Do You Like Surprises?
Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) is a wealthy financier leading a boring and mournful life. For his 48th birthday, his brother Conrad (Sean Penn) gives him an original gift to make his life fun: a live-action game that soon becomes disturbing and harassing. David Fincher, the master of mind-torturing thrillers, directed this paranoid and clever movie after Seven
. The nerve-racking tune that follows Michael Douglas' character all along the movie is but equal to the harrowing dark atmosphere in which the plot evolves. The two brothers on screen are brilliant and the suspense keeps you on the edges of your seat until the end. The Game
is a mind-twister that is remarkably orchestrated by Fincher. I watched this more than a decade ago for the first time and it tensed me up back then. A few days ago, I watched it again to write this review and even as I thought I remembered the end, it kept me hanging on until the last twist. Now it's your turn to join the game (watch it here!).
. The nerve-racking tune that follows Michael Douglas' character all along the movie is but equal to the harrowing dark atmosphere in which the plot evolves. The two brothers on screen are brilliant and the suspense keeps you on the edges of your seat until the end. The Game
is a mind-twister that is remarkably orchestrated by Fincher. I watched this more than a decade ago for the first time and it tensed me up back then. A few days ago, I watched it again to write this review and even as I thought I remembered the end, it kept me hanging on until the last twist. Now it's your turn to join the game (watch it here!).
is a road movie by Sam Mendes. A pregnant couple tries to figure out where to build their home and raise their baby. The screenplay is cleverly written by Dave Eggers and Vandela Vida and displays a subtle and intelligent sense of humor that cracks me up. The story flows on 
. The atmosphere is calm and relaxed despite the crazy friends and family members Burt and Verona (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph) meet on their trip. Away We Go is a big patchwork postcard taking you to Phoenix, Montreal, or Miami. Burt and Verona symbolize the morally-perfect couple on a quest for a decent place to root their family values. I watch Away We Go like I eat a several-course meal. I pace myself and enjoy each course featuring different outstanding actors. Be prepared to start the appetizers with Catherine O'hara and Jeff Daniels and move on to Maggie Gyllenhaal or Allison Janney among others. This movie has the merit to follow a green filmmaking set of rules. It's always a plus for me. Away We Go is another Mendes-made stroke of genius.
. The movie by Margarethe Von Trotta offers a different perspective on World War II. One that is rarely approached: the post-Holocaust trials. Hannah Arendt was a Jewish great thinker who covered the trial of the SS Eichmann for The New Yorker. After she published her report, she was accused of defending Eichmann when she stated that the Jewish leaders certainly played a role in the deportation of so many Jews and that the SS officer was simply a piece of a much more complex puzzle. I think you'd be better off checking background information on Arendt and her work and this specific trial to perfectly understand the film. The movie also lacks some clarification about the characters and their relationships. For those reasons, I find it a bit elitist and not easy to reach. But I definitely like how the plot focuses on Arendt's personal struggle to respect her philosophical impartiality and freedom of speech. She's stuck into the battle between her thoughts and people's judgment. I believe the screenplay could have dug a bit deeper into Arendt's self-struggle and loneliness as this topic of the banality of evil will remain her life-long philosophical and inexhaustible well. I especially appreciated how the archive footage and audio files are perfectly inserted on screen. The director used several languages switching from Hebrew to English or German with touches of French. It surely makes the story true to the immigrant universe. This movie has an undeniable quality to it but I expected much more from such a topic that could have been examined to its fullest. I was hoping for more insight on being a public figure and having to justify your every opinion as well as being treated as a renegade by your own people, friends, and family. 
is a gem of American cinema. An Arkansan canvas on which Jeff Nichols lays a grand story on honesty, love, and home. Mud (Matthew McConaughey) is an outlaw hiding on an island and waiting for his lover (Reese Witherspoon) to run away. When 2 local kids, Ellis and Neckbone (Tye Sheridan & Jacob Lofland), meet him, they decide to secretly help him find his girlfriend and flee. I've always thought McConaughey was just a pretty face of bad romantic comedies. Until I watched Mud. I literally discovered he had talent in this movie. It is unquestionably the best performance of his career and the golden role that builds his cred as a good actor. As the saying goes, better late than never. Tye Sheridan is a revelation. His powerful performance blew my mind. I expect to see more of Sheridan in the next decade. If he goes on to get such pertinent roles, I'm sure he will become the face of a generation. So far so good, for his acting debut. Mud is painted on Arkansan landscapes with Southern colors. I always find those stories rooted in rural Southern or Midwestern USA to be much more authentic than any other American background. This is as close as you can get to real life. The picture is beautifully directed. The plot is enlightened by natural light and depends on wilderness' control. Mud is a beautiful tale on estrangement and its different kinds, maturity, and promises. 
. Be prepared for serious eye-candy, humor worthy of Daria, and audio orgasms. Smith (Thomas Dekker) and his cynical sidekick Stella (Haley Bennett) are college freshmen ready to take over their sexual fantasies. The whole cast is gorgeous and the lines are as sarcastic as can be. The indie soundtrack adds a dash of eccentricity to the already-twisted plot. From 
It may not be the movie of the century but certainly a nice directorial and writing debut for Josh Radnor and a relaxing movie session. It won the Audience Award at the 26th Sundance Film Festival. And I believe you can always trust Sundance. 
tells the true story of 
. Deeply affected by polio, Mark lives in a permanent horizontal position and spends most of his time in an iron lung that helps him breath. But Mark has not lost his sense of humor. He is a writer and a poet. When he is asked to write an article about sexuality and the disabled, Mark, 38, thinks it might be time to lose his virginity. With the help of 
, a sex surrogate, Mark finally discovers his body. Ben Lewin's The Sessions is definitely one of the best films of 2012. It made me both laugh and cry. It is extremely moving but very funny too. It spreads a hopeful message on a topic that is too rarely approached. I think such a movie on sexuality and the disabled is an eye-opener. I wish we had more films to see because it helps you put things into perspective and understand what it's like to be in someone else's shoes. Being disabled doesn't prevent you from going through the different stages of a romantic life. Mark shows you how he experiences love, heartbreak, or sexuality. I really related to Mark because, in matters of the heart, we're all somewhat disabled. John Hawkes performs at his best. I actually think it's outrageous that he wasn't nominated for an Academy Award. Helen Hunt who plays the sex surrogate, lays herself bare both emotionally and physically. She really bring her A game in one of the most moving and demanding roles of her career.