Philomena

It was so easy to see that this movie would transmit a feeling of pity! It had everything for it to happen. A really young woman who becomes pregnant in Ireland during the fifties, a family that despises her because of this, a Catholic convent who submit her to a brutal regime of work in exchange for "supporting" her and her child, an adoption that occurred without her approval and fifty years after the events, a regret that has lasted a lifetime.

Volver

Undoubtedly in Pedro Almodóvar's drama world, he is the king of melodrama. It's almost impossible not to get wrapped up in his bizarre plots involving a wide variety of feelings and issues from maternal love, parental hatred, female solidarity, relentless criticism to “machismo”, to the desire to kill and be forgiven, tales about childhood and hometown, family dramas, aging, sickness, life, death and superstitions. 

Stand Up Guys

Often, experienced actors have the same destiny as ex-presidents: nobody knows what to do with them. At some point of your career, no matter how many awards you have won, the only roles you get offered are the wise grandfather or the old villain, because unfortunately  commercial Hollywood has always been and will always be the kingdom of eternal youth.

Moonrise Kingdom

Being an adult is to forget that the games of children, with their shared rules, their imaginary scenarios and their plastic guns, are a very serious thing. Fortunately for all, Wes Anderson, the same author who eleven years ago introduce us to The Royal Tenenbaums, never became an adult and his films have kept the atmosphere from a fantasy world built during school break.

Silver Linings Playbook

"Silver Linings Playbook" was already an attractive movie thanks to its director and cast, especially the two main characters, two young stars with legions of fans; but interest further increased after its success at the Toronto Film Festival.

Friends with Kids

This movie is a group of friends in which some couples start having kids and this starts changing everything for all of them. Jason (Scott) and Julie (Westfeldt), the last two singles of their group, observe how their friends relationships deteriorate and they decided to have a child together without starting a sentimental relationship, just two friends raising a child.

Lilyhammer

Lilyhammer is the story of Frank Tagliano, a New York mobster who is sent to Norway after testifying against his former colleagues and who needs to adapt to the lifestyle of this country. Tagliano is played by actor Steve Van Zandt, known for his role in “The Sopranos” and for belonging to Bruce Springsteen's band.

Some Like It Hot: Marilyn at her best

This is a very easy choise, but you cannot talk about Marilyn without talking about this movie. You just cant.

Two weeks ago, there was a showing of this picture in a theater here in Milan. The room was full and I rarely saw people enjoying so much and laughing so genuinely at a movie, especially when the movie is from 1959 and half the people had already seen. It is always heartening seeing people celebrate the classics.

Bowfinger

Bowfinger is the name of a director of cheap and mediocre films on the brink of failure. When there seems to be no way out, this director (Steve Martin) has a prodigious idea: make a movie with Kit Ramsey (Eddie Murphy), one of the most renowned stars of the moment.

Eagle vs Shark

Love is awkward, no doubt. "Eagle vs. Shark" seems to be made ​​just for reminding us that. This is the story of Lily, a naive cashier of a fast food franchise in Wellington, New Zealand, who falls for Jarrod, an insufferable jerk  who has never been able to overcome the traumas of adolescence and works in a video game store.

Midnight in Paris

After exploring the inability to be happy with what you have and the costant need, never satisfied, of desiring something else in "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger", Woody Allen gives us now a beautiful fable about the importance of knowing each other and finding happiness in the present.

Gil (Owen Wilson), a screenplay writer who works for Hollywood, has arrived to Paris wih and his fiancée, Inez (Rachel McAdams), for a holiday before their wedding. Having been always captivated by the literary legend of the city of light, Gil believes that in its streets he will find the inspiration he needs to finish a novel he is writing.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Employing, again, the ironic tone of his previous works, director Anderson tells the story of oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray), shaped, no doubt about it, by the figure of Jacques Cousteau.

Zissou and his team's documentaries have lost the interest oftheir public, hence the attempt to regain their glory days with a new project: a sort of personal vendetta against a murderer shark that ate one of Steve's most intimate work collaborators.

Men in Black...and 3!

Men in Black is the absolute trash that turns into cult. This is not a critic, first of all because I personally like it a lot and, second, because such an ability deserves a Bravo!

This third and probably last part hits the theaters 15 years after the first one and 10 after the second part. This trilogy has all the ingredients of a successful trash/cult.

Soul Kitchen

"Soul Kitchen" is a restaurant in Hamburg, in what seems to be a poor area , with a quite bohemian, varied clientele and a warm and unpretentious decoration.

The owner Zinos, a young man of Greek origins, sometimes is the chef. Although he is neither good at business nor at the culinary arts, he is a noble guy, who takes care of his stuff and cares for his people. It is also the central character in the film, and it won’t be difficult to appreciate him and adopt his point of view with which he faces the troubles he will have to overcome.

Analyze This

Laughing is one of the best things in life. For some, the secret of this blessing lies in the effects laughter has on the human body. Scientists tell us about the dozens of muscles that are exercised and the many stimulating substances that are released in the brain when we laugh.

This is what happens when watching "Analyze This", the film starring Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, who exudes wit, sarcasm and good humor throughout most of the projection. The film shows the extraordinary meeting of two men whose lives are like water and oil.

The School of Rock

Dewey is a short, chubby guy whose goal has always been to become a rock star. He lives, however, with no money and in Ned's apartment, an old friend whose girlfriend will make the impossible to kick him out.

And as if this was not enough, the same band that he formed some years ago has decided to let him go because they claim he is the worst member of it.

Love Actually

The so-called romantic comedies have always had a secure public. The drill is almost always the same: two characters who meet by chance and then discover to be in love.

Romantic comedies tend to have as characters romantic, beautiful women and  funny and sensitive men who find themselves feeling something new.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry

Dennis Dugan is one of the best American directors and he chooses wisely as stars for this film  Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Jessica Biel. He aims at delivering a few messages about the subject treated, but still keeps the focus on having fun.

This movie distinguish itself for treating homosexuality in a hilarious way and it helps to talk about this reality, to understand and respect diversity. 

Juno

What does growing up mean? It is true that sometimes it can seem that is sad to grow up: gone are the days that seemed easier, far from certain are responsibilities or worries. However, that does not seem the case of Juno, who has just discovered that at age 16 she is pregnant of his best friend's child: it was only once they had sex and she let him take off her white trousers with the apples... and now she is expecting a child.

Melinda and Melinda

Even the hardest critics of this movie acknowledge that the subject is excellent: life should be told as a comedy or as a tragedy?

The story begins with a dinner with a group of friends at a restaurant in Manhattan. At this dinner, the conversation verts on whether, at the end of the day, life is funny or tragic. As the dinner is attended by two playwrighters (Wallace Shawn and Larry Pine), someone proposes that each of them should develop a dramatic story and a comic one from the scene of a distressed woman who breaks abruptly in an apartment where a group of friends are having dinner. Melinda (Radha Mitchell) will then be the star of the two stories, both the comedy and the drama.