The Wise Kids (2011)

Directed by: Stephen Cone
Country: USA

Review: “The Wise Kids” tells the story of three teenagers who are about to leave their hometown in South Carolina to enter University. All of them are members of a youth group in a Baptist Church and are struggling with their faith in different ways. Brea is a sensible girl, who became restless about her beliefs; Laura needs constant attention, being an example of Christian devotion; Tim is openly gay and very conscious of what he wants. Their families appear just enough times for us to perceive the kind of atmosphere they are experiencing at home. Strangely, the conflicts among the characters are brief; the scenes flow from one to another with a sort of lightness without emphasize the arguments. Tension is presented more as an interior struggle through questions and doubts, or expressions of unhappiness and discomfort. “The Wise Kids” chose a graceful approach to connect sexuality and faith issues in a sincere and intelligent way. 

Stand Up Guys (2012)

Directed by: Fisher Stevens
Country: USA

Review: Entertaining, is the best way to describe "Stand Up Guys", a movie that joins Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin as three ex-gangsters who meet again after 28 years. Val (Pacino), gotten out of prison, demands party all night long with everything he misses most: drugs, alcohol, women and dancing. He will be escorted by his best friend Doc (Walken), who was tasked with a cruel assignment before he retires. He will have to kill Val, following the orders given by a dreaded headman. Arkin plays a small role as driver, but introduces some zippy moments in a crucial phase of the story, turning it more vibrant. Among some laughable moments (mostly about nostalgia for the old times or sexual desire and performance), sporadic action and a handful of trivial jokes, “Stand Up Guys” will not leave its mark but is perfectly appropriate for a relaxed watching, not requiring attention to details or complex analysis about its simple story.

London - The Modern Babylon (2012)

Directed by: Julien Temple
Country: UK

Review: Julien Temple is commonly associated to musical projects. His documentaries and music videos included big names of rock such as Sex Pistols, Rolling Stones or David Bowie. In this film he makes a tribute to his hometown, showing the best and worse of the city by digging in its past and present. The process consisted in the aggregation of archive imagery, Londoners’ comments and a lot of representative music, making reference to several bands and styles. Carefully edited in order to portray the city with the right ambience and look, the film condenses more than a century in 125 minutes. Racism, violence and prejudice were predominant within a multi-cultural environment in constant transformation. Among joys, sorrows and some nostalgia, the film provided us with so much information that sometimes was difficult to absorb it completely. Yet, it never became boring in its quirky way and hasty rhythm.

Promised Land (2012)

Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Country: USA

Review: "Promised Land" addresses environmental issues in a predictable and melancholic way. Steve (Matt Damon) and Sue (Francis McDormand) work for a Natural Gas company and were entrusted with the tough mission of collecting drilling authorizations from the land owners of a small town in Pennsylvania. Once there, they will find difficulties with some skeptical dwellers and with a newly arrived activist who claims that the land will be condemned to destruction if the drillings occur. Surrounding this story, we are faced with an indispensable love affair, terrible karaoke moments, some gatherings in pubs, a lot of lectures about millions of dollars, and some unconvincing twists and turns. “Promised Land” is torpid in its development and despite its good intentions, turned out completely unemotional. Van Sant needed some kind of trick to win us over, just as the gas company did in the film.

Hitchcock (2012)

Directed by: Sacha Gervasi
Country: USA

Review: For those who hoped to see Alfred Hitchcock’s whole life depicted here, their expectations will be dashed, since this picture only unveils the period involving the making of “Psycho”, one of his most influential films. The initial idea after reading Robert Bloch’s novel soon became an obsession, with the English filmmaker having to find financing for his own movie while the press and movie industry loaded him with pressure. The movie also emphasizes his vision, leadership, humor and a strange fascination for blonde actresses. As he struggled with his creative side, Hitchcock also went through a marital crisis when his wife Alma started to flirt with Whitfield Cook, an opportunist writer. Anthony Hopkins, despite the great performance, didn’t look like Hitchcock. We can’t say this is a thrilling docudrama, but spreads charm with some tasteful details. Perhaps it would have benefited if shot on black-and-white.

Gangster Squad (2012)

Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Country: USA

Review: "Gangster Squad" assembles a great cast in Ruben Fleischer’s disastrous cinematic experiment on crime. The story is old, consisting in a police squad whose mission is preventing L.A. from being controlled by a criminal named Mickey Cohen. In general the performances were decent and it wasn’t for them that the movie didn’t work out. What made this a bad movie were the unnumbered clichés, prolonged gaudy scenes with machine guns, gratuitous violence and a story that didn’t show anything new when compared with other more enticing alternatives from the past. The assorted members of the squad seemed carefully selected to look like comic superheroes: an obsessive man whose wife is pregnant, other who fell in love with the villain’s woman, an expert with pistols, an expert with knives, an expert with communications and a Mexican. Some good gags and body fights were not enough to make this film a gratifying choice.

A Late Quartet (2012)

Directed by: Yaron Zilberman
Country: USA

Review: After almost 25 years playing together, the Fugue String Quartet starts to rehearsal for the new season, but this time it won’t be as tranquil as before. The problems start when Peter (Christopher Walken) is diagnosed with Parkinson and ponders to leave. Robert (Seymour Hoffman) and Juliette (Catherine Keener) are facing problems in their marriage, while Daniel (Mark Ivanir) is accused of being the group’s manipulator and rigid in his musical processes. To aggravate the situation, he starts a relationship with the daughter of his colleagues. The situations were addressed in a serious way, conveying realism and authenticity, yet some of them have a tendency for melodramatic. If at least Yaron Zilberman had avoided this aspect, the film would become even more inviting. Fortunately, this predisposition for sadness didn’t remove the warmness and human side shown on every relationship and performance.

Celeste And Jesse Forever (2012)

Directed by: Lee Toland Krieger
Country: USA

Review: ‘Separated but good friends for life’ is the premise of “Celeste & Jesse Forever”, the third feature film from Lee Toland Krieger. Celeste and Jesse are married but living separately for quite some time. They are best friends since High School and share a lot of their lives with each other in a daily basis, taking advantage from the fact of being neighbors. This somewhat uncommitted relationship will be put at stake when Jesse announces he will be a dad and wants to divorce. Some funny situations worked well but it was on the dramatic side that Krieger made his higher bet. However, the good performances couldn’t make this story particularly interesting. It tried to convey a natural and unpretentious posture but it wasn’t always successful in its intents. The plot goes round and round in circles, trying to wrap every scene in smoothness while continues to extend the inevitable conclusions. Just for enthusiasts of sweet romantic dramas.

Sonja And The Bull (2012)

Directed by: Vlatka Vorkapic
Country: Croatia

Review: Vlatka Vorkapic wrote and directed “Sonja and The Bull” after two decades on documentaries, shorts and TV series. Sonja is a fierce activist whose interview against bull fighting given to a local TV, upset the inhabitants of a Croatian countryside village. Two of the villagers then decided to make a very strange bet, which required Sonja’s presence to confront a bull. One bettor ordered his son to fetch her and as expected, after the initial problematic contact, a physical attraction starts to grow between them. The villagers' sneer created good impression at first, and even Sonja seemed to be a well build character, but all these expectations vanished in a blink of an eye. After 20 minutes, the story degenerated into dull situations and predictable moves, never to recover again. Goronja, the bull, ended up being the most interesting protagonist in a colorless story that failed to engage.

Wrong (2012)

Directed by: Quentin Dupieux
Country: USA

Review: “Wrong” adopts an anarchic posture and a surreal mood to tell the story of Dolph, an unemployed man who keeps going to work and is looking for his missing dog. The movie spills nonsense situations in such a rhythm that the laughs from the beginning soon are transformed in fatigue and apathy. I am imagining how uncomplicated must be to write a plot like this. One just have to start with a basis story and then drown it in multiple subplots, writing the most absurd things that came to his mind without much concerns. But wait! Perhaps I’m being too harsh here. Some situations really made me laugh, like the phone call to the pizza store or Dolph’s friend who cannot admit he jogs. Watching this film can be compared to eating an overstuffed sandwich. Even if you like the ingredients, you can’t taste them properly. “Wrong” is messy and repetitive in its approach. Rather intriguing but hardly satisfactory.

The Paperboy (2012)

Directed by: Lee Daniels
Country: USA

Review: Three years after the depressive yet consistent “Precious”, Lee Daniels returns with “The Paperboy”, a somewhat disconnected story based on Pete Dexter’s novel. The Jensen brothers will try to release a man from the death row, whom they believe to be innocent. For that, they will count with a friend and a tempting woman who says to be in love with the convict. The plot gets lost in inconsequential details without quite knowing which way to go – homosexuality, racism, jellyfish attacks, all seemed forcibly introduced. Actually, the movie drags all the time, except for the last thrilling minutes. Daniel's direction wasn't solid enough, denoting framing issues, while Nicole Kidman stood out among the performances in a tremendous sexy role. “The Paperboy” was too ambitious and contrived, never reaching a sufficient level of stability.

The Well Digger's Daughter (2011)

Directed by: Daniel Auteuil
Country: France

Review: Daniel Auteuil directs for the first time in his career, in this adaptation of Marcel Pagnol’s novel “The Well Digger’s Daughter”. Opting for a conservative approach, he takes us back on time, to those light French movies that effectively blend romance, drama and comedy. But it is as an actor that Auteuil really shines, pulling out another memorable performance. He plays Pascal, a humble and honest well digger whose greatest pride in life is his delicate daughter Patricia. However, things change when his boss’s son got Patricia pregnant. Through refined dialogs and a few funny moments, we can witness the humbleness of the poor, opposing to the arrogance of the rich. The problem is that the movie embraces a satisfied conduct that makes us anticipate its overjoyed finale. Even the surprises did not work as surprises. Therefore, this is a movie to enjoy and relax, having Auteuil's performance as highlight.

5 Broken Cameras (2011)

Directed by: Emad Burnat / Guy Davidi
Country: Palestine / Israel / others

Review: “5 Broken Cameras” is a gripping documentary that depicts life in Bil’in, a West Bank village in constant turmoil due to Israeli occupations. With a sad voice, Emad starts to explain the different phases of his life; first with the birth of his children and then with the cameras he used to film the pacific demonstrations along five years. Every camera served during a determined period of time, witnessing shootings, beatings, killings and arrests. One aspect that messed with my feelings was to see Emad’s four-year-old son, watching all that violence as if it was a normal thing. "5 Broken Cameras" is a very personal work, covering the daily struggle of the villagers against illicit settlements, frequent abuse of power and sudden changes in law to address Israeli interests. Polemics aside, we must say that Emad made a lot of 'damage' on Israeli side with his little cameras. 

Southwest (2012)

Directed by: Eduardo Nunes
Country: Brazil

Review: “Southwest” was one of the most pleasant surprises I had lately. Eduardo Nune’s debut is a treat for the eyes, with a dazzling black-and-white photography and delightful details in direction. Showing boldness, both in conception and execution, it intertwines life and death in a Brazilian southwest village, to depict Clarice’s whole life in a single day. I know this sounds weird, but you will notice that the time runs differently here, so don’t expect a conventional storytelling. Beyond that, we have traditional parades, amulets, exceptional music and odd sounds, landscapes, everything working together to provide a whirlwind of emotions and sensations within a dreamlike ambience. “Southwest” is pure art-house, which challenges, provokes and disorients until you become prisoner of your senses. Likely to be seen as a reliving of the past or mere hallucinations, my guess is: it will haunt you, no matter what…

The Master (2012)

Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Country: USA

Review: “The Master” is one of the biggest cinematographic achievements of 2012. Freddie Quell, a sex-obsessed and alcoholic ex-veteran of war, erratically wanders around without finding a stable path in life. When he meets Lancaster Dodd, a leader from a movement called ‘The Cause’, everything seemed to get better as he felt accepted inside the 'family'. The film intelligently addresses the psychological on both men. From one side, a man who needs followers, a ruler who puts into practice all the power of persuasion. On the other side, a man who suffers, an untamed who lives in anger and needs to find some balance. These men were truly bonded by friendship, so well portrayed in several scenes. Yet, their natures are incompatible. I don’t find enough words to describe the phenomenal performances by Joaquin Phoenix, with his unforgettable laugh, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, in another masterpiece from ‘Master’ Anderson.

Volcano (2011)

Directed by: Rúnar Rúnarsson
Country: Iceland / Denmark

Review: “Volcano” portrays the story of Hannes, who has the soul of a fisherman but worked in a school for 37 years as a janitor. Since the day of his retirement, he experienced anxiety crisis and becomes depressive from then on. Everything seems to get old around him; even his boat won’t float anymore. Being strict by nature, he is nothing more than a sour man at the eyes of their children. His life will turn completely upside down when his wife suffers a stroke and becomes bedridden. The plot is not totally new, especially when Hannes slowly tries to reconnect with his family in times of sorrow. This fact is aggravated with the too much obvious similarities with Michael Hanekes’s “Amour”, which conveys a greater emotional depth on the matter. Nevertheless, in its slow pace, “Volcano” has its moments and is worth watching. The fact is: not having seen “Amour” might increase your chances of being surprised.

Shadow Dancer (2012)

Directed by: James Marsh
Country: Uk / Ireland

Review: James Marsh turns his attention to IRA, after two triumphant documentaries (“Man On Wire”, “Project Nim”) and the second part of “Red Riding” trilogy, where he depicted in an exemplary way the corruption of the Yorkshire police. “Shadow Dancer” tells the story of Colette (Andrea Riseborough), a militant of the IRA caught by the MI5 during an operation in London. However, officer Mac (Clive Owen), offers her a deal: to become an informant for MI5 in exchange of freedom and protection for her son. This is a methodic, slow-burning story of espionage that keeps all revelations and surprises for the end, although preserving the sufficient elements needed to keep us alert throughout the time. Betrayals, interrogations, tortures and sly behaviors make part of this cold story of vengeance. “Shadow Dancer” is not mandatory, but deserves some attention as a solid, competent and adult movie.

Not Fade Away (2012)

Directed by: David Chase
Country: USA

Review: “Not Fade away” was directed by the creator of “Sopranos”, but nothing has to do with the mob business, even with James Gandolfini present. The story, set in New Jersey, follows the endless worries of Douglas after having left his studies to dedicate himself entirely to a rock band. The film was able to seize the mood of the 60’s but never left its fluctuating pace or lukewarm ambience. It still tried to adopt a sort of rebellious attitude without success. Everything here looked so outdated, including the plot. Douglas has troubles with his parents, with his band mates, with his girlfriend, who also has troubles with her parents and has a sister with drug problems…  This is a movie of troubles and a trouble of a movie. Both definitions fit well here. Easily forgettable, “Not Fade Away” would need something less recycled to stimulate the viewer.

Beyond The Hills (2012)

Directed by: Cristian Mungiu
Country: Romania / France / Belgium

Review: Cristian Mungiu’s new feature film is a tale of obsessive love and religious mysticism. Voichita and Alina were best friends but eventually their lives went separate ways. The former sought refuge in an Orthodox convent, while the latter went to Germany to work in a bar. Years later, in Romania, they will realize that their relationship was not as before. Jealousy, faith and exorcism, are hot topics depicted here. “Beyond The Hills” is absorbing, evincing a grey temper that reminded me Bruno Dumont’s approach in “Hors Satan”, yet without being so aggressive. Skillfully framed, Mungiu showed to be consistent with a steady or moving camera, as the case demanded. The absence of music was not surprising, in a movie that doesn’t attain the immediate fascination of  “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”, yet still shows a powerful determination and credible performances during its 150 minutes.

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

Directed by: Peter Strickland
Country: UK

Review: “Berberian Sound Studio”, inspired on giallo (an Italian mystery genre), can’t be cataloged as a standard horror movie. I see it as a mere experiment on sound and image, without having much concern about the storyline or message to convey. The visual part was well crafted, with dim lights and different interesting shade plans of the actor Toby Jones, contributing to enhance the mystery of the story. The grotesque sounds worked well, but perhaps with an overuse of screams (there are for everyone’s tastes). The Italian language, often called romantic or sweet, has here a diabolical transformation, turning the atmosphere even more obscure. “Berberian Sound Studio”, despite of its unique conception and all the technical wonders that puts out, lacks emotion, leaving us in a state of suspension. I ended with the sensation that all the tense moments were inconsequent, making this story an inconclusive bad dream.