Populaire (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Régis Roinsard
	Actors: Romain Duris (Le Péril Jeune, L'Auberge Espagnole), Déborah François, Bérénice Bejo (Meilleur Espoir Féminin, The Artist)
	Country: F
	Genre: Comedy, Romance
	Conditions of visioning: 06.05.2013, Air France in-flight entertainment system
Synopsis: A competitive young insurance broker (Duris) hires as secretary a girl from the countryside (François). Her typing skills will give him the idea to make her compete in a speed comtest.
Review: A nice comedy set in the 50's, maybe initiated after the success of The Artist (it is not the same period or style, but such nostalgic movies are now trendy). The characters are well played and the movie contains some funny situations. The best thing is that typing speed is shown as a real sport. The romance between the two main characters evolves in an interesting and rather original way.
Rating: 6 /10

The big wedding (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Justin Zackham
	Actors: Robert de Niro, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon,
	Country: USA
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 06.05.2013, Schauburg, OV sneak
Synopsis: A long-divorced couple is supposed to fake being married as their family unites for a wedding.
Review: The announced topic, from the right beginning of the movie, is the wedding, but very fast the to be married let place to the trio Robert de Niro, Diane Keaton and Susan Sarandon. As this plot is not really developped and in order to have a continuous flow of jokes, plenty of other stories are added and bring a mess in the relationships. Some of these could have been really good, if fully developped or shown. On top of it, there are plenty of well-known actors and plenty of interesting roles (the biological family of the groom Nuria, Madonna) that have been shown just a bit. At the end, you feel like in a fast food, where you do not have even time to eat. A pity when you have those good ingredients (stories and actors).
Rating: 4 /10

Iron man three (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Shane Black
	Actors: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce
	Country: USA, CN
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 29.04.2013, Schauburg, OV sneak
Synopsis: When Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin, he starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.
Review: The movie does not know exactly where to go. Some would-like-to-be-fun dialogues, some starts of political statements. Nevertheless, a couple of good stuff, like the Mandarin appearing like an islamist and being actually a British actor Spoiler (highlight to read). The action is overwhelming the screen but for what? The old story linked to the current story makes it a bit more personal, but the character of Robert Downey Jr. is still stuck in his Iron pants. I would only recommend for those who like action but with nothing else to propose. The 3D may also improve the action effects. And I saw it without 3D :/
Rating: 4 /10

Dredd (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Pete Travis (Vantage Point)
	Actors: Karl Urban (The Lord of the Rings 1-3, Star Trek), Lena Headey (300), Olivia Thirlby
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 09.05.2013, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic future, Mega-City One holds 800 million citizens. Dredd (Urban) is one of the Judges (also jury and executioner) trying to keep order.
Review: Not a remake of the poor 1995 Judge Dredd with Sylvester Stallone, but a different movie inspired by the same comics book. I remember the 1995 movie to be not so good, but I liked the screenplay that threw Dredd in the desert so that he could better come back and kick some ass. The choice was made for this new Dredd to stay in the city, and in particular in one of its 75000 souls appartment complexes. Also the movie was kept simple and I would classify it as B-movie. This was probably a good idea. The story is also simple and inspired by video games (reaching the top floor of a gangster-infested building) but is well told, and what brings the movie apart are the crude violence and gore effects that I was not expecting. It is quite a blast. Unfortunately the movie lacks ambition and scale, that would be my main critic. The large scale visual effects (city, buildings) and the slow motions are cool, but the details are not perfect (slow motion bullets and blood spills). The darks are very noisy and show the limitation of the digital camera used. It might be interesting to watch the 3D version anyway.
Rating: 6 /10

The Last Stand (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Jee-woon Kim (A Bittersweet Life, The Good the Bad the Weird, I Saw the Devil)
	Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), Forest Whitaker (Ghost Dog), Johnny Knoxville (Jackass, Men in Black 2)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 06.05.2012, Air France in-flight entertainement system
Synopsis: A druglord escapes and races towards the Mexican border. The sheriff of a border town (Schwarzenegger) will hold the last stand against him.
Review: The second movie of Schwarzy after eight years of political carrer and The Expendables 2. It is clearly formatted for him and tries to use the rules of the 80's movies, period at which the actor was at his top: bad guy with a superiority complex, good guy alone against all odds, action-packed scenes and a bunch of colorful characters/sidekicks. It feels good sometimes, and I particularly liked the pace at the beginning of the movie, slowly introducing the characters. I was able to go through the first inconsistency in the story, invoking the principle of suspension of disbelief, but as the movie goes on there are too many of them to be overlooked. The reactions of some characters are just wrong and let's face it, Arnie is not what he used to be, unlike Stallone that I still found fit in The Expendables. Also the character played by Knoxville and quite useless and is too obviously present to improve the comedy side. You can still spend a god time if you are nostaligic of this kind of 80's cinema, but it will not mark the memories.
Rating: 4 /10

Frankenweenie (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Tim Burton (Mars Attacks!)
	Actors (voices): Wynona Rider (Alien Resurrection), Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau (Ed Wood)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Animation, Comedy, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 06.05.2012, Air France in-flight entertainement system
Synopsis: Little Victor Frankenstein is upset when his beloved dog dies. He will bring it back thanks to a scientific experiment with lightning.
Review: The full-feature length remake of a short by Tim Burton of the same name, dated 1984. I read that it was not really useful, and tend to agree. Are present the usual Burton characters of sad boy and gothic girl, and the plot is a good idea, but some scenes feel a bit stretched. The animation is nice and in spite of the black and white, it is less depressing than Corpse Bride. The kids characters and their reactions are not so funny, but I liked the behavior of the dog, quite touching.
Rating: 5 /10

Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Rich Moore (some Simpsons and Futurama episodes)
	Actors (voices): John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer
	Country: USA
	Genre: Animation, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 25.04.2013, Air France in-flight entertainment system
Synopsis: Ralph, the bad guy in a video game, would like to be appreciated more and become a good guy.
Review: I didn't expect much from this Disney movie, but it turned out to be closer to a Pixar movie. It calls to different levels of viewers, not only kids like usually in Disney productions, but also young adults and especially adults in their thirties that lived throught the dawn of video gaming.Indeed the references to classics like Pacman, Mario, Street Fighter or Sonic are numerous. I was even surprised that so many characters from concurrent companies could be gathered in a same movie. The spirit is between Toy Story for the nostalgic characters and their funny unknown behaviors (what happens when we don't look at them?, for example to the drunkard and exhibitionist Zangieff from Street Fighter), and The Incredibles for the more adult references. But beyond that, I found the movie a bit flat and rather predictible, except for some plot surprises. It is not always original and I had the feeling it was using some worn-out tricks to please the viewer. The deep voice of the main character Ralph sounds like the one of Seth Rogen seen in Zach and Miri make a Porn, but it is not him. I may watch the movie again in Blu-ray to catch more details and appreciate it more.
Rating: 6 /10

Symbol (2009)

	Also Known As: Shinboru
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Hitoshi Matsumoto
	Actors: Hitoshi Matsumoto, Luis Accinelli
	Country: J
	Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
	Conditions of visioning: 24.04.2013, DVD, OV
Synopsis: A man wakes up alone in a brightly illuminated white room with no windows or doors. When he presses a mysteriously phallic protuberance that appears on one wall, a pink toothbrush materializes from nowhere, clattering to the floor and setting in motion a genuinely bizarre chain of events. Soon the imprisoned man is engaged in absurd and hilarious attempts to escape the gleaming room, releasing random objects from the walls, creating a life sized mouse trap game in which a rope, a toilet plunger and an earthenware jug full of sushi might just be the keys to his escape. Meanwhile, in a dusty town, a green masked Mexican wrestler known as Escargot Man prepares for an important match. His family gathers around him, worried about his seeming impassivity before battle.
Review: The story is crazy and great! The balance between the story of Escargot Man and the story of the man pressing buttons is good. But as often in Japanese movies, some scenes of the second story are too long and Matsumoto is overplaying his character by screaming when it is not appropriate. The story is fantastically original. The scenery as well. But the acting of Matsumoto is really not appropriate and generates flaws when the rest is great. I should watch in another language than Japanese, maybe the translation saves the acting of Matsumoto.
Rating: 6 /10

Starlet (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Sean Baker
	Actors: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson
	Country: USA, GB
	Genre: Comedy, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 22.04.2013, Schauburg, OV sneak
Synopsis: An unlikely friendship forms between 21 year-old Jane and the elderly Sadie after Jane discovers a hidden stash of money inside an object at Sadie's yard sale.
Review: In the first part of the movie,I was not able to say how Janewas making her money. At least her roomates seem spinning between drugs and computer games. When she decides to make out of Sadie a friend, it is funny to see her tenacity facing the suspiscious old lady. But Jane seemed also not to make anything in her life. Her hope of a honest and better life goes all through her relationship with Sadie. The story is very touching,especially with the contrast between her daily life with the roomates and her honest and affectionate relationship with Sadie. The resistance of Sadie will be explained and this gives a happy end, with a touch of melancoly. The scenery is very home-made, sometimes a bit too bright or a bit too dark, but never aggressive nor excessively realistic. The rythm is a bit flat, I guess to reflect the boring life of Jane. Quite nice movie, promising for the director and the Dree Hemingway.
Rating: 6 /10

The broken circle (2012)

	Also Known As: The broken circle breakdown
	Year of first release: 2012
	Director: Felix van Groeningen
	Actors: Veerle Baetens, Johan Heldenbergh
	Country: NL
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 25.03.2013, Schauburg, OV
Synopsis: Elise and Didier fall in love at first sight, in spite of their differences. He talks, she listens. He's a romantic atheist, she's a religious realist. When their daughter becomes seriously ill, their love is put on trial.
Review: The movie has a very good music, even if I am not a fan of this bluegrass/country stuff. This shows and enhances passion, rythm, love. The passion that rises in the couple is beautiful to watch, even if they do not speak much. The love to their daughter is shown actually as a secondary story, and therefore I did not feel involved in the illness of the daughter but more in the fall of this relationship. The music and the concerts have actually such a big role in the movie, that the rest appears secondary as well.
Rating: 6 /10