USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Mario Van Peebles
	Actors: Nicolas Cage (Knowing, Face/Off), Tom Sizemore (Red Planet, Black Hawk Down), Thomas Jane (The Expanse TV-series)
	Country: USA
	Genre: War, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 12.11.2017, VOD, 40" TV screen
Synopsis: The story of the ship that was sunk by a Japanese submarine after delivering parts of the A-bombs that will be launched on Japan in 1945.
Review: This story is known of the fans of Genre movies like me thanks to a monologue delivered by Robert Shaw in Steven Spielberg cult Horror Thriller Jaws in 1975. In that movie the boat captain Quint tells how he survived the USS Indianapolis tragedy, spending several says in shark-infested waters. I do not know whether the fame of Jaws finally helped in producing that movie (it has been in the planning since the 80's) or rather the recent attempts at finding its remains (which were finally found in summer 2017), but I was half expecting a brief apparition by a character named Quint in there, half-disappointed that there was none. So the story is plainly told, from a brief introduction to the secret mission, its success, the attack, the survival, the shark attacks, and when you think it is over, half an hour of epilogue about the post-war life of the crew and the trial of their captain. Unfortunately it is told in a flat manner, without heart. The actors are OK including Nicolas Cage, the sets good-looking, and enough happens that you don't get bored in the two hours of the movie, but on the other hand emotions are flattened, not supported by the music (particularly not the shark attacks), and worst of all the special effects are really really cheap: ships, torpedoes, underwater shots... all look like a Playstation 1 video game. Is the director Mario Van Peebles to blame, him usually an actor, or the limited budget partly spent on the salary of a couple of known faces? If the emotion behind the story of this critical event in the Second WW was well told, I could overlook the special effects, but unfortunately the whole thing is not memorable.
Rating: 3 /10

Duplicity (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Tony Gilroy (The Bourne Legacy)
	Actors: Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman, The Pelican Brief), Clive Owen (Sin City, Children of Men), Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti (Sideways)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Romance, Comedy, Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 09.11.2017, 32" TV
Synopsis: Former rival spies, Ray and Claire (Owen, Roberts) meet again now that they are working in the private field of industrial espionage. But it their meeting really accidental?
Review: I always like watching a good spy movie, even with an added romance side like this one which turned out to be better in the same genre than Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. The faked rivalry between the two characters is at the center of the story, but the movie is also interesting to watch for the espionage parts and secondary characters like the CEO played by Paul Giamatti. There are some flashback from their former life around the world, hints of romance between two people cautious (almost paranoid) by nature, and some twists that keep the story interesting until the end.
Rating: 6 /10

Stranger Things - Season 2 (2017)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2017
	Creators: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
	Actors: Winona Ryder (Alien Resurrection, Star Trek), David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Sean Astin (The Goonies, The Lord of the Rings 1-3)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller, SF
	Conditions of visioning: October - November 2017, VOD, 40" TV screen
Synopsis: One year after its encounter with a monster from another dimension, the little town on Hawkins faces a new growing threat, and the same group of nerd kids is again at its center.
Review: After a first season very popular with an audience nostalgic of the 80's, this one follows a very similar recipe: same kids including the eternal victim Will, same upset love stories, same puzzle-solving by the stressed-out mother Joyce, same 80's design, same government conspiracy, and even a new girl attempting to enter the group of friends causing frictions. In a nutshell, probably the best that could have been done for a second season to please the fans by giving them what they liked and want, adding a few new features. But if I appreciate that, I also already know that it won't work a third time and the creators will have to come up with something new for a next season. Among the new additions: the character of Bob played by Sean Astin who was playing a kid in The Goonies (this casting choice is not a coincidence) and a new Monster/boogeyman with a very well-done Chtulu look (see the poster, and for Chtulu my recent post on The Void). As for the first season, this one is very pleasant to watch: the kids are funny and touching, the monsters even more scary, and the synthesizer music matches well the action. This season is also even more filled with references, and I guess the producers even paid for the rights to show some of them: extracts from The Terminator, Ghostbusters costumes... It also consists of only nine episodes of 48 minutes which is rather short and makes it as easy to watch as a movie. The feeling is reinforced by the title Stranger Things 2 (instead of "season 2"). My questioning about the first season stills holds: I would recommend this one as well to viewers my age, but I don't know how a younger audience would take it...
Rating: 7 /10

Raja 1918 (2007)

	Also Known As: The border, Die Grenze
	Year of first release: 2007
	Director: Lauri Törhönen
	Actors: Martin Bahne, Leonid Mozgovoy, Minna Haapkylä
	Country: FIN, RUS
	Genre: Drama, Romance
	Conditions of visioning: 02.11.2017, CineStar4, NFDL2017, Finnish with English subtitle
Synopsis: In spring 1918 a young scientist and officer, captain Carl von Munck (Bahne), is sent to the village of Rajajoki to close the border between the newly independent Finland and Russia under Bolshevik revolution. He meets the soldiers and the teacher Maaria Lintu (Haapkylä). The flow of refugees in both directions (Finns, Swedes, Jews, and Russians) is so large that he must work closely with the Soviet border commander, major Gentsch (Mozgovoy), a former landowner whose estate has been expropriated. The latter, however, ruthlessly exploits the desperate situation of the refugees, enriching himself shamelessly. When Finnish nationalists demand that von Munck liquidate members of foreign ethnic groups, the border situations spins completely out of control.
Review: For the 100 years of Finland's independance, this movie shows this turn in History when the border has been declared and previous neighbours of the same village had to be separated into to two villages and two countries. The main story that looks sometimes like a romance sometimes not is not as interesting as the environment, the villagers going from one side of the bridge to the other without asking permission, the families that are split by the new border, the way the soldiers treat the refugees, the constructed hate between whites and reds in Finland and within the Russian refugees, the constant issue of classes, on both sides, the smuggler of wares. This was great to see it, that all the sides (whites and reds, Russians and Finns) have good people and awful people.  The acting of the mean Finn soldier was good because he becomes means slowly and transfers his emotions during this evolution. Maaria acts quite well also. The image looks much older than 2007, the lights are handled with some amateurism, and all this suggests that the story is old, but not as old as 1918. The movie has something fascinating even if many things are not done very well. This shows that with a good story and good secondary roles and stories, the weaknesses are not much visible.
Rating: 5 /10

War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: Matt Reeves (Cloverfield)
	Actors: Andy Serkis (King Kong, The Avengers: Age of Ultron), Woody Harrelson (EdTV, Zombieland), Steve Zahn
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama, War
	Conditions of visioning: 07.11.2017, in-flight entertainment 8" screen
Synopsis: The war with the humans has really started although the leader of the Apes Ceasar (Serkis) barely accepts it. A turn of events will push him to confront a troop of soldiers led by a man known as The Colonel (Harrelson).
Review: Following the spirit of the two previous Rise... and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, I found War... to be far beyond a Science Fiction movie (with Apes turning human characters) and I would rather classify it as a war drama, a reflection on how to treat enemies that are different from yourself. Indeed it is very easy to see the Apes as human thanks to flawless special effects and excellent acting and motion capture by artists like Andy Serkis (who started as Gollum in the The Lord of the Rings) and others that have now experience in that field. In fact you see many flawed human beings (most of them soldiers) and Apes more humans than them in their reactions and how they treat each other. This is even more true when you realize mid-movie what is really going on with the soldiers. The whole muddy, cold and snowy landscape adds to that oppressing feeling, on top of the prisoner's camp. As already mentioned the special effects are excellent in realism, and I find images of Apes riding horses (like on the poster above) as strong as they might have been to an audience watching the movie with Charlton Heston back in 1968. At the moment of writing this post it is still not known of more movies will be produced and/or whether they will end up with a remake of the original Planet of the Apes, but for sure more and more clues are given throughout this reboot: in one of the previous movies we hear on the radio about astronauts leaving the Earth, and in this one the Apes talk about moving out of the forest towards a more desertic habitat (like where they are the original movie) and another hint is given with (spoiler, highlight to read) the character of the little girl called Nova, which I found out is adult and met by the astronauts when they come back to Earth.
Rating: 7 /10

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1977
	Director: Lewis Gilbert (Moonraker, You only live Twice)
	Actors: Roger Moore (Octopussy, Moonraker), Barbara Bach (The Great Alligator), Curd Jürgens (The Longest Day), Caroline Munro (Maniac, Starcrash)
	Country: USA, GB
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 07.11.2017, in-flight entertainment 8" screen
Synopsis: When both a Russian and British nuclear sub-marines vanish, secret agent James Bond (Moore) is sent on a mission to recover the plans of the device that can detect such sub-marines.
Review: This James Bond movie, older than me and that I had seen several times in my youth, has not aged so well, as I also wrote about the previous one in the series: The Man with the Golden Gun. The best elements in this movie are the well-played Bond villain with his underwater lab (very cool design), Doomsday plot and sharks (but not equipped with lasers like Dr Evil wishes in Austin Powers), the classic apparitions of M and Q, some exotic settings, the disco-funk theme, the tension with the Soviets and the teaming-up with their best agent played by the lovely Barbara Bach, seen as scream queen in The Great Alligator. Also note the presence of another scream queen: Caroline Munro known from her roles in Maniac and Starcrash. But all of that was not enough to compensated for too slow Action scenes including feeble fist fights. I also found the character of the Russian spy unrealistic and the womanizing of Bond indecent. And the story is partly a mix between the other Bond films Thunderball with Sean Connery from 1966 and the following in the series Moonraker from 1979 (including the presence of Richard "Jaws" Kiel). I would very much like to watch again the latter which is in my memory one of the best Bonds, even though and maybe because totally megalomaniac. I don't know if it stood well the test of time. The Spy Who Loved Me did not.
Rating: 4 /10

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: Taika Waititi (What we do in the Shadows)
	Actors: Chris Hemsworth (The Cabin in the Woods), Tom Hiddleston (Thor 1-2), Cate Blanchett (The Lord of the Rings 1-2), Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs), Jeff Goldblum (Independence Day)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, Fantasy, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 06.11.2017, Cineplanet Costanera Center
Synopsis: The God of Thunder Thor (Hemsworth) is back to Asgard to see his father Odin (Hopkins). Instead his meets his brother Loki (Hiddleston) and they will both end up on a planet rules by the Grand Master (Goldblum).
Review: This is the third movie in the trilogy after Thor and The Dark World, and it might be the last in that phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that will conclude with the to last Avengers movies in 2018 and 2019. It is quite different from the two others, almost not taking place on Earth and showing a Thor character that has evolved not only physically (short hair, new costume design) but also in how he questions his role and place. We also see him in weak positions most of the time, at the mercy of the Grand Master (an odd character nicely played by Jeff Goldblum) brother of the Collector played by Benicio del Toro in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. By the way Ragnarok gets close to that series on other aspects as well: definitely the planet ruled by the Grand Master but also the colorful poster (see the one of  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) and the humor I guess partly borrowed from the Avengers spirit, and partly brought by the Kiwi director Taika Waititi of the hilarious What we do in the Shadows. OK nothing exceptional but clearly a constant attempt at lightening up the mood. In my recent review of The Incredible Hulk, I was wondering why that character didn't get more of his own movies, but he is very present in Ragnarok (his first apparition unfortunately spoiled by the poster and the movie trailer). So yet another Marvel super-hero movie for those who are not sick of it yet, probably unwatchable if you are not familiar with the Universe. The conflict with the Queen of Death Hela and the movie ending (without forgetting the brief apparition of Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange) are clearly a prelude to the gathering of all Universes in Avengers: Infinity Wars in 2018
Rating: 5 /10

Kiehumispiste (2017)

	Also Known As: Boiling point, Siedepunkt
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: Elina Hirvonen
	Actors: -
	Country: FIN
	Genre: Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 02.11.2017, CineStar6, NFDL2017, Finnish/English/Arabic with English subtitle
Synopsis: “Close the borders!” demonstrators on one side yell, while the other side shouts “open the borders!”; the police stand between the two groups. The mood is tense in Finland – the flood of refugees, combined with cuts to social welfare programmes has pitted people against each other. While right-wing groups take to the streets to protest against immigration, the “good people” demonstrate against racism. What are the roots of the country’s mood. The search took to racist rallies, soup kitchens, the local pub, and refugee centres. And many demonstrations.
Review: The docu starts from a discussion between two old sauna friends (Oula and Tapsa) split by their political view on the current migration flow. Because they are friends, they can talk about their impressions. As in many European countries, the public media report only on the division of the people and violent demonstrations. The rest of the docu is balanced. It does not point the finger to any group but let both sides talk. Not the violent people but the active people who are nevertheless ready to talk openly about their view. This allows to have a respectful debate on the real problems and not to remain superficial. I believe that people voting for AFD or FN have to be heard, as well as people voting for the extreme left wing. They have worries, like any other citizen and deserve the same respect. And this is the opposite method wrt French media with the Front National and wrt German media with the Alternative für Deutschland. And we have seen in the last 10 to 30 years how these media have neutralised the political debate into a polarised dialogue of the deaf. Private screenings could be organised for free in Finland with the authors for discussion. This was the aim of this film project. All the screenings are listed in Finnish on the official website.  The honesty and the quiet temper during the shooting of all the interviewed persons is great and is the kind of thing that can be reached only in Scandinavia. The worries explained by all parties are actually a call to politicians asking "Listen! You are no more listening to me!". The images in the sauna have been particularly tricky as explained by the director of cinematography Jarkko Virtanen present for the Q&A after the screening in Lübeck. "It was a dry sauna. We had to make breaks because the hands became too hot and the camera as well. " Also the interviews of members of both parties at the same time is amazing and has been shot spontaneously as the people were anyway talking together.
Rating: 7 /10

Amateurs in Space (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Max Kestner
	Actors: Kristian von Bengtson, Peter Madsen
	Country: DK
	Genre: Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 01.11.2017, CineStar6, NFDL2017, Danish with English subtitle
Synopsis: When NASA sends a rocket into space, they have a budget of umpteen million dollars. Peter Madsen and Kristian von Bengtson plan to do it with a modest amount of money, a few volunteer helpers of the team Copenhagen Suborbitals, and materials bought at the DIY store. But they’re not complete nutcases. Madsen has already built several submarines and Bengtson worked in the space industry for years. So the two sometimes fanatic eccentrics, and the more prudent project benefactor persevere in the face of setbacks and a shortage of funds. They even manage to launch a rocket. But constant tension and arguments between the two unequal partners, and above all the increasingly erratic behaviour of the volatile Madsen, threaten to make the project collapse. – Peter Madsen is currently under investigation for the murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall when he took her on a submarine ride.
Review: This kind of entrepreneurship story in the usually scared European space industry could not be missed! And the movie is really dealing with it. The focus is on the personal issues and its impact on the project. The way people drift away from each other while they both aimed factually at the same objective. The main advantage of not being a registered company is that many regulations do not apply and you have less paper work to do. Nevertheless the two engineers and their team worked professionally, e.g. following safety rules.  Nothing is told about the commercial issues whereas the team had nothing to sell but had to buy materials and collect money to pay it. Not much is told about the organisation of the team, about the project planing, about the technology used. I have seen the movie with passionate eyes and even so, many things are really missing to this space enterprise melodrama.  Then to know that both have continued their own way of further enterpreneurship is remarkable, still private-funded for Kristian von Bengtson in Objective Europa and the own rocket company RML Space Lab for Peter Madsen. A bit more info on the crowd-funding system used by Copenhagen Suborbitals can be found on the page of the programm.
Rating: 5 /10

Dröm vidare (2017)

	Also Known As: Beyond dreams, Träum' weiter
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: Rojda Sekersöz
	Actors: Evin Ahmad, Gizem Erdogan, Ella Åhman, Segen Tesfai, Malin Persson, Outi Mäenpää
	Country: S
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 01.11.2017, CineStar4, NFDL2017, Swedish with English subtitle
Synopsis: Mirja (Ahmad) must find her place after serving jail time. When she gets a job as a hotel cleaner she starts living a double life. She's torn between her sick mother Sirkka (Mäenpää) and her old group of friends Sarah (Erdogan), Isa (Åhman) and Nina (Tesfai), who have always been her real family. The health problems of her mother growing, she has also to take more care of her sister Emmy (Persson).
Review: This is the opening movie of the NFDL2017 and I was thanks to JoRafCinema accreditation invited for the press viewing before the opening evening.  The plot is quite common but what follows is very original to me. After the screening there was a short talk with the director Rodja Sekersöz, the lead actress Evin Ahmad, the production 2aFilms and Existent Distribution. The director confirmed that she focused on the actresses and on their acting and that lots of scenes are actually improvised. She was "proud that the story is simple. Without love story." Also that the movie deals only with women was not done on purpose but works well. This makes the movie indeed unique and gives another point of view on suburban life than the usual violent man-driven story.  The characters feel useless and see other people in the society as useless as well (also the hotel employees) and do not see themselves as criminals. The criminals being the bankers. This is the only political statement. All the dialogues turning around the relationships to win, to convince and to loose, to disappoint. There is a wink to La Haine with the dialogue with the mirror starting like in that French movie but ending with the feminine touch, relaxing and joking. The improvised scenes show some goofs that exactly the way these happen in real life such as a missed high-five in back ground. The cut inserted coloured screens with uni pastel colours that I could not relate to the scenes. But it gives a positive atmosphere. It was funny to hear time to time remixes of the NFDL theme (originally classic) into hip hop.
Rating: 7 /10