Thanks for Sharing by Stuart Blumberg, 2013 (R)

A romantic comedy that brings together three disparate characters who are learning to face a challenging and often confusing world as they struggle together against a common demon: sex addiction.

Third movie about sex addiction in a row I watch, starting with Don Jon, then Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 and 2. Overall, an interesting journey, with very different points of view of the addiction. I recommend to watch them all, and make up your own mind. This one is the most Hollywood-style, and therefor the most eager to find "The Cure", going through the steps of a group of people from different background and journey. It starts a little too much on the easy road, but turned out to have well-shaped characters with depth, and interestingly intertwined stories.

with Mark Ruffalo (Now You See Me, Margaret, The Kids Are All Right, Shutter Island, Avengers), Tim Robbins, Gwyneth Paltrow (Marvel's Avengers, Iron Man 3), Josh Gad (Frozen, Love and Other Drugs), Joely Richardson (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Patrick Fugit (We Bought a Zoo), Alecia Beth Moore Hart aka Pink, Carol Kane (Love in the Time of Money)

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Don Jon by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 2013 (R)

Jon Martello's romantic exploits are legendary among his friends, but his obsession with online porn saps his enthusiasm for real sex. As he searches for intimacy -- or avoids it -- Jon meets two women with vital lessons to teach him.

I liked the way Gordon-Levitt made his movie look like a video clip for the first part of the movie, with everything in rhythm, sleek, almost fancy in its simplicity. The stereotypes are funny since they are so right-on, till the moment Julianne Moore enters. Of course, a movie with Julianne Moore cannot just be superficial. Although the shift turned ok for some time, it feels like an easy redemption at the end and almost a cheesy romantic comedy. Strange...

with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, Lincoln, The Dark Knight Rises, Looper, 50/50), Scarlett Johansson (Her, Hitchcock, We Brought a Zoo, The Avengers, Scoop, The Horse Whisperer, Under the Skin), Julianne Moore (Non-Stop, What Maisie knew, The Kids are All Right, Crazy, Stupid, Love., Chloe, A Single Man, Game Change, The English Teacher), Tony Danza, Glenne Headly, Brie Larson, Rob Brown, Jeremy Luke, Italia Ricci, Lindsey Broad

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Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 & 2 by Lars von Trier, 2013 (NR)

A self-diagnosed nymphomaniac reveals a lifetime of sexual experiences to a man who saves her from being beaten in an alley. As the aging but charming bachelor tends to the woman, she shares erotic details of encounters from her youth to her present.
The second half of Lars von Trier's epic follows self-diagnosed nymphomaniac Joe as she chronicles her adult years to the man who saved her from a beating. Her tales include new conquests, both male and female, in her search for fulfillment.
From the director of Melancholia, Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, The Idiots

I was so afraid this was a movie hard to watch that it flowed a lot better. Still, the topics are quite uncomfortable, ethics are questioned with a mirroring constant normalization, or to the least some religious or scientific explanation (justification). The performances of Charlotte Gainsbourg and Stellan Skarsgård are at time fascinating, at time too lecturing. Never the less, it's educating. The young version of Joe lacks a little bit of energy, which drags a little bit the movie. Jamie Bell is amazing, his character nearly incomprehensible, which makes it even more particular. Uma Thurman has the monologue of her life, chaotic, powerful and broken, all at the same time, beautiful. Shia LaBeouf... Hum, this one is tricky. He is slick, in his character, impeccable to a fault, his American ways are sometimes leaving him on the surface of what is character could give to the story... The NR means NR in this case, it is quite graphic, but overall, has missed perhaps its audience because of that. Sad.
Additional comment that was highlighted by a friend: the interesting similarity between Nymphomaniac and Under The Skin, in the way the main character is in control the entire movie, and (spoiler), shifts at the end to a situation where it makes you realize that she was indeed in control until then, because it is not obvious till then... Something to think about...



with Charlotte Gainsbourg (Melancholia), Stellan Skarsgård (Thor 2: The Dark World, Marvel's Avengers, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Melancholia, Thor), Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf (Constantine, Lawless, The Company You Keep), Jamie Bell (Snowpiercer, Billy Elliot, Man on a Ledge), Willem Dafoe (Out of the Furnace, Paris Je T'aime, Fireflies in the Garden, The English Patient, Farewell, Daybreakers), Mia Goth, Jean-Marc Barr (Making Plans for Lena - Non Ma Fille, Tu N'iras Pas Danser, Côte d'Azur - Crustacés et coquillages), Christian Slater, Uma Thurman (Playing for keeps, Bel Ami, Prime), Sophie Kennedy Clark (Dark Shadows, Philomena), Connie Nielsen (Perfect Sense - The Last Word)

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Part I

 
Part II

Flight by Robert Zemeckis, 2012 (R)

From the director of Cast Away, Back to the Future, A Christmas Carol, Forest Gump, Contact, Death Becomes Her...
with Denzel Washington (Unstoppable, Déjà Vu, American Gangster), John Goodman (The Artist, You Don't Know Jack, The Princess and the Frog, Trouble with the Curve), Don Cheadle (Traffic, Out of Sight), Melissa Leo (The Fighter, Mildred Pierce, Frozen River), Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker), Bruce Greenwood (Deja Vu, Barney's Version), Kelly Reilly (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), Tamara Tunie, Garcelle Beauvais, James Badge Dale (The Grey, Shame), Rhoda Griffis, Kwesi Boakye, Michael Beasley, Adam Tomei

After his amazing safe landing of a damaged passenger plane, an airline pilot is praised for the feat, but has private questions about what happened. Further, the government's inquiry into the causes soon puts the new hero's reputation at risk.

Flight is nominated for the Oscar in the category: Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Original Screenplay

First half is amazing, intense, disturbing, scary and at the same time brought with the confidence that Denzel Washington put in the acting of pilot Whip Whitaker while in a situation that really will most likely end with the death of everyone in the plane, how he is in the hospital, the strange encounters in the stairway of the hospital, and then it becomes same old, the story of a drunk trying to keep on with life, you still want to watch it, but it is not as convincing and original. Still, the beginning is really good!

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Shame by Steve McQueen, 2011 (NC-17)

with Michael Fassbender (Prometheus, Haywire, A Dangerous Method, Fish Tank, X-Men: First Class), Carey Mulligan (Drive, An Education, Never Let Me Go), James Badge Dale (The Grey), Nicole Beharie, Hannah Ware, Amy Hargreaves, Alex Manette (We Need To Talk About Kevin)

Thirtysomething New Yorker Brandon is outwardly reserved, but inside is seething with an overwhelming sexual addiction. When his tempestuous and much-loved younger sister invades his life, Brandon struggles to escape his self-destructive behavior.

Interesting. Non-judmental. An extraordinary performance from Michael Fassbender. A standing still singing of "New York, New York" from Carey Mulligan. Pictures of New York from Downtown to midtown, day and night, real. The already existing reputation of the Standard Hotel, officialized in the movie. The blame, the unfit, the unveil, the journey to the extreme, from a brother and a sister we know barely nothing about but somehow by the end of the movie, understand, nevertheless. It is powerful. At the same time, the movie raised high expectation, so perhaps, I was expecting something even more arty. But it stands its reputation. Definitely a movie to watch.