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.