Archive for category FILM REVIEW

2009 The Year In Movies: 4-Comedy

Posted by Roberto in FILM REVIEW on March 12, 2009

BRUNO (Sacha Baron Cohen)

Carry on our review of the movies we’ll be enjoying in 2009, after the dramatic genre, now is turn for the comedies. And in the laughing bandwagon the most anticipated work is Sacha Baron Cohen’s new feature film, “Bruno”; taken from another of his TV show’s characters, this time a fashion-victim, Austrian gay TV presenter who will take his mega-camp attitude to all the wrong places around the States. The production of the movie has already stirred a big deal of controversy and everything leads to believe it will be a worthy successor fro “Borat”.

Other promising flick is Edgar Wright’s adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comic series, Scott Lee, telling the misadventures of a slacker (Michael Cera) who dreams with becoming a rock-star with his band the Sex Bob-Omb. “Scott Lee vs. The World” follows up the director’s international success with “Hot Fuzz” and “Shaun Of The Dead.” Read the rest of this entry »

adam sandler, black dynamite, borat, brad silverling, bruno, catherine keener, david o. russell, drew barrymore, edgar wright, ellen page, ewan mcgregor, fame, funny people, glenn ficarra, humpday, i love you man, i love you philip morris, jake gyllenhall, james marsden, james spader, jessica biel, jim carrey, john hamburg, john requa, joseph gordon-levitt, judd apatow, kevin tancharoen, land of the lost, lynn shelton, marc webb, michael cera, nailed, robert rodriguez, sacha baron cohen, scott lee vs. the world, scott sanders, seth rogen, shorts, the sex bob-omb, whip it, will ferrell, william h. macy, zooey deschanel

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2009 The Year In Movies: 3-Drama

Posted by Roberto in FILM REVIEW on March 10, 2009

THE BURNING PLAIN (Guillermo Arriaga)

A look at this year’s Sundance winners and the backlog of US independent films awaiting international release makes us believe dramas are prevailing among 2009 cinematographic offer.

Of Imminent arrival is Guillermo Arriaga’s debut as a director, “The Burning Plain”. Arriaga was the screenplay partner of Alejandro Gonzalez-Iñarritu (“Amores Perros”; “Babel”) but after famously splitting up with the Mexican film-maker, he decided to swap roles. His first project, also self-penned, shows again his trademark multiple stories in multiple geographical locations with a final link style. Kim Basinger and Charlize Theron figure on its cast. However, and regardless of the brilliant standard of his work in the past, this directorial debut received mixed reviews in Berlin.

Not only writers want to turn into directors, some actors also will take the lead, among them Samantha Morton. The Academy Award nominee British actress will debut with “The Unloved”, a view of the UK’s care system for orphans and children in danger, from the perspective of one of them. Little else is known so far. Read the rest of this entry »

alan arkin, alan cummings, alfred molina, all good things, andrew jarecki, ballast, barry jenkins, big fan, carey mulligan, charlize theron, chris cooper, colin farrell, courtney hunt, crazy heart, creation, david strathairn, djimon hounsou, dorian gray, dustin hoffman, ellen burstyn, emma thompson, five minutes of heaven, flash of genius, frank langella, franka potente, frankie and alice, frederik du chao, frozen river, geoffrey sax, greg kinnear, guillermo arriaga, halle berry, happy together, helen mirren, hope davies, james nesbitt, jeff bridges, jeffrey dean morgan, jennifer connelly, joe pesci, joel hopkins, jon amiel, jonas pate, julianne moore, julie taymor, keanu reeves, keith carradine, kevin spacey, kim bassinger, kirsten dunst, lance hammer, last chance harvey, lee daniels, lenny kravitz, liam neesom, love ranch, lovely still, maggie gyllenhaal, marc abrahams, mariah carey, martin landau, medecine for melancholy, melissa leo, mo'nique, naomi watts, need, nicholas fackler, nicole kidman, oliver hirschbiegel, oliver parker, patton oswald, paul bettany, pierce brosnan, precious, push: based on a novel by sapphire, rebecca miller, robert d. siegel, robert duvall, robin wright penn, russell brand, ryan gosling, ryan murphy, samantha morton, scott cooper, shana feste, shrink, susan sarandon, taylor hackford, the burning plain, the greatest, the private lives of pippa lee, the tempest, the unloved, viola davis, vivi friedman, winonna ryder

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2009 The Year In Movies: 2-Author, Author.

Posted by Roberto in FILM REVIEW on March 6, 2009

CHARLIE KAUFFMAN (Synecdoche, New York)

The Oscars are fairly accused of playing conservative. They don’t normally reward the adventurous and challenging, nor the works and directors who try and push the boundaries of the seventh art. That’s why many of the best films every year can be found outside the bandwidth of the Academy. With the independent sector shrinking, the hope for more rewarding filmmaking is in the hands of the so-called authors and their arthouse productions, and 2009 is full of well-established masters bringing their wit and wisdom to the big screen. Read the rest of this entry »

a serious man, alejandro jodorowski, andrzej wajda, antichrist, bad liutenant; port of call new orleans, bertrand tavernier, bright star, carmen maura, charlie kauffman, charlotte gainsbourg, coen brothers, david lynch, eric cantona, evan rachel wood, francis ford coppola, genova, heath ledger, in the electric mist, inglorious basterds, isaach de bankole, jane campion, jim jarmusch, kathryn bigelow, katyn, ken loach, king shot, larry cohen, lars von trier, le donk, looking for eric, maribel verdu, marilyn manson, me and orson welles, michael haneke, michael winterbottom, nicholas cage, paddy considine, quentin tarantino, richard linklater, rossy de palma, santiago segura, SHANE MEADOWS, synecdoche new york, tatarak, terry gilliam, tetro, the blue ribbon, the hurt locker, the imaginarium of dr. parnassus, the limits of control, tilda swinton, tommy lee jones, udo kier, vincent gallo, werner herzog, whatever works, willem dafoe, WOODY ALLEN, zac effron

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2009 The Year In Movies: 1-Next Year’s Oscars

Posted by Roberto in FILM REVIEW, POP CULTURE & NEWS on March 2, 2009

ACADEMY AWARDS MONTAGE: A LOOK AT THE YEAR AHEAD.

This year’s surprisingly good Academy awards ceremony ended up with a look at the future, thanks to a montage previewing some of the biggest movies to be launched over 2009. The clip included a mix of well hyped blockbusters and successful franchises next to some hints at potential nominees for the coveted awards in 2010. Among them: Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies”; Mira Nair’s “Amelia” and Lone Scherfig “An Education”.

With another look at that montage we begin a series of posts, looking at the most interesting movies (on paper) that the next twelve months will bring; divided by genres and starting by a deeper look at those movies that look likely to make an appearance in the next Awards season.
Read the rest of this entry »

2010 oscars prediction, alejandro gonzalez-iñarritu, amelia, amelia earthard, an education, ang lee, anne fontaine, anne marie duff, audrey tatou, away from me, carey muligan, cheri, christian bale, christopher plummer, CLINT EASTWOOD, coco avant channel, cormac mccarthy, daniel day lewis, demetri martin, denis lehane, ewan mcgregor, george clooney, grant heslov, green zone, helen mirren, hillary swank, james mcavoy, jamie foxx, JASON REITMAN, javier bardem, joe wright, john hillcot, john krasinski, johnny depp, jr., julie & julia, kevin spacey, kodi smit-mcphee, leonardo dicaprio, lone scherfig, martin scorsese, matt damon, maya rudolph, men who stare at goats, meryl streep, michael hoffman, michael mann, michelle pfeiffer, michelle williams, mira nair, morgan freeman, nancy meyers, nick hornby, nora ephron, paul giamatti, paul greengrass, peter jackson, philip seymour-hoffman, public enemies, richard curtis, richard gere, rob marshall, robert downey, ruben ochandiano, sam mendes, shutter island, sophia loren, stephen frears, STEVEN SORDERBERGH, taking woodstock, terrence malick, the boat that rocked, the girlfriend experience, the human factor, the informant, the last station, the lovely bones, the road, the soloist, the tree of life, tolstoi, untitled nancy meyers project, untitled nelson mandela project, up in the air, viggo mortensen

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The Official Rober Awards 2008: Film Winners

Posted by Roberto in FILM REVIEW on March 1, 2009

THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Pozos De Ambición)

“There Will Be Blood” confirmed itself as the absolute winner in 2008’s edition of the Official Rober Awards. The Paul Thomas Anderson directed masterpiece earned five gongs, even when its cast was left empty handed. “Gomorrah”, the Italian film about the way today’s Mafia operates earned three Robers. Other multiple winners with two apiece were The Diving Bell & The Butterfly, Wall-E, Happy-Go-Lucky and Juno. The popular vote though went to The Dark Knight in six categories. Congratulations to the winners. The full list after the Jump.

“Pozos De Ambición” se ha erigido como la ganadora absoluta de la de los Premios Rober de Cine 2008. La obra maestra de Paul Thomas Anderson ganó cinco de los galardones, aunque su reparto, a priori favorito, se quedo con las manos vacías. “Gomorra” la película italiana sobre el modo en que opera la mafia hoy en dia consiguió tres Rober. Otros ganadores multiples, con dos cada, fueron “La Escafandra y La Mariposa”; “Wall-E”; “Happy, Un Cuento Sobre La Felicidad” y “Juno.” Los votos de la encuesta Rober-Paralelos fueron a parar en su mayoria a “El Caballero Oscuro”. Enhorabuena a los ganadores. La lista completa tras el salto. Read the rest of this entry »

benicio del toro, camino, che, che parte 1: el argentino, ellen page, GOMORRAH, gomorrah wall-e, happy un cuento sobre la felicidad, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, heath ledger, HUNGER, juno, la escafandra y la mariposa, LUCIA PUENZO, man on wire, official, PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON, penelope cruz, poll winners, pozos de ambicion, rober awards film 2008, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, vicky cristina barcelona, WALTZ WITH BASHIR, winner, XXY

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Oscars Special: Our Predictions

Posted by Roberto in FILM REVIEW, POP CULTURE & NEWS on February 21, 2009

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Just one day before the Oscars ceremony takes place, a look at this year’s Hollywood picks shows one of the dullest havest in a long time. Everything points at a “Slumdog Millionaire” sweep, with the mediocre “Benjamin Button’s” hopes being relegated to a couple of technical statuettes. “Milk” will probably get the award reserved to the “rare and critical acclaimed” slot, the Best original script one. If the forecast is accurate, the significant changes announced for the show, masterminded by Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) and presented by Hugh Jackman, promise to be more interested than the awards themselves. Even when many categories still have room for surprise and general consensus is that whoever wins, will do it by a narrow margin. After the jump our predictions. Read the rest of this entry »

2009 predictions, ARI FOLMAN, benjamin button, bruce springsteen, CHANGELING, danny boyle, departures, doubt, down to earth, encounters at the end of the world, frank langella, frozen river, gus van saint, harvey milk, heath ledger, josh brolin, jr., kate winslet, laurent cantet, man on wire, melissa leo, meryl streep, mickey rourke, milk, oscars, oscars 2009, oscars predictions, penelope cruz, peter gabriel, robert downey, sean penn, slumdog millionaire, the class, the dark knight, the joker, the reader, the wrestler, trouble with water, WALL-E, WALTZ WITH BASHIR, werner herzog

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Oscars Special (II): Best Animated Short Films

Posted by Roberto in FILM REVIEW, POP CULTURE & NEWS on February 21, 2009

“La Maison en Petits Cubes” (CLIP)
A Robot Communications Production Kunio Kato
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Alan Smith and Adam Foulkes, best animated short film, Doug Sweetland, Emud Mokhberi and Thierry Marchand, Konstantin Bronzit, kunio kato, la maison en petits cubes, Lavatory - Lovestory, Oktapodi, oscars, pixar, predictions, presto, this way up

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Oscars Special: Documentary Categories

Posted by Roberto in FILM REVIEW, POP CULTURE & NEWS on February 21, 2009

ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (Werner Herzog)- Documentary in Full.
Todos los fans de la noche de los Oscars, que siguen la ceremonia en su mini fiesta casera, sufren cada año el mismo destino: se estudian todas las posibilidades, combinaciones y permutaciones; las apuestas y los pronósticos al dedillo para ganar con orgullo su quiniela personal y asombrar a propios y extraños con su imbatible conocimiento cinematográfico. Todo suele funcionar como un reloj, hasta que las temidas categorías de documentales y cortos, por falta de información y por su naturaleza impredecible, se cruzan en nuestro camino miserablemente para otorgar la victoria a cualquier vecino lejano, que esta de paso y no tiene mucha idea de cine, ha copiado las respuestas de la mayoría y eligiendo estas categorías a dedo, se alza con el mayor numero de aciertos.
Para evitar que esta frustrante situación se repita un año más, hemos buscado trailers y sinopsis de los Documentales nominados, para que al menos, nuestras decisiones sean bien informadas. Entre nuestros hallazgos, el último documental al completo del controvertido Werner Herzog, quien tras “Grizzly Man” ha encontrado una nueva veta creativa en este formato.

Every fan of the Oscars night following the ceremony at a home party, year after year runs the same fate: after carefully studying the possible combinations and permutations, the bets and the forecasts by heart in order to amaze everyone with his unbeatable cinematographic knowledge; everything goes as planned until the moment the frightening documentary and short categories invariably get in our way, due to lack of information and their unpredictable nature, resulting in some distant neighbor claiming victory. Normally is someone who doesn’t know anything about movies, came just for the free food and booze and, copying other people’s opinions for the bulk of the categories plus choosing at random these ones, gets the maximum number of correct guesses.
To prevent that frustrating situation from happening once again, we have search for the trailers and synopsis of all the nominated Documentaries, to provide ourselves with at least an educated guess. Among our findings, the complete latest opus by controversial director Werner Herzog, who after “Grizzy Man” has found a new creative path in this format. Read the rest of this entry »

adam pertofsky, best docoumentary short subject, carl dean, ellen kuras, encounters at the end of the world full documentary, irene taylor brodsky, JAMES MARSH, man on wire, margaret hyde, megan mylan, nerakhoon, nominees., oscars best documentary feature, oscars prediction, philippe petit, scott hamilton kennedy, simon chinn, smile pinki, steven okazaki, the betrayal, the conscience of nhem en, the final inch, the garden, the witness from the balcony of room 306, tia lessin, tom grant, trouble the water, werner herzog

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Pedro Almodovar presenta “La Concejala Antropófaga”

Posted by Roberto in FILM REVIEW on February 18, 2009

LA CONCEJALA ANTROPOFAGA (2009)
Meses después de que su blog multilingüe nos fuera desvelando el rodaje de su inminente película “Los Abrazos Rotos”, para la que ha vuelto a contar con un plantel de sus actores favoritos (Penélope Cruz, Lluis Homar, Blanca Portillo), Pedro Almodovar nos sorprende con su primer corto en más de dos décadas. “La Concejala Antropófaga”, un monologo independiente de la película, aunque con guiños a su trama (la breve aparición de Penélope al comienzo es una de ellas) fue inspirado por la breve actuación de Carmen Machi, para quien ha ideado este papel de concejala adicta a la coca y al sexo, deliberando sobre la democratización del placer, a modo de vuelta a sus comienzos más pop, divertidos, soeces y menos convencionales. Para celebrarlo, repasamos la lista de los cortos que el Manchego universal realizase a sus comienzos, con el material audiovisual que pudimos rescatar.

Months after his multilingual blog stopped unveiling the shooting of his imminent film “Broken Embraces”, for which he’s worked again surrounded by a selection of his usual suspects (Penelope Cruz, LLuis Homar, Blanca Portillo), Pedro Almodovar surprises us with his first short film for over two decades. “The Anthropophagous Councillor” (roughly translated) is a monologue, independent of the main movie, but with some teases linked to its plot (Penelope Cruz’s brief appearance is one of them); inspired by Carmen Machi’s –a newcomer on his filmography- had on it, he conceived the role of a politician addicted to coke and sex, deliberating about the democratization of pleasure. A return to Almodovar’s dirtier, funnier and pop culture infused less conventional beginnings. To celebrate it, we have a look back at the list of the early works by the universally acclaimed director from La Mancha , compiling as much early audiovisual material as we could find. Read the rest of this entry »

almodovar, bibi andersen, broken embraces, carmen machi, cortos de Almodovar, jaime chavarri, josele roman, la concejala antropofaga, los abrazos rotos, penelope cruz, tatuaje, the anthropofagous counciller, trailer para amantes de lo perdido

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2008 Film Review: Top 40 Best Movies (20-1)

Posted by Roberto in FILM REVIEW, POP CULTURE & NEWS on February 3, 2009

20-VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA-Woody Allen

Woody Allen visitaba España para dilucidar sobre amor pasional versus relación convencional, siendo saludado por su trabajo más apreciable en una década, después de que su trilogía británica dejase mal sabor de boca. El excelente cast en el que Rebecca Hall y Penélope Cruz brillaban con luz propia y un guión espolvoreado de sus geniales ocurrencias conseguían devolverle, al menos en parte, a su buena forma habitual.

Woody Allen visited Spain to showcase his thoughts about passion and love versus conventional relationships, being hailed as his most likeable work for a decade, after the British trilogy left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth. An excellent cast in which Rebeca Hall and Penelope Cruz shone and a screenplay sprinkled with his genial wit and wisdom brought him back, at least partially, to his usual good form.
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ALEX HOLDRIDGE, ANDREW STANTON, ARI FOLMAN, BE KIND REWIND, BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD, BEST FILMS 2008, BEST MOVIES 2008, CHE EL ARGENTINO pt. 1, CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, GOMORRAH, HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, HUNGER, I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG, IN BRUGES, IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS, IRON MAN, JAMES MARSH, JASON REITMAN, JON FAVREAU, JULIAN SCHNABEL, juno, MAN IN WIRE, MARTIN MCDONAGH, MATTEO GARRONE, MICHEL GONDRY, MIKE LEIGH, PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON, PHILIPPE CLAUDEL, ROBER AWARDS, ROBERAWARDS, SIDNEY LUMET, STEVE MCQUEEN, STEVEN SORDERBERGH, SWEENEY TODD, TAMARA JENKINS, THE DARK NIGHT, THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, THE SAVAGES, THERE WILL BE BLOOD, TIM BURTON, TOP 40 FILMS 2008, VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA, WALL-E, WALTZ WITH BASHIR, WOODY ALLEN