Fargo (1996)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1996
	Director: Joel & Ethan Coen (The Big Lebowski, True Grit)
	Actors:  William H. Macy (Mystery Men, Jurassik Park 3), Frances McDormand (Transformers 3), Steve Buscemi (Con Air, Armageddon), Peter Stormare (Jurassik Park 2), John Carroll Lynch (Crazy Stupid Love)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Polar, Black Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 12.01.2015, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: Jerry (Macy) hires hitmen (Buscemi & Stormare) to kidnap his wife but when things turn wrong, the increasing number of deaths is investigated by police officer Marge Gunderson(McDormand).
Review: After watching the first season of the recent TV-series Fargo produced by Netflix, I was eager to watch again the movie by the Coen brothers from which it is inspired (and that it follows in some ways). The concept is original and typical of the Coen brothers: showing regular people in extreme situations, for example what would a desperate car salesman do when faced with murderers... The atypical setting in the Northern end of the USA plays a great role in the success of the movie I guess, it is indeed not often that you see you cast most of the time covered in heavy jacket and boots. Another excellent aspect of the movie is the display of those regular "American middle-class" folks in their day-to-day life, for example some easy-going policemen than never investigated murder before, or the loving husband of the policewoman, a simple man that doesn't look very attractive and never looks to people when they are talking (almost like if he is bored) but that takes good care of his wife. The habits of those people are also very "true life", like the quantity of fat food they ingest (I noticed that already in the TV-series). But I think what is the most likable in Fargo is the offbeat humor that derives from awkward situations. Unexpected things can happen to anybody: man, woman, police officer, criminal... And those awkward moments are also very funny thanks to some actors perfect in their role: Macy, McDormand, Buscemi, Stormare. A real treat to watch. I could also confirm the large number of elements that have been copied from the film to the series in order to keep the same atmosphere: weak-willed man in a bad marriage, snowy landscape, a pregnant woman, a strong woman police officer, a couple of bandits with special characters, money scams, simple people (including and especially the policemen), awkward moments, ...
Rating: 9 /10

Sherlock - Season 2 (2012)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2012
	Creators: Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat
	Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit 1-3), Martin Freeman (The Hobbit 1-3, Fargo TV-series), Una Stubbs
	Country: USA, GB
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: January 2015, HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: The inseparable duo Sherlock Holmes and Watson (Crumberbatch & Freeman) are getting known thanks to Watson's blog and they get to work for more and more important cases, including for the government.
Review: All the generalities I wrote in the review of the the first season are still valid (excellent adaptation to modern times, great actors that bring life to their roles), with some improvement of music and editing (seeming to converge to a stable identity) so I will jump directly to the episode detail. The first one A Scandal in Belgravia takes its time to develop a complex story between several characters and their many interactions and exchanges of superiority. Sherlock meets the only person that ever left him defeated (according to the novel), and a woman on top of that (Irene Adler) who gives him a hard time. Then comes The Hounds of Baskerville adapted from one of the most famous Sherlock stories, and which already led to a movie (in 1959) with Christopher Lee which terrified me when I saw it as a kid, and which DVD has been in my Amazon basket for a while (I definitely need to see it again). That story was modified a lot and we are very far from the gothic horror of the 50-60's, which makes this episode one of my least favorite although it contains some good moments. Finally the Reichenbach Fall's title reminds to the reader of a location that will have a critical impact in the life of Sherlock Holmes. The episode deals with the same thematics (the confrontation with Moriarty, also shown in the poor movie version A Game of Shadows) but is unfortunately restricted to the London urban environment. Because of relatively weaker episodes in terms of story, although the technical quality is improved, I like this season less than the first (also the surprise effect has passed).
Rating: 6 /10

Sherlock - season 1 (2010)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2010
	Creators: Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat
	Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit 1-3), Martin Freeman (The Hobbit 1-3, Fargo TV-series), Una Stubbs
	Country: USA, GB
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: January 2015, HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: Consulting detective Sherlock Holmes (Crumberbatch) takes Doctor Watson (Freeman) as flatmate and involves him in his crime-solving passion.
Review: I started to watch this series because it is proposed on Netflix (and was produced by them) and features two actors that I often see those days (in The Hobbit, Fargo and/or Star Trek). I didn't really know what to expect, so I was at first surprised to see that the series is a transposition of the adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective into the 21st Century. As mentioned in my previous review of the animated series Sherlock Holmes, I have been reading the original novel so I am quite familiar with the stories. My second discovery was of the talent with which the transposition was done by the creators, film-makers and quite importantly the actor: brilliant Benedict Crumberbatch and no-less perfect casting for Martin Freeman. I was indeed amazed to see how well the classical investigation stories were relevant to our time as well. A hard-to-solve murder will always be one. And the means used by the hero have not changed: deduction, deduction and more deduction. Crumberbatch is definitely perfect for the role, and he managed to give life to this peculiar character thanks to odd habits (reminding of the modern Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory) and quickness of speech (very hard to follow for a non-native speaker). Many fine details from the novel are present and are infinitely better reproduced than in the American movie versions starring Robert Downey Jr. (see the review of A Game of Shadows for example): the addiction to cocaine is cleverly replaced by one to nicotine, Sherlock is overly bored when he has no case to work on and overly excited when people die, telegrams are replaced by SMS, Sherlock always jumps in a cab when exiting his apartment (motor replaced horses), the novels by Watson are replaced by a Blog.... All of them excellent ideas. What annoys me a little is the music (too present) and the editing (often too fast for no reason). Also I found Moriarty too young for the part, but all in all he was very well introduced and the actor (Andrew Scott) brings something very special to the role. Sherlock's brother Mycroft is more present than in the novel but that's alright. Each season is composed of only three 1.5-hour episodes. In this first season one can see A Study in Pink the necessary introduction episode that baffled me, The Blind Banker a well-shot investigation that deepens the relationship between the two heroes, and The Great Game in which we truly see Sherlock at his best (he is solving mystery after mystery) and he gets to meet his archenemy. Definitely a great first season and a cliffhanger that forced me to watch the second season right after.
Rating: 8 /10

La French (2014)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Cédric Jimenez
	Actors: Jean Dujardin, Gilles Lellouche
	Country: F
	Genre: Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 26.12.2014, Pathé Orleans
Synopsis: When the judge Pierre Michel (Dujardin) is nominated for the "grand banditisme" (organised crime) in Marseille, the major drug organisation is the French connection, lead by Gaetan "Tany" Zampa (Lellouche) producing heroine mostly for the North Amercian market.
Review: The story is based on the true story of the judge Michel, murdered End of 1981. At that time, I was very small but I have seen this was very chocking for my parents. The movie follows both the tracking and fall of the French connection and also the rise and death of the judge Michel. Funny point is that the bad boss Zampa and the judge look very similar. This becomes more obvious when Zampa behaves well (not like just a criminal) and when Michel behaves bad (like a small criminal).  The acting of Dujardin is strange to me. He seems to be laughing at many people and I do not know whether this is supposed to be so. The directing is good as it is realistic but not too much.
Rating: 7 /10

American splendor (2003)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2003
	Director: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
	Actors: Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama, Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 20.12.2014, DVD, English version without subtitlte
Synopsis: Harvey Pekar has no clue of drawing but likes comic story telling and jazz. He starts writing the stories while one friend makes the images. He tells his own story, working as a clerk, living in the middle of the Rust belt city of Cleveland. One day one fan Joyce (Davis) comes to Cleveland to meet him.
Review: The story is very touching. Although he is very pessimistic about his own life, the will of story telling and the taste for simple neighbourhood makes the movie very interesting and beautiful. The story sounds a bit like Charles Bukowski's novels.  The form is innovative mixing comic book style with classical movie style and well done! Especially when Harvey meets Joyce in the train station. The acting of Giamatti is amazing for his perfectly fitting face. Also the friends of Harvey look not only realistic but also great. We go through many steps of his life with so much authenticity. I love it.  The cover of the DVD and some posters looks of course very good due to the mix of images from the movie and from the comic books. In addition, I put two covers of the comic book. One of them is a comic book about the time spent during the movie.
Rating: 8 /10

Jean-Philippe (2006)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2006
	Director: Laurent Tuel (Un jeu d'enfants)
	Actors: Fabrice Luchini (Profs), Johnny Hallyday, Guilaine Londez, Jackie Berroyer (Calvaire)
	Country: F
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 25.12.2014, SD VOD, 11" computer screen
Synopsis: What would be the life of Fabrice (Luchini) if his idol Johnny (Hallyday) had never reached celebrity?
Review: The concept is interesting, and allows showing the acting talents of the French mega-star Johnny Hallyday playing his own role, and he is rather good at this job. I am usually not a big fan of Luchini but I liked him this time as well. Fabrice is the biggest fan of Johnny, to a point that he named his daughter like Johnny's and that his passion/obsession threatens his couple. After a shock, he awakes in a world in which Johnny never became famous. He then tries to find his hero and guide him to the path he never met. There are quite some funny moments ans the overall story is quite satisfying.
Rating: 6 /10

The Pixal Story (2007)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2007
	Director: Leslie Iwerks
	Actors: Stacy Keach, John Lasseter, Brad Bird
	Country: USA
	Genre: Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 27.12.2014, SD VOD, 11" computer screen
Synopsis: The story of the famous animation studio from the youth of its creator John Lasseter to the making of Cars.
Review: I knew already a bit about the story of Pixar from some documentary on the DVD of their short movies, and on other DVDs. This documentary is a good summary, not revolutionary but it presents the fact in a very interesting way. John Lasseter is really shown as the genius behind the creation of the firm, and indeed he is a visionary who knew and was convinced before everybody that animated movies were part of the future. His struggle to work with Disney is particularly amazing. I was also astonished to learn this Steve Jobs (yes the guy from Apple) is the one that funded the company so that it can be born, and he also supported them all along in their choices and decisions to become an independent company. Once this basis established, we learn about the making of their movies one after the other (I put my personal rating in parenthesis from memory to see how I felt the evolution): Toy Story (9/10), A Bug's Life (6/10), Toy Story 2 (8/10), Monsters Inc. (7/10), Finding Nemo (8/10), The Incredibles (9/10) and Cars (6/10). So to my feeling, they indeed managed to keep a relatively high level of quality throughout the first seven movies. When I was watching, I was always telling myself "ah yes that one was good, probably their best" until the next movie is introduced and I went "oh yeah that one was good as well" until The Incredibles which has been the best for me since it went out. I don't rate the documentary better because it is the true story that is extraordinary, the movie only documents it correctly.
Rating: 6 /10

Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2006)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2006
	Director: Steve Carr (Dr. Dolittle 2)
	Actors: Kevin James, Keir O'Donnell, Jayma Mays
	Country: USA
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 26.12.2014, SD VOD, 32" TV
Synopsis: Paul Bart (Carr) always fails the police exam because of his hypoglycemia. Instead, he takes very seriously his job as security head at the mall.
Review: We were looking for a comedy out of the ordinary, and Mall Cop is a bit of that. The humour is a bit offbeat, often making fun of this overweight guy who is however very fit and flexible. The usual challenges are shown: meeting a woman, fighting a bully, and defeating the evil guy who wanted to rob the mall, all of it in a light humoristic style. At some point the movie even reminds me of a kind of parody of Die Hard 1 + 2. But it is not really funny and definitely too predictable and unrealistic: this guy alone defeats a bunch of enemies who don't even carry guns... too easy.
Rating: 4 /10

Absolute Power (1997)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1997
	Director: Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino)
	Actors: Clint Eastwood (The Good The Bad and The Ugly), Gene Hackman (The Conversation, Enemy of the State), Ed Harris (History of Violence), Scott Glenn (The Silence of the Lambs), Dennis Haysbert (24 TV-series)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller, Polar
	Conditions of visioning: 23.12.2014, SD VOD, 32" TV
Synopsis: While robbing a rich house, genius burglar Luther Whitney (Eastwood) witnesses a murder involving a most influential character.
Review: I had quite forgotten about this movie until I found it on Netflix France (also showing that the choice is better than in Germany). It contains everything you can expect from a movie directed by Clint Eastwood and I loved that the story is told and shown as would have been in the 70's, my favorite period in cinema especially for this thriller/polar genre, although it was produced in the otherwise quite boring period of the end of the 90's. That alone is an incredible performance. At that time Clint started to play aging characters (right after The Bridges of Madison County), himself reflecting on the approaching end of life. The story is solid although far-fetched (what are the odds for that to happen?!), and played by great actors: Eastwood, Hackman, Glenn, Harris. All very natural and a pleasure to watch.
Rating: 8 /10

Friday the 13th (2009)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2009
	Director: Marcus Nispel (Pathfinder, Conan)
	Actors: Jared Padalecki, Amanda Righetti, Derek Mears, Richard Burgi (The Sentinel TV-series)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Horror
	Conditions of visioning: 22.12.2014, SD VOD, 32" TV
Synopsis: A bunch of stoned teenagers in the forrest along Crystal Lake, a masked killed... Jason is definitely back.
Review: In a recent article in the Mad Movies magazine (about the Nightmare on Elm Street / Freddy saga), I read some bad review about the most recent episode. Looking for some fright one evening, I decided to watch the latest movie in a saga I know better: Friday 13th. This one is more a reboot, skipping the story of the first Friday 13th (in which the mother is the killer) to show it as prologue only, and thus jumping firectly to the part when Jason Voorhees is the killer. It was produced by Michael Bay after he did the same with the remake of  The Texas Chainsaw Massacre which I found good at the time, maybe because more centered around a good actress (Jessica Biel) rather than around interexchangeable youngsters. The story in this new movie may not be less clever than the original ones from the 80's, but it feels definitely outdated. I am now conviced there is no more room for such boogeymen in our decade, except if one cleverly re-invents the genre like it was done in Scream or more recently in The Cabin in the Woods. Or you need to invent a new boogeyman like in Saw or Jeepers Creepers. But the good old Jason (although I like the character) become quickly all too boring. I don't even mention the actors whose performance doen't bring anything to the movie, only the plastic quality of some do. And where on Earth is the camera placement behind the branches (subjective shooting) and the haunting theme from Harry Manfredini's (tchi tchi tchi ha ha ha).
Rating: 2 /10