Black Book (2006)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2006
	Director: Paul Verhoeven
	Actors: Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Derek de Lint
	Country: NL, D, GB, B
	Genre: War, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 16.10.2016, arte.tv, streaming
Synopsis: Rachel (van Houten) remembers her experiences in The Netherlands during WW2. In September 1944, Rachel is in trouble when her and her family's hiding place is bombed by allied troops. They get in contact with a man from the resistance and join a group of Jews who are to be smuggled across the Belgium by boat to the freed South Netherlands. Germans from a patrol boat murder them all however. Only Rachel is able to escape. She is rescued by a resistance group under the leadership of Gerben Kuipers (de Lint). When Kuipers' son is captured after trying to smuggle weapons, he asks Rachel to seduce SS-Hauptsturmführer Ludwig Müntze (Koch).
Review: As in other movies by Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Showgirls, Starship Troopers), one woman is on focus in a male environment and shows self-confidence in front of adversity. As in these movies, the woman in focus is beautiful (here Carice van Houten after respectively Sharon Stone, Elizabeth Berkley, Denise Richards) and uses her charms. The originality is in the view of the resistance, of the betrayers within the resistance and of the betrayers within the Nazi regime. This shows that the situation was complex and that there was not only Nazis and resistance. You had also people following the one or the other, changing the side for many reason, etc. With very simple and understandable steps, this complexity is transmitted by Paul Verhoeven.  The acting is excellent. Not only the fresh Rachel but also the complex Kuipers. Secondary roles are numerous, the resistance team, the Nazi garnison, and we meet many of them with pertinent dialogues so that we know their goals and situations very fast. This is an excellent work of dialogues, script and directing.
Rating: 8 /10

Suntan (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Argyris Papadimitropoulos
	Actors: Makis Papadimitriou, Elli Tringou, Syllas Tzoumerkas
	Country: GR
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 03.10.2016, ArteKinoFestival, Streaming, Greek version with French subtitles
Synopsis: For middle-aged Kostis (Papadimitriou), life has passed him by. As the newly appointed doctor of a tiny island, Kostis spends a dreary winter alone. By the time summer arrives, though, the island has turned into a thriving, wild vacation spot with nude beaches and crazy parties. When Kostis meets the beautiful and flirty Anna (Tringou), he falls hard for her and goes out of his way to conquer and impress her. Before long, Kostis is spending nearly all of his time getting drunk and partying. What starts as a rediscovery with his lost-long youth, though, slowly turns into an obsession as Kostis is willing to do whatever it takes to keep his Anna.
Review: The mid-life crisis taken very seriously by a Greek doctor. Confronted to sexually very opened young people, he believes finding love. The role is not convincing and many parts of the story are repetitive, especially the acting of the young group. But the acting of the doctor is convincing and therefore it deserves more than 2/10.  Otherwise, one beach, young people naked. Ok, nothing new. Possibly we get clear the boring life of people in these beach island that live only from tourism. This may be the originality of the movie.
Rating: 3 /10

Everyone says I love you (1996)

	Also Known As: Alle sagen: I love you
	Year of first release: 1996
	Director: Woody Allen
	Actors: Drew Barrymore, Edward Norton, Goldie Hawn, Julia Roberts, Tim Roth, Woody Allen, Alan Alda, Natasha Lyonne
	Country: USA
	Genre: Comedy, Romance
	Conditions of visioning: 05.09.2016, DVD on TV, German version
Synopsis: Holden (Norton) and Skylar (Barrymore) are in love with each other. Skylar lives with a large and extended family on Manhattan. Her parents, Bob (Alda) and Steffi (Hawn) have been married to each other for many years. Joe (Allen), a friend of theirs, who has a daughter, DJ (Lyonne), with Steffi. After yet another relationship, Joe is alone again. He flees to Venice, and meets Von (Roberts), and makes her believe that he is the man of her dreams. However, their happiness is fake all the way, and she returns to her previous husband. Steffi spends her time with charity work, and manages to break up Skylars and Holdens relation when she introduces Skylar to a released jailbird, Charles Ferry (Roth).
Review: The story starts with a lot of dialogues and may seem hectic but it does not stop. Woody Allen builds a story with some music-hall and dancing elements and a very dense series of dialogues. Some of them are really funny but it must be seen in a language that you understand perfectly to enjoy it. The story itself is quite vaudeville à la Georges Feydeau.  The fun is the pace of the dialogues and the dialogues themselves. The acting of Woody Allen and Goldie Hawn is very funny. It is also funny to see Ed Norton dancing in a movie.  The movie is entertaining.
Rating: 5/10

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Anthony & Joe Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
	Actors: Chris Evans (Fantastic Four 1-2), Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man 1-3), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 12.10.2016, VOD, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: When Captain America's old friend Bucky re-surfaces in the middle of the signature of a law placing the Avengers under UN authority, it creates an unsolvable conflict between the super-heroes.
Review: It took me a while to get up-to-date with the Marvel Cinematic Universe by finally watching this Civil War that takes place before the last three episodes of the third season of the TV-series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that I watched already. It is different from the two previous movies in the series because it doesn't revolve exclusively around the super-soldier, but includes many other heroes from the same Universe, usually only seen in cross-overs like Avengers: Age of Ultron. And it is a special movie in that Universe because it goes beyond that and introduces even more characters like (spoilers, highlight to read) Spider-Man, played by yet another actor with yet another story including a young Aunt May that I don't appreciate, and oh surprise the laconic Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, plus some others that I won't reveal. Plenty of known actors are also visible throughout the movie even if sometimes with a minor role: the German Daniel Brühl, Martin Freeman from The Hobbit or William Hurt. Just looking at those guys and digesting their place in the Universe will keep you entertained for a while. We also see a lot of Tony Stark (Iron-Man) usually limited to his own movies but currently without any new one in the pipeline. A bit like the TV-series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., this movie is thus acting like a glue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, linking bits and pieces together. So at this point we really cannot talk anymore about the cinematographic quality of this movie alone (although each one in the Universe has its specifics), but about its place in the Universe. And I found it had a pretty good place. OK the story that the "enhanced humans" have to register to the government which leads to a civil war has been copied in the Comics world for decades, and now in the world of the cinema adaptations as well: see Watchmen, Batman v Superman or any of the X-men movies. But apart from this detail, I found the story interesting (not so much the motivation of the villain) and was mouth-open for the half hour of battle at the center of the movie. Again, not a masterpiece of Cinema, but one has to appreciate what Marvel is currently building.
Rating: 6 /10

Sideways (2004)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2004
	Director: Alexander Payne (About Schmidt)
	Actors: Paul Giamatti (Lady in the Water, John Dies at the End), Thomas Haden Church (Spiderman 3), Virginia Madsen (Candyman)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama, Romance
	Conditions of visioning: 02.10.2016, inflight entertainment, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: Two friends (Giamatti, Haden Church), travel through California's wine country for a long week-end before one of them is getting married.
Review: Sideways belongs to a register I am not used to watch (real-life Drama), but I was curious, and it stars the actor I like Paul Giamatti (Saving Private Ryan, American Splendor, Lady in the Water, Cosmopolis, John Dies at the End) and Thomas Haden Church that I knew only from Spiderman 3. It can also be seen as a road-trip, a buddy movie or a romance. And a movie revolving about food or wine has to be seen! Its most interesting characteristic is realism. It was very interesting to watch the two friends with different life stories dealing in their own way with them. In fact those lives are driven by their relationship with women: one divorced and badly living it, the other about to be married but questioning this choice. Their stories are realistic, their behavior and the choices they make also, and their looks as well: no effort is made to make the actors look too good. Sideways really felt authentic, with a modern life story to share.
Rating: 7 /10

Lifeforce (1985)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1985
	Director: Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Death Trap, Salem's Lot, Poltergeist)
	Actors: Steve Railsback (Ed Gein, The Devil's Rejects), Mathilda May, Peter Firth (The Hunt for Red October), Patrick Steward (X-men 1-3, Star Trek VIII: First Contact)
	Country: USA, GB
	Genre: Fantasy, Horror, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 14.10.2016, VOD, 32" TV
Synopsis: The space shuttle Churchill is approaching the Halley Comet when it discovers an alien ship in its wake. The crew decides to enter it and there it finds inexplicable remains. They are then not heard of until they reach Earth orbit.
Review: A classic SF movie from the 80's that I had never seen before, but I think I read references to the title, and I wouldn't be surprised if it had some kind of cult following. First of all the cast and crew are impressive: director Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Death Trap, Salem's Lot, and who actually shot Lifeforce right after Poltergeist) that we met at the MotelX2013 festival, actors like the too rare Steve Railsback, the French Mathilda May very sexy and very naked in the movie, Peter Firth (The Hunt for Red October) as a pervert SAS agent and an apparition that I didn't expect by Patrick Steward from both the X-men and Star Trek (the 90's one) franchises. And the movie is scored by Henry Mancini who worked on more than 300 movies including Breakfast at Tiffany's, Hatari! with John Wayne or The Pink Panther (although I didn't really like his work on that movie). Needless to tell you that after one minute of the movie opening credits I was very excited! And right after that and for 116 minutes the movie goes straight to the point. It may start as a realistic SF story with serious visuals reminding of 2001, A Space Odyssey or more importantly Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but quickly includes elements more coming from the B-movie world: nudity, horror and a story which after one hour becomes hard to follow as it picks from many genres. It is indeed a movie hard to like because the story is not totally linear and some important characters come and go, but if you like the Genre and are in the right mind-set it can be extremely pleasant. The movie doesn't usually have good ratings because of this patchwork of genres I guess, but for one I was fascinated by it. I find it original and very ambitious, and Tobe Hooper managed to produce a unique piece of cinema in spite of that ambition in contradiction with limited means at the time. An the characters all have something special, for example Dr. Hans Fallada played by Frank Finlay is a kind of modern Van Helsing (sorry it spoils a bit the story, highlight to read). I am very tempted to read the novel The Space Vampires by Colin Wilson from which it is adapted.
Rating: 7 /10

House of Cards - Season 3 (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Creator: Beau Willimon
	Actors: Kevin Spacey (The Usual Suspects, American Beauty), Michel Gill, Robin Wright (The Congress), Michael Kelly
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: September 2016, VOD, 32" TV
Synopsis: The Underwood couple (Spacey and Wright) have reached their target in the political landscape, but have to face new challenges that you would think they would have been ready for.
Review: The series is progressing faster than I had anticipated when watching the first season thanks to a never-sleeping Frank Underwood (Spacey) dead-centered on reaching his goals by any means necessary, and after a decisive second season one would think that so much change in the series (and the objectives of the presidential couple) would make it less appealing. The tone is in fact different and the crowd of characters in the landscape changes (from congressmen to presidents now). I found some excellent episodes at the very beginning of the season: Ep3: Chapter 29 staging a meeting with the Russian president and the real Pussy Riot band, Ep4: Chapter 30 has a strong religious message, and Ep6: Chapter 32 shows the return visit to Russia this time. I also found very tense the Ep9-10: Chapter 35-36 that put Frank in war times. I liked less the debates in the last 3 episodes that contributed to my disappointment towards the season ending. But to be fair this season is still pretty good, even if I don't like too much where it is going. Each episode is still very dense and sometimes even hard to follow for a non-American like me not familiar with the local political landscape and its jargon (what the hell is a causus??). Something I noticed since the first season is that it is a TV-series primarily aimed at an adults audience: it does not contain a single teenager love story although it would have been easily done by introducing the children of any of the politicians, but apparently if a younger audience watches the series it will be for its more mature message.
Rating: 7 /10

I temp felici verranno presto (2016)

	Also Known As: Happy times will come soon
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Alessandro Comodin
	Actors: Sabrina Seyvecou, Erikas Sizonovas, Luca Bernardi
	Country: I
	Genre: Drama, Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 02.10.2016, ArteKinoFestival, Streaming, Italian version with French subtitles
Synopsis: In a valley, a forest between Italy and France Tommaso (Sizonovas) and Arturo (Bernardi) have managed to escape and live in the forest. Villagers talk about a legend about a wolf and a girl. Ariana (Seyvecou) comes back to the village and finds a hole in the forest.
Review: The movie has three not fully independent episodes and genres. We start with a naive story of two friends escaping in the forest without a goal. Documentary-like interviews explain about the wolf living in the forest and about a girl who disappeared. Then Ariana disappears, comes back and disappears again and we follow her journey in quest of calm and nature.  At the end, none of the three stories touched me. The last one is chaotic but I understood a storyline, maybe not the right one.  The camera movement is quite demanding in the forest and very well managed. There are many dark or too dark scenes but it does not disturbed me. This happens with any camera in the forest when you do not have large lightnings. The acting is pending on the relatively empty roles. And thus cannot be great.
Rating: 2 /10

La jeune fille sans mains (2016)

	Also Known As: The girl without hands, Das Mädchen ohne Hände
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Sébastien Laudenbach
	Actors: -
	Country: F
	Genre: Animation, Drama, Melodrama
	Conditions of visioning: 02.10.2016, ArteKinoFestival, Streaming, French version
Synopsis: A poor miller decides to sell one side of his mill to the devil in exchange of gold. Including apple tree and daughter. He is forced to cut her hands to please the devil. Her tears and purity protect her and she flees. She meets the spirit of a river who helps her to encounter a prince.
Review: It is the first movie of a set of movies that I watch in the frame of the ArteKinoFestival. During about 10 days, the festival gathers online viewers who can also vote for the best movie of the festival. I find the initiative great and original. The story is inspired by a Brother Grimm's tale. At the beginning it looks like a pact with the devil. But actually it does not focus at all on the contractors (father and devil) but on the victim (daughter) and how she struggles for life with love, care and kindness. This is kind of naive, but no more than Lars von Trier melodramas (Breaking the waves, Dancer in the dark). There are here also moments of beauty and poetry.  The animation style seems a bit weird as filling colours and contours are not moving necessarily together, but it has an effect of detachment enhancing the moments of poetry. The dialogues are told quite well matching the atmosphere of the scene.  Sébastien Laudenbach is a good story-teller.
Rating: 6 /10

Hardcore Henry (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Ilya Naishuller
	Actors: Sharlto Copley (District 9, The A-team), Tim Roth (The Hateful Eight), Haley Bennett, Danila Kozlovsky
	Country: USA, RUS
	Genre: SF, Action
	Conditions of visioning: 29.09.2016, VOD, 32" TV
Synopsis: Henry wakes up while his wife is fixing his eyes and attaching his a new arm and leg. Things turn sour before he can get his vocal cords attached.
Review: I choose to watch this movie because it was produced by visionary director Timur Bekmambetov (9, Night Watch trilogy, Apollo 18, The Darkest Hour, Wanted) that I could call the Russian Luc Besson because he offers to his audience what they want to see. I already liked Wanted and its Matrix style (always a big influence on his movies for the greatest pleasure of those of us who want to see more of it), and haven't seen Apollo 18 yet but Harcore Henry may be his best production to date. I raises the bar in terms of modern cinematography, i.e. provides new answers to the question of how can the Cinema medium evolve in our age of technology and ever-connection. In the past decade movies have already evolved to take that into account. See for example the large amount of Found-Footage movies that revolve around the protagonists filming with their phones or pocket cameras (JeruZalem), or a shooting style very close to the actors (example: It Follows). I am also thinking about the trend of showing Text messages directly on-screen, shortcutting the need for a shot of a phone screen (the most recent example is the American TV-series House of Cards). Other movies have explored the possibility to integrate a video-game point of view starting with one scene in Doom and much more in Gamer. Finally we have also seen themes of cloning recently tackled in Surrogates, and creation with 3D-printing from a First-person point of view in Frankenstein.  Hardcore Henry seems to be the culmination of all that, offering an immersive experience shot from the sole point of view of its main character. Appreciating myself FPS video games I was glued to my screen, like I have to do when playing so that my character doesn't die. The story itself is thought like an Action Shooter, the hero in a futuristic Universe constantly struggling to stay alive (brilliant idea to keep him silent) and unexpectedly confronted to hordes of faceless enemies driving all the same van. And several action scenes are some of the best I have ever seen, and kept me deep in my seat for 15 minutes non-stop. I also like very much the side-kick multiple character of Jimmy played by an excellent Sharlto Copley and that provides him the opportunity to display the large panel of characters he can play. My rating reflects more the roller-coaster sensations the movie provided me rather than its cinematographic qualities, but I would highly recommend it for those in search of new sensations in Cinema.
Rating: 8 /10