Film Dictionary

The Adventures Of Tintin (2011) ***

2011-09-09T23:41:00.000-07:00

An exciting animated action film based on the famous European comic books. Here, Tintin resembles an all-American action hero (a diminutive Bruce Willis with a weird hairdo) more than the original Hergé creation, but director Steven Spielberg nonetheless managed to accurately depict many memorable supporting characters, including Captain Haddock, Dupont and Dupond (Thomson and Thompson) and Bianca Castafiore. Only Professor Tournesol (Calculus) fails to make an appearance. The story is based on three Tintin's books (“Le Secret de la Licorne”, “Le Trésor de Rackman le Rouge” and “Le Crabe aux pinces d'or”), with one scene taken from “Coke en stock”, but most of the film's second half is entirely original, including the most exciting action pieces (essentially, everything from Tintin's arrival in the Arab prince's palace to the dueling port cranes in nowhere to be found in any of Hergé's books).

Hugo (2011) ***

2011-09-09T23:31:00.000-07:00

Martin Scorsese's love poem to a great pioneer of cinema, Georges Melies. Visually stunning, complex and cleverly constructed film that manages to enchant the viewers with its technical prowess while telling a touching and beautiful story about a great artistic genius.

The Descendants (2011) ***

2011-09-09T23:13:00.000-07:00

Another excellent human drama from Alexander Payne ("Sideways", "About Schmidt", "Election" and "Citizen Ruth") starring George Clooney as a Native Hawaiian aristocrat dealing with the tragic death of his wife. These days, it's quite rare to see a Hollywood drama this rich in psychological complexity.

Midnight In Paris (2011) ***

2011-09-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

A romantic comedy by Woody Allen in the style of "The Purple Rose Of Cairo". Only this time, instead of magically travelling from the world of Hollywood cinema to the real one, the main protagonist travels across time from modern-day Paris to the mythical Paris of Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Gertrude Stein in the 1920's.

The Artist (2011) ***

2011-09-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

A pastiche of “Singin' In The Rain”, “A Star Is Born” and countless other Hollywood films about its own stardom, presented as as a black & white, silent melodrama set in the late 20's and the early 30's, as silent movie stars are gradually replaced by new all-talking, all-singing and all-dancing performers. Unlike Hazanavicius' other films (''OSS 117 Caire le nid des espions'' and ''OSS 117 Rio ne repond plus''), this is not really a parody, but rather a sincere hommage to the Hollywood cinema.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 (2011) ***

2011-09-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

The last installement in the ''Harry Potter'' saga. Dark, apocalyptic, somber and frightening, but never dull (unlike several recent episodes). Closer in sprit to the ''Lord Of The Rings'' trilogy than to the first ''Harry Potter'' films, but quite impressive. Ralph Fiennes steals the movie as Voldemort.

Le Sens de l'humour (2011) ***

2011-09-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

Excellent Canadian comedy about two stand-up comics who get kidnapped by a serial killer. Surprising and screamingly funny.

Crazy Stupid Love (2011) ***

2011-09-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

A successful Alpha male Pick-Up Artist (Ryan Gosling) with a very tight Game takes pity on a poor beta loser (Steve Carell) still in love with his ex-wife (Julianne Moore) who unceremoniously dumped him after cheating on him with Kevin Bacon. Anyone familiar with the Chateau blog (aka Roissy, aka Citizen Renegade) will easily recognize its major themes in this film, so much so that one almost suspects that Chateau's real name is Dan Fogelman, the film's screenwriter (and Roissy/Chateau/Citizen Renegade's real identity has been a matter of major controversies for quite some time). Emma Stone steals the movie as Gosling's new girlfriend.

Tous les soleils (2011) ***

2011-09-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

Bittersweet French comedy about an Italian university professor living in Strasbourg and still unable to get over the death of his wife 15 years earlier. A fascinating portrait of a cosmopolitan European city where ethnic and linguistic diversity coexists peacefully, and humorously. Very old-fashioned, but profoundly moving.

Le Gamin au velo (2011) ***

2011-09-09T09:09:00.000-07:00

Powerful Belgian drama about a young boy abandoned by his father.

Cars 2 (2011) ***

2011-09-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

Very entertaining sequel to Disney/Pixar's 2006 hit. Part James Bond pastiche, part racecar epic, it's a spectacular action flick about industrial spies, ecological conspiracies, alternative fuels and other contemporary topics. And for once - SPOILER ALERT - the villain is a green leftist hypocrite pretending to promote an alternative fuel, but in reality only interested in getting rich himself.

Larry Crowne (2011) ***

2011-09-09T07:44:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly pleasant little comedy about a nice guy losing his job, going to college, meeting new people and turning his life around. Basically an anti-Up In The Air, an earnest and feel-good antidote to Jason Reitman's mean sarcasm about Obama's America. Directed with an appropriate lightness of touch by Tom Hanks (recalling his equally sweet-but-serious approach his brought to his underrated directorial film debut, "That Thing You Do!"). While the film is advertised as a Tom Hanks/Julia Roberts rom-com, it's really much more than that, an almost epic, Capraesque portrait of contemporary America not giving up on its potential. It's really the supporting characters who make this movie, a truly original collection of various odd-balls, goof-balls and excentrics, including Star Trek's George Takei as a hilariously strange college professor, Cedric the Entertainer as a penny-pinching yard-sale guru, and especially Gugu Mbatha-Raw (photo) as an unbelievably cute yet wise college student and scooter club promoter.

Monsieur Lazhar (2011) ***

2011-09-09T00:30:00.000-07:00

"Entre les murs", Quebec-style.

17 filles (2011) *

2011-08-08T11:28:00.000-07:00

French drama about an epidemy of pregnancies among teenage girls.

La Vie meilleure (2011) *

2011-08-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

Depressing French drama about some very bad business decisions leading to a life of misery and despair.

Un Baiser papillon (2011) *

2011-08-08T06:41:00.000-07:00

French melodrama about death, maternity, altruism, and other equally fascinating subjects. With Cecile de France and Elsa Zylberstein.

Une Pure affaire (2011) *

2011-08-08T01:41:00.000-07:00

A lawyer finds a bag full of cocaine and becomes a drug dealer. "Breaking Bad", French-style.

Lapland Odyssey (2011) **

2011-07-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

Finnish comedy about a lazy bum who must buy a digital something-or-other for his girlfriend (before 9 am the following morning) or face consequences. What follows is a zany night in northern Finland, where all electronic stores are closed (and even if there were open it wouldn't have mattered since our "hero" doesn't have any money), the winter is cold, Russian tourists are drunk, topless lesbians love to drown horny boys and squeegees freeze to death frequently.

Nessuno mi puo giudicare (2011) **

2011-07-07T13:43:00.000-07:00

Hollywood-style Italian comedy about a spoiled rich woman who finds herself destitute after her husband's death and has to pay his debts by becoming a prostitute. An uneasy mixture of cynical sophistication and saccharine sentimentality, more successful as a crowd-pleaser than a lucid exploration of Italian hypocrisy, machismo and sexist double standards. And despite its subject matter, it has no nudity at all. If this was English-speaking Hollywood movie, it would have been a huge international hit, in United States, in Italy and everywhere else. But because it's in Italian, it will only be a huge hit in Italy, and then Hollywood will buy the right and re-make it in Hollywood as a racy rom-com starring Jennifer Garner and Owen Wilson.

Agua del fin del mundo (2011) *

2011-07-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

Argentinian drama about two sisters, one of them mortally ill.

Transit Cities (2011) *

2011-07-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

Jordanian drama about a prodigal daughter returning home.

Un Bouteille dans la mer (2011) *

2011-07-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

An Israeli girl sends a message in a bottle to Gaza.

Dance Town (2011) **

2011-07-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

Gritty South Korean drama about a North Korean refugee woman (Ra Mi-Ran, photo) adapting uneasily to the life in the south.

La Bellezza del somaro (2011) *

2011-07-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

Typical Italian comedy set in a country house in Toscany, full of cheating husbands, neurotic wives, spoiled children, big snakes, donkeys and pointless references to Sylvio Berlusconi.

The Roadside House (2011) *

2011-07-07T10:40:00.000-07:00

Russian drama about a man who befriends the wife of a man he injured in a road accident.

Operation Casablanca (2011) **

2011-07-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

An Arab immigrant in Europe is falsely accused of being a terrorist. A black comedy from Switzerland.

Brand (2011) **

2011-07-07T08:49:00.000-07:00

Austrian film noir about jealous husbands and unfaithful wives. With Angela Gregovic.

Crazy-ism (2011) *

2011-07-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

A Japanese "Rservoir Dogs", only nowhere near as good.

Fish And Chips (2011) *

2011-07-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

A BBC (British-Born Cypriot) returns to Cyprus.

Che bella giornata (2011) **

2011-07-07T06:51:00.000-07:00

Hollywood-style Italian comedy about an incompetent guard seduced by a beautiful Muslim terrorist.

Five Square Meters (2011) *

2011-07-07T06:49:00.000-07:00

Boring Spanish drama about real estate.

Salt White (2011) **

2011-07-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

Georgian drama about a cop, a waitress and a homeless girl.

The Graveyard Keeper's Daughter (2011) *

2011-07-07T06:45:00.001-07:00

Estonian drama about a young girl, her father and her alcoholic mother.

Amnesty (2011) **

2011-07-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

Albanian drama about conjugal prison visits, marital infidelity and love.

Innocence (2011) *

2011-07-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

Czech drama about a doctor falsely accused of seducing a 14-year-old patient, but guilty of equally serious sexual transgressions. Daring subject, conventional treatment.

Body (2011) *

2011-07-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

Turkish drama about a porn actress trying to rebuilt her life. While the subject matter is daring, the treatment is ultra-conservative and moralistic, reflecting the pro-Islamist direction of the Turkish society circa 2011. Probably meant as an allegory about Turkey and the evolution of its society.

Adventure (2011) *

2011-07-07T06:39:00.000-07:00

A story of adultery in Horthy's Hungary.

Hasta la vista (2011) **

2011-07-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

Entertaining Belgian film about three handicapped men traveling to Spain to visit a brothel.

Facing Mirrors (2011) *

2011-07-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

Iranian film about transsexualism.

The Dead Sea (2011) *

2011-07-07T06:27:00.001-07:00

Indian drama about Tamil fishermen and Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka.

My Prince My King (2011) *

2011-07-07T06:27:00.000-07:00

German drama about a shiftless young man.

Festung (2011) *

2011-07-07T06:26:00.001-07:00

German drama about a young girl whose father physically abuses her mother.

Good Neighbour (2011) *

2011-07-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

A man kills a cyclist.

Less Modern Times (2011) *

2011-07-07T06:25:00.000-07:00

Argentinian drama about a sheep farmer.

The Bad Truth (2011) *

2011-07-07T01:26:00.000-07:00

Creepy Argentinian film about a creepy grandfather abusing his granddaughter.

The Finger (2011) *

2011-07-07T01:24:00.000-07:00

Argentinian drama set in a big village trying to become a small town.

The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom (2011) *

2011-06-06T12:03:00.000-07:00

A coming-of-age drama about a young girl finding that she was adopted and imagining that her birth mother is none other than Dolly Parton.

The Tree (2011) **

2011-06-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

Chatlotte Gainsbourg stars in this Australian drama about mourning. Highly symbolic, the film tries hard to avoid being depressing and sentimental, but doesn't always succeed.

Here I Am (2011) *

2011-06-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

Australian drama about a young woman who just got out of prison.

In Our Name (2011) *

2011-06-06T06:44:00.000-07:00

British drama about a female soldier returning from a tour of duty.

La Peur de l'eau (2011) **

2011-05-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

A Canadian whodunit set in a small fishing village.

Jo pour Jonathan (2011) *

2011-05-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

A Canadian drama from Quebec.

Le Colis (2011) *

2011-05-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

A lame comedy about a courier.

En terrains connus (2011) *

2011-05-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

Strange film about winter, time travel and death.

French Immersion (2011) *

2011-05-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

One of the worst film ever made. A Canadian "Plan 9 From Outer Space".

Frisson de collines (2011) *

2011-05-05T12:33:00.000-07:00

Canadian drama set in 1969.

Nana Mesnak (2012) *

2011-05-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

"Hamlet", Native-Canadian style.

Pour l'amour de dieu (2011) *

2011-05-05T12:25:00.000-07:00

A nun falls in love with a priest.

Romeo Onze (2012) *

2011-05-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

Story of a young man suffering from cerebral palsy.

Le Vendeur (2011) *

2011-05-05T12:18:00.000-07:00

A Canadian film about a car salesman.

La Vérité (2011) *

2011-05-05T12:15:00.000-07:00

Two adolescent boys accidentally kill a man.

Starbuck (2011) **

2011-05-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

A sperm-bank donor finds that he has fathered 533 children. And they want to meet him.

Sur le rhythme (2011) **

2011-05-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

Excellent dance sequences. Routine story.

Une Vie qui commence (2011) *

2011-05-05T12:05:00.000-07:00

A young boy cannot accept the death of his father.

Decharge (2011) *

2011-05-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

Strange film about a family man who tries to help a junkie prostitute, but ends up having sex with her. The main character is a completely naive moron who doesn't realize what would be obvious to anyone.

The Kate Logan Affair (2011) **

2011-05-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

Film noir about a tragic encounter.

French Kiss (2011) *

2011-05-05T01:19:00.000-07:00

Lousy romantic comedy, without any originality whatsoever. With Celine Bonnier (last photo) and Ruby Brown (first two photos).

Bumrush (2011) **

2011-05-05T01:18:00.000-07:00

Canadian gangster film, inspired by real-life events, about turf warfare between street gangs and club doormen.

Le Diable en personne (2011) ***

2011-04-04T15:49:00.000-07:00

A musical short film about the Devil.

Margaret And The Dollhouse (2011) ***

2011-04-04T15:33:00.000-07:00

Very amusing and innovative comedy about a young girl forced to eat carrots by her parents, but determined to get her hands on sweeter things.

Noeud papillon (2011) ***

2011-04-04T15:11:00.000-07:00

Very amusing short about a little boy forced to wear a fancy suit to school.

Chers amis (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

Nice experimental film. Well-directed and sexy.

Blink (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:58:00.001-07:00

Innovative short film about love, computers, delusions and technology.

Ryan & Ally (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

Ryan and Ally are just fuck friends, but he would like it to be more than that.

No Words Came Down (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

Intriguing short film about a very strange blind date.

Vodka canneberge (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:54:00.000-07:00

A short film set in a bar during closing time.

Hotel Alpha Mike (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

Nice experimental film about ham radio operators.

Pas de deux (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

Two dancers used to be lovers.

Beyond Man (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:46:00.000-07:00

Short film about a former soldier who becomes an actor in student films.

Les Bons termes selon Dewey (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

Short comedy about a guy trying to break with his girlfriend in a library (so that she will not be able to yell too loudly).

Mise a pied (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:39:00.001-07:00

Short film about losing a job.

Landing (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:39:00.000-07:00

Short film about marital infidelity.

Bill Please (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:37:00.000-07:00

Short comedy about who will pay the bill.

La Queue du peloton (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

Short film about a man and woman competing for a promotion.

I'll Be Waiting Outside (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

Short film about a young man trying to find a job.

Les Interdits (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:31:00.000-07:00

Short film set in a post-apocalyptic future, when people are forbidden from going outside.

La Statege (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

A documentary about Olga Hrycak, a short 63-year-old woman coaching a male basketball team. Quite a character.

Bred In Captivity (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

What if someone's life was just a koala`s dream ?

La Piece (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

This short film is set on September 11, 2001, but the story concerns an old man suffering from Alzheimer.

L'Invite (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:06:00.001-07:00

Short film about a solitary fisherman who finds a frozen body.

Je les aime encore (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:06:00.000-07:00

Surprising documentary about a surprising seducer of women.

Suburban Swingers (2011) **

2011-04-04T14:00:00.000-07:00

Either a real documentary or a mockumentary about a swingers' club in suburban Ontario.

Dulce (2011) *

2011-04-04T13:57:00.001-07:00

Tragic film about love. Unbearably old-fashioned and emotionally manipulative. What pornography is to erotica, this film is to romanticism.

Going (2011) *

2011-04-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

Short film about kendo.

Strike 3 (2011) *

2011-04-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

Set in a bowling alley, a short film about false hopes and disappointments.

Close To Her (2011) *

2011-04-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

A young man wants to leave a desolate Canadian Prairie town to go to an arts school and asks his girlfriend to come with him.

Wiggle Your Toes (2011) *

2011-04-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

Documentary short about drunk driving.

Entre deux etats (2011) *

2011-04-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

Short film about a tragic death.

It's Nobody's Fault (2011) *

2011-04-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

Short Spanish film about a husband who tries to break up with his wife.

Moving Slowly (2011) *

2011-04-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

Short film about two brothers and grief.