Oblivion (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy)
	Actors: Tom Cruise (The Firm, Mission Impossible 1-4), Morgan Freeman (Robin Hood, Deep Impact), Olga Kurylenko (Max Payne, Quantum of Solace)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 11.04.2013, CINEMA theater
Synopsis: Jack Harper (Cruise) is the last man on Earth. After a war againts aliens, the planet has become uninhabitable, and with his wife he is staying behind to supervise the conversion of the last of our water into energy, before joining the rest of humanity on Saturn's moon Titan.
Review: A classic SF story that belonged 20 years ago in an episode of the TV-series The Outer Limits, and that nowadays is attributed a large budget, formatted for megastar Tom Cruise and put on the big screen. Times change, but in this case it is for the best. I found the story very attractive from the beginning (I like this global war with aliens, end of humanity stuff), and you slowly get surprises and elements of answer throughout the film. Special effects are impeccable and render very well a desolated Earth. Production design did a great job at creating beautiful and believable ships, as well as seemless computer interfaces. The first trailer of the movie made me want to see it, but I didn't look at the second one as I fear it shows you too much of the movie.
Rating: 7 /10

G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Jon M. Chu
	Actors: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (The Mysterious Island, Faster), Bruce Willis (Die Hard 1-5, Looper), Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 11.04.2013, 3D, CINEMA theater
Synopsis: Following the events of the first movie, a member of Cobra has replaced the president of the USA. He decides to eradicate the G.I. Joes and starts a campaign of world nuclear disarmament. Three surviving Joes will fight to reveal the evil plot.
Review: What I preferred in this movie is what I already liked in the first one: wild action scenes involving futuristic weaponry, but they are far too rare in this episode. Only some guided bullets that you see once in action, explosive flying bugs, an armored buggy car built for the Rock and the nice underused final weapon: God's rods, or Kinetic bombardment (see Wikipedia page). Spoiler (highlight to read): this multi-satellite multi-billion dollars weapon ends up being destroyed on the click of a button! The winning team of the first movie (Tatum, Nichols, Wayans, Taghmaoui) seems to have been replaced by cheap, less good-looking copies (Yung, Cotrona) to preserve money to pay Johnson and Willis's salaries. The role of Roadblock (nice name) is perfect for Johnson and he is a nice attraction in this movie. The (post-converted) 3D is OK. The whole scene of nuclear disarmament between the world leaders is pitiful. It is balanced with the visually stunning ninja fight along a cliff, not recommended for people fearing heights. Funny detail: the buttons 'ready', 'arm', 'fire' in the nuclear suitcase of the french president have been translated 'pret', 'bras', 'feu'... That is to say that the translators on this blockbuster are as good as the ones for Toxic Avenger 2, in which 'nuclear plant' was translated by 'plante nucléaire'.
Rating: 5 /10

The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2011
	Director: Drew Goddard
	Actors: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Anna Hutchison
	Country: USA
	Genre: Horror, Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 09.04.2013, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: Five college students head for a relaxing week-end in the woods. In parallel, two scientists prepare for a long night of work.
Review: The tagline for this movie "You think you know the story? Think again" is very appropriate. Starting like a random killer-in-the-woods movie, you get hints of something different throughout the first half of the movie, and you barely have time to get bored with a very well known story when the true one really starts. Quite fun to watch, even if reactions of the characters are not natural at times, or too predictible. The movie was a big success in festivals (the presentation was sold out at the BIFFF2012 and I couldn't watch it there) and then I read and heard much good about it, so I am glad I could finally enjoy it.
Rating: 8 /10

Fín (2012)

	Also Known As: The end
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Jorge Torregrossa
	Actors: Daniel Grao, Maribel Verdú, Clara Lago
	Country: E
	Genre: Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 05.04.2013, Centre des Beaux Arts, BIFFF2013
Synopsis: A group of old friends gets together for a weekend in a mountain cabin. Years have gone by and yet nothing seems to have changed between them. A strange, sudden incident alters their plans, leaving them stranded and with no line of communication to the outside world. On their way for help, the group starts to disintegrate, just as a new natural order is unveiled before their astonished eyes.
Review: Finally a post-apocalyptic movie without violence. To get that, the people just disappeared and it is then an in camera with a group of old friends meeting again. Their new differences, their old fights, the new girlfriends come up and are pushed down by the strength of friendship in front of adversity. In this, the movie is also creative. No violent acts nor violent verbal exchange nor extreme reactions. The group of friends are ordinary people and react as ordinary people would do in these extraordinary events. This makes this movie more moving and less "entertainment". This is a bit like the myth of Cassandra without the conflict of Cassandra's believers and non-believers, so that we do not focus on the conflict but on the emotions you have in case of apocalypse.
Rating: 6 /10

Blancanieves (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Pablo Berger
	Actors: Maribel Verdú, Emilio Gavira, Daniel Giménez Cacho
	Country: E
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 04.04.2013, Centre des Beaux Arts, BIFFF2013
Synopsis: A twist on the Snow White fairy tale that is set in 1920s Seville and centered on a female bullfighter.
Review: This is a silent movie in black and white. Inversely to The artist, that defended this type of movie, Blancanieves has nothing to do with cinema. The story is told via a serie of scenes for which a specific music has been composed. This way, the graphical rythm is kept. The movie aims at showing a Spanish version of the famous tale full of Spanish culture, via corridas and flamenco. The ideas to make the parallels are well thought and credible. Nevertheless, the actors do not bring the story itself to the viewer. It is not necessarily the acting to be questionned. It could be also the work on black and white for the characters that is not easy to conduct without voice. Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin had tricks to communicate emotions that are missing here, in the make-up and in the exagerated movements. The sunny Spanish weather already provides good contrasts for the buildings and the outside takes.
Rating: 5 /10

Mars et Avril (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Martin Villeneuve
	Actors: Jacques Languirand, Caroline Dhavernas, Paul Ahmarani
	Country: CDN
	Genre: Drama, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 04.04.2013, Centre des Beaux Arts, BIFFF2013
Synopsis: Love story between an old melancholic musician and a young photographer.
Review: The movie is very spleen and poetic. It deals with the way of making music instruments starting from an emotion link to a woman, the painting of that woman, the building of the instrument and the concert done by Mr Obus. The music is very good and very spleen, very relaxing. So the graphic design, inspired by the comic graphist Francois Schuiten (Mr Nobody). The atmosphere given by the music and the graphic matches with the philosophical topics of reality and dream, how to make a dream reality and how reality disappears in dreams. Not only the architecture but also the hair cuts of the protagonists are as in the comic serie Les cités obscures.
Rating: 7 /10

Kiss of the Damned (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Xan Cassavetes
	Actors: Joséphine de La Baume, Roxane Mesquida (Rubber), Milo Ventimiglia
	Country: USA
	Genre: Horror
	Conditions of visioning: 03.04.2013, Centre des Beaux Arts, BIFFF2013
Synopsis: The vampire Djuna resists the advances of Paolo, but soon gives in to their passion. When her trouble-making sister unexpectedly comes to visit, Djuna's love is threatened, and the whole vampire community becomes endangered.
Review: The vampires are a parallel society behaving like a rejected social minority. The story shows how much we like to have rules, to claim against people we do not like for instance, and how little we can follow the rules, because human beings are weak in front of temptation of any kind. The vampires like to live as much as they can. Visually, many efforts have been done. The movie is as if it was just before sunrise, with a thin blue light. During the hunting scenes, the movements are represented by showing the feet and alternating sharp and blurred images, which brings a very savage effect. The actresses are well known and are a good catch for the movie.
Rating: 5 /10

Here comes the devil (2012)

	Also Known As: Ahí va el diablo (original)
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Adrián García Bogliano
	Actors: Francisco Barreiro, Laura Caro, Alan Martinez
	Country: MEX
	Genre: Horror, Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 06.04.2013, Centre des Beaux Arts, BIFFF2013
Synopsis: The two children of a mexican couple have a very odd behavior since they got lost for one night around a cursed mountain.
Review: Supposedly inheriting from Alexandro Jodorowski (El Topo, La Montagna Sagrada), I did find in this movie some elements reminding of the Chileano-Mexicano-French Director/Screenwriter/Mime/Psychotherapist, like the imagery and cult around the mountain, the sexual references and the fast zoom-ins. The rest is also pretty well done and takes you close to the couple of parents and make you feels what they go through. The scary moments take you by surprise as completely unexpected. At some point is inserted a one-minute segment of psychedelic visions which I liked a lot, put in parallel with the scary narration by a baby-sitter. The image and sound quality is sometimes poorer, but it didn't spoil my pleasure to watch this nice movie.
Rating: 7 /10

Red Sword (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Naoyuki Tomomatsu (Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl, Rape Zombie: Lust of the Dead 1-3)
	Actors: Asami (Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead, Dead Sushi), Momoka Nishina, Tomoaki Sandan
	Country: J
	Genre: Horror
	Conditions of visioning: 06.04.2013, Centre des Beaux Arts, BIFFF2013
Synopsis: As the subtitle says, a (loose) adaptation of the Grimm's tale already incredibly erotic.
Review: Werevolves in an erotic version of the Red Riding Hood? Perfect for vieweing at 1:00 a.m. at the BIFFF! From the first image you know the movie will be cheap. In it, the relationship between werewolves and women goes only two ways: either they fight or they fuck. In the first part of the movie, Red protects the virginity of college girls from the big bad wolf. The firsts and sabre fights look like in an old Bioman and are hilarious. It is also helped by the cheap wolf attire. The second part, that may last one hour (!) looks more like the fantasy of an old Japanese pervert: the principal of the school, turned werewolf, forces Yumi (played by the porno actres Asami) to his will, with his flashing eyes. This part is almost porn, cut with scenes of Red fighting 10 werewolves, and is definitely too long even if funny at the beginning. The movie may look like one produced by the gang of the Sushi Typhoon company (Zombie Ass: Toilet of the Dead, Dead Sushi), but it lacks their crazy energetic creativity.
Rating: 2 /10

Side by Side (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Christopher Kenneally
	Actors (host): Keanu Reeves (Point Break, Matrix)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 06.04.2013, Centre des Beaux Arts, BIFFF2013
Synopsis: Will film survive the digital age?
Review: I believe the time was just right for this fascinating documentary. You may have heard that more and more films are shot with digital cameras (not the consumer ones you possess but professional ones). This documentary will tell you the differences between traditional photosensitive film and digital sensors, not only from the technical point of view, but from the opinion of directors, special effects supervisors, editors and cinematrographers. The movie can be watched back-to-back with one I have reviewed recently: Visions of Light, as it starts with describing the dramatic change of role for the cinematographer (or Director of Photography, DP) between film and digital. The beginning of the documentay makes you to believes that the main benefactor from digital shooting is the director who is now able to watch the results of the daily shooting in real-time, and doesn't have to rely only on his DP for designing the look of the film. The movie then puts in parallel the opinion of several actors of the movie business, from the all-digital enthousiasts Georges Lucas (Star Wars), James Cameron (Avatar) or the Wachowskis (Matrix, Cloud Atlas), to the hardcore believers in film, lead by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight 1-3) and, unsurprisingly, many DPs. The following part is more technical and goes through the history of photosensitive and then digital film. The milestone digital cameras are the Sony that was used to shoot the first full-digital film: Attack of the Clones, the more compact RED One that spread the movement and the recent more sensitive Ariflex Alexa that is the real technoilogical breakthrough and that produces images of a quality equal or superior than the best film. We also hear about the recent trend of shooting with DSLR digital cameras like the Canon 7D. Another secion of the documentary shows us that all processes involved in filmmaking have progressively followed the digital revolution: image capture, real-time monitoring, editing, color grading (or DI for Digital Intermediate), special effects, storage, distribution and projection. It seems only logic to go for a full digital chain. But funnily enough, due to the absence of standard for digital film archiving, the best way is still to print a copy on film and keep it safe for decades! The documentary ends with a look forward, in which even the most reticent digital camera users admit that they will probably leap to digital with ten years, thanks to technology progresses. It is reminded that film or digital is only a tool that is used to tell a story, which is still what matters most. In the future it will have to be a choice of the director to shoot on film or digital. I also learned that all camera manufacturing companies in the world have stopped developing new products in 2011. The end of an era. It is a pity that I couldn't follow the debate that followed the projection of the documentary, and I hope the BIFFF would have the good idea to put the videos of those debates online.
Rating: 7 /10