Trumbo by Jay Roach, 2015 (R)

with Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Louis C.K., Elle Fanning, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg

In 1947, successful screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) and other Hollywood figures get blacklisted for their political beliefs.

An interesting look into the Hollywood world during the Cold War, through the life of Trumbo, one of the most prolific Screenwriter of the Cinema history. It is definitely the story of an impossible fight against a government which had lost their way, which finally was won through perseverance and dare.
The performances are excellent. The mix of historic footage and reenactment are smooth and subtle. The portrayal of the nature of people, when put on a stand is quite fascinating, and the movie doesn't hesitate to describe the different positions public people took during this dark time, which feels honest for once.

Joy by David O. Russell, 2015 (PG-13)

with Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramirez, Diane Ladd, Virginia Madsen, Isabella Rossellini, Elisabeth Röhm, Dascha Polanco

A story of a family across four generations, centered on the girl who becomes the woman (Jennifer Lawrence) who founds a business dynasty and becomes a matriarch in her own right. Facing betrayal, treachery, the loss of innocence and the scars of love, Joy becomes a true boss of family and enterprise. Allies become adversaries and adversaries become allies, both inside and outside the family, as Joy's inner life and fierce imagination carry her through the storm she faces.

Joy... What a journey. What a great story of overcoming your fate and being curious beyond what people think and say. Knowledge is power. Attitude is power. Still with all this, it is not an easy path. All these success story we read about sometimes miss the most important step. The one where people fail, collapse. Because then comes the moment to stand back on your feet, and move forward. Jennifer Lawrence is really convincing as the overwhelmed matriarch. De Niro, Rossellini and Röhm are the wonderful negative forces that always surround you, the voices that tell you you cannot do it, you have to give up. They are so fantastically performing you hate them. And it is good to see Dascha Polanco in something else than Orange is the New Black.

Dark Matter by Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie - Bell Media, 2015-

with
Marc Bendavid as One / Jace Corso / Derrick Moss
Melissa O'Neil as Two / Rebecca / Portia Lin
Anthony Lemke as Three / Marcus Boone
Alex Mallari Jr. as Four / Ryo Tetsuda
Jodelle Ferland as Five / Das
Roger Cross as Six / Griffin Jones
Zoie Palmer as The Android


Android, Four, Three, Two, One, Five and Six

When six crew members working on a derelict spaceship awaken from stasis, they have no memory of who they are or how they got on the vessel. The only clue to their identities is weaponry and a destination -- a remote mining colony soon to become a war zone. They must band together to fight off the threats that they face on a voyage that is filled with vengeance, betrayal and secrets that make survival a question mark for all on board the ship. The sci-fi series is based on the graphic novel of the same name.

Reason why I watched this series? I was doing research on Zoie Palmer (Lost Girl) and there was a tiny article on Science Fiction series that didn't make much noise but definitely got the attention, and Zoie Palmer was in it. Great! Science Fiction, and Zoie Palmer. Wait! She plays what? An Android? Ok...

So, there are so few good Space Science Fiction series, or movies, that I had to check it out. Yes, count them, Battlestar Galactica/Caprica, Fascape, V, Stargate SG1, Star Trek, Firefly/Serenity...
But really, recently? There is an overflow in the 60s and 70s. Then there are all the animated series. But a series, with actual actors in it? Or they are Science Fiction series, but not Space Travel...
Extant, but is it really space travel or just an astronaut back on Earth?
Now, besides it, currently, there is Killjoys. Again, Canadian... Do all the good SciFi series have to be produced there? And thery have been approved for a second season. Is there a heaven there (Not Haven, Canadian again)?

Ok, back to Dark Matters is telling the story of a small team, from which we know nothing, as much as they know themselves actually. Through the episodes, we get to learn more and more about the,, and eventually, also solve one problem an episode... Which is usually a pattern in series, as it help get to know the character, and keep the series with a purpose. I am hoping they will develop a larger arch next season. Production is good, special effect impeccable, the way the world is developed is closed to Firefly, as there are no extra-terrestrial beings (yet?), but it is diverse and fascinating.

One of the things I really like about the series is the sense of humor, which seems to be a constant trait in all the Space Science Fiction series I listed above. It looks like we cannot remain serious if we are to do a series about the Space. And that is good... There are way too many series that take themselves seriously. And most of the humor comes from Zoie Palmer nerdy sense of humor, which we also found in Lost Girl. I wonder if this is why they picked her. She delivers lines like no other, without a hint of humor, but turns out to be so out of place it is hilarious.
Then you have the six crew members of the Raza, with different abilities, and very different personalities. Since they are back to not knowing who they are, or knowing who are the others, we are witnessing their discoveries along the adventures. The contrast between the men in the team is so stark it creates a lot of situations where it would be impossible not to laugh. Five and Two are more the serious angle of the series, but they complete the team to a more elaborate story-line and most of all a leadership regarding two. Gender plays a role, but ultimately, ranks are not divided according to gender. Personality will define roles.

The series left us in such a cliffhanger I don't believe we will know anything until next season, and that is the good news, it has been renewed for a second season!

The Big Short by Adam McKay, 2015 (R)

with Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Melissa Leo, Marisa Tomei, Tracy Letts, Hamish Linklater, John Magaro, Byron Mann, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong, Finn Wittrock

In 2005, Wall Street guru Michael Burry realizes that a number of subprime home loans are in danger of defaulting. Burry bets against the housing market by throwing more than $1 billion of his investors' money into credit default swaps. His actions attract the attention of banker Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling), hedge-fund specialist Mark Baum (Steve Carell) and other greedy opportunists. Together, these men make a fortune by taking full advantage of the impending economic collapse in America.

This movie is another depressing look at how financial institutions across the board didn't do anything to prevent the economic crisis that winded up making 8 million people unemployed, and 6 million homeless. And yet it didn't change anything about their regulation to prevent the next bubble. Scary.
Somehow the movie makes us feel sympathy for these guys that looked for a way to make even more money out of the crisis (yes, some of them tried to go to the press and denounce the system, but still), which afterward gives you a bitter sense of justice. If those are the good guys?... The movie is strangely set with a mix of YouTube feeds, people addressing to the camera for education/fact purposes, teaching the financial jargon with a bimbo or a famous person so we would theoretically pay more attention (this is second degree sense of humor I guess, but it is sometimes borderline offensive). Steve Carell is amazing in , the rest of the cast is fine, and the story needed to be told. I guess this could be a winner for the Oscars.

Carol by Todd Haynes, 2015 (R)

with Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Jake Lacy, Kyle Chandler

Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) spots the beautiful, elegant Carol (Cate Blanchett) perusing the doll displays in a 1950s Manhattan department store. The two women develop a fast bond that becomes a love with complicated consequences. Adapted from The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith.

This is a beautiful romantic comedy, where two women fall in love. The simplicity of it, and the almost awkwardness they showcase, their natural bound make us forget for a moment this is the 50s and homosexuality is prohibited, specially if you are a mother fighting for the custody of your child. But the movie is also a road movie, a portrait of winter, and of the two worlds Therese and Carol come from. The cinematography is perfect, (the lack of) dialogues exquisite, the performance so subtle it feels like everything might shatter at any second. Of course, there is the question of why it wasn't nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, perhaps it is too much to see a beautiful couple that is not following the convention of heterosexuality. Pity, I do wish they receive the awards for Best Actress in Leading and Supporting role, and best adapted Screenplay...

The Revenant by Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2015 (R)

with Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, Domhnall Gleeson, Lukas Haas

While exploring the uncharted wilderness in 1823, legendary frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) sustains injuries from a brutal bear attack. When his hunting team leaves him for dead, Glass must utilize his survival skills to find a way back home to his beloved family. Grief-stricken and fueled by vengeance, Glass treks through the wintry terrain to track down John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), the former confidant who betrayed and abandoned him.

Beautiful movie, with beautiful music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, and at the same time, tough movie with a character that has only left his revenge, and therefor doesn't offer much in terms of emotions, to allow to relate to the characters. The journey is interesting as you are learning along the way the politics of the time, the survival knowledge of the original owners of the land, how nature can be beautiful or destructive. I get that DiCaprio and Iñárritu might win the Oscar, but I hope they give the Award for best movie to someone else. 

The Sound of Music by Robert Wise, 1965 (G)

with Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Richard Haydn, Peggy Wood, Charmian Carr, Nicholas Hammond, Heather Menzies-Urich, Duane Chase, Angela Cartwright, Debbie Turner, Kym Karath

A tuneful, heartwarming story, it is based on the real life story of the Von Trapp Family singers, one of the world's best-known concert groups in the era immediately preceding World War II. Julie Andrews plays the role of Maria, the tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey who becomes a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children, and brings a new love of life and music into the home.

Oh what a delight... And finally, after 32 years (yes...), I finally saw it. And "Edelweiss" finally was put into place (so many reference throughout the years I have missed :).
And I don't even mention "These are a few of my favorite things" line that somehow the next day, a friend was posting on facebook in regards to, well, some of her favorite things.
The story is of course very cute and naive (read right after the discrepancies that the movie has with the real life of the Von Trapp), and the love dynamics between the Captain and Maria are well, not really a very feminist view, but the songs and Julie Andrews are so pretty, and lovely, and refreshing.
The parallels between Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music are quite interesting, which quite explains why it has been hard to see Julie Andrews as anything else but a beautiful and perfect young nanny. But who cares, this movie is a fresh breathe in this movie making factory of Hollywood that these days fails to care about good stories and still make us laugh. So much drama, or in the comedy genre, so much stupidity. No wonder why it is still to this day the most watched movie in history.

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The Fault in Our Stars by Josh Boone, 2014 (PG-13)

Teenager Hazel, who has pushed people away since her cancer diagnosis, reluctantly joins a support group, where she bonds with a boy named Gus. Together, they face the challenge of building a relationship under the shadow of terminal illness.

Haven't cried like this since most likely "Billy Elliot"... Damned... The story makes you wonder if the characters are real, and because then you get to know that this is actually a book, you wonder if (just like in the story), the writer couldn't write something more about Hazel, getting to know the rest of her life. It is definitely a down to earth sort of movie, on the edge of emotion, with frantic dream come true becoming nightmare. It is honest, and never the less completely romantic. Quite a strange combination. Fascinating.

Shailene Woodley (The Descendants, Divergent), Ansel Elgort (Divergent), Nat Wolff (Peace, Love & Missunderstanding), Willem Dafoe (Out of the Furnace, Paris Je T'aime, Fireflies in the Garden, The English Patient, Farewell, Daybreakers, Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 & 2), Laura Dern (The Master, Dr. T. and The Women), Lotte Verbeek, Sam Trammell (True Blood), Emily Peachey, Mike Birbiglia (Your Sister's Sister)

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Lore by Cate Shortland, 2014

As the Allies sweep across Germany, Lore leads her siblings on a journey that exposes them to the truth of their parents' beliefs. An encounter with a mysterious refugee forces Lore to rely on a person she has always been taught to hate.

As in Cate Shortland's previous film Somersault, there is a lot of silence and contemplation, both main characters are at an age of discovering what is is to become a woman, and suffer from the lacking of teachings from their parents. The comparison stops there, with a far more dramatic destiny for Lore, becoming a leader in her family, carrying the responsibility that her mother left her with no promise of reversal. Humanity at its worse is trying to rebuild itself with the resemblance of value that is left, from one extreme to the other, and most of all, not really understanding what exactly is the right position to have. The only frail constancy is the relationship between Lore and her brothers and sister, and this man we know nothing about. Their journey is a fascinating one, somehow overexposing their emotion by not displaying any, with few words and powerful imagery.


with Saskia Rosendahl, Kai-Peter Malina, Nele Trebs, Ursina Lardi, Hans-Jochen Wagner, Mika Seidel, André Frid, Eva-Maria Hagen, Nick Holaschke, Sven Pippig, Philip Wiegratz

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Homeland Season 4 Premiere, by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa - Showtime, 2014 (TVMA)

with Claire Danes, Rupert Friend, Nazanin Boniadi, Laila Robins (Concussion), Tracy Letts, Mandy Patinkin, Amy Hargreaves, Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi), F. Murray Abraham, Sarita Choudhury, Corey Stoll (House of Cards, Non-Stop, The Normal Heart), Nimrat Kaurm

Carrie Mathison is calling the shots as the newly appointed Station Chief in Afghanistan, deploying every weapon in the Agency's arsenal to fulfill her mission. But every drone strike and tactical raid comes at a cost and she soon learns the true price of power. 

Fuliginous start for Homeland with a two-episode premiere. Honestly, aside from missing Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) through Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes), his death doesn't feel like a gap in the story. We already moved on to a far more intriguing storyline. The story reflect on the reality of today's wars in the American way and the controversy of it, through drones and blind operations, as well as the question of guilt and detachment when everything is only visible through screens. On a different level, the series explores the ethical conflict of being a mother but not being able to confront the responsibility. And more... because everything is on a spinning table and we don't know anything, so much is open to possibilities. Looking forward to see where the characters of Aayan Ibrahim (Suraj Sharma - Life of Pi) and Peter Quinn (Rupert Friend) are going, and how they will put back once more Saul Berenson (Mandy Patinkin) into the action.
More on Homeland past seasons

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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

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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Under the Skin by Jonathan Glazer, 2013 (R)

with Scarlett Johansson (Her, Hitchcock, We Brought a Zoo, The Avengers, Scoop, The Horse Whisperer), Jeremy McWilliams, Lynsey Taylor Mackay, Dougie McConnell, Kevin McAlinden, Andrew Gorman, Joe Szula, Krystof Hádek, Roy Armstrong, Alison Chand

Jonathan Glazer's atmospheric, visually arresting abstraction stars Scarlett Johansson as a seductive alien who prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell, only to be consumed by a strange liquid pool.

I am going to be honest, I didn't like the movie. Now, there is something about not liking the movie, that at least, it captured my attention, in a negative way, but it did. There are very interesting moments of videoart, very interesting moments of Ken Loach, very interesting moments of Kubrick, the ending is an interesting turning point, which gives a perspective the movie needed. Then, it is so slow (not pretentious, tho), so disconnected, that I found it painful to watch.

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Frozen by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, 2013 (PG)

After her kingdom is doomed to suffer from eternal winter, intrepid Anna goes on a quest to find her reclusive sister, the Snow Queen, and break the curse. Along the way, Anna teams with eccentric mountaineer Kristoff and his comic reindeer, Sven.

Not having known Frozen before Maleficent, I thought Disney was taking a first stand with the remake of the Sleeping Beauty. But, Frozen came out before, so it seems that the intention of Disney is clear in destroying the myth of the Prince Charming, and true love. No spoiler, I will just stop here, and let you enjoy it. Another point which initially made me have reservations regarding this movie is that the story is inspired loosely from The Snow Queen from Andersen, which is nothing of a Disney type of story, aside from its happy ending, I was afraid of how much they would alter the original story (once more, Disney rearrange the story for its own purpose).

with Kristen Bell (Heroes), Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff (The Conspirator, The Normal Heart), Santino Fontana, Josh Gad (Love and Other Drugs), Alan Tudyk (Ice Age, Death at a Funeral, Beautiful Boy), Fred Tatasciore, Chris Williams, Ciarán Hinds (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Margot at the Wedding, The Debt, In Bruges), Stephen J. Anderson, Maia Wilson, Edie McClurg, Robert Pine, Maurice LaMarche, Livvy Stubenrauch, Eva Bella, Spencer Lacy Ganus, Jesse Corti, Jeff Marcus, Tucker Gilmore

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Divergent by Neil Burger, 2014 (PG-13)

with Shailene Woodley (The Descendants), Kate Winslet (Sense and Sensibility, The Reader, Titanic, Mildred Pierce, Contagion), Theo James (Underworld: Awakening), Ansel Elgort, Ray Stevenson (Thor 2: The Dark World, Thor), Zoë Kravitz (X-Men: First Class), Maggie Q, Jai Courtney (Jack Reacher), Miles Teller (Rabbit Hole), Ashley Judd, Tony Goldwyn, Mekhi Phifer

Born into a civilization in the distant future, Beatrice is a teenager who learns that her unique cognitive skills make her useful to the authorities. Over time she discovers that she's a Divergent, and thus slated for elimination by the government.

I really wanted to see this movie. I love new ideas of how a society functions, dysfunctions, and evolves, based on rules, evolution, such as In Time, Oblivion, The Hunger Games... the movie is well made, the acting great, the story catchy... The only thing is the feeling of deja vu, with severe similarities with The Hunger Games and her main character, and somehow a little feel of Harry Potter when choosing your category. I'll keep watching anyway the sequels, and probably wind up reading the books, but felt a little deceived.

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The Normal Heart by Ryan Murphy, 2014 (R)

This adaptation of Larry Kramer's riveting stage drama is a love story set against the dark background of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, centering on a gay activist who tries to raise public awareness but encounters myriad obstacles.

A powerful story that beyond the political struggle to be heard is a very human story, with impressive performances from all the cast, through frustration, despair, incomprehension, loss, and vague moments to beauty and hope. This movie is sad, the tragic following and the nowadays situation make the story even more powerful.

from the director of Eat Pray Love
with Mark Ruffalo (Marvel's Avengers, Margaret, The Kids Are All Right, Shutter Island), Matt Bomer (Magic Mike, In Time), Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Julia Roberts (August: Osage County, Duplicity, Mirror Mirror Snow White, Eat Pray Love, Larry Crowne, Fireflies in the Garden), Alfred Molina (Raiders of the Lost Ark, An Education, Chocolat, Rango), Joe Mantello, Jonathan Groff, Denis O'Hare (Dallas Buyers Club, True Blood, Milk, Duplicity, Michael Clayton), Stephen Spinella (Milk), Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris, House of Cards), Finn Wittrock, B.D. Wong

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Blood Ties by Guillaume Canet, 2013 (R)

From the director of Little White Lies - Les Petits Mouchoirs and Tell No One - Ne le dis à personne

When 50-year-old Chris is released from prison, his younger brother Frank, an up-and-coming member of the police force, welcomes him with open arms. But when Chris has trouble staying straight, Frank is trapped between duty and family.

Canet just went by the book for his first American movie. He chose carefully his cast with an interesting combination of great actors from Europe, and the up-and-coming actors from here, as well as one mainstream actors, to wrap up an amazing list. Then, the script is intelligent, and we follow it in a very conventional way, there are no mistake in the directing, the cinematography... Finally, the editing makes the story interesting, no crazy pursuit, no wild special effect, but you can feel there is a budget behind. I believe he made a very new yorker movie, in a very French way of doing it. It's really good, but unfortunately, American channels classified it immediately as indie... Was American Gangster indie? No, and the two movies have a lot in common. So why? Perhaps I should write an article on how European cinema is systematically classified as Indie when coming to the USA, in a way that it kills it in the box-office automatically. It is sad, because somehow, mainstreams most of the time are lacking of what the indie movie have, depth.

with Clive Owen (Shadow Dancer, Duplicity, Killer Elite), Billy Crudup (Eat Pray Love), Marion Cotillard (The Immigrant, Little White Lies, Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Contagion, Midnight in Paris), Mila Kunis (Black Swan, Date Night), Zoe Saldana (Out of the Furnace, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Words, Avatar), Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bones, Bullhead), James Caan, Noah Emmerich (Warrior), Lili Taylor 

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Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit by Kenneth Branagh, 2014 (PG-13)

with Chris Pine (Star Trek Into Darkness, Unstoppable, This Means War, People Like Us), Kevin Costner (The Company Men, Man of Steel, The Bodyguard), Kenneth Branagh, Keira Knightley (Seeking a Friend for the End of the world, Anna Karenina, A Dangerous Method, Never Let Me Go, Love Actually)
From the director of Thor and Sleuth

CIA analyst Jack Ryan tries to thwart a terrorist plot to bring down the U.S. economy in this action-thriller helmed by Kenneth Branagh. Chris Pine plays the title character alongside an all-star cast that includes Kevin Costner and Keira Knightley.

For some reason, the enemy being is Russia is back in fashion in Hollywood, but anyway, the actors are so good you get into the story, it flows well, the story is catchy, and that makes up for a good spy movie of the good old days (of course Tom Clancy's book is probably helping the script to be solid). And even if Kenneth Branagh evolved from Hamlet to Thor (!?!), this one at least doesn't feel like a joke.

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The Double by Richard Ayoade, 2013 (R)

Simon is a timid man, scratching out an isolated existence in an indifferent world. He is overlooked at work, scorned by his mother, and ignored by the woman of his dreams. He feels powerless to change any of these things. The arrival of a new co-worker, James, serves to upset the balance. James is both Simon's exact physical double and his opposite - confident, charismatic and good with women. To Simon's horror, James slowly starts taking over his life. Jesse Eisenberg plays the dual roles of the timid office worker and his charismatic doppelganger in this cinematic adaptation of a Dostoevsky tale.

I usually like these kind of movies, but the threshold is that is has to have the humor of the absurd, or at least not make me suffer for too long with the evidence of the situation. This movie is so serious and so obvious that it becomes boring and painful to watch. The ambient is quite similar to the one of Jean Pierre Jeunet movies, perhaps with a feel of 1984, which is great at the beginning. The storyline is interesting (if the movie were shorter), the absurdity and darkness of the movie has a point, but you have to have to courage to see for an hour and a half inactive Jesse Eisenberg and asshole Jesse Eisenberg having a trip of their own.

with Jesse Eisenberg (Now You See Me, The Social Network, To Rome With Love, Solitary Man), Mia Wasikowska (Lawless, Albert Nobbs, Alice in Wonderland, The Kids Are All Right, Amelia), Wallace Shawn, Noah Taylor, Yasmin Paige, James Fox, Cathy Moriarty, Phyllis Somerville, Sally Hawkins (Blue Valentine, An Education, Never Let Me Go), Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids), Craig Roberts

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The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Harald Zwart, 2013 (PG-13)

After teen Clary Fray witnesses a murder at a New York nightclub, a sinister stranger named Valentine attacks and kidnaps her mother. Endowed with supernatural vision, Clary recruits a band of youthful human-angel hybrids to help rescue her mother.

I have been expecting this movie for a long time, because I am a fan of Lena Headey. For a long time. I am probably not quite objective, but I actually liked the movie, and am looking forward to the next episode. The story has this mystery that most likely is quite predictable, but on the other hand,
the cast is effective, besides vampires and werewolves, magic, and sort of British castle with a hint of Harry Potter's hogwarts and X-Men Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, there is a whole new world of supernatural creatures, with doors to other worlds, this suffice to make me hooked. Looking forward to the next episode...

with Lily Collins (The Blind Side, The English Teacher, Mirror Mirror), Jamie Campbell Bower (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, Winter in Wartime - Oorlogswinter), Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Lena Headey (The Red Baron - Der rote Baron), Kevin Durand (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Cosmopolis), Aidan Turner, Jemima West, Godfrey Gao, CCH Pounder (Avatar, Face/Off), Jared Harris (Lincoln, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Albert Nobbs)

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