Epic by Chris Wedge, 2013 (PG)

Magically transported to an enchanted forest, a teenage girl joins forces with a scruffy group of residents fighting a battle against evil -- and soon realizes they must win to save both their world and hers.

Lets see, I loved the idea of the life beyond what we see, living in the woods, and the movie is funny, the characters interesting. I didn't even find it childish, which sometimes is the fall out of animation movies. And it is beautiful.

with Beyoncé Knowles (Life Is But a Dream), Colin Farrell (Total Recall, In Bruges, Dead Man Down, Saving Mr. Banks), Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right, The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls, In Time, Chloe), Johnny Knoxville (Men in Black II), Aziz Ansari, Jason Sudeikis (We're the Millers), Steven Tyler, Judah Friedlander (The Wrestler), Blake Anderson

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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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Snowpiercer by Bong Joon-ho, 2014 (R)

The Earth's remaining inhabitants are confined to a single train circling the globe as revolution brews among the class-divided cars. Based on a French graphic novel and set in a new ice age, this futuristic thriller stars a top-notch ensemble cast.

This is one of the strangest film I have seen in a while, and not only because Tilda Swinton looks like a freak. This was the first time I was thinking to myself I would rather die than be in that train, even if this means the end of human race, I am not that attached... So you follow these guys, some born on the train, some born before the ice age, and the longer it lasts, the more painful it gets, it an absurd and gore style. This movie made me so uncomfortable I would say it has a point. But don't look for the light or the happy ending, it will only make you feel miserable.

with Chris Evans (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: First Avenger, Avengers, Puncture), Tilda Swinton (We Need To Talk About Kevin, Michael Clayton, I am Love, Constantine), Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, Man on a Ledge), Octavia Spencer (The Help), John Hurt (Melancholia, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Alison Pill (Milk, To Rome With Love, Dan in Real Life), Ed Harris (Gravity, Man on a Ledge, Game Change), Kang-ho Song, Ewen Bremner (Perfect Sense - The Last Word), Ah-sung Ko

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The Lego Movie by Chris Miller and Phil Lord, 2014 (PG)

After being mistaken for the LEGO Master Builder, ordinary mini-guy Emmet is swept up in an urgent quest to thwart the evil plans of Lord Business. Emmet's adventures include daunting challenges and hilarious missteps.

To be honest, I was more looking at how they did it than follow the actual story. The computer animated/stop-motion hybrid technique they used is pretty impressive... Then, the story hum.... It's ok, funny at time, dynamic overall, with a funny way of turning upside down these cliches of "the chosen one", and most of all, throughout the movie, I felt the people who made this movie had fun and didn't take themselves too seriously... Maybe I am wrong, but it was a good one to watch.

with Chris Pratt (Her, Moneyball, Zero Dark Thirty, The Five-Year Engagement), Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games, Man on a Ledge, Our Idiot Brother, The Next Three Days, People Like Us), Will Arnett (Despicable Me), Cobie Smulders (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel's The Avengers, Captain America: First Avenger), Channing Tatum (Magic Mike, The Vow, Haywire, Side Effects), Jonah Hill (The Wolf of Wall Street, Moneyball, How to train your dragon), Morgan Freeman (Now You See Me, Invictus, The Dark Knight Rises, RED, Oblivion), Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson (Non-Stop, Love Actually, The Other Man, The Next Three Days, Chloe, The Grey), Alison Brie (The Five-Year Engagement), Charlie Day (Monsters University), Nick Offerman (We're the Millers, All Good Things, The Men Who Stare At Goats, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous)

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Noah by Darren Aronofsky, 2014 (PG-13)

This adaptation of the story of Noah depicts the visions that led him to voice dire prophesies of apocalypse and to build an ark to survive. As he labors to save his family, Noah asks for help from a band of angels called the Watchers.

Because I enjoyed watching the movie as a pure fiction, it was an enjoyable journey, with great actors and performances. The special effects are great, the rhythm entertaining... Only I couldn't get myself to compare to the bible's writing, which I read afterwards, and have little to do with the movie. So to clarify, do not watch the movie as a message from the bible but as Aronofsky's personal view on Noah's joourney.

with Russell Crowe (Red Obsession, Man of Steel, Robin Hood, American Gangster, The Next Three Days, Broken City), Jennifer Connelly (Requiem for a Dream), Ray Winstone (Breaking and Entering, Snow White and the Huntsman), Emma Watson (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Happy Potter), Anthony Hopkins (Thor 2: The Dark World, RED 2, Hitchcock, Thor, 360), Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Douglas Booth
From the director of Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, Black Swan, The Wrestler

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Maleficent by Robert Stromberg, 2014 (PG)

with Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning (Somewhere, We Brought a Zoo), Sharlto Copley, Lesley Manville (Another Year), Imelda Staunton (Sense and Sensibility, The Girl, Another Year, Harry Potter), Juno Temple (Mr. Nobody, Jack & Diane, The Dark Knight Rises, Kaboom), Sam Riley (On The Road, Jack & Diane), Brenton Thwaites

The untold story of Disney's most iconic villain from the 1959 classic "Sleeping Beauty." A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman with stunning black wings, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army of humans threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal - an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the king of the humans and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom - and to Maleficent's true happiness as well.

This movie is made by the guy who is behind a lot of the visual effects you've seen in late blockbusters, I can start making an endless list of all his credits, from The Hunger Games, Shutter Island, all the way back to the 90s with Star Trek... So his first movie as a director is POLISHED. It is visually beautiful from the carnation of the skin of Angelina Jolie and Sam Riley, to the amazing landscapes we are traveling through. Aside from that, the story is quite a surprising one, since it is not about evil being evil, and good good, as well as — in the latest tendency of Disney movies — understanding women, away from the need for men. The story is beautiful, the values are original, from getting to know the other, to forgiving and learning to change, and somehow giving yourself for something you believe is more important than yourself. In a world that is so selfishly driven, there is something to learn.



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Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade by Steven Spielberg, 1989 (PG)

with Harrison Ford (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strike Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Morning Glory, Blade Runner), Sean Connery, Denholm Elliott, Alison Doody, John Rhys-Davies, Julian Glover, River Phoenix, Michael Byrne (The Saint), Kevork Malikyan, Robert Eddison
Following Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Fedora and whip at the ready, Indiana Jones sets off on his third cinematic outing accompanied by none other than his father, Henry, to explore the cradle of civilization on a perilous hunt for the Holy Grail -- which the Nazis are also after.

This is my favorite, perhaps because it plays with switching roles, because the relationship between the two Jones is funny and it works, also perhaps because it happens at the heart of WW2 in Germany, which is easier to relate to than deep India. And finally because it tells you a little more about Dr. Jones, his childhood, and his emotions... making him a little more interesting than just a witty seductive man.

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Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom by Steven Spielberg, 1984 (PG)

with Harrison Ford (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strike Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Morning Glory, Blade Runner), Kate Capshaw, Jonathan Ke Quan, Amrish Puri, Roshan Seth, Philip Stone, Roy Chiao, Ric Young, David Yip, Philip Tan, Dan Aykroyd, Michael Yama, Chua Kah Joo, Rex Ngui, Akio Mitamura, D.R. Nanayakkara, Dharmadasa Kuruppu, Stany De Silva

Following Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark and followed by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
The second film in the Indiana Jones series takes Indy, young sidekick Short Round and spoiled songbird Willie Scott to a remote fortress in India to find a missing magical stone. In the process, the trio stumbles upon a pagan cult.

This one is cute, the comic element being centered on the little boy and his funny comic of situation. The action is easy to follow, and they journey enjoyable. The story is a little less scientifically realistic, and perhaps the relationship between the characters less believable... Oh well... I was told each new Indiana Jones were better than the previous one (excluding the alien of 2008 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). So the expectation kept rising...

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Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark by Steven Spielberg, 1981 (PG)

When Dr. Indiana Jones -- the tweed-suited professor who just happens to be a celebrated archaeologist and adventurer -- is hired by the government to locate the legendary Ark of the Covenant, he finds himself up against the entire Nazi regime.

This was a classic everyone had seen, and I didn't. I was expecting to love it right away, but the movie has aged, and not only that, the references to this movie are numerous, so I felt everything was quite predictable. Still, I got to enjoy it, Karen Allen is definitely my favorite girlfriend of Dr. Jones, and Alfred Molina is a baby, which is quite funny.

with Harrison Ford (Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strike Back, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Morning Glory, Blade Runner), Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Alfred Molina (An Education, Chocolat, Rango), Wolf Kahler (The Girl in the Cafe), Anthony Higgins
Followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

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Thor 2: The Dark World by Alan Taylor, 2013 (PG-13)

with Chris Hemsworth (Snow White and the Huntsman, Marvel's Avengers, Thor), Natalie Portman (Paris Je T'aime, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits (The Other Woman), Black Swan, Thor), Tom Hiddleston (The Deep Blue Sea, Marvel's Avengers, War Horse), Anthony Hopkins (RED 2, Hitchcock, Thor, 360), Christopher Eccleston (Amelia), Jaimie Alexander, Zachary Levi (Tangled), Ray Stevenson, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba (Prometheus), Stellan Skarsgård (Marvel's Avengers, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Melancholia), Rene Russo (The Thomas Crown Affair), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Sequel of Thor and Marvel's Avengers

The God of Thunder strikes again as he fights to save the Nine Realms from mysterious villain Malekith, who plans to make the entire universe go dark. Meanwhile, Thor must find Jane Foster, who's been targeted by the evil denizens of Svartalfheim.

Ok Thor isn't my favorite series, but somehow, I almost liked this one better than the first. Thanks to the role of Kat Dennings, I was able to laugh. Then, the script is quite predictable, it definitely lakes of imagination, and thank gods Thor doesn't take himself too seriously, if not it would really be unbearable to watch...

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Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi by Richard Marquand, 1883 (PG)

following Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strike Back
In this original theatrical version of the finale to George Lucas's epic space trilogy, the rebel forces take their last stand against the Empire, while Luke Skywalker seeks a final confrontation with his nemesis.

Who didn't fall in love with the teddybear-like Ewoks? Once you are started with this trilogy, you gonna watch it all. This one is more resolutory and close the cicle, perhaps with a stretch which feels similar to "A New Hope" in the destruction of the Death Star, but the overall story keeps the spirit of the previous Star Wars with the sense of humor, a little romanticism, action and a little drama.

with Peter Mayhew, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Ian McDiarmid, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones, Harrison Ford (Morning Glory, Blade Runner, Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark), Kenny Baker, Frank Oz

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Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back by Irvin Kershner, 1980 (PG)

George Lucas's epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), cocky Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.

Probably my favorite Star Wars, it is funny, the action is really entertaining, the suspense and revelation (of course now everybody know it). And watching it all over again was a treat.

with Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, Harrison Ford (Blade Runner, Morning Glory), Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Alec Guinness, Jeremy Bulloch, Denis Lawson (Perfect Sense), John Ratzenberger (Cars)
following Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

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Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope by George Lucas, 1977 (PG)

Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford (Blade Runner, Morning Glory), Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, James Earl Jones (Lincoln, X-men, First Class)

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) guides intrepid Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) on a valiant bid to save the captured Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) from Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones). With his trusty droids and smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Skywalker must also destroy the Galactic Empire's all-powerful weapon: the Death Star. George Lucas cemented his status as a pop-culture legend with this classic battle between good and evil.

Star Wars Episode 4 will officially be my 500th post! Well, it's a classic, and I also loved it. I first saw in in the cinema (well, not in 1977, but when they republished it in 1997). I was so pissed when it ended that I would have to wait two more weeks to see the following episode the Empire Strike Back, and two more for the Return of the Jedi (I didn't have TV at home, so was going to the movies - a lot - To compensate...). Anyway, I can't even imagine the people who had to wait six years after episode 4 to see episode 6... Ok, so Mark Hamill is absolutely irresistible in it (not so much the case in the next ones), and princess Leia and Han Solo are irresistible together, as well as R2D2 and C3PO, even if we never have any frelling idea what R2 might be saying. Brilliant! I watched it again the other day, and felt a bit bizarre as I thought Darth Vader is not as impressive as I had imagined. But really, the transitions, the vintage computers and flight assistant, everything was so inventive. Anyway, a blast that of course made me want to see the other episodes (1980 and 1983, not the newests). So, reviews coming up. Of course, they are announcing the episode 7, I am truly looking forward, specially since the cast will include Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. Yay!!!!

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The Hunger Games: Catching Fire by Francis Lawrence, 2013 (PG-13)

with Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games, Winter's Bone, Silver Linings Playbook, X-Men: First Class, The Beaver), Josh Hutcherson (The Kids are All Right), Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson (The Messenger, Now You See Me, Game Change), Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games, Man on a Ledge, Our Idiot Brother, The Next Three Days, People Like Us), Lenny Kravitz (Precious), Stanley Tucci (The Company You Keep, Margin Call, Captain America: The First Avenger, Julie and Julia), Sam Claflin (Snow White and the Huntsman), Donald Sutherland (The Italian Job), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Moneyball, The Master), Paula Malcomson, Willow Shields
Part 2 of The Hunger Games from the director of Constantine

The film begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a "Victor's Tour" of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) - a competition that could change Panem forever.

Exhilarating. Beautiful. And most important, sticking to the book. Which I found really good. I enjoyed reading the trilogy after watching the first of the trilogy Hunger Games. The tone evolves to a lesser entertaining and deeper theme of a society where the rules of totalitarianism are shaking, and the characters become more complex, defined, and therefor more interesting. The first one was a basic survival story. The second one is about breaking the rules, playing the system, thinking a little bit more of a strategy of longer term. The third part is mostly about waiting and thinking. So in this trilogy, the teachings are definitely about establishing a plan, short term, middle term, and finally long term. And you can see through the eyes of Katniss little by little that she is making the journey that already before her, many wiser people have made, definitely not something we tend to teach these days, as it has all become about short term, problem solving society.

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Skyfall by Sam Mendes, 2012 (PG-13)

with Daniel Craig (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Dream House), Judi Dench (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Chocolat, J. Edgar), Javier Bardem (Biutiful, Eat Pray Love, To The Wonder), Ralph Fiennes (In Bruges, The Reader, The English Patient), Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, Albert Finney (The Bourne Legacy, Traffic), Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas), Rory Kinnear (Wild Target), Ola Rapace
From the director of American Beauty, Revolutionary Road, Road to Perdition...

Oscar nominated for Best Music - Original Song: "Skyfall" (Skyfall) Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth (WON)
Best Sound Editing: Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers (Skyfall) (WON)


When a serious menace threatens MI6, James Bond is on the case -- putting aside his own life and personal issues to hunt and obliterate the perpetrators. Meanwhile, secrets arise from M's past that strain Bond's loyalty to his longtime boss.

Time for a change, although I understand that Judi Dench is retiring, I am going to miss her performance as M. She was just perfect. I enjoyed Skyfall, specially the coming back to Scotland, and the confusion between the Agency and the outside world. I felt, as probably everyone, that Javier Bardem was the perfect bad guy, uncomfortable, manipulating, ugly, and sensual... A very weird combination that confronted to the impeccable M and Bond, makes an interesting triangle. The action is solid, the opening music of Adele in the perfect tradition of Bond soundtracks. I just don't know how they are going to have more James Bond after this one.

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wu Hu Zang Long) by Ang Lee, 2000 (PG-13)

with Yun-Fat Chow, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang (House of Flying Daggers), Chen Chang, Sihung Lung, Pei-pei Cheng, Fa Zeng Li, Xian Gao, Yan Hai, De Ming Wang, Li Li, Su Ying Huang
Duration: 120 minutes

Ang Lee's articulate direction and Woo-Ping Yuen's balletic martial arts choreography elevate this story about a young woman in ancient China who longs for an adventurous life rather than a dull arranged marriage.

Does it always has to be tragic? Sorry for the spoil, but what a beautiful movie! I saw it such a long time ago, and then again in December. I think I was more emotional the first time, perhaps because I felt so much for the role of Michelle Yeoh. She was so touchingly in love... I just had a revelation, just as Miss Dashwood performed by Emma Thompson, in Sense and Sensibility, directed by... Ang Lee! Anyway, the movie has beautifully choreographed martial arts (although I think I preferred House of Flying Daggers), amazing poetry, intelligent plot and two beautiful love stories.

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Life of Pi by Ang Lee, 2012 (PG)

with Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan (Slumdog Millionaire), Ayush Tandon, Gautam Belur, Adil Hussain, Tabu, Ayan Khan, Mohd Abbas Khaleeli, Vibish Sivakumar, Rafe Spall (Prometheus, One Day), Gérard Depardieu (Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatre)

Oscar nominated for Best Picture, Best Cinematography (WON), Best Directing (WON), Best Film Editing, Best Original Score (WON), Best Original Song, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects (WON), Best Adapted Screenplay

Based on Yann Martel's best-selling novel, this coming-of-age tale recounts the adventures of Pi, an Indian boy who is the sole survivor of a shipwreck. Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with only some zoo animals for company.

So beautiful, intriguing, nature is an amazing thing we don't take enough time to admire. And Ang Lee take the time to show it it in its most unusual way. It doesn't mean the story is great, although the journey of the main character is worthy of Jules Verne. I have also been amazed by the use of special effects to enhance the beauty of nature, we are so use to have them try to bring fiction to film, here it is to make it even more real, more accurate than our eyes can see. The colors, the sounds, the motion, everything is spectacular. So as you may have already understood, I have been amazed. Then how important is a story like this one? Perhaps not at all, perhaps because it has no particular point, perhaps because it has no moral but the one of beauty in a world of a lot of shame. Perhaps then yes, this movie was important.

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House of Flying Daggers (Shi Mian Mai Fu) by Yimou Zhang, 2004 (PG-13)

with Takeshi Kaneshiro, Andy Lau (Detective Dee), Ziyi Zhang, Dandan Song, Hongfei Zhao, Jun Guo, Shu Zhang, Jiusheng Wang, Zhengyong Zhang, Yongxin Wang
Duration: 119 minutes

Near the end of the Tang Dynasty, police deputies Jin and Leo tangle with Mei, a dancer suspected of having ties to a revolutionary faction known as the House of Flying Daggers, which steals from the rich and gives to the poor.

Another tragic story of love and betrayal, with a beautiful cinematography, amazing landscapes, great combats, saddening music and the most handsome actor I have seen in a long time, Takeshi Kaneshiro. He is really attracting all the attention towards him, even if Ziyi Zhang is actually very good, and Andy Lau is a great actor himself. So this is it, the best discovery for me of this movie was Kaneshiro.

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The Italian Job by F. Gary Gray, 2003 (PG-13)

with Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter, Contraband), Charlize Theron (Young Adult), Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games), Jason Statham (Killer Elite), Seth Green, Mos Def, Edward Norton (The Bourne Legacy), Julie Costello, Franky G.

Mark Wahlberg stars as Charlie Croker, a clever thief who masterminds a major heist amid the waterways of Venice, Italy -- but a betrayal by one of his own spells disaster, and Croker returns to Los Angeles without the stash, plotting revenge. With an eye on recovering his riches, Croker rounds up his crew -- adding an ace safecracker (Charlize Theron) to the mix. Donald Sutherland, Seth Green and Mos Def also star in this elaborate crime caper.

Interesting, this movie is shaped in the same way Ocean Eleven was, with the same sort of team (including a girl in an important role) and with a badder guy, less classy in a way. The cast in impeccable, the idea of the robbing very inspired with the use of the city commute as a way out, it flows very well, and at the same time, it was the second time I was watching it and couldn't remember how the story would go. It was smooth, smart but not memorable for some reason. Any different opinion on it?

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows by Guy Ritchie, 2011 (PG-13)

with Robert Downey Jr. (Avengers), Jude Law (Anna Karenina, Breaking And Entering, Hugo, Sleuth, Contagion), Noomi Rapace (Prometheus, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Rachel McAdams (The Vow, Morning Glory, Midnight in Paris), Jared Harris (Mad Men), Stephen Fry (Alice in Wonderland), Paul Anderson, Kelly Reilly (Les Poupées Russes), Geraldine James (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Eddie Marsan
From the director of Snatch

Robert Downey Jr. returns as the brilliant sleuth and Jude Law is back as Dr. Watson in this atmospheric sequel to 2009's Sherlock Holmes. Holmes resorts to occult theories and more to defeat the plans of his nemesis, the evil Professor Moriarty.

Hyperactive.
How to say it otherwise, it is very stylised, to the point where you miss the humor, or even the plot. You get dragged into tricks, twists and turns of the actions, premeditation, reenactment, fake and real, with a sense of rhythm that can only be, perhaps, appreciated by a high dose of heroin or something, anyway, not at all interesting after five minutes of slow motion tricks. It is visually outstanding, or perhaps then again abusing of style to the point where it starts looking like a mix of music videos from Mylene Farmer mixed with the Twilight series. Robert Downey Jr. is irritating, Jude Law and Noomie Rapace barely manage to make him being forgotten, the good surprise was Kelly Reilly from "Les Poupées Russes", very cute as the newly wed wife of Dr. Watson.

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