Fruitvale Station by Ryan Coogler, 2013 (R)

This dramatic rendering of a real-life tragedy recounts the final hours of Oscar Grant, shot by San Francisco transit police on New Year's Day, 2009. In portraying the energy Oscar brought to life, the film mourns the tragic loss of a unique soul.

This is not a movie I was going to watch, and when I did, It reminded me of the recent excesses of the police in Ferguson, and how justice is often slipping away from its true definition. Racism is still overly present, and with a minority of African American in the police, the police isn't doing a great job proving itself impartial. Anyway, another sad story it is important to hear, to see... The tragic end of Oscar Grant isn't a pattern that we can't change.

with Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer (Snowpiercer, The Help), Kevin Durand (Cosmopolis, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones), Chad Michael Murray, Ahna O'Reilly (The Help), Ariana Neal

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The Company Men by John Wells, 2010 (R)

with Ben Affleck (Argo, To the Wonder), Kevin Costner (Man of Steel), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln, Hope Springs, MIB 1, MIB 2, MIB 3), Chris Cooper (The Horse Whisperer, The Company You Keep, American Beauty), Craig T. Nelson, Maria Bello (Payback, Thank You For Smoking, The Cooler, Beautiful Boy), Rosemarie DeWitt (Promised Land, Margaret, Rachel Getting Married, Your Sister's Sister), John Doman (Blue Valentine), Tonye Patano, Cady Huffman

Written, directed and produced by John Wells, this indie drama stars Ben Affleck as a successful businessman who comes face-to-face with America's downsizing epidemic when he loses his job and is forced to take a construction gig.

This movie has come in the context of 2009 crash. A year later, Margin Call was showing the other side of the coin. This one is more of a human picture of the consequences, with some smarter than others, some more optimistic, and of course, the ones that left aside crumble and fall. It is sad, it confront the idea of being rich and being valuable. Of course, it has a little fairy-talish, with a wishful ending, but the story is solid, and the acting is all natural and believable.

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Frozen River by Courtney Hunt, 2008 (R)

with Melissa Leo (The Fighter, Mildred Pierce, Flight), Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Michael O'Keefe (Michael Clayton), Mark Boone Junior, James Reilly, Jay Klaitz, John Canoe, Dylan Carusona, Michael Sky

On a Mohawk reservation on the Canadian border, Ray Eddy (Melissa Leo, in an Oscar-nominated turn) teams with widowed tribe member Lila Littlewolf (Misty Upham) to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States. Though the work provides the women with much-needed money, each trip puts them in peril. Charlie McDermott and Michael O'Keefe also star in this riveting drama nominated for multiple Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature.

It was shocking to see how realistic the movie was, no fancy make up, no glamorous outfit. It's raw, it's somehow brutal, undistinguished, abandoned. And on the other hand, the landscapes are amazing, the people have their own way of being beautiful, in their determination, their deeper priorities...

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Promised Land by by Gus Van Sant, 2013 (R)

with Matt Damon (Invictus, Margaret, True Grit, We Brought a Zoo, The Informant!, Herafter, Inside Job, The Adjustment Bureau), Frances McDormand, John Krasinski (It's Complicated), Rosemarie DeWitt (Margaret, Rachel Getting Married, Your Sister's Sister), Scoot McNairy (Argo), Titus Welliver (Argo), Terry Kinney, Hal Holbrook (Lincoln)

Promised Land is the new contemporary drama directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Milk, Elephant). Matt Damon plays Steve Butler, an ace corporate salesman who is sent along with his partner, Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand), to close a key rural town in his company's expansion plans. With the town having been hit hard by the economic decline of recent years, the two outsiders see the local citizens as likely to accept their company's offer, for drilling rights to their properties, as much-needed relief. What seems like an easy job for the duo becomes complicated by the objection of a respected schoolteacher (Hal Holbrook) with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man (John Krasinski), as well as the interest of a local woman (Rosemarie DeWitt). Promised Land explores America at the crossroads where big business and the strength of small-town community converge.

Interesting points to an interesting movie. While the world becomes barely aware of the effects of Fracking, and I am not talking about Battlestar Galactica now, this movie questions the environmental solutions proposed by a government that has to face the high level of pollution it allows in its territory, the power of the gas company over a declining agricultural industry. It is Giant a century later, it is a fascinating journey through the eyes of a few people from about perhaps five different view-points. What is interesting is the idea that people can change, and so people just don't, because their bigger picture is the one of survival, to the next day, while it might not be as relevant as the next generation's survival. The reason I really liked the movie is that it was personal, it felt, through the amazing performance of the actors, that you were right there with them, taking the time to understand them, the different perspectives, allowing you to get involve and make up your own mind in the end, as if you were part of the town and left to decide what best. Definitely, it didn't give a good face to the gas company, and reminded me of the last movie I saw with Matt Damon, Inside Job...

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The Dreamers by Bernardo Bertolucci, 2003 (NC-17)

with Michael Pitt, Louis Garrel, Eva Green (Perfect Sense, Dark Shadows), Robin Renucci, Anna Chancellor

In acclaimed director Bernardo Bertolucci's erotically graphic drama, Matthew (Michael Pitt) is an American college student studying abroad in politically turbulent 1960s Paris, where he meets and befriends sexually adventurous twins Theo (Louis Garrel) and Isabelle (Eva Green). When the siblings invite their newfound friend to stay with them in their flat, the trio indulges in decadent sex games and psychological manipulations.

The movie name is probably a closer description of the movie than the summary itself. It has a dark side, but you would imagine much darker by reading the summary, and indeed it is about dreamers, idealists, innocents. It is set at a key moment in French history and it is interesting to see it through the window of a trio that live in a bubble. I somehow enjoyed the bubble part, and the intro created mixing real footage and reconstitution. My conflict came when Matthew is meeting his first "French friends", the initial portrait is very stereotypical of French people. Once the characters are shaping through their unusual relationship, the movie takes off. Still, a very unusual movie.

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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.

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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.

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The Visitor by Thomas McCarthy, 2007 (PG-13)

with Richard Jenkins (Eat Pray Love, The Rum Diary), Haaz Sleiman (Nurse Jackie), Danai Jekesai Gurira, Hiam Abbass, Marian Seldes, Maggie Moore, Amir Arison, Michael Cumpsty, Bill McHenry, Laith Nakli, Waleed Zuaiter, Tzahi Moskovitz, Richard Kind, Neal Lerner, Frank Pando

Widowed professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins, in an Oscar-nominated role) finds himself drawn to a different rhythm when he discovers an immigrant couple, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira), squatting in his Manhattan flat and becomes wrapped up in their lives. Hiam Abbass co-stars as Tarek's mother, who forges an unlikely connection with Walter when Tarek is thrown into a detention center.

This is one of the most beautiful tales about new york, the man who played djembe in the Subway, coming from a long, painful, unusual and beautiful journey from being that guy, suburban American living with no joy, a boring life, being transformed by the lively life of illegal immigrant, with a strong friendship opening his mind to the outside world. Richard Jenkins is so good, actually, no, everyone in this cast make the movie such a real piece of life, with the richness and texture that New York has and that is never ever shown in movies. Awakening.

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Love in the Time of Money by Peter Mattei, 2002 (R)

with Vera Farmiga (Up in The Air, Source Code, Breaking and Entering), Domenick Lombardozzi, Jill Hennessy, Malcolm Gets, Steve Buscemi (The Messenger), Rosario Dawson (Unstoppable, Men In Black 2), Adrian Grenier, Carol Kane, Michael Imperioli, Nahanni Johnstone, Tamara Jenkins

Love is a battlefield for several New York City dwellers: a prostitute and her trick; an artist and a receptionist he meets; a woman married to an unhappy art dealer with a secret; and a psychic out to save a man's life.

Cast was appealing, the fact that they got a grant from the Sundance to develop the movie upon the originality of the script as well, but... the production of it got it all fading into a terrible movie. The acting is good, but the situations are so staged, the quality of the shots so unequal, the cinematography imperfect that it felt like a tv movie, which actually is not even a relevant criticism, since they are making amazing tv movies, such as "Game Change". The problem is that everything feels like a chain of events, which could look pretty engaging if you look at "Babel", and not as good if you are kind of waiting for the next encounter to save the previous one. Perhaps in a very twisted way, I have never seen Steve Buscemi as handsome, and Rosario Dawson as terrible. Perhaps, the only interesting moments are the beginning and the end held by Vera Farmiga, amazing as a prostitute disconnected from the world.

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Desk Set by Walter Lang, 1957 (NR)

with Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Gig Young, Joan Blondell, Dina Merrill, Sue Randall, Neva Patterson, Harry Ellerbe, Nicholas Joy, Diane Jergens, Merry Anders, Ida Moore, Rachel Stephens

Bunny Watson (Katharine Hepburn) is a reference librarian whose tepid long-term relationship with television executive Mike Cutler (Gig Young) is fizzling. Enter Richard Sumner (Spencer Tracy), a no-nonsense computer genius who's created a new product named Miss Emmy to automate the work of Bunny and her co-workers. The two butt heads in the beginning, but soon their disdain for one another turns to romantic sparks.

The summary isn't very accurate, I would describe her as a genius dictionary, who is not so genius in term of relationships. Sumner is a genius of another sort, computer geek, not too bad at human relationship, definitely lucid about where he interferes and seeing the rare pearl in Bunny. Anyway, it is an interesting movie, first time this duet is in COLOR, changing media from Paper journalism to TV, with a cultural difference where people can flirt for years, kiss publicly without altering their respectability. The fun comes also from the ping pong of the dialogues, Katharine is full of life, emotions, knowledge, Spencer Tracy is more straight forward than usual. The scenes at her apartment and on the rooftop of the Rockefeller Center are just perfect, combined with the testimony of a time where it was suspected that machines, computers, would replace humans in a lot of jobs, which was true in a way, but the movie gives a nice positive perspective on it.

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Winter's bone by Debra Granik, 2010 (R)

with Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games, X-Men: First Class, Silver Linings Playbook), John Hawkes (American Gangster, The Sessions), Isaiah Stone, Ashlee Thompson, Shelley Waggener, Garret Dillahunt (Looper), William White, Ramona Blair, Valerie Richards, Dale Dickey, Lauren Sweetser, Tate Taylor, Sheryl Lee, Ronnie Hall, Kevin Breznahan, Casey MacLaren

In director Debra Granik's unflinching noir drama set deep in the Ozarks, resilient teen Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) goes on the trail of her missing, drug-dealing father when his absence jeopardizes the family's safety. Her deadbeat dad has a key court date pending, and Ree is determined that he show up -- despite the objections of the insular Dolly clan.

The movie reminded me of "Frozen River". It is a movie set in a small American community, very rough environment, isolated in a way. It is well directed, you really feel this claustrophobia of a place with no place for weakness. Jennifer Lawrence (Hunger Games) is unbelievable, the other actors portray the edge, the uneducated, survival. It is an unique way of showing the dept of America, in its most naked, primitive state.

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Fish Tank by Andrea Arnold, 2009 (NR)

with Katie Jarvis, Kierston Wareing, Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave, Prometheus, Haywire, A Dangerous Method, Shame, X-Men: First Class), Rebecca Griffiths, Harry Treadaway, Sydney Mary Nash, Jason Maza, Jack Gordon, Brooke Hobby, Charlotte Collins, Chelsea Chase

The life of hot-tempered teen outcast Mia (Katie Jarvis) takes an unexpected turn when her mother, Joanne (Kierston Wareing), brings home a handsome and mysterious boyfriend named Connor (Michael Fassbender), who pledges to bring sweeping positive changes to the household.

The most unusual movie I have seen in a long while. It is very simple, raw in a way, very close to its characters, to a level sometimes you do want to be. It is awkward, frightening, cheerful. It is a movie that makes you sad because of its realism, sort of a dead-end that the character is trying to avoid, in vain. It is the portrait of a society that doesn't give a chance to people, no more education, just tv, a hopeless generation that parents have given up on, because they gave up on themselves first. And eventually, when something like a fairy tale comes up, I guess you have to believe it, this is how naive and disconnected Mia is, and Katie Jarvis plays it amazingly.

Dirty Pretty Things by Stephen Frears, 2002 (R)

with Audrey Tautou, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sophie Okonedo, Sergi López, Benedict Wong, Kenan Hudaverdi, Damon Younger, Paul Bhattacharjee, Darrell D'Silva, Sotigui Kouyaté, Abi Gouhad

Undocumented immigrants Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Senay (Audrey Tautou) work at a posh London hotel and live in constant fear of deportation. One night, Okwe stumbles across evidence of a bizarre murder, setting off a series of events that could lead to disaster -- or freedom. This gritty, complex thriller from director Stephen Frears received an Oscar nod for its screenplay.

It started like a lot of movies, ended like a lot of them... But perhaps it went beyond what the story usually is. Human organs trafficking is usually the plot for a thriller or an horror movie. In this case, despite the fact that there is a real clear suspense, it goes far beyond, depicting a social issue, the rules of a game that is not that far from our reality, invisible to our eyes, definitely real. And within this context, there are two characters, sensitive, tired, trying to survive in a system that is rejecting them. It is tough, emotional, beautiful and somehow, a beautiful story of friendship.

The Help by Tate Taylor, 2011 (PG-13)

with Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain, Ahna O'Reilly, Allison Janney, Anna Camp, Cicely Tyson, Mike Vogel, Sissy Spacek

In 1960s Jackson, Miss., aspiring writer Eugenia Phelan crosses taboo racial lines by conversing with Aibileen Clark about her life as a housekeeper, and their ensuing friendship upsets the fragile dynamic between the haves and the have-nots. When other long-silent black servants begin opening up to Eugenia, the disapproving conservative Southern town soon gets swept up in the turbulence of changing times.

Interesting movie. It has definitely an eye on the side we never talked about. For example, Mad Men is barely mentioning the revolution of the country in giving the same rights to white and colored people. Only yesterday, for the premiere of the season 4, they started raising the issue of having a white only advertizing company.
Anyway, the acting is good, the story is powerful, with moments of comedy, a strong representation of the mentalities.
Interesting although perhaps, the roles are a bit caricatures and somehow the point of view is not as accurate. I read that in the book, the description of the behavior of the white husbands towards the maids wasn't as "proper" as it is shown in the movie, that sounds more like it. Anyway, I think my main contradiction is that in the story, the writer acknowledge that her stories are testimonies, but the real writer of the book has probably done research, still, she has written it herself making us believe in a story as if it was seemingly autobiographical. In reality, it is still a book written by a woman who is imagining what was the situation of the maids back in the 60's... So let's not take the story too much for granted.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner by Stanley Kramer, 1967 (NR)

with Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Houghton, Cecil Kellaway, Beah Richards, Isabel Sanford, Roy Glenn, Virginia Christine

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn star as wealthy Californians who consider themselves progressive until their only daughter (Katharine Houghton) brings home her African American fiancé (Sidney Poitier) in this snapshot of race relations in the late 1960s. The film earned two Academy Awards (for Hepburn's performance and William Rose's screenplay) and eight other nominations. Stanley Kramer directs.

After a series of classics I felt not much for, I was surprised by this one. It is funny, right on, well acted, ironic, an amazing portrayal of mirrors, from an evolving society that through two generations, shows a drastic change of mentality, questions that are raised on being open minded and respectful of ones decision. Also, honestly, how not to fall in love with Sidney Poitier? He is the ideal man. The rest of the cast is just so good, everything is put into an orderly chaos, with amazing dialogues, essential logic and finally a change. Intelligent, so intelligent.

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Intouchable by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, 2011 (R)

with François Cluzet (Little White Lies (Les Petits Mouchoirs, Paris, Tell No One), Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot

A true story of two men who should never have met - a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.

Ah ah, one of the biggest success of French cinema, everybody saw that movie, and to the least once, but many more times for a large majority. Interesting tho, why would this movie become so popular. The cast, perhaps, merging big people from the TV world with a very mainstream audience with highly respected actors from the cinema world. Therefor attracting two different kind of audiences. Smart. Then, a real story, with insights from the life of aristocracy, the life of a paraplegic, and a strange combination of two persons from different background, meaning interesting from both perspectives, the rich, the poor. Also, to make it even better, the sense of humor is just enough to make you survive the tragedy, and the drama is just enough so you do not get disconnected from the situation of these two people, and some cynicism, to please the irony of the story. Anyway, a feel good movie, after all, a good one, and I guess smart one. So people liked it. And stopping by France last December, my first cinema time was going to see it, had to, even if I didn't mean it. And I liked it. A lot.

Contagion by Steven Soderbergh, 2011

with Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan
By the director of "Haywire", "The Informant!"...

"Contagion" follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.

This is an unconventional film. I mean, some others could say this is a filmmaker's dream of choral movie, with amazing actors, super famous, with a great chance of blockbuster effect. On the other hand, this is an unconventional movie. First, you hear about this movie watching CNN, not NBC. Then, you go and watch it, and wonder where is the thriller, the suspense, the emotion, the violins, the tear-sheder, the super hero, the bad guys... Guess what, this is a movie that is promoted on CNN, and made as if we were watching the news, except with less dramatization, a documentary almost. So we are watching day after day the expansion of a virus, and as soon as the past weeks are gone, the subject becomes less hot, less suspenseful, but still, the ones who have to do the work are still involved, they keep doing their job, and the attention gets focused on what the job is really about, trying to contain a virus, trying to find vaccine and trying to make the world go back round. So it is interesting in the sense that it is not what we expect and along the way, we learn more about the ins and outs of our society management, and forget about the sensational of it. It becomes somehow as real as the last epidemic we were watching carefully on the news, two years ago, except that this time, it is about the people that are working for real on resolving the problem. How about that?

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Biutiful by Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2010 (R)

with Javier Bardem (To The Wonder, Eat Pray Love), Maricel Álvarez and Hanaa Bouchaib...

This is the story of Uxbal, a man living in this world, but able to see his death, which guides his every move.

Barcelona, another version. The one of the left aside, the immigrants, illegals. A place where the rules of our society have no place to be, it is about survival. The main character is almost good, or maybe he is just using a system that allows him to make money out of the illegality of others. Or maybe he cares... It is a powerful slice of life near death, with amazing acting. Dark, very dark, with a tiny lamp in it.

Le grand voyage by Ismaël Ferroukhi, 2004

Nicolas Cazalé, Mohamed Majd and Jacky Nercessian

Reda, a young French-Moroccan guy and his old father drive from the south of France to Mecca in order for the father to do his pilgrimage. At first distant, they gradually learn to know each other.

This great journey is an amazing movie about father-son relationship in a time where generations have created a gap and there is no more time for catching up. This journey is tough, physically, spiritually but humanly, in a learning experience about trust, truth and belief. Nicolas Cazalé is amazing of youth and assurance, while still fragile and ignorant. And his father's contrast of wisdom and weakness that his age is bringing is an amazing homage to the elder. Whatever your faith is made of, because at the end of the day, it is not a religious film as much as it is a film about human-hood.

Even the rain (También la lluvia) by Icíar Bollaín, 2010 (NR)

with Luis Tosar, Gael García Bernal, Juan Carlos Aduviri, Karra Elejalde, Raúl Arévalo , Carlos Santos, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Milena Soliz, Vicente Romero, Dani Currás, Pau Cólera, Sonia Ovando, Luis Bredow

In February and March of 2000, protests broke out daily in Cochabamba, Bolivia in response to the government’s decision to privatize the water company. The cost of water went up by up by three hundred per cent.

Filmmaker Sebastian (Gael García Bernal) arrives in Cochabamba accompanied by a cast and crew ready to make a film about Colombus’s first voyage to the New World and the subsequent subjugation of the indigenous population. Sebastian wants to focus on the experience of Bartolome de las Casas and Antonio de Montesinos, who was so distraught over the treatment of the natives that he dedicated the rest of his life to their cause. His producer Costa (Luis Tosar) has chosen Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, because it makes sense economically. Extras are willing to work long hours for just two dollars a day. Sebastian casts local man Daniel (Juan Carlos Aduviri) in the role of Hatuey, the Taino chief who led a rebellion against the Spaniards. Daniel is also one of the leaders in the demonstrations against the water hikes.

The movie is a great awakening of how much our present is connected to a past that somehow hasn't changed much, but gives a sense of hope while the local population tries and unifies against an obvious inequality. It is also a beautifully human movie and from what I heard during the interview today, the Bolivian actors are also actors of the water war. This movie is full of emotion and greatly interpreted, to make the audience question their ethics with sometimes irony, sometimes a true look at reality.

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