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.

watch trailer (in spanish unfortunately...):