2009: The movies I expect to see.

I suppose there is a huge number of things that will keep certain people away from this movie. There will also be a huge number of elements once the film is released to make critics and so-called movie buffs to say "It sucks." with no further ado.

I also know (after seeing the trailer) there is a huge number of reasons behind my sudden obsession with this film:

1.- I have ALWAYS loved movies, TV series, stories, damn! even novels (and whatever I can get my hands on) about average people who suddenly get super powers but do not become instant superheroes in tights: since I was a kid I've loved Matilda because of that, and now I love everything from X Men to Heroes and the first time I became attracted towards the Harry Potter books was precisely because of that.

2.- I actually think Chris Evans is a great actor who has made a lot of shitty movies.

3.- I'm a huge fan of Dakota Fanning and I actually think her new sexy, grown-up voice is kind of cool.

4.- I actually have hope on Camila Belle's career getting better (and that's why I will never lay my eyes on 10 000 B.C. or When a stranger calls)

5.- I love Cliff Curtis ("Who?", you say)

6.- I actually enjoy how Djimon Hounsou's career has been built over a series of bad-ass screamer roles that make us go apeshit about him.

7.- The poster is haunting.

So, expect this to become my favorite popcorn movie (that I may or may not take a little bit too seriously) of all time.

Damn. High expectations are always a burden.

It is time a Harry Potter movie gets more than 3 Oscar nominations.

Thank you, David Yates, for making such a serious, dark, completely cinematographic film. It has life of its own and lives out of the shadow of the book, just as every book adaptation should do. The film took its time to develop everything and Yates wasn't forced into doing a crowd-pleaser and it shows, every single frame: this movie is not light entertainment. It's a perfectly pitch-black bridge between the previous films and the darkness in front of us: a strong, exciting ending ahead of us.

The performances reached the highest level so far (obviously besides that awful boy Radcliffe, for whom I don't give a damn) and every single actor is at the top of his or her game, no matter how little screentime they have (David Thewlis, Julie Walters and Maggie Smith gave their few seconds on screen so much passion and power as they've never done before and Evanna Lynch fiercely stole the movie) and it was nice to see SPOILER: Michael Gambon saying good-bye with style: with his best performance within the saga.END SPOILER.

But the best element in this beautiful puzzle had to be the screenplay: I've read all the books (twice each, and some thrice) but I'm a film lover (and a filmmaker) so, I went into the theatre expecting a movie, not a book. Books belong in your bedside, movies in the theatre. The translation from book to film was simply outstanding, the things they took away, the things they added, the new dialogues, the way everything made perfect sense. Beautiful adaptation, an example to follow in the future, no matter which book you adapt: you must breathe life of its own into it, no matter what fans want, they don't know best. Film is film.

By the way, thank you, Bruno Delbonnel (Amélie, Un long dimanche de fiançailles, Across the universe) for yet another extraordinary cinematography. Gorgeous.

This is not a movie for everyone, that has always been the main difference between this and, let's say, Lord of the Rings: it doesn't have the ease or charm to lure people into seeing it without previous knowledge of the whole Universe behind it. Yes, that's a problem, it is a flaw. But, what to do? What about this? You don't like Rowling's world, do not see this movie. That's it. It's not fair and it's not objective but maybe that's the only solution behind that specific issue.

A hard-to-digest movie, but a rewarding one if you happen to love both Harry Potter and extraordinary filmmaking.

A dream.
A triumph that any stop-motion artist will have trouble reaching.

I have no words.

I don't know how great Slumdog millionaire really is, but I seriously doubt there's any movie better than this one in 2008.

BEST MOVIE 2008

Wow!

We all know that every word said by any character in this movie is like a knife slashing the receiver's guts and soul, but I think the most beautiful, painful part of this film are all the eyes, the sights, the pain written on the faces of these characters.

Extraordinary cast.
This time, the hype was right.

Best smallest performance of the year? Not Viola Davis but Joseph Foster II that develops such a deep character everytime you look at his face. Awesome.

Surprisingly (because of the plotline), the trailer doesn't look ANYTHING like Margot at the wedding, so I'm ready to create a Wedding Marathon by watching this, the Noah Baumbach movie and My best friend's wedding together in one sitting.

That's going to be fun...

I thought it was the greatest day of my life when I found out Charlie Kaufman was writing a new movie with such an out-of-this-world cast and, oh! surprise!, him as a director for the first time.

That was until I found out this was a "Tango" (Carlos Saura, 1998) rip off all the way.

A man (with a cane) building a huge replica of New York (or Buenos Aires) inside a warehouse for his new show with an ex-wife, a new girl and his life reflected in his work? That's the plot summary for 2 movies!! "Tango" and "Synecdoche"...

I trusted Kaufman, and now, this?!

Pity.
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*S, NY: http://youtube.com/watch?v=SiSG_ijruS4
*TANGO: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nyc06Pl2gec

compare these clips: the cane... the music... the warehouse...

By far, the greatest movie experience I've ever had.

Breathtaking, that's the word for it.

There isn't any bigger Sam Rockwell fan than me. So I have no words to describe my hysteria towards this movie.

There are NO words.

Picture this: a group of friends go to the movies. One of them is a sweet, dreamy guy who recently broke-up with his sweet, rocker girlfriend but can't let go. Another one is a metalhead girl who can't move on after she broke-up with her boyfriend... more than a year ago. Two of them are a brand-new couple where she loves him more than he does. And the other one is me: a lonely film buff who recently came out as asexual after deciding love wasn't in his plans.

The lights go down and we're all excited about the indie, bittersweet film we're going to watch. Smiles on our faces, laughs and thrills.

The lights go up after an hour and a half and we're all in shock, in complete silence. Speechless, I turn to my friends and mutter an apology: we were not expecting to get so hurt with a film.

From the outside, it may seem like just another indie, rom-com with cute moments and quirky characters but you can't begin to explain the perfection of this film til you experience it. The screenplay is like a ticking clock: everything works flawlessly in its right moment and place, every dialogue, every joke, every sweet moment, every painful memory. Both lead characters are so uncannily developed it's scary and tough to get through how real they are. The film is so perfectly built that we fall in love with Summer at exactly the same pace that Tom does, we are crushed by her actions and words as if she was doing it to us, and we hate her just as much as Tom does -or maybe even more. But we need her. We need her so badly that we can't stop watching, hoping for a lame happy ending. Hoping for a guiding light that tell us everything will be OK, that love is real and possible.

But this is not a movie. This is life in its most painful, true portrayal I've ever seen. And life, like love, doesn't have happy endings.

Hysterical scenes, unforgettable dialogues and brutal moments (you know you covered your eyes when the split-screen Expectations v. Reality scene came along), (500) Days of Summer is a painful experience, and that's awesome: it's exactly how movies are supposed to be. An experience to live in its fullest, to feel right in the guts. To reject, to love, to remember, to rinse, and repeat.

For most of us, Drama/Mex is proof that a man with talent, focus and a fantastic screenplay will be able to make an extraordinary piece of filmmaking without tons of money or help from certain government institutions if he has the balls and guts to go and film it already: no money, no support, just a camera and some friends. Gerardo Naranjo (again, for most of us) became a hero, an example to follow. Somewhere in between his Cannes success and the difficult commercial release of his masterpiece, somebody gave him money to support his second movie, now that they knew what to expect from such a man like him. Voy a explotar was born.

I'm in love with this movie. Once again, words are not enough to describe the power behind its images, its story, and, most of all, the best part: its characters. Voy a explotar flows like magic, like fairy dust on your eyes, a tragic love story between outcasts, a teen drama that doesn't focus on the geeks or the cuties but on the freaks who everyone avoids eye-contact with, the ones with the deep thoughts, immature but uncondicionally romantic.

The character development (from looks and kisses to voice-overs and costumes), the screenplay (my favorite love story ever, real and painful but dreamy at the same time), the directing (fresh, playful, young), the whole production design (every location is flawless, every set decoration is gorgeous and important), the movie itself: everything works perfectly to move this lovely story forward.

Let's wait for Naranjo's third: it's going to be history in the making.

I've been hearing the worst reviews from this, a movie I expected to see for its incredible cast and the chance to finally see Jennifer Connelly doing comedy. I hate bitter, bitchy critics who just can't take a light, touching comedy for what it is. This is great.

It's definitely hard to make actual statements in a screenplay, to make your characters spit life lessons surrounded in such a tone that will make words sound like absolute, like the truth about love and relationships. But it works. These characters are well-written. They aren't annoying because of the screenplay, you want to choke them most of the time because they are dumb, they are naive, they don't know how to deal with rejection, loneliness, physical attraction, desire or the first steps towards actual love. But still, you laugh, simply because you know somebody like them or you are them. Every single one of them is relatable and annoyingly charming enough to make you care for them the whole time and the entire cast is at the top of their game. Yes, sometimes you really feel the burning desire of bitchslap Ginnifer Goodwin but her character is still bubbly, cute and lovely, like a puppy who keeps bouncing on the same wall over and over again. Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck are likable, probably because of their little screentime and their commitment to avoid their usual gimmicks and lay low for once. Justin Long gives his best performance yet, finally showing his true potential beyond dumb teen comedies and Bradley Cooper (whoever that is) showcases his stud looks into a deep, funny role. But, ey, it wouldn't be Me if I didn't praise Jennifer Connelly, right? Well, she was actually, as if it would surprise me by now, the best-in-show. Her character was hilarious and she has amazing comedic timing. Beware! When she mixes comedy with her extraordinary dramatic talent, she's pure gold: that breakdown at the end? Damn. She's just The best. And her scene with Luis Guzman is priceless. I think her storyline was the best, because it was the most serious, the most dramatic, but still remained hilarious because of her. I really don't want to talk about Scarlett Johansson because she disappointed me and her character was poorly written and annoying, without the "cute" part I was talking about.

The way all the storylines meet is actually really original, more in the style of Reinas, by Manuel Gómez Pereira than, let's say, Crash or anything by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The editing gave the screenplay just the flow it needed to never drag and stay sharp and funny. And the Baltimore setting is amazing. You buy the fact that everybody bumps into each other and the city is a breath of fresh air from the usual rom-coms in L.A. or New York. It has absolutely nothing to do with him or his style, but John Waters would be proud.

Please, check this out. It's light-hearted, hilarious, cute, well-acted and well-written. Even if you don't agree with the relationship advices they give (I mean, I know love sucks, but, c'mon, this was too much!), you will enjoy this. Trust me. It's surprisingly original and fresh for a romantic comedy.

I hope they finally give Michael Shannon the breakthrough role he deserves.

Every single Bug fan is waiting on the edge of his seat...

OMFG!
Nazi zombies!
...yeiii!

I hope the dialogues and the whole new size of the film per se don't hurt the depth and beauty of this concept.

I respect Shane Acker as a guy who is perfectly able to mix quality in animation (the short film didn't look like anything you had seen before) with an extraordinary story.

At least we finally have a voice cast of really good actors instead of bankable "funny" guys doing their usual gimmicks and destroying good plotlines.

Good luck, Shane Acker. You're movie won't make millions but the few of us who will love it to death will pay you forward by following your career as closely as possible.

I've been waiting a long time for Dito Montiel's new movie just to see if he can live up to the shadow of that masterpiece called A guide to recognizing your saints.

But what excites me the most is the chance to see Channing Tatum still fighting (duh) his way the top in order to be recognized as a good actor rather than just a pretty boy.

G.I. Joe will make him bankable but I'm sure Fighting will bring some good reviews and minor awards, like Dito Montiel's first movie did as he got nominated for an Independent Spirit Award back in 2007.

(Unfortunately, I have to eat my words as his Oscar for Stop-loss may never come... Ok, bad prediction)

Ok, so we were all waiting for John Krasinski's first lead movie role a couple of years ago and all we got stuck with was License to wed... but as we await, high on excitement, the arrival of Brief interviews with hideous men (written and directed by him), we still have something else to look for in 2009: the always incredible Sam Mendes directs him, Maya Rudolph and Maggie Gyllenhaal in a road-trip comedy with a screenplay by Dave Eggers, the man behind the script for Where the wild things are.

Damn...

One of those movies you're extremely proud to say: "It was as good as they said..." and maybe, even more.

While the whole music score was a little bit over the top, the entire screenplay was beautiful and intense.

Lina Leandersson devours the entire role by actually feeling like a 12 year old that may have lived over a 100 years of experiences and pain. She's hypnotizing and plays her role flawlessly, while Kare Hedebrant is just the cutest, skinniest boy ever. You just feel like hugging him til his eyes explode.

I think Paulo Coelho is insanely overrated, as most superstar, best-seller authors are (Stephen King and Dan Brown come to mind) but let's remember: From good books come bad movies, from bad books come great movies.

And I'm feeling this is going to be Sarah Michelle Gellar's big break, as both The Air I Breathe and Southland Tales didn't work for many people.

Here's hoping.

This looks like the Todd Solondz's remake for Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

Is this the dark comedy of 2009? Here's hoping.

You gotta be fuckin kidding me!

A road trip about Irak soldiers starring Rachel McAdams, Tim fuckin Robbins and, above all, Michael Peña, written and directed by Neil Burger?!

Seriously?! I must see this, now!!

I think this is the first time I find myself EXCITED about a Lars Von Trier's plot synopsis...

Damn! This sounds great...

I have not one single doubt in my mind about Jason Segel's uncanny acting talent. Producers must start seeing through the whole dumb comedy shell and realize the Apatow gang has a lot to offer besides laughter. But if I was surprised by anybody in this movie, it was by Paul Rudd. The man has a lot more range that I thought!

It's a little bit sad that Apatow didn't take this production under his wing because it's clear this movie would've been a bromantic masterpiece with his talent behind the paperwork. Some stuff feels all over the place and it sure needs some editing here and there but the leads' performances save the whole thing over and over again.

Hilarious, cute, smart and bromantic, all the way.

Guys, go see it with your best friend: it feels better.

I have no interest in a JJ Abrahams movie based on a geeky TV series with cardboard props and plastic space ships... but Zachary Quinto and Masi Oka will drag me to the theatre.