Change Your Image
mrincodi
Reviews
Scherzo - Verwitterte Melodie (1943)
One on the most amazing animations ever made
Amazing. Simply amazing. The story is simple yet delightful. What is wonderful from this little gem is the use of perspective. I still wonder how they made it without computers.
Also, music and sound are very well synchronized... Our wasp friend plays with the disc and music is perfectly stopped/slowed/accelerated whenever he and the other animals interact. Insects dance, a frog taps with his hands... It is all purity and joy.
It is magnificent, really. No matter what I say, it can not make it justice. You have to see it with your own eyes... And keep in mind this was done in... 1943!!
Maria Full of Grace (2004)
Best Colombian film to date.
Well, I think this is a great movie. It brilliantly depicts the real situation of a Colombian girl. For me, a Colombian, what is really touching is her condition through the movie. María has this problem with her work and her boss, these other two with her boyfriend, this other one with her sister, this other one with her mother, this other one with her money, the other one with her wishes to become stable, this other one with her girlfriend, and then she is about to have a thousand more with this people of the drug traffic business and with the traffic itself! To have a thousand problems at the same time is, sadly, not an exception, but the usual situation of the average Colombian! I mean, we strongly tend to have disorganized lives, with three, four, five concerns at a time, struggling and wandering through life with them. We are not organized, as people of the developed countries are accustomed to be. We always have problems. I'd say we love to have them. And we love to dig on other people's problems. It gives us a false sense of importance, as of being the stars of our own story.
Other typical Colombian attitudes are very well presented. One of them is impudence. For example, look at María's sister. She didn't do more than to ask for things! And, even further, she COMPLAINS!! Typical. Or Blanca's attitude. She pretends and pretends that she is very angry with Marìa, telling her offensive things, but she follows her everywhere! I can't tell you how typical this coward, illogical and annoying attitude is. Other one is to lie and to lie until everything falls by its own weight. Of course, all of these are generalizations. There are a lot of Colombian people who is not like that. But I am talking about what Colombian attitudes are depicted at the movie, and these really are. There are other good too, like the force to fight for what you want and to dream of progress, the cooperation and heart, the love for family, the piety, etc.
The movie is refreshing and free of gags and clichés. Well, actually it is very disturbing sometimes. But it is real. Like movies like "Ladri di biciclette", "Before Sunset" or "Lost in Translation" one can surely affirm that nothing of what happens of this movie could not have happened in real life. And there is nothing more moving than real life.
The story is great. The acting of Catalina is great. Actually, she doesn't look like acting. It's too real. Flaws? Well, the music is awful. Bogotá is not a land of salsa (besides, the only he ugliest parts of the city are shown). And the acting of particularly two other actors is bad, too. There are moments where the bad guys appear very much more compassionate than what they are in real life? But let's say that this is not a flaw.
With this movie, as with he magnificent Cidade de Deus, a quote, I think that from Tolstoi, keeps on being present and relevant: "If you want to be universal, write about your little village".
9/10
Big Fish (2003)
Mmm... Good, but not that good.
It's a nice movie. I mean, the scripts is nice, there are some interesting moments, but I didn't fell trapped by the story. I expected much more. Nonetheless, it's worth the watching. Good, but definitelly overrated. 8/10
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Great
A great movie. It's not "the story of how the policeman chases the con artist". No, it's plenty more: it's a story full of values, of family sense, of lonely people struggling for the meaning of their lives... The story of a man that...
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD ...that fights for his family to be reunited: I mean, Mr. Abagnale is not a lazy person. He just don't take the moral, legal way for achieving what he wants, but this man battles for what he wants. And Mr. Hanratty (another lone person) hardly could be better performed than for Tom Hanks. Great, full of sense. Also, excellent recreation of the 60's and 70's.
END OF SPOILERS
My rating: 9/10.
Go watch it. You won't be dissapointed.
Hable con ella (2002)
Finally! Amazing non-technology breakthrough!!
This movie is extraordinary. The characters (Benigno and Marco) are performed in an excellent way. The story is very good (I didn't like "todo sobre mi madre") and (at least for me) not predictable.
It's a real contender where movies full of special effects try to steal the spectator's eyes and soul.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. Of course, Almodóvar is Almodóvar, so you will find one of his typical disturbing scenes at the middle of the movie. It's a black and white film inside the film where a man shrinks and shrinks and... well, you'll see.
The ending of the movie resembles somehow to "Romeo and Juliet".
The Matrix (1999)
Entire world: forgive me: I didn't like it.
Well, what's the big deal? Dragon Ball-like special effects? The emancipation of selfishness as the greatest "virtue"? C´mon, you don't learn anything from this movie. It's bubble gum for the eyes: useless. The only interesting idea is that about that reality is not what we think. Well, I liked the quid and spider-like robots. But, the story? Bah: nobody helps nobody in this movie (above all, that super-egocentric "Neo" character). And, oh, yes, it's TOO violent, much, much more than what it needed (bullet showers and destroyed buildings were what this pacific world was needing, isn't it?). If you think you are the center of the world, you will love The Matrix. I didn't.
If you want a really good sci-fi movie, go for 12 Monkeys.
2/10
Men in Black II (2002)
MIB Ii or "how to destroy a legend".
C'mon? What happened? We were expecting an intelligent, or at least, "average" plot. MIB I was an story where everything fitted quasi-well, but this? Oh, no. Awful, terribly awful. C´mon, save your money, rent the first one and buy the kids some ice cream.
4/10, and I'm being too merciful.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
OK, it's good, but not "Best Movie of History"
OK. The Lord of the Rings is a great production, one has to admit it, but I felt that it didn't touched my heart (what makes a movie, for me, to be important) (one of the reasons is that there it was only one good acting performance, by Ian Mc Kellen, and, altough very good, not worth of too many awards). The movie is good. It's OK for it to be at the top 250 movies list, all right, but... even better than Schindler's List or The Godfather?
My rating: 9/10: read the book, then watch it.
Pâfekuto burû (1997)
Perfect movie.
This is one of the best _movies_ , and definitely the best animated movie I have ever seen! I really mean it. It's a precious modern story of a girl. It's incredible... Forget Pokémon or Dragon Ball, for God's sake! This IS a GOOD movie in ALL the sense of the word! (excellent, excellent direction by Satoshi Kon).
Perfect movie: 10/10, without any regret or reconsideration.
Go watch it! It's great!
Go watch it! It's great!
Go watch it! It's great!
Did I ask you to watch it?
Shrek (2001)
What a BAD film!!!
I can't believe this movie is at the top 100 movies of history list!
How can something so full of silly, predictible, brain-dead gags, be there? As someone told, the story doesn't make sense. The humor is nasty and cruel (what about the beginning? Yuck! And the cookie man without legs! Oh!) "Shrek" also kicks the butt of _all_ the stories, but not because it is good, but because the characters of these stories appear fooled in a way that really hurts to those of us that love fairy tales.
I do not recommend it. If you're definitely going to watch it, do your kids a favor: don't bring them to this movie if they're younger than 13! Even for me (25) it was.... oh, God! Rent Toy Story 1 or 2, Majo no Takkyubin (Kiki's Delivery Service) or Beauty and the Beast instead. Those are animated pieces of art!
Ah, and of course "Shrek" is going to win an Oscar! This has been really a "cruel summer".
Don't watch this movie if you want to keep a clean soul and a clean mind, or unless you watch the animation (although Toy Story's is much better).
Don't watch it! It's very bad, nasty and stupid!!! It should be at the worst animated movies, instead of Warner Bros. version of "the King and I".
Don't watch it, please! You'll feel that you've lost the treasure of innocence!
My rating: 4/10, and only because i really like animation!
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Not too bad, not too good.
The problem with this movie is that it pretends to be too US american, so there are scenes too silly ,like...
_________WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD_____________ ...like:
1) The USA flag into the water, next to the bodies of dead soldiers.
2) The american black man hero, never discriminated.
3) The super soldiers "killing'em-all" (God, they were a thousand against two and they didn't even touched them!)
4) The lack of reference to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the real reasons that made japaneses resign.
5) The ending (of course US "America" had to win and the love triangle to dissolve).
There're a thousand more, that make the movie very bad. The best part is when japanese attack. The worst, when "americans" attack (wasn't the movie too long yet at that moment)?
_________END OF SPOILERS_____________
4/10
Majo no takkyûbin (1989)
Will you marry me, Kiki?
Hey, people out there! There's one word to describe this movie: "outstanding". I began watching it last night at 22:20 and as I was pretty sleepy, the first thing I told to myself was: "O.K., 'Tonari no Totoro' was pretty but without much of an interesting plot. I'll look the first half hour of this other Miyazaki movie and that will be enough...".
Enough? I found myself at 12:05 watching the end credits and listening to the music with a smile on my face! This movie is incredible and it will (this will do, believe me) make you feel like the kid you were once, with those all expectations of beautiness and goodness fulfilled in a city that exists in the exact moment where technology should have stopped... but where there exist also good witches!
I know all I said could look a little bit stupid or candid but, hey, wait, you've got to watch it. Believe me: "Majo no takkyubin" is outstanding. As everything in life, it's not perfect, but it reflects that Miyazaki style very well, so as you can imagine the drawings are incredible and the story is (this one it is!) great.
(Ah, and I am Tombo. Hey, Kiki, would you marry me?) :)
My rating: 11/10.
Tonari no Totoro (1988)
A nice movie only for children.
This movie is very nice. Although the theme is very simple, it's very well drawn and the characters move very well (I got surprised with the animation of the movement of the two girls: they really seem real!)
If you're going to watch or buy it, remember it's a movie _for children_. It's designed in that way, and it's great in that way, so don't expect a great story because it hasn't it. If you want something "serious" go for Kokaku Kidotai, Hotaru no Haka (excellent), Nausicaa, Mononoke Hime (these last two by Miyazaki too) or even one of the Rupan Sansei (Lupin III) saga, instead.
My rating: 9/10 (again, as a movie designed for children).
Hotaru no haka (1988)
Quite good
This is a very good movie. I recommend you that before watching it, erase from your mind all you've heard about "anime" (Mecha, robots, flying people fighting with super powers, etc.) Just sit there, forget everything and enjoy the movie.
And, besides, this is a VERY realistic movie, very well drawn. You won't find anything in it that excuses the animation except little Setsuko behavior.
It's more that a sad story, a real story, because...
________ WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD _______________ ...because Isao Takahata (or Akiyuki Nosaka) shows us not two heroes nor two people which behavior should be followed as if they were. In fact, I think Seita could have done more: he could have worked in something (when you live in a Third-World country you see poverty situations like this every day, and how people struggles with them, not letting themselves die...). Seita and Setsuko are two very, very, very well represented cases of normal people... Actually, everyone (Seita's aunt, for example) and everything drawn in this movie is very very like real life.
________ END OF SPOILER _______________
Rent it or buy it. It's one of the best animated movies I've seen. Disney hasn't (and maybe won't) do something like this movie. 9/10.
Rupan sansei: Dead or Alive (1996)
It's a nice anime movie.
"Rupan sansei: Dead or Alive" is a nice movie of the Lupin III saga. Now we got an intriguing adventure on an island.
Besides a fight scene at the beggining, it's what one would call a "clean" movie. Definitely is not Miyazaki the ones who is directing the movie, but, anyway, it's well.
I'd complain that it's a bit slower than others of the series.
Watch it or rent it. It's nice and may be not very difficult to find (although I've had hard times looking for anime, I watched this one translated to Spanish, so maybe this one's not hard to get in English).
8/10
Wo hu cang long (2000)
Good, but not THAT good.
Yes, it's a nice movie... But it doesn't worth ten oscars! 8/10 for me. Nice effects... Not very easy to read for an american (a person of the continent).
Any way, I recommend it. You may find again the meaning of the word "honor".
Being John Malkovich (1999)
It begins very good, but...
Yes, it begins nice, weird, strange, creative. They show you a nice main character you like from the beginning. The first 3/4 parts of the movies, I was thinking about giving it a 10/10 in the IMDB... ...but... God! What did they do with the last quarter of the movie?
SPOILERS (I think they're) AHEAD!!!
Why did they let it be so sad? Why did they let our main character inside that girl without a real family? Oh, how sad! And it began so good, so happy. Hey, we liked the puppeteer!!!
END OF SPOILERS.
7/10. Good, but it could be better.
Lola rennt (1998)
Incredible, amazing, fast.
Great movie! Well awarded position at the Top 75 movies list!! VERY innovative!! Fast... fast... very fast. The 20 fastest minutes of your life, thrice (you'll see why).
You should see it.
Es buenísima. No dude en verla.
Abre los ojos (1997)
Too sad it isn't at the top movies list.
Better than Matrix, great story, keeps you sticked to the seat! Strange, quite strange before the last two minutes. Great end. It's a masterpiece that should be at the IMDB top movies list.
Great. Watch it...
¡Y en español! :)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Very, very good... with a little "but".
Very good movie. A clear idea is expressed. Really, a masterpiece.
Nonetheless, it's not very, very fun. Maybe it's because of the epoch.
Almost-excellent for me: 9/10.
Todo sobre mi madre (1999)
Another Almodovar's dirty film.
I don't know why this movie has been so acclaimed. It looked awful (3/10) to me. Not only dirty, ordinary scenes, but full of the weird idea that most of men want to be mothers (not fathers) and are capable of change their sex (!!!) for it.
Awful. Only the 10/15 first minutes of the movie (until the boy dies), it looks good. After that it was a total disaster for me.
American Beauty (1999)
It lets you without words.
This one of the movies I have liked the most. It´s outstanding. It lets you speechless. One feels so stupid, so guilty, after it. It shows clearly that you can make your life nonsense so easy, following the "american dream" lifestyle.
It touches your soul, really. It's full of fool and nasty things in a too clean, "smiley", world. It examines the american paradigma and gives a warning alert.
I loved the dancing bag scene. It was, for me, really trascendental.
For me, that live in a South American country, it made that I appreciate that we still have feelings, and that we're still a romantic, somewhat dreamy world, thanks to God.
A Bug's Life (1998)
It's not SO good.
I think this movie is not so good. I mean: it doesn't deserve (for me) to be into the 250 best movies. It's funny, OK. The effects are right, OK, but it has not other message than the characteristic old-fashioned Disney's concept of "funny things".
It's very different when you see other movies like Fantasia, Toy Story or Antz, that are clearly innovative, not only because of their special effects, but because of what they "tell": at least, they "transmit" an idea to the viewer.
Antz (1998)
Clearly (and fortunately), not a Disney movie.
I liked this movie more than A Bug's Life for the simple reason that it presents a situation: someone with a selfsteem problem. What but this one is the theme of the movie? And I'm sure Disney could never do one like this one.
I am not saying Disney's films are bad (Disney has made incredible works like Toy Story or Beauty and the Beast), but, for me, what Antz shows is more valuable... and the special effects are very good.
Ah... You don't have to take your kids with you. They maybe won't understand a lot of things.
The Game (1997)
A great suspense film
This is the suspense movie I have most liked. It keeps you stuck to the chair right up until it ends. The actors do a great job. But, befere you see it, don't let anyone tell you what is it about! You'll lose the entire movie!