Falling In Love

I could easily say that Falling In Love was a complete waste of two major talents. This movie is plain, stereotyped and even maybe a little boring, too long for what it had to offer. Now, that's a fact. But I can't say it was a waste watching Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro interact. They had a sparkling chemistry and they portrayed their characters beautifully.

So, despite its one-dimensional plot, I actually enjoyed this film.

My Fair Lady

Could you go more classic than this? After seeing Hairspray, you begin to wonder why musicals can't be more like older ones such as My Fair Lady?

With real performers on screen, memorable songs and a real argument, nor randomly put together songs. And! actual acting. Remember Audrey Hepburn's crying scene in which she throws a slipper to Rex Harrison? And that was in a musical.

Remember "All I want is a room somewhere, Far away from the cold night air. With one enormous chair, Aow, wouldn't it be loverly? Lots of choc'lates for me to eat, Lots of coal makin' lots of 'eat. Warm face, warm 'ands, warm feet, Aow, wouldn't it be loverly?"? That's memorable. The moment the movie ends you find yourself singing all the songs out loud. That's the effect a musical is supossed to have on the spectators.

Plus, I laughed, I cried, I had my eyes fixed on the screen during the whole 170 minutes. That's a classic. Audrey Hepburn. Rex Harrison. Now, that's a classic.

Hairspray

Seriously, what the Hell is this?

You Americans trying to show the world how tolerant and including you are when it were you, yourself who excluded and discriminated in the first place. And you still do. So don't give me that "we're all the same no matter the skin color" crap, 'cause I don't buy it, no matter how many black presidents get elected. You fill your mouths with feel-good songs about racism and equality sung by black or obese people and then you go and build a wall separating yourselves with the Latin community. And on top of that, you make it seem as if inclusion was easy. You know what? Go to Hell! I don't generalize, it's just that it's things like this Hairspray crap that trully gets me.

Please! Could you have tried any harder to demonstrate that you're fine with differences? I mean, white people are, unless they are grossly fat and/or in Barney-drag, ugly racists of the worst kind, but black people are just the absolute best folk ever with not a mean bone in their bodies. So IF this is not offending for black people, it MUST be for white people, without a doubt.

Anyway, even on top of the racism, this movie isn't even funny. I didn't laugh. Not even once. And I thought it was supossed to be a comedy. I just found it pointless, boring and stupid. Plus, the songs aren't even slightly memorable, if you asked me I wouldn't be able to sing not even one verse of neither of the songs. Neither are the choreographies. Hairspray ain't cute or entertaining: it is cultural pollution and an expression of the most thoroughly loathsome values.

The cast is not even average. It doesn't ensemble, it doesn't deliver, it doesn't perform. It's plain. I mean, Amanda Bynes? Zac Efron? Brittany Snow? James Mardsen? Queen Latifah? Could you have gone for people with LESS personality? And John Travolta is simply pityful trying to be funny in a fat woman's costume. That annoying voice and way of speaking, annoying movements and facial expression. I found him completely painful to watch. That shows how even good actors can't portray in such a crappy movie. No matter how good they are. It's the case of Christopher Walken and Jerry Stiller. Michelle Pfeiffer is the only one who actually delivers a respectable performance, revealing a hiden talent of hers: singing.

Finally, the only thin I can rescue is Nikki Blonsky and her enthusiasm. She's actually likeable and shows on screen charisma. And maybe the wardrobe.

Don't go near this movie. It's painful to watch and a big fat (excuse the choice of words) yawn.

Le Placard

Hilarious!

I think it's the smartest comedy I've ever seen. Believe me, after seeing this you'll understand why I depise American comedies so desperately, except for maybe a few exceptions. This film makes you wonder WHY ON EARTH no filmaker finds anything to write in a comedy besides: boy meets girl, boy and girl hate each other, boy and girl are forced to get to know each other, boy and girl realise they misunderstood each other, boy and girl end up together with a romantic, closing kiss. That mixed with a few typical, ordinary jokes and stereotyped characters.

This here is a complete twist to that structure, so if you're one of those Hollywood romantic comedy fans, just watch Le Placard.

The Constant Gardener

Wow. It's all I can say. It's been a long time since I saw a trully great, commited film like this one. The plot convines love, drama, political and social issues and mystery, everything that a film needs to be considered good. It's a moving, complex storyline that catches the spectator since the very first scene... or even since the opening credits by seeing so many famous names. In the end I found myself crying, but I didn't know if it was because of the tragic love story or the cruel reality of the African population and how the rest of the world takes advantade of it. That's what made me say 'wow'. I'm completely amazed and I found a whole new meaning in cinema.

On the other hand, the flawless performances were indespensable for the final achievement, the one that made me cry. If Ralph Fiennes is flawless then Rachel Weisz is beyond words. And the two of them convined... well, I guess that leaves me speechless. Dear God! I also found a whole knew meaning in acting, to tell the truth. Rachel Weisz plays Tessa with such core, such heart, such emotion and such determination, she disappeared completely in the role, she became possessed by Tessa's cause. Ralph Fiennes shows great emotion as well, and delivers a trully great performance, but it's undoubtly Weisz who shines in this film.

Technically, The Constant Gardener is excellence. Beautiful to watch, despite the sadness of the images of African villages. The director catched the beauty of Weisz in an espectacular way, with close ups and several other shots. The scenes when Justin sort of imagines Tessa being alive beside him are not only heartbreaking but incredibly beautifully achieved. The music is just boundlessly moving and it's almost imperceptible.

The Constant Gardener is perfect in every level and in every aspect of the word. Eleven out of ten!

Greatest Actors, Greatest Inspirations

We all know Meryl Streep is the greatest actress of all times. But sometimes it is not clear why. Since she's my ultimate role model, I feel the necessity to number those reasons, synthetizing as much as I can:

1- Her constant mutation from role to role.
She is always re-inventing herself, unlike many actors she has never played one role twice. Just watch Sophie's Choice and Silkwood and start wondering how did she mutate so fastly from one role to another when they are so extremely different. Then watch The Bridges Of Madison County and Marvin's Room. In both movies she plays a mother BUT it's amazing how different they are, and there's only one year difference between the releases of the two films. Watch The Hours and The Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia!. Or just watch Angels in America where she plays four roles. Then tell me she doesn't mutate.

2- She's multitalented.
She can do everything. Even at her age, we find her singing and dancing in many movies. And she does it greatly. We can even find her jumping on beds! Just watch Mamma Mia!, A Praire Home Companion and Postcards From The Edge. The best part is, she even sings differently according to the character she's playing!

3- You forget you're watching Meryl Streep.
Unlike most actors, Meryl completely submerges in the character. When you watch Kramer vs. Kramer, you're watching Joanna Kramer, not Meryl Streep. When you watch The Devil Wears Prada, you're watching Miranda Priestly, not Meryl Streep. When you watch Adaptation, you're watching Susan Orlean, not Meryl Streep. When you watch Ironweed, you're watching Helen Archer, not Meryl Streep. You're not watching an actor randomly doing stuff, pretending to be somebody, you actually see the character and you forget even Meryl's name.

4- She can manage to do absolutely any accent.
That's been alredy clarified. She can do Polish, she can do Dannish, she can do English, she can do Southern, anything, you name it. She can even do Bronx! Just watch her on The Ellen Degeneres Show ;)

5- She's so commited to her work.
She would always do anything in her power to become attached to the character and to learn how to portray it. She would do all the research needed and she would even learn Polish, even if it would not be useful for her because she'd later forget it. And most importantly, she's very responsible and always tries to grow the best atmosphere possible on set, with the rest of the cast and crew. (I know this only for references, but it's true!)

6- She's very natural.
Her dialogue doesn't seem rehearsed or forced. It just comes out naturally again, as if she truly was the character, deeply involved in the situation of the scene. It's always as if she's improvising.

7- Her roles are very demanding and clever.
Most of the times, she chooses demanding roles in intelligent films. She has done some light comedies greatly of course, but in drama she's just breathtaking. She constantly makes smart choices for her career.

8- She's down to earth.
Behind cameras, she's a lovely and kind woman who doesn't take advantage of her celebrity status, and she could really do that. Even though she holds the record in awards, she doesn't even consider herself a star! She treats everybody, including her outrageous fans, kindly as if she was one regular person as well.

9- She's a devoted mother and wife.
She's been married for thirty years with Don Gummer and has four children. Many co-stars talk very good about her parenting skills and say she has an enourmous mothering instinct that shows in her relationship with everybody.

10- Her signature gestures.
This shows her overwhelming personality and also gives more humanity to her characters. In each role she plays there's always one of her signature gestures that apparently come out naturally. Some of them are the lip tap, the temple scratch, etc.

11- She knows what she does.
Whenever you see her on an interview you learn more about acting. She shows a real knowledge about acting, but at the same time she shows that she does not do everything technically and that many things about acting are pure emotion, and there's absolutely no way to describe it. With her Inside The Actor's Studio interview, I learned more about acting than with any other, or from any other source, really.

12- She loves what she does.
It shows. It shows in her performances, in her interviews, in her constant enthusiasm, energy, willpower and commitment.


Next: Marlon Brando.

Across The Universe

Yes, it's somewhat rambling.

Yes, some versions of The Beatles songs are bad.

Yes, there are too many songs (although, I couldn't disagree more with this argument, you can NEVER get enough of The Bealtes!).

But I loved it. It's a very lovely story, very well and beautifully made, colorful, well acted, entretaining, touching both cheesily with a young love story and nostalgically with harsh subjects such as Vietnam and the revolution. You must admit is has potencial. It has all you can ask for. I was very disappointed in many versions of the songs such as 'Oh Darling', 'I Want To Hold Your Hand', and many others. And sad they didn't include 'Sexy Sadie'. Well, not sad... just surprised, given that there's a character named Sadie, you would expect that.

The story is very coherent actually, despite the rambling, and it's extremely beautiful. Nevertheless, the rambling has a signification, so it's not really rambling, but it can sometimes take your attention away of the truly important thing.

It's clearly a visual feast and it's also very entretaining despite the enormous ammount of songs. The performances are great, a very talented young cast, I absolutely adored Jim Stugess. Evan Rachel Wood and Joe Anderson really surprised me, too. It also has one of the greatest cameos in the history of cinema, which was Bono's. I just love him, and he was excellent and absolutely stunning singing 'I Am The Walrus', and in the closing credits performing 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds', with his beautiful, beautiful voice.

Across The Universe it's a must-see. One of the best American musicals (I say American because, let's face it, it has nothing to do with Fellini, I mean, you really can't compare, but you also can't base your critics in comparisons, can you?)

If I fell

If I fell in love with you would you promise to be true and help me understand. 'Cause I've been in love before and I found that love was more than just holding hands.
If I give my heart to you I must be sure from the very start that you would love me more than her. If I trust in you, oh please, don't run and hide. If I love you too, oh please, don't hurt my pride like her 'cause I couldn't stand the pain and I will be sad if our new love was in vain. So I hope you see that I would love to love you and that she will cry when she learns we are true.
If I fell in love with you...

Apologize

Sorry for the absence. I guess I'm saying sorry to myself because no one read my posts, but that's okay.
Movies I've seen lately:

The Bridges Of Madison County (*****)

It was lovely. Clint Eastwood is certainly not my favourite director, but this movie was completely different. Surprisingly, it wasn't because of Meryl Streep's precense, who tends to make every movie great, even if it sucks, she lighted up the film, definitely, but the film itself was great. I loved the storyline, it was very powerful, and even though the filmaking is average, usual in Eastwood's films, it didn't need more. Loved it.

The Aviator (****)

I wouldn't have sit through three hours and a half it it hadn't been really good. Visually, it was a feast: great costumes, great make up highlighting the best of the golden Hollywood years, great scenery, great special effects. As far as performances: Leonardo DiCaprio was excellent, the rest were average, including Cate Blanchett's Oscar winning. Actually hated Cate Blanchett, she had some good moments, but overall, it was crap. The movie captured perfectly Howard Hughes powerful and interesting life, Hollywood at its best years and the corruption and complexity of aviation bussiness, and made it in an elegant and tasteful way.

Nights in Rodanthe (*)

This movie was a complete failure. And could have been so much better. I think the first mistake was casting dreadful Diane Lane. She was overacted, nervious and unnatural in every single scene. Viola Davis and the girl who played Lane's daughter looked also very uncomfortable on screen. It was actually painful to watch. Richard Gere gave all his character and the poor screenplay could give, he was great. The second one were the writers. It was the worst screenplay I've seen in years. Each line felt uncomplete, unnecessary and forced. And some were just ridiculous. It's a Nicholas Sparks' book, c'mon, you could have done so much better! I never felt attached to the characters, nor I felt connected with the story. It was dreadful.

Adaptation. (*****)

This movie is sooo underrated! I found it original, catchy, well-written, well-acted, funny, seriously themed, just great. And I found new respect for Nicholas Cage. It simply managed to kept me watching, excited in every scene, totally wrapped in the story. Meryl Streep is my acting goddess, she can do no bad. Great movie.

The Strangers (*)

It's hard, but you can make good horror movies, I mean, look at Hitchcoch! The Strangers was simply poor. I jumped out of my seat several times, but that was because of the sudden noise, the movie didn't create a scary atmosphere. Plus, horror movies are not just fear! It had no character developtment, no real plot... it was awful. Liv Tyler is fucking gorgeous, the only good thing about the movie.

All That Jazz (****)

Stunning! Loved the catchy songs, the wonderful choreographies, the originality, the acting. One of the greatest musicals ever made.

Closer (****)

Many people find it boring, I found it completely absorving. I don't know, but I find human relationship the most intriguing thing in the world. Many people say nothing happens, I think lots of things happen! I mean, throughout the movie, there isn't one moment where nothing happens! Many people say it doesn't leave any message, I tell them it's not supposed to leave any message, it's propuse is merely telling a story about casualities and human nature. I think the most important things you have to pay attention while watching Closer are the wonderful, wonderful, amazing screenplay, one of the best I've seen, actually, every word is carefully chosen; and the acting, I mean, the way those actors deliver those words could easily be unnatural, but is perfect, it's just so organic, the words just flow. Great movie.

Manhattan (***)

Really cute, but once you've seen so many Woody Allen movies, they start seeming all the same, you know all the jokes and their outcomes, it looses its magic. I should have seen this movie earlier, that's the problem.

Georgia Rule (*)

It tries to be good, but it tries too hard. Adding so many drama, it just seems a soup opera. And Lindsay Lohan's dreadful unnatural performance, certainly does not help.

Moulin Rouge!

This film is simply genious and one of the best I've ever seen. Filled with originality and esthetic, it manages to do what many films can't: It's at the same time funny and sad and it's an artistic creation but it's also a very comercial and entretaining musical.

It's visually magnificent, a real feast for the eyes: the colorful and stunning costumes and scenery, the eye-catching make-up and hairstyles and the emphasized color red, make this film's esthetic one of the best in cinema history, at least in my opinion.

Another great and original fact, is that the songs are already known by the spectator, yes, the rythm is changed and sometimes they make a kind of popurri, but we all know the lyrics of Like A Virgin or Your Song, don't we? So, that's a great appealing too. What I found extremely original about this is that they made an extravagant love story out of already written songs, I believe that's never been done, not that I recall (oh well, except for Mamma Mia!, but that's based on a stage play).

The performances are outstanding. Ewan McGregor is absolutely delightful and I seriously can't believe he didn't get an Oscar nomination. He manages to portray a character who's in love with love and don't be cheesy or cloying but instead, completely adorable, and that's extremely hard. He also sings very well and, I know it's disrespectful, but he's absolutely gorgeous.

Nicole Kidman is amazing as well. Her voice is one of the bests of Hollywood and she uses it extremely well. Satine is not necessarily a loveable character and yet she makes us not only symphatize with her but also love her. She should've won that Oscar.

Moulin Rouge! it's already a classic, one of contemporary cinema's masterpieces.

Dan In Real Life

Dan In Real Life is good, but nothing special. It's an entretaining costumbrist flick that has some highlights but at moments it's quite poor, meaning predictable and with disagreeable typicall American humour. I think it tries to find originality and to escape from that awful type of American comedies, and sometimes it reachs that level but sometimes it falls down again and fails. No matter how hard it tries, the plot screams American comedy, it's barely saved by a quite good screenplay and excellent performances.

Steve Carell is sweetly normal and geeky. I really think it overcomes his performance in The Fourty Year Old Virgin and it reaches the level of the one in Little Miss Sunshine. You sympathize enourmously with him and, despite his mistakes, he kind of grows in you. In one word: loveable geek.

No less can be expected from Juliette Binoche. She's one of my favourite actresses and I think her performance in this movie is great. She manages to portray a simple yet captivating woman who you kind of fall in love with at the beginning of the film and no matter how many mistakes she makes you never fall out of love with her.

The good (or bad...) thing about this movie is that it's simple. As simple as its characters, its storyline and its humour. The bad (or good...) thing is that it often tries to be avant garde or clever and it fails. I enjoyed it, but for my taste I think it needs to polish up a little more.

I Could Never Be Your Woman

A bit cliched and naive but for an American romantic comedy, very nice indeed. It had some original features and the performances were very good.

Paul Rudd is amazing, better than I remembered him from Friends, and his chemistry with Michelle Pfeiffer is very cute. She's stunning, as always. The mother and daughter relationship is also very well portrayed, Saoirse Ronan prooves she's a very promising young actress, playing the smart, just precocious and innocent enough without being too artificially sweet which is very hard to achieve.

The film is very well written, it has some very clever and witty lines convined with the perfect ammount of lightness and self parody of Clueless.

If you don't expect a masterpiece and just don't take it to seriously, only for what it is and what it can offer: no more, no less, it is a very ejoyable film that can be watched with the whole family.

The Hours

Suicide, lesbianism, feminism, mental issues, AIDS, family abandonment. Pretty tough themes for such a tastefully done movie.

The originality of this film layed on the continuity of the three stories, the connections, both in what happened to them and what they did as well as how it was cinematographically achieved by camera work, screenplay and storyline.

The performances are almost all excellent. My dearest Meryl Streep cannot be bad, never ever, absolutely never. She's stunning, in a role I wouldn't have imagined for her, I really admire the way she mutates from character to character and just how versatile she is. I had never pictured her as a lesbian (or rather bisexual) for instance, and though she's such a lady, in this movie she plays a very vulgar woman with a very vulgar life. Nicole Kidman, though, is the real revelation in this film. Her Virginia Woolf is very, very well achieved, not trying to imitate her, but portraying her own version of the acclaimed writer. And the best part is, I forgot I was watching Nicole Kidman, I was actually thinking of her as Virginia Woolf, and that's a consequence of her stunning performance and that hideous nose prosthesis. It was with Julianne Moore's performance I had trouble. I don't think it was believable enough, I think she's a mannered, vain camera searcher. She's thinking about how she looks on camera and what will they say about her rather than concentrating on the portrayal of the character. The rest of the cast works perfectly as an ensemble.

I have not read Michael Cunningham's novel, but I have read Mrs Dalloway, and I found the making so amazing, how the integrated the story to three different time periods. I'm also familiar with Woolf's life, so I found this film very touching.

Out Of Africa

Magnificent in every aspect of the word.

From the breathtaking photography of the African landscape to the outstanding performances and the stunning score, this film is a ten.

I think the most emotional thing of the film and what probably made me broke into tears (of course, being already collapsed by the touching story) was seeing so much beauty together. It is so well made and absolutely beautiful to watch, the colors, the camera work, the landscapes, the cinematogrphy, the art direction, the costume design. All perfect.

And of course, the beauty doesn't end there. A young and gorgeous Meryl Streep is the perfect ingredient to convine with such landscapes. She is absolutely stunning, I was blown away, not only because of her unequalled beauty, but by her flawless performance. And her on-screen chemistry with the handsome Robert Redford couldn't get any hotter. He made me melt.

The final touch is the sweeping soundtrack, probably the best of the decade, filled with the greatest musician of all times: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Tears were pouring of my eyes, the whole convination is a delightful, emotional, breathtaking banquet.

PS: I love you Meryl (L)

The Jane Austen Book Club

Bravo!

What I liked the most about The Jane Austen Book Club was that even though each character represented one Jane Austen's book characters (Bernadette represents Mrs. Gardiner from Pride And Prejudice, Sylvia represents Fanny Price from Mansfield Park, Jocelyn is Emma from the so called novel, Prudie is Anne Elliot from Persuassion, Allegra is like Marianne from Sense And Sensibility and Grigg represents all Jane Austen's misunderstood male characters), and the resemblance is quite obvious given that each one leads the meeting of the book from which they represent a character, they could actually relate to all Austen's stories and characters, they did not follow the archetype completely and lineally. And what I found exceptional was that they expierenced similar things of the books they were reading at the very moment, like they learned from Austen's stories and they felt related and deeply touched, scarely mirrord in 18th century situations, three hundred years later.

It might seem like a chick fick, but it actually has got a complex plot and complex characters. If you haven't read any of Jane Austen's novels, then you'll find it cliched and boring, because you won't be able to see the "hiden" content, the little pearl that makes this movie special: the intertextualities.

But it's not a modernized collection of Jane Austen's stories, the resemblance between the characters is more like symbolism because they don't completely live their character's story, each member of the club expierences similar situations from all the books, not only the one they represent, and they all have personality features from many other Austen's characters.

I really loved the cast as an ensemble, they had great chemistry. But it was Emily Blunt's performance which stunned me the most. She really convinced me of her emotional contrasts and of her believe of being beyond the ordinary. Hugh Dancy is gorgeous and very promising, and he does great in this film. Maria Bello, Maggie Grace and Kathy Baker were in my favourites too.

Wonderful, underated movie.

FYI: The director/writer, Robin Swicord, is the writer of the upcoming film: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, which looks very promising and I'm dying to see. She also wrote the screenplays for Matilda, Memoirs Of A Geisha, The Perez Family and Little Women.

Just reporting

Hey!
I'm about to see The Jane Austen Book Club! I'm very excited, I've been wanting to see it for a loooong time now, and it's never shown in theatres here in Argentina and I can't find it on dvd, so I did something veeeery bad: I downloaded it. And now I'm burning it into a dvd, which will take at least an hour or two, so I don't know if I'll be able to see it today because I have to get up early tomorrow, but I really hope I can. I'll be frustrated otherwise, such hard job to find it, download it and burn it for nothing! haha yeah, I'm impatient.
I also downloaded several movies that I haven't been able to find anywhere else, which are: My Summer Of Love, I Could Never Be Your Woman and I don't remember what else, but, obviously I'll keep you posted.
I'm really looking foward to the release of the Mamma Mia! dvd, that's one to have in the collection! I could watch it over and over again, everyday. Pleaaaaaaaaaaaase hurry up! The shitty thing is that here it's still showing in theatres, so it will take at least four or five months! Since the very moment I got out of the cinema after watching it, I've been completely obsessed with it, and I mean COMPLETELY obsessed. I don't do anything not related to Mamma Mia! when I'm on the internet: I navegate in its Imdb site (I know its boards, reviews, quotes, goofs, trivias, photos by memory!), in the official site (which is AWESOME haha), I watch its YouTube related videos, every single one of it. I've watched all Amanda Seyfried and Meryl Streep interviews, all the red carpet and press conference events, etc.
I absolutely ADORE Meryl Streep. She's always been my role model (I want to be an actress, and given that she's the best actress alive, how could she not?), she's so adorable and clever and charming and funny. Lovely person, absolutely stunning actress. And her maternal instinct is soooo cute! She and Amanda could really be mother and daughter: they are very alike and they've got that special bond, you can see it from a distance. The way Meryl looks at her, talks about her, fixes her hair, kisses her forehead, hugs her... They are so cute.
You can see I'm trying to make time until the dvd is done, but it's still got like an hour and a half left, so I'll go sleep a little, watch tv or something.
Bye!

21 Grams

Beautifully put together puzzle, with a brilliant script supported by excellent actors. The story isn't that new, it wasn't at all hard to follow and to organise the pieces because, having seen other Iñarritu's films, it was quite predictable. But the script is so well made and the performances are so great, that doesn't matter much. It's touching and a bit though to take in, but extremely powerful. I really liked it.

Mamma Mia!

Utterly funny. At times, so absurd it made me almost fall of my seat in laughter, my stomach hurt, and my eyes were tearing. At times, so cute and emotional, that made me want to cry (but of sadness, this time).

The plot itself isn't anything marvellous, but it works for the songs and the fluency of the film that becomes memorable, mostly because of the cast and the soundtrack.

Meryl Streep is funny, lovable, moving and charming. She sings well, delivers memorable performances of Mamma Mia!, The Winner Takes It All, Sliping Through My Fingers, and others. She really shines, as always, I mean, really, how could she not!? Pierce Brosnan's singing was awful, but so adorable! I loved his performance. Amanda Seyfried was the real revelation. She she sings well, carries the plot and all the emotion which goes with it, and is very easy on the eye. The whole cast ensembles delightfully, I think it was one of the best on-screen chemistries between all the actors I've ever seen.

There isn't a weak song among the 24 that feature in the soundtrack, they are all extremely enjoyable to the point I found myself singing along and "dancing" (how I could, considering the limitations of the cinema seat) each one of them. They create the great Abba atmosphere, convined with the sort of naive and innocent component of their music, the emotional one, and the fun disco one.

Even though at times it can be predictable and cheesy, it becomes trully a matter of no importance because the whole thing: the cast, the music, the scenery (beautiful, beautiful Greece, with turquoise seas), the dancing, the singing, the laughing, the crying, really overcomes any possible plot hole.

I loved it and found it an extremely enjoyable experience.

Evening

Not painful to watch at all!

I think Evening is highly underrated. First of all, it's pretty easy on the eyes: with such remarkable art direction and cinematography. The scenery was so beautiful, the houses, the landsacapes and also the costume design and the make up. And how it went from past to present on and on, very well achieved effect. And such stellar performances! Claire Danes, Patrick Wilson, Glenn Close, Hugh Dancy, Meryl Streep, Vanessa Redgrave, Toni Collette, Natasha Richardson... You can't really take trash about it.

The problem with this film is that the characters are quite one-dimensional and stereotyped, luckily, with such an amazing cast, that didn't bother me so much because they really could pull it off nicely. And as a matter of fact, it's not about the characters, but the story, which was so powerful and emotional and full of content and meaning, fluently led by the actors (which were all so great I wouldn't have space to describe each one separately).

Really worth watching.

Le Scaphandre Et Le Papillon

Unique. The magnificent way it was made made me feel throughout the film as if I was Jean-Do. I felt when they stitched up his eye, I felt the helplessness of trying to speak but no one can hear you, when the woman was teaching him how to move his tounge I found myself imitating her, there on my cinema seat. Because of this, it's a very touching movie, but has also a lot of humor.

It doesn't pass slowly at all, even though it might seem to, because it's got an esthetic that many of us, morons, are not used to (exclude me ;))

Julian Schnabel prooves he's one of the best contemporary directors. I trully can't belive the Coen brothers stole his Oscar, it's completely ridiculous.

It's innovative, visually beautiful, well acted, emotional, fun, catchy and it achieves artistic cinematic excellence, being able to explore the inner workings of a characters very deeply and believably while blending cinematography, art direction, sound effects and musical score in such harmony.

It's really difficult to define what this film produced in me. I felt it like a journey, a journey to imagination, to another person's body, but being able to feel and think the way this person did. It moved me, it made me laugh, it relaxed me, it scared me, it hurt me, it caressed me, it astonished me.

The best film of 2007.

There Will Be Blood

Completely overated. I think the fundamental problems with this film are firstly, that the parts are better than the whole and secondly, that the plot itself is not worth a penny and it's simply a performance-driven and flawed motion picture.
I was begging for a script writer and a musician to come along and help this movie on which I had very high expectations. As I watched it, it seemed more and more like a cocktail of put-together scenes that didn't really follow one story line.
Daniel Day-Lewis could have played this character with his eyes closed, and he was no less than I expected and of what he's got me used to see from him. He owns the movie, without him, I wouldn't have sat through the unnecessary 140 minutes. And Paul Dano is a very promising young man, and he's been prooving that since Little Miss Sunshine.
The theming, which started from the very beginning in te very first scene, was, I think, very interesting, but very badly developed. It started geniously, with a look at the rooths of greed, and after that we imediatly see Day-Lewis character made into a real oil magnate, who's buying more and more lands to explode. But as the movie came to an end (VERY slowly...) I didn't find an appropiate closing to such a theme.
Synthesizing, this is a very flawed, unnecessarily long, performance-driven put-together scenes about greed, subject that's not appropiately developed.

The Darjeeling Limited

Leave your individual "baggage" somewhere else. This film, these characters are much more than that. Much more than a plot, it's more really like getting to know the characters and catch (some of) the subtle but hilarious jokes. The humour is unique and smart and brings up a guffaw each time.

The way it's shot, directed and edited is very orginal and keen.

The performances are PERFECT. The characters are so real, and you end up loving and feeling sympathetic for each of them. Funny, wise and pathetic at the same time. Two of the three leading men are of my favourite actors ever. Adrien Brody, apart from being GORGEOUS, is, I think, one of the best actors alive. I've never seen him in comedy before, and I think it works perfectly, prooving that he's versatile, being able to do anything, and because of that, a trully excellent actor. Owen Wilson is so charismatic and adorable, I think he belongs on screen, but of course, he still needs a little development (he's nothing like Adrien). Here, in this movie, he really manages to be almost at the same level, though. Thumbs up! I adore him! Jason Schwartzman was also very good, but aside those two, rather plain.

The scenery is so beautiful, magical, intriguing...

I've seen other movies from Wes Anderson before and I liked them very much, but I really think this overcomes by far all his previous work. He's a trully great filmaker.

Ten out of ten! Not to be missed!

Curiosity: I was drinking Darjeeling Tea while watching it! ;)

Top 10

Saddest movies ever:

1) La Môme
2) Finding Neverland
3) Titanic
4) I Am Sam
5) The Pianist
6) Dead Poets Society
7) The Lion King
8) Iris
9) The Hours
10) Walk The Line


Funniest movies ever:

1) Death At A Funeral
2) Bridget Jones's Diary (1 and 2)
3) Le Placard
4) Goodbye Lenin!
5) Zoolander
6) Scoop
7) Little Miss Sunshine
8) Music And Lyrics
9) Meet The Parents
10) Meet The Fockers


Unforgettable Female Performances

1) Marion Cotillard - La Môme
2) Ingrid Bergman - Anastasia
3) Audrey Hepburn - My Fair Lady
4) Katharine Hepburn - The Lion In Winter
5) Kate Winslet - Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
6) Meryl Streep - Sophie's Choice
7) Julia Roberts - Erin Brockovich
8) Catherine Deneuve - Belle De Jour
9) Julie Andrews - The Sound Of Music
10) Keira Knightley - Pride and Prejudice


Unforgettable Male Performance

1) Marlon Brando - The Godfather
2) Humphrey Bogart - Casablanca
3) Al Pacino - The Godfather
4) Johnny Depp - Pirates Of The Caribbean
5) Jack Nicholson - Batman
6) Robert De Niro - The Deer Hunter
7) Sean Penn - I Am Sam
8) Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man
9) Tom Hanks - Philadelphia
10) Harrison Ford - Hannibal


Masterpieces

1) Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain
2) Casablanca
3) The Godfather (all three of them)
4) The Wizard Of Oz
5) Breakfast At Tiffany's
6) Life is Beautiful
7) Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
8) The Lion King
9) The Sound Of Music
10) Annie Hall


Best On-Screen Couples

1) Kate Winslet & Leonardo DiCaprio - Titanic
2) Audrey Hepburn & Gregory Peck - Roman Holiday
3) Audrey Hepburn & Rex Harrison - My Fair Lady
4) Ingrid Bergman & Humphrey Bogart - Casablanca
5) Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor - Moulin Rouge!
6) Julia Roberts & Hugh Grant - Notting Hill
7) Juliette Binoche & Johnny Depp - Chocolat
8) Vivien Leigh & Leslie Howard - Gone With The Wind
9) Keira Knightley & Matthew McFadyen - Pride And Prejudice
10) Gwyneth Paltrow & Joseph Fiennes - Shakespeare In Love

The Virgin Suicides

Tasteful, bittersweet look at youth and suburbia. Largely themed, this movie offers a shocking (litterally, I couldn't sleep after watching it) and beutiful look at the meaninglessness, hypocrisy and hollowness of suburbia and "respectable", bourgeois society, the slow but steady death of nature at the hands of the human race, the voyeuristic nature of the media and the idealization of youth and what it really is (spontaneous, awkward, rebelious, inmature, vivid sexuality).

I think it had lots of symbolism as well. Firstly, the contrast between the slow motion takes of the girls in the ideal innocence and beauty of girlhood, and the normal takes when you are able to see what's behind all that crap, the reality. The ironic connection between the trees' sickness and the lives of the girls and people of suburbia in general, specially between Cecilia and the elm.

The performances were all great in the perfect ammount: not too pretencious or too over the top, but not unnoticed. I couldn't take Kirsten Dunst seriously, but after seeing this and Marie Antoinette, I certainly think she's got potencial.

Above all, it is tastefully and beautifully done, everything from the yellowish colors to the scenery and clothing, as well as the camera work, the music, everything.

Ten out of ten, thumbs up for Sofia Coppola!

The Savages

Woah, pretty fucked up lives!

The Savages it's a very disturbing movie, very real. It comes to a point where you don't know wether to laugh or to cry. Even though none of the characters is actually a good person, you feel sympathetic for every one of them, and that's owed to the flawless performances of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney and the rest. Even though it's not artistically challenging because it lacks of certain details such as visuals and filmaking originality, I liked it very much.

Two Days In Paris

It generates a great atmosphere, and though the plot is quite light, the performances, the originality, the script and the whole esthetic made it. It's shot in an unusual way that I found very appealing, the narration was great and funny. Even though there isn't a strong story, it manages to develop in a fantastic way with a marvelous script and hilarious performances, specially Albert Delpy, I just fell of my seat with him. Julie Delpy was great both in directing and acting, she made a very adorable character, despite her naughty past. Marie Pillet was alse very funny. The rest of the cast worked great ensemble. The two best things about this movie were the original esthetic and the script. I found myself laughing throughout the two hours. Great movie, hilarious.

Because I Said So

Greetings again from the darkness. It is now official. Diane Keaton has reached the parody of herself stage. She has become a caricature of her character. The loopy, over-the-top 60 year old female who screams stereotype with each line.

Exactly what this movie is: purely stereotypes. The character development is poor as are the performances. I didn't really get to know neither of them. Not one. I mean, you can spect stereotypes in a romantic comedy, but this is just too much.

The only merely respectable thing was Mandy Moore, who, even though the script was poor, managed to show her on screen charisma which will be able to develop later in new movies, I hope.

It doesn't even work for a rainy afternoon or a pajama party with friends. I didn't laugh at all. Not once. Pure crap.

The Last Kiss

Too much nudity, too much drama, poor performances (except for Casey Affleck, that had few on screen minutes), too pretencious, poor screenplay. Didn't like it.

I don't know, maybe it was because I was actually expecting a romantic comedy and instead, I found a wannabe-adult drama that is far too pretencious for what it has to offer, which is nudity in excessive ammounts and extremely unnecessary, a tangled plot full of drama and holes, a screenplay that seemed to be written by a four year old (seriously, can´t you make a sentence of more than five words?) and a great cast that somehow does not develop well: Zach Braff was too over the top for my taste here and really he couldn't show me why the hell was Michael in love with Jenna OR attracted to Kim, he just seemed fed up with life and with both of them, Rachel Bilson did an unatural and more troubled Summer Roberts, Casey Affleck is a great actor but they didn't give him his deserved on screen time, Jacinda Barrett did a nice effort and the rest were practically unnoticed.

Bad movie.

Enduring Love

One of the most beautifully (and originally) made films I've ever seen. The visuals were great, the opening scene was so believable and beautifully shot it was creepy, the hand-held camera and the odd shots were amazing.

As far as the acting, Daniel Craig surprised me nicely, after seeing him in his rather awful performance as James Bond in Casino Royale, I didn't expect much mostly because after reading the book I knew it was a complex character he had to play, but given that he had pulled out great performances in movies like Munich, Elizabeth, Love and Rage, Layer Cake, etc, I think I underestimated him. Rhys Ifans is a genious, I loved him in Notting Hill and he kept the same level. Samantha Morton was very good as well, very natural, I liked her as Claire.

The writing was also very good but I really think it misses the real point of the book which was more focused on science versus religion, logic versus spiritual discussions and Claire's ENDURING LOVE to Joe and their relationship which is not well developed in the film, focusing on the stalking stuff. And they cut several parts of the book that I thought were very important. They changed an extremely important part: Joe does NOT kneel down to "pray" with Jed. That's an important starting point. It seemed like the movie wanted you to think maybe Joe has some ambivilent feelings and might even be attracted to Jed which is a very different take than the book.

But I do think it was well done as far as technic stuff like camera work, soundtrack, visuals, special effects, etc, but does not do justice to a magnificent book.

Goodbye Lenin!

10 out of 10

DELIGHTFUL!

Funny, extremely original, well acted, great visuals, great score (love Yann Tiersen), just perfect. You know that thing I said about the French? that they've got it? Well, I think it's Europe in general ;)

Stepmom

Even though it's cliched, stereotyped and corny, I lliked it. It was emotional and very well acted (Julia, Susan, Ed and Jenna! come on!). Yes, there are some scenes and themes I've seen before, but always good to see as long as they're well acted and coherent in context. I liked it. Average movie.

Away From Her

She said "Do you think it'd be fun... Do you think it'd be fun if we got married?" I took her up on it. I shouted yes. I never wanted to be away from her. She had the spark of life.

This movie is heartbreaking and truly a feast for the eyes. The performances are one better then the other, Julie Christie was incredible. It was amazing the way she could get ahead of what was going to happen. With one look I could tell if she remembered him or not. The love between the characters is so touching. The script was, though, the best part of this movie. Each word was carefully thought through, so poetic and beautifully brought to life by the actors. It matches perfectly the beauty of the scenes.

I also loved the fact that they didn't leave anything for certain and you had to realise every detail. Even the ending. The ending was PERFECT.

The only thing I didn't like was that Fiona was never advanced enough to be sent to the second floor. That pissed me off because I thought they were laughing at the seriousness of the disease. She had done nothing compared to a progressed Alzheimer patient, believe me, forgeting names and places is nothing, an advanced patient can't get out of bed, go to the bathroom alone, has violent reactions, etc.

However, I realise that the whole point of the movie isn't showing the disease, but a tragic love story in older people.

Beautiful and touching film.

P.S. I love you

Okay, it isn't a good movie, but I must confess... I cried... a lot... several times. Yes, maybe it's cliched, corny, predictable and has a flawed screenplay, but what can I say it touched my weak point.

Something you can't deny about PS I love you, apart from being very emotional, is that it's got great performances (I LOVE Kathy Bates!), excellent visuals (specially the scenes in Ireland), a creative plot and a good soundtrack.

Hilary Swank did not fully cover my expectations this time, but for what the movie had to offer, I think she was correct. I just couldn't see her romantic side, her vulnerability. Lisa Kudrow's character was pretty similar to her famous Phoebe Buffay, and Kathy Bates was, though limited screen time, delightful as always. Gerard Butler's Irish accent was awful, but he did seem to understand the character and portrayed him very well.

The creativity of the plot was sabotajed by its rather poor screenplay. The dialogues were plain, corny and cliched. It sometimes seemed as if the writers did not know how to make a sentence of more than four words, and sometimes as if we had to figure out some things by ourselves, without any dialogue. Thank God the actors were good and could give some life to the screenplay.

Overall, it may not be a masterpiece, but it's still worth watching.

Roman Holiday

This is trully one of Hollywood's gems. Audrey Hepburn shows once again her endless charm, beauty, intelligence and talent as an actress. She's my favourite actress ever, and her movies are also my favourites. Hepburn and Gregory Peck have unbelieavable chemistry! They are great together.
Roman Holiday is not only about great actors and performances, but also excellent visuals and cinematography. We get to see Rome perfectly and beautifully shot, the movie covers the city's most famous and fine places. The costume design is breathtaking, even though it's in black and white, we can appreciate perfectly every one of Audrey's dresses, specially the iconic blouse and skirt we see in the picture. The screenplay is magnificent, every word is carefully thought, creating a smart and well achieved homour. The direction by William Wyler is flawless, of course, as well as the art direction by H. Tyler and WH. Pereira.
The format of the story, or at least the main idea, has been copied several times, but of course not one of the copies have gotten even close to Roman Holiday's cinematographic level. As some say, 'Always copied, never equalized". This film is one of those few that will endure in time forever.




GO AUDREY!

My 2009 Oscar Predictions

Ohh, the Academy Awards are SO predictable.
These are the film I think are strong candidates to be on the Best Picture category:

Revolutionary Road
The Reader
Synecdoche, New York
Milk
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Doubt
The Edge of Love

For best actor I think: Leonardo Di Caprio, Ralph Fiennes, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Philip Saymour Hoffman, Benicio Del Toro.

For best supporting actor: Heath Ledger (and he also WILL WIN, have no doubt about it), and maybe Cillian Murphy.

For best actress I think: Keira Knightley, Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench (whatever she's doing hahaa, she seems to be quite a frequent nominee!)

For best supporting actress: Kathy Bates, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond, Amy Adams.

For best director: Sam Mendes, Gus Van Sant, Clint Eastwood, David Fincher, John Maybury.

For best screenplay: Christopher Hampton, Charlie Kaufman, HOPEFULLY Sharman Macdonald :)

And have no doubt that Sex and the City will win Best Costume Design and Coco Avant Chanel will win best foreign movie.

And maybe I'm antcipating too much, but for 2010 Academy Awards you can count in: Public Enemies, Nine, King Lear, The Friday Night Knitting Club, Julie and Julia, Dali and I, Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, Meryl Streep, Keira Knightley, Anthony Hopkins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Day Lewis, Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Julia Roberts, etc.

Sex and the City

This movie was AWESOME. It was all you could expect. I loved the fact that we see the girls three years after the final episode and we get to see how much they have changed, but still conserving their core. I don't know why people saw this as a flaw, it was obvious they would change, gladly they did, poor them if at fourty they are the same as they were at thirty, that would have been simply sad. It had a different orientation than the tv series, but it conserved its essence and its unique humour.

The clothing and the visuals of New York were stunning, the script was simply hilarious, there are several sex scenes, the acting was great. It was really one of a kind because it's not a typicall romantic comedy, these women aren't archetypes, they are what they are and they do not deny it, what you see it's what you get. They speak freely whatever it's in their minds with an espontaniety and timing that you can't help but bursting out laughing. I think that kind of honesty is what everyone appreciates of the tv series, and its done justice in the movie. So, do not miss it!

What Happens In Vegas...

I wasn't exactly excited to go to the cinema to watch this movie, I must say. It isn't more (or less) of what you could expect: cliché, corny-cheesy, kitsch and entretaining. Maybe the theme of Vegas and the whole forced marriage thing was a bit more original than other romantic comedies, but it had the same outcomes and jokes, and deep inside, it was all the same crap, honestly. But if you watch it with friends, just to hang, it's very funny, just don't try to find anything more than what it has to offer. Luckily, Cameron Diaz is always very funny and she really lights up this movie. And Ashton Kutcher... well, Ashton Kutcher is hot.

Philadelphia

Although Philadelphia hasn't got very good visuals, art direction, (except perhaps for Tom Hanks's make up) cinematography or isn't very original, I think it's got another propose. It treats the very complicated subject of discrimination and in two delicate themes like AIDS and homosexuality. Personally, I can't believe that that still happens nowadays, in the 21st century, and that's still a subject to avoid. I found the movie very representative, real and controversial, with the necessary share of emotion and tears. Very touching, in fact. Breathtaking performances, with huge names like Tom Hanks (in his best role ever), a very young Denzel Washington and Antonio Banderas.

I think that with the title the film works as a synecdoche of Philadelphia's reality (maybe even the whole world's reality) synthesized in one particular case. But I really don't believe this to be a trully great film, just a good film, fairly good for its cause. But then again, it's just me and my selective taste.

The Pianist

This movie is one of a kind. Not only it is historically accurate (perfectly accurate, then again, that's why Polanski is most known for), but the best part is that there isn't actually a war hero, which I really find annoying because in a war there is no hero, so it's also realistic. Even though we love Adrien Brody's character and he's the one we follow, this movie is not specificallly about him, his role is to be our eyes. We actually see the whole war, the tortures, the deaths, everything, but from the pianist's eyes. We step on his side right away of course, but because it's inevitable if we have a heart and a brain. And the nazis are murderers and cynics, but that's what they actually were/are. So it doesn't show good and evil of a war, it shows reality, history. Apart from that, it's very well done and original (thank God, because if it wasn't it would be a documentary :P). The music is amazing, the cinematography and art direction are excellent, the adapted screenplay is magnificent. And most importantly, Adrien Brody is simply exquisite. One of the best performances I've ever seen, really memorable. I love him and I love his nose!

The Oxford Murders

I think The Oxford Murders is a very contradictory movie (who knows, maybe it's just me).

First of all, it's very catchy most of the time. There are some very unnecesary scenes during the entire film that were literally a pain in the ass. Secondly, it had very interesting camera shots (there was one in particular that was practically endless, that's very hard to achieve and fun to watch!), but maybe too many because I felt dizzy several times because of some angles, extreme close-ups and weird and/or fast movements.

On the other hand, the lack of visuals was certainly an issue. What bothers me the most is that they are in England for Christ's sake, good visuals are all over the place and easy to achieve. And of course, it would have been really nice to see more of the famous university too.

The performances are honestly flawless. John Hurt made me want to contradict Seldom during his class, to argue with him, he produced in me some kind of displeasure and mistrust that were characteristic of Seldom. He produced in me something similar to what he produced in Martin, I wanted to proove that he was not a genious at all, that he was closed and cold hearted. I wanted to fucking destroy him. Just kidding. But he produced a certain anger in me that wasn't like the anger you feel for a typicall villian, it was more than that, I kept talkin aloud during the film, when he spoke I contradicted him. It was great. Though it would have been nice seeing an Argentinian actor in the role of Martin (as it was in the book), I really think Elijah Wood provided his best performance so far. Completely flawless. I too felt Martin's "anger", his pride yet his insecurity, his desire (or need) to proove he's capable, his weird obsession with his idol that because of his pride (or rather, his insecurity) he needed to overthrow. That's all latent, specially the scene when he breaks the glass. Powerful performance. Julie Cox represented insecurity and isolation better than anyone. You feel so sorry for her that it doesn't even occur to you that she might be guilty. The blind fascination she had for Martin, caused evidently by her need for affection is very well seen when she asks him how does he do to be happy.

Overall, this wasn't as bad as the critics said.

Big Fish

A magnificent tale about a man that sees the world with another eyes, who exagerated the truth to make life more interesting. I haven't read the book, but I can tell you this movie stands on its own. I'm not a fan of Tim Burton, but I think this is his best work (maybe because he finally does something different here). It's different, but still, you can understand why it's a Tim Burton film, so he doesn't lose his identity. At the beginning, we see three time periods, three stories one inside the other. That could get quite confusing, but actually it doesn't. Not at all. Surprisingly it manages to delete one of the time periods, and it does it very well, almost in an unnoticed way. The movie goes with the flow, the plot advances with no issues at all, very well developed. You get very attached to the characters, even with the ugly ones like the giant. The art direction and cinematography are excellent as well as the performances. I specially liked Ewan McGregor and Marion Cotillard, thay were stunning choices for the cast. I also loved the symbolism of Ed becoming his stories, beoming the big fish, which is kind of what he always was, born to stand out, the big fish is his alter ego. Also, the sybolism of Spectre, which I believe, Ed was using it to tell about a period of drug use in his life: Firstly because it seems wonderful, but when people go there, they get nothing done and drugs seem like a great way to escape, but people become unproductive; secondly because when people go there, they take off their shoes which makes it difficult to get out, same with drugs, it's very easy to get in, but extremely har to get out; Shoes are thrown over the line, which is also a sign of drug dealing territory in inner cities; Spectre is wonderful at first, but in time it deteriorates and needs to be saved, and drugs may seem very glamorous at first, but in the end they break down people and reduce them to nothing. And so much more symbolism, that's my favourite thing in a movie. INCREDIBLE film, to recommend and watch several time, it's very fun to learn something new about what Ed' stories mean each time you watch it.

8 femmes

One thing is certain about this movie: it tries. And it tries really hard. It tries really hard to find a esthetic, to be original, to be unpredictable. But it fails. I can't say that I didn't find it entretaining, at least at times, and t does have brilliant moments, it actually started really well, but it wasn't able to mantain that quality during the whole film. The Agatha Christie theme, and the plot itself could have worked way much better, but in its search for identity it ruined its chance to do that. Bizarre and even kitsch movies are fantastic, at least I find them extraordinary, the problem is when they try TOO hard. Over the top in art can be really good, but believe me, this is simply too much. TOO over the top. It could have worked without the singing, I think that was what really ruined it, becaused it went from a good bizarre comedy-thriller to something that can't be taken seriously. On top of that, it kept trying to add alibis and facts to confuse you and to be "unpredictable", but I just kept guessing everything that was going to happen. Although, I must say, I didn't guess the very ending, that did surprise me, but it still seemed like such an effort, it never moved fluently because you were always feeling their effort to make it work. The movie, however, has got stunning performances by France's (and the world's) most beloved actresses such as Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert and Fanny Ardant, and very intereting newcomers or not so known actresses. If you don't take it ver seriously, this movie is not EXTREMELY bad.

Silk

I quite liked this movie despite its several flaws, disloyalties to the book and all negative reviews. I'll start with what I didn't like: First of all, Michael Pitt. I think he didn't understand Herve at all. He didn't understand why he loved Helene (he actually didn't seem to feel that extreme love for her as he does in the book, it seems as if he shares a stronger bond with the mistress) or why he had that certain fascination with the mistress, he didn't get at all what was Herve Joncour's core. There were also several misunderstandings with the book, but then again it was not a proper book to be made into a movie because the important thing there is Alessandro Baricco's unique way of writing, the story itself isn't appealing enough to be turned into a movie because it's only enjoyable with such writing, and Baricco's writing can't be showed in the movie.
One thing I found quite annoying was the fact that the dialogues in Japanesse weren't translated in the subtitles and it made you feel kind of lost, as if you were missing part of the movie. Perhaps the director wanted to show the alienation of this French man in foreign lands, very foreign lands, but it certainly doesn't work for the audience it just confuses it.

I think the movie was loyal to the book in general lines, the whole anger with the Asian chick was monumentally stupid, in the movie it was mentioned several times that she was not Japanesse, so drop it. If any, that's not the major problem with the adaptation, it's like telling me they couldn't cast, I don't know, Anne Hathaway for Becoming Jane because she was not British, it's the exact same argument, if the actor's right for the role, it doesn't matter his nationality. I know it was a big deal the whole not-asian-eyes thing, but still, there were worse problems. And I also didn't mind the censorship of the letter.

Its runtime certainly isn't an issue either. Many people have consider this an extremely slow movie, but I must say I didn't at all, I actually found it really entretaining. So, I guess that's subjective.

The real and most important problem, apart from Pitt's poor performance (because other issues mentioned weren't major), is that the emphasis of the film is concentrated in the visuals rather than in the development of the characters (which I consider to be way more important in order to make a movie work).

However, the film has got a breathtaking cinematography that manages what the script (and Michael Pitt) couldn't: making Baricco's poetry visual. The score is also very good. Keira Knightley shows us once more that she's to be taken seriously and that she is for sure the most promising young actress nowadays. She played Helene in such a sutil way, so innocent, o loyal and in love, so authentic and yet so intriguing. Overall, it's a very good film, I think the objective was achieved, despite some adaptation and other minor problems.

Chicago

Three things we've certainly learned from Chicago:

• They had it coming
• And all that jazz
• They both reached for the gun

The songs are amazing and makes you want to sing and dance, the editing is astonishing and very creative, especially the way they mixed the performances with the events. It's got some memorable scenes and a stunning and unique humour, very classy. It's got excellent visuals, the make-up, hair and costume people did an amazing job, I applaude, really. The performances are actually really good, both Renée Zellwellger and Catherine Zeta Jones, and even Richard Gere who I couldn't imagine singing and dancing, really surprised me. I think it exceeds by far the first version, but it isn't even close to movies like All That Jazz and Cabaret, the ultimate jazz musicals par excellence. Nevertheless it's a great movie, enjoyable, original, visually beautiful, funny, to recommend.

Casablanca: Where it all started

Watching this movie, even when you've already seen it thousands of times, is a unique experience, a journey to the very origin of all Hollywood movies. Casablanca is the ultimate classic, and that's a fact. From its memorable and ever-repeated quotes to Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, all the way through its music (the enduring As Time Goes By), the postcard scenes and the mix between a drama about the always attractive nazi subject and occasional ironic jokes. How could we ever forget the scene in the airport, "Play it, Sam" and "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship"? We never will, not only because of what they represent, but because we'll keep on hearing them and watching them in every movie, TV show, book and every single artistic expression. Casablanca marked a before and after in art history and opened a whole new theme in it. In fact, every Hollywood movie we watch has some element of Casablanca, and it will always be like that. Every movie heroine is, in some way, Ilsa, and every movie hero has something of Rick in him, as well as every movie love story has something of theirs. But all this doesn't mean at all that this is a cliché, and that's because this one started it all. Casablanca will endure in time and will always be in our hearts and memories. That's why it's a classic. It is where it all started.

Les Choristes

Je pleurai. je pleurai, and je pleurai again. Even though there's a happy ending, those kids simply melted my heart. As did Mathieu. It was incredibly emotional.

It's a fest for the eyes, as well, the clothes, the whole scenary: the school, everything, it was perfect.

Many people say that it's a French Dead Poet Society, but I completely disagree. Apart from the fact of the music, the main characters are radically different. Keating is a revolutionary, very smart and composed man. He's got some courage and imposes respect. Mathieu, on the other hand, at first sight is a stupid little chubby man, he imposes no respect at all, he's clumsy, shy, ridiculous... But in the inside he always means well and he too has courage and is revolutionary, but sometimes he understands that he has to punish the kids because there isn't another way out. Keating is stubborn and would never do anything that follows the system, he has to do it his way. And apart from that, this movie moves fluently (or more fluently) and it's got a different esthetic. And apart from that (I'm sorry I must be extremely annoying), the French just got it, no one can do better movies than them, they just got it.

Without any comparissons, this is a magnificent film and it offers us two hours of pure pleasure, tears, and astonishment. You simply can't believe the beauty of what you're seeing. My favourite scene was when Corbin is interrogued by Mathieu because he discovers that he stole the money, and he ask him why he did it, and he says that he did it because he wanted to buy a hot air balloon. Jesus Christ! My heart simply melted and I exploded in tears. That's just it: you cry because of the beauty of the film, because it's so beautiful it really moves you. Another scene that I loved was the end: when Mathieu is leaving and Pepinot comes running behind him and askes him to take him with him. Then Mathieu tells him to go back to school, that he can't take him and gets on the bus. Two seconds later the bus' door opens and Mathieu comes out and carries Pepinot inside with him. And it was a Saturday (people who saw it understand). Dear God, I couldn't stop crying. And in the beginning, the close-up of Pierre getting ready for the concert, the camera goes up and you can see tears in his eyes, right after he finds out about her mother. That was very touching as well.

Although, there's only one thing I would change. In the beginning, when Pepinot shows Pierre the class' picture, Pierre asks the name of the prefect. Given that Mathieu changed his whole life around, he was actually a complete turning point in his life, as it is obvious because of Pierre's success in the world of music, I think he should have remembered his name. Not only remembered, but gotten into tears when he sees the picture and the diary.

Despite its only flaw, this movie is one of the best I've ever seen.