In the near future advertising still looking for get the attention of consumer, using state of the art gimmicks. No matter the consequences of what the products do, company owners and advertisers have the need to engage in the general audience to get the products at any cost.

Creative Control is the film directed by Benjamin Dickinson, tells the story of David (Benjamin Dickinson) a creative director of a prestigious ad agency, with the responsibility to create a campaign to release a new pair glasses, in the same vibe as the google glass, but simpler. David is recommended to test the product in order to understand how to create a more effective promotion.

The new augmented reality technology allow the user to manage vast information of their surroundings, from voice recording and recognition, image capture personal data and eventually create vertical personas who interact with the user. David lives with Juliette (Nora Zehetner) a frustrated yoga instructor who left her job to find more mundane style of life. David and Juliette have a fine relationship, but David seems to be unsatisfied with her.

David’s best friend is Wim (Dan Gill) a director and art innovator who is in a relationship with Sophie (Alexia Rasmussen) who is a costumer and fashion designer. Secretly David is attracted to Sophie who turns into his virtual reality experiment after receiving his pair of Augmenta.

Director Dickinson explore several issues with society: technology dependency which have similarities to the film Her by Spike Jonze. The substitution or replacement of real persona by a new wave of avatars of virtual reality.

David’s character turn his obsession from love to sexual desires using Sophie’s digital footprint to a real 3 D character which David interact.

Other subjects explore on this film are advertising as a dying medium of constant repetition of old ideas in the new digital age, enhancing it with fake representations of reality. In a scene David and his creative team are working in a pharmaceutical product where is been shooting on stage, but later will be enhanced digitally. The scene represents the inability of the clients to understand how of visual piece is created and the agency to perform properly and deliver it.

Creative Control express the anger of some millennials against other generations like generation X who are wiser and richer, but seems to be ignorance about new technologies, this seems to be reflected in a conference room scene when David’s boss (Gavin Mclinne) is trying to use the new Augmenta glasses but he is unable until he is been help by David and finally figure out. He said to David: You are a fucking genius! and David replies: No, I’m not, I’m just younger than you…

Creative Control is a great sci fi film for the new digital ages and a great film for advertising people who wants to understand that in the near future, what matter is real ideas to sell products.

In the post modern future, society is confined into megastructures. These places gather different type of people. From wealthy to the poor, all group of people are practically forced to live in a symbiotic environment facing so many challenges. This concept is not new. In Snowpiercer society was forced to live in a train due a catastrophic climate experiment who cause the earth to freeze. Every train car contain every level of society.

“Where there is a state of capitalism, there can never be political freedom”
Margaret Tatcher

“High Rise” is the latest film directed by Ben Weathley and it tells the story of Dr Robert Laing (Tom Hiddleston) the new resident in a luxury high rise in London. This building offers the state of the art amenities (swimming pool, gym, spa, supermarket and even a primary school) which make it very appealing to everyone. This place is been praised by his architect Anthony Royal (Jeremy Irons) as the epitome of chic, modern living.

Laing lives in the 25th floor perhaps a metaphor of middle class society, floors above is the rich and famous tenants who despise the residents from levels down.

At this point director Ben Wathley set the foundation of a story of social clash between rich and poor. The audience sort understand that, by using visual nuances as well some line of dialogues who make the story flow. After some of the services in the building start failing residents from level down start creating chaos, claiming sabotage from the upper levels who still receiving the best services no matter the problems within the High Rise.

In certain way this film presents a metaphor of countries like Venezuela, Zimbabwe or Yemen where wealthy people (government) on higher levels enjoy luxurious life, even if the rest of the population are suffering from shortage on supplies as well living conditions. The perfect example is a scene where the residents are experiencing riots on the supermarket and Dr Robert Laing fight for a bucket paint who later use on his apartment wall. This is what it means when there is total desesperation and people fight for what ever resource is available, no matter if is really need it.

The big problem with “High Rise” is the film structure, sometimes I found the film confusing forcing me to give full attention and find meaning to everything what was happening, also the film lacks of connection with characters, this drawn me entirely from the experience. During those 2 hours I was trying to connect and I couldn’t because I didn’t know where most of this characters came from or going.

We see a woman driving a car over a land field, it’s raining. Suddenly she stops where a group of donkeys gather to eat. She approach to one of them, she pulls a gun and shot it. Is a crime of passion.

Human beings pure nature is to love and hate, among other feelings. We confine ourselves into feelings for another person and when we do that, we compromise our own individuality. But who wants to be lonely? In the sci fi/dark comedy “The Lobster” single people living the city are taken to a hotel where they are given 45 days to fall in love and find a “soulmate” If the fail are turn into an animal of their choice and release to the wild. Seems like a Charles Bukowsky story right?

David (Colin Farrell) arrived to the hotel after been dump by his wife, who is on love to another man. David’s brother is with him already turned into a dog. He is been greeted by Hotel Manager (Olivia Colman) and her husband, he is informed about the rules and regulations during his stay in the hotel and also provide with his animal choice in case who can’t make it. David choose a Lobster. His explanation gives the spectator the kind of person who he is.

Next day during breakfast David meets with a limp man (Ben Wishaw) and a lisping man (John C. Reilly) the three of them develop a connection and talk about their strategies to find a mate.

During the first hour of “The Lobster” the film develops metaphorically speaking on was is like to find a partner in the real world, perhaps in a city like NY, London, Paris, Japan etc. You are confined in a hotel where you living under certain conditions and regulations, you meet people similar in a dating website or an app, you choose which one fits for you, but in order to find one, you compromise, you adapt or perhaps turn into that person to survive and not becoming an animal. Which for there society is the lowest level of humanity.

Love is a feeling but also a state of mind, is a method of survival, the film presented a very dark view of how people will do everything they can to not be alone, but the risk are high. You are presented to the society as a single and then as a couple, the hotel set the grounds as you develop your new relationship and also gives you options if the relationship don’t work, they assigned you children’s.

Director and co writer Yorgos Lanthimos presents a very twisted point of view of relationships, following the footsteps of films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and even Anomalisa. His directing is clever and he knows how to manage great actors like Colin Ferill, Rachel Weisz, Ben Wishaw, John C Reily and Olivia Colman.

Hollywood have always enjoy a good cops/detective story. From a lonely detective to the perfect partners combination films borrow from TV shows to movies and vice versa, looking for a good formula. Most of the time the solution two good actors working together to solve a crime. From the madman and the veteran in Lethal Weapon series, the American and the Asian in “Rush Hour” and the two African Americans partners one married with children and the other a playboy in “Bad Boys” similar to the by the book cop, the two wanna be cops who are conquering high school in “21 Jump Street” and break the rules cop in “Tango & Cash”

All this films have a very simple point in common, you need two characters with different perspectives in life, experiences and background to create a symbiotic environment in order to make the crime investigation a true experience. In Shane Black “The Nice Guys” another cop story presents two very particular detectives. Russell Crowe is the enforcer Jackson Healey and Ryan Gosling is private detective Holland March both live in Los Angeles in 1977 a political time with energy problems and social conflicts, with particular problems.

The story starts when a porn star named Misty Mountains die in a car crash, March (Gosling) is approached by Misty’s aunt claiming that she have seen her nice alive, March accept the job completely skeptical, later finding that a girl named Amelia Kutner is connected to Misty. Amelia not wish to be found so she hired enforcer Healey (Crowe) to intimidate March and stay away from her. The case keeps getting complicated after two guys are searching for Amelia which leads March and Healey to a series of characters and situations.

The combination Crowe and Gosling and perfect. Their first encounter shows who is in charge, but also knows what’s it’s doing. Both bring a breeze of fresh air to the two cop combination. Gosling clumsiness and unorthodox method of investigations turns him into the comedic relief while Crowe presents the veteran experience on the field as well the strength within the team
The big surprise in the film is Holly (Angourie Rice) March’s daughter. She is the brain in this team of two. Her revelations and braveness expedite investigation or perhaps her intelligence leads her at the right time at the right moment.

The Nice Guys is a very entertaining film, which revitalize the genre of 70’s cop films, following the footsteps of Starsky and Hutch with a twist 21 Jump Street and Bad Boys.

Breaking news alert on the TV announced the abduction of a 8 year old boy in Texas, there is no photos available. An amber alert is issued for the child, Roy (Michael Shannon) and his accomplice Lucas (Joel Edgerrton) are taking the kid out of the state.

At the same time the FBI raid a religious cult compound in the search for the same kid.

”Midnight Special” is the most recent film by Jeff Nichols (Take a Shelter) it tales the story of Alton (Jaeden Leiberther) a child with special powers and his biological father who are been chased by the FBI and Texas cult where they escape.

The film borrow the best of the most important sci-fi films about special powers and alien encounters, from Close of Encounter of the Third Kind, The Abyss, THX-1138, Cocoon to ET. Jeff Nichols develops his own visual style creating a film which presents a religious cult idolizing a kid with special powers while mocking the US government for trying to use this child as their personal possession or weapon. The story explore several aspects of human condition, from a fathers love for his son, his faith on this kid visions, the danger of so called new religions who just manipulate families and the idea of a better future based on extreme sacrifice.

Midnight Special represents another achievement in independent sic fi movies, like Alex Garland “Ex Machina” the film is not trying explode the genre, but filling the the story with visual effects or secret mysteries like J.J. Abrams does. It creates a good story with meaning and a message.

Faith and conviction is the main engine in this movie.

An early morning in the pacific northwest, a young punk band are parked in the middle of a cornfield tired of a long tour. Pat (Anton Yeltchin), Sam (Alia Poots), Reece (Joe Cole) and Tiger (Callum Turner) are the members of the band “The Ain’t Rights” This kids are perfect representation of a true millennials: broke, full of energy, with no future in place and ready to take over the world.

After meeting a radio host Tad he arrange a gig for them, they end up in a bar own by neo-Nazi skinhead. The environment is heavy and the band “The Ain’t Rights” feel that, you can sense the hate of the audience, which react aggressively to their first song: Dead Kennedys cover of “Nazi Punks Fuck Off”. After their gig Sam forget her cellphone at the Green Room and Pat decided to retrieve it, inside he finds a dead body next to some club regulars. Suddenly Pat grabs the phone trying to call 911, but is stopped by Gabe who manage the bar.

Is time for the club owner to make an appearance and try to do “damage control” Darcy Banker (Patrick Stewart) bring several options to the table in order to clean up this mess, the rest is history…

Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin) brings the perfect thriller, a movie filled with violence and unexpected situations, none is safe in the Green Room, I mean none. It also bring a great political metaphor about the America we are living.

A group of millennial’s a punk band bringing messages about them who are trying to survive in a world where the establishment the bar owner and their associates send messages of hate and destruction. The confederate flag, swastikas and the skin head culture are trying to hide their criminal activities drugs and murders. Is clear that Saulnier connects this story with the recent events in “Oregon’s Standoff” leads by Anti-Government militias.

One of the strongest message in the film is Pat story about him and his friend fighting a group of Iraq veterans in a paintball tournament, he suggest how is possible for them to win against this highly trained people? We you just have bring everything you got. Is like trying to escape the green room from an army of neo-Nazi skinheads…

The film directing is outstanding, as well the editing, cinematography and sound design.

The set up of an interview reveal a pretentious and stubborn Miles Davis (Don Cheadle) footage of Miles performing in a TV set behind him, the voice of Dave Brill (Ewan McGregor) set the foundation of a not so pleasant interaction. Miles looks tired and annoyed about everything. Specially the way that his music is called: Jazz. It should be called social music. He rectify Dave, and Miles grab his trumpet and before he start playing we cut aggressively to a car chase, we can hear and see the threat, Dave and Miles trying to escape with Miles Davis latest recorded tapes.

“Miles Ahead” tales the story of the famous musician who became famous for his powerful interpretation of the trumpet, becoming one of Columbia Records biggest success next to Bob Dylan. The plot divides two events in Miles Davis life. After so-called retired for five years, due drugs and alcohol, a missing tape sessions is been haunted by so many people in the music industry. Everyone wants something from that. Including reporter from Rolling Stone Dave Brill (McGregor). This part of the story explore Miles volatile behavior as well his addition. Parallel the film explores his trouble relationship with wife Frances Taylor (Emayatzy Corinealdi) Miles was a ladies man and the film reflects that in a very suggestive way.

Cheadle’s directorial debut is giving us a very surreal life of the famous musician, with a fabulous film editing and a well produced score inspired by Miles Davis itself. The film lack of production value is my biggest complain. This is the kind of movie were I really want to see a real NY from 1979’ instead of Cincinnati pretending to be NYC. You need that roughness and genuineness of the city of NY to support the aggressiveness and frenzies in style and rhythm of Miles Ahead. That was Miles city and his gasp voice as well his music comes with it.

The film is a great testament of part of his life work, but the conclusion honoring him in is not that powerful, If you not include the final musical act, the film will end flat.

Perhaps Cheadle just deliver the film the way that he wanted, just like Miles Davis did with his music: If you gotta tell a story, come with some attitude