Shingeki no kyojin 2 (2015)

	Also Known As: Attack on Titan
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Shinji Higuchi
	Actors: Haruma Miura, Kiko Mizuhara
	Country: J
	Genre: SF, War
	Conditions of visioning: 18.04.2016, on in-flight entertainment 10" screen
Synopsis: In a world split by huge walls to protect humanity from Titans, a teenage boy named Eren Jaeger (Miura) must use his special gift to fight alongside with the military to defeat the Titan race. Mankind is on the brink of extinction when these man-eating monsters terrorize the protected areas and set to destroy the last of human civilization left in the world.
Review: The first Part of the story is well summarised in 10 minutes at the right beginning, so that I did not even notice the transition to the Part 2. Eren is presented quite fast as well as his team. The story itself is quite interesting, at least the pitch. The details of the story and the long talks of the militaries and Eren might be rather bearable if you read all the mangas. This is not my case.  The fight scenes show one type of special effects and the big boss of the second level is quite long to defeat.
Rating: 3 /10

Les Choristes (2004)

	Also Known As: The Chorus
	Year of first release: 2004
	Director: Christophe Barratier (La Guerre des Boutons)
	Actors:  Gérard Jugnot (Les Bronzés, Une Epoque Formidable, Meilleur Espoir Féminin), François Berléand (The Transporter 1-3), Jean-Baptiste Maunier, Kad Merad (Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis)
	Country: F
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 12.05.2016, in-flight entertainment 5" screen.
Synopsis: In 1949, the new supervisor Clément Mathieu (Jugnot) joins a private school for young boys directed by the tyrannic Rachin (Berléand). His love for music will push him to attempt new methods for educating the troublesome boys.
Review: I had heard the title of this movie several times in the past but never got to watch it. I heard it was a good French movie, and one of the first in which Gérard Jugnot could show his talent for drama after many years stuck in the comedy register. He had actually already shown this talent in the 2000 touching Meilleur Espoir Féminin and 1991 Une Epoque Formidable. Berléand is also good and Kad Merad quite unrecognizable out of the comedy register himself. And I indeed found the movie to be a good one, participating in reconciling me with French cinema after watching too many bad comedies. It may be a period movie, it does not emphasis at all on the historical events that preceded. We do feel very strongly the post-war trauma (it was after all four years only after WWII) but this feeling is not used to set the story into the larger History, rather only to make us understand a little better the reason why both adults and kids behave like they do, if not to justify their actions. I found the growing relationship between Mathieu and the boys well told, with just the right amount of challenges and confrontations to make the audience fear for the future (and the ending). And like I also felt in The Concert, the musical moments are beautiful even though outdated (who likes a young boy's choir nowadays?).
Rating: 7 /10

Fargo - Season 2 (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Writer: Noah Hawley + others
	Actors: Kirsten Dunst (The Virgin Suicide, Spiderman 1-3), Patrick Wilson (Watchmen, The Conjuring), Jesse Plemons, Jean Smart, Ted Danson
	Country: USA
	Genre: Black Comedy, Polar
	Conditions of visioning: March 2016, HD VOD, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: In 1979, a gang war is about to burst in the small towns of Laverne, Fargo and Sioux Falls. Some of the local Police and people get involved, often against their will.
Review: I had found that the spirit of the movie Fargo by the Coen brothers was well transmitted to the first season of the TV-series, and was delighted when I understood the linking point. The second season tells a story that happened 30 years before the first and the most obvious link is the character of Lou Solverson. It took me until the end of the season plus the help of Internet to really get that connection (I guess I watched the first one too long ago) as well as some other hidden ones. The story and the way of telling it re-use the same elements that we love from this franchise: a set of colorful characters in particular the bandits, a central police character and his family, study of the reaction of ordinary fellows to extra-ordinary situations, unexpected deaths in odd circumstances, and of course bitter cold, snow and that accent from the North. Kirsten Dunst is quite good and at counter-use in this role of bling-bling housewife, and I am getting to like more and more Patrick Wilson. Setting this third story of the franchise in the past was an excellent idea as it gives some new visual identity, or rather the source for the future identity. Plus a prequel is always enjoyable for the fans when they get the future connections. But I didn't immerse in the story like I did in the other ones and I found some episodes slow or predictable, in spite of some strong characters. When I think more of it, it is definitely one notch below the first season. Note that throughout the season I recognized with a smile the covers from at least three songs from The Big Lebowski soundtrack.
Rating: 6 /10

Mr Holmes (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Bill Condon (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn)
	Actors:  Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings 1-3, X-men 1-3), Laura Linney (The Truman Show), Hiroyuki Sanada (Sunshine, 47 Ronin, The Wolverine)
	Country: GB, USA, J
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 17.04.2016, in-flight entertainment 10" screen.
Synopsis: Aging Sherlock Holmes (McKellen) lives as a recluse after ending his detective career many years before. The encounter with the son of his housekeeper (Linney) will make him go down memory line to remember his last case and the reason for his early retirement.
Review: An interesting and original take at the Sherlock Holmes legend, brilliantly put into life by Sir McKellen. This is not a classical Holmes story in which he solves an impossible case thanks to his unique talent of deduction. Instead, we see an old man just trying to remember the reason why he stopped helping people so abruptly so many years ago. The memory exercise is presented thanks to flashbacks of course, and motivated by the interaction between Holmes and the young boy. The story evolves slowly, giving us plenty of time to appreciate the acting of Mc Kellen, and at some point of the flashbacks we do witness hints of his former talent. So it is quite OK to watch but then I was rather disappointed by the conclusion. The thoughts of Holmes throughout the movie made me expect something much more important. Actually writing now this article one month after watching the movie, I have already forgotten the details of the ending. Not a good sign.
Rating: 5 /10

Bakuman (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Hitoshi Ohne
	Actors: Takeru Satô, Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Nana Komatsu
	Country: J
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 08.05.2016, in-flight entertainment 10" screen.
Synopsis: Two high-school students team up to create a Manga and submit it to the famous editor Shonen Jump.
Review: How timely to watch this movie on the flight back from holidays in Japan partially spent comparing the behavior of Japanese people with the one we expected from watching many movies from that country, and also after visiting the excellent Manga museum in Kyoto which obviously mentions Shonen Jump and the classic Mangas also quoted as reference in the movie. As often in Japanese movies I found the reactions of the characters to be exaggerated and unrealistic but I now know that this is not far from the true spirit one can encounter in that country. For example the people met by our two heroes are quite charicatural, and the situations in which they end up are quite unrealistic (see their meeting and their motivation for teaming up, for a girl, after falling off a flight of stairs). But their adventure and progressive immersion in the world of professional Manga edition is quite touching and makes us want to watch the end. I only regret that the back-story of Bakuman was not better used (I really thought they would end up continuing the series started by one of the hero's uncle). Not a masterpiece but in context, a perfect conclusion to no-less perfect holidays.
Rating: 5 /10

Momo e no tegami (2011)

	Also Known As: Lettre à Momo, Ein Brief an Momo
	Year of first release: 2011
	Director: Hiroyuki Okiura
	Actors: -
	Country: J
	Genre: Animation, Fantasy
	Conditions of visioning: 05.04.2016, Bluray, Japanese version with French subtitles
Synopsis: Momo and her mother arrive in a small fisher town in the island of Shio after her father died. The last things she did with him before his death was insulting him because he gives the priority to work rather than to family. There she meets some other kids and tries to live like them. But it is difficult for a Tokyo kid to feel like a village kid. She sees some beings as well: the flatulent lizard Kawa, the childlike Mame and their hulking ogre leader Iwa. With them she will experience adventures.
Review: As in many Japanese animes the main character is a child, here a girl, discovering a new world, here a town. Momo's feeling toward her father are depicted with a very sensible view. To compensate this sadness and find also a kind of salvation, her life is pushed aside by three hilarious characters. And they are really funny. Two of them look like adults but behave like kids making silly things in town, mostly stealing food and eating in secret.  This mix of real story and banalisation of extraordinary beings makes it like the Magic realism of García Márquez that I really like. These characters look like from Chihiro by Miyazaki, and therefore their appearance as monster does not reduce the kindness and naivety they radiate. In a very psychological way, Momo discovers herself via these funny inhabitants and manages to go over the loss of her father. A nice Japanese tale for kids but also adults as the discovery of oneself takes often a long long time.  More steps in Momo's way or more originality could have increase the rating of that already good movie.
Rating: 6 /10

Pension Complète (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Florent-Emilio Siri (Hostage)
	Actors:  Franck Dubosc (Bis), Gérard Lanvin (Camping), Pascale Arbillot
	Country: F
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 08.05.2016, in-flight entertainment 10" screen.
Synopsis: Thought lost in the 2006 tsunami, Alex (Lanvin) comes back home after ten years to find the restaurant he owned completely changed and at the hands of François (Dubosc) who also married his former wife.
Review: Pension Complète is a modern remake of the classic 1963 La Cuisine au Beurre which was starring the two french cinema icons of the time: Bourvil and Fernandel. The tandem Dubosc/Lanvin from Camping is not at that level, and they are not helped in delivering a good performance by a simplified story multiplying the exaggerated confrontations between the two men. The wife brings some balance and reason to that, even some emotion thanks to the whole back story of child making- The only interest of Pension Complète is that it makes me want to re-discover La Cuisine au Beurre now after twenty years not watching it.
Rating: 2 /10

Bis (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Dominique Farrugia (Delphine 1, Yvan 0)
	Actors: Franck Dubosc (Camping, Pension Complète), Kad Merad (Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis), Alexandra Lamy, Gérard Darmon (Astérix et Obélix : Mission Cléopâtre)
	Country: F
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 17.04.2016, in-flight entertainment 10" screen.
Synopsis: After a party night during which they complained about their present lives, the two friends Patrice and Eric (Merad & Dubosc) are projected into their own bodies in the 80's and start to think about change.
Review: A flight with Air France was the opportunity to catch up with some french comedies. Bis didn't surprise me much with its cast composed of two of the currently major actors of the genre in France. The travel to the 80's is a good pretense for some nostalgic jokes that cannot be lost on a public that lived through that period (I wonder the effect on a younger audience...) and the predictable dilemma our heroes will face, ending of course with the realization that it is only when you lose something that you understand how much you miss it. Beyond this too obvious story, there are some touching moments between Patrice and his future wife, or Eric and his lost father.
Rating: 3 /10

Pixels (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire)
	Actors:  Adam Sandler (Mr Deeds), Kevin James (Paul Blart: Mall Cop), Michelle Monaghan (Source Code, Gone Baby Gone)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Comedy, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 17.04.2016, in-flight entertainment 10" screen.
Synopsis: When Aliens attack our planet following patterns from 80's video games, a champion of the time Brenner (Sandler) is called to the rescue but his best friend Cooper now USA president (James).
Review: The story was inspired by a french short movie that became very popular on the web in 2010 (visible under this link if your country allows you to watch it). Well if one could adapt Battleship why not making Pixels ?! The story has an Ivan Reitman feel to it (Ghostbusters, Evolution) but the humour is very Adam Sandler, so you'd better avoid that movie if you don't like this. I am not a big fan but always remember some good laughs from Mr Deeds so I decided to give it a shot (a decision also made easier when you are stuck in a plane for twelve hours). When put to images, the story is very cartoonesque and nothing is believable (the president, the military, the enemy, the attacks...) but that's a universe you have to accept. The movie revolves around the attacks, separated by scenes in which the various characters work out their relationships with one another, and some other ones calling to our nostalgia for those old games (like the apparition of the creator of Pacman to the rescue to defeat his offspring). All of this is pretty easy to watch (not boring as I had read it) but will not leave much of a trace in the history of cinema.
Rating: 4 /10

Ascension (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Creators:  Adrian Cruz, Philip Levens
	Actors: Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica TV-series), Gil Bellows, Brian Van Holt
	Country: USA, CDN
	Genre: SF, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: March 2015, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: The routine daily life aboard a spaceship en route the Proxima Centauri is perturbed by what could be a murder.
Review: I was teased by the topic and format of this short series proposed on Netflix. Imagine a spaceship launched secretly in the 60's for a 100-year journey to our neighbour star. A generation ship it is called, because only the grandchildren of the original crew will reach the targeted new world. Tricia Helfer in one of the main roles guarantees the interest from the fans of the Battlestar Galactica TV-series (in which she was playing the unforgettable Number 6) and the rest of the cast plays just good enough. A major twist in the story is revealed rather soon, and after a quick research I found out that stories of generation ships are quite common in SF, in particular ones involving the same twist. The characters and story are interesting, at least in the first episodes, in particular the hierarchy that has evolved aboard the ship after 50 years. But in spite of the fact that the series was always scheduled to be limited to 6 episodes, I didn't like that too many story arcs are opened and not closed. It makes me feel like the series was stopped halfway through the end. I am not talking about the rather open ending which is fine (even good), but about some pieces of information and new characters that appear in the last two episodes without leading to anything. A bit disappointing.
Rating: 5 /10

The Martian (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator)
	Actors:  Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity, Dogma), Jessica Chastain (Interstellar), Kristen Wiig
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 12.04.2016, in-flight entertainment 10" screen
Synopsis: Mark Watney (Damon) is left for dead alone on Mars when his exploration team has to leave in an emergency.
Review: I was not expecting this movie when it went out, I hadn't heard about it. And I was not very motivated to watch it because first I didn't see how the movie could keep being interesting for two hours relying only on the performance of one actor. This is a difficult exercise, which was however well executed in the past by Tom Hanks in Cast Away for example. Then I thought the interest by the public in the red planet was passed since the close releases of Mission to Mars, Red Planet and Ghosts of Mars back in the early 2000's. The Martian reminds me most of the second because of the stranded explorer trying to come back home, but the comparison stops there especially since Ridley Scott's movie is much closer to what a real martian mission could be in the near future (although the cost of what is shown in the movie would be prohibitive). So the science looks good but what about the most critical element: the story revolving around the acting of Matt Damon? Well, I liked it. We focus a lot on his character of course but it doesn't get boring thanks to funny monologues and the determination Damon manages to inject in the character. Moreover we get to spend maybe 20% of the movie with the team on Earth or on the rescue ship which makes some welcome breaks. It is a pity that I watched the movie on a very small screen so I cannot comment on the quality of the special effects or the beauty of the martian landscapes. Ridley Scott managed once more to deliver a reference movie in its genre. After Gravity and Interstellar, does the release of The Martian mean that exploration of the solar system is trendy again?
Rating: 7 /10

Gotham - season 1 (2014)

	Also Known As: Gotham: Rise of the Villains
	Year of first release: 2014
	Creator: Bruno Heller
	Actors:  Ben McKenzie, Jada Pinkett Smith (The Matrix 2-3), Donal Logue, Morena Baccarin (Firefly TV-series, Deadpool)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: February-March 2016, HD VOD, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: After his parents get killed, young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) doesn't know how to seek justice while freshly arrived Detective Jim Gordon (McKenzie) has big changes in mind for the all-too-corrupted Gotham City Police Department.
Review: I has skeptical about this series on the origins of the Cape Crusader but I remember reading years ago some good things about Smallville, which showed that a similar concept was viable (in that case for Superman). This series has many attractive aspects that earned it an Emmy award for best TV-show in 2015. First, I particularly like the sets and the look of the series. The inside of the Wayne Manor is beautiful and rich in details, the streets of Gotham have the same look as in the Dark Knight trilogy (was the series also shot in Chicago?) both from below and above, the skies are always cloudy and the contrast exaggerated to give it a HDR look (High Dynamic Range, for photographers), and last but not least the police station has an incredible gothic look, like if it used to be a high-end club in the 1920's. Speaking of which, the time period of the series is hard to define: people do have mobile phones but not smart ones, and computers are not to be seen. All in all an interesting mix. Then the story is interesting and well-told: how did Jim Gordon rise in the ranks of a completely corrupted Police Department, and how the death of his parents influenced Bruce Wayne in his early years, while their future super-villain enemies were not yet super, and for some not even villains. No wonder that the series second title is Rise of the Villains. But everybody's situation is evolving and this is one of the things that makes the series addictive to watch. We get to see all the characters I knew from the classic Batman story and from the previous movies: apart from Wayne and Gordon: Harvey Dent, Alfred of course with a more developed background, Gordon's girlfriend Barbara (with a darker path that I knew of), Selena Kyle (future Cat Woman), (Poison) Ivy, Ed Nygma, The Joker (I think...), Lucius Fox (head of research at Wayne Enterprise) and most importantly Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. the Penguin wonderfully played by Robin Lord Taylor. I also discovered the characters of Fish Mooney, Marooni, Falcon and Gordon's partner Harvey Bullock. Thanks to all those elements the series manages very well to render the corrupted spirit of Gotham City, the powerlessness of a stubborn Jim Gordon and the early years of a future Knight not yet Dark.
Rating: 7 /10

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead, Sucker Punch)
	Actors: Ben Affleck (Paycheck, Pearl Harbor), Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), Amy Adams, Holly Hunter
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 01.04.2016, Cine Hoyt Antofagasta Plaza, 3D
Synopsis: After Metropolis' devastation, both the public and senator Finch (Hunter) want Superman (Cavill) to respond for his actions. The masked vigilante of Gotham City (Affleck) faces similar critics.
Review: Director Zack Snyder can be safely called the Master of Comic Books adaptation in Hollywood, and one can see in his recent career path how he constantly improves his skill, from the literal frame-to-frame cinematographic copy of Frank Miller's 300 to Watchmen for which he only changed the ending, and is now taking even more liberty for a Batman v Superman that I thought would be more inspired by the excellent graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, while in fact it only reuses small parts of it and even sometimes inverts roles or story elements (Star Trek Into Darkness, someone?). In fact the excellent graphic novel is a reason why I was willing to watch this movie; indeed before reading it I would have thought the idea even of a duel between the two super-heroes to be ridiculous (of course Superman wins), but the story is so well brought in the novel that I could buy it without problem. The second reason to watch this movie is the fact that Man of Steel introduced weaknesses in the character of its hero, moral if not physical, making him a more accessible match for the stronger-willed Bruce Wayne.  That was for context, but how does the movie look and feel? Well it looks good, in the line of Man of Steel in particular in its display of massive destruction by overwhelming forces (excellent idea by the way to replay the ending of the first movie from the point of view of Wayne). But as to how it feels I am more mitigated because is actually feels too staged: one scene follows another with mathematical arrangement but no soul really. The movie does contain some great moments and ideas (nice introduction of Wonder Woman although a bit out of place) but also poorer ones. As much as I like Jeremy Irons I don't find him fitting as an Alfred that is also Batman's weapon and high-tech specialist. Very far from the emotional acting by Michael Caine in the Dark Knight trilogy and from the deep background painted for the same character played by Sean Pertwee in the excellent TV-series Gotham.  And neither the depiction of Lex Luthor nor the poorly-inspired apparitions of Clark Kent's parents make up for that feeling. Maybe the following movies in the Dawn of Justice Universe will be more successful... or maybe the most promising is the upcoming Suicide Squad.
Rating: 5 /10

Deadpool (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Tim Miller
	Actors:  Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern, The Proposal, Buried), Morena Baccarin (Firefly TV-series), T.J. Miller (Cloverfield), Ed Skrein (Game of Thrones TV-series)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 27.02.2016, Gaumont Parnasse cinema
Synopsis: Contract killer Wade (Reynolds) lives a perfect love story with Vanessa (Baccarin) when he is diagnosed with cancer. After being contacted by a man promising a mysterious treatment, he will have to make a choice.
Review: I have never read the comic book, but from what I heard Deadpool contains a very special offbeat humour that makes him stand apart in the X-men Universe, and people were very disappointed by the apparition of this character in the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine. This project, supported by its main actor Ryan Reynolds was promising to be more faithful to the comics (see the promotion posters at the end of this article) and I guess it succeeded.  The movie is filled with self-mockery, often via the actor breaking the fourth wall (talking to the camera) about the simplistic story, the good looks of Ryan Reynolds, or the fact that the special effects look cheaper then in the other X-men movies for example! That's refreshing in the current too serious super-hero movie trend. And the role is perfect for Reynolds, both before and after he becomes Deadpool. So I liked the movie but not to the point of rating it more than 7/10. The scenes and characters are original in a well-depicted X-men world and I will probably enjoy watching the movie again. But it is not hilarious either.
Rating: 6 /10