Krigen (2015)

	Also Known As: Krigen
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Tobias Lindholm
	Actors: Pilou Asbæk, Tuva Novotny, Dar Salim
	Country: DK
	Genre: War, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 28.03.2016, Schauburg, OV Sneak Preview, English/Danish/Arabic original version
Synopsis: Company commander Claus M. Pedersen (Asbæk) and his men are stationed in an Afghan province. Meanwhile back in Denmark Claus' wife Maria (Novotny) is trying to hold everyday life together with a husband at war and three children missing their father. During a routine mission, the soldiers are caught in heavy crossfire and in order to save his men, Claus makes a decision that has grave consequences on civilians. He has to go back to Denmark and sees the further consequences for him - and his family.
Review: The movie sets in parallel the war and the home life, without taking much care about the war itself. This is not the story. I understand better the continuous dilemma of being a soldier, killing and saving lives and the similar will in peaceful home. There is no much dialogue judging or pushing the viewer to judge about this case. Lindholm manages to write a story giving the different aspects of the soldier's life, war, family life during war and after war. Even if just the fact of questioning the international law in this case is controversial, the movie just opens the discussion without judging. Lindholm wrote the story of the suspensful drama Jagten (by Thomas Vinterberg and with Mads Mikkelsen). Extremely promising also as director. Indeed he manages to take the best of actors such as Asbæk and Dar Salim. Pilou Asbæk is a great actor! He really looks like Ewan McGregor some years ago, but his talent is really personal. He manages also to make out of a walk of soldiers in the country a suspenseful scene. I am more curious on previous movies of Lindholm such as R and Hijacking. And his other collaboration with Vinterberg, The commune.
Rating: 7 /10

Pawn sacrifice (2014)

	Also Known As: Bauernopfer, Le prodige
	Year of first release: 2014
	Director: Edward Zwick
	Actors: Tobey Maguire, Liev Schreiber, Peter Sarsgaard
	Country: USA
	Genre: Drama, Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 21.03.2016, Schauburg, OV Sneak Preview, English version
Synopsis: In 1970, Bobby Fischer (Maguire) began a new effort to become World Champion. His dramatic march toward the title made him a household name and made chess front-page news for a time. He has been supported by father Lombardy (Sarsgaard). He won the title in 1972 against Spassky (Schreiber), but forfeited it three years later.
Review: The originality of the movie is to show the solitude, the paranoia and the obscurity of Bobby Fischer's mind. The supposed Cold war on a Chess board is a question of point of view. This kind of evolution in the psychosis is a rare topic (e.g. Memento), while this is often mixed within a thriller with no view into the mind of the character. By luck there is no conflation of his fight à la Don Quichotte (against his own ghosts) and the fight of American way of life against Soviet one as it was presented in the media at that time. Maguire plays his role with a lot of professionality. The confusion, the concentration, the paranoia, the obsession for learning about chess and especially Russian chess. Good to know that he can play much more than Spiderman. Promising. The camera driving and image composition enhance the different moods of Bobby Fischer without being arty, just classical and effective. I liked the shots starting as still life and then the sudden reactions of Bobby Fischer. This was good.
Rating: 6 /10

Sexarbeiterin (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Sobo Swobodnik
	Actors: Lena Morgenroth
	Country: D
	Genre: Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 10.03.2016, Cinema am Ostertor, German version
Synopsis: The movie follows Lena Morgenroth in her daily work of "sex worker".
Review: I was very interested in the discussion with guests more than in the movie itself. The movie focuses on one unique sex worker who choose to live this way. It shows her as a businesswoman making her planning, proposing services adapted to the wishes of the customers, taking seriously the service and the job, having continuing education. And beside this successful professional life, she maintains a work life balance by meeting family and friends. Apparently nothing to criticize in this model life. Then why Terre des femmes demonstrated at the entrance of the theater? Well, their position is that this job shall be illegal. This sounds like wanting to illegalise drugs (if we consider sex as a drug or as a common need). In this sense this motto seems to me quite irrealistic. This non-profit women’s rights organisation follows otherwise excellent goals.  The image in black and white gives more intimacy and the hidden camera gives the impression to protect the characters. The many working scenes have similar effects, even if these could be seen also as arty porn movie scenes. The camera driving and light are very well mastered. The directing shows good technical abilities, but the story is so focused and removes the political discussion on this hot topic. And on purpose! The only scene where the legal framework and the political situation was starting to be discussed is grossly interrupted by showing Lena Morgenroth totally uninterested in a back room and the sound of the debate is turned very very low. For a documentary this cannot be. By luck the discussion afterwards and the question/answers was somehow constructive. Present were the organisation Nitribitt e.V. (supporting sex workers in Bremen), the political parties SPD and Die Linke. Thus with the discussion, the movie could be rated 8/10. But evaluating the documentary itself this goes clearly down.
Rating: 4 /10

Army of Darkness (1992)

	Also Known As: Evil Dead 3
	Year of first release: 1992
	Director: Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy, Evil Dead 1-2, Drag me to Hell)
	Actors:  Bruce Campbell (Bubba-ho-tep, My Name is Bruce), Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert
	Country: USA
	Genre: Horror, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 08.03.2016, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: After his fight against the dark spirits in the woods, Ash (Campbell) is projected in the past and mistaken for an enemy before appearing as a savior.
Review: I was so eager to watch again this movie that after The Evil Dead I skipped Evil Dead 2 from the logical order of watching to get straight to it. Even more since I recently read the autobiography by Bruce Campbell (If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor), that covers in particular his Evil Dead period. As much as Evil Dead 2 is a more elaborate remake of The Evil Dead, for this third movie director Sam Raimi went in a completely different direction. Indeed our favorite character Ash finds himself in a totally different environment (a fantasy past reminding me of the Hyborian Age from Conan the Barbarian) but strong of the fighting skills (and tools) he accumulated during the first two adventures. Instead of fighting shadows, trees or his own hand, he will this time face many foes in a movie extremely generous in special effects action scenes in spite of a limited budget. And the result is not bad at all, considering the hard shooting conditions. Campbell is showing off as ever ('Well hello Mister Fancypants. Well, I've got news for you pal, you ain't leadin' but two things, right now: Jack and shit... and Jack left town'), also during his fight against skeletons (homage to Ray Harryhausen's work on Jason and the Argonauts), small versions of himself or a big evil one. The movie may be too offbeat and not taken seriously enough to actually be a classic, but it was very nice to watch again in a superb Blu-ray copy, and I am looking forward to putting my hand on the recent TV-series Ash vs. the Evil Dead.
Rating: 7 /10

Equilibrium (2002)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2002
	Director: Kurt Wimmer (Ultraviolet)
	Actors:  Christian Bale (The Dark Knight trilogy), Sean Bean (Black Death, The Lord of the Ring), Emily Watson, Sean Pertwee (Gotham TV-series), William Fichtner (Contact, Elysium)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 07.03.2016, HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis After humanity is almost decimated by a third World War, an isolated city decides to ban what they think is the cause of all our problems: emotions. Preston (Bale) and Partridge (Bean) are investigators in charge of enforcing that law.
Review: At the time of its release it was obvious that Equilibrium was surfing on the wave of success from The Matrix and it gathers similar elements of a post-apocalyptic world and original fight designs. The original idea of the movie is interesting, but unfortunately its logic is questionable every ten minutes: how can you prove that someone is feeling? Don't you feel as long as you live, and what about being a couple and making children? But once you accept that, the movie is otherwise interestingly played by a young pair Bale/Bean that is credible in their interaction with each other. The special effects looks pretty cheap, and the whole idea of gunfighting strategy based on statistical bullet trajectories is under-used (see also Timur Bekmambetov 2008 Wanted for a vaguely similar concept). But what I will remember from that movie is the point of view of the People in a totalitarian society, obviously inspired by the classic 1984 and only recently back to fashion with for example Children of Men, The Hunger Games or Divergent. It is always interesting to see how filmmakers try to imagine a plausible future.
Rating: 5 /10

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2005
	Director: Garth Jennings
	Actors:  Martin Freeman (The Hobbit trilogy), Yasiin Bey, Sam Rockwell (Moon), Zooey Deschanel (Elf, New Girl TV-series)
	Country: USA, GB
	Genre: Comedy, SF
	Conditions of visioning: 13.03.2016, HD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: Being evicted from his home, Arthur (Freeman) is in-extremis saved from the destruction of Earth by his friend Ford (Bey) who is not from this planet at all. Follows a race through the Galaxy in the company of it President (Rockwell) who recently stole a revolutionary spaceship.
Review: Years ago, on the advice of friends I had read only the first two books in the 5-part geek cult novel by Douglas Adams and this is an adaptation, quite faithful I found, of the first book. If you don't know the book and want to watch the movie, be ready for 100% typical British absurd humour. If you don't like the Monty Python for example, better stay away from H2G2. Indeed in that Universe you can hitchhike your ride on spaceships, the most useful commodity is a bath towel, we are only the third most intelligent species on Earth and the galaxy is governed by a lunatic that stole a ship equipped with one-of-a-kind improbability drive, transforming you into random objects before you reach your destination. As mentioned, it is a quite faithful adaptation and thus some gags don't show too well on screen, but it is well-done enough that I can't complain much about it. And I like the 100% latex design of all the aliens (no CGI) and the cast, in particular the British one. Unavoidable if you wish to perfect your geek culture. Dispensable otherwise.
Rating: 5 /10

Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2011
	Director: David Gelb
	Actors: -
	Country: USA
	Genre: Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 19.02.2016, VOD, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: Jiro owns a small sushi place underground in a metro station in Tokyo. He has been working on perfecting his Art for 70 years.
Review: At first the documentary is interesting because of the age of its protagonist, creator of some of the best sushis in the world and awarded three Michelin stars. As one can expect his apprentices and sons suffer a great deal from his character. But the true interest of the movie is in the realization that this guy follows the pure Japanese tradition of aiming at reaching perfection in your work. This includes never taking a day off, sometimes working for 10 years on a new sushi concept, or 70 years on the menu and presentation. Jiro dreams of Sushi could in fact be seen as a documentary on one aspect of the Japanese culture, interesting to be aware of if you want to get closer to understanding this People. Beyond the interesting topic and reflexion, the movie doesn't strike as particularly well shot nor edited. And about the restaurant itself, I have read critics that say may be excellent, the price of 300 euros for a 30-min service is exaggerated. However US president Barack Obama went to eat there on his last visit to Japan.
Rating: 5 /10

Eddie the Eagle (2016)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Dexter Fletcher
	Actors: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Iris Berben
	Country: GB, USA, D
	Genre: Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 14.03.2016, Schauburg, OV Sneak Preview, English version
Synopsis: A courageous British ski-jumper Michael "Eddie" Edwards (Egerton) never stopped believing in himself as an Olympian since kid. Despite burdens from the British Olympic committee he struggles. With the help of an ex-champion Bronson Peary (Jackman), Eddie takes on the establishment and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by participating in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
Review: The originality of the movie is to bring the Olympian spirit of Coubertin on the screen. Not the motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger" like in the great Chariots of fire but the "participation is more important than winning" ("L'important c'est de participer") like in the great comedy and almost unknown Gachi boy, wrestling with a memory (seen in FEFF2008).  The story is thus no blockbuster, or more like a cheap sport movie. Even if Hugh Jackman is cast. There is a lot of humour in this comedy. The inhibited father, the supporting mother, the groupie Petra, the Norvegian team, the presupposed silent Finnish champion Matti Nykänen. All these characters have something funny and bring comedy to the otherwise dramatic life of Eddie.  Some scenes introduce a situation comedy using the character comedy and this becomes time to time hilarious.  The acting is a bit stereotyped but is ok. The directing focuses on the characters. There is also a short sequence presenting videos of the real people and this gives a hint on what was the reality of these characters. From the posters, the colour of the van changes all the time. Up to you to make your mind on the real colour by watching the movie.
Rating: 7 /10

El clan (2015)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2015
	Director: Pablo Trapero
	Actors: Peter Lanzani, Guillermo Francella, Lili Popovich
	Country: E, RA
	Genre: Polar, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 02.03.2016, Atlantis, Original Argentinian version
Synopsis: The Puccio family kidnapped rich young people in Argentina of the 80s and often killed them after getting the ransom. In the family you have the father Arquímedes (Francella), the mother Epifanía (Popovich)and the siblings Alejandro (Lanzani), Maguila, Silvia, Guillermo and Adriana. All are trained to support the father's activities.
Review: All the story is true. This had been a big drama in Argentina. The story follows the doubts of Alejandro on the family's way of life. The story is settled like a North American crime. Very efficient. And even better with emotions, links to government intrigues, betrayal of rugby team buddy. The story is so astonishing that it is surprising that nobody did a film about it before! Thus surprises and confused and dramatic emotions are garanteed. The acting in both unconcerned and troubled moments of Alejandro is quite well balanced. The casting of Francella is perfect. He can look really terrifying.  The movie is directed a bit faster than usual Argentinian movies but not as fast as Hollywood modern crimes. Therefore this has quite a charm in the directing, but nothing original.
Rating: 6 /10

Grüße aus Fukushima (2016)

	Also Known As: Greetings from Fukushima, Fukushima mon amour
	Year of first release: 2016
	Director: Doris Dörrie
	Actors: Rosalie Thomass, Kaori Momoi
	Country: D
	Genre: Drama, Documentary
	Conditions of visioning: 07.03.2016, Schauburg, OV Sneak Preview
Synopsis: A young German woman Marie (Thomass) arrives in Japan with the will to help the victims of the nuclear plant accident of Fukushima consequence of an earthquake in 2011. She is clown. As she does not catch with the Japanese people, she tries to quit. And meets then an elderly Japanese woman Satomi (Momoi) with whom she sets a tight relationship.
Review: Usually there is no German movie in the Schauburg Sneak Preview, but as the main language is broken English, it fits to the concept. I wanted to watch it anyway. On the 11.03.2011 Japan experienced an earthquake producing a giant tsunami on the East coast, in particular in the region of Fukushima. The nuclear plants of the region were not safe enough to survive it and Fukushima is a major nuclear desaster like Chernobyl (Ukraine) or Three Mile Island (Pennsylvania).  The story is on one side the experience of Thomass to recover from a personal desaster in helping people and on the other side the documentary view on the scenery. The movie is also deep in the Japanese culture by setting human-ghosts relationships in normal life, by giving a picture of the closed and sophisticated traditional Japanese culture and by making us familiar with one Geisha. From that point of of view, I loved the movie. This whole of Japan is fascinating and beautiful.  The movie is shot in black&white enhancing the intimacy and the contrasts. The intimacy of Marie with Satomi, their intimacy with us. The intimacy of Japan with us. The contrasts of scenery in that part of Japan, of feelings in that German woman and that Japanese woman. The directing is very clever for that.  The casting fits to authenticity. No top models. Really normal people for a story aiming at showing normal life like a documentary.  I believe I slightly overrate the movie because the topic is important to me.
Rating: 8 /10