The Hunger Games (2012)

Directed by: Gary Ross
Country: USA

Plot: Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match.
Quick comment: The futuristic scenario was well set and the concept behind the games worked fine. The problem was that along the course of its story, I wasn't able to be convinced. Predictable in its twists and turns, it didn’t surprise me much. For me it was just another action movie without much to think or discuss about. For better games, I recommend the japanese “Battle Royale” from 2000, now running in IFC Cinema, NYC.
Relevant awards: -

The Deep Blue Sea (2011)

Directed by: Terence Davies
Country: UK

Plot: The wife of a British Judge is caught in a self-destructive love affair with a Royal Air Force pilot.
Quick comment: This story about a relationship condemned to fail, was based on a famous play by Terrence Rattigan and directed with the habitual rigor by the British Terrence Davies. However, these facts, along with the good performances, weren’t enough to make this movie a must-see. Love, obsession, depression and suicide are carried in a slow pace and extreme sadness. The truth is that for most of the time I felt indifferent and didn’t really mind when it came to an end.
Relevant awards: -

Dark Shadows (2012)

Directed by: Tim Burton
Country: USA

Plot: An imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins, is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection.
Quick comment: Tim Burton didn’t want to stay out of trend and provides us with vampires, witches and werewolves. Counting with his regular and favorite actor Johnny Depp, this time the plot and imagery weren’t so appealing. Having exaggerated on the number of stunts and witchcrafts, only the dark humor has saved the film from a disaster. It’s ok as entertainment but is for sure the weakest Burton in years…
Relevant awards: - 

Snowtown (2011)

Directed by: Justin Kurzel
Country: Australia

Plot: Based on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.
Quick comment: Another case to be analyzed in psychology – the story of the Australia’s worst serial killer is bleak and cold. Daniel Henshall (winner of 4 international awards) plays magnificently well the role of John Bunting, a confident and absolute ruling man who fancied himself as a superior being. I don’t feel like visiting Snowtown after watching this! An hypnotic and scary independent film.
Relevant awards: special mention (Cannes).

21 Jump Street (2012)

Directed by: Phil Lord / Chris Miller
Country: USA

Plot: A pair of underachieving cops are sent back to a local high school to blend in and bring down a synthetic drug ring.
Quick comment: I must have a problem with this kind of comedies. This one in particular will be remembered more for its unmannerly approach than for its jokes. Most of the gags were too formulaic and too dumb to be funny. In a quick summary: I got bored most of the time and I don’t recommend this one.
Relevant awards: -



Breathing (2011)

Directed by: Karl Marcovics
Country: Austria

Plot: A 19-year-old is coming out of prison and trying to build a new life but he can't deal with his guilt.
Quick comment: Austrian actor Markovics (known for his role on “The Counterfeiters”) makes his debut as director and the result is “breathing” – a movie with personality. Without any kind of sentimentality, it shows the struggle of a young boy to reintegrate himself in society after spending his life first in an orphanage and then in a juvenile detention center.It shows how important it is for a person in this situation to feel support from others in order to move on. A director to keep an eye on.
Relevant awards: Grand prix (Melodist); label europa cinema (Cannes).

Life, Above All (2011)

Directed by: Oliver Schmitz
Country: South Africa

Plot: A touching mother-daughter relationship that reflects the modern South Africa.
Quick comment: I don’t remember of another movie about AIDS in Africa that had interested me so much. Thorough cinematography, genuine acting and a stylish directing is what you can find in this artsy south-african movie. It starts with a funeral and ends with a funeral, with misery and fear mixed up, but not everything is bad here. We can also feel the warmth of human feelings and friendship. You’ll feel rewarded.
Relevant awards: 2nd place for best film (Dubai).

Silenced (2011)

Directed by: Dong Hyeuk Hwang
Country: South Korea

Plot: A new teacher is appointed to a school for hearing-impaired children in Gwangju. There he discovers that children are being physically and sexually abused by their teachers.
Quick comment: Since it started, there was no time wasted and we follow with stupefaction the horrible revelations. The initial mystery and suspense soon gave way to endless court sessions. Unfortunately the movie wasn’t able to keep the level shown in the beginning - decaying slowly towards the end. Based on a real story, this movie can be noble for the huge social impact that has had in Korea, but makes us wonder about the efficiency of its narrative and approach. Watchable.
Relevant awards: -

Miss Bala (2011)

Directed by: Gerardo Naranjo
Country: Mexico

Plot: The story of a young woman clinging on to her dream to become a beauty contest queen in a Mexico dominated by organized crime.
Quick comment: Reveals a smart plot within a clumsy style, where lots of betrayals take place, involving police, government and drug cartels. The title of the movie was inspired in a famous Mexican pageant named “Miss Baja California” which is a dream for many girls. The movie shows how easy it is for any innocent person to be tangled in the schemes of the corrupted mexican system. It's only a matter of being in the wrong place at wrong time.
Relevant Awards:

The Cabin In The Woods (2011)

Directed by: Drew Goddard
Country: USA

Plot: Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin in the woods, where they get more than they bargained for. Together, they must discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods.
Quick comment: I was expecting more from this movie but it revealed to be a big disappointment since the beginning. Its special effects and some jokes were ok while the complex script was completely unlikely and dull.  Besides, the movie didn't benefit with the juvenile temper adopted… so, the horror I was expecting just turned out in a few laughs. Exhaustive and boring...
Relevant Awards: -

Hell And Back Again (2011)

Directed by: Danfung Dennis
Country: USA

Plot: What does it mean to lead men in war? What does it mean to come home? This documentary has the answers.
Quick comment: The hell goes on for Sergeant Harris after being shot in Afghanistan War where he was leading his platoon on a mission. Seriously wounded in a leg, he was forced to return to US and has become a drug addict  in order to avoid the extreme chronic pain. Using intercalated images of war and post-war time, it revealed to be more depressing than informative by only showing another singular case of a man with particular taste for killing and whose life was wrecked by war.
Relevant Awards: best documentary (Moscow); jury prize (Sundance).

Into The Abyss (2011)

Directed by: Werner Herzog
Country: USA

Plot: Conversations with death row inmate Michael Perry and those affected by his crime serve as an examination of why people and the state ... kill.
Quick comment: Starting from a real case of murdering in Texas, Herzog conceives this superb documentary about death penalty. Not only focusing the alienation or the motives of the murderers, he rather goes deeper, by showing the side effects felt by the victim's families and also by ones working on death row. Having clarified his own point of view, Herzog leaves at the same time a wide margin for being debated on this matter.
Relevant awards: -

The Lady (2011)

Directed by: Luc Besson
Country: France

Plot: The story of Aung San Suu Kyi as she becomes the core of Burma's democracy movement, and her relationship with her husband, writer Michael Aris.
Quick comment: Suu Kyi is an example to follow regarding resistance to tyranny all over the world. However this movie wasn't so captivating as it should be. In the first 30 minutes has shown some suspense and no idle moments but soon softened with the help of a repetitive oriental score throughout the film. I was pleased to know more about this woman but the movie didn't impress me. Worth watching taking into account the information provided.
Relevant awards: -

4:44 Last Day on Earth (2011)

Directed by: Abel Ferrara
Country: USA

Plot: A look at how a painter and a successful actor spend their last day together before the world comes to an end.
Quick comment: Ferrara picks up the trend and releases a movie about the end of the world. The lull that most of the characters have shown was a bit hard to swallow. This apparent acceptance of their fate sometimes bursts in insanity and suicidal chaos with people trying to carry on till the presented lousy “end”. What I have seen was only a scream of anger against what’s happening to our planet but nothing more than that. Not solid enough.
Relevant Awards: -

Kooky (2010)

Directed: Jan Sverak
Country: Czech Republic

Plot: Young Ondra has asthma and so his mom throws away his favorite toy: a musty old stuffed bear named Kooky...
Quick comment: “Kooky” fits in those kind of movies which will please parents as much as their kids. Mixing up animation (handcrafted puppets) with real landscapes and people, it manages to be technically efficient and visually stunning. The story despite being stereotyped and showing repeated wild action, turns out to engage, following the same path of Sverak’s previous works where fantasy, comedy and family entertainment are common. As advice I urge you to look for Sverak's master work named "Kolya"(1996)
Relevant Awards: jury prize (Karlovy Vary).

Hors Satan (2011)

Directed by: Bruno Dumont
Country: France

Plot: A miracle reveals an unseen side of a village loner.
Quick comment: Those who have watched the turkish “Kosmos” (2010), directed by Reha Erdem will instantly perceive the similarity on the storyline followed there. Darker but not so loose than its homologous, "Hors Satan" strongly relies on the chosen country landscapes and actor appearances to create Dumont's depressive mood. Always concerned in shocking us somehow, this feature represents the eternal battle between good and evil wrapped in supernatural ambiguity. Bewildering but not original.
Relevant Awards: -

Monsieur Lazhar (2011)

Directed by: Philippe Falardeau
Country: Canada

Plot: At a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom.
Quick comment: Nothing could have been more convenient than the encounter between school kids who are facing the suicide of their former teacher in classroom and an algerian refugee who fakes to be a teacher and him too, tries to deal with the death of his family. Despite this obvious arrangement, I would recommend it since it manages to be light and sensible within such a heavy subject as death. At the end you’ll feel comforted.
Relevant Awards: best canadian film (Toronto); best screenplay  (Valladolid).

House of Pleasures (2011)

Directed by: Bertrand Bonello
Country: France

Plot: Claustrophobic, frank and unexploitative account of life in a smart parisian brothel between 1899 and 1900.
Quick comment: The ascension and decline of "L’apollonide" brothel gives us an ideia of how the prostitutes had to cope with all types of fetiches and sometimes mistreatments indulged by their clients. Each of these women have revealed to be dead inside, stucked in their vain hopes of having a decent life and struggling to put an end to their infinite debts and anguish.  We can feel their pain even without overdramatic or sentimental scenes showing up.
Relevant Awards: - 

Haywire (2011)

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Country: USA

Plot: A secret agent seeks payback after she is betrayed and set up during a mission.
Quick comment: This new feature from the versatile and experimental Steven Soderbergh proves that a great cast doesn't always make a good movie. For me it looked like a baffled though unsalted espionage story with a bunch of karate strikes in order to look fancy. By embracing an overworked theme, Soderbergh took some risks but at the end not much is left to be remembered.
Relevant awards: -



Shame (2011)

Directed by: Steve McQueen
Country: UK

Plot: Brandon is living in New York and reveals himself unable to manage his sex life. After his wayward younger sister moves into his apartment, his world spirals out of control.
Quick comment: After “hunger”, “shame” is the confirmation of a compelling director. A study of a sex-addicted character amazingly portrayed by Michael Fassbender. A curious aspect here to notice is that many questions will be raised about the motives and the past of characters but none of them will be answered. It simply shows us in a raw way how the things are, unfolding the pain underneath the actions and leaving us with a bitter taste in our mouths. An heavy experience.
Relevant awards: Fipresci - best film (Venice)