300 by Zack Snyder, 2007 (R)

300 is a 2007 American fantasy action film based on the 1998 comic series of the same name by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. In a conflict pitting the ancient Greeks against the Persians in 480 B.C., Spartan King Leonidas leads his small band of 300 soldiers against an army of more than 1 million during the Battle of Thermopylae.

A little later than Sin City, they came up with this very cool epic movie, in color this time, but that would precede a whole series of stylized film, with amazing choreography, special effect, cinematography, in a very comic book style. Of course, most of it is completely surreal, but Gerard Butler holds it so it keeps the story going, as the action unfolds. 

with Gerard Butler (Playing for keeps, How to train your dragon), Lena Headey (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, The man with rain in his shoes, Game of Thrones), Dominic West, David Wenham, Vincent Regan, Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave, Trance, Prometheus, Haywire, A Dangerous Method, Shame, X-Men: First Class, Fish Tank), Tom Wisdom, Andrew Pleavin, Andrew Tiernan, Rodrigo Santoro (I Love You Phillip Morris, Love Actually), Stephen McHattie (Immortals), Alex Ivanovici
From the director of Man of Steel followed by 300: Rise of an Empire

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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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Pompeii by Paul W. S. Anderson, 2014 (PG-13)

with Emily Browning (Sleeping Beauty), Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Carrie-Anne Moss (Fireflies in the Garden, Chocolat, The Matrix, Snow Cake), Kiefer Sutherland (Melancholia), Jessica Lucas, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Thor 2: The Dark World, Killer Elite), Jared Harris (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Lincoln, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Mad Men), Sasha Roiz, Currie Graham

Set in 79 A.D., this is the epic story of Milo, a slave turned invincible gladiator who finds himself in a race against time to save his true love Cassia, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant who has been unwillingly betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts in a torrent of blazing lava, Milo must fight his way out of the arena in order to save his beloved as the once magnificent Pompeii crumbles around him.

Besides the interesting detachment from any biblical or religion, making mother nature the ultimate power with no existential reason, and us human really futile whether good or bad, the story told before the volcano takes over is terribly told, with no real political or social content, Emily Browning is as cheesy and you can get (sad, she was so interesting in Sleeping Beauty), the bad characters are really bad, the good ones are really good people, there is no psychology, what you see is what you'll get for the rest of the movie. How sad considering how interesting the culture of Pompeii was, and the relationship between Rome and them.

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Lee Daniels' The Butler by Lee Daniels, 2013 (PG-13)

with Forest Whitaker (Out of the Furnace, Flight), Oprah Winfrey (The Princess and The Frog), John Cusack (The Paperboy), Jane Fonda (Peace, Love & Misunderstanding), Cuba Gooding Jr. (American Gangster), Terrence Howard (Ray, The Company You Keep, The Princess and the Frog, Dead Man Down), Lenny Kravitz (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games, Precious), James Marsden (Superman Returns), David Oyelowo (Jack Reacher, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Lincoln, The Paperboy), Vanessa Redgrave (The Whistleblower), Alan Rickman (Galaxy Quest, Love Actually, Alice In Wonderland, Snow Cake, Harry Potter), Liev Schreiber (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Robin Williams (Deconstructing Harry), Mariah Carey (Precious), Clarence Williams III, Alex Pettyfer (In Time, Magic Mike, Beastly)
From the director of Precious and The Paperboy

Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker delivers a powerful performance as Cecil Gaines, who served as the White House butler under eight presidents. His three decades of service unfold against a backdrop of unparalleled change in American history.

I need to quote that one, I never do and for once, I cannot even tell who wrote that. So here is from the person who wrote on Netflix "Good intentions don't necessarily make good movies. Forest Whitaker is very good but all the stunt casting (to cite a famous critic) made some of it seem like an SNL skit. Robin Williams is Robin Williams as Eisenhower. Oooh look! It's Jane Fonda! And Oprah should NEVER try to act. [...]" and 95 out of 96 members found this review helpful! I found it hilarious and right on... Here is another one: "[...] HEAVY-handed -- but then, anything Oprah puts her stamp on is! And, a horrible choice of actors to play the presidents -- John Cusack as Nixon??? Robin Williams as Eisenhower??? What were they thinking??? And please... stop casting Mariah Carey in anything!" Although I would add it is a good way to summarize the changes in politics in the US.

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Augustine by Alice Winocour, 2012 (NR)

with Soko, Vincent Lindon (Bastards), Chiara Mastroianni (Bastards), Olivier Rabourdin, Roxane Duran, Lise Lamétrie, Sophie Cattani, Grégoire Colin (Bastards), Ange Ruze, Stéphan Wojtowicz

When beautiful kitchen maid Augustine (French recording artist Soko) suffers an inexplicable, violent seizure, she is sent to a psychiatric hospital specializing in the treatment of feminine "hysteria" and presided over by Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot (a founding father of modern neurology and a mentor to Sigmund Freud). Fascinated by his new patient, Charcot (Vincent Lindon) quickly makes Augustine the star attraction in a series of hysteria presentations, hypnotizing her to induce spectacular fits for crowded lecture halls. As the full nature of Augustine's affliction begins to emerge, the relationship between doctor and patient becomes more complicated and personal power dynamics start to shift. Based on a true story from late 19th century Paris, Augustine is a lush, darkly sensuous tale of romance, psychology, and sexual politics.

Another movie with Vincent Lindon and Chiara Mastroianni. A strange one. I was told to pay attention, since it was so much connected to the play "Some Historic Some Hysteric" and a demonstration of how ignorant people were, comparing to the time of Masters of Sex, who still had so much to discover. The movie has a strange curve, with no real climax, no real contradiction, no real drama, it feels like documented from a blind point of view, which missed half of the story. Wouldn't it have been fascinating to know more about Augustine's emotional journey, or Dr. Charcot's struggle to get his discoveries to another level, or the political game of the people of research and science... Everything is there, and still nothing gets deep, so, when the movie ends, it feels incomplete, in suspense.

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Los años desnudos (Clasificada S) by Dunia Ayaso, Félix Sabroso, 2008 (NR)

with Candela Peña, Goya Toledo, Mar Flores, Luis Zahera, Antonio de la Torre, Tomás Álvarez, Jose Luis Ayuso, Jorge Calvo, Julio Velez, Ana Wagener, Susana Estrada

The new liberalism of the post-Franco years provides the backdrop for this dark comedy centered on the experiences of three actresses (Candela Peña, Goya Toledo and Mar Flores) working in Spain's soft-core porn industry as the country emerges from years of repressive rule. Although each of the women comes from a different background, they all share the common experience of exploitation at the hands of an opportunist hiding behind the veil of art.

This is a strange movie, based on the stories of actresses of the post-Franquism. It gets to be funny, sexy, really light and shallow, and at the same time, heavy and sad. Because the movie starts with a point and finishes with the opposite, you get to feel uncomfortable from letting yourself be bluffed by the appearances. It has an unusual format, the three women are not particularly making you love them, but somehow, because they are a representation of an era, "cine del destape", their symbol is stronger than themselves and the movie remains in your mind. As a woman, I guess it traumatized me quite a bit, not so much because of the women, but because of what it tells about men... Fortunately, the "cine del destape" only lasted as long as the Spanish transition, from 1975 to 1982.

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Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight by Stephen Frears, 2013 (PG-13)

with Pablo Schreiber (Orange is the New Black), Christopher Plummer (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Danny Glover, Benjamin Walker, Frank Langella (All Good Things, Superman Returns), Barry Levinson (Bandits, You Don't Know Jack), Ed Begley Jr., Bob Balaban (Deconstructing Harry), Muhammad Ali, Dana Ivey (Two Weeks Notice, Did You Hear About The Morgans?), Harris Yulin, Peter Gerety (The Legend of Bagger Vance), Fritz Weaver (The Thomas Crown Affair)
From the director of Dirty Pretty Things

Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight looks at Muhammad Ali’s historic Supreme Court battle from behind closed doors. When Ali was drafted into the Vietnam War at the height of his boxing career, his claim to conscientious objector status led to a controversial legal battle that rattled the U.S. judicial system right up to the highest court in the land.

If you forget that the main character of the movie is Muhammad Ali, the court room and the behind the scene is actually fascinating. The power held in the hands of few, as politics of that time is so intricate, it is fascinating. It gets technical, and it is from a high sphere that you never really see. It is interesting, the actors are all quite impressive... you just need to expect a legal and political game, more than an entertaining documentary about a celebrity.

Lincoln by Steven Spielberg, 2012 (PG-13)

From the director of War Horse
with Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn (The Bourne Legacy, The Whistleblower), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises, Looper, 50/50, Inception), James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones (Hope Springs, MIB 1, MIB 2, MIB 3), Jackie Earle Haley (Dark Shadows), John Hawkes (American Gangster, Winter's Bone, The Sessions), Jared Harris (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows), Joseph Cross (Milk), Tim Blake Nelson, David Oyelowo (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Bruce McGill (Fair Game)

Director Steven Spielberg takes on the towering legacy of Abraham Lincoln, focusing on his stewardship of the Union during the Civil War years. The biographical saga also reveals the conflicts within Lincoln's cabinet regarding the war and abolition.

Introduced by an ex-president at the Golden Globes (Bill Clinton), winning Best Actor in the same ceremony.
Oscar nominated for best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (WON), best Actor in a supporting role, best Actress in a supporting role, best Cinematography, best Costume Design, best Directing, best Film Editing, best Original Score, best Production Design (WON), best Sound Mixing and best Adapted Screenplay.

Of course, all this is overwhelming, so I had to watch it. It is a strangely slow paste, with a deep work in the performances, a strong will to impersonate the people that created the fundamentals of our society, with no attempt to make it a fancy contemporary discourse. On the contrary, Lincoln is portrayed not only as the father of the United States was a father figure for his surrounding, a human being with the conflicts of his determination and righteousness, shaping words by word the portrayal of a man, a father, a lawyer, a politician and a leader. The movie is at times funny, emotional, educational, strategic, and not only centered on Lincoln but on determining roles that participated in reshaping the history, such as Stevens and Mary Todd Lincoln. It is still a very serious movie, very dark in its cinematography. While watching it, you could almost feel the texture, the smells, the humidity, there is time for all these sensations to be explored. An interesting piece, definitely, not as mainstream as the director is. Except perhaps for the ending in a sort of commemorative homage style.
The movie ends with the death of Lincoln, which interestingly is the beginning of "The Conspirator" by Robert Redford. Somehow I wouldn't have connected the two movies, but there is something similar in the greyness and lack of color in The Conspirator which reminds me of "Lincoln".

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The English Patient by Anthony Minghella, 1996 (R)

with Ralph Fiennes (In Bruges, The Reader), Juliette Binoche (Breaking and Entering, Chocolat, Certified Copy, Paris), Willem Dafoe (Fireflies in the Garden), Kristin Scott Thomas (Bel Ami, Salmon Fishing In The Yemen, Partir), Naveen Andrews, Colin Firth (Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy, The King's Speech, A Single Man), Julian Wadham (The Iron Lady), Jürgen Prochnow, Kevin Whately, Clive Merrison

Set against the backdrop of World War II, this Oscar-winning drama stars Ralph Fiennes as a badly burned pilot who recounts a tale of doomed romance to the nurse tending him. As his story spills out via flashback, so do secrets about his identity.

I watched this movie when I was 12 (it was allowed in France, forbidden for children under 12 :). I was by myself, since it wasn't the kind of blockbuster movies my friends would go to the cinema for, it was my first movie in English with subtitles, I was a bit nervous, and a teacher of my school was sitting right behind me, which made me uncomfortable during the love scenes, and also and mostly because I cried a lot.
This is the movie that made me fall in love with Kristin Scott Thomas. She was sublime, emotional, funny, strong, passionate. Ralph Fiennes was handsome (still is, but in this movie, he was really hot (actually quite cold, but with a lot of charm). Juliette Binoche was exuberant but cute. Anyway, at the end, she got the Oscar, not Kristin, which got me terribly upset.
Coming back to the topic, it took me a second time, 16 years later, to fully understand the movie historical context, the role of Willem Dafoe (I always see him as the bad guy, this time I guess I was wrong), and also perhaps the true content of the relationship between Fiennes and Scott Thomas, although I might have grasped back in time the essence of it, in an instinctive way. Anyway, this movie is a masterpiece, it is profound, rich of emotions and subtleties, an excellent portrayal of what war can be, when you are not political, when you do not really belong, except perhaps to someone. It is beautifully shot, almost artistic. And the remains of the love stories of this movies stay with you as soft sad memories, unreachable, yet emotionally palpable.

Wath Trailer (took me a while to find it!)

J. Edgar by Clint Eastwood, 2011 (R)

with Leonardo DiCaprio (Marvin's Room, Titanic, Shutter Island), Naomi Watts (Fair Game, Dream House), Armie Hammer (Mirror Mirror, The Social Network), Josh Lucas, Judi Dench (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Chocolat), Dermot Mulroney (The Grey), Lea Thompson, Miles Fisher, Ed Westwick (Breaking and Entering), Jeffrey Donovan, Stephen Root (Mad Money, Rango)

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this riveting biopic as J. Edgar Hoover, the longtime FBI director as notorious for his overzealous methods of law enforcement as for the rumors regarding his cross-dressing and close relationship with protégé Clyde Tolson.

For some reason, the trailer portrayed a political movie, very serious, almost boring. So, of course, I guess no one came to see it, no-one recommended it, and when it was nominated for the Oscars, while Meryl Streep won everything with her performance in "The Iron Lady", no-one considered Leonardo DiCaprio. Sad, his interpretation of the strong and slightly megalomaniac but highly closeted J. Edgar Hoover is very impressive. And as any of Clint Eastwood movies, the characters emotions are perfectly developed, with amazing subtleties and a story that draws you in, no matter the topic, for example "Million Dollar Baby" in 2004 that I can still remember sharply to the latest "Hereafter" and "Invictus".  And I believe the trailer would have played more on the feelings of Hoover, it would have attracted a lot more people. Anyway, after a quite reluctant time, I finally watched it, and it is amazing. It is very interestingly built in a three parallel periods, showing how the FBI got its power, how he managed to create a continuity in its power, no matter the politics, until Nixon arrived and soon took over after the death of Hoover. At the same time, it goes to a more personal side of the story with the complexity of this person in his time. The movie is not so much about good and bad guys, it is the evolution of history, and finally the main character of the story turns out to be America itself.

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The Iron Lady by Phyllida Lloyd, 2011 (PG-13)

with Meryl Streep (Marvin's Room, Julie and Julia, It's Complicated, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Out of Africa), Jim Broadbent (Cloud Atlas, Another Year), Alexandra Roach, Harry Lloyd, Olivia Colman, Iain Glen, Victoria Bewick, Nicholas Farrell, John Sessions, Anthony Head (Scoop), David Westhead, Julian Wadham, Richard E. Grant, Angus Wright, Roger Allam, Michael Pennington, Susan Brown, Phoebe Waller-Bridge

Meryl Streep provides a subtle and nuanced portrait of Margaret Thatcher, the first female prime minister of Britain, whose political career and determination changed the rules that had limited women's opportunities for leadership.

It is funny how one actress can get so much publicity for her movie. You almost forget that this is not the only thing that make the movie good. Well, it definitely helps. Specially when it is Meryl Streep, and when portraying one of the most fascinating women of the last century. But that's it. She is amazing, the old husband can be of some interest, but the younger version of Margaret Thatcher is just not right, nor her husband. It looks like a fairy tale kind of story. But she is amazing, her transformation is really good, to the point you forget that she is Meryl Streep, to the point that when growing old, you believe her difficulty to connect to reality, to move around, to loose herself. Very good performance.

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Winter in Wartime (Oorlogswinter) by Martin Koolhoven, 2008

with Martijn Lakemeier, Yorick van Wageningen (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Jamie Campbell Bower (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2), Raymond Thiry, Melody Klaver, Anneke Blok, Mees Peijnenburg, Jesse van Driel, Dan van Husen, Ad Van Kempen, Tygo Gernandt

This sumptuously photographed drama focuses on 14-year-old Michiel as he wrestles with family loyalties, painful choices between safety and courage, and the harsh realities of the last, desperate winter of World War II.

The movie is amazing, misleading, great acting, cinematography. Perfect. With emotions and questioning. Not a simple story, something to think about.

The Red Baron (Der rote Baron) by Nikolai Müllerschön, 2008

with Matthias Schweighöfer, Til Schweiger, Joseph Fiennes, Lena Headey, Volker Bruch, Steffen Schroeder, Maxim Mehmet, Hanno Koffler, Richard Krajco, Lukás Príkazký

Based on the true story of the notorious World War I flying ace, this drama explores the life of Manfred von Richthofen -- aka the Red Baron -- from his childhood fascination with flying to his renowned career in the German Luftwaffe.

The movie is interesting if you never heard of the Red Baron. And you've heard so much about world war II that you assume Germans during world war I were fighting for the same ideology. I was surprised and impressed by the mentality of pilots throughout the war, despite the rivalries. At the same time, the movie showcase the relevancy of being grounded in a war that we cannot forget had the most people dead. So interesting in that aspect. Then, the movie is not very subtle in making you get those points. And the romantic story is cute, but sometimes a bit moralistic. And the movie is a bit over-staged and overacted. Great portrait anyway of a hero from the "other" side.

The Wave (Die Welle) by Dennis Gansel, 2008

with Jürgen Vogel, Frederick Lau, Max Riemelt, Jennifer Ulrich, Christiane Paul, Jacob Matschenz, Cristina do Rego, Elyas M'Barek, Max Mauff

To give his students a real-world example of how dictatorships can grow powerful, a high school teacher starts a social experiment that gives some of his students a strong advantage while leaving others subservient and powerless.

Based on a real story, interestingly in the 70's in California, which means out of a historic context, it has traumatized a generation of high school students. As a book, it is studied in Germany to prove that it can happen again, if we are not careful about what we build for ourselves. What is changing in the movie, besides putting it in the present time, is that it is set in Germany. I do not know why this choice was made, and it has been dramatized at the end. Perhaps to make it more impact-full. The movie is excellent, well played, it develops very well the feelings of each students, the euphoria of belonging, the apprehension of other, the construction of an identity that makes sense, a logical building up of the rise. And the frontiers that are little by little built upon rules. Scary...