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Ronen's Rating System:

***** A must watch
**** Worth seeing
*** If you must watch a movie and there is nothing else out there
** Don’t bother
* It’s so bad its almost good... not... These are films I walked out on, or just fell asleep
(K: stars) Rating by my children. As they are easy to please, would typically be higher than mine...

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From category archives: RonenRecommends

Foreign

Samba (France, 2014) ***

Samba (France, 2014) ***

Samba is a French comedy-drama, co-written and directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano; the due behind the successful 2012 blockbuster The Intouchables. Samba is a well-intended film that attempts at objectively introducing us to the issue of illegal immigrants. While wittingly avoiding loud statements about injustice, the story’s implementation is mediocre at best. The filmmakers choose to soften the harsh reality faced by such foreigners, by using occasional humor, and by intertwining the main plotline with multiple side stories that end up, more than once, serve as distraction, hampering the film’s pace. I found myself siding with Jordan Mintzer, of The Hollywood Reporter, who wrote of Samba that it: "...wears out its welcome without bringing its message home."
Currently rated 0.0 by 0 people
Force Majeure (Sweden, 2014) ****

Force Majeure (Sweden, 2014) ****

Force Majeure is a Swedish family drama, written and directed by Ruben Östlund. It tells the story of two young parents, who go on a French Alpine skiing vacation with their two elementary school age kids. All is set for a fun vacation by a loving 'model family', until an external event sets in motion an avalanche, the effects of which shake the foundations of what, just moments earlier, seemed like the perfect relationship.
Östlund’s Force Majeure does not dictate views nor does it try to force opinions. The filmmaker simply holds a mirror in which reflect certain aspects of our human nature. The movie may not be for everyone’s taste, with its slower pace and foreign language. Yet, for those who appreciate quality cinema, this film is definitely worth checking out.
Currently rated 4.0 by 1 people
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012) ***

The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012) ***

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a political drama, directed by Mira Nair, to a screenplay by William Wheeler and Rutvik Oza. It tells the story of a USA alien resident, named Changez from Pakistan. Changez, who was educated at Princeton and later finds work at a lucrative American corporation, loves the USA. He is a smart, ambitious young man, who sees a future for himself in America; that is, until 9/11. After that, everything changes.
Currently rated 0.0 by 0 people
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (2013, Sweden) ****

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (2013, Sweden) ****

Think of this film as a Swedish adaptation of Forrest Gump. Here too we have a protagonist whose life-story spans events and generations, putting him in front of world leaders, scientists and rebels. I enjoyed it and recommend if you are looking for something zany and are overly critical.
Currently rated 0.0 by 0 people
Zero Motivation (2014, Israel) ****

Zero Motivation (2014, Israel) ****

Written and directed by Talya Lavie, Zero Motivation (original Hebrew film title is Zero in Human Relations,) is a gem. Presenting a wide range of topics, the film’s language is crude yet anything but stupid. It portrays several female Israeli soldiers, serving in a remote desert base, trying not to lose their mind out of boredom until their time is up and they can return to civilian life.

Currently rated 4.0 by 1 people
Searching for Sugar Man (2012) ****

Searching for Sugar Man (2012) ****

Searching for Sugar Man is a modern Cinderella story. It is a story of a search, of a journey that changed lives forever, and that is its charm. At the heart of the search is an American named Sixto Rodriguez, a Detroit based unknown musician, whose career in the early 1970s proved to be short lived with two albums that hardly sold in the USA. Unbeknown to him, his music became very successful and much influential in South Africa. Fast forward to the 1990s, when two determined South African fans, Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman and Craig Bartholomew Strydom, manage to track Rodriguez down, a task not made easy given Rodriguez' obscurity.
Currently rated 5.0 by 1 people

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Latest Comments

    Re: Logan (2017) ***

    I agree about the relationship with Logan and Charles - added a lot of depth, especially with the next...

    -- ed

    Re: Eye in the Sky (2015, UK) *****

    Great Review Ronen!

    -- Scott

    Re: Top Five (2014) ***

    wonderfully expressed review and very accurately describing the movie...

    -- Zoes mom

    Re: Begin Again (2014) ***

    such great performers - would have expected more of.... very disappointing to hear....

    -- mother of four

    Re: Waltz with Bashir (2008) *****

    Stunned. Speechless. This is a powerful movie. Its objectivity and lack of judgment IS its power, and...

    -- Monroe Movie Lover

    Re: Inception (2010) ***

    Special effects are more than ever present even in drama movies, its almost normal that an action thriller...

    -- Alvaro

    Re: The Real Dirt On Farmer John (2005) ***

    Interesting though i was expecting more of the film.

    -- rondnor

    Re: Midnight Run (1988) *****

    great movie indeed

    -- rondnor

    Re: The Bounty Hunter (2010) *

    wont bother then

    -- superair

    Re: Stardust (2007) *****

    LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this movie :-)watching Robert De Niro in a dress what could be better.Enjoy

    -- YRD

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