Mud (2012)

Directed by: Jeff Nichols
Country: USA

Review: I was astonished two years ago with the disturbing “Take Shelter”, but this time Jeff Nichols was not capable of maintaining me a hundred percent clung to “Mud”, his third feature film. Ellis is a sensible 14 year-old kid, who is passing through difficult times with the imminent separation of his parents. One day, he and his friend Neckbone, went to a deserted island, across the Mississippi river, to search for an old abandoned boat that has been placed on top of a tree. For their surprise, they found a famished man called Mud living there. Wanted by the police and by some thugs who wanted him dead, Mud asks for the kids' help after telling them his story of love and crime. The old question arises: is the story true or false? The adventure never lost interest, but some excessive situations made the story fall into a sort of triviality. Ellis’ appetite for punching faces was in some cases absolutely ridiculous. The pace didn’t help too, and visually the film didn’t cause much impact for the eyes. The exception to these issues was the final shooting, which was very well done, putting intensity on the screen and adrenaline in our veins. “Mud” showed some moments of sincerity, especially those depicting the relationships between parents/sons, and gave a respectable vision of coming of age and the complexities of love associated to it. Being perfectly watchable, I felt it needed more agitation in the story and the suppression of some unnecessary scenes, to become more appealing.

Almayer's Folly (2011)

Directed by: Chantal Akerman
Country: Belgium / France

Review: Loosely adapted from Joseph Conrad’s debut novel, “Alamayer’s Folly” marks the return of Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman after a seven year absence. The adopted style, not so experimental as in other times, presents recognizable features; steady hand, long and precise shots, and efficient image composition, often using strong contrasts of shadow and light. The tale itself is bitter and powerful, following Gaspard Almayer (was Stanislas Merhar the right choice to play this character?), a French merchant whose great ambition for gold brought him to a remote village in Malaysia, where he got married to a local woman. From that loveless marriage, a beautiful mixed-race girl was born, becoming the proud of her father. Convinced by his employer, Alamayer sends his daughter Nina to a boarding school in town, where she could have a ‘white education’. But this will become a traumatic experience for her. Back to her village, after being kicked out from school, she will become the great love of Dain, a drugs smuggler who was Almayer’s last hope to get rich. Told in a strange but not discouraging way, “Almayer’s Folly” is a film about love, ambition, madness, racial issues, failed intentions, and disillusions. Its deliberate pace, nature sounds, and tropical ambience (reminding me Weerasethakul’s films without the mystical component), will not fit in everyone’s taste, but for those more adventurous, it may be a challenging cinematic experience.

Any Day Now (2012)

Directed by: Travis Fine
Country: USA

Review: Set in the 70’s, “Any Day Now” depicts the struggle of a gay couple to gain the custody of a Down syndrome boy whose junkie mother had been arrested. Despite of some noticeable issues, especially in the story’s development, the film succeeds in gaining our sympathy for the cause. This is achieved through very solid performances, especially from Alan Cumming, and from the anger we feel from observing the negligent attitude of the boy’s mother. The biases were evident in many occasions: in a scene with a police officer, at work, at school, and in courtrooms, the latter with very laughable interventions from lawyer and judges. The couple’s differences were highlighted, with the low profile and sobriety of the law expert Paul (Garret Dillahunt), balancing with the expansiveness of Rudy (Cumming) whose dubious artistic talent only served the purpose of putting more sentiment in the final moments. Inspired on a true story, “Any Day Now” revealed an inevitable tendency for melodrama, but compensates with some honesty and a sense of true feelings. I could not help feeling sorry for the sympathetic young boy Marco (Isaac Levya), in Travis Fine’s most interesting film so far, a real champion of audiences in Festivals such as Chicago, L.A., Seattle, and Tribeca.

Graceland (2012)

Director: Ron Morales
Country: Philippines

Review: “Graceland” is the second feature film directed by Ron Morales, who is best known as an experienced key grip (lighting and rigging technician), having participated in 41 titles, including “The Departed”, “Spider Man 3” or “My Sassy Girl”. Set and filmed in the Philippines, the story centers in a kidnapping that went too far. For eight years, Marlon works as a chauffeur for a corrupt and pedophile congressman, feeling guilty for having to cover-up his recurrent sexual crimes. His daughter Elvie attends the same class as Sophia, his boss's daughter, being best friends for a long time. Certain day, when driving them home from school, Marlon’s car was ambushed by a man disguised of policeman whose goal was to kidnap the congressman’s daughter. However, things didn’t went as expected, and Marlon, cornered between the kidnappers’ orders and a bribed policeman, will try his best to solve the situation. Not so radically explicit as Brillante Mendoza’s “Kinatay”, “Graceland” (what an ironic title!) aims to criticize the Philippine society, showing criminality, corruption, and hypocrisy as part of the day-to-day life. The film was well shot, using both desolated and chaotic landscapes to enhance the sense of helplessness and despair. In a dark tone, Morales was able to make the story flow at a good pace, creating suspenseful moments until reach the unexpected conclusions. A solid thriller.

Oh Boy (2012)

Directed by: Jan Ole Gerster
Country: Germany

Review: Taking advantage of a grained black-and-white picture, adorned with a moody jazz score, “Oh Boy” is not just an intimate portrait about a particular character who feels lost, but also a portrait of a contemporary Berlin. Nothing seems to go right with Niko Fischer (Tom Schilling), who is going through a complicated phase in life. Certain that a law course would not be the right thing for him, Niko gave up his studies two years before, but still lives in Berlin with the allowance sent by his father. Meanwhile, he keeps living a carefree life, taking his time to think what he really wants. After his father finds out, Niko had his bank account closed, and everything seemed to fall apart. However, a few casual encounters with several interesting people across Berlin will become important experiences to learn and grow. I can mention a sweet old woman who, in a moment of affection, made the role of the mother that Niko didn’t have; a former schoolmate girl who is still haunted by a traumatic past; or a lonely man who was abroad for 60 years and was remembering his childhood in the city. Some references to Nazism were naturally introduced as making part of the city's history, in a movie marked by honesty, sensibility, and humor. “Oh Boy” is a mature accomplishment from a debutant cineaste who used beautiful long shots and detailed close-ups to show in a charming and conscious way that both people and city are in constant transformation.

Calm At Sea (2011)

Directed by: Volker Shlondorff
Country: France / Germany

Review: Veteran German filmmaker Volker Shlondorff shows the same characteristic attributes that made him known in the past, although without presenting anything really new, in this war movie with political and psychological substance. “Calm At Sea” was made in an old-fashioned way, but still conveys some emotional breath, despite its simplistic plot. Set in WWII, the film recreates the true events that happened in the Choiseul internment camp in France, where a group of political French prisoners, most of them communist militants, were condemned to be shot as a reprisal for the assassination of a German commandant in Nantes. Among the condemned was the 17-year-old Guy Moquet, who would become a symbol of the French Resistance, and whose love for a young girl named Odette was used here as emotional bait. The same happened with Claude Lalet, a young student who was about to leave the camp. Apart from these two situations, the brave men accepted their fate without much agitation and the film proceeds calmly to its bitter conclusion. It was interesting to see German officials opposing in secrecy to Hitler’s decision, or a French opportunist betraying his compatriots. The less credible scenes had to do with a troubled German soldier who wasn't able to kill. “Calm At Sea” took into account the real documents written by Pierre-Louis Basse, Ernst Junger (the most curious character in the movie), and Heinrich Boll.

42 (2013)

Directed by: Brian Helgeland
Country: USA

Review: 42 is a biopic about Jackie Robinson, the first African American baseball player hired to play in a major league team, breaking the color barrier that prevailed since 1880's. Robinson became an official player of Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, fighting in silence against racist prejudices, both inside and outside the team. His exceptional skills, sporting behavior, and effort put in the field, ended up winning the respect of team mates, managers, reporters, and general public. The film also focuses the importance of his wife Rachel, but great part of its time is spend on provocations, threats, and discriminations related with the racial segregation, as well as assorted episodes from several games that remained forever in the history of baseball. This is the fourth feature film from helmer Brian Helgeland, who seems to have won the heart of American audiences, but unfortunately did not touch mine. The approach was banal and nothing new or unanticipated was added to make it interesting. I felt that Helgeland’s main concern was to impress us with the racial theme, forgetting to spend some time building the character itself. 42 depicts Robinson’s life in the most conventional Hollywood tradition, using the same old formulas and manipulations that most of us are fed up. Its noble intentions and a couple of rousing moments, could not make Jackie Robinson's fantastic achievements seem so special on the screen.

Upstream Color (2013)

Directed by: Shane Carruth
Country: USA

Review: Shane Carruth is the man behind “Upstream Color”, a haunting film that challenges our senses, provoking us with the way it was conceived. In addition to being screenwriter, director, actor, and producer, Carruth was also responsible for the music, cinematography and editing, making a superb job in all of these aspects. Technically outstanding, this new arthouse gem kept me completely immersed in its imagery and story, reminding me the chilling moments of some David Lynch’s works but with a more objective guideline in the plot, or Guy Maddin’s wandering narratives without the saturated colors on the image. Actually, the image here is very clean and absorbing, working in perfection with the distorted sounds of nature. The plot uncovers a vicious and criminal life-cycle, created to control the body and mind, where animals, plants, water, and human beings, interact in an inventive way. Don’t expect an easy watching or quick answers, since its structure will force you to search for them among a variety of obscure occurrences, strange connections, and atmospheric anxieties. “Upstream Color” is a completely different thriller, made with boldness and creativity, and whose hypnotic ambience sticks in our mind like a delirious dream. Carruth shows imagination, promising to be the next brainteaser creator of independent American cinema.

Neighboring Sounds (2012)

Directed by: Kleber Mendonça Filho
Country: Brazil

Review: Simultaneously bizarre and audacious, “Neighboring Sounds” was an agreeable surprise. With his witty vision, Kleber Mendonça Filho portrays a middle-class neighborhood of Recife, Brazil. To define its spirit and insecurity, the story guides us through a series of adventurous situations, most of them unexpected and intriguing. The title is meaningful, since the howl of a dog or loud music in the streets could cause exasperation on some characters. Precious details present in every scene help to compose the bigger picture of an unbalanced society with all the problematic aspects about human relationships and personal needs. While some behaviors are completely normal, depicting a calm quotidian life, others seem mysterious or unusual, creating a curiosity that refuses to leave. Some episodes were so delightful, abrupt, and unforeseen, that I kept them in my mind. I’m remembering of insomniac Bia being attacked by a neighbor, smoking a joint with the help of a vacuum cleaner, or getting horny with a washing machine; or even a realistic condominium meeting to discuss what to do with the old doorman who sleeps in every corner. Some other scenes are meant to baffle us, and then are purposely left behind without explanation, accumulating tension that never really bursts in any occasion. This fact can become frustrating for some viewers, but the originality, irreverence, and loose style adopted, made “Neighboring Sounds” a distinct experience, even with an inarticulate storyline.

Resolution (2012)

Directed by: Justin Benson / Aaron Moorhead
Country: USA

Review: “Resolution” intended to be a thriller but for me it didn’t work exactly as that. It starts with Michael deciding to search for his best friend Chris, whose addiction to drugs is making him aggressive and dangerous. Michael’s plan consisted in handcuffing him for four days in the cabin where he was living, located in an Indian reservation, and then send him to rehab. But during that period, unexplainable events start to occur. The story is filled with unclear menaces, unexpected appearances, and weird conversations. Some unforeseen encounters with strange people were set up purposely to confound us and arouse our curiosity. The problem is the number of times that this situation was repeated throughout the film, falling in a boring cadence that made me give up for searching something tangible or coherent. Michael transforms himself in a sort of detective, trying to find out more about the videotapes, vinyl records, film reels, photographs, or old books that were mysteriously appearing, while Chris’ hangover and behavior were never convincing. “Resolution” stands closer to adventure genre than properly thriller or horror, preferring the rawness to the aesthetic, and adopting a casual and talkative posture that often conflicts with the moments of insecurity that wants to create. The way it was cooked didn’t catch me, failing to convey real paranoia or intrigue me with its inconsequent clues.

Midnight's Children (2012)

Directed by: Deepa Mehta
Country: Canada / UK

Review: I was never a big enthusiast of Deepa Mehta’s cinema, and after watching “Midnight’s Children”, an adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s book with the same name, my opinion haven’t changed. During its 148 minutes, we follow the narration of Saleem Sinai about his origins and what has been his life since his birth date, which also happened to be the day of India's independence. During the film, we get to know that on that special day, a nurse swapped purposely two babies at birth. One was Saleem, who came from a very poor family, and the other was Shiva, the son of a wealthy couple. Throughout all their lives, in war or in peace, these two men will oppose fiercely to each other. As expected from a Rushdie’s novel, the film is immersed on strong political aspects, including the independence of India and the Indo-Pakistani war. Some moments tried to convey the harshness of wartime, while others stood in a soft drama that was never intense or absorbing. There was also a fantasy side on this film, but the magic showed didn’t cast any spell on me. The stiffness of the narrative along with Deepa Mehta’s extreme delicacy on direction smothered the tense situations, making “Midnight’s Children” less riveting than it should be and very far from the epic that it dreamed to become. Instantly forgettable.

Oblivion (2013)

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Country: USA

Review: Joseph Kosinski makes his second experience on sci-fi with “Oblivion”, after his 2010 debut “Tron: Legacy”. Tom Cruise has a fair performance as Jack, a guardian of the remaining resources of a desolated Earth threatened by Scavs, an army of alien creatures. His principal mission is to fix damaged drones, intelligent machines created to protect what remains of the Earth. Under the strict orders of chief Sally, Jack has been assigned to work with Victoria as an effective team member, after they went through a mandatory memory wipe. The problem is that he still has some vague memories of the past, especially of Julia, a woman he will find preserved inside a survival capsule after her spacecraft has been destroyed 60 years before. Visibly, Kosinski was more concerned with the spectacle of the action rather than intrigue us with any sort of mystery. As you can guess from the title, this film tries to create tension with some aspects of the mind, but don’t expect anything as Inception or Matrix since we are before something much more obvious and quite less appealing. Some beautiful images aren’t sufficient to get us distracted from its basic story, familiar approach, and expected conclusion. “Oblivion” is strictly visual, presenting a love triangle that is hardly interesting, and lacking real thrilling moments. Definitely, it won't be part of my sci-fi references list.

The Company You Keep (2012)

Directed by: Robert Redford
Country: USA

Review: Robert Redford is back as actor, producer, and director, bringing with him a great cast from the ‘old school’. The plot centers in an ex-member of the radical left organization Weather Underground, Jim Grant (Redford), who lives in Albany with his daughter, hidden from the FBI under a false identity. When, after 30 years, his former associate Sharon Solarz (Susan Sarandon) turns herself in to the police, Ben (Shia LaBeouf), a reporter from a local newspaper, uncovers Jim’s real identity, putting the FBI on his trail. Jim flees, helped by some of his old mates, but left his daughter behind, without ever trying to leave the country. This fact will arouse suspicions about Jim’s real involvement in the terrorist attacks from the past. Everything seems tepid in “The Company You Keep”, a political thriller made in a classical style that left much to be desired. I didn’t feel involved or even surprised by the plot (written by Lem Dobbs and based on Neil Gordon’s novel), which was wasted on journalistic investigations so many times seen before, unemotional parental dramas, and boring chases. Many aspects were in need of profound adjustments to make this story and its characters minimally interesting. The unquestionable quality of the cast nothing could have done when worn formulas were used and the tense moments proved to be frustratingly inefficient.

Boxing Day (2012)

Directed by: Bernard Rose
Country: UK

Review: With “Boxing Day”, Bernard Rose presents us his best work so far, in a career with more than 20 years. The plot, based on the short story from 1895 “Master And Man” by Leo Tolstoy, has been magnificently adapted to the current times, following the workaholic businessman Basil on a car trip to a mountain region in Denver to see possible lucrative properties. With him goes a hired chauffeur, Nick, a simple guy who lives alone after has been dumped by his wife. The initial moments were pleasantly tense, with Nick making a lot of questions and trying to make easy conversation, while Basil was trying to maintain a certain distance by showing an arrogant pose of superiority. After Nick’s insistence, Basil starts to talk more and the disagreement between the two men was more than evident in topics such as capitalism, greed, global warming, and how people should live their lives. After spending some relaxed moments inside a bar, Basil and Nick hit the road again in the middle of the night, to get lost and be stuck in the snow in a remote place without communication. With very low temperatures, their fate seemed dark, but even so, Basil shows his awful selfishness. “Boxing Day” is powerful, timeless, and realistic. The excellent performances, poignant humor, and desperate moments, helped to magnify a moral tale that should be taken as an example in our society full of greediness.

To The Wonder (2012)

Directed by: Terrence Malick
Country: USA

Review: “To The Wonder” depicts love and its painful transformations, through a free-floating approach, dreamlike ambience, and ravishing images. Its message may seem unclear but certainly has to do with the arduous process that one has to go through in order to find balance, stability, and happiness, through love, both in its spiritual and physical forms. It also emphasizes many external aspects that can influence our decisions and path in this matter. Malick's highly stylized way of filming is perceptible through elegant plans illuminated by a captivating, tenuous light. The story of a couple who is struggling with the deterioration of their love, is confronted with the story of a priest who devotes his life to God. In both cases we can glimpse doubt, restlessness, tiredness, and oppression. These stories of love and sacrifice are intersected in such way that, at some point, led me to wrong assumptions. Since the dialogs are very few, the way to have access to the character’s thoughts was through their own background narration, expressed in the form of whispered poems or laments. At certain times, the film makes some pointless deviations that didn’t really add anything important to my final perception of the film. This fact weakened the final result but its defiant concept maintained the movie in satisfying levels. Sometimes vague, sometimes intense, “To The Wonder” is flawed but beautiful.

You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet (2012)

Directed by: Alain Resnais
Country: France / Germany

Review: Though this film did not work for me, it was clear that 90 year-old filmmaker Alain Resnais still aims freshness and creativity in his work. The story starts with a group of (real) actors being informed by phone about the death of their friend Antoine D’Anthac, a talented playwright. Before the funeral, their presence was required in one of the deceased's residences, where they will be surprised by a video recording of D'Anthac's play “Eurydice” performed by a group of young actors. This play had been performed before by Antoine's friends, who became so involved that they started to perform it again, recreating Orpheus and Eurydice from other times. Sabine Azéma and Pierre Arditi formed the oldest couple, while Anne Consigny and Lambert Wilson formed the middle-aged one. Therefore, we can follow three different generations performing exactly the same play. This odd meeting filled with nostalgia and theatrical approach wasn’t much appealing to me. It seemed to last forever and I didn’t find it particularly interesting to follow. The end reserves some surprises, but the film isn’t more than a stagy intellectual prank that for long periods of time becomes painful to watch. With masterpieces such as “Marienbad” or “Hiroshima Mon Amour”, Resnais doesn’t have to fear not being remembered. I just think this film doesn't give a valuable contribution to his career.

Araf - Something In Between (2012)

Directed by: Yesim Ustaoglu
Country: Turkey / France / Germany

Review: Yesim Ustaoglu’s fifth film “Somewhere In Between” is a heavy drama that depicts the story of Zehra and Olgun, two friends who work together in a cafeteria. Their dream is to leave the city forever in order to flee from their depressing home environments. Olgun doesn’t hide his love for Zehra and makes plans for a future together, but things won’t be as expected. She had started a relationship with a truck driver, seeing him as a great opportunity to escape from her cheerless life. The film adopts a contemplative pace in the same line of Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s works, but it runs for too long by trying to describe many aspects around the characters, some of them irrelevant. Close friends, family, and city landscapes, were portrayed with a wonderful light and photography, but I found myself struggling against the sleepy tone that was being exhibited. This ambience changed radically in the final 30 minutes, when the quietness was abandoned for despair, violence, tragic revelations, and some creepy moments. After an overextended first part, Ustaoglu tried to shake our senses all at once, but left me indisposed rather than impressed. “Somewhere in Between” revealed strong technical aspects but I cannot say this is an enjoyable trip. It wasn't solidly satisfactory, but also not entirely bad, I would say… something in between!

Inch Allah (2012)

Directed by: Anais Barbeau-Lavalette
Country: Canada / France

Review: “Inch Allah” takes a very personal look at Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of Chloe, a Canadian doctor who lives in Israel but works in an improvised clinic in the Palestinian side. Her spare time is spent with friends from both sides. She gets along with a Palestinian family, as well as with Ava, an Israeli neighbor who works as checkpoint soldier. Caught in the middle of chaos, checkpoints, searches, and prejudices, Chloe just tries to help everybody and be neutral, but right after witnessing a Palestinian kid dying and being ignored just as if nothing had ever happened, she dangerously starts to expose herself by taking a side in the conflict. Besides, her well-intentioned actions were not always understood, leaving her in a disoriented state. The film depicts an old conflict with the same dramas and traumas, showing that war makes huge transformations on people and there is nothing you can do to change the situation. I just could not cope with the idea of Chloe consenting that her personal relationships interfere with the aid she was giving to innocent people in need. Intentionally or not, her renunciation to help, disclosed a sort of disappointing selfishness instead of the intended victimization. Well shot with powerful images, though.

White Tiger (2012)

Directed by: Karen Shakhnazarov
Country: Russia

Review: Based on Ilya Boyashov’s fictional novel “Tankman”, “White Tiger” is an eerie tale that mixes war and supernatural to portray the improbable story of one of the best Russian tank drivers of WWII. During an operation against the Germans, this tank driver got burned in 90% of his body when he was hit by a mysterious tank known as White Tiger. Practically given up for dead, he has a miraculous recovery in a few weeks, revealing a strange sixth sense that will help him to accomplish his mission of destroying White Tiger and avenge his own fate. Having lost his memory, he was renamed Naydenov and promptly reattached to military service. As a ghost, only him could see White Tiger, which according to his words was an indestructible tank commanded by dead. After these spooky revelations, the hunt begins, painted in beautiful colors and alluring visuals of destruction and claustrophobia. The film showed nerve in the way that made the absurdity of the story seem naturally serious. The performance by Aleksey Vertkov was convincing, while the music of Richard Wagner enhanced the tense moments. Even using a minimal story and a few details in the plot that were hard to swallow, “White Tiger” spread some freshness with its exquisite taste, hypnotic war scenes, and final mention of an abominable philosophy described by the Reich himself. An absurdly original piece of cinema.

De Marathon (2012)

Directed by: Diederick Koopal
Country: Netherlands

Review: This Dutch film mixes mockery and sentiment with good intentions but not always in the best way, to depict the adventures of a garage owner and his four employees, when they discover that their job is at risk due to a huge tax debt. The solution found consisted in participating in Rotterdam marathon and try to obtain sponsorships, but the plan ended up in a risky bet. To delineate the characters, the film switches between the good-disposition at work and the troubles at home. Gerard, the garage owner, finds out he has cancer and is struggling to give the best education to his adolescent son; Kees has to deal with the fanaticism of his religious wife; Nico, unable to have a relationship with a woman, starts to become aware of his homosexuality; Leo left his unfaithful wife and now has a child at his charge; the Egyptian Youssoef is the garage’s freshman and will be the team’s trainer. In this intermittent comedy, which created more predictable situations than fresh ones, we could sense the enjoyment of the actors while playing their parts. Unfortunately some strained scenes in the final moments, restrained the prospects of “De Marathon” become more successful. Even trying to rise above its possibilities, the result is a regular dramatic comedy that lives from the comical facet of its characters.

Evil Dead (2013)

Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Country: USA

Review: Uruguayan film director Fede Alvarez chose a remake of Sam Raimi’s horror classic “The Evil Dead”(1981) to start his career on feature film. A risky move, since remakes aren’t much appreciated and he was dealing with a very well known ‘nightmare’. The film was shot almost entirely inside a claustrophobic and haunted cabin in the middle of the woods (this remind me something!), but were the exterior scenes that caused more impact, with millions of tree branches obfuscating our vision and evil spirits lurking at each corner. For my dismay, nothing valuable was added to the visual tricks, in an approach that attempts to impress solely through the common one-at-a-time character torture. We don’t have time to know the characters in this kind of movie; it’s just a rushing journey towards the end, without much space to breath and using pretty much the same cadence of images, sounds, and violence. Alvarez tried to use everything he could to scare us – rough voices, crawling spirits, limbs being sawed, blood spreading, but the results were unchanging, with some sanguinary scenes seeming more like a skin disease or apocalyptic disaster than effectively diabolical. A well-fitted score by Roque Baños added some intensity, but this was not enough to make "Evil Dead" a remarkable or necessary remake.

Great Expectations (2012)

Directed by: Mike Newell
Country: UK / USA

Review: Premises weren’t much encouraging for this remake of Charles Dicken’s novel “Great Expectations”, and in truth, this film didn't provoke nothing more than an expectation far from being great. It wasn’t an easy task for British filmmaker Mike Newell, especially when we have a masterpiece from the past that adapts the same novel with technical perfection and emotional distinctiveness; I’m talking about David Lean’s unforgettable version from 1946. The problems with this movie start with the performances, where Jeremy Irvine and Holliday Grainger didn’t make us feel the fire of love that was supposed to be there to reach our feelings. Fiennes and Bonham Carter fulfilled their roles acceptably but without exuberance. The film fell in such a pace that induced a sense of passivity, becoming dry in terms of emotions. The same happened with the visual aspect and atmosphere created, both very far from the splendor that the book made possible and with which David Lean took advantage with artistry. Newell’s “Great Expectations” is not an exuberant cinematic experience but rather a simplistic, impassive, and visually unattractive work that I cannot recommend, even for those who don’t know anything about this fantastic novel.

Trance (2013)

Directed by: Danny Boyle
Country: UK

Review: “Trance”, the 10th feature film by Danny Boyle (“Shallow Grave”, “Trainspotting”, “Slumdog Millionaire”, “127 Hours”) is a crime thriller, starring James McAvoy, Vincent Cassel, and Rosario Dawson. The story is centered on Simon (McAvoy) who is involved in the theft of a famous painting from the auction house where he works. Franck (Cassel), the leader of a criminal gang, was the man behind the plan. However, some unexpected incidents lead to the painting’s disappearance, while Simon ends up beaten, hospitalized, and with amnesia. When he gets out, is caught and tortured by the gang's men, who think that he hid the valuable piece of art and is faking his condition. After they realize that he wasn't lying, the solution was to hire a hypnotherapist (Dawson) to find the painting whereabouts and recover it. The film has its catchy moments, but at the same time is not so difficult to guess how is going to end. Also, there were scenes that didn’t convince me at all, getting me baffled (yes!), but failing to be consistently plausible. The love triangle that arises stirs up the plot but is exactly on that moment that we start to see where the tricks are. Despite these imperfections, “Trance” doesn't completely disappoint, being visually attractive and well directed. At least, I never got impatient, longing for the end of the movie, and that is a positive aspect.

The Place Beyond The Pines (2012)

Directed by: Derek Cianfrance
Country: USA

Review: The anticipated return of Derek Cianfrance two years after the sensational “Blue Valentine”, ended in disappointment. Although interconnected, the film presents three distinct and uneven parts. The first part was definitely the strongest, telling the story of a stunt motorcyclist who decides to rob banks to support his baby child. Magnificently performed by Ryan Gosling, this part has everything to grab the viewer; an interesting and mysterious character, tense moments, accelerated motorbike scenes, and a surprising conclusion. The second part was moderately interesting and follows a rookie cop who was involved in the first occurrences. Bradley Cooper did a decent job, unmasking high corruption practices in his Police Department and dealing with his own conscience problems. The third part was a total disaster, overturning what had been made until then. It depicts the fortuitous encounter between the sons of the main characters portrayed before. Uninspiring and too calculative, it was frustratingly unstable, ending in a naive way. In resume: every part was weaker than its previous one, making the film lose a lot of strength and balance. If only had been the other way around…! I have no doubt that Cianfrance is a gifted film director. It’s just a matter of returning to uncomplicated screenwriting.

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua
Country: USA

Review: Antoine Fuqua continues his persistent incursions into poor action, with lots of noisy splurge and meaningless results. “Olympus Has Fallen” is a cartoonish farce that even the staunchest action fans must be tired of. The story consists in a North Korean terrorist attack to the White House, where the president was made hostage along with several Governmental workers. What the terrorists didn’t know is that Mike Banning (Gerald Butler), the Presidential security guard was inside the building, ready to save his fatherland and become a new hero. While Banning was gaining ground inside the building until reach the president, the negotiations continued between the leader of the bad guys and a group headed by the acting president Speaker Turnbull (Morgan Freeman). The usual clichés, irksome violence, and basic dialogs, were set just to help filling a plot full of holes. Everything was ridiculous, starting with the tortures imposed to the hostages and ending in the body-to-body fights decorated with the stamp of Bruce Lee (nose wipe with thumb). With a tasteless direction, this is a case to say: Fuqua has fallen.