American Sniper (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby)
	Actors: Bradley Cooper (The A-team, The Hangover 1-3), Sienna Miller (Stardust, G.I. Joe), Kyle Gallner
	Country: USA
	Genre: War, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 28.07.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: A Texan wannabe cowboy Chris Kyle (Cooper) volunteers to enter the SEALS and defend his country against terrorism. He meets his wife Taya (Miller) shortly before his first tour in Iraq.
Review: The most successful (in terms of revenue) movie by Clint Eastwood to date was nominated at the Academy Awards in several categories including best Motion Picture and Best Leading Actor, but won only the award for Best Sound Editing. There was some controversy around the movie because of its very pro-American tone and indeed we quickly hear the sentence "My Country [the USA] is the greatest in the World and I want to defend it". There were also some discussions around the truthfulness of the depicted events. In fact the movie is based on a true story and adapted form the book written by the real Chris Kyle. The book is already a vision of the War by Kyle and the movie was further adapted to be more cinegenic, which is OK for me as long as you take its message with a grain of salt. American Sniper is about the effect that war has on its soldier, and how it makes them difficult to integrate a normal life when they come back. I am sure such topic has been treated in Cinema for every American war, and the example that comes to my mind is the Vietnam War in First Blood (Rambo) or Forrest Gump. This effect is described by following the military and private life of Chris Kyle from the moment of his decision to fight for his country to the meeting with his wife and the evolution of both his lives throughout four tour in Iraq. Kyle is played by a Bradley Cooper that I could barely recognize ; him who is used to play the hot guy with tight abs took 20 kilos for the movie, cut his hair, takes strong facial expressions and speaks with a thick Texan accent. A great performance. Apart from that, the movie looks good and the direction by Clint Eastwood is as good as usual, nothing more.
Rating: 7 /10

Jupiter Ascending (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: The Wachowskis (Matrix 1-3, Cloud Atlas, Speed Racer)
	Actors: Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe, 21 Jump Street), Mila Kunis (Black Swan), Eddie Redmayne (Black Death), Sean Bean (Cleanskin, Black Death)
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF
	Conditions of visioning: 27.07.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: The young woman named Jupiter Jones (Kunis) hates her poor life, until she finds herself in the middle of a universal power struggle for the control of Earth, and is rescued by former elite soldier Caine Wise (Tatum).
Review: I had read and heard many bad reviews about this movie but decided to acquire the Blu-ray anyway. The first half hour promises good things, but then it is not that the movie is extremely bad, it just gets confused and fails to keep the viewer involved in the story. Indeed even with sub-titles I had to rewind several times to catch important story elements that I missed and that are not repeated afterwards. Unlike some other reviewers, I liked the special effects, the design of the spaceships and of the Universe in general, but I found the fight scenes hard to follow (too many close-ups and short cuts), and thus less impressive than the final one in The Avengers for example. I agree that Jupiter Ascending tells a story similar to the one of The Matrix (a simple person becomes responsible for the fate of mankind etc...) and that it follows the structure of a fairy tale (the lady rescued by her Charming Prince, falling in love with him, and the way she is brought successively to face her three foes). Finally I think that if it were less confused it wouldn't be such a bad movie, but it is disappointing after the previous Wachowskis movies: The Matrix of course, the fun ride Speed Racer and the ambitious Cloud Atlas, much simpler to understand than Jupiter Ascending although it spans six time epochs.
Rating: 4 /10

Conan the Barbarian (1982)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1982
	Director: John Milius (Red Dawn)
	Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator, Escape Plan), James Earl Jones (Patriot Games, The Hunt for Red October), Max von Sydow (The Seventh Seal, Minority Report), Mako (The Sand Pebbles, Red Sun Rising)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Fantasy, Epic
	Conditions of visioning: 15.07.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: Conan the Cimmerien (Schwarzenegger) sees his whole tribe exterminated before he is sent as a child to a labor camp. He will grow to be a fierce warrior driven by revenge.
Review: Tricky question: Who is the main character in John Milius' Conan the Barbarian? My answer would not be the name of the Austrian action hero, but rather the soundtrack composed by Basil Poledouris, sometimes considered (and not only by me) as one the best soundtracks ever. It plays such a huge role in this movie, accompanying perfectly the quests and battles of the heroes, that I can listen to it quite often (about once a week), never getting bored but rather seeing in my head the movie scenes that go with the tracks. More on this at the end of this post. I find that John Milius and Oliver Stone made a wonderful job at adapting the written work by Robert E. Howard from the 30's, itself already adapted to a Marvel Comics series in the 70's. For example they cleverly got away from the classical adventurer look of Conan (athletic, wearing boots and his hair rather short) to make it really look like a barbarian, and they took the risk of hiring an unknown actor barely speaking English for the lead role. Also they made this character speak as little as possible, which I find always works best for this kind of mysterious character (see for example Dredd or Mad Max: Fury Road). Arnold Schwarzenegger is just perfect for the role, it is a pity that we then saw him only in an average sequel Conan the Destroyer and an unofficial spin-off Red Sonja. Further projects (Conan the Conqueror) were cancelled, I didn't like at all the 2011 remake with Jason Momoa, and even if a new adventure is planned with Arnold taking back his role (The Legend of Conan), it will never be the same again. A usual criticism to this movie is that story is very simple and played by uneven actors. I cannot argue with that but at the same time it doesn't bother me, having excellent performance by Schwarzenegger, the great James Earl Jones and a brief apparition by Max Von Sydow, next to other more forgettable actors. The strength of the movie for me is in its Epic proportions and battles, carried as I already mentioned by a perfect soundtrack. Take for instance the opening scenes: introduction to the Cimmerian village interleaved with the enemy approaching and culminating with the attack and the capture of Conan. Then the movie and music together flawlessly evolve into the "Wheel of Pain" scene in which we will see Conan reach adult age. I counted that during those first 17 minutes there is only one short scene with dialog (not counting the spoken introduction): when Conan's father teaches him the strength of steel and tells him about their God Crom. Those 17 minutes are probably the strongest opening I have ever seen in a movie, in all genres. Heroic Fantasy is a sub-genre that is easy to turn into ridicule (see all the laughable Conan copycats that followed, mainly from Italy), but for me the original Conan the Barbarian is a masterpiece in this genre. Be careful to watch the uncensored version (see more details below).
Rating: 9 /10

Sons of Anarchy - The Final Season (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Creator: Kurt Sutter
	Actors: Charlie Hunnam (Children of Men, Pacific Rim), Katey Sagal (Married with Children TV-series), Mark Boone Junior (Memento), Kim Coates (Black Hawk Down), Tommy Flanagan (Gladiator), Peter Weller (Robocop, Star Trek Into Darkness). CCH Pounder (Avatar, E.R. TV-series)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama, Polar
	Conditions of visioning: July 2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema & 22" TV
Synopsis: After so many deaths in its entourage, the president of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Jax (Hunnam) is determined to settle alliances that will finally bring balance and peace in the town of Charming, California.
Review: After having enjoyed the six first seasons of this series, I was impatient to discover its climax and watched all the 13 episodes in a couple of days. This final season may not be the most intense (I think my favorites are the second and the sixth), but it wraps up the storyline pretty well and in a satisfying manner. It may not be the strongest in terms of action or twists but it is in terms of actor performance. Indeed they spend a lot of time close to the camera and are by now so involved in their character that their performance is at its best. We keep on following those characters we have come to love, and feel the loss when some of them die (as they do in all seasons). But in the end even if we are attached to those outlaws, their actions remind us that they live in a world of violence. A coupe of new characters were welcome in this last season: an atypical female police detective played by Annabeth Gish, and an influential inmate played by Marilyn Manson that took me some time to recognize. It is not a spoiler to say that this season can be summarized by what Juice says at some point: "Gemma knows every truth behind every lie inside every secret... she's the gatekeeper". Sons of Anarchy is definitely a series that I can strongly recommend for those who like Drama wrapped in a bit of action and violence.
Rating: 6 /10

Star Trek (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: J. J. Abrams (Super 8)
	Actors: Chris Pine (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit), Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana (Avatar), Karl Urban (Dredd, The Chronicles of Riddick), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), Eric Bana (Munich)
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF
	Conditions of visioning: 20.07.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: Earthman James T. Kirk (Pine) and Vulcan Spock (Quinto) follow different paths that will lead them to the Space Academy at a time when Nero (Bana) threatens the peace of the Federation.
Review: Hard to believe that I have not reviewed this movie yet, as I watch it about twice a year because it is quite pleasant to do so and doesn't require much concentration. I had never seen any episode of the original Star Trek TV-series when the movie went out in 2009 and since then I have improved the situation a bit and watched the ten movies. I can thus appreciate a bit better the context in which J. J. Abrams created this new movie, and I find it to be a success. It contains all the ingredients to please most of the public: space exploration by mankind in the future (a characteristic of the Star Trek Universe: it is supposed to depict a plausible future for us), some space battles, love stories, family ties, conflicts, friendship, humor, all of that embedded in a story cleverly located in a kind of parallel universe to the classic Star Trek stories so as not to alienate the hard-core fans. This new Star Trek movie is not as serious as its ten predecessors but the recipe works. Among the actors, I like in particular Karl Urban playing a Bones close the the original one, and Simon Pegg as Scotty. A great success in making this universe formerly reserved for geeks accessible to a general audience. This makes us curious to see what will J. J. Abrams do with his reprise of the Star Wars franchise as well, and Episode VII to be released at the end of this year.
Rating: 8 /10

While we're young (2014)

	Also Known As: Gefühlt Mitte Zwanzig
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Noah Baumbach
	Actors: Ben Stiller, Adam Driver, Naomi Watts, Amanda Seyfield, Charles Grodin
	Country: USA
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 13.07.2015, Schauburg, OV Sneak Preview in Original English version
Synopsis: Josh (Stiller) and Cornelia (Watts) are in their 40s. Once Josh meets Jamie (Driver) and its seems like Jamie admires the cinematographic work of Josh, the couple tries to live like young people when they start going out with Jamie and his girfriend Darby (Seyfield). They neglect their old friends who have children.
Review: The pitch is good for a comedy and opens many doors. Unfortunately the details in the story and the acting (or is it the directing?) do not make the story credible at all. Depicting the youth as cumulation of activities (hip-hop dance course, taking hallucinogens, going to special bars, etc.) does not work. This is not convincing. Even Cornelia's father (Grodin) tells this to Josh when they meet by casualty in a bar. Maybe it is exactly what Baumbach wanted to demonstrate. The movie let me an impression of lack of authenticity that contrasts a lot with Frances Ha, also by Baumbach. I hope his next movie Mistress America will do it better. The acting as such is not bad. Naomi Watts is very good. In some scenes, Stiller and Driver look like they do not know which role they have to play. It is not necessarily bad, if this was the goal of Baumbach. This would give another meaning to the movie.
Rating: 3 /10

The Salt of the Earth (2014)

	Also Known As: Das Salz der Erde
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
	Actors: Sebastião Salgado, Juliano Salgado, Wim Wenders, Lélia Wanick Salgado
	Country: BR, F, I
	Genre: Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 19.07.2015, DVD, Original version
Synopsis: Sebastião Salgado started studying law and economics. During the Brasilian dictature in the 70s, he and his girlfriend Lélia moved to Europe. After a couple of years of work as economist, he decides to quit and travel taking pictures and sell these. This biography follows him along his life and evolution through photography.
Review: I received the DVD from a talented photograph. And I was therefore curious to know that movie and the character of Sebastião Salgado. The guy has a story to tell. Not only his own story but also the stories that he can testify for, from all his travels and photobooks. We start in Latin America cos of his nostalgia. Then to Africa following Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without borders). To Kuwait just after the first Iraq war. Then to Rwanda during the genocides. Finally he comes back to his land, Brasil. And tries to make something good in it, focused on the nature. Mostly because his family land got dry and lost all its trees (by whom is a mystery).  The movie is storytelling by Sebastião and by Juliano but never a dialogue, as it was also a way for both to discover each other.  The image was not so good, but the image composition by Sebastião is not questioned. He is great! And he goes to the right places at the right time. And takes good decisions. It seems like there was not much support to his wife with two kids. His life is true because it follows his deep will.  In the movie, you can a bit about photography, and a lot about this great photograph that is Sebastião Salgado.
Rating: 7 /10

The Human Centipede II: Full Sequence (2011)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2011
	Director: Tom Six (The Human Centipede 1-3)
	Actors: Ashlynn Yennie (The Human Centipede), Maddi Black, Laurence R. Harvey
	Country: USA
	Genre: Horror
	Conditions of visioning: 18.07.2015, Bu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: Obsessed by the movie The Human Centipede, Martin (Harvey) abducts people in order to give life to his own sick dream.
Review: I watch nowadays much less horror and gore movies than I used to, but once in a while I like to see what's new. I can only recommend any of The Human Centipede movies to people who I know have the guts for it and can take it for what they are: attempts to shock. I found the first movie interesting (all relative to its genre of course) and not as trash as it could have been, but it does look cheap. Full Sequence also takes its time before showing you its worse, but when it does it turned out to be the goriest movie I have ever seen. It is shot in a good-looking Black & White that fortunately attenuates a bit of the gore. The actor playing the main character (Laurence R. Harvey) gives quite a performance with his bulging eyes and fat belly that he shows when he is half-naked for half the movie. I also liked crazy secondary characters like the doctor looking like a pervert Charles Darwin. The shocking part of the movie reminds of what was done in the 80's with exploitation flicks like Cannibal Holocaust. I will probably get my hands soon on The Human Centipede III: Final Sequence, to get a full overview of Tom Six's sick trilogy.
Rating: 5 /10

Terminator Salvation (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: McG (Charlie's Angels 1-2, This Means War)
	Actors: Christian Bale (The Machinist, Reign of Fire), Sam Worthington (Rogue, Avatar), Anton Yelchin (Star Trek 1-3), Moon Bloodgood, Michael Ironside (Scanners, Starship Troopers), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Helena Bonham Carter (Fight Club)
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF, Action
	Conditions of visioning: 14.07.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic future, Man is at war against machines led by Skynet. John Connor (Bale) is not yet leader of the Resistance, but is believed to be a kind of prophet. He is looking for Kyle Reese (Yelchin) but this one is first found by Marcus (Worthington) whose motivations are unknown.
Review: Following the release of Terminator Genisys, I am starting to watch the other movies of the franchise in reverse order, but that shouldn't matter for a series that deal with time travel. After the classic dyptic directed by James Cameron (The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day) and a semi-parodic third movie (Rise of the Machines) that was showing the big Arnold for the last time before his eight-year governorship, Salvation builds up on the events of all those movies and takes place exclusively in the future during the twice-postponed war against Skynet. That was an interesting choice. Then the mood of the movie is also different, without any of the humour from its two predecessors, thus closer to the tone of the first, influenced I guess by the recent fashion for the "Grim and Gritty" (like the Dark Knight trilogy). This is also interesting, as is the choice of cast: Christian Bale as John Connor not yet the leader, Anton Yelchin as a young Kyle Reese and the excellent (and trendy) Sam Worthington as a former criminal looking for redemption. And it is always good to see Michael Ironside. The only things that really annoys me with this movie is that the color tone (mud and dust) is very different from the one of the others (fire and steel), a lot of action takes place during the day, and the Resistance is able to operate large bases relatively unhindered as long as they stay away from San Francisco, while we were used to see them hiding in sewers, eating rats and barely surviving. But this may be because Salvation shows the early days of the War. In the end I like Salvation as much as I did Genisys, but for totally different reasons.
Rating: 6 /10

Terminator Genisys (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World)
	Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Predator, Escape Plan), Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones TV-series), Jai Courtney (Die Hard 5), Byung-hun Lee (G.I. Joe 1-2, A Bittersweet Life), J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man 1-3)
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF, Action
	Conditions of visioning: 13.07.2015, CINEMA theater, 3D
Synopsis: While the Human Resistance is about to win a futuristic war against machines led by Skynet, Kyle Reese (Courtney) is sent back in time after a Terminator sent by the enemy, in order to protect Sarah Connor (E. Clarke), mother of the future head of the resistance John (J. Clarke). But this story does not happen as it should have.
Review: The best way to watch this movie is not too long after The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, as it contains especially in its half hour many reference that you will miss if you don't have the first movies well in mind: story, characters, puns and even camera movements reproduced shot for shot (examples: The Terminator vs. the punks, Reese putting on the Nike shoes...). I found this quite pleasant although not as well done as in the original (I have just raised the rating of its review to 8/10 from 7/10 which was unfair). The events of the two other sequels are gently ignored. The idea of resetting the franchise using time travel reminds of what J.J. Abrams did with Star Trek and I quite like the story in Genisys. There is only one big loophole but it might be filled in the announced sequel(s). The humour in the movie is at a level between Terminator 2 and 3, i.e. slightly too much sometimes. The action scenes are nicely spaced and satisfying even though not always justified. I found the 3D conversion totally useless and even disturbing the viewing experience at times. Not recommended. About the actors: Good Old Arnold plays seriously an ageing Terminator and even brings emotion to it (I noticed it in particular in one scene towards the end), Emilia Clarke is not too bad, Byung-hum Lee an excellent choice for the T-1000 although too rare, but I didn't like the choices of Jason Clarke as John Connor nor Jai Courtney as a well-fed, strong, muscular Kyle Reese spoiling for me the intention of portraying a weak-looking soldier (like Michael Biehn did to the perfection) feeding on rats. I am now tempted to watch again the three other movies in the franchise, maybe also the two seasons of the TV-series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (which I own in Blu-ray), and why not reading the three novels that complete this Universe: T2: Infiltrator (2001), T2: Rising Storm (2003) and T2: The Future War (2004).
Rating: 6 /10

Jurassic Park (1993)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1993, 2013 in 3D
	Director: Steven Spielberg (Jaws, E.T., Lincoln)
	Actors: Sam Neill (In the Mouth of Madness, Event Horizon), Laura Dern (Blue Velvet), Jeff Goldblum (Independance Day), Richard Attenborough (The Great Escape)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Adventure
	Conditions of visioning: 06.07.2015, 3D Blu-ray, Home cinema and 22" 3D screen.
Synopsis: A couple of paleontology experts (Neill, Dern) are hired by multi-millionaire John Hammond (Attenborough) to give their opinion on his most recent venture: a revolutionary amusement park located off the shores of Costa Rica.
Review: I missed the cinema re-release of Jurassic Park in post-converted 3D in 2013 so I fixed that now at home but unfortunately on too small a screen. Note that there exist only a few movies that have been shot in native 3D (like Avatar), most of them were converted in post-processing (including Gravity or Mad Max: Fury Road for example), but there are to my knowledge only two that did it with a large budget (~ 15 million dollars) and enough time (9 months): James Cameron's Titanic and Steven Speilberg's Jurassic Park. I was amazed to see that many shots in the movie seem to have been thought for 3D in the first place, and Spielberg confirmed this in the making-of documentary: looking at dinosaurs and other action scenes from the bottom-up, the kitchen scene, the falling car scene... And the conversion is indeed not bad at all. After many visioning of this movie its magic still operates on me thanks to the original story (based on Michael Crichton's book), the adaptation by David Koepp, the direction by Spielberg and last but not least the fantastic soundtrack by John Williams, one of his best together with Star Wars. Some downsides: I know the movie so well that I notice many continuity errors, and I am now all too aware of the extreme staging by Spielberg for some of the scenes (actors at the exact perfect place, having the perfect reaction in font of a perfectly placed camera), quite typical of his movies by the way, and which for me cost Jurassic Park the maximum rating.
Rating: 9 /10

Moon (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Duncan Jones
	Actors: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey (voice)
	Country: GB
	Genre: SF
	Conditions of visioning: 12.07.2015, Bluray, Original English version
Synopsis: Sam Bell (Rockwell) has a three year contract to work for Lunar Industries. For the contract's entire duration, he is the sole employee based at their lunar station. His primary job responsibility is to harvest and periodically rocket back to Earth supplies of helium-3, the current clean and abundant fuel used on Earth. There is no direct communication link available between the lunar station and Earth, so his only direct real-time interaction is with the main computer GERTY (Spacey). Just before finishing the contract, he has an accident.
Review: A video store close by is selling off. I bought then some DVD/Blurays from what they had left and especially Moon that I remembered as excellent when I saw it at its release in 2009. This movie has an excellent story. Focus on the character. Question on the loneliness of working on a Moon station. Question on the SPOILER cloning of humans and whether clones would be humans. The format is a bit strange, having a computer as main character, like in 2001 Space odyssey or in Her. And here there is also only one actor. The exercise managed to enhance the focus on the character, his thoughts, so that an emotional relationship is created. This was great, especially by considering the second topic (SPOILER). Unfortunately it is impossible to talk more about the excellent story without spoiling the surprise. But the story becomes darker and questionning a lot about what makes humanity. The photography and the special effects are well mastered. The one-man-show of Sam Rockwell is also excellent. The different postures, faces, reactions and states make of his role a challenge.  Duncan Jones wrote there a great story. Hopefully the coming Warcraft that he is writing will be at the same level, even if to be original with the well-known environment of Warcraft will not be easy.
Rating: 8 /10

Victoria (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Sebastian Schipper
	Actors: Laia Costa, Frederick Lau, Franz Rogowski, Burak Yigit, max Mauff
	Country: D
	Genre: Comedy, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 08.07.2015, Schauburg, Original German version
Synopsis: Victoria (Costa) is a young adult from Spain lost in Berlin. She has no friend and dances all night in a club. She's asked by four friendly men, Sonne (Lau), Boxer (Rogowski), Blinker (Yigit)  and Fuss (Mauff) to join them as they hit the town. They start with a wild night of partying. As Fuss is drunk dead, Victoria gets involved into a bank robbery.
Review: I wanted to watch this movie as the trailer seen during a previous movie looked to be very modern in the sense of Baudelaire of showing the essence of the current times.  By watching the movie I have not been disappointed. The modernity was there: happy-go-lucky anonymous party, loneliness of migrants in big cities, urban nature, multicultural society, poverty. And this accompanied by classical themes of love and debts to a gangster.  On the content modernity comes the form modernity of hand-held shooting (with Canon EOS C300) and single take, also the natural acting of most of the actors. The actors are the focus of the movie and Frederick Lau is really great of authenticity and modernity, Laia Costa is cute and plays her role scene by scene as it should be, while FBlinker and Boxer add an authentic environment to the main couple.  From that point of view, the movie would be brilliant, but a few points make the movie loose some credibility, such as the character of Victoria, after three months she does not know anybody, but she looks very free and easy going. This does not match. Then the boys are partying furiously and actually they plan to help a gangster on the same night. It is also not very credible. But these weaknesses bring also more material to the story and make it therefore more dynamic.
Rating: 8 /10

Mr Kaplan (2014)

	Also Known As: Senor Kaplan
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Álvaro Brechner
	Actors: Héctor Noguera, Néstor Guzzini
	Country: UY, E, D
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 06.07.2015,Schauburg, OV sneak preview, Spanish/Yiddish version with German subtitles
Synopsis: After fleeing Europe for Uruguay during WWII as a lonely kid, Jacob Kaplan (Noguera) built a quiet life. Now 76, he needs to find his quest in life. After learning of a mysterious German prowling the shores of a nearby beach, he becomes convinced that he's found a Nazi in hiding and plans to expose him. He involves a freidns of the family, the looser Wilson Contreras (Guzzini).
Review: The story is quite nice about the quest for a sense in life, even if coming late. The personality and verb of the old boy Kaplan is very funny and I have seen me both complice and audience. Unfortunately a lot of scenes hesitate between drama and comedy and finally do not reach any of both.  Both actors Noguera and Guzzini fit to their role and can be therefore very funny and also dramatic. The dialogues are very good and the voice of Noguera brings also a lot of warmth and texture to his character of grumpy old man. Even if some dialogues sound like from Gran Torino the voice and way to talk make it completely different. Noguera is an excellent actor!
Rating: 5 /10

L'ombre des femmes (2015)

	Also Known As: In the shadow of women
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Philippe Garrel
	Actors: Clotilde Courau, Stanislas Merhar, Lena Paugam
	Country: F, CH
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 24.06.2015, MK2 Beaubourg, Original French version
Synopsis: Pierre (Merhar) and Manon (Courau) are poor documentary movie makers. They live with not much. One day Pierre meets a trainee Elisabeth (Paugam) where Manon works, and she becomes his lover. As Pierre does not want to leave Manon, this ménage à trois is set until Elisabeth sees Manon with her lover.
Review: As I was in Paris for that day, I decided to go to one of my favourite movie theaters of Paris, which is always presenting very special and fine movies. This one is indeed very fine. The beginning looked very Nouvelle vague, almost the same title font as À bout de souffle by Godard. The movie is in a very nice and clean black&white without being arty. I liked the style almost Nouvelle Vague that does not look just old fashion. The story is the classical simple adultery. The man is the classical man who does not show much emotion nor interest in the two women. Both women are more emotional and involved in the relation and stick to their word. From the authentic and simple story telling it reminds Eric Rohmer. For that I liked the movie. As almost nothing is happening, the format of only 1h13 is just fine for the movie. Actually additional material could have been included to build a stronger story or deeper characters. Too bad!
Rating: 5 /10

Reign of Fire (2002)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2002
	Director: Rob Bowman (The X files, Elektra)
	Actors: Matthew McConaughey (Killer Joe, Contact), Christian Bale (American Psycho, The Dark Knight trilogy), Izabella Scorupco (Goldeneye)
	Country: USA, IRL
	Genre: Fantasy, Action
	Conditions of visioning: 30.06.2015, HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: Construction works for the London Tube awaken a dragon that will spawn thousands more and transform the planet into a world of ash. Some humans surviving hidden in a medieval castle, led by Quinn (Bale) will be joined by a remaining section of the US Army led by Van Zan (McConaughey).
Review: I remember being very excited before the release of this movie back in 2002: realistic dragons in a post-apocalyptic world they created, and a handful of humans struggling for survival, what more could I ask! I was then disappointed at the result because I found at the time that there was not enough dragon action. This disturbed me less this time, as I realize now that this was probably due to a limited budget (half of the special effects indeed look cheap and worthy of a B-movie). The filmmakers preferred to focus on a few ultra-iconic dragon scenes rather than showing too much of the poorly-rendered beasts, which is not a bad thing after all. And those few scenes are in fact impressive: the awakening, attack on the castle, attack on the convoy, the flight above London, Van Zan and his axe (see some pictures at the end of this post). I love the idea of people hiding from a dragon in a medieval castle, the contrast between those survivors and the US army guys, and a bald and bearded Matthew McConaughey hard to recognize and playing his character with passion. Not so bad after all.
Rating: 6 /10