The Commuter is another movie with Liam Neeson being Liam Neeson. This time, he plays a family father who loses his job and is about to lose everything he has. On his train ride back home, he gets approached by a woman who offers him twenty-five thousand dollars if he does her a favor. As soon as the desperate man takes the money, all hell breaks loose. He is supposed to find and eliminate a witness to a crime on the train or else his family will be in danger.

Even though we have all watched similar movies before like Non-Stop, also involving Liam Neeson, that had a very similar story but took place on a plane, The Commuter is one of the most entertaining movies of its kind. It takes the time to introduce the main character and how his organized everyday life shatters from one day to another which makes us empathize and even identify with the character. 

The plot is mysterious and tense, as more and more details about the background story emerge step by step to keep viewers focused from start to finish. Additional story elements add a few doses of energy at the right moments and even though the solution to it all isn't that hard to figure out, you still keep guessing until the end how it might all turn out.

The movie obviously has a very special atmosphere, since more than three quarters of it take place on a train, in a closed environment, with a set of diversified characters. I have always liked the idea of movies, novels and theater plays based upon this idea and it's very well executed here.

The special effects aren't overused which gives the movie an almost realistic touch which gets the viewers emotionally involved. Only the final twenty minutes or so are filled with spectacular action, leading to an appropriate showdown and its aftermath.

The decent soundtrack complements the movie's gloomy atmosphere. The lighting techniques add a sinister tone as well. The at times claustrophobic camera angles are employed accurately. The makers of this movie clearly knew what they were doing.

Even though The Commuter isn't a particularly original movie, it's a great ride and entertaining from start to finish. Go watch it at your local cinema.

Here comes the only minor spoiler of my review: Octavia Spencer doesn't talk about chicken in this movie. This is great. Now, let's move on.

Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water is a modern fairy tale that takes place during the sixties. It tells the story of a mute janitor called Elisa who has good friends in gay artist and neighbor Giles and her black work colleague Zelda but she still feels lonesome because she doesn't have a man in her life. She works at a secret government laboratory and witnesses how a mysterious humanoid amphibian arrives there for scientific purposes. Inexplicably intrigued by the tormented and tortured creature, Elisa forms a close bond with the creature who turns out to be intelligent. However, Colonel Strickland, who has captured the mysterious creature in South America, starts to despise it after it fought its tormentor, biting off two of his fingers. When the government laboratory comes to the conclusion that the creature is useless, they plan to kill it. Before Colonel Strickland can triumphantly execute the order, Elisa decides to save the creature with the help of Giles and Zelda, risking their lives. Soon, three different parties, Elisa and her friends, a group of Soviet secret agents and American military personnel face one another because they all have different plans for the humanoid amphibian.

The Shape of Water has several intriguing elements. The storytelling is well-paced, finding the right balance between incorporating fantastic elements and bringing back to life the Cold War in the sixties, showing the flaws and strengths of American society back then. The movie deals with homophobia and segregation, without being too moralizing. The settings are carefully chosen, contrasting shiny restaurants, poor apartments and cold bunkers. The visual special effects are stunning, especially all scenes involving water and the humanoid amphibian. The dream-like opening sequence grabs your attention right from the start and is a highlight. The characters are intriguing enough to care about them, as both the diversified cast of protagonists convinces as well as the reckless antagonists. The acting performances go hand in hand with the intriguing characters and Sally Hawkins is particularly convincing as unusual lead actress with a mysterious past. The movie makes many clever references to other films and forms of art because the main character and her neighbor are interested in film and music and living right above an old movie theater. This gives the film an intellectual touch and invites viewers to discover the culture of the fifties and sixties.

Obviously, the story itself isn't particularly creative, reminding me of a mixture of Beauty and the Beast and Avatar. Many elements of the movie are quite predictable and even foreshadowed in the very first scene of the film. If you plan on watching this fairy tale with your young children, you should rather not because right after the opening sequence, we see the lead actress fully undressed, taking a bath and masturbating. Not that this is any problem since it tells us about both the purity and loneliness of the main character, but it isn't something young children should see. The Shape of Water is a fairy tale for intellectual adults with all its colorful references.

The Shape of Water is a colorful, creative and entertaining fairy tale. It deserves most of the praise it gets, even though a whopping thirteen Academy Awards nominations are quite a stretch. Enjoy this beautiful film at your local movie theater.

Orphaned Land & Friends 25th Anniversary is a limited edition of four seven inch vinyl records collecting rare cover songs introducing Orphaned Land's cultural and artistic background, live tracks from Israel and alternative versions or remixes of several tracks. This package was also released digitally. All eight songs were later re-released on the special edition of the brilliant studio record Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs about one year later. The material on this record could already be found on different limited editions, live records and singles but those who didn't collect some of those quite expensive and rare releases can find eight great songs in one compact collection. The quality of the material shows a band at the height of its career. 

The three live songs are calm, intimate and passionate as the band creates a bond with its audience. Especially the old pearl ''The Beloved's Cry'' has never sounded as great as the band has successfully revamped the track without forgetting about its initial charm. 

The second vinyl includes two different versions of the same song, performed in two different languages. This is a cover of Israeli singer-songwriter Yehuda Poliker. The English version was a bonus track on the outstanding last studio record All Is One and would have blended in very well on said album. The track has an epic and longing folk rock atmosphere that suits Orphaned Land's current style perfectly. Orphaned Land has managed to adapt the track to its very own symphonic folk metal style without denying the original's appeasing, melodic and rhythmic charm.

The two versions of single ''Estarabim'', a danceable and joyous cover of a song by Turkish singer-songwriter Erkin Koray, are quite catchy and dynamic. The two versions complement each other very well. Once again, Orphaned Land has respected the original's exotic festive vibe while adding some more punch to these two versions. It was an excellent choice to cover this vivid oriental party anthem.

The final vinyl includes a cover of Pearl Jam's Jeremy that was recorded with several collaborators in order to promote a visit of the band to Israel. The melodic grunge song was transformed into an inspired folk tune that easily outclasses the original version in my opinion. I have rarely witnessed a band that makes better cover songs than Orphaned Land.

To keep it short, fans of what Orphaned Land has been doing since the release of the epic Mabool - The Story of the Three Sons of Seven will definitely enjoy this release with its eight colorful, inspired and life-affirming tracks. Orphaned Land manages to be one of the most joyous bands in the metal genre while spreading one of the most serious messages of coexistence, hope and peace at the same time. If you don't want to overpay for this limited release, go grab the band's new studio album in the limited edition and enjoy these eight rare gems to celebrate a unique band that is more relevant than ever and that deserves our attention and support.

Final rating: 80%

Omnium Gatherum is a quite complicated case. The Finnish melodic death metal band is absolutely captivating in concert but rarely transmits this certain type of magic onto its regular studio albums. This is particularly obvious on Grey Heavens. The band sounds as if it were on autopilot. The group is playing it safe without taking any risks. The songs are rushing by but won't get stuck on your mind. I don't know how many times I have already listened to this record and yet I can't remember one single song. That's a shame because the band has so much potential. 

The mixture of melodic keyboard sounds and classic heavy metal guitar solos on one side, combined with gritty riffs, harsh vocals and faster passages on the other side, is a combination that makes bands like Amorphis or Soilwork stand out. In Omnium Gatherum's case, everything sounds quite by the numbers. The melodic keyboard passages always sound the same. The melodic guitar solos are inoffensive. The gritty riffs are too simplistic to impress. The harsh vocals sound like any other average melodic death metal vocalist. The fast passages rarely harmonize with the melodic and slower parts. The band only shines when it really slows down and focuses on melancholic melodies that are so charismatic for Finnish bands but aside a few positive exceptions like in ''Foundation'', the group doesn't give these passages enough time to unfold.

The most intriguing elements about this album are the brilliant cover artwork and the question why a band sounds close to perfection on stage yet so bland on a regular studio album. I hope Omnium Gatherum will soon release a live album because this will easily end up being the band's most essential record. Grey Heavens is neither great nor awful but it's painfully average. My advice for you would be to go see the band in concert and ignore this album.

Final rating: 65%

Mesdames et Messieurs!

En fin de semaine dernière, je suis enfin retourné visiter la ville de Québec pour la première fois en quatre ans et demi. J'y suis allé en train ce qui était particulièrement agréable. J'ai assisté au Carnaval de Québec et j'ai visité le Musée de la Civilisation ainsi que le Musée de la Francophonie. J'ai dormi dans un très bon hôtel, j'ai bien mangé et j'ai rencontré une panoplie de personnes intéressantes. C'était une fin de semaine très réussie. J'aimerais vous présenter quelques photos de mes expériences.

Vue sur le fleuve Saint-Laurent à Montréal

Rivière à proximité de Drummondville

Une rivière proche de la ville de Québec

La gare du Palais à Québec

Une ruelle dans le Vieux-Québec

L'Église Notre-Dame-des-Victoires

Une place avec des sculptures de glace dans le Vieux-Québec

Impressions dans le Vieux-Québec près de la Batterie Royale

Le Fresque du Petit-Champlain

L'Escalier Casse-Cou

Le Château Frontenac

Première station du palais de glace du Carnaval de Québec

Deuxième station du palais de glace du Carnaval de Québec

Troisième station du palais de glace du Carnaval de Québec

Au Musée de la Civilisation

Chapelle du Musée de l'Amérique française

Le tombeau de Monseigneur Laval

Exposition sur la colonie retrouvée

Exposition sur la vie des pionniers Canadiens français