After Earth (2013)

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Country: USA

Review: “After Earth” is the confirmation that M.Night Shyamalan is losing strength and confidence behind the cameras. His first hits, “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable”, made us foresee a promising and solid career as director and writer, but the lack of quality in his next steps made him fall in a category of unbearable. “After Earth” delivers a very poor sci-fi experience, telling the adventures of Cypher Raige (Will Smith) and his son Kitai (Will Smith’s real son Jaden), when their spaceship crashed on Earth, leaving them exposed to a group of rival aliens. Cypher ended up with the two legs broken and Kitai, as their only hope, will have to fight to retrieve a backup beacon and avoid death. Shyamalan, inspired by an unsophisticated story by Will Smith, was incapable to create a firm pace or any kind of interest with a bunch of animals’ attacks that seemed more an insensate animation than a sci-fi adventure. The monotone voices repeating military orders, the stupid facial expressions of its characters, and the miserable scenes containing special effects, made “After Earth” absolutely ridiculous. With the boredom installed and several laughable scenes that were meant to be taken seriously, this is one of the worst films I’ve seen this year and a complete failure in terms of script, performances, and execution.

Une Vie Meilleure - A Better Life (2011)

Directed by: Cédric Kahn
Country: France

Review: “A Better Life” is a French drama directed by Cedric Kahn that follows the story of a couple, Yann (Guillaume Canet) and Nadine (Leila Bekhti), after they fell in love when met for the first time in a restaurant. After some time living together, they decide to buy a crumbling building and open their own restaurant in a convenient zone in the suburbs of Paris, since Yann had a promising talent as chef. However, their expectations will be defrauded when legal issues and consecutive loans tore them apart, forcing Yann to work in other restaurants and Nadine to accept a work proposal from Canada, leaving her nine-year-old son behind. Her extended absence will make Yann concerned with her whereabouts, and some difficult decisions will have to be taken. “A Better Life” features Guillaume Canet in the main role, also considered a respected filmmaker after “Tell No One” in 2006, and “Little White Lies” in 2010. Here he proves his talent as an actor, playing his part with great determination and devotion, ending up being awarded in Rome Film Fest. The lesson of this story is that the best intentions aren’t always sufficient to be successful, but Kahn gave a good chance on hope and immigration by simplifying in the end what its characters had complicated in the beginning. His direction was competent but not brilliant, in an actual and realistic movie that certainly works as an alert for the more ambitious, in times of economic crisis.

Either Way (2011)

Directed by: Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson
Country: Iceland

Review: “Either Way” is an affable Icelandic comedy, written and directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, a cineaste to keep an eye on, considering the talent evinced here. This funny story about two men friendship was subjected to an American remake with the name of “Prince Avalanche”, which will be officially released on the date of August 9th, this time adapted and directed by David Gordon Green (“George Washington”, “Snow Angels”). Finnbogi and Alfred know each other for some time and are working together during the summer in a remote place on Iceland, where they were assigned to paint lines and put wooden stakes along the deserted road. The two friends will help each other, especially in regard to relationships with women. When both of them come to a point where they don’t know what to do with life, their age gaps will be useful, having distinct ways of looking into the problems. The actors were totally convincing in their performances, in a generous, pleasant, and valuable film, where the humor is subtle yet efficient, while the soundtrack was well diversified and well employed according to the moments depicted. Alternating between peaceful silences and forced noises, with bucolic landscapes in background to compose the delicate cinematography, “Either Way” won my appreciation for all its simplicity.

Gimme The Loot (2012)

Directed by: Adam Leon
Country: USA

Review: “Gimme The Loot” is an independent film that can be seen as an hymn to the City of New York, through the adventures of Malcolm (Ty Hickson) and Sofia (Tashiana Washington), two graffiti artists and Bronx dwellers who are trying to get $500 for a big project on NY Mets’ Home Run Apple, after a rival gang has spoiled their latest work of art. To get the money and the work done, they will embark in several misconducts, including selling drugs, illicit businesses, and theft of a necklace that belonged to a careless rich girl who involved herself with Malcolm. The presence of this white girl named Ginnie (Zoe Lescaze) was important to denounce class differences and distinct forms of treatment, depending if she is alone or in the company of her pretentious friends. Adam Leon’s moving camera was very efficient, depicting the rhythm of the city and its characters with a well-balanced pace. I got myself tangled in these people’s lives, caring for what would have happened to them, even having in consideration their reproachable behavior. “Gimme The Loot” has its slowdowns once in a while but has the merit of being so close to reality that sometimes I forgot I was watching a movie. Adam Leon has here a self-conscious debut as writer and director.

Found Memories (2011)

Directed by: Julia Murat
Country: Brazil / others

Review: Presented with brushstrokes of intimacy and evincing a nostalgic depth that slowly shakes us inside, “Found Memories” can be seen as a kind of fictional documentary about Jotuomba, a remote Brazilian village that is slowly disappearing as its remaining 11 elderly inhabitants are dying. Simultaneously, it depicts the beautiful story of friendship between Madalena, an old woman responsible for making the bread for the village, and Rita, a young photographer who appeared asking for shelter for a couple of days. The film starts showing the monotonous day-to-day life of the villagers. Madalena makes her bread at night, barely illuminated by an oil lamp; every morning she takes the bread to Antonio’s coffee shop, where they have the same quarrel about putting the bread on the shelves; after cleaning the locked cemetery gates, she attends Mass and then shares a meal with all the villagers. Little by little, Rita’s presence will make this ritual more tolerable for them, provoking uncanny sensations of trust and moments of joy that seemed to be forgotten for many years. In its silences, “Found Memories” is a sweet, melancholic, and rewarding piece of filmmaking, which didn’t need more than a few simplistic processes and passionate candidness to captivate. In the end, Júlia Murat’s reflective debut left us with the question: ‘where do we belong?’.

American Mary (2012)

Directed by: Jen Soska / Sylvia Soska
Country: Canada

Review: The Canadian horror film “American Mary” follows the grisly story of Mary Mason, once a brilliant medical student who dropped out of the course after being drugged and sexually abused by her medical school’s instructor. Before that, and allured by easy money, she had involved herself with the underworld of nightclubs and sex industry, and that fact allowed her to have the first illicit experience as surgeon when her services were required for a body modification. Impelled by an eagerness of revenge, Mary will fall into the dark world of torture and murder, at the same time that gains popularity online with clandestine surgeries, becoming known as Bloody Mary, a real expert of chop and sew. Since its earliest scenes that I didn’t feel connected with this story, where the surgical operations were the only motive to impress, and not for good reasons. The occasional fractions of humor thrown in by Soska sisters didn’t work out, and the same happened with the poorly written script, which was never able to excite or create any kind of fear. Some scenes of torture were very close to those presented in Takashi Miike’s “Ichi The Killer”, while the bizarre ‘dolls’ caused some apprehension due to their freaky aspect. This is a shallow study of a psychotic predator that can be compared to a terrible hangover caused by a few sour ‘Bloody Maries’!

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Directed by: Baz Luhrmann
Country: USA / Australia

Review: This modern version of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s great classic, directed by the always colorful but often exaggerated Baz Luhrman (“Romeo+Juliet”, “Moulin Rouge”), became a victim of its own ambitions. DiCaprio worked with Luhrmann for the second time in his career, but didn’t convince as Gatsby, who should have been played by some actor with much more mature aspect, like Robert Redford did in the 1974 version, directed by Jack Clayton. This Gatsby seemed to me more sociable and open than it was expected, with DiCaprio being incapable to pass the sensation of a mysterious and reserved man. Tobey Maguire’s performance as Nicky Carraway, ended up being the most noteworthy performance of this tragic love story. Luhrmann’s approach fell somewhere amidst the traditional and modern, creating a distorted image of a time, which was represented with an excess of baroque details, fancy technology on visuals, and a contemporary soundtrack that nothing has to do with the story of an ex-veteran of war that suddenly became an enigmatic millionaire. As positive aspects we have: the eccentric and well-choreographed dances, and the costume designs, which fell short to create the intended emotional impact.

Frances Ha (2012)

Directed by: Noah Baumbach
Country: USA

Review: “Frances Ha” is the 7th film from Noah Baumbach, a filmmaker accustomed to explore the drama genre with good portions of humor, as he did with “The Squid And The Whale”, “Margot And The Wedding”, or “Greenberg”. In his new film, the writing credits were shared with the actress Greta Herwig, who was awesome in the main role. The story is about Frances, a 27 year-old woman originally from Sacramento, who left her family behind to live in New York City. But life is not being generous there. Frances is trying to get a permanent job position in a dancing school where she is apprentice, but the owner is cutting her services off; she also left her boyfriend to stay in an apartment with her best friend Sophie, but her plans were thwarted when Sophie moves to another apartment and they stop seeing each other; without money to pay the rent, she finds a new apartment to share, but even this solution is expensive, and Frances had to move to a dorm, struggling to find herself and a path that leads her to happiness. As observer, it was quite clear that she needed a pause to think in her life and settle down ideas, but will this be so clear to the one involved? Baumbach’s choice for black-and-white didn’t bring major benefits, in a story that lacks tension in the conventional way that we are used to see, but conveys an attractive lightness and sweetness to depict a friendship that feels real.

The Best Offer (2012)

Directed by: Giuseppe Tornatore
Country: Italy

Review: Tornatore, best known for his masterpiece “Cinema Paradiso” and responsible for other remarkable films such as “Pure Formality” or “The Legend of 1900”, presents us a curious but ultimately disappointing heist thriller named “The Best Offer”, featuring a Geoffrey Rush in a very good shape. The story follows Virgil Oldman (Rush), a famous and inaccessible auctioneer of antique art, who unexpectedly becomes obsessed with Claire (Sylvia Hoeks), a mysterious client who was always absent due to suffering from agoraphobia. Tornatore shows to know how to set the right mood, filming with refinement and presenting an interesting direction, but sadly the plot revealed too obvious twists to engage. The quarrels and reconciliations between Virgil and Claire, especially before they met in person, never gave the impression of real, and after an hour of ups and downs, the boredom took care of me. I became impatient, waiting for something that could surprise me somehow, and being able to figure out all the characters’ schemes, within a plot too overcooked and often lost in flimsy situations. Even the moments of voyeurism, which usually cause expectation, were ineffective. “The Best Offer” proves a skillful Tornatore behind the cameras but in need of a more accurate and enthralling screenwriting.

Black Rock (2012)

Directed by: Katie Aselton
Country: USA

Review: “Black Rock” emerged from the collaboration between Katie Aselton (direction and acting) and her husband Mark Duplass (screenplay), being an uninteresting exercise on horror thriller. The film is about three childhood friends who decide to set up a girls’ weekend in a remote island to bring their friendship back on solid terms. Provided with improvised hand-drawn maps, as in a real treasure hunt, they would be ready for a pleasant adventure, if three men didn’t have crossed their path. This unfortunate encounter will leave traces of blood and death. The script didn’t exactly show imagination or smartness, making the film fall in banal territory. Its execution was another problem, since the majority of the scenes evinced a comic dullness, seeming completely apart of the realism that its duo of creators had aspired. The arguments among the girls were trivial; the survival strategies looked like as if it were coming from kids; while the physical fights weren't genuine, giving a false impression of fierceness. Feminists may find it brave, but the brainless hunt depicted in “Black Rock” was incapable to catch, provoke, or intimidate, becoming a total waste of time.

Before Midnight (2013)

Directed by: Richard Linklater
Country: USA

Review: Nine years after “Before Sunset”, the relationship between Celine and Jesse proceed, in a more mature perspective, but maintaining the same involvement, intimacy, and romanticism as before. The innumerable arguments concerning the mid-life crisis that the couple is going through are done in a natural and funny way. Just like in the two other prequels, the dialogues are absolutely fantastic and so well conceived that is quite impossible to be detached from what is going on with this charismatic couple. The conversations about work, children, sexual life, move abroad, and past events, seem so real that very few films can compare to it, in terms of credibility. It was delightfully charming when Celine, completely pissed off, leaves the Greek hotel with her bag in one hand and her panties in the other. In the end, the rapprochement was accurate, delicate, and witty, culminating in a great moment of sincerity and true passion. Richard Linklater didn’t forget how to do it, using warm and simplified shots, but he couldn’t have made such accomplishment without the tremendous performances by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, who also helped writing the screenplay. This is a powerful example of non-manipulative cinema, where every character strives to be as close as possible of an intimate reality without forcing the situations. And they do that with amazing distinctiveness.

7 Boxes (2012)

Directed by: Juan Carlos Maneglia / Tana Schembori
Country: Paraguay

Review: In this Paraguayan film directed by the duo Maneglia & Schembori (their second feature film), we follow the adventures of Victor, a 17 year-old boy who was assigned to deliver seven mysterious boxes with an unknown content. Helped by his friend Liz, he will go on a crazy ride through alleys and strange places of Mercado #4 in Assunción, being chased by several men whose goal is to take hold of the boxes. Painted with vivid brush strokes, and denoting a hasty pace and funny tone, “7 Boxes” is a rousing movie that shows the art of cunning in a claustrophobic ambience, where everybody steals and is stolen. We realize that no one is innocent here; crooks, police, or common people, are all connected in obscure deals involving money, cell phones, or any other goods that might have economical expression. Even with some stereotyped scenes, the film doesn’t rest in pointless situations and never loses its agitated involvement. It was capable of taking a coherent path without losing its focus despite the huge amount of things happening at the same time, like crimes, briberies, chasings, quarrels, romance, and even childbirth. With a finger pointed to social-economical issues, I can say that this is a sort of chaotic mess that works fine, capturing all the heat and colors of a city that never stops.

Domestic (2012)

Directed by: Adrian Sitaru
Country: Romania

Review: “Domestic” is a Romanian comedy with touches of drama, which tries to create funny scenarios of homely coexistence between people and animals. Divided in two different parts that I couldn’t differentiate in terms of relevance and interest, the film is a muddle of parents-sons relationships, collected animals, law matters, reconciliations, death, and many unconnected dialogues among family members, which involve UFO’s, technology, tourism, religious matters, odd dreams, and many more. Sitaru’s way of filmmaking wasn't unfavorable, reminding me the 80’s, but the floating concept used in the plot could have been funnier if not so insistent on continual discussions between kids and their parents regarding the animals, which vary from rabbits, hens, cats, dogs and pigeons. In these discussions, everybody speaks at the same time, creating a surprising effect at first, but soon becoming annoying. Adrift and lacking real funny moments, “Domestic” showed dispersion on its characters’ delineation, leaving me in a state of apathy most of the time. This tale of life and death is nothing but a Noah’s ark condemned to sink.

Picture Day (2013)

Directed by: Kate Miles Melville
Country: Canada

Review: “Picture Day” is a well-intended, yet modest coming-of-age tale about 18 year-old Claire (Tatiana Maslany), an irreverent girl who is repeating the last year of High School. Known for missing classes and having promiscuous sexual adventures, Claire escapes from her boring quotidian life by hanging out with Jim (Steven McCarthy), a 33 year-old rock singer she met in a concert. Simultaneously, she finds out that Henry (Spencer Van Wyck), a genius boy whom she used to babysit when he was a kid, attends the same school and just like her, is a sort of an outcast. They become true friends after smoking a joint together,  helping each other from then on, in problems so identifiable with adolescence. Newcomer director Kate Melville creates a realistic scenario of irreverent youth with predictable romanticism, where the weight of different family backgrounds can be sensed in the way that the main characters reacted to the responsibilities of growing up. A direct and delicate approach was assumed, in a mildly entertaining film that despite clear in its message, seemed too distant to involve.

A Few Hours Of Spring (2012)

Directed by: Stéphane Brizé
Country: France

Review: “A Few Hours Of Spring” is a compelling drama that depicts the relationship between Alain, an ex-con man who is trying to rebuild his life from the ground, and his mother, Ivétte, who is struggling with cancer. After 18 months in prison, Alain had to return temporarily to his mother’s place, but there is a visible distance between them, with every attempt of conversation ending up in a quarrel. Upset and frustrated with his life,  Alain leaves home and asks for shelter in a neighbor’s. Before that, he found out that his mother had signed the papers to die without suffering in Switzerland by assisted suicide. I felt a great joy when the pride of mother and son eventually fades out and they reconnect again, even if the means that made it possible have been reproachable. This is a powerful film from a psychological point of view; a bittersweet story, which conveys not only a heaviness that is naturally associated to its theme, but also the beauty of understanding and forgiveness. The nominated for French César awards, Vincent Lindon and Hélène Vincent, were memorable in their roles, in a movie that has the honesty as its main strength. The excruciating final moments crushed my heart, though, despite the uneasiness you might feel, the idea of a calm and comfortable departure is rewarding.

Spring Breakers (2012)

Directed by: Harmony Korine
Country: USA

Review: Harmony Korine, the writer of Larry Clark’s emblematic movies about youth, “Kids” and “Ken Park”, presents us a new story that he directed himself, giving us a very somber idea of what a Spring Break may become, especially if we consider the unbalanced personality of its characters. Korine creates hypnotic and provocative images at the sound of hip-hop, to portray the story of four student girls who decide to break their monotony by robbing a restaurant in order to fulfill their whimsical urge of having real fun at spring break. In truth, their eagerness for action will be put to test after an encounter with Alien, a ruthless gangster whose honesty about himself left some of the girls even more excited. As usual, Korine’s writing was meant to shock us continually, but this time any attempt of making a psychological study was hampered by its own excesses. The film is too repetitive in its saturated images and torpid words, never reaching the depth wanted. This formulaic and too stylized approach was able to allure us occasionally for what was going on, but then came some moments of pure dullness, like when Alien sang a song by Britney Spears, showing his romantic side. "Spring Breakers" has not much to offer beyond cheap madness and a stylish presentation of the underworld of crime that rarely reached satisfactory levels.

Disconnect (2012)

Directed by: Henry Alex Rubin
Country: USA

Review: After two documentaries, director Henry Alex Rubin has a promising start on fiction with a story written by Andrew Stern. The film's structure is familiar, consisting in four different stories that intersect one another at some point, with the single purpose to show how the disconnection among people may lead to tragic consequences. The idea is bold, and the truth is that Rubin did a great job, presenting us the stories in such a way, that the focus and intensity in every one of them were always maintained. With a strong relation with the exposed above, the plot also makes us aware of the perils associated to modern technology through themes such as cyber bullying and Internet frauds. Although evincing melodramatic tones from time to time, “Disconnect” puts a lot of involvement on the screen, exposing the loneliness of common people who are suffering from lack of attention by the ones they trust more, even if those circumstances have been created in an unconscious manner. The performances were determinant to catch our attention, in a film that could have been better polished in terms of screenwriting, including a less obtuse conclusion in one of the stories. Nevertheless, that fact didn’t remove its strong message, which endures in our minds after watching it.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Directed by: J.J. Abrams
Country: USA

Review: Rigorous Mr. Spock and impulsive Captain Kirk continue their spatial adventures in “Star Trek Into Darkness”, the most engrossing film from J.J.Abrams so far. This time they reunite forces to hunt John Harrison, a member of their own crew who became a villain, revealing to have a superior intelligence and a huge capacity of resilience. Better than any kind of monster or exuberant creature, Harrison is a real human with no fancy name for a change, accused of perpetrating massive attacks in London and in Starfleet Command. Ending up captured by the starship USS Enterprise, Harrison surrenders to Captain Kirk, unveiling secrets that will incriminate other characters who would be improbable malefactors at the first thought. This sequel is a good example on how technology should be used, leading to breathtaking battles and striking action, without surpass the sense of story. Of course that the plot revealed some scenes built in common ground but its twists were more than enough to maintain the grip and cause surprise. “Star Trek Into Darkness” is a pleasurable and adventurous manhunt that accomplishes its purpose to entertain, using the vastness of space as background. From a sci-fi perspective, we cannot demand much more. I just would have made some slight adjustments on some deviations of the plot, those involving internal confrontations among the crew.

The Delay (2012)

Directed by: Rodrigo Plá
Country: Uruguay / Mexico / France

Review: After the good results obtained with “Desierto Adentro” e “La Zona”, Uruguayan-born filmmaker living in Mexico Rodrigo Plá, works once again with the screenwriter Laura Santullo. This time the story is set in Montevideo, depicting an obnoxious episode involving Maria, a single mother who works at home for a textile factory to sustain the family, and Augustin, her aged, fragile, and often forgetful father who needs care and attention.  Each day with less time to work due to her father’s condition, Maria is visibly tired and in a verge of a nervous breakdown, trying all the possible ways to get rid of him yet without success. First she tries her sister who refuses to take care of him, and then the social security services but without much hope; that’s when Maria decides to abandon him in a park bench in plain winter. “The Delay” is slow, meticulous, and emotionally strong, depicting the despair and regret of a woman who, in a moment of madness, was capable of a premeditated cruelty with disturbing cold blood. I confess that I was expecting something more from its ending, but the film deals very realistically with the problems of conscience and social gaps in a modern society. The acting by Roxana Blanco and Carlos Vallarino are worth mentioning, while the direction is aesthetically valuable with precise close-ups that easily bring out the weight of the circumstances.

Augustine (2012)

Directed by: Alice Winocour
Country: France

Review: “Augustine” is a fresh period drama that enraptures us, as much as shocks us, with its story of lust covered in gothic tones. Augustine is a simple servant of 19 years old, who has been experiencing crisis of hysteria, ending up in a hospital of the specialty with her right side completely paralyzed. She starts to be seen by professor Charcot, an expert in the disease who got intrigued with her case. His intention was to make a public demonstration of Augustine having a crisis, which would be induced through hypnosis. That way he will be able to prove that hysteria is related to a brain malfunction instead of sorcery or supernatural causes, obtaining the support of the Academy of Medicine to continue his studies. However, a secret and dangerous fascination grows slowly on both doctor and patient, leading to harmful consequences. The outstanding performances by Soko (also a singer) and Vincent Landin, one of the most complete actors coming from France, contrasted with the modest role played by Chiara Mastroianni as Charcot's wife. “Augustine” was wrote with intelligence and shot with accuracy by debutant Alice Winocur, well backed up by George Chenaptois’ keen cinematography and Jocelyn Pook's penetrating music, which were essential to achieve the impressive final results. This story of complicity, intimate secrets, opportunism, and forbidden desires, deserves to be seen, defying ethics and morals.