Mr. Nobody (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Jaco Van Dormael (Le huitième jour)
	Actors: Jared Leto (Requiem for a Dream), Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger (Inglorious Basterds), Juno Temple (Kaboom!, Killer Joe).
	Country: F, D, CDN, B
	Genre: Drama, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 14.10.2012, Blu-ray (extended version), Home cinema
Synopsis: Nemo Nobody is the last mortal man. At 118, he remembers his past live, or rather his lives as they could have been.
Review: Don't get confused by the first ten minutes of the movie, it will get clearer and more linear after a while, although until the end the editing shifts constantly between the different possible lives of Nemo. The whole concept of the movie is interesting but I found it too long. Probably the cinema version (with twenty minutes less) is largely enough. For a long while you don't know what the main theme of the movie actually is: family, parallel universes, immortality, love, or is it just a Science-Fiction movie? Well as Neo said: "The problem is choice". Indeed the name of the main character (Nemo) and his search for answers reminded me more of the hero of The Matrix than of the orange fish or of the submarine captain. Nemo is even said that only the Architect knows the answers. So, a not too bad SF movie with some philosophical questions, but too long.
Rating: 5 /10

Das Ding am Deich (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Antje Hubert
	Actors: -
	Country: D
	Genre: Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 03.10.2012, City46
Synopsis: The documentary explains the struggle of the village of Brokdorf against the construction of a nuclear plant by Vattenfall.
Review: The story is explained only from the opponent perspectives. How they took the prolongation of the operations duration of the nuclear plant in Germany and a couple of months later the stop of 8 nuclear plants in Germany. There is no comment on the reliable policy of Angela Merkel.  Hard and long struggle. It was obviously also fun. At the end, it tastes bitter and desperate. The work of dozen of opponents over decades. This is not compared with the short time used by politicians and company bosses to sign the construction of the nuclear plant. Quite depressing...
Rating: 4 /10

Catastroika (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Aris Chatzistefanou
	Actors: -
	Country: GR
	Genre: Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 02.10.2012, Ostertor, OV
Synopsis: Based on the privatisation steps to be done by Greece according to the Troika, Aris Chatzistefanou reminds the success stories on privatisation of transport systems, of water and energy supply. The question arises slowly, why shall the Greek do something that do not work?
Review: The arguments shown in the movie are part of the recent history. Therefore, the spectator is quite easily convinced. The democratic process is also questionned, with which all these privatisations have been applied by governments. Nevertheless, alternatives are not discussed at all in the movie. By chance, the Director was there and open to discussion. Even if he is left winged, the result of his research only shows that some services shall be kept on centralised hands. Whether these should be public or not is not the point of the movie.
Rating: 5 /10

A Serious Man (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Joel and Ethan Coen (Fargo, True Grit)
	Actors: Michael Stuhlbarg (Hugo, Men in Black 3), Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick
	Country: USA
	Genre: Comedy, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 12.10.2012, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: During the year 1967, in an anonymous city of the midwest of the USA, the life of this middle-aged Jewish man is starting to turn sour: wife, kids, job, health. Should he turn towards Faith to solve his problems.
Review: Yes the movie is well done, yes the characters and dialogs are typical of the Coen Brothers, yes the year 1967 is very well reproduced, but I got lost in the movie and didn't feel involved, maybe because I am not part of the Jewish community. The movie turned out to be very religious although I didn't expect it. I had to watch parts of the making-of to understand the purpose of the movie. There I learned that it was done mainly for the Jewish community, but also for others to discover its tradition, and that it was not intended to provide answers to the questions it raises, but merely to hint that eveybody is looking for those answers, and that you can practice Religion to help you find them, although Religion mught tell you to look for yourself. Interestingly enough, this movie reminds me of another one I have seen recently, God Bless America, because of the similar starting point but then the period, way of filming and characters reaction are totally different. In God Bless America the main characters decides to kill all the people that piss him off, while in A Serious Man he accepts his situations and turns to Religion for help.
Rating: 4 /10

The Woman in Black (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: James Watkins (Eden Lake)
	Actors: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Ciarán Hinds (Munich)
	Country: GB
	Genre: Horror
	Conditions of visioning: 11.10.2012, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: At the end of the 19th century, the young widower Arthur Kipps is sent by his law firm to look for a will in a village lost in the countryside and the marsh. Mystery surrounds the village, its inhabitants and the old house he is working in.
Review: This is the second film (after Wake) fully produced by the legendary Hammer british film company since its recent rebirth. We owe to this company classic horror films like many Frankensteins or Draculas starring in particular Christopher Lee (The Lord of the Rings). The story (quite simple) is as much classic gothic horror as you can get: haunted house, fog, visions, darkness. Unfortunately the first half of the movie is filled with easy jump-scares (a face appearing on the screen with loud music when the main character turns around) and the ending is not fully satisfying. Radcliffe manages to play differently than in the Harry Potter series that has occupied most of his young actor life. This is helped by the fact that although he is all the time on screen, he doesn't have many dialog lines so that he cannot overplay his role. His suit, the surroundings and the color tone of the movie also help us forgetting the wizard kid with glasses.
Rating: 5 /10

Switch (2011)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2011
	Director: Frédéric Schoendoerffer (Agents secrets)
	Actors: Karine Vanasse, Eric Cantona (Le bonheur est dans le pré)
	Country: F
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 09.10.2012, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: A young canadian woman decides to switch her appartment with one in Paris for some holidays. The next day when she wakes up she will realize her identidy has been stolen.
Review: The trailer for this movie is very attractive, and so is the baseline story which reminded me of Pour Elle for the wrongly accused woman, and of A Bout Portant for the police investigation. There are some good ideas in the movie and it is well done, but I found the dialogs and the action scenes too... French! For example the races on foot in the streets of Paris are made to be so breathless that sometimes they don't make sense (a little young woman outruns a police officer...). Also during some dialogs I was wondering if some actor was trying to convey emotions, or if he was just bad. Eric Cantona's acting is OK but he could have been better. There are also some holes in the story and some things inpossible to believe (is there really no other way to commit murder than through this incredible plot?). But if you forget those impressions, the movie is not bad.
Rating: 6 /10

The Expendables (2010)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2010
	Director: Sylvester Stallone (John Rambo)
	Actors: Sylvester Stallone (Rocky 1-4, Rambo 1-4), Jason Statham (The Transporter 1-3), Jet Li (Hero), Dolph Lundgren (Rocky 4, Universal Soldier 1 3-4), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler, Iron Man 2)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 07.08.2012, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: A bunch of mercenaries is hired to take out a General who is terrorizing the population of a small island.When they start reconnaissance, they realize that what is happening on the island is more compicated and that a small army is waiting for them, but such adversity might not be beyond their skill.
Review: It sounded like a pretty good idea to me to unite all those 80's action stars and ex-wrestlers in one big Action movie, directed by Stallone that has proved to be good at this job with John Rambo. Indeed it is pleasant to see all those faces in one shot, from the leader played by Stallone, the mentor Rourke, the rebel Lundgren, the Statham in love, the bad guy Roberts. The gunfight scenes are good but not as raw as in John Rambo. The dialogs are funny as each star tries to differentiate his character from the other. This will for differenciation is even sometimes too obvious. Also the pace is uneven and some fistfight scenes too long, but some other are memorable, like the air raid on a soldier-filled pier with a seeplane, heavy machine guns and finally enflamed kerosene! The Expendables 2 should correct the small mistakes in this one.
Rating: 6 /10

In Time (2011)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2011
	Director: Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, S1m0ne, Lord of War)
	Actors: Justin Timberlake (The Social Network), Amanda Seyfried (Jennifer's Body), Cillian Murphy (28 days later, Batman Begins, Inception)
	Country: USA
	Genre: SF
	Conditions of visioning: 04.10.2012, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: In this future society people stop aging at 25 but to keep on living, time is the only currency, which makes rich people live forever, while in the ghettos the poor literaly live their life on a day-to-day basis.
Review: The original idea is fantastic and one of the best that SF can produce. It is enough to fill the first half of the movie with good ideas, dialogs and a fast pace. But then the lack of good ideas becomes obvious, the characters are under-exploited (I am thinking about the Timekeeper played by Cillian Murphy), and the ending is unsatisfactory, if not worst. Justin Timbelake is not too bad an actor, and continues his reconversion to Cinema.
Rating: 6 /10

Cars 2 (2011)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2011
	Director: John Lasseter (Toy Story 1-3, Cars), Brad Lewis
	Actors: Owen Wilson (Zoolander, Meet the Fockers), Larry the Cable Guy, Michael Caine (Zulu, Batman)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Adventure, Animation, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 29.09.2012, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: Lightning McQueen, Mater and their friends are back for a new adventure, a series of races around the world to show the benefits of a petrol replacement. But what are all those spies and bad guys doing around?
Review: In this sequel to the Disney/Pixar film Cars, adventure has replaced nostalgy to join comedy and light romance. The computer images are as well done and immersive as in the first film, and the spy-movie part is an interesting and well-chosen direction for a sequel. Highly recommended for a family evening.
Rating: 7 /10

La nostra vita (2010)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2010
	Director: Daniele Luchetti
	Actors: Elio Germano, Alina Berzunteanu
	Country: I
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 01.10.2012, Schauburg, OV
Synopsis: Claudio, a construction worker, works on a site in the suburbs of Rome. He is madly in love with his wife who is pregnant with their third child. When she dies during the birth, he has to organise his new life. He gets help from his family and friends. He finds the remains of an illegal immigrant under the site and doesn't report it, fearing he'll be out of a job if construction comes to a halt.He will encounter the stress of a single father.
Review: As one of the Rumanian protagonists says in the movie, Claudio focuses on money and so the movie. He lets his kids to family and hopes to compensate the death of the mother by buying plenty of stuff. There is nothing about the personality of the characters, except of those having and showing their feeling, Claudio's children, Gabriela and his child.The story is saved by the play of Elio Germano.
Rating: 4 /10