Couldn’t really see much point in this sequel of the Soderbergh film starring Matthew McConaughey. Channing Tatum leads this time as the mens strip group make a road trip
through Southern states deflowering Andie McDowell en route and end up at a sort of strippers’ convention. Jada Pinkett Smith is the MC. 
The storyline and script is boring, the dancing better but there is a distance between us and the dancers that makes it all seem so much of a mechanical exercise. Not sexy at all.
★
Perhaps only the second film from Georgia that I have seen. And quite a story it is. Set in Tbilisi in the early 90’s with a sort of post-communist anarchy the order of the day it is the tale of the coming of age of two young teenage girls who have to deal with issues like fathers in prison, alcoholism, food shortages and the extreme machismo of the society.
One of the most compelling scenes is when some yobs kidnap one of the girls, Natia and force her to marry one of them. 
Eka screams after them and then turns on a bunch of people standing in a breadline who do nothing to stop this outrage against a young girl. That and the liberal use of arms show a society at breaking point. Apparently the film is autobiographical. Good acting by the two young leads, Lika Babluani
and Mariam Bokeria and a good first up effort by Nana Ekvtimishvili as the co-director and screenplay writer. Oleg Mutu photographs well.
★★★★
Chris Evans first directorial effort and starring him and Alice Eve in a two hander that is little more than Before Sunrise set in New York. Over the course of a night with a few secrets in between to move the plot along, a street musician and a woman stranded in New York get to know each other better and show that sometimes chance meetings can be more significant for one’s life than we think.
An inferior version of the Linklater classic that is not without it’s charms and good moments but requires quite a big suspension of belief and adds up to rather little at the end of the day.
Alice Eve accompanies well.
★★
I felt a little underwhelmed by this one and am battling to figure out why. I think in part it is due to a rushed final section, in part to a somewhat self conscious sense of its own beauty and in part to Thomas Hardy’s own novel that verges on soap once or twice in its exploration of relationships in rural Wessex of the 19th century. Which is not to say that Thomas Vinterberg has not made a very decent movie. The acting is good, the scripting is sound and the photography of this part of southern England is subdued yet majestic. It is just that at the end of it, the twists of fate and the frustrations of its characters are a little too obviously spelt out for my liking and as a film it ignores some of the realm hardships of that time. Most critics love Carey Mulligan’s performance
and while she is solid and photogenic I am not sure that her role would have been more remarkable in the hands of another actress. Here she is a sort of liberated female covering over a scared girl almost out of her death.
I found the man more interesting as characters and Matthias Schoenaerts is a real gem of casting as the solid but emotional Gabriel Oak. Michael Sheen as Bathsheba’s main pretender Boldwood is excellent and these two men have one of the best scenes in the film.
Tom Sturridge as Troy, the one she marries is less successful in a difficult role, a spoilt character who needs to have a bit more maturity and obvious ambition to counter the nasty guile he employs. 
What is interesting are the 21st century attitudes of Hardy but they risk coming across as slightly artificial in this context and with the very 21st century setting and direction. So, an interesting work, perhaps not entirely convincing but with plenty to say about relationships, trust, yearning and dreams.
★★★+
This North American film has a number of interesting features but fails to come off due to a number of directorial and script decisions. Ramin Bahrani takes the story of a seeds salesman up against it in the Iowa corn belt. On the one hand his two sons don’t seem to want to follow in the family business. The older is off climbing in the Andes and the younger (a surprisingly good Zac Efron) is more interested in a burgeoning Nascar career. Then farmer Harry (excellent Dennis Quaid) is also losing an increasingly dirty battle among the seed sellers
which leads him to take drastic actions. Wife, played by Kim Dickens suffers on
but there is a nice cameo by Maika Monroe as the son’s girl.
So, we have a look at typical farming life today in this part of the world where small farmers are being squeezed out of business and where Monsanto and the like are imposing their dubious will on agriculture. And you have the traditions of the past up against new realities. What could then have been an interesting struggle between the different aspects gets sort of derailed by a fairly lame plot development that is not only badly played out but heaves the film into melodrama, which lessens the film’s impact a lot. 
Disappointing if watchable at the same time.
★★+
Extremely low key and powerful documentary on the life work of Brazilian photographer directed by Wim Wenders and his son Juliano.
Salgado has a strong liberal human conscience despite being brought up on a farm in Brazil way distant from the university environments he later frequented. Exiled in France for many years he left his career in economics to document life via photography – usually black and white.
The film traces his life and career, especially his coverage of workers and wars which shot him to global fame and made the world aware of the great suffering to be found on this planet.
A personal crisis born of the stress of seeing man’s inhumanity led him to return to the family farm and embark on a programme of reforestation which is now a model for the world. It also allowed him to return to photograph the natural world.
Salgado gives the world superb photography, but also an awareness of who we are on the planet and what we should be doing to protect it.
Wenders and Salgado Junior maintain a discreet presence in the company of this wise and compassionate man.
A film that all politicians and their families should see and all people teenage and above. Quietly shocking and hauntingly beautiful, it is like a mirror image of ourselves.
★★★★★
Underrated Atom Egoyan movie set in Toronto and featuring Julianne Moore who as the jealous gynaecologist wife of a university professor, hires a call girl to spy on and seduce her husband (Liam Neeson). 
Of course, the plan backfires and turns into a sort of psychological thriller. Moore is her usual luminous transparent self in a very satisfying performance and Amanda Seyfried does a surprisingly good job as Chloe. 
Max Theriot as the son is a newcomer of promise. 
Very crisp photography by Paul Sarossy. Maybe a little predictable in parts but still a distinctly watchable work.
★★★
Cameron Crowe’s latest movie that works fairly well as a romantic comedy between Bradley Cooper, the surprisingly good Emma Stone
and Rachel McAdams
but fails as a political satire with a plot about private enterprise appropriating space programmes with Bill Murray and Alex Baldwin. 
So, there is enough going on to keep you engaged but by the end of the movie you feel that it all adds up to precious little. Good acting by the leads and some nice scenes especially that with Bill Murray dancing to Hall and Oates 
but the political (in) correctness hangs heavy especially in relation to the treatment of the Hawaiian people.
★★
Xavier Dolan is a young prodigy from French speaking Canada whose films are gaining in impact and repercussion. This latest is a powerful portrayal of Die, a sort of white trash widow trying to raise her ADHD 15 year old and finding it all too much for her. She is however a feisty sort who will do her darndest to protect her boy and get ahead. Anne Dorval is magnificent in this role and is surely one of the performances of the year. 
Not far behind is Antoine Olivier Pilón as Steve, her son who is mostly devil and sometimes angel and has absolutely no control over his urges. The only person who is able to get through to him
is Kyla, a neighbour who is on sick leave for chronic shyness and suffering but who is in fact a teacher. Also a superb characterisation by Suzanne Clément, this trio end up having adventures and then hurtling into the chaos again. 
Dolan conjures up some superb scenes to go with the performances and just when your attention drifts he’s back in your face with another gem. 
There is a lot of originality here right from the filming as if it were done on a cellphone to the use of colours. Some editing could have helped as the film is a bit long but there is no doubt that Dolan creates a memorable and moving film.
★★★★+
A low-key film directed by Argentine Adrian Biniez, who lives in Uruguay. It takes el Patón, a 35 year-old footballer known for his rough play on the field and the decision he takes to retire. 
This means he has to consider his future – incomplete high school studies, not much money but a willing girlfriend who is a bit of an everywoman to him. 
Esteban Lamothe is again magnificent in this film, totally credible and well supported by real life wife, Julieta Zylberberg. 
The screenplay and direction take us on a tour of the southern suburbs of Buenos Aires, of the relatively humble lifestyles, of the talk and habits of people involved in these leagues. 
While in the end the film is quite small and runs its course, it is very well made and a surprisingly insightful work.
★★★+
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