Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubrick, 1999 (R)

with Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Knight and Day), Nicole Kidman (The Paperboy, Margot At The Wedding, Rabbit Hole), Sydney Pollack (Michael Clayton), Madison Eginton, Jackie Sawris, Leslie Lowe, Peter Benson, Todd Field, Michael Doven, Sky Dumont, Louise J. Taylor, Stewart Thorndike, Randall Paul, Julienne Davis, Lisa Leone, Kevin Connealy, Marie Richardson, Thomas Gibson, Mariana Hewett, Leelee Sobieski, Rade Serbedzija, Alan Cumming

Director Stanley Kubrick's final film dishes up a chillingly distant examination of carnal desire and obsession ignited by an argument over fidelity between Dr. Bill Hartford (Tom Cruise) and his wife (Nicole Kidman), which sends the physician reeling into the Manhattan night. He soon finds himself in a surreal succession of sexually charged encounters, capped off by a clandestine visit to an upper-crust orgy.

I was told I would never understand that movie watching it when it came out, by both my art and philosophy teachers. Well, I waited, with a bit of apprehension. I was told you would need to have a long relationship with someone to be able to comprehend the twist and experience of the couple portrayed in this movie. So when I watched it finally last month, I felt I finally had some requirements supplied: the maturity of a long enough relationship. And I watched. It is interesting how things communicates, and my first impression is that I had to have been a new yorker, which i am now for 5 years. And at the same time understand how few I knew about my city and its mystery of social circles, and other kind of circles. And then I entered another understanding of the movie. It is all about trust, and curiosity sometimes... It was intriguing, appealing, shocking, incomprehensible, and finally after all this journey, so ordinary and true. In a very comfortable way. So I learned my lesson and acted accordingly.

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Leaving (Partir) by Catherine Corsini, 2009

with Kristin Scott Thomas, Sergi López, Yvan Attal, Bernard Blancan, Aladin Reibel, Alexandre Vidal, Daisy Broom, Berta Esquirol, Gérard Lartigau

Bored with her life of leisure, Suzanne (Kristin Scott Thomas) decides to reestablish her career as a physiotherapist. But first, she'll need an office ... and that's where her troubles begin in this drama from Catherine Corsini. As soon as Suzanne meets the man her husband hired to construct her backyard office, she falls hard -- and the attraction is mutual ... and dangerous.

How many movies about married woman having a crush on another man, after many years in the boredom of their marriage. How many are portraying the weakness of the woman, creating a drama that makes the woman guilty, the other man someone horrible, and the husband a victim. Well, here is the other way around, and the strength Kristin Scott Thomas is able to perform makes the movie a total different one: the husband as well as the wife have a responsibility for this to happen but in reality, it happens like love happens sometimes, in a very instinctive circumstance, and with another man that is as taken by the events as the wife, responsible but in love. And that makes the movie surprising, violent, sensual, angry, and instead of a soft weeping romantic drama, you have an energizing movie about love.

The Whistleblower by Larysa Kondracki, 2010 (R)

With Rachel Weisz (The Deep Blue Sea, The Bourne Legacy, 360, Dream House, Constantine, Agora), Vanessa Redgrave (Lee Daniels's The Butler), Monica Bellucci (The Matrix Revolutions, Remember Me, My Love - Ricordati di me, Asterix and Obelix Meet Cleopatra), David Strathairn (The Bourne Legacy, Lincoln), Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Roxana Condurache, Paula Schramm, Alexandru Potocean, Benedict Cumberbatch (12 Years a Slave, Star Trek Into Darkness, August: Osage County, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, War Horse), Liam Cunningham, David Hewlett (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Luke Treadaway, William Hope

A drama based on the experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska cop who served as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and outed the U.N. for covering up a sex scandal.

This movie made me sick. As a woman and a human being. All the references to good, powerful, rights, references are smashed. Everything. The United Nations as a powerful source of (in)justice, the police in Bosnia taking advantage of the lack of system, the women who do not believe anymore in any salvation, and this woman trying to attack a system that protect itself. Rachel Weisz is amazing of truth, in a world of corruption, her righteousness is almost suicidal, and somehow makes her a hero. Even tho nothing after all changed. Sick...

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The Conspirator by Robert Redford, 2010 (PG-13)

with James McAvoy (Trance, X-Men: First Class), Robin Wright (Adore - Perfect Mothers, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Breaking and Entering, House of Cards, Moneyball), Evan Rachel Wood (Mildred Pierce, The Wrestler, Simone), Alexis Bledel, Justin Long, Danny Huston (You Don't Know Jack, Robin Hood, Hitchcock), Norman Reedus (American Gangster), Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson (Duplicity, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Michael Clayton, The Ghost Writer)

Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.

At the very beginning of the United State, from a justice system that doesn't envy much to the present one for being much more sophisticated. And the movie doesn't try to avoid or forgive it. It is straight forward, and supported by major actors, and makes you question our foundations and the world still today.

The Man From NoWhere (Ajeossi) by Jeong-beom Lee, 2010

with Bin Won, Sae-Ron Kim, Hyo-seo Kim

This hard-hitting tale of revenge stars Bin Won as Tae-Sik, a former special agent living a bitter and lonely life following his wife's tragic death. When a young girl (Sae-Ron Kim) he befriends is kidnapped by a vicious drug gang, Tae-Sik rushes to her aid. Bloodthirsty and hell-bent on justice -- particularly after being framed by the gang -- he takes the law into his own hands, infiltrating the ring and systematically wiping out its members.

I would never have watched it, ever. A Korean film, what looks like a violent action movie, over stylized matrix type... Well, I actually like Korean culture, but I don't know how I came across it, except that it was in the recommendations of Netflix. So thank you Netflix. Beautiful, unusual editing, very rhythmic, and the cinematography has something very stylized, but in the good sense of it, the choreography is perfect, from close ups to wide shots, and the emotion is there. The main actor is really good, and quite fascinating. It is strikingly realistic, even after having watched several movies on the theme, from Dirty Pretty Things about London's trafficking, Tell Tale in the US and Inhale in Mexico. And terribly depressing.

A Marine Story by Ned Farr, 2010 (NR)

with Dreya Weber, Paris P. Pickard, Christine Mourad, Rob Beddall, Anthony Michael Jones, Jason Williams, Deacon Conroy, John Lee Ames, Brad Light, Ned Mochel ...

A decorated officer from a military family, Alex (Dreya Weber) is unexpectedly discharged from duty. When she returns to her conservative hometown, the Marine struggles to readjust to civilian life, but agrees to mentor Saffron (Paris P. Pickard), a troubled teen who's enlisting. Alex is the no-nonsense role model and authority figure Saffron needs, but as Saffron finally hits her stride, Alex must find the courage to face her own demons.

Ok, another one, and yet, not. This movie, again a true story, is the story of many men and particularly woman in the US army, who had to face the "Don't ask don't tell" policy prohibiting military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted or bisexual service members or applicants, while barring openly gay, lesbian, or bisexual persons from military service. The first change occured on september 9, 2010, and while the DADT has been restored, the new order continues to explicitly prohibit the government from discharging or investigating openly gay personnel... until September 20, 2011, which should sign the end of the DADT policy. Although the storytelling is a bit TV style, the movie is not bad, it has its point, and well played, thanks to its lead actresses.

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Elena Undone by Nicole Conn, 2010 (NR)

With Necar Zadegan, Traci Dinwiddie, Gary Weeks, Sam Harris, Connor Kramme, Sabrina Fuster, Mary Wells, Erin Carufel, Heather Howe, Jane Clark

When openly gay writer Peyton (Traci Dinwiddie) and love-starved pastor's wife Elena (Necar Zadegan) meet, they immediately form a strong bond. But the warmth of friendship soon erupts into a sizzling affair, forcing both women to confront their unexpected yet intense feelings. By turns sensual, smart and funny, writer-director Nicole Conn's semi-autobiographical tale explores the contemporary landscape of connection and commitment.

You might instinctively classify this movie as lesbian movie. You will not be wrong. But I would rather define it as a romantic drama, an universal movie about love. It is emotionally strong, attaching through the two main characters as well as the supporting actors, bringing also some lightness and wider look to a reality that beyond love, can stop so many people from finding happiness.
It also has a great sensuality to it, that makes you believe in the truth of their emotion, desire and therefore the major decisions they are taking, to be able to handle the consequences.
The acting was good, and I honestly fell in love with Traci Dinwiddie. I heard she just played in a short about a woman with breast cancer, Open Your Eyes, wanna see it. Hoping she makes it to the role of Wonder Woman! Yes, I love Wonder Woman.

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