Le magasin des suicides (2012)

“Le magasin des suicides” has an excellent idea / script: in a gloomy world where depression (financial and humane) is everywhere, the birth of a happy child brings everything upside down. Qualities of the film:

• The animation is very good
• The characters are well portrayed
• The ideas behind the plot are worth presenting

…but Patrice Leconte is like a cook with all the right ingredients of a recipe which turns out mediocre. It is hard to point out where things went wrong but the result is far from the enthusiasm generated at the initial idea.

My rating: 05/10

Casus Belli (2010)

Casus Belli is a short 11 minutes Greek film by Giorgos Zois. No subtitles needed. It does say though a lot in this time frame. You may find it online.

My rating: 10/10

The Host (2013)

Despite the fact that “The Host” has all the needed ingredients to be a good movie, it turns out to be a mediocre one. The idea of an extraterrestrial life taking over a human body is not a new one (See the “Invasion of the Body Snatchers“, 1978). There is however some originality in the fact that the human consciousness remains along with the invader in the human body as well as the benevolent nature of the invaders. This provides for a totally different story A story and film which does not turn as good as it could have been. It is hard to believe that “The Host” was created by Andrew Niccol, the director and writer of Gattaca, one of the best science fiction movies ever and writer of “The Truman Show” which is one of its kind.

My rating: 05/10

Iron Man 3 (2013)

  A female friend of mine mentioned yesterday that 95% of men stop maturing at the age of sixteen to eighteen. Well, it should have hurt my feelings but it did not! Was it the 5% left or the feeling deep inside that, well, part of me is really still a kid that really enjoys a real good tale? Probably it is the second case 🙂

Well, Iron Man 3 is such a tale. Despite the fact it is the 3rd sequel, it does keep its freshness, delivers a good show and whoever enjoyed Iron Man 1 and 2, will certainly enjoy this one too. It does have a touch of philosophy too: the film opens with the quote “we create our own daemons”. How true… Don’t get too frustrated though: philosophy ends there!

My rating (for its kind of course) : 08/10

Oblivion (2013)

 Oblivion. Well, it is a good tale. There is an original plot (as far as I know), plot turns, the scenery is very well set up. it has all a science fiction movie would require. However, a good story, a well told story must have a coherent meaning. This is something one does not find here.

My rating: 05/10

The Attack (2012)

“The Attack” is a film about love, friendship, trust, betrayal, hate, beliefs and much more. First of all, it is a great movie to see. Direction by Ziad Doueiri is excellent, it has a gripping story (L’attentat is a best seller) which combined with the acting of all actors involved totally immerses the spectator in the film’s story. It is also a film that raises numerous issues for discussion.

Most of all, it is from these films that have a point (or more) to make (as I suppose does the book). So, unless the story is unveiled, one cannot really discuss about the film.

Things I liked in the film:

• The thanking speech of the Arab surgeon when he was awarded the prize
• The way his memories unfolded about his wife
• The scene when he was watching the video at the end

So, the rest of the post contains spoilers and it is up to you if you want to read it before or after seeing the film.

My rating: 09/10