Hidden figures (2016)

	Also Known As: Les figures de l'ombres, Talentos ocultos
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Theodore Melfi
	Actors: Taraji Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 02.03.2017, Cinema am Ostertor, German version
Synopsis: As the USA raced against Soviet Union to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of black female mathematicians that served as the brains to back up the white engineers. Three women calculate the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughan (Spencer), Mary Jackson (Monáe), and Katherine Johnson (Henson) need to cross gender, race and professional lines.
Review: The movie is a great plot. Not only because it tells the story of one small step for man that did not become really one giant leap for mankind. Indeed even if NASA accepted to stop the apartheid within the space centers around 1960, it took still several decades in the USA for black people to be allowed to study as equal to white people, to be allowed to sit in the bus wherever they want as equal to white people. And nowadays the equality is still not complete. On top of being black, the three main characters are women! A second disadvantage to get any recognition and consideration and right to talk in public.The story is very modern as it shows that for the best of the institute (it may be the same for any company) the boss, here Kevin Costner, needs to have the best for his team regardless from their differences. Equality of rights is crucial. I find the story amazing. It is based on true stories. It is even more amazing to me because it plays in NASA and has to do with space! The acting starts to be great already in the first scene. The three women being helped by a policeman after a tense discussion driven by them. Very funny dialogues, very ironic dialogues, very matching faces enhancing the irony, the fear of being black. It was funny to see Jim Parsons from Big Bang Theory in this kind of movie and having a role of not so clever guy.  The camera driving is simple but matching the effects of the scenes. The landing are presented as simple and these are in fact, as it is ballistic flight.
Rating: 8 /10

The founder (2016)

	Also Known As: Le fondateur
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: John Lee Hancock
	Actors: Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 06.03.2017, Schauburg, OV Sneak Preview, English version with German subtitle
Synopsis: Ray Kroc (Keaton) is a salesman impressed by the rational kitchen developped by the McDonald brothers (Offerman and Lynch) in LA. He turns the innovative fast food eatery into one of the biggest restaurant businesses in the world with a combination of ambition, persistence, and ruthlessness.
Review: The story is the format of business ma, self-made millionaire, as Steve Jobs or Social network. It shows that to become millionaire, you have to be tough and remorseless. Unlike Social Network in which the conflicts were felt close, The founder is more about the one guy Ray Kroc.  I found the movie quite boring, without rythm and closing space for the secondary roles to become interesting. Michael Keaton did play some good scenes, but his acting is very monotonous.  At least the movie is informative. Now I know that the founder of McDonald's is not only an asshole for the health of the consumers, it is also an asshole for his ex-business partners.
Rating: 3 /10

Der junge Karl Marx (2017)

	Also Known As: Le jeune Karl Marx
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: Raoul Peck
	Actors: August Diehl, Stefan Konarske, Vicky Krieps, Hannah Steele, Olivier Gourmet
	Country: D, F, B
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 03.03.2017, Schauburg, German/French/English version
Synopsis: Karl Marx (Diehl) is 26 when he embarks with his wife, Jenny (Krieps), on the road to exile. In 1844 Paris, he meets Friedrich Engels (Konarske), an industrialist's son, who investigated the sordid birth of the British working-class supported by Mary Burns (Steele). Engels, the dandy, provides the last piece of the puzzle to the young Karl Marx's new vision of the world. Together, between censorship and the police's repression, they will develop the labor movement inspired by French Proudhon (Gourmet) into a modern era.
Review: I wanted to watch this movie as Karl Marx is always subject of stereotypes from both right-wing and left-wing people. When he also was a human being. And this exactly what the movie presents. A human being, stubborn, in admiration for his wife. A friendship that did not start well with Friedrich Engels but blossomed after some nights spent together drinking and chatting. And also by the way, the creation of a European movement. I liked the story a lot. It feels really real as, from my experience, friendships are indeed often built like this.  The place of women is important as well even if the focus is the friendship Marx and Engels. Both women are the trigger to their vocation, are what they admire the most, are the sources of the inspiration and the communist principles. Even if Jenny Marx has much more dialogues than Mary Burns and a place on the poster, both have a great role. The acting was really good. The four characers are good and reflect the internationality of these times, where both capitalist go to invest where it is worth (here German capitalist in England) and intellectuals go where they are free to speak (here in Paris, Brüssels and London). Several languages are spoken by the actors. The characters had to travel or better said to flee from one place to another. I believe that the directing was not an easy project management as it is shot in several countries, it uses several languages, it cast actors from different nationalities and languages. And the artistic focus has been kept with an excellent cut.
Rating: 7 /10 Q&A with August Diehl in the Schauburg (picture from the Facebook page of Schauburg) During the Q&A many people asked about or discussed the political realism, most of them regretting that specific aspects of Karl Marx or Friedrich Engels political life have not been presented. As the actor Ausgut Diehl could not discuss the political context, he had to pass these questions. By luck he appreciated the questions on the internationality of the characters, on the position of Jenny and May with their men. August Diehl in front of the Kino Schauburg (picture from the Facebook page of Schauburg)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Season 5 (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Creator: George Lucas
	Actors (voices): Tom Kane, Dee Bradley Baker, Matt Lanter
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF, Animation, Action
	Conditions of visioning: January-March 2017, VOD, 10" tablet
Synopsis: The Galactic war is not anymore fought only between clones and droids, but new participants like bounty hunters, fallen apprentices or old enemies come into play.
Review: I continue to follow the TV-series imagined by George Lucas and aiming at adults and kids alike, and I keep on noting how it evolved. I still like to learn more about the Star Wars Universe and some characters are well-developed, but against my expectations Anakin doesn't evolve and doesn't show any sign of what he will become. This season 5 continues the trend set in the previous season with stories that span several episodes: S5E1 Revival is the direct follow-up of season 4 starring the return of Darth Maul and will be continued by S5E14 Eminence to S5E16 The Lawless, itself ending with a small cliffhanger S5E2 A War on Two Fronts to S5E5 Tipping Point would not be extremely interesting apart from introducing the character of Saw Gerrera important in the recent movie Rogue One  S5E6 The Gathering to S5E9 A Necessary Bound interestingly shows training of young Jedi and introduce the Kyber crystals also referred to in the recent spin-off movie.  I loathed S5E10 Secret Weapons to S5E13 Point of No Return for many reasons: they depict a mission accomplished by a group of droids (including of course the brave R2D2) which goes very slowly and with very boring twists. The motivations and logic in many scenes is also extremely unbelievable. Only the special effects at the very end of the story are worth watching. Stuck in the middle of those episodes (actually when I saw a field of comets in the middle of space) I paused my watching of The Clone Wars for several weeks. Finally S5E17 Sabotage to S5E20 The Wrong Jedi start like a normal story of investigation by the Jedi but as the Finale in every season of this TV show turns out to be more than that. The episodes progressively focus on the fate of Anakin's Padawan Ahsoka Tano, and raise valid questions about the Jedi's morality. This may lead to the answer in the next season to the question I was raising in my review of the first three: what becomes of Ahsoka before Episode III? But I have doubts about ever getting an answer as the following season contains only 13 Episodes because it was canceled before even being aired, when Lucas sold Lucasfilm to Disney. I will watch it soon for completion, and may continue with this other series in the same Universe: Rebels.
Rating: 5 /10

Moonlight (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Barry Jenkins
	Actors: Alex Hibbert, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Trevante Rhodes, Naomi Harris
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 20.02.2017, Schauburg, OV sneak preview, English version
Synopsis: A bullied boy ('Little", Hibbert) is growing up with a lack of love and guidance in the suburbs of Miami, his life as an isolated, beleaguered teenager ("Chiron", Sanders) and finally his persona as a man ("Black", Rhodes).
Review: In three steps we follow the lives of usual or typical people of North American suburbs. Unlike most of the movies about these suburbs, there is no extreme violence, no death. There are just people who play with friends, try to build their identity, try to get a job. But their surroundings do not help. Drug dealer has to be considered as normal job, as any other. Being bullied and beaten for nothing happens. Having homosexual tendencies is barely accepted. Both parents are needed for a child's education. Well, the same problems as anywhere else. But here, the education is self-made. The parents do not support their children. The children do not support one another against the strong ones. The dreams of job are limited by the education and by the origin.  The acting is amazing. I specially liked the variable drug-addict mother Naomi Harris, the friendly drug dealer Mahershala Ali and the disconcerted quiet Ashton Sanders. All complex roles that are actually close to life, including the dilemma, the relaxed life, the fun and the hard times.  The image dynamic composition is excellent having three stories carried out quietly but always in movement. All the characters got close-ups and room for their body language. It looks sometimes like slow dancing on the screen.  I love the story-telling as well as the realisation. This is a good sign for the promosing director Barry Jenkins. I will definitely try to see more from him.
Rating: 8 /10

Toivon tuolla puolen (2017)

	Also Known As: The other side of hope, Die andere Seite der Hoffnung
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: Aki Kaurismäki
	Actors: Sherwn Haji, Sakari Kuosmanen, Ilkka Koivula
	Country: FIN, D
	Genre: Comedy, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 27.08.2017, Schauburg, OV sneak preview, Finnish/English/Arabic/Swedish version with German subtitles
Synopsis: Khaled (Haji) is a Syrian refugee travelling around Europe looking for his sister lost during the first part of the travel. Wikström (Kuosmanen) quits his boring job and his wife. He wants a new life. After a positive poker game, he buys a restaurant and has continuously new ideas for it. Kalamnius (Koivula) is one of the three employees.
Review: As in Le Havre, Kaurismäki focuses this movie on the immigration and the reaction from the rich country where the migrants arrive. This time in his own country, Finland. The typical strange and cold humour from Finland is omnipresent and is the major bonus of the movie. Many truths about immigrants are told, that they do not come to Europe for pleasure; that they actually love their country and family and would prefer to stay with them if there would be no war; that they are a bonus for the local economy as they are cheap workers for European companies; that they would try again if they are sent back to their country of origin.  The acting is as the targetted humour, strange and cold. The actors do not show much emotion. Therefore, either you can deal with it and you like it or you cannot and then the movie gets boring. Andd this was a bit my case. The choice of the locations, especially the restaurant in which many scenes are shot, enhances very well the humour. Even the clothes of the main characters look old and dusty. Only Khaled looks modern.  The most hilarious plot is the restaurant itself and the changes from Finnish food to Japanese and to Indian food. Really good!
Rating: 4 /10

Lion (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Garth Davis
	Actors: Sunny Pawar, Abhishek Bharate, Dev Patel, Rooney Mara
	Country: AUS, USA, GB
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 13.02.2017, Schauburg, OV sneak preview, Benghali/Hindi/English version with German subtitles
Synopsis: A five-year-old Indian boy called Saroo (Pawar) gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he (Patel) sets out to find his lost family. On this he is supported by his girlfriend Lucy (Mara).
Review:  The story is amazing and based on a true story. Actually even if not inspired by a true story, it would have been very credible and awakes therefore more easily feelings toward the characters. The adoptions turning good and bad for the children and the parents. Both cases are visible. And then the focus is on the search, the preparation of the return of Saroo to his village. The story is very emotional and dramatic. And uses the fact that the adoption family adopted two Indian children and that both are very different from the beginning. The acting is perfectly appropriate. Dev Patel makes an excellent job as mean brother, as ungrateful son, as lost and searching adult. Unlike Slumodog Millionaire there is no trace of Bollywood, of dancing in the streets. It is really a occidental style movie with Indians and partly in India, but without taking party for or against Indian society. I liked this as well. I prefer the German poster rather than the North American one as it is closer to the real story of the movie, focused on the search by Saroo of his origins and not the romance with Lucy.
Rating: 7 /10 North American poster

Indignation (2016)

	Also Known As: Empörung
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: James Schamus
	Actors: Logan Lerman, Sarah Gadon
	Country: USA, CN
	Genre: Romance
	Conditions of visioning: 30.01.2017, Schauburg, OV sneak preview, English version
Synopsis: In 1951, Marcus (Lerman), a working-class Jewish student from New Jersey, attends a small Ohio college, where he struggles with sexual repression and cultural disaffection, amid the ongoing Korean War. He wants to get Sarah Hutton (Gadon).
Review: The love story reminds me the stories I used to write with 16. Innocent coming of age story. For this aspect I find it interesting to see such a movie. On the other hand, now I find this kind of story quite simple and uninteresting. The guy does not talk much interesting things with his roomates, neither with Sarah. The few scenes where something happens are either the sexual emancipation of Marcus with Sarah or the complains and support of the president of the university toward Marcus.  The rest is quite plain and boring. Therefore it is not easy to say whether the acting is good or not. Well rather fine as they play their monotonous role. In the mentioned scenes, the acting is also good with Lerman on the edge between shame, self confidence, doubt.
Rating: 4 /10

The Negotiator (1998)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1998
	Director: F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job)
	Actors: Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, The Hateful 8), Kevin Spacey (American Beauty, The Usual Suspects, House of Cards TV-series), David Morse (Contact, 12 Monkeys), Paul Giamatti (Sideways)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 17.03.2017, VOD, 32" TV screen.
Synopsis: Danny Roman (Jackson), a gifted negotiator of hostage crises, has to face accusations of murder and ends up in an unexpected situation.
Review: As much as we have seen Samuel L. Jackson in a vast number of movies in the past twenty years (almost 30 of which are reviewed on JoRafCinema!), it is in fact pretty rare to find a movie in which he is has the leading role. Only Shaft and Snakes on a Plane come to my mind. So it feels odd to see him so much: at his job, at home with his wife...! But given how good/natural he is, we understand pretty quickly his character and are thus immersed in the story and root for him. This kind of conspiracy / corruption / false accusation story is not new, and I was expecting car chases and games of cat and mouse, while surprisingly (but cleverly) the suspect locks himself in a situation he is familiar with, and that creates some other kind of games between him and his policemen colleagues. And then comes the character of Chris Sabian (Spacey) a bit out of nowhere after a good half hour of movie, which I found a great idea because it stays a Samuel L. Jackson movie but with now a more interesting "opponent". The kind of movie that makes me lie when I say that the 90's didn't produce much good in Cinema.
Rating: 7 /10

Knowing (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Alex Proyas (The Crow, Dark City, I Robot)
	Actors: Nicolas Cage (Face/Off, The Sorcerer's Apprentice), Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne (X-Men: First Class)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 16.03.2017, VOD, 32" TV screen
Synopsis: A Science professor (Cage) witnesses the excavation of a time capsule buried for 50 years. It contains a list of numbers which meaning start to frighten him.
Review: In 2009 Nicolas Cage was already not anymore selling movies as well as he used to, but I like him in this unexpected SF story well directed by Alex Proyas who I remember especially for his Dark City. Past many scientific details that make little sense, I was just appreciating the investigation of this semi-alcoholic professor haunted by the loss of his wife. I found that this personal note helps identifying with the character, in a much better way than is done in 2012 which has a story of a similar scale. The movie is good-looking and in particular I found the three big disaster scenes to be very well done in terms of timing, editing, drama and special effects. Not nearly as original or intellectual as Arrival, but a nice recent SF movie.
Rating: 6 /10

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1989
	Director: Richard Donner (Superman, The Goonies, Lethal Weapon 1-4)
	Actors: Mel Gibson (Braveheart, Payback), Danny Glover (Predator 2, Saw), Joe Pesci (Casino, Home Alone)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 14.03.2017, VOD, 32" TV
Synopsis: Murtaugh and Riggs (Glover and Gibson) and now friends more than partners. A bust turning bad puts them on the tracks of South-African gold. A corrupt diplomat will not let them disturb his business.
Review: This is one of the very rare occasions in which I find a sequel better than the original movie, in that case Lethal Weapon released in 1987. Thanks to the events of that first movie, the relationship between the characters has evolved: Riggs is less crazy and Murtaugh less old for this shit. OK it is still very 80's in its characterization of the bad guys, and this viewing make me notice that the staging of some cult scenes is not very subtle (the nail gun, the shoulder...) but the annoying traits of the first movie have been corrected (editing, music) for a result that I find more harmonious. The story is prone to deliver a lot of memorable Action scenes, tense confrontations between the Good and Bad guys, and a series of revenge, counter-revenge... that increase in intensity until the Finale, a bit too much I would even say (the fate of the policemen). And the one great idea of the movie is the nervous character of Leo Getz played appropriately by Joe Pesci. He does bring comedy moments and completes well the couple Murtaugh/Riggs.
Rating: 7 /10

Logan (2017)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: James Mangold (Identity, Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, The Wolverine)
	Actors: Hugh Jackman (The Prestige, The Fountain), Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: Next Generation TV-series), Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook (Narcos TV-series)
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF, Thriller, Action, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 07.03.2017, Cineplanet Costanera Center.
Synopsis: In the Future most mutants are gone and no new ones are born. An aging Logan (Jackman) is taking care of a senile Professor X (Steward) and dreams of the ocean, when his past catches up in the persons of a woman asking for his help and of the merciless officer of a shadow agency (Holbrook).
Review: The X-men movie franchise has been around since 2000 and a trilogy including a third movie disappointing to many in 2006. It was cleverly complemented by a second trilogy starting with the excellent First Class (2011) followed by Days of Future Past in 2014 that I thought could have closed a perfect loop. Unfortunately the conclusion Apocalypse (2016) was again disappointing. Meanwhile the character of Wolverine now deeply linked to actor Hugh Jackman was given its own spin-off movies with Origins: Wolverine in 2009 and The Wolverine in 2013 which I both liked. Hugh Jackman announced that Logan would be his last apparition ever as Wolverine (but I don't rule out cameos) and after watching the movie I find it an excellent stopping point. The pretty dark atmosphere stands quite apart from the usual X-men movies and the reasons for it are distilled throughout the movie (but a bit rushed towards the end). There is much to like about Logan: first the focus on the aging characters of Logan and Xavier leaves to their respective actor plenty of room to show their talent, which they could do less in the previous more Action-oriented movies starring more characters. I also like the character played by Boyd Holbrook that I know from Narcos. Then I love the brutality of the visuals, in fact well representative of the character of Logan. This violence afflicted among others to and by kids makes for me a stronger darker movie that tries less to fit into the mould of PG-13 all-public movies (like all the others in the franchise) to proudly sport a less lucrative R-rating. So the placement of the story in the Universe is well-thought, the Drama strong thanks to the focus on actors and the Action mature. My critics would go to a too Manichean depiction of the characters (SPOILER, highlight to read: experimentation on children is a tough sell) and revelations at the end of the movie that are not given enough time to sink in. A real highlight in the franchise and I repeat a good point to stop. Note that the self-mocking Deadpool started its own trilogy in 2016 in the same Universe but with different actors, and that many more X-men movies are unfortunately rumoured starting with a Gambit starring Channing Tatum.
Rating: 7 /10

Romancing the Stone (1984)

	Also Known As: A la Poursuite du Diamant Vert (French)
	Year of first release: 1984
	Director: Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future 1-3, Flight)
	Actors: Michael Douglas (Wall Street, The Game, Ant-Man), Kathleen Turner (The Virgin Suicides), Danny DeVito (Twins, Batman Returns)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Adventure, Romance
	Conditions of visioning: 06.03.2017, VOD, 32" TV screen.
Synopsis: The successful Romance/Adventure writer Joan Wilde lives a quiet lonely life awaiting for a Prince Charming. Abruptly she has to travel to Columbia to rescue her sister.
Review: I felt like watching an adventure movie probably after seeing the Documentary Raiders!, so for a change I chose this one over any Indiana Jones, remembering it under the French title A la Poursuite du Diamant Vert. The original title is a fairer warning of what you are going to watch: a Romance peppered with Adventure and Comedy, not like Indiana Jones which I find has a stronger Adventure core. It seems like the script was written in 1978 i.e. before the huge success of Spielberg's films, but undoubtedly its release was timed to surf on that wave. Director Robert Zemeckis knows what he is doing and delivers as expected some tropical forests, bad guys in jeeps, comedy moments with Danny DeVito, an atypical couple (played by the well-matched Douglas / Turner), a treasure hunt and an entertaining soundtrack by his usual composer Alan Silvestri. The treasure hunt and the pursuit by the bad guys are no more than McGuffins used to put the couple in situations that are going to bring them closer, then apart and then of course closer for the finale. Relatively pleasant to watch, but maybe only by nostalgia for the 80's. I have no memory of the sequel that was hurriedly produced the following year: The Jewel of the Nile (Le Diamant du Nil in French).
Rating: 6 /10

The Time Machine (2002)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2002
	Director: Simon Wells
	Actors: Guy Pearce (Memento), Yancey Arias, Mark Addy, Jeremy Irons (Die Hard 3)
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF
	Conditions of visioning: 01.03.2017, VOD, 32" TV screen.
Synopsis: In the year 1899 Dr. Alexander Hartdegen, genius inventor, looses a loved one and dives into the project of building a Time Machine, against the advise of his best friend. His quest will bring him to a far Future.
Review: I had seen George Pal's classic 1960 The Time Machine in my youth and it had quite an influence on me. Then I remember its plot being used by the character played by Gary Sinise in Ransom (1996) with Mel Gibson as an analogy to the life in New York City. Finally I bought a DVD box-set of the classic and this remake together time ago and this is when I saw it first. This is now my second viewing. An interesting factoid is that the director (who previously worked on Disney's The Prince of Egypt and since on other animation films like Kung Fu Panda) is no one else than the great grandson of H. G. Wells, genius SF author of the original novel in 1895 from which all are adapted, and which I should probably read. The story is remarkable in that although being one of the first to deal with time travel, it went far beyond the others. Indeed usually anticipation or time-travel movies take us no more than a few decades ahead so we quickly realize that their predictions were false (even though it often doesn't really matter if the movie is well done like Back to the Future for example). In the movie adaptations of H. G. Wells' story, the inventor makes a quick stop in the near future: 1966 in the 1960 movie and Atomic war is the threat, 2030 in the 2002 movie and lunar colonization is the threat. But the main trip is to the year 802701 when really nobody can tell what will become of us. This 2002 movie is in fact quite well done, Guy Pearce is convincing and his motivation to travel strong. Make-up and digital special effects are also remarkable (the fast-forward animated sequences are worth viewing several times) and some additions are welcome, like the library's computer that meets the traveller on two occasions. Unfortunately once in the far Future, I found that the story weakens and the main character tries to change a world in which he doesn't belong. The events leading to the final are rushed and we get to meet a useless Uber-Morlock played by Jeremy Irons. Finally I found absurd the decision of the main character to change this local Future instead of trying to prevent the event that caused it. This last half hour really took me out of the movie.
Rating: 4 /10

Denial (2016)

	Also Known As: Verleugnung
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Mick Jackson
	Actors: Rachel Weisz, Timothy Spall, Tom Wilkinson
	Country: GB, USA
	Genre: Drama, Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 06.02.2017, Schauburg, OV sneak preview, English version with German subtitles
Synopsis: Acclaimed writer and historian Deborah E. Lipstadt (Weisz) must battle for historical truth to prove the Holocaust actually occurred when David Irving (Spall), a renowned denier, sues her for libel.
Review: The story starts from a banality. One professor writes in a book (it is more often in published articles) that another professor is wrong. One special thing is that the topic is not on the importance of grammatical clause in anthopology or on existence of exoplanets. It is about holocaust, in which millions of people died and for which the Nuremberg trials collected many testimonies of victims and criminals. Both parties are actually minor figures but the trial brought these figures to play symbolic game in history of believes and free speech. Good that afterwards Lipstadt's career focused on this trial, on explanation of it and on struggling for free speech. As in any good thriller, the bad guy is played by an excellent actor, Timothy Spall. When he starts the whip up the crowd or to throw a slogan to her, it feels really like a disgusting beast full of disregard. Samewise the senior attorney Richard Rampton (Wilkinson) is excellent in his rethoric and in the subtil changes of emotions between in the court and outside. The role of Rachel Weisz is just the contact between these two main character.  For a trial movie, it appears quite suspenseful.
Rating: 6 /10

Golden exits (2017)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: Alex Ross Perry
	Actors: Emily Browning, Jason Schwartzman, Analeigh Tipton, Adam Horowitz, Chloe Sevigny
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 18.02.2017, Delphi Filmpalast, Berlinale2017, English verssion without subtitle
Synopsis: Two couples, Buddy (Schwartzman) & Jess (Tipton) and Alyssa (Sevigny) & Nick (Horowitz), in Brooklyn are observed by the just arrived Australian Naomi (Browning), who starts an internship working for Nick. Full of expectations about a new life in New-York, Naomi encounters unhappiness.
Review: The story is quite pessimistic as Naomi does not make any friend except when she starts kissing the first guy talking to her after months. This differs from the emancipating moves to or the discovery of a new city. This is therefore an original story. Moreover it is an authentic story. On the one hand it sounds a bit like Sofia Ford Coppola and her banal stories whereas this is interesting because the characters try to think about their condition or the condition of the other characters. And they express it too. The dialogues are dealing with relationships and are therefore interesting but neither funny nor dramatic, so that it is not necessarily a marking or touching movie.  The light and image composition is very authentic and warm too. The acting is following this direction avoiding exaggerated facial expressions, body movements and dramatic dialogues. This enhances the authenticity and realism. It gives the impression to sit on the couch of a friend, to be in the bar with a guy you don't know much, to discuss with your sibling. I like the style. Simple and authentic like Éric Rohmer. Therefore I believe the director has potential.
Rating: 6 /10