Bombing War: From Guernica to Hiroshima (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Emmanuel Blanchard, Fabrice Salinié
	Actors: -
	Country: F
	Genre: Documentary, War
	Conditions of visioning: 29-30.03.2019, VOD, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: The evolution of military strategies that tried to avoid but inevitably led to bombing civilians during WWII, on both sides.
Review: Bombing War is the first thing I watched after subscribing to the Curiosity Stream VOD channel. In general I am disappointed that this channel, supposed to offer tons of award-winning documentaries, offers in fact almost exclusively TV documentaries, and none of the BBC Nature ones for example. Some look good, interesting and well-done but I find it to be a little false advertising. Recently I am watching quite a few things related to War in general and WWII in particular, be it movies (Darkest Hour, Fury, Pearl Harbor), Documentaries (Hitler, a Career, Hitler's Steel Beast) or YouTube videos about the atom bomb or aircraft carriers. Bombing War is a nice overview of the evolution of the strategy of bombing civilians through time, but mostly during WWII, thus the sub-title. I found it quite informative and seemingly well-researched, providing the strategic point of view of all sides, while keeping delivering the re-assuring but vain message that bombing civilians isn't the solution to and can't be allowed in any war. But the most impressive I found was the use of colorized footage to illustrate the narration. I found the footage to be always appropriate and as well-researched as the story, but for a reason I can't explain the addition of color gives an extra depth to footage we may have already seen. What helps in a more subtle manner are the sounds that were added to I guess mostly silent footage, like some undiscernable background voices when you see people talking at a meeting. I am sure this helps a lot in making the Documentary easier to watch for a modern audience. Browsing the web I found the website of the company who did the job, well done. For a while now I have been seeing that Netflix has a Documentary entitled World War II in color. I have a renewed interest in watching it.
Rating: 6 /10

Pearl Harbor (2001)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2001
	Director: Michael Bay (Transformers 1-5)
	Actors: Ben Affleck (Paycheck, Dogma), Kate Beckinsale (Underworld 1-5, Total Recall), Josh Hartnett (Sin City)
	Country: USA
	Genre: War, Romance, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 02.04.2019, VOD, 42" TV screen.
Synopsis: While the USA are not yet engaged in WWII, Rafe (Affleck) volunteers to go fight in Europe, leaving his best friend Danny (Hartnett) and new girlfriend Evelyn (Beckinsale) behind, on their way to serve in Pearl Harbor, the heavenly location of the USA's Pacific fleet.
Review: Believe it or not, Pearl Harbor may be the most serious movie directed by Michael Bay, right before The Rock and The Island, released between the two but surprisingly also around the same years as more goofy Action comedies like Armageddon and Bad Boys II. In fact he sticks to a rule that you may have verbal exchanges with smiles, make jokes for the ladies and be cocky, but not make fun of anything related to the War. But it doesn't mean that the movie has to be a boring Drama, and that's where Michael Bay did something quite unique, well if you consider the idea of inserting a fictional Dramatic Romance in the middle of a historic event not being a rip-off of James Cameron's Titanic. Bay combines naturally charming actors (Affleck & Hartnett plus others) with wartime romance stories (between nurse and pilots), values like friendship, family and honor, orchestral music and state-of-the-art special effects culminating with the breathtaking attack scene. Hell, he even managed to paint a positive image of the enemy. He sets himself the objective of refreshing a story not told on the big screen with such a magnitude since the 1970's more factual Tora! Tora! Tora!, or as background for The Final Countdown (1980), and I think he succeded. In passing he uses an ensemble cast of breadth reminding of the one of The Longest Day (1962) in its time (I will not link all the movies mentioned): Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October), Mako (Conan the Barbarian, Sand Pebbles, Rising Sun), Jon Voight (National Treasure 1-2), Cuba Gooding Jr. (Men of Honor), Jennifer Garner (Elektra), Dan Aykroyd (Ghostbusters), William Fichtner (Elysium), Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy TV-series), Ted McGinley (Married with Children TV-series), Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy 1-2), Tom Sizemore (Red Planet, Black Hawk Down), Colm Feore (The Chronicles of Riddick, Thor), Tom Everett (Air Force One), Michael Shannon (Man of Steel), Leland Orser (Alien: Resurrection). I come now to mention the bi-polarity of the movie: on one hand it is very good-looking, in particular the flying scenes, and the central attack scene is so immersive when watched in good conditions (it was not the case for me this time but I remember the effect it had on my when seen on a good Home Cinema). The quality of that scene is I find underrated, maybe because interleaved with scenes showing our heroes, but I agree with Mickey in his YouTube review that it is a pity that the crew didn't receive more recognition for they work. On the other hand, the romance is sooo cheesy in its unraveling, serious tone, shooting, music... And everything has to be shot perfectly with sunset in the background and low angles and slow motions and camera flashes exploding and the president being so heroic and etc... It often feels overwhelming with feelings. And in the end it explains my rating for this movie, the average between 8/10 for the Action / War scenes and 4/10 for the Romance and cheesiness.
Rating: 6 /10

Maximum Risk (1996)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1996
	Director: Ringo Lam (Full Contact, Replicant)
	Actors: Jean-Claude Van Damme (Bloodsport, Cyborg, Kickboxer), Natasha Henstridge (Spieces, Ghosts of Mars), Jean-Hugues Anglade
	Country: USA
	Genre: Polar, Action
	Conditions of visioning: 31.03.2019, VOD, 10" tablet screen.
Synopsis: French policeman Alain Moreau (Van Damme) discovers he had a twin brother when this one is found dead in the streets of his city of Nice. He will use his likeliness to travel to the New York and find out more about his lost brother.
Review: It's been a while since I watched a 90's classic featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme, since Kickboxer in fact, and Timecop before that. In the past years I watched more of his recent work which are more cameos and/or self-reflection on hit cult personality: Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, Welcome to the Jungle, The Expendables 2, JVCD. In Maximum Risk, the Belgian actor uses his Martial Arts skills a little (ah, the famous rotating kick is shown a few times) but this is not at all central to a story in which he is more a policeman and a brother looking for explanations and then revenge after his blood brother. Accompanying him is the very cute Natasha Henstridge in her only second role after her revelation in Species. In this movie we do get to appreciate her charms as well, but she gets much more speaking time that in that other, and I found her to act pretty well. What disturbed me a bit in this international movie is how languages are handles: on one hand Moreau tries not to speak when taking the place of his brother so as not to be betrayed by his accent (well thought), but on the other hand all characters speak English all the time, which is weird when it is between Moreau and his partner, among Russian mobsters and worst of all between Moreau and his own mother! I guess in the 90's the audience was not accepting to have to read sub-titles in an Action movie... But in general I liked the movie: the action scenes are welcome, the change of location (Nice - New York - Nice) is refreshing, the story is not predictable and cinematography and soundtrack are appropriate. It is not a masterpiece of Art, far from it, but a worth-watching 90's Action flick if you feel nostalgic about that period.
Rating: 6 /10

The Fugitive (1993)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1993
	Director: Andrew Davis (Chain Reaction, Collateral Damage)
	Actors: Harrison Ford (Star Wars 4-7, Indiana Jones 1-4), Tommy Lee Jones (Men in Black 1-3), Sela Ward
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller, Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 29.03.2019, VOD, 10" tablet screen.
Synopsis: Surgeon Richard Kimble (Ford) is wrongly accused of his wife's murder and condemned to Death. Fortunate events will give him a chance to prove his innocence, if he is strong enough to outwit U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard (Jones) constantly on his tail.
Review: This movie is the best of the fast-paced Thrillers that the 90's could offer, thanks to the relentless chase by a stubborn U.S. Marshall of an innocent prisoner very motivated to prove his innocence more to find the killer of his wife than to avoid years of prison leading to the death penalty. The movie is an adaptation of a successful 60's TV-series, and condenses some 120 episodes into a 120-minute story, which I guess helps in keeping the pace elevated. Indeed there are many times in this movie when the Marshall nearly catches Kimble, but they are not neatly spread like it would be in a TV-series or a more modern audience-pleasing, less risk-taking movie. Those rather unpredictable moments keep you on edge and strongly feeling for the fugitive. In fact it reminds me of a similar suspenseful escape in Alfred Hitchcock's 1966 Torn Curtain. For some reason it also reminds be of the futuristic (well, set in 2017) The Running Man (1987) with Arnold Schwarzenegger also playing a wrongly convicted hero being chased while trying to innocent himself. Well it may partly be the story or just the main character name (Ben Richards in that one), I don't know if it was influenced at all by the 60's TV-series. The movie is framed by two events that are a bit hard to swallow: the car crash followed by a train wreck, and the length at which Kimble goes to unveil all the involved parties while he could have left Justice do its job (well, maybe he doesn't trust the system that much anymore). But past that, The Fugitive is very exciting to watch mostly for the tension between the two main characters and the great actors that play them. I can't remember if the 1998 sequel U.S. Marshals with Tommy Lee Jones reprising his role and Wesley Snipes as a new escapee is any good, I may watch it soon.
Rating: 7 /10

Constantine (2005)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2005
	Director: Francis Lawrence (I am Legend, The Hunger Games 1-4)
	Actors: Keanu Reeves (The Matrix 1-3, Speed), Rachel Weisz (The Mummy 1-2, The Fountain, The Lobster), Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy), Shia LaBoeuf (Transformers 1-3)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller, Horror
	Conditions of visioning: 22.03.2019, VOD, 10" tablet screen.
Synopsis: John Constantine (Reeves) has always had a special connection with the afterlife. But since a visit to Hell, he is hunting demons and sending them back there.
Review: I have never been much of a comics book reader, but this adaptation made me think that there were some good ideas in the original material: the kind of anti-hero Constantine, his addiction to cigarette (remarkable in the contemporary Disney/Marvel world where no one can be shown smoking in a movie...), the depiction of Good and Evil, the sidekick (well I could have done without that one), the other knowing characters helping the hero in his quest. The story of Evil trying to conquer Earth has been told before (Ghostbusters) and since (R.I.P.D.), but the connection with the psychic woman (Weiz) makes it special in this movie. The visuals are good and memorable to the point of even being scary, again quite remarkable in a PG-13 world. The secondary characters are well cast: Rachel Weiz, Djimon Hounsou, Pruitt Taylor Vince (Identity), Tilda Swinton and finally Peter Stormare playing an awesome Satan. Even the nervous Shia LaBoeuf plays well an otherwise useless sidekick. But the best in this movie really is Keanu Reeves playing the anti-hero, he is well at ease in this role, which reminds me a bit of what he did in John Wick 10 years later.
Rating: 8 /10

Deja Vu (2006)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2006
	Director: Tony Scott (Top Gun, Crimson Tide, Man on Fire)
	Actors: Denzel Washington (The Book of Eli, Philadelphia), Paula Patton, Jim Caviezel
	Country: USA, GB
	Genre: Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 28.03.2019, VOD, 10" tablet screen.
Synopsis: After the devastating bombing of a passengers ferry, FBI investigator Doug Carlin (Washington) is asked by a special branch of the Force to partake in a new form of investigation that apparently shows a video reconstitution from the past events.
Review: I think the most remarkable in this movie is how Tony Scott uses the SF gadget of time-travel solely to support and enhance his Thriller story. There is some mumbo-jumbo pseudo-sciency talk but not much and the main character itself cuts it short to focus on what he can do with it to help him progress in his investigation, like the director does to progress in the story he tells. It is in fact better this way as it would be too hard to swallow if detailed too much. In this movie Denzel Washington is as good as usual, and Tony Scott had not yet started his craze for epilepsy-inducing editing (see The Taking of Pelham 123), so the action is readable. The movie was shot in New-Orleans shortly after its devastation by hurticane Katarina, which was nice to bring some money in a region that needed it (I remember the same about In the Electric Mist with Tommy Lee Jones). The backbone of the story (the investigation on the bombing with the help of a special tool) makes it a nice thriller, while the main character, his strength at what he is doing and his obsession for the female victim he sees in the past completes a pretty good movie.
Rating: 7 /10

Children of Men (2006)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2006
	Director: Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity)
	Actors: Julianne Moore (The Big Lebowski, Jurassic Park: The Lost World), Clive Owen (Duplicity, Inside Man, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Dr Strange)
	Country: USA, GB, J
	Genre: Thriller, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 29.03.2019, VOD, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: In a near-future world where humanity is sterile, Theo (Owen) like many other struggles to find a meaning to his life in a totalitarian isolated Great Britain.
Review: That is for me the kind of movie that not only I can't forget watching, but I can't forget when I first watched it. In such a category I place movies as varied as Jurassic Park, Rambo, Cloverfield or Requiem from a Dream. This may be due to the fact that I didn't know what to expect from those movies and they surprised me, very positively. This is also why I like not knowing much about movies before going to watch them. Having no expectations makes a positive experience even better. Real anticipation movies (depicting a usually dark and depressing but plausible future in a realistic way) are rare and thus already worth mentioning. Come to mind 1984 with which this one shares the British isolationism, Blade Runner, Naked Lunch, ... Children of Men has many good things for itself: first Clive Owen is just perfect in the role (see Sin City to compare how less he fits there), Michael Caine and his character are also pretty good, the story is compelling, the level of technology shown is perfectly adequate (with cleverer cars), the cinematography excellent (always overcast and tones of grey), the pessimism clenching, the long-shots dear to director Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity) captivating, and most of all the migrants theme actual more than ever, 13 years after the film release. That's anticipation borderline foretelling. Many other details anchor the movie in reality as well, like the behavior of people with regards to the World situation, in particular how youth is treated. I had forgotten how far the movie was going in its third act: the urban guerilla in the migrants camp is intense. It is a pity I watched the movie on a small screen, but I remembered well enough my first experience with it to give an overall very positive review.
Rating: 9 /10

Unbreakable (2000)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2000
	Director: M. Night Shyamalan (The Village, Signs, The 6th Sense)
	Actors: Bruce Willis (Die Hard 1-5), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Avengers 1-4), Robin Wright (The Congress, House of Cards TV-series)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller, Fantasy
	Conditions of visioning: 31.03.2019, VOD, 10" tablet screen.
Synopsis: David Dunn (Willis) doesn't feel whole in his life. When he is the sole survivor of a train wreck, he will come to question his life, and the character of Elijah (Jackson) will push him to accept a strange revelation.
Review: There was a lot of expectation around this movie as it was released, the next M. Night Shyamalan after the big success The 6th Sense (both written and directed by him). I watched a YouTube review about this movie and totally agree that the consensus of giving a bad rating to Unbreakable because the ending twist is not as good as the one in The 6th Sense is stupid. Ok M. Night Shyamalan got us used to his style of bomb twists, a style he is slowly trying to get out of, but that is no criterion on which to solely base a movie 's quality. If I had to criticize something about this movie it would be the excess of Shyamalan original shots, constantly trying to show us familiar things (a discussion, a man standing in the rain...) under a new angle even when it was not strictly needed (Hitchcock was doing that too). But as Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain) said to critics of him making always similar-looking movies, you should know what to visually expect from Shyamalan and not complain about it. Besides, those stylish effects match the story of two men searching for their purpose. Forgetting any critics I could have, I found that story and the way the director told it very refreshing and incredibly ahead of its time, giving us a reflection on super-hero movies when that trend was still in its infancy. This is quite remarkable. Once the trend was set, other have also tried to reflect on the consequences of being a real-world super-hero, in different styles (Watchmen, Super, Kick-Ass, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), but never was the reflection so deep. I love how the comics book hero rules are respected throughout the film, down to the name of the main character with its double initials (like for many Marvel heroes). Samuel L. Jackson is even better than usual, for me one of his top roles with Pulp Fiction and Kingsman: The Secret Service. After The 6th Sense, Bruce Willis delivers another solid dramatic performance, a nice change of pace from his action hero sticker, and his sidekick kid played by Spencer Treat Clark is also nice. Most remarkable, Robin Wright plays a role miles away from what she will do only 15 years later in the House of Cards TV-show, sign of a talented versatile actress. About the twist, the movie does have one but the heart of it is really more the central revelation that is slowly brought and doesn't come as a surprised or a twist when it comes. Almost 20 years later, still an excellent powerful movie that hasn't lost of its significance in the currently saturated cinematographic landscape, on the contrary. I am now tempted to go watch the recent sequel Mr Glass, as well as the connected (as I have just learned) Split with James McAvoy, both by the same director.
Rating: 8 /10

Face / Off (1997)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1997
	Director: John Woo (Paycheck, Mission: Impossible 2)
	Actors: John Travolta (Pulp Fiction, Battlefield Earth), Nicolas Cage (Ghost Rider 1-2, Benjamin Gates 1-2), Joan Allen
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 25/03.2019, VOD, 42" TV screen.
Synopsis: In order to locate the bomb placed by his Archenemy Castor Troy now in a coma (Cage), FBI agent Sean Archer (Travolta) is forced to take his identity, face voice and all. Those plans get screwed when Castor awakes.
Review: This movie fits its description of the "best" Action movie ever made, or at least of the most 90's Action movie ever. It is so over-the-top on so many levels: slow-motion gun draws with doves and a sunset in the background, helicopter and cars chasing a plane taking off, multiple twists around the identity exchange, family over-drama and background between the two enemies, EXPLOSIONS (yeah in capital letters like Mr. Torgue would say in the Borderlands video games), comics book villain, my god the boat chase, all until the tear-pulling ending. This may all be ridiculous and ridiculed in a Michael Bay 2000's movie like Transformers, it is shown with a serious tone in Face / Off and was in fact in the 90's the top of what people wanted: Action and more Action, looking in particular towards Asian for the best of it (thus the director John Woo). So put back in context it was a great movie, nowadays it is not possible to watch seriously. For example the scene when the two protagonists face each other on both sides of a wall paved with mirrors may be seen as original and very strong in visual meaning, or as basic stupid obvious imagery. That's probably the dilemma with all Action movies of that time, and as Face / Off is the "best" of them, it suffers the most from the passage of time. Irrespective of that, I did enjoy watching it as it reminded me of simpler time when the audience could be fed such testosterone-filled flicks and not bitch about it. I may soon continue watching more 90's pearls like Broken Arrow or Con Air.
Rating: 6 /10

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2018
	Director: Bryan Singer (X-men)
	Actors: Rami Malek (OldBoy, Papillon, Mr Robot TV-series), Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee, Aiden Gillen (Game of Thrones TV-series), Mike Myeers (Wayne's World 1-2, Austin Powers 1-3)
	Country: USA, GB
	Genre: Drama, Music
	Conditions of visioning: 19&26.03.2019, inflight entertainment, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: The rise of Queen, one of the greatest Rock bands of all times.
Review: Watching this documentary I realized that I do like the music from Queen, and that I am not the only one finding something special to it. Too bad I didn't see the movie in the theater, I would have stomped my foot for sure. I never knew much about the band, except that its leader Freddy Mercury was extravagant, that he wore a mustache to hide prominent teeth and that he died of AIDS. So I was pleased to see its origin story put on film. I find the lead actor Rami Malek excellent, he fully deserved his academy Award like other biopic stars before him that were until then relatively unknown but rose to celebrity thanks to an entranced performance (Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln for example). I liked that the movie doesn't start with struggle and conflicts but rather shows the spectacular rise the the band to world fame, hit after hit. I got shivers every time they are shown revolutionizing music with new ideas, time after time. Funny however that no mention is made of their theatrical and cinematographic adventures with respectively The Rocky Horror Show and the soundtrack of Flash Gordon. Probably done to keep concise a movie already 2h30 long, and rather focus in the characters. Much of the story, dialogs and characters interactions may be dramatized (this is no Documentary after all), I find it to be done with a purpose. In that respect the highlight is the presence of Mike Myers (the comedian behind the Austin Powers franchise) playing a totally fictional music label representative who drops the band after not believing in the lengthy opera-song Bohemian Rhapsody. The highlight is that Myers is known for his rock comedy Wayne's World in which that very song is played in full with the main characters head-banging in their car. Myers character in the Queen biopic says that precisely this will never happen. Wink. Precious. Not being a big radio listener, that is probably where I heard the song for the first time. At mid-movie comes the expected turn of events in the band's career: increasing conflicts within the band and with their producers, tantrums, loneliness, abuse of drugs sex and alcohol. This is of course sad to watch but a necessary part of a good drama. Throughout the movie I found a nice matching done between the lyrics of key songs and the events occurring on-screen. And the movie concludes in the best way possible with renewed friendship, optimism in the face of coming death, redemption, and like in The Concert or The Pianist before it with 15 minutes of uninterrupted live music. Loved it.
Rating: 8 /10