Edge of Tomorrow by Doug Liman, 2014 (PG-13)

As Earth fights an alien invasion, Lt. Col. Bill Cage is killed in action, and a time loop forces him to continually relive his last day.

A Strange combination of The War of the Worlds with Groundhog Day. The movie is great, the story holds together, Emily Blunt has an interesting strong (and fascinating) female character, Tom Cruise plays well the guys who was on top who winds up at the bottom, and making his own way to survival. The aesthetic is not really original, with aliens that look like the Sentinels in The Matrix, but because the movie is really well done, it doesn't matter. There is a good balance between how the characters are developed and the action, none overtaking the other, the shortcuts from one day to the next is well done, the editing impeccable. Yes, that was a good entertaining movie with some bright ideas.

From the director of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Fair Game
with Tom Cruise (Jack Reacher, Eyes Wide Shut, Knight and Day, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Oblivion, Cocktail), Emily Blunt (My Summer of Love, Wild Target, The Adjustment Bureau, The Five-Year Engagement, Your Sister's Sister, Looper), Bill Paxton (Haywire), Jeremy Piven, Charlotte Riley, Madeleine Mantock, Jonas Armstrong, Marianne Jean-Baptiste (360), Kick Gurry

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Orange is the New Black Season 2 by Jenji Kohan, Netflix, 2013- (TVMA)

A dozen Emmy Award nominations went to this acclaimed comedy drama series including Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Lead Actress for star Taylor Schilling, and one won for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Uzo Aduba. A crime she committed in her youthful past sends Piper Chapman (Schilling) to a women's prison, where she trades her comfortable New York life for one of unexpected camaraderie and conflict in an eccentric group of fellow inmates. Shocking revelations and new arrivals shake up the lives and relationships of Litchfield's prisoners in the highly anticipated second season.



What you would think might fail season 2 (the almost absence of Alex Vause) doesn't. We were all prepared to not see her at all, from all the reviews, so her little presence was sufficient. We got instead to know more about Poussey, Crazy Eyes, and even if somehow the additional character Vee (impressive Lorraine Toussaint) gets us a little on our nerves towards the end, she is an amazing character and trouble-maker. Then the storyline of Chapman and her ex-future husband, which was turning a little boring, fades, so even better. From the book I read from Piper Kerman, there is little left to compare, the story shifted away and continues growing to a complete different plot, and that's okay. After the nominations and one win for Uzo Aduba, I hope the third season is not going to fail, the bar is now raised high.



with Kate Mulgrew, Yael Stone, Laverne Cox, Natasha Lyonne, Laura Prepon, Taylor Schilling (Argo), Uzo Aduba, Selenis Leyva, Samira Wiley, Danielle Brooks, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Taryn Manning, Dascha Polanco, Lorraine Toussaint

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read more on the 1st season of OITNB

The Congress by Ari Folman, 2013

More than two decades after catapulting to stardom with The Princess Bride, an aging actress (Robin Wright, playing a version of herself) decides to take her final job: preserving her digital likeness for a future Hollywood. Through a deal brokered by her loyal, longtime agent (Harvey Keitel) and the head of Miramount Studios (Danny Huston), her alias will be controlled by the studio, and will star in any film they want with no restrictions. In return, she receives healthy compensation so she can care for her ailing son and her digitized character will stay forever young. Twenty years later, under the creative vision of the studio's head animator (Jon Hamm), Wright's digital double rises to immortal stardom. With her contract expiring, she is invited to take part in "The Congress" convention as she makes her comeback straight into the world of future fantasy cinema.

Robin Wright "At" the Congress makes a lot of sense after five seconds of the movie. Which initially felt like a weird way of putting it in the poster. She (a version of herself) is the center of the story, picking up from her past career and creating an alternate reality where she would be of the downside of her career, with very beautiful personal moments, evolving into science fiction scenario (which reminded me somehow of SimOne), where the reality isn't very far from fiction, to a world that transition to animation in a radical psychedelic way (this time reminding me of the world of Philémon, considered one of the most poetic and original bande dessinée series of all time, see picture below). The movie around that time becomes a little long, but somehow the journey makes the twist even more relevant. It is quite a story to tell the truth. Then I have one question that seems to not be of the matter in the movie, but who are the people controlling all the mess (trying not to spoil the movie)? All the alternatives seem to have lost any kind of power... Perhaps I should read the book from which the story is inspired, The Futurological Congress by Stanisław Lem (who wrote Solaris) to get answers...


Philémon - Le Voyage de l'incrédule by Fred

with Robin Wright (Forrest Gump, (House of Cards, Breaking and Entering, The Conspirator, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Moneyball, Adore), Paul Giamatti (12 Years a Slave, Saving Mr. Banks, Cosmopolis, Duplicity, Barney's Version, Deconstructing Harry), Jon Hamm (Friends with Kids, Bridesmaids, The Town, Mad Men), Danny Huston (Hitchcock, You Don't Know Jack, Robin Hood, The Conspirator, X-men Origins: Wolverine), Harvey Keitel, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Sami Gayle, Michael Stahl-David
From the director of Vals Im Bashir (Waltz with Bashir)

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Words and Pictures by Fred Schepisi, 2014 (PG-13)

with Clive Owen (Shadow Dancer, Duplicity, Killer Elite), Juliette Binoche (Cosmopolis, Breaking and Entering, Chocolat, Certified Copy, Paris, Paris Je T'aime), Bruce Davison, Navid Negahban (Homeland), Amy Brenneman, Valerie Tian, Adam DiMarco, Josh Ssettuba, Janet Kidder, Christian Scheider, Keegan Connor Tracy

Prep school English teacher Jack Marcus laments his students' obsession with social media and good grades rather than engaging with the power of the written word. A one-time literary star, Jack has not published in years filling his time with drink versus the art of language. He meets his match in Dina Delsanto - a painter and new teacher on campus, who was once celebrated for her art. The two flirt and provoke each other with equal relish. Jack hatches a plan for galvanizing student interest in their studies: he declares a war between Words and Pictures, confident that the former can convey greater meaning than the latter. Dina and her art students accept the challenge between Jack and his English students, and the battle lines are drawn.

This is very cute, in the style of Dan in Real Life perhaps because of Juliette Binoche, perhaps because the movie tends to avoid romantic clichés, and create romanticism through moments that are special and unusual, mostly intimate, connected. The chemistry between the two actors works, is definitely believable (the reviews compare them to Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in Adam's Rib), so are the weaknesses of the characters. The reality in which students are now (getting As so they can get to the best college) creates the argument of the movie and the contrast and passion for the Arts, and justify some of the pedagogical detours, without becoming a didactic movie (well sometimes, it still is, but it is hard to avoid). A funny and smart romantic comedy.

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Ocean's Twelve by Steven Soderbergh, 2004 (PG-13)

Danny Ocean reunites with his old flame and the rest of his merry band of thieves in a caper covering three huge heists in Rome, Paris and Amsterdam. But Europol agent Isabel Lahiri is hot on their heels.

This is my favorite one of the series, most of all because of Julia Roberts' performance as herself, and the spice of Catherine Zeta-Jones. Overall, the story is solid, well put together, the actors impeccable, and you get the feeling that there is some chemistry beyond the acting that makes it more believable, they all have worked together before, they all know each others and they all know the director, so the bond between those random characters is perfect.

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with George Clooney (The Monuments Men, Ocean's Thirteen, Gravity, The Descendants, Out of Sight, Up in the Air, Michael Clayton, The Men Who Stare At Goats), Brad Pitt (Ocean's Thirteen, world War Z, The Tree of Life, Moneyball, Across the Tracks), Matt Damon (The Monuments Men, Ocean's Thirteen, Behind the Candelabra, Invictus, Margaret, True Grit, We Brought a Zoo, The Informant!, Herafter, Inside Job, The Adjustment Bureau, Promised Land, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Contagion), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Broken City, Traffic, Side Effects), Andy Garcia (Ocean's Thirteen), Don Cheadle (Ocean's Thirteen, Iron Man 3, Out of Sight, Traffic, Flight), Bernie Mac (Ocean's Thirteen, The cooler), Casey Affleck (Out of the Furnace, Ocean's Thirteen), Scott Caan, Julia Roberts (August: Osage County, Duplicity, Mirror Mirror Snow White, Eat Pray Love, Larry Crowne, Fireflies in the Garden), Vincent Cassel (Trance, Adrift - À Deriva, A Dangerous Method, Black Swan), Elliott Gould (Ruby Sparks), Carl Reiner (Ocean's Thirteen), Cherry Jones (The Horse Whisperer, Amelia, The Beaver), Eddie Jemison, Shaobo Qin
From the director of Magic Mike, Out of Sight, Traffic, Haywire, Contagion, The Informant!, Erin Brockovich, Ocean's Eleven, Side Effects, Behind the Candelabra and sequel Ocean's Thirteen

Tootsie by Sydney Pollack, 1982 (R)

with Dustin Hoffman (Barney's Version, Kramer Vs. Kramer), Jessica Lange (The Vow), Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Bill Murray (Ghostbusters, Monsters University, The Monuments Men), Sydney Pollack (Michael Clayton), George Gaynes, Geena Davis
From the director of Out of Africa

Few actors go as far to bag a part as Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman), who transforms himself into a woman to prove he can get hired on a soap opera. But Michael has an enviable problem when his alter ego, Dorothy, becomes daytime television's hottest ticket. His pretty co-star (Jessica Lange) has no idea that her dear friend Dorothy is a man -- and neither does the actress's father (Charles Durning), who falls for Dorothy hook, line and sinker.

Perhaps in 1982, this was the only movie available on that topic, which therefor made it quite interesting. 32 years later, the movie is still funny, with a retro touch to it that is irresistible: no cell phone, cameras who look like star wars robots, fashion that looks like... errrr, what I see the hipster wearing in Williamsburg for the past summer... Yeah, that part somehow is still there. Anyway, it is original, in it own kind of reversed feminism, Dustin Hoffman is as believable in his Dorothy skin and his unemployed male version. Jessica Lange is adorable, although it is weird to see it back to back in Grey Gardens or grabbing Emmys for American Horror Story. Time flies...

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Sherlock by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat - BBC, 2010-

In this updated take on Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved mystery tales, the eccentric sleuth prowls the streets of modern-day London in search of clues. At his side -- though hobbling -- is flatmate Dr. John Watson, fresh from the war in Afghanistan.

It has been a while that I haven't watched something that trained my brain, literally. The way the stories are told are in a Conan Doyle style, with Watson's perspective, and a bit of trip to the brain of Sherlock, which turns out to be a great combination of humor and geekiness. Some of the episodes were a bit of a drag, and Sherlock isn't as charismatic as perhaps he should for the sake of the series, but the supporting characters are so good it definitely compensate. London is portrayed as a grey city, but full of colorful characters, exactly as it should. I most loved the paralelism between the fans of Sherlock within the series and the actual fans of the series, who I have to guess much have a geeky side to themselves to enjoy Sherlock.
I have digested, soon after the Emmys total success of the 3rd season, the entire series, and am like an addict that has been cut out of her supplies. Apparently, one episode will be released for Christmas in England, and the others will be shot beginning of January 2015, what do we do till then.
Now, Aside from the awesome characters of Mrs. Hudson (awesomely surprising Una Stubbs), clueless DI Lestrade (Rupert Graves), awkward Molly Hooper (Louise Brealey), Mycroft Holmes (amazing Co-creator Mark Gatiss), bitchy Sgt Sally Donovan (Vinette Robinson) and (spoiler) quite not what we expected Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington), I have to say the performance of Lara Pulver as Irene Adler was way above the entire series' curiosity, with an amazing script and character fascinating development for the episode "A Scandal in Belgravia". Of course, like any other fan, I would love her character to come back (not only in Sherlock's head) but on the other hand, it couldn't be just for the sake of seeing her come back, it would need a quality script... And to compete might be hard considering the expectations...
Anyway, amazing series, and quite worth the Emmy Awards for best actor (Benedict Cumberbatch) and best supporting actor (Martin Freeman) in a mini-series, and outstanding writting for Steven Moffat for the episode "His Last Vow".

with Benedict Cumberbatch (August: Osage County, Star Trek Into Darkness, War Horse, Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy, The Whistleblower, 12 Years a Slave), Martin Freeman (Breaking and Entering, Wild Target), Una Stubbs, Rupert Graves, Louise Brealey, Mark Gatiss, Andrew Scott, Amanda Abbington, Vinette Robinson, Lara Pulver, Jonathan Aris, Lars Mikkelsen (What Richard Did), Russell Tovey

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A Woman in Berlin (Anonyma - Eine Frau in Berlin) by Max Färberböck, 2008 (UR)

with Nina Hoss (Barbara), Evgeniy Sidikhin, Irm Hermann, Rüdiger Vogler, Ulrike Krumbiegel, Rolf Kanies, Jördis Triebel, Roman Gribkov, Juliane Köhler (Two Lives - Zwei Leben, Aimée & Jaguar), Samvel Muzhikyan
From the director of Aimée & Jaguar

Based on the best-selling diaries of an anonymous German woman who survived the Soviet invasion of Berlin at the end of World War II, this gripping drama tells the story of a photojournalist's (Nina Hoss) forbidden relationship with a Soviet officer (Yevgeni Sidikhin). After being sexually assaulted by members of the invading Red Army, she turns to the officer for support, but soon finds herself falling for him.

Another very particular viewpoint on World War II, by a very particular woman at the exact moment when Russians arrive in Berlin and take over the city, after a long draining war, witnessing too many horrors. They arrive in Berlin where only the young, the old and the women are left, where they release all their anger, animal instinct, and of course abuse women. It is not an easy story to watch, and right after watching Generation War (Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter), it looks like the logical continuation of a horrible war and how it has dehumanized too many. Nina Hoss is beautifully strong and the entire cast believable. The movie is suffocating and at times relieving. The director, Färberböck, managed to trap us into an never ending revenge and spiral of horror in which some, very few, can find a way out.

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American Hustle by David O. Russell, 2013 (R)

This fictionalization of the "Abscam" scandal of the early 1980s follows con man Irving Rosenfeld and his lover, Sydney Prosser, as they help an eccentric FBI agent expose corruption among several members of Congress in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Yes, this movie is intelligent, kind of Soderbergh style with complex stories intertwined into a thriller. The movies David O. Russell made before are all brilliant, and very different from one to the other, so it is hard to feel his touch yet, except for the cast that he likes to keep. I guess he is one of the three big guys that are doing interesting stuffs right now, with Steven Soderbergh and Jason Reitman. So the movie is impeccable, smart, funny, the cast is amazing, the performances and roles are great. Somehow, I felt it was a little long, but anyway, good one.

from the director of The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook
with Christian Bale (Out of the Furnace, The Fighter, The Dark Knight Rises), Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook, The Words, Valentine's Day, Limitless), Amy Adams (Her, On the Road, Julie and Julia, The Master, Trouble with the Curve, The Fighter, Man of Steel), Jeremy Renner (The Bourne Legacy, Avengers, The Hurt Locker, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol), Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games, Winter's Bone, Silver Linings Playbook, X-Men: First Class, The Beaver), Louis C.K., Jack Huston, Michael Peña, Shea Whigham (Silver Linings Playbook), Alessandro Nivola (Face/Off), Elisabeth Röhm (Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous), Paul Herman, Saïd Taghmaoui, Matthew Russell, Thomas Matthews, Adrian Martinez, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Camp

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Generation War (Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter) by Philipp Kadelbach, 2013 (NR)

Generation War vividly depicts the lives of five young German friends forced to navigate the unconscionable moral compromises of life under Hitler. Level-headed, highly decorated officer Wilhelm (Volker Bruch) goes off to the eastern front with his sensitive younger brother Friedhelm (Tom Schilling). Deeply in love with Wilhelm is Charlotte (Miriam Stein), a young nurse who looks forward to serving in the Red Cross. Greta (Katherina Schüttler) is a talented singer who longs to become another Marlene Dietrich, while her Jewish boyfriend Viktor (Ludwig Trepte) fights for his life while hiding among members of the Polish Resistance.

This is a very singular viewpoint on the war from a German view, but also from the very particular viewpoint of five people experiencing it, not bad people initially, relatively open-minded, liking everything the youth of this generation liked, meaning parties, ideas, music, and somehow too, their country. Except that the context sends two to the front, one to be a nurse, one to the concentration camps, and the last one to be the cheer-up singer for the troops. The actions they are to make is going to define who they are and their survival. Because you have sufficient time to understand who they are and the context of things, it allows you to have more patience, an understanding of why they have to do what they do, sometimes decide to do what they do. They are somehow powerful and victims, irresponsible and desperate. Of course, the movie is not (and I am sure it doesn't pretend to be) a portrayal of the war and the Nazis, nor it tries to justify the Germans for having done all the horrors of the Nazism. I believe as the original name says ("Our Mothers, Our Fathers" in English), that it is about understanding what that generation had to go through, and allows the next ones to see them as human too, at least some of them. The issue with this movie is that it is so focused on one story that it omits to nuance it (which is not its role), and therefore seen individually, it creates statements that are not acceptable. On the other hand, there has been so many movies that depicted all Germans as evil that I find it ok for once to try and dig in what was going on in the lives of some.

with Volker Bruch (The Reader, The Red Baron - Der rote Baron), Tom Schilling, Katharina Schüttler, Miriam Stein, Ludwig Trepte, Henriette Richter-Röhl, Götz Schubert, Hildegard Schroedter

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Notting Hill by Roger Michell, 1999 (PG-13)

A chance encounter brings together reserved bookstore owner William Thacker (Hugh Grant) and Hollywood icon Anna Scott (Julia Roberts), who forge an improbable romance until Anna's megastardom begins whittling away at their relationship. Can their love overcome all the pretense -- and the flash of the paparazzi? Rhys Ifans co-stars in a scene-stealing turn as Spike, William's dim-bulb, bedraggled flatmate.

Isn't it the epitome of Hugh Grant British Romantic Comedy? It is perfectly funny, Julia Robert is the biggest star of that time, making the whole scenario very much believable, even if Hugh Grant being the biggest star in England at the time. The cast of the supporting actor is either irresistible or impeccable, or both. So, despite the genre, it turns out to be a really good funny romantic comedy (made as a blockbuster tearjerker). Oh, and don't you love London in it? For me, that was the best character of the movie, and not only because I always loved London...

with Julia Roberts (August: Osage County, Duplicity, Mirror Mirror Snow White, Eat Pray Love, Larry Crowne, Fireflies in the Garden, The Normal Heart), Hugh Grant (About a Boy, Sense and Sensibility, Love Actually, Did You Hear About The Morgans?, Two Weeks Notice, Cloud Atlas), Hugh Bonneville, Emma Chambers, Rhys Ifans (Mr. Nobody, The Five-Year Engagement), Tim McInnerny, Gina McKee (The Tudors), Richard McCabe, James Dreyfus, Dylan Moran, Emily Mortimer (Paris Je T'aime, Hugo, Our Idiot Brother, Shutter Island), Samuel West, Alec Baldwin

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Ocho apellidos vascos (Spanish Affair) by Emilio Martínez Lázaro, 2014

with Clara Lago, Dani Rovira, Carmen Machi, Karra Elejalde (Even the rain - También la lluvia), Alberto López, Alfonso Sánchez, Aitor Mazo, Abel Mora, Aitziber Garmendia

Rafael, a Seville citizen who has never left the Spanish region of Andalucia, decides to leave his homeland to follow Amaia, a Basque girl unlike other women he has known.

This is a movie to watch in Spanish and preferably understanding Spanish, as all the jokes are very Spanish specific, and I would even add even better if you happen to be Spaniard, or close to Spaniards. So, coming from there, I watched it in Spanish with English subtitles and I am French, so I guess everyone has a good chance of laughing, even if they don't get the private jokes and the accents. It is very funny, hyper-stereotypical, probably offensive to some level, but at the same time, it is a very cute romantic comedy on how two people who feel radically different have their lives randomly intertwined and finally learn from the other.

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Frequencies (OXV: The Manual) by Darren Paul Fisher, 2013

In an alternate reality where "frequencies" determine one's level of success in life, low-end Zak falls for Marie, who's much farther up the scale. Complicating things further, their difference means Zak can only see Marie one minute a year.

The theory in which the movie is departing is interesting. The topic develops into an impossible love story as well as a scientific experiment, teasing our curiosity on how they will solve the impossible case, implying more and more for the humanity and the danger of changing the order of things. It is logical all the way, although the character of the best friend of Zak goes a little bit too far beyond the theme, making it a melting pot of theories and loosing the audience from the one theme they had strong and creating holes in the theory. Overall, it is an original script and film, with a great cast.

with Daniel Fraser, Eleanor Wyld, Owen Pugh, David Broughton-Davies, Dylan Llewellyn, Georgina Minter-Brown, Tom England, Charlie Rixon, Lily Laight, Ethan Turton

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About a Boy by Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, 2002 (PG-13)

About a Boy is an adaptation of the 1998 novel of the same name by Nick Hornby. Hip, irresponsible Londoner Will invents an imaginary son and starts attending single-parent meetings to find available women. But when Will meets the troubled 12-year-old son of a depressed single mother, a quirky and unexpected friendship blooms.

What is so interesting about this movie is the fact that the main relationship is not based on family ties or romantic feelings, and that makes it almost unique. It is not completely a friendship either, since the relationship between the boy and Will has a responsibility to it, which sometimes shifts depending on who might be wiser on the topic, most of the time the kid. It is also a story of misfits, definitely has a romantic twist to it, and it is funny, which helps the movie to be a blockbuster, but also an intelligent drama. And the soundtrack from Badly Drawn Boy is great.

with Hugh Grant (Sense and Sensibility, Love Actually, Did You Hear About The Morgans?, Two Weeks Notice, Cloud Atlas), Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class, A Single Man), Toni Collette (Hitchcock, Enough Said, The Hours, Little Miss Sunshine), Rachel Weisz (The Whistleblower, The Deep Blue Sea, The Bourne Legacy, 360, Dream House, Constantine, Agora), Isabel Brook, Victoria Smurfit, Sharon Small, Augustus Prew (Charlie St. Cloud), Natalia Tena, Nicholas Hutchison

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American Beauty by Sam Mendes, 1999 (R)

While struggling to endure his tightly wound wife, an unfulfilling job and a sullen teenage daughter, suburbanite Lester Burnham falls deep into a midlife crisis and becomes infatuated with one of his daughter's friends.

I remember the discomfort of having to watch people whose ordinary lives were so filled with darkness and identity issues. Overall, the movie is so cynical there is little to laugh from, and at the same time, so much to reflect on, in the way the American society can be dysfunctional. Oh, and the movie doesn't even talk about racial issues, which I think would be too much to handle, I guess. So focusing on the WASP of suburban America, we get to reflect on the 90's problems, which have now become different and all more of the same, the internet having made its entrance in our lives since then. The movie has aged but not enough to disconnect us from major insecurity issues and role models that have nothing real about them.

with Kevin Spacey (Superman Returns, House of Cards - season 1), Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right, Ruby Sparks), Thora Birch, Wes Bentley (The Hunger Games), Mena Suvari, Chris Cooper (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, The Company You Keep, The Company Men, The Horse Whisperer, August: Osage County), Peter Gallagher, Allison Janney (Juno, Masters of Sex, The Help, The Hours, Margaret, Liberal Arts), Scott Bakula (Behind the Candelabra, The Informant!), Sam Robards, Ara Celi, John Cho (Total Recall, Star Trek Into Darkness), Sue Casey, Amber Smith, Matthew Kimbrough
From the director of Skyfall

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