Transformers: Dark of the Moon — Not too bad for a third chapter — 6*/10

• Overall: Some broken logic steps make it a lesser cousin in the series (read my view of the first one here and the second one here). Still, it's good entertainment.
• Who is it for? Only the fans of the series or those in need of a sci-fi action fix.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1399103/
• Known actors: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Patrick Dempsey, John Turturro, Alan Tudyk, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson.
• Cameos: Julie White, Kevin Dunn, Ken Jeong and Buzz Aldrin.
• Style: Sci-fi action.
• Intro: I hate it when they rewrite history. I hated it in the second one, too, but here, they rewrite their own story. Annoying.
• Story: Simple. Lots of action with some humor.
• Dialogs: Funny, but simple.
• Characters: Same as usual. This time, they did give a more involved role to the main female lead which had been a problem in the second chapter.
• Visuals: Great.
• Special Effects: Near perfect.
• Afterthoughts: You have to love Transformers to really appreciate this one, else, it's gonna be a lot stuff without much meat.

Les intouchables — Un film cérébral absolument touchant et attachant — 10*/10

Impossible de ne pas aimer à moins d'être allergique aux sentiments et à l'humour. Vous allez immanquablement rire et vous ne pourrez faire autrement qu'être touché. L'humour intellectuel de la rue à la rescousse du fatalisme, de la déprime et de l'isolation.

Les prises de vue sont incroyablement belles tant au niveau du cadrage que de la lumière et des décors. Des acteurs parfaits pour leur rôle, des personnages d'une grande profondeur ainsi que des dialogues délectables et naturels bien qu'ils aient la perfection du construit. À voir absolument.

Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1675434/

The Oranges — A tangle of lives with a big mess and some fun — 7*/10

• Story: The lives and the storylines of two family get incredibly entangled. Very funny with just a bit of pretty tame drama.
• Setting: As usual, too posh compared to the average viewer.
• Ending: Too neat and pretty bland, but acceptable. It could have been worst. It could also have been easily better if it had followed a realistic approach.
• Dialogs: Funny.
• Characters: Very interesting.
• Acting: Better than good overall. Simple roles, though.
• Known actors: Catherine Keener, Allison Janney, Oliver Platt, Hugh Laurie, Alia Shawkat and Leighton Meester.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1313139/
• Entertainment value: Good.
• Who is it for? Those looking for something funny, with extremely light family drama.

Kung Fu Panda 2 — A good funny successor to the original — 7*/10

• Story: Interesting and funny, a whole new chapter with solid ideas. The novelty of the first one (read my review here) is gone, but it retains most of its flair even if it has lost a bit of vigor in its content.
• Ending: Good.
• Acting: Nice.
• Known actors: Jack Black, Michelle Yeoh, Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Jackie Chan and Danny McBride.
• Cameos: Victor Garber and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
• Visuals: The quality of the graphics are just not as good as the first one. Still, it's satisfying enough.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1302011/
• Entertainment value: Pretty good.
• Who is it for? Kids and anyone who liked the first chapter at least a little bit. The most critical fans might be a bit disappointed, but those who haven't seen the original will probably not like this iteration as much as those who have.

Monsieur Lazhar — Touchant, simple et très bien monté — 8*/10

Ce film ne s'empêtre pas dans son histoire. Elle évolue lentement au gré de nos émotions. Touchant, aux émotions fortes sans être trop dramatique, on ne peut que regarder, absorber et réfléchir. Bien que le personnage principal soit adulte, ce sont les enfants qui sont les vraies étoiles de cette production. Bien que l'histoire d'immigration semble parfois secondaire, le film en vaut la peine. C'est beau et je le recommande à tous.


Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2011971/

L!fe Happens — Wildly underrated flick about great women — 8*/10

• Scenario: Surprisingly interesting with great delivery and events that really make you think. The dialogs are amazing. The lie plot element made its ugly appearance, true, and the end is a bit rosy, but I have to say both where handled in nice ways, completely in synch with the tone of the flick. Realistic in many ways, yet funny and touching. Obviously made by women. My hats to them, including the director Kat Coiro.
• Known actors: Krysten Ritter (who also co-wrote the screenplay), Kate Bosworth, Rachel Bilson, Justin Kirk, Kristen Johnston and Jason Biggs.
• Visual & sound: Sweet visuals, great music.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1726589/
• Who is it for? All women or anyone looking for a nice flick with a different vibe.

Paul — A fun alien movie like you've never seen — 8*/10

• Scenario: Funny, hilarious at time, without going crazy stupid, full of winks at many major alien films, most of which I probably didn't even catch. Very interesting story, well told, with a great setting. It feels a bit like a parody, but it's not and it has its own style. The characters are extremely engaging and even if they are, to a certain degree, stereotypical, they mesh superbly. Great entertainment value with a nice ending.
• Known actors: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio, Sigourney Weaver, John Carroll Lynch, David Koechner, Jane Lynch, Jeffrey Tambor, Jesse Plemons and Steven Spielberg.
• Visual & sound: Great effects, few and well blended in.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1092026/
• Who is it for? Anyone looking for a good laugh and some silliness.

Martha Marcy May Marlene — A slow psychological drama the captivates — 9*/10

• Scenario: Heavy but entrancing. It revolves a lot around the psychological state of the main character and slowly gets us to understand where she's at right now and why. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it doesn't really matter. Excellent ending.
• Dialogs: Excellent.
• Characters: Very well developed, you can really feel them.
• Actors: Excellent work on the part of everyone. Cast members include Elizabeth Olsen.
• Photography: Very still, but it conveys the right sensation. Solid.
• Sound: Simple but beautiful music and score.
• Special effects: None.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441326/
• Who is it for? Those who like psychological drama.

Sound of My Voice — It's a slow developing intrigue that turns into a solid mind fuck — 7*/10

• Scenario: It's realistic and slow moving. Actually, not much happens. It's a true intrigue in the sense that you're always trying to guess what is really happening, from the first scene to the last. It leaves everything on the table at the end, and it doesn't try to close any loop, which is something that all great movies should aspire to. Overall, an excellent mind fuck.
• Dialogs: Solid and very realistic.
• Characters: Well built.
• Actors: Excellent work on the part of everyone. Cast members include Brit Marling.
• Photography: Nice, nothing extraordinary.
• Sound: Nice.
• Special effects: None.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1748207/
• Who is it for? Those looking for a true enigma without any need for action.

Twixt — A gothic intrigue to be watched with a very open mind — 7*/10

• Scenario: The story is sometime difficult to follow because there are many pieces to the puzzle and they only come together slowly. It becomes very intriguing as the events unfold, but took me more than half the film before finally getting behind this unusual vision of Francis Ford Coppola.
• Dialogs: Realistic, sometime cryptic.
• Characters: Some are well developed, others are pretty thin.
• Actors: Good work. Cast members include Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern, Elle Fanning and David Paymer.
• Photography: Good, but sometimes jerky to heighten mystery.
• Sound: Solid music and score.
• Special effects: They feel low budget and I don't know if it's done on purpose to give the movie a special voice. They're not so bad as to completely distract from the performance.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1756851/
• Who is it for? Those wanting to discover something very different or fans of Francis Ford Coppola.

Detention — Totally out of whack and full of references — 7*/10

• Story: It's difficult to understand anything in this freaky succession of barely related events. It's winks after winks to different horror movies riding a fine line between a goofy comedy and a parody.
• Characters: Simple and caricatural.
• Dialogs: Fast and funny.
• Scenario: It's more than a simple roller coaster, because it spins every which way until the plots really thickens. It doesn't make any sense before then.
• Actors: Nice silly work on the part of everyone. Cast members include Dane Cook.
• Photography: Acceptable.
• Sound: Nice music and score.
• Special effects: Good.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1701990/
• Who is it for? Those who want to see something totally crazy and don't mind violence and gore.

Midnight Son — An usual vampire movie that could have been so much more — 6*/10

• Story: Interesting concepts with lots of novel ideas. Unfortunately, poor execution ruins it all.
• Characters: Acceptable.
• Dialogs: Good if a bit weird.
• Scenario: Nice slow pace. However, the only well done scene is the last one. Very powerful.
• Actors: A few of them are good, most aren't.
• Photography: Poor. Except for the last scene.
• Sound: Acceptable music, poor score and even unacceptable at one point.
• Special effects: Acceptable.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1068961/
• Who is it for? Only if you really need to and are curious as well as being a vampire fan who likes the unusual.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen — An easy witty romance to be discovered — 8*/10

• Story: Love the details. Very captivating. Excellent overall. However, it falls flat from the moment they open the sluice. After that, it seems creativity went out the window.
• Characters: Nice, with plenty of details for the most part.
• Dialogs: Great with pleasant structure, wit and repartee.
• Scenario: Nicely split up between the different parts.
• Actors: Great work on the British side. The Yemenite side wasn't as strong, but probably just because the movie was aimed at occidentals so they didn't pay as much attention to the "foreign" roles. Cast members include Ewan McGregor, who was great in this very low key role, Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas.
• Photography: Pretty.
• Sound: Nice music and score.
• Special effects: None visible.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441952/
• Who is it for? Those looking for a romantic movie that doesn't look too much like one.

Tonight You're Mine — A love story born when animosity met a prophet — 9*/10

• Story: Simple and elegant. Novel and classic. Very well told. Much better than what the synopsis might lead you to believe.
• Characters: Weirdly enough, the lack of depth doesn't seem to be a problem. Maybe it's because it's such a simple story to tell.
• Dialogs: Great. Realistic.
• Scenario: Excellent pacing. The length, even though short, is just right.
• Actors: Excellent work on the part of everyone.
• Photography: Nice. The inclusion of non-setting or non-controlled filmed shots is great.
• Sound: The music is absolutely brilliant.
• Special effects: None.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1672845/
• Who is it for? Those who love music, concerts, rock bands or those who want to see a different love story.

Another title for it seems to be « You Instead ».

The Ides of March — A sobering view of election politics — 8*/10

• Story: At first, you don't know where it's going, interesting, but not much more, and then things happen. You get captivated. Nice twists and turns in unusual manners.
• Characters: Solidly built, except for Morris which feels a little light.
• Dialogs: Well done, believable.
• Scenario: The intro really settles us comfortably within that world, so when the action hits, you get completely absorbed.
• Actors: Ryan Gosling is excellent. The notable members of the cast: George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, and Marisa Tomei,
• Photography: Nice.
• Special effects: None.
• Synopsis & information: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124035/
• Who is it for? Those who like political drama and intrigue, or anyone who doesn't need action to appreciate and good story. Those looking for something light or funny should abstain.

Arthur Christmas — What you should watch with your kids this Holiday — 8*/10

Arthur Christmas is a bundle of fun. Sharp graphics, tight action, silliness aplenty, well developed characters, nice dialogs, interesting plot line, fast paced scenario, and, not to forget, a great explanation on how Santa does it all.

For some Holiday fun.
8*/10

Cougars Inc. — It depends what you're looking for — 5*/10

Cougars Inc. is simple the women gorgeous and some of the dialogs are very funny, but the sound take is horrible.

For minor entertainment if you can easily overlook shortcomings.
5*/10

Margin Call — You can feel the tsunami coming — 9*/10

Margin Call is what it might be like at the onset of the crash. The acting and the atmosphere are brilliantly simple and on the nose. The scenario has a nice pacing, the story is captivating, and the ending is perfect. You don't need big theatrics to underline major dramatic consequences.

For those who don't require action to enjoy a flick.
9*/10

Killing Bono — Acceptable silly piece of independent art — 6*/10

Killing Bono is silly with a touch of pathetic sadness to it. You'll laugh and be captivated against your will, but, mainly, you'll give yourself more than a few face palms. It's low budget, but still interesting.

For those not looking for too much.
6*/10

Kiss Me — Watch it and be slowly entranced by the blooming relationship — 9*/10

Kiss Me is a great little Swedish romance flick. It's simple, realistic, with well developed characters, beautiful scenery and a story that will slowly captivate you.

For romantics who don't mind the unusual.
9*/10