The House (2011)

Zuzana Liova;s The House (Czech, 2011) - 2012CLION. Small in scale but perfectly proportioned, contempo drama "The House" marks talented Slovak helmer-writer Zuzana Liova as the equal of regional contemporaries such as Bohdan Slama and Alice Nellis when it comes to making universal the small, poignant moments of everyday life. Remarkable for its depth of characterization, this sensitively observed, intelligently made realist tale of generational conflict, set in a remote Slovak village where old grudges die hard, will find a welcome mat at fests worldwide. (VARIETY). 2011BERf, 2011KVvcc, 2012CLION, 2012PALM, 2012SEA. RATING: 7.

Flower Buds

Zdenek Jirasky's Flower Buds (Czech, 2012) - 2012CLION 10 nomination and 4 win including Best Film, Director, Actor and Cinematography.  A bleakly gloomy - though at times also mischievous and darkly funny - slice of tough life in a snowy and cold remote Czech border town, Flower Buds (Poupata) is packed with a gloriously disparate bunch of dysfunctional folk as they struggle to get by, dream their own modest dreams, but are gradually worn down by the small-town environment (SCREEN). 2012CLION, 2012KVeotw. RATING: 7.

Innocence (2011)

Jan Hrebejk's Innocence (Czech, 2011) - 2012CLION 8 Nominations with 2 win including Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor. When a respected physician is accused of sexually assaulting a teenage patient, his professional and personal lives are plunged into chaos in this unsettling and propulsive thriller. 2012CLION, 2012PALM, 2012SEA. RATING: 7

Northwest

Michael Noer's Northwest (Denmark, 2013) - The northwest of Copenhagen can't compete in the danger sweepstakes with northeast Detroit, but its influence as a breeding ground for criminality forms a significant element in Michael Noer's accomplished if unoriginal sophomore feature, "Northwest." In the end though, it's less about environment than personality, as a teen's growing attraction to a life of crime conflicts with his attempts to block his younger brother from the same path. As a theme, it's older than Warner Bros.' 1930s gangster pics, though Noer has a satisfyingly neorealist feel for milieu and character. The Euro arthouse scene is this film's true direction. (VARIETY). 2013ROTbf. RATING: 7

Beautiful Creatures

Richard LaGravanese's Beautiful Creatures (US, 2013) - Now that the Harry Potter and Twilight film franchises have run their course, Hollywood is undoubtedly searching for the next supernatural-romance series to lure young audiences. Beautiful Creatures may temporarily fill that commercial void, but this Southern tale of witchcraft and adolescent hormones doesn’t cast much of a spell. An adaptation of the 2009 novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Beautiful Creatures is occasionally sexy and sassy, but mostly it’s just silly. (SCREEN). RATING: 4

2013 GOYA AWARDS

Blancanieves and The Impossible dominate Goya Awards

Film
Blancanieves
Director
Juan Antonio Bayona for The Impossible
Actor
Jose Sacristan for The Dead Man and Being Happy
Actress
Maribel Verdu for Blancanieves
Original Screenplay
Pablo Berger for Blancanieves
Adapted Screenplay
Javier Barreira, Gorka Magallon, Ignacio del Moral, Jordi Gasull and Neil Landau for Tad, the Lost Explorer
Supporting Actor
Julian Villagran for Grupo 7
Supporting Actress
Candela Pena for Una Pistola en Cada Mano
Honorary Goya
Concha Velasco
Production Design
Sandra Hermida Muniz for The Impossible
Artistic Director
Alain Bainee For Blancanieves
Photography
Kiko de la Rica for Blancanieves
Special Effects
Pau Costa and Felix Berges for The Impossible
Wardrobe
Paco Delgado for Blancanieves
Editing
Bernat Vilaplano and Elena Ruiz for The Impossible
Sound
Peter Glossop, Marc Orts, Oriol Tarrago for The Impossible
Original Score
Alfonso Villalonga for Blancanieves
Original Song
No Te Puedo Encontrar from Blancanieves
New Actor
Joaquin Nunez for Grupo 7
Makeup and Hair
Sylvie Imbert and Fermin Galan for Blancanieves
New Actress
Macarena Garcia for Blancanieves
New Director
Enrique Gato for Tad, the Lost Explorer
Animated Feature Film
The Adventures of Tadeo Jones
Documentary Film
Sons of the Clouds, The Last Colony
European Film
Untouchable (France)
Ibero-American Film
Juan de los Muertos (Cuba)
Animated Short
Jaime Maestro for El Vendedor de Humo
Fiction Short
Esteban Crespo Garcia for Aquel no Era Yo
Documentary Short

A Good Day to Die Hard

John Moore's A Good Day to Die Hard (US, 2013) - Twenty-five years after the original Die Hard, New York policeman John McClane may not have lost a step, but the franchise that features him sure has. A Good Day To Die Hard, the fifth in this series, lacks much of the charm and spirit of the original, hoping to compensate with strained comic repartee and ludicrously overblown action carnage. Bruce Willis remains a relaxed, lively presence in these films, but the new location (Moscow) and new side character (McClane’s son) in some ways merely underline just how impersonal director John Moore’s first crack at the Die Hard franchise is. RATING: 5