March 2010

25th March

After a 2-week stretch Ana has written a small review on our blog, this time of a 2000 film directed by Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot:

Durham (Northern England), 1984. Eleven-year-old Billy Elliot, whose father and brother are miners on strike and whose mother died not long ago, attends boxing lessons after class, but what he really likes is the girls’ ballet lessons.
Living in a gruff family, with the exception of his grandma, who lives unaware of reality, his secret new love for dancing is a difficult issue for him. Nevertheless, he doesn’t give up pursuing his hidden dream.
Taking everything into account, Billy Elliot is a film such a hard (yet also sweet), moving and captivating film that you can’t stop watching it until the very end.

Thanks Ana. Our blog was rather inert of late, so your contribution, however small, has brought it back to life. A highly recommendable film indeed, acclaimed by the critics and loved by audiences across the world, which scooped a few awards at the time and is regarded as one of the best British films in modern history. This is a little sample, the official trailer courtesy of, what else, YouTube:

March 10th

Hi there! Tell you what: since she visited the Emerald Isle, Ana has become half Irish now, kind of a leprechaun, ha ha! Only joking ... or am I? The thing is that she seems obsessed with all things Irish. You see, she has just sent a review of another film shot on location in Dublin. First, it was Once, and now ...

Engagement, dedication, obligation, responsibility… (The) Commitments. That’s the title of this 1991 movie, directed by Alan Parker. The sweet dream of a working-class group of Dubliners doesn’t commit them to anything but pursuing their fondest wish, which is playing soul music.

What is the most important thing? Achieving a dream, even if it’s too painfully brief to relish? That is the premise behind “The commitments”: a youngster from a humble family decides to found a music band, so he recruits other boys and girls from the same background with no apparent prospect of future in order to make his dream come true ... and he kind of achieves it, but what happens in the end? Well, I don’t want to be a “spoiler” so you must watch the film.

Apart from the unbeatable Dublin atmosphere, the music envelops a modest and unpretentious plot, with a dose of harshness not exempt from tenderness.

To tell you the truth, I know that I’m not absolutely objective because I adore music and I am very much in love with Dublin. Anyway, the best way to know if I’m right is to watch this great film, The Commitments.

Thanks a million, dear Ana. I cannot but recommend this highly entertainment Alan Parker flick - the first screen adaptation of the so called Barrytown Trilogy, written by Irish author Robby Doyle - specially if you love quick-witted dialogues and soul music. Here's the trailer.

March 8th (the "Oscar hangover")

Hi guys!
It's official: David beat Goliath. Or, in other words, Katherine trashed her former husband James last night in Tinseltown (Hollywood, that is).
Fittingly enough, on International Woman's Day, she's made Hollywood history by becoming the first female director to win the coveted award for The Hurt Locker, which practically swept the board with six Oscars. Now, I haven't seen the action-packed war epic, but I'm starting to wonder, is it that good?
The thing is that, contrary to what all the media hype - and the generally entusiastic response from audiences across trhe globe - had anticipated, the film of the century, the groundbreaking 3D extravaganza, the smashing box office hit, whatever you call it, Avatar, had to make do with three modest, minor technical accolades (best visual effects and cinematography, indeed). You know, I kind of feel sorry for poor Mr Cameron and guess I surely cast a bad spell on his flick ... not bloody likely! I still feel Avatar is overrated, presumptuous, overambitious ... a mediocre story with a spectacular wrap, so Cameron and his big-budget film got what, in my humble opinion, they deserved. Mind you, not that I think much of the Academy members' artistic judgement and assessment, as they could have chosen Tarantino's glorious Inglorious Basterds as a perfect alternative to the Hurt Locker. Or Precious, for that matter. Or Up in the Air, or even the fantastic animated cartoon Up. The small consolation is that Cristoph Waltz (such an extraordinary performance as the bloodthirsty colonel in "I.B.") won the much anticipated Oscar for best supporting (¿?) actor. Then both the critics and the public quite agree too that Jeff Bridges deserved to win, at long last, an award for his great portrayal of a run-down country singer as much as for his long illustrious career. What I cannot understand is the nod to Sandra Bullock (or Sandra Botox, as she is nicknamed sometimes), whose acting (or rather "overacting") I've always abhorred.
Spainwise, Pe(nelope) left the Kodak Theatre empty-handed so she couldn't kiss her lovebird, Javier Bardem, in front of the US audience (that would have been something for our country's gutter press!). The nearest our cinema reached glory, so to speak, was the award for best foreign language film to Argentina's El Secreto de sus Ojos (a wonderful film, I hear), whose statuette was presented head to head by Tarantino and our one and only Pedro Almodovar.
You must wonder if I stayed up all night long to watch the ceremony as it happened ... well, no. And, according to TV critics, I must have done the right thing because apparently it was dull, slow, BORING TO DEATH. I just watched the opening act with Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin (reasonably funny but not brilliant) and then went to bed until 5:35 more or less when I woke up just in time to watch the last two awards and quickly flick though the ceremony's highlights ...
Wow, this is indeed coincidence! Guess who I've just spoken to on the phone? Juan Heras, the Van Dyck owner, who wanted to talk to my colleague Benimar about the forthcoming fim week the school organizes regularly. And as she was halfway through her lessons, he gave me the "inside" information: the "ciclo" will take place in April, from the 19th to the 22nd and then from the 27th to the 29th. And guess which film, one that both he and I love, will be shown among other titles: that's right, Inglorious basterds! It would be long to put down in words the 6-minute conversation we've just had about Avatar, this year's Oscars, but pretty interesting all in all ...
Ok, so as I was saying, I've recorded the whole ceremony, which once edited you'll be able to see if you wish, for the sake of English of course. And one more thing I haven't forgotten: I have to check your Oscar ballots to see who has won the competition...
Gosh, this is really a lenghty email (may I have set a new Guiness record, ha ha!). Sorry mates for the "sermon"!
See you tomorrow
Jose Luis

PS: I reckon writing a review of The Hurt Locker on our blog is a must now. Anyone who's seen the film willing to do so? In the meantime this is the trailer, if only as a small tribute by our modest blog to the ... film of the year?





Mª Jesús says:

Yesterday, I saw the French film A prophet. It was nominated for best foreign language film, although finally it didn't win.
A prophet is a gripping prison drama, where the main character is a young guy, Malik, who starts his six-year imprisonment in a French prison. He is an illiterate orphan, born in France to Arab parents, but he is extremely clever and sharp. He meets very different kinds of people inside the prison and he learns many interesting and useful things from each one.
Malik learns to write and read inside the prison. Later, he learns economics and languages, because different languages are mixed in this story. The characters speak French, Italian and Arabic. Malik realizes that it is very important to understand the different groups of criminals if you want to survive inside. So, the prison becomes his "school", which is a paradox.
Mainly, he becomes the servant of a Corsican gangster, who virtually runs the jail. On the other hand, he meets an Arab, who encourages him to study in prison. He will become his best friend and will trust him. He also meets a typical gypsy drug dealer.
In this way, the main character changes mentally as the years go by inside the prison. In this "school", he develops a criminal education rather than his moral rehabilitation.
I recommend you A Prophet despite being a bit violent, as it engages you. Besides, I think that the film shows the realistic situation of the prisoners both inside the jails and when they are released, specially because on many ocassions these guys are unemployed immigrants, and the society is unable to rehabilitate them.

March 7th

Hi folks!
It's barely 12 hours before the Oscars ceremony begins in LA. Fittingly enough, Roberto has sent a short review of what could be one of the "dark horses" of the night, a truly harrowing film called Precious:

Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire (this is the long tittle) has just won six Spirit Awards, which proves this independent film is one of the favorites at the Oscars (it has six nominations, including best picture).
The film tells the story of Claireece Precious Jones, an obese 16-year-old black girl who lives in Harlem with her selfish mother. She discovers her second pregnancy (she has already had a Down syndrome daughter) as a result of being constantly raped by her father. No one actually loves her but in her mind there is another world where she is appreciated, which helps her to go on with an otherwise very hard life.
She begins to go to a new school where a nice woman teaches her to read and write, apart from accepting her as a person. From now on she is prepared to fight and begins a new life with her two children.
Precious is a disturbing film with a very moving script, but the main attraction is the female acting (Gabourey Sidibe as Precious and Mo’Nique as her mother). They are both nominated to the Oscars and Mo’Nique is the odds favorite to win in the supporting actress category (she really does a very good job so she is my favorite as well).

Thanks a lot for your review, Roberto. And good luck for the Oscar competition!

March 1st

Hi and welcome to a new entry of our blog. Well, reviews keep flooding in (which fills me with immense joy) and this time it's Ana Navarro's turn:

Invictus is the latest film directed by Clint Eastwood, based on the political and human figure of Nelson Mandela.

In my opinion this film may be divided into two different parts. In the first one the focus is on the figure of Nelson Mandela when he had just become President of South Africa. Invictus reveals the terrible situation of the country due to Apartheid, and also the gripping personality of Mandela, who suffered the consequences of Apartheid and, despite being imprisoned for such a long time, forgave his oppressors and did his best to put and end to the racism problems that his country went through.

In the second part of the film the main interest is in the way Mandela finds to join blacks and whites together for a common cause: winning the rugby world cup that is going to take place in South Africa. To my mind, this second part of the film is predictable and the rugby matches take so much time. So, if you are not a fan of the sport, there is too much of it. Furthermore, in order to enjoy this second part it seems to me that it is better to have a basic knowledge of rugby. Only when I was explained its importance in some countries such as England, South Africa or Australia, or the significance of the dance by the All Blacks, the New Zealand team, before the final match starts, did I understand rugby’s full meaning.

All things considered, it is without any doubt an uplifting, feel-good film, highly recommendable.

I cannot finish this review without speaking of the main actor, Morgan Freeman, who is superb in the role of Nelson Mandela. In fact, he is nominated to this year’s Academy Awards, the Oscars. Of all the nominees I have only seen George Clooney in Up in the Air, and, as far as I am concerned, Morgan Freeman deserves the award much more than George Clooney. Let´s see what happens!

Well done, Ana. Let me just say I haven't seen the film yet though I've always admired Nelson Mandela, possibly my true political icon of the late 20th century. However, I cannot imagine, after watching the trailer down below, Morgan Freeman dubbed into Spanish, so I guess I'll wait until I can download the film or it is available in the video club. Hope the SGAE watchdogs are not reading this!