Hope Springs (2012)

Directed by: David Frankel
Country: USA

Summary: A couple attends counseling sessions after 30 years of marriage.

Review: Written by Vanessa Taylor, whose work is mostly related with TV series, “Hope Springs” is entirely sustained by the performances of Meryl Streep as unhappy wife, and especially Tommy Lee Jones as sullen husband. They transpire frustration and discomfort in their attempt to save their marriage, showing quality and versatility in their work. That’s the only motive why I would recommend “Hope Springs”. Otherwise, it’s the type of predictable plot with a couple of irrelevant details and a soundtrack that didn’t fit well in most of the cases. It gives a class about marriage counseling where the actors shine but without much to take as a lesson. See it at your own risk.

The Island President (2012)

Directed by: Jon Shenk
Country: USA

Summary: President of Maldives battles against the global warming.

Review: A documentary whose admirable hero is Mohamed Nasheed, former president of Maldives. Nasheed played an important role in the political fight for democracy and human rights, and later by trying to alert the world for the global warming threat, exposing the risks of complete annihilation of his country and culture. For that, he added sincerity and determination to a very original campaign. “The Island President” shows the magnificent beauty of the islands in addition to the sad evidence of the ocean rising waters. Hope is still alive but the reality is very shocking and worrying, making us realize that this problem must be urgently solved.

Relevant awards: People Choice Award (Toronto).

Natural Selection (2011)

Directed by: Robbie Pickering
Country: USA

Summary: Unhappy in her marriage, a woman finds out that her husband has an illegitimate child.

Review: “Natural Selection” is the story of a middle-aged woman pursuing happiness in a desperately way, after several years of marital disillusion. This sounds familiar, but the plot showed some unusual stuff that could have been better used if it was not for the indecision on whether to adopt a funny or a serious approach. This uncertainty thwarted any potential strength and originality depicted, depriving the viewer from taking it on a deeper level. Rachel Harris gets to be annoying on several moments in Robby Pickering’s forgettable debut drama.

Relevant awards: Audience award (Athens); grand jury prize (Indianapolis).

Premium Rush (2012)

Directed by: David Koepp
Country: USA

Summary: A bike messenger picks up an envelope that attracts the interest of a dirty cop.

Review: It spreads lots of adrenaline with the infinite chasings involving delivery bikers and a couple of nasty cops. The enjoyable ridings through Manhattan, despite its vividness, have a bunch of unrealistic traffic situations, where the images look like fabricated animations. They sure make a good impression but tend to be repetitive after a while. Another remark: you don’t mess with NYPD as the movie shows. They are not so tolerant with fantastic escape attempts. If you don’t take “Premium Rush” too seriously, it can be entertaining and deliver some dizzying movement, but in case you do, you’ll find some flaws that might push you away.

Flight (2012)

Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Country: USA

Summary: A pilot tries to save a plane from crashing.

Review: “Flight” is not a perfect movie and is far from that achievement but certainly has the power to hold your attention. An experienced pilot with alcohol problems, despite the deed of saving most of the passengers from a plane crash, starts a tough journey to be sober and clean his name from any responsibility in the accident. The process will be long, with ups and downs, lies, pain and guilt, but only he can help himself. Despite some avoidable scenes, mostly in the final moments, Zemeckis guarantees another good quality Blockbuster, many years after “Back To The Future” and “Forrest Gump”. Denzel Washington, Kelly Reilly and John Goodman, the latter with two fantastic appearances, helped to make"Flight" memorable.

Citadel (2012)

Directed by: Ciaran Foy
Country: Ireland / UK

Summary: An agoraphobic father teams up with a renegade priest to save his daughter.

Review: “Citadel” can be frightening and disturbing, especially in the first moments where we can almost sense the paranoia of the main character. But in my way of seeing it, the plot wasn’t fully explored throughout the second half, where three people will try by themselves, to save the world from the hands of some devilish childs. The parallelism between having fear and being invisible was creative but not necessarily compelling. Even though, I have to recommend “Citadel” to every enthusiast of horror genre. Good performance by the young actor Aneurin Barnard, as well as a promising first direction from the Irish Ciaran Foy.

Relevant awards: Best first Irish feature (Galway); best fantastic film and jury prize (Neuchatel).

The Queen Of Versailles (2012)

Directed by: Lauren Greenfield
Country: USA

Summary: A documentary that follows a billionaire couple as they begin construction on a mansion inspired by Versailles.

Review: Opulence and ostentation is what this peculiar documentary has to show. It tells how the magnate of time-sharing business start to build a house inspired on Versailles Palace to please his capricious wife. It’s almost surreal when you think about the thirty bathrooms on that house. Never boring, it shows the deplorable reality for those who don’t know what to do with so much money and the complete insensitivity and slouch when the things go wrong. It can be seen as a tragic-comic piece of live cinema and believe me, it worth the peek.

Relevant awards: Directing (Sundance).

Boy (2010)

Directed by: Taika Waititi
Country: New Zealand

Summary: Set on the east coast of New Zealand in the year 1984, Boy, an 11-year-old kid and devout Michael Jackson fan gets a chance to know his father.

Review: “Boy” is a sensitive and often funny movie about a kid from a New Zealand’s village, whose family was broken from the moment that his mother died. His absent father finally returns one day, not to find their children, but to collect a buried amount of money. Being immature and sly, he will be a complete disappointment to his kids, who had imagined a model dad. Using an engaging style and the typical colors from the Pacific lands, “Boy” covers father/son relationship and the power of forgiveness without being too sentimental or boring. For an agreeable matinee. 

Relevant awards: Best feature film (Berlin); audience (Sidney).

Skyfall (2012)

Directed by: Sam Mendes
Country: USA

Summary: Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her.

Review: Persuasive and confident British agent, 007, is back by the hand of Sam Mendes (“American Beauty”, "Road To Perdition", “Revolutionary Road”). Daniel Craig impersonates the famous agent for the third time, in a movie where spectacular chasings, impossible escapades and advanced technology will delight the fans. Personally, I have one or two things to add that had influence in my rating. First: 007 used to be humorous and astute, but in “Skyfall” these details were left behind in detriment of the technically impressive action scenes. Second: I really miss Sean Connery! If you like sturdy action, where the impossible becomes possible, this certainly is a film for you.

Relevant awards: -

End Of Watch (2012)

Directed by: David Ayer
Country: USA

Summary: Two young officers are marked for death by members of a notorious cartel.

Review: A cop who records his daily work with a camera, while beating the streets of L.A. could be a bit difficult to swallow, but the idea eventually worked fine in David Ayer’s “End of Watch”. The performances of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña were totally convincing, showing all the intensity of the fight against the members of a powerful gang. The story doesn’t rush to action. It warms the things up with some loose cases and quotidian life, until finally break into wild shooting scenes. The moving camera style that was used had two opposite effects: it highlights the realism of the scenes but also makes them confusing. Enough material to make us enjoy cop movies again.

Relevant awards: -

Ted (2012)

Directed by: Seth MacFarlane
Country: USA

Summary: As the result of a childhood wish, John Bennett's teddy bear, Ted, came to life and has been by John's side ever since.

Review: I wasn’t expecting a “Ted” like this. Definitely it isn’t a movie for kids, since it uses inappropriate language, scenes of drug consumption and mildly violence. It’s surprising and entertaining, with some very good jokes in the sleeve, but at the same time adopts a wild style mixed with the absurdity of the plot, which delivers an odd sensation. The mood is captivating but “Ted” isn’t completely free of the clichés used in romantic comedies. The simple idea of “Teddy Bear” having such a pretty girlfriend was a little too strained, reminding us of how unreal this story is. However, it works fine if you simply let yourself go by Ted’s frantic life.

Relevant awards: -

Alps (2011)

Directed by: Giorgos Lanthimos
Country: Greece

Summary: A group of people start a new odd business.

Review: “Alps” is an obscure movie, coming from the director of “Dogtooth” (2009), where the bizarre and obsession interact to provoke the viewer. Lanthimos has something in his favor: he always sets the right mood and pace in order to intrigue us somehow. As expected, “Alps” has a very strong psychological component and easily delivers a sense of loneliness and anguish from their characters. We are talking about a slightly different cult group, but still a harmful group with a stern determination in replacing other people’s lives when they die, just to fill their own emptiness. Dark humor adorns the weirdness of the plot, making “Alps” a good choice for the alternative movies’ fans.

Relevant awards: Best screenplay (Venice); special mention (Sofia).

Underwater Love (2011)

Directed by: Shinji Imaoka
Country: Japan

Summary: A whimsical pink film musical about a woman and a sea creature.

Review: A musical comedy that for several moments reminded me the weirdness of some Takashi Miike’s films, such as “Visitor Q” or “The Happiness Of The Katakuris”, but without achieving the quality of those ones. “Underwater Love” is an alternative movie that can be seen with apprehension but failing to provoke any kind of positive effect. A very particular love story dissimulated in a bunch of sexual scenes, where human beings get involved with a traditional creature of Japanese folklore called kappa. The cinematography is the only reason why you would want to watch this movie, considering that a few laughs of absurdity aren’t enough to make it worth.

Relevant awards: -

Deadfall (2012)

Directed by: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Country: USA

Summary: A thriller that follows two siblings who decide to fend for themselves in the wake of a botched casino heist.

Review: From the director of  “The Counterfeiters”, awarded by the Academy as best foreign language film of 2007, now arrives “Deadfall”, a thriller with some tension but with a poor plot. Actually there are some unexplored subplots and characters within the film, making this a movie with only one goal: to kill the “bad guy”. After that, we keep questioning what happened to the other characters. Too many answers are left aside in a movie with good action scenes but lacking brain. I see it as a predictable and inconclusive story. Not recommended. 

Relevant awards: -

On The Road (2012)

Directed by: Walter Salles
Country: USA / others

Summary: Young writer Sal Paradise has his life shaken by the arrival of free-spirited Dean Moriarty and his girl, Marylou.

Review: Brazilian director Walter Salles, best known for the acclaimed “Central Station”(1998) and “The Motorcycle Diaries”(2004), sought inspiration in Jack Kerouac’s novel to direct “On The Road”. The movie despite all the good intentions is wobbling in its approach, denoting accentuated pace problems, which once resolved, would give the boost that the story needed to succeed. Unfortunately this didn’t happen, letting us a bit frustrated in the end due to the lack of energy and determination. Watchable? Yes, but often with indifference or impatience during large periods of time.

Relevant awards: -

The Invisible War (2012)

Directed by: Kirby Dick
Country: USA

Summary: An investigative documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military.

Review: The 12th documentary of Kirby Dicks’ career is something to take seriously. Several victims of rape within the US Army, women and men, have made shocking revelations about their past and showed how life can be almost unbearable. Very well structured, the message is clear and loud: have a second thought in case you are considering to enlist in US military. Most of the cases are archived and the aggressors stay unpunished. They even try to blame the victims, telling them not to walk alone or dress in a provocative way. It shows a huge gap in the weak military judicial system.

Relevant awards: Best documentary (Seattle); audience award (Sundance).

Kauwboy (2012)

Directed by: Boudewijn Koole
Country: Netherlands

Summary: Jojo is a kid passing through a hard time.

Review: “Kauwboy” is a compelling movie about grief and death. Tells the story of a 10 year-old kid, who was unable to cope with his mother’s death. Having a hard time in home with his dad, who was also deeply affected by the event and didn’t know how to act properly, the child will be left alone in the process of accepting the reality. In this case, taking care of a baby bird will be the key to solve the problem, but we got the scary notion on how this may take a long, long time, especially when the people around aren't much of a help. The acting of young Rick Lens was genuine and despite of the sudden change in his father's behavior near the end, all seemed very natural.

Relevant awards: Feature film (Berlin); special mention (Buenos Aires).

José and Pilar (2010)

Directed by: Miguel Gonçalves Mendes
Country: Portugal

Summary: A deeply moving story about love, loss and literature.

Review: A documentary about José Saramago, maybe the most controversial Portuguese writer ever, winner of 1998’s Nobel Prize in literature. An honest portrait of the author, demystifying the idea of a cold man and offender of Catholic Church. After watching the film, it became clear that Saramago was straightforward, idealistic and passionate, who was hurt for never have been well accepted in his own country. The relationship with his wife Pilar Del Rio, a Spanish journalist, was crucial in all the process towards recognition and is well documented here. Important to better know Saramago as writer and as human being.

Relevant awards: Audience award (São Paulo).

Wuthering Heights (2011)

Directed by: Andrea Arnold
Country: UK

Summary: A poor boy of unknown origins is taken in by the Earnshaw family where he develops an intense relationship with his young foster sister.

Review: I really appreciate Andrea Arnold’s filmmaking. “Red Road” and “Fish Tank” are movies that remained in my mind due to its quality. This time she was inspired by Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights” and created a loose adaptation of it. The first half of the movie was a delight. I was grabbed by the story details and by the amazing cinematography. The second half was absolutely different. The dialogues were very limited and the movie started to drag, softening my enthusiasm. “Wuthering Heights” certainly is not among Arnold’s best works, but still can attract followers of independent movies.

Relevant awards: Cinematography (Venice).

We Are Legion:The Story Of The Hacktivists (2012)

Directed by: Brian Knappenberger
Country: USA

Summary: The workings and beliefs of "Anonymous".

Review: A documentary about the hackers group “Anonymous” and how the “Hacktivism” was born. As a movie there’s really not much to be said. It is based on testimonials and stories about the group, invoking the risks but also the necessity of its existence. It’s not very accurate or detailed about some of the stuff covered, including how far freedom can go in our society, but otherwise provides essential information for us to understand the basic principles and goals of their actions. The movie itself may not have amazed me but partly gained my sympathy in favor of these “vigilantes”, who can become a nightmare for rich and hypocrite societies.

Relevant awards: -