New Stuff: Lux Æterna

 

Charlotte Gainsbourg

 

ph: Mario Sorrenti

Charlotte Gainsbourg

ph: Johan Sandberg

True Crimes (2016)

A murder investigation of a slain businessman turns to clues found in an author's book about an eerily similar crime.

Bleak crime drama has dark atmosphere and some good performances, but also some unnecessary exploitative scenes, and fails to hold's one interest in the complicated plot - the actual true crime case it is based on may have been much more interesting.

Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

Two decades after the first Independence Day invasion, Earth is faced with a new extra-Solar threat.

A sequel omitting everything that made the original so entertaining: humor, irony, panache; the star cast are mainly stick figures in a CGI game with a ridiculous plot.

New Stuff: Charlotte Gainsbourg

The Movies I Watched in June

Accidents Happen 2009  6
Amour 2012  8

Antichrist 2009  7 

Apollo 13 1995  6
Basic Instinct 1992  7

Dark Was the Night 2014  6
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father 2008  7

District 9 2009  7

Ghost of New Orleans 2011  5 
Goodnight Mommy 2014  7

Guyver: Dark Hero 1994  5 
It Follows 2014  6 
John Wick 2014  6
Jurassic Park III 2001  5
Manchester by the Sea 2016  7

Columbo Episode: Murder by the Book 1971  6
Passion Play 2010  6 
Pitch Perfect 2012  6 
Prometheus 2012  7

Red Dawn 2012  4 
Saturday Night Fever 1977  6 
Spaceballs 1987  5 
Sushi Girl 2012  6 
Terminator Genisys 2015  6 
Texas - Doc Snyder hält die Welt in Atem 1993  5 
The Fall 2006  6 
The Family 2013  6 
The Hawks and the Sparrows 1966  7

The Lost World: Jurassic Park 1997  6 
Tootsie 1982  7 

We Need to Talk About Kevin 2011  7

Antichrist (2009)

A grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.

Ambiguous black fairy tale, basically a two person drama congenially set and photographed in a dark forest; some scenes may not be suitable for the squeamish.

Maltin**: "Intense, gorgeously designed drama becomes increasingly gruesome, with some scenes so brutally graphic they're nearly impossible to watch. This isn't SAW-type torture porn; it's grimly serious, but also very difficult to decipher, with touches of fantasy thrown in. To say it's not for all tastes is an understatement, but those interested in writer-director von Trier may well find something to their liking."

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Ma femme est une actrice (2001)

A "normal" guy who is married to a hot actress gets worried that she is involved with her costar.

OK, but very light comedy about jealousy; Terence Stamp does offer a slight parody of himself as 'movie star'.

Halliwell**: "Enjoyable comedy of obsessional jealousy that also makes fun of self-obsessed celebrities."

Maltin**1/2: "Entertaining froth with star-wrter-director Attal (who resembles Al Pacino) delightful as the befuddled hubby. Stamp also scores as the star's leading man."

Charlotte Gainsbourg

Charlotte Gainsbourg

ph: Karim Sadli

The Movies I Watched in April

36 Hours to Die 1999 TV 6
Air Marshal 2003  3
Backwoods 2008 TV  4
Cleaner 2007  6
Cry of the City 1948  7

Dead Silence 2007  5
Devil Winds 2003 TV  4
Exit 2006  6
Golden Door 2006  7

Green Street Hooligans 2005  6
Incendies 2010  7

Miral 2010  6
Moon 2009  7

Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House 1948  6
Murder at 1600 1997  5
Poseidon 2006  5
Post Grad 2009  5
Rango 2011  7

Reservation Road 2007  6
Source Code 2011  7

The Eye 2002  7

The Master 2012  8

The Phantom 1996  5
The War of the Worlds 1953  7

Thor 2011  5

Nuovomondo (2006)

A very poor Sicilian farmer, and a widower, decides to emigrate to the US with all his family, including his old mother.

Fascinating and idiosyncratic emigration story with some good performances and intelligent direction.

Maltin ***: "Heartfelt, dreamlike...Although it is set at the dawn of the 20th century, the film is a poetic ode to the aspirations of immgrants of all eras. Filled with stunning images, it begs for a sequel following these characters into the New World."

Melancholia (2011)

Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with the Earth.

An implausible plot fascinatingly turned into a existential tract.

Charlotte Gainsbourg