Léon Morin, Priest

Léon Morin, prêtre; drama, France, 1961; D: Jean-Pierre Melville, S: Emmanuelle Riva, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Chantal Gozzi, Irène Tunc, Nicole Mirel

A small French town in the Alps, World War II. Barny is a widow whose Jewish husband was killed, her little daughter France secretly lives in the house of another family, while she works correcting assignments for a correspondence school that has moved from Paris. She falls in love with a co-worker, Sabine. As a communist and atheist, Barny randomly goes to a Catholic church for confession to mock religion, but the young priest Leon Morin actully listens and tries to talk to her. Intruiged, Barny actually goes to visit Leon at his office and they talk about religion and philosophy twice a week. Barny converts to Christianity again. She falls out of love with Sabine, who aged after hearing her brother was killed by the Nazis, and falls in love with Leon. The American soldiers enter the town. Barny confesses her love to Leon, but he rebuffs her and says goodybe since he is being transferred to another city.

A year after Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean-Pierre Melville appeared as actor-actor in Godard's "A bout de souffle", they appeared as actor-director in the drama "Leon Morin, Priest", which film critic Roger Ebert included in his list of Great Movies. "Leon Morin" is a peculiar film that cannot be quite defined: Melville uses a classicist style (simplicity, minimalism, clarity of structure, restrained emotion, appeal to the intellect) to conjure up the storyline, but it is composed out of two incompatible halves—the one revolving around the relationship between an atheist woman and a Catholic priest, the other around the Nazi occupation of France during World War II—which are not that harmonious. It would have been a better film if it only focused on the first story, since the war subplot is questionable and feels shoehorned, like an "intruder" at times. The hidden theme is the search for love: heroine Barny (excellent and underrated actress Emmanuelle Riva) seeks love from her co-worker Sabine, from her dead husband, from the Catholic priest, from God—but she never receives it, it is always unrequited love, she stays alone, and thus the movie feels depressive and resigned in its overall tone while depicting this harsh world. The episodes are uneven—some are weaker, yet the best ones have some outstanding, brilliant dialogues, mostly between Barny and Leon. 

In one chat at his office, they have this honest exchange: "You need a husband." - "Too bad. I do it with a stick". - "You'll hurt yourself." - "I'm not fragile." After a mass in the church, Barny says this to her friend: "There are two things I'm absolutely certain about, yet they're contradictory! Father Morin is spiritually the most inspiring fellow I've ever known. And yet, last Sunday, there's no doubt about it, he deliberately walked by me, brushing me with his surplice. Imagine how I felt." At her home, Barny finally asks Leon if he would marry her if he were a Protestant priest. He hesitates in silence, then stands up, takes an axe and slams it on the wood chopper, before leaving. Barny just thinks for herself: "His hand, in a single gesture, had given all and taken all away." 96 minutes into the film, there is a dream scene that is highly unusual and deviates from the rest of the film due to an unusual camera drive which works in opposition to the static shots presented mostly up to it (Barny is in bed, the camera rotates around her to show a silhouette on the door; the door opens, but it is empty; the camera pans down, under the chair; Leon enters and kisses her as the camera rotates again around them). However, Leon is never as intimate and as honest with Barny during their dialogues, since he is always at the service of spreading religious apologetics, and thus this never reaches the coziness and comfiness of Rohmer's similar "My Night at Maud's". One episode is particularly badly done: Barny hears that her friend Christine will be killed by the partisans for her collaboration with the occupiers, but when she tells this to Leon, he advises her to stay out of it. Christine is later on indeed killed. This inexplicable passive indifference from Leon leaves a bitter aftertaste that makes him a far less sympathetic character than before, and it wrecks the movie structure. The ending is weak, and it's not quite clear if the movie intends to be critical of religion or not. "Leon Morin, Priest" is a film that will leave you thinking for so long that you'll be angry at it for not being a masterwork, since its flaws hold it back, but at the same time, so little prevents it to reach that coveted status.

Grade:+++

The Pornographers

Erogotoshitachi yori jinruigaku nyumon; drama / satire, Japan, 1966; D: Shohei Imamura, S: Shoichi Ozawa, Sumiko Sakamoto, Masaomi Kondo, Keiko Sagowa, Haruo Tanaka

Subu Ogata is an underground director of pornographic films. He entered a relationship out of convenience with his landlord, the widowed Haru, a hairdresser who has a teenage son, Koichi, and teenage daughter, Keiko. Haru also believes a carp is her reincarnated husband, so she keeps the fish in a small aquarium in her house. Subu has troubles with his semi-illegal business, so he sometimes gets arrested by the police, the yakuza raid his studio whereas there are also money problems. Here and there, Subu also sells aphrodisiacs to clients. Koichi takes Subu's money and leaves; Keiko decides to become a prostitute after Subu rejected her advances; Subu's associate robs his equipment and flees. When Haru loses her mind and dies, Subu loses his potency and slowly loses his mind, as well. Subu decides to build a sex-doll as a surogate for a perfect woman, and rejects an offer from a businessman to sell it to him. As the rope holding his boat-house loosens, Subu drifts away in it in the sea.

Shohei Imamura's breakthrough film which encompassed many themes he is fascinated with (suppressed passion in society which gives people that raw energy and makes them more "alive"; the life of the "lower" class; peculiar habits of Japan; the search for happiness outside of norms; hedonism as the meaning of life), "The Pornographers" is a flawed, but still very good satirical drama which, despite its black and white cinematography, seems remarkably modern today—such taboo topics as the life of a pornographic filmmaker or the erotic fantasies of his clients seem as if they were filmed from contemporary Japan, and not Japan from 1966. The overall tone is too conservative and timid compared to the topics it is touching upon, probably due to the censorship in Japan of the day, and thus not a single scene of direct sex is shown, but only implied (such as Haru's and Subu's close up faces when they are kissing in bed), instead only showing the film crew watching their porn movie off screen in the screening room.

Only one sequence is dedicated to Subu actually directing a porn movie (he takes his daughter's school uniform to give it to some actress in his film, because his client ordered a movie of a doctor having sex with a school girl, but the actress is mentally retarded and the actor turns out to be her dad, who calms her by giving her a lollipop, and thus Subu stops the filming). Some dialogues are sizzlingly raw and 'rough' ("That's what animals do, not human beings!" - "We all want to leave the human race. We want to be free. Only society's taboos prevent us."), whereas the storyline plays with the incest elements in a symmetry (the teenage son Koichi has a secret Oedipus complex crush on his mother Haru, just as Subu has a subconscious desire towards his adoptive teenage daughter Keiko), showing how weird and dysfunctional families can be. Imamura displays his thoughts on the consequences of capitalism on Japanese society, creating a new form of sexuality for money or for hire (Subu rents a slim woman who recently gave birth to play a virgin because a rich old man always wanted to have sex with a virgin), which alienates people from each other more and more—this goes full way in the ending where Subu decides to make a sex-puppet, completely losing his human connection with women. With a running time of 127 minutes, "The Pornographers" are overlong and overstretched at moments, and several elments are unnecessary, yet it has some vivid energy that gives it some untypical viewing fascination.

Grade:+++

I Come in Peace

I Come in Peace; science-fiction action, USA, 1990; D: Craig R. Baxley, S: Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben, Betsy Brantley, Matthias Hues, Jay Bilas, Michael J. Pollard

Talec, a humanoid alien with long blond hair who just says "I come in peace", appears on Earth and randomly attacks people by inserting heroin into their chest with one tube, and extracting endorphins from their brains through another tube, killing them in the process. Detective Jack Caine is sent on the case, but is annoyed by his new partner, FBI agent Smith. Still, Jack is aided by his girlfriend Diane. Jack discovers a mysterious CD which levitated and killed several people, and brings it to his home. In the back of their police car, Caine and Smith discover a wounded humanoid alien who is a space Detective hunting Talec, and who gives them a special gun to kill Talec. In an abandoned factory, Caine kicks Talec who bounces back and is impaled on a hanging spike. Caine then shoots and kills Talec with the space gun.

After "Masters of the Universe" and "Rocky IV", sympathetic Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren received only film roles below his standard, and among them was this tiresome and routine science-fiction action B-film "I Come in Peace", which shows just how genius Cameron's "The Terminator" was in comparison. Except for the highly unusual concept of the humanoid alien with long blond hair killing humans just to extract endorphines (!) from them to be sold on the space market as a drug, and one good match cut (the alien extracts red fluid from the brain of a victim, which is then followed by a cut to some dark fluid flowing across tubes, only to be revealed as a coffee machine of some scientist in a laboratory), there isn't that much to see here, since the storyline is standard and as predictable as running on a treadmill. The action, fight and chase sequences are 'a dime a dozen' in the genre, lacking creativity, surprises or ingenuity. The dialogues are also way too conventional. There simply is too little of anything to save this whole storyline from routine and 'grey' craftsmanship.

Grade:+

Warm Water Under a Red Bridge

Akai Hashi no Shita no Nurui Mizu; comedy, Japan, 2001; D: Shohei Imamura, S: Koji Yakusho, Misa Shimizu, Mitsuko Baisho, Mansaku Fuwa

Tokyo. After losing his job and having problems with his wife, Yosuke decides to go to the Noto peninsula to search for an alleged stolen golden statue hidden in a house of a deceased old man. Yosuke encounters Saeko living in the house, who is ashamed of having the ability of squirting water up to six ft above her when she gets aroused. The two become passionate lovers. Yosuke accepts a job as a fisherman and meets an African man who is preparing for a marathon. Yosuke finds out Saeko's grandmother was the old man's wife, waiting for him. Evenetually, Saeko tells him there is no treasure in literal sense, but that her grandmother's "pot" was the "treasure". Yosuke's wife files for divorce. Saeko stops squirting, but starts again when Yosuke admits he likes her the way she is, and they become passionate at the beach.

Shohei Imamura's last film as a director, "Warm Water Under a Red Bridge" is a light and comedic depiction of his often themes of repressed sensuality wanting to get out and the human search for happiness. It is overstretched and has too much 'empty walk' and talk, without sharpness from Imamura's best films, yet it has some honesty that gives it sympathy. Imamura contemplates about the rift between social norms and personal wishes: the main heroine Saeko is ashamed that she has this ability of huge squirting when she gets aroused (which is presented more comical than erotic, since the squirting causes her water to splash like a fountain, six ft above as she and Yosuke passionately embrace for the first time) and wants to get rid of it. After a while, she does, but afterwards, Yosuke suddenly cannot get an erection anymore, and realizes he was excited by her squirting. Saeko thus accepts her squirting as she has sex with him again. The message is that people may feel ashamed or embarrassed by some of their physical features, untypical for society, but precisely these features can attract the person who loves this, and can thus find their happiness in a roundabout, unlikely way. Imamura is strangely timid in depicting the three sparse, short sex scenes where not much is shown (even his "Vengeance is Mine" had better sex scenes, even though they were not the main topic of the story), since Saeko never takes her shirt off on the screen, and Yosuke is shown naked from behind only once, leaning more towards the comedic (on the ship, Yosuke spots Saeko giving a signal with her mirror that she is "ready", so he runs so fast towards her house that he even surpasses an African marathon runner in speed), but even this "PG Shohei Imamura" has his virtues.

Grade:++

Another Round

Druk; drama, Denmark / Sweden / Netherlands, 2020; D: Thomas Vinterberg, S: Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Magnus Millang, Lars Ranthe, Maria Bonnevie

Fed up with routine work tasks and mundane lives, four high school teachers—Martin, Tommy, Peter and Nikolaj—decide to try out an experiment: to maintain a 0.05% of alcohol content in the blood, which would give them energy. Martin, a history teacher, indeed turns his lecture more unusal and is thus able to engage his otherwise passive students. Music teacher Peter also becomes creative, by darkening the classroom during singing to enhance the audio experience, as do physical education teacher Tommy and philosophy teacher Nikolaj. However, eventually they increase their drinking, so Nikolaj's wife leaves him with their three kids, whereas Martin is shocked when his wife Anika admits she had an affair because she thought he is distant towards her. The three stop drinking, except Tommy who is suspended from school and dies in a boat accident. At his funeral, Martin receives a message from Anika that she is willing to give their relationship another chance.

A dark and tragicomic meditation on the effects of drinking alcohol—but through it also a meditation on trying to find measure and the right balance in life in general—Thomas Vinterberg's "Another Round" is a good film that is overall still a little bit overlong and somewhat under-inspired. The concept of four high school teachers who want to maintain a 0.05% of alcohol content in blood has some really effervescent moments—for instance, in order to make his history class interesting, teacher Martin starts to engage his students: "Josse, there's an election with three candidates, so who do you vote for? Number 1: he is partially paralyzed from polio, has hypertension, he's anemic and suffers from an array of serious illnesses. He lies if it suits his interests and consults astrologists on his politics. Number 2: he's overweight and already lost three elections. He's had depression and two heart attacks. He's impossible to work with and smokes non-stop. He drinks and adds two sleeping pills before dozing off. Number 3: he's a decorated war hero. He treats women with respect. He loves animals, never smokes, and only has a beer on rare occasions." The students in the class all vote for candidate number 3, and then Martin reveals they just discarded Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, and gave their vote to Adolf Hitler. More of these kind of moments would have been welcomed, since the story is a bit overstretched in the second half, and struggles to find new subplots which would justify prolonging this concept, but it has its fair share of ideas: one such is when Nikolaj laments in front of his friends that he has three kids, and that the youngest one pees in his bed, only to make an ironic full circle when the totally drunk Nikolaj wakes up one morning at home and realizes he peed in his own bed, causing an angry rant from his wife. The ending feels somewhat vague, yet the strong actors and competent directing by Vinterberg assure a quality viewing experience.

Grade:++

Short Cut Grass

Niska trava; comedy short, Croatia, 2023; D: David Gašo, S: Živko Anočić, Bojan Ban, Vlasta Ramljak, Miro Čabraja, Sandra Lončarić, Igor Kovač

Osijek during summer. A man is mowing the lawn in his backyard... A couple of kids want to play hide-and-seek, but tell the boy to count to 3,000 until he starts looking for them... A couple wants to go to the sea for the vacation, but their teenage son doesn't want to, so they leave in the car without him with two little kids. When the car stops, one of the kids is thirsty and runs away in the field... The teenage guy and his friend bathe in an inflatable pool in the back yard... A man is having a barbecue... A car leaves a trail of smoke behind, spraying against mosquitoes in the suburbs.

David Gaso's 25-minute short film "Short Cut Grass" is an amusing and oddball depiction of his hometown Osijek from which he escaped from, but is still a step below all the critical hype that surrounded it. Constructed like Andersson's "A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence", "Short Cut Grass" features the concept of rigid "one scene-one sequence" mise-en-scene, without cross-cutting, showing weird or unusual episodes of people in a suburb filmed in static wide shots. Not all of them are equally as interesting, though. It has three good jokes, the rest is standard depiction of summer boredom. One of those good jokes is when the kids want to play hide-and-seek, and as a joke tell the boy to lean his head on the pole and count to 3,000—which he actually does (!), so he counts on the street all until evening. In another, two teenage guys are in an inflatable pool in the back yard, and later sit on chairs, having this exchange: "How big is it?" - "What?" - "You know. Yours. How big is it?" - "Well, it's good, for me." - "But did you ever measure it? How big is it?" - "3." - "3 centimeters?" - "No. A 3/5, meaning it's good, for me." Later on, the said guy even stands up and lowers his underwear to show it to him. In one scene, two little kids argue: "You're stupid." - "I'm older than you! I can't be stupid!" Gaso paints a larger picture of this milieu and how he felt somewhat empty there, filmed in crystal-clear cinematography, not caring so much for conjuring up a clear point as much as creating an eccentric set of vignettes that document all these characteristics and quirks in Osijek.

Grade:++

Funny Face

Funny Face; musical / romantic comedy, USA, 1957; D: Stanley Donen, S: Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn, Kay Thompson, Michel Auclair

New York. Maggie, editor of a fashion magazine for women, wants to come up with a new trend, so she sends her photographer Dick to make a few photos of a model in a book store. There, the shop clerk Jo protests due to all the fuss, but to no avail. Later, back in the office, Dick thinks Jo would actually make for a good model, even though Maggie thinks she has a "funny face". Attracted by the prospect of visiting Paris, Jo accepts the job of a model and poses in said city. Dick makes photos of her in a wedding dress. She wants to quit after an argument and joins philosopher Flostre, but when Flostre wants to forcefully kiss her alone in his room, she leaves. Dick meets Jo again in a wedding dress standing in a garden, and the two fall in love.

Even though it was directed by the veteran Stanley Donen ("Singin' in the Rain"), "Funny Face" seems like a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"-style schizophrenic movie wrestling with itself as to if it's a stiff, boring musical or a charming, witty romantic comedy. These two genres clash badly with each other, since no matter how good of a dancer Fred Astaire is, the musical segments rarely appear enagaging. However, the comedy segment has several amusing moments, almost exclusively thanks to the outstanding Audrey Hepburn as the timid bookworm Jo, who carries 90% of the film's quality. The opening act where the the photographer Dick wants to make a photo session of a model in a book store, for a more "intellectual trend" for a fashion magazine, is ravishing—bookstore clerk Jo protests, trying to persuade Maggie to get out, but Dick replies: "One never talks to Maggie Prescott. One only listens." The viewers never for a moment buy that Hepburn could have a "funny face" or be such an "unusual" choice for a model that "defies" the industry standards, yet the "Pygmalion"-concept of a "rough girl" who will be elevated and "polished" into a beautiful woman thanks to a mentor will later be used again in Hepburn's own and more famous film "My Fair Lady". Donen should have had more close-up shots of Hepburn's charismatic face, since she is able to make even some dance moves look great (for instance, while wearing black clothes in a Paris night club), yet even as it is, "Funny Face" is overall a good film, whereas it even has a great little romantic ending involving Jo wearing a wedding dress in a garden from a photo session.

Grade:++

Frank Herbert's Children of Dune

Frank Herbert's Children of Dune; science-fiction series, USA, 2003; D: Greg Yaitanes, S: James McAvoy, Alec Newman, Jessica Brooks, Julie Cox, Edward Atterton, Barbora Kodetova, Daniela Amavia, Ian McNeice, Alice Krige, Susan Sarandon

In the 11th century after Guild, Paul Atreides is the new Emperor of the known Universe, ruling from the desert planet Arrakis "Dune", while his followers killed millions across the planets to suppress any resistance. The former Emperor's daughter, Princess Wensicia, plots to restore House Corrino to power. A ploy causes an explosion that leaves Paul blind, but he can still see visions of the future. His wife is Princess Irulan, while his mistress Chani dies after giving birth to twins Leto II and Ghanima. Paul disappears in the desert... 16 years later. Paul's sister Alia took over the rule, but is possessed by the evil ghost of Vladimir Harkonnen, turning her reign into a dictatorship which persecutes any enemies. Leto II and Ghanima flee into the desert... Leto II meets Paul alive in the desert. Wearing a robe, Paul arrives at the palace and renounces his own religion, but is killed by a fanatic. Leto II gains superpowers from the sandworms, confronts Aila who commits suicide. Wensicia is arrested for her plots against the government. Leto II goes into the desert to initiate the "Golden Path" to save humanity.

After D. Villeneuve achieved a huge success with his film adaptation of "Dune", many viewers retroactively gained re-newed interest for the only other two adaptations of Frank Herbert's cult novel "Dune". One was Lynch's film, the other was this three-part mini-series by the Sci-fi Channel which actually even took it a step further, since it adapted Herbert's two follow-up novels "Dune Messiah" and "Children of Dune". Its three episodes each span a running time of approximately 83 minutes, yet its overall quality is disparate, since the storyline undergoes a steady lapse since the 2nd episode. The 1st episode is the best, since it is a direct continuation of the first novel, giving again interesting symbolism—Paul Atreides' followers killing millions of people across the known Universe to establish his religion is reminiscent of the 7th century Arab conquests of the Middle East and northern Africa—and sharp observations—namely that maybe even Paul himself lost control of the movement he created, which took on a life of its own, and is now on a campaign to establish its ideology everywhere regardless of his wishes. Some dialogues are clever—the opening narration goes: "If history teaches us anything, it is simply this: every revolution carries within it the seeds of its own destruction, and empires that rise will one day fall"; Princess Wensicia (Susan Sarandon in a playful performance) at one moment says: "Learn the lesson my father ignored. It's not who controls the spice, but who has the ability to disrupt the spice who controls the Universe". 

The 2nd episode entered an erosion of quality due to Herbert's decline in writing which didn't aim anymore to reach a conclusion in a rounded-up story, but was rather reoriented to constantly shoehorn new mysteries, puzzles, subplots and cryptic visions in order to prolong the storyline indefinitely, much to the viewers' annoyance. Already some halfway into the 2nd episode, the magic is gone and the viewing experience is strained beyond belief, whereas a certain irrelevance starts to appear. Certain subplot were introduced, but never resolved (for instance, the idea to "kidnap" a sandworm from Arrakis via a giant aircraft, to be transported to another planet to try to create a new spice production and break the monopoly). The 3rd episode is the weakest: instead of a new enagement, the story just simply becomes boring, among others due to bland, monotone dialogues and a lack of a clear point. There are some good observations here—for instance, the irony that a disguised Paul Atreides returns to the palace to protest against the fundamentalism of his own religion that he unwillingly created, and declares that he wants to disolve it, meaning that he himself became a "heretic"; the inevitable fall into dictatorship of all giant kingdoms, since its rulers are afraid of conspiracies against all these various people they control—but many of them just become ridiculous, such as when Leto II gained "superpowers" from the worms and is now able to run across the desert as superfast as the Flash. And, instead of an ending, the finale is again open to a continuation, in the form of the bizarre novel "God Emperor of Dune" which was (luckily?) left out of the scope of this adaptation due to its too obscure concepts. The whole story became, just like the planet it is set on, too dry in the end, yet the competent acting performances and the ability of writers to shorten the writing to its essence manage to turn this into a curious viewing experience.

Grade:++

The Blob

The Blob; horror, USA, 1988; D: Chuck Russell, S: Kevin Dillon, Shawnee Smith, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn, Candy Clark, Joe Seneca

A meteorite crashes in a forest near a small town and a pink slime emerges out of it. It attaches itself to the hand of a homeless man, but after he is brought to the hospital, his lower half of the body is found decomposed. The pink blob falls from the ceiling and "digests" teenager Paul, which shocks his date, Meg. Soon, the blob spreads across the town, killing numerous people. Rebel teenager Brian overhears the conversations of scientists on the crash site, who say the blob is actually a bioweapon created by the military and deliberately thrown at the town to test its effectiveness. Brian finds out the blob is afraid of cold, so he uses the snowmaking truck to freeze the blob and save the town.

The remake of the eponymous '58 horror film, "The Blob" is a surprisingly well made modern (B) film which benefited a lot from the screenplay by Frank Darabont, who managed to conceal some of its obvious trash flaws. The best part of the film is its first third which shows a lot of neat quiet character interactions—for instance, a Sheriff is hitting on a waitress at a diner, and as he is just about to leave, she hands him the bill with an added note she wrote at the bottom: "I'm off at 11:00". Teenager Scott wants to buy condoms at the pharmacy, and feigns in front of the pharmacist that he is only buying them for his friend, Paul, who is "irresponsible". A few minutes later, this set-up has a delicious pay-off: Paul is about to go on a date with Meg, arrives at her house, while she introduces him to her father, who lowers the newspapers—and is revealed to be the pharmacist from the previous scene, who just looks angrily at Paul. There are also other fine moments, but each good idea is thereafter nullified and "digested" the same way the blob "digests" people, which is too heavy-handed and filled with shock, vile and gore moments. Despite this mish-mash of high and low art, the director Chuck Russell manages to create just enough ingredients to pull this outlandish concept through, even adding a plot twist at the end involving the origins of the blob and the military conspiracy around it. The ending is abrupt, and the blob kills at moments like the alien from Carpenter's "The Thing", yet the fact that so many elements in the film are competent is already an accomplishment.

Grade:++

The Thundermans Return

The Thundermans Return; fantasy comedy, USA, 2024; D: Trevor Kirschner, S: Kira Kosarin, Jack Griffo, Chris Tallman, Rosa Blasi, Addison Riecke, Diego Velazquez, Maya Le Clark, Audrey Whitby, Dana Snyder (voice)

Metroburg. After a fight against a super-villain on the street goes wrong and a giant plastic donut falls and injures superheroes from the V-Team, the Thundermans are demoted by President Kickbutt and punished by being sent back to their old house in Hiddenville. Phoebe and Max try to find new jobs as superheroes, while their siblings, Nora and Billy, now teenagers, enter high school and try to impress students by bragging through their superpowers. V-Team are actually kids of Dark Mayhem, Strongdor and King Crab and plan to spread superhero seeds from the power plant across the city in order to create tens of thousands of super-villains. However, the Thundermans unite and stop them, saving the city.

The comedy TV-show "The Thundermans" ran for six years, ended, and was then semi-revived six years later in the form of this movie. All the cast returned, but it seems their charm, wit and inspiration didn't, as if their trademark humor stayed back in their original show. The opening conjures up a smile on the viewers' faces—meteorites from the sky are falling towards the city, people panic, searching for some superheroes, until they point towards the right, and the camera reveals the Thundermans posing, boasting on the street in their blue uniforms. Max and Phoebe then have this little comical exchange: "Glad they finally saw us!" - "Right? We've been standing here for three minutes." This is a great intro and immediately ignites a spark in the story. Unfortunately, the rest of "The Thundermans Return" is a level below that, since it seems the authors didn't come up with some especially good jokes in that six year pause. There are more corny jokes than truly great ones. As an unwritten rule says, if a story is concluded, a sequel needs to either raise the stakes, show character growth or expand this universe, which warrants for continuing returning to any given world. Some of these rules are followed, luckily. 

For instance, Nora (in the meantime a teenager) now uses her laser powers to burn a bow, ending her childish trait. Billy (now also a teenager) unfortunately still talks like a naive 12-year old at times, which is inconsistent, but he shows character growth when he finally has an intelligent thought and correctly guesses that the villains will execute their plan on Mt. Metroburg, causing the entire family to pause and stare at him for a minute. Chloe then interrupts and asks why everyone is "just standing around", so dad Hank replies: "Quiet, we're savouring the moment!" We needed more of these moments where we understand that some characters have "moved on" in the meantime. The supporting cast wasn't used enough, since they are mostly just cameo appearances, though the first encounter between Cherry and Phoebe is amusing, since Cherry tells: "I've been auditioning new Phoebes, but nobody's been working out!" The finale is standard and routine, missing that 'frequency' from some of the best "Thundermans" episodes which became gems of comedy, such as "Why You Buggin'?", "Patch Me If You Can" or "Save the Past Dance". The brilliant Kira Kosarin is still outstanding in the role of Phoebe, always lifting the movie a notch higher, since she is such a fascinating personality that you could watch her in whatever she does—she simply makes even the most mundane scenes appear special.

Grade:++

Guns Akimbo

Guns Akimbo; action / black comedy, New Zealand / UK / Germany, 2019; D: Jason Lei Howden, S: Daniel Radcliffe, Samara Weaving, Ned Dennehy, Natasha Liu Bordizzo

Skizm is a website run by criminals which streams thugs shooting and killing each other. Miles is a computer programmer bored with his life. Miles visits Skizm website, insults a random user who turns out to be Riktor, the owner of the website, and who shows up with his thugs at Miles' apartment. Miles is tranquilized. He wakes up with two guns bolted-glued to his two hands, and is informed by Riktor that he sent a woman assassin, Nix, to kill him. Miles flees from his apartment into the city, while drones are filming and streaming his journey. Riktor kidnaps Miles' ex-girlfriend Nova and threatens to kill her unless he faces Nix. Upon finding out that Riktor killed her father, Nix teams up with Miles and they storm the Skizm headquarters. Nix dies, but Miles kills Riktor by throwing him from the top of the building and saves Nova. 

A black satire on acid about people's addiction to video games, internet and violence, "Guns Akimbo" is a mess of a film that never really finds its real balance. It is a typical modern movie for attention deficit hyperactive disorder-generation and autism-audience since its frenetic pace where no scene can last for longer than two seconds is exhausting, rushed, forced and numbing. From the technical perspective, everything works: the crystal-clear cinematography is gorgeous, the editing is professional, and the lighting is wonderful. But they cannot compensate for the wrong approach taken to craft the storyline. Overedited and overstuffed, "Guns Akimbo" has only small crumbs of "normal" when it relaxes to be casual and more genuine. This is not a good use of actor Daniel Radcliffe, who spends most of the film in underwear, with two guns "glued" to his arms, so he has to carefully watch while unzipping his pants, as to not accidentally blow off his penis while urinating in the toilet. It is more cringe and embarrassing than fun. There are several weird ideas here. In one of them, while live-streaming Miles hiding, villain Riktor and a director argue over which camera to switch to from their control room. A gimp advises the director to do what Riktor says, while the director replies: "How do you even breathe with that stupid gimp mask on?" Riktor then loses his patience and starts chocking the director, while the gimp cynically replies to the director: "Having trouble breathing?" In another, Nix throws a knife at villain Dane, but he catches it and throws it back at her, slicing two middle fingers from her hand. Later on, after she defeated Dane, Nix is in an argument with Miles, so she takes her chopped off middle finger and places it on her hand to show what she thinks of him. There are random camera movements and chaotic directions from everywhere, yet it's as if the authors just simply forgot how to relax and simply have fun.

Grade:+

Slow Days

Ajde, dan... prođi...; drama, Croatia, 2006; D: Matija Kluković, S: Višnja Pešić, Filip Šuster, Petra Težak, Nina Benović, Petra Kurtela, Leon Demšar, Simona Dimitrov-Palatinuš, Asja Jovanović, Antonija Stanišić, Matija Kluković

Several stories set in Zagreb. Teenager Martin has trouble sleeping, and is picked up by his mother Martina at the airport. She is angry that he resorts to alcohol during nights. Martina takes a vacation to visit her husband working abroad... Jadranka is in a relationship with Alen, who never takes off a sock from his left foot, not even during sex. He finally admits the reason: years ago, some guys tattooed the word "prick" on his foot when he was asleep... Sanja returns from abroad after the company of her father went belly up, but she is annoyed because she has to stay with her strict grandma and lazy grandpa who wants to reach the age of 150... Sanja's niece Tamara is a poet whose poem won a prize... Tamara's brother Matija hangs around with an arogant philosopher, Stjepan... Tamara and her friend take a plane to Barcelona.

Independent 'slice-of-life' anthology drama "Slow Days" (literal translation "Come on, day... Pass...") caused quite a sensation in Croatian cinema, with critics praising it as the fresh voice of a new generation that is able to produce their own films, establishing director Matija Klukovic as a blend between "Croatian Jarmusch" (due to its independent roots and black-and-white cinematography) and "Croatian Altman" (due to its large ensamble with almost twenty characters). Despite a typical setting of depressive people, "Slow Days" avoids the cliches of Croatian heavy-handed melodramas due to its sense for authentic characters and several funny dialogues, as well as unusual shot compositions and camera angles which give it a dynamic charge. Several unusual lines stand out: for instance, angry that her teenage son Martin secretly drinks because he can't sleep, his mother Martina says: "You don't even have hair on your dick, and already you are acting like an alcoholic!" 

A stand out is the excellent actress Nina Benovic as Tamara, who has some of the best moments. One such is when she and her friend observe seven paper sketches on the table made before she was even born, by her father, a painter, who tried to envisage how she could look like when she grows up, so the two try to pick the sketch that rsembles her face the most. In another, while walking through the Ilica street at night, Tamara stops, jumps back and says she sometimes does that to imagine how it would be like to kiss her own ass. A nice opening at the airport bar is given by novelist Predrag Raos, who complains: "Everyone has his own logic. That's why nobody never understands anybody." While Martina is talking with Martin in their apartment, she plays with the key on the ground with her feet. However, some episodes are better, while others are weaker and should have been cut: for instance, the one revolving around grandma and grandpa are boring; the one with a waitress moving furniture leads nowhere; whereas especially unsuccessful is the one with the intolerably pretentious youngster-philosopher Stjepan (ironically played by director Klukovic himself). Not every dialogue works, since a fair share of them is routine and empty. There are too many episodes, and the point at the end isn't quite clear (trying to escape from the 'grey routine' by taking a flight to another country), losing focus, yet overall this movie has enough spirit, intelligence and inspiration to work, while also giving a loving homage to Zagreb as a whole.

Grade:+++

Breaker Morant

Breaker Morant; historical legal drama, Australia, 1980; D: Bruce Beresford, S: Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Rod Mullinar

Second Boer War, 1 9 0 1. Three Australian soldiers under the jurisdiction of the British Empire—lieutenants Harry Morant, Peter Handcock, George Witton—are brought in front of a military tribunal under the indictment of killing nine Boers (descendants of Dutch settlers) POWs and one German missionary. The three are defended by lawyer and Major James Thomas. Numerous witnesses show up, recounting that after the Boers killed Captain Hunt, the three went on a rage, discovered a tent with Boers and shot a man wearing Hunt's uniform. They also killed six Boers who surrendered, and also the German missionary who talked to the Boers. The court finds the three guilty and sentences Witton to life in prison, and Morant and Handcock to death.

An unknown classic from "Down Under", one of the best Australian films of the 80s, "Breaker Morant" is a gripping trial drama based on a real historical event during the Second Boer War. A lot of credit goes to the veteran director Bruce Beresford who directs these static trial sequences with a lot of great shot compositions, unusual camera angles and aesthetic images (the "fake split screen" of soldiers building two coffins on the far left side of the frame, while a wall in the middle separates the defendents in the prison back yard on the far right side of the frame; the silhouettes of Morant and Handcock sitting in the foreground while the firing squad is standing over the horizon in the background, while the Sun is above them) that enrich the cinematic experience. Another great component is the brilliant performance of Jack Thompson as the lawyer defending the three Australian lieutenants at the military court. A special charge is achieved by the way the movie plays with the audience: at first, it sets up the whole story from the perspective of the three and their lawyer who passionately defends them, as to make the viewers assume they are innocent and victims of gross injustice of the British martial court. However, as witnesses appear and the movie goes to flashbacks, revealing for what they were indicted for, a dichotomy appears—they are guilty. They are war criminals. One especially dark episode has six Boers waving a white flag, approaching the British military outpost, who are then sent in a prison camp while Morant talks to his colleague that "he doesn't remember any white flag" and then proceeds to order the soldiers to shoot the prisoners. Beresford crafts the film on two levels, humanistic and legal—the viewers understand the three indicted lieutenants, but from the legal standpoint they also understand that they are guilty. While a little bit overstretched in the final act, "Breaker Morant" is a surprisingly intelligent film.

Grade:+++

Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer; historical drama, USA, 2023; D: Christopher Nolan, S: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Kenneth Branagh, Benny Safdie, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Gary Oldman

J. Robert Oppenheimer is fascinated by physics while a student at the University of Cambridge. As a grown man back in the US, he reads that the Germans discovered nuclear fission, which alarms the American government. World War II erupts, and US Colonel Leslie Groves recruits Oppenheimer and many other scientists to try build the first atomic bomb in an isolated town built just for them, Los Alamos. Oppenheimer becomes the director of this Project Manhattan. They succeed and detonate the first atomic bomb in July 1 9 4 5. The US Army immediately drops two on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which ends World War II. Afterwards, Chair of the US Atomic Energy Commission Lewis Strauss initiates a committee questioning Oppenheimer's loyalty due to his previous links with Communists, end thus ends his security clearance. 

The biopic about Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb", is good, yet still a little bit overrated and overlong. The middle part of "Oppenheimer", the one showing how the US Army actually built a whole isolated research town, Los Alamos, in the middle of nowhere in order for the scientists to create the first atomic bomb is excellent—but the first part showing Oppenheimer's private life and relationships is boring, whereas the final, third part, involving a committee hearing in the comically small room that can barely fit nine people is unnecessary, since there are no stakes in it after the detonation of the atomic bomb after which such an overlong epilogue feels like a 45-minute anticlimax. Cillian Murphy is brilliant and perfectly cast at the tormented title protagonist, achieving a huge career boost, but Matt Damon almost steals the show as US Colonel Leslie Groves, in the genius performance that is much better than Robert Downey Jr.'s as Lewis Strauss, who doesn't get much to do in the script. In one delicious sequence, Groves meets Oppenheimer and tells him he heard Oppenheimer is a "dilettante, a suspected communist, unstable, egotistical, neurotic", upon Oppenheimer interrupts: "Nothing good? Not even 'he's brilliant, but'...?" - "Well, brilliance is taken for granted, so no."

Christopher Nolan sometimes has troubles with illogical plot holes when he writes his own scripts ("Inception", "The Dark Knight Rises"), yet by adapting a real-life biopic he managed to avoid those issues this time around, since the events unfold naturally. However, as a director, Nolan has trouble finding the right pace in this movie, since several moments are excessive, rushed, whereas a big nuissance is the musical score which plays almost all the time, nonstop, sometimes so detached from the rest of the film that it's even bombastic during just normal, static scenes of two people talking. Two great sequences: one is the colossal countdown until the first test detonation of the atomic bomb at night, when Oppenheimer and the crew watch the mushroom cloud through dark glasses, which reaches almost Hitchcock's intensity of suspense; the other is when Oppenheimer holds a speech after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima, while he has a hallucination of a bright explosion "wiping out" all the audience in the room. It also shows some rarely talked about details, such as when the nuclear scientists were unsure if, once started, the nuclear explosion may cause a chain reaction which may never stop. The moral and ethical question the movie poses is if Oppenheimer is guilty for any future use of atomic bombs in any conflict. Sadly, some sharper philosophical dialogues are missing. "Oppenheimer" should have ended after two hours, after the atomic bomb testing, since the committee hearing is given more room for the movie's running time than the sole room it was held in, a small private hearing without much weight later on. It didn't merit prolonging the story for another 45 minutes, while one dumb scene (Kitty imagines her husband Oppenheimer is naked (!) while sitting during his testimony in front of the committee, and then even that he is having sex with Jean Tatlock (!) in the room) should have been cut. Overall, still an intelligent depiction of these events.

Grade:++

The Boy and the Heron

Kimitachi wa Do Ikiru ka; animated fantasy drama, Japan, 2023; D: Hayao Miyazaki, S: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura

Japan, World War II. During the bombing of Tokyo, a hospital is caught on fire and Mahito's (13) mother dies there. Mahito's father remarries Natsuko and moves to a safe village. From the house, Mahito observes a strange heron in the lake. The heron turns out to be a mythical man in costume, and he tricks him into entering a different parallel world. Mahito enouncters strange creatures in that world, such as floating Warawara that ascend to be born in the real world, as well as fisherwoman Kiriko and firewoman Himi who protects the Warawara from being eaten by hundreds of pelicans. Mahito encounters an old man who creates worlds using 13 small stone blocks, and who invites him to be his heir and create better worlds. Mahito refuses, takes Natsuko back to the real world and settles with living there.

Hayao Miyazaki's 12th and final feature length anime film, "The Boy and the Heron" is a cryptic allegorical tale imbibed a little bit too much in Japanese historical-cultural references and Miyazaki's own cocooned autobiographical mindset. While the bizarre, surreal creatures in the parallel world tend to get a bit too 'autistic' and 'gibberish', the underlining storyline still has some clear messages—Mahito is traumatized by the "broken" real world, damaged by World War II and mindless violence and suffering, which took away his mother. Yet by entering the parallel fantasy world, he also finds imperfections and omissions, such as the tragic sequence where a wounded pelican begs Mahito to kill him, explaining that the pelicans must eat the fantasy creatures Warawaras since the oceans contain no fish for their food. Mahito then encounters the old man, a sort of god of this world, who lives in the perfect palace on top, selfishly holding this paradise for himself while all the imperfect creatures around him suffer due to his negligence. The old man asks Mahito to be his heir and continue his work, to creatue "more harmonious worlds" using 13 small stone blocks. Is the old man a symbol for Miyazaki himself, asking for someone to continue his (now flawed) work, or else Studio Ghibli will fall apart? Or is it a dark commentary on religion and power, where the people on top only think about themselves and are numb to the plight of millions around them? Through this symbolism, Miyazaki gives a meditation on each new generation which was victim of human errors from the past, and advocates that they reject this past mindset and create a new, better world, with new thinking and more justice. There are several problems in this abstract film, including that the Heron is an incomplete character—yet even though it is not among Miyazaki's best films, it still features traces of his best work, which will hereby invite the viewers to check these out.

Grade:++

Primal Fear

Primal Fear; legal thriller, USA, 1996; D: Gregory Hoblit, S: Richard Gere, Edward Norton, Laura Linney, John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand, Terry O'Quinn

Chicago. Archbishop Rushman is killed and mutilated with a knife in his home. The police chase after a guy with blood on his clothes running away nearby, and arrest him: it is Aaron (19), the orphan altar boy. Aaron is charged with Rushman's murder, and sly lawyer Martin Vail is the first to offer to represent him at trial. Aaron claims he was in the room, but that a third person killed Rushman. Martin finds a secret VHS tape at the church in which Rushman filmed Aaron having sex with a girl and another guy. Martin sends the tape to prosecutor Janet, his ex-girlfriend. Aaron feigns he has a split personality, "Roy", who killed Rushman, and attacks Janet during trial, whereby Judge Miriam stops the case and orders Aaron into a psychiatric hospital. Aaron later admits to Martin he feigned his split personality.

The feature length acting debut of Edward Norton immediately announced him as the new acting hope thanks to the legal thriller "Primal Fear", though the leading actor Richard Gere is even better, overshadowing him as the cynical lawyer Martin. When Martin starts off semi-narrating the film with such snappy lines as: "On my first day of law school, my professor says two things. First was: from this day forward, when your mother tells you she loves you, get a second opinion... If you want justice, go to a whorehouse" or "Why gamble with money when you can gamble with people's lives?", the viewers are instantly engaged and intrigued, since he is established as a sharp character who is shady, yet still clever enough to have some principles and ethics. His exchange with lawyer Janet (Laura Linney) near the beginning is also delicious, since he insists they were in a relationship, while she just coldly rebuts him with: "It was a one-night stand, Marty. It just lasted six-months." Bizarrely, the writing becomes much less inspired and more standard when Martin gets to represent Aaron at trial, since several "bumps" appear, most notably in the unnecessary random splatter scenes of someone killing Arcbishop with a knife. The sole core of Martin's legal defense is rather bland and stale, though the excellent Alfre Woodard manages to ignite some interest here and there in the role of the Judge. The plot twist at the end reminds too much of the one in "The Usual Suspects", thus lacking some true surprises or highlights, yet due to the strong first act "Primal Fear" is still a quality legal film.

Grade:++

Dune: Part Two

Dune: Part Two; science-fiction, USA, 2024; D: Denis Villeneuve, S: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Stellan Skarsgård, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Javier Bardem, Léa Seydoux, Charlotte Rampling

In the year 10,191, the desert planet Dune is a battleground between two sides: Paul Atreides and his mother Lady Jessica unite with the native Fremen tribe to fight against the House of Harkonnen that have taken over the monopoly on the exploitation of the coveted "spice" resource from the planet. Fremen tribe leader Stilgar assumes Paul is the prophecized messiah, a title which Paul begrudingly accepts to achieve his vengence against the Harkonnen's. Several raids against "spice" extraction platforms cause Vladimir Harkonnen to send sadistic nephew Feyd-Rautha to counter-attack and wipe out the Fremen. Paul drinks the "spice", declares himself Mua'Dib and uses atomic weapons to break the wall of the capital. There, he battles and kills Feyd-Rautha and Vladimir Harkonnen, captures the Galactic Emperor and forces him to hand him over the throne. Paul thus takes the Emperor's daughter Irulan as his wife.

Director Denis Villeneuve achieved one of the biggest turnarounds in cinema history when he transformed the story excommunicated in Lynch's first film adaptation into gold with this new version that was critically recognized and became a hit at the box office. Unlike the first part, which took a lot of time to establish this futuristic world, "Dune: Part Two" cuts right to the chase and delivers a more dynamic, tight storyline with a perfect pacing—in fact, the longer this movie lasts, the more intruiging it gets, since all the pieces start connecting closer and closer towards the finish line. This is one of those epic spectacles that need to be seen on the big screens to enjoy it in its full form. A lot of this credit goes to the cinematographer Greig Fraser who has a dreamy camera that documents a plethora of aesthetic, magnificent images. Even the 100ft long giant sand worms appear pretty in this crystal-clear cinematography. 

One instant classic is the monumental sequence where the camera pans left to right around Paul standing on a sand dune, looking at the approaching giant sand worm over the horizon, and as the worm "crashes" through the dune, Paul jumps on top of it, riding it across the desert. Two other sequences of Fremen "riding" these worms are also incredible to look at due to the amazing technology they were filmed with. One sequence stands out stylistically from the rest of the film—the bloody fight in the arena involving sadistic villain Feyd-Rautha, filmed in black and white. Paul's raids against the "spice" extraction platforms are exciting, linking the story to guerilla attacks against colonial powers and various independence movements. However, while Villeneuve is a highly professional director, he still lacks some creative-innovative playfulness that would make his movies really fun to watch. The scenes where Lady Jessica (a rather underused Rebecca Ferguson) and Paul drink "spice" to gain a higher consciousness or the sequence of the final battle lack some abstract 'raw power' that would make "Dune: Part Two" a sheer joy to watch. Nonetheless, this is arguably the best possible "Dune" film adaptation. As much as Lynch's "Dune" was a dirty mess, so much is Villeneuve's "Dune" a clean sweep.

Grade:+++

Over the Top

Over the Top; sports drama, USA, 1987; D: Menahem Golan, S: Sylvester Stallone, David Mendenhall, Rick Zumwalt, Robert Loggia, Susan Blakely, Chris McCarty

Truck driver Lincoln Hawk, after abandoning his wife Christina, arrives at a military school to finally meet his son Mike (12). Lincoln takes Mike with him on a ride in his truck, showing him his skill: Lincoln is an expert in arm wrestling. Arriving at the hospital, they are informed that Christina died from a disease. An angry Mike takes a taxi to his rich grandfather Jason Cutler. Lincoln sells his truck, obtains 7,000$ for it and bets 20:1 on himself in an arm wrestling match in Las Vegas. Mike finds out his grandfather hid all the letters Lincoln was sending to him for years, so he goes to Las Vegas, where Lincoln manages to defeat the favorite, Bull. With the money, Lincoln and Mike decide to open their own company. 

Israeli filmmaker Menahem Golan achieved huge success in his native country both as a producer ("The House on Cheleuche Street") and a director ("Operation Thunderbolt"), until he co-founded Cannon Films and started a new career in the US in the 80s. One of the American films he directed was a movie that was more hated than it deserved to be, the decent sport-road movie father-son drama "Over the Top", which has its 80s charm despite numerous flaws: the minute the truck passes by and the camera pans up towards a mountain in the background, while the title "Over the Top" pops up, you know it's going to be a cheesy ride. This is one of those 80s movies you cannot be mad at. Golan has a sense for some aesthetic images thanks to his cinematographer David Gurfinkel, such as the scene where the camera lingers on Lincoln sitting on the back side of his truck, looking in the distance. There are several problems in the storyline, though—for instance, the 12-year old Mike is picked up from school by a man who is a complete stranger to him, Lincoln (Sylvester Stallone), who claims to be his father based only on a photo of himself and Mike's mom. 

While driving in the truck, Mike exits, runs across the highway, a car almost hits him, but he is chased after and caught by Lincoln who holds him and understands ("I hate you!" - "Then hate me, we have to start someplace!"). Wouldn't anyone from the driving cars stop and inquire about a man chasing after a little kid running away from his truck on the highway? The reason or motive for why Lincoln abandoned and never saw Mike in person was never explained. Equally as questionable are such weird moments as when Lincoln gives the 12-year old Mike the order to drive the truck in the street or to persuade him to himself participate in arm wrestling with random teenagers in a video game arcade, even though the kid clearly doesn't want it. In a way, there is a certain symbolism here: Lincoln represents the middle, working class, while grandfather Cutler represents the upper class, and Mike thus has to decide in which camp he belongs to. Lincoln "forces" Mike to be more humble, down to Earth, to "twitch" him out of the 'spoiled brat' mindset. Yet, these elements were not done in a good way. The arm wrestling finale is banal and too routine, with the typical happy ending for the underdog, yet even that isn't that bad and has its flair.

Grade:+

Still Alice

Still Alice; drama, USA, 2014; D: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland, S: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, Kate Bosworth, Hunter Parrish

Linguistics professor Alice (50) starts experiencing strange memory losses and goes for a medical check, where she is diagnosed with early Alzheimer's disease, inherited from her genetics. Her husband John tries to support her, as do her grown up kids Tom, Anna and Lydia, a struggling actress. Alice tries to slow down the process via mental tests, but her state becomes worse and worse. John leaves to accept a job at Mayo Clinic. Lydia takes care of Alice when the latter is not able to talk anymore. 

Based on the eponymous novel by neuroscientist Lisa Genova, co-directed by Richard Glatzer who himself suffered from a neurodegenerative disease and died shortly after completing the film, "Still Alice" is a dark and depressive film about the consequences of Alzheimer's disease, giving a lot of effort in conjuring up an authentic and, appropriately, unpleasant film depiction of such a mental state. However, overall it is still just a "one-gimmick" film where the one standout component, Julianne Moore's excellent performance, overshadows everything else, since the whole film is much more relevant sociologically than cinematically. There isn't that much inspiration in cinematic techniques or dialogues, settling only for a standard, albeit emotionally devastating story. A few editing tricks would have been welcomed: for instance, it would have been a much more powerful reveal if they didn't show Alice making a video for her later self with instructions how to take a full jar of pills and commit suicide the first time, since the second time makes it less intense. Nontheless, the viewers can engage and feel compassion with Alice's plight from which there is no escape, and thus the ending is very touching, and luckily avoids turning into melodrama most of the time. 

Grade:++

China Moon

China Moon; crime, USA, 1994; D: John Bailey, S: Ed Harris, Madeleine Stowe, Benicio del Toro, Charles Dance, Patricia Healy

Veteran homicide detective Kyle Bodine mentors the young detective Lamar Dickey on a crime scene, claiming that criminals always make a mistake. Kyle meets Rachel and falls in love with her, but she is married to the arrogant Rupert. Rachel flees to a hotel in Miami, but returns and shoots Rupert, persuading Kyle to not report the murder and hide the corpse in the lake. The police investigate Rupert's disappearance, and although Kyle cleaned all traces in the house, find a 38 mm bullet in the wall, the same Kyle uses. The corpse is found. Kyle discovers Rachel cooperated with Lamaer to spy on her husband, and that Lamar framed him by inserting the 38 mm bullet in the corpse. When Kyle insists Lamar give him his gun back, the police arrives at the parking lot and shoot Kyle. An angry Rachel takes the gun and shoots Lamar.

Made in the tradition of classic Hollywood film noirs in the 30s and 40s of the 20th century, the feature length directorial debut film of cinematographer John Bailey is a proportionally well made modern "update" of said subgenre, staying true to its foundations. Ed Harris is great in a rare leading role as homicide detective Kyle who falls in the typical 'love ploy' of the married Rachel who tricks him into aiding and abetting the murder of her husband. The first half an hour are bland and routine, exhausting a little bit the goodwill of the viewers, yet once the murder happens, the various plot twists start to engage dramatically, and numerous set-ups lead to a satisfaying payoffs. One such set-up is that Kyle often chastises his young new partner Lamar (Benicio del Toro) for not noticing little details at the crime scene, only to later on regret it when Lamar starts unexpectedly noticing clues in the murder of Rachel's husband, all leading to implicating Kyle himself. The sole sequence where Kyle attempts to clean all traces of the murder Rachel's husband at his home is brilliant, showing how Kyle meticulously extracts a bullet from the wall and paints it over, dumps the corpse in the lake and throws the gun at the top of a truck, which drives off. Kyle is thus shocked when Lamar observes that the perpetrator could not have buried the corpse, since it was raining the entire day, and how Rachel is lying about the broken window, which is jammed. Kyle even shoots at a sand dune, to later retrieve the bullet, compare it with the alleged bullet found in the corpse, and conclude he was framed. The ending is somewhat underwhelming and lukewarm, yet "China Moon" has more than enough virtues to confirm that it is a quality film.

Grade:++

Mr. Jones

Mr. Jones; historical drama, Poland / Ukraine / UK, 2019; D: Agnieszka Holland, S: James Norton, Vanessa Kirby, Peter Sarsgaard, Kenneth Cranham, Joseph Mawle

After interviewing Adolf Hitler, aspiring Welsh journalist Gareth Jones wants to travel to Moscow to interview Joseph Dzhugashvili Stalin, the bright hope of communism. Jones obtains a visa and reaches Moscow, where he meets New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty who informs him that all foreign journalists are not allowed to leave the capital or inquire about what happens across the Soviet Union. While traveling in a train with Soviet foreign minister Litvinov, Jones secretly boards another train and exits in Ukraine. He witnesses Holodomor, Ukrainians dying because the communists confiscated their food. Back in Moscow, Litvinov warns Jones not to tell anyone about the famine or six British engineers will be executed. Jones defies and warns what happened, even though the public ignores him. After media mogul William Hurst publishes his story, it gains widespread attention. 

While other countries have foreigners making adulation and tribute movies about them, Russia is stuck with almost every second foreign movie damning and vilifying it and its criminal history. One such example is Agnieszka Holland's biopic "Mr. Jones" about Gareth Jones, one of the rare foreign journalists witnessing Holodomor, the second worst genocide in human history. It starts off with bright colors, depicting Jones initially having naive hope in communism and Stalin, until he arrives to Soviet Union and slowly sobers up, realizing it is a degenerate dictatorship, whereby the colors become grey and bleak, until Jones comes to warn people about the dangers of communism. it is a pity the crucial segment—showing Jones encountering corpses on the ground and people starving due to famine in Ukraine—is too meagre and spans only around 15 minutes of the film's running time, since a more elaborate depiction of this rarely mentioned crime would have been better. The rest of the film is more of a contemplation about journalistic integrity, 'ostrich effect' and pliability of various interest groups in Britain who ignored Soviet crimes in order to insist on an economic cooperation with the Soviet Union, embodied in the cowardly character of Walter Duranty, the New York Times correspondent who became a Stalinist collaborator and Holodomor denialist-propagandist in the media. The ploys, lies, ideological fundamentalism and threats of Soviet officials feel familiar even today. While more inspiration and a tighter narrative would have been welcomed, "Mr. Jones" is a well made history lesson.

Grade:++

The House on Chelouche Street

Ha-Bayit Berechov Cheleuche; drama, Israel, 1973; D: Moshe Mizrahi, S: Ofer Shalhin, Gila Almagor, Yosef Shiloach, Michal Bat-Adam, Shaike Ophir, Rolf Brin

Tel Aviv, 1 9 4 7. Sami (15), his brother and two sisters live with their widowed mother Clara. All were wealthy Egyptian Jews who immigrated to British Mandate of Palestine and now live in poverty, in a small apartment. Clara works as a cleaning lady. Sami skips school and finds a job as a locksmith to earn money for the family, but a communist employee, Max, starts a strike, thereby halting the workshop. Sami meets librarian Sonia (25) who becomes his first love interest. He also joins the Jewish independence paramilitary group Irgun. The British soldiers arrest Nissim, who was courting Clara. As the Israeli War of Independence is about to start, and the Arab clashes start, Sami enlists into the Jewish military and leaves his home.

A semi-autobiographical, gentle 'coming-of-age' drama by Moshe Mizrahi, "The House on Chelouche Street" is an overall good, albeit standard film with underwritten, mediocre dialogues. A lot of the threads are connected to the specific Jewish mentality and (immigration) history, depicting a 'rough' and problematic emergence of proto-Israel: the Egyptian Jewish family were wealthy, but had to "shock adapt" to a different life in Tel Aviv where they live in poverty in a small apartment (the five of them sleep in one bedroom), whereas Mizrahi creates a good reconstruction of the rarely depicted life in the British Mandate of Palestine. Teenage protagonist Sami undergoes a crash course in growing up, from skipping school, finding a job, meeting his first love, and then having to enlist to military to fight in the war. In one notable, but somewhat banal moment, mother Clara serves dinner to her four kids, but the daughter protests: "Why does Sami get to have meat?" Clara responds: "Because he is the only one who works, he needs energy". Sami takes pity, grabs the meat from his plate and places it on his sister's plate. The sister eats it, but Clara slaps her for punishment. Except for a beautiful 4-minute love / sex sequence between the bashful Sami (15) and librarian Sonia (25) in bed, some halfway into the film, the rest is solid, yet somewhat routine, without major artistic lift-offs, making "Chelouche" not that different than many other similar films, though Mizrahi's sympathies for the characters are endearing.

Grade:++