The Paperboy

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman
Director: Lee Daniels
Rating: ●○○○○ - a joke

I went to see Paperboy not sure of what to find but curious to see a movie with Nicole Kidman who I haven't seen around for a while.
Next time I should probably do my homework.
I did not like Paperboy.
The plot does not stick together, to start with.
A reporter and his brother (Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron) investigate the events surrounding a murder in an effort to exonerate a man on death row. But it is not clear why. In the middle of this, pops up Nicole Kidman a pretty naive woman, who falls in love with the accused jailed man that has never met but that wants to marry.
It simply does not make sense.
The characters then are ridiculously exaggerated and unreal.
As a result this turns this movie from an intended drama to a farce.
And then we arrive to the most ridiculous scene ever seen on the big screen (sorry for the spoiler): Zac Efron goes for a swim, gets attacked (at 2 meters from the shore) from a herd of aggressive jellyfishes, manages to drag himself to the shore and passes out (?) and what does Nicole Kidman do to save him? She pisses on him... yes, just as you read it...

Flight

Starring: Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Rating: ●●●○○ - Missing something

I was wondering what happended with Robert Zemeckis.
The Oscar Winner director of Forrest Gump (but also of Back to the Future) had not been directing a "traditional" movie since Cast Away with Tom Hanks in 2000, having switched to digital movies (The Polar Express, Beowulf, A Christmas Carol) in the mean time.
Now after 13 years Zemeckis returns back with Flight.
If you watched the trailers, this is not really the hi-adrenaline/catastrofic movie that may appear from the flight emergency landing scene.
Flight is the essentially the battle of a man against his addiction to alcool, skilfully interpreted by Denzel Washington and a story about fall and redention and about having a second chance.
A good movie overall that however appears to lack some flavour and intesity. You wonder what would this movie be if directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, Biutiful, 21 Grams, Babel).

Django Unchained

Starring: Leonardo Di Caprio, Jamie Foxx, Christopher Waltz
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Rating: ●●●●○ - The Revenge

Here is the second episode of Tarantino's personal remix of Italian genre movies, after Inglorious Basterds (from Italian Inglorious Bastards of 1977 by Enzo G. Castellari).
Genre movies (in Italian "Cinema di Genere") refers to a style of Italian movies of the 60s and 70s by which the Hollywood colossal films were reinvented compensating a lower budget with a stronger, edgier, violent and expressive cinema.
Among the themes that encountered higher international success were Horror, with the movies of by Dario Argento, and the so called Spaghetti Western, mostly with the movies by Sergio Leone (true masterpieces) and fellow Sergio Corbucci (all with the unmissable Morricone soundtrack).
Sergio Corbucci, in particular, directed Django in 1968, a western based story of revenge starring Franco Nero.
The first sequences of Quentin Tarantino's Django start from here, with opening titles and direction style taken directly from 1960s Spaghetti Westerns.
But this movie is not a remake, its a new interpretation of the original theme of western revenge. Therefore, soon after the opening titles, Tarantino's Django walks with its own feet, following the original plot assembled by Tarantino, who confirms to be the best movie writer out there.
The links with the original Django are present in Morricone's soundtrack and in a small part played by Franco Nero.
Tarantino's movies usually don't have anything to teach, there isn't a good or cause cause.
However, in Inglorious Basterds things started to change, Nazis were the bad guys bad and deserved to die. A bit too simple.
Here Tarantino wants to show how horrific was slavery. This time the theme touches directly the conscience of the Unites States. Its shameful slavery and racist past has been exposed several times recently at the movies, the last one being the excellent "Lincoln" which has just been reviewed in this blog.
But while these other movies focus on the humiliation of the discrimination, Quentin uses his violent and sadistic point of view to show us how horrible slavery was. And for once, with all the blood and the gore, Tarantino is not exaggerating.

Lincoln

Starring: Daniel Day Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating: ●●●●● - A Landmark

Lincoln is a great movie.
Expectations, to be honest, were high, given that we are talking about a movie directed by Steven Spielberg, with Daniel Day Lewis, about one of the most important and influential American presidents.
The movie is not however, a biopic, in the sense that the real focus of the movie is not Lincoln but rather the debate in America around the approval of the 13th amendment of the constitution that abolished slavery, a turning point in World's history.
It is not by chance that this movie has been made now with Obama president, because it represents the latest step in the Afro-American battle for equality, a process started with the approval of 13th amendment 150 years ago.
The movie requires a bit of historic preparation, and gives for granted that you already understand the context of the secession war and the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.
As said it is not a biopic, but a movie about politics, and in this period when everybody complains about bad politicians (regardless of where you live) gives us one of the greatest examples of what being a good politician means.
In conclusion I want to highlight the immense performance of Daniel Day Lewis as president Lincoln, surly worth the Oscar.
Excellent movie, excellent acting performance.

The Impossible

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts
Director: Juan Antonio Bayona
Rating: ●●●○○ - Hopeful

The Impossible is a movie based on a the true story of a young family vacationing in Thailand as they struggle to survive and reunite in the aftermath of the devastating 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami.
That natural disaster was the probably the worst in history killing over 230,000 people in fourteen countries.
The beginning of this movie is incredibly similar to the first part of Hereafter directed by Clint Eastwood in 2010. In both movies we as spectators are submerged by the tsunami wave and struggle to get out of the flood.
Then while Hereafter moves on and develops other themes, The Impossible focuses on the experience of that tragedy, making you live the struggle for survival and the panic of losing your loved ones, it brings you there with all the drama.
Because of this The Impossible ends up being a powerful movie thanks also to the good interpretations by Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts.
The only limit that I would find to this movie is that the story is a bit straight forward, without many surprises.
Perhaps after the shock of the tsunami wave, no one wants more surprises in this movie.

Les Miserables

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russel Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen
Director: Tom Hooper
Rating: ●●●●○ - Epic

The screen transposition of this successful London west-end and Broadway musical has been done in grand style.
The stellar cast to start with (which includes a couple of Oscar winners), with a great interpretation from the prestigious wolverine Hugh Jackman and his Aussie fellow, but fierce enemy on screen, Russel Crowe, and including also great performances by Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Borat).
Then the costumes and the setting in a unsettled France of the beginning of the 1800.
Finally the poignant and intense story derived from this classic of Victor Hugo.
All these factors make this film a great movie production.
But...
I suffer from a strange allergy that makes be rattle in agony when I see a movie in which the characters speak to each other singing.
In this movie all (or at least 99%) of the dialogues are sung, so for me it has been a painful 2hs and a half.
So if you like musicals, this will probably be your favourite movie ever.
But, if you suffer from my same allergy, make no mistake, see something else.

Life of Pi

Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan
Director: Ang Lee
Rating: ●●●○○ - Over-promising

After the Christmas break, I started the year with Life of Pi, movie transposition of the successful book by Yann Martel published in 2001, directed by Oscar Winner Ang Lee (Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain).
The main feature of this movie are the images, the visual effects and a finally proper and skillful use of the 3D feature, the best since Avatar. So in case you wonder, yes this one is worthwhile watching in 3D.
The movie has a first part based in India which deals with the theme of religions vs. rationality which I find very interesting, though you have a feeling that you are missing out something compared to the book.
Then there is a second part about the kid and the tiger. This part is the one where images and the photography come in support of an otherwise slow paced section, which is the the core of the movie, the main central part.
Finally there is the conclusion, in which again, you feel that you are a bit rushed into. In the first part you are promised a story that will show you the existence of God (nothing less), but in the end I felt I was promised more than what has been delivered.
So this is a visually excellent movie, an inspiring story, with some pace issues here and there (derived from the difficulty of transposing a spiritual book into a movie) but overall a movie worth watching.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Starring: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman
Director: Peter Jackson
Rating: ●●●●○ - Does not disappoint

This week's movie is a much expected one: The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey
It is worth saying that I have not read the book and so I will not comment on much faithful to the original the story is.
But I did see the Lord of the Rings trilogy of which the Hobbit is the prequel.
If we ignore this for a moment and evaluate the Hobbit as a stand alone movie, then we could say that it is a bit slow at parts (the dinner of the Dwarves at Bilbo's place for example) and that the writers did not even try to come up with a kind of conclusion for this episode.
But we know that there will be two other episodes of the Hobbit due to be released soon, that have been already filmed.
For now, we as viewers just need to follow Bilbo in his travels though fantastic landscapes, Gandalf, the Gollum, battles with Ogres, and most of all... the Ring.
The whole production team is the same as previous Oscar winning trilogy, starting from director Peter Jackson who wrote and directed the previous one.
So if you liked the Lord of the Rings and you want to see more of it, you know you cannot miss this one.

End of Watch

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña
Director: David Ayer
Rating: ●●●●○ - Involving

I liked End of Watch, I think it was a well done movie.
The story is around the friendship of two street policemen, played by Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain, Jarhead) and Michael Peña (who played the cop also in World Trade Center).
The movie focuses on the day to day lives of these two cops, their fears, their feelings, rather than the usual crime-punishment seen usually in this genre of films. In other words, you see more dialog between the two than adrenaline-type chasing action scenes.
Don't expect this to be a movie about zero tolerance, or the I-am-the-law kind. It is a honest portrait of two ordinary guys doing their job.
Clearly there is police action here, but like maybe never before, you see the action through the eyes of these two policemen.
The film is shot mocking a handy video recorder, in particular the one Jake Gyllenhaal always carries with him during his patrols, giving this movie a Youtube/Real TV feeling, a clever trick that makes End of Watch very realistic and involving.

Great Expectations

Starring: Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Jeremy Irvine
Director: Mike Newell
Rating: ●●○○○ - Below expectations

Maybe one of novels with the highest numbers of movie adaptations (I counted at least 7) is again out in its 2012 version directed by Mike Newell (director of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Donnie Brasco among others).
It his hard to say how much this version can add anything more to what has been already done, because I admit I have not watched all the previous versions. Let's say therefore that we are watching this movie for the first time, and let's say that we haven't even read the book first so we don't have a clue of the story.
Among the good things of this movie there is a credible 1800s setting (apart of the haircuts of the young gentlemen that seem too much 2012 hipster style), taking you back to the streets of London in the Victorian era and its city vs. countrymen differences.
The acting of Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes is really good, as you would expect from these two excellent actors.
The plot, on the other hand, is a bit confusing in the first part where you ask yourself why certain things are happening. As the movie goes on, it eventually provides all the answers, but I was left with the impression that the story was rushed.
I felt in the end like I have not been able to get into this movie, well crafted but somehow cold.

Gambit

Starring: Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz, Alan Rickman
Director: Michael Hoffman
Rating: ●●○○○ - Disappointing

I am a big fan of the Coen brothers, so I could not miss Gambit, presented as the new movie by the Coen brothers.
Gambit is a remake of the movie from the 60s staring Michael Caine, in the role now played by Colin Firth.
The story , without spoiling it too much, is about trying to sell a fake Monet instead of an authentic one.
Well, selling a fake for the original works also for the movie itself in the sense that this is not really a movie from the Coen brothers, as I realised looking at the credits at the beginning of the movie.
The Coen brothers have been involved only in re-writing the original script. This explains why there is so few here that would resemble the comic surrealism of the Big Lebowski, Burn After Reading or Arizona Junior.
Gambit ends up being a vintage type of comedy with the result that would have been funny in the 60s but it looks fairly pointless now days.
But ending on a positive note, the interpretation of Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci (small part as a German art critic) is really good.

Silver Linings Playbook

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro
Director: David Owen Russell
Rating: ●●●○○

Silver lining (from Wikipedia) is a metaphor for optimism in the common English-language idiom.
So, Silver Linings Playbook promises to be a feelgood romantic Hollywood style movie. And it delivers what it says on the box.
The plot is typical and somehow predictable: a man, over 35, has to restart his life and by the end of the movie falls in love with final happy ending.


However, the movie has got elements that makes it peculiar and original.
The acting to start with. While De Niro we know all so well, Bradley Cooper is credible in playing the main character affected by bipolar syndrome, going intelligently beyond the handsome-bloke-type of role.
Worth mentioning here also Jennifer Lawrence that after Winter's Bones and Hunger Games, shows what an eclectic actress she is.
We mentioned the bipolar syndrome affecting the main character and its insane obsession for its past, that gives depth to this movie and enriches it.
Though this theme is central to the movie, the film is light and funny, because everyone is a bit insane in the end, including the people watching this movie, we realise.
An enjoyable two hours of optimism.

Argo

Starring: Ben Affleck, John Goodman
Director: Ben Affleck
Rating: ●●●●○

Great movie. Let's start with this.
I was looking forward to see Argo and it did not disappoint me.
Argo is based on a true story about the American embassy in Iran being raided in 1979.
Ben Affleck plays a secret agent who has the duty to rescue some of the american diplomats.
While watching the movie, I was thinking how different this secret agent is compared to the imaginary 007 action hero character in Skyfall.
But this also a movie about making a movie, a science fiction one, so trendy in 1979, just like people smoking on airplanes, big glasses, mustaches, and Dire Straits and Van Halen.
Ben Affleck does a great job not just as an actor but he is starting to build a credibility as film maker after The Town.
Argo has the right pace, not too fast, not too slow building the right tension up to the end.
Well done.
Recommended.

Untouchable

Starring: François Cluzet, Omar Sy
Director: Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano
Rating: ●●●●○

Today I will be talking about Untouchable, a French movie released originally in 2011 but in the UK only recently. The movie is still actually in the cinemas and for this reason I want to invite people to see it if they have a chance.
At first I was in doubt, it did not seem my favourite type of movie.
Then, having been told it was really worthwhile, I gave it a go.
And yes, Untouchable is a very good movie.
It is a story of a friendship between a man left paralyzed by an accident and its unwilling caretaker, but also the relationship between 2 world apart, rich and poor, black and white, central Paris and Banlieues, classical music and funky music.
The thing that I liked the most is the light hearted atmosphere, funny even, and also moving. It give me emotions leaving pain and compassion out. This made me love this movie.
By the way, this movie based on a true story.

Looper

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt
Director: Rian Johnson
Rating: ●●●●○

I approached this movie with bit of care... when was the last time I saw a movie worth watching staring Bruce Willis? Well, this surely is.
The story is too complicated to summarize here, without spoiling it. But let's say that it could vaguely remind of Terminator... people travelling back in time trying to change the future.
But Looper is much darker.
In this movie there is no hero, no hope, no one fighting for a good cause.
The story is set in 2044 when the world is in the hand of organised crime for which the main character, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (a younger De Niro look alike), works for as a killer. But the killer routine stops when Bruce Willis appears...

How much do you allow your past to destroy your future?

I don't want to disclose anything more... be prepared to be surprised.
I really suggest this one, though it is violent and dark... not your average Hollywood movie.
Mindblowing.

Worth mentioning the talented director Rian Johnson (Brick, Blood Brothers) who also wrote the movie, and Emily Blunt who diguises her SW London origins playing the American country woman.

Skyfall

Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Judi Dench
Director: Sam Mendes
Rating: ●●○○○

What better way to re-start the 7th art blog than reviewing Skyfall, a movie promoted none the less by HM the Queen of England.
Let's go straight to the point: is all the hype worth? Depends how much of a 007 fan you are.
If when asked your name you answer "Smith, Paul Smith" then you will find here the car chases (at the beginning), the impeccable suits, the exotic locations, the also exotic women, you will even find the Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger, and most of all the great opening song sang by Adele.
Basically all you expect from this modern age British hero. Maybe that's why Metro in the UK rates this movie with 5 stars (as a masterpiece).

But if you are just a normal viewer like me, what do you get out of this movie?
Well, not much frankly. One scene probably describes all my perplexity and it's the opening chasing scene. The chase ends with Bond being shot, falling from a very tall bridge in the water, his body dragged in a water fall... and yes, he survives.
As he does later on after falling in a frozen lake and fighting underwater for a minute. If this is the case, than let's just say he is an X-man and next time let's have him defeat the evil using magnetic brain powers or laser beams flashing from the eyes.
The action scenes (of the kind described above) are 80% of this movie, but what about the other 20%? Not much. The plot has gaps all over. You keep thinking "why is he doing this?", but then you realize that this has to be, so you give up asking yourself stupid questions.

There is actually one thing very good about this movie, and it's Javier Bardem's interpretation of the villain, crazy, clever, disturbed and mad. But from a guy who won best actor in Cannes, Venice and the Oscar, you cannot expect less. And yes, the song by Adele.