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!