A grey cloud follows every film featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman ever since his untimely death earlier this year (read our Favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman moments). Posthumously released films are always tinged with darkness. So when a film like God’s Pocket comes out to disappointing reviews (read our own underwhelmed reaction) every Hoffman fan among us can’t help but feel slightly dejected. So here’s some much-needed good news; Anton Corbijn’s A Most Wanted Man, adapted from the John Le Carré novel of the same name, stars Philip Seymour Hoffman in the lead and it’s the kind of material that’s perfectly suited for the late, great actor’s talents. It may not get ahead of films like The Master, Capote, Magnolia, and Almost Famous in terms of substance; but it’s a sophisticated and shining addition to a boisterous filmography.

The plot follows Günter Bachmann (Hoffman) a government operative in command of a small anti-terrorist unit operating out of Hamburg, Germany. Title cards give us the reason behind the susceptible conditions in Hamburg; this is the port where the 9/11 attacks were planned and executed from. It’s been over a decade, and the city is still under major surveillance for any signs of terrorist activity. When a Chechen prisoner of war is picked up on a surveillance camera roaming the streets, he’s found to be Issa Karpov (Grigory Dobrygin) who will become Bachmann’s key to infiltrating a highly complicated network of Islamic terrorist cells. Other prominent players on the chessboard include Karpov’s pro bono lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams) the head of Hamburg intelligence Dieter Mohr (Rainer Bock) Tommy Brue (Willem Dafoe) the head of a bank with old ties to Karpov’s father, and Martha (Robin Wright) a CIA agent who represents the concerns and support of the United States. As the game clock ticks louder and louder, the elaborate narrative separates the rooks from the pawns.

Thanks to his formidable cast, and an airtight screenplay by Andrew Bovell (in redemption mode from forgettable yarn Edge Of Darkness) Corbijn manages to build tension and suspense without needing to fire a single gunshot. While it doesn’t fail to hit all the familiar notes of the genre, A Most Wanted Man is engaging from start to finish, ultimately revealing the purpose of espionage in today’s highly paranoid world and the people who suffer at the hands of faceless bureaucrats operating inside air-conditioned offices. Much like the brilliant Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, another successful John Le Carré adaptation, A Most Wanted Man is a highly plot-driven film, brimming with shady characters and between-the-lines dialogue, but it’s got something extra as well. With the character of Issa Karpov, a completely disillusioned young man who ‘has no idea what he wants’ as Bachmann rightly puts it, the picture carries heavy emotional baggage not usually associated with espionage thrillers. Tinker, Tailor carried some as well but in a much more delicate and subtle fashion, which ultimately adds to the superiority it has over Corbijn’s film, but it works just as effectively here because of the story’s build-up and highly involved climax, done with expert precision.

The performances are solid across the board, but Hoffman (and I write this without an ounce of projected exaggeration) truly carries the film on the weary and grounded shoulders of Günter, a withered-down version of his Gust Avrakatos from Charlie Wilson’s War. This is a film that doesn’t pretend to shake any ground, or develop any new artistic cinematic perspectives in a genre that’s become all too familiar thanks to TV shows like Homeland and mainstream attempts at conquering the box-office with action-figure spies like Jack Ryan and Ethan Hunt. A Most Wanted Man is not a story of heroes and villains, but a tightly wound game of chess knee-deep in the murky swamps of morality’s grey areas. As such, it does an excellent job of balancing entertainment, suspense, reality, and just enough emotional investment to stop it from being corny. It solidifies Corbijn’s status as a highly efficient director (the man already has the awesome slow-burning The American under his belt) but above all else and to the delight of Hoffman fans, it’s a film worthy of the actor’s incredible career.

A Most Wanted Man trailer

Paolo Sorrentino, the director of last year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, The Great Beauty, has revealed the cast and plot of his next film, The Early Years. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film will star Michael Caine as a retired orchestra conductor who comes out of retirement at the request of the Queen.

Those who saw The Great Beauty know that Sorrentino has very good insights on wealthy artists aging, so this basic plot tease has a lot of potential. Though not much else is known about the film at this time, we can certainly expect a good mix of humor and drama, as well as a beautiful film, as it is being shot in the Alps of Switzerland. Sorrentino is also no stranger to English-language films, as he previously released This Must Be the Place, known as the film where Sean Penn looked a lot like Robert Smith and hunted down a Nazi.

The Early Years will co-star Rachel Weisz, Willem Dafoe, Jane Fonda, Harvey Keitel and Paul Dano — a fine ensemble cast filled with veterans of three different acting generations. The film is expected to be released in 2015.

Class is back in session! After the first half of Nymphomaniac ended on one of Joe’s (Charlotte Gainsbourg) biggest emotional pivot points, the break between the two volumes is almost welcome. That’s only because Vol. 1 is so inundated with cinematic beauty, it almost doesn’t let you breathe for a full two hours. The fact that the first volume is such a stylistically bold and lovely achievement puts me in a bit of a precarious situation; how do you objectively assess a second half of a film and treat it as a whole? It’s easier with the first half because the film starts at the beginning and you’re watching it with fresh eyes. Here, the start is the middle and the mind scuttles to recall events instead of investing in the present. There’s no way around it—it’s impossible to treat Vol. 2 as a whole, so if you haven’t seen Vol.1 yet it’s best you stop reading and get on that first. That said, there’s no major spoilers ahead.

As soon as Vol. 2 begins, there’s a sense of major discord from the first half. Whereas the visually delectable Vol. 1 starts off on the sardonic notes of a Rammstein song playing over seemingly mundane events, the subdued intimacy in Vol. 2‘s beginning puts us in an immediate state of unease. In order to truly be in the moment with the characters, the viewer has to recall that Vol. 1 ends with the devastating line “I can’t feel anything”, uttered by Young Joe (Stacy Martin) while she’s having sex with Jerome (Shia LaBeouf). We have to remember how her roller-coaster feelings for Jerome finally blossomed from pity into undeniable love, and how her decision to funnel her nymphomania into one sexual partner started to foreshadow dire consequences. One of the opening moments of Vol. 2 illustrates: after vigorously trying to masturbate with no climactic success, Young Joe goes into the bathroom, takes a wet towel and proceeds to beat her vagina with it in frantic desperation.

Moments like these lose their emotional impact due to the disjointed release schedule of Nymphomaniac in North America, but they cannot be taken lightly within the whole context. No doubt, when the film is released in its entirety—hopefully uncut, and with Von Trier’s blessings—the film will be re-watched by its fans from start to intended finish, in order to get the full effect in one sitting.

Remember how my first review said that Nymphomaniac is Von Trier’s most accessible movie to date? Yeah, about that. Vol. 2 treads the all-too-familiar Von Trier ground of disturbance, reminding us that it comes from the same mind that created Antichrist (in one particular scene, Von Trier quite literally makes sure we remember.) The darkness of Vol. 2 eclipses the jocular style of Vol. 1 within minutes, and right up until its final, brilliant conclusion (one of the biggest mixed bags of emotion I’ve felt for an ending in years), makes Vol. 1 look like a pleasant stroll on a lazy Sunday. That, in and of itself, is one of the phenomenal traits built into the film’s fiber, and reason enough to make Nymphomaniac a scintillating cinematic event. The story grows as organically as its characters do.

As Joe grows from an innocent young girl who expresses herself through sex without giving it much thought, into a woman who has to cope with motherhood and battle her condition both internally and externally, the progression from light to darkness is only natural. Even the relationship between Joe and Seligman (Stellan Skarsgard) plunges into darkened depths; secrets are unearthed and Seligman’s tangents–having provided much amusement in Vol. 1–become more perceptible to Joe’s criticism and adorn a more somber vibe. When her relationship with Jerome begins its inevitable decline, the theme of sadomasochism is introduced and we see the boy who was once Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell, as the Kafkaesque ‘K’) playing one of Lars Von Trier‘s darkest characters ever. An improbable casting story if there ever was one. Heavily veiled in religious lexicon, this theme contains some of the hardest scenes to watch, but every painful moment and every disturbing feeling is intrinsic to Joe’s transformation.

After being silenced with Vol. 1‘s inviting approach, the general murmur amongst the skeptics is back to “There’s the Lars we know!” with Vol 2. But while those critics focus on highlighting all of Von Trier’s taboos for all the wrong reasons, they’re missing out on a truly transgressive piece of cinema. Nymphomaniac holds a deep wisdom within its clutches, and uses a woman’s sexuality as a scalpel to rip open the very fabric of humanity. In more ways than one, Von Trier has shown how big of a feminist he really is, and–as sad as it sounds—that’s still pretty unique in today’s world. There’s no doubt that fans of Lars Von Trier will fall madly in love with the complete Nymphomaniac because they’ll understand why Vol. 2 has to swap humor for gloom, and balance out its style for further substance. As the harder to watch, much more affective half, Vol. 2 compliments the first volume (as if it needed more complimenting) and re-affirms that Von Trier has made a masterpiece.

Nymphomaniac Volume 2 trailer

Partway through The Grand Budapest Hotel, there’s an argument between Dmitri (Adrien Brody, looking brilliantly evil) and his deceased mother’s lawyer (Jeff Goldblum). The lawyer refuses to hand the dead woman’s fortune over to her son as the details of her murder haven’t been cleared up. Dmitri angrily leaves, and his henchman (Willem Dafoe) casually tosses the lawyer’s cat out of a window on his way out. It’s a cruel act, and a funny visual gag, until the lawyer peers out his window and the camera cuts to his cat’s splattered body below.

Writer/director Wes Anderson uses these shock moments of sudden violence more than once throughout the film. The dead woman (Tilda Swinton, unrecognizable with pounds of old age makeup) is Madame D., an old rich countess who frequented the titular hotel. Located in the mountains of the Republic of Zubrowka, a made up European nation, the hotel is a gorgeous and highly popular establishment. Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) is the hotel’s concierge, a charming man who was also taking Madame D. to bed during her visits (one of Gustave’s many duties as concierge included sexually satisfying the rich old ladies who visited). When it’s revealed that she put Gustave in her will as the recipient of a priceless painting, Madame D.’s family frames him for her murder.

Gustave receives help from Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), a young lobby boy that Gustave has taken a shine to. The story, taking place in 1932 during some unnamed war ravaging the country, is narrated to us by an older Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham) in the 1960s. He’s telling his tale to a young author (Jude Law) over dinner at the hotel, now well past its glory days. Law narrates the 1960s segments, which are actually from a novel being read to viewers in the 1980s by (presumably) a now much-older author (Tom Wilkinson). The nesting-doll structure may seem frivolous, but Wes Anderson’s films thrive on frivolity.

The multi-layered narrative also establishes Anderson’s attempts to comment on memory and nostalgia. Moustafa’s story in the 1930s, shot gorgeously in 1.33:1, is stylistically Anderson’s best work to date. The set design, meticulous framing, whip pans, quick zooms, and use of animation and miniatures, among Anderson’s other visual trademarks, operate at a level that more than matches his story’s large scale. Anderson and cinematographer Robert D. Yeoman are clearly having a field day, and it shows. The charming style also shows Moustafa’s nostalgia for this period of his life, as if these “good ol’ days” represent something that’s never to return.

Anderson is aware of how dangerous this way of looking at the past with rose-coloured glasses is, which is why he throws in scenes like the one with Goldblum’s cat. He is purposely breaking the spell his film casts, reminding viewers that the time period was still a tumultuous one. The hotel is not so much a shining example of long-lost civility and politeness as it is an escape from the harsh realities of wartime and poverty. These two worlds of fantasy and reality eventually come together, but through Anderson’s lens the stylistic flourishes still remain. The final scene of the ‘30s timeline, also the bleakest part of Moustafa’s story, switches to black and white, showing how Anderson still finds a way to fill his heavier moments with aesthetic quirks.

While Anderson’s toying with memory and nostalgia is interesting, it fails to make any impact to the film overall. The handling of violence makes for an awkward juxtaposition, one that’s more admirable in its intent than execution (I never thought I’d say this, but Anderson should take some tips from Quentin Tarantino in this area). The war going on in the film’s background is wiped of any details, save for some vague allusions to the SS. The obscuring of these elements only muddy the water, and the dense plotting of Anderson’s screenplay make his thematic points get swallowed up by the film’s aesthetics.

Not that the aesthetics are a bad thing; The Grand Budapest Hotel is still a treat to watch. Fiennes is perfect as Gustave, and Anderson’s script is filled with plenty of hilarious moments. The massive ensemble, where seemingly every role is filled with a well-known actor (supporting cast includes Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, Saorise Ronan, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson just to name a few), work together perfectly. While The Grand Budapest Hotel works well, it only does up to a certain point. What the film amounts to is nothing more than a well-done and admirable piece of fluff.

The Grand Budapest Hotel trailer

Wes Anderson, known for his distinctive visual and narrative style in such films as Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr Fox and The Darjeeling Limited, will be releasing his latest quirky comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The adventures of an infamous concierge at a well known and well frequented hotel between the world wars and Zero Moustafa, who becomes his confidant and trusted friend are detailed with this all star cast. Anderson loves to work with familiar faces and The Grand Budapest Hotel is no exception; Jude Law, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, and Adrien Brody are all listed as cast members. The film looks to be quite the dramatic comedy with the charm and flare we know Wes Anderson films to behold.

The Grand Budapest Hotel trailer

If there is one thing Lars von Trier does extremely well it is creating controversy. In 2011 the Danish filmmaker was deemed “persona non grata”, which is a subtle way of saying ‘you’re not fucking welcome here’ at the Cannes Film Festival after making some Nazi remarks. Continuing that trend of controversial moves, von Trier has just released a series of 14 character posters for his upcoming film Nymphomaniac. His new film follows a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac named Joe (played Charlotte Gainsbourg) who recounts her erotic experiences to the man who saved her life. Given the subject matter and who is doing the film, what better way to promote Nymphomaniac than having posters of all of the characters reaching climax in the nude?

Below are all 14 character posters for Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac