Brute Force (1947)

Dr. Walters: "I'm a very ordinary man, I get drunk on whiskey. What makes you drunk? Power?"

By Jules Dassin
With Burt Lancaster and Hume Cronyn

Brute Force was one of the similar movies on the IMDb page of They Drive By Night (1940) and when I checked it out I realized it was made by Jules Dassin, a director I've wanted to see more of ever since I saw The Naked City (1948).

Joe Collins is a prisoner at the Westgate Penitentiary coming out of solitary confinement and after the death of an inmate friend, Joe Collins realizes nothing will ever be fine until he is out. Along with his cell mates he plans to escape, working the ropes and ways of prison. His main obstacle is the sadistic and power hungry captain of the guards: Munsey. The old warden is being put on the line for the recent events and Munsey is looking to create more incidents to have the state replace the warden--a spot that Munsey would gladly take over.

In most appearances, Brute Force looks like many prison movies you could see. It holds the bonding and rivalries between inmates, the tough captain who believes he has to enforce more discipline, the different prison jobs which give access to different goods, the fatalistic nature of the loss of freedom, and last but not least, the escape plan. In all these aspects the movie is quite what you would expect it to be, however, the humanism displayed is stunning and makes the movie more than your ordinary prison movie.

The key character comes in the person of the prison's doctor, a drunk who has lost any freedom and who is just as stuck in the prison as the inmates,  but who sees through Captain Munsey's lust for power and even dares confront him.

The photography is raw and industrial, an aspect that struck me when seeing The Naked City (1948) and which also shines here. The play on shadows, bars, building shades and corners gives the prison a much greater dimension than it would have in color I think, as we really feel the oppression.

The few flashbacks about the inmates were not necessary and didn't bring much to the characters or the story but it prevented the movie from being an all-male cast.

I liked: The absurd. Philosophical takes. Humanism. More than a prison movie.

I disliked: Captain Munsey is the typical psychopathic guard, the character borders stereotype/Nazi imagery.

80/100
On top of having the interesting prison atmosphere it also shines in its clever ponderings about freedom.

Ashley (2013)

Candice: "It's okay we don't judge here."

By Dean Matthew Ronalds
With Jennifer Taylor, Michael Madsen, Lauren C. Mayhew

Even though Ashley looked like it had quite a low rating for so few votes, the fact that it was dealing with LGBT themes and cutting had me decide to give it a shot. Also, the poster was quite original with a play on black and white and colors.

Ashley is a 17 year old girl who prefers to remain silent for as much as she can. Things are pretty bad at home for her as her mother feels incompetent in face of Ashley's silence and refusal to eat and when the school psychiatrist discovers that Ashley has cigarette burns on her he decides to send someone at her home to make sure everything is going fine--therefore adding even more pressure on the frail relation between Ashley and her mother. Ashley is also gay and is bullied for it by the girls in her school while being physically abused by most guys. She seeks an exit through internet chat rooms.

I was highly disappointed with the film as the themes of self-harm, online dating and being a gay student in high school are all themes that I was very much looking forward to but they turned out to be absolutely ridiculed. I thought I was looking at some potentially good ideas go to ruin over and over again. The one relationship that Ashley has could have been a really good one, instead it was on focus for less than 10 minutes and most of them had Ashley not saying a word and looking really uncomfortable.

There are not many movies that dare tackle the subject of cutting. I first saw it being approached in Thirteen (2003) and I thought it was done in a fairly good manner, but here it was simply a farce, even trying to have the spectator assume that Ashley has sexual releases through cutting. Not to mention that it looked absolutely far from the way someone would cut, as anyone knows that cutting near your wrists is a common way to commit suicide.

The internet chat was ridiculous and very poorly done, but the most unbelievable part was that a young woman who doesn't talk to anyone would randomly give her phone number to someone she barely met, while her mother and her boyfriend are in the next room and could have heard her talk at anytime.

Furthermore, the movie tried to reinforce this idea that every woman who loves women has been abused or raped, or both actually, which was a very irritating idea. I thought a semblance of redemption was actually coming up when the end came to a close, but no, they had to show us a completely useless shot of Ashley going topless... I guess they had to please the straight male spectator so he'd forget everything prior and give the film a good rating just based on the fact that mammary flesh was the last thing in his mind. Sad.

There were a few good scenes filmed in an interesting angle, but most of it was really bad. The one thing I actually enjoyed was the use of music.

I liked: The music.

I disliked: Just about everything.

12/100
I know this will not be true for every film and there are certainly exceptions, but I'll personally be more wary of lesbian movies written and directed by males.

Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)

Father Connelly: "You've got a great poker face Rocky, but don't forget I've known that face for a long time."

By Michael Curtiz
With James Cagney, Pat O'Brien and Humphrey Bogart

After I watched They Drive by Night (1940) I opened the IMDb filmography of Ann Sheridan and opened up a couple of movies she did to see if I had to see any. I didn't investigate right away and when I got back to Angels with Dirty Faces a moment later the cover felt so modern that I read it as being made in 1983 and as it already had my attention I scrolled down and realized it featured Humphrey Bogart, it couldn't be 1983 and was indeed 1938. I wanted to see it.

Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly are two tough kids living in a poor neighborhood of New York. They steal and create havoc wherever they go, and are always inseparable. One day they are near a train wagon and Rocky decides to check what's in it, and to see if they can take anything. A guard arrives and sees them then calling the police. Cornered in the wagon, the two boys have to make a run for it and after a moment's chase Jerry gets away but Rocky gets caught. When Jerry visits Rocky in prison, he feels like he should say something so they would reduce Rocky's sentence and potentially lock him up, however, Rocky doesn't let him take any of the fall. Through the next years however Rocky accumulates sentences and it is only 20 years later that he finally gets out of jail. His lawyer James Frazier who was keeping money for him doesn't seem too keen on reimbursing him however and the two resort to blackmail in order to make sure that Rocky gets a job in the company. In the mean time, Rocky goes to see Jerry Connelly who became a priest and he tries to educate the poor kids, a group of 6 boys called the "dead end kids" who just like Jerry and Rocky in their time, terrorize the neighborhood. While they make a hero out of Rocky, Father Connelly struggles to have them not follow in his steps.

The immersion in the film is immediate. So immediate that I was a bit lost at first because of their fast way of talking, but once I got used to it I was drawn to the story. The childhood of Rocky and Jerry is not the focus, however, the way it gets mirrored once they are grown ups and hang around in the same neighborhood with kids doing the same things they used to do is absolutely brilliant.

The thing I loved the most about the movie is the struggle of the Father to have the kids follow a righteous path and not the path of Rocky. The political corruption aspect was also really good, even though a staple of gangster films, it was resourceful and to see Humphrey Bogart as a corrupt lawyer was quite unique. The scene with Rocky being submitted to tear gas while surrounded by the forces of the law is one of the greatest scenes of capture and hold off I've seen.

The friendship between Rocky and Jerry was also one of the best portrayal of relationships I have seen because the characters were on two opposite sides of the moral spectrum but they had shared an history together and enjoyed each other... it was really interesting and to see the Father struggle to remain moral when he could really use the money, although he would always remember where the money comes from. It was quite an original for me and the acting was top notch, I found myself enjoying the movie more and more as it went along.

I liked: Very modern in its approach and themes. The characters of Rocky and Jerry developing through a lifetime. The ending.

I disliked: The dead end kids were annoying but charming.

89/100
I thought the movie was good but as I kept watching it became better and better.

Le prénom / What's in a Name (2012)

Vincent: "I just wanted to make a joke."

By Alexandre de La Patellière et Matthieu Delaporte
With Patrick Bruel, Valérie Benguiguin and Charles Berling

Recommended to me by my brother as an example of clever and comical writing, I decided to give Le prénom a chance despite my usual wariness of french films.

Élisabeth (nicknamed Babou) and Pierre, a couple of respectively high school and college teachers invite Claude, a best friend and confidant who grew up close to Babou's family and Vincent, Babou's brother, with his wife Anna who is expecting their first child. Anna is late and they start questioning Vincent about the child because they just got out of the echography. He says they know the gender and then they ask whether they have ideas of first names to which Vincent answers that they actually know exactly what they'll name him...

The dialogues are cleverly written and the intro scene is one of the most funny I've seen in quite some time. The famous first name cacophony that ensues is well thought of but I didn't find it that interesting. I have to say it started from a good idea but it resumed in shouting and arguments which despite denoting interesting view points felt like they led nowhere.

Maybe it was the acting that prevented me from enjoying the lines as I felt everything was overacted through overreaction. Past the first instance of the first name issue (which should remain unspoilered) the film resumes into a more conventional dinner party play where deep hatreds and secrets amongst friends unravel and when one character comes clean there is always another one getting hurt. This might be a staple of french comedies as I can recall a few movies/plays that unfold along the exact same idea that a dinner party can be the recipe for fun or disaster, depending which side you are on.

I liked: Well written. Brings up some good topics.

I disliked: Relies heavily on stereotypes. Shouting appears to be the way to get a point across. Personally didn't like the acting.

52/100
I would say it is quite a typical french comedy, but I actually haven't seen enough of them to really dare say such a thing.

What Maisie Knew (2012)

Maisie: "I don't want you to go."

By Scott McGehee and David Siegel
With Onata Aprile, Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård and Joanna Vanderham

I didn't read much about What Maisie Knew before deciding to see it, but the mere fact that it features the brilliant Julianne Moore had me convinced already on seeing it, but the good rating and the fact that Marla was asking if I would see it made me go for it.

Susanna, a declining rock star, and Beale, her British husband have a young girl and a marriage that is falling apart, subjecting Maisie to shouts and scenes continuously. Margo watches over Maisie and is really the one who spends time with her. When Susanna and Beale decides to get divorced they fight viciously for the custody, but Susanna's record as an unstable rock star has Beale ending up with the custody. Freely cursing the other parent in front of their daughter, things get even worse when Susanna learns that Beale is actually living with the ex-nanny Margo. Each of them start to miss their dates and forget to show up when they have to pick Maisie up. This leads to Lincoln, Susanna's new boyfriend and Margo meeting to pick Maisie up.

The movie is quite shocking in many aspects. If I had to give a short sentence about what the movie is I would say that it is: a guide on how to be a bad parent or a good stepparent. In many aspects and through its photography as well as the themes, I would say that this movie reminded me a lot of Any Day Now (2012).

The movie is quite touching as well as infuriating. I don't easily get pissed at characters in movies but the parents here had so little respect for their parental duties that it makes me wonder why they fought so much for custody. It seemed they were trying to cover up their total lack of respect by buying gifts or repeatedly telling Maisie that they loved her in a desperate attempt to look better than the other parent. It failed miserably and this is where I think the real interesting characters come into play, Lincoln and Margo.

They are the real complex characters because they come into play through someone else, yet they get attached and care for the little girl not out of duty but simply because it makes them happy. At first it could be argued that they are covering up for their loved one's shortcomings but it seems obvious that they go through a lot, even when all links with the real parent is broken, in order to care and attend to Maisie. I felt a sense of fear actually, because no matter how much I wanted the stepparent to remain with Maisie, I had my doubts when it comes to any legal rights they had on her. And in a way, I am glad that the film didn't dwell on legal issues, it dealt with what is the most human, care and attention.

The movie relies a lot on Maisie and the young actress is amazing. She really pulls the spectator into liking her and even though her situation is quite dark, she remains content. The movie deals craftingly with human relationships, but I was saddened at how the depiction of the characters was so totally dichotomous. We had the bad ones who kept doing bad things and never surprised us by actually caring and there were the good ones who kept putting the broken pieces together and never letting us down when in need. This was actually a big blow for me in the movie as it really takes away any hopes of redemption from some of the characters.

I think the scene of the puppets playing Red Riding Hood is quite revelatory as it embodies many of the movie's themes. First of all, the wolf tries to lure the girl with gifts, like parents did to Maisie. Secondly, the "good" step parent witnesses the puppet show. Finally, the characters are like puppets, they are programmed to act bad or good, accordingly, and that is what they will do.

I liked: Beautiful shots. Adorable young actress. Good music. Touching.

I disliked: Shortcomings of the characters. I am not sure of how legally possible the story is.

64/100
It is a good film about a custody battle but it might be irritating. If you enjoy such story lines I would recommend Any Day Now (2012).

The Iceman (2012)

[opening line] : "Mister Kuklinski, do you have any regrets for the things you've done?"

By Ariel Vromen
With Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder and Ray Liotta

I was excited to see The Iceman. First of all, I like to watch movies about the real serial killers because there is this added element of reality and it can really show the human nature despite the monstrous acts. Sadly, most of the movies about real serial killers--and I've seen quite a few--it is with regret that I have to say most of them are not really good, but on the other hand, The Iceman had a great cast and I really enjoy Michael Shannon so I was excited. Lastly, the band Macabre has a song about Richard Kuklinski and it was one of the first I heard when I got to know them, therefore I was even more excited.

The movie starts with Richard and Deborah's first date where he doesn't seem really comfortable talking much but when asked about his profession he says he dubs cartoons. Here starts the big lie about Richie's professional life as he is in fact a voice actor for pornographic movies. After their date, Richard meets with some friends and this other guy makes unpleasant remarks about Deborah and refuses to pay Richard for his pool win. Richard then coldly kills him in his car and walks away. The "porn lab" which was held by the mafia closes but seeing Richard's cold determination, the big shot Roy offers him a job as he doesn't flinch when asked to kill an innocent homeless man. Few years forward and Deborah and Richard are married with daughters. His family is absolutely clueless to Richard's real source of money income but when it starts running short, Richard must find a way to sustain his family...

The movie was well done and I have to say I really felt the 70's was nice with all the mustaches galore. I think a good tagline from the movie could actually come from the lyrics to The Iceman song by Macabre which goes as such: "There's a very big man who lived a double life / as a dedicated family man and cold blooded hitman / husband with children / but on the streets he was The Iceman". It might not be as much a movie about a serial killer than it is a gangster movie. It is also the struggle of man, not only with his way of solving conflicts through killing, but also to separate his "work" from his family life. I think that is one of the biggest themes of the movie and it works out well.

It might be a little puzzling at first to see how little his life is impeded by police investigations as the film covers almost 20 years with what seems continuous hits and he is never threatened. Also, I wasn't sure what to make of the role of the brother, Joey, who Richard visits in prison. Of course, in a way it seemed to try to show us the depth and root of evil which lay in both the brothers, which is something I found to be always over emphasized in movies, however this appears to be factually accurate in this case, so I guess it was simply stating facts.

Michael Shannon is perfect in the role, even though I think the actual Iceman was a lot heavier. He is really good in these roles and has proven it time and time again, some will say to the point where he is typecast every time, but it works. Other actors all do a great job, with Winona Ryder who hasn't been seen that much lately and also David Schwimmer whose look and haircut should at least make you giggle.

The film doesn't take many risks and to me felt like a peaceful ride through a cruel and brutal reality. The story is not exceptional but it is odd enough to make it one of those good "based on a true story" films. It offers no excuses and no judgments which I think was a good choice but some might disagree.

I liked: Kuklinski's ice cold gaze. Dilemma of what a family knows. Period film, New-York in the 70's.

I disliked: Not really satisfying. We really don't know what the big deal with the mob and we are propelled in it.

71/100
It's clearly an enjoyable watch, especially if you like cold characters with an internal struggle... or gangster movies!

TRON: Legacy (2010)

Kevin Flynn: "It's amazing how productive doing nothing can be."

By Joseph Kosinski
With Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde 

I watched TRON: Legacy (2012) after Tumor referenced it in his review of Oblivion (2013) a film also directed by Joseph Kosinski.  I watched the film on my net book in the dark roads (as I was on a road trip of sorts). It was a thrilling and compelling experience, for many reasons.

The story begins with a little boy, Sam Flynn, listening to his father, Kevin Flynn, tell him a story about some action figures in an arcade game called Tron. As the father speaks, he talks increasingly of a perfect world and perfect people in a place called the Grid. The little boy is entranced by the story, but the father for reasons which are unclear, hops on a futuristic motorcycle and cycles into the night. The next thing we know is that the father has been missing for decades and the boy is now owner of a software company the father helped found. He refuses to take any serious part in it except for an annual prank he plays on the board of members. When the old time friend of Kevin's confronts Sam and tells him he just received a page from his missing father, Sam goes in search for his father's old office and finds, beyond all expectations, a portal into the Grid--realizing that the stories his father told him as a child were in fact true. Within the Grid, Sam is quickly processed into a digital suit and finds himself in a sort of gladiator-style fight. He is soon discovered to be a "User" (human being) and only then does he find himself face-to-face with a man who looks eerily like his father, but not having aged a day since his disappearance.

First things first: the visuals in this film are stunning. It's the kind of film where you aren't sure if you mind very much if it's style over substance just as long as you are dazzled by the graphics. To some it may be a little overproduced, a little too slick, but nevertheless, it's a great play on the eyes. The story is of some merit as well, and fans of The Matrix will find themselves noticing a few similarities between the films. I think the theme of perfection in the digital realm is something of much fascination to the 20th-21st century, as in The Matrix human life was potentially a computer program and as such, all the images of everyday life in the matrix were extremely slick and modern (though not as much as that in the Grid in this film). There seems to be a clear value judgment being made here, however, that the perfection of the digital realm is somehow suspect. Despite this, I feel that this film varies slightly from that as it introduces the idea of "isos" -- a kind of being produced entirely from and within the Grid, a perfect hybrid of digital+material world.

Much of the movie was occupied with action scenes which were interesting to some level but I felt that the story line was intriguing enough that had there been more dialogue, the film could have moved to newer and more interesting heights. At many points I felt that I wasn't very sure what was going on and what the motivations for the characters were, and as such I felt that events were a little contrived and a little too convenient.

63/100

They Drive By Night (1940)

Joe Fabrini: "If we go over a cliff, wake me up."

By Raoul Walsh
With George Raft, Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart

After watching The Desperate Hours (1953) I took a quick look around the IMDb section and saw They Drive By Night and decided to watch it.

Joe and Paul Fabrini are two brothers who struggle to making a living on small fruits transporting truck jobs. They stop at cafés and know all the other drivers. One night on the road, they pick up a hitchhiker, Cassie, who just served them at a café earlier the same evening. She left her job because her boss was harassing her. Joe decides to help her out and rents her a room until she can find work. The two soon fall in love with each other.

One night as they follow a truck of some friends they see the truck go left and right off the road and assume that the driver fell asleep. The brothers quickly pull next to the truck to try and wake the driver up but the truck veers off the corner of the road and falls over a cliff. Shaken by the accident, Paul goes back to his wife Pearl, but can't sleep all night. Joe on the other hand is decided to make more money and he buys lemons of his own and they manage to make a good profit out of it, paying out all the debts and loans they had. On the way back, Paul suggests that they stop but instead Joe makes him drive, eager to deliver and make more money. Paul falls asleep at the wheel and in the aftermath they will lose more than their truck...

They Drive by Night reminded me of Le salaire de la peur (1953) at first because of the truck drivers atmosphere and brotherhood as well as the danger they are ready to face for money. However, the movie takes a really sharp turn, figuratively, half way through and switches to a more psychological crime thriller after the accident. I was surprised at first because I really enjoyed the trucks and the road by night. The second half of the film is more reminiscent of the classics in its crime of passion with a femme fatale. Ida Lupino excels in this role and she gives the most memorable performance of the movie.

Even though they are totally different movies, the settings of the second half reminded me of Sabrina (1954), maybe mostly because of the garage scene, but also because of it's love triangle, or most accurately the lack of the third angle in that love. I feel there could have been some more developments about the relationship between the two brothers after the accident what started has a great bond and work relationship simply vanished where it should have become even more interesting because of the role each of them played in the accident and the price they paid for it. I think the same could be said about Cassie who was developed fairly extensively in the first and almost vanished for most the second half of the movie.

All this made me feel like watched an uneven movie or maybe two movies in one. Fortunately, both parts were good but I would have enjoyed more links between them. I guess the ending was a little expected.

I liked: The truck drivers atmosphere, the road and its dangers.

I disliked: Uneven, almost bipolar. Did not explore the psychological aspects enough.

71/100
It felt a little like watching two movies at once, but at least they are both exploring interesting topics.

Yesterday (2004)

Yesterday [asked about who named her]: "My father, madam. He said that things were better yesterday than they are today but that was a long time ago"

By Darrell Roodt
With Leleti Khumalo, Lihle Mvelase and Harriet Lenabe

I was going through the filmography of South African director Darrell Roodt when I came upon Yesterday. What struck me at first was the nomination for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year and then the fact that it is in Zulu. I don't think I ever saw a film in Zulu and I like to hear new languages so if I could at the same time watch a good movie and satisfy a linguistic curiosity, that's two hits with one stone.

Yesterday is a woman who lives in a small village in rural eastern South Africa. Her daughter. Beauty, doesn't go to school yet and her husband works in a mine in Johannesburg, only coming home once every couple of months. Yesterday walks two hours to go to a clinic to see a doctor because she has been coughing up but the clinic is overcrowded and they can't see everyone. Yesterday tries her luck the week after to the same result. When the new town teacher, who only feels welcomed in the village when she is with Yesterday, sees her coughing she makes sure that she doesn't miss to see the doctor the next week by paying her for a taxi. The doctor suspects something and has Yesterday's blood tested and the results are not good: Yesterday is HIV positive.

Yesterday is a slow movie. The pace is set right in the opening scene as we see Yesterday and Beauty walk in from the distance in a very long, drawn out and yet beautiful shot. I think it is hard to talk about AIDS without having to mention the state of the virus in Africa, yet it is also what we hear the least about. I think this is what makes Yesterday such a necessary movie as it puts the spectator right where a disease strikes unexpectedly. The stigma of the disease is also heightened by the small village mentality as once the whole village knows about her diagnosis the mother and daughter are quickly cast out as lepers.

 The movie is quite simple and bare but it remains overall a beautiful tale of a brave woman. Yes, it is sad and disheartening at times but it highlights the beautiful and simple things, like a child playing with rocks or eating an orange. I don't think it matters much whether it is based on a true story or not because there could be millions of Yesterdays. At times it feels a little like a television movie, at times on classic story line elements (the isolated hero in a village) but I think that above all the issues this movie can have, there is a message that is being sent and the message is good and the message has to be sent across, which I would say is a goal fulfilled.

I liked: Straightforward story of poverty, love and a virus. The movie is important.

I disliked: When it comes to directing or script writing it is not the best movie, but there's more to it.

76/100
There are so few movies about AIDS compared to the prevalence of the infection, especially in Africa, and this is what makes it such a contemporary movie.

The Lifeguard (2013)

Leigh's mother: "I can't go back in time with you."

By Liz W. Garcia
With Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr 

I've long been a fan of Kristen Bell's work, ever since her lead role in the detective television series Veronica Mars (2004-2007) and since then I've made a point of seeing her new films.

In The Lifeguard, the 29 year old Leigh leaves her job at a New York news agency to reconnect with her past, a time she felt she was truly happy. She moves back to the suburbs with her parents and takes a part time job as a life guard and reunites with her high school friends, Mel (now a vice principal at the high school Leigh and her graduated from) and Matt (a gay art curator working at a dead-end store) who have never moved away from the town they grew up in. Leigh's reappearance triggers a ripple in the community, as both Mel and Matt begin to reconsider the choices they made in their lives, and as Leigh begins to spend more and more time with Little Jason, a 16 year old boy studying in high school, who, like Leigh, does not know what he wants to do in life, the careless fun which Leigh wanted to re-experience begins to yield far darker results than she had ever anticipated.

At the outset the viewer thinks they are in for a fluffy romantic comedy--albeit one with slightly unorthodox characters. Kristen Bell plays Leigh to perfection, as a bubbly late twenties girl who never wants to grow up and is facing a quarter life crisis. It also brings to the forefront the rather problematic reversal of the usual sex scandals--as Leigh, nearing her thirties, embarks on a relationship with the sixteen year old Little Jason. While many reviewers blamed the film for showing the relationship in a romantic light instead of a disgusted one, I myself thought that it perfectly captured the sentiments the characters were feeling. You have a girl who wants to revisit her youth and when all possibilities were open to her, it seems almost natural that she feels drawn to a boy whose youth affords him any direction in life as he can choose.

I also enjoyed the lesser explored theme of what happens when one person has a "quarter-life" crisis--Leigh's friends were just as affected by her and I think this is important. It's true that people are often oblivious to the annoyances of their life, or rather accept them as something inevitable, and that it takes someone else to exhibit these frustrations and to make a move in order to for change to occur. As such, while this film was mostly a sort of coming-of-age for Leigh, it was similarly so for Leigh's mother and for her friends, as well.

The acting was convincing -- though weak at parts, at others it was capable of truly connecting with the audience. In this sense I felt that the film worked as a drama. The soundtrack was catchy, the visuals were crisp and understated. In short, it was an enjoyable and mildly thought provoking film. I would recommend.

66/100

The Lords of Salem (2012)

Francis Matthias: "No, there's no classic witches. Witchcraft is nothing but a psychotic belief brought upon by a delusional state of mind."

By Rob Zombie
With Sheri Moon Zombie, Bruce Davison and Jeff Daniel Phillips

I have known Rob Zombie ever since his music was used in The Matrix (1999) even though I wouldn't call myself a huge fan, I do listen to some records here and there. When it comes to his movies however, I have seen them all (except the animated one, well we have boundaries, right?) and I find them quite entertaining. They are not necessarily well written or amazingly acted, but what makes them stand apart is the use of colors and special editing to give this gritty old school horror look, while keeping a very fast pace with the action (most clearly visible in Halloween (2007)). On top of this rusty image that really gives a special feel to his movies, I enjoy the casting with recurrent actors and famous horror films actors and also the very rock and extreme metal references. All this to say that I was excited to see The Lords of Salem.

Heidi Hawthorne is a radio host who lives alone with her dog. Being a recovering drug addict, things are going fairly well for her until the day where she receives a vinyl disc in a wooden box by a band called The Lords. Unaware of any other information she plays the record and immediately feels a headache. On the next day, she and her co-hosts play the track on the air and decide to call the band The Lords of Salem. Heidi and all the other women in town who are listening to the radio feel weird until the record stops. This is where Heidi starts having very bizarre nightmares in which she loses the blurry line between dream and reality and sees herself linked to the old witches trial of Salem.

To put it in a few words: what a blasphemous demon spawn of a movie. I am fairly used to blasphemous music but when it comes to movies, this is high up there. The story is not exactly original: Satan wants to bring a kid into the world (Rosemary's Baby (1968) anyone?) and some group of people/witches help this come true. The movie has a lot of very good scenes, for example the nightmares are visually pretty amazing, while a lot of other scenes leave you wondering what was the point.

Rob Zombie once again casts his wife, in the main role, who always makes up for her lack of acting skills with her looks. The three witches are really great and without even doing much at first are quite scary. The movie is not as scary as his previous movie and the horror is more focused on some shots or the feeling of evil forces closing in on the main character, rather than pure adrenaline constant action. It might be a trend among a lot of new horror movies to try to scare the audience with a few well placed shots. Most of the evil scenes are simply shocking more than scary, although, as I mentioned, the amount of blasphemy both made me cringe and giggle.

The music plays a big role and is definitely not a let down, from a short appearance of black metal (and the farcical "Count" with his Glen Benton's forehead) to the incantation chant via the appearance of psychedelic rock, the soundtrack nails it.

The main problem of the movie is that we are satiated with shock and beautiful/gritty imagery but we haven't gone anywhere when it comes to the story really. The role of Francis Matthias who is supposed to be the expert on the devil and Salem's history is cut so short that we only have brief explanations. We have no clue what happens to all the males since the concert is only for the women... In other words, we wonder what all this imagery was for if it led us nowhere. Said imagery was quite powerful though and as I recently watched Altered States (1980) some of the references were really obvious. The lack of digital effects was true to roots of old horror.

I liked: Visually satisfying. Shock value. Music.

I disliked: Unsatisfying with the story. Bizarre for the sake of it.

62/100
Well, I liked it more than I should simply because it was so over the top with the religious and satanical imagery so that's definitely not anyone's cup of tea. I think it'll remain a film for a certain niche.

Electrick Children (2012)

Rachel: "I think God got me pregnant through that blue tape."

By Rebecca Thomas
With Julia Garner, Rory Culkin and Liam Aiken

I met Electrick Children through browsing of the casting of the upcoming Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) with its plethora of stars I wasn't too surprised but I saw this name I had never heard of: Julia Garner. I decided to see what she had played in and that's how I met Electrick Children. The poster looked really good and the story interesting, it is also the very first film of Rebecca Thomas so I'm always excited to meet new names that I might look forward to in the future. All in all, it took me only little time to decide to see Electrick Children.

Rachel lives with her parents and numerous siblings in a ultra-religious community in Utah. The tradition is to have them testify on a tape recorder at the age of 15. Rachel is really intrigued by such a device and once everyone is asleep she goes to the store room and hears her own voice. Then, she sees other tapes and plays a blue one which has a rock'n'roll song on it. The song moves Rachel deeply but she is interrupted by her brother, Mr. Will, and their fight is only broken up by their mother.

Few months down the line, Rachel finds herself pregnant. She is convinced that she has had an immaculate conception and that she was impregnated by the voice on the tape recorder. Her parents, however, are not convinced of the same and decide to kick Mr. Will, who they hold responsible, out. In order to save the debacle they also marry Rachel to a young man from the community. Rachel won't have it and leaves the community with their pick-up truck, not knowing that Mr. Will is sleeping in the back. Both of them arrive in Las Vegas and the shock is big but Rachel has a goal in mind - to find the man who sang that song. When she sees a group of young musicians she follows them, but only Clyde of the group pays attention to her. As both Mr. Will and Rachel discover another way of life, their quest takes them through a bumpy journey.

The start of the movie is slow and unsettling, as we discover a religious community and their ways. The movie becomes strange as it places those awkward out of place characters in an urban setting full of rock'n'roll and skate. The transition is shocking in terms of content but the slow and blurry at times camera is appeasing. It quickly becomes clear that we are witnessing a coming of age movie, although it started in the most bizarre way with a topic such as immaculate conception, we really see these young men and women evolve and learn to know about each others.

Without wanting to spoiler, I can say that the mystery of said conception is quite troubling but even though the spectator keeps wondering about it, we are gently following the journey and the pregnancy becomes more of an accessory to Rachel than a quest in its own right. I have to say I really enjoyed that approach. The difficult task with movies dealing with fundamentalist religious communities is to have them either caricatured and criticized or on the other hand preaching their values. Electrick Children manages to surf along a path away from both extremes. A real pleasant surprise.

The acting is good, mostly when it comes to the three key roles of Rachel, Mr. Will and Clyde. We witness three lost souls, lost for different reason but finding a path that works with one another. The addition of the music really suited me. If I have to point out a shortcoming, it is that it can be hard to understand the motivation or personality of the main characters, and their hectic actions sometimes seem contradictory with what they express. However, that might just be an aspect of the life of any 15 year old.

I liked: Beautifully filmed. Great clash of thoughts and lifestyles. Interesting topics.

I disliked: Not outstanding in its narrative. The adults characters are actually the least realistic.

78/100
One of the most uncanny coming of age movies that I've seen recently, it is touching. As a directorial debut, I am definitely going to be on the lookout for more movies by Rebecca Thomas.

Los últimos días / The Last Days (2013)

News report: "We're dealing with a case of mass hysteria."

By David Pastor and Àlex Pastor
With Quim Gutiérrez, José Coronado and Marta Etura

I always get excited when I see there is a movie called The Last Days because I really enjoy apocalyptic, end-of-the-world films. This one didn't look too good, until I realized that it was made by the same directors who made Carriers (2009) which though far from being amazing, pleased me and had some interesting ideas. That is the reason I gave The Last Days a shot.

The movie begins in what appears to be an improvised survivors camp in some building's office. People are stranded there and are served food and water in rationed bits. While doing so, some of the men are trying to break the wall to reach the underground metro that passes by. Through flashbacks we also learn more about the life of Marc, a young employee of the office and his meeting with Enrique, the man who was hired by the company to restructure the company and possibly fire Marc. Needless to say that the two don't like each other much but when Marc sees that Enrique is planning to leave and that he stole a GPS, the two of them become linked in their escape through the sewers as they encounter other stranded survivors in their quest to reunite with their loved ones.

The premise of the movie is pretty good and I enjoyed the idea of an agoraphobia taken to such extremes that people actually die of heart attacks when they go out. Sadly, I think it could have been used to a much more potent effect than it was. For example, it could have been left open as to whether it was all simply so ingrained in the mind of everyone that going outside would kill them that this, alone was the factor of their heart attack... and not some chemical weapon, volcanic reaction or others toxic airborne event. This brand of sci-fi apocalyptic scenario is nothing new, as The Omega Man (1971) already had a very similar base idea, where more recently movies such as Blindness (2008) also played with the fact that one single change in our modern routine lives could potentially trigger devastating effects.

The journey of the two men is entertaining, predictable and full of clichés maybe but it is enjoyable, and the town of Barcelona also offers such great sights with the deserted streets and only a few animals walking amongst the carcasses of dead traffic jams. Speaking of deserted streets, the climatic scene of the movie which is a slow (imagine old zombie-like) street crossing comes from very good intention I'm sure, but what was supposed to be a dramatic epic scene is so slow and over-the-top that I simply couldn't help but laugh. Some other scenes were also a bit ridiculous, while others were really interesting. I think this is characteristic of the film which was quite uneven resulting in a truncated experience. I have to say I found it too long and my interest which was grand at first slowly got chipped away.

I liked: Beautiful town shots. Great base idea.

I disliked: Tries a little too hard to be all epic. The ending is a let down. Acting was okay but the dialogues were forgettable.

52/100
If you are into the sci-fi end of the world, catastrophic scenarios this is a pretty interesting one. Otherwise it doesn't have much to carry through.

K-11 (2012)

Butterfly: "I like to think it's a sanctuary for broken toys."

By Jules Stewart
With Goran Visnjic, Kate del Castillo and Portia Doubleday

I am not so sure how I came across K-11 but the story intrigued me so I decided to give it a shot despite the low rating.

Raymond Saxx Jr. is highly drugged and mostly unconscious through the process of him getting in jail. This results in a drugged and sadistic officer putting him in K-11, a special block of the prison reserved for homosexuals and transgenders. When he comes back to his senses he has to find a way to survive and needs to find allies to do so.

K-11 started off well, at least for the first minutes. I think it is quite a scary thought to everyone to wake up in a place like jail, not knowing what's happened and not knowing how to adapt. Sadly, the result quickly deteriorates and it loses all pretensions. Actually, no, I think if it did lose all pretensions it could have been a fun comedy or parody, but it never does so and we are left with a over-the-top jail block run with no surveillance except for the drugged officer who allows drugs in and lusts after the inmates.

The story line of Raymond Saxx's incarceration is never clear and fails to be of any interest. Some of the characters in the K-11 block are interesting, like Butterfly, but most of them are just parodies, like the skinny punk with Nazi tattoos and who is also the bodyguard of Mousey, the transsexual who runs the block. Mousey was absolutely awful both as a character and in the acting, which I'm not sure whether it was voluntary or not but it really irritated me. Some scenes are funny, some are touching but they are so few and scarce that the movie turns into a farce anyway.

I liked: The premise. A few ensemble scenes, to see the whole block cheer together or play.

I disliked: Does not work as a comedy or a drama, tries to do both. I almost felt bad for homosexuals and transgender persons because of their depiction here.

27/100
It has some goods things but clearly, they don't make up for the whole movie. The good thing is that it is kinda short.

The Desperate Hours (1953)

Glenn Griffin: "You scream and the kid'll come home and find you in a pool of blood."

By William Wyler
With Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March and Martha Scott

Once I finished watching Niagara (1953) the other day I was on the IMDb page and a similar movie was The Desperate Hours. It's a movie with Humphrey Bogart that I hadn't seen yet and that's why I decided to see it as soon as I could.

The movie begins at the breakfast table of the merry Hilliard family. Dan, the father, is preparing to go to work and also giving a ride to Cynthia, the 19 year old daughter. Ellie, the mother, is trying to convince their boy Ralphy to drink his glass of milk. Ralphy then goes to school and to scout training. Once they all left, Ellie is alone at home but not for long as the convicts Glenn and Hal Griffin and Sam Kobish are about to break in her house. Glenn wants to have his girlfriend come and meet him with the money he saved before they leave but she gets arrested and the hostage situations seems to last forever to the family who is now fully aware of the situation and has to continue their usual routines at the risk of alerting the police and putting the other family members in danger.

As it is common with films adapted from plays, the script writing is really the best part of the movie. The dialogues are interesting but mostly the situation is really well knotted and we really believe in the situation and dilemma that the characters have to go through. The characters are all great, with maybe the exception of Hal who was really conflicted and whose demise occurs quickly--too quickly--before he ever had a chance to explain more about his character. The acting is also really strong. Even if Humphrey Bogart might appear a little old for the role, his witty one liners are just as good as ever. I feel that maybe there was an emphasis on the situation inside the house which shadowed the actual police work out there, so I can't decide whether it could have benefit the movie to either focus more on it or forget it completely and let the events teach us about it.

I liked: Good story and characters writing. Tensions and dilemma arise between hostages and convicts.

I disliked: Hal and Kobish were the weakest characters I feel. The role of the lawyer seems a bit overextended.

79/100
I'd say it's more of a crime play than a film-noir as the police investigation is really secondary as opposed to the gangster aspect.

Niagara (1953)

Polly: "Didn't do any good to fix that hand, you like to suffer."

By Henry Hathaway
With Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten and Jean Peters

The first reason I got interested in seeing Niagara is because it features Marilyn Monroe, her aura and fame is still important and the fact that I haven't seen much of her work always makes me feel impaired. The second reason is because although it is listed as a Film-Noir, surprisingly, it is in colors and I think it might be the first Film-Noir I see that isn't in black and white.

The movie starts at the Niagara falls, where George Loomis, obviously troubled by something, is walking alongside the falls and going back to his hotel room where his wife, Rose Loomis, pretends to be asleep. At the same time, the happy couple, Polly and Ray Cutler, cross the border and arrive at the same hotel. The Loomis' are in their room and when the manager tries to tell them that they should have left a couple of days ago, Rose Loomis uses her husband's mental condition to have the Cutler move to another room. While the Cutler proceed to do all the touristic rituals around the falls they see Rose Loomis kissing another man. The same night, the Cutler are enjoying the evening at the hotel around a record player when Rose comes in and plays the song "Kiss", prompting her husband to come out of the room in full rage and break the record. The trap is set and murder can dance with accidents so close to the falls.

It is always amazing to see lead actresses from the 50's oozing with so much charm, and even though Marilyn Monroe is indeed a queen of glamour and proves it again here, I was personally stunned with Jean Peters. The men are do not disappoint with Joseph Cotten (of Citizen Kane (1941) and particularly The Third Man (1949) fame) playing the foolishly in love, yet mentally unstable George very convincingly and Max Showalter being an over the top happy camper who becomes fed up with his honeymoon. And while at some point I thought that Marilyn Monroe would once again be reduced to this curvaceous brainless blonde but the fact that the character had such a double personality gave depth to the role.

However, the story line is interesting at best, as it is not particularly original--depicting a rather typical concoction of jealousy, love affairs and a murder-accident. One of the reasons that the movie works out despite that is the setting, I personally have never been to the Niagara Falls but the shots here really give a lovely view. It seems almost like they are showing off the recent acquisition of colors in films by displaying rainbows around the falls. The fact that Niagara Falls constitutes the border between USA and Canada also adds an interesting element when it comes to escaping charges and fleeing the country. I'd go as far as to say that the movie wouldn't have worked if it was set anywhere else, which gives the title its full meaning.

The analogy between the falls are legion and actually work very well all in all, as one of the tagline stated : "A raging torrent of emotion that even nature can't control!". The flow of the movie is also similar in that after the calm the movie really accelerated before the fall(s). Although it has some convenient plot helpers, the movie does not become typical and the bell tower and falls scenes are worth watching in themselves.

I liked: Charming leading ladies. Niagara Falls. The "kiss" song and its role. USA-Canada border.

I disliked: Quite simple story. The twist that happens in the middle is quite predictable.

74/100
I am no Marilyn Monroe expert but I'd recommend this one, also if you enjoy Film-Noir intrigues but like your films in colors.

Touchy Feely (2013)

Bronwyn: "You could even be a Reiki master if that's what you wanted to be."

By Lynn Shelton
With Josh Pais, Rosemarie DeWitt and Ellen Page

I've always found dysfunctional family dramas to make for extremely interesting films if well done, with such a wealth of political and emotional undercurrents in them and so much to explore. Touchy Feely brings to the camera yet another dysfunctional family, in the form of a presumably divorced or widowed brother, Steve, working as a dental hygienist with his daughter, Jenny, and his sister, Abby, a massage therapist who at the beginning of the film decides to move in with her boyfriend.

Unlike other dysfunctional family narratives, this one employed what I'm very tempted to say was magical realism with a side of black comedy. To elaborate a little, whenever a sibling complained or made a judgmental observation about the other (either mentally or verbally) it seemed that instead of exposing the other's faults it rebounded on the one who complained and had him/her realize and explore what was lacking in his/her life. For example, when Abby tells Bronwyn, a healer, about her worries about Steve and how he is too rigid and uptight, we immediately witness her sudden aversion to touching skin which has devastating consequences since her job (which requires constant physical closeness as well as affecting her relationship with her boyfriend) and at the same time we witness Steve's suddenly booming success at his dental practice.

Similarly, when Steve passes judgment onto Abby (for his assumption that she's a drug addict) his newly flourishing dental practice seems to take a sudden plunge and this somehow affects Jenny, his daughter, who finally seems to find a headway in her life.

I guess the question that comes to mind is do families really work that way? Are our luck and fate pivoted around each other's successes and failures? What exactly is the power of touch, the touch of our friends and relatives and does it have a real impact on our life? Like the herbalist character Bronwyn and her belief in Reiki healing--do we really imbue those around us with our energies?

The film is short and when it ends we don't feel that we've had a substantial meal, by any means. Nevertheless, it retained our interest and raised questions I think were worth asking. Perhaps a naively optimistic tale about breaking old habits and growing together as a family.

62/100

Touchy Feely (2013)

Abby: "I need you to fix me."

By Lynn Shelton
With Josh Pais, Rosemarie DeWitt and Ellen Page

I decided to watch Touchy Feely mostly because of Ellen Page since I enjoyed her work ever since she sported the charming haircut in Hard Candy (2005).

Touchy Feely is about an unconventional family who lives together. Paul: a work-driven dentist. Jenny: Paul's daughter who helps him out at the cabinet. Abby: a massage therapist who dates Jesse, a cyclo-enthusiast who comes to eat with the family most of the time. Everyone seems comfortable in their lives, at least comfortable enough to avoid changes, but things change rapidly when Jesse and Abby decides to move in together. Abby loses the energy, literally, do to her job. Paul, motivated by Abby, decides to pick up Reiki healing, a sort of energy therapy. And Jenny, who despite looking for schools on the side, decides to advertise for her father's cabinet.

Some of the greatest scenes of Touchy Feely give a rightful tribute to the title of the movie by means of close-up of skin or hands touching some surfaces. Touch is one of the least exploited sense in cinema, which is quite understandable but the effort done here is noteworthy, although not as noteworthy as the work around the sense of smell in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006). Despite this great effort and fairly good photography all around, the movie fails to make something concrete of that sense of touch. It certainly serves the story line in a few ways, but it could have given a lot more depth if it had been discussed more openly or if it had played a primary role.

The acting is good, and Ellen Page doesn't disappoint despite being, once again, cast in the role of artsy-yet-stuck post-teen role and the cheapness of some of her dialogues. Allison Janney illuminates every minute she is on screen as usual. The characters can be a little stereotypical but somehow the focus is not on the characters but on their interactions and their energy or aura, as this is after all, very much of an aura therapeutic movie. If the movie fulfills the sense of touch, it doesn't fulfill the sense of taste as there is a strong feeling of unfulfilledness that strongly lingers once the movie is over. We've seen the characters struggle and change but what is there for us as the audience? I feel there isn't much to remember of the experience I've witnessed.

I liked: Great touching scenes. Enjoyable acting.

I disliked: Lack of depth and messages to carry through. Probably should have been more of a comedy.

51/100
I might be a skeptic on the effects of energy therapy, but if you aren't, this film might work better for you.

Oblivion (2013)

Jack: "We won the war, but lost the planet."

By Joseph Kosinski
With Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman and Melissa Leo

Oblivion is one of these movies that come out and are hard to ignore. Whether it's the cast, the budget or the advertisements, you are likely to hear about it. Despite the fact that I found TRON: Legacy (2010) (also by Kosinski) very boring, I have to say, much like Oblivion, it was visually beautiful.

The movie starts in 2077, where the protagonist Jack Harper gives us a brief reasoning behind the current state of the earth then. A doomed humanity nuked the earth in an attempt to stop a breed of alien that not only destroyed the moon but is still hiding and scavenging materials on earth. Mankind has since moved to Titan, a satellite of Saturn. Jack and his partner Victoria are on patrol on earth before they can ship off to Titan. Jack flies over the remnants of the USA in order to repair the drones that prevent the scavengers from stealing. Jack, despite a memory wipe, is disturbed by a recurring dream where he sees himself with another woman; growing increasingly curious on the materials he finds during his tour, Jack begins questioning.

The movie doesn't invent much, as most concepts have been explored in a plethora of sci-fi, and dystopian movies before, despite all this, the story is quite nice and even though it drags out a little, it remains entertaining. The visual cleanness of TRON: Legacy is here enhanced by the outdoors shots. I do not enjoy this glass clean, high tech look that much as I feel it is almost too perfect and lacks the rawness and cluttered, industrial appearance of survival in a dystopian world. However, the scavengers represent that aspect and I was most pleased with them.

Morgan Freeman is amazing as usual and I really enjoyed Melissa Leo's representation of Sally, mostly through voice work. Tom Cruise doesn't really impress but if you don't like him, at least you get to see him fight off himself.

I mentioned that a lot of concepts have been explored already but I guess one would probably see resemblances with War of the Worlds (2005) or its original version The War of the Worlds (1953) but as I haven't seen them, I was mostly reminded of the machines in the video game Half-Life 2 (2004). Other aspects would call to mind The Book of Eli (2010), Moon (2009), Sphere (1998) or even classics such as Total Recall (1990) and (The) Terminator series as well as the Mad Max series.

With that being said, amidst its general mix of influences it knots a story that is somewhat touching. Nevertheless, it's a little predictable, full of action movies clichés, and somewhat short on meaningful secondary characters. It holds its fair share of annoyances.

I liked: The scavengers. Stunning visuals.

I disliked: Longish. Not particularly original. Americano-american references only.

61/100
A movie to see for its eyefuls of clear-cut glass decors and beautiful landscape, more than its environmental depth.

The Cuckoo's Calling (2013) -- Book Review

“The dead could only speak through the mouths of those left behind, and through the signs they left scattered behind them.” 

Other people his age had houses and washing machines, cars and television sets, furniture and gardens and mountain bikes and lawnmowers: he had four boxes of crap, and a set of matchless memories.” 

“How easy it was to capitalize on a person’s own bent for self-destruction; how simple to nudge them into non-being, then to stand back and shrug and agree that it had been the inevitable result of a chaotic, catastrophic life.” 

By Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

For those who have seen and enjoyed the television show Veronica Mars, this book may be of some interest. It features a cranky and perennially out of luck private investigator, Cormoran Strike, currently bankrupt and living in his office on a camp bed who by some twist of incidence lands an attractive temporary secretary, Robin, precisely on the day where he receives his first client after a long while: the brother of renowned model Lula Landry, whose death the brother is convinced is not a suicide, but a murder.

As far as a mystery novel goes, this fits the essential criteria. A suicide/murder, shady characters, a charming but socially awkward investigator and his charming sidekick, and the beautiful and elusive woman whose death brings them all together. While Galbraith's prose at times can be overwrought with description that seem more like a linguistic exercise, the abundant detail at times contributed to a feeling of breadth--a well constructed sandwich with nuggets of layers. Even if the layers were made of flimsy plot elements and were oftentimes very predictable, to the point of irony. It wouldn't have surprised me if halfway through the novel, the fourth wall was broken.

It seems J.K. Rowling's preoccupation with social class which had already played an essential role in both her Harry Potter series as well as The Casual Vacancy makes a return here, with an added dash of racial biases and the politics of relationships (as one character notes, “Couples tended to be of roughly equivalent personal attractiveness, though of course factors such as money often seemed to secure a partner of significantly better looks than oneself.”) The budding relationship between Strike and Robin felt as though it occupied a little more time than it should have, making me wonder if perhaps the novelist cloaked the mystery in a romance to make it a more appealing pill to swallow. I also felt that the descriptions of people and the unfolding of events was very unevenly machinated--as though Galbraith decided on the ending, and then randomly came up with ways to make it happen.

I would only recommend this book for some light reading if you enjoy tepid mysteries and the writing of J.K. Rowling holds some sentimental value for you.

42/100

Drinking Buddies (2013)

Chris: "I think Camus wrote about Sisyphus pushing the boulder up, you know, the hill? And he always pictured him smiling? You know, as opposed to a punishment thing, and I feel that sometimes things that are really hard can be...can be really rewarding because they're hard, you know?"

By Joe Swanberg
With Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson and Anna Kendrick

I had a very mixed mind about this film, both after watching it and even before watching it, after reading Tumor's review on it. In general I enjoy films that focus on the nuances of relationships, and I get a special voyeuristic pleasure out of such films too.

In this film Kate and Luke are two co workers who have a very friendly and flirty relationship. You get the feeling that they are far more at ease with one another than they are with their respective significant others. Chris, Kate's wealthy and "sophisticated" boyfriend invites Luke and his girlfriend Jill for a couples' weekend retreat at a cabin near the beach. As weekend retreats are wont to be, the close setting magnifies all the flaws in each of the relationships, and it grows clearer that Chris and Jill have far more in common, much like Kate and Luke. After some swimming, picnicking, and a stolen kiss, the harmony of each of the relationships are indelibly altered.

What Drinking Buddies excels at is depicting the minute ways in which infidelities can occur, and instead of focusing a judgmental eye on these things, it simply shows something most people already know at some level--which is that emotional intimacy is something that only takes the right atmosphere and moment to develop--and that when it develops between two people who are in relationships with other people, it can start making them reevaluate their relationships--and in some cases, can cause the relationship to end or can make it stronger. When I first watched this film I was very confused about the ending--the characters never vocalized, or at least only vocalized in euphemistic ways their feelings for one another and many times their actions were almost purposely, I think, obscured. Do Kate and Luke ever sleep together? Do Jill and Chris meet up and have a week together? Does it even matter?

In terms of this film, it seems almost indelicate to hypothesize over these actions because they are done in a rather conditional and experimental way. The feeling we get is that the couples fell out of sync and instead of realizing that, they are intrigued by new people, without ever wondering why or what it is their current relationship lacks. As such, their actions are much like the actions of the classic rebound-relationship trope. I was pleasantly surprised by the film's conclusion as the characters seemed to have developed an awareness of the situation and there were no finger pointing or dramatic accusations of infidelity, as the issue was far more complex than a kiss or the on-going sexual tension between Kate and Luke, for example.

For some, and for me, initially, the film's reticence to neatly explain or explore the consequences of being attracted to someone else's partner and the sometimes fluid borders between platonic/romantic feelings, was a positive note. The characters themselves as even we may be in real life did not know how to react or what the best course of action was. In the end, however, we see Luke and Jill make a choice to remain with one another, preserving their warm and functional six-year relationship despite acknowledging that they do have chemistry with other people. And we understand.

53/100
Better than your average romantic-comedy but only marginally. Kudos however for the attempt at discussing a complex and underdiscussed issue.