Black Souls (2014)

Directed by: Francesco Munzi
Country: Italy

Movie Review: In this screen adaptation of Gioacchino Criaco’s novel, director and co-writer Francesco Munzi retrieves the essential aspects that compose the traditional Italian Mafia pictures – family, power, honor, pride, and vengeance. With some atmospheric resemblances to Francesco Rosi’s cinema, he tells the story of three brothers from rural Calabria whose choices and postures lead them to different lives. The eldest, Luciano (Fabrizio Ferracane), lives quietly on his farm but gets constantly worried about his troublesome adolescent son, Leo (Giuseppe Fumo); Rocco (Peppino Mazzotta) and Luigi (Marco Leonardi) live in Milan where they established a small illicit organization. The former is the brain of this disguised pineapple distribution company, showing a calculative and prudent posture, while the latter is carefree and shares the same sneaky way of thinking of his nephew Leo who visits his uncles, against the will of his father, to learn and earn his place and respect. Somehow, this fierce young lad will be co-responsible for the family’s decadence. Mr. Munzi takes his time to span every character, giving us the precise notion of their scope of actions. Adopting cavernous tones and comfortless images, the film appeals more to the intellect than properly to the eyes. Its narrative is solidly constructed and some details help to contextualize and understand what’s going on in the family - mostly being a film of men, there are some powerful feminine presences, especially the critical and jittery Rocco’s wife, Valeria (Barbora Bobulova). The startling finale comes to be crucial, elevating the film from its apparent languorous state. It’s an obscure and pertinent glimpse at the Calabrian Mafia known as ‘Ndrangheta.

Set Fire to the Stars (2014)

Directed by: Andy Goddard
Country: UK

Movie Review: Co-written by the actor Celyn Jones and the debutant director Andy Goddard, the British drama “Set Fire to the Stars” is a semi-biographical work that showcases the special relationship between the famous Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (Celyn Jones) and his big admirer, the American poetry professor John Malcolm Brinnin (Elijah Wood), who also aspired to become a poet and brought Dylan to the US for the first time in 1955. With galloping jazz tunes hovering the attractive black-and-white picture, the film was built from Brinnin’s perspective, depicting the efforts he made to save his hero from an inveterate bohemia and heavy alcoholism. Dylan reveals to be an insecure soul whose wife and starving children keep waiting for him to return home. Acting impulsively and characterized by bluntness in manners, everything can happen when he’s around - from public shame (more frequent) to brilliant interventions. Basically, the interest of the film relies on what the intoxicated Dylan will do next, which might determine the course of the story. The frames are nicely composed but the storytelling is not always expeditious, and on several occasions our struggle to keep focused is as hard as the mission of the hopeless John in trying to avoid that New York ‘kills’ his friend. Notwithstanding, and despite the mentioned quibbles, “Set Fire to the Stars” can give us a good idea of the importance of this particular phase in the protagonists’ lives. Love and hate, plus admiration and frustration, seem to walk hand in hand here. We don’t really come across with the genius of Dylan’s poetry but rather with the personality of the poet itself. The same is valid for the not so stimulating John Brinnin.

White God (2014)

Directed by: Kornel Mundruczo
Country: Hungary / others

Movie Review: After a spectacular opening scene where filmmaker Kornel Mundruczo shoots hundreds of dogs frantically running throughout the streets of Budapest, I immediately thought: maybe I didn’t read appropriately the film's title - was it 'White Dog' or ‘White God’? Actually, I was expecting something different here; according to its title, probably something more austere and masterful, but surprisingly the film stands in the middle of an affecting family adventure and a slightly gory thriller. A dangerous position since it may be too light to please horror-thriller fans and too violent to be watched with family, especially if you have little kids. The story has two protagonists: the 13-year-old trumpet player, Lily, and her cute mixed-breed dog, Hagen. When Lily’s mother leaves the city for a few days in the company of her new boyfriend, she is forced to stay with her picky father, Daniel. Lily takes the inseparable Hagen with her, but Daniel dumps the poor dog into the wild streets. While the sad Lily steps into risky situations and starts misbehaving as she looks around for her best friend, Hagen tries to avoid the dog-catchers of the municipal kennel, but eventually falls in the hands of rascals, being subjected to maltreatment and then turned into a fighter, for their own profit. As a dog lover, knowing that there are people out there inflicting this kind of treatment to innocent animals, gives me the creeps and really pisses me off. These moments were the ones touching me more since the rest relies on a farfetched canine feast of rambunctious chases, tenacious attacks, and emotive incidents. Production and direction are splendid, yet the script is not tight enough (no bad guy escapes to the dogs’ fury, not even Daniel’s snitch neighbor). In the end, the positive factors ended up obfuscating the negative ones.

Life of Riley (2014)

Directed by: Alain Resnais
Country: France

Movie Review: Iconic French filmmaker, Alain Resnais, went more and more theatrically during the last phase of his prolific career (six decades), terminated a year ago with his death at the age of 91. The creator of timeless classics such as “Hiroshima Mon Amour”, “Last Year at Marienbad”, “My American Uncle” and “Providence”, was considered a conceptual visionary whose narratives evinced a bold distinctiveness associated with a strong socio-political content. His latest comedy-drama, “Life of Riley”, reunites seven characters, more or less intimate to the ‘invisible’ George Riley. All of them are going to interact over several episodes composed of stage-settings and separated by drawings, which work as substitutes for the establishing shots. This was the third play from Alan Ayckbourn to be adapted by Resnais - previous two were “Smoking/No Smoking” and “Private Fears in Public Places”, both considerably more successful. Even if somewhat tepid at times and struggling to extract the best from the cast, “Life of Riley” was superior to “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” from three years ago. The plot revolves around three couples (plus the daughter of one of them) whose relationships are jeopardized because of Riley, a mutual friend with only six months to live. While rehearsing for a play, the men are consumed by jealousy and feel abandoned while the women are battling one another to become Riley’s choice for a trip to Tenerife. The domestic quarrels flow in light tones and the J.M. Besset’s dialogues are pretty French. Hippolyte Girardot and Sabine Azéma’s performances stood out, categorically defining the quirkiest couple: Colin, the clock-watcher, and his agitated wife Kathryn. Each character’s close-up alludes to comics by using a gridded-pattern on the background. Not grandiose, but an honorable farewell for Mr. Resnais.

Spring (2014)

Directed: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead
Country: USA

Movie Review: With only two feature films in their careers (not counting with the segments for the pathetic “V/H/S: Viral”), fellow filmmakers, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, have been conquering a legion of fans, and are now considered trendy representatives of the independent filmmaking. In their first film, “Resolution”, I didn’t get convinced of their capabilities since what it was supposed to be a horror film, became an unaesthetic, somehow pretentious adventure where everything seemed purposely created to baffle and supported on incoherence. With the conceptually bolder “Spring”, a modernistic romance horror sci-fi, which is mostly, if not entirely shot with handheld camera, I’m a bit more convinced, even believing that the film would have benefitted if had spent more time around the eeriness than in a romance that never showed many motives for us to care about it. The story follows Evan (Lou Taylor Pucci), a Californian cook who gets in trouble after the death of his mother (amazing opening scene), fleeing to a small village on the Italian coast where he meets the love of his life, Louise (Nadia Hilker). This lovable femme fatale is a researcher scientist whose availability is far from being regular. Getting too close and growing too fond of Evan, her dark secret will be exposed to him in a hideous manner. As an ancient creature, she confesses this is the first time she’s in love with somebody (naivety), but that love is menaced by increasingly dangerous transformations that turn her into a repulsive killing beast (a mix of alien and werewolf with scorpion tail). The dialogues might be baloney at times and the pace somewhat uneven, but “Spring” managed to properly engage with its sweetly bizarre facet and a few powerful scenes.

Cinderella (2015)

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Country: USA

Movie Review: Competent film director, Kenneth Branagh, launched a contemporary version of Disney’s classic fairy-tale, “Cinderella”, which may not reunite consensus among enthusiasts of celebrated romantic fantasies. Despite  some new details added to the plot, the ‘song’ remains the same in its essence. Chris Weitz (“About a Boy”, “The Golden Compass”) was in charge of the screenplay, and therefore, the sweetness patent in the film doesn’t really surprise me. Branagh missed the opportunity to explore a bit more the maleficent stepmother, but in return there’s an explicit sense of purity, kindness, and forgiveness in Cinderella. It’s as if the story had put the bad aside to fixate itself in the perspective of the good. Instead of crying and sobbing while locked in her cold room, the confident Cinderella sings, with her beloved prince in mind, never losing hope in a better future. We can say the thrills are gone, but that fact made room for a stronger personality of the title character. Funny moments are not abundant, but we can find them occasionally, here and there. As for the romance, there’s some magic on several occasions. Lily James transpired candor as Cinderella, floating in her blue dress (costume design by Sandy Powell was commendable) and glass slippers, but it was the splendorous Cate Blanchett as the cruel stepmother who stole the show with an imposing performance of pure class. It’s a pity that Helen Bonham Carter has been so modest in her brief appearance as the Fairy Godmother. Overall, “Cinderella” is far from greatness but managed to entertain, exhibiting structural solidity and rich visuals illustrated with a range of resplendent colors.

III (2015)

Directed by: Pavel Khvaleev
Country: Russia / Germany

Movie Review: Pavel Khvaleev's sophomore feature film, “III”, can be as much contemplative and idyllic as sinister and eerie. Ayia (Polina Davydova) and Mirra (Lyubov Ignatushko) get completely devastated when their mother falls sick and dies from a mysterious disease that is making more and more victims over the city. While the older sister, Ayia, finds strength in her religious faith to deal with the grief, Mirra shows to be a non-believer, rejecting God, as she feels responsible for her mother’s death. She eventually catches the fatal disease, falling in a sort of delirious state where dark dreams mirror a hidden past of traumas and suffering. Soon an order to abandon the house arrives to the desperate Ayia, who can only count with the help of the town’s priest and family friend, Father Herman (Evgeniy Gagarin). The latter revealed to be wobbly in his faith but swore to take care of the sisters. Resorting to mystical practices and an esoteric book written by a shaman, the priest will try to connect the sisters’ minds, since according to him, the only way to save Mirra is to find and kill the deepest fear that resides in her subconscious. A burdensome journey to her sister’s worst nightmares doesn’t shake Ayia’s determination. Will this be sufficient to save Mirra? The powerful score, together with the intense images extracted from Igor Kiselev’s beautiful cinematography are the most positive aspects in “III”, a horror tale that couldn’t avoid gaps in the plot and a confusing narrative. It creates some good moments, though. The abrupt conclusions might divide the fans of the genre, but even flawed, a few thrills and surprises are guaranteed.

All the Wilderness (2014)

Directed by: Michael Johnson
Country: USA

Movie Review: Michael Johnson shows assured skills as a filmmaker in his first feature-length film, “All the Wilderness”, a drama that promises more than actually delivers, but overcomes its main obstacles with an innocent sensibility and good performances from the young cast. In terms of plot, Johnson has to ponder if this is the kind of stories he wants to present in the future, especially considering that we’ve seen this so many times, knowing almost exactly every next step. It’s actually gorgeously shot and transpires accurately some feelings and emotional states, but the too obvious course of happenings, together with a hasty resolution, slightly dragged the film down. The plot is centered on the restless and maladjusted James Charm (Kodi Smit-McPhee), a solitary teenager who ruminates about his deceased father and what he told him regarding the wilderness: a place of wonder and fear, life and death, where each man has to cross it alone. Spending most of his time drawing dead animals or reading dark poetry, James has no friends and considers himself a cursed person. He drives his mother crazy with his weirdness, especially when he anticipates the date for his hamster to die, or even worse, telling another kid the date of his death. Vague hope relies on Dr. Pembry, a laidback psychiatrist played by Danny DeVito, but effective recovery comes from experiencing real life when he starts hanging out with Harmon, a wanderer piano player, and Val, a street cart vendor, with whom he falls in love. Not everything will be easy and disappointments are a reality, however they will make James descend to earth from his outer world. The film ends as it started, with James revisiting the wilderness, but this time with hope illuminating his mind and soul.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Directed by: Matthew Vaughan
Country: UK

Movie Review: “Kingsman: the Secret Service” is an action-packed espionage thriller directed by Matthew Vaughan (“Kick-Ass”, “X-Men: First Class”) and starring Colin Firth, Taron Egerton and Samuel L. Jackson. The film, bestowing a lot more action than really espionage, also presents more chaff than wheat, never reaching high levels of satisfaction but showing enough competence in order to be considered entertaining. Vaughan and Jane Goldman joined efforts to write a script, based on the comic book “The Secret Service” by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar, which relies on familiar structural methods and formulaic details instead of adding something extra to win our recognition. This doesn’t mean that “Kingsman” isn’t capable of offering a few interesting characters, putting face to face the elegance/snobbism of the members of a British intelligence agency, and a freaking tech-tycoon who endangers the world with his self-centeredness. All starts when Harry Hart (Firth), decides to give an opportunity to Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin (Egerton), the son of a former agent who had been killed in duty by the lethal legs of Gazelle, shield of a mad Internet entrepreneur, Richmond Valentine (Jackson). The latter carries out an evil plan to annihilate great part of the population, watching them kill one another through a device that causes uncontrolled rage - 'as in the movies we both love’, he says to Harry. “Kingsman: the Secrete Service” is acceptable, even with a few holes in the plot and repetitive action scenes occasionally detailed in slow-motion. This is the kind of film in which the fans of raucous action will thank, while the ones looking for something else might leave the theater disappointed.

When Animals Dream (2014)

Directed by: Jonas Alexander Arnby
Country: Denmark

Country: “When Animals Dream” marks the directorial debut for Danish filmmaker, Jonas Alexander Arnby, who counted with a convincing performance by Sonia Suhl and an admirable cinematography by Niels Thastum, to present a modern werewolf tale set in a small fishing village of Denmark. The script, written by Rasmus Birch, focuses on 19 year-old Marie (Suhl) who starts to be concerned about a rash that appeared in her chest. During a medical check-up done by the family doctor, he seemed to know exactly what this is about, since Marie’s mother had evinced similar symptoms before she became mute and completely debilitated for mysterious reasons. Everyone in town looks at Marie with a certain fear and suspicion, exactly as they were doing with her mother whose past is shrouded in blood. However, in her new job at the fish processing plant, Marie seems to get along with Daniel and Felix, but starts having some issues with Esben, a jerk who enjoys pulling tasteless pranks. Frustrated with the increase of strange symptoms (alterations on nails and gums, hair growth over the body, and a radical change of behavior), sad with the illness of her mother, and not very happy at her job, Marie was completely aware of her condition. The question was to know when and how it would happen, and who would be hurt. The idea behind “When Animals Dream” was auspicious, and Arnby was even capable of bestowing a chilled mood, similar to what we saw in “Let the Right One In”. However, the story’s conclusion felt hasty and short, interrupting what it had been built so tastefully. A more psychological approach was chosen instead of the usual graphical, and Arnby proves us he can cook a story. He just needs to throw in some surprise factors, especially for the endings.

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead (2014)

Directed by: Kiah Roache-Turner
Country: Australia

Movie Review: Wyrmwood’s opening scene gives us the right notion of what the film will be: rural Australian landscapes transformed in ferocious battlefields between zombies, seen as the invaders, and humans, mostly represented by military forces and survivor groups that armed to the teeth, do their best to remain bite-free. The story starts to be built in three fronts: Benny (Leon Burchill) is an aboriginal who didn’t have the guts to shoot his brother in the head when he became a zombie, letting him loose to infect other people; Barry (Jay Gallagher) is a common man who was forced to kill his wife and daughter and for a while tried to kill himself with no success; Brooke (Bianca Bradley) is Barry’s adroit sister, who was captured by two soldiers, falling afterwards in the hands of ‘the Doc’ (Berynn Schwerdt), a frantic researcher and disco music lover. After a freak first encounter, Barry and Benny end up teaming up and joining other anti-zombie fighters. Brooke, in turn, realizes she developed a strange telepathic power that allows her to control the zombies, without avoid gradually becoming one of them. Debutant writer/director Kiah Roache-Turner, who also produced and edited, was able to innovate a little by introducing a couple new elements to the washed-out genre; to give an example: here, the zombies’ blood and breath was proved to be inflammable, so useful in many situation throughout this gory adventure. At times, the energetically foolish “Wyrmwood” can be nauseating in its mayhem, however it’s also technically competent and confers sufficient action to minimally satisfy in this particular film category.

Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014)

Directed by: Spike Lee
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus”, the new Spike Lee joint, is an unorthodox, lavish vampire romance that ultimately is not so striking as intended. The film was funded with the help of a kickstarter campaign, and is an unmodified remake of 1973’ “Ganja & Hess”, written and directed by Bill Gunn. Despite the lack of novelty, the witty dialogues and voluptuous scenes made me keep watching it with some interest. There’s a trashy approach mixed with religious connotations and a bourgeois posture, which are not completely repellent, only the narrative stays a bit behind, with some encounters seeming sometimes too fictitious to be believable. Stephen Tyrone Williams plays Dr. Hess Green, a cultivated collector, expert on African art, who is doing research about an ancient tribe of blood drinkers. After being violently stabbed with one of the tribe’s mysterious weapon, by his suicidal assistant, Mr. Hightower, Hess becomes a merciless vampire. He shows no compassion or remorse when craving for blood, whether if the victim is a prostitute or an innocent mother. Something changes when he meets Hightower’s British ex-wife, Ganja (Zaraah Abrahams), and insane as it sounds, the solitary vampire marries her and turns her into his feminine equal. The intensity of carnal pleasures and blood feast will increase when they lure Hess’s old female friend to their den. The score includes assorted genres, from combative rap music to Brazilian captivating rhythms such as of Milton Nascimento and Jorge Benjor. Spike Lee, whose good ideas are becoming very scarce lately, manages to get away with “Da Sweet Blood of Jesus”, especially considering his budget limitations.

Bird People (2014)

Directed by: Pascale Ferran
Country: France

Movie Review: Writer/director Pascale Ferran returns eight years after “Lady Chatterley” has conquered some moviegoers’ hearts. “Bird People” is a drama with hints of fantasy that tells the story of two strangers who eventually met. Gary Newman (Josh Charles) is an American businessman who is staying at Hilton hotel in Paris where he has an important meeting. Constantly traveling and rushing, the restless Gary is assaulted by attacks of anxiety and an uneasiness that makes him exhausted. When he’s informed that the company needs him in Dubai by December 31st, Gary decides to purposely miss the plane and quit, not only his job but also his wife. Through a realistic skype conversation, he lets her know his intentions of not returning to the US, putting an end to a marriage that seemed to suffer from misunderstandings and a deficient communication. Simultaneously we follow Audrey (Anaïs Demoustier), a student who works as a maid at the same hotel. As a dreamer, she kicks the monotony of work by listening to the guest’s conversations and observing them from afar. Ferran was able to make us plunge into these particular lives, taking some good moments to let the story breath at the same time that asphyxiates us with the drama of its characters. Suddenly the realistic story shifts to a surreal episode involving Audrey who apparently was transformed in a peeking sparrow that wanders from window to window, avid to find something stimulating. This little adventurous installment withdrew some dramatic strength to the story by rambling in its own creative process, built with the help of a disciplined narrative that resorts to a voice-off whenever needed.

Girlhood (2014)

Directed by: Celine Sciamma
Country: France

Movie Review: With “Girlhood”, French writer/director, Celine Sciamma, addresses once again the subject of coming of age, but in a totally different perspective than in “Tomboy”. Sciamma created the perfect scenario to depict her main character, a 16-year-old girl called Marieme (Karidja Touré) who decided to stop being shy, getting away from her precarious family life and giving up school in order to join a gang of the hood, formed by three older girls: Adiatou, Lady and Fily. Their day-to-day basically consisted in drinking, smoking, stealing clothes from stores and money from frightened schoolgirls, in addition to engage in street fights with other gangs. Bashful at first, Marieme soon learned how to look straight into the eyes of people and talk aggressively. With absent parents, she showed to be always very attentive and responsible regarding her sisters, but her main concern was her older brother who often reacted violently if she didn’t comply with his demands. As ambition grows hastily and dreams get wings, Marieme takes unreliable steps to assure her freedom and independence, even if she has to sacrifice her love for one of his brother’s best friends. Socially incisive, “Girlhood” was consciously written and generally well performed, but I felt it got stranded for too long in the ‘cool’ postures of the girls, what made the film not to flow during particular periods of time. Sciamma’s execution was not always empathic, occasionally turning “Girlhood” into an immature exposure that gains emphasis after it has given the sensation that we had reached the end, for at least a couple of times. It’s observant, without a doubt, but sinned for being insistently unripe in determined scenes.

Amira & Sam (2014)

Directed by: Sean Mullin
Country: USA

Movie Review: In “Amira & Sam”, debutant writer/director Sean Mullin, imagined a charismatic ex-soldier finding the perfect match when he meets an illegal Iraqi immigrant woman in New York. Sam (Martin Sarr) served his country during multiple tours in Iraq, where he became friends with his Iraqi translator, Bassam (Laith Nakli), now living in the US. Unhappy for working as a janitor in a rich building in Wall Street, Sam is fired when he traps a couple of presumptuous guys in the elevator. That’s when he decides to visit Bassam, meeting his niece, Amira (Dina Shihabi), who spends her spare time trying to sell DVDs in the corner of Canal St. and Broadway. Their first encounter is uneasy, with Amira opting for a defensive posture while Sam, whose dream was to become a standup comedian, tries to break the ice with his dry jokes and particular little stories. A comforting closeness will arrive when Amira moves to his place after being caught selling illegally in the streets with the aggravation of showing a fake ID containing her real address. While he gradually conquers Amira’s heart with his honesty, he also gets disappointed with his shifty cousin, Charlie (Paul Wesley) who offers him a second opportunity at his own company. The graciousness of the film comes totally from Sam, who endeavors to keep his life neat. The romantic side could have been better crafted, and the ending turns out to be as dry as the humor presented. Regardless this aspect, “Amira & Sam” never tried to please the crowds with emotional conventionalisms or boast itself pretentiously, opting instead for a clear, honest approach that literally saves it from falling into staleness.

Citizenfour (2014)

Directed by: Laura Poitras
Country: USA / Germany

Movie Review: “Citizenfour” chronicles the unsettling adventures of Edward Snowden concerning the scandal of global surveillance that involved the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013. Documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras was on top of the happenings, covering in real time the actions and reactions of the interveners that besides Snowden, include Glenn Greenwald, journalist of the Guardian; Jacob Appelbaum, computer researcher and hacker; William Binney, former intelligence officer for NSA; Ladar Levinson, creator of the extinct encryption software Lavabit; Ewen MacAskill, intelligence reporter for the Guardian; Julian Assange, polemic co-founder of WikiLeaks; among many others. Ethics and freedom are two of the aspects debated here, after Snowden, former NSA employee in Hawaii, has revealed everything about the collection data program set up by this US governmental agency after the 9/11. Confined to a hotel room in Hong Kong, Snowden explains his motivations for denouncing the questionable methods of the agency, accepting calmly his fate, yet not without some alarming circumstances. He was the one who contacted Poitras via encrypted emails, fact that turned this documentary possible. The film gives us a thorough insight about the communication era we live in, where surveillance can be synonym of espionage, jeopardizing the freedom of opinion of the most common citizens. “Citizenfour” conveys a natural interest and curiosity, achieving the desired effect of shocking us with its revelations. However, besides its historic relevance, I didn’t feel any particularly exciting vibration in its images. Snowden says: ‘it’s scary but liberating’. I say: ‘it’s informative but not breathtaking’.

Match (2014)

Directed by: Stephen Belber
Country: USA

Movie Review: Writer/director Stephen Belber brings to the cinema his own play, “Match”, providing a positive payoff for those who are able to minimize its imperfect moments. Patrick Stewart excels as Toby Powell, a Juilliard ballet teacher who gives the wrong impression of being satisfied with his life. When receiving the visit of a married couple, Lisa (Carla Gugino) and Mike (Matthew Lillard), who traveled from Seattle to interviewed him for the former’s dissertation, Toby shows to be gallant, extrovert and very much talkative. The one who seems not to appreciate this posture is Mike, a suspended cop who adopts a very inquisitive attitude that gets pretty close to rudeness, especially if we consider he was in the interviewee’s home. At certain point, Toby starts to feel uncomfortably weird when the name Gloria Rinaldi is mentioned and the questions date back to his sexual life in the 60’s. After Mike reveals to be Gloria’s son, the laid-back first moments soon slide to a heated argument. Suddenly, the possibility of Toby being Mike’s father was more realistic than ever. Not even some puffs on a joint could put a break in the tension, but Lisa stays behind to apologize when her husband leaves the apartment furious. Unexpectedly, revelations continue to burst at a fast pace, some quite interesting and some others with ‘too much information’. Even dramatically burnt to a crisp in several moments, particularly those involving Lisa and Toby, “Match” still hooks us up in part due to Stewart’s great performance, but especially for its restorative finale, which ended up pulling out some optimistic waves from the awkward encounter.

Big Eyes (2014)

Directed by: Tim Burton
Country: USA

Movie Review: “Big Eyes” marks a changing in Tim Burton’s style and this fact brought some freshness to a career that, despite valuable, was relying in the same plot strategies and visual elements. Dropping the former graphical style, many times supported on the fantasy, darkness and horror of his stories, Burton brings us a biopic about the painter Margaret Keane whose work received great notoriety in the 50’s but was credited to her fraudulent husband, Walter. Played brilliantly by Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams, the couple comes to a legal dispute for the authorship of the painting series that are characterized by the oversized eyes of its subjects, after having put an end to a 10-year marriage in 1965. Until this time, the submissive wife had always backed up her fraudulent husband against her will. Written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who already had written “Ed Wood”, the film was presented in colorful images, always with a comedic tone that frequently swallows entirely the dramatic side. Maybe this was the biggest issue of “Big Eyes”, in addition to an overdone court trial that was more silly than funny. Regardless these aspects, I found Burton’s conventional move acceptable, not only because I had the chance to know the real story it tells, but also because he boldly opted to turn a presumable biographical drama into a deliberately feel-good tribute to the real painter who still lives at the age of 87. Waltz gives a damn-good performance, impersonating an expert in the art of cunning, and deceiving for his own merit and glory.

American Sniper (2014)

Directed by:  Clint Eastwood
Country: USA

Movie Review: “American Sniper” is a biographical war drama that marks the return of prolific director, Clint Eastwood, who just a few months ago had presented the also biographical but disappointing, “Jersey Boys”. In this new film he introduces us the story of US Navy Seal, Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), a former cowboy, who was turned into a hero after serve his country in four dangerous tours in Iraq. Highly patriotic, Kyle was responsible for more than 160 confirmed kills, deed that conferred him the title of the most lethal sniper in US history. Seen as a golden trump in the deadly fight against the terrorism, Kyle showed to be a man of integrity in his duty, but at some point he became simultaneously sickly addicted to adrenaline (the shaking “Hurt Locker” immediately bounced into my mind) and affected with the atrocities seen in the Middle East combat. His wife, Taya (Sienna Miller), was the mirror of discontentment each time he was home, since he was quietly absorbed in his thoughts and didn’t show much availability for her and their kids. The powerful war scenes were much appreciated, bestowing the ideal suspense and action. I was stunned by Kyles’s last combat during a sand storm and his risky rescue, but in the opposite way to these, the family drama didn’t have almost any impact, giving the sensation of having been handled with slight superficiality. Not so absorbing or thrilling as “Zero Dark Thirty” and with a lame ending, “American Sniper” still has something (sad) to say, working both as a homage to a great soldier and a warning that war can wreck people’s lives. Great direction Mr. Eastwood!, yet a bit more was expected.

The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

Directed by: Peter Jackson
Country: USA / New Zealand

Move Review: The third chapter of The Hobbit saga, “The Battle of the Five Armies”, issues a big challenge for the viewer: how to deal with the tiresome inflicted by the previous two chapters? Well, let me tell you that I found this one much more efficient and entertaining than the other two. Here, Bilbo Baggins and his alliance of faithful friends, try to maintain the Lonely Mountain safe from several evil enemies. This time, and unexpectedly, the forces of good will have a hard time dealing with Thorin Oakenshield, chief of the Company of Dwarves, whose blind greediness pushes him to the dark side, strengthening the dark forces formed by Sauron, the army of orcs, and vengeful flying-dragons. Pelted with fierce battles and adorned with the habitual imposing score of Howard Shore, the film delivers exciting moments and manages not to drag itself, since it wasn’t so extended in its duration to exhaust our patience. Of course there were a few moments of exaggeration, particularly in the last period, but I've left the theater satisfied with what I saw, and kind of happy for Peter Jackson had conducted this trilogy to a decent ending. However, I believe no one needs more Tolkien’s adventures for some good years, in spite of the undeniable visual awesomeness of the journeys. It’s a feeling that can almost be taken from this concluding part, where the pain felt for the ones who died contrasts with the joy of the victory. Enthusiasts of the saga are going to vibrate with it and remain faithful, while the ‘tired ones’ should give a final chance to this respectable conclusion.