POMO

Not even Edgar Wright would have the balls to make this! An anarchistic, anti-family black comedy along the lines of Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead where it’s not zombies doing the massacring, but parents – of their own children. And the kids must save themselves from their crazy moms and dads while we root for them! Mom and Dad is an American suburban satire serving as a kind of wish-fulfilment for exhausted parents (sorry, kids!). The highly effective soundtrack mostly consist of modern ambient electronic music, but occasionally comes across as a parody of Spielbergian family musical motifs. Plus there are some wonderful editing tricks. A silly, but perfectly executed and courageous movie! [Sitges FF]

Though impressive with its dark atmosphere, The Maus is a not very well executed film dealing with the trauma of the Bosnian war. The incoherent sequence of scenes in the first third is later explained but doesn’t erase the impression of the director’s failure. An unnecessary, supposedly disturbing epilogue that does not make any sense in the context of the plot only serves to further prove this point. [Sitges FF]

Though definitely not breathtaking, Menashe certainly offer an interesting insight into the rules of operation of the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn. The community’s rabbi decides whether a little boy will remain in the care of his father, the main character of the film, who has been a widower for a year and is a somewhat clumsy, hapless individual… [Karlovy Vary IFF]

M.F.A. is a naïve feminist take on a major American issue – sexual violence against women. Given the childish and “cool” approach taken to this serious issue here, the movie takes itself way too seriously. And it is the complete antithesis of the fun movies by Russ Meyer. [Sitges FF]

Though director Vladimir de Fontenay’s depiction of the events in Mobile Homes is sensitive and emphatic and Imogen Poots delivers a perfect performance, the premise is terribly overused: [Spoiler!] A teenage homeless girl with a pretty face and a young son wanders through American countryside. When she finally begins to find some assurances and a potential home, her problematic boyfriend (whom she has recently fled) unexpectedly comes back into her life. And since she still loves him in a way, she lets all her hopes and prospects be shattered… [Cannes]

Most Beautiful Island is a take on the American dream in an intimate, low-budget thriller that does not fulfil the expectations of a perverted viewer, but reaches a level of suspense that even the most discerning genre enthusiast will find satisfying. Not bad for an actress’s debut as a director and screenwriter, while also being in front of the camera the whole time. [Sitges FF]

An admirable creative intention to express a powerful message, carried out in an overly abstract way. But why not? The focus on the main character’s feelings in the first half of the film is so formally precise and psychologically engaging that few living directors would be able to pull it off. Darren Aronofsky knows that and therefore has the courage to go so wild in the second half, like a painter who spontaneously moves his brush, forming a line that is disturbing at first glance but then becomes a unique, valuable feature of the work as a whole. I accept and acknowledge this, and I am delightfully intoxicated with the final impression of the film.

The final shot of Ama Dablam, the most beautiful mountain in the Himalayas, which is used several times in the movie, confirms that the filmmakers wanted above all to pay homage to mountains, the majestic works of our planet’s greatest artist – Mother Nature. It is therefore a pity that they borrow well-known footage from hit sports movies (The Art of Flight) and other documentary series and attempt to make the movie a retrospective “best of” (including pointing out every possible use of the mountains by civilization) rather than contenting themselves with piano music and the thoughts spoken by Dafoe. While some of those could have been written by any of us viewers, others lift the film to the philosophical heights that are its ambitious aim.

A fantasy flick akin to Equilibrium and Dark City, which have the stench of B-movies, but benefit from good casting, an effective fantasy atmosphere and, above all, deal with a really intriguing idea. Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey are well-suited to their roles and the little boy is also good. In other words, The Dark Tower is an okay movie in my opinion.

We haven’t seen such a disappointing mishmash of an A-movie in a while. After the “mirror talk” in the ladies’ restroom, the movie falls into a downward spiral. As a horror adventure set in the present day with a wise-cracking Tom Cruise, it couldn’t have ended well. After a few extraordinarily successful years, Universal wagered on proven blockbuster screenwriters – and it failed spectacularly. You cannot have a cash cow without an idea or enthusiasm. Possibly Russell Crow’s worst role?