12 O'clock Boys (2013)

Directed by: Lotfy Nathan
Country: USA

Movie Review: ‘12 O’clock Boys’ is the name of an illegal group of urban dirt-bike riders from Baltimore that inspired this documentary directed by New York based filmmaker and visual artist, Lotfy Nathan. The ‘boys’ challenge the local police by riding at high speed in streets packed with traffic and showing off through bike stunts. These provocative behaviors reveal to have two reverse sides for a powerless police that adopted a no-chasing policy in order to guarantee public safety. For the majority of Baltimore’s inhabitants they are seen as a radical group, while for others, such as the young Pug who is trying to join them at any cost, they are heroes and models to follow in the near future. Pug’s mother, Coco, is the one not to be satisfied with her son’s obsession, but will she be able to make him see differently? This family interaction along with decent shots of the dangerous neighborhood, were the aspects that held up the levels of consistency, since the streets’ stunts soon started to be repetitive and finally a bit boring. Even with the slight sensation that the film could have been better developed, “12 O’clock boys” is at the minimum curious and thought provoking, having a voice that speaks for itself. I felt confronted by these aimless men who don’t seem to care about the consequences of their acts, but only their exhibitionism and ego. Is the documentary sufficiently explanatory? Yes. Educative? No. Fascinating? Reasonably.

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At Middleton (2013)

Directed by: Adam Rodgers
Country: USA

Movie Review: Adam Rodgers’ first feature film, “At Middleton”, joins Vera Farmiga and Andy Garcia (who also produced) in a one-day-romance set at Middleton College campus while their children were taking a tour. Garcia plays a polite and charming cardiac surgeon who gives special attention to exterior appearances, demanding neatness from his respectful son. In turn, Farmiga gives shape to Edith (Farmiga), a daring, mouthy, and pretty much alive woman who seems to have difficulties to handle her undistinguishable daughter Audrey (played by Vera’s younger sister, Taissa Farmiga). The quartet will provide us with several situations, some digestible and some nauseating, in which the youngsters try to act like adults while the adults looked like two naughty kids when have some minutes of freedom. I cannot say that the film hasn’t one or two decent moments, but for the most of it, its jokes didn’t work very well and the adopted posture was too childish and stale to engage. I also found the episodic presences of nerds, teachers, and visitors, a bit forcible, once they only appear in convenient circumstances that never seemed natural. “At Middleton” tries to pose as cool or irreverent, but ultimately feels feckless, just to mention a word widely used by the characters in this film. Despite some irritating personalities, the acting was fine in general, but didn’t save the film from being a flop on comedy and especially on romance.

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On the Job (2013)

Directed by: Erik Matti
Country: Philippines

Movie Review: Filipino crime thriller “On the Job” can be seen as an unrestrained exposure of crooked politics, corrupt police, and the underworld of narcotrafficking. Inspired on true events, Erik Matti’s 14th feature film centers on two inmates, the veteran Tang (Joel Torre) and the young and inexperienced Daniel (Gerald Anderson), who occasionally get out from the prison to work as carriers or hitmen for Madame Thelma and her criminal organization. In parallel and in an opposite front, we can follow the determined officers Acosta (Joey Marquez) and Frans (Piolo Pascual), a newcomer whose honesty will impel him to fight anyone, including his own family. Here we can take a good look into marginal Filipino society and even learn and understand a few things about the interveners’ mentality. As exemplification, we are shown that to kill someone targeted has to be considered merely work and never personal; or that crowded places can be perfect for some executions. Both plot and characters are a bit entangled, and some scenes sporadically relegate the film to commonplaces, but “On the Job” offers us a vivid characterization of a country’s system that operates in dark alleys, confined corridors, and other claustrophobic scenarios where we can almost feel the pestilent air of crime and death. Matti was able to create intensity and none situation seemed out of reality or uncontrolled. Despite the good critical responses, the film was a commercial flop, both locally and outside doors.

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Run and Jump (2013)

Directed by: Steph Green
Country: Ireland / Germany

Movie Review: After “New Boy”, an acclaimed short film dated from 2007, filmmaker Steph Green makes her debut feature with “Run and Jump”, a sweet and gentle drama that doesn’t try to take any emotional advantage of Ailbhe Keogan’s screenplay (also a solid debut). Instead, it presents us a sober approach, expressing a lot of feelings in its own way and being touchy in a legitimate manner. Mother of two kids, Vanetia Casey (Maxine Peak) is a frustrated and exhausted Irish housewife who accepts to host Ted Fielding (Will Forte) in her house for a while. Ted is an American doctor interested to make a case study of her husband, Conor (Edward MacLiam) who, at the age of 38, suffered a stroke that caused him deep personality alterations. Ted, little by little, starts to be a crucial figure inside the house, not only weaving a strong connection with Vanetia, but also with her lonely son, Lenny, who entered in a complicated process of self-discovery (perhaps an avoidable subplot). The ability here was not to rush things, but let them flow with sensibility and plainness. What I liked in Green’s approach was that the film never stepped into overused melodramatic scenes, choosing to look at the problems in a positive and non-manipulative way. The pleasant score fitted well in the mood intended, while in the visual aspect “Run and Jump” was able to pull out vivid colors from the lively, luminous frames. Peak was very believable in her performance, while Forte, after a great participation in “Nebraska”, demonstrates his adaptability.

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Our Sunhi (2013)

Directed by: Hong Sang-soo
Country: South Korea

Movie Review: “Our Sunhi” is probably the weakest film directed by prolific Korean director Hong Sang-soo in the last few years. The film is almost an extension of his previous studies “The Day He Arrives” and particularly “Nobody’s Daughter Haewon”, where people related to cinema roam through the city having several encounters with acquaintances, fortuitous or not, and exposing their state of mind. Film student Sunhi, always running to go somewhere or hiding from something, shows to be confused about what she really wants in life, including her affective relationships. She asks her former teacher for a reference letter in order to study abroad, but wasn’t so pleased with the truthful statements in it. Nevertheless, a kind of flirtation arises between them and a more 'suitable' letter will come up later. Meantime, she accidentally meets with her ex-boyfriend Munsu who is still in love with her, and gives hope to Jae-hak, a married friend who always had a crush on her. All three men happen to know each other and the story, as you can imagine, won’t end in the way she probably wanted to. The approach relies on the usual simplistic style adopted by Sang-soo: natural and long dialogues, while drinking in pubs or restaurants, and repeated situations in different circumstances or presences. Only this time, the story was not so catchy and drags itself slowly towards a totally predictable ending, failing to surprise. Furthermore, I must confess I’m not a fan of some unexpected and nonsensical camera zooms, so evident in "Our Sunhi", a minor work from a respectable director.

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The Counselor (2013)

Directed by: Ridley Scott
Country: USA / UK

Movie Review: Written by the imaginative novelist/screenwriter Cormac McCarthy (“The Road”, “No Country For Old Men”), and exhibiting a cast beyond suspicion that includes Fassbender, Bardem, Cruz, Diaz, and Pitt, “The Counselor” was victim of its narrative traps and a plot in which its disperse parts aren’t always put together with clarity. The film was directed and produced by Ridley Scott who, for now, abandoned the spatial adventures he got famous for (“Blade Runner, “Alien”, “Prometheus), to embark in a story with the greed as central focus. Once the story involves Mexican drug cartels and nebulous schemes, we inevitably must add sex, drugs, and some violence to it. The results are not really memorable but I must confess that other similar movies in the same genre had less impact on me, case of Oliver Stone’s “Savages”. While Fassbender was solid in the role of a man known as ‘Counselor’ who asks for everybody’s counseling after fall in disgrace, the rest of the cast had acceptable performances, with Diaz being the weakest as libertine, greedy villain, but providing the most unforgettable scene of the movie, when she rubs herself in a Ferrari’s sunroof, leaving her extravagant husband (Bardem) in a state of shock. Although stereotyped in almost every aspect, “The Counselor” managed to create good moments of darkness, being talkative and protracted in one side, and super-violent and vigorous in the other. After a careful analysis, the balance is positive, but just don’t expect many surprises here.

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Wakolda (2013)

Directed by: Lucía Puenzo
Country: Argentina / others

Movie Review: Better known for her 2007 auspicious debut “XXY”, Lucia Puenzo, embarks this time in an almost anticlimactic thriller set in a remote place in Patagonia, Argentina, where Dr. Josef Mengele, a Nazi fugitive, seeks guinea pigs within a family in order to develop his genetic theories and experiences. The story was based on her own book with the same name, and starts with a fortuitous encounter between Mengele (Alex Brendemuhl) and 12-year-old Lilith (Florencia Bado) who arouse his curiosity due to a poor body development and growth for her age. Right away, Mengele introduces himself to her parents and becomes the couple’s first guest in their renovated family inn. This tale of obsession and cruelty advances in a slow pace and reserved ambiance, and despite some tension around, it was never effectively applied to take our breath away. Although production values are competent, I got the sensation that this tale could have been told differently, in much less time, and surrounded in a more appropriate thrilling mood. The name Wakolda refers to Lilith’s favorite doll, which her father wanted to rebuild with a mechanical heart, turning it unique. Mengerle becomes interested and offers himself to invest in a mass production where each doll will be perfect and equal, in a subplot that worked as a too obvious symbolism to please or surprise us. The film received nine awards of Argentinean academy, including best direction, actor, and new actress.

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