The Intouchables (2011)

The Intouchables (2011)


User Reviews

Do not look at this through the prism of "Foreign Films". You'd be wasting your time and miss something far too important.
Hollywood does scale like nobody else, leaving the competition gasping in its wake. France does intimacy, and brutality. Nothing is sacred. And rather than try to revive the New Wave or emulate Hollywood like most widely seen French movie of late, "Intouchables" harnesses its core strengths - ease with intimacy, willingness to ridicule anything and brutal honesty - and delivers one of the funniest, most honest and touching movie I have ever seen.
Sy is a failed robber, going through the motions and playing the stereotypical jobless émigré. Cluzet is a romantic and melancholy mind trapped in a useless body. The circumstances that bring them together are too funny to spoil here, but meet they do, and an awkward relationship quickly blossoms as they bring out the best in each other.
The film's simplicity is delightfully misleading: the script is a masterpiece of comedy writing, and however good the rest of the cast is, the central duo is magical. Sy's comic timing will have you in stitches, but it is his honesty and vulnerability that make you fall in love with the character. Cluzet isn't your typical sad-sack, instead, much of the finest pleasures in the movie consist in watch him use his keen mind to mess with the world around him (a subplot about an abstract painting really takes the biscuit, you'll know it when you see it).
This is one of the most unique, beautiful and honest friendships ever committed to movie. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry... a delightful celebration of everything in life that makes it worthwhile.

Storyline

In Paris, the aristocratic and intellectual Philippe is a quadriplegic millionaire who is interviewing candidates for the position of his carer, with his red-haired secretary Magalie. Out of the blue, the rude African Driss cuts the line of candidates and brings a document from the Social Security and asks Phillipe to sign it to prove that he is seeking a job position so he can receive his unemployment benefit. Philippe challenges Driss, offering him a trial period of one month to gain experience helping him. Then Driss can decide whether he would like to stay with him or not. Driss accepts the challenge and moves to the mansion, changing the boring life of Phillipe and his employees.


Cast

François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot, Clotilde Mollet, Alba Gaïa Kraghede Bellugi, Cyril Mendy, Christian Ameri, Marie-Laure Descoureaux, Salimata Kamate, Absa Diatou Toure.

The Sessions (2012)

The Sessions (2012)


User Reviews

It's a beautiful and inspiring story. John Hawkes is brilliant in his portrayal of polio-afflicted quadriplegic man, who's quite intellectual and charming. With just his facial expressions and dialogues, Hawkes charms you throughout the movie. Helen Hunt is flawless, as always, and pretty comfortably gets into the shoes of a sex surrogate. William H. Macy and Moon Bloodgood are amazing as the supporting characters; they have some of the best dialogues in the movie.
Mark O'Brien's story is intriguing, inspiring and quite moving. His intention to lose his virginity through a sex surrogate leads him to experience love, both physically and emotionally. Mark O'Brien's story proves that physicality doesn't play such a big role when it comes to affecting and attracting people, in the long run; intellect and charm are greater factors. He affects and attracts the lives of three beautiful women.
The nudity and sex in the movie is not vulgar or erotic; it's more on the emotional and intimate side.
Some of the memorable dialogues from the movie include: 1> "I understand that even among non-believers, the most common expression of sexual ecstasy is 'oh God'". 2> Vera: "Today, they're working on simultaneous orgasm." --- Clerk: "What's that?"
As Betsy Sharkey from Los Angeles Times aptly says, "In a country that embraces cinematic violence with such ease but blushingly prefers to keep sex in the shadows or under the sheets, the grown-up approach of 'The Sessions' is rare."

Storyline

At the age of 38, Mark O'Brien, a man who uses an iron lung, decides he no longer wishes to be a virgin. With the help of his therapist and his priest, he contacts Cheryl Cohen-Greene, a professional sex surrogate and a typical soccer mom with a house, a mortgage and a husband. Inspired by a true story, The Sessions, follows the fascinating relationship which evolves between Cheryl and Mark as she takes him on his journey to manhood.


Cast

John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy, Moon Bloodgood, Annika Marks, W. Earl Brown, Blake Lindsley, Adam Arkin.

Hitchcock (2012)

Hitchcock (2012)


User Reviews

Neither a forensic study of the making of Psycho nor an incisive examination of the man himself, Movie "Hitchcock" is a long, rambling, boring essay that serves only to raise a single question: why on earth was it made? Slavish in its adoration of a director who, on a good day, could be amongst the best in the business and on a bad one, just about the worst ("Torn Curtain", anyone?)"Watch Hitchcock" it plods along without a shiver of suspense nor even a whisper of credibility: "it wuz the wife wot did it, guv", seems to be the writer and director's joint explanation for everything ol' Alfred achieved -- as if Mrs H was in some unfathomable way responsible for her husband's sense of timing, humor, irony and individuality of vision.

What utter tosh. Absent anything substantial to hang onto -- and there's no greater indictment of this dross than that it should feature Hollywood's fattest man yet be entirely weightless itself -- Hopkins does what he can to save being confused with the Hindenberg whilst Mirren plays Mirren in much the same way that Britain's other grand dame is notable for one over-wrought performance after another of Dench playing Dench.

At its daftest when dragging the spectre of the eponymous psycho into Hitchcock's dreams -- the screenplay here is at its most desperate to explain. . . something, anything -- and most boring when purporting to represent a so-what-who-could-care-less liaison between Alma and some bloke whose presence doesn't even register, this really is movie-making of the worst kind: flaccid, fatuous and facile. It may have Hitchcock's name as its title, but of the man himself in the actual movie, there's no sign at all.

Storyline

In 1959, Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma Reville, are at the top of their creative game as filmmakers amid disquieting insinuations about it being time to retire. To recapture his youth's artistic daring, Alfred decides his next film will adapt the lurid horror novel, Psycho (1960), over everyone's misgivings. Unfortunately, as Alfred self-finances and labors on this film, Alma finally loses patience with his roving eye and controlling habits with his actresses. When an ambitious friend lures her to collaborate on a work of their own, the resulting marital tension colors Alfred's work even as the novel's inspiration haunts his dreams.


Cast

Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, James D'Arcy, Jessica Biel, Michael Stuhlbarg, Ralph Macchio, Toni Collette, Danny Huston, Michael Wincott, Kurtwood Smith.

Argo (2012)

Argo (2012)


User Reviews

What is nothing more than a competent Political Thriller has managed to once again tick a lot of people off at the Academy Awards and rightfully so. There are times when healthy debate can arise among Movie goers and Film lovers about the Best Picture winner or nominees, but occasionally there are mind bending and head scratching entries. Opinions can vary and discussions can ensue about the Art and the crafting of Film.
This one goes nowhere new and is rather boring and unremarkable in most respects. All of the characters on screen look and act as though they are truly in a Hollywood Movie that is about a non existent Hollywood Movie. Affleck is the worst of the bunch. Here he has one expression throughout and is totally unconvincing. His one emotion, seen here, is rolling his eyes toward Heaven when they are given the go ahead at the airport. That's it.
The Movie is without doubt overrated to the extreme and is not bad it just isn't much. It has nothing exceptional and nothing outstanding. It is rather stale and stodgy with fake emotion and it tries real hard at being matter-of fact, but when delivered it is Movie of the Week mediocrity and melancholy to a fault.
Historical inaccuracies or not. It just doesn't matter. This does not have the substance or Artful integrity to matter. The only matter worth mentioning is its undeserved attention and pawing patronizing. That alone is a matter of great mystery and deserves discussion.

Storyline

In 1979, the American embassy in Iran was invaded by Iranian revolutionaries and several Americans were taken hostage. However, six managed to escape to the official residence of the Canadian Ambassador and the CIA was ordered to get them out of the country. With few options, exfiltration expert Tony Mendez devised a daring plan: create a phony Canadian film project looking to shoot in Iran and smuggle the Americans out as its production crew. With the help of some trusted Hollywood contacts, Mendez created the ruse and proceeded to Iran as its associate producer. However, time was running out with the Iranian security forces closing in on the truth while both his charges and the White House had grave doubts about the operation themselves.


Cast

Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishé.

Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)

Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)


User Reviews

Hyde Park on Hudson is a film that wishes to be seriously esteemed and respected as a minor historical film account of a momentous occasion; but it never gives its audience a serious reason to do so. It isn't a bad movie, it just never becomes the good one that it wants to be.
It (primarily) recounts the events of a weekend in June 1939 in upstate New York when the sitting -- this wasn't typed as a pun -- US president Franklin D. Roosevelt (Bill Murray -- Rushmore, Lost in Translation) welcomes the British King and Queen to his country estate. It was notable because a reigning British monarch had never visited America before and England was on the verge of war with Germany. Also in abundance at the estate -- meddling women ... be it mother, wife, secretary or mistress.
Laura Linney (Primal Fear, Kinsey) plays Daisy -- a distant cousin to FDR -- who is sent-for to help with FDR's wandering mind and calm him. Over time (the film spans more than a weekend), they become rather close and form another type of kinship. The story is told through Daisy which means we hear lots of narration and are given many snippets of time passing before the weekend (to see them develop a relationship -- which an audience never really does) until the monarchs arrive and it becomes ALL about the weekend.
There are plenty of decent moments in Hyde Park on Hudson including Murray as FDR and some wonderful shots of beautiful country landscapes. The film looks nice and the period detail will win some over; but the film fails to ever make a connection with Daisy. As the central character, the audience is given no real reason to want to follow her ... why is she really even here? I don't want to call her bland but the film gives us no reason to believe otherwise and absolutely no real reason as to why her and FDR forged their bond.
I appreciated the depictions of the King and Queen (this is the stuttering king Colin Firth won an Oscar for playing a few years ago and Olivia Colman is quite good as the uncomfortable queen) and their struggles with being in America such as their trying to fathom the "rage" about hot dogs.

Storyline

In 1930s Hudson Valley, Margaret "Daisy" Suckley is reacquainted with her distant cousin, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, to help him relax at his family estate. That aid soon develops into much more as they become lovers. That puts Daisy in a unique position as Roosevelt receives the King and Queen of Britain in 1939 for a visit. As the Royal couple copes with the President's oddly plebeian arrangements, Daisy learns that there is far more to Roosevelt's life than she realized. With the world about to be set ablaze by war, friendships are struck and perspectives are gained on that special weekend that would make all the difference with a great, but very human, president.


Cast

Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Laura Linney, Olivia Colman, Elizabeth Marvel.

Lincoln (2012)

Lincoln (2012)


User Review

Steven Spielberg visuals are excellent in movies and this one is no exception. He does a wonderful job recreating the time period that Lincoln was a part of. The difficulty I have is in believing some of the dialogue and the revisionist history that takes place in this movie. The opening scene is a bloody battle and it appears realistic. Unfortunately the following scene has two black soldiers chatting with Lincoln outside in a makeshift camp. He's sitting at a table while they discuss their observations with him. Listening to them you'd think they all grew up on the same block together. One soldier lectures Lincoln and interrupts him during their conversation, while the other is Lincolns best buddy. A soldier wouldn't ever talk to a president in 2012 in this manner. In 1865 if two black soldiers acted this way they would have been immediately been put in irons. Blacks had to be extremely deferential interacting with whites during that century because the law looked the other way when they were murdered by whites. The scene is ridiculous.

Throughout the movie Spielberg emphasizes slavery as Lincolns motivation for engaging with the South. Fact check: Lincoln goal was to preserve the union. He did not remotely believe in equality of the races. Like most whites at that time, he considered blacks inferior. He stated that he would free some of the slaves, or all of the slaves, or none of the slaves if it would preserve the union. The movie is sort of a Disney version of Lincoln and loose on the facts.

This movie is over rated (probably because Spielberg is so powerful in Hollywood) and if you know any civil war history you will be disappointed. Lincoln, like all presidents, was a mixed bag. He believed in that it was acceptable to pay $300 to buy your way out of the war (the Irish didn't like that idea). Lincoln seriously considered deporting blacks to central America or Africa after the war. There was a great deal of corruption during his administration. Like most elites he believed the war should be fought by others(he wouldn't allow his son to put on a uniform until the war was over). Spielberg paints Lincoln as a saint and it would have been better (and far more realistic) if he had been portrayed a man with faults. The movie is a disappointment, if you want real history, read a book. This movie is a fable for children.

Storyline

In 1865, as the American Civil War winds inexorably toward conclusion, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln endeavors to achieve passage of the landmark constitutional amendment which will forever ban slavery from the United States. However, his task is a race against time, for peace may come at any time, and if it comes before the amendment is passed, the returning southern states will stop it before it can become law. Lincoln must, by almost any means possible, obtain enough votes from a recalcitrant Congress before peace arrives and it is too late. Yet the president is torn, as an early peace would save thousands of lives. As the nation confronts its conscience over the freedom of its entire population, Lincoln faces his own crisis of conscience -- end slavery or end the war.


Cast

Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones, Lee Pace, Jackie Earle Haley, Jared Harris, Bruce McGill.