" Un Secret "

Year: 2007
Verdict: 7/10
Un film de: Claude Miller





Starring: Patrick Bruel
Cecile de France
Ludivine Sagnier























* Based on a true story, in search for what's lost, finding the truth and a secret that's been
withheld for long.
The scenario was divided into three parts, the summer of WWII, the early 1955 and
the late 1985.
As opposed to other films, the past was done in colored and the present in b*w, so at first,
the whole story might be a bit confusing.
The narrator of this film is in his thirties, as he recalls the past, he was a young Jewish boy then,
uncertain of the things that are happening around him.
He never understood why his dad was distant around him, he always felt he was unworthy of his love and care.
Little did he know that a secret was kept from him.











Rewinding back to the early years, his father was originally married to Hannah, played by Ludivine Sagnier,
It was almost a perfect Jewish family, they had a son who was training for the Olympics, hoping to be a swimmer.
But things started falling apart, when war broke out, destroying innocent lives and the change that has brought
each one of them.
To make matters worse, his father fell madly in love with another woman named Tania, a model played by Cecile de france,
who was the narrator's mother.
Hannah knew something wasn't right but didn't do anything about it.
She was perplexed by this dilemma and decided to surrender her life and her son, costing both of their lives
that ends in a most tragic way.














This time, both Tania and the narrator's father played by Patrick Bruel can't fight their feelings any longer
and finally gave in to this forbidden relationship, even though they knew it was wrong.
When war finally ended, the couple had a son ( the narrator), they named Francois ( the narrator ).
He was almost the perfect one, but at a young age, he was forced to be someone he's not,
he always felt he had a lost brother he didn't know, he actually did and no matter how much they wanted to
forget about the past, the awful memories kept coming back.






It was a tragic tale and a bitter ending, but a film that was well told.
Although, we've seen quite a few films about this kind of genre already,
It was still interesting as the actors played well and the almost Sepia tone of the film was nice.




The setting was a bit repetitive in a sense that it was going back and forth, but still something worth watching.

" Los Ojos de Julia "

Verdict: 8/10
Directed by: Guillem Morales


Starring: Belen Rueda
LLuis Homar
Pablo Derqui








It's a chilling tale of murder and obesseion and one that will keep you guessing till the end.
It's a story of a woman named Sarah who's blind and lived in a quiet suburban village.
One night, the lights mysteriously went off and Sarah was found at her basement, lifeless and dead.
The police ruled it out as suicide but not to Julia otherwise.
Who is Julia?
Julia is the twin sister of Sarah who lives in the city and on the night of that tragedy,
Julia felt something was suffocating her throat and she instinctively remembered to check on Sarah.









First, there was the mysterious shadow lurking following Julia.
The lights in the house would go on and off,
The eerie cancion that was left playing on the night of the murder and more.

Julia couldn't help but not be baffled by this incident and so deicided to investigate further.
She found out that her sister may have had a secret boyfriend but upon digging more of this,
she was also slowly losing her sense of sight and her husband was trying to convince her that maybe it
was suicide and not murder after all.
When she was almost close to finding out the truth, her husband Isaac was killed and mysteriously committed suicide
right on the same spot where her sister was killed.
Devastated, she was about to give up when a kind and seem to be nice young man named Ivan, helped her regain her
life again but this time, she's completely blind and helpless.






Weeks go by and it seem to be going well, still something was bothering her, she's having nightmares, couldn't get
much sleep or if she can, she felt dazed and drugged, like someone was watching her.
One fatal night, she caught this killer in her bedroom and quickly sought for help,
hoping someone would save her but only to find out that the killer maybe right under her nose.















I'm tempted to spill the story but wouldn't want to spoil the ending.

This murderer has an obsession with eyes and has a distorted mind to prey on women who are completely helpless.

The main character in this film is Julia/Sarah, both played by Belen Rueda.
well played and not too much characters in the story, so not too confusing...

I like how almost in the ending, the killer's face still remains a mystery,
an almost surprising but at the same time predictable twist.
Great direction and good cinematography esp. the flashbulb lights.
I like the subdued darkness and almost emptiness feeling of this film.

" Comme les cinq doigts de la mains "

Verdict: 8/10
Year: 2010
un film de: Alexandre Arcady



Patrick Bruel
Vincent Elbaz
Pascal Elbe
Eric Caravaca
Matthieu Delarive



This is about 5 brothers and a doting mother in a family that has strong Jewish beliefs.
Each of them successful in their own careers, the eldest one, a restaurateur, the other, owning a pharmacy,
a professor and the youngest owns a gaming club.
But a story that seems atypical went complicated when one of the brothers, David, went to Marseilles and was involved
in drugs, violence and the mafia. Things got complicated and was soon wanted by the authorities.

David was the black sheep among them, he didn't have a good life and was in hiding for quite sometime and like any all-too perfect family,
there's always a secret that's unrevealed.
His father was once involved in this mess and only David and his mother knows about it, concealing the truth,
in order to protect their family and thereby risking his life.

As the story progresses, it's not David's life that is at stake anymore but all of them.
The brothers decided to take matters into their own hands.
It's about revenge and retribution, when the unreasonable becomes reasonable.




This film is about camaraderie and brotherhood.
I think what makes it more interesting was the powerhouse cast of actors who played superbly in their role.
Another thing, for a non-Jewish like me, I learned a lot of Jewish customs and its religion.
It is overall a movie that sets your pace, though some parts maybe a bit of cliche, but a good movie nonetheless.

" Le Grand Alibi "

Verdict: 8/10
Year: 2008
Directed by: Pascal Bonitzer

English version: The Grand Alibi

Based from the novel: Agatha Christie's The Hollow- "Le Vallon"




Set in the countryside, somewhere off Paris was the usual weekend get together
held by the Pages folks.
They all knew each other but not too well, as in every reunion, you get the odds and ends of each person, the awkward and aloof,
the others who may seem out of place, the meek but has deep angst inside him,
the bossy, the talker.






It looks anything but ordinary except for Dr. Collier, a womanizer with a disturbing past, suddenly murdered beside the pool on a quiet afternoon, uttering his final words Debra ( wife's name ), the main suspect as she was holding the smoking gun.
and so begins the mysterious thriller of whodunit.






It was what the french would say comme ci, comme ca, well plotted scenarios
and a great cast.
I watched this film not knowing it was an Agatha Christie inspired novel.
It was when the murder happened and the suspects started lining up that made me realized this seemed all too familiar, like reading it out from the book
and you never miss out on the author's attention to detail if you're a fan. ^-^
It would've been perfect except the famous Hercule Poirot detective wasn't in the picture, tsk, tsk and although, some of the characters and plots have been altered but the gist is still there and with a plausible ending.

" LOL "

Verdict: 7/10
Year: 2008
Directed by: Lisa Azuelos




LOL means laughing at loud, ( which i guess everybody knows what it means already)
is the name of this feel good film that stars veteran Sophie Marceau and other young casts.



It talks about the coming of age of sometimes confused and rebellious teenagers.
Mostly, it centers on a mother and daughter relationship, played by Sophie Marceau and her
teenage daughter played by Christa Theret.



A perfect example would be the american series Gilmore Girls, except this is a french flick.
they share their woes and laughters together, in hidsight, they're more like sisters and best pals,
but like in every perfect story, they're bound to be misundertandings and lies that could hurt the relationship.
How are they going to overcome all that?



I recommend this film Not because this is award winning, merely because after watching it,
it doesn't grow heavy on you, in short, everybody can relate to this kind of genre
without exagerrating it.
In fact, I've already watched it twice. ^0^
I just browsed allocine and I think there's going to be a remake of it = Miley cyrus and Demi moore.
I don't know about this US remake but a Demi and Miley tandem?! i guess we'll see.
I like the ost music also.

Sophie M, as always was good in this film, she's a bit older now,
funny because it reminds me of the young version of La Boum 1 and 2,
but still a great actor and she did not exaggerated her role.
Christa Theret was your typical teenager growing up and falling in and out of love.
She played it well too along with the other young actors as well.
you can see the vivacity of their youth as they struggle in overcoming love, life and everything.

" Le Petit Nicolas "

verdict: 9/10
year: 2009
directed by: Laurent Tirad
D'apres de roman de: Sempe-Goscinny
Starring : Maxime Godart, Valérie Lemercier, Kad Merad, Sandrine Kiberlain...




Teaser:

The famous one liner question- { What do you want to be when you grow up ? }




Nicolas is your typical boy, growing up and enjoying the time of his life.
He has parents who adore him, he goes to school, play with friends... yes, his life seems all too perfect.



But one day, overhearing his parents in a hush hush conversation, he was led to believe that her mother's pregnant
and soon, he was about to have a little brother.

Suddenly, strange imaginations crossed his mind, thinking he might be abandoned in a lost forest and eaten alive by
wild animals...
No, this can't be happening, he has to do something to changed their minds, he has to think fast before things get out
of hand... before it's too late.



This film is your quintessential Little Rascals remake.
It has a good story, the dialogues are quirky, funny without trying too hard,
great casts and charming setting.



Watching it gives you another point of view when it comes to dealing with kids and understanding them.



My favorite character aside from Nicolas, (who's the narrator and protagonist of the story) is a student name
Clotaire, who plays a lazy, no brainer kid, his expressions is a scene so hard to miss and of course,
the comedian Valerie Lemercier, who never fails to let us laugh till we drop.

" Salt "

Verdict : 7/10
Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Year: 2010

Angelina Jolie
Liev Schreiber

Who is Evelyn Salt ?
The intriguing question that leaves viewers guessing till the last second.

A non stop, fast paced action flick that's absorbing and gripping.













It was rumored tha the original pick was supposedly for Tom Cruise, but he turned down the script and
was played by Jolie instead.

The film was set in Washington which was stunning.
It involves russian spies vs the CIA government, totally mind boggling as the plot continues, you think Salt -
played by Jolie is a spy or an anti-CIA, accused and confused.
She doesn't know who to trust, what to believe and what's really happening,
because everything is a cover up.
She seems to be controlling the government, while the CIA hunts and chases her believing she
might be part of a serious plan to murder the Russian president.











Jolie does an excellent job as the heroine.
I must admit, i'm not a big fan of her, the one time i watched Tomb raider,
I fell asleep almost all throughout the film but not this one,
an entertainment not to be missed.