ma-cortes Reviews

Stonehearst Asylum (2014)

Astounding film with good performances, suspense, tension, shocks and plot twists.

[7/10 · 24 April 2024]

USA, 1899. Stars Edward Newgate (Jim Sturgess), a promising young doctor in search of experience who has recently graduated from Oxford. In hope of becoming a resident the young doctor Edward arrives at the Snoonehearts detention center for the mentally ill to complete his training as a psychiatrist. However, right from the start, it is quite clear that the superintendent Dr. Silas Lamb's (Ben Kingsley) unorthodox methods of treatment seem to have no positive effect on the patients, furthermore, there is a strange feeling that there is more to the asylum than meets the eye. In the asylum there are a number of inmates (Kate Beckinsale, Christopher Fulford, David Thewlis, Sophie Kennedy Clark) , usually from the highest social classes. The center's director, Doctor Lamb, shows him his revolutionary and unorthodox procedures. Dr. Newgate begins to make shocking and frightening discoveries that show him that nothing is what it seems behind the walls of Stonehearst. Then weird happenings lead a madness spiral and killing. No one is what they seem !.

Intriguing film contains drama, thrills, chills, suspense , twists and turns , and results to be quite entertaining. The atmosphere and perverse intrigue enhance as well as the relationship between starring Jim Sturgess and Ben Kingsley develops. A psychological thriller directed by specialist Brad Anderson, being a loose adaptation of one of Edgar Allan Poe's stories,as the movie is based on short story written in 1844 titled "The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether", adapted by the screenwriter of ¨Wind Chill¨, ¨Fear Itself¨ or ¨Blackway¨ Joe Gangemi. The film, far from the black comedy of the original story, forms a plot of suspense and terror supported by an intriguing premise: "Do not believe anything you hear and only half of what you see."

The English actor Jim Sturgess gives a good performance as the young psychiatrist who soon falls in love with one of the patients at the center who warns him of the danger he faces in that place, she's nicely performed by Kate Beckinsale. While Ben Kingsley brings to life perfectly in his usual style a suspicious doctor.

The cast of this feature film is completed by prestigious supporting characters such as: David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Michael Caine, Jason Flemyng, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Christopher Fulfold, Sinéad Cusack, among others.

It displays a tense and full of intrigue score John Debney. Likewise, an evocative and dark cinematography by Thomas Yatsko. The motion picture was well directed by Brad Anderson . He is a good filmmaker who has directed thought-provoking and thrilling films such as ¨Happy accidents¨ , ¨Transsiberian¨. ¨Session 9¨ , ¨The machinist¨ , and ¨The call¨ his last film starring Halle Berry. Rating: 6.5/10. Good and above average, it's one the highest earning suspense picture of the last years ; it is an above average film with tense, suspenseful, and violence .

Act of Valor (2012)

A look into the secretive world of a team of SEALs, inspired by true events.

[5/10 · 23 April 2024]

A realistic and almost documentary film, including moving images with a camera on the shoulders. As the valiant men of Bandito Platoon race to stop a coordinated attack that could kill and wound thousands of American civilians, they must balance their commitment to country, team and their families back home. Each time they accomplish their mission, a new piece of intelligence reveals another shocking twist to the deadly terror plot, which stretches from Chechnya to the Philippines and from Ukraine to Somalia. When the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a deadly terrorist plot against the U. S., a team of SEALs is dispatched on a worldwide manhunt. The widening operation sends the SEALs across the globe as they track the terrorist ring to the U. S.-Mexico border, where they engage in an epic firefight with an outcome that has potentially unimaginable consequences for the future of America. At the beginning the elite team of Navy SEALs embark on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent: Roselyn Sanchez. The only easy day was yesterday !.

A motion picture starring active duty Navy Seals, it mingles action-packed , pursuits, thrills , drama, fights, suspense , a little bit of violence and spectacular sequences though won't mean much on little screen TV. An unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking, Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a powerful story of contemporary global anti-terrorism and their fights the hardest and bloodiest of the world wars. The film follows various members of the army unit who fought to free kidnapped people, to defend population, take down islamists and other dangerous assigned missions. The cast is mostly unknown, made up of beginner actors, in fact the movie stars actual, active-duty US Navy SEALs and SWCC; according to conditions set by the U. S. Government, their real names and identity are not revealed; although there are some moderately known performers, such as: Roselyn Sanchez, Emilio Rivera and Nestor Serrano. The film combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the minute battlefield technology and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure. Act of Valor takes audiences deep into the secretive world of the most elite, highly trained group of warriors in the modern world.

The motion picture was professonally made by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh, though with no originality. Waugh is sibling of Ric Roman Waugh , another nice director. Scott Waugh is a good artisan who has directed a few films , most of them spectacular and successful action movies , such as : Expend4bles (2023), Hidden Strike (2023) , 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain (2017), Need to speed (2014), and Act of Valor(2012) . Rating : 5.5/10. Well worth watching for the warlike films fans.

Identity Thief (2013)

Action comedy with thrills, car chases, emotion, and anything else .

[6/10 · 23 April 2024]

Sandy (Jason Bateman) is a loving and devoted family man,. A Denver family man who's always been responsible with his personal finances, he is shocked to learn that his credit score is in shambles. As he becomes the victim of a fraud designed by a compulsive shopper who steals his identity and uses his money: Diana (Melissa McCarthy). When the police refuse to offer any help, Sandy realizes that his only choice is to catch the impostor himself and bring her back to Denver to face justice. Being merilessly chased by a grizzled skip tracer (Robert Patrick) and a pair of vicious gangsters (Génesis Rodríguez and T. I.) determined to get the fake Sandy first, every step along the way will be a struggle. Is this the face of a thief?.Is this the face of a sucker?. She's having the time of his life

Comedians Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy star in this crazy comedy about fraud, mistakes and people on the verge of collapse. It is an action comedy that follows the style of a 'Road movie', and for which a series of confrontations, chases, and car crashes take place, when our well-known protagonists are relentlessly pursued by both the police, a bounty hunter and two mafia hitmen.

Director Seth Green handles the action and comedy with enthusiasm and the enjoyable chemical between Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy produces genuine comic sparkles. The friction between two leads Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy is fun to watch, while the action and comic moments are agreeable . The prestigious screenwriter Craig Mazin, writer of the different Scary Movie sequels, Hangover, and especially Chernobil and The last of us series writes this fun comedy focused on the relationship between a scammer and the person she has scammed. Duo of protagonists is really good; Melissa McCarthy is very nice as the unrepentant Florida fraudster who steals identities causing a lot of mayhem and messes, while Jason Bateman is the straight-laced, kind, and happily married family man who finds himself inexplicably involved in many twisted problems. Completing the main cast is the versatile John Favreau (Spiderman saga, and director of the remake The Lion King), Amanda Peet as the beloved wife, the rapper T. I. P. Génesis Rodriguez, Morris Chestnut, John Cho, Robert Patrick, Eric Stonestreet and Jonathan Banks.

The motion picture was well directed by Seth Gordon. He is a good director who has worked in both television and film. In TV he has made series as Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector, Marry me, The Office, Community, The Night Agent, The Goldberg, Breaking in, Modern family, The Good doctor. Gordon has producted/directed feature films as : The lost city (2022), Pixels (2015) y Cry Wolf (2005), Baywatch, Horrible Bosses , Di Di Hollywood, among others. Rating: 6/10.

Bellas Artes (2024)

An enjoyable and slight comedy with great performance by Oscar Martinez.

[7/10 · 22 April 2024]

Antonio Dumas (Oscar Martínez), a prestigious art historian and cultural manager, cultured and sophisticated, although quite cynical and conceited, is appointed director of an important contemporary art museum in Madrid, after emerging victorious in a competition for that position. In the first episode our protagonist must compete with two other candidates for the position of the museum, he takes it with indifference and a bit of superiority, due to the conditions that the jury demands for the square. Later in other episodes, the now director has confrontations with a presumptuous elderly painter (José Sacristán) and against the minister of culture (Ana Wagener). Once he has assumed his new position, and helped by Marisa (Aixa Villagrán) , the director's assistant, he will have to face, in the midst of the unusual fauna of the art world, a range of disparate circumstances and conflicts: from union problems and political pressures, to crazy situations in relation to exhibitions and artists. Furthermore, a collective exhibition causes a great sensation by placing a dead marine animal to denounce the lack of ecological conscience.

Bellas Artes is a comedy by Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn written by Andrés Duprat. With multiple international awards, the three creators have addressed themes relating to art and culture throughout their filmography with sorification and their unique touch of acid humor. Among their latest movies are: ¨Official Competition¨, ¨The Man Next Door¨, ¨My masterpiece¨or ¨The Illustrious Citizen¨. As in their previous films , the pair of directors addresses in this film issues such as limits in the world of art, hypocrisy, ego, envy, and the prejudices that some artists have against others, the somewhat ridiculous modern art, issues that on this occasion revolve around the film process. It is easy to fall into the commonplaces of satire about how contemporary artistic representations can be interpreted, and in that sense the episode in which Antonio Dumas is forced to take care of his teenage grandson by taking him to the museum is interesting, which he takes advantage of to explain the meaning of some works. The boy is especially interested in two paintings that are, in fact, works by the artist Alejandro Cohn, brother of Mariano Cohn. In fact, a good part of the installations that appear in the museum have been created by Andrés Duprat and Gastón Duprat. Sometimes it seems that Bellas Artes tries so hard to craft its message that it forgets to develop its characters, so that satire is superimposed on the creation of a story that acquires a solid narrative meaning. But at the same time avoid being too cruel to that hypocritical, egocentric, bureaucratic and sometimes fraudulent world that art has become from an institutional perspective. What makes the series a diversion that prefers to remain in the comfortable playful aspect, rather than being truly incisive. It is particularly laconic in its humorous approach, avoiding overly long comedy sequences, preferring to rely on the phrase or concise comment without too much histrionics. Even usually exaggerated actors like Dani Rovira, who plays Josep, the protagonist's son, is especially restrained and serious.

Oscar Martinez is very good as the appointed director of an important contemporary art museum in Madrid faces a range of disparate conflicts and twisted circumstances. He is accompanied by the following: Aisa Villagrán (¨Vida perfecta¨, ¨La chica de la nieve¨), Ana Wagener (¨Contratiempo¨, ¨El Reino¨), Dani Rovira (¨Mediteraneo¨, ¨8 apellidos Vascos¨), Adelfa Cavo (¨La Isla Minima¨), among others, they are part of the spectacular cast. In addition, the special participation, among others, of José Sacristán (¨13 exorcismos¨), Melina Matthews (¨Negociador¨) and Ángela Molina (¨Ese oscuro objeto de deseo¨)

The series was competently directed by Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn, they formerly made some decent films. As they have directed a dozen movies, with which they obtained more than thirty international awards, among which stand out The Artist (2008) , The Man Next Door (2009), The Distinguished Citizen (2016), My Masterpiece (2018) and Official Competition (2020). Their big hit was ¨El ciudadano ilustre¨ (2016) , it was No. 1 at the box office Argentine comedy of the year , getting submission of Argentina for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 89th Academy Awards in 2017 and won several prizes and nominations , such as : Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina 2016 Winner Award of the Argentinean Academy Best Actor Oscar Martínez , Best Supporting Actor Dady Brieva , Best Screenplay Original Andrés Duprat . Bellas Artes (12 epidodes 2024-2024) rating: 7/10.

La muerte ronda a Mónica (1977)

Spanish giallo with suspense, screams, tension, plot twists and turns.

[6/10 · 22 April 2024]

Monica (Nadiuska) is supposedly a rich woman who lives happily with her husband, Federico (Jean Sorel). Thanks to a friend of hers she finds out that he is cheating on her with another woman named Eva (Bárbara Rey). Things go from bad to worse when the company appears to be in trouble and former board members reappear. However, everything seems even more complicated with the appearance of Diego (Damián Velasco), a former adventure partner of Federico who has spent the last few years in prison due to a robbery and who also wants to get hold of the couple's assets, trying to get cold hard cash. The wealthy woman is then implicated in a series of murders. Other partners in this venture include the middle-aged bachelor Arturo (in his usual role as elegant playboy Arturo Fernández), who has a string of lovers throughout the city and used to date Monica herself, and the usually fur-clad glamorous Elena De Fuentes (Karin Schubert), who is a close friend of Mónica. At least that's what she thinks. Trusted friends are also few in the Giallo genre.

In 1976, Giallo was still influencing some directors, as in this Spanish thriller, whose intricate plot does not imply any development, nor due tension, nor an original outcome; however it does contain a few attractive elements. In short, the approach with which the director tries to drive one of the characters to madness is partially interesting. The film offers little more than gratuitous nudity, with a lesbian scene included, something very typical in the era of the "Destape" (ordinary nudist exposure of Spanish actresses in the seventies and eighties). As a trivia, we should add that the film received complaints at the time from certain viewers who had to be assisted in the same theaters due to the shock caused by some violent sequences. This film has a lot of dialogue and is somewhat slow, although it begins in an entertaining way and develops little by little, repetitively, spurred by a ridiculous ending, and not being filmed or directed with much style, but rather with a television aesthetic. Although it's called Giallo, it reminded me much more of a similar film, 'Diabolique'. The only thing you might not find in a television production is that there is a generous helping of female nudity here. All the actresses involved like Nadiuska, Karin Schubert, and Bárbara Rey, the latter more than once, as well as other women in smaller roles like Sandra Alberti, and Jenny Llada act to undress and then disappear. However, it's also worth noting that the scenes themselves are far from erotic. There is no sex here; just a lot of nudist scenes when the girls are showering, or making love, or coming out of the bathroom when the phone rings, or upstairs when they're in bed with their partners. Even a lesbian act in a nightclub is boring when filmed from afar.

I'll give him some credit for generating a bit of intrigue at the end and some well-executed scares, although it's pretty obvious that he's not very skilled at this particular genre. Some of the posters advertised this as an Agatha Christie adaptation, but it is not. The cast also includes the regulars of horror and European Giallo, such as the french Jean Sorel who played as a leading man in many films, standing out in the Italian Giallos, starring Nadiuska , famous as mother of 'John Milius's Conan' and in 'Último deseo' (The People Who Own the Dark,1979), Yelena Samarina and Luis Barboo as Monica's servants, the latter participated in a lot of horror/Western films, Bárbara Rey from 'The Cursed Ship' (or The ghost galleon), Sandra Alberti, who starred in the Spanish exploitation gem 'Satan's Blood' (1978). There has never been an official release for this title, although several outlets offered a faded, albeit widescreen print. The film was mediocrely directed by Ramón Fernández, although it has many deficiencies, cracks and gaps. This was the only Giallo genre film by this director, who made mainly comedies. Ramón was a prolific craftsman who directed all types of genres (but with a penchant for comedy), such as Thrillers: ¨Rueda de sospechosos¨, ¨7 minutos para morir¨; Westerns: ¨Las mujeres de Jeremías¨; Musical: ¨Las aventuras de Enrique y Ana¨, ¨A Tope¨. Being expert on Spanish comedies, such as: ¨Aquí están las vicetiples¨, ¨Cateto a babor¨, ¨Ahí va otro recluta¨, ¨Simón contamos contigo¨, ¨Sor YeYe¨ , ¨Margarita se llama mi amor¨, ¨ Los novios de mujer¨, ¨El adultero¨, ¨El donante¨, ¨Cuando los maridos iban a la guerra¨, ¨Doctor me gustan las mujeres es grave¨, ¨Matrimonio al desnudo¨, ¨El señorito y las seductoras¨, ¨El gran mogollón¨, ¨Aquí el que no corre vuela¨ and he made ¨No desearas al vecino del quinto¨ considered to be the Spanish's most boxoffice at the time. Rating: 6/10. Average but passable .

Hammett (1982)

Win Wenders's first American movie, decently achieved story about the art and the mystique of creation fiction.

[6/10 · 21 April 2024]

By 1928, Hammett (Frederic Forrest) is a retired Pinkerton agent, aridly glossing the exploits of his old sidekick Jimmy Ryan as raw material for his magazine stories. But when the real Jimmy Ryan (Peter Boyle) turns up in San Francisco to plunge Hammett into a Chinatown cunundrum of underage hookers, gunsel punk, stag movies, blackmail, murders , he uncovers at first hand outlandish events. As Ryan shows up at Hammett's San Francisco digs searching for a mysterious Chinese girl, Crystal Ling (Lydia Lei) . And Sam ends up enlisting the help of his neighbor, librarian Kit Conger (Marilu Henner), though things go wrong. The mystery writer who lived his own stories ! He Created 'The Maltese Falcon," "Sam Spade" and "The Thin Man". But He Didn't Write This Mystery-Thriller...He Lived It. He Not Only Wrote the Greatest Detective Stories he lived them!

It's 1928 San Francisco, a fictional story centered around real life Dashiell Hammett, here as a Pinkerton agent turned famed noir fiction writer, being mediocrely told in fits and starts. Here Hammett delves into the underworld of San Francisco, as he uncovers the canvas and roles for such subsequent triumphs as The Maltese Falcon, and discovers within himself the seeds of Sam Spade. After many directors and script rewrites, Wenders was assigned by Francis Ford Coppola to this arch neo-noir with atmospheric scenario. Depicting Dashiell solving a complex criminal himself, an experience he uses in his novels. Interesting, but ultimately botched studio exercice, like many others from executive producer Coppola, who is said to have reshot much of the movie. Recently deceased Frederic Forrest incarnates the writer as a rumpled but uncreased Bogart, Boyle is the archetypal Archer-type loser, while the whole cast plays just one beat away from the genre staples their roles would become in print and the films. Big cast with iconic actors and veterans, such as: Elisha Cook, Jr. Roy Kinnear, R. G. Armstrong, Richard Bradford, Sylvia Sidney, David Patrick Kelly, Jack Nance, Royal Dano, Hank Worden and Samuel Fuller.

Adding colorful cinematography by Joseph Biroc, almost entirely studio-shot with evocative production design by Dean Tavoularis and hauntingly scored by John Barry. The motion picture was professional but unevenly directed by Wim Wenders . This great German director Wim Wenders has made thoughtful and thought-provoking films , and he has a peculiar fascination with rare and outlandish roles . He has made various prestigious documentaries , and notorious fiction movies and he even worked in Hollywood . As Francis Ford Coppola, as producer , gave Wenders the chance to direct in America : Hammett (1982) that was a critical and commercial failure . However , his American-made Paris, Texas (1984) (1984) received critical hosannas, wining three awards at Cannes, including the Palme d'Or, and Wenders won a BAFTA for best director. "Paris, Texas" was a prelude to his greatest success , "Wings of Desire"(1987) , which he made back in Germany . The film brought him the best director award at Cannes and was a solid hit, even spawning an egregious Hollywood remake and later on , Wenders himself directed a second part : ¨Faraway, So Close!¨(1993) that won the Grand Prize of the Jury at Cannes . Wenders followed it up with a critical and commercial flop "Until the End of the World"(1991) . Since the mid-1990s, Wenders has distinguished himself as a non-fiction filmmaker, directing several highly acclaimed documentaries , most notably ¨Buena Vista Social Club¨ (1999) and ¨Pina¨ (2011), both of which brought him Oscar nominations , as well as this The Salt of the Earth (2014). Rating : 6/10 , decent and agreeable film, though slow-moving at times. The flick will appeal to Wim Wenders followers and completists.

Ocho apellidos marroquís (2023)

A mediocre sequel with no relation to the previous two, including confusion, messes and silly laughter.

[5/10 · 21 April 2024]

Pretty hilarious , enjoyable, entertaining, but average Spanish comedy with likable main and support cast. This is the second sequel to the all-time local hit 'Spanish Affair', was the top grossing film of 2015, taking $34.7. Third installment of the saga ¨8 apelllidos¨, once again turns the most common topics and prejudices that some carry into comedy, in this case at the expense of Cantabrians and Moroccans. It belongs to highest-grossing comedies of Spanish cinema, here with new characters and protagonists, this third begins at the funeral of José Maria (Antonio Resines, he's really wasted because has only a bit role) : beloved husband of Carmen (Elena Irureta), beloved father of Begoña (Michelle Jenner) and illustrious Cantabrian businessman, Jose Maria has left a video with his last wishes: the family has to recover the ¨Sardinete¨, the boat with which his fishing fleet began and which is now anchored and rusting in a Moroccan port. Thus, Carmen and Begoña, two very patriotic Cantabrians, rich and full of prejudices, travel to Morocco accompanied by Begoña's ex-boyfriend, Guillermo (Julián López) a posh man willing to conquer his girl again, going to a country where more than one surprise awaits them.

Comical as well as romantic comedy is loaded with irony , humor with tongue-in-cheek , jokes and fun . Álvaro Fernández Armero 's broad comedy is the follow-up to Emilio Martinez-Lazaro's Ocho apellidos Vascos or Spanish Affair and Ocho Apellidos Catalanes or Spanish Affair 2 . Follows the Díaz-Aguirre family, whose perfect universe turns upside down after the death of the patriarch, who in his will asks his wife to recover an ancient fishing boat. This film follows the classic timeline of a past lover attempting to reclaim the person he lost before. Throughout there are humorous moments, especially among Julián López, Elena Irureta, Michelle Jenner attempting to live in a place where they find themselves totally misplaced without knowing the language, customs and even taking part in a traditional Moroccan wedding. And adding the beautiful bride, María Ramos Mouhoub who steal the show as the attractive and resourceful Moroccan girl willing to do anything to go to Spain and follow her father's will . This is an extremely funny film with entertaining events , giggles , emotion , craziness, twists and intimate love stories. The film moves in fits and starts most of which would be desirable , with more traps the viewer resists any kind , and some moments of enjoyment and others quite a few embarrassing . This disconcerting film packs amusement , comical situations , tongue-in-cheek , politic critique , surrealist comedy , adding conventional pitfalls and many other things. Close comedy regarding crazy roles , mayhem , antics , frolics , and a moving romances ; including enjoyable interpretations with outcast roles ,though they were mediocrely developed. A typical subsidized Spanish comedy of the 2020s with the usual ingredients such as wild humor topped with a little bit of original touches here and there and the tone of the film is light-hearted. However , there's nothing new in this story because of it turns out a simple retread of situations and incidents that we have already seen many times

Nothing new, and slightly humorous, but with many forced comic situations. The movie title addresses about Ocho apellidos vascos (2014) and Ocho apellidos catalanes (2015), as if it would be a third part. However, the roles are different and they nothing to do with the Emilio Martínez Lázaro movies. It contains colorful and appropriate cinematography by Sergi Gallardo shot on location in San Vicente de la Barquera, Cantabria, and Morocco . Evocative as well as adequate musical score by Vanessa Garde Roque Baños . Being skillfully proceeded by director Álvaro Fernández Armero and turned out to one of the most box office movies of 2019 and certainly one of the most amusing . This director Alvaro Armero was born in 1969 in Madrid, location where he often shoots his flicks . He is a good director and writer, expert on comedies and especially known for ¨Todo es Mentira¨ (1994), ¨Salir Pitando¨ , ¨El Juego De Verdad¨ , ¨Nada en la Nevera¨, ¨Brujas¨ , ¨Si yo fuera rico¨, though also shot a successful 'slasher' titled ¨El Arte De Morir¨. Rating : Regular but passable at times: 4.5/10 . The film will appeal to very enthusiastic and not demanding fans of Spanish comedy.

Everybody Knows (2018)

Asghar Farhadi's dramatic thriller with a very good cast of the best Spanish performers.

[7/10 · 20 April 2024]

Laura (Penélope Cruz) returns to Spain, along with her two children, to attend her sister's wedding (Inma Cuesta). Her husband , an Argentinian (Ricardo Darín) who is very loved in the town of Laura, stays in Buenos Aires for the money he had donated for different works, including the church. After dancing with Felipe at the wedding reception, Irene complains that she does not feel well and goes upstairs to sleep. Later that night, Laura goes to check on Irene only to find she is missing. She receives a text message from kidnappers urging the family to pay a large sum or they will kill her. A homecoming. A celebration. A mystery. Who knows your fears; who knows the truth !. Someone kidnapped her !. Who did it? Who did it? A family. A kidnapping. A mystery.

Penelopé Cruz and javier Bardem star in this drama with some touches of thriller and intrigue. The film explores the inevitable complications that arise via class, gender, and social differences in the context of a family microcosm by doling out narrative information, piece by piece. Asghar Farhadi shows his deceptively subtle cinematic style, an astute psychological realism and a knack of making ordinary life feel like a suspense thriller. Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem play Laura and her old boyfriend, Paco, whose reunion during Laura's sister's wedding will be marked by a painful event that will drastically change the course of their lives. This one results to be the fifth collaboration between real life partners Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem after "Jamón, jamón" (1992), "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (2008), "The counselor" (2013) and "Loving Pablo" (2017). Well directed by Irani Asghar Farhadi (The salesman, Nader and Simin) who provides his usual trademarks and sense of style. Along with the two greatest international and Hollywood actors Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz (marriage in real life) this film also has great interpretations of Ricardo Darín, Eduard Fernández, Bárbara Lennie, Inma Cuesta, Elvira Mínguez, Ramón Barea, Sara Sálamo, Roger Casamajor and José Ángel Egido.

It contains a colorful and evocative cinematography shot on location in Torrelaguna, a small town north of Madrid. The motion picture was competently directed by Asghar Farhadi. This great director Irani has has made notable films, such as: ¨The Salesman¨, ¨Darbareye Elly¨, ¨Fireworks Wednesday, ¨Dancing in the Dust¨, ¨Le Passé¨, ¨Beautiful City¨ and his film ¨Nader y Simin, a separation¨ (2011) is the first Iranian movie to win an Oscar. All of them including his style marks: An elegant freneticism that's intensified by the tight, seemingly omnipresent editing; turning domestic crises into a prismatic array of motives and perspectives; a tonal and emotional friction that's simultaneously tragic and transcendent; a character-rich, milieu-specific filmmaking; aiming for a middle ground between intimacy and detachment, and intimate-in-scope-narratives that are consistently reaching for a universal truth. ¨Everyone Knows¨ opened the 2018 Cannes Film Festival with big business. It obtained 8 Goya nominations, including best film, director, screenplay, original, actor (Javier Bardem), actress (Penélope Cruz) and supporting actor (Eduard Fernández). Rating: 7/10. Better than average.

Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)

Horror movie depicting an eerie tale plenty of demons, craziness and killings.

[6/10 · 20 April 2024]

A creepy film filled with mystery, suspense , terror , grisly killings , twisted events and horrible happenings . It belongs to "Tales from the Crypt" series that was a 1989 horror story anthology series based on the gruesome E. C. comic books of the 1950s presented by the legendary "Crypt Keeper", a sinister, grisly ghoul obsessed with gallows humor and horrific puns. The series was originally envisioned as a trilogy story feature film. This was changed to a television program, because the producers feared it would bomb as a movie, as trilogy-style horror movies rarely had success at the box-office. Brayker (William Sadler) is the guardian subject to ghastly events and menaced by psycho. Bayker cares of an ancient key that keeps the forces of darkness from overwhelming mankind, a key desired by the charismatic Collector (Billy Zane), who unleashes a disgusting mix of demons against the house's inhabitants. So various demons and warriors attempt to obtain a key containing the blood of Christ. The key is guarded by immortal warriors called Demon Knights. Ready for your deadtime story? Dead-On Humor and Horror !. Two Scary!

A nineties horror film with a great cast and full of ghastly events, chills , thrills, gore and guts. Gruesomely garish big-screen version of TV series that was inspired by the lurid 1950s E. C. Comics. Horrormeister Crypt Keeper offers his usual pun-filled introduction to a pale set in a seedy Boarding House. Curious hybrid of spoof/splatter that doesn't quite work in either genre. There's a star-studded cast that results to be pretty good with a plethora of known actors, such as : Jada Pinkett Smith, William Sadler, John Larroquette, Brenda Bakke, CCH Pounder, Dick Miller, Thomas Haden Curch , Gary Farmer, John Schuck, Charles Fleischer. And Billy Zane who steals the show by giving a sympatic and ironical acting. And John Kassir came up with the trademark voice of the Crypt Keeper. When Kassir auditioned for the part, the producers loved it so much, they almost immediately chose him. John Kassir, voice of the Crypt Keeper, often had to swallow lemon juice and honey to sooth his throat after doing his lines. It took six puppeteers to operate the Crypt Keeper during his scenes, four puppeteers alone just for his facial expressions. Crypt Keeper designer Kevin Yagher incorporated the eyes of ¨Chucky¨ (1988), another creation he designed, into the Crypt Keeper.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Ernest R. Dickerson (Bones, Juice, Never Die Alone, Bulletproof, Surviving the Game). It follows in the wake of Horror Anthology movies of the Sixties and Seventies made by British ¨Hammer Films¨ and ¨Amicus¨ from producers Max Rosemberg and Milton Subotsky , in which a skeleton or a sinister Crypt Keeper acting as hosts and usually based on stories previously appeared in American comic books as Tales of Crypt from EC comics , such as : ¨Dr. Terror's House of Horrors¨ 1965 by Freddie Francis , ¨Torture Garden¨ 1967 by Freddie Francis , ¨Asylum¨ 1972 by Roy Wad Baker , ¨Tales from the Crypt¨ 1972 by Freddie Francis, ¨The Uncanny¨ 1977 by Dennis Heroux , among others . Rating: 6/10.

The Outpost (2019)

Based on facts, about about an American army unit besieged in Afghanistan by a heavily armed group of Taliban.

[7/10 · 19 April 2024]

Spectacular and noisy film set in Afghanistan. This is a 2019 American wartime action-thriller film directed and produced by Boaz Davidson/Avi Lerner/Yarid Lerner/ Samuel Hadida/Victor Hadida and written by Paul Tamasy/Eric Johnson, based on the book of the same name by Jake Tapper: "The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor". In 2006, the USA army set up several outposts in northern Afghanistan to prevent the entry of Taliban weapons and troops from Pakistan. One of them is located near the town of Kamdesh, at the foot of the Hindukush mountains. A place so difficult to defend that one analyst stated that it could well be called 'Camp Custer' since all the soldiers stationed there seemed condemned to die.

A realistic and almost documentary film, including moving images with a camera on the shoulders. The film follows various members of an army unit who fought to defend the American compound and whose main mission was survival. Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, Lod of the Rings), the young Scott Eastwood (Pacific Rim: uprising, Diablo), son of Clint Eastwood, and Caleb Landry Jones (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ) star in this frenetic war drama that tells of the battle of Kamdesh, one of the hardest and bloodiest of the Afghan war. In which, In 2009, a few American soldiers (plus a Latvian, and some Afghans) had to face hundreds of Taliban. The film is based on the book by the war reporter, Jake Tapper: Outpost, An untold story of American Valor and also features the interpretations of other young actors such as Milo Gibson (All the Devil's Men), Jacob Scipio (Bad Boys for Life)

Situated in an isolated area of Afghanistan, Combat Outpost Keating is manned by a small force of US Army soldiers. Years later of sporadic, light attacks, in October 2009 the Taliban attack in force. An investigation into the battle of Kamdesh faulted army leadersip for failing to improve the camp's defenses. The investigation also recommended that all obviously indefendible outposts are closed. For their bravery on October 3, 2009, Bravo Troop 3-61 Cavalry became the most decorated unit of the Afghanistan War. The Bronze Star for Valor was awarded to Daniel Rodriguez, The distinguised Service Cross was awarded to Andrew Bundermnann. The battle of outpost Keating was the first in 50 years the Medal of honor was given to two living servicemen.

Rod Lurie helped immeasurably by superb cameraman Lorenzo Senatore and an excellent creative team have created the ultimate vision of war as hell on earth, a nightmarish firefight. Stirring and emotion of the film is aided by an exciting musical score by Larry Groupé. Conventional elements in the screenplay as heroism, comradeship, are based on a story devoid of sentimentality and balanced by a genuinely complex examination of courage in the field. It is overpowered by one of the most relentlessly and realistic harrowing war action.

Received many mixed reviews from critics. While the film was praised for its acting performances, action sequences, and dark tone, the script was criticized for some historical liberties. Rod Lurie's direction (Nothing But the Truth, The Contender) also received a mixed response, with many criticizing his emphasis on over-the-top action, but some also noting it as one of his most mature and grounded films. Rod is a talented film critic-turned-director who burst onto the scene in late 2000 with his hotly debated political thriller ¨The contender¨. After writing some scripts , Lurie was already hard at work at his next film, working with his acting hero Robert Redford. The result was the 2001 action/drama ¨The last castle ¨ (2001). It centered on an imprisoned military general, forced to go up against a tyrannical prison warden . He subsequently directed ¨Resurrecting the champ¨ and ¨Nothing but the truth¨, both of them were commercial failures despite some favorable reviews as well as ¨Straw Dogs¨. The outpost (2019) rating: 6.5/10. Better than average.

Manhattan (1979)

Assured and endearing comedy, with gorgeous cinematography and sensitive musical score. .

[6/10 · 19 April 2024]

Woody Allen's New Comedy Hit in which he's a successful television writer , Isaac Davis, who wants to do something more worthwhile. Isaac yearns to be a serious writer, that's why he struggles through a series of ill-fated romances, including one with high school senior (Mariel Hemingway), and another with Mary (his then-sweetheart Diane Keaton), who's also having an on-again, off-again with Yale (Michael Murphy), Isaac's best friend. But Isaac feels guilty about his relationship with teenage girl Mariel. And his ex-wife , Jill (Meryl Streep) is a lesbian, while he is hesintant with the affair with Keaton.

Acclaimed coming-of-cinematic-age movie for Allen is based in part on his own life with the theme of the main role living in New York. ¨Manhattan¨shows a comic view and scathingly serious of modern relationships in urban America and of the modern intellectual neurosis. His love affair with Mariel Hemingway and Diane Keaton is chronicled as a wistful, episodic comedy commenting on love, family, loneliness, communicating, maturity, city life, careers and various other topics. It is a brilliant combination of the best American comedy tradition with the most accurate diagnosis of relationship problems. Considered to be one of his most autobiographical films (something that Allen has always denied) and one of the best of his long career. Director, writer and starring Allen himself alongside his then muse and girlfriend Diane Keaton, both of whom giving stunning interpretations. Being the fifth collaboration between Allen and Keaton. Meryl Streep does very well with her character of Jill, Isaac's ex-wife, who's come out as a lesbian and is writing a withering and successful account of their marriage. Considered by many Woody Allen fans to be his best film, it is more thoughtful and less obviously fun than the similiar but Academy Award-laden 'Annie Hall'.

It all sounds more complicated than it is and Allen's notable storyline and deceptively simple direction make 'Manhattan' a joy to watch. The fact that it is filmed in black and white entirely on location in Allen's home town adds to its quirky appeal. In ¨Manhattan¨ excels the black and white cinematography by cameraman Gordon Willis, Allen's usual cameraman, shot to capture the mood of N. Y. streets and mated with an excellent George Gershwin soundtrack.

The motion picture was well directed by Woody Allen, although it is excessively talky, and is somewhat boring for those who are already tired of Allen's peculiar personal world. In the beginning Woody made usually hilarious films with hardly any personal comments about his own life in which he used to act, such as : ¨What's Up, Tiger Lily?¨, ¨Take the money and run¨, ¨Pussycat, Pussycat I Love You¨, ¨Sleeper¨, ¨Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but Were Afraid to Ask¨, among others . Subsequently he made several masterpieces. Including a series of movies in which he provided nice direction, investing care enough, wit and warmth, such as : ¨Crimes and misdemeanors¨, ¨New York stories¨, ¨September¨, ¨Radio Days¨, ¨Hanna and her sisters¨, ¨Broadway Danny Rose¨, ¨Zelig¨, ¨Stardust memories¨, ¨A midsummer Night's Sex Comedy¨, ¨Interiors¨, ¨Purple rose of Cairo¨, ¨Manhattan¨,¨Melinda Melinda¨and many others . And ¨Annie Hall¨, Allen's most awarded film, the Oscars voters were impressed and awarded various statuettes, winner among many other awards, of the Oscar for Best film, Direction, Script and Lead Actress. Rating Manhattan 6.5/10 . Better than average. The movie will appeal to Woody Allen and Diane Keaton enthusiasts.

The November Man (2014)

A spy movie with full of non-stop action, thrills, violence, twists and turns

[6/10 · 19 April 2024]

A gripping story of spies, betrayal, vengeance, justice and retribution. An ex-C. I. A. Operative Peter Deveraux (Pierce Brosnan) is brought back by his chief Hanley (Bill Smitrovich) in on a very personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil (Luke Bracey) in a deadly game involving high-level C. I. A. Officials and the Russian President-elect (Lazar Ristovski). Peter Deveraux heads to Belgrade, where he saves the social worker Alice Fournier (Olga Kurylenko). A spy is never out of the game !. The Spy is Back !. Pierce Brosnan the spy is back !. Follow the target !.

A twisted thriller with intrigue, action-packed , suspense, car pursuits, violence and high body count. Brosnan's outing with overwhelming action and spectacular scenarios, and being accompanied by the beautiful Olga Kurylenko and the brave Luke Bracey as a merciless young hitman. Director Roger Donaldson (The Recruit) directs this thriller with plenty of noisy action, murders and intrigue starring the icy agent Peter Deveraux, the main character in the saga of 13 novels that the American writer Bill Granger published between 1979 and 1933. The film is based on the book ¨ There are not spies¨, but this work is set in the Cold War. To update the backdrop, the scriptwriters looked for a modern problem with the same tension, so they placed the story in the conflict between Chechen nationalists and Islamists opposed to the Russian state.

Starring the now quite veteran and somewhat old Pierce Brosnan, he delivers a stoic performance as he relentlessly confronts his enemies who mercilessly try to corner him and the always beautiful Olga, both of them have a great experience in the world of spies and in action movies. Brosnan played James Bond up to four times ('Golden Eye' the first, Tomorrow Never Dies, World is not enough, Die Another Day), while the Russian actress Olga Kurylenko was a Bond girl in 'Quantum of Solace'. Well accompanied by other secondaries as Bill Smitrovich, Eliza Taylor, Amila Terzimehic, Lazar Ristovski , Mediha Musliovic, Caterina Scorsone and Will Patton.

It features atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Romain Lacourbas. And a soundtrack full of tension and suspense by Marco Beltrani. This film which was originally titled ¨November Man" or ¨Spy Legend¨ or ¨La conspiración de noviembre¨ was professionally directed by Roger Donaldson, although it has some flaws. Donaldson's first film was Sleeping Dogs (1977), which was the first made in his native New Zealand in 15 years and also the first to be shown in American cinemas. Roger is a good director and producer, known for The Bounty (1984), Dead End (1987), Burt Munro (2005), Species (1995) and Cocktail (1988), among others. Rating: 6/10. This film is exactly aimed for Pierce Brosnan fans.

You Only Live Twice (1967)

Over-the-top and very spectacular James Bond movie in which he confronts Spectra in Japan.

[7/10 · 18 April 2024]

007 (Sean Connery) goes Japan to take on arch-nemesis Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) who has been capturing Russian an American spacecrafts in order to cause the WWIII. To investigate, MI6 operative James Bond is sent by M (Bernard Lee), the head of MI6, to Tokyo, after faking his own death in Hong Kong and being buried at sea from HMS Tenby. Upon his arrival, Bond attends a sumo match where he is approached by Japanese secret service agent Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi), who takes him to meet local MI6 operative Dikko Henderson (Charles Gray). Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond !. This Man IS James Bond, Sean Connery is James Bond. You Only Live Twice...and "Twice" is the only way to live!.

A very good entry in James Bond series with implausible plot but very amusing script. Here Bond is again the efficient, relentless agent trying to chase obstinately the criminals, traveling around the world as always, as this time is mostly set in Japan. Bond to achieve his aims, along the way uses violent means, pulling off brutal killings against enemies who wreak all sorts of havoc. This time Bond goes East, traveling to Japan to take on arch-nemesis Blofeld who attempts to start a new world war, and anticipating future Karate film trends: six years after with ¨Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon¨, martial arts thrillers would be all the rage. This solid , slick thriller with magic mix of action-packed, dazzling stunts, gadgetry, romance and flirts provided by sexy company as Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Karin Dor, Tsai Chin and the indispensble secretary Miss Moneypenny, Lois Maxwell. As always Bond will use "state of the art" and fantastic gadgets provided by ¨Q¨: Desmond Llewelyn. They include a deadly rocket that uses a cigarette as its firing tube, and a speedy one-seat autogiro in which 007 does battle with a fleet of Spectre helicopters. The most fun item though, is a helicopter equipped with an electromagnet for removing unwanted cars from the motorway. Being shot in Japan, there're a lot of Oriental actors providing adequate acting, such as: Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Tetsurô Tanba, Teru Shimada, Tsai Chin, Michael Chow and Burt Kwouk.

Great location cinematography by classic cameraman Freddie Young, breathtaking production design by Ken Adam, unforgettable musical score by John Barry, and catching theme sung by Nancy Sinatra enhance the attractivenes of the film. Lewis Gilbert directs the plentiful action in nice style, it is definitely the mechanical marvels that hold sway in this overwhelming thriller/adventure. The motion picture was competently directed by Lewis Gilbert who was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to the film industry. Lewis has directed four actors to Oscar nominations: Michael Caine (Best Actor, Alfie,1966); Best Actor, Educating Rita (1983), Vivien Merchant (Best Supporting Actress, Alfie , 1966), Julie Walters (Best Actress, Educating Rita (1983), and Pauline Collins (Best Actress, Shirley Valentine (1989). He was a successful producer and directo , getting some hits , such as : ¨Alfie¨ , ¨Operation: Daybreak¨, ¨Shirley Valentine¨, ¨H. M. S. Defiant¨, ¨The 7th Dawn¨ , ¨Light up the sky !¨, ¨Sink the Bismarck !¨ , among others . And directing three notable James Bond films : ¨The Spy Who Loved Me¨, ¨Moonraker¨ , ¨You Only Live Twice¨. Rating : 7.5/10. Above average. Well worth seeing .

Steele Justice (1987)

A typical eighties action film with sloppy action, a lot of shooting, fights and synth music.

[5/10 · 18 April 2024]

Martin Kove vehicle in which our starring called John Steele decides to deal out justice in his own hands against maniacal killers. Steele (Martin Kove) is ex-cop and Vietnam vet who is determined to bring down Kwan, former South Vietnamese general. Steele suspects Kwan is involved with Lee's (Robert Kim) death but unfortunately Kwan's (Soon-Tek Oh) now respected and wealthy member of the community, but he's actually a powerful drug lord. Then, a massacre takes place. John cares vital witness (Jan Gan Boyd) and then has to protect her from the efforts of the bad guys. Former boss Bennett (Ronni Cox) is not in a rush to find the killers cause investigation reveals that Lee may have been dirty which Steele knows is not true. When the police needed someone to stop the Vietnamese Mafia, there was only one choice...Only law is the Black Tiger's !. The only justice is John Steele's !. You don't recruit John Steele !. You unleash him!.

This comic-book stuff contains suspense, thrills, chills, noisy action-packed, gun-play and lots of violence. Here Martin Kove is a lone-wolf ex-cop who with his usual stoic acting displays amount of weapons arsenal, track down and exterminates nasty psycho killers. The villiains are encouraged to overact, which they carry out without much flair. This was the highlight of Kove, being an usual secondary actor who first appeared in bit parts in films like ¨Karate Kid¨ saga and ¨Rambo: First Blood Part II¨ . Trying to make a new action hero imitating to ¨Commando's Arnold Schwarzenegger¨, ¨Invasion USA's Chuck Norris¨, ¨Cobra's Sylvester Stallone¨; however, this project failed at the boxoffice, continuing a second-class career in B films and in increasingly insignificant roles. In Steel Justice , the long list of secondary characters that have long and well-known careers in cinema stands out, such as: Sela Ward, Ronny Cox, Bernie Casey, Joseph Campanella, Sarah Douglas, Shannon Tweed, Kevin Gage and oriental actors as Soon-Tek Oh, Jan Gan Boyd , Eric Lee, Peter Kwong of 'Big trouble in Little China' and the prolific secondary that even has a cult status, Al Leong, featured by long wavy black hair and Fu Manchu mustache, who frequently plays mercenaries who are killed by Hollywood's biggest stars.

The motion picture was mediocrely directed by Rober Boris. He is an artisan who has written, produced or directed a few films with not much success, such as: ¨Backyard dogs, Marilyn and Me, Extreme Justice, Buy & Cell, Frank and Jessie, and Oxford Blues¨ with Rob Lowe. Rating: 4.5/10, only for hardcore action movie lovers .

El Diablo (1990 TV Movie)

This wacky western is packed with crossfire, mayhem, and great entertainment and fun.

[6/10 · 17 April 2024]

Funny though unknown TV Western with noisy action, brawls , humor, mirth, shootouts and amusement. This Western comedy deals with the young man, Billy Ray (Anthony Edwards), a gentle children's school teacher who must fight against a nasty enemy to free his kidnapped student Nettie Tuleen (Sarah Trigger's film debut). Firstly, Billy Ray enlists the aid of unscrupulous gunman (recently deceased and unforgettable Louis Gossett Jr). His mentors are some sympathetic crooks. The cocky dandy Billy Ray wearing elegant clothes but he changes his garments to a ridiculous cowboy style with pants made of animal skin. Billy Ray Smith creates a 'posse' made up of the most eccentric gunslingers: The Preacher (John Glover), the writer Kid Durango (Joe Pantoliano) Zamudio (Miguel Sandoval), Bebe (M. C. Gainey) and Indian Dancing Bear (Branscombe Richmond). The veteran partners teach him the West manners and training him for shooting. Along the way, the bunch confronts the deadly outlaw nicknamed "The Devil" (Robert Beltran). When a young man can't ride or shoot he needs help real bad and here's help that's real bad!.

Anything is possible in this comical-serious Western movie. This film contains Western action , shootouts, fist-play, high body-count, humor with tongue-in-cheek and results to be pretty bemusing. A good Western with lots of silly laughters in which the notorious outlaw El Diablo kidnaps a schoolgirl, her teacher, an Easterner named Billy Ray, decides to rescue her. It's an entertaining film with enjoyable comedy in which Anthony Edwards plays a young man who teaches at a school and promises to rescue a girl kidnapped by a bandit, incompetent to track her alone, he joins a team of gunfighters. And the leader results to be Louis Gossett Jr who steals the show as the shameless and ambitious ex-Union soldier, along with a notable plethora of secondaries, such as: John Glover, Joe Pantoliano, Robert Beltran, M. C. Gainey, Miguel Sandoval, Sarah Trigger, Jim Beaver and Branscombe Richmond.

The comical formula deals to enhance the hilarious observations of the western originated on the decade of the Sixties, including the following filmmakers : Andrew McLagen with ¨McLintock!¨, ¨The rare breed¨, Something Big¨ and Burt Kennedy with ¨Support your local gunfighter (one of his better spoof Western)¨ , ¨Support your local sheriff¨ (his highpoint) , ¨Dirty Dingus Mcgee¨ , ¨War Wagon¨ and ¨ The Good guys and bad guys¨, ¨Texas Across the River¨ by Michael Gordon and a bit later on, Mel Brooks directed the indispensable ¨Blazing saddles¨ and after ta-hat, Hugh Wilson made ¨Rustlers' Rhapsody¨.

The motion picture well directed by Peter Markle. And John Carpenter was the film's executive producer and writer. Peter Markle is an expert on all kind of genres as comedy as ¨Hot dog , the movie¨, ¨Wagon East¨ the last film of John Candy¨ ; Sci-Fi as ¨White dwarf¨; Sports as ¨Youngblood¨ ; ¨Drama¨ as ¨Personals¨, ¨Nightbreaker¨, and suspense as ¨Through the eyes of a killer¨ and ¨Last days of Frankie the Fly¨ , and Wartime genre as ¨Bat 21¨. Rating : 6,5 . Worthwhile seeing, better than average humorous western.

The Good Liar (2019)

A solid film with superb interpretation from Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren, along with enjoyable support cast.

[7/10 · 17 April 2024]

This first feature film collaboration for British stage and screen legends Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren is set in London 2009. Estelle and Brian, two elderly widowers, connect on a dating website. On the first date, both confess that they have not given their real names. Ian McKellen and Mirren, two British legends of acting, star in this dramatic thriller in which Roy Courtnay, an accomplished swindler, targets the wealthy woman and recently widowed Betty McLeish. So, career con artist Roy Courtnay (Sir Ian McKellen) can hardly believe his luck when he meets well-to-do widow Betty McLeish (Dame Helen Mirren) on-line. As Betty opens her home and life to him, Roy is surprised to find himself caring about her, turning what should be a cut-and-dry swindle into the most treacherous tightrope walk of his life. In gaining Betty's confidence, Roy believes he has one thing going against him and one thing going for him. The former is Betty's suspicious grandson, graduate student Stephen (Russell Tovey), who is writing his dissertation on Albert Speer and who seems to be looking out for his grandmother in not trusting Roy on any little thing. Read between the lies !.

A good thriller with suspense, tension, intrigue, twists and turns. What starts out as a simple scam becomes more and more complicated becoming a dangerous cat and mouse game with the ultimate stakes. Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen star together for the first time in a movie and both of whom give sensational performances. Cleverly written by screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher who previously wrote Mr. Holmes (2015). The director and screenwriter Bill Condon had already directed McKellen in 'Gods and Monsters' (with which he won the Oscar for best screenplay) and 'Mr Holmes' and he is the director and adapter of this rendition of the bestseller "The Good Liar" by Nicholas Searle. The great duo of protagonists are well accompanied by a competent supporting cast, such as: Russell Tovey, Jim Carter, Mark Lewis Jones, Jóhannes Jóhannesson, among others.

The motion picture was well directed by Bill Condon. He is good writer and filmmaker who has achieved some successes. Directed two films where Ian McKellen played with two actresses he had previously co-starred in different stage productions of August Strindberg's "Dance of Death", both of them directed by Sean Mathias: Mr. Holmes (2015) with Frances de la Tour and The Good Liar (2019) with Mirren. Bill Condon has directed notable films, such as: Mr. Holmes (2015) , Dreamgirls (2006) , Gods and monsters (1998) , Kinsey (2004) and Beauty and the Beast (2017). This God Liar (2019) marks the fourth collaboration between writer and director Bill Condon and Sir Ian McKellen, after Gods and Monsters (1998), Mr. Holmes (2015), and Beauty and the beast (2017). Rating: 6.5/10. Better than average. Not a complicated movie , but clever , enjoyable and warm.

The Portable Door (2023)

A pleasant movie full of fantasy, emotion and friendly characters.

[6/10 · 16 April 2024]

Paul Carpenter is desperately looking for a job. After a most unusual interview he ends up hired in a company, but he neither knows what they do nor does he even know his duties. Then, two lowly newcomers , Paul (Patrick Gibson) and Sophie (Sophie Wilde), at J. W. Wells and Co., a mysterious firm based in London, uncover a plot by their CEO to disrupt the ancient magical world with modern corporate practices. Nasty villains Humphrey Wells (Christoph Waltz) , the CEO of the company, and middle manager Dennis Tanner (Sam Neill) are disrupting the world of magic by bringing modern corporate strategy to ancient magical practices

There are some similarities to 'Harry Potter' and ¨Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them¨sagas in this solid fantasy with adventures, magic and imagination. ¨The Portable Door¨ is the first book in Tom Holt's J. W. Wells & Co. Series, made up of eight books: The Portable Door (2003), In Your Dreams (2004), Earth, Air, Fire and Custard (2005), You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But it Helps (2006), The Better Mousetrap (2008), May Contain Traces of Magic (2009), Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sausages (2011), The Eight Reindeer of the Apocalypse (2023). Following a fascinating first 30 minutes the movie loses impetus as the writer struggles to spin it out towards two-hour length. Patrick Gibson and Sophie Wilde star in this magical film playing two interns become increasingly aware that their mysterious employers are anything but conventional, discovering the true agenda of the vast corporation; alongside the winner of two Oscars for best supporting actor Christoph Waltz (Django unchained) and Sam Neil (Jurassic Park) performing two charismatic villain chiefs. This likeable quartet of protagonists are well accompanied by a wonderful supporting cast, such as: Damon Herriman , Demi Harman, Rachel House, Miranda Otto, Chris Pang, Arka Das, and Jessica De Gouw.

It displays a thrilling and enjoyable musical score by Benjamin Speed. Likewise , a brilliant and colorful cinematography by Donald McAlpine. Along with stunning state-of-art special effects and creatures from Story Bridge Films and The Jim Henson Company. The motion picture was professionally directed by Jeffrey Walker though borrows heavily from other known stories. Craftsman Jeffrey Walker at his debut feature film, but he has directed a number of episodes of popular TV series, such as: The Artful Dodger, Bones, The Clearing , Blue heeler, H2o, Lambs of God, LA to Vegas, The Clearing, Home and away, Dance academy, The Elephant Princess, The young rock, Wild Boys , Angry Boys, among others. Rating: 6.5/10. Well worth watching.

All Night Long (2010)

A documentary by Isaki Lacuesta about the beautiful actress Ava Gardner focusing on her Spanish experiences.

[7/10 · 16 April 2024]

Like so many other actors, Ava Gardner hated watching her movies. However, she was ranked 25th on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female legends of the American screen. She said the woman on the screen was not her. But all films tell two stories: the plot and the story of the filmed bodies. This film tells what happened between two images: a close-up of 'Pandora and the Flying Dutchman' and a close-up of 'Harem', the first and last film shot by the actress in Spain. Surely Ava must have thought that neither of these two women had anything in common with herself. Ava went abroad for the first time to film Pandora, and therefore the first country to know about her was Spain, and specifically Tossa de Mar where said film was filmed. Previously, she had already filmed successful Hollywood films, such as: Venus Was a Woman or Outlaws with Burt Lancaster. So Ava lived in Madrid in the 60s before settling in London in 1967 and here she played alongside Charlton Heston: 55 Days in Peking, produced by the powerful magnate Samuel Bronston. Starting with Pandora, she was the main representative of the Spanish Carmen, that is, the typical woman who is the object of desire by various male conquerors and who are the object of their downfall because of her evil charms, thus she interpreted Spanish women. In The Naked Maja, The Angel Wore Red, The Barefoot Contessa, The Sun Also Rises, and The Snows of Kilimanjaro set mostly in Spain.

All the Night Long is the fourth feature film by Catalan screenwriter and director Isaki Lacuesta concerning the attractive actress considered 'the most beautiful animal in the world'. An outstanding documentary that pleased audiences when it premiered at several national and international festivals. While Lacuesta's previous works have tended towards the overly ambitious and slightly pretentious end of the arthouse spectrum, this study of golden age legend Ava Gardner - focusing on her years working and living in Spain - is a documentary playful, accessible but attractively unorthodox that explores countless clips from the actress' catalog, impressively recovered from the archives of the American cable company Turner Classic Movies, which commissioned the film.

This documentary is a good companion to the television series ¨Arde Madrid¨ by Paco León in which the life of Ava in Madrid, played by Debi Mazar, is described, dealing with her usually noisy parties at night and regularly bothering her neighbors, one of which was the Argentine dictator Juan Domingo Perón, which is why the boisterous parties organized by Ava Gardner cause growing tensions with her neighbors below. Both in this TV series and in the documentary we contemplate the life of Gardner, a woman with a strong temperament but extremely lively, who liked vices, drinking, smoking, and dancing. Vices that were partially destroying her life, and wasted at the same time after spending the nights dancing in the public venues of Dolce Vita and in the most fashionable clubs in Madrid. In fact, flamenco became one of her favorite pastimes after learning it in The Barefoot Condesa (1954); increasingly competent and needing little sleep, she often danced all night.

While living in Spain, she became good friends with the writer Ernest Hemingway, whom she and her other friends called "Dad", both of whom were fans of bullfighting. Ava appeared in three films based on stories by Ernest Hemingway, of whom she was a dear friend and who also lived a lot in Spain: Fiesta (1957), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) and The Killers (1946). We also see Ava sing some songs such as: "Can't Help Loving That Man" written by Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II and "Can't Help Loving That Man" written by Jerome Kern, P. G. Wodehouse and Oscar Hammerstein II.

In 1995 she was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 sexiest stars in the history of cinema and the great Ava has been portrayed on film by many actresses, she has been played by Marcia Gay Harden in Sinatra (1992), Deborah Kara Unger in The Sinatra Clan (1998), by Christine Andreas in Mia Farrow (1995), Jon Mack in Dorothy Dandridge (1999) and by Kate Beckinsale in The Aviator (2004).

Ava spent her last years in seclusion in her London apartment; her only companions were her housekeeper Carmen Vargas and her beloved Welsh Corgi, Morgan. Two strokes in 1986 left her partially paralyzed and bedridden. Although she could easily afford her medical expenses, Frank Sinatra wanted to pay for her to visit a specialist in the United States and she allowed him to make arrangements for a private plane with medical personnel. Her last words (to her housekeeper Carmen de ella) were, "I'm so tired," before she died of pneumonia at age 67. Vargas took her body to his native North Carolina for a private burial. None of her ex-husbands attended.

Kiss the Girls (1997)

Good and moving film plenty of mystery, intrigue, frantic action and surprises .

[6/10 · 16 April 2024]

This notable mystery thriller results to be the first entry on Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman), a Washington D. C. cop and forensic psychologist, as he heads to Durham, North Carolina to solve a homicide (where a beaten wife has killed her husband) and then learns that his niece Naomi (Gina Ravera), a college student in North Carolina, is missing. He awares of the local police, including Detective Nick Ruskin (Cary Elwes), that Naomi is the latest in a series of young women who have vanished. So he goes there and learns that the police think she's among the victims of someone who kidnaps young girls and holds them captive at the sicko's love dungeon and kills them. He dubs himself Casanova after the great lover. Soon after his arrival, one of the missing women is found dead, bound to a tree in a desolate forest, and shortly after that, intern Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd) is kidnapped from her home. After doctor Kate, who also happen to be a kickboxer, helps Cross track him down. A cop and a witness on the trail of a brutal killer !. They must see as one, they must act as one, they must think as one, before the next victim falls !. A detective is searching for a deadly collector !. His only hope is the woman who got away. Smart Girls. Pretty Girls. Missing Girls.

A thrilling film with big name cast and full of action, tension, entertainment, twists and turns. Morgan Freeman lends his authorative presence to the central role as Washington, D. C. detective and forensic psychologist Alex Cross who learns his niece is abducted and he'll stop at nothing to free her. There are similarities to 'The silence of the lambs in this solid serial-killer with girls victims underground by a mysterious sadist who calls himsef Casanova. Following a fascinating first 30 minutes the movie loses impetus as the writer struggles to spin it out towards two-hour length. Gripping, dark, and tense movie is packed with suspense from the beginning to the end. In this thrilling, grim and suspenseful film, developing a game of cat and mouse between a creepy murderer and Alex Cross. It isn't too hard to figure what follows from this contrived scenario: lots of gruesome slayings to be picked over, moody set-pieces where Jolie has to creep around in the dark wondering if the maniac is going to leap out. The material is well known and clichéd at times, no doubt, but all concerned give it top class treatment. Casanova's lair and his harem of victims are a shade too lurid to be chilling and a conversation between bad and good guys doesn't work. This is a modern and impressive thriller that meets all the requirements of the genre, belonging to the new generation of intrigue films from the late 90s and early 2000s. Director Fleder already had experience in mystery stories and demonstrates it efficiently. On this occasion we once again have a stellar couple of actors leading the cast. On the one hand, the Afro-American actor Morgan Freeman is a guarantee at the box office by playing a police hunting for a serial kidnapper, being helped when a victim manages to escape for the first time. Freeman is commanding as he barks orders to the support team. Next to him appears the actress Ashley Judd, somewhat unknown at that time, she is terrific as the doctor who's also kidnapped. She would shortly after rise to international fame thanks to her following films. The great duo of protagonists are well accompanied by a wonderful supporting cast, such as: Cary Elwes, Alex McArthur, Tony Goldwyn, Jay O. Sanders, Bill Nunn, Brian Cox, Richard T. Jones, Roma Maffia, Jeremy Piven, Gina Ravera, William Converse-Roberts, among others.

Adapted from the novel by James Patterson and followed by two sequels: ¨Along Came a Spider¨ (2001) by Lee Tamahori with Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter and ¨Alex Cross¨ (2012) by Rob Cohen with Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Edward Burns .

Filmmaker Gary Fleder is enough of a technician to make sure the movie pushes the right intrigue buttons, and the art direction at the crime scenes is so hideous that isn't apt for squeamish. This mysterious and sinister motion picture was compellingly directed by Gary Fleder, he skillfully orchestrates a cool film plenty of suspense, action, thrilling moments and plot twists. The flick works pretty well and is paced along admirably but also packs some brief flawed scenes.

It displays a thrilling and suspenseful musical score Mark Isham, a musician expert on mysterious and sinister enviroments. Likewise , a brilliant and colorful cinematography by Aaron Schneider. The motion picture was compellingly directed by Gary Fleder. But he borrows heavily from ¨Seven¨ and ¨Silence of the lambs¨, and this psycho-killer thriller falls far short of both. Gary Fleder is a known craftsman who has directed successful action movies such as: ¨Homefront¨ , ¨The Express¨, ¨Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead¨, ¨Runaway Jury¨. But he often shoots episodes of famous series, such as ¨The Impostor¨, ¨Kingdom¨ , ¨Guilt Scorpion ¨, Star-Crossed¨, ¨Beauty and the beast¨ , ¨Happy Town¨ , ¨Lincoln Rhyme¨, ¨Zoo¨, ¨October Road¨ and many others . Rating : 6.5/10. Notable, worthwhile watching . After principal photography was completed, a sequel to this film was planned, and subsequently materialized . Better than average .

Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001)

Fun and slight sequel with same ingredients about the eccentric doctor who talks to animals.

[5/10 · 15 April 2024]

Loose non-musical adaptation of the 1967 movie has Eddie Murphy in this follow-up playing straight man to a group of furry friends voiced by the likes of Steve Zahn, Lisa Kudrow, Mike Epps, Jacob Vargas, Michael Rapaport, Isaac Hayes, Andy Dick, Joey Lauren Adams, David Cross, David DeLuise. Here Murphy Dr. John Dolittle the beloved doctor is back, living with his intimate family, wife (Kristen Wilson and children (Raven-Symoné, Kyla Pratt), but this time around he plays cupid to bumbling circus bear Archie as he's so smitten by a Pacific Western bear female, Ava. Dr. Dolittle must help a group of forest creatures to save their forest against enemies (Kevin Pollak, Jeffrey Jones) who want to destroy it . The good doctor goes back, persuaded to save the forest from human developers. With the aid of his mangy, madcap animal friends, Dr. Dolittle must teach Archie the ways of true romance in time to save his species and his home before their habit is gone. Dolittle is reduced to reacting lamely and is upstaged throughout by the wisecracking critters. He doesn't just talk to the animals!.Dolittle Is Back !. The doctor is in again !. The Doctor Is Back! For thousands of year animals have been trying to tell us something, but their cries have fallen on deaf ears...until they found John Dolittle !. This Summer...The Doctor is In Learn to talk in 500 animal languages from a parrot who speaks 1000!.The most joyous entertainment for the whole family! You've never seen anything like it in your life!.

An enjoyable adventure about a botcher doctor, regaining his wit and courage as he makes friends, crosses adversaries and encounters wondrous creatures created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The marvelous and agreeable premise suffers, at times, from a poor and weak script, this time Dolittle is faced with the challenge of reintroducing a circus bear into the wild in order to save a forest . Children will find this flick very amusing thanks to Eddie Murphy 's stunning acting, a lot of beloved animals, colorful cinematography and sympathetic script. May pack a bit too much bathroom for some family tastes. Gastrointestinal, flatulence and other bodily functions dominate the humor and subplots involving Dolittle's daughter nearly undoes te charm, but it's a passable entertainment. No animals were harmed during the making of this film, but there was probably cruel and unusual treatment of the interns involving pooper-scoopers. Murphy's well accompanied by Kristen Wilson, Raven-Symoné, Lil' Zane, James Avery, Andy Richter, Kevin Pollack, the always likeable Kyla Pratt who stars the sequels, among others. Traditional values and great movie for families, resulting to be an exciting movie from beginning to end, this is an amazing feel nice film and I was hoping to see more like it. Direction by Steve Carr (Movie 43, Iznogoud, Rebound, Paul Blart: Mall Cop , Are We Done Yet?, Next Friday) is ordinary, fitting to comedy film. Rating 5/10 . Average but amusing.

Other versions about Hugh Lofting's acclaimed tales were starred by Eddie Murphy, made in 1998, 2001 and 2006, such as : The first ¨Dr Dolittle¨ (1998) by Betty Thomas with Murphy, Ossie Davis, Oliver Platt, Peter Boyle, Richard Schiff, Kristen Wilson, Jeffrey Tambor, Raven-Symoné. ¨Dr Dolittle 2¨ by Steve Carr. ¨Dr Dolittle 3¨ with Kyla Pratt, Kristen Wilson, Walker Howard, John Amos. ¨Dr. Dolittle 4: Tail to the Chief¨ (2008) by Craig Shapiro with Kyla Pratt, Peter Coyote, Malcolm Stewart, Niall Matter. And recent ¨Dolittle¨ (2020) by Stephen Gaghan with Robert Downey, Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen , Jim Broadbent, Jessie Buckley, Emma Thompson , Rami Malek. And the 1967 classic ¨Doctor Dolittle¨ by Richard Fleischer with Rex Harrison, Anthony Newley, Samantha Eggar, Peter Bull , Muriel Landers, Portia Nelson, William Dix and Richard Attemborough. Wholeheartedly recommend for a great family movie. Fun enough and great adventure for kids and adults. Doctor Dolittle is one of the most joyous entertainment for the whole family.

Smile (V) (2022)

A good horror film with thriller, tension, suspense, chills, twists and turns.

[6/10 · 15 April 2024]

This chiller follows the committed psychiatrist Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon, who's the daughter of actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick), she is the kind psychiatrist tries to get to the root of the problem and figure out a way to help the desperate patient. But her prolonged sessions reveal the naked, horrible truth, she is exhausted after hours on call in the psychiatric emergency service. Rose attends to a young woman who turns to compassionate therapist Dr for advice, then she's terrified by an evil presence. When the girl finally seems calm, a big smile appears on her face and a criminal act happens to herself... from that moment on, an overwhelming terror takes over the woman, unsettling the life of Dr. Cotter. Desperate to rid herself of a recurring nightmare and tormented by disturbing appearances every time she falls asleep, Rose is teetering on the brink of madness. Believing that Laura's shocking death may have caused a mental breakdown, Rose's boss Dr. Morgan Desai (Kal Penn) puts Rose on one week's leave. After her fiancé Trevor (Jessie T. Usher) returns home, Rose notices her cat is missing. Later on, the young woman seeks the help of her former boyfriend (Kyle Gallner). Once you see it, it's too late !. Pass it on !. The new face of fear !. What makes you smile?. Can Laura prevent the inevitable? Will she escape the terrifying supernatural entity ?.

Parker Finn's disturbing first feature fully achieves what the director was looking for: provoking a feeling of panic attack from start to finish. This frightening movie displays terror, shocks, hard-edged drama and creepy images. While the look is suitable atmospheric and eerie, the argument stretches plausibility to the breaking point. ¨The Smile (2022)¨ is inspired by a short by the director himself (¨Laura Hasn't Slept ,2020¨), starring Caitlin Stasey, Lew Temple, winner of the special jury prize in the SWSW midnight shorts category. 'Laura has't sleep' is a bit different from 'Smile' though, 'Smile' was more about trauma affecting people and dealing with a mysteriously threatening curse. The visual effects used were terrifying in a good way and on point. I especially liked the CGI for the faces of the attackers and victims. A lot of tension, mystery and horror and the ending was surprising and not where I thought it was going.

'Smile' received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the visuals, make-up, themes and Bacon's acting. Bacon is pretty good as the deranged therapist who's refusing to sleep, haunted by a blood-curdling vision. But criticized its jump scares, easy screams and plot similarities to ¨It Follows¨ (2014), ¨The grudge¨(2004), The Ring (2002) and ¨The Ring 2¨(2005). This disturbing motion picture was well and originally written/directed by Parker Finn at his film debut. Rating: 6.5/10. A decent horror film that will appeal to terror fans.

The Head (2020– )

A cold thriller with twisted intrigue, good eye cinematography and a cast actually competent.

[7/10 · 14 April 2024]

TV series (2020-) in 2 seasons and 12 episodes, it is located at the Polaris VI international station, in Antarctica. It is only known that every April 29 in Antarctica, the sun sets and does not rise again for the next six months. Winter has fallen on the South Pole, and most of the staff evacuate the Polaris VI Antarctic Research Station. A small team, known as the Winterers, will remain at the Polaris VI Antarctic Research Station to continue their innovative research, a crucial part in the fight against climate change. The small group stays on to continue their work led by renowned biologist Arthur Wilde (John Lynch). But when spring comes, summer commander Johan Berg (Alexander Willaume) returns to find the entire team are either dead or missing. The Head is in a strange way in a facility that has occurred at the South Pole. There is only one survivor, but he does not remember anything of what happened. A killer is on the loose and Annika (Laura Bach), Johan's wife, is missing. If he wants to find her alive, he will have to trust Maggie (Katharine O'Donnelly), the young doctor who is traumatized and apparently the sole survivor from the group. The Longest Night !. The Coldest Truth !.

Whodunit in which a serial killer executes gruesome murders and an investigation attempting to resolve. Through questions and flashbacks from the only survivors, during that period of winter time, the scientific group has ended up dying one less person and they will try to find out the truth behind this strange event. An intriguing and apocalyptic story that focuses on an investigation of the inexplicable death of a group of scientists. Thrilling, suspenseful series packing chills , tension, noisy action, violence , intriguing events , gruesome slaying and winds up into an astonishing finale. Exciting, slow-paced and stirring development , though predictable, when starring find that their colleagues are being murdered one by one ."The Head" was filmed on location in Iceland and Tenerife, Canary Islands, España. In the first episode the series pays tribute to John Carpenter when the remaining crew is watching The Thing (1982), and the plot The Head (2020) bears a certain resemblance to that film. There're a nice actors in the cast, such as: John Lynch as leader of the innovative research, a crucial part in the fight against climate change, Katharine O'Donnelly as Dr. Maggie Mitchell, Alexandre Willaume, Johan Berg , Richard Sammel as Erik, Tomohisa Yamashita as Aki, Hovik Keuchkerian as Charlie, Laura Bach as Dr. Annika, Alvaro Morte as Ramón, Enrique Arce as Óscar, Mónica López as Astrid, among others.

Compellingly written by David and Alex Pastor, they offer us an intelligent flick of the frozen Antarctic, tense, intimate and committed, they're expert on apocalyptic and Sci-fi films as ¨Carriers¨, their first American film with Chris Pine, Piper Perabo. David and Alex Pastor Brothers directed in 2013 ,¨The Last days¨ , with Quim Gutierrez , Jose Coronado and wrote Out of the Dark (2014) and Eternal (2015). This killer-chiller coproduced by Spain and Japan was professionally directed by Jorge Dorado. He's a good craftsman who has shot decent films and TV series,such as: Objetos (Lost and found) , Mindscape, Gigantes, El Ministerio del Tiempo, Feria: La luz más oscura, El embarcadero (The Pier), among others. Rating: 7/10. Decent series that will aapeal to mystery thriller fans.

Robot Dreams (2023)

A sensitive and enjoyable cartoon movie, stunningly written/produced/directed by Pablo Berger.

[8/10 · 14 April 2024]

The Spanish director and screenwriter Berger (Snow white) adapts the graphic novel by Sara Varon in this tender story, as simple as it is profound, which obtained the Oscar nomination for best animated film. It follows the adventures and misfortunes of Dog and Robot in New York City during the 1980s. Dog lives in Manhattan and he's tired of being alone. One day he decides to build himself a robot, a companion. Their friendship and mutual affection blossoms, until they become inseparable, to the rhythm of 80's NYC. One summer night, Dog, with great sadness is separated to Robot, due to life circumstances, they are forced to live without each other. Will they ever meet again?. "Beautiful, Unexpected, and Tender" (Guillermo del Toro).

It is a beautiful story of friendship, companionship, fidelity and 80s nostalgia; being developed with fine sensitivity, tenderness and love. It tells the story of a strange friendship that arises between a lonely dog who spends his days in front of the television and the robot he buys to keep him company until Dog is forced to abandon Robot at the beach. As there is no dialogue in the movie, voice actors are credited but not associated with a determined character, adding catching songs and agreeable musical score from Alfonso de Villalonga. The roles don't speak, just make sounds; however, it is known that voice director Pablo Berger and actor Ivan Labanda voices both Dog and Robot. The music and songs are the following: ¨A Bailar El Son¨ performed by Canelita Molina; ¨I Hate Hate¨performed by Reagan Youth, ¨Bucket drums¨ by John Bryant; ¨Breakdown¨ written by Clarence Keaton, Kevin Keaton; ¨Concert mandolina en C mayor¨ composed by Antonio Vivaldi; ¨(It's A) Monster Holiday¨ written and performed by Buck Owens; ¨Mister Softee Jingle¨ written by Les Waas; ¨Danny Boy¨performed by Ayna Ziordia; ¨Eternal Love¨ written & performed by Imade Saputra; ¨Beloved Secrets¨; ¨Bamboo Wok Solo¨; ¨Hip Hug Her¨; ¨Happy; ¨Let's go; ¨Apres Sky; ¨Easy money¨; ¨Oh Yes Baby I Love You So¨; ¨September¨; ¨You sweet love¨; ¨The New Explorers¨, among others.

The motion picture was well written/produced and compellingly directed by Pablo Berger, a pretty good Spanish movies director. Being winner of the Goya for best adapted script, and for best animated film, the Contrechamp grand prize in Annecy and the audience prize in Sitges, among many other awards. Here Berger delivers a very worthy work in which he demonstrates how with simple jobs can make a decent film. Director Pablo Berger developed the project for some years before being able to shoot it. Pablo is a well recognized filmmaker both nationally and internationally , and in proof of it he won many prizes in several Cinema Festivals, his feature debut was ¨Torremolinos 73¨ and following the excellent ¨Snow White¨ or ¨Blancanieves¨ and ¨Abracadabra¨. Rating ¨Robot Dreams¨(2023) : 7.5/10 . Above average.

Smoking Causes Coughing (2022)

Weird and outlandish Sci-Fi movie in low budget from Quentin Dupieux.

[5/10 · 14 April 2024]

Stars an odd group of fantastic vigilantes called the "tobacco-forces", the five super heroes are nicotine, benzène (benzene), méthanol (methanol), ammoniaque (ammonia), and mercure (mercury), their names are all chemical components found inside cigarettes and now they're falling apart. To rebuild team spirit, their leader, Benzène: Gilles Lellouche, suggests that they meet for a week-long retreat, before returning to save the world.

Cinema Indie's 'Enfant Terrible', Quentin Dupieux (Yannick, Mandibules), directs this surreal, sloppy fantasy comedy full of stories as extravagant and bizarre as the film's premise. After annihilating a dangerous giant torture facing off against them, the ungainly tobacco patrol formed by a motley team uses the negative energies of tobacco to drown their enemies until they die, they receive the order to begin a retreat that strengthens the cohesion of the group and allows them to defeat Lizard, a villain who intends to destroy the earth before the year ends. From there, the tacky story of the retreat joins the stories of the eccentric protagonists in a spiral of dark humor, full of puddles, unpredictable characters, incongruous events, ramshackle gore and lousy special effects. The cast is largely unknown to the general public, except for Gilles Lellouche, Vincent Lacoste, Adèle Exarchopoulos as Céline and voice by Alain Chabat as Chief Didier.

Mediocre and somewhat blurry photography mainly in the South of France: the opening scene was shot in the quarry Cabrières d'Avignon, Vaucluse; the lake in Lac de Peïroou, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône; the sawmill in Les Mages, Gard; Uzès and studios of Provence, Martigues, Bouches-du-Rhône, Francia.

This absurd motion picture was mediocrely directed by Quentin Dupieux and it premiered at the midnight section of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Being second film directed by Quentin Dupieux released in 2022, after Incredible But True (2022). Quentin has made some bizarre, offbeat films, getting some french hits. He has directed: Le Daim or Deerskin (United States, English title) (2010), Au poste (2018), Mandibules (2020), Yannick (2023), and its most succesful film was Rubber (2010). Rating: 4.5/10. Only advisable for fans of strange and surreal films.

Friday the 13th (2009)

A new remake of the classic 80's film with budget enough, lots of violence and gore.

[5/10 · 13 April 2024]

This terrifying movie delivers grisly horror, tension, mayhem, horrible gore and lots of blood and guts. Searching for his missing sister, Clay (Jared Penderecki) heads to the eerie forest of the legendarium Crystal Lake, where he stumbles upon the old, decrepit remains of a cabin covered in dense moss. Against police advice and warnings from local residents, Clay continues with the search, helped by a young woman (Danielle Panabaker) he has met among a group of young students ready to spend an exciting weekend. What they least imagine is that they have entered the domain of one of the most terrifying serial killers in history: Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears). Welcome to Crystal Lake !. Jason lives !. Many will die !. Prepare for the day everyone fears... You know his name. You know the story. On Friday the 13th, witness his resurrection...!. Bad luck? ...You don't know the half of what you're in for.

From the Producers of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' comes the usual slasher packing thrills, chills, nudism, shocks and terrible deaths. The plot is plain, simple and well-known: A group of young adults visit a boarded up campsite named Crystal Lake where they soon encounter the mysterious Jason Voorhees and his deadly intentions. Unsettling gore-feast contains uncountable killings with lots of guts and gore, including impaling, stabbing, beheading, among them. Nor is it the best when it comes to dialogue. Much of it is very silly, crude, non-sense and cheesy. Or character development, while the roles are actually still easy to sympathise with to some extent they are stereotypes that we don't know an awful lot about generally. 'Friday the 13th' is far from the best when it comes to performance, excepting for the resourceful Jared Padalecki and the always charming Danielle Panabaker. The others: Travis Van Winkle, Aaron Yoo , Jonathan Sadowski, Julianna Guill, Ben Feldman, Arlen Escarpeta and America Olivo are mediocre at best, though it was interesting to see Amanda Righetti in an early role pre-The Mentalist.

The creepy screenplay and story, based on characters created by Victor Miller, was written by Damian Shannon , Mark Swift and Mark Wheaton. And lavish production by the great Joel Silver along with Sean S. Cunningham, Andrew Form, Hamada and Brad Fuller. The motion picture was professionally directed by Marcus Nispel, though with no originality because it copies the premises and situations that we have already seen many times earlier. Marcus is a video hits director and expert on terror and action genres as he proved in ¨Frankestein¨ , ¨Texas chainsaw massacre¨¨Friday the 13th¨, ¨Exeter¨, ¨Pathfinder¨, ¨Conan¨, but none of his movies have been based on original plot.

Since the first entry: 'Friday the 13th' (1980) directed by Sean S. Cunninghan (series' usual producer) one of the most famous and influential horror films, the franchise containing one of horror's most iconic villains in the already very long series, there have been many sequels, such as: 'Friday the 13 II' (by Steve Miner,1981), 'Friday the 13 III' (1982 Steve Miner in 3D).... The best Friday 13 are: 'Jason takes Manhattan part VII' (1989), 'Jason X' (2002,James Isaac), 'Freddie Kruger vs. Jason' (Ronnie Yu) and the last 'Friday, the 13th' (2009) with Jared Penderecki and Daniella Panabaker. Rating: 5.5/10. This film has images of graphic violence and may not be suitable for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.