..LAST MOVIES SEEN (by date)

The painful thing about this isn't the collage of retarded moments out of a moronic, 10 year-old written screenplay: it's how little it tries to actually be something. There's nothing new, nothing original, nothing smart, it's just a clip show of old comedy routines filled with fat joke after fat joke.

The worst part? I sat through the whole thing and I smiled. Twice. But mostly at how weird/funny/cute it was to see Thandie Newton believing she was in some sort of intelligent british comedy instead of an Eddie Murphy fat suit movie.

I have a question: are black audiences really that stupid and easy to please? Don't get me wrong, I live south of the border, where we have our own issues with stupid audiences laughing at shit like this but it looks like something cultural or idiosyncratic: Tyler Perry, ghetto jive and fat suits. Seriously? That's what it takes to make a "proud" race laugh?

A friend said: "I love how shiny everything looks." and he's right. It's weird how technically competent this movie is: good cinematography (specially at the beginning, with all the flashbacks shot in sunny, warm atmospheres) and probably the best make-up in a fat suit movie yet. But, is that truly a compliment?

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.

Let's get this straight, once and for all: I laughed. A lot. Seriously. I liked it. A lot.

Now that that's out of the picture: this has to be, by far, the most stupid, moronic, retarded collection of characters ever put on film. Every single one of their actions and decisions are on the verge of kindergarden level of intelligence (no offense to those poor kids) and it amazed me how no one saw the retardation in every single one of their choices. There's a guy who spends 5 years pretending to be gay in order to make his business partner fall in love with him; there's a girl who convinces a medium to trick her brother into believing she speaks with his death fiancée; there's the medium who can't seem to foresee the consequences of such a stupid deal; and there's a poor (cute) guy in the middle of everything who can't fuckin see everyone is lying to him.

Still, everybody involved is completely freakin hilarious 90% of the time (specially the lovely Lake Bell doing her best Tina Fey impersonation and playing clumsy/cute like no one else) and they seem to be enjoying turning off their brains while they recite stupid dialogue after stupid dialogue. Paul Rudd sleepwalks through the entire film and, yet, he manages to stay sassy, dreamy and funny, while Jason Biggs and his weird comeback (remember Wedding Daze?) are nice to sit back and enjoy.

Oh, yeah, I think Eva Longoria is in this. Maybe. I don't really remember her at all. But there were some weird moments when the director decided to put some Desperate Housewives outtakes into the plotline. I didn't really pay attention to that part.

Fun. Or maybe it was just me having a bad day and seeing this at 2 AM.

BTW, did anybody else enjoy how little any of the lead ladies actually cared for Paul Rudd's character?! It was freakin hilarious! After a while, they completely forgot about him and focused on bitching. An excellent screenplay for What-not-to-do class.

Now I can say this out and proud: Jennifer Hudson was born to be an actress. After seeing her entire repertoire (except Sex and the city, which doesn't count), I can confirm she's an extraordinary talent on the rough, with an uncanny sensibility and passion every moment she's on screen. From her courageous turn in The Secret Life of Bees to her subtle, beautiful bit in Winged creatures, she doesn't need to sing to show incredible depth and tear out her guts in front of a camera. I'm a big fan from now on.

And so, I watched this. I expect the whole razzle-dazzle and big momma's voices but everything was just kind of... lame. Jamie Foxx bored me to death, I never understood Danny Glover's character, Keith Robinson stole a role that was hand-made perfect for Elijah Kelley, Anika Noni Rose was cute but annoying and I don't think Beyonce was even in the movie. Her creepy eyebrows confused me.

But Eddie Murphy is cool in his flashy role. Not great, not extraordinary, not Oscar material: just cool. His drug problems are so weakly portrayed, it's almost as if they were scared or censored.

Technically, the film is marvelous, and it is really entertaining, but it's not the wonderful spectacle everybody hoped it'd be. Weird enough, there's no soul in it, no spice, nothing to chew on. Just drag-queen costumes and Jennifer Hudson's larger-than-life performance. Her main song (you know which one) is not even her biggest moment: she has a lot more to choose from. You can touch her pain through the entire thing. It's incredible.

In case you wondered about my opinion on certain issue: yes, she deserved that Oscar. Barraza, Kikuchi and Blanchett were all unforgettable but Hudson is here to stay: and her next films proved it. Except the one about martinis and high heels, obviously.

Loretta Devine's cameo was a dream.

Seeing it once again after more than 15 years without setting eyes on it became one of the most amazing moments in my lifetime: everything I remembered loving was there, only better.

On an objective side, I discovered this was a much better film than I expected it to be: Anjelica Huston's performance ranks high on iconic and timeless, she's larger than life and commands the whole thing every time she's on screen.

The make-up is still extraordinary and the whole transformation process (for both kids and witches) and Anjelica Huston's human mask are still timeless and unforgettable but, unfortunately, the visual effects (explosions and ray beams coming out of fingertips) grew old very quickly and feel more dated than the freakin Bible.

While there was one Roald Dahl book-turned-movie that needed to be remade for the sake of Dahl's legacy (Willy Wonka), this one stands right there with Matilda as a truthful adaptation of one of the greatest voices in children's Literature: a man who never talked down to kids. Including some exact extracts from the original book (you can tell when the narration is word-by-word from a literary text rather than a screenplay), the essence of Dahl's rebellious, intelligent spirit is right there, frame by frame, mouse by mouse.

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

Breathtaking, that's the word for it.

Exciting, engaging and sometimes hilarious and ridiculous. Washington is the master of cool even when he wears a belly, gray hair and an office-yellow shirt, and Travolta is absolutely over the top but he's just so damn charming you can't help but love him all the way through.

I've realized I'm not a fan of the Crazy Scott (Ridley is the Cool Scott) and his hyperkinetic style of a thousand cuts per sequence but this time I bought it completely, blindly and lovin' it!

Nice for a Saturday night.

Seeing this in Mexico City, just a couple of weeks after the shooting in the subway was weird, uncomfortable at some moments and strangely relaxing. People clapped at the end. Awkward.

People just don't get it. I got it and I had the time of my life.

Fuckin awesome!

Apatow's misunderstood masterpiece.

Hard to watch, but rewarding if you're ready for some Bruce LaBruce extravaganza of over-the-top sexual situations, campy performances (you just can't help to adore sexy, charming Tony Ward, and LaBruce himself playing a hilarious preppy writer), narrative experimentation and pure, old-school sexploitation.

It just can't be rated as any other movie.

Beware: not for everyone.

Deep in my heart, I always knew Jim Jarmusch was meant to be my ultimate influence when it comes to filmmaking, as he single-handedly influenced almost every single indie filmmaker in the last two decades, including most of my favorite directors. Maybe that's why I'm always so afraid of seeing his movies, what if I don't find myself influenced or at least attracted to them? I've been very careful about when and how I watch his films. I saw Stranger than paradise and I liked it a lot, but I didn't feel it as close to my heart as I thought I would. I will see it again someday, hoping this time it speaks to me in a more personal way.

I had to choose carefully which Jarmusch movie I was going to see after the first tone, Down by Law maybe? What about Permanent Vacation or Night on Earth? The decision was made for me when the Cineteca Nacional released a program called Rock & Film: Mystery Train was the lucky one.

I was sadly disappointed by all the negative, awfully lame reviews I've found all over the internet but, thankfully, I hadn't actually seen or read anything about the film before today's screening so, in a way, I was a virgin. And, boy! What an experience it was!

From start to finish, I realized every single movie that came after Jarmusch's was just a mere -sometimes clueless- attempt to evoke his idea of beauty, rhythm, loneliness, minimalism, gesture economy, character development, use of music, sense of humor, odd friendships/relationships: the essence of his genius. A friend of mine who watched the movie with me actually said afterwards: "This just ruined Pulp Fiction for me." I wouldn't go that far but it definitely opened my eyes to new possibilities, and made me as happy and joyful as a Jarmusch movie should make you. The details of everyday life suddenly looked brighter and funnier with every step I took after the credits rolled: I was hooked. Next stop: Down by Law and Dead Man.

I read somewhere a review saying the characters were not interesting enough, and another one saying the second part of the story is complete non-sense and the third one is just lame. I keep reliving the movie in my head, unable to understand which "uninteresting" or "lame" scenes and characters those people saw! Every single character is beautifully developed through unrelated dialogues (the characters express their feelings and thoughts by not expressing them), looks and silences, usually broken by Elvis himself. Every single second of silence makes more noise than all the dialogue put together. As for the second segment being "non-sense", I found it to be the most emotionally gripping and sad. Nicoletta Braschi (who I usually relate to crappy, annoying Roberto Benigni movies) digs deep in her soul through a subtle, almost inexistent performance, portraying a woman whose husband died, wandering alone through Memphis, surrendering to the mischievousness of others, who scam her every step of the way. She's lost, hopeless and doesn't know how to react to every single thing surrounding her yet, at the end of the day, she finds solace inside the same rundown hotel as the other characters, a dark, old, falling-to-pieces limbo that keeps the souls of its inhabitants locked up for one night only, changing their lives not with big explosions, but with small decisions that create big waves in their relationships.

You can read deeply into every frame of the movie or you just can sit down, relax and laugh (a lot, trust me), as Jarmusch's movies usually have space for both interpretations. This is 100%, pure Jarmusch, from start to finish, and an excellent start for neophytes like myself.

This is the movie that came before every other movie, and that's a fact.

Nothing really improved technically since Mexico's last serious animated feature effort, 2003's Magos y gigantes (obviously excluding 2006's blockbuster, Una película de huevos, which didn't really relied on technique rather than a nicely-paced screenplay and hilarious situations), but this is a completely honest, cute as a button example of the possibilities of the genre within the nation's context. The stiff animation distracted me a couple of times and the screenplay could've been a lot better considering the material they were working with, but the voice acting is so fantastic, you truly forgive every single flaw (and there are plenty) when you pay close attention to the magic performed by the extraordinary cast. I was thankful for the un-Shreked screenplay (almost no pop culture gags at all!) which let the plot speak for itself (the 18th century context helped a lot) and the characters actually develop rather than just being "funny".

Some jokes are kind of lame (or maybe I'm just a bitter old man) but if commercial products like these are released successfully in this country, I'm happy with that. I rather see kids quoting this one than Madagascar, seriously.

I'd never seen this movie until a couple of days ago. Growing up, I saw it several times but never complete or in one sitting and almost 70% of the movie got lost in a sea of memories over the years. Now, about 15 years later, I saw it with mature eyes.

Let's just say it was absolutely better than I ever thought it was. You simply can't realize how extraordinary Burton and Depp are (in their respective fields) until you see this one again after seeing every other movie they've done so far. It's an eye-opener.

A timeless classic.

We're watching history in the making, like those people who saw those movies back in the day.

The ultimate love story.

I have to be honest and stay true to myself this time: I didn't like it.

I don't think it is any good and I just didn't enjoy it at all. I love Eraserhead and, obviously, The Elephant Man (Lynch's most mainstream film) but I don't get Lynch's vision.

And, yes: it is just me.

And, you know what? For once, I don't care about liking something everybody else does just because it's "the right thing to like" and I'll say it out loud: I really don't like David Lynch.

A delight! Russell Crowe has a natural cute charm that he doesn't let out as much as he should. He's lovely and hysterical, and he carries the entire movie with so much ease it's insane.

Philippe Le Sourd's cinematography is a true discovery. Look out: he's gathering an extraordinary resumé.

For a long time, I thought Battle in heaven was the worst film in the history of mankind, a movie that doesn't belong to the filmography of someone as talented and poetic as Carlos Reygadas, a piece of obvious, lame controversial imagery with no more depth than a sandbox full of urine. A group of non-professional actors with absolutely no direction whatsoever, who spit stupid dialogues without one single drop of emotion in their voices, who strip their bodies to feed some drunk guy's hunger for provoking audiences to hate his movie. Reygadas disappointed me to the point of madness. A boring, retarded exercise of so-called "poetic", "deep", "thought-provoking" scenes put together while on a bad acid trip. The film equivalent of a piece of poop laying over a plate of pasta inside a dumpster where a Tijuana whore with a severe case of herpes and gonorrhea lives with his Uwe Boll-loving redneck husband and their ugly, toothless children, peeing, sleeping and eating in the same place while they listen to reggaeton and wear I <3 George W. Bush t-shirts.

Get it?

Well, Los muertos makes Battle in Heaven look like a masterpiece.

You don't even have to push Play, you just need to take the DVD box in your hands and that's when you can predict the whole plot, the dialogues, the obstacles in the hero's path to triumph, the character "development" and simply every single minute of film. You don't even have to see the movie! Read the synopsis and that's all you need.

Despite this important flaw (being one of the most predictable, unoriginal movies in the history of filmmaking) and others (like Shannon Elizabeth's nonexistent, unimportant, two-scene character or Burt Reynolds hair dye), the movie is absolutely light and absolutely entertaining.

Why is this? Well, dear reader: the one and only Bret Harrison, one of the saddest stories in Hollywood (only 3 feature films, a bunch of unsuccessful series, audiences asking for his character in That 70's Show to die after a couple of episodes, being best friends with the utterly more famous Adam Brody) is the lead man who carries this awful, lame mess over his shoulders with such elegance, subtlety, charm and insight, it's almost as if he was starring in a completely different film. His acting range hasn't been put to the test yet, his career is flatlining (even with Reaper's average success) and Heaven knows how's this going to end, but Bret Harrison needs more movies, he needs indie filmmakers to look closely at his body of work and realize he's the next big indie thing. Michael Cera had better move over, the little bitch.

I'm working my ass off every single day to become a filmmaker, and I'm looking forward to work with my favorite underdog, he just has to wait for me, and if that means more bad movies like this one so he can pay his rent, well, so be it.

5 stars for Bret's performance, 1 for the movie itself. Let's leave it at 2.

A perfectly built film experience. Everything fits in its right place: the lead character (astonishingly portrayed with dexterity and depth by an uncanny Adam Sandler) and the road to true love.

What's the difference between this and other lame love stories? This one takes you deep (and raw) into the mind of Barry Egan, a man obsessed with his own loneliness and insecurities, afraid of living, in constant panic of being in the same room with somebody else. The music becomes a greek chorus, constantly reminding you of Barry's emotions, rather than just beautifying a scene (Jon Brion's most beautiful work to date) and the whole universe surrounding the character morphs and stumbles into the ground when Barry's insecurities arise. Crashes and accidents are a direct result of Barry's crisis and fear.

Pay attention to the color palette, specially the use of blue and red.

PT Anderson's most experimental, yet enduring and emotionally relatable film. He simply took one cliché love story and turned it into a study on human nature and love as a disease, that invades every single one of your organs and evaporates your sense of self-protection along with the barriers in your mind.

There's a lot more in this movie than people usually thinks. You just have to look close enough.

It's definitely hard to watch but, once it finishes and you look back at those last 73 minutes of your life, you realize it is a powerful piece of film as art: everything is a plastic/aesthetic statement more than just a movie, from the color palette to the sound editing (which works as part of the creative part of the movie instead of simply being a technical department), from the theatrical performances to the extremely slow pace and the whole depth of the main character (the Son), specially since the sounds of nature and games of light and shadow that Sokurov plays with the countryside and its gigantic hug are a truly magnificent reflection on the Son's thoughts and feelings towards his Mother, her death and the need for her to stay alive. Is he selfish? How big is this love? A movie that doesn't play by the rules: it needs to be felt more than simply seen.

It's definitely not my kind of movie and I can't say I enjoyed it to the fullest, but I don't regret giving this film my precious minutes and be rewarded with an experience more than just a nice time.

I will rate this a 4 to try to explain my mixed feelings between personal enjoyment and the contemplation and patience needed to fully realize how extraordinary this film is.

Once in a while, a movie like this one reminds me what I love the most about films. Every single frame, every single shot, every dialogue, every character hit me in so many ways that by the end I was weak and fragile as if I had come out of a street fight or a bad break-up. This tiny masterpiece (as I like to call it) became a personal experience, a journey that took me two hours to fully digest.

But enough about me. Let's be honest: indie filmmaking has been knocking on Mexico's door for the last decade and it seems as if we'd finally let it in. This 100% hand-held film, shot from the main character's point of view (it is a chronicle of Mariano's last days alive before his imminent suicide) with honest, raw performances and painful dialogues, is a breath of fresh air between Mexico's finest films and it's not as gloomy and hard to watch as it sounds. It's actually a cute, lovely little gem that takes its time to tell a beautiful story with a great sense of rhythm and editing. Director Sergio Tovar Velarde takes you by the hand and tells you this story with ease and elegance. It's never boring or overwhelming.

A wonderful thing about this movie is how it places you in 1994 from the beginning and how the storm of memories from the 90s are so real and alive in your mind: the music, the videogames, the Nirvana references all over the place, the toys, the TV shows (He-Man and The Wonder Years make nice cameos) and the overall feeling of confusion and economic fear. It's like browsing through the pages of a photo album or a box of old souvenirs.

There's nothing huge or fancy in this movie because it's not necessary. It works at so many levels and you can dig deep into it or simply relax and have a nice time watching it.

I tried hard to tell you how great this movie is, now it's your turn: go see it.

I thought the whole experimental nature of this movie (made entirely out of still photographs and voice-over dialogue) was going to be boring and uninteresting after the first 10 minutes or so, and I was scared because it seemed like a very cool idea to be wasted. The best thing, by far, from this beautiful film is the fact that it surprised the hell out of me by being absolutely entertaining and light, easy to digest and enjoy, considering you're watching, in lack of a better word, a slide show. But the great thing about it is that it isn't just a slideshow: it's a breathtaking work of editing to put everything together in a logic, easy-going way and then decide how many seconds/frames we're going to watch each picture, some of them more time and some of them very quickly, in order to accomplish a great rhythm that many conventional movies don't have! After a while, you truly forget you're watching only still photos and the dialogue is so extraordinary, it takes you by the hand into a cute first-love story between a horny teenager and a naive, innocent and slightly dumb American girl. They don't understand each other beyond language barriers: they simply don't speak the same "language" when it comes to love and relationships, specially all the flirting part which is awkward to the point of extreme hilarity and uncomfortable because we've all been there. The subtitles work beautifully by translating everything that is heard, Spanish and English, into the opposite language, a nice detail that may be unimportant to some but it is, in fact, a way to put everything together and forget about the language for 78 minutes: all the characters have serious communication and understanding issues, despite their language being the same or different and Jonás Cuarón succeeds at telling us that language is not the ultimate communication obstacle behind relationships.

It blows your mind how simple/light, yet beautiful, this film can be, despite its apparently complicated nature. Give it a try, it's worth every single minute.

The endless meanings behind every single second of film are gorgeous to think about after seeing it and gorgeous to look at while they unfold in 100 beautifully shot and carefully directed minutes.

Lucrecia Martel hit all the right notes with this 2001 quiet masterpiece and influenced one of the most amazing styles in Latin American cinema this decade: nothing happens. Suddenly, movies about groups of friends doing nothing for a weekend and families coping with rough summers while falling into a spiral of decadence and silent violence became one of the most beautiful branches of filmmaking in Spanish. Some of them are obvious rip-offs from this one, the pioneer, but most of them were just honest tries to pay homage to a movie that opened many eyes in filmmaking.

Flawless cinematography, awesome screenplay, marvelous subtle performances and precise direction. Haunting, sometimes scary, sometimes hilarious, it's hard to take it out of your mind after many days.

You simply can't miss this one.

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.

Cute and harmless, it needs to be taken a little bit more seriously as it is not your average teen-chick flick. The performances are nice and every character is surprisingly well developed for, well, this kind of movie. We have to deal with the fact that this world, in its vast diversity of audiences, needs movies for those annoying, pink, teen girls and if this is one of them, I'm OK with that: it won't rot their brain. Cool movie for a Saturday morning.

I have only one complaint: Blake Lively's segment must be the worst portrayal of Mexico I've ever seen. How bad is it? Beverly Hills Chihuahua looks 100% mexican in comparison. It is that bad.

One last confession: I cried. Thank you, Jenna Boyd: keep on the good work.

Fun, harmless and forgettable: the trifecta for a Saturday morning movie. Entertaining and cute, cliché and never too good or too bad to make you whine about watching it, perfect when there's nothing better on TV.

I have just one complain: is there something Kevin Bacon won't do for money? I mean, seriously...

Tanner Cohen is, by far, the most charming young actor I've ever seen. His sweetness and grace fill up the screen every single frame, from start to finish, and his voice is as powerful and rich as one could wish from a lead role in a movie musical, something that hasn't happened often in the last few years (Pierce Brosnan or Johnny Depp, anyone?), while the rest of the cast feels a little bit overshadowed. But it is, after all, Tanner's show and he manages to hold your guts every single second.

The music is fantastic, each song fills your heart with warmth and love and the plot feels relatable and heartbreaking. Production design, costumes, cinematography and dialogues (a cute, intelligent mix of Shakespeare's lines within the screenplay) work together as the best team to get this ship to the greatest end.

This is a movie that is close to you, that speaks to your heart and never lets go. This is a movie to enjoy, under a blanket, with the one you love. This is a movie shot with soul and emotion like no other.

I have seen several teen adaptations of Shakespeare, from Othello to The Taming of the Shrew and, obviously, Romeo and Juliet, but this kicks ass like no other. This is the best one, by far. And the best A midsummer night's dream adaptation yet.

Do not miss it. Really: don't.

I know: I have a thing for slacker movies about a group of teenager friends coping with everyday problems while hanging out on a regular afternoon/night. From 25 watts to Temporada de patos, and maybe even Glue and Cómo estar muerto/ Como estar muerto, the subject always feels painfully close to my heart and the whole screenplay/performances combo works like magic into my eyes and memory.

After surprisingly discover Guatemala film industry through this tiny, extraordinary movie (the same way I discovered Uruguay movies by hand of 25 watts), I watched it with my jaw wide-open from start to finish: fun, deep, sometimes hilarious, sometimes painful, wonderful, real and never dull or even slow.

Look for it, it's well-hidden somewhere in your town: it's worth the search.

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.

If you're a movie (picture yourself as a movie), and you're slow-paced and quiet (picture everybody yawning), then I'll definitely love you to death (picture me loving you, with a smile on my face) and I won't, I repeat, I won't be bored.

I tried really hard to love this movie. I really did. But the plot (MJ impersonator lives in a comune with other impersonators) was so extraordinary on paper and the beauty of some scenes was so amazing, that I hate Harmony Korine for ruining the precious sack of gold he had in his hands and turning it into one of the least interesting films I've ever seen. Nothing, I insist, nothing that happened on the screen captured my heart, not even for a single second. It's a shame because Diego Luna actually manages to show depth and range as he has never showed before and Samantha Morton feels uncomfortable in what could've been her best performance yet but, of course, it wasn't.

Just like Michel Gondry without Charlie Kaufman, I feel that Harmony Korine without Larry Clark is all over the place, sometimes genius, sometimes dumb. The boy needs guidance and focus... and some actual character development. To make your lead role disappear for so much time as if it wasn't important and then trying to shove it down our throats before the ending is just too rookie to be true.

It's only the second time in my life that I find myself editing a movie inside my head while I'm watching it and thinking: "Damn... it could've been so much better."

And, do we really need to discuss the nuns? Herzog: stay behind the camera.

Touching, moving, simple, tiny and cute. The movie works from start to finish and never gets dull, boring or slow. Anton Glanzelius' uncanny charm is just icing on the cake. It avoids the melodramatic path towards tears and, instead, Hallstrom develops beautiful characters we can all relate to, specially the lead role, which is a reflection of every "trouble" child out there. Deeper than it seems.

A pure classic!

Creepy movie. Truman Capote wasn't a saint, and the movie portrays it in a scary way, how he took advantage of the killers (specially Perry Smith, beautifully played by Clifton Collins, Jr.), how he didn't care about what happened to them. Everything has been said about Hoffman's performance and I think no one has realized how extraordinary the cinematography in this movie is, seriously: by far, one of the most amazing cinematography achievements of the decade.

It must be a bitch to live under the shadow of something like American History X, which I consider an extraordinary piece of acting and filmmaking. It's a pity, because this movie, by itself, without dumb comparisons between similar-subject-matter movies, is a punch in the stomach: but one I enjoyed with a shocked grin on my face.

Instead of taking the obvious route of shocking the audience with a parade of nazi monsters on screen just for the sake of being shocking, the movie is, from start to finish, a deep, explicit, moving character study, masterfully commanded by a tour-de-force, explosive performance by Gosling.

It's not about faith or race or politics: it's about fear, anger and confusion. Daniel Balint is one of the most intelligent characters ever portrayed on film. He asks too many questions and has too many doubts to the point when God (or Judaism) doesn't have answers for him. He is, by itself, a beautiful, troubled, charming character, who lures you to his deepest thoughts and the pain in his soul.

This isn't a movie about Neo Nazis. It's about a powerful mind, searching for answers in all the wrong places.

The ending is absolutely golden.

Words are not enough.

By far, the most ridiculous superhero movie ever created. Every single second of film feels like a camp-movie gone bad and there are entire minutes when you feel inside an actual 90's videogame. The performances are a joke, the action sequences are a joke, the so-called character development is a terrible joke and it's, to say the least, a hundred steps back in the race towards taking superhero movies seriously. What Christopher Nolan, Brian Singer and Sam Raimi did for the genre, poor Gavin Hood (or should we blame it on Hugh Jackman?) undid it on the first 10 minutes.

A joke.
A torture.
A piece of pure, brown crap.

Absolutely entertaining, cliché and crowd-pleasing. It is, underneath it all, a lame love story played by the rules, but its pace, hyperkinetic scenes and two-dimensional characters make you enjoy 90 minutes of lame as the ultimate mexican movie experience. Fun and forgettable: just what a weekend at the movies needs.

An absolutely hilarious collection of extremely awful performances, put together by a lame portrait of self-injury. The saddest thing about this? Self-harmers actually relate to this movie and its characters... I suppose they really have issues to take care of.

Sean Young is bitchy/creepy from start to finish and the characters are so effin' two-dimensional, it's almost embarrasing to see.

Poor self-harmers, not only do they have to cope with depression and suicidal thoughts, maybe they're being punished in rehab with repeated screenings of this jewel. I hope somebody makes a decent movie focused on self-injury. Those kids deserve it.

By the way, Kimberlee, what's with the eyebrow?

A classic.

Depressingly underrated movie, a true little gem of filmmaking. Cute, acid, interesting and engaging. We all know the contemporary Pacino is sadly washed out and hasn't delivered the goods in more than a decade but he's wonderful in this and Rachel Roberts graces the screen with her amazing stage presence, we buy the fact that she is the best actress ever even if she "acts" only for a couple of minutes.

IMO, the secret behind the failure of this movie is the fact that nobody understood it was a sci-fi, fantasy-drenched satire of the comings and goings of Hollywood and the craze behind superstars, created and destroyed by press and executives alike. People took it too seriously and it was its doom.

Chill out, grab a nice, comfortable seat and give it a try, you won't regret it.

(Only one complaint: why is Evan Rachel Wood so dull in this? I mean, c'mon! She's freakin Evan Rachel Wood, for Christ's sake! She's the greatest! There must be some sort of mistake because she's next to boring in this movie. Absolutely not the girl I fell in love with so many years ago. And don't go blaming it on the age: ever since her first film she's that awesome. But I'm sad to report this is her worst performance ever.)

I find impossible to describe the way this movie moved me.

Penelope is the reason God created women, and Almodovar is an uncanny force of nature. Cast, music, words, shots, tears, silence, wind, clothes, color, high heels: everything works like the most beautiful clock in the world, flawless and precise.

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.

It tries too hard to be as funny, cute and acidly romantic as the first one, but it isn't. Everything feels fake, plastic, unfunny and dull and you don't give a rat's ass for Bridget or anything else on the screen. The first one was comic genius, Zellweger's performance was out of this world and the screenplay was simply extraordinary from start to finish, mostly because it aimed low and became a surprise. This sequel aims too high and crashes sadly into oblivion. It's not cute anymore: Bridget becomes a psychopath staulker with serious mental issues instead of a clumsy, silly woman with a crave for attention, just as we love her.

A taste of endurance for any human being who has seen at least 1 decent movie in his or her life.

I lasted 55 minutes before aborting this mission. I didn't crack a single smile.

America Ferrera gives a truly tour-de-force performance owning the entire movie and developing one of the most touching characters of the decade, ricocheting her career with no end in sight.

Surprisingly enough, the movie doesn't fall into the usual chicano clichés (unlike the awful Tortilla Soup) and creates real characters with relatable stories and backgrounds, and, above all, dignity and love.

Some unforgettable scenes (the stripping in the factory is absolutely uplifting) and a great mix of cast and screenplay, make this tale of freedom and family a must-see.

Sometimes, trailers can gather people around to see a film. Sometimes, a trailer can alienate people from an extraordinary film by making it look like a completely different movie. This was the case for Winged creatures. In a couple of minutes online, it looked like Crash gone bad or at least The Air Breathe gone not-that-bad, but it couldn't be more untrue.

Winged creatures tells a lot of stories with a lot of characters but it doesn't play its narrative in a pretentious, Look-at-me-I'm-indie kind of way. It develops each character slowly, quietly, in poetic, beautifully shot scenes that capture some truly genius moments of acting by most of the cast (Dakota sure needed to go supporting one day) and a screenplay that, miracously enough, gets more and more interesting by the second and goes from fear to hope to self-destruction to hope again in its gorgeous 100 minutes.

The music is extraordinary, the cinematography is beautiful, the editing makes the film flow with awesome dexterity and Beckinsale and Hutcherson prove they're truly great actors with crappy choices in their careers. Pearce, Fanning, Haley and, specially, Whitaker, are as fantastic as we're used to see them.

There are no shiny stars in this film, just a marvelous screenplay and a fine director to put everything together along with deep, subtle performances. The thick, sometimes dark aftermath plot is portrayed with poetic beauty.

Give it a chance, it deserves it.

I thought it was going to be good.
I just didn't know it was going to be that good!

HOLY COCK!

There most be something really wrong with me because I can't find any reasons why people seemed to hate this so much. Or maybe it isn't me. Maybe it's the world the one who's becoming bitchier by the second. I'm usually not attracted to blockbusters but, c'mon! This is fun!

I suppose the whole "teleport anywhere" idea sounded just so damn cool that people expected just a little too much from this poor movie. But I think it's a breath of fresh air into sci-fi blockbusters. Everything is so simple and easy to digest but cool and exciting at the same time. There's absolutely nothing pretentious about this film and all its parts are really great, specially the visual effects and the (I suppose) painful editing job so that such a far fetched superpower could work in a context far away from any other superhero movie out there. These guys ain't no superheroes, they're people trying to survive in a world infested by people who hates them. David Rice (played by Hayden Christensen) isn't interested in saving the world (as we see in an earlier scene where he watches the news about a flood somewhere in the world and he gets up and goes to London to hook up), he just wants to have a nice life and, then, take care of those he loves.

Everybody complains about the performances but I didn't find anything that annoyed me (and I'm a bitch when it comes to acting, trust me) even in Hayden Christensen, seriously! Of course, the movie sometimes feels too big for him and he has the lead-man skills of a brussels sprout but he's not disgusting. Let's be honest for a second: there are more awful people in blockbusters than this poor guy doing the best he can (Daniel Radcliffe, anyone?); but, obviously, Jamie Bell steals the entire movie with great charm and a special something for action movies. He needs more blockbusters. Please.

I'm actually waiting for the sequel.

Is there something wrong with me? Probably. But I think there are worst movies out there to be bitching about this one.

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.

A badass version of Battle Royale. I don't know how to say this but, yes: I buy it. I drink this milkshake, I drink it all.

This is, in fact, an exciting, dumb, fast-paced, intoxicating action flick with lots of fights and explosions, and I like it.

Of course, I hated when they tried to be all socially aware and tried to shove down our throats some weird, anti-reality message but as long as they remained in the safe, warm place called action-flick-with-wrestlers, it was all good. And it's always a pleasure to see (and hear) Rick Hoffman talk as fast as he can. He's simply hilarious.

I don't know who the hell is this Steve Austin, but I buy him as an action star. The Rock he ain't.

Everytime I cry when watching a movie, it's because I find something in it that I can relate to: a character, a situation, a choice. I see myself in it and the tears don't wait to start coming down like rain. I like to cry when watching a movie, and it's always a sign that the movie itself is pretty awesome. But this is the first time, and I don't know if it's going to be the last one, that I've ever cried because of a performance, and not a character. For example, when I was watching The Wrestler, I cried for the character, even if I didn't relate to him (Thank God!) but this time, it was the actual performance of Dakota Fanning that set the tone for a nice crying when her breakdown near the end came along. I was moved to tears without even a warning, and I realized she has become the mature actress we all knew she was going to be someday, sooner or later. She has never been this subtle before, developing depth instead of sass or simple emotion. She has always been terrific (I still think her performance in Uptown Girls is fantastic, as her roles in Man on fire, Hide and Seek and I am Sam) but now she goes far away from her usual gimmicks and finds a new voice in the hands of a beautiful character and an awesome screenplay, which could've gone wrong (Lifetime wrong) but didn't.

A gorgeous story of hope, anger, guilt and pain, surrounded by a magnificent production design and cinematography, along with a nice, quiet direction from Gina Prince-Bythewood, that puts emphasis in gazes, silence and subtlety, setting the perfect tone for breakdowns and crying, instead of filling the entire movie with grief, which would've become a cheesy chick-flick instead of the Southern masterpiece that it is.

The entire cast is at the top of their game, from an awesome, almost divine, lovely Queen Latifah to a cute, masterful Sophie Okonedo (great, as usual) and a haunting Paul Bettany in a character I'd have loved to see more developed that it was. The thing is, I have a problem with Alicia Keys. I mean, if Norah Jones was able to make a good debut in My Blueberry Nights (of course, guided by WKW, duh), why couldn't she be at least mildly convincing at all?! She was dull from start to finish. But still, the whole movie made such an impact in me that I kept forgiving the filmmakers for trusting her with this. As for Jennifer Hudson, I'm starting to think she actually has a great future in front of her. I haven't seen Dreamgirls but she blew me away in this film, and I hope that all the haters see her here in order to realize she's a pretty damn good actress besides some cheesy diva musical.

Awesome high-class drama. Nothing less than that.

My brother-in-law is flying to Israel soon, so I'm going to ask him to buy me original Israeli copies of both The Bubble and Yossi & Jagger.

I know I won't be able to see them on my DVD player but I want to keep them close just in case I meet Eytan Fox and he'd sign them for me and I'd be able to tell him how much I love his movies.

Just a dream.

Not bad. For a couple of years now I've been thinking (thanks to bitchy critics) that the movie was boring, dull, over-the-top and Blanchett's performance lame and screamy.

Well, it may not be an epic masterpiece (it feels too big sometimes) but Blanchett's performance is extraordinary (mostly when she's silent and scared in the privacy of her bedroom) and her character feels more developed that any other queen, king or prince in an epic movie before. This Elizabeth is a woman with fears and the need to be loved more than a flawless, beautiful queen.

I completely agree with those claiming the supporting cast is just a decorative element for Blanchett's performance, as Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush and Samantha Morton feel like bad cameos. They give amazing performances for badly written characters. And no matter what Abbie Cornish does for her role, you simply don't give a rat's ass for her in the whole movie. She may be just a cardboard cutout and it would be the same. That's something I really hated.

But, damn! The costume design is not as cliché as so many other period costumes. It mixes a contemporary vision of glamour and edginess with classic dresses and traditional British gowns, creating an eye-candy that shouldn't be missed.

The cinematography for the quiet, indoors scenes is marvelous.

A good sequel.
Not perfect, but far from lame.

So predictable, it's almost as if you've written it yourself.

But, at the same time, it's absolutely cute, funny and innocent. Katherine Heigl has a natural talent for rom-com and so does James Cyclops Marsden, who reveals himself as the ultimate contemporary rom-com stud.

It's nice to see Maulik Pancholy in a more-than-a-couple-of-lines role for a change (two complete scenes! Awesome!) and David Castro is really funny, nice kid. It pisses me off to see Judy Greer as a bitchy best friend for the twentieth time.

Special mention to the costume design. Not only the 27 dresses stand out (they're extraordinary and hilarious) but every single wedding scene shines with cute dexterity.

A nice movie to chill out, relax and laugh a little.

I've been hearing the worst reviews ever about this poor movie for more than a year but it's unfair. It may not be a masterpiece but it's not bad, not at all. Except my sister and I found something that kept bothering us for the entire running time: all the extras, in all the scenes, are the worst group of extras ever put on film. Seriously!

From all the flawed movies with important subject matters that disappoint everyone by not being deep enough and never taking things to the next level in 2 hours of wasted performances and bright moments lost in the haze of dull stuff, this is probably the one that hurts the most.

It is not a bad movie, per se. It's just flawed and soft. The characters, the direction and the whole screenplay feel like a pack of confused puppies running into each other constantly.

Let's see: you have one touchy, painful, cruel real-life subject (stop-loss) and you have some kick-ass, extraordinary young actors (Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and... Ok, let's say it just once: Ryan Phillippe), you add these elements to a well-known, indie director with a heartbreaking, painful first movie and you have yourself a modern masterpiece, right? So... what the fuck went wrong?! Channing Tatum doesn't dive as deep into his guts as he did in A guide to recognizing your saints, but still manages to give us some good acting here and there, and the Man, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, has absolutely NO screentime at all! He starts to hypnotize us in a couple of seconds and right when we're all set and ready to go, bam! Cut! Let's move to the Phillippe subplot! Who on Earth wrote this screenplay?! And who edited it?! Ryan Phillippe has always been a limited actor and even if this role could be counted as his best one yet, he's just not that good.

Still, the movie has brilliant if not extraordinary moments here and there. Tatum's and Gordon-Levitt's characters are haunting and real, their war nightmares ruining their lives feel more wrenching than Phillippe's weird crazy lapsus. The war scenes are cool and they remind me a lot of Jarhead on how contemporary filmmakers manage to portray young, twentysomething soldiers in no-sense wars. The clips Rob Brown's character taped and edited together are sad, exciting and even cute. It shows you how these soldiers we just label as stupid or ignorant rednecks are human beings who don't know anything better than believing in an imaginary war. Maybe the film should've stayed with just that idea and create a human, small-town drama instead of a weird crosscountry chase.

Special mention to Victor Rasuk's lovely character and incredible performance. When the movie started, I was really hooked with this latino-soldier surrounded by so many texans and I was disappointed about the little screentime but then, suddenly, out of the blue, right when I was disappointed the most, BAM! Rasuk tore my heart away with the greatest moment in the film. This guy was a huge indie promise a few years ago and now the promise is coming alive. He needs more and better work, ASAP.

I can't say I didn't like the movie, I even think it is a really good movie, but it's awful how it could've been absolutely BETTER and it just wasn't. Again, the actors, the plot and the director were there, so, what happened? I think it was a matter of commercial value that made this movie turn into another one we didn't want nor expected.

Still, kudos on never taking sides on this touchy subject. The director lets us create our own opinion on what's behind these poor men's minds and souls and the characters speak to whoever wants to hear them. It doesn't matter if you're pro-war (shame on you, though) or you think invading a third-world country for oil is absolutely stupid and retarded, you must realize the young men (and women) risking their lives over there for whatever are real, they bleed, they cry and they need a better movie.

I name it the 35th Best Movie of 2008 simply because of the promise of what could've been a hell of a movie. And you just can't deny the performances are high class.

It took me a while to get into it but once it grabs you, it really doesn't let you go.

Maybe my problem with the movie is that I thought it was going to be deeper. A really raw study of artistic couples, with a mumbly touch à la Joe Swanberg. But it wasn't. It was great, it just wasn't that great.

I liked the performances, though. With her little screentime and change of acting style from what we're used to see her in, Jane Adams steals most of the show. Except from Justin Rice who is better than any of us could've expected from The guy from Bishop Allen. Every time he's on the screen it's hypnotizing. One of the cutest characters you'll find nowadays. Who doesn't want a husband like him?! His rendition of The Bells by Edgar Allan Poe is one of the best parts of the movie, only exceeded by the music sessions with his bandmate, wisely cut into other scenes. Actually, that's something I really enjoyed: the editing job by Joe Swanberg himself. The most genius moments of this little, cute film come from scenes put together in a big, sometimes funny editing ballet.

A nice addition to the Swanberg filmography. Can't wait for Silver bullets.

Tour-de-force is such a small word to describe Daniel Hendler's performance here. There isn't any word able to fully describe the power of his eyes, his voice, his body language, the ability he has to deeply swim in his characters' mind and soul. In this extraordinary film, he avoids his usual arrogant, sexed up gimmicks (which always work brilliantly) and develops a tender, cute, broken, soft, paranoid character who will get stuck to your memory for years to come.

Gabriel Medina's playful (but mature) direction is able to keep the fun going in this high-class, hipster dramedie about a loser writing a screenplay while struggling with his insecure being and working in children's parties as Cachito, the purple, fluffy monster.

The screenplay takes you deep into an underachiever's heart. A man who closes his curtains at night, smokes a joint and dances wildly to punkrock music in the safe environment of his apartment. A man who is afraid of living and avoids any kind of human relationship. A man who is, and probably will always be, alone.

One of the underrated elements of this movie (everybody focuses on Daniel Hendler's uncanny acting... not that there's anything wrong with that, of course) is the music score, which is so subtle, so tiny and precise that helps us understand the lead character instead of telling us how to feel or think. The soundtrack is also wonderful and absolutely downloadable.

Don't miss this one for anything in the world. Truly inspiring for any fan of slacker cinema, a truly wonderful work from the 25 Watts generation.

Go Hendler! Go Medina! Awesome!

A wet dream.

Whoever thinks this is Dangerous Minds in French is out of his fuckin mind.

And whoever thinks these students are scary and unrealistic... is lucky to have been in such a nice school.

A masterpiece.

Entertaining, funny, touching and moving, but also tense, raw, cruel and heartbreaking.

Probably, the cutest, nicest, most charming characters in contemporary filmmaking. A modern day Amélie with cleptomania and a cheap apartment in New York.

Indie cinema at its best.

One of the funniest, wackiest, most interesting homages to the French Nouvelle Vague nowadays.

Absolutely, one of the most hilarious movies of 2008.

Even with a mind-blowing cinematography, smart editing and nerve-wracking patience from both directors, it doesn't stop being a documentary about a freakin pond and the birds living in it for a little bit more than an hour which felt like four or five hours.

One of the most boring movies I've ever seen.

Awful.

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 was nearly peeing my pants in excitement: my first mumblecore film... on a theatre in Mexico City! After hanging out with Joe Swanberg for a couple of days!

I expected the movie to be all the things my dreams are made of, but it just blew me away and destroyed my expectations by going beyond them by many miles.

Deep, raw, emotional, cute, hilarious, depressing, extraordinary performances and a beautiful cinematography.

Some genius moments (the opening sequence is one of the funniest sex scenes I've ever seen and the banana conversation was simply wonderful) and a painful ending, Nights and Weekends was everything I asked for, and more.

Picture two groups of siblings (cousins) alone in an adult-free country club for a week. Interesting, huh?

A beautifully shot social experiment. You can cut the sexual tension with a butter knife and drool all over the gorgeous cinematography.

Also, incredible performance from the teen cast. Amazing group of non-professional actors.

I have no words.

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

Weird but lovely.
One of the most interesting and silly aesthetics ever seen on mexican cinema.

No.

Mind-blowing!

Every single second of film blows your mind.

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.

Nothing extraordinary, but not bad.

The movie doesn't stand out as good or bad, and that's not something you want from a movie these days.

Also, I'm quite disappointed as I saw this in a gay film festival and it was advertised as a gay movie, even taking advantage from Jorge Adrián Espíndola's greatest hit, the gay short film David. But this is not a gay movie. There is one same sex relationship through the plotline but it is a subplot from a supporting character and by any means that makes this movie gay. I didn't hate it for that but it was quite lame.

A great surprise: Tenoch Huerta, a rising actor in mexican cinema nowadays, gives a tour-de-force performance (he is the one with the gay plotline, actually) in a character we have seen zillions of times in local films (downtown small time crook with nothing better to do than crime) but breathes fresh air into it and you can't help but love him.

Jorge Adrián Espíndola, usually an amazing actor, feels bored and stiff all the time and Claudette Maille, an old-school actress in her comeback (she's the mother of the lead characters in 2008's Quemar las naves), steals the show all the time as a prostitute/wrestler (holy crap...) with a heart of gold (apparently), probably the best character in the movie.

I think the issue with this film is that there was virtually no direction. The so-called director doesn't pull the guts from his actors and they all feel confused and weird in a movie they probably didn't understand. It could've been a movie full of great moments and interesting characters but it just feels like... whatever.

You just don't care about anything on the screen, except for Tenoch Huerta's character.

I cried.
A lot.

What to do, what to do?

I can't say I loved this movie because I didn't but I had a really hard time hating it.

Let's put it this way: if the movie was silent, this would've been one of the greatest films I've ever seen. The cinematography was simply mind-blowing, as it is now usual in any mexican movie in the last decade. The soundtrack was actually really, really good. And the whole plotline (three friends on the verge of severe depression due to their sad, little, bourgeois lives, decide to go on a road trip to eat peyote and then randomly go to the US to find themselves in the process) was simply mesmerizing... in paper. The sad thing about this utter mess is that every single time any of the characters opened their mouth, shit came out of their mouths. Shit. That's the only word I can use to describe the dialogues: shit. Excrement. Poop. Caca.

The worst thing about this is to see the poor Andrés Almeida, one of the greatest rising actors currently working in Mexico, being wasted over and over again by being forced to speak said shit. Even with the kind of "dialogues" this movie pretends to have, Almeida manages to give an extraordinary performance that verges on flawlessness everytime he gets the chance. If you watch closely enough, you may find a tour-de-force performance somewhere beneath all the crap. His character is also the only one you can relate with and the one who feels more real as the other two are simply aliens who came to Earth and decided they wanted to be intellectual mexicans.

So, why are the dialogues shit?

Many people in Mexico complain that the language used in most of our films is far-fetched and unrealistic. Sadly, it isn't true. The whole colorful vocabulary used in almost any mexican movie, is what you listen to on the streets everyday (or in the mall, depending on the social group) and it is embarrasing but it is, ultimately, real. Some movies triumph in their use of language more than others.

Unfortunately (or luckily?), I haven't found (yet) any human being on this planet (less in this country) that speaks the way this so-called characters do. When you're on a road trip, what mystical power gets into you so you talk only about politics? What kind of friendship moves around the sole purpose of talking about POLITICS the whole damn time? Are these people REAL? Why do they insist on speaking ONLY about Bush, oil, war, mexican philosophers and poets, money, immigration and anti-american crap?

It's a true shame. If the movie had focused on real friendship issues and deep conversations about relationships or maybe the human nature, this movie would've been one of the greatest films on Earth.

It is not.

If you think, by any means, that Sean Penn's masterpiece Into the Wild is, in fact, a pretentious, new-hippy, Generation X, artsy piece of bullshit... go see this junk.

We have a word for this kind of movies in spanish: MAMONA. And this is the Queen.

NOTE: The 2 and a half stars (as my review may match a half-star movie) correspond to the beautiful plotline, the first 15 minutes, Andrés Almeida's performance, the fun soundtrack and the cinematography. If this elements weren't as great as they are, this is a 0 stars movie.

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

10 minutes of pure, thrilling, deep and beautiful delirium, supported by gorgeous music and an extraordinary, non-invasive sound design.

Shane Acker has something to talk about and I hope the upcoming feature film with Tim Burton having his back (in order to prevent big producers to PG-ize the concept) will help him to develop the career this unforgettable short film promised all of us.

Expect giant things from him.

Wow!

I really don't dare to look at any reviews or IMDB forums before writing this. I just don't want to know if this was a box office flop or if the critics hated it.

I was reluctant towards seeing it because even if I liked The Pursuit of Happyness and Will Smith's new contemporary urban drama career (and enjoyed Tony Goldwin's remake of a Gabriele Muccino movie, The Last Kiss), I didn't know what to expect from this. Would Muccino work wonders with Smith giving him lifetime characters or would this be another pay-it-forward movie with a message and high level of tears and no brain?

I gave it a try.

I liked the fact that the plotline wasn't entirely crystal-clear from the first half of the movie towards the very ending. It wasn't just drawing a plotline and suddenly giving it a twist at the end, but actually building the characters and their backgrounds without being too obvious about it.

What do we know about Ben Thomas? His name, his day job, his everyday journey, his kindness. We know he is hiding something and that he has some mental issues he needs to work on. He is sad, he is broken, he is alone. And for the first time in the whole of the complex, fun, interesting Smith's career, I bought it. He isn't just crying and being all drama-king and stuff. It's not only the screenplay. This time, he is completely immersed in creating poetry with his eyes and his entire body and not just throwing "sad" lines all over the place with touchy music in the background (not that there's anything actually wrong with it) but actually commiting to a story. What I loved the most about his job here is how we finally see a broken Smith. His vulnerability is remarkable, like a thorn blossom. Extraordinary.

What about Rosario Dawson? I've followed her career closely since she became the one and only redeeming element in the movie adaptation of Rent and I've always wanted to see her in front of a big project like this one.

People don't want to be preached about life and death. Movies are not motivational speechers and audiences are not as stupid as it may seem (specially when they line up to see The Fast and the Furious) but sometimes judging a book by its cover before opening it and taking a look makes audiences lose the chance to see an amazing movie once in a while.

Ben Thomas doesn't want you to agree with him, with his way of healing his soul. You can disagree, or even think he isn't doing the right thing as he thinks he is. But his journey towards redemption is poetic, beautiful, perfectly performed by every single actor in the cast and with some extraordinary moments of despair, as if the whole film was surrounded by a blue feeling that reaches the viewer.

4 stars for the filmmaking (excellent, not too full of itself or pretentious, at all) and an extra half for the outstanding cast and the (finally!) revelation of Rosario Damn! I'm a good actress! Dawson to the world.

GIVE IT A TRY.

I have never in my entire life seen a crazy psychobitch as charming, sexy and hilarious as Penelope Cruz.

I think I'm in love with her as much as I'm in love with this movie: my first Woody Allen experience, can you believe it?

Not that bad.
But it was definitely flawed.

The first two movies weren't masterpieces but they were sinfully entertaining. This one is dull and boring.

I just can't take that Letters to Cleo cover out of my head! :)

NOTE to all the haters: consider this is a dumb comedy meant to make an audience laugh, not think. Mexican cinema lacks on dumb comedies as we always think we must do serious movies with serious topics. Relax a little, laugh a little.

Wow.

Daniel Hendler keeps captivating me with his average man performances that always fall into some social/cultural group in particular, creating a unique character that almost any man in that group can relate to. From his extraordinary gay man facing the first gay marriage in Spain in Reinas to his dreamy, kind of a jerk high school slacker in 25 Watts (my favorite character in a movie, by the way) and now with his wonderful display of a bored son in search of answers about his parents' past, creating a jewish character like most of the jewish twentysomethings we actually know: forgetting about tradition and religion and trying to cope with a family environment that annoys and wracks the nerves.

The whole cast is superb but without him this would be another wannabe jewish modern masterpiece lacking on the tons of charm Hendler has to offer. Definitely one of the greatest young actors working today.

Kudos to Ariel's Grandma, a beautiful character played with dexterity and high class skills by Rosita Londner.

Unforgettable piece of cinema. One of those movies I usually fall in love with: a slice of life, painted in grey and blurred colors.

Gorgeous!

This movie will definitely give you a hard time. Specially if you're used to the pretty, easy-to-digest Hollywood kind of movie.

The raw, low-budget, third-world B/W tale of a 15 year-old gay hustler struggling with life (charming, non-professional actor Francisco Rey) will haunt you and make you feel unconfortable and disturbed for more than 90 minutes.

I am hesitating a little bit on how to feel about this movie: I wouldn't recommend it because I know almost no one would ever like this film but I think I liked it... a lot. It's raw, it's indie, it's poor in its technique but strong in its soul and spark.

Stay away from it if a mildly explicit, in-your-face story about a gay, junkie child hustler who engages in sexual situations with older man disturbs you.

Give it a try if you're ready to face an honest, crude, weird, kind of fresh point of view on despair and haunting past. This is a nerve-wracking ride in a spiral to the shadows.

Flawed, but deliciously entertaining.

I don't like trends. I'm completely out-of-style and I've always been outside the box ever since the day I was born.

I read Harry Potter before the movie was even an idea in somebody's head. I liked Panic! At the Disco when their website was under construction. And I could give more and more examples but I will leave it in this: I haven't read the book but the few pages I read were extraordinary. So, I was dying to see the movie.

I don't give a rat's ass if it's trendy or "OMFG zo fukyn kuLL! <3"... it's just a movie. And it was extraordinary. That's it.

*Full review coming soon*

Everytime you look up filmmaker in a dictionary, Fernando Eimbcke's picture should be in there.

Whoever thinks for a second that this is just another propaganda, Christian, anti-abortion movie is absolutely missing the point.

As one of the most atheist, most psycho pro-abortion dudes out there, I truly loved it to death.

Beautiful, beautiful movie.

*Review coming soon before the end of November... I fuckin promise! Ok?*

This movie is the definition of unfunny.

I died a little bit inside after 10 seconds of crap.

Who the hell writes this shit?!

Unlike most of the times I love a film which is hated by almost everyone, I can see where does the hate come from: ignorance.

Gringos (I'm sorry for the word but they don't have a word to call themselves) are used to evil virus who ends humanity movies and demand a movie using a similar plotline to respond to every single cliché and gimmick all the other evil virus who ends humanity movies have.

I'm sorry to disappoint you, gringos, but this is not that kind of movie: this is real. The way Meirelles (a filmmaker in the whole meaning of the word) portrays human beings (and the way Saramago did when he wrote the book) and their choices, flaws and fears, is absolutely real.

I'm getting sick of every single "OMFG! Julianne Moore could've done this or that to save those poor people! Boo-hoo!" post out there. SICK!

This is not an action-popcorn-horror-evil virus flick!

True film lovers around the globe: do not get fooled by all the moronic reviews talking about plot holes and crap!

This is (and I'm using this word from the bottom of my heart) a masterpiece.

*Full -no yelling- review coming soon*

Anna Faris is a comedy goddess!

*Review coming soon*

Simply mesmerizing!

*Review coming before the end of November*

Ok, yes, it is probably one of the worst horror movies out there but listen up people: Paris Hilton is not the worst thing ever. She's not even mildly annoying in this movie. I didn't care for her at all.

You know what's the worst part of this piece of junk? The screenplay. It is written using the pubic hair of a Tijuana whore dipped in ink and then brushed all over a piece of paper previously used to whip somebody's butt after a night of eating at Chili's with some spicy Margaritas mixed with burbonic acid and the water from a mexican river.

Yep, it is THAT poorly written. And THAT's the annoying part.

Paris? She looks kind of hot.

Absolutely MORE than just a horror movie.

*Review coming soon*

Please, do not pay attention to the negative reviews on Flixster about this one.

Give it a try!

*Review coming soon*

I'm disgusted by all the negative reviews, both critics and Flixster users.

Please, trust me, this is fantastic.

*Review coming soon*

Dear Mr Cronenberg, would you marry me?



*Review coming soon*

The ultimate B/W slacker indie film.

Yes: it is THAT bad.

It has a LOT of unintentional laughs but every time you're not laughing, you're feeling actual physical pain from the awful performances, the third world cinematography and the disgusting Reggaeton soundtrack.

*Review coming soon*

Don't believe the negative hype and the blank Flixster profile: this is awesome!

*Review coming soon*

Only Judd Apatow and his team would be able to give such a bunch of heart and soul to a gross-out teen flick.

As always, flawless character development.

Pure genius!

*Review coming soon*

Don't dream it, be it!
By far, the most beautiful & sexy portrait of freedom and soul.

*Review coming soon*

Stop the hate! Feel the love! :)

*Review coming soon*

It just DOESN'T STOP! Scene after scene after scene is... a joyride!

But I just wanted to chop Paulie Litt's head off with a kick and pee all over his grave. Could a kid be more ANNOYING? Please, God... make him die a painful, slow death.

*Review coming soon*

It is THAT good.

*Review coming soon*

"The most important thing in business is honesty, integrity, hardwork... family... never forgetting where we came from."

Some people are being kind of mean and illogic about this one: it's not slow, it's epic! An epic tale of crime, family, corruption, drugs and money, all covered up with a good ol' Good versus Evil frosting.

I know why people are kind of disappointed about this one calling it boring: they of course expected a lot more bullets and chases from the man behind the camera, Sir Ridley Scott. But I actually think this is his best movie ever. While some people may argue about the coolness factor behind his best-known masterpieces like Gladiator or Black Hawk Down, I think this movie is closer to Alien when it comes to applying all the explosive, over-the-top cool style of Mr Scott into a nerve-wracking, intense, subtle plotline with beautifully created atmospheres and a great sense of rythm and extraordinary acting.

Denzel and Russell deliver and, while I thought she was going to disappoint me because of the buzz behind her performance, Ruby Dee is actually really, really great. I fell in love with her in Do the right thing but this is definitely more memorable. How she is able to control each scene she's into (considering her screentime is almost nule) is simply mesmerizing.

The top moment? Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts are left all alone in the interrogation room, no lawyers, no microphones. That chat is one of the most extraordinary pieces of acting/directing of the year, and probably the decade. Simply cool to the bone.

Warning: this is not a movie for everyone. If you can't handle long, kind-of slow movies with great tense atmospheres then stay away from it.

My best friend (20 y-o, rich, mexican girl, Favorite Movies: The Lord of the Rings, The Notebook and The Phantom of the Opera) called it "The worst movie ever"...

Your choice.

"He turned down a blow job from his ex-girlfriend... mid-blowjob. You know how hard that is for a man? It's called blue balls. He's like Gandhi! But better - he likes puppets!"

I really want to write a fantastic review about this, so, I will take my time... but, damn! I have to start writing all these reviews already!

Jason Segel is by far one of the best actors I've had the pleasure to see. His whole body of work amazes me: between SLC: Punk!, Freaks & Geeks and this, he shows a fantastic range like no other Apatow Pack member yet.

:)

*Review coming soon*

"Can't you see? She's picking strawverries!"

Anna Magnani is a true delight!

*Review coming soon*

Marina: [Complaining in the car] "This is the most boring trip of my life!!"

Indeed.

I usually LOVE slow paced movies (Glue) and, specially, mexican slow paced independent movies (Two embraces, Turtle family, A thousand clouds of peace, Silent light) but this was just too much. The movie lacks charm, compelling characters (the leading girl was just annoying) and it feels like a Reygadas' rip-off all the way, including cameos by two of Reygadas' muses: Anapola Mushkadiz from Battle in Heaven and Magdalena Flores, the old lady in Japón. Carlos Reygadas has inspired many mexican filmmakers since his first film and the third one made him one of the most important and respected directors ever but, unlike Rubén Ímaz (Turtle family) or even Ernesto Contreras (Blue eyelids), Juan Patricio Riveroll is not capable of filtering his influences and, instead of paying homage to his master he creates a parody.

If there was a mexican version of Scary Movie, it would be called Not Another Reygadas Movie and it would be a lot like this.

Avoid like a Tijuana whore!

Picture this: I love slow movies to death... but this one bored me! Can you imagine that? It looks beautiful but that's it. Good cinematography in a mexican movie doesn't surprise us anymore.

And for a character to say this is the most boring trip she has ever had, it really must be a boring movie, huh?

Let's just say I'm not going to join the massive cult behind this movie.

Believe the buzz... just don't get TOO excited about it.

*Review coming soon*

For a boring Saturday morning, this is the best you can get. Marissa Jaret Winokur's humongous charm is undeniable and Fran Drescher as a stereotypical jewish mother is annoyingly adorable.

The whole art direction makes you feel inside a bad John Waters rip-off but the whole package is full of laughter, campy moments and bad transitions from scene to scene, so it's a really nice moment to relax, smile and enjoy.

Don't expect too much.

"I love it when they dance."

A painful experience.

An extraordinary movie but I couldn't take it. My hate towards Lars Von Trier's methods wasn't the one to blame but the aesthetics and cinematography that were interesting at first but then became annoying and exhausting.

Björk is definitely haunting and the whole supporting cast (including a brilliant appearance by Joel Grey) is simply amazing. The musical numbers are intense and rich. Consider for a second how much I loathe Björk and her "music" and then you'll see how breathtaking she is here: I'm her slave. Her performance is not only nerve-wracking but also charming, despite the tragic turn of the whole story.

The whole plot line was kind of melodramatic and I was prepared to see a soap-opera with Björk songs and Dogme95 camera-work, but if I have anything good to say about Lars Von Trier is that he managed to overcome the whole tearjerker, naive, mother-love-above-all main idea and deliver a study on the human soul and dignity, and, obviously (this is Von Trier we're talking about), a strong critique towards the American people (rednecks) and their trust and legal system is involved but there's nothing to worry about, it's subtle and it doesn't distract from the main plotline.

Deep, raw and completely emotional, this is a difficult experience that rewards the viewer for a couple of hours but in the last 20 minutes or so, it tears the soul appart and the joy of a tragic, well-done film is exchanged with the pain of a difficult movie to swallow, right until the not-so-shocking but definitely strong ending.

For me, this is not a movie I like but it's a movie I respect.

"Hubi, my love....Let's fly away. Maybe beyond the smoke and the fighting, there's a better place. Maybe there really is a paradise where we can just love each other. I don't know.

I wonder if we ever really had a chance. If, even for a moment we had a chance.... Lulu and Yali will probably give the papers a photo of the two of us. Maybe the one from the rave where we look all high and happy.

Maybe people will see how beautiful we look, and understand how stupid these wars are. No, they probably never will."

Heartbreaking and absolutely beautiful.

It gives all the shallow, self-centered gay movies a kick in the balls by dealing with a touchy, universal subject without losing its essence or alienating straight audiences.

Gorgeous!

*Review coming soon*

(By far, one of the greatest soundtracks I've ever listen)

Extraordinary!

*Review coming soon*

Charlie Bartlett: "This place sucks. But I just worry that one day we're gonna look back at high school and wish we'd done something different."

The greatest 97 minutes of my life...

I'm so related to the main character in so many ways that seeing this (for the third time now) with my mom getting pissed off everytime Hope Davis appeared on screen (because she KNOWS just how similar we are to them in real life) is both weird, unconfortable and extremely hilarious.

I'm absolutely madly in love with this movie.

*Review coming soon*

Is there ANYTHING in this God's flat Earth that Meryl Streep CAN'T actually do?

*Review coming soon*

Extremely hilarious satire of the soap opera world in Mexico (a country that treats soap operas like a religion) with amazingly effective and compelling performances and some amazing moments through the great screenplay.

The ending flops a little bit but the hilarity never drops.

Also, it has an awesome drinking game: drink every time you see Miguel Pizarro (a truly excellent actor in a hysterical role as a TV extra who does everything to become a true star) in some scenes in the background playing... an extra in the movie where he plays an extra! Genius, simpy genius.

A good experience that makes fun of itself and the audience, used to demand very little from entertainment.

One of the most hilarious comedies ever filmed in Mexico, compelling and lovely.

Amazing!

*Review coming soon*

One of the most painful, most beautiful, most gorgeous, funniest, sexiest love stories ever told on film.

Simply extraordinary!

*Review coming soon*

Simply, without any doubt in my mind, one of the must fucked up, hardcore, deliciously annoying, psychotic love story ever told on film.

Woody Harrelson's character is extraordinary and hypnotic, Juliette Lewis looks gorgeous, Robert Downey Jr sucks but is hilarious, Tommy Lee Jones goes WAY out of the box and delivers his best performance ever and whoever decided to cast Rodney Dangerfield in this was definitely on crack... and I want me some of that!

Whoever directed, wrote, performed or even watched this film deserves my entire respect for a life time.

Orgasmic!

Shot in a gorgeous b/w, this is by far the cutest, most compelling, most beautiful Tim Burton film ever.

Everything in it is simply unforgetable and lovely and the way Burton manages to pay homage to everything he loves (from old horror movies to dead dogs) is extraordinary. "Frankenweenie" has a soul more than most Burton films that only have charm and dexterity without the spark (no pun intended) this one shows through its wonderful 29 minutes.

I loved every single scene inspired by the original Frankestein plot, from the deliciously annoying angry mob to the last five minutes: a full charge homage to the original movie we all know, even if we haven't seen it. The angry mob carries flashlights instead of torches and Sparky (the Creature) runs into a windmill... inside a miniature golf! How wonderful adaptation! I appreciated that the whole Frankestein family's universe was so perfectly created that you are able to believe a dog comes back from the dead. Another delightful Burtonian suburb.

I was kind of sad when seeing it because I found out about Barrett Oliver's retirement from movies and I was disappointed because he did a tremendous job here. Every single casting choice is pitch-perfect-Burton and I have no idea why Daniel Stern is not a Burton-boy like Depp, Christopher Lee or Jeffrey Jones, as he is simply Burton-esque. Both him and Shelley Duvall are hilarious, specially in their 2 minute in-bed conversation, one of the best moments of the film.

Overall, the film is simply beautiful and I hope intelligent kids everywhere are able to see it because they will be rewarded with an awesome memory for a lifetime.

Slow-paced, dark, twisted, haunting and one of the most interesting characters in recent years captured on film are just some of the elements that shine in this spanish/mexican film.

It deals with Aro Tolbukhin's murders (he set several people on fire in the Guatemala jungle) and what people surrounding him think was behind that. Everyone has his or her own opinion about Aro but even if the real Aro has very little to say, he gives away valuable information behind the man, and by studying the man, we get behind the murder.

The fascinating thing about the movie (flawed but effective) is the way it is told. It's a documentary, told with real footage some french directors had gattered for a film about Aro and mixing that with current footage the new directors filmed for the new movie (mostly interviews with the nun Aro fell in love with while in Guatemala and his nanny back in Hungary) and, for the best part, a fictional work of beauty with actors playing the most mesmerizing moments in Aro's daily life. In this part, the dexterity of the directors comes to life when you realize how the chapters are filmed. We meet with Aro's recolections of his childhood and adolescence in Hungary (recolections no one believes at 100% because of the fantasy world Aro may have created around him) along with the reality behind his last years in Guatemala told by the nun (Sister Carmen) and some villagers who knew him as Hans, a German navy man.

I loved how both visions (Aro's memories of the past and Aro's reality put on film) have completely different styles in storytelling (realistic and raw, without a single bit of drama in his Guatemala days and more fictional, almost poetic in a beautiful b/w for his past), cinematography and music (the directors avoid the use of music for the adult Aro and use it in a dream-like fashion for the young Aro), even the performances and direction are different. There is the strongest spot in the movie: the performances. Some may think a completely breathtaking character like Aro Tolbukhin may give an actor the role of a lifetime, and they are probably right but I wasn't as surprised by the mostly silent Daniel Giménez Cacho/Zóltán Józan/Aram González trio of performances as I was by all the female characters, from Sister Carmen played beautifully by Carmen Beato and Aro's sister, Selma, played by Eva Fortea and Mariona Castillo. I think this happened (female being more amazing than male) because women were the most important element in Aro's mind. His entire life was changed constantly and intensely marked by women who abandoned him: his mother who died at birth, his sister who died tragically in a way Aro would NEVER forget (you'll see why) and sister Carmen, who he loved in many ways we discover through the film. The Aros were silent and their work was reduced to intense inner monologues we are seduced into translating and participate in. The man of the hour, Daniel Giménez Cacho, in an award-winning performance (Ariel 2003 along with Carmen Beato and a nomination for Eva Fortea), was, of course, extraordinary and enjoyed his character to the fullest, taking us to places we didn't want to go in a sensual, hypnotizing way. However, after waiting over 50 minutes to listen to him, he disappointed me by being unable to pull off the "Hungarian from a Bulgarian family impersonating a German speaking Spanish which he learned in Guatemala from a Catalan nun" accent I was expecting from him. Something as tiny but as important as an accent ruined the last part of his performance because he had a challenge to overcome: sharing screentime with the actual Aro Tolbukhin. Both Carmen Beato and Giménez Cacho were given the challenge of creating and performing these characters when seconds ago we were introduced to the real sister Carmen and Aro, and along the way we are sent back and forth from the real characters to the actors. Beato pulls it off perfectly but even if Giménez Cacho also manages to survive this battle, by the moment he speaks for the first time, everything falls appart. His performance is still among the greatest I've ever seen but it could've been in the top 3 if it weren't for that damn accent.

Another complaint: the language. Most mexican people complain about how some movies portray mexican characters speaking English ("The Alamo", "Frida" and some Golden Era movies about Zapata and Juárez come to mind) but we can't respect other people's languages? That's ironic. I thought, by the names of the young actors playing the Tolbukhin siblings, they were going to speak Hungarian but, if they were already using a lot of different languages to tell the story (the interviews are in Hungarian and Catalan), why do the kids speak perfect Spanish? Aren't there enough cute kids in Hungary? It's a useless, stupid complaint but I needed to get it out of my chest, sorry.

Overall, the movie is a outstanding work of research and beauty and even if the format may alienate some of the audience, you have nothing to fear: it never gets too slow or too quiet and there's always a piece of madness in the mind of one of the most wonderful man on film in the last decade.

At the end of the movie, you'll realize many things: not only the reason behind Aro commiting all those murders (and the way he did it) but also the answer to the question in every single character's minds: why did he confess some crimes he didn't do? The answer is right here, and it's one of the most compelling things I've ever put my eyes on. Aro was a murderer but the reasons behind every death in his life are logic and stunning. Wait and see.

Most people see Buñuel's films as strictly surreal and shocking as if that were the most important feature of his outstanding filmography. But, after seeing two of his best films ("Viridiana" and "Los Olvidados") I can asure you that the most interesting element in his style is his ability to be timeless: his movies, from the plot to the performances and, mostly, the direction and cinematography, could've been done back in the day or just a couple of years ago. His films won't get old as he touches universal themes.

I loved how he managed to create such a compelling female character as Viridiana (back in the day when Silvia Pinal wasn't a joke as she is nowadays) even with her huge flaws and issues. The pain she suffers is catapulted towards the audience in every single scene and, after being introduced to the horrible real world Buñuel shows us, we understand why she didn't want to have contact with it in the first place.

I usually hate social criticism in movies and art as I'm a really antisocial person (that's why I love indie filmmaking: it focuses on emotions and moments rather than society and politics) but I love the way Buñuel presents his opinions here and in "Los Olvidados" as a collage of metaphors rather than transforming a beautiful film into a pamphlet or some sort of political agenda. The most amazing metaphor here is the way Jorge, Viridiana's cousin, "saves" a dog from his owner who was making it run under the carriage at a tremendous speed, hurting it, by buying it. He thinks he is making something good for the world but when he turns his back from the road, another carriage comes into frame with another dog tied to its bottom, running and suffering as the first dog. That's only a tiny signal before the masterful final chapter when we learn that being a good person and winning a piece of Heaven for ourselves isn't always as easy or obvious as we think.

For a moment or two, we think Buñuel is trying to teach us that faith and a good heart are powerful weapons to fight reality but suddenly, he tells us that this world is so screwed up that there's no such thing as a good person and faith and God are kind of useless because the human being is the one in charge of making the right choices in life.

Breathtaking from start to finish.

For some weird, scary reason, I liked it. I mean, at least it was better than "Space Jam" (and believe me when I tell you I have seen "Space Jam" A LOT of times, as it was one of the first DVDs my parents bought back in the day) and it was kind of hilarious at some points and Brendan Fraiser is charming as an action hero (yes, I said it) and I think the best thing about the movie is all the in-jokes and acid remarks on movie business, along with the classic WB characters showing their true colors for the first time (Shaggy snapping at Matthew Lillard for his performance in "Scooby Doo"? Priceless) among other nice details. But Steve Martin doing his worst Mike Myers impersonation is simply painful to watch.

Nice for a Saturday morning but stay away from this if you appreciate your braincells.

Oh, Saturday mornings, you make us watch the worst movies ever created and enjoy them. I don't know if I love you, Saturday mornings, but you surely are fun.

Ok, here's the deal: the movie is silly, awfully silly, and that's a bad thing, of course. But I was extremely surprised to see just how great the visual effects were! They were awesome! Even in close-ups, the kangaroo looked great and when chasing him (in long shots and action scenes) it was simply exciting and amazing. I thought he was going to look like the awful CGI Scooby Doo or the pathetic CGI Dobby in the Harry Potter series but it looked REAL... yes, even when impersonating Dr Evil...

Unfortunately, that was the only good thing about this piece of silly crap because who in his right mind would ever dare to put Jerry O' Connell, Estella Warren and Anthony Anderson all in one single movie?! That's a crime, maybe even a deadly sin.

The fun thing is how weird it was to see Michael Shannon in this. Just as Sam Rockwell in "Charlie's Angels": a terrific actor doing a good job in a crappy movie. Weird, huh?

If it weren't for Shannon and the kangaroo, this movie would be unbearable. And that's a bad thing.

It just doesn't get old...

*Review coming soon*

Ji-tae Yu's performance as the "bad" guy is absolutely mesmerizing...

*Review coming soon*

A delightful experience!

*Review coming soon*

The power of movies relays on touching people's lives, souls and minds. Even in a trashy blockbuster you can be touched: your brains get touched with hyperkinetic movement and explosions and something inside you changes, even if it's just a tiny piece of heartstring. But sometimes movies are painful, emotional and hard to follow.

Peter Jackson's first "serious" film (his fourth one, after three gory, wicked masterpieces) may be great, owner of unforgettable performances, unforgettable moments, awesome talent and ability from a man who knows how to manipulate our minds with fantasy beyond our wildest dreams (and BELIEVE ME, I'm not talking just about the LOTR trilogy as I know most of his filmography besides those movies), but it is, after all, and maybe only for me, a painful experience.

Everything surrounding these girls' minds touched me in ways I don't want a movie to do so. Must of us (it's safe to say "everyone") has dreamed about getting rid of our parents, as there's always a moment in our lives (mostly everyday of our adolescence) when we just hate them with all our guts. I thought about it and so did you, but, will you murder your parents? Now, on the verge of getting into Film School and being 19, I just find the sole thought of it disgusting and disturbing in the full meaning of the word (not as a "weird" movie being "disturbing" but REAL disturbance, the one you can't get rid off at night) and I felt actual physical pain when the movie reached its last 20 minutes or so, it was just too much.

It's not only the murder per se (even if it is awfully long, sloppy, childish and maybe extremely well translated into film) but everything behind it: childhood obsession, loneliness, sick friendship, rejection, self-hate... in short, adolescence in its worst case scenario. That makes us (you know, us who went through that stage of life) capable of matricide at any moment, except, we chose not to murder our own mothers and cope with immature feelings like "hate" until we were old enough to realize everything our parents did was for our own good. So, what's the difference between murder and maturity? A choice. Maybe you disagree (because there are, after all, other elements to consider behind murder) but, for me, that is the truth behind Jackson's movie: everything in this life is a matter of choice and obsession along with a weak mind can blind our eyes to the right one.

Back with the movie, I loved how Kate Winslet's character was irritating and annoying yet she managed to create a cute background for her tantrums and weird personality. In the hands of other actress, the character would've been simply unbearable and the movie wouldn't have worked as it did, situtation which reminds me of Chloe Webb in the lead role of "Sid & Nancy".

Melanie Lynskey is definitely awesome but she gets eaten by her character and her co-star, which brings me to the best thing about "Heavenly Creatures": Peter Jackson's talent. The extraordinary thing about Peter Jackson's Big-Budget-Serious-Super-Movies (the ones beginning with and after this one) is how he manages to mix with amazing dexterity and knowledge of his craft (along with a gigantic imagination) the funny-cute-gore charm of his earlier films (which featured sadistic muppets, chubby aliens getting their brains blown off and, of course, a zombie mom) with more mainstream plots, actors, crews and audiences, resulting on a style we all love. That's why "The Two Towers" and "King Kong" wouldn't even exist if it isn't for "Bad Taste" and "Meet the Feebles". Same here: the fantasy sequences (and even some "reality" scenes) take a sheet out of this man's book and become true trips to somebody's mind. The delight of those bits and pieces (clay people, Mario Lanza being young and thin, Orson Welles haunting the girls) reaches levels and emotions words can't begin to describe and they get the best of the gore and imagination of the young Jackson with the maturity of his (back then) future work. Not to mention the insane character development through the film: we love the girls, we love their relationship and we relate to them in ways you shouldn't even dare to think about relating to a murderer, but yet, you do. All because of a solid screenplay that takes us far away into a lonely girl's mind.

So, after all my blabbering, let's just say "Heavenly Creatures" is an extraordinary piece of filmmaking... but I didn't enjoy the last 20 minutes because I found the thought of murdering my mom absolutely disturbing.

When I love a campy movie (because I usually hate them) is because they have soul, charm and become more than just a three-cents-budget movie with bad performances and a ton of hilarious unintentional comedy.

Unfortunately, this one doesn't belong to the list of trashy films that I love simply because it's only funny (in a bad way, of course) without delivering the goods. It's just bad, it's not bad-but-enjoyable. And so, I hated it.

A couple of great things about this movie: the title in spanish (Cannibal Sex!) and the fact that I watched it on TV and it was followed by "Rocky V"... priceless

So many people are forgetting this movie is, obviously, based on a comic book and they don't get tired of calling it "unrealistic" or "unbelievable" or "it defies the rules of Physics", c'mon! Give me a break!

After that display of subjectivity, I must say the movie does feel a little bit like "too much" at some moments but overall is one of those film experiences you usually forgive for being so flawed because all the good stuff is REALLY good ("Across the Universe", "Sin City" and the Jason Statham movies come to mind) and you leave the movie theatre happy, excited and begging for more.

Let's see: sexy Angelina? Checked! awesome lead character you never stop caring about? Checked! Explosions? Checked! Bullets? Checked! More explosions? Double checked! Kick-ass visual effects? Checked! Dizzy action sequences à la Bourne? *barf* Checked!

So, after we all agreed this is a great action flick, let's get down to business: I realized something watching this that may change the course of my life completely (specially regarding death threats from "serious" film lovers)... Ok, here it goes: this movie reminded me a lot of "Fight Club" and, maybe, even "The Matrix". And that's what I loved about it. The lead character (and here I will copy-paste Flixster's synopsis) is a frustrated office worker that learns that he is the son of a professional assassin. And here's the good part: the hypnotic, charming performance by James McAvoy, inspires. Yes, it inspires. It's the average Joe's hero, and what a hero he is! Everything from verbally abuse his obnoxious boss to kick his best friend's ass for fucking his girlfriend to, of course, making out with Angelina Jolie is pitch-perfect what the average Joe who copes with the 9-to-5 hell of being a loser wants in a movie, and the sudden discovery of a new life (a superhero kind of life) is as delicious to the senses and the heart as other loser-becomes-hero movies are. Maybe both Fincher's and the Wachowskis' movies were filled with philosophical juice and some life-changing dialogues/moments but they were, after all, simple: a loser, a less-than-average human being, almost like a machine, wakes up to life and discovers that, after all, he doesn't have to be like everybody else. Simple as that.

There lays the beauty of "Wanted", in its multiple meanings: loser's hero movie, action flick, explosions & bullets extravaganzza. You decide.

Because, after all,
WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE LATELY?

:)

Intense love letter to a psychotic friend, one of the most interesting documentaries out there for film lovers and filmmakers everywhere.

I specially loved the part where Herzog describes the Kinski's Spiral, an acting technique created by Kinski himself to walk into frame with a bang... I loved it so much that, three days after seeing this movie, a friend and I were doing a short film and we used it for one scene with awesome results. Cool, huh?

Only for all the hearts out there that still believe in true love, a mesmerizing love story for the ages. Ullmann's gorgeous voice over narrates the coincidences that happened so her parents could meet: a lot of love stories wrapped into one huge love letter to, well... love.

Beautiful animation, beautiful plot, beautiful voice over.

There are a lot of elements that deserve to be mentioned about "Ryan" but I think the best ones are how beautiful every character is created by expressing how dimmed, gloomy and vague the memory of the main characters about the other 3 are. And, of course, how the characters explode into a variety of emotions with visual eye-candies.

Visually stunning study on talent versus success/failure.

Extraordinary!!

I can't get enough of this film!

The songs are out of this fuckin world, the performances are great, the whole Paradise universe is something to remember for the rest of your life.

The movie (and the sounds) stay with you forever... watch with twice, thrice, four times, a thousand times more!

It is a RIDE!
It is a TRIP!
It's a whole EXPERIENCE!

Flawless!

*Review coming soon*

A completely hilarious and delightful romantic comedy, as somebody said earlier: custom made for Jason Biggs, who lets us see, for the first time in almost 10 years, that he is able to be compelling, cute and funny outside of the nerdy characters. For me, it's the first time he is actually funny, and Isla Fisher is extremely cute. Actually, the entire cast is pitch-perfect and sometimes they even outshadow the two leads. Margo Martindale, Edward Herrmann and Joe Pantoliano are awesome as the parents of both Biggs and Fisher, but the real deal is, of course, Michael Weston is simply fantastic as always thanks to his ability to make good use of little screen time and just perfect timing to be as hilarious as possible. The man is the next big thing.

It may not be a perfect movie (it is, after all, an unrealistic romantic comedy) but it's awesome for a rainy Sunday.

A joy!

The most beautiful movie of Italian neorealism manages to be deeply tragic and moving without being grotesque or manipulative like its Italian rip-offs like "Life is beautiful" or "Cinema Paradiso".

*Review coming soon*

It is THAT extraordinary.

Believe the buzz!!

*Review coming soon*

I insist, I know I say this a lot but this time I know I'm definitely right: this is one of the best movies I've seen in my entire life.

The bravest, rawest, cruelest, most realistic, most compelling piece of art I will ever see.

Spike Lee is a genius and he doesn't only adress touchy subjects, he does it with such objectivity it's scary.

Who's the man? He's the man!

*Review coming soon*

How do you manage to make a film that lasts more than 3 hours so exciting, thrilling, action packed, compelling, emotional, funny, tough, cruel, hopeful, cute and flawless?

For 3:20:00, this is the most unboring (yes, it is a word) movie I've ever seen!

*Review coming soon*

One of the most delicious experiences of my life!

*Review coming soon*

*Review coming soon*

One of the best movies you'll ever see.
Not your regular biopic.

*Review coming soon*

*Review coming soon*

I hope the remake bursts into flames and dies.
This is one of the scariest, most intelligent and most exciting movies ever made!!

*Review coming soon*

History in the making!
One of the funniest movies ever created by mankind with three of the funniest men ever.

*Review coming soon*

Say what you want but this is one of the biggest, weirdest surprises I've received in my life.

The first one was, in lack of a better word, vomit. But this sequel, even if it's not the greatest comedy ever created, is FUNNY, something the first one never achieved (even with Paul Giamatti in it)

The first one was pain, this is joy, fun, laughs, stupidity and fat-black-woman-who-is-really-a-dude jokes all over and has its biggest strenght in NEVER taking itself too seriously, producing a nice mix between actual hilarity and campy situations. The kids Big Momma has to take care of are all extremely cute and compelling and never annoying (as "cute" kids in bad comedies usually are) which, even if it may sound as a tiny, unimportant detail, is actually really nice. C'mon! You gotta love Josh Flitter playing a 2-year-old that loves to climb on furniture and high places and then jump just to fall on his face! Too bad the kid's now filming "Ace Ventura, Jr." because he looked kind of promising. As for Kat Dennings, which we all loved in "The 40-year-Old Virgin", she is as hilarious as always.

Overall, the surprise wasn't exactly about HOW funny it was but the fact that it was simply FUNNY, something you'll never expect from a Martin-Lawrence-in-drag-sequel, right?

Give it a try, don't take it seriously and enjoy it. God knows nobody took it seriously while filming it so why should you?

It's probably one of the funniest, cutest movies I've ever seen right until the moment Owen Wilson appears on the screen.

Like a light, PG-13 version of "Superbad" for younger kids.

Its biggest, most awful flaw? Owen Wilson.

The kids are simply AWESOME. All of them. And Alex Frost is hilarious!

*Review coming soon*

How do you get two of the greatest kick-ass-action-male-stars of the century and end up with a kind-of-entertaining flick instead of the greatest action movie ever made?!

Good but not great, it could've been SO MUCH better. Definitely.

One thing before writing this review: I hate camp. I really do. I don't think John Waters is campy, I think he's a genius. I hate camp because I don't believe in "so bad it's good" movies. I believe there are either GOOD or BAD movies, and that's it.

Another thing: I hate horror flicks. I really do. You know why? Because they're not scary. Not at all. I don't get scared easily. In the last 19 years, I've only been scared of "Stir of echoes" with Kevin Bacon, "The Grudge" with Sarah Michelle Gellar, "[rec]" (one of, if not the scariest films ever created by mankind) and "Sleepaway camp" with Felissa Rose.

Yes: I love this movie! Do you want to know why? Because it scared the fuckin crap out of me! It really did! I didn't want to see this movie because I thought it was pure crap (just as my dear friend Quinto Wallight, from Flixster, loves his movies: crappy and campy) but last night I had nothing else to do and I decided to see this movie, uploaded on YouTube. And even in a tiny screen on a website, while talking with some friends on the MSN Messenger, I was really scared.

Everything in this movie is amazing. There are a couple of campy performances (specially from the grown-ups, like the weird, drag-queen aunt and the hunky camp dude with tiny shorts and hairy chest) but the lead roles, specially the beautiful (yes, beautiful!) Felissa Rose give amazing performances. The tiny, shy Felissa is hypnotizing from start to finish and while the quality of the film may not be the greatest (it is, after all, a slasher film from the 80s, c'mon!) she always finds the way to shine.

But what's really awesome about "Sleepaway Camp" is not only its scary scenes, its undeveloped characters (excluding Felissa, of course) or its unintentional humor (c'mon! You gotta love how crack-whore-bitchy Karen Fields is!), it's more than that. There's some sort of special charm about it and the deaths really help: they are so original, so fresh, so wicked. And the best part is there's a reason for it! There's a theory surrounding the movie (specially nowadays that there's a super cult behind it) that tells us that MAYBE, and just MAYBE, the killer is not who we asume it is and who the ending tells us. But one thing's for sure: it's a kid. A child. And that's the reason why the murders are so crazy and psychotic: child's minds are so powerful, so brilliant, they can pull off some gimmicks like the ones we see on screen with such dexterity it's absolutely scary. Kids are mean, but not only mean: they're smart and mischievious. And that's why EVERYTHING you can possibly foresee or predict about "Sleepaway Camp" is, right until the very last credit rolls, complete bullshit. The movie stays with you and you keep on guessing and discovering new stuff with further viewings and research because you won't be able to keep your mind away from it.

The ending. I know everyone comments about it but it's not only shocking because of its "apparently-obvious-but-not-too-obvious" resolution and final shock and twist, but because of everything behind it, everything we can't see, everything surrounding the fact that... well, you'll know when you see it. And that last, very last frame... scary, huh?

Enjoy.

The first Western ever created: a truly exciting film.
Extraordinary and technically innovative.

True magic!
A dream come true!

Beautiful
Stunning
Gorgeous
Inspiring
Extraordinary
Breathtaking

The first 20 minutes or so didn't look like a Del Toro movie, everything felt stiff, forced, as if it were filmed in a hurry.

The introduction (with John Hurt and a big-toothed Hellboy, emphasise on the "boy") had everything to become a memorable moment for the new century (John Hurt tells little Hellboy a bedtime story and we see inside the kid's imagination as he listens to the tale) but the effects/animation was kind of lame and the purpose of the scene flops.

Then, we're back in the BPRD (after some elf trainning in the subway) and we are doomed to cope with Jeffrey Tambor's unfunny character for a while and Hellboy makes a couple of unfunny jokes and Liz is bitchy. By this scene (probably 10 or 15 minutes into the movie), I was pissed and disappointed as it looked like Del Toro's first flop. But then, the whole movie started to make a little bit more sense and by the time the BPRD was fighting the Tooth Fairies, I blinked and the movie became another Del Toro masterpiece. From that moment, right until the very last (freezed) frame, the movie had this unique Del Toro sense of humour, extraordinary visual effects, awesome creatures (not "a shitload of creatures" as some people are barking) and a compelling story. The characters grew up so much from the first movie to this one and this movie is better without taking any credit from the first one, another masterpiece.

Awesome character development, great jokes and fantastic art direction, costume design and make up.

Simply extraordinary.

I think the main issue here is that I had a LOT of expectations for this movie and, in the end, it just didn't satisfy me.

It's not a bad movie (even if Dax Shepard is in it) but the main idea was really good and they just let it slip away. Instead of the ultimate "buddy-road-trip" movie, it becomes another idiotic Matthew Lillard extravaganza and there's a lot of poop, weed and guns in it, but not in the good way.

Unfunny and uncute.

Awesome idea, moronic execution.

*Review coming soon*

Hands down, the funniest movie of the year.
Top 10 Best of 2008.

EXTREMELY HILARIOUS!!

*Review coming soon*

The most touching, compelling and heart-breaking movie I've ever seen.

The cast couldn't be any more extraordinary.

(That's all I have to say because I just pushed Stop in my DVD player and I'm still crying my eyes out and feeling like a piece of depressed shit so I can't really see what I'm writing)

An extraordinary fresh point of view into the same old "struggling-new-yorker-actor" with a performance like I've never seen before in my life from that guy called Dustin Hoffman. Out of this world. I usually refuse to watch pre-late-80s movies for some stupid reason or another and I even flagged this one as "Not interested" but I couldn't be more delighted as I was watching this from the first scene to the last one. Everything in this movie was pitch-perfect and hilarious, I kept on laughing over and over again, not only at Hoffman's mesmerizing abilities but also at Bill Murray's excellent character and Teri Garr's annoying-drama-queen extravaganza.

Marvelous!
A truly fun experience for a life time!

Technical dexterity and flawless cinematography in each scene, where everything's measured to perfection and every single frame becomes a surreal photograph of reality. Everything's in its right place. Sounds like a cold, academic, film school movie? Well, it's not. The difference being that Jarmusch talent to shoot everyday life and awkward moments of boredom (with a huge sense of humour, the father of contemporary weird-indie-comedies) falls into the "perfect-technique-with-a-lot-of-heart" category, and that's saying a lot.

I often (if not always) reject "old directors" (let's just say I haven't seen a pre-80s film... for real) because I feel they're so great in technique (cinematography and sense of narrative and framing everything in each scene) that their stories are cold and not close to me. But I always knew Jarmusch was different and this movie proves it over and over again. While he masters everything the Great Directors (you know... those old fellas) had to show his generation, he also masters what He, Mr Jim "White Hair" Jarmusch, has to show to the new generation: how to portray OUR own reality into film.

We don't have to go to a galaxy far, far away or to the Middle Earth or to some weird suburb with kinky housewives and psychopaths with sharp knives chasing hot high school chicks. We just have to look around us and we'll find interesting stories to put on film, and keep on doing our own version of "Stranger than Paradise", which (if you haven't seen the film) you'll soon realize every "indie" movie has being doing that since this came out.

Long live the King!
(Now I have to pay a visit to Grandpa Cassavettes)

Not as bad as everybody's preaching.

*Review coming soon*

Mature plotline, screenplay and characters but "mature" doesn't have to mean "boring" and the rythm definitely flops from time to time.

Overall, awesome idea, awful execution, but not the hideous flop everybody talks about.

Amy Adams' charming and lovely performance takes the cake.

The whole supporting cast and, specially, the songs are great and the final result is as cute as anything else last year.

Awesome!

Great fight scenes and extraordinary animation are not enough to build a funny or slightly compelling decent film.

Unfunny and full of stupid cliches.

DreamWorks must STOP doing animated films. Now!

__________________________________
NOTE: I'm going to see it in English as soon as I can. Maybe that will change my opinion a little bit. Spanish dubbings are disgusting.

The funny thing about this, the second part of the Tarantino/Rodriguez Grindhouse package, is that it wasn't a homage to the 70's exploitation film as "Planet Terror" and became more like a regular Tarantino flick INSPIRED BY grindhouse films, without losing its Tarantino essence, thus making dumb, gringo audiences thinking it was "boring" or that there was "no plot" or "wtf dialogue" and a thousand more idiotic comments about a movie none of them understood.

Many people had told me the movie was "slow" at the beginning and I expected, of course, a "slow beginning", trusting these friends of mine. Well, "slow" is not the word I would use to describe this movie. Yes, of course the action sequences and car chases are limited to two specific moments of this film but the rest of the movie is full of hilarious, non-stop laughing moments and dialogues, specially in the second part. The characters are so extremely developed that their pain feels real and you actually become close friends (almost BFF) with both group of girls, you want to know more about them, you need to know more, you love to hear more and more and you enjoy the whole ride.

I don't think this is even close to be Tarantino's best movie but it's by far his best screenplay to date. The long, hilarious, compelling, everyday dialogues are simply genius and create the whole movie, word by word, to the point where the action sequences are simply the icing on the cake of a truly unique, hilarious movie.

Kudos to the "Reservoir Dogs" homage! :)

There are thousands of ways you can watch this movie and all of them as just as good as the next one. I watched it twice this weekend so I can assure you I watched it both objectively and freakin-out-about-how-cool-it-is-ly.

*Serious Review:
Robert Rodriguez's homage to B-movies, grindhouse films, gore, exploitation and sexy legless chicks could've gone the wrong way by just filming a 70's B-movie with cheesy, over-the-top performances and bad quality visual effects and make-up. Or, of course, paying a real homage by using all the budget, resources and talent he's able to get and putting them to work in favor of a truly exciting plotline with awesome (like in "drooling awesomeness" awesome) dialogues and interesting, wicked characters so that both audiences familiarized with 70's exploitation films and the modern/younger ones looking for some cool explosions would enjoy the film without thinking too much... or just keeping on laughing and cheering at all the cool stuff surrounding the adventure of a group of people surviving a zombie massacre. (I use the word "cool" a lot in this review but how else would you describe this movie?)

Surprisingly enough, there's room for excellent performances in this whole bloody mess, mostly because of the dialogues sweating Tarantino/Rodriguez genius all over. Just like with "Sin City", Rodriguez somehow (don't ask me why) manages to suck emotions and talent out of, otherwise, talentless actresses like Marley Shelton (terrific and hilarious with her broken wrist) and Rose McGowan (in the role of a lifetime) and, of course, giving tremendous opportunities to amazing actors that haven't had enough chances in Hollywood like the always great Freddy Rodriguez playing one of the most badass, sexy motherfuckers I've ever seen on film: El Wray.

Overall, you realize the limits between "quality filmmaking" and "B-series exploitation shit" are broken with the last Rodriguez masterpiece (as we all know by now that there will be more to come) when good acting, great visual effects, disgusting make-up, cool dialogues, interesting plotlines, wicked sense of humour and a sincere homage to a lost genre collide into "Planet Terror", the next best zombie shit.

The opening sequence? A dream.

*Hysterical Review:
OMFG! THIS MOVIE'S THE SHIZZLE! (whatever that means) AWEEEESOME!

___________________________________
Recommendations? Watch with Audience Reaction Track, included on the DVD. Delicious stuff. Delicious.

A more than interesting debut by director Michel Gondry. A satire about, well, human nature. A joke on humanity. A spoof on love and sex (mostly sex) and a comedy about our deepest insticts and the best (and worst) ways to supress them.

Visually, it's not as engaging as other Gondry movies and the screenplay isn't as "dreamy" and oniric as other Kaufman works but the extraordinary performances and the wicked sense of humour create a completely unique and mesmerizing film that, funny enough, it's not as "weird" as its synopsis may suggest.

Miranda Otto's character is a dream.

Don't believe what the trailer says: this is a complete different movie than the average Jack Black comedy or the average Michel Gondry cardboard-extravaganza.

Awesome.

*Review coming tonight!*

I am speechless.

*Review coming soon*

Extraordinary!

People usually forget Nickelodeon Movies aren't just bad Rugrats sequels and Steve Oedekerk's male cows getting drunk on milk. Nickelodeon Movies, back in the 90s, gave us amazing "intelligent kids" movies like "Harriet the Spy" and "Snow day", damn! even "Good Burguer" was good! But people think that having the Nickelodeon label means a bad movie. Well, this one proves the opposite.

More than reminding me of "fantasy epics" like Harry Potter and LOTR (why do people ALWAYS put those 2 together?), it reminded me of "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events" (another underrated dark masterpiece by Nickelodeon Movies) mostly because it doesn't treat kids like stupid little people that need vomit and farting in their movies to feel entertained, but actual interesting plots with no less than "great" performances and cool visuals (I mean, who doesn't?) and that's exactly what this movie delivers, and how!

If you people really need to compare this with other "fantasy epics", here's the deal: it goes beyond any other fantasy movie simply because it lacks of the pretentious feeling Harry Potter, LOTR, Eragon, Narnia and so many more have. This world, the Spiderwick world full of goblins and fairies, is not hiding behind a wardrobe, or in a dirty old pub in London or a millenium ago in the Middle-Earth or whatever: this is real. The extraordinary screenplay and, why not, the great source from where it all came from (the books) are good enough to create a whole world right there in your backyard, with ACTUAL peril and ACTUAL creatures, not funny magic spells that not everyone is capable of performing or huge battles in front of a gigantic fire eye (I know it sounds as if I hate those movies but I don't, I just think they're not as close-to-you and warm as this one).

Overall, that's why I loved it, but if I have to be specific: the cast is simply mesmerizing. Every single one of the actors does a tremendous job. Ok, maybe Mary-Louise Parker feels a little bit out of place (the woman doesn't know how to do "fantasy acting", you know, believing something's there, like the awful Bonnie Hunt in "Jumanji": out-of-place) but it's awesome to finally see Freddie Highmore in a non-annoying-cry-baby role, stepping out of Haley Joel Osment's shadow for the first time since he came into the picture. His double role, as the rebelious, semi-emo twin and the anal, gay, pacifist twin, shows way more range that his performance in "August Rush", a movie that worked perfectly except for his annoying gimmicks. Sarah Bolger's tremendous talent is not used to the top here but it's great to see her after she disappeared from the face of the Earth after her great role in "In America". The voice cast, lead by Martin Short and Seth Rogen is amazing, and the short appearance by Nick Nolte (who I thought was Kris Kristofferson at first) is scary enough. Joan Plowright and David Strathairn in short but pivotal roles are simply hypnotizing.

Visually stunning and with a music score to remember for many years to come, the movie feels mature, intelligent and exciting the whole time. Even the epilogue, that is usually the most boring part of any movie, is touching and lovely. Too bad the whole movie was shadowed by its distant cousins when it came to critics and box-office but if you try to forget all those other "fantasy epics" for a couple of hours, you'll find yourself truly in love with a fantastic film like this. The characters are so well-written that their family issues and relationships between them are never "useless subplots" but true elements that help us understand them better. Everything fits to perfection, everything is interesting, everything is magical.

I may be the only person in the world who enjoyed Ron Howard's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and believed "The Cat in the Hat" with Mike Myers was actually visually delicious, but I can totally understand why do people hate them so much, even if my childhood wasn't full of Dr Seuss' rhymes.

And because of that I fell in love with this movie from the first shot to the last. I can't remember the last time I saw an American animated feature film WITHOUT any single pop-culture reference and that's exactly this movie's charm: the humour (absolutely cute and hilarious) comes from the characters themselves and the situations they face, NEVER from idiotic gags or "contemporary" stupidity. For Jim-Carrey-doing-serious-stuff fans this will be completely delightful: the man does an extraordinary voice work without using his usual gimmicks and avoids being annoying the whole time, while Steve Carell does an extraordinary job as a weird, yet never over-the-top, insecure man with a lovely wife, 96 daughters and an emo son (Ok, that was a pop-culture reference but it's actually really nice), while the whole voice cast does a nice job too, including a surprisingly evil Carol Burnett.

The screenplay and the music score are extraordinary and even if the animation per se isn't THAT good, at the end of the day the movie saves itself from any negative criticism by staying true to its own message without being too corny or cheesy and creating a solid piece of filmmaking. It's not an explosion of dumb humour for the "new millenium" kids but an explosion of truly great talent from the whole cast and crew for intelligent kids who will learn their first steps into political issues and realize how relationships between completely different countries should and shouldn't be made. Yes, "Horton hears a Who!" IS a political metaphore but it is subtle and smart and makes you realize how far animation can go without being raw or "adult" (not that there's anything wrong with mature animation) but staying true to its biggest audience: kids.

A triumph!

I've never been a fan of Shyamalan's work and, besides "The Village" (which I liked a lot despite its flaws), I haven't seen any of his movies.

Everybody's hating this one but, ey! It's not THAT bad. Yes, it's campy. Yes, it's cheesy. Yes, it has a weird sense of humour. But that didn't bother me at all. The biggest flaw (but maybe it's just me and my obsession with *SPOILER* suicide *SPOILER ENDS* in movies) is that all the deaths are extremely undramatic and they're even kind of boring. Shyamalan had the greatest idea ever for a disaster-end-of-the-world-movie in his hands and he blew it. The plot was disturbing enough to make audiences cry with panic but the direction and the acting didn't work at all.

Let's face it: Mr Shyamalan's screenplays are great... but his work as a director is awful. He has great actors and he doesn't know what to do with them. The only one with an oustanding performance in "The Village" is Bryce Dallas Howard but Shyamalan doesn't know what to do with Phoenix, Weaver, Hurt and Brody. Same here. He has Mark Wahlberg right after his first Oscar nomination (let's face it: the guy looks inspired and hard-working), John Leguizamo who is not great but effective, and Zooey Deschanel, and no one delivers an even acceptable performance. God! Not even the awesome Ashlyn Sanchez (her performance in "Crash" still gives me chills) is a little bit good at least.

I have a thought: Shyamalan working in an animated feature film. Huh? Sounds great, right?

Bottom line: effective, campy, entertaining.

Awesome idea - Awful execution.

Another pleasant (and unexpected) surprise for the summer. I suppose the #4870 try is the good one and somebody finally made a good, hilarious, sweet transition from TV to film... but I hope people understand that it doesn't mean this will always happen.

As I was watching the movie, I started to think about my comment for Flixster and I kept surprising myself about HOW MUCH I enjoyed a movie based on a TV show that I've never seen and (oh, the horror!) starring The Rock. At the end of it all, I came to the conclusion that the movie was hilarious and interesting enough to keep you hooked; that Carell proved once again that he isn't just a poor man's Jim Carrey but that he can actually be (am I saying this?) completely funnier than any other "classic" comedian (Mr Carrey included, of course); that the screenplay was excellent because it didn't rely on moronic, pop-culture gags but true humour from its well-written, compelling characters (am I REALLY writing this stuff?); that Anne Hathaway never stops surprising me with her range that includes silly Disney comedies, true smart comedies, a nice musical talent, great dramas and, now, action flicks, and how she reveals herself as a true action star with as much sex appeal as everybody has been expecting her to show ever since she was introduced to the world (see the lasers scene for more info on that); that Alan Arkin is THE Man; that Terence Stamp is a sexy bastard; that The Rock... OK, sorry: Dwayne Johnson, is actually really charming and funny when he doesn't try too hard; and that the visual effects are probably some of the best I've seen in years and deserve a lot of recognition, along with an extraordinary stunt work, even if this isn't a visual effects-driven movie.

But, above all, I came to the conclusion that this is the best summer movie of 2008 and that there was nothing in there that wasn't not only hilarious but well crafted. This is actually a GOOD film, beyond any reasonable doubt. But in order to see that, you have to go past the initial prejudice when it comes to TV shows turned into movies and summer comedies, because this one doesn't fall into any possible category.

Enjoy the ride :)

"Serious" film lovers are being REALLY harsh with this one. Believe me: you WILL be surprised. It's not only hilarious but actually really intelligent and exciting. This is the first time Adam Sandler made me laugh in a long, long time.

The Israel-Palestine conflict satire is a little bit light and shallow but it's effective and hilarious.

I think one of the biggest surprises is the quality of every single performance from everyone in the cast... and that's a lot saying with Emmanuelle Chriqui and Rob Schneider in the cast. But, please, believe me, I haven't laughed this hard in YEARS. Even Mariah Carey's cameo was extraordinary! I'm serious!

A stupid, light, hilarious and pleasent surprise.

Give it a chance!

*Review coming soon*

I saw the first 10 minutes and I was about to cry my eyes out because Bigas Luna and the screenwriter managed to translate my favorite book EVER into a beautiful movie that respects the essence of the words written by Manuel Vicent.


__________________________________
EDIT:
After seeing the whole movie I now realize the adaptation wasn't really good. If it weren't for the two powerful and hypnotizing performances by both leads (Leonor Watling and Jordi Mollà, both of them were born to play Martina and Ulises), the movie would be drowning in a sea of plot holes, bad editing and poor character development. The cinematography is beautiful and a lot of things are portrayed exactly as the book says but the essence is lost by the first 20 minutes and everything starts to happen REALLY fast. And that "90's-hip-hop-meets-Alejandro-Sanz" soundtrack is absolutely hideous. It ruins most of the big scenes.

Luckily, by the second half of the movie, everything takes its right course and the movie goes from "Not so good" to "Very good".

I'm extremely happy to see Watling and Mollà as Martina and Ulises but I wish the movie would be a lot better.

The book is still my favorite EVER. But the movie fell short. I'm really disappointed and sad.

Boo-hoo.

A poem to life and death.

Haunting...

Whoever reads at least 10 of my reviews knows I easily refer to a good or great film as "flawless", "perfect" or "masterpiece" as if nearly every single movie I see is, in fact, perfect. I understand and confess that sometimes I get a little bit "too excited" when it comes to a great film but as soon as this movie started and, obviously, by the final 20 minutes, I knew this was, probably for the first time in years, a truly masterpiece and I'm not afraid to write it down because whoever sees it will know I'm not, for one, overreacting.

The beautiful, gorgeous and, yes, FLAWLESS aspect of this film is how the tragedy and the intensity of its characters is subtle and quiet just until the last minutes but that doesn't mean it's ever boring or slow because it actually manages to hold the tension all the way and makes us repeatedly wonder what's going to happen with this hurt, destroyed souls in search of justice and dignity.

The characters reach so much depth and the dialogues are so stunning, yet silent that you can just let go and enjoy the tragic ride. Jennifer Connelly is gray and teary-eyed all the time but she never gets melodramatic. Let's just say her character is closer to "Dark water" than "A beautiful mind" and the direction/screenplay is so precise she doesn't need help from any of her usual gimmicks that we all love but that, in this movie, we don't miss. Let's just say she stepped out of the freakin box and found out the most powerful weapon to the audience's soul was inside of her painful look. It helps a lot, of course, that her co-star is Ben Kingsley in what is, without any doubt, his best performance. I loved his character from the first moment he had a quarrel with his wife: there wasn't a single word that came out of his mouth that didn't have sense or dignity and everything he says is correct in argumentation and intelligence. It's a rightful men that doesn't want to hurt anyone and his only flaw is to be so naive, innocent and, of course, loving to his family's honour. By the look of some clips, Shohreh Aghdashloo's character looked extremely melodramatic and cliche but, boy was I wrong! Her performance is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen on screen. Maybe she didn't reach Connelly's depth or Kingsley's powerful presence but her fear was as terrifying as anything the two lead beasts at war could do or say.

Yes, this movie is not a regular drama. This movie is almost like a modern greek tragedy as everything these characters did was already written in the stars and the only thing they did wrong was making the choices they made for better or for worst.

This movie is terrifying, unconfortable, visually stunning and intense but beware because the fog never disappears and the light of a beautiful morning never comes through the windows.

Uncomfortable but beautiful.

*Review coming soon*

Hilarious but definitely compelling, cute and heartbreaking. The characters are so delicious and perfectly written (and the performances are flawless) and they go beyond "being gay" and are true human beings with many different lives and issues, and the gay factor stays as just a simple element that doesn't take over the entire movie.

Absolutely wonderful and entertaining!
A sweet movie with sweet bears!

People were surprised, in the wrong way, when they realized how the new Wong Kar-Wai experience wasn't "as good" as they expected and they blamed it on the language. What they didn't realize was that the new language and the new actors gave WKW a whole new spectrum of abilities and things to talk about in a whole different context, without losing his usual gimmicks that we all love to death. WKW has always been simple, subtle and poetic, creating his poetry and his urban tales of loneliness and dispare in the most unlikely, yet familiar, of places and plots.

I think a definitely helpful new element that came with the language were the actors. I've never seen in my entire life such a hypnotizing cast that, from the mesmerizing and gorgeous Norah Jones to the heartbreaking David Strathairn and including the beautiful and over-the-top (yet, wonderful) Rachel Weisz and the sexy Natalie Portman. Jude Law is great as an insecure, compelling lead but he isn't as memorable as the rest of the cast.

The soundtrack, the cinematography (by somebody else instead of Christopher Doyle, for a change) and the art direction help the movie but the beauty of WKW's lost souls and delicious road trip are more than enough to create a stunning, depressing, intense view on human pain.

Gorgeous!

Out of this world! Uplifting and absolutely well-crafted. Definitely a breath of fresh air.

*Review coming soon*

Shot in HD video in the director's dead grandmother's house, this movie tells a day in the life of a family of 5: the shy son, the pothead daughter, the unemployed dad, the cute, old uncle and the dead mom. On the eve of a special day, they cope with their depressing reality and boring lives.

Jose Angel Bichir's revelation is simply beautiful and inspiring. He carries the entire movie over his shoulders.

It may follow the same plot line as Quemar las naves and maybe even Garden State (you know: dead mother, depressed losers trying to cope with reality and everyday life) but it takes the opposite way from those movies and avoids every single drop of hope and brightness, making us realize nothing's going to change after that beautiful last frame and the whole family will probably kill themselves.

The rythm is extremely slow and it may annoy some people but the last 30 minutes or so are completely worth the wait. The whole movie is subtle and quiet but it speaks a lot about despair and loneliness: two delicious common places in contemporary mexican cinema that we're always oh so happy to go back to.

A truly fantastic debut from a really promising director/screenwriter.

For those of you out there hating biopics: this one is for you. Wisely enough, instead of trying to show in a matter of 3 hours (because those damned biopics are long!) the whole existance of a human being, from troubled childhood to drugs and tragic death, James Mangold focuses on Cash's torrid relationship with his wife June Carter and the struggle of June to save his best friend and future husband from the abyss of failure, drugs and self-torture.

Thanks to Joaquin Phoenix's flawless abilty to go deep into Cash's dark soul and creating such a delicious and innocent, yet dark character, the movie is more than just a biopic and it's almost as if Mangold had created a deep love story out of two tridimensional characters, famous or not. Joaquin's out-of-this-world voice (a homage to Cash instead of just an impersonation) completes the circle of perfection and makes this one of the truly best films ever made about rock and roll or simply music in general.

It's clear that Reese Witherspoon's performance is terrific and reaches extraordinary depths and peaks (and what a voice she has!) but I'm still sore about her undeserved win at the 2005 Oscars when it was clear Felicity Huffman's ability and talent were absolutely bigger than Reese's. She's great but there were better female performances that year. Fortunately, that's not important when watching her in such a lovable, cute, mature performance.

This is a masterpiece. Maybe just because of the two leads' voices and performances or maybe because it's better than almost every single biopic of the last 20 years, but there's no doubt about this movie's charm and magic. Johnny Cash is proud.

It may not be really original or have some big flaws and lack of depth on some important issues they "try" to talk about but it's definitely fun, entertaining and worth seeing.

The most amazing of its elements is RYTHM, something really hard to achieve in contemporary mexican cinema: the rythm never flops, even if it's not a comedy the whole time and has some dramatic touches here and there.

And, of course, the wonderful 4 lead characters, along with the actresses portraying them, steal the entire movie all the way through.

A wonderful experience!

This is extremely entertaining and exciting, so I don't care about the "original" or whatever. I hate when people can't deal with the fact that a movie has to be seen as "A movie", remake or not.

Weird enough, I loved the cast. Jake Weber and Ty Burrell from two great TV series, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer and, of course, Sarah Polley. I really didn't believe it was her until the end credits and the second time I saw the movie (in the same day)... it's absolutely fantastic how she reminds me of Meryl Streep in one thing: she can't go wrong. Even in a freakin zombie movie, she can't go wrong.

Between "Resident Evil 3" and this one, I now know zombie movies are great fun!

Kudos for the extraordinary soundtrack, the final scenes within the credits and, of course, the baby zombie: an icon for the new millenium.

I couldn't go past the first 5 minutes. It's just too much to handle. I don't know if I will finish seeing it, it's not probable.

Probably one of the lamest experiments in movie history. It's not cute, it's not funny, it's not off-beat and it's definitely not good. If it weren't for Matt Damon's cute performance, proving he is capable of doing some good comedy work, this would be simply unbearable.

Awful, awful, awful "Comedy".

If it weren't for Channing Tatum's extraordinary charm, talent and dancing skills, this movie would be a complete failure, mostly because of the lame, stiff sub-plots and the hideous, boring, completely gray performance by Jenna Dewan who has no right to be in a lead role. Both the music and the dancing are incredibly outstanding and Channing steals the movie all the way. If you like dance movies, it may not get any better than this delightful movie.

3 stars for the entertainment and the dancing.

Strong, powerful, compelling and visually stunning.

It has everything it needs to become a truly magnificent piece of filmmaking but there's something missing through the entire movie.

The screenplay and the great directing by Aaron Fernandez are splendid as the wonderful cinematography and art direction/set decoration and some scenes are truly memorable and breathtaking but the performances (ironically "raved" as "extraordinary" in the poster and official trailer) are gray and kind of lame, specially from Emery Eduardo Granados, the lead role. He doesn't shine one single moment. When working with a non-professional actor you have to be able to create an actor out of him, but here, the more experienced (but equally young) Alan Chavez steals Granados' thunder all the way.

Even with all its flaws, the movie is still excellent and cruel and it deserves to be seen. I may not be perfect but it's definitely SOLID and that's good enough for me.

One of the most painful stories of free spirit I've ever seen. It makes your soul soar every frame from start to finish, thanks to some of the best performances in contemporary mexican cinema and an extraordinary music score.

Beautiful!

I waited long enough! And it was worth it!
This movie is an absolutely delicious treat. I hate when people call this "stupid" just because the director is not somebody with "cult status" that, with the same one-liners and action-packed hilarious comic relief, would've had them drooling all over the place.
It's fun, it's wicked, it's raw, it's crazy, it's unrealistic but, over all, it is COOL. The characters are cynic, confident and angry at everyone and everything and you roll with them laughing all the time. Clive Owen is perfect for the role and Paul Giamatti is sinfully badass. As for Monica Belucci... well, let's just say she won't leave your mind for a while.

Best scene? You have plenty to choose from: having sex in the middle of a shootout, eating carrots in the middle of a shootout, or maybe just carrying a baby while shooting some badguys (drinking game alert!! Every single death - a drink!), but the best Mr. Smith gimmick ever is by far creating a gun out of his hand. You gotta see it to believe it!

My favorite road trip ever.

*Review coming soon*

Hilarious and exciting (two of the best/longest/funniest chases in film are here) with surprisingly funny performances by both Harrison Ford and, yes, Josh Hartnett. Isaiah Washington is an effective villain and the direction is good but the movie is simply too lame to be taken any seriously.

At times, really boring. At times, really exciting. At times, extremely funny (that interrogatory scene is flawless!)... but overall uninteresting and straight-to-DVD-ish.

It's really weird, almost impossible to find something innovative, truly original in a biopic since the genre began to take off a long time ago but each and every single one of these kind of movies through history has had something special, something that makes it stand out from the rest. That special element is usually the lead's performance and his/her ability to mimetize with the "real life character".

Well, all the 2004's fuzz about Jamie Foxx's performance is not over the top. It's pretty accurate: Foxx holds the audience's guts through the entire movie and never lets go. His uncanny ability to stay smooth and have a magnificent control of his surroundings match perfectly with his musical gift that hurts the soul and makes your mind vibrate. Ray Charles' music and Jamie Foxx's charm and passion are the greatest mix for a compelling, delicious movie.

Ray's childhood memories were a little bit too much but they were effective at an emotional level, along with Sharon Warren's heartbreaking, breathtaking performance.

Being technically flawless (cinematography and editing was perfect while art direction was marvelous and sound editing was genious), the movie has only one thing to regret: it's still a cliche biopic with nothing new to offer.

But, is that such a bad thing?

It's pretty sad this movie had to suffer comparisons with both "Truman Show" and "Pleasentville" when it has its own magic to work with. It may look like a dumb, idiotic Ron Howard comedy (that redhead's name alone gives me the creeps) but it's not only an acid critic to TV audiences back in 1999 when reality shows were giving their first steps but also a hilarious comedy with great performances by Jenna Elfman, the amazing Ellen DeGeneres and Woody Harrelson. It's too sad that Elizabeth Hurley had to be in this but at least her role is too small to even be noticed. And, surprisingly, this is the only time McConaughey's charm has been effective enough to support a whole movie over his shoulders; it's not a "good" performance per se, but a role that fits him like a glove.
I have no idea if there are movies "like this one" and I don't care. This one's hilarious, compelling and wonderful. Deal with it.

*Review coming soon... but people hating this for being "long", "slow" or whatever are just stupid*

*After a second view, intense and probably psychotic review coming soon*

Is there any chance to give this 10 stars?
5 is simply not enough.

*Review coming soon*

It's a little bit unrealistic and kind of stiff at some points but the plot was unrealistic enough to warn the audiences this wasn't a very serious movie with a very strong critic towards something.

But even if this isn't the masterpiece some of us expected, it's still a wonderful, exciting and extremely entertaining thriller with amazing cinematography (what can we expect from a mexican movie if it isn't beautiful cinematography?) and a fast-paced screenplay, along with a poweful ending.

It's nice to see a mexican movie that doesn't deal with crime and poverty in the same way most of the 90s mexican movies did. Instead of dividing the movie between "rich" and "poor" (because the characters do that themselves), the director divides everything between "right" and "wrong" and works with ethics and morality providing us with flawed characters that, when scared, are unable to control their instincts and lose their humanity.

The movie tells the story of three thieves that enter a prestigious "forbidden city" where the rich and privileged live surrounded by a wall (The Zone) and, when attempting to mug her, kill an old lady, starting a manhunt where two of them die. The remaining kid (Alan Chavez, in one of two extraordinary performances this year, double-nominated for an Ariel) hides in a boy's basement, where he develops a small relationship with him by realizing they're not different from each other. Unfortunately, the "Board" of neighbors will do ANYTHING to chase down the remaining boy and "make justice".

The best of the entire movie is definitely the ensamble cast that includes the elite of "good actors" in mexican cinema instead of just an "all star" cast of "hotties". From Daniel Gimenez Cacho (one of the best mexican actors ever) to classic old foxes like Blanca Guerra and newcomers like Daniel Tovar, Alan Chavez and Marina de Tavira, including underrated actors like Andres Montiel, Mario Zaragoza and Enrique Arreola, the cast is strong enough to portray a "mini-government", sort of Big-Brother-ish, that won't stop until "their security is total". The metaphor towards the ultimate "Zone" (USA) is subtle but acid.

Don't miss this for anything in the world. A little bit over-exaggerated but exciting enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.

A drama with fairy tales elements.

The first sentence from Flixster's own synopsis for "August Rush" shows exactly the essence of the movie and the reason why so many people (bitter people) has called this "corny", "cliche" and stuff like that. I think the movie is extremely sweet but it's not as corny or cheesy as, for example, "Forrest Gump" or "Titanic" or movies like that. I think it's a cute fairy tale about an orphan who stumbles into the world with a gift. Is the gift too far-fetched? Of course! But that's what's so wonderful about this one. It's a fantasy movie about music and coincidences in life, about love and about family.

So, why is this so great? Because "family movies" from some years til now have been hideous, boring and artificial instead of cute, sweet and compelling, just as "August Rush".

The music is simply extraordinary, both the score and the songs, and Jonathan Rhys Meyer's voice is really wonderful as it is his performance over all. He is, by far, the best in the movie and gives one of the most beautiful supporting performances of the year. Keri Russell goes a little bit for the melodramatic side of the movie and Freddie Highmore is everything we can expect from here and a little bit more.

It's so sad producers decided to have a "bankable" name for the movie and included Robin Williams in the cast in what has to be his worst and most annoying performance ever. Actually, I can think of at least 100 actors than can play the exact same Fagin-ish role with more guts and charm than Williams.

The good thing is that his character (along with his performance) is so simple and unimportant, he doesn't ruin the movie at all.

If your heart is cold enough to not love this wonderful film, just wait to the last scene: August's Rhapsody melts anything.

The most heartbreaking movie I've ever seen.

I loved how life suddenly isn't as "pink" as it was the first 30 minutes or so. Great touch from the cinematographer.

This is definitely so much more than people say. Beautiful and extraordinary.

It took me a while to see this one because I wasn't sure what to expect. I was excited about it and I bought it as soon as I found it but I kept waiting and waiting for the "right moment" to see it. I wish I hadn't wait.

What I loved so much about this film (but apparently not so many people understood) is how it manages to be cute and fresh even with its "touchy" subject. After all, it's not a film about hermaphroditism but about growing up with a body (or mind, or soul) that sometimes doesn't feel like us at all and it's actually a strong metaphor for adolescence along with a statement about the limits and horizons of sex and sexuality. Between Martin Piroyansky (Alvaro) and Ines Efron (Alex), the performances are so realistic and true that it feels not as if you were part of their lives but as if you were THEM! I specially found myself in Piroyansky's eyes and soul and the character and the actor per se were heartbreaking all the time. Ines Efron's haunting performance ranks as one of the most beautiful character developments of the year but I still stick to Martin Piroyansky and his gorgeous character and performance. The rest of the "grown-up" cast is also magnificent but they are always shadowed by the two teen leads.

Over all, the movie is technically flawless and the oh-so-Blue art direction is as beautiful as the story and screenplay. The music is haunting and subtle and the direction, by Lucia Puenzo, is fantastic. One of those directing jobs you can actually notice by seeing the movie.

It's sad that many people will feel disturbed by the movie because it has, after all, an hermaphrodite character dealing with issues beyond her maturity level (the line "Who are you to tell me what's possible or not?" is simply wonderful) and the people surrounding her coming to terms with what's "normal" and what's not.

The outstanding screenplay with witty dialogues full of sadness and lack of hope along with the two young lead actors (Efron and Piroyansky) and the art direction are the powerful tools this movie has to make an everlasting impression in everybody seeing it.

ANNOYING and UNFUNNY.

Powerful.

I expected so many things from it and it gave a lot more than I expected. It may be a little bit on the "experimental/amateur" side but that's not a bad thing. Jonathan Caouette had something to say about a touchy family issue and he has the guts to say it. But, against all expectations, this is not just a film about an ill mother but about growing up. It doesn't matter if Jonathan grew up in a sick environment, he turned out completely fine and mature as a result of it and that's the true spirit of the film: no matter how sick the world is, you can change it around you.

Or maybe even: that which doesn't kill me, can only make me stronger. Whatever the message of the film is, it's a powerful statement on how life sometimes is the most magnificent piece of art there is.

This film (or at least its history and trailer) inspired me to make my first shortfilm as I owned a Mac with iMovie and this movie was edited with that program and had a tremendous success. So I said: "Ey, what the hell? Right?"... and the rest is history...

I don't know if Josh Hartnett is actually capable to be a "leading man"... I'd go with "No!" just because I feel in the hands of another guy this would've been a really funny, yet stupid film, instead of a really stupid, kind of funny film.

At least he is capable to communicate his character's hilarious pain and stress. But between him (the new Keanu Reeves when it comes to not expressing anything with his face) and Shannyn Sossamon (not an actress but a DJ), the amount of bad acting in the movie was really painful... way more than avoiding sex for 40 days and 40 nights.

I was going to comment something about his constant erections... but let's leave it right there.

A masterpiece in the full meaning of the word. Unlike nowadays "masters" (Scorsese, Coppola, the Coens, and so many more), Truffaut didn't only deliver a technically flawless film in a cold, dry way but filled it with great emotion and a lot of soul. What's so wonderful about this movie is that it's not just a "Classic" film but a fun, heartbreaking movie for the ages that doesn't get old and influences many filmmakers nowadays (starting with Fernando Eimbcke and his homage to Truffaut: "Duck season")...

By the way, Jean-Pierre Léaud is simply too good to be true.

Words can't describe this one. You have to see it for yourself.

I could say it's shocking, disgusting, scary, exciting, campy, trashy, cool, weird, or whatever. But anything I say will be nothing compared with reality. Even knowing all the killing on screen is fake, you still feel horrible inside. But, thankfully, behind the controversy and the blood, there's a critic towards human behaviour.

By the way, the animals killed here are, in fact, real. That's probably the worst part.

I'm gonna give this one 4 stars for pushing the limits a little bit more than nowadays movies.

1979 was a crazy year...

Exciting enough.

Too bad it feels like a thousand other movies did exactly this screenplay a thousand times before. And too bad Jason Statham isn't as "badass" as he usually is in order to save movies like this one.
Good action sequences, an actually cool Wesley Snipes and tons of explosions. That's all.

My favorite screenplay of all time.

*Review coming soon*

Take a moment to think about all the things that the name "John Waters" brings to your mind.

Was it disgusting and outrageous?

Well, then you proved my point. I adore Waters' movies and I think he is a genius, but let's face it: the man has some wicked, crazy shit in his mind. That's part of his charm. So when I caught "Pecker" on TV last night, I had no idea what to expect. I didn't know I was face to face with Waters' most mature, focused, yet wicked movie ever. There's nothing gratuitous here, nothing shocking but the story of a young guy (Edward Furlong playing a nice kid, for a change) who lives in Baltimore (you saw that coming) and LOVES to take pictures. The variety of characters surrounding him inspire him every day to keep on taking pictures until one day at an art show in his sandwich store, an art dealer meets him and gets him to New York, where he becomes famous and ruins his entire life as soon as he gets back to Baltimore and the news of him becoming a successful photographer spread like a plague.

The cast is simply fantastic, no freaks here, but normal people from Waters' memories in Baltimore. For the first time in his filmography, it seems to me that he didn't just look at the people around him growing up for inspiration but at himself and the character seems John Waters' inspired, without, of course, making this an autobiography. The cinematography, by the way, it's wonderful and I think Baltimore never looked THIS good. The movie is compelling, cute, endearing and entertaining from start to finish (Am I really using THESE words to describe John Waters?!) and it shouldn't be missed for anything in the world.

Believe or not, John Waters is all about finding beauty and art in everyday life, in common people doing their own business. And Pecker (one of the most beautiful characters I've seen on film) is all about that too. His photographs may look depressing, marginal or shocking but he took them to remember the people around him and how they live every single day being obsessed with what they love and adore: sugar, gay men, fashion or laundry rules. And, once again, that's what John Waters is all about!! For the first time, I think his soul and heart, more than just his wicked mind, is everywhere in the picture.

"Pink Flamingos" may be for every John Waters fan his best movie but, for me, this one is his masterpiece. Focus and maturity, plus his usual wickedness create an splendid example of a great movie from a great filmmaker.

Back in 2001, "Scary Movie" was still fresh in our minds and that's why this one looked like an old joke already, and at the same time, as something that unexplicably excelled our expectations. It's hilarious at every single moment, original in its own unoriginality and brings back some of the most amazing memories of youth, from "The Breakfast Club" to "American Pie", instead of making gross, stupid, nonsense jokes it reminds us why cliches are always funny. Molly Ringwald's and Melissa Joan Hart's appearances are simply delicious. Besides, seeing so many actors in their first big role is fantastic. Chris Evans, Samm Levine and Jaime Pressly, just to name a few.

Yes, after all, it IS another teen movie... but how great it is!
(By great I mean HILARIOUS and ENTERTAINING, of course it's crap but chill out and enjoy it!)

Simply hypnotic.
Milo Addica's ability to create minimalistic screenplays ("Birth", "Monster's Ball", "The King") allows Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thornton, Heath Ledger, Peter Boyle and even P. Diddy to showcase their unique talents and wonderful performances.
One of the most haunting ensambles I've ever seen on screen.
It may look like a simple melodrama with a twist (by twist I mean "hardcore sex") but it's absolutely WAY more than that. Don't get fooled by the poster/DVD cover: Halle Berry is everything but glamorous in this, a career defining performance. I still believe in her, specially after seeing this.

Cloris Leachman and Paz Vega are definitely at the top of their game in this James L. Brooks melodrama, and the young (and talented) Shelbie Bruce and Sarah Steele give outstanding performances but the not-so-good Adam Sandler (even if he isn't THAT bad) and the annoying Téa Leoni (in one of the worst performances I've ever seen on film) along with the weird tone of the movie, between huge tearjerker social/family drama and light comedy feels out of place and proportion. The movie is not hilarious or extremely dramatic, so it's not good nor bad. It's just a movie that promised so many things but never got somewhere. Cloris, Paz and the girls save it a little bit but Téa Leoni is simply too awful to be true... I can't get over that.

3 stars for Grandma, Flor and the girls.

After a second (and third) view, I know what's the movie really about. Behind the inicial cool/blogger vibe, a warm, charming story awaits for those willing to see beyond the weird dialogue and the "light" sense of humour. It's not about being 2007's "indie flick that could", it's simply about being a compelling movie with wonderfully created characters and laughs/tears to share.

I don't know if this is the year's best movie or the best female performance (I save that title for Angelina Jolie) but it's not about that either! It's about love and enjoying life taking risks at every single step of the way.

I'm a Kraken from the Sea, by the way...

EDIT: I cried my eyes out when I saw it for the fourth time.

This is not a bad movie. If it was bad I would be really pissed about all the praise and love it's getting but "Titanic" this ain't.

So let's get down to business... I have the guts to say this out loud: This movie is OVERRATED! Not because it's bad, it's because it's not THAT good. It's exciting, thoughtful, the performances by Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and specially Kelly McDonald are flawless and delicious, the direction looks so mature and perfect it has nothing to criticize, and the cinematography is fine. So, what's the problem? It has no soul, no heart, no spice, nothing to make you feel happy, sad, on the verge of suicide, angry, pissed or anything close to any emotion! It's just a movie with flawless technique and that's it. That's a good thing but it's not as great as everybody says.

I don't know, maybe it was just me and my lack of real cinematic knowledge but I think that for a movie to be GREAT it has to make you feel something real, something that lasts for more than a day or two. Emotion. Not just positive emotions, maybe even anger or envy or I dunno... The thing is, this movie is cold and feels away from the audience. Maybe it's because it talks about destiny, future and age and stuff like that but I've seen movies about time and the end of life ("Space Cowboys", "The Notebook", "Something's gotta give"...) and they appeal to everybody, not just old people. So I don't think that's the problem. It just doesn't have any charm... it's just a technically flawless movie with great performances and great direction but without spark... without something that stays with you as soon as you leave the movie theatre.

I wanted to express my honest opinion. I may like some weird, not-that-good movies but I DO know when to admit a movie is great... and when it simply doesn't exceed its hype.

I'm seeing "Juno" and "There will be blood" next week but something tells me those actually go over the buzz and deliver something else... something real.

EDIT: One of my Flixster friends wrote a comment on this movie "explaining" some sort of theory about who the characters really are, or what their meaning was. I found that great and I think it gives me another point of view to this movie... but I still think that makes this movie "Good", probably even "Interesting" or "Cool"... but it stills bug me that they thinks this movie is God or something. It's just a good movie!! Stop already!!

*Review coming soon*

BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR.

There are several issues with this movie but I think, over all, the main flaw falls into just how disappointing the film is. It has everything to become a truly interesting, wonderful picture about music and hard life but it's simply too slow at some moments and too intense at others. The performances are not splendid except for the larger-than-life character development by Romain Duris, by far one of the most magnificent performances of the last years. His ability to hipnotize audiences with his charm and talent is uncanny and he deserves a better vehicle to show that. The movie is not bad, it's just not as good as it looked. I definitely don't regret renting it because I enjoyed Duris' performance and the music scenes but I'm unfortunately happy that I didn't catch this at the movie theatre... 3 stars for the marvelous performance, 1 star for being good over all... but not great.

*Review coming soon*

Hilarious!

One of the darkest black comedies I've ever seen. The screenplay is over all flawed and absolutely not perfect but it's an entertaining movie and we need some light, unpretentious entertainment in Mexico.

Definitely a nice option for a funny afternoon.

*Review coming soon*

I walked out from this one. It's the first time I have EVER done that... for real! I mean, when I see a movie on DVD or on TV and I can't stand it I turn it off but I've NEVER in my entire life decided to stand up and leave a movie theatre. Was it THAT bad? Not at all, it was actually really good, exciting, with some of the best visual effects I've ever seen. But the cinematography was simply too risky for me from the very first moment I laid eyes on the trailer... and, guess what? I was right. Just 6 minutes into the movie I was totally dizzy, I was on the verge of puking and I was freaking out. I suppose it was part of the effect JJ wanted you to be part of, you know, feeling desperate and confused. Call me old but I prefer movies you can sit down and enjoy. I didn't puke with "Dancer in the dark", or "Irreversible", or "Drama/Mex"... those movies actually worked for me. I just think this one was simply too... I don't know. I'm still dizzy.

I'm gonna try to comment it as if the movie was only 1 hour long (that's how much I resisted)... From the first second of film, the government warning, I was both pleasently surprised and totally disappointed. Surprised by the nice, full of rythm screenplay along with the good performances and the marvelous direction (take a good look at this one... THAT's directing...), but I was disappointed because for a long, long time I thought all the "unknown" faces were going to be actually UNknown. But I recognized almost every single member of the cast from TV series or other movies! Specially Lizzy Caplan who, of course, gives the best performance of the film, providing the dizziness with some comic relief and stressful anxiety. Other than that, I suppose I would've had to see it complete to write anything else.

I don't even know how to rate this. For me, it was a GREAT idea... but it felt like the worst movie ever whenever I was about to puke. I won't try seeing it again. EVER.

Ok, 0 stars for making me walk out from it... 4 stars for the performances... 5 stars for the visual effects... 3 stars for the movie over-all... let's leave it in 3, shall we?

I have no idea how to describe my feelings towards this one. The original, in my opinion, wasn't as good as everybody thinks. I think Sissy Spacek was flawless, mesmerizing and hypnotic. But the entire cast was not good, Piper Laurie was annoying and the movie over all was kind of lame. The remake, however, has a extraordinary performance by Angela Bettis, a nice cast, excellent visuals and just the right amount of changes to the novel and original movie to raise everything up and, over all, a fantastic performance by Patricia Clarkson, absolutely better than Piper Laurie, of course.

What should I think? I don't believe in that "respect" towards the original crap everybody barks about everytime a remake appears but, let's face it, this is a weird remake: who would remake "Carrie"?

Well, it worked for me. And very well, actually. Angela Bettis didn't make me forget about Spacek but Patricia Clarkson made me wish I could digitally insert her in the original or Spacek in the new one and make a hell-of-a-movie.

Sinfully delicious! Diane Keaton's performance is definitely wonderful, almost like magic or some kind of spell. The way she takes over the screen, scene by scene is simply surreal and heartbreaking. Every wink, every whisper, every word, every laugh, every tear. Jack & Diane are a marvelous couple but Diane gives a larger-than-life performance in this sweet, hilarious flick with no other important thing than Keaton's performance. Keanu and Amanda Peet sleep-walk through the film but the leads are great enough to compensate that. A must-see!

Ben Stiller's movies are usually hilarious (for example, "Dodgeball" or "Meet the Parents/Fockers") even if they feel stupid or illogic. But this one doesn't have that hilarity and it's actually pretty boring. Except for the funny Will Ferrell and the costume design, there's nothing good here... the only truly funny moment? The walkoff. Good stuff. Otherwise, the most boring comedy I've ever seen. I was expecting WAY more...

Of course it's not Larry Clark's best work and of course it's obviously not a great film but this one's definitely not a bad movie at all. Larry Clark has a style, maybe even an agenda, but he is, above all, a talented filmmaker and a wonderful director.

His directing abilities are put to the test in this, his fifth feature film (released on movie theatres) to date. Back when he made "Kids", he was lucky enough to find some of the greatest amateur actors any director could've found as most of them grew up to become talented full-time actors and the ones who didn't simply gave great performances without zero previous experience. After that, both "Bully" and "Ken Park" had some of the greatest young actors of their generation (Nick Stahl, Brad Renfro, Michael Pitt, Rachel Miner, James Ransone, among others) and they allowed Clark to develop a twist in his teen-exploitation opera prima: deeper characters and better screenplays. In "Wassup Rockers" he goes back to his roots using amateur actors in realistic, yet marginal, situations and takes, for the first time since 1995, the challenge of directing them and creating compelling, warm characters we can relate to. Unfortunately, he fails. The performances are, by far, the worst we have ever seen on one of his films and he doesn't manage to make his actors cross that line between "non-professional" and "amateur-with-chances-to-be-better" as he did with Rosario Dawson, Leo Fitzpatrick or the late Justin Pierce.

The plot is simple and very Larry-like: a group of latin skateboarders (from El Salvador and Guatemala, NOT from Mexico) cope with discrimination and crime in their own neighborhood and one day they decide to make a change in the scenery and take the bus to Beverly Hills with tragic consequences.

When a screenplay (or worse, the plot!) overshadows the direction and the performances, there's something wrong with your movie. Yes, the screenplay is great, some of dialogues are amazing (all the typical confussion from racist gringos asuming Mexican is the same as El Salvadorian or Guatemalian or whatever as if North American was the same as Canadian) and it has an absolutely cool cinematography and great soundtrack but you can't let go of the fact that the performances are not actual performances but kids repeating lines and there's nothing here to help you ignore that. It's a good example of Clark's style but it's not a good follow up for his previous masterpieces.

One thing is for sure: Janice Dickinson... BEST.CAMEO.EVER!

Brilliant!

It's a definitely unique movie in the jungle of the mexican movie industry. For no more than 4 years, mexican cinema has evolved to be inspired by the indie way of making movies: the characters are starting to evolve into human beings with flaws and awkwardness and the humour is silent and weird, nothing is obvious or predictable. Before this evolution, mexican filmmaking considered important to raise a warning about social issues and marginality, poor people struggling with reality and depressing scenarios. I think the best examples of how mexican directors care even more about their characters than the way they live or how poor they are, are "Duck Season" (2004) and this one, "Blue Eyelids" (2007)... If Wong Kar-Wai did a movie in Mexico, it would probably look a little bit like this one.

It's as indie as it can possibly get and it's full of moments to prove it: the characters are awkward and boring, the situations are uncomfortable, the humour is subtle and comes from the most unlikely moments of silence and the dialogues are dull and full of brightness. The movie tells the story of Marina and Victor, who probably met in Junior High School but they're now just a couple of strangers who share the most painful of diseases in big cities like Mexico City: loneliness. Marina wins a trip to a beautiful beach and decides she doesn't want to travel by herself but she has no one to call. That's where Victor, a lonely, boring insurance office worker pops into frame and, after deciding they are going to take the trip together, they start an awkward, surreal relationship to "know each other better" before going to the beach.

This movie has been slaughtered by some of the audience and critics who recognize the great moments and the excellent performances and direction but call the screenplay "too unrealistic" and the situations "too dull". The fact that they acknowledge this characteristics from the wonderful script (written by the director's brother) proves my theory on the New-New Mexican Cinema style (New-New because back in the early 90s there was a New Mexican Cinema, this one's different, so it's New-New) and shows how mexican audiences are not ready to fully enjoy an experience like this one. Anyways, it has been loved by everyone; with lots of excuses, but loved nevertheless. The characters are actually more realistic than they look and the whole movie makes you smile and feel in love... and awfully lonely at the same time. Gorgeous art direction and set decoration, along with one of the greatest cinematographies of last year, complete this wonderful piece of cinema that mustn't get lost in translation as loneliness and love are universal codes. Enjoy!

*Review coming soon*

*Review coming soon*

After waiting about 10 years to finally see this, I found it on the Internet and it was EVERYTHING I have expected: the heartbreaking truth behind being multi-ethnic as a struggling actor. Vin Diesel is a true talent that must be recognized as someone in desperate need of better screenplays and better opportunities to showcase his talents. The process of auditioning is always hysterical and sometimes even depressing and this shortfilm shows exactly that. But I actually thought that it wasn't so much about being multi-ethnic as it was about a guy who loves acting so damn much to keep on trying to break into the business, constantly letting everybody know who his inspirations are: from Brando to Denzel and Pacino, this character, based on the actual Vin, won't stop acting, even if sometimes he is "too black" and sometimes he is "too white".

Quoting his wonderful screenplay:
"My father didn't want me to be a black actor. He wanted me to go a step further and just be an Actor..."

Splendid. A must see. Look for it on YouTube, you won't regret it.

I could go the easy way and just leave it in "This movie sucks!" or "This is lame and boring!" but I think it deserves some credit for trying. Even if it tries a little bit too hard. I had my hopes on this one because I like Bardem's movies and I'm a mad, crazy fan of Unax Ugalde but it took me only about 3 minutes to realize it wasn't what I expected. Of course Javier Bardem and Giovanna Mezzogiorno (What an actress!) were glorious, along with a wonderful Fernanda Montenegro, the extraordinary (as always) Unax Ugalde and a cute appearence by Ana Claudia Talancon but the fact that all the flaws in the film distract the viewer from their great performances is something unforgivable. I think the main issue here is the fact that there's no unity between any of the elements of the film: the costume design wasn't great, neither was the cinematography or the art direction. The make-up was, by far, the worst make-up of the entire year: Mezzogiorno looked a hundred years younger than her own children! Her body as an old lady was actually a triumph in make-up tecniques but everything else was simply awful, as if the movie had a budget of $2.53 instead of being a Hollywood blockbuster... which it isn't. There's nothing outstanding, everything is simply acceptable, a Pass, without Honors. Shakira's songs were a nice touch but the music score itself lacks of any intensity or sense.

The crappiest thing about it is its essence: Garcia Marquez's books are full of magic mixed with reality, fantasy in everyday life. But there's nothing like that here: all the magic elements are not explicit or... well... magical. It feels like a regular, big-budget, Oscar-baity romantic drama with no spice or spark in it. It's also an awful adaptation from a book, no matter who wrote it: it feels long and it's slow and boring. I'm not stupid enough to immediatly disqualify a movie for being 3 hours long, but this one didn't know how to deal with so much running time. The screenwriter doesn't have a clue of how to adapt a book.

The 3 stars are for the leads: Unax, Giovanna and Javier Bardem. They saved the movie from being the worst crap of the year and made it just another disappointment... the biggest disappointment of 2007, hands down.

For true love between war and long years, go see "The Notebook". For real love in the actual time of cholera, go see "The Painted Veil".

It makes you smile.

I can't believe it took me so long to experience a Wes Anderon film but I'm glad it was this one. This is, by far, the best screenplay of 2007 and a great introduction to Anderson's body of work for anyone that wants to become a fan, just as I became one just a couple of minutes into the introductory short film, "Hotel Chevalier". The dialogues have so much flow that it's almost surreal. The words cut like knives and heal clumsily like drunken nurses. The eyes tell so many stories and there's so much dept in the characters that it's genius. Wes Anderson is a true filmmaker with such a unique vision and talent to tell wonderful, awkward stories. The three leads are simply marvelous. Adrien Brody is subtle and, by playing it slow and tender, it creates an even more-fucked-up character than using his usual gimmicks (not that there's a problem with his gimmicks) while Owen Wilson carries the whole film over his shoulders with cleverness. For a long time, I've thought that Jason Schwartzman is a little bit overrated. I mean, the boy has some nice talent but there are moments when he just keeps on recycling characters and he looks like an actor with no range at all. But I truly think that Wes Anderson is the right director for him: Schwartzman is incredible in this one and I suppose also in "Rushmore".

But the HUGE surprises come in the form of beautiful, gorgeous and talented women with almost no screen time at all. Amara Karan, playing "Rita", is simply fantastic; and Natalie Portman, in the introductory shortfilm gives such a mature performance is almost unbelievable. She shows an extraordinary range to play any characters she wants and the tomboy/rude/trashy ex-girlfriend-from-hell is one of the top moments of the film. But the thunder belongs to Anjelica Huston in the most extraordinary cameo of the year as the boys' mother. I knew she had to be somewhere in the film and she was simply flawless. The best character in the movie and the greatest performance.

It's a long, sometimes hilarious, sometimes tragic, sometimes a little bit too awkward journey that won't appeal to everyone but it's definitely one of the best movies of 2007 and by far one of the most underrated. Wes Anderson's style is mature, quirky and colorful and this movie is all that and even more. Anderson's fans will drool all over it and the newbies will fall in love with it but if for some reason you aren't sure if you will like it: take a chance, you won't regret it.

BTW, it's an excellent gift for your brothers and/or sisters. It's a family journey, after all.

An ocean full of glitter, drugs and blood. It's like watching the gayest ballet on Earth... on crack. It's wicked, twisted, sick, messy, crappy, wonderful and groundbreaking. The performances are magnificent and even if it IS Macaulay's movie, Seth Green steals his thunder with charm and elegance. The characters are fabulous and the screenplay takes you by the hand and goes nuts all over the place.

It's as great as the smile of a drag queen when somebody buys her a pair of stilettos for her birthday... with a brand-new Madonna wig on the side.

A dream.

It's over the top and everything but it's simply delicious to see where do "Rent", "Spring Awakening" and "Across the universe" have to pay tribute for their plots and character development. John Savage and Treat Williams give two of the best male performances I have ever seen in a musical and the music and lyrics are gorgeous. What a delightful movie! Who knew Beverly D'Angelo was HOT?

Better than I expected. It's extremely exciting and the cinematography is simply fantastic as it is Eugenio Caballero's production design. Technically flawless, a fun ride that makes us forget how awful the first and second parts were.

I admit it: I actually jumped out of my seat and screamed hysterically a couple of times. I mean, it has some good moments. Those 2 stars up there are for two really scary moments. But taking the EXACT SAME SCREENPLAY from the wonderful "28 days later" (but without Danny Boyle or Cillian Murphy) and call it "the new blockbuster with Will Smith" really pissed me off. I mean, when the dogs playing "Sam, the dog" steal the show from Will Smith it means there's something wrong with the movie, right? Those dogs were amazing! Best character in the entire movie, by far. I'm not being bitchy, Sam was a truly moving character, seriously.

Anyways, I will explain with details *possible spoilers but who cares?* when did the movie became the biggest crap of the year... here it goes:

First 30 minutes. Will Smith is all alone in the world because of some virus. He lives in deserted New York with his dog Sam. He has a routine he follows everyday to avoid losing his mind and dying. What's out there? Infected survivors that WILL kill him. They come out at night so he patrols during the day and secures himself at dawn. One day, poor Sam runs behind a deer into a dark basement. Big mistake. (Sounds creepy, right?) There's a colony of mutants in there and Will Smith is scared as shit to go inside. But he loves his dog. So he goes inside. Creepy dark place... creepy moments... creepy moments... he finds blood... creepier moments... you crap your pants... a flash of the mutants... you start to yell at the screen... he finds Sam... RUN! RUN!... HOLY SHIT! A MUTANT! AAAAAH!... They run like hell... They caught Will Smith! OH MY GOD! NO! They get to the exit, they go to broad day light and the mutant on his back dies because of the Sun... oh... wait... it's $2.50 CGI crap... And you start to laugh. The End.

Ok, kill me (with a chainsaw) but this is, by far, the most beautiful cinematography I've ever seen on film. Gorgeous from start to finish, along with a marvelous art direction/ set decoration and a wicked make up, it makes this otherwise "simple" movie become delicious to see. I know Jessica Biel is, well... Jessica Biel, but believe it or not she didn't annoy me at all. She isn't worse than she was in "The Illusionist"... or "I now pronounce you Chuck & Larry"... or... well, you get the idea. The movie isn't actually half bad, it's entertaining, exciting and filmed with flawless technique. So, why should I hate it? Because it's a remake and remakes are "always awful"? Because it has Jessica Biel in it? (That's a good point but no) Because it has teens being slaughtered? (So did the original) Because the original is a cult classic and everybody loves it to death? (I haven't seen it)

"Taste" is as random as a roulette and my taste, which I think it's kind of nice, tells me to go for it and simply LOVE this movie for what it is: a cool film with the best cinematography and production design ever. Marcus Nispel knows what the hell he is doing, and this is how we get to the point where "Alice" gets me more excited than before.

4 stars for the flawless tecnique.

I liked it. I liked it because I like movies that don't take themselves too seriously and this is one of the best examples of that I've seen in a very long time. It's not REALLY scary, it's not even creepy but it's definitely entertaining, funny and good. John Cusack gives his, YES, best performance to date as a fictional Stephen King in a movie based on a story written by Stephen King about a guy who is absolutely Stephen King. This year, two movies tried to pull off an Oedekerk and featured one actor all alone for almost the entire film: "I am legend" and this one (and maybe "Sleuth" but that's a HardCandy not an Oedekerk). Well, Cusack is a just good enough actor to pull it off. Smith isn't. But back to the movie, go see it. You won't actually regret it because it takes you on a fun ride by taking every single freakin trick and gimmick in the goddamn book and puts them all together around a cinical, hilarious character: now, that's cool. All the haunted houses, ghosts, bleeding walls, babies crying, creepy ladies, gory photos and mysterious guys that know more than they tell you are here: packed in an "Evil fuckin room" (best line of the year, really)... Ok, ok, after the first hour or so, it flops. And terribly. It gets too "weird" for a blockbuster, fun movie. But who cares? It's still fun. And the art direction is just glorious, even Oscar-worthy (yeah, I said it). Goes right below "Misery", "Stand by me", "The Green Mile", "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Shinning" as the best adaptations of a Stephen King story. And that's a lot.

You won't believe your guts when you laugh over and over again while seeing this. You'll be like "What the...? Why am I laughing? I have to hate this!" but you have to admit it: Amy Heckerling sure knows how to create hilarious films out of tricky, cliche subjects. Just as she did in "Clueless" (she sure loves Paul Rudd), she takes a plot that scares most of the possible audience away and creates some funny, cute, tender moments with not much complicated stuff and a lot of good performances. Paul Rudd just got to the top of my list as my favorite comic actor ever, he is charming, really funny, cute, talented and did I say funny? Because he is REALLY funny. Pfeiffer is good, her comeback is better than Basinger's in 2005 and WAY better than Jane Fonda's in 2006. Between "Hairspray", "Stardust" and this one, she reminds us why we used to love her so much. Tracey Ullman is annoying but funny, just as she is and Fred Willard is... ok, who am I kidding? I need to cut to the chase: Saoirse Ronan is the next HUGE thing. The girl CAN act, she is an accomplished singer and, who knew? she is HILARIOUS! She gives a terrific performance (yes: terrific) in what is The Saoirse Year. Between "Atonement" and this one, this beautiful girl sure knew how to start a career. She steals the show with her versions of "Oops I did it again" and "Ironic" that will make you pee in your pants! She is the best-in-show along with the wonderful Paul Rudd.

2007: what a great year for comedies!

Angelina Jolie can't be called a "good actress" per se, as she usually makes crappy (REALLY crappy) movies and gives a good performance every decade. But how couldn't you love her performance beyond every reasonable doubt? Ms Jolie gives some freakin lessons on acting as Mr Winterbottom kicks ass with his extraordinary direction in this intense story based on the tragic event on Mariane Pearl's life. The entire cast gives great performances as an intense political/kidnapping thriller flows with such excitement that it's impossible not to feel moved by every scene, even if you know how it ends (as you've probably known for 5 years)... Winterbottom reveals himself, once again, as one of the greatest storytellers today and Angelina Jolie gives, by far, the best performance of 2007 without crying in the corners, yelling and smashing things every single scene, doing crappy soft voices to the ear of someone. No. This, with the help of Winterbottom and the cast, feels as real as the best documentary. Everything you see is realistic and tragic, no melodrama, no impossible reactions. That's what makes this such a horrifying, yet beautiful, film. You don't need to have deep thoughts about the world and the war after seeing it... but you will definitely have them.

I reee-eh-lly thought for a long time that this was way overrated but it is actually one of the most beautiful love stories ever told on film. Ryan Gosling's performance carries the entire movie and makes everyone realize why he is one of the greatest actor of his generation if not the greatest. Rowlands and Garner are, of course, marvelous and McAdams is actually kind of annoying but there's a lot of talent in her, you can tell. Cassavetes is truly a great actors' director and pulls the best out of his entire cast. Of course it's a little bit unrealistic as most love stories are. After all, the melodramatic, extremely sweet and tragic passion and infatuation of a poor-boy/rich-girl relationship HAS to be as unrealistic as it sounds but Cassavetes and the cast manage to turn things out of cliché and make a truly remarkable screenplay work as if no other love story has ever been told before this one. I'm in love with this movie.

Cage's performance is awfully annoying. The movie is boring and painful to watch thanks to Cage's stupid, disgusting accent. And Penelope should stick to her own language as her best performances are in spanish and her worst works are always in english.