The Secret of Their Eyes (el secreto de sus ojos)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: After retiring, a lawyer (Ricardo Darin) tries to write a novel about the most harrowing and traumatic case of his life, and in the process opens up all kinds of old wounds and old loves.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Ricardo Darin, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, Guillermo Francella, Jose Luis Gioia, Carla Quevedo

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! This is the kind of well made foreign thriller that some American studio is bound to remake within the next few years, so you can go see the Spanish version, if you're a purist, or you can wait for that inevitable English language remake to come out, if you're a lazy illiterate American.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Well one of the characters is a drunk, so he's got a plethora of wacky ideas about almost everything.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: I think it's supposed to make you cry that two lovebirds could go 25 years regretting having lost each other, but I think that most people move on after a maximum of 10. I've been reconnecting with a lot of old friends on Facebook, and let's be honest, after 25 years, you hardly remember anything about a person.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Yes. It will win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, last year. Which makes my prediction here easy, but caused me to lose my Oscar pool last month.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: If only these actors spoke perfect English, I would predict long and strong careers for each of them. But since they live and work in a third world country, I suppose we'll just have to wait until the next time Argentina produces an Academy Award winning film to partake in their talents.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: You don't win an Academy Award for a film that no one has heard of when the directing sucks.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The dialogue is fun, inventive, and full of swear words used as terms of endearment and insults interchangeably. And there are a couple of scenes that will be etched in your mind in that way which usually causes them to go down in classic film history. Although most likely not in this case, since hardly enough people see foreign films in America to build any kind of a common lexicon around them.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-secret-in-their-eyes/1442753/trailers

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The Class (Entre les Murs)

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Based on a book that's based on a true story, this movie about a French teacher (François Begaudeau) who  struggles to get through to his upstart students, in an underprivileged upper school in Paris, is entirely improvised.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: François Begaudeau (writer of the book, teacher of French, and now bona fide movie star), Franck Keita, Rachel Regulier, Wey Huang, Boubacar Tour, Carl Nanor, Louise Grinberg, Esmeralda Ouertani,

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. The film holds your attention over the course of the school year, even though it is more like a string of interesting moments than an over-arching story. The banter and impromptu dialogue between the teacher and the students is witty and engrossing, as we watch these kids try to bully their teacher into losing complete control of the situation.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: If you speak French you will laugh a little. If you don't, you will laugh a little less. What I'm trying to tell you is the subtitles are terrible. Some of the most hack-job translation I've ever seen.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you've ever been a kid who's been accused of being bad, when you know in your heart that you're good, or if you've ever been a teacher who's been accused of trying to make a difference, when you know in your heart that it's not possible.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It was nominated today for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film (France). Allons enfants de la patrie le jour de gloire est arrivé! (Sorry, I'm just getting a little patriotic on my French side-- Hi, Mom!)

Q: How is the Acting?

A: The teacher, François Begaudeau, who plays himself, and the students, who are also non-actors, are unreasonably comfortable and natural in front of the camera.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Between the hand held camera and the shakiness of the teacher's hold on his students, you will definitely feel the squirm factor, as you worry that at any moment, he could go too far and misspeak, with that fast talking mouth of his, or his students could waft him a verbal blow so severe that he might never recover.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: As I watched it, I kept thinking the story would build to something. When it didn't, I left the theater feeling cold. But as the days have gone by, since I left the theater, I've found myself thinking about it more and more, and bringing it up with passion in conversations. So if you're planning to see me anytime soon, be warned.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/the%20class/trailers

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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When an SS Commander gets a promotion to go run a concentration camp, his 8-year-old son is so starved for companionship, that he secretly forms a friendship with an imprisoned Jewish boy, through an electric fence.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Vera Farmiga, David Thewlis, Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, Amber Beattie, Rupert Friend, Cara Horgan, Richard Johnson, David Hayman, Sheila Hancock

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. This is certainly a powerful movie-- how could it not be? It's about the Holocaust-- but it's not for those who need their conclusions tied up in a pretty pink ribbon.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: This movie is for very serious audiences, so don't laugh too loud, lest you offend someone.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: It doesn't deliberately pull on your heart-strings and bang you over the head with emotions and music like a Hollywood movie would, but if you fill in the unspoken thoughts and feelings in your head, you might still cry, because it is pretty sad.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: You have to admit the title is great! What a cute little way of describing a small child who is put in a prison camp to starve, perform hard labor, and die for no good reason.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Vera Farmiga is in her usual top form, and looking more stunning than usual, I might add. And the little boys, Asa Butterfield and Jack Scanlon, take their time with the moments and dialogue, to really think about what they're saying, as if they weren't acting at all.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The film is beautifully shot, as the tones of the lighting shift from warm to cold, following their move from their happy life in Berlin, to the countryside, where their neighbors are concentration camp prisoners, and their lives becomes increasingly more and more grim.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The story is appropriately understated as it depicts how even the people closest to the top SS Commanders had virtually no idea how badly the Jews were being treated in the camps, and how they, too, could be adversely affected by the atrocities surrounding them.

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