2014 Denny Awards - Pt 2 - Most Compelling Performances (Male)

Part 2/3 of my Annual "Denny Awards" ;-)
(Other Years' Awards)

Part I - Best Films
Part II - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Male)
Part III - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Female)


CHILD (male)
    Most Compelling:
             Félix Bossuet [IMDb] [AC.fr]* as the initially orphan boy Sébastien in Belle and Sebastian (orig. Belle et Sébastien) [2013] [IMDb] [AC.fr]* who along with Belle, a big furry sheepdog (also initially "a stray"), team-up to take on the Nazis in a French Alpine town somewhere near the Swiss border in possibly the cutest Resistance movie EVER.

    Honorable Mentions:
              Noah Wiseman as Samuel 7 y.o., rather "hyper" / "with a very active imagination," probably A.D.D. in the Australian low budget children's thriller / scary  / horror movie The Babadook [2014].


TEEN (male)
    Most Compelling:
               Toni Revolori as the young "lobby boy" Zero Mustafa in The Grand Budapest Hotel [2014].  We've all "been there" as we've all had to start life / adulthood "somewhere."  Though "Zero's" life was by no means without tragedy, he was fortunate at least to have run into such useful /  interesting mentor.
    Honorable Mentions:
               Ellar Coltrane as the central character, Mason, Jr, in Boyhood [2014], who we watch "grow-up" in this very, very unique movie, filmed with the same cast over 10 years.
                Jesus Sanchez-Velez as Ricky, Jr, in Stand Clear of the Closing Doors [2013] a 13-y/o Hispanic boy, moderately autistic, living with his family in Rockaway Beach, NY, near the subway stop ...
                Tomasz Ziętek [IMDb] [FW.pl]*, Marcel Sabat [IMDb] [FW.pl]*, et al as Rudy, Zośka, et al, in Stones for the Rampart (orig. Kamienie na szaniec) [2014], members of a POLISH BOYSCOUT GROUP that fought as part of the Polish Home Army resistance during WW II.  This was the "Red Dawn" movies but FOR REAL.
               Dylan O'Brian as the central character, Thomas, in The Maze Runner [2014], probably (IMHO) the most interesting of the boy-oriented "post Apocalyptic" book series made into movies during these past few years.


YOUNG ADULT (male)
     Most Compelling:
               Filip Pławiak [IMDb] [FW.pl]* as the late-teen/young adult Adam Sikora in One Way Ticket to the Moon (orig. Bilet na Księżyc) [2013] representing ALL THE YOUNG PEOPLE ACROSS COMMUNIST-ERA CENTRAL / EASTERN EUROPE WHO OFTEN FOUND THAT THEY HAD TO "GROW-UP REALLY FAST" in order to find freedom or even to save their lives.  
     Honorable Mentions:
                Geová Manoel dos Santos [IMDb] [AC.br]* as Jeison in August Winds (orig. Ventos de Agosto) [2014] an Afro-Brazilian young man living in a small coastal village in North-Eastern Brazil living with very few possessions and also very, very few cares in the world.
                 Zenzo Ngqobe as the listless / unemployed J-burg, South Africa residing 20-something Joseph / Atang Mokoenya who is asked by his father to bury him to back in their home country of Lesotho in The Forgotten Kingdom [2013]. 
                 Daniel Radcliffe as good/patient guy Wallace in the Rom/Com What If ... [2013].
                 Riccardo Leonelli [IMDb] [FW.pl]* as Angelo in Foreign Body (Obce ciało) [2014] an Italian young adult / professional in love with a Polish young woman his age who he met as part of one or another Catholic Young Adult Movement existing these days.  She, however, is not sure, wondering if she's being called by God to be a nun.  He, both quite nicely and perhaps QUITE HEROICALLY ... WAITS.  An excellent film about a young Catholic man who's trying very hard to be true to his faith.


ADULT (male)
    Most Compelling:
                  Michael Keaton as Riggan Thompson in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) [2014] an actor who's become famous (and lived off the fame) for playing a cartoonish superhero Birdman "CAAAW..." and is really desperate to reinvent himself and be(come) taken  seriously as a (serious) actor. 
    Honorable Mentions:
                   Kevin Kline as Matthias Gold in My Old Lady [2014] a 50 something serial loser who's never amounted to anything in life who finds to his surprise that his dirt-bag (yet far more successful) father had bequeathed him an apartment in Paris, 'cept (of course) there's "a catch."  But the catch, of course, proves interesting.
                     Ethan Hawke as the father in Boyhood [2014] who had to "grow" himself over the years to become a father worthy of the name.
                    

ELDER (male)
    Most Compelling:
                     Brendan Gleeson as Fr. James in the Graham Green-like story Calvary [2014].  Sentenced to die in a weeks time by an anonymous voice in the Confessional one Sunday morning, he spends the rest of his time, doing exactly what he's always done in the rural Irish coastal town where he's been parish priest -- simply continuing to "mind the flock" even if it's not necessarily all that grateful.   
    Honorable Mentions:
                       Patrick Stewart and y Ian McKellen as the aging rivals in the Marvel comics based X-Men: Days of Future Past [2014], seeking to "set things right" for future generations before they pass.
                        Irrfan Khan as Saajan Fernandez, older, always probably somewhat stiff and perhaps overly-proper, but now also, recently, widowed in The Lunchbox (orig. Dabba) [2013], whose life gets unexpectedly interesting again when the wrong lunch box arrives at his desk one day at his office in Mumbai.  But, of course, that lunchbox was intended for someone else ... A great story about the challenges of "doing the right thing" at any age ... 
                       Robert Duvall in the title role in the film The Judge [2014] about a judge in a small town in Southern Indiana who's tried to live life in an ordered and honest way and has sought to teach this to his children (now grown) and grandchildren.
                       J.K. Simmons as the "mentor figure" Fletcher in Whiplash [2014], who will truly stop at nothing to "leave a mark" in his students.


HERO / VILLAIN (male)
    Most Compelling:                       
                Tomasz Ziętek [IMDb] [FW.pl]*, Marcel Sabat [IMDb] [FW.pl]*, et al as Rudy, Zośka, et al, in Stones for the Rampart (orig. Kamienie na szaniec) [2014], members of a POLISH BOYSCOUT GROUP that fought as part of the Polish Home Army resistance during WW II.  Again, this was about the heroism of the "Red Dawn" films but FOR REAL.
    Honorable Mentions:
                  Brendan Gleeson as Fr. James in Calvary [2014].  No matter what others may do, one can still live honestly and in peace with God and (most of) his people.
                  Robert Duvall in the title role in The Judge [2014].  Again, honestly has its rightful place of honor.
                  J.K. Simmons as the "mentor figure" Fletcher in Whiplash [2014].  Nothing justifies destroying OTHER PEOPLE for an ideal.  One should "work on oneself" first.
                   Bradley Cooper as U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle in American Sniper [2014] if nothing else, a complex (hence compelling) hero.  He saved a lot of people by killing a lot of other people, in a mission that wasn't entirely honest to begin with (the people that he killed had their point of view / and often patriotism as well).
                   Luke Evans as Vlad the Impaler in Dracula Untold [2014].  Vlad arguably sold his soul to the Devil to try to protect his people from the Ottoman Turk invaders. 

 
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2014 Denny Awards - Part 1 (Best Films)

Part 1/3 of my Annual "Denny Awards" ;-)
(Other Years' Awards)

Part I - Best Films of 2014
Part II - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Male)
Part III - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles  (Female)

    FOR FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN -
       Best -         
             Chef [2014] - R (strange rating, probably for lang.) - 4 Stars - apparently a single work / kitchen scene with a lot of bad words gave this movie an R rating but otherwise this film is about as family oriented as it gets.  The father must choose between his career and his 10 y/o son and ... comes to choose wisely ;-)
       Honorable Mentions -
              Rio 2 [2014] - G / A-I - 4 Stars - no questions here.  A technically excellent and reliably safe family oriented movie here about a family of ... parrots ;-)
              Night at the Museum: The Secret of the Tomb [2014] - PG / A-II - 3 1/2 Stars - continues and with Robin Williams' passing probably brings to an end another excellent family friendly film built around a father and son relationship.
               Cantinflas [2014] - PG - 4 Stars - lovely family oriented Hollywood movie, fully bilingual, about comic genius / "Mexico's Charlie Chaplin" Cantinflas and who, despite being "a star" was also a family man.
               Belle and Sebastian (orig. Belle et Sébastien) [2013]  - (UR would be PG) - France (subtitled) - 3 1/2 Stars - Lovely film but probably will never be seen most American kids because, well ... it's IN FRENCH ;-).  It's about an orphan kid, Sebastian, who gets taken in by a nice family and who, along with his lovely sheep dog Belle (also a originally a stray) "work together" then to "fight the Nazis"  Never has the Resistance been SOOO cute ;-).
               The Babadook [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - a different kind of "family oriented movie" but honestly with the exception of _really small kids_ probably _the best_ "really scary movie" that the whole family could enjoy to come out in a long, long time.  About a "story book monster" named "Mister Babadook" who knocks on the door "Duk - Duk - Duk" and if you let him in, he'll NEVER, EVER LEAVE ;-)

          
FOR FAMILY ORIENTED FILMS FOR FAMILIES WITH TEENS - 
        Best - 
              Divergent [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars - honestly in good part about a family with maturing teens in very stressed (indeed "post-Apocalyptic") circumstances that still finds a way to "work together."
        Honorable Mentions -  
              Stand Clear of the Closing Doors [2013] - UR (would be PG-13) - 3 1/2 Stars - a family, Hispanic, probably undocumented, has to ALSO deal with a 12-y/o moderately autistic son.
              The Hundred Foot Journey [2014] - PG / A-III - 4 Stars - Pakistani / Indian Muslim family living in England moves to France so that the oldest son could pursue career as a chef.
              Chef [2014] - R (strange rating, probably for lang.) - 4 Stars - See above


BEST INTERGENERATIONAL FILMS (Best Family Centered Films for Adults) -
         Best -
               Still Alice [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 4 Stars - 50-yo univ. prof with loving husband, three grown kids comes down with early onset Alzheimers.     
         Honorable Mentions -
               Boyhood [2014] - R / L - 4 Stars - intergenerational "phenom" certainly one of the best American pictures of the year, but despite its title is really aimed at an adult intergenerational audience. 
               Cinemanovels [2013] - R - Canada (subtitled at times) - 3 Stars - An adult daughter working to forgive her beloved "national icon" father, now deceased, who she remembers as having abandoned her and her mother for "HIS muse" / "love of HIS life" when SHE was child.
               Colette [2013] - UR (would be R) - Czech Rep (Eng. dubbed) - 3 1/2 Stars - a very poignant and different kind of Holocaust movie - No "Bielski brothers with guns" here. Mom/Dad, Grandma/Grandpa, honestly, how did you survive the Holocaust?
               Gloria [2013] - R - Chile (subtitled) - 3 1/2 Stars - In case you think your 50 y/o mom is already "dead" / "not worthy" of (much further serious) consideration ;-).
               My Old Lady [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - 50-something, never made much of himself son confronting the legacy of his far more successful but otherwise generally dirt-bag, now deceased father.
              The Forgotten Kingdom [2013] - UR (would be R) - South Africa / Lesotho (subtitled) - 3 1/2 Stars - Listless 20-something son living in J-burg (in the city) must go back to Lesotho (in the country) to bury his father.
              The Lunchbox (orig. Dabba) [2013] - PG - India (subtitled at times) - 4 Stars - an inter-generational "love story" (of sorts) built around the simple misdirection of a single lunch box in sprawling Mumbai one day.
              The Theory of Everything [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars - the story of renowned theoretical physicist Steven Hawkins and his wife / family that's taken care of him.
              Wild [2014] - R - Drama - 3 1/2 Stars - a young lost woman decides to "walk her way back" to being the woman her beloved mother thought she was.


BEST GENERAL CHILDREN'S ORIENTED FILM
         Best -
               Big Hero 6 [2014] - PG / A-II - 3 1/2 Stars - a little boy must learn to be nice even if he wants to turn the inflatable / balloon-like robot that his older brother left him into a "Iron-Man" like "superhero" ;-)
         Honorable Mentions -
                The Lego Movie [2014] - PG / A-I - 4 Stars - just an unbelievably cute movie with little other social value (besides its unbelievable cuteness ;-)
                 Annie [2014] - PG / A-II - 3 1/2 Stars - remake of the musical "Annie" but set in the present day rather than during the Depression Era.  The movie's still cute but also with more of a bite.
                 The Book of Life [2014] - PG / A-II - 3 1/2 Stars - lovely "Halloween"-like movie based on the traditions of the Mexican "Day of the Dead" (Nov 2).


BEST TEEN ORIENTED FILM (for boys) -
         Best - 
               Guardians of the Galaxy [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars - Probably the funnest teenage oriented movie of the year.  Soon after a little boy's mother dies (of cancer), he's "abducted by aliens." Life's never the same, but IT IS ... interesting ;-).
         Honorable Mentions -
               Dracula Untold [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars - The (mostly true) story of Vlad the Impaler who made a "deal with the Devil" to (try to) save his people.
               The Maze Runner [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars - probably the best of the boy oriented "post apocalyptic" thrillers being written and made into movies these days.
               Stones for the Rampart (orig. Kamienie na szaniec) [2014]- UR (would be R) - Poland (subtitled) - 4 Stars - kinda like the "Red Dawn [2012] [1984]" movies but FOR REAL.  About A BOY SCOUT TROOP that fought with the Polish Resistance (Home Army) during WW II.
                 

BEST TEEN ORIENTED FILM (for girls) -
         Best -
                Divergent [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars - Probably the best of these teen-oriented post-Apocalyptic sagas put on the screen as of now.
         Honorable Mentions -
                The Fault in Our Stars [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars - She's got cancer, he's got cancer, but they're in love.  A great sappy teenage drama / love story.
                 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1 [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars - another of the teen-oriented post-Apocalyptic series (pt 3/4), one that IMHO is improving with each installment.


BEST FILM THAT WILL HELP YOU WITH YOUR SCHOOL WORK -
        Best -
                  Night at the Museum: The Secret of the Tomb [2014] - PG / A-II - 3 1/2 Stars - a blissful run through so many historical (and prehistorical ;-) figures in so little time and an invitation to study them all.  The link to wikipedia is right here ;-)
        Honorable Mentions -     
                  Belle [2013] - PG - 3 1/2 Stars / The Invisible Woman [2013] - R - 3 Stars - the two invisible English women of the 19th century, one black, one white, but both with their place in history. 
                  Colette [2013] - UR (would be R) - Czech Rep (Eng. dubbed) - 3 1/2 Stars - A story of survival INSIDE Auschwitz. //  Aftermath (orig. Pokłosie) [2013] - UR (would be R) - Noir-ish Historical Drama about Holocaust secrets that remain in the Polish countryside - 4+ Stars  
                  Selma [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 4 Stars - not perfect but L.B.J.'s _good name_ with live and the point of demonstrations at Selma were not about LBJ but about the 20-30 million African Americans who finally got their constitutional right to vote back.
                  Cesar Chavez [2013] - PG-13 - 3 1/2 Stars - Lovely dramatization of CATHOLIC, Hispanic, Migrant Workers' Rights advocate Cesar Chavez. 

                  Dracula Untold [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 1/2 Stars - so you wonder why the Balkans are such a mess.
                  The German Doctor (orig. Wakolda) [2013] - UR (would be R) - Argentina (subtitled) - 3 1/2 Stars - Historical drama about Nazi War criminal Joseph Mengele's time in a notorious town in Argentina's Patagonia region.
                    Generation War (orig. Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter) [2013] - UR (would be R) - Historical Drama - 4 Stars - Two part movie / originally a miniseries about 5 young Germans (one Jewish) who "came of age" during WW II.
                    Words and Pictures [2014] - PG-13 - 2 1/2 Stars  - fun teen accessible film that asks the question what's more important / impactful: "words" or "pictures."  



BEST FILM THAT ASKS THE BIG QUESTIONS -
         Best - 
                     A Dream of Iron (orig. Cheol-ae-kum) [2013] - UR (would be PG-13) - South Korea (subtitled) - 3 Stars - a visual reflection about Man and his Mastery of the Environment
         Honorable Mentions -
                     August Winds (orig. Ventos de Agosto) [2014] (UR would be R) - Brazil (subtitled) - 4 Stars - a "small, personalist film" about a young Afro-Brazilian couple living in North Eastern coastal Brazil.  How much does one really need to be happy?
                     Citizenfour [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - Documentary made in real time about former NSA contractor Edward Snowden as he leaked information about the extent of NSA surveillance of the American / World's population.  It may all be needed to frustrate deeply hidden terrorist plots, but IMHO he was right, we do need to at least discuss it / give some kind of societal consent.
                      Repentance [2014] - R - 3 1/2 Stars - African American drama / thriller that asks the question of what truly constitutes "repentance."
                      Two Days, One Night (orig. Deux Jours, Une Nuit) [2014] - PG-13 - Belgium/France (subtitled) - 4 Stars - Reminds us of the question: What are the values/benefits of work?   It is only about monetary compensation that we get from it, or are there other values/benefits to work?
                      Words and Pictures [2014] - PG-13 - 2 1/2 Stars  - fun teen accessible film that asks the question what's more important / impactful: "words" or "pictures."   And ALSO asks if "a teacher that is flawed can still have a (POSITIVE) impact?"


BEST "SMALL" FILM -
         Best -
                     August Winds (orig. Ventos de Agosto) [2014] (UR would be R) - Brazil (subtitled) - 4 Stars - fascinating film centered on a young Afro-Brazilian couple living in North Eastern coastal Brazil.
         Honorable Mentions 
                     Locke [2013] - R - United Kingdom - 4+ Stars - at the end of work one day, a civil engineer, Locke, decides the time has come to come straight / fix his life.  Two hours of "hands-free" cell phone conversations (all while driving) follow ;-)     
                     The Lunchbox (orig. Dabba) [2013] - PG - India (subtitled at times) - 4 Stars - a LOVELY story build around the mis-delivery of a single lunch box to an office worker in sprawling Mumbai one day. 
                     The Stranger by the Lake (orig. L'inconnu du Lac) [2013] - UR (would be R / NC-17) - France (subtitled) - 3 Stars - an excellent gay-themed film / thriller that simply takes place alongside a random lake somewhere in rural France during the summer.
                     My Old Lady [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - Just a well staged, well acted, tight little (family) drama that honestly keeps you guessing all the way to the end.
                     Two Days, One Night (orig. Deux Jours, Une Nuit) [2014] - PG-13 - Belgium (subtitled) 4 Stars - A woman who had been on extended sick-leave (for depression...) is given a weekend by her boss to convince her coworkers to take her back (at their expense).
                     A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night [2014] - R - Iran-Exiles (subtitled) - Horror / Drama - 4 Stars - possibly the coolest vampire movie in long, long time, and without need of a lot of special effects.
                     The Babadook [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - Great "really scary movie" / "horror film" that reminds us again that a lot special effects are _not_ necessary to scare the daylights out of us if the story is good ;-)

                          
BEST OPENLY RELIGIOUS FILM -
            Best -
                      The Song [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 4+ Stars - IMHO the most creative of the year's openly religious films, basically retelling the story of the Biblical King Solomon but setting it in the present day: The son of a flawed but beloved "country music legend" (named David King ;-), sets out to "step out of the shadow" of his sooo famous dad.  Many personal adventures, trials and tribulations ensue ...                       
            Honorable Mentions -     
                       Calvary [2014] - R / L - Drama - 4+ Stars - Graham Greene-like story of an Irish priest who is "sentenced to die in a week's time" by a penitent he encounters in the Confessional one Sunday morning.  Why?  For the sins of other priests in the Church's present-day sexual abuse crisis.  The film then follows the priest over the week that follows as "the clock ticks down..."
                        Son of God [2014] - PG-13 - 3 1/2 Stars - the "Gospel portion" of the History Channel's The Bible [2013] TV Series released as a stand-alone movie.  Viewers who know and enjoy the Bible will enjoy how the film-makers apply the Scriptures in the film.  Also IMHO the best/most credible/balanced portrayal of Mary Magdalene in recent film.
                        Walking the Camino: Six Ways to Santiago [2013] - UR would be PG-13 - 3 1/2 Stars - a documentary that follows six different "pilgrims" and pilgrims who set out to walk the Camino de Santiago de Campostella one recent summer.
                         Leviathan (orig. Левиафан) [2014] - R - Russia (subtitled) - 3 Stars - A powerful Russian film challenging the (in this case, Russian Orthodox) Church to stand up and _become_ what it would like itself to be: "the conscience of the people."  The film includes a telling reference to the notorious protest made by Pussy Riot at a Moscow cathedral some years ago.


BEST (YOUNG ADULT) RELATIONSHIP FILM -
            Best -
                           Begin Again [2014] - R / A-III - 4 Stars - One of the best young-adult post-breakup movies ever made.
            Honorable Mentions - 
                           What If [2014] - PG-13 - 3 1/2 Stars - Excellent RomCom on the value of friendship before "jumping in the sack."
                            Life After Beth [2013] - R - 3 Stars - Fun RomCom about someone having trouble "letting go" even after ... she's DEAD ;-)            
                            Foreign Body (Obce ciało) [2014] - UR (would be R) - Poland/Italy (subtitled) - 3 1/2 Stars - Polish film by a fairly famous director about two young adults (she even seriously discerning if she'd want to be / was being called to be a nun) who _do_ "actually believe."


BEST FILM FOR FILM LOVERS -
            For the Cinematography -
                     Best -
                             The Grand Budapest Hotel [2014] - R / A-III - 1 1/2 Stars (w. expl.)- created a stunning, uniquely stylized storybook "European lost world"
                     Honorable Mentions -
                              Miss Christina (orig. Domnisoara Christina) [2013] - UR (would be R) -  Romania (subtitled) - 4 Stars - a ROMANIAN "vampire movie" ;-) / rarely did a vampire look _so good_ ;-)
                             Sin City: A Dame To Kill For [2014] - R / O - 2 Stars w. Expl. - made in high contrast B&W, the film looks honestly like a moving graphic novel. 
                             A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night [2014] - R - Iran-Exiles (subtitled) - 4 Stars - again filmed in high contrast B&W one of the _coolest_ looking films of the year.
                           A Dream of Iron (orig. Cheol-ae-kum) [2013] - UR (would be PG-13) - South Korea (subtitled) - 3 Stars - the awesomeness of the imagery lends support to the argument that we (humanity) are really coming to "plant our flag" / dominate this world.
                             The Stranger by the Lake (orig. L'inconnu du Lac) [2013] - UR (would be R / NC-17) - France (subtitled) - 3 Stars - the lovely laziness of the imagery here helps one to feel like one's "on vacation" as well
                             Mr. Turner [2013] - R - 2 1/2 Stars - some of the landscape shots honestly look like the paintings made by the artist.
                             Repentance [2014] - R - 3 1/2 Stars - filmed out in New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou and one honestly feels that one is there.
                             Nightcrawler [2014] - R / L - 3 1/2 Stars - filmed almost entirely at night the cinematography expresses perfectly the creepiness of the film  
                             Big Eyes [2014] - PG-13 - 1 Star w. Expl. - again, the cinematography makes one feel like one has entered the hyper-real comercial "Andy Warhol"-ness of the time and place (San Francisco in the 1950s-early 60s) portrayed.
                           300: Rise of an Empire [2014] - R / L - 2 stars - made in a high contrast stylized manner, again the "hyper-reality" makes you feel like you are _right there_ 
                            Dracula Untold [2014] - 3 1/2 Stars - stylized cinematography makes one feel the Balkan Christians' pain during that extremely difficult time of the Ottoman invasions.
                             Hercules [2014] - PG-13 / A-III - 3 Stars - again the stylized cinematography makes one feel that "one is there" with "Herc and his crew" in ancient Greece
                             The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies [2014] - PG-13 / A-II - 3 Stars - a "final ticket to Middle Earth" for a while.  If you like this kind of world, it has been one heck of an enjoyable ride ;-)
            For Originality / Tightness of Story -  
                      Best -  
                             Boyhood [2014] - R / L - 4 Stars - American indie film, filmed with the same principal cast over the course of 10 years to tell the story of a typical American boy growing-up
                     Honorable Mentions - 
                            Locke [2013] - R - 4+ Stars - follows the story of middle-aged man/civil engineer making some fairly key decisions about his life while "commuting home" one evening and placing the key cell-phone calls to the key players as he drives. 
                            The Grand Budapest Hotel [2014] - R / A-III - 1 1/2 Stars - tells basically the story of "the lost Hapsburg Empire" of Central Europe in a very interesting/visually stylized sort of way. 

                            My Old Lady [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - originally a stage play, tells the story of a 50 or so year old man confronting (and being confronted by) the legacy of his far more successful but also problematic and, more to the point, recently deceased, father
                            The Lunchbox (orig. Dabba) [2013] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - tells the story of an entire romance of sorts, caused by the random misdirection of a lunch box delivered to the wrong person one afternoon in Mumbai.
                            Tricked (orig. Steekspel) [2012] - PG-13 - 3 Stars - a Dutch film that was recently assembled in ten 4 minute segments over the span of a year by a national television audience writing-in its suggestions as to how the story should proceed after each successive 4 minute segment was made and aired on Dutch TV.                  
                            Repentance [2014] - R - 3 1/2 Stars - a tight African American centered "indie film" set in New Orleans and the Louisiana Bayou that asks some fairly universal questions about repentence and atonement for a single tragedy / crime.
                            August Winds (orig. Ventos de Agosto) [2014] (UR would be R) - Brazil (subtitled) - 4 Stars - again a tight little story about a young couple living out their lives in a small, random coastal hamlet in North Eastern Brazil where time like everywhere else passes but also like everywhere else almost imperceptibly. 
                           The Babadook [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - a great little "scary movie" for the whole family that reminds viewers again that a good scary story need not involve complex special effects.


BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM -
            Best -
                      Citizenfour [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - documentary about the motives / actions of former NSA contractor / leaker Edward Snowden
            Honorable Mentions -
                       The Fourth Partition / Czwarta Dzielnica [2013] - UR (would be PG-13) - 3 1/2 Stars - Excellent Chicago based documentary about Poland's immigrant community in Chicago in the late-19th and early 20th centuries and its contributions both to the building-up of the United States into the modern industrial state that it became and to the creation of a modern independent Poland following WW II.
                       Life Itself [2014] - PG-13 - 4 Stars - lovely documentary about the life and especially the final years legendary Midwestern / Chicago film-critic Roger Ebert
                       A Dream of Iron (orig. Cheol-ae-kum) [2013] - UR (would be PG-13) - South Korea (subtitled) - 3 Stars - a visual reflection on Humanity's ever increasing dominance over Nature.
                       The Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari (orig. небесные жены луговых мари) [2012] - a documentary of sorts organized around some 20 or so folk tales of the Meadow Mari (a Finno-Ugric people) living on the banks of the central Volga.  The Maris are called "the last authentic pagans of Europe" and as such offer anthropologists today a window into the practices of pre-Christian Europe.



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Black or White [2014]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  ChicagoTribune (1 1/2 Stars)  RE.com (2 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (C-)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review
ChicagoTribune (M. Phillips) review
RE.com (M. Zoller Seitz) review
AVClub (A.A. Dowd) review

BET coverage
TheSource coverage

Black or White [2014] (screenplay and directed by Mike Binder) is IMHO yet another film that's actually _better_ than it may seem at first.  However since it is about race, I do believe it would have benefited from clearer African American input, that is, it would have benefited if the writing credits had included an African American voice and perhaps if an African American had served as co-director.

I write this because as good, even excellent, as the film is _in parts_, it's obvious at the end of the day that the film was made by a white people, perhaps by _very well-meaning_ white people, but by white people nonetheless.  Why?   Without revealing how this story ends (and it's not easy to do so here), I'm more or less certain that if the film's "writing team" had included an African American or two it would have ended differently.

YET THERE ARE GOOD / THOUGHT PROVOKING CHALLENGES to both African American and white viewers in this story about two grandparents Elliot Anderson, white (played by Kevin Costner), and Rowena (Weena) Jeffers, black (played by Octavia Spencer) fighting over custody of their 7-8 year old mixed race grand-daughter Eloise Anderson (played by Jillian Estrell).

But then why is the film about TWO GRANDPARENTS, one black one white, fighting over a granddaughter?  Where are THE PARENTS of Eloise?

Well Eloise's mother, white, (Elliot and his wife's daughter), died in childbirth because she was 17 at the time and had run-away / sought shelter from her parents because she knew that the father Reggie Davis (played by André Holland), 23, was black and feared what her parents would do if/when they found out.  Eloise's father, Reggie (Rowena's son), was also out of the picture because as a troubled, fatherless youth (his dad was shot and killed when he was young), he's spent most of Eloise's 7 years of life in jail for stupid/directionless crimes of a troubled young person -- drugs, assault/battery, etc.

Upon hearing of their daughter's death and their grand-daughter Eloise's birth, Elliot and his wife took Eloise in and raised her.  But it was pretty clear fairly early in the film that Elliot's wife did most of the raising.

Things would have continued on this way, with Elliot and his wife raising their mixed race grand-daughter as their own and only a very peripheral presence of Rowena and her large African American family, if not for the sudden death of Elliot's wife due to a car accident at the beginning of the story.   With Elliot's wife's death, Rowena becomes concerned that Eloise not be simply abandoned to her white grandfather who Rowena frankly doubted had the capacity to raise her well.

Why?  Well the families _did_ (come to) know each other over the years.  Elliot it turned out did know, quite well, where in South Central Los Angeles Rowena and her family lived.  And Rowena's family did clearly know him -- as perhaps the "somewhat arrogant white guy" who probably did the driving when he and his wife did _very occasionally_ take their grand-daughter down to Rowena and her family so that she could see them.  And Rowena would have known that Elloit's wife would have been doing most of the raising of Eloise anyway.  Finally, Rowena may have honestly mistrusted men.  After all, Reggie's father (her previous husband/boyfriend), had been killed for unknown reasons earlier, and Reggie himself had (even by her own estimation) not turned out well.  Finally, she would have seen Elliot's non-involvement in Eloise's upbringing prior to his wife's death.

So ... there it is.  Rowena's concern for her grand-daughter is initially dismissed out-of-hand by Elliot.  BUT Rowena and her family were _more_ than just "Reggie" and even more than just "Reggie and Rowena."  She had a large family.  She herself is _hard working_.  We discover that she owns TWO HOUSES OUT THERE IN SOUTH CENTRAL L.A. AND _FIVE_ BUSINESSES (okay some run out of her garage but FIVE LEGITIMATE BUSINESSES).  Beyond this, she had a brother,  Jeremiah (played by Anthony Mackie) WHO WAS A LAWYER.  SO ... Rowena and her family were not _defenseless_ anymore.  And so they took Elliot to court ... over custody of Eloise.

And the rest of the film ensues ...

 The film the proceeds, often painfully, through the objective failings and then misconceptions that both Elliot and Rowena / her family had of each other.

And the film does invite, again painfully, viewers, both black and white, to "grow"

African American viewers are "reminded" of the ENORMOUS DAMAGE THAT THE "REGGIES" IN THEIR MIDST DO TO ALL AFRICAN AMERICANS (But does _anybody_ need to be "reminded" of this? -- And there are plenty of pretty stupid WHITE "Bubba's" out there too...)

More interestingly perhaps, whites are reminded that if they say that they "don't like black people" that they really have to be _far more specific_ because while there was the troubled "Reggie" in this film, there are FOUR OR FIVE COUNTER EXAMPLES of AFRICAN AMERICANS WHO REALLY SHOULD BE EMBRACED and EVEN APPLAUDED BY THE LARGER (NATIONAL / WORLD) COMMUNITY:  There's (1) Rowena herself WITH HER TWO HOUSES and FIVE BUSINESSES.  She's A VERITABLE POSTER CHILD OF HARD-WORK AND ENTREPRENEURISM, (2) there's her brother WHO'S A SOLID, EVEN ERUDITE COURT ROOM LAWYER, (3) There's THE JUDGE, African-American, in the case (played by Paula Newsome) who's a PARAGON OF NO NONSENSE CALM DECORUM AND ORDER and (4) there's an earnest super-hardworking African college student named Duvan Araga (played by Mpho Kaoho) who Elliot hires to tutor Eloise with her school work after his wife dies, (5) Finally, there's the rest of Rowena's LOVELY LARGE FAMILY that's nice, smiling, supportive of each other and others, including Elliot (!), when in need.

So then if one says that one "doesn't like black people" WHICH OF THESE "BLACK PEOPLE" DOESN'T ONE LIKE?  AND THEN HONESTLY WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS (!!)

So this is not a bad film ... just a very painful film and one that honestly probably would have benefited from the African American _input_ that it appears to otherwise advocate for. 


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Life Itself [2014]

MPAA (R)  ChicagoTribune (3 1/2 Stars)  RE.com (3 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (A-)  Fr. Dennis (4 Stars)

IMDb listing
ChicagoTribune (M. Phillips) reviewRE.com (M. Zoller Seitz) review
AVClub (A.A. Dowd) review


Life Itself [2014] (directed by Steve James) is a documentary released earlier this year about the life and, as it poignantly turned out, the last months of the life of life-long Midwesterner, world renowned Chicago film critic Roger Ebert [wikip]. 

As I wrote on my blog at the time of his death, I grew up watching regularly, almost religiously, with my family the "Sneak Previews" / "At the Movies" movie review show hosted by Roger Ebert of the Chicago SunTimes and Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune in its various incarnations first produced by PBS, then by Tribune Entertainment and finally by Disney. 

To its credit the documentary was neither a "puff piece" nor a "hagiography." 

First, the documentary noted that Ebert entered the movie review business actually as "a newspaper man."  His original dream was _to write for a major newspaper_, which AS A MIDWESTERNER growing up in the _college town of Champaign-Urbana, IL_ meant eventually working for one of CHICAGO's major newspapers -- then the Daily News, the Sun Times or the Tribune.  After college, which he spent at the the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he served as the editor of the Daily Illini during his senior year, he got a job as a reporter and feature writer at the Chicago Sun Times.  Only after getting the job at the Sun Times in 1966 did the job of being the newspaper's movie reviewer open up and then only by accident.  In 1967, the newspaper's chief movie review ... retired.   Being both young and still a relatively new hire, Ebert was offered the desk and it proved to a good fit and neither the paper nor he ever looked back.  (Now why would it be a "good fit?"  Well, in 1968, the Hollywood Production Code finally collapsed and with it a came a whole new generation of film-making.  And who best to review those new films but someone who was young / of a whole new generation of film critics...).

Second, while most Americans of my generation would remember Siskel and Ebert as household names in the 1970-80s and into the 90s, thanks to the TELEVISION SHOW that they appeared on TOGETHER, most of us would not have appreciated just how much the two "really didn't like each other," especially at the beginning.  Having grown-up in Chicago myself, I've certainly understood the rivalry that's existed between the more "patrician" Chicago Tribune and the more "working class" Sun Times.  However, I honestly didn't appreciate how much the two reviewers, hired by their respective newspapers in good part because they already fit in well into their institutional cultures, didn't like each other: Siskel, though born in Chicago was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants and studied at Yale.  Ebert, Catholic, though interestingly an only child, grew-up downstate in Urbana, the son of an electrician and went to U of I.  Both, came to their show, every show, especially at the beginning expecting to be "on top."  It did make each week's show _interesting_ ... but I honestly didn't appreciate that a good part of why their show was so _animated_, was because the two were so competitive and that (at least initially) the two really didn't like each other.

Third, while in his later years Ebert would regularly refer in his reviews to his experience of being a recovering alcoholic, this was an aspect of his personal life that until he "outed himself" was not a visible part of his public persona, and yet it certainly informed it and on many levels.  Roger Ebert probably would not have met or married his wife Chaz if he had remained living life with the view that "the night begins, _every night begins_ at some drinking establishment ... and _certainly_ ends at (the then Chicago journalists' hangout) O'Rourke's."

Finally, while most Chicagoans would have appreciated that in the closing years of Roger Ebert's life he was suffering as a result of (and was significantly disfigured by) throat cancer.  In the closing years of his life the cancer took his jaw.  As a result he was no longer able to speak (except by means of typing on a keyboard) and he received nourishment by means of a tube.  It was _not_ an easy life, and the documentary makes it absolutely clear that he found the closing years of his life very, very difficult at times. 

And yet, he also made the best of it.  Up until his death, he continued to review films for the SunTimes.  His blog www.rogerebert.com where those reviews were made available online became enormously popular.  The blog as a website featuring now some excellent young reviewers continues happily to this day (reviews that I continue to cite at the beginning of my own reviews to this day ;-)

Most of this is covered in the current film.  The picture that emerges is of a human being who did have both gifts and limitations, who did at times have an ego but also proved generous to others, especially to the young, and one who I do believe used the gifts that he was given well.

It all makes for a very nice tribute to a man who did a lot for both film and for the Midwest / City of Chicago during his lifetime.  It was a life that had been worth living through to its end.

So good job folks -- director Steve James, Chaz Ebert -- and most of all good job Roger!  You did leave this world a better place.


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Mortdecai [2015]

MPAA (R)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  ChicagoTribune (2 1/2 Stars)  RE.com (1/2 Star)  AVClub (B)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review
ChicagoTribune (G. Lodge) review
RE.com (P. Sobczynski) review
AVClub (J. Hessenger) review


Mortdecai [2015] (directed by David Koepp, screenplay by  Eric Aronson, based on the novel [GR] [WCat] [Amzn] by Kyril Bonfiglioli [GR] [IMDb]) is another typical "January" (or at least "Winter") "Hollywood Release," that is, often not particularly good, but above all considered to be _risky_ for one reason or another.

Gems released at this time of year in the recent past have included the "Trenton NJ / blue collar comedy" / Katherine Heigl vehicle One for the Money [2012], and the inversely "lost era" comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel [2014] (the second actually proving good enough to earn the 2014 Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture (Comedy / Musical) and nine (!) Oscar nominations including Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Picture).

Other "risky" projects to have been released at this time of year have included the Hollywood star-studded, but _wildly over-the-top crude_ (yet often mouth-gaping-open LOL funny) Movie 43 [2013], the "we never even left the 'green screen' studio" CGI / 3-D "experimental dream-sequence epic" Sucker Punch [2011], and the stylized or otherwise "risky" dramatizations of two 20th century American literary classics - Kerouac's On The Road [2012] and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby [2013] (the latter, starring Leonardo DiCaprio in what I still believe to be the single best performance of his entire career).

Of the above examples, the current film, Mortdecai [2015], certainly above-all a Johnny Depp vehicle (though costars Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor are quite excellent as well), most closely resembles The Grand Budapest Hotel [2014]. 

The film will NOT be "for everybody."  Indeed, as I watched it, I kept thinking of a 2008 Onion article about the coming "Aristocratization" of gentrified city neighborhoods ;-), where city blocks that once housed "viable businesses" like "small corner bistros, jazz clubs and gourmet bakeries" were being "razed to make-way for stable houses, servants' quarters and English gardens" ;-).

In the film, Johnny Depp plays the lead-role of Mortdecai, a really annoying "country gentleman," who still lives, with his wife Johanna (played by Gwyneth Paltrow), in a palatial estate somewhere in the rolling English countryside and makes his money, sort of, by "dabbling in the art market."   One could think of the movie as perhaps Mike Myers' Austin Powers [1997] meets Downton Abbey [2010-] ;-).

Mortdecai's life really could have been reduced to blithely arguing with his wife over his new and godawful mustache he's chosen to grow -- She resolutely refuses to sleep with him until he gets rid of the thing.  He "being English" / "principled" even when it makes no sense, has chosen "to prepare for the long siege" and "sleep out in the drawing room" until his wife "comes to see reason" ... -- if not "for another matter": THEY'RE BROKE, owing 8 million pounds in back taxes to "Her Majesty's Government."

But ... "as luck would have it," Martland (played by Ewan McGregor), MI-5, and once Mortdecai's Oxford roommate and still desperately in love with Johanna who he feels Mortecai had stolen from him -- why?, apparently because she found Mortdecai _slightly_ less boring than he ;-), and then, well, Mortdecai, was "of the right station / noble birth" afterall ;-) -- has a project for him:

He's to find a "lost Goya painting" on the back of which Hermann Goering had by legend scribbled a code that would lead one to a vast treasure of lost Nazi gold.

Previously, finding the lost painting had not been a big priority for MI-5. However, they had recently gotten word that a "terrorist" named Emil (played by Jonny Paslovsky) amusingly "with a different kind of mustache" -- think Che Guevara meets ISIS (remember that the original book was written in the 1970s when terrorists were of the more left-wing / "revolutionary" variety) -- had started to make inquiries about the lost painting (and the code leading to Nazi gold, scribbled on its back).

Mortdecai is thus tasked to find said painting before the Evil terrorist Emil got his hands on it.  Should he succeed, presumably his tax-debt "to the Queen's government" would be forgiven.  If he did not, well, Mortdecai's "unfortunate demise" would "(re)open the path" for Martland to Johanna's "heart" (as it were).

Was Mortdecai "up to the task?"  HE certainly thought so.  In reality ... (of course) not so much ;-). BUT he did have TWO allies to help him along: (1) Johanna (of course), who was always far smarter / more competent than either Mordecai or Martland, and then (2) Mortdecai's "man servant" (sort of a "squire"-like character) named Jock (played inspiringly by Paul Bettany) who, again, did pretty much everything short of breathing and eating and ... for Mortdecai anyway.

So then, much ensues ... ;-).

That which ensues ... leads the bumbling Mortdecai into encounters with not only the Che Guevara / Baader-Meinhoff Gang-like "Emil" but also (1) Asian underworld types like "Fang Fat" (played by Junix Inocian), (2) slippery art-dealers like "Spinoza" (played by Paul Whitehouse), (3) trying _really hard_ to act "civilized" Russian mobsters like "Romanov" (played by Ulrich Thomsen), (4) as clueless as "really old moneyed" Mortdecai but "nouveau riche" Hollywood producers like "Krampf" (played by Jeff Goldbloom) and (5) an ANCIENT "Rule Britannia" / Montgomery's "Desert Rat" (OMG why was HE still NOT dead yet?) British military officer known only as "Duke" (and played wonderfully by Michael Byrne).  There's even (6) a "Patty Hearst"-like character (played by Olivia Munn) in the story ;-)

All in all the story's actually pretty funny ... in a "For the 1%" hearkening back to The Great Race [1965] sort of way.  One gets the sense that someone like (19th century robber-baron...) Carnegie in particular would have LOVED this story.  And the performances were often very good.  In particular, Gwyneth Paltrow's Johanna and Paul Bettany's "Jock" were joys.

Still, like I've already said, the film's "not for everybody."  And I'm not really sure if I'd want a lot of Tony Curtis / Peter Sellers-like films like this to come back again.   BUT the film is _a lot better_ than many critics (above) make it out to be.  That's for sure ;-).  So ... see if you'd want to give a movie like this a shot ... ;-)


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The Boy Next Door [2015]

MPAA (R)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  ChicagoTribune (1 1/2 Stars)  RE.com (1 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (B-)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review
ChicagoTribune (M. Phillips) review
RE.com (C. Lemire) review
AVClub (I. Vishnevetsky) review


The Boy Next Door [2015] (directed by Rob Cohen, screenplay by Barbara Curry), released as it was in late January is a B-movie that was never intended to be "Oscar caliber."  However, if nothing else it can serve as _a deterrent_ to any 30 or 40 something high school teacher who may be tempted by a, um ... "mature his age" HOT "transfer student" who suddenly shows-up on the scene "one day like any other day."

Now it may seem kinda obvious "in retrospect" that "a transfer student" CAN "have a history ..."

... but, when said überhunk, Noah (played by "unnaturally" even perhaps "prison buff" (!) Ryan Guzman) moves-in next door, when it's still summer, and he's out there, sweaty, working (with "his tools"), on,  um, "his car," "tuning her up," making "her run ... (um...) better" (one could go on for a while here ;-)  in a distractingly torn t-shirt, with all those pecks and biceps glistening there in the summer's sun, it can get _rather distracting_ to late 30-something early 40-something high school lit teacher "of the classics" named Claire Peterson (played quite well actually by Jennifer Lopez), the mother of a still somewhat awkward teenage son Kevin (played by Ian Nelson) and going through some fairly serious marital problems with hubby, Garrett (played by John Corbett), a silicon valley / middle management sort of guy, who's _also_ coming-up against and _not_ dealing particularly well (at all) with "the onset of middle age."

Well, one thing leads to another ... Kevin and Garrett go off on a late summer "father / son camping weekend trip," Claire somewhat lazily has herself "one too many glasses of wine."  Noah comes to the door for some stupid reason and somewhat inappropriately late that evening, then "there's a storm" and ... sigh ... "mistakes are made" ...

The rest of the movie follows ...

To some extent Jennifer Lopez' role is a conflation of Michael Douglas' role in Fatal Attraction [1987] and Kevin Spacey's in American Beauty [1999]).  Kevin Spacey in particular traversed similar territory in his film, when his character found himself, middle aged, recently downsized, with marital problems, suddenly _way, way more attracted than he really should have_ to the "cheerleader classmate" of his teenage daughter, finding himself focused _on her_ "out there" on the floor "performing" (_next to his daughter_ and the rest of the squad) going "Rah, Rah, GO TEAM" at some random high school basketball game...). 

Then after "the Mistake was made" ... _the current film_ becomes a _searing reminder_ (again...) to ANYONE that one _really, really shouldn't sleep_ with someone who one _really doesn't know_.  Those "long walks along the beach, holding hands, and just talking" (and LISTENING) to each other and each other's dreams do have a purpose ... ;-) ... and, oh yeah, ONE CERTAINLY SHOULDN'T GO TO BED WITH A _MINOR_ (!!) NO MATTER HOW "HOT" OR "IN NEED OF SUPPORT" HE/SHE MAY SEEM (Though the issue of Noah's maturity is actually "finessed" somewhat ... perhaps to get an a-list actress like Lopez to take the role ... it's clear that "Noah" would NORMALLY be certainly "underage", hence A MINOR / "JAIL (!!) BAIT").

Anyway, this _is_ a B-movie, and it's _intended to be_ a B-movie.  But it may, in fact, "scare the daylights" out of vulnerable people approaching middle age, who otherwise, might be tempted to do some really stupidly (!) tragic things.  And in that sense, it's not necessarily that bad of a movie to for adults in that approaching middle-age range.

Parents do note that the R-rating is certainly appropriate due to the theme.  Besides, would you want your teens seducing your neighboring "Mrs. Robinsons" ... ?


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Two Days, One Night (orig. Deux Jours, Une Nuit) [2014]

MPAA (PG-13)  ChiTrib (3.5 Stars)  RE.com (2.5 Stars)  AVClub (A)  Fr. Dennis (4 Stars)

IMDb listing
Allociné.fr listing*

AV Club (A.A. Dowd) review
Avoir-alire.fr (T. Gauthier) review*
CervenyKoberec.cz (J. Kábrt) review*
ChicagoTribune (M. Phillips) review
Critic.de (N. Klinger) review*
EyeForFilm.co.uk (R. Mowe) review
LaCroix.fr (A. Schwartz) review*
LaLiberation.fr (G.L. / O.S.) review* 
L'Express (E. Libiot) review* 
RogerEbert.com (C. Lemire) review
Slant Magazine (E. Gonzalez) review
Variety (S. Foundas) review

Two Days, One Night (orig. Deux Jours, Une Nuit) [2014] [IMDb] [AC.fr]* (written and directed by the Dardenne brothers [en.wikip] Jean-Pierre [IMDb] [AC.fr]* and Luc [IMDb] [AC.fr]*) is a remarkable / critically acclaimed "thriller of the mundane / day-to-day" and is certainly one of the most compellingly constructed stories put on film in 2014.

I say that the current film had to be _one_ of the year's most compellingly constructed stories put on film because 2014 included Boyhood [2014] which having been filmed with the same ensemble-cast over the span of 10 years had to be the year's _most compellingly constructed story_ .

And then during the past several years there have been some other stunning to remarkable "minimalist" tales put on the screen.  One thinks of the British "drive home one night" Locke [2013], the remarkable Paraguayan film 7 Boxes (orig. 7 Cajas) [2012] about the drama that meets a Paraguayan teenager tasked with simply transporting seven boxes from one end of capital Asuncion's central market to the other and Cosmopolis [2012] about a young New York businessman's afternoon limo-drive through traffic "to get a haircut."  And then there's even a recent, simple, yet also award-winning, Iranian film, The Bright of Day (orig. Rooz-e Roshan) [2013] about a school teacher who has a single day to try to find one witness to testify to the innocence of the father of one of her students.  All of these films, including the current one, would make both James Joyce (Ulysses / Finnegan's Wake) and Vittorio de Sica [IMDb] (Ladri di Biciclette [1948] [IMDb]) proud.

So what's _this_ film about?

Late-20 / early-30-something Sandra (played by Marion Cotillard [IMDb] [AC.fr]* in a performance worthy of her Oscar nomination) after having been on sick leave for several months (for depression) finds when she seeks to return to work at a small Belgian solar panel assembly plant that her job has been eliminated.  Her boss has found that the assembly plant can work with just fine with 16 workers rather than 17.  But she needs the job.  So ... he offers her and the other workers a deal: He can rehire her ... or he can pay-out the other sixteen workers their end-of-year bonuses (about $1200 USD each) but not both.  And he gives Sandra the weekend to persuade the other employees to forgo their bonuses so as to take her back.

Wow.  A heartbreaking to impossible task (and remember why she's been on sick leave to begin with -- for depression...).  The other workers, obviously none of them wealthy, count on that end-of-year bonus, some more than others, but forgoing $1200 would be a significant sacrifice for all of them.  Further, the boss has turned Sandra's future employment at the firm into "a charity case."  It's obvious that he believes that her place at the firm would be superfluous.

But what then to do?  Fascinatingly, Sandra's husband Manu (played also magnificently by Fabrizio Rongione [IMDb] [AC.fr]*) urges Sandra to go out during that weekend and talk to each of the 16 co-workers, ONE-BY-ONE, ANYWAY.  Why?  He also must have known that it was a near impossible task to persuade enough of them to go her way.  But he wants her to try.  Again, WHY?

This is where the film becomes interesting and IMHO becomes MUCH MORE than simply a anti-capitalistic setup.  What was Sandra suffering from?  DEPRESSION.  What's the best antidote to DEPRESSION -- GETTING-UP AND GOING OUT INTO THE WORLD EVEN IF ONE THINKS IT'S HOPELESS.

And it turns out that it isn't ENTIRELY HOPELESS anyway.  THERE ARE STILL AND ALWAYS WILL BE (SOME) PEOPLE willing to sacrifice for others (All / most of those co-workers knew what it's like to be unemployed and dreaded being so as well).

BUT FASCINATINGLY BY THE END OF THE WEEKEND, IT DIDN'T REALLY MATTER TO SANDRA IF SHE'D "WIN THE VOTE" ANYMORE ... she was WALKING again.

HONESTLY, ONE HECK OF A FILM !


* Reasonably good (sense) translations of non-English webpages can be found by viewing them through Google's Chrome browser. 

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