Tout Ce Qui Brille (All That Glitters) by Géraldine Nakache and Hervé Mimran, 2010 (NR)

with Leïla Bekhti (Paris Je T'aime, A prophet), Géraldine Nakache, Virginie Ledoyen, Linh-Dan Pham, Audrey Lamy, Manu Payet, Simon Buret, Daniel Cohen, Nanou Garcia, Fejria Deliba

Two suburban young ladies attempt to scale the ladder of Parisian society, but find that the new social circles have unexpectedly negative consequences, in this gentle, observant drama from first-time co-writer/director Geraldine Nakache.

Very strange how sometimes things are closer to you than you think. Well, in this case, it is a geographical thing as much as an experience, I lived very close to where the main character live, grew up there, spend my adolescence in the same places in La Defense, and sometimes behaved in a similar way, without really being aware of the consequences. Anyway, an interesting portrait of coming of age girls, with the "real life" opening up to them in many languages, the tough one, where money becomes the reality, and the idyllic one with an expansion of your experiences, and perhaps what gets confusing in the middle. I really am thankful for this movie to have been made, with quite an honest tone and thank god, a great sense of humor.

Watch All That Glitters - Tout Ce Qui Brille trailer:

Vintage Review: July 4, 2006 Paris Je T'aime by Gus Van Sant..., 2006 (R)

Paris comes to life in this whimsical patchwork of 18 five-minute shorts united by a common theme -- love in the City of Lights -- and helmed by an international cast of filmmakers, including Gus Van Sant, Olivier Assayas and Alexander Payne. Natalie Portman plays an American actress who captures the heart of a blind student; Juliette Binoche is visited by a ghostly Willem Dafoe; Bob Hoskins solicits a prostitute's advice on pleasing his wife.

"I'm a Parisian and I saw a foolish wonderful movie yesterday named "Paris je t'aime". It's 21 short movies about Paris, made by the greatest filmmakers in the world, like Wes Craven, Ethan and Joel Cohen, Gus Van Sant, Christopher Doyle and else.... A lot. And a lot of great actresses and actors, like Steve Buscemi, Gérard Depardieu, Natalie Portman, Elijah Wood, Willem Dafoe, Marianne Faithfull, Gena Rowlands, Miranda Richardson... Wonderful, some cliches, but some just extraordinary stories, that you would like to be longer, but it still only last 4 minutes. A very good way to see Paris as the capital of love."

by Frederic Auburtin, Alfonso Cuarón, Emmanuel Benbihy, Gus Van Sant, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Wes Craven, Alexander Payne, Olivier Assayas
with Fanny Ardant (The Secrets), Leïla Bekhti (Un Prophete, Tout Ce Qui Brille), Elijah Wood, Gérard Depardieu (Asterix and Obelix Meet Cleopatra, Asterix at the Olympic Games, Life Of Pi), Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gena Rowlands, Steve Buscemi (Monsters University, On the Road, Love in the Time of Money, The Messenger), Bob Hoskins (Snow White and the Huntsman), Juliette Binoche (The English Patient, Dan In Real Life, Cosmopolis, Breaking and Entering, Chocolat, Certified Copy, Paris,), Marianne Faithfull, Emily Mortimer (Hugo, Our Idiot Brother, Shutter Island), Ben Gazzara (The Thomas Crown Affair), Natalie Portman (Love and Other Impossible Pursuits (The Other Woman), Black Swan, Thor), Willem Dafoe (Out of the Furnace, Fireflies in the Garden, The English Patient, Farewell, Daybreakers)


Watch Paris Je T'aime trailer:

Vintage Review: Nov 7, 2006 Scoop by Woody Allen, 2006 (PG-13)

with Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris, Deconstructing Harry, To Rome with Love), Scarlett Johansson (We Brought a Zoo, The Avengers, The Horse Whisperer), Hugh Jackman, Ian McShane (Snow White and the Huntsman), Romola Garai (The Other Man, One Day), Jim Dunk, Colin Salmon, Robyn Kerr, Matt Day, Charles Dance (Underworld: Awakening), Anthony Head (The Iron Lady)
From the director of Deconstructing Harry, Hollywood Ending, Midnight in Paris, To Rome With Love...

While visiting friends in London, American journalism student Jade Spence beats out Britain's top reporters by exposing a story involving murder and magic. But just as the story heats up, so do things between Jade and a hunky aristocrat.

Goodness, so opinionated! Well... I was 23, and very confident about my taste in movies. I guess I still am, but I pretend to get my sources in a more reliable way. Anyway, a cute but quite aggressive review of Scoop. Which reminds me I must have said the same about "To Rome With Love" and thought the same about "Vicky Christina Barcelona", Woody Allen is now the best mainstream tour-guide of Europe, and it's most beautiful cities, Venice, Paris, London, Rome, Barcelona... Which is next?

"Scoop, last movie of Woody Allen.
I must say sometimes that I'm annoyed that everyone has seen it before me, pretending to give me advices. It's like Woody Allen have become a right thing to see, for educated people. I hate the feeling that everyone loves Woody Allen. For years I've been struggling to get someone to see his movies with me, and there was nobody. Woody Allen was somehow too boring, not enough prestigious. And now, he has become this politically correct thing to see every year. I know that no one has seen as many Woody Allen as me, but I'm offended.
Okay, I'm back to my critic. I must say it's a good movie, in the entertaining way. Woody Allen is funny, so are the situations he creates. We can feel the Woody Allen's touch, as he is playing in it, but something has changed. I don't know what, maybe it is because it is not happening in New York, s like Match Point, something is wrong. He has become too commercial, i should say. His story is just a good thriller, as Match Point was. The humor, the intelligence of Woody Allen is all gone, for something the audience might prefer, but not his real audience. No one will say this is a bad movie, let's be clear on this point. The actors are great, the story is smart, the image and sound are good. It's just that it is not a Woody Allen movie.
Please answer to this question. Did you think this movie is a Woody Allen movie ? If yes, why ? "

Watch Scoop Trailer:

Vintage Review: October 29, 2006 Out of Africa by Sydney Pollack, 1985 (PG)

with Meryl Streep (Prime, The Iron Lady, Marvin's Room, It's Complicated, Julie and Julia, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Hope Springs), Robert Redford (The Conspirator), Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Kitchen, Malick Bowens, Joseph Thiaka, Stephen Kinyanjui, Michael Gough, Suzanna Hamilton, Rachel Kempson

Hoping to forge a better life, Denmark native Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) enters into a marriage of convenience with a womanizing baron. But when the couple moves to Nairobi, Karen falls in love with a free-spirited hunter (Robert Redford) who can't be tied down. Director Sydney Pollack's lush period drama earned seven Academy Awards, including statues for Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

I guess I was very confused by this movie, perhaps I should take the time to watch it all over again... 

"What does this movie mean.
Do you know first that this is a true story? It is. It is about a woman from Denmark going to Kenya and marry a friend for a business arrangement: she gets a title and he gets rich.
I found this movie, i must say, quite boring. The thing is that nothing happens, we can't read any sign in the eyes of Robert Redford, playing an amazingly cold and beautiful lonely man (same as in The Horse Whisperer). And Meryl Streep is all Danish, i must say she plays her part quite well. We are not attached to this Robert Redford who doesn't even seem to have any interest in her. We also wonder why she suddenly finds him interesting as she used to be interested in his best friend. The landscapes are so too much shown, sometimes we feel like accelerating the movie to see the following dialogue. Indeed, i did! Well, there is the situation of war while we are in World War One, and the situation of minorities in colonies all taken by European empires and exploited with no sense. There is all this complicated background, but this could have still be a very intense lovestory, with loads of historic references and a lost cause to protect minorities. It is instead a slow and cold movie, very much Danish. I don't mean it in a bad way, Danish are not showing so much and that's even more gratifying when they do, after knowing them enough.
At the end of the movie, you cry because of the music and the sadness of the story. But still, you have a strange feeling and wonder why caring about this trivial love story.
Days passed and the look in the eyes of Meryl Streep, hiding this great loss or on her protegees, remains. And you still wander what was so special in Robert Redford attitude that made him so ambigious. You don't exactely know who he was, what was he doing and why he died. You are obsessed with the lack of information, why was he interested in her specially, and why didn't he show it more.
Okay no more question, but if someone read the book, can he or she tell me if we know more about him, or of it is the same mystery."

Watch Out of Africa trailer:

Vintage Review Feb 24, 2007 Loving Annabelle by Katherine Brooks, 2006 (NR)

 

with Diane Gaidry, Laura Breckenridge, Erin Kelly, John Farley, Jennie Floyd, Markus Flanagan, Ilene Graff, Michelle Horn, Greg Joelson, Marla Maples, Stephen Rue, Kevin McCarthy

An esteemed young poetry teacher at a Catholic boarding school (Diane Gaidry) risks everything when she engages in a feverish affair with a female student (Erin Kelly) in this controversial story of forbidden love. Directed by Katherine Brooks and co-starring Ilene Graff, this passionate yet sensitive romance explores the complexity of an unconventional relationship in the face of rigid traditionalism.
 
Remember Myspace, and even before that MSN space (which I am upset they removed without notice, so I guess all is lost). Anyway, I am trying to retrieve some old reviews I wrote, in case there might be something to it...
So this is the first I found, Loving Anabelle. Back then, I was about to arrive to New York...

"Loving Annabelle
Current mood:blank
Ok, this is a goudou movie, well classified like that. But in a way, this is still a universal movie about love. Maybe I am just in a phase where I like to hear about love, but don't get me wrong, this movie is really good. It is a remake of a German movie from 1931, Mädchen in Uniform, and I let you watch it so you can make your own judgement. The only thing about it is that it has made a lot of noise in the USA and is not coming out in france in theaters, but you can get it in dvd. Oh and I am already a huge fan of Diane Gaidry..."

Watch Trailer:

You got the lead role, but I stole the movie!

Hi, just a few thoughts that have been in the back of my mind for a few years actually. What about those movies that were supposed to make a point, highlight a main character, but turned out to shift their focus onto a secondary one, sometimes because of the script, sometimes because of historical circumstances, sometimes because of the brilliant performance of the actor.

Grease by Randal Kleiser, 1978 (PG)
Betty Rizzo (Stockard Channing)
Olivia Newton-John was the perfect girl gone bad, pretty, cute, her journey would give her all the sympathy of the audience, but the edgy role of Betty, her sense of fashion, her issues being a woman who faces the complicated choice of having a child, her non-acceptance of the status-quot finally made her a universal figure, and in a way, her role didn't age compared to the other characters of Grease.


Girl: Interrupted by James Mangold, 1999 (R)
Lisa Rowe (Angelina Jolie)
Winona Ryder again is a cute victim of the system, but Angelina Jolie as the smart one who never fits in reminds far more of the impressive performance of Jack Nicholson in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and is the one that truly makes you question the system. She is also quite fascinating and manipulative, takes completely over the shot, while Ryder fades into the walls of the hospital, almost transparent.


The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan, 2008 (PG-13)
The Joker (Heath Ledger)
Christian Bale is at his second movie directed by Nolan, his character is established already, and somehow, as we know the hero, we get our attention towards the bad guy. And Batman always have really cool bad guys, but he exploded. And died, which by unfortunate circumstances did an amazing advertizing for himself and the movie, which got the attention at the awards. Interesting tragic turn of events.


Vicky Cristina Barcelona by Woody Allen, 2008 (PG-13)
Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz)
Scarlett Johansson was quite the muse of Woody Allen at the time, being the protagonist of his two previous movies Match Point and Scoop. But in this one, first she had to face an actress on the rise Rebecca Hall, and most of all, the fire of Spanish actress Penelope Cruz at her best as an Almodovarian character. Her "Joder!" made me unanimous about considering her as a great actress, and her wild spirit completely overshadowed the two (too) plain American actresses.


Four Weddings and a Funeral by Mike Newell, 1994 (R)
Fiona (Kristin Scott Thomas)
Andie MacDowell was the perfect American, supposedly politically incorrect for the high class society of England, I actually liked her a lot, with probably the help of Hugh Grant being so much in love with her, and us as an audience projecting. Never the less, the script for Kristin Scott Thomas was so good, funny and dark at the same time, that it was impossible not to notice her. And when she finally raised the veil on her actual emotion, she was so beautifully broken I felt it was sort of unfair she had such a minor role. I really believe she was making the movie, perhaps with John Hannah.


Albert Nobbs by Rodrigo García, 2011 (R)
Hubert (Janet McTeer)
Glenn Close's character was so stiff there was a need for a similar and opposite one that would shake her up. Janet McTeer did so well she became the woman that made a point in the movie. Hubert is the modernism, the forward-thinkingness (?) that needed that society, where women didn't have much of a chance to become rich without the help of a wealthy family. She is light and optimism, despite the sad turn of events, something to look up to. And still, now that the condition of women has changed and we don't need to hide as men to achieve higher goals, there is still in her character a normalization of love that most of our society hasn't accepted yet. Perhaps this character will remain for a long time an unconventional one, hopefully not too long tho.


Any more characters you thought stole the movie?

Behind the scenes: Blogger

Have I ever thank Blogger for making such a convenient tool to blog?
Anyway, I remember back in the days when Blogger was actually Blogspot, and did not belong to Google, and we loved it anyway. Now it is part of a bigger platform, with a theoretical social network which is very powerful. The truth... I just had a meeting with a Google person, and was told how slow was the growth of Google +, except perhaps in niches such as fashion. Facebook is going down, Twitter is slowing down, Pinterest just got a 1000% growth this year, which is huge for a late bloomer of the social media... I gotta say I really like it, it makes total sense to me that this platform is successful, everybody loves images.
What else, as you can see, cinema just for fun is not exactly new anymore, it has a history of 376 posts, I do my best to aliment it as much as I can, which is basically synonymous to watching movies, which I also try hard to do as often as possible.
It is about midnight in New York, time for me to close this post and the computer, and the light, and shut off my brain. Looking forward to your little stories about Blogger, blogging, watching movies and thinking of the next one to watch...

Picture ©cinemajustforfun

One Day by Lone Scherfig, 2011 (PG-13)

with Anne Hathaway (Alice In Wonderland, Rachel Getting Married, Valentine's Day, Love and Other Drugs, The Dark Knight Rises), Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas), Patricia Clarkson (Shutter Island), Ken Scott, Romola Garai (The Other Man), Rafe Spall (Prometheus, Life of Pi), Tom Mison (Salmon Fishing In Yemen), Jodie Whittaker, Joséphine de La Baume
From the director of "An Education"

After a romantic tryst on college graduation night, Emma and Dexter pursue separate dreams. This romantic drama based on a novel of the same name checks in with them each year on the same date, tracking their personal and professional progress.

Finally saw the beginning, which in a way is interesting, since it connects so much to the end. Yes, the pleasure of catching movies on tv and never getting to see the beginning of it. Anyway, I was kind of disrupted by the format of "one day a year" (I didn't read the summary obviously, which makes it very clear...) and got to know the characters at first looking at each year trend, which is quite a stylistic exercise for the costume designer, and found it fun to remember how horrible the 90's fashion was... Dexter is the typical rich guy protected by mum, who gets to see life from many perspectives as the years go by, his arrogance becoming a burden more than a cute attribute (I know a guy like that, but yet, he has been very protected by luck). Emma is the hard-working girl, interesting, who falls for Dexter. For probably three quarters of the movie, it is hard to believe she fell for him. Then the movie shifts to becomes a very different one, with a lot of tissues needed. I don't think they had to make it so violonistic. I found the movie too long at that point, too predictable, and finally enjoyed in a strange sort of way the rest of the movie instantly so much more. It definitely is an interesting movie after all...

Watch "One Day" Trailer:

Who isn't a fan? My Pixar Moment...

Yes, it's true, today is a bit unusual, I needed to share a little bit about me, and my newly purchased lamp I guess... Anyway, I always loved the intro to Pixar films, with Luxo Jr., which probably led to that impulsive purchase. So this is a bit of me, above, and below, the 1986 first short of Pixar, Luxo Jr., which was produced when I was what, 3 years old? Didn't get old, whatsoever!

Watch Luxo Jr.!

Picture ©cinemajustforfun

Love Actually by Richard Curtis, 2003 (R)

with Hugh Grant (Did You Hear About The Morgans?, Two Weeks Notice, Cloud Atlas), Emma Thompson (Brave, Men in Black 3, An Education), Colin Firth (The English Patient, Tinker Tailor Solder Spy, A Single Man, The King's Speech), Liam Neeson (The Other Man, The Next Three Days, Chloe, The Grey), Laura Linney (The Other Man), Alan Rickman (Alice In Wonderland, Snow Cake, Harry Potter), Keira Knightley (Anna Karenina, A Dangerous Method, Never Let Me Go), Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean), Martine McCutcheon, Bill Nighy (Total Recall, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Rango, The Girl In The Cafe, Wild Target), January Jones (X-Men: First Class, Bandits, Mad Men), Elisha Cuthbert, Denise Richards, Rodrigo Santoro (I Love You Phillip Morris), Billy Bob Thornton (Bandits)

Writer-director Richard Curtis's charming treatise on romance and relationships is an all-star ensemble comedy that tells 10 separate (but intertwining) London love stories, leading up to a spirited climax on Christmas Eve. One of the threads follows the newly installed Prime Minister (Hugh Grant), who, on his first day in 10 Downing Street, falls in love with the luminous girl (Martine McCutcheon) who brings him his tea.

I was always surprised to see how commercial and insignificant were the movies "Valentine's Day" and "New year's eve" and how major actors still wanted to be a part of it. I reminded myself that it was probably trying to reach the success of "love actually" English version of blockbuster with every possible British major actors. But then I forgot how different the level is. Love actually is "actually" intelligent, edgy and most of all funny, with the uniqueness of British sense of humor (and perhaps not that mainstream if it was rated R). The director is the one of the legendary "Pirate Radio" who can at least stand as the movie with the best soundtrack ever! He also wrote War Horse, The girl in the Cafe, Bridget Jones, Mr Bean and Notting Hill. Hugh Grant is the unordinary shy guy he knows how to play so perfectly, Emma Thompson beautifully broken, Bill Nighty tasteless and shameless, Alan Rickman at his best as the perfect ass. Of course the ending is way too romantic (and cheesy) but the rest of the movie is so good it almost doesn't matter. Then watching the sort of copy American producers have attempted, no matter how good the cast, the evident feeling that comes to my mind is deception.

Watch Trailer:

The Girl by Julian Jarrold, 2012 (TV-14)

with Sienna Miller (Casanova), Toby Jones (Snow White and the Huntsman, The Hunger Games, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Imelda Staunton (Another Year, Harry Potter), Penelope Wilton (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Carl Beukes, Sean Cameron Michael, Adrian Galley

Sienna Miller and Toby Jones star in this unsettling depiction of the schizophrenic relationship between iconic director Alfred Hitchcock and the leading lady he wanted to possess: Tippi Hedren, the frosty blonde he cast in The Birds and Marnie.

As I was mentioning in the previous post, right before starting reading my first X-Men comic books, I was actually watching The Birds, probably my first Hitchcock by then. I watched it with closed shutters with a bunch of other kids in youth camp, and we all got traumatized for a while of birds. Anyway, this movie is about Tippi's experience shooting The Birds, and Marnie, which turned out to be as traumatic as the movie itself. The scenes that were so scary in the movie were actually pretty real, and she was strained by this director who somehow had a very manipulative behavior towards her. Sienna Miller is absolutely beautiful and amazing as a woman who tries not to give in or give up, just stand until she breaks, truly believable. Toby Jones plays perfectly a repulsive but brilliant mind and dark genius. This was made for TV (although really well produced) and pretty much came out around the same time as "Hitchcock" with Helen Mirren, which now would be interesting to watch. Definitely, this movie changed the vision I had of the director of some of the sickest (and best) scary movies of all time.

Watch Trailer:

read about "Dial M for Murder"

The Matrix by Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski, 1999 (R)

with Keanu Reeves (Constantine), Laurence Fishburne (Contagion), Carrie-Anne Moss (Fireflies in The Garden, Chocolat, Snow Cake), Hugo Weaving (Cloud Atlas, Captain America), Gloria Foster, Joe Pantoliano, Marcus Chong, Julian Arahanga, Matt Doran, Belinda McClory, Paul Goddard (Farscape)
From the directors of Cloud Atlas

A computer hacker searches for the truth behind the mysterious force known as the Matrix. He discovers that what most people perceive as reality is actually a simulation created by machines and joins a rebellion to break free.

Ok, best movie ever, still love it every time I watch it, although the aesthetic got dated, and the sentences heard so many time it looks now like a parody. And because it is such a Geek movie, I usually say my favorite movie is another, but really, it is probably the movie I saw the most, and really enjoyed the science-fiction theory of our world, looking really true, and cynical. The rest of the trilogy wasn't as fulfilling but this one was simply genius.

Watch Trailer:

X-Men: First Class by Matthew Vaughn, 2011 (PG-13)

with James McAvoy (The Conspirator), Michael Fassbender (Prometheus, Haywire, A Dangerous Method, Shame), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone, The Hunger Games, Silver Linings Playbook), Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids), January Jones (Bandits), Jason Flemyng (Hanna), Nicholas Hoult (A Single Man, About a Boy), Kevin Bacon (Crazy Stupid Love), Zoë Kravitz

In this exciting prequel to the X-Men series, Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr -- the future Professor X and Magneto -- are best friends dedicated to harnessing their powers and promoting the education of fellow mutants during the turbulent 1960s.

I am a big fan of X-men, I remember reading them (the original Marvel slim booklets) back in the 90's (yes I am young, would have read them before if it were a matter of being born earlier), I actually remember very well, we were at this summer camp, we just finished watching Hitchcock's "The Birds" in a room with the shutters closed, went outside and kind of freaked out about all the birds flying around. To change my mind, I started reading the comic books that one of the youth leader had brought. Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie trilogy that came out in the 2000's, and was curious about the "beginning" of the x-men. The casting is really impressive, the story ok, it gives some explanations on why professor Xavier is in a wheelchair and his best friend his enemy, a look at the young Raven/Mystique, the transformation of Beast. Nothing too inspiring, but fun to watch...

watch trailer:

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 by Bill Condon, PG-13

with Kristen Stewart (Snow White and the Huntsman), Robert Pattinson (Bel Ami), Taylor Lautner (Valentine's Day), Mackenzie Foy, Maggie Grace (Knight and Day), Michael Sheen (Beautiful Boy, Tron: Legacy, Alice in Wonderland, Frost/Nixon, Midnight in Paris, Music Within), Peter Facinelli (Nurse Jackie), Elizabeth Reaser (Young Adult), Jackson Rathbone, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, Jamie Campbell Bower, Dakota Fanning, Christopher Heyerdahl, Billy Burke
Following Twilight, Twilight New Moon

After the birth of Renesmee, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi.

This is the end... Oh well... This was a trip. There is something about the ending being about the transformation into a New Born I actually enjoyed. It is almost like you could understand to a certain point what was to be a vampire through the eyes of Bella, but not fully. And now you can sense the differences, the fundamentals, the existential change that it implies. Of course, the Volturi is sort of the constant enemy, so there has to be a big fight, and of course it is a romantic drama, so there has to be some feelings involve, and unfortunately, these to parts are failing. So lets face it, it is a mainstream fast-food stylized teenager movie, the end of a long and successful series that were before then a best seller, I guess that makes it interesting enough as a phenomenon to follow. Done.

watch trailer:

My Best Fiend, Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski by Werner Herzog, 1999 (NR)

with Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Mick Jagger, Justo González, Eva Mattes, Thomas Mauch

In the 1950s, a teenage Werner Herzog was transfixed by a film performance of the young Klaus Kinski. Years later, they would share an apartment where, in an unabated, 48 hour fit of rage, Kinski completely destroyed the bathroom. From this chaos, a violent, love-hate, profoundly creative partnership was born. In 1972, Herzog cast Kinski in Aguirre, Wrath of God. Four more films would follow. In this personal documentary, Herzog traces the often violent ups and downs of their relationship, revisiting the various locations of their films and talking to the people they worked with.

What a man Klaus Kinski. So much energy and wildness. The portrayal of Herzog is an interesting one, it feels like he had this beast that sometimes he knew how to control, sometimes left him to himself, but with that responsibility that he had to direct a whole crew, it seems that the most difficult part was actually to get the most out of the genius. He sometimes tells things with such an indifference that it is as if he was accustomed, blasé. There are little moments where you can see also how much they loved one another, knowing that they were getting the best out of each others. Beautiful moments of sensitivity, carnage and danger, chaos of emotions, this documentary allows to see very closely how infinite was the energy of Klaus Kinski, a fascinating man...

Watch Trailer:

Sidewalls (Medianeras) by Gustavo Taretto, 2011 (NR)

with Javier Drolas, Pilar López de Ayala, Inés Efron, Adrián Navarro, Rafael Ferro, Carla Peterson

Separated by the wall their apartments share, Mariana and Martín are the perfect couple. They have the same quirks, same tastes, same ideals and even the same neuroses -- they're a match made in heaven. There's just one problem: They've never met.

A very cute romantic comedy and social drama. The poetic narration by the main characters is the best thing I believe, mixed with elements of the architecture of Buenos Aires, beautiful, smart, witty. Mariana is a little bit too depressed, but weird enough to get my attention. Martín is the typical geek, better closed in his apartment. You follow them in their life for over a year, and it is pleasant, funny, interesting, well acted. In other words, a successful romantic comedy, with an interesting viewpoint to a beautiful city.

watch Trailer:

Side Effects by Steven Soderbergh, 2013 (R)

with Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Social Network), Jude Law (Anna Karenina, Breaking And Entering, Hugo, Sleuth, Contagion Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), Channing Tatum (The Vow, Haywire), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Traffic, Ocean's Twelve), Vinessa Shaw (Puncture), Andrea Bogart, David Costabile (Solitary Man), Polly Draper
from the director of Out of Sight, Traffic, Haywire, Contagion, The Informant!, Erin Brockovich, Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve

Emily copes with her depression by taking antidepressant medication. But when her dire state apparently spirals out of control due to her husband's prison release, she turns to a new medication that alters her life forever.

First, if you ever wonder if the actress who plays Emily is the actress that played in House of Cards, if it obsesses you all throughout the time you seated in the movie theater, it is entirely normal, and then normal as well that from time to time, you think then no, she is different. That's because it's her sister, Kate Mara. But the roles are so similar, their skin, eyes, and even facial expressions disturbingly alike, that I think what a director has to do now is to put them together in their next movie. These girls are really amazing, fragile and manipulative, you never know where to stand with them.
Ok, so that was one of the good part of the film. Now Catherine Zeta Jones is absolutely thick and unsubtle, which is a deception, because from the beginning, she gives all the clues you need to know there is something shady happening. Anyway, besides her, I really enjoyed the ideas developed, with a medical system that is literally purchased by pharmaceutical companies (not a new topic), but how you also can manipulate to all extend the side effect part of the system. Intelligent, interesting, and unfortunately ruined by the lack of chemistry between the actors. It reminds me of the coldness of Contagion, with a brilliant script, amazing cast, but scattered performances.

watch Trailer: