Category: Cinema

{mosimage}Love, the eternal rivalry between USA and France…and overall many litres of good wine in this movie based on true events!

 

As a good Spaniard, I am quite a follower of the wine culture, not an expert, but from time to time I enjoy a bottle of good red wine. So obviously, the plot of this Bottle Shock was promising, with those amazing views of sunny vineyards around California. But the taste that the movie left in my mouth was not graceful at all. Big names and great actors like Alan Rickman or Bill Pullman seem to be wasted in the movie (especially Rickman who does not count with as many minutes on screen as he deserves). The story is more focused around the young friends Gustavo and Bo, and the irruption in their lives of Sam, a sexy female new worker studying the secrets of making wine as intern. But even the love story is twisted. Why the twist in the story, leaving Gustavo? It looks like the old prejudices of Hollywood for presenting multiracial couples are still far from gone.

 

In the end, you do not learn much about making wine, neither have you felt identified with the characters, and the result is predictable. A pity, because it could have been shaped into a much more interesting movie with a bit more of imagination and better direction.

 

Rating 2/5

 

{mosimage}The best: Alan Rickman in the few minutes he is on screen.

The worst: Why the character of Gustavo gets ignored in most of the second half of the movie?  

The detail: The main events related in the movie are

{mosimage}An intriguing thriller that will discover the dark secrets of international banking.

 

I must say that I did not have high expectations for this movie, but I was gladly surprised by an intelligent plot that will keep you hooked to the story until the end. Naomi Watts and overall, Clive Owen, show once more that they can act, apart from just being pretty faces. Ok, it is true that some action scenes like the shooting in the Guggenheim museum, go a bit over the top, but even those scenes have a certain realism and dark humor that fit perfectly with the story.

 

I also enjoy that in the end there is not the typical moral lesson to learn that appears in most Hollywood movies, and although it is basically an entertaining product, it makes you also reflect about the covered powers that rule the world in the darkness. When there is such a social awareness nowadays to international summits or every time that the FMI gathers together in any part of the world, obviously there is something deep rotten in our society.

 

A good movie, worthy to watch if you like suspense and smart thrillers spiced with intelligent dialogues here and there.

 

Rating 4/5

 

{mosimage}The best: the sharp dialogues between Owen and Watss

 

The worst: that Naomi Watts could have had a bigger part with his role than just been a mere support for Owen in most parts of the movie.

 

The detail: Jonas Skarssen speaks Danish with his family in the scenes at home.

{mosimage}A movie where fantasy and reality gets mixed until converging in a shocking final climax! 

 

I had not idea what to expect before watching Flanklyn, so during the first minutes, as I supposed that happened to many of the watchers, I felt a bit disoriented. Was I watching a version of Roschard in a sci-fic movie, or was I watching a romantic comedy, or what? 

But wisely, director Gerald McMorrow, being this only his second long featured movie, knows how to put all the pieces together. Step by Step, you start to realize what is going on during the movie, and certainly it is intelligently built. I just got a bit disappointed with the end, which left me a bit cold. As well, some of the appearances of Eva Green can be a bit annoying.

But although not a masterpiece, certainly Franklyn is something fresh and out of the common movies you can rent in your local video store. It is worth a try, because surely it will not leave you indifferent. 

Rating 3/5 

 

{mosimage}The best: Bernard Hill and his quest trying to find his son.

The worst: Some of the characters can seem to be too much stereotypical.

The detail: Many people do not realize until the end that Eva Green plays also the role of Sally.

{mosimage}This comedy is not made by Seth Rogen, but if you like his kind of humor, certainly you will enjoy this one! 

Seth Rogen has brought to Hollywood the “nerdy” side of teenage humor. If American Pie opened fire with a more mischievous and sexual approach, Rogen has been the master during the last years to explode the humoristic sides of the topics that influence the young generations nowadays: videogames, porn movies, smoking joints… although in the end all this converged towards a moral lesson of keeping your real friends closed. 

Although Rogen is not involved in this one directly, friendship is once again the milestone here, the friendship of two adults, Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott, with two children who need a real male adult that can understand them and cope with their anxieties.  

It must be because most of my friends are role fans, or because I am myself a Kiss fan, but I certainly enjoy this movie. It is funny, intelligent, a bit provocative but still watchable for all kind of audiences, and entertaining. You cannot ask much more than that. Both Rudd and William Scott make more than a decent job, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse shows once more that there is no better actor in Hollywood nowadays for roles that have to do with a teenage nerd with low social skills. 

Well written and well acted. It is nice that among all the bunch of bad comedies that invade us every month, we can still have a couple of good laughs with some intelligent humor. 

Rating 3/5 

{mosimage}The best: The characters dressed like Kiss for the final battle

The worst: that unfortunately there are young kids using the same kind of bad language as Ronnie does.

The detail: Paul Rudd is also one of the co-writers of the movie.

{mosimage}Global warming has hit hard on the planet Earth, and most of the continents are under the water. But there is still hope recurring to treasure hunters to find a token of salvation. 

 

This must be one of the worst movies I have ever watched. Actually, I think the best it has is the cover of the DVD. The acting of James Brolin and his fellows is horrible, the special effects are cheap, the storyline had some potential but it goes worse and worse… Ok, it is a series B movie, but yet, if you are releasing a film on DVD and spending money on its promotion, then at least it is expected something better than a movie that you would not even watch during “siesta time” after lunch on Tuesday afternoon.

Resuming, just a ridiculousmovie; it tries to imitate the clichés of the adventure genre and in the end people will end up laughing at how cheap the final product turns to be.  Unless you enjoy criticizing with your friends the poor quality of movies while having a beer and eating chips at home, escape this one! 

 

Rating 1/5

{mosimage}The best: A couple of scenes in the bar.

The worst: that there is money spent on making these kind of movies with so much people having hunger on the Earth.

The detail: Many of you will remember James Brolin for his role at the TV series Hotel. Most likely will not remember him for this current role…

{mosimage}Based on the acclaimed book by Roberto Saviano, here comes a great adaptation that portrays with fidelity the dirty business of the Italian Camorra. 

Director Matteo Garrone makes an excellent work with this adaptation of Saviano´s best seller. I had read the book before watching the movie, and certainly, although I was a bit skeptic when I started it, I liked it a lot. Saviano is a great narrator and it is really a pity that the mafia has put a price for his head and must live in the darkness hiding. 

Garrone does not literally copy Saviano´s book. He does not follow the story of just one character, but composes a mosaic choosing stories here and there, so the spectator catches a good glimpse of the irrational behavior and rules that lead the Camorra. There is no flashy names in the cast, but every character looks and sounds authentic, and you can really feel immersed in the little and big battles of life in South Italy. 

Do not expect the plasticity and mysticism of The Godfather. What you have here is a raw account of the harsh reality that thousands of people have everyday in Italy, but magisterially portrayed. 

Rating 4/5 

{mosimage}The best: you really feel transported to the world Garrone wants to show us.

The worst: It can be too raw for sensitive hearts.

The detail: In the book, the dress for the Hollywood movie star was intended for Angelina Jolie. In the movie, they changed her for Scarlet Johansson. 

The most awaited comic adaptation finally released in DVD for the joy of millions of fans around the world!

Watchmen was maybe the most awaited movie of 2009. A graphical novel that seemed impossible to reproduce into the big screen some decades ago was finally adapted by the hand of Zack Snyder, whose previous project 300 (another comic adaptation) had placed him in the spotlight.

But Watchmen was a much more intrinsic project, due not only to its twisted and deep plot, but also that in this case he was not going to count with the help of the original author, Alan Moore, who is opposite to any kind of adaptation of his comics. And certainly Snyder approves with a high mark. Watchmen is intense, delightful, well executed and directed, and overall, entertaining. It is true that the off-voice can get on your nerves, it is true that it can turn into too twisted for some spectators who are not able to distinguish who superhero is who, but in general, all that goes behind a mix of great action sequences and an intelligent portray of the inner soul of every main character.

On top of that, the cast is sublime: Malin Akerman, Billy Cudrup, Carla Gugino, Jackie Earle Haley… are really into the skin of their characters.

Even when abusing of digital effects, or even living in overcrowded times of comic adaptations, Watchmen is still one of my favorite releases of the recent months. A glimpse of what cinema is about: a fantasy of dreams.

Rating 4/5

The best:  Malin Akerman in that tight leather dress…

The worst: Rorschach off-voice hammering in your head every few minutes.

The detail:  Same than in the graphic novel, the sentence “Who watches the watchmen” can never been fully seen in the scenes where appears painted around.

Watchmen Trailer

Drugs, gangsters, killing, corrupted police… does it sound familiar?

Most of the critics I read in Internet said that this movie sucks. And this time… they are right. I find no reason why a movie like this has to be made, unless the twisted mind of the director, Charles Winkler, finds a secret pleasure in making spectators waste their time. The plot is just ridiculous, cliché after cliché; it just seems like a parody of the police drama genre with some gratuity in sex scenes to try to spice up a dead product. Val Kilmer looks totally out of shape here, both physically and about his acting skills and presence. It would not really be a guy I would like to use as a wingman flying a combat aircraft anymore.

The appearance of Sharon Stone does not add anything at all to the movie, a role that could be made by any other actress for probably 5 times less salary (and this time she does not even need to perform any high voltage erotic scene). The saddest thing is that 50 cent turns to be like maybe the best actor in the movie… that does not say much about their partners in the cast. 

Resuming, Streets of Blood is a totally forgivable movie. The style is shot is totally annoying for the spectator. I wonder if there is still talent left in Hollywood. Probably with the money spent in this dreadful movie, twenty wonderful independent movies could have been born. This is the MTV culture, where only pretty boys and girls and lacks of brain seem to dominate… 

Rating 1/5

The best: that in the end you can watch it like if it would be a parody instead of a real drama.

The worst: Direction and script are awful.

The detail: Do not even expect to admire the mature but still sexy anatomy of Sharon Stone.

Mickey Rourke scores the role of his life with the story of a profesional wrestler who renounces to admit that his golden years are away.

Hollywood loves the stories of resurrection. Mickey Rourke was lost for cinema industry for many fans and producers, but Darren Aronofsky gave him a chance of redemption in a role that was suiting him like a glove, and he did not waste it. Actually, Rourke´s performance is so strong and so linked to his real life that literally erases everything else in the movie, although Marisa Tomei acts like a great counterpart as the mature (but still sexy) stripper attached to him.

I was seriously disappointed with Rourke not winning the Academy Award for best actor, but well, Hollywood is like that, a land full of paradoxes. Awarded or not awarded, certainly this The Wrestler is one of the best movies done in 2008 and released in DVD in 2009. For many people of my generations, it will be a wink to those matches of WWF that we loved when we were children, but although the movie is about a wrestler, is not only about wrestling. It is about redemption, pride, family bounds, hypocrisy… the layers are endless and compose a delicious onion to be tasted by the spectator.

Aronofsky confirms once more that with small budgets (revisit for example his deliciously chaotic Pi), he is still one of the most interesting and exciting directors nowadays, and Rourke just nails it here. Do not miss it!

Rating 5/5

The best: that Rourke seems to have been born for this role. And seeing Marisa Tomei giving a lap dance…

The worst: that he was not awarded as best actor in the Oscars as he deserved it.

The detail: in the scene where Rourke cuts his forehead with a razor, he really does it, imitating a common practice of wrestlers on the ring.

The Wrestler Trailer

Do you like going Shopping? You cannot enter in one mall without buying something? Well, watch out that your credit cards do not get on fire!

Confessions of a Shopaholic is a romantic comedy aimed mainly at girls. Let’s be honest, although many men (me included) like shopping clothes, we all have a short limit of resistance to a period of stay in a shop. After a usual quick decision, we prefer to hit on a bar or sit on the sofa watching sports. For women, it is a way of life. The movie directed by P.J. Hogan is fun to watch, but that is basically it. Isla Fisher is actually very sensual and suitable in her role of shallow posh girl obsessed with Gucci and Prada, and Hugh Dancy as Luke Brandon plays his part as the British journalist who is both honest and a good catch. The dialogues have some good humor inserted from time to time (pay attention to the appearance and references to Finland all over the film), but the end is predictable.

Another romantic comedy in New York, where all can happen… according to Hollywood. For the rest of the journalists with feet on the earth, we will continue writing reviews and features with the hope that one day we can find that inspiring green scarf that will lead us to success!

Rating 3/5

The best: The sensuality of Isla, looking like the forbidden neighbor of the fifth floor.

The worst: The final is too predictable and lacks of innovative ideas.

The detail: The characters really speak Finnish language in the movie, although Isla`s accent makes it almost understandable during the final credits.

Confessions of a Shopaholic Trailer

Adam Sandler must be the hottest names of comedy genre lately in Hollywood, if not, remember his recently histrionic Zohan!

The film is aimed at children. Saying that, it does not mean that the adults cannot enjoy it either. Being an Adam Sandler movie, expect more than a bit of craziness and extreme situations in the plot. But actually Sandler is quite measured in this one, maybe due to Disney being behind it, and not as irreverent and in many other of his productions. Actually, this can be a weakness of the movie, for Sandler’s fans, this is a “light” version of his skills. the secondary roles there are some really big names like Courteney Cox or Guy Pearce. Actually, I think that Pearce could do much better than appearing in these kinds of movies, but it seems that his career is on his way down after he gave us already 9 years ago that formidable gift of interpretation in my beloved Memento.

Bedtime Stories is a movie to see in family, but well, do not expect tones of excitement with it, although it is worthy a couple of good laughs.

Rating 3/5

The best: Adam Sandler, he is the salt of the movie.

The worst: in the end it is a product in between a Sandler’s typical comedy and a children’s film.

The detail: Carmen Electra makes a cameo, as hot as ever!

Bedtime Stories Trailer

into the big screen of David Mamet´s play with Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Franz offering an amazing acting duel.

Certainly American Buffalo is not the typical Hollywood movie. Due to being an adaptation of a theatre play, you do not see many characters on screen, actually most basically you just see 3 all the time (and the shoe cleaner at the beginning). But the dialogues keep catching you deeper and deeper until you find yourself enjoying the film almost by surprise.

The acting is top class, and the story is full of nice dark humor and smart sentences.  Director Michael Corrente is able to transmit strong values and feelings all over the movie: characters that get lost in the small problems and details and miss the big picture of life.

If you enjoy philosophical essays about life and the nature of human beings, this one is going to touch your soul. For other kind of audience, maybe its small pace can desperate them before they truly learn to appreciate its quality.

Rating 3/5

The best: Sean Nelson scamming dollar after dollar from the two main characters

The worst: The movie is from 1996, so for some spectators it can smell too “old”.

The detail: Franz has been one of the stars for many years in the TV series NYPD Blue.

Based on true events, here comes decades later a new reminder of what the Watergate scandal supposed to America.

That a film is based on true events does not mean that everything that tells is 100% true. Surely the Richard Nixon portrayed here is far from the real Nixon, but … who cares? The point is that this Frost/Nixon offers much more to the spectator than the eye can catch at the beginning. A beautiful story that shows that no human is totally good or bad. Both Langella and Sheen /Nixon and Frost are far from perfect, but with a determination that makes them “dangerous” and always on the edge.

The movie has many wonderful moments, like Nixon´s sentences before the shooting to try to make Frost lose concentration, or the amazing telephone conversation with Nixon drunk that leads to the turn of the events. On top of that, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell and Kevin Bacon are superb in their secondary roles.

I thought before starting to watch the movie that this would be have another boring political plot, but far from it, it was smart, well directed, with rhythm and with superb acting skills, especially for Frank Langella who could have perfectly got the Academy Award for his personification. Good cinema!

Rating 4/5

The best: Frank Langella and his sharp comments (it does not matter if Nixon did not have sense of humor in real life)

The worst: Many will think that Nixon´s figure should have been more demonized.

The detail: Both Langella and Sheen had had the same roles in the theatre play before shooting this for the big screen.

Official trailer:

After the success of Sin City and 300, Frank Miller goes behind the camera to act as director in this new adaptation of one of his most famous comic books.

Visually, The Spirit is wonderfully produced. The comic atmosphere is once again perfectly transported into the big screen. But a movie needs some more “salt” than just a wonderful photography. Gabriel Macht is credible in his role of cheeky superhero, but many of the big names that go with him in the cast are really dreadful: Samuel L. Jackson as Octopus is on the edge of being ridiculous, not mentioning the poor additions of the two female roles incarnated by Eva Mendes and Scarlet Johansson; surely they will shine in the cover of any fashion magazine, but they still need to learn a couple of things about comic adaptations. The dialogues have some funny moments, mixed up with some silly parts, and the action scenes are really nothing special.

Resuming, the movie does not really add anything to the overcrowded genre of comic adaptations, and although is still watchable, does not fulfill the minimum requirements to pass the exam of the viewers. A weak one, could have been much better polishing the plot and the characters!  

Rating 2/5

The best: Eva Mendes making a photocopy of her ass.

The worst: Scarlett Johansson. Her role is totally to be forgotten.

The detail: Frank Miller is supposedly to produce Sin City 3 in 2012.

The Spirit Trailer

A TV reporter and her cameraman are going to live a very disturbing night when they find themselves locked in a building full of dangers.

Many people considered this movie the best horror movie ever (being by the way the remake of the Spanish film (REC)) I honestly do not understand what is going on in the brains of the audience lately, because I considered this one just a very poor average horror one. The beginning is promising, and the acting is plausible, but in the end it just turns predictable, falling into the category of “run away from the zombies… or infected”, whatever you want to call them.

It would have been nice to dig deeper in the relations of the reporter, Jessica Carpenter, with her cameraman and the firemen that go with her (obviously was openly flirting during the beginning when they are at the fire station), but the director prefers to throw to the spectator good doses of adrenaline every 30 seconds. Well, in some ways the movie is plausible enough to follow it until the end, but on the other hand, there was no big surprise here, even the not so sweet ending could be foreseen miles away. 

From my humble point of view, another American remake that does not catch up with the original. It can entertain, but do not expect any masterpiece. 

Rating 2/5

The best: The oppressive atmosphere inside the building.

The worst: The plot is not much original after invasion after invasion of zombies and infected beings we suffer every year.

The detail: The incredible Doug Jones, famous for his incarnations of monsters in Guillermo Del Toro´s movies, plays the role of the Thin Infected Man in the end of the movie.

Quarantine Trailer