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chimichambo
Reviews
Children of Men (2006)
Somehow it doesn't feel as futuristic as it should...
I mean, it is a sci-fi film, but to me it feels eerily and painfully close to our present world. Like a snapshot of our not-so-distant future. I hope I'm wrong about this.
I think Cuarón is one of the most powerful directors we have today. I love the way he handles actors and scenes, making it all seem very realistic, spontaneous, far from contrived, unlike most present-day Hollywood films. The action scenes are breathtaking, but not just because of the masterful way in which they are filmed (with very few cuts or no cuts at all), but because of what we know is at stake for the characters, whom we learn to care for. This may sound clichéd, but in many scenes you actually get the feeling of being there with them.
Apart from a scene near the end which quite shattered my suspension of disbelief for a minute, I think this is an excellent work, with great performances (Michael Caine is brilliant and moving, as usual) and a message about the terrible future (and no,I'm not talking about infertility) that possibly awaits us just around the corner.
Alatriste (2006)
Beautifully filmed and solid period movie
I enjoyed Alatriste; it's not your typical fast-paced Hollywood action flick (if you go see it expecting something of the sort, you'll probably be disappointed and bored) and the plot is not too clearly defined, but it has an excellent cinematography and costume design that recreate Velazquez's Spain, and most of the actors are very good. Mortensen is an awesome Capitán Alatriste despite his slight accent. You can see he took this role very seriously. He fits perfectly into the roguish, ruthless but noble character's skin. The sword fights are nicely choreographed. The atmosphere of seventeen-century Spain and the historical context are superbly recreated. Actually, I find there are interesting parallels between the decay of the Spanish Empire and present day United States, between the "tercios" and the US Marines.
I recommend this film highly to anybody who's interested in period films, or who likes Mortensen as an actor.
Sin City (2005)
Too long, too shallow
I am a comic-book fan. I like especially the work of writer Alan Moore, and I think that many of his comics tell you something about life, human nature or society which is new or at least is viewed from an original standpoint. I like what Frank Miller did for the Batman series, but I read a couple of issues of "Sin City" a few years ago, and wasn't impressed. The dialogue and character narration tried to seem profound, just like good noir films or novels used to be, but I couldn't find any true deep meaning; just overly pretentious lines that went nowhere. Perhaps it's because I didn't get it, but it seemed all form and attitude over substance to me.
As for the movie: I agree with everybody in that it's a very faithful adaptation. And I'm not talking only about the impressive and innovative visuals. I'm talking about the shallow, pretentious voice-overs, which sounded even more shallow and pretentious as spoken by actors than read in a comic book. I liked parts of the film more than the comic, though. The fragment about Mickey Rourke's character was exciting, well acted and funny -which the comic book was not, at least as far as I remember. The story with Bruce Willis and Jessica Alba bored the hell out of me. All sense of wonder, awe or disgust that the first third of the movie inspired in me were long gone. Besides, the sentimental and overly serious tone of the final fragment was at odds with the cartoony, more humorous first part. Considering that all the male leads are supermen of sorts and ALL the females are incredibly attractive women who perform -and are victims of- violent acts, the film seems a bit like an adolescent's fantasy (or a dirty old man's!).
In other words, I think it would have been a shallow but none the less entertaining movie had it been shorter.