The Book Thief (2013)

Genre

Drama | War

Director

Brian Percival

Country

USA | Germany

Cast

Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Ben Schnetzer, Nico Liersch, Sandra Nedeleff, Hildegard Schroedter, Rafael Gareisen, Gotthard Lange, Godehard Giese, Roger Allam, Oliver Stokowski, Barbara Auer, Heike Makatsch, Lein Liam, Carina Wiese

Storyline

While subjected to the horrors of World War II Germany, young Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse) is forced to live with adoptive parents Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and Rosa Hubermann (Emily Watson). She will eventually find solace by stealing books and sharing them with others, especially with Max (Ben Schnetzer), the Jewish refugee being sheltered by her foster family.

Opinion

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A few month ago I read this beautiful, extraordinary, moving book called The Book Thief, written by some Markus Zusak. Never before I felt so engaged, and enchanted by a book. It left me speechless, and I've been thinking about it quite a lot, more, however, than I usually do. I loved every single aspect of the book. The characters. The plot. The tragic, yet beautiful ending. The Death.

Then last night I watched this film, and I could barely make it through it. Probably one of the worst screen adaptation ever made, Percival's The Book Thief is a tedious, bloody awful film.

The film is bad on so many levels it's hard to explain, but I'll try. First of all, calling a cinematographic adaptation a thing that barely follows the book, and basically skips half of it, leaving tons of important events, and scenes behind, is an insult. The script jumps from a thing to another, and it's impossible for someone who read the book to follow. 

One of the strong elements of the book is the creative narration. Instead of just using a third-person narrator, Zusak used Death and he was able to offer a unique perspective on all the death and dying occurring during this dark period in history. In the film, Death is barely there, she just shows up at random. Furthermore, the final image of Death walking along the streets is nothing but inappropriate, and completely disconnect from the content.

The characters, what a mess. Every single character, even minor ones, has a strong development in the book. Here, there is no character development, and you feel completely disconnected to all of them. Rudy is annoying, and acts like a jealous boyfriend, and his relationship with Liesel is so downplayed. Then, when he dies at the end of the film, it does not have the same emotional charge that it should have. Actually, it has none.

As if all of that wasn't enough, the film doesn't even manage to capture the horrors of Nazi Germany, and that's really bad considering this is an American and German production.

The acting pops out like a dandelion in the snow, but I must say that none of the actors looked how I imagined the characters. Despite the awful script she had to work with, young Sophie Nélisse does a good job in the role of Liesel Meminger. The other young lead, Nico Liersch, also does a good job. Geoffrey Rush as Hans Hubermann and Emily Watson as his wife do their best to save this unsavable mess. Ben Schnetzer does not an awful job as Max, but he is less convincing than the others.

The sad thing is that this film could have had Oscar written all over it, but it is just a waste of time and money. Do yourself a favour, avoid this film and read the book, instead.

Pride and Glory (2008)

Genre

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Director

Gavin O'Connor

Country

USA | Germany

Cast

Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight, Noah Emmerich, Shea Whigham, Frank Grillo, John Ortiz, Manny Perez, Lake Bell, Rick Gonzalez, Christina Cabot, Jennifer Ehle, Declan Quinn

Storyline

Honest homicide detective Ray Tierney (Edward Norton) is assigned to investigate the death of four cops of the precinct run by his potentially crooked older brother Francis (Noah Emmerich). As the investigation begins to reveal some troubling facts about the precinct, it gradually becomes apparent that Jimmy Egan, the policeman who is also Tierney's brother-in-law, may be the man orchestrating many of the suspected crimes.

Opinion

Edward Norton has long been one of my favourite actors, and even though he hasn't chosen particularly good projects lately, I decided to give this film a try, also because it stars Colin Farrell too, another of my favourite actors. Well, they didn't disappoint me, but the film, what to say about it.

Atrociously written, predictable, tedious, and tenseless, Pride and Glory is a complete mess, hard to watch, and hard to follow.

First of all the length. This film could have been easily a half hour shorter: maybe the result would have been better that way.

The writing is an absolute disaster. The storyline is good, but it's unbelievable how terribly it has been developed. The story jumps from place to place until it makes no more sense. Some parts are completely useless, such as the football game at the beginning - was it supposed to make you think Jimmy Egan is a good guy? I don't know.

The good cop/bad cop story slowly turns into a family drama. The dying wife is a good motivator, but we don't need to see so much of her story, same goes with Jimmy as a family man. Also, every single character has an emotional breakdown. 

The dialogue completely lacks intelligence. Basically everybody swears. Then there's Spanish. There are some scenes where they talk in Spanish, but no subtitles are given. I understand a little bit of Spanish, but I know how frustrating can be watching something and having no clue of what their saying.

The up and down camera movements are annoying, and the editing is another big fail - the constant switching between the game and black screen in the opening isn't good to look at. So basically the film is just flat until Sage Francis's Waterline over the closing credits.

The acting is good though. Edward Norton and Colin Farrell both give a strong performance. But I have to say that Farrell sounds a bit Irish here and there, and he wasn't the right guy to play the tough cop - come on, Farrell willing to burn a baby for information is the less credible thing on this planet. Noah Emmerich and Jon Voight do a good job.

Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)

Genre

Drama

Director

Olivier Assayas

Country

France | Germany | Switzerland

Cast

Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloë Grace Moretz, Johnny Flynn, Lars Eidinger, Hanns Zischler, Brady Corbet, Aljoscha Stadelmann, Benoit Peverelli, Luise Berndt, Angela Winkler, Gilles Tschudi, Caroline de Maigret, Claire Tran, Jacob Kohn

Storyline

At eighteen, Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) played Sigrid, an alluring young woman who disarms and eventually drives her boss Helena to suicide, the role that changed her life. More than twenty years later she is being asked to step into the other role, that of the older Helena. Rehearsing in Sils Maria with her assistant (Kristen Stewart), she finds herself face to face with an ambiguously charming woman who is an unsettling reflection of herself.

Opinion

Talky and slow, Clouds of Sils Maria is a beautiful and delicate drama that witnesses the formidable duo Juliette Binoche-Kristen Stewart.

The film is a bit enigmatic, but a thing I can say for sure: this is a stunning character study. In particular, the film explore the intricate psychology of the main character, that has to face what everyone considers a great opportunity, but is traumatic to her and fills her with a sense of death, and despair. She will find herself dealing with her age, with time that passes, and with a role that will slowly blend with her persona. Alongside but opposed there is Valentine, Maria's assistant, that resembles a version of Maria when she was young. Lastly there's Jo-Ann, a young actress that respects Maria, but has a completely different personality.

A very interesting aspect of the film is the interlacing of the relationship of Maria and Valentine and the relationship of Helena and Sigrid. Sometimes the scene becomes cloudy, and it's difficult to say if the dialogue we are witnessing is reality or part of the play.

Having said all of that, the script has some flaws. In fact, some elements of the story seem random and disconnected with the rest of the story - e.g. the old actor, or the attempted suicide of the wife of Jo-Ann's lover.

The acting is first class. Juliette Binoche perfectly captures the anxiety of aging in a youth-obsessed society, and therefore gives a strong performance as Maria, that almost seems like a self-parody. Kristen Stewart is at her very best playing Valentine, a woman that seems tailored made to suit her own temperament. The actresses have a wonderful, electrifying chemistry together, and their bonding seems truly natural. Last but not least, Chloë Grace Moretz also captures her character's personality very well.

Quotes

Valentine: It's theater. It's an interpretation of life. It can be truer than life itself.

The Life of David Gale (2003)

Genre

Drama | Mystery

Director

Alan Parker

Country

USA | Germany | UK

Cast

Kevin Spacey, Kate Winslet, Laura Linney, Gabriel Mann, Rhona Mitra, Leon Rippy, Matt Craven, Jim Beaver, Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Gast, Noah Truesdale, Donald Braswell, Katina Potts, Julia Lashae

Storyline

When anti-death-penalty activist David Gale (Kevin Spacey) is convicted and condemned to death for the murder of a colleague, reporter Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet) sets out to learn the story behind Gale's crime. What she finds challenges her belief in Gale's guilt and, finally, in the justice system.

Opinion

Having read many other reviews, I fail to understand how so many can view this as a bad film. I'm addressing this to critics in particular, who seem to have forgotten that beyond the philosophical aspect, the purpose of a movie is to entertain an audience.

Well written, but not well executed, The Life of David Gale is a good film and a deep indictment against death penalty.

Philosopher and screenwriter Charles Randolph is the author of a solid script with a good final twist, despite it spends too much time on Spacey's alcoholic problem. The best part in terms of writing is definitely the dialogue. Load of sap, it gives the film the strength to keep going.

This film goes far beyond the social criticism, and shows us that in drama there is also the awareness of someone who is willing to sacrifice everything for his ideal - and this can be seen in any context, religion being the most quoted nowadays.

Almost enigmatic as the times of The Usual Suspects, Kevin Spacey gives a great performance as David Gale, a man torn between his ideals, family and alcoholic dependence. Kate Winslet also gives a great performance as journo Bitsey Bloom. The supporting cast does a good job overall.

Wanna know my thoughts about death penalty? As Gandhi said, and Kevin Spacey quotes, "An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind."

Quotes

David Gale: Fantasies have to be unrealistic because the moment, the second that you get what you seek, you don't, you can't want it anymore. In order to continue to exist, desire must have its objects perpetually absent. It's not the "it" that you want, it's the fantasy of "it." So, desire supports crazy fantasies. This is what Pascal means when he says that we are only truly happy when daydreaming about future happiness. Or why we say the hunt is sweeter than the kill. Or be careful what you wish for. Not because you'll get it, but because you're doomed not to want it once you do. So the lesson of Lacan is, living by your wants will never make you happy. What it means to be fully human is to strive to live by ideas and ideals and not to measure your life by what you've attained in terms of your desires but those small moments of integrity, compassion, rationality, even self-sacrifice. Because in the end, the only way that we can measure the significance of our own lives is by valuing the lives of others.

One Day in Europe (2005)

Genre

Comedy

Director

Hannes Stöhr

Country

Germany | Spain

Cast

Megan Fay, Lyudmila Tsvetkova, Andrey Sokolov, Oleg Assadulin, Vita Saval, Nikolai Svechnikov, Luis Tosar, Boris Arquier, Florian Lukas, Erdal Yildiz, Nuray Sahin, Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan, Péter Scherer, Miguel de Lira, Mónica García, Víctor Mosqueira, Marta Pazos, Blanca Cendán, Patricia de Lorenzo, Jesus Ron, Kalin Foz, Rachida Brakni, Kirsten Block, Tom Jahn, Facundo Diab

Storyline

The day of the Champions League final between Galatasaray and Deportivo la Coruña stops life in four European cities, adding to the problems of tourists in trouble, who are already struggling with the language barrier.

Opinion

Since this film was suggested by the same person who suggest Caramel, I thought I would have like it. The problem is that it's plenty of anthology films, I've seen several, and this one does nothing to pop out.

Delivered by mostly flat performances, One Day in Europe is tedious, not funny as a comedy is supposed to be, and gets lost in repetitiveness.

There are two unifying plot elements: luggage insurance, and a football game. While the first is pretty smooth and works fine, the second one feels out of place. I'm European and I know there is nothing more unifying than passion for football. Every single football lover watches the Champions League finale -- I wait for it the whole season actually, and I'm sure it's plenty of people like me. The problem is that only the local seems interested in the football match. None of our tourists care. I know that they are neither Spanish nor Turkish so there is a lower chance of them supporting the finalists, yet they seems so disinterested like they don't even know the sport. The only purpose of the game seems to be a benefit for frauds.

The stories aren't very engaging, but if I had to choose one, I'd pick the Santiago the Compostela because Péter Scherer well plays the character, and makes you care for him.

The humour is built on international differences and communication problems. Too bad the jokes get lost in translation. 

I cannot comprehend the reason why this film was nominated for Golden Bear. Maybe it's because of one of the stories takes place in Berlin. 

A Most Wanted Man (2014)

Genre

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Director

Anton Corbijn

Country

UK | USA | Germany

Cast

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel McAdams, Willem Dafoe, Robin Wright, Grigoriy Dobrygin, Derya Alabora, Daniel Brühl, Nina Hoss, Herbert Grönemeyer, Martin Wuttke, Kostja Ullmann, Homayoun Ershadi, Mehdi Dehbi Vicky Krieps, Rainer Bock, Charlotte Schwab

Storyline

When a half-Chechen, half-Russian, brutally tortured immigrant (Grigoriy Dobrygin) turns up in Hamburg's Islamic community, laying claim to his father's ill gotten fortune, both German and US security agencies take a close interest: as the clock ticks down and the stakes rise, the race is on to establish this most wanted man's true identity - oppressed victim or destruction-bent extremist?

Opinion

Based on John le Carrè's novel of the same name, A Most Wanted Man is a thoughtful spy thriller that includes one of the greatest, and sadly the last of Philip Seymour Hoffman's performances.

Instead of the classic action spy story, the film faces with an introspective view on espionage, showing a reconstruction of the investigation, allowing the viewer to know how security agencies work, and which methods spies use to reach to their purpose - methods that sometimes encroach on illegality.

Despite the slow pacing, director Anton Corbijn perfectly manages to keep the tension high, and the audience engaged. Like the spy, the viewer will follow the investigation step by step, getting more and more engaged as the film goes on.

Alongside the tension filled plot, there is a witty dialogue - I would have appreciated some subs because the accents and all spoken dialogue were a bit too difficult to follow. Among the characters, Hoffman's is the layered and most interesting one. The relationship between the young lawyer played by Rachel McAdams and the Chechen Issa could have been interesting if better developed.

The outstanding cinematography by Benoît Delhomme delivers a wide range of feelings. The musical score by Herbert Grönemeyer is great.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is huge. Scruffy and sweaty - probably due to his malaise -, he looks more than comfortable in the main character's shoes. Every single scene he is in shines like the sun.
Willem Dafoe steals every scene he's in - except those shared with Hoffman. Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright and Daniel Brühl are decent in their roles. I was delighted to see Nina Hoss; unfortunately her performance wasn't up to my excitement.

Quotes

Dieter Mohr: After 24 hours of questioning, Karpov confessed to taking part in attacks on gas pipelines, transport, infrastructure, police stations.

Irna Frey: After 24 hours of Russian questioning, any one of us would admit to anything.

Punisher: War Zone (2008)

Genre

Action | Crime | Drama

Director

Lexi Alexander

Country

USA | Canada | Germany

Cast

Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Julie Benz, Colin Salmon, Doug Hutchison, Dash Mihok, Wayne Knight, Romano Orzari, Stephanie Janusauskas, Larry Day, Ron Lea, Tony Calabretta, T.J. Storm, Mark Camacho, Keram Malicki-Sánchez, David Vadim, Aubert Pallascio, Bjanka Murgel

Storyline

After his family was killed by criminals, ex-military man Frank Castle (Ray Stevenson) became a vigilante known as the Punisher. After hunting down and killing hundreds of criminals for the past five years, he faces his most deadly foe yet: Jigsaw (Dominic West).

Opinion

As I said three weeks ago, I am a fan of the Punisher, and as I said back then, I have been completely shocked by how bad this film turned out to be, considering Green Street's Lexi Alexander made it. 

Action packed, Punisher: War Zone is still extremely violent - apparently brutality and blood is what the audience wants -, tedious, and definitely does not justice to the great comic book.

The result is pretty much the same, and since two different version of the Punisher is what we are dealing with, it comes natural to compare the 2004 film to this one. In this one there isn't much of a backstory, but at least it is faithful to the comic book, and I really appreciated that. Besides this, I struggled to find something else good in this film.

Silly, and lacking in logic, the plot is probably the worst thing about the film. But I guess tons of people will watch this for the action, and violence, so I won't spend much time on this. 

Another major issue concerns the Punisher's character. He is portrayed as a violent and ruthless man, not an avenger, and the last scene proves it. What kind of "good" man blows up somebody's brain just because he tried to rob his friend's wallet? That's just going around killing people, not getting rid of organised crime. 

Ray Stevenson was the perfect  casting as Frank Castle aka the Punisher. He perfectly fits the role, and he definitely is a way better Punisher than Thomas Jane. Dominic West also is pretty good as Jigsaw, but he could have done better in some scenes.

The Punisher (2004)

Genre

Action | Crime | Drama

Director

Jonathan Hensleigh

Country

USA | Germany

Cast

Thomas Jane, John Travolta, Will Patton, Roy Scheider, Laura Harring, Ben Foster, Rebecca Romijn, John Pinette, Samantha Mathis, Marcus Johns, Russell Andrews, James Carpinello, Eddie Jemison, Eduardo Yáñez, Omar Avila, Kevin Nash, Mark Collie, Veryl Jones, Tom Nowicki, Hank Stone

Storyline

On his final assignment, FBI agent Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) plays his undercover role perfectly, but the operation spins out of control and a young man, Bobby Saint (James Carpinello), is inadvertently killed. Holding Castle responsible for the death of his son, Howard Saint (John Travolta) butchers Frank's family during a reunion and leaves him for dead. But Castle survives and set out to avenge his family, becomes a judge, jury and executioner known as "The Punisher". 

Opinion

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

What a shock! As a fan of the Punisher I've been completely shocked by how bad they made this film. If Batman Begins is the perfect comic book character adaptation, The Punisher is the perfect example of what not to do, and how to ruin a character. 

Besides from being extremely violent - I won't complain about it since it's what someone would expect from a film about Frank Castle - the film is tedious, and so painful to watch I had to pause several times to recover from its awfulness.

The script is goddamn awful. First let's talk about the back story, shall we? In the comic book, Frank Castle, his wife, and his sons are having a walk in Central Park, New York, when they witness a Mafia settling of score. In the film, the son of a criminal gets killed, and when Castle is on vacation his whole family is murdered. What is the point in changing the story? We don't even get to know all those characters, so we don't feel anything for them when they die - which is actually what happened for Frank as well, since he doesn't look in much pain or suffering.

Two hours and they don't even explain how a criminal found all those information about an FBI agent. And why does he retire? He won't get any pension so he will have to find another job.

The Russian. He is basically a giant in a red and white shirt, who, like regular people, knocks on the door of the person he has to kill. Not to mention the fact that Frank doesn't even look out the peep-hole. 

I thought it was a film about the Punisher, but it turned out to be the Wolverine 2.0. Yes, the Wolverine, because bullets can't stop him, and when wounded, he heals real fast.

Also since when blackmailing someone because they're gay is cool? And what about the singing hitman from Memphis? The best hitman, a professional, sings Frank a song about his death, and the one who actually gets kills is the hitman himself.

And at last, the hot, lonely woman who falls in love with the guy at first sight, and the guy who goes through torture because Frank is part of the family, but they have barely talked.

Oops, I almost forgot the villain. He kills everyone, his wife, his best friend, Castle's whole family, but he fails at killing the only person he was supposed to kill.

The dialogue is terrible, the music is awful, and wasting two hours waiting for a thrilling action scene that will never happen is just not worth it. 

The acting is painful. They are all equally bad, delivering wooden performances a tree would be jealous of. John Travolta isn't convincing at all as the villain, and the only good acting that comes from him is in one of the latest scenes, when he dies.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Tim Story

Country

USA | Germany | UK

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Doug Jones, Laurence Fishburne, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Beau Garrett, Vanessa Minnillo, Andre Braugher, Stan Lee, Brian Posehn, Debbie Timuss, Moneca Delain, Kevin McNulty, Crystal Lowe

Storyline

As the Silver Surfer (Doug Jones, voiced by Laurence Fishburne) races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed (Ioan Gruffudd), Sue (Jessica Alba), Johnny (Chris Evans) and Ben (Michael Chiklis) must unravel the mystery of the Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy, Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon), before all hope is lost.

Opinion

I did have really low expectations for this one, and it didn't disappoint me. While a little improvement on its predecessor, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer still is mediocre, dull, and a shame to the fantastic comic books.

As if letting Mark Frost write the script for the first film was a good idea, they called him back, and along with director Tim Story and screenwriter Don Payne, he did a bad job.
Although I like films to be faithful to the comic books, I tolerate some little differences or omissions. Unfortunately, in here, it is a huge problem. There is no backstory of Galactus - he is not even a character - and his servant, the Silver Surfer, has the power to destroy him. How ridiculous is that? Also, the Silver Surfer goes around resurrecting people. There is no explanation to the power swapping, the Torch can just swap powers with the others by touching them, and how the Torch manages to absorb everyone's powers, leaving them powerless, is a mystery.
And the villain for god's sake! Couldn't they come up with some other bad guy? Why did they have to bring Julian McMahon's awful Dr. Doom back?

Nothing exciting happens aside from the chase scene involving the Human Torch and the Silver Surfer. The visual effects suck. Mr. Fantastic looks fake most of the time.

The acting is bad as the rest. Ioan Gruffudd looks like some guy from a soap opera, and his accent still is bad. Jessica Alba is painful to watch. She is nothing more than a pretty face. And the chemistry between the two of them is inexistent. Chris Evans steals the show as Johnny Storm having the fortune to play the only character that evolves during the film. Michael Chiklis did a better job the first time. Julian McMahon is ok. Doug Jones and Laurence Fishburne do a good job as Silver Surfer's body and voice.

The Lives of Others (2006)

Original Title

Das Leben der Anderen

Genre

Drama | Thriller

Director

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Country

Germany

Cast

Ulrich Mühe, Martina Gedeck, Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Thomas Thieme, Hans-Uwe Bauer, Volkmar Kleinert, Matthias Brenner, Charly Hübner, Herbert Knaup, Bastian Trost, Marie Gruber, Volker Michalowski

Plot

In 1984 East Germany, Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe), an officer of the secret police, while conducting surveillance on writer Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and his lover Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck), finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.

Opinion

Danke, danke, danke für dieses Meisterstück! The Lives of Others is many things. It is a wonderful film, full of emotions and poetry. It is an example that must be followed by modern cinema, because it is possible to craft a magnificent film without special effects, violence and banalities. It is the kind of film what captures your attention from the first moment, and keeps you interested the whole time.

It is absolutely stunning to witness the process of transformation of Wiesler's character: he goes from being the bad guy, a slave of the system and enemy of freedom, to becoming a hero, a saviour. But why does the change happen? Is it maybe because of the reading of Brecht's poem? Or is it something else?

The music, stunning and heartbreaking, makes the final embrace between Georg, the writer, and his loved Christa-Maria look warm despite the tragic background.

However, the truly amazing part is that this is Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's directorial debut and he manages to build such a fascinating and moving film.

Ulrich Mühe delivers a powerful an emotional performance. He is dramatically contained, as his character requires, but there is a lot in his bright eyes, the only part of Wiesler that's still alive. Martina Gedeck gives a great performance. 

Quotes

Georg Dreyman: You know what Lenin said about Beethoven's Appassionata, 'If I keep listening to it, I won't finish the revolution.' Can anyone who has heard this music, I mean truly heard it, really be a bad person?

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Genre

Adventure | Drama | War

Director

Quentin Tarantino

Country

United States | Germany

Cast

Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Til Schweiger, Mélanie Laurent, August Diehl, Julie Dreyfus, Sylvester Groth, Jacky Ido, Denis Ménochet, Mike Myers, Rod Taylor, Martin Wuttke, Gedeon Burkhard, B.J. Novak, Omar Doom, Léa Seydoux, Richard Sammel, Alexander Fehling, Christian Berkel, Söhke Möhring, Samm Levine, Paul Rust, Michael Bacall, Rainer Bock, Bo Svenson, Enzo G. Castellari, Samuel L. Jackson, Harvey Keitel

Plot

In Nazi-occupied France, young Jewish refugee Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) witnesses the slaughter of her family by Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema. Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as "The Basterds," Raine's squad joins German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich. Fates converge under a cinema marquee, where Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own.

Opinion

The tagline says it all: you haven't seen war until you've seen it through the eyes of Quentin Tarantino. Inglourious Basterds is a brilliant, brave, exuberant, comic, dark, violent and glorious film.

Quentin Tarantino's pleasure to tell stories leads him to rewrite history, by telling the - fictional - assassination of Adolf Hitler, set in the only possible venue: a cinema.

The dialogue, the continuous tension, and the use of several languages - English, German, French and German -, on which irony is mostly based, make of this film a jewel of cinema. Also, the film is smooth and there is no heaviness resulting from its long running time.

The Spaghetti-Western score is magnificent, and the opening scene's song, The Verdict (Dopo la condanna), written by Ennio Morricone, is absolutely stunning.

The acting is pretty much great. Christoph Waltz is spectacular: he built a deep, detailed and realistic character, the kind of Nazi everyone would be afraid of. Brad Pitt's performance is not very good, and his Italian is pretty painful to be heard. August Diehl well plays the other sadistic German, very important in the final plot twist. Michael Fassbender is great as Lieutenant Archie Hicox, he has the chance to show off his almost perfect German, and he gets extra points for delivering the line, "There's a special rung in hell for people who waste good Scotch". 

Quotes

Lt. Aldo Raine: You probably heard we ain't in the prisoner-takin' business; we in the killin' Nazi business. And cousin, business is a-boomin'.

Bridget von Hammersmark: I know this is a silly question before I ask it, but can you Americans speak any other language besides English?

Rating

9.0/10

Death at a Funeral (2007)

Genre

Comedy

Director

Frank Oz

Country

United Kingdom | United States | Germany

Cast

Matthew Macfadyen, Rupert Graves, Andy Nyman, Kris Marshall, Peter Dinklage, Keeley Hawes, Daisy Donovan, Alan Tudyk, Ewen Bremner, Peter Vaughan, Thomas Whatley, Jane Asher, Peter Egan

Plot

After his father passes away, Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) arranges to contact their extended family and friends. Chaos ensues when a man (Peter Dinklage) tries to expose a dark secret regarding the dead patriarch of the family.

Opinion

Death at a Funeral is a brilliant black comedy, and one of the funniest ever made. I found myself laughing out loud pretty much the whole time. Director Frank Oz handles the different situations brilliantly. Writing Peter Dinklage's character was a fantastic move, since the character added lot of insanity to the situation. The cast of lesser known actors is assembled and delivers very well. 

Quotes

Daniel: Who is this?

Undertaker: Pardon me?

Daniel: That's not my father.

Undertaker: Oh shit, we've taken the wrong one.

Jane: Would you like a cup of tea, Sandra?

Sandra: Tea can do many things, Jane, but it can't bring back the dead.

Rating

8.5/10

Run Lola Run (1998)

Original Title

Lola rennt

Genre

Action | Crime | Thriller

Director

Tom Tykwer

Country

Germany

Cast

Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri, Armin Rohde, Joachim Król, Ludger Pistor, Suzanne von Borsody, Sebastian Schipper, Julia Lindig, Lars Rudolph, Ute Lubosch, Monica Bleibtreu, Heino Ferch, Hans Paetsch

Plot

The film begins with Lola (Franka Potente) receiving a phone call from her boyfriend, Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). During an important job, Manni collected 100,000 marks, but since Lola didn't shown up, Manni is forced to travel by subway but accidentally leaves the bad of money on the train.
Calling from a phone booth, Manni explains he has 20 minutes to gather 100,000 marks before Ronnie (Heino Ferch), his boss, arrives and kills him for not having the cash.
Planning to rob a nearby supermarket, Manni is urged to wait by Lola, who promises to find the money. She decides to ask her father (Herbert Knaup), who is a bank manager.
The main part of the film is divided in three runs. Each run starts from the same situation but develops differently and has a different outcome.

Opinion

Run Lola Run is one of the films symbol of the Post-Wall German cinema. The film fascinates from the very beginning. I was not expecting to see a 20 minutes story repeated 3 times with some differences but I didn't mind, it was never boring: I actually really liked it.
Frank Griebe deserves a special mention because what impressed me the most was the photography. The techno soundtrack, by Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek and Reinhold Heil, blends perfectly with the film.
There is one thing I asked myself throughout the film: why does Lola run? Franka Potente totally proved she can run well, but couldn't she just take a taxi?

Quotes

"We shall not cease from exploration. And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." - T. S. Eliot's Little Gidding

Rating

8.0/10

Rush (2013)

Genre

Action | Biography | Drama

Director
Ron Howard

Country
Germany | United Kingdom | United States

Cast
Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Brühl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara, Pierfrancesco Favino, David Calder, Natalie Dormer, Stephen Mangan, Christian McKay, Alistair Petrie, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Colin Stinton, Jamie de Courcey, Ilario Calvo, Sean Edwards, Martin J Smith, Rob Austin, Tom Wlaschiha

Plot
James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) are two highly skilled race car drivers who first develop a fierce rivalry in 1970 at a Formula 3 race at the Crystal Palace circuit in England. 

Hunt is a brash, young Englishman with a tendency to drink and vomit before every race, while Lauda is a cool, calculating Austrian technical genius who relies on precision.

After a falling out with his father, Lauda take a large bank loan and buys his way into the BRM - British Racing Motors - Formula 1 team, meeting teammate Clay Regazzoni (Pierfrancesco Favino) for the first time. Meanwhile, Hesketh Racing, the racing team Hunt drives for, enters Formula 1 as well. Lauda then joins Scuderia Ferrari with Regazzoni and wins his first championship in 1975.

In 1976, the fierce rivalry between Hunt and Lauda will reach the peak.

Opinion
As a Formula 1 fan, I already knew about the rivalry between the two of them, and, though I've only read about it, I was afraid the film could have been a disappointment: so it wasn't. Rush is a brilliant film that deserves to be watched at least once. 

Peter Morgan's screenplay is good, but it wouldn't be the same without the two stars of this film, Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl, which portrayed Hunt and Lauda almost perfectly.

Quotes
A wise man can learn more from his enemies than a fool from his friends.

The closer you are to death, the more alive you feel. It's a wonderful way to live. It's the only way to drive.
Happiness is your biggest enemy. It weakens you. Puts doubts in your mind. Suddenly you have something to lose.

Rating
8.0/10