Prisoners (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Denis Villeneuve
	Actors: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Terrence Howard
	Country: USA
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 25.07.2015, Bluray, Original English version
Synopsis: When the six-year-old Anna and her friend Joy are missing the parents turn into panic. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street. Heading the investigation, Detective Loki (Gyllenhaal) arrests its driver, Alex Jones, but a lack of evidence forces his release. As the police pursue multiple leads and pressure mounts, knowing his child's life is at stake the frantic Keller Dover (Jackman) decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?
Review: The fine story is typical from Denis Villeneuve, after Enemy, Incendies and Polytechnique. A very psychological story where the character's psychology spreads from the architecture, the lights and the casting itself. The movie is long, 2h33, but I felt so emotionally involved that it did not feel long at all. It was tense all along. The character's evolution is pushed by their relationships. Anna's mother, Grace Dover (Bello) turns lost and asking for protection and accusing Keller for not protecting the family. Joy' father, Franklin Birch (Howards) is pushed by his wife Nancy (Davis) to continue in the violent path he does not agree with. Each actor is able to act with the right tone and have actually the right temperament. This makes their difficult acting (difficult because complex in terms of feelings) very authentic and credible. Denis Villeneuve confirms with his casting, with his ability to get this performance from the actors, with his visual language that he is one of the best directors of the moment.
Rating: 8 /10

Next floor (2008)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2008
	Director: Denis Villeneuve
	Actors: -
	Country: CDN
	Genre: Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 02.08.2015, Phi Centre - online
Synopsis: During an opulent and luxurious banquet, complete with hordes of servers and valets, eleven pampered guests participate in what appears to be a ritualistic gastronomic carnage.
Review: I was curious to watch more from Denis Villeneuve's work and his short movies. This short can bee watched online from the production company site, Phi-centre. This is a great idea from the production because it allows to bring the shorts accessible to a wide public.  The movie itself is tense. The few dialogue is either "Next floor" or not understandable. The first minute settles already the tension. Then the vulgarity and almost gore images of the food evokes La grande bouffe, but also generates disgust. The end and again the focus on the main waiter asking for our approval for this carnage is quite disturbing and therefore good.
Rating: 7 /10 Another short by Denis Villeneuve ist available online. 120 seconds to get elected. A parody of political talk. Basic but having a logic in the dialogue quite realistic and funny.

Sicario (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Denis Villeneuve
	Actors: Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin
	Country: USA
	Genre: Polar, Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 21.09.2015, Schauburg, OV Sneak Preview, Original English version
Synopsis: Kate Macer (Blunt), an idealistic FBI agent, is enlisted by an elected government task force led by Matt Graver (Brolin) to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S.A. and Mexico. The mysterious Alejandro (del Toro) has many insights in the network of the Cartels.
Review: Since Traffic most of the movies I have watched on the drug cartels were focused in showing the extreme violence. This one goes beyond. The violence is presented on the side as part of the scenery. But the focus is on the hypocrisy of the war against drugcartels. This is not new. It had been already demonstrated by journalists in an excellent documentary À qui profite la cocaine. This fact had never been really considered by the North Americans. Thanks to a Canadian director, this might be the case now!  Josh Brolin is very credible as mercenary, careless of laws and strong convictions. Emily Blunt is also very credible as newcomer discovering a world with astonishment, anger and certain belief in law. Being a fan of Benicio del Toro, I have not been disappointed. Great actor!  Recently I digged a bit in the early movies done by Denis Villeneuve after I had been impressed by Prisoners. He manages to get the best effect of the acting of the three main characters by having the camera at the right place at the right moment. There is nothing special, no arty effect. The directing is very good to enhance the acting and the subject of the movie.
Rating: 8 /10 Another nice poster.

Best of cinema by Mad Movies. Part 6: 2013-2014

Every year my favorite magazine for action/horror/thriller/SF (Mad Movies) publishes the list of the best movies of the previous year (and the worst ones), according to its editors and an average for the whole magazine team.
I have gathered them for your here with a few comments. Enjoy!
All parts of this article can be found under this link.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: Denis Villeneuve
	Actors: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright, Jared Leto, Sylvia Hoeks, Ana de Armas
	Country: USA, GB, CDN, HUN
	Genre: Drama, Polar, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 12.12.2017, Cinemaxx, German version
Synopsis: LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.
Review: I had to watch this movie in the theater but did not managed it until the last week of screening in town! And now, only the German version is presented. But it was fine. The dark atmosphere of Blade Runner is given again and sometimes even darker. There is almost no advertisement like in the original Blade Runner. It is also raining a lot. I loved the story, dark, complex. A quest in the self of K, a quest in the history of the world, a quest in the history of the Tyrell company (taken over by Wallace, Jared Leto). I liked the love story between the replicant K and the app Joi (de Armas); nice parallel to the romance between human and replicant in the original movie. Many current societal topics are shown genetic engineering, nuclear disaster, power of industrial conglomerate, digital love. The acting performance is somehow damped by the German version, as I would have expected from Jared Leto and Harrison Ford the perfect tone as they already have the perfect face. Strange not to see Jared Leto's eyes. Even Ryan Gosling is more expressive than usual. Visually the movie is amazing. The scenery in the nuclear-contaminated area is so visually impressive, the colours, the light and the architecture. The light inside K's apartment is great as it allows to play with the presence of Joi. Beautiful! Only with the visuals and off tone, the darkness of the near future is given by Denis Villeneuve.
Rating: 9 /10

Arrival (2016)

	Also Known As: Story of your life
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Denis Villeneuve (Polytechnique, Enemy)
	Actors: Amy Adams (Man of Steel), Jeremy Renner (The Bourne Legacy, The Avengers), Forest Whitaker (Platoon, Phone Booth, Ghost Dog)
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 11.12.2016, Cinemaxx, English version
Synopsis: Mysterious spacecrafts appear one day in several places across the globe. The professor in linguistic Louise Banks (Adams) and Physicist Ian Donnelly (Renner) are brought together by Colonel Weber (Whitaker) to investigate for the US Army. Her abilities for linguistic and communication help the team to make big steps toward the heptapod aliens.
Review: I wanted to watch this movie absolutely because I like the work of Denis Villeneuve since Polytechnique. On top of it for a story that touches me for the insight in the fascinating world of linguistics. Even if there is an apparent collaboration between the linguist and the scientist, of course the first contact can only be done by an expert in communication and languages. The rythm is given by the different meetings of Dr. Louise Banks with the aliens. And everytime something fascinating comes up. The way the language is built, the art of writing, the misunderstandings, the reconciliations, the collaboration between humans, or not. Typical for the modern foreign affairs of the USA (as the movie is from), China and Russia are seen as the most bellicose on Earth, while a large part of the Earth sees the USA in this role. The movie set me up a few years behind when I had this kind of discussions with a linguist. Several dialogues reminded me a lot dialogues I had then. The movie reaches the same status of fascination.  The aliens are finally not human-like! And this is a good cut with regard to many previous movies. After the insect-like alien from Starship troopers, the heptapods without eyes of Arrival. The control of complex gravity fields is not that smooth but looks realistic. The simple micro-gravity is well done. The most impressive special effect for me is the writing form of the aliens.  The acting of Amy Adams is amazing. In her eyes we can feel the passion for grammar, the disturbance of remembering hard times, the fragility of human being. Great! The other roles are very secondary and covered properly. I liked to see again Forest Whitaker. The original version includes also some dialogues in Russian and Chinese. And this makes the movie quite authentic, even if I cannot say whether the Chinese nor the Russian was correct.
Rating: 8 /10

Enemy (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Denis Villeneuve (Polytechnique)
	Actors: Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Source Code), Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds, Now you See me), Sarah Gadon (Antiviral, Cosmopolis)
	Country: CDN, E
	Genre: Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 23.03.2014, CINEMA theater, MFFFN14
Synopsis: A troubled history teacher (Gyllenhaal) seeks out his exact look-alike after spotting him in a movie.
Review: I had read some good about the director Denis Villeneuve for his Polytechnique, after I have watched Mars & Avril from his brother Martin. And now I think I should see his recent Prisoners with Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal also. Strangely enough I can recognize a certain common style between Enemy and Mars & Avril, a kind of common love for the abstract. Enemy fully relies on Jake Gyllenhaal, and he is then allowed to show us his full potential, playing two characters with very different personalities. He is very good as the depressed teacher, and very convincing as well as the actor. His expressions, look and posture allow you to tell immediately which character is on screen. Good point for him. The way the movie is shot is very good as well. It has a certain oppressing atmosphere hard to describe, partly due to the constant overcast weather. The story is very intriguing. Many movies have been done about doubles or twins, often comedies, but this one is actually closer to Dead Ringers (Faux Semblants in French), directed by another Canadian David Cronenberg. I liked trying to follow the story and always wondering what would happen next. I can understand the ending can frustrate some people. I cannot tell too much about it, but the question you must ask when watching the movie is: what is it with the spiders?!? I found this website that has an interesting theory. Careful, massive spoilers in it. Below you will find in full size a poster for the movie much nicer that the one I had first.
Rating: 7 /10

Polytechnique (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Denis Villeneuve
	Actors: Maxim Gaudette, Sébastien Huberdeau, Karine Vanasse
	Country: CND
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 22.03.2013, City46, OV
Synopsis: A dramatization of the Montreal Massacre of 1989 where several female engineering students were murdered by an unstable misogynist.
Review: After Elephant it is not easy to make a movie about mass killing at school. Well, here it is a university. This time, the drama is shown from the perspective of the killer and of several victims. The movie is more focused on how these people feel and their experience and the very short term consequences. The movie is very impressive and the playing very convincing, in particular Sébastien Huberdeau. There is also a small focus on the misogynism, without explaination how this came. The movie shows the fact that women are more successful in the studies and that for plenty of reasons: loveliness, goal-orientation, women should be valued.
Rating: 7 /10

JoRafCinema is six years old!

This summer, we celebrate one more anniversary for JoRafCinema by publishing a summary Article about the past year and the past years. Things are changing in our lives, and we don't watch movies like we used to six years ago. Less cinema, less Festivals, less Home Cinema, more VOD and series on smaller supports.
This is why this Article will be focused on comparing the first two years of JoRafCinema with the last two. Here is what happened until July 20th 2018. Feel free to click on the plots to enlarge them.

Movies per genre

JoRafCinema is two years old!

A second year has passed and JoRafCinema is still present. As in last year's article and to celebrate this anniversary, we will today summarize what we have accomplished from July 20th 2012 (date of the first post) to July 20th 2014.