Cult scene with Mike Myers

If you have never seen the 1990s cult film  "Wayne's world", this scene will give a great taste of it. This scene is very well-known and funny. Enjoy the rock'n roll! 

Sicario (4/5, Good)

An electrifying film about the drug cartels in Mexico and the power struggles inherent in these wars. Very harsh.

French director Denis Villeneuve decided to approach the cartel drugs war in Mexico with crudity and realism. He decides to be graphic in many scenes, involving gore scenes and physical violence. However the great struggle appears in the main characters: they all loose humanity in a world of aggression and violence. Emily Blunt is great in her role as a woman who struggles to fit in a war dominated by men. Benicio Del Toro is the example of the man who has nothing to lose but somehow seems to hide more than what we know. Josh Brolin is impeccable as a man leading a war: harsh, numb and calculator. 

This film blends the best of Traffic putting forward dramatic elements over the policial plot (the social context of Mexico, the anti-drugs politics of the US) and the worst of The Last Stand with a confusing character development and action scenes. This is a genre in ebullition and Villeneuve knows it. The crudity of the photography is a reflection of the harshness and bitterness of this war. All motivated by greed and the lack of humanity due to a global economy that does not help to spread other values. Sicario is a good film because it is a photography of a reality. That is why it is also scary. 

Regression (3/5, Regular)

A thriller/horror film inspired by real events with a good acting from Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson. However it is a largely forgettable affair.

Screenwriter and Director Alejandro Amenábar goes back to its roots with this new thriller. Inspired by a wave of "satanic abuse" cases in the US during the 1980s, Regression puts at the center of the story a troubled cop and a young fragile woman with a dark story.  In this small town of the US, everyone has his dark deeds and no one is to be trusted. While Ethan Hawke's character slowly founder into this terrifying case, he looses control and his deepest fears will submerge. 

After Tesis and The Others, Amenábar showed his credentials as a director capable of keeping the viewer tense and confused. He developed once more the scheme of a story with mysteries and a final twist to leave everyone out of breath. However this final twist could be disappointing for some and original for others. That is up to the viewer. The acting is very convincing (especially Hawke showing different colors) along with a very grey and dark photography. It reminded us of Rosemary's Baby and The Omen.

An entertaining film that explores people's deepest fears but also the social elements embedded in the daily life of a small town. Spiritual beliefs and prejudices are strong. It reminds us that one of the deepest fears for the people isn't the fear of Satan or of Death but most of all, the fear of what does other people think of us. A film to be seen but to be forgotten pretty quick. 

Trailer: 

Macbeth (4/5, Good)

A Shakespeare's classic re-adapted into the big screen with a poetry that hasn't been seen since Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet. A film worth watching.

It has been very difficult for directors to make a Shakespeare's film with a fresher view. Two films in the 2000s decade are a proof of it: Hamlet (2000) and 'O' (2001). Both films were superficial and soulless, setting up Shakespeare in modern times. Director Justin Kurzel understood that he needed to go back to the roots. Shakespeare's prose is there but also the medieval context. Nevertheless Kurzel had something else in mind: the cinematography coupled with Shakespeare's prose to enhance an incredibly intense film.

Fassbender and Cotillard are brilliant in this film, no doubt about it. We do think though that the performances from these actors are being given more intensity thanks to the cinematography. It is literally visual poetry and perhaps among the best photography we have seen in years. It is brilliant and the disturbing story of this greedy couple in search of more power embraces this dark and very well-cared photography. 

Saturated colors take the lead and they all have a role to play. The illustration of the different themes that surround Macbeth are seen with red, white, grey, dark and scarlet. They become characters themselves as the characters interact continuously with them. The score is brilliant and accompanies perfectly this very disturbing story. We feel uneasy and Fassbender knows it when he talks. He is a man with one great fear: to loose power. 

This is a good film, perhaps the link between Cotillard and Fassbender's characters could have been developed more. The play puts these two characters at the center but does not achieve to illustrate the complexity of their relationship. They become poisonous to each other which slowly dehumanizes them. A shame they didn't go further more in that direction. Besides that, thank you Justin Kurzel.

Trailer: 

Southpaw (4/5, Good)

A dark story about an anti-hero who had it all but slowly started to fall into a spinal of anger and sorrow. An outstanding acting by Gyllenhaal. 

We started to get use to Antoine Fuqua's cheap and cliché stories (Shooter, Olympus has fallen). However since he collaborated again with Denzel Washington in The Equalizer, a fresh air of inspiration caressed him. It was a long-time he wasn't doing a good film. If The Equalizer was still a decent film, Southpaw is definitely an upgrade in...everything! The script is interesting but focuses mostly on this boxer's personal struggles. It explores how much hate and anger can cause self-destruction and decadence. Gyllenhaal is simply impeccable in portraying this man trying to get back on his feet after losing her wide and the custody of her child. 

This film isn't only the comeback of Fuqua but also Forest Whitaker's. He has been known for choosing carefully his film but has failed in that task for a while. Taking the role as the mentor of Gyllenhaal, he embodies a man who has been through dark times and has learned how to cope with the anger. A society who puts so much pressure on individuals to be someone famous, to be meaningful, to be ''utilitarian'' to the world. Those who are left aside, they are condemned to a life of loneliness and sorrow. Whitaker's character represents all that with perfection. Bravo.

Gyllenhaal already deserved an Oscar with Nightcrawler. It is due with this one now. The pace is good and the cinematography is raw and dirty. It illustrates how raw and primitive anger can be. Keeping you far away from hope, into the darkness.


Trailer: 

Very funny and exciting advertisement by Guy Ritchie

This is an old short-film advertisement for BMW. It stars Madonna and Clive Owen as the driver of the new BMW car. Guy Ritchie, Madonna's husband at the time, directed this outstanding action film. Red Curtain Cinema found it again on the Internet and decided to share it with you! Go for it, just click on it!

There is this legend...

There is a legend. As any legend, it is captivating. Pink Floyd's masterpiece Dark Side of the Moon (1973) is said to have been composed and recorded to synchronize perfectly with Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz. 

You can think a lot about it. Actually, you can even watch the film with a "Pink Floyd's score". Have a glimpse and see the incredible match between the music and the images.