In Bruges by Martin McDonagh, 2008 (R)

with Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient, The Reader, The Hurt Locker), Colin Farrell (Total Recall, Dead Man Down), Brendan Gleeson (Albert Nobbs), Ciarán Hinds (The Debt, Margot and the Wedding), Clémence Poésy (127 Hours), Thekla Reuten, Jérémie Renier (The Kid with a Bike), Theo Stevenson, Robbie Kay, Zeljko Ivanek (The Words)

After killing an innocent boy in London, hit men Ray (Colin Farrell, in a Golden Globe–winning role) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are ordered to lay low at a bed and breakfast in Bruges, Belgium, until their boss (Ralph Fiennes) phones with further instructions. But when he calls, Ken doesn't like the assignment. Written and directed by Martin McDonagh, this dark comedy earned a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay.

Weird weird movie. Darkest sense of humor ever. Very Belgian in a way. The cast is impeccable, the tone is between the fairy and the spy story, not the most common combination. Adding the interesting fact that the hit men are literally stupid and existential, it gives the movie twists and turns that are to the most unexpected. An excellent surprise.

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The Five-Year Engagement by Nicholas Stoller, 2012 (R)

with Emily Blunt (Wild Target), Jason Segel (Jeff Who Lives At Home, Bad Teacher), Alison Brie, Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill), Chris Pratt, Chris Parnell, Mindy Kaling, Brian Posehn, Dakota Johnson (Beastly), Mimi Kennedy, Adam Campbell, Jim Piddock, David Paymer, Kevin Hart, Jacki Weaver, Michael Ensign, Clement von Franckenstein, Jane Carr, Randall Park, Lauren Weedman

Jason Segel and Emily Blunt star in this contemporary romantic comedy as an engaged young couple who discovers that the more they get to know each other, the more unpredictable their commitment to getting married becomes.

I believe it is one of these hysterical comedy that need to push the button too far to think they are funny. So, Jason Segel has become a near-grizzly, while he was the most delicate cook in the planet. Emily Blunt is so naively good that it is just stupid. The length of the engagement doesn't seem in the end such a big deal, since they short-cut everything to compare it to an obvious normality, making everything even more obvious. The ending is such a fast twist that you feel you've been watching a trailer all along. Not a good movie at all.
Ah I just got the explanation, this movie is from the same producers as Bridesmaid! I guess in this case, they absolutely failed.

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Peace, Love & Misunderstanding by Bruce Beresford, 2011 (R)

with Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener (Please Give, SimOne, Out of Sight), Elizabeth Olsen, Nat Wolff, Chace Crawford, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Marissa O'Donnell, Rosanna Arquette, Kyle MacLachlan

Distraught over her impending divorce, conservative lawyer Diane seeks refuge with her mother, Grace, even though the two haven't spoken in years. Diane's children are thrilled with their free-spirited grandma, while Diane finds peace and romance.

It is interesting to see how Jane Fonda put herself in this role being so much herself, her knowledge and beliefs are in tune with the crazy character of the Grandma, and goodness, what an extraordinary shape she kept. In a strange way, Catherine Keener is the opposite of all the crazy roles she has been playing lately, except perhaps for the control-freak aspect of the personality, and she is impeccable loosening up. Elizabeth Olsen is great in post-adolescence, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is the same old romantic musician guy. It is in a way a perfect refreshing comedy to enjoy the summer with, with some mother daughter relationship explored, and the finding that the opposites attracts when looking deeper in oneself. It is all we want to hear, no pressure, no big statement, no drama, an easy to please movie, perhaps too easy.

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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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The Kids Are All Right by Lisa Cholodenko, 2010 (R)

with Julianne Moore (Game Change, Crazy, Stupid, Love., Chloe, A Single Man), Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo (Avengers, Shutter Island), Mia Wasikowska (Albert Nobbs, Alice in Wonderland), Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games, The Virgin Suicides), Yaya DaCosta (The Messenger), Kunal Sharma, Eddie Hassell, Zosia Mamet, Joaquin Garrido, Rebecca Lawrence

Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson), the children of same-sex parents Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore), become curious about the identity of their sperm-donor dad (Mark Ruffalo) and set out to make him part of their family unit, often with hilarious results. But his arrival complicates the household dynamics, and nobody is sure how he fits in — if at all — in this Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning comedy.

Brilliant cast, unique — for our time — story, funny, sensible... although the story focuses somehow on the dysfunction of a gay family, with the obvious temptation for a woman to have to cheat with the guy, any guy. The ending puts the story back together but never the less, it felt like an obvious reflexion on whether the normality of a family comes with having a father in it or not, which somehow is a sensitive subject that, underlying, puts a little bit of judgment. That made me uncomfortable. I wonder if that was on purpose, or to just layout the idea that it is just like any other couple having a crisis with an occurring event which makes it all explode. The kids journey are a little more interesting since the expected is to have the search of the "father" (or donor) being a revelation for them, and sadly for their search but fortunate for their equilibrium, is not... which is probably what is the biggest statement of the movie. And since the movie title seems to evoke that the movie is supposed to revolve around the kids, that makes the movie "Alright".

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The Debt by John Madden, 2010 (R)

with Helen Mirren (RED, The Queen), Sam Worthington (Somersault, Avatar), Jessica Chastain (The Help, The Tree of Life, Take Shelter), Jesper Christensen (Melancholia), Marton Csokas (Dream House), Ciarán Hinds (Margot at the Wedding), Tom Wilkinson (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Michael Clayton, Duplicity, The Ghost Writer, The Conspirator), Romi Aboulafia, Melinda Korcsog
From the director of "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"

Rachel Singer (Helen Mirren) is a former Mossad intelligence agent forced to relive her 1965 pursuit of a notorious Nazi war criminal when the bold and dangerous fugitive is thought to have reemerged 30 years later in the Ukraine. Director John Madden's redo of Assaf Bernstein's 2007 Israeli suspense piece also features Jessica Chastain as the young Rachel Singer, along with Sam Worthington, Tom Wilkinson and Ciarán Hinds.

I have been wanting to watch this movie for ever. When it came out in France, I couldn't see it, and then it took forever to come out in the US. I still didn't see it. So yesterday, I finally saw it. It is really good, the suspense in superb, the acting really perfect, with two generations of excellent actors playing the believably same characters. The story is interesting, although it doesn't go too deep in the scars of history. The little they do has such a strong meaning that perhaps spreading too much information on the post-WW2 or the war itself. Its point of view is also interesting politically since it is well viewed to trial Nazis after the war, but not to deal with turned-bad kidnappings, and no country wants their hands dirty. The manipulating crazy doctor of Birkenau is played to the edge by the amazing Jesper Christensen. A long time since I saw an intelligent movie. Now I have to watch the original from 2007 by Assaf Bernstein...

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The Artist by Michel Hazanavicius, 2011 (PG-13)

with Jean Dujardin (Little White Lies), Bérénice Bejo (Le Passé - The Past), John Goodman (The Monuments Men, Monsters University, Flight, Trouble with the Curve, Argo, The Emperor's New Groove (Kuzco), You Don't Know Jack, The Princess and The Frog), James Cromwell (Surrogates), Penelope Ann Miller, Missi Pyle (Galaxy Quest), Beth Grant, Ed Lauter, Joel Murray (Monsters University), Bitsie Tulloch, Ken Davitian (Get Smart), Malcolm McDowell

This modern-day silent film artfully recounts the poignant end of the silent-movie era in the late 1920s. The story contrasts the declining fortunes of a silent-screen superstar with his lover's rise to popularity as a darling of the "talkies."

It took a long time for me to watch it. In the meantime, I saw how successful it has become, the Golden Globes, the Oscars, many more awards along the way, the intense campaign the producers, filmmaker and actors had to do, including the dog. I guess in a way, it was all part of the same show. I finally watched the movie, which is entertaining, funny, overacted just enough for us to get the idea, with very fast reading subtitles from time to time it took me to press pause to actually be able to read it... I was told Berenice Bejo ("Meilleur Espoir Feminin") wasn't as good as Jean Dujardin, but I have to disagree. The cast is impeccable with John Goodman and James Cromwell looking in their element, Berenice Bejo really cute and inspired, but Jean Dujardin is the same old, same old. I could see Brice De Nice, the characters of "Toutes les filles sont folles", "OSS117"... Exuberant... I know by now he can be cast for more dramatic characters, he is actually a great actor, but this felt like the easy way... Anyway, still a very refreshing movie, which great ideas and twists for our entertainment.

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