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

This day and age, modern warfare is manage over the sky. New devices called: Drones deal with the responsibility of observe, provide information for analysis and also attack. The last one is the most questionable, due the amount of crimes made by several countries who launch operations to eliminate certain targets, with the price of killing civilians.

“Eye in the Sky” is the British thriller directed by Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) tales the story of a operation by the UK government to capture a terrorist group (visually similar to Al Qaeda or ISIS) who are hiding in the city of Nairobi, Kenya. The film focus on several locations. A war room in the UK, a government building also in the UK, a military base in Nevada, Singapore, China and of course Nairobi.

Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) leads the operation in the war room, while in the government building we have Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman) the Attorney General and some members of the UK cabinet, in Nevada we have 2nd Lieutenant Steve Watts, a USAF drone pilot (Aaron Paul) and Carrie Gershon USAF (Phoebe Fox).

Something that makes this film a true thriller is the tension created between all the locations involved. In fact the audience will not experience true action after the first hour of film, but the plot and performances are powerful. The plot seems simple, but it gets complicated when every decision needs to be careful reviewed by some members of the government, from the legal ramifications, the political ramifications and even the cost of lives from collateral damages.

This movie satire how a minister or another member of the government could be in the most obscure situation (toilet seat) superficial (playing ping-pong with a Chinese counterpart) and even Lieutenant unable to decide which doll model was requested by his daughter but is able to decide when to shoot a missile. But the real heart of the film is how a child’s life is the real element of discussion between the military and the government. The challenges of been responsible of a crime, as price to avoid serious terrorist attacks. The subject is well putt it when 2nd Lieutenant Steve Watts, a USAF drone pilot (Aaron Paul) reject superiors orders when he is aware that a little girl is near the target of the attack and the range of the attack will include her as a casualty.

Eye in the Sky follow the footsteps of films like Dr Stranglelove by showing the vulnerabilities of the governments secret operations, lack of sensitivity loosing innocent lives and the cost of the war of terror for the greater good.

In the mist of the Argentinian dictatorship and Falklands War in 1982 Arquimedes Puccio (Guillermo Francella) patriarch of the family and worker of the state intelligence service, becomes unemployed. During this period he decided to start criminal activities by kidnapping wealthy families. Alejandro Puccio (Peter Lanzani) eldest son and the star player of a rugby club is one of the most important collaborators of the gang, by helping identify the targets, using his fame and popularity as an alibi.

“El Clan” is directed Pablo Trapper and produced in part by the Almodovar brothers. The story of the El Clan start with a very dramatic revelation, the rescue of one of the victims from the Puccio's kidnaps, then moving back to an interesting film structure, a parallel between father and son showing them separated and then reunite by this common mission. Their first victim, Ricardo Monukian friend of Alejandro.

The film explore several aspects of the crimes as well how family values becomes part of the kidnapping process. Arquimedes is a sort of Walter White who needs to commit this crimes to provide for the family. Money to send his kids to New Zealand to play Rugby, help Alejandro to get one of his biggest dreams, a surf store. The family are all accomplices, some more indirect than others. The audience feel their kids suffering when they hear the kidnapping victims crying for help next to their bedrooms while their doing homework, Alejandro’s guilt by been responsible of helping to kidnap his wealthy friends. For Arquimedes everything is for the family, he is a true psychopath, nothing can’t stop him, except one thing: democracy.

During the fall of Argentina dictatorship and the rise of a democratic government by Raúl Alfonsín who started to cleaning all the government mess, raise the flag over Puccio’s family operations, which were protected and covered in part by the past government.

The film “El Clan” is a powerful story that never stop to impress about the happenings of this horrible crimes while the Puccio family continue their daily lives using their ransom money to live a good life in Argentina.
With great performances and great film-making El Clan is one of the best films of 2016 so far.

The film open with a great vista of the jungle in Colombia. The sounds set the scene, helping the audience to immerse themselves into this mysterious journey. The black and white is powerful, but also intrigue us. Seen a jungle like this without appreciate their true colors make you want more. Now the sound surround us as well the language spoken which is one of the multiple indigenous languages.

“Embrace of The Serpent” is a film directed by Ciro Guerra, and tells two parallel stories of German scientist Theodor Koch-Grunberg and American scientist Richard Evans Schultes. Set in 1909 and 1940. Both of them experienced their journey thru the jungle with Karamakate an Amazonian shaman who is the guide in the search for the rare yakuza, a secret plant. In this journey the audience experience the critical evolution of society in the amazon shape their future. You see human interaction with technology as a way of creating new experiences but also a way of affecting traditions and traditional learning process and heritage.

In a scene you see Grunber showing an indigenous tribe how to use a compass, later the compass disappear. This cause a commotion between the leader of the tribe and Gurnber who is upset about this. His point is not about who stole it and why. Is the fact that indigenous tribe use stars to guide themselves thru the jungle, with a compass will loose that ability. Is the effect of using technology as a tool to make your life easier, but also to ruin your traditional learning. This also journey thru the unknown, how religion pretends to shape indigenous by destroying their essence.

“Embrace of The Serpent” is clever because show in two parallel universe the journey of Grunberg in 1909 and Schultes in 1940. The audience experience the progression of time, how society in part ruin the life of this people, by imposing new traditions and knowledge. Forcing them to change their ability to continue developing what they know, how they live, only killing what make them unique.

At the end this journey is experience first hand by one person in both periods of time. Karamakate. He understand how important is his life in the jungle, the respect and consideration of his heritage and how the presence of external characters can destroy it. He also face big challenges living there: Memories, learned traditions which can be lost if you don't share it with future generations. He cannot be corrupt, even Schltes offer him, a single dollar for his help, a true evidence of capitalism.

Ciro Guerra borrow from great films about journeys in the jungle. Apocalypse Now and Fitzcarraldo. Both films show a trip into a jungle filled with challenges in the hunt for one thing. In Apocalypse Now is a mission to eliminate Colonel Walker Kurtz a renegade against the establishment of the US Army. In Fitzcarraldo the search for rubber an element that is destroying indigenous people in Perú, because it’s constitute a new source of income, better than the life in the jungle. For “Embrace of The Serpent” the journey shows the power of rubber and how destroy the minds and life of indigenous people till their death.

“Embrace of The Serpent” is a powerful film that can leave you breathless by the power of the message, but also by the connection with Werner Herzog and Francis Copola style of filming and editing.

Stories about finance institution, personalities and crisis always been split in two: Big strong dramas and also documentaries. From Margin Call, Wall Street, The Wolf of Wall Street to Inside Job, Enron The Smartest Guys in the Room and Capitalism: A love Story. Hollywood focus their energy in appealing stories.

Adam McKay directs "The Big Short" a comedy drama about the very beginning of the financial crisis of 2008. Michael Burry (Christian Bale) a hedge fund manager discovers flaws in the housing market and consider that is pretty unstable. After strong analysis he predicts that the market will collapse in the second quarter of 2007. With this idea in mind, he find a way to make profit from this by betting against the housing market. A trader Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) heard about Burry's action from several clients and he decided to get into the same game, investing into the same idea. Mar Baum (Steve Carell) Hedge fund manager get a tip about the same plan.

When you start watching "The Big Short" you can get lost so easily about the financial lingo, but Adam McKay directing approach makes the information so easy to follow by making fun of it. With guest appearances in strange scenarios, they explain several information fun, but also ironic to the viewer. "The Big Short" is masterfully edited by Hank Corwin using skillful techniques to connects with multiple character and situations in a period of 4 years, also the use of archival footage and a well elaborated soundtrack makes the pace of this film, slow sometimes and then hectic in the other.

Christian Bale is fantastic as Michael Burry, Ryan Gosling is fun and hateful as Jared Vennett, Steve Carell is excellent as Mark Baum. But one supporting role that steals the show is Brad Pitt playing Ben Rickert. The Big Short will join the list of well made and outstanding films about finance.