berdan3000

No new reviews. Rate some more movies.

• 
  I recommend you see...

  Elisa antes del fin del mundo(Elisa Before the End of the World)

  by Félix

  So many people away from the movie business are thrown off by this film (because critics actually loved it, which explains the 7 Ariel nominations including Best Picture and Best Actress in 1997) and I think the fact that Televicine (a production company derived from Televisa, the TV mogul in Mexico) produces it and the telenovela-esque cinematography (which is awful even for one of the greatest cinematographers in Mexico, Arturo de la Rosa) created a bad reputation for the poor thing, including, of course, the afternoon screenings on public TV.
  
  So, if you decide to give this film a try, believe me: you won't regret it.
  
  Considering the production company and the famous child actors involved in the film, the already dark plotline became even weirder and tastier than expected: a 10 year-old girl plans a bank robbery to save her parents from debt and prepares herself, with the help of a younger neighbor and a rebelious teenager, for the imminent end of the world by breeding cockroaches for food, among extremely raw conversations between kids who actually see beyond the veil of fake happiness adults put in front of them.
  
  One wonderful thing about the plot, which may help a lot of people hating mexican cinema to come closer to this movie, is that it focuses on the middle-class money issues, far away from the cliché marginal-focused movies made in our country. A different point of view that is more familiar to the majority of people instead of upper class movies or poverty movies.
  
  The acting is real and the character development has a delicious depth. The three lead actors support the whole movie casting a shadow over the grown-ups (including one of the greatest mexican actress today, Susana Zabaleta, who is kind of stiff here) and creating a movie for themselves, just like the characters create a world appart from reality and boredom.
  
  The ending isn't as shocking as some people may think but it hurts, it has a flawless directing and a truly fantastic camera work (considering the awful cinematography) and it's an ironic, painful, cruel way to punish the characters: by confronting them with reality... that same reality they hate and avoid and that comes back to hunt them and making them pay for their obliviousness.
  
  Yes, it doesn't look as deep as I say but believe me, it is.
  
  Forget all you know about the two leads (one-word-name-actors Sherlyn and Imanol) and their awful soap-opera careers and give it a try.

  mistershinobi

  It is not a soap-opera... trust me! :)

  posted 1 hour ago
• 
  I recommend you see...

  La Zona

  by Félix

  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.

  mistershinobi

  I don't know if I've already recommended it but since my good ol' friend Divinetrash "felt the love" I will celebrate that with my own review on one of the greatest thrillers of mexican cinema.
  
  
  

  :)
  
  
  

  Exciting to say the least.
  
  
  

  posted 3 days ago
• 
  I recommend you see...

  40 días

  by Félix

  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.
  
  I mean, of course I'm going to see it and I will probably like it a lot but it IS artsy.
  
  A good thing? The cinematography is great but, ey, which mexican movie of the past 10 years hasn't had a great cinematography?
  
  See the trailer here in Flixster.
  
  We have a word for this kind of movies in spanish: MAMONA. And this is the Queen.

  mistershinobi

  The most pretentious trailer I've ever seen.
  

  El trailer más pretencioso (y MAMÓN pero no sé como escribirlo en inglés) que he visto en mi vida.
  

  Wo bu ai zhe ge dianying!!
  

  <object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/a9TQ8GWBhjk&hl=en&fs=1"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/></object>
  
  

  posted 15 days ago
• 
  I recommend you see...

  Ópera

  by Félix

  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?

  mistershinobi

  You all know how much I ADOOOORE slow paced movies, specially if they're mexican and low-budget. I love the poetry of a sunset, a car on the highway, walking through the subway feeling all alone.
  
  So, when I say this is a BOOOORING movie, trust me, you must avoid this like a Tijuana whore carrying your unborn child!!
  
  If Carlos Reygadas inspires so many mexican directors nowadays, this isn't a homage, this is a parody.

  posted 20 days ago
• 
  I recommend you see...

  The Bubble (Ha Buah)

  by Félix

  "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)

  mistershinobi

  Not your average LGBT film, trust me.
  
  Gay or straight, you MUST see this!

  posted 24 days ago
• 
  I recommend you see...

  Frankenweenie

  by Félix

  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.

  mistershinobi

  I know most of you have seen this but I wanted you to know how much I loved this!!
  :)
  
  I truly think Burton's first works ("Vincent" and "Frankenweenie") are in his top 5 movies.
  
  For those of you with the "NON INTERESTED" tag on this one, feel free to give it a try: you won't regret spending 29 minutes of your life in Burton's most beautiful film.
  
  I am excited for the remake because he is doing it himself but I hope he stays true to the main element that makes "Frankenweenie" so awesome: the homage to Frankestein.

  posted 41 days ago
• 
  I recommend you see...

  Aro Tolbukhin. En la mente del asesino (Aro Tolbukhin) (Aro Tolbukhin in the Mind of a Killer)

  by Félix

  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.

  mistershinobi

  sorry for the long review.
  
  Go see it on DVD, it's rewarding and beautiful in so many ways you won't even believe.
  
  By far, Aro Tolbukhin is one of the most amazing male characters on film in recent years.

  posted 42 days ago
• 
  I recommend you see...

  The Ruins

  by Brandy

  A couple of really gory scenes. The threat was unreal and stupid.

  caseyandallen

  Hey, don't see this!

  posted 45 days ago
• 
  reneltorres

  hello

  posted 48 days ago
• 
  I recommend you see...

  Wanted

  by Félix

  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?
  
  :)

  mistershinobi

  Did anyone else feel the NEED to shout "Brioooony!!" everytime McAvoy shouted "Sloaaaaan!!"??
  
  Hahahaha XD
  I did!

  posted 56 days ago
• 
  I recommend you see...

  Mirrors

  by Brandy

  Freakin' scary!!!!! I loved this movie. It's a must see. Everyone in the theatre was screaming. I hate the end though, it's not fair. I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight!

  caseyandallen

  Hey, you should really see this!

  posted 57 days ago

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