The Republic of Two (2013)

Directed by: Shaun Kosta
Country: USA

Movie Review: If you like romance and complex relationships, “The Republic of Two”, Shaun Kosta’s debut drama can be the film for you. In spite of the huge differences of personality and behavior, Tim and Caroline are much in love. When they decide to live together, those differences will seem bigger and doubts will be part of their day-to-day life. Tim is applying for medical school without putting much effort on it, while Caroline has a steady job but doesn’t quite know what she wants to do in the future, even after being promoted. He is more social, active, immature in certain aspects, and impulsive, needing space for his friends and for his own things. She is more reserved, sensitive, and insecure, needing attention every time. Moody states, quarrels and misunderstandings soon become part of the routine, and the highs and lows in the relationship put their chemistry on halt, eventually leading to a beneficial separation. Brent Bailey and Janet Montgomery were so convincing that was hard to find a culprit here. If their actions were understandable, their problems seemed very real, like a slice of life itself where it’s imperative to live and go through several experiences to finally learn something. Addressed with honesty and tenderness, the film trembled in the last moments, but Shaun Kosta knew exactly where and how to create juicy situations and addressed them with heart. Who never went through all of this in a relationship? “The Republic of Two” is a funny little indie drama that stands above many other films of the genre.

The Cold Lands (2013)

Directed by: Tom Gilroy
Country: USA

Movie Review: Tom Gilroy wrote and directed “The Cold Lands”, his sophomore feature film and a sensitive drama that could have been set up differently for better. The story follows Atticus, a 13-year-old boy who lives in upstate New York with his controlling mother, Nicole, in very peculiar conditions. Atticus shows to be a lonely boy, without friends of his age around to play, and dependent of his strict mother who lives concerned about his education, limiting his scope of action. Nicole was already giving some signs of being sick, but when she dies unexpectedly, Atticus runs to the forest in shock. He starts imagining the rebukes of his mother, and frequently observes other apparently happy families – ‘do you think you would be happy living like this?’, his mother asks in his head. In one of the nights spent in the forest, he bumps into Carter, an elusive drifter whose main concern is watering his pot plants. An improbable friendship will arise and Atticus seems to adapt in perfection to his new wandering life, snapping out of the torpor he was in. Wyatt Garfield’s cinematography ended up being the strongest aspect of “The Cold Lands”, whose approach would have achieved better results if less idyllic and contemplative and more compelling, penetrating even more into the characters, and providing a more resolved pace in order to excel. In spite of observant and well acted, Gilroy’s drama is only half-satisfying, lacking boldness in its script and failing to stir any true emotion.

Hellion (2014)

Directed by: Kat Candler
Country: USA

Movie Review: In Kat Candler’s promising new feature film, “Hellion”, delinquency and family drama are mixed with salutary doses of sport. Despite far from outstanding, the film can be followed with interest, providing us with a sensitive story enhanced by rich performances from Aaron Paul, Juliette Lewis, and the two kids Josh Wiggins and Deke Garner. 13-year-old Jacob (Wiggins) is a motocross enthusiast who is seen as a troublemaker in his rural Texas town, dragging his 10-year-old brother, Wes (Garner), to street rebel actions that includes smashing cars with bats during football games, set things on fire, and all that kind of immature behaviors proper of his age. However, his hostility comes from the fact that he feels abandoned by his drunken father, Hollis (Paul), who still couldn’t get over his wife’s death. Hollis isn’t harmful or rude to his kids, he shows to be affective and worried about them; he just doesn’t have control over the situations, being unable to become a good example and gain their respect. When the Child Protective Services takes Wes away from the house, placing him with his aunt Pam (Lewis), an open conflict will arise between siblings-in-law, and Hollis will make a huge effort to change his life style. The occasionally overdramatic tones in the third act are not welcome, but “Hellion” has an engaging strong script that refuses to leave us empty-handed. It was awesome to watch how this family struggled to get together, assuming responsibility for their actions. Candler has some aspects to work on, but this one let me curious regarding her next move.

The Treatment (2014)

Directed by: Hans Herbots
Country: Belgium

Movie Review: As much suspenseful as convoluted, “The Treatment” was based on the novel by the British crime-writer Mo Hayder, addressing a revolting subject matter such as pedophilia. Hans Herbot’s thriller, despite gorgeously shot and structured in a way to intrigue, doesn’t hide here and there some TV connotations, a fact that derives from the fact that Herbot has been strictly related to TV series since the beginning of his career in 1993. The story follows Nick Cafmeyer, a Federal Police chief inspector who lives haunted by the abduction and disappearance of his younger brother when he was a child. The principal suspect, Ivan Plettinckx, strangely claims to be the author of the crime, writing letters stating that Nick’s brother was his lover for several years. When an 8 year-old boy is reported missing and found dead in the top of a tree, Nick rekindles memories of his brother’s case. As the investigation proceeds, the word ‘troll’ is mentioned several times, adding a supernatural nature to the story, while a diversity of suspects are considered and questioned, including the kid’s father, a swimming teacher, and a woman who was accomplice of her brother’s sexual crimes. Along the tortuous path towards the dark truth, the right levels of tension are taken down by complex connections involving the numerous characters, all of them showing mysterious behaviors. The plot, not so neat as it was supposed to be, along with its dubious conclusions, most likely would have given a better TV series than a feature film. Shocking without being rude, “The Treatment” still managed to provide a few good moments of suspense.

Rob the Mob (2014)

Directed by: Raymond de Felitta
Country: USA

Movie Review: Set in New York City in the early 90’s, “Rob The Mob” was inspired on the true story of Thomas and Rosemarie Uva (Tommy and Rosie), a criminal couple who decides to rob several social clubs owned by the mob. After spending 18 months in the hole for robbing a flower store on Valentine’s day, superstitious Tommy finds his beloved, practical, yet a bit slow, Rosie, clean and with a steady job in a debt-collecting agency whose owner, a former convict himself, gives second chances to ex-cons. This is Tommy’s golden opportunity to lead an honest new life. Can he do it? The answer is no, because through John Gotti’s trial, he found out a way to rob the mob and avenge his father’s murder, a trauma follows him everywhere. Counting with Rosie’s help, the strategy consists in ripping-off a series of Mafia’s clubs where he learned guns where strictly forbidden. By their actions, they will be helping a reputed reporter to identify the members of the criminal organization, a task he had been working for 30 years, at the same time that their lives are getting more and more exposed. Directed by Raymond de Felitta (“City Island”) from Jonathan Fernadez’s script, “Rob the Mob” does better than dramatize the events, it takes advantage to withdraw some good fun of them. With some foolish scenes becoming funny, this comedy of crime turns out to be entertaining and very well performed by Michael Pitt and Nina Arianda. It was sufficiently eventful and its characters were particularly interesting to worth a look.

Manuscripts Don't Burn (2013)

Directed by: Mohammad Rasoulof
Country: Iran

Movie Review: Everybody knows what’s happening to the movies coming from Iran, an authoritarian regime that imposes a tight censorship to the media. Mohammad Rasoulof is one of those persecuted filmmakers whose six films were never exhibited in his country of origin. By watching his latest film, “Manuscripts Don’t Burn”, we understand why the Iranian authorities were so concerned about the film and why Rasoulof was arrested in 2010 along with Jafar Panahi, another acclaimed director who refuses to shut his mouth. The film adopts a relentless narrative to tell the story of two men hired by the government with the mission of killing a writer without leaving marks. Furthermore, they have to do whatever is needed to take possession of a compromising manuscript and all its copies. The unstable but methodical ways used by the killers conditioned somehow the pace of the film, which takes its time to show how these illegal operations are carried out. The most interesting thing is to realize the motives of one of the killers who only thinks in earning some money for his sick kid. More political than entertaining, “Manuscripts Don’t Burn” is hard to watch and won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but its socio-political denunciations are extremely important to let the world know how these regimes of fear operate in the shadow. Rasoulof assumes a straightforward direction, revealing harsh realities instead of trying to thrill us. For obvious reasons, the cast and crew refused to have their names exhibited in the final credits.

The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

Directed by: Josh Boone
Country: USA

Movie Review: Written by the successful duo Scott Neustadter/Michael H.Weber, formerly responsible for scripts such as “The Spectacular Now” or “(500) Days of Summer”, “The Fault in Our Stars” follows the usual teen romance, but this time with the particularity of having cancer as the main obstacle. The story, based on John Green’s novel, takes place in Indianapolis where the 16-year-old Hazel (Shailene Woodley) was diagnosed with thyroid cancer when she was 13, now metastasized to her lungs. She is an isolated person whose boring life consists pretty much in watching reality shows, going to doctor appointments, and attending support meetings at the local church. All of this will change after she gets to know the confident and unembarrassed Gus in one of those meetings. Naturally, the strong friendship established, evolves to a passionate romance that was never able to reach my emotions. The predictable story plays excessively with the couple’s extreme happiness or sadness; in the first situation, the scenes were depicted with an uncontrolled sweetness, while in the second one, the result was an exacerbated sentimentality. Everything that falls out of these two situations can be called idiotic, involving Gus’ best friend Isaac, or a trip to Amsterdam to meet the admired novelist Peter Van Houten. Craftily manipulative in its intentions, occasionally derivative, and evincing a sluggish narrative, Josh Boone’s sophomore feature “The Fault in Our Stars”, didn’t stood out in any aspect, becoming much more sloppy than rewarding.

Stand Clear of the Closing Doors (2013)

Directed by: Sam Fleischner
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Stand Clear of the Closing Doors” is one of the most compelling dramas recently released in the US, depicting the perilous adventure of Ricky, an autistic young boy who gets trapped in the huge New York City subway system. Ricky lives in Queens with his undocumented immigrant mother, Mariana, and his older sister, Carla. His father is absent working upstate and Mariana has to manage everything by herself. She is perfectly aware of her son’s special needs but even though she tries by all means that he remains in public school. Certain day, the reckless Carla decides to wander with her best friend Sara after school, leaving Ricky by himself. Disoriented, he will spend a few days lost in the dark labyrinthine underground, managing to eat, drink, sleep and relieve himself, even if not always in a conscious or planned way. At home, the helpless Mariana alternates between despair and hope, while Carla slowly seems to gain some conscience of her actions. Capturing the multicultural diversity of the big city through an often-blurry lens of autumnal pale grey tones, confident director Sam Fleischner, who also shares a career as cinematographer, was able to put up more tension than a large number of horror movies and create genuine dramatic moments without overdoing them. The simple yet sensational script was co-written by the habitual sound mixer, Micah Bloomberg, along with Rose Lichter-Marck. Debutant trio of main actors did a wonderful job, in a film that won’t be easily forgotten, also working as a call of attention for those who look without seeing.

Tracks (2013)

Directed by: John Curran
Country: Australia

Movie Review: The always-interesting Australian filmmaker, John Curran (“Praise”, “The Painted Veil”), returns with “Tracks”, a biographical drama set in warm colors and inspired on Robyn Davidson’s memoir of her 1700 miles journey across the Australian desert towards the Indian ocean. Mia Wasikowska very consciously incorporates the lonely adventurer, who travelled in the company of four camels and her inseparable dog. Inspired by her deceased father, Robyn started planning the trip in 1975, moving to Alice Springs to learn survival techniques in the desert and how to work with camels. In 1977, with the sponsor of National Geographic Magazine, she initiates the trip, occasionally followed by the talkative photographer Rick Smolan (Adam Driver), assigned to cover the adventure. She seemed disturbed with his presence but despite of her natural detachment, showed not to be restrained when the need of human contact knocked at the door. Her anti-social character was simply a shield of protection (she often recalls childhood), and she eventually admits she’s lonely and suffering because of that. Along the trip, the help from some locals will be precious, but Robyn will have to face both good and bad experiences on her own. The pacific, relaxed atmosphere is broken with brief moments of tension, so crucial to keep the viewer’s interest alive. Curran’s secret for success was merely reporting the facts, using its natural joys and sadness, confidence and doubts, without the usual stratagems to impress. Even the romance seemed authentic and sober, while the finale became very refreshing in every sense.

The Notebook (2013)

Directed by: Janos Szasz
Country: Hungary / others

Movie Review: “The Notebook”, Crystal Globe winner at Karlovy Vary film festival, is a grim tale of survival based on the first part of Agota Kristof’s war trilogy, published in 1986. Set in 1944 Hungary, the story follows two inseparable twins who learned how to survive when they were left in a countryside farm at the care of their hostile grandmother, in order to escape the horrors of WWII. The bitter old woman, accused of having poisoned her husband, was constantly punishing the boys with no reason. The artful twins, focused in staying strong and keep on studying as their parents recommended, started training their bodies to endure pain, cold, and hunger. During these harsh times, they become friends with a strange Nazi officer, and with a retarded thief girl who lives next door. Some powerful scenes remain in our heads, like when the twins meet an insensitive anti-Jew woman who takes an erotic bath with them, or when they drag the prostrated grandmother through the snowy fields. However, other situations are a bit strained, particularly when trying to accentuate the boys’ determination (the fight with their mother’s new man didn’t convince) or their abrupt changing in the relationship with grandma. With sharp images composing the expressive cinematography by Christian Berger (Michael Haneke’s regular choice) and a mysterious score that sets an intriguing atmosphere, “The Notebook” is an interesting psychological study that evinces pure darkness hidden behind naive faces. A good time is guaranteed, despite the less successful aspects mentioned above.

Grand Central (2013)

Directed by: Rebecca Zlotowski
Country: France / Austria

Movie Review: Rebecca Zlotowski’s sophomore feature, “Grand Central”, is certainly not referred to the Grand Central Station but to a nuclear power plant in the suburbs of France, where Gary Manda (Tahar Rahim), an outcast even in his own family, finds the love of his life, Karole (Léa Seydoux). The problem is that Karole is the future wife of Toni (Denis Ménochet), one of the leaders of the plant, and a dangerous love triangle will be formed. The situation is aggravated when Karole gets pregnant, knowing that Toni is unable to have children according to his medical report. Divided and confused, she seems truly in love with Gary but at the same time keeps some kind of ‘loyalty’ to Toni, to whom she says she wants to marry. Apart from this ‘radioactive’ romance, French helmer Zlotowski, who co-wrote the script with Gaelle Macé (“Bélle Epine” was their first collaboration), plays with a series of dangerous accidents in the plant that puts everyone’s lives in danger. Some anxiety is drawn by these fatalist situations, while the romance frequently feels dry as the Sahara desert, even considering the accomplished performances by Rahim and Seydoux. In spite of the soft approach, the scenarios and characters felt real, and the idea showed potentiality, but never attaining sufficiently deep proportions and a solid development. In the end, I remembered to have thought: ‘and then what?’ I believe that “Grand Central”, similarly to its neglectful protagonist Gary, didn’t show enough qualifications to be a reference.

Frequencies (2013)

Directed by: Darren Paul Fisher
Country: Australia / UK

Movie Review: With the original title “OXV: the Manual”, Darren Paul Fisher writes, directs, and produces his third feature film, the best so far, after the first two disastrous experiences on comedy with “Inbetweeners” (2001) and “Popcorn” (2007). This time he conceived an inventive romantic/sci-fi story set in a strange futuristic reality, curiously depicted with no special effects. It focuses on the peculiar relationship between Marie (Eleanor Wyld), an extremely ‘high-frequency’ girl unable to feel any empathy for anything, and her opposite friend Zak (Daniel Fraser), a genial ultra ‘low-frequency’ boy who falls in love with her and becomes obsessed about the frequency mechanism imposed on the humans. After several years separated from each other, Zak returns, claiming he could help changing Marie’s frequency, in order to make her more human. His strategy consisted in stealing frequencies from the ones who have more than needed, balancing the universe and allowing communication between them. With a dreamlike ambience and an appropriate atmospheric score by Ben Mowat, “Frequencies” let me down in its last part, despite the daring concept. The theories behind the experiments are baffling (mind manipulation or side effects?) and the film could have placed a little more stimulation in several scenes. However, regardless the disappointing conclusions, it’s undeniable that Fisher created an auspicious, charming independent film that is a lesson for all the unoriginal Hollywood attempts in the genre.

Mea Culpa (2014)

Directed by: Fred Cavayé
Country: France

Movie Review: Film director Fred Cavayé is automatically associated to French action-thriller cinema, with three feature films, all belonging to the mentioned genre. If “Anything For Her” and “Point Blank” still provided some credibility and enjoyment, “Mea Culpa” failed to convince, mixing crime thriller and family drama in a mediocre way. Simon (Vincent Lindon) and Franck (Gilles Lellouche), two good friends and partners in the police of Toulon, are tired but happy after finishing another tiresome mission. When driving home, they have a car accident that victimizes two persons, one of them a child. Simon who was driving under the effect of alcohol is arrested and forced to abandon his career, while Franck continues being a cop. Years later, Simon gets out of jail, realizing he has nothing left – no job, no family. Divorced and disoriented, he decides to make an effort to bond with his 9-year-old son, Theo, who accidentally becomes witness of a dreadful murder perpetrated by the Mafia. A terrible situation, since the gang comes after the kid, a new target to wipe out, and Simon will have to do the impossible to protect his family. The busy yet unoriginal script, didn’t present anything we haven’t seen before, while the execution, relying on agitated action scenes that revealed to be merely baits to catch the eye, adopts an overused Americanized style that Cavayé should avoid in the future. With such a bustle, there was no space left for a decent suspenseful atmosphere, and “Mea Culpa” loses itself in its huge ambition for becoming spectacular. A disappointment both as a thriller and family drama.

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Directed by: Doug Liman
Country: USA / Australia

Movie Review: Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt starred in sci-fi action film “Edge of Tomorrow” from the acclaimed director Doug Liman, most known for having started Jason Bourne adventures in 2002 with “The Bourne Identity”. Cruise plays major William Cage, a confident US army officer who is perfectly aware he’s not really a soldier but rather an advertising strategist. Used to other kinds of battles, and regardless the fear and inability to deal with guns, Cage is forced to go to war against the invaders, intelligent alien forces and time manipulators known as ‘mimics’, ending up dead in the battle field. For his surprise, as awakened from a dream, he’s transported to a previous point in time where he will have the possibility to repeat everything again and learn until being succeeded in the mission. This faculty of dying and reborn, which they call ‘the power’, is also shared by Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Blunt) who sees Cage as the key element to solve the perpetual lost offensive. The screenplay, based on Japanese novel “All You Need is Kill” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, was written by the Butterworth brothers, Jez and John-Henry, who already had worked with Liman in “Fair Game”, in collaboration with Christopher McQuarrie (director of “Jack Reacher”). The impressive scenarios and special effects will be a delight for the sci-fi aficionados but I didn’t feel any special vibrancy in “Edge of Tomorrow”, an invariable combination of “Alien” and “Elysium” with time-shifts. At least, both Liman and Cruise were far better here than in their last incursions on sci-fi, with “Jumper” and “Oblivion”, respectively.

The Sacrament (2013)

Directed by: Ti West
Country: USA

Movie Review: “The Sacrament” is a found-footage horror film, directed, written and edited by Ti West, an American filmmaker dedicated to the horror genre (“The House of the Devil”, “The Inkeepers”). Joe Swanberg’s participation as actor wasn’t so surprising, since he and West had worked together before in “Cabin Fever 2” and “Drinking Buddies”, while producer Eli Roth joins the team for the first time. The rest of the cast includes AJ Bowen, Amy Seimetz and Gene Jones who undoubtedly had the strongest performance as a persuasive and confrontational spiritual guide. The plot is based on an obscure, closed and well-guarded commune known as ‘Eden Parish’, established in the middle of the woods by a mysterious man who everybody calls ‘Father’. Patrick is a professional photographer whose sister joined the commune right after finishing her drug rehabilitation. He will be welcomed in the place, together with two journalist friends whose objective is to conduct an interview with the leader and document the life style and opinions of the parish members. As expected, the non-violent principles of the group that sacrificed comfort for humanity, was nothing what it seemed, and the end takes crazy proportions – confusion, fear, manhunt, immolation, murder, and mass suicide, are some of the elements used to forcibly shock and create chaos. The adopted strategies were taken a bit too far and you’ll need a strong stomach for some of the unsettling situations. Insidious, outrageous, and unpleasant, “The Sacrament” has Jones’ memorable performance as its stronger element.

Willow Creek (2013)

Directed by: Bobcat Goldthwait
Country: USA

Movie Review: American actor, comedian, screenwriter and film director, Bobcat Goldthwait, makes an incursion into found-footage horror film with “Willow Creek”. The story is centered on a young couple in love, Jim (Bryce Johnson) and Kelly (Alexie Gilmore), who set out to the woods near Willow Creek, the Californian place where the mysterious creature got famous, in searching for Big Foot. While Jim is a believer, Kelly makes fun of Big Foot saying there’s no possibility for it to be real. For their report/investigation, they start shooting short interviews with experts on the matter as well as witnesses of unexplainable happenings involving a strange creature. Despite the warnings to stay away from the woods where the famous Patterson-Grimlin film was shot in 1967, the couple decides to camp exactly on that site. Uneventful until reaching this part, Goldthwait embarks in a different posture to create fear – a very long shot of the protagonists inside a tent in the middle of the night, with the outside noises becoming more and more intense. Jim tries to stay strong, expecting something to happen, while Kelly has a panic attack, which is intensified in the morning when they try to leave the place but start walking in circles. The dialogues, despite dull in many ways, seemed pretty natural, and both the steady and hand-held camera shots were decent enough. The problem here was the totally expected outcomes after a long-wait where nothing special happens. I found Alexie Gilmore’s performance convincing, but regarding this Big Foot, I’m definitely a non-believer. “Willow Creek” was not so scary and is recommended only for fans of the genre.

Tim's Vermeer (2013)

Directed by: Teller
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Tim’s Vermeer” is a documentary directed by the multifaceted artist, Teller (illusionist, magician, director, actor and comedian), and co-produced by his partner on stage Penn Jillette (the entertainment team is known as ‘Penn & Teller’), featuring Tim Jenison’s project based on several experiments to prove a theory consisting in that Vermeer used a mirror and a lens from a camera obscura to create the perfect light/effects in his extraordinary paintings. In a mix of art, madness and technology, he’ll try to demonstrate this concept by painting a Vermeer himself. Tim’s obsession becomes more interesting when we realize he’s not a painter, but rather an ingenious man, acquainted with new technologies and evincing a natural curiosity on how things work. However, what is shown here in more than an hour, could have been told in a few minutes. The film definitely stands out from the usual procedures of a common documentary but won’t be a piece of entertainment for everybody, even considering the plausible techniques and conclusions presented. There were moments when my curiosity was put on hold due to an exhaustive exploration of the methods. Not always exciting, “Tim’s Vermeer” failed where Peter Greenaway succeeded with “Rembrandt’s J’Accuse”, his intriguing study about the work of another Dutch master painter. The continuous sound of a classical piano follows the images, in a film that makes controversial revelations and promotes Tim’s intellectual capacities.

Maleficent (2014)

Directed by: Robert Stromberg
Country: USA

Movie Review: Angelina Jolie returns to the screen after four years, fitting as a glove in the role of Maleficent, a betrayed fairy, with horns and wings, who decided to curse a young princess in order to take revenge of her father, the insatiable king Stefan. In their youth, Stefan and Maleficent were in love, but his huge ambition to become king and her incapacity to understand greed and envy in humanity, took them apart. Years later, when the conflict with the humans intensifies, Stefan will vacillate between his love and the necessity to kill Maleficent to fulfill his dream of becoming king. Unable to kill her, he cuts off her wings. From this moment on, the new king won’t have peace and Maleficent, together with her subdued crow-man, Diaval, will create her own kingdom of darkness, targeting Stefan’s newborn daughter, Aurora. The script, written by Linda Woolverton (formerly associated with Disney features and plays), was inspired on “Sleeping Beauty” but told in a different perspective. Unfortunately, it didn’t show enough adroitness to match the magical scenarios, losing steam as it moved forward. The film wasn’t sufficiently dark to surprise and didn’t have the smartness to get rid of that happy magic associated to Disney, which frustrated all the possibilities of a better success in the fantasy-noir genre. Without surprise, “Maleficent” went through a direction that was too lukewarm to enthrall or provide fun. Director Robert Stromberg tried to explore this last aspect with the presence of three neglectful pixies that were supposed to take good care of Aurora, but with insipid results. A limited fairy tale!

Lucky Them (2013)

Directed by: Megan Griffiths
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Lucky Them”, a dramedy with alternative rock infusions, is the fourth feature film by Megan Griffiths, filmmaker from Seattle who became known in 2012 with a not so impressive thriller entitled “Eden”. Her new film follows Stax Magazine’s rock critic, Ellie Klug (Toni Collette), who was given the mission of finding a long-unseen local rock-star and ex-boyfriend, Matthew Smith (Johnny Depp), in an attempt to overcome the deep creative crisis she’s immersed for some time. On the road, she will be followed by Charlie (Thomas Haden Church), a former businessman and peculiar thinker who hates music and is giving his first steps on documentary film. From this moment on, we enter in a timid detective investigation scenario. At the same time, the emotionally vulnerable Ellie makes a mess of her emerging relationship with the talented street musician Lucas Stone (Ryan Eggold), who fell instantly in love with her after a prohibited first kiss. Griffiths makes use of an indie style and delicate approach to guide us through some smart observations, making us sense right away the presence of a sensitive feminine hand behind the sweet n’cool characters – the semi-autobiographical script was inspired on co-writer Emily Wachtel’s experiences. “Lucky Them” couldn’t beat the inspired musical romanticism of “Once” or the power of “High Fidelity”, but Collette and Church’s performances add charm and enjoyment whenever was needed, making us forget the fluctuations of the script.

Some Velvet Morning (2013)

Directed by: Neil LaBute
Country: USA

Movie Review: Neil LaBute is a filmmaker with a lot of missteps in his directing career. If “In the Company of Men” and “Nurse Betty” were sympathetic starting points, “The Wicker Man”, “Possession”, “Lakeview Terrace”, or “Death at a Funeral” were inconsistent flops. With “Some Velvet Morning”, LaBute tries a totally different approach, which is entertaining at first but ends up tripping again in a pointless game filled with dialogues that never entered on the right track. LaBute, who also wrote the plot, is no Richard Linklater, and the advances and setbacks during the long conversations never convinced me. The story, despite very simple, adopts some strategies to makes us believe it’s complex. Fred (Stanley Tucci) is a successful attorney who leaves his wife to go living with a much younger woman whom he insists to call Velvet (Alice Eve), although she doesn’t like. When he rings the bell loaded with luggage, Velvet seems to be surprised and uncomfortable, saying she has to go out for an unmissable lunch with Chris, Fred’s son. From this moment on, Fred adopts a pushy attitude, showing to be picky and possessive, while Velvet oscillates between submissive (she even offers herself to do him a blow job) and intractable, saying for several times he has to go away. It was perfectly clear that something was not right with this theatrical story marked by discussion, irritation, and threats. The performances were passable, but “Some Velvet Morning” became an unnecessary and often vulgar game of actors playing actors, where the finale stupefies more than satisfies.