Avatar

I just have to begin by saying that I LOVED THIS MOVIE. I have always liked fantasy/sci-fi films, but I have to admit that many of them are just poorly made. Avatar, however, is so well thought and so perfectly constructed that you just have to stick to your chair and let the beautiful images on the screen marvel you to limits I have not experienced maybe since the Lord of the Rings. I think the movie is very creative in its extraterrestrial world concept, the characters are very lovable, the make up and special effects are just great and it has enough action and drama to keep everyone interested. Very recommendable.

The hangover

I usually hate this kind of comedy, where everything that happens is so absurd, you have to wonder how the writers though they could pull it off. However, I think that this film did succeed at being absurdly funny. The characters are very charming, and you can't help but relate to their situation. I had fun.

Beyond a reasonable doubt

This movie really felt like a B-movie from start to "how long you can get watching it"... It really feels like a stiff, low budget, bad acted, horribly scripted movie. Do not waste any time with this.

Moon

This movie is not a common sci-fi film. It is not full of special effects, or weird extraterrestrial beings or tons of complicated universes and twisted plots. On the contrary, for most this movie can be a very dull and boring sci-fi movie, because it has just one character, almost no-action and no-special effects. The reason I liked it is because the great performance of Sam Rockwell. I also think the atmosphere of loneliness and desperation were really well accomplished. I enjoyed this movie and I recommend it to those who like character movies.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

I have heard that most guys find Kristen Stewart really hot. However, I would like to see in the role of Bella a maybe less attractive actress but a more skillful one. Really, sometimes the reason to go to see a movie lays beyond watching someone pretty on the big screen. In my case, I really liked the books, but watching the movies has been a real nightmare. The actors might be hot, but they have not clue how to act and the movies feel completely fake.

My sister's keeper

For a very "cry your eyes out" movie, this film felt very disconnected and cold to me. I hope the book really delivers the appropriate feelings for such a drama, the movie does not.

G.I. Joe: The rise of Cobra

There are so many bad things going on with this movie. But my main 2 questions are: How could all these actors agree to be in this nonsensical movie and how could they make it go for so long? I mean,  none of it made any sense, the acting was bad, the plot was bad, the lines were to feel sorry for...what a bunch of crap.

Is anybody there?

I rented this movie because I really admired Michael Caine's work. Even though his performance was not disappointing, the overall movie was. The plot has been very exploited and this movie added nothing more to it except Caine's good acting. It was a predictable and forgettable movie.

Star Trek

This movie is a perfect example of why you cant dismiss any movie based only on its genre. I mean, even if you are not a sci-fi fan this is a very good film. Its not just that the effects are great, but that the story is well constructed and developed. The movie takes the time to walk us through the story of the Enterprise's crew from the beginning, giving us the necessary background to understand their relationships, reactions and getting us to care about them. There is also plenty of good action and acting and a lot of fun involved.

Terminator Salvation

This is an entertaining action film. Not as exciting as the first Terminator, but considering how many movies with special effects and futuristic/robotic plots have come after the first Terminator, is normal that this is just another action/sci-fi film among many. Nothing special, but not too boring as to dismiss it completely.

(500) days of summer

This is a very pleasant romantic movie. It is the story of a love that was not meant to be. The story of how a broken heart make us think that things were much more important than they actually were. It is a very realistic view of how being in love just blows everything out of proportion.

Precious

I am sure a lot of people are going to avoid this movie because it is not a "feel good" movie AT ALL. On the contrary, watching Precious' life unfold on the screen you really wonder what else could go wrong in someone's life. How is it possible to  believe that a person can really have such a horrible life? Specially when all the bad stuff done to her is coming from the two people who should love her and protect her from all the painful things in life. I could not help but wonder how could this person could go on living. But then, that is the magic of this movie, what makes all the painful things you have to watch worth it: Precious has hope and so much love for her kids that she wants to give them exactly everything that has not been given to her during her whole life. A tough and very human movie.

District 9

I really enjoyed this film. For me, more than a sci-film focused on extraterrestrial's being horrible and mean creatures, this is a movie about human beings and how ugly and violent and prejudiced and greedy they can get when they confront something so different from them that they become so scared that they have to completely destroy it. This could perfectly be a movie about all the terrible episodes of our own history when horrible things are done because differences are not explored and dialogue is never even attempted to understand them. It is also a movie that shows us what happens when completely opposite cultures get in a survival situation that always leads to the kind of abuse and discrimination shown in this movie. All of these is also accomplished through a very realistic style that makes it all more sad and shameful.

2012

Definitely an expensive movie. I can see how an apocalyptic movie with so many special effects and nature after nature disasters can really attract the masses. However, the story was really hard to believe and it was just too much tragedy after tragedy to really enjoy any of it. I just think this movie could have ended 1 hour earlier and leave it at a more believable scenario.

Nothing like the holidays

This movie was such a bored. Nothing in it was engaging at all. I guess there was just not enough chemistry going on between the characters to make you be interested in their story.

Adventureland

This is a sweet romantic comedy. I really dont think that Kristen Stewart can act at all. But the movie was relaxing and unpretentious and delivered a nice romantic mood.

Black Book

I enjoyed this film but I think it was a bit too long. I think it would have still been a good drama with less tragic incidents in the life of the protagonist. If there was more intensity in fewer drama events it would have conveyed the same message. I guess it lacked a bit of heart for all the tragedy involved. But it was entertaining enough so the viewer does not get bored.

My life in ruins

I knew this was going to be probably bad, and it was. So, I totally deserve it.

Ordinary People

Now that I have gotten a bit tired of watching Sundance and independent films that have become really repetitive with the topic of dysfunctional families, this movie was a good surprise for me. And do not get me wrong, there are good movies out there within this genre, but when the movie makers take a topic and just screw it up, you get kind of tired. So, this was a well paced, acted, written and developed film about a very dysfunctional family, but it was so beautifully made that I really  liked it.

Management

I wonder who writes these crazy scripts and how some actors agree to make these stupid movies. I mean, a romantic movie based on a completely simpleton stalker, who after chasing a mostly unknown woman gets her love?? hmm, well, not  very romantic.

The Brothers Bloom

Some times movies should really stick to one purpose. I think my problem with this film is that apart from trying to be a con movie, also wanted to be too stylish and also comic. It just ended up being not good at any of the above.

Cherry Blossoms

This is a nice movie. I enjoyed the cinematography and the gorgeous landscapes. I also liked the story a lot, because there is something that really attracts me to movies that deal with older age issues. The performances are nice too. I think it was a bit too long though. But In general a very recommendable movie. 

Shrink

I really thought this was going to be a very good movie. It sounded so good on paper. A Hollywood star's shrink, who happened to be played by Kevin Spacey... Well, I was really disappointed, it was slow and soulless. I think that if you could go through a movie that tries to present you with so many different dramas and you feel nothing, then something is really wrong, either with you or with the movie. I think in this case it was a complete lack of real emotion in the movie.

Easy Virtue

This movie is entertaining enough, but not really memorable. I think the Jessica Biel carried out most of the movie. The other characters were all to bland to care about them. I also think the ending felt too weak, there was no sense of real closure.

Zombieland

This movie just proves my theory that there are not good or bad genres, there are just good or bad movies. So, this is a good zombie movie. It was not just a bunch of action, unconnected, violent scenes. On the contrary, this felt most like a character/road movie, where you got to travel with these four people, know their stories, what moves them, scares them, and what they are looking for. So, when the bad stuff comes you really, really care about what is going to happen to them. Also, I found the humor really realistic, as the rest of the movie. In general, the plus of this film is its verisimilitude. If there was a Zombieland, I could really believe it would be exactly like this.

O'Horten

I think I really like movies that portray people in their older age. I love to see what happens when they have a complete change on their life's routine at a point in life when most people think life is almost over. It gives me a lot of hope to see that you can start a new life even if you are sixty or seventy, that you can still find love or move to a different country or start doing something totally different. I also like character, nostalgic, and meditative movies. Their idea of examining someone's life is something I enjoy watching. Mainly if is well accomplished. I also love movies which scenes are shot against a snowy background, all that white gives them a texture that really appeals to me. Really good movie, with nice pace and good performances. Somewhat slow for people who likes action.

The mother

I definitely see this movie bothering a lot of people. It is disturbing when we think about our parents sexual life, so imagine thinking about our grandparents having sex with someone half their age. I think that this movie is well developed and accomplishes it purpose. I can see it challenging a lot of people's morals, but I think its main point is to show that relationships are not perfect, and that even if we would like to think that old people do not have desires and passions that is not true. I think that more disturbing than watching Daniel Craig having sex with a granny, what really bothered me was the fact that a mother could compete with her own daughter for a man. And such a screwed up man, whit no taste, personality or any attractive appeal but the fact that he would have sex with anything that moves.

The Ugly Truth

I know that when you decide to watch certain movies you are consciously making a decision based on some basic craving for repetition and formula. That certain childish pleasure that we feel with the familiar and in a way predictable. But this movie is just too bad at delivering the all well known plots of romantic comedy. If there were good dialogues, or chemistry and sexual tension, or a little interesting twist, then I would have been happy with having a lazy Saturday afternoon with a common chick flick. But this movie does not delivery in any way good romance or good laughter.

Alexandra

I love this type of movies. On the surface they seem to be so simple. There is not much happening and the dialogues are scarce. But, below this surface of apparent simplicity, there is a really strong statement. The magic here is that the force of the message relies precisely in the things left unsaid. I love this film also because of its main character, because through her short journey to visit her grandson at the war camp, we get to infer so much about the struggles of all the sides involved in any war. The devastation, hopelessness, loneliness and silliness of every war is made explicit in this movie without any pretentious plot or pompous settings or crowded action.

The class

This movie "The class" felt too real for me. Not just because of the way the camera emulates the style and movements of a documentary (giving it a feeling of realism), but mainly because I was a High School teacher once, and all that happened in this film was so realistic that it brought all those memories back. I have to say I really admire HS teachers. In this modern times, when you have to deal with people from so many different backgrounds (cultural, religious, ethical, political, sexual, etc) it is not an easy task to get everyone involved in the learning process. I felt this movie really touched in a non-judgmental way on the difficult issues of teaching in our society today. I loved the way the movie did not make any one a hero or a devil, and teacher and students alike were shown from a very human perspective. Good french movie. 

La comunidad/The Common Wealth

I could not help but have a sense of deja-vu during the whole time I was watching "La comunidad". I don't know if it is just because the movie plays with so many past films referents or because I have seen it before and I was not aware of it. I have mixed feelings about this movie. It is in a way what I expected, since I have seen previous De la Iglesia movies, so I certainly knew I was in for some extreme parody, but in a way it just seemed too exaggerated, too purposely comic. I don't, I can't say I that I did not like it completely, is just that it became too predictable. And predictability is always really bad for a joke.  

La ventana/The Window

I think "La ventana/the window" was a very weird film experience for me. I kept thinking "is really something going to happen?" (maybe not the best thought when watching a movie). I guess this feeling was due to the really slow rh ...ythm and very scarce dialogues, not to say the lack of any action at all. However, I was surprised that I did not get bored and turned the movie off. I am very tolerant with slow movies, but this ones was very very slow. However, despise the slowness, this movie was so beautiful in its meditative mode, and the main character's performance so engaging too, that I liked it for exactly the same reasons that could make it boring. And also, I kind of realized there was not much more that you could expect from a movie that wants to get across the contemplative disposition of someone who is at the very end of his life.

Surrogates

Well, I like sci-fi films. I can buy almost anything you trow at me, just if you take the necessary time to really walk me through the scenario you want me to accept as the background for the story. But, this usually needs more time and effort that what the put into this movie. I felt like the idea was not bad, but the execution really sucked. I just felt like they run out of steam at the middle of the movie. I think they just decided to hint at the main points but did not develop them at all. I think if they had really gone all the way in developing the plot, building up a strong background and constructing a better ending, this might have been a good sci-fi film. As it is, is just a regular one, which would not bored you to death, but you would just forget in a couple of days.

Frost/Nixon

I am not really into movies about politics or politicians. But the acting in this movie was terrific, and I was really engaged to see how the two main characters evolved through out the movie. I also think the tension was very well built, and you definitely keep waiting that climax moment with a lot of expectation.

The Lives of Others

Man, I love it when I get to see a good character movie. I loved the performance of the main character and I liked that we got to get involved in his moral dilemma. We can see him getting really attached to the life of the guy he has to spy on and we see how this transforms him. Really good movie.

Talk to her/Hable con ella

This is my favorite movie from Spaniard Director Almodovar. In general, I like his movies, but with this film I got more emotionally involved. I think that his comedies are really good, but this quirky drama really moved me. I think the implications of Benigno's actions are very disturbing, but you can't help to care about their tragic outcome. I think this film is so well made precisely because even though you are really aware of the awfulness of what Benigno has done you can't avoid caring and suffering because of his sad destiny.

Blame it on Fidel

I usually complain about French movies, but this one was really good. The child makes a great performance and keeps you interested the whole time. It is great to see the adult's world through a child's perspective. Very compelling film.

The Sea Inside/Mar adentro

Javier Bardem has a great performance in this movie, and he builds such a moving character. The topic might be controversial for some, but the movie is so well made that you would like it even if you don't agree with its topic. I liked it because I thought it made for a really good example of why I agree with euthanasia in cases like this. I did not know Amenabar was the director or I had seen it earlier!! I guess I thought he was always a thriller guy and I did not expect him to be so good at directing a drama.

Inglorious Basterds

Inglorious Basterds is a typical Tarantino movie in the sense that it produces completely opposite reactions from his viewers. I am sure some would say this movie is too long or too violent or too disrespectful to the part of history that it's concerned about. However, I have to say that I am not disappointed in the sense that a Tarantino movie keeps being for me much better than the majority of the dull, predictable, and plot-less movies Hollywood offers now days. I was a bit surprised by the replacement of the characteristic long violent scenes with really long dialogue scenes, but I did not mind it. I also enjoyed the music, as usual with his movies. In general, a good experience for me.

Trainspotting

Of course this is a shocking movie. It is about heroin addicts, so it has really strong and tough scenes. Apart from that, the characters are really pathetic but the acting makes them lovable. I also enjoyed the unexpected and cruel humor. Laughing at something so sad as drug addiction might be very unforgivable for some, but the truth is that real life would even make jokes out of the toughest situations. This the second movie I really enjoyed from Director Danny Boyle and Actor Ewan MacGregor.

Sunshine Cleaning

Sunshine Cleaning is a quite enough entertaining film. I mean that if you are looking for the movie of your life, this is not it. But if you just want to kill some time and relax a bit, this movie could give you just that. If you expect this movie to be a really funny comedy, you will be disappointed. It is more a drama, with some funny moments, but even those are tainted with some sense of defeat and conformism. However, even though the movie shows us some characters who struggle with what their life's have become, at the end this is a kind of "feel good" film.

Amores Perros

I definitely loved this movie. And don't get me wrong, with all the violence and the dog's fight this movie is hard to watch sometimes. Especially because of the dog's scenes, which really stressed me out. I cant see violence against animals or children. But the movie brings a combination of a lot of good elements that make up for having to watch those images. There is the excellent performance of Gael Garcia, the well developed plot, the interesting intertwine stories (before the got so popular and overused), and the good music. In fact, a movie for the ones that enjoy good cinema not matter where it comes from.

Dim Sum Funeral

I expected this to be a very good Chinese film. In general I enjoy Chinese movies, because they show us such an opposite rhythm of life from our western society and also a very different way of thinking. But this movie was none of that. There was bad acting, bad dialogue, and bad everything. From the beginning I felt like I was watching an U.S soup opera. Just an awful movie.

Thesis

This was one of my first Spaniard movies ever. I really thought it was well written and acted. I also liked the way the director built the tension through out the whole movie. I think the topic is hard, but makes for a really good thriller. And I enjoyed the music too. I was so completely upset when some years later I went to see 8mm and I realized they had taken this movie and made a big Hollywood boring, nonsensical mess. I am glad that I got to see Amenabar's original first, because if I had to see it after that 8mm disaster I would have never seen it.

City of God

Reading the reviews for this movie I was kind of getting the idea that I was not going to be able to watch it. Most of the comments stated that this was a very hard to watch movie. Maybe for some it was. I mean, if you have lived in a country where violence and misery are not something foreign to you, then you know that this movie is about real people and real situations and that they are not as uncommon as you might think. I liked this movie for its texture, and the performances, and that intensity rhythm of life of those who know that every day is a plus for them. I also like movies that include parts of life that most would like to ignore, because it just gets them out of their comfortable bubble where nothing wrong happens. I think this movie is beautiful in showing that life struggle with still some hope of a better life.

The Professional

This movie is terrific in the depiction of the most lovable hit man ever. I just cant help but remember this movie with a lot of affection for Leon. I also liked the way this two characters got to depend on each other, because they had absolutely no one else in the world to rely on. They were the strangest couple ever, and even though some criticized this movie because it was too violent to include a 12 year old in it, I have to say again that I am sure there are a lot of kids who actually are surrounded by a violent environment. So, out with the moralistic view of those who think that the world is a perfect bubble where bad things don't happen to good and innocent people just because they have not happened to them. This is a movie about those who are completely lonely and find comfort in the strangest places. I also think that Gary Oldman's performance as the buy guy is just great. You get to hate him so much as the representative of the law and order side as you get to love Reno as a member of the criminal side. Great movie for me.

Tsotsi

What is so good about this movie is that while watching it you can mentally make so many connections. I remembered Once Were Warriors from New Zealand, City of God from Brazil and some of the movies from Colombia. What they have in common, I believe, is that they choose to show a side of their countries which is not the most appropriate to attract any tourists but it is the most important from the point of view of their inhabitants. I guess it is important also to see beyond the pleasant stuff and take a look at the hardships of other people. This movie does exactly that, combined with a great performance and strong script. I really enjoyed it.

Surveillance

I like thrillers. In the past I also liked David Lynch. So I saw his last name attached to this thriller and I thought I was in for a treat. Well, no. This was just an absurd and messy movie. The way is intertwined with the flashback of the witness's memories does not work at all. The script makes no sense whatsoever and the atmosphere felt just to fake. If this was supposed to be a trip to the surreal then it was not catchy enough to make me follow.

After the wedding

This is a family drama that can teach so much than the endless Hollywood and Indie dramas that we have to endure every year. While many times with Hollywood movies you think you are just watching the same movie over and over, only with different settings and with different actors; this movie really gets you emotionally involved with all the secrets and dark past of this particular family. I think this movie has excellent actors and plot, and you can say when you finish watching it that you saw a tremendous drama.

Shallow Grave

My first Boyle's movie and also my first McGregor's. It is a really good thriller. I love the way it grows in intensity.

Live-in Maid

This is just such a deep drama but made beautifully out of tiny and every day details. I loved the stunning performances and the perfect rhythm. This movie relies completely in the relationship of these two woman and how their completely opposite lifes get to depend so much on each other.

The pope's Toilet

This is a really tough and touching movie. I could not help but feel frustrated most of the time with the harsh circumstances of these people. I have seen movies with much more poverty and harsh environments, but there is something about Beto's desperation and hope and disillusionment that really breaks your heart. I have seen just 2 or 3 movies about Uruguay, and I would not want to fall in the cliche of creating an idea in my mind about a particular culture just because some movies tend to have the same stereotype, but it is hard not to wonder if this is really such a poor and underdeveloped country. I also felt so sorry for how so much faith got confronted by cruel reality.

Waltz with Bashir

This is such a stunning film. I would not know if to can call it an animated movie or a documentary, but what I know is that the visuals, the music and the rhythm of this piece of film making are combined in a perfect way to deliver an unforgettable story. I think this is a very sad movie too, and I could not help but remember Persepolis as well. I find really compelling this particular approach to war telling.