A Cat in Paris (2012/France) **
In Paris, a cat who lives a secret life as a cat
burglar's aide must come to the rescue of the little girl he lives with, after
she falls into a gangster's clutches.
A trifle: a congenial animated comedy/thriller with a quaint charm to
its simplistic animation. But one forgets it once it’s over.
wd – Alain Gagnol, Jean-Loup Felicioli
pd – Jean-Loup Felicioli
m – Serge Besset
ed – Herve Guichard
p – Jacques-Remy Girerd
Cast: Dominique Blanc, Bernadette Lafont, Bruno
Salomone, Jean Benguigui, Oriane Zani, Bernard Bouillon
Chico and Rita (2012/) *
A young Cuban piano player falls for a beautiful
nightclub singer.
A somewhat disappointing endeavour, marrying astute animation and a ripe
style with dull characters and a duller story. Even the music seems deficient.
d – Tono Errando, Javier Mariscal, Fernando Trueba
w – Ignacio Martinez de Pison, Fernando Trueba
m – Bebo Valdes
ed – Arnau Quiles
p – Santi Errando, Cristina Huete, Martin Pope,
Michael Rose
Cast: Limara Meneses, Eman Xor Oña, Mario Guerra
Lawless (2012/US) **
A bootlegging gang in Franklin County, Virginia is
threatened by a new deputy who wants a cut of their profits.
Although the narrative doesn’t flow as a whole, with missing beats,
needless longueurs and unnecessary asides, this is an effective and gripping gangster
picture that pleasantly goes for purity rather than irony.
d – John Hillcoat
w – Nick Cave
(Based on the Novel by Matt Bondurant)
ph – Denoit Delhomme
pd – Chris Kennedy
m – Nick Cave, Warren Ellis
ed – Dylan Tichenor
cos – Margot Wilson
p – Douglas Wick, Michael Benaroya, Megan Ellison,
Lucy Fisher
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Jessica
Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Dane DeHaan
On the Road (2012/US/UK/Brazil/France)
A young writer, his free-spirited friend and the
friend’s girl travel across America and encounter a mix of people who each
impact them.
Fake, empty, dreary adaptation of Kerouac’s novel that never adheres to
the desired charisma of its apparent time, setting and inhabitants because it’s
too caught up with the imbecilic fashions of modern cinema, which include
constant jump-cutting, celebrity cameos, naked flesh, murky photography and a
nostalgic score. A complete failure.
d – Walter Salles
w – Jose Rivera
(Based on the Novel by Jack Kerouac)
ph – Eric Gautier
pd – Carlos Conti
m – Gustavo Santaolalla
ed – Francois Gédigier
cos – Danny Glicker
p – Charles Gillibert, Nathanaël Karmitz, Rebecca
Yeldham
Cast: Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley, Kristen Stewart,
Amy Adams, Tom Sturridge, Danny Morgan, Alice Braga, Elisabeth Moss, Kirsten
Dunst, Viggo Mortensen, Steve Buscemi, Terrence Howard, Marie-Ginette Guay
Killer Joe (2012/US) **
When a debt
puts a young man's life in danger, he turns to putting a hit out on his evil
mother in order to collect the insurance.
A film that blatantly makes one question one’s own
reaction to it, even on the simplest level of whether it is enjoyable or not.
It contains savage repugnance, a fearless cast and some awkward lurches, with its
stage origins intrusively obvious. More than anything, it is an example of the
mastery of its director who, in his mid-seventies, is still finding new areas
of the ocean to swim in.
d – William Friedkin
w – Tracy Letts
(Based on the Play by Tracy Letts)
ph – Caleb Deschanel
pd – Franco-Giacomo Carbone
m – Tyler Bates
ed – Darrin Navarro
cos – Peggy A. Schnitzer
p – Nicolas Chartier, Scott Einbinder
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno
Temple, Gina Gershon, Thomas Haden Church, Marc Macaulay
