), Chris Evans (The Fantastic Four 1-2, Captain America 1-2), Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy)
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF, Action
	Conditions of visioning: 19.01.2015, HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: The agency known as Division kidnaps kids with special abilities (fortune telling, telekinesis, ...) in order to increase their potential and build an army. Three of them (Evans, Belle & Fanning) end up together in a scheme that could change the future.
Review: I was expecting a kind of super-power movie for teenagers like I am Number Four but the actors in this one are not that young except for Dakota Fanning who actually plays the best. When I see I gave 2/10 to I am Number Four, I can't give more than 1/10 to Push because it doesn't haven have the nice display of special effects that the other one has. This kind of movie was common some years ago (see also Jumper, and in a different style Hancock) but this one is really a failure and underuses its plot and actors until the flaccid ending. To be avoided.
Rating: 1 /10

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Wes Anderson (Grand Budapest Hotel)
	Actors: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis (Die Hard 1-5), Edward Norton (Fight Club), Frances McDormand (Fargo), Harvey Keithel (From Dusk Till Dawn), Bill Murray (Groundhog Day)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 18.01.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: 12-years old scout Sam (Gilman) flees his camp and is joined by Suzy (Hayward) who left her family. The whole island will be looking for the two young lovers, from their parents (Murray & McDormance) to the police (Willis) and the scout masters (Norton & Keithel).
Review: After loving The Grand Budapest Hotel, I was definitely interested by watching Wes Anderson's previous movie. In Moonrise Kingdom I could recognize many characteristic elements: caricatured roles, exceptional setting (a tropical storm vs. the World War), many known actors, mathematical framing and camera motions, offbeat humour. The style is very similar (although not as colorful) but the topic is very different. Here we deal with a young couple precociously entering adult life, displayed in some scenes slightly disturbing when played by 12-years old actors (intimacy scenes). The whole movie looks like a prelude to the style Wes Anderson ultimately mastered in The Grand Budapest Hotel, but less good on all counts: not as funny, colorful, mathematical.... I wonder if his other films also look the same.
Rating: 6 /10

Drive (2011)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2011
	Director: Nicolas Winding Refn (Pusher 1-3, Valhalla Rising)
	Actors: Ryan Gosling (Crazy Stupid Love, All Good Things), Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby), Bryan Cranston (Godzilla), Ron Perlman (Pacific Rim)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 16.01.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: He is a gifted escape driver (Gosling), living a simple life outside of that. He gets closer to his neighbour Irene (Mulligan), until his routine live unexpectedly changes.
Review: I know of Nicolas Winding Refn (or NWR) since I watched and loved his Pusher trilogy at a period when I discovered Danish cinema, so I was curious to see his first American movie after the two British co-productions Valhalla Rising and Bronson, rather disappointing to me. There was a lot of talk around Drive when it went out but in the end I think people didn't really like it, probably because there were expecting something more in the line Fast & Furious. And the is understandable: there are indeed very few car chase scenes in the movie. Instead, there are (very) long introductory scenes in which the hero barely utters a word, and some shock scenes which may have startled the ones not accustomed to WFR's style (just watch Pusher 3: The Angel of Death to see how far he can go). But there are a few chase scenes, in particular the opening one, which are very well done and with an amazing soundtrack and sound mixing. The 70's-80's soundtrack across the whole movie is pleasant and the Blu-ray rendering of it is one of the best I have ever encountered. No wonder Drive got nominated at the Academy Awards for best achievement in sound editing. I also liked the beautiful aerial night shots of Los Angeles, something very hard to achieve in good quality, even the night Hong-Kong scenes in The Dark Knight Returns don't look that good. It is nice to see Ron Perlman (I like this actor) in a role of bastard that ressembles his one in the Sons of Anarchy TV-series. So definitely a good movie for me (and I like the unexpected excesses of violence), but slow and quiet outside of the action scenes. Maybe because Ryan Gosling does not show his best side when he speaks. We have seen him in other productions from around or after that time (Crazy Stupid Love, The Place Beyond the Pines, The Ides of March, Only God Forgives, All Good Things, not bad for the former Young Hercules) and he is indeed not talking much in some of those roles, but not all. In Drive it was also part of the Driver character.
Rating: 7 /10