Ant-Man (2015)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Peyton Reed

Country

USA

Cast

Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Douglas, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Tip "T.I." Harris, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris, Judy Greer, David Dastmalchian, John Slattery, Hayley Atwell, Abby Ryder Fortson, Gregg Turkington, Martin Donovan, Garrett Morris, Stan Lee, Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan

Storyline

Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Opinion

When it comes to Marvel, I'm always excited for their new films. And since in my country it has been released only last Thursday, the excitement has grown exponentially - you know, basically the whole world has already seen it. I finally got to see it last night, and I'm happy to say it was worth the wait.

Visually beautiful, Ant-Man is a great, and funny cinematic adaptation of the famous Avenger - unknown to those who aren't readers of comic book, still he is one of the founders  -, plenty of action, and delivered by a mostly brilliant cast.

Director Peyton Reed simplified and changed a little the character's origins story to make a lighter version that could suit everyone, and it actually worked. The character of Scott Lang is well build up, and you will soon find yourself rooting for him. The story is smooth, and is never tedious. It is well balanced with the right amount of drama, and jokes, well placed when the film is about to become mawkish. The dialogue is good, and the jokes - I bet Paul Rudd wrote some of them - are spot on.

As mentioned before there is some great, tense action here - the ants scenes are spectacular. The 3D effects are few but well used - I'm not sure they are worth the extra money though.

Paul Rudd gives a solid and charismatic performance as Scott Lang, and manages to create a sympathy due his relationship with his daughter Cassie , played by Abby Ryder Fortson. Another great performance comes from Michael Douglas, which is fantastic as Hank Pym. Michael Peña is also great, and steals every scene he is in. Evangeline Lilly looks good with the bob cut, and delivers some emotions, but she's not that good. Corey Stoll was the perfect casting for Darren Cross/Yellowjacket. He can excellently play both the business man and the intimidating villain - I actually was expecting great things from the man who played Peter Russo in the Netflix drama House of Cards.

If you haven't seen the film yet - maybe it hasn't been released in your country, or you are waiting for the DVD release - remember that there are two extra scenes.

Quotes

Hank Pym: Second chances don't come around all that often. I suggest you take a really close look at it. This is your chance to earn that look in your daughter's eyes, to become the hero that she already thinks you are.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009)

Genre

Crime | Thriller

Director

J Blakeson

Country

UK

Cast

Martin Compston, Eddie Marsan, Gemma Arterton

Storyline

Two criminals, Vic (Eddie Marsan) and Danny (Martin Compston), kidnap Alice Creed (Gemma Arterton), the daughter of a millionaire. The kidnappers have worked out a meticulous plan: will it work?

Opinion

Months ago I was asked to review this film, and since it was on TV last night I took the chance right away. The reviews were promising and the film started well, but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would have.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed is a quite entertaining crime flick, with lots of attempts at tension, but exaggerates with plot twists.

The idea to set the film entirely in the places of the kidnapping, the choice of focusing on the psyche of the kidnappers and the kidnapped and putting aside the family and the investigation is excellent. Also, the film manages to avoid to fall into the clichéd kidnappings territory: there is no torture; the victim is humiliated though.

What really bothered me were the twists. Usually a plot twist serves as a mean to keep the viewer engaged and interested in what he is seeing. That's what happens in the first part of the film. But in the second part, there are way too many twists, they lose effectiveness, and it looks like the Blakeson didn't know how to fill the time. Also, as the film goes on, the twists are predictable and the level of engagement falls. Not to mention the disappointing ending.

Also there is what I like to call the Clark Kent effect. Everybody knows that Clark Kent takes off his glasses when turning into Superman. And everybody also knows that none of the people he knows does recognize him. The same thing happened here. At some point it transpires that two of the characters knew each other, but how didn't recognize each other from their voices?

Gemma Arterton is more than just a pretty face and she shows it with a great performance. Eddie Marsan is great as always. Martin Compston gets way too much screen time and he is not that good.

Sarah's Key (2010)

Original Title

Elle s'appelait Sarah

Genre

Drama

Director

Gilles Paquet-Brenner

Country

France

Cast

Kristin Scott Thomas, Natasha Mashkevich, Arben Bajraktaraj, Mélusine Mayance, Charlotte Poutrel, Niels Arestrup, Dominique Front, Frédéric Pierrot, Michel Duchaussoy, Gisèle Casadesus, Aidan Quinn, George Birt

Storyline

Julia Jarmond (Kristin Scott Thomas), an American journalist married to a Frenchman (Frédéric Pierrot), is commissioned to write an article about the notorious Vel' d'Hiv round up, which took place in Paris, in 1942. She stumbles upon a family secret which will link her forever to the destiny of a young Jewish girl, Sarah (Mélusine Mayance, young - Charlotte Poutrel, adult).

Opinion

Sophie's Choice, Schindler's List, Life Is Beautiful, The Pianist, The Boy with the Striped Pajamas have two things in common: they all are films about the Holocaust; they all show the Germans brutality. This film shows instead the French participation in this horror, and it does in a discreet way.

Based on Tatiana de Rosnay's novel with the same name, Sarah's Key is an extraordinarily moving, thoughtful, powerful film about the past and the present.

As I said before, this film deals with a dark part of France's history that is not known to all, the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup. I've been reading around, and lots of people have been complaining because the "event" isn't detailed. To those people, I'd like to remember that, firstly this is not an historical film; secondly it is plenty of novels, essays, and documentaries about this they can learn from.

Having said that, what the film is trying to show is that everyone was guilty back then, from the police, to the people who took the apartments remained empty after the roundups. On the other hand, it also shows that everyone had the opportunity to redeem themselves, as the French policeman did by letting the two little girls escape from the concentration camp.

The story is unique, and like Sophie's Choice, this film shows that it's impossible for the "survivors" to have a normal life after what happened -- this brings to my mind the Italian writer Primo Levi, who was devastated by the Holocaust.

However, this film has its flaws. The story is interesting, but as the movie goes on I had the feeling it was focused on Julia, the journalist, and not Sarah. Also, the ending could have been a lot better. It plays with the emotions of Sarah' son, but we don't even get to know him that well, so it's not that effective.

Kristin Scott Thomas is great as the American journalist, but Mélusine Mayance steals the scene as young Sarah.

Quotes

Julia Jarmond: When stories are not told, they become something else... forgotten.

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.