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Sound of Freedom (2023)
A shocking and dark dramatic thriller, based on the incredible true story.
The incredible true story of a man who wanted to help unfortunate children at whatever cost. Tim Ballard is a Special Agent for the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), where he arrests people who possess and distribute child pornography After rescuing a young boy from ruthless child-traffickers, a federal agent learns that the boy's sister is still a captive and decides to embark on a dangerous mission to save her. With time running out, he quits his job and journeys deep into the Colombian jungle, putting his life on the line to free her from a fate worse than death. In this based on real events, Cazievel plays a special agent of the US National Security who works investigating child sex trafficking networks. Based on the incredible true story !. Break the silence !. Save the children !.
A thriller with psychological introspection, interesting dialogues, lots of action, chases, shootouts and strong scenes. In "Sound of Freedom" shines a light on even the darkest of places. The film managed to raise more than 250 million dollars worldwide, becoming a box office success. It is based on the story of Tim Ballard, former agent of the United States Department of Homeland Security and founder of Operation Underground Railroad, an NGO dedicated to stopping child trafficking. James Cazievel gives a nice acting as a former government agent turned vigilante who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue hundreds of children from traffickers. Cazievel's well accompanied by a fine cast, such as: Mira Sorvino, Bill Camp, Javier Godino, Kurt Fuller, José Zúñiga and Eduardo Verástegui who produced as well along with Mel Gibson.
It contains a sensitive, rousing musical score by Javier Navarrete, adding song by Shakira in some really stirring scenes. As well as colorful, evocative cinematography by Gorka Gómez Andreu The motion picture was well directed by Alejandro Monteverde shot on various locations in Bogotá, Cartagena, Colombia, Isla Barú, Colombia and Calexico, California, United States. Sound of Freedom (2023) was finished in 2018 but took years to release; the filmmakers were turned down by various distributing companies as they didn't want the film associated with their output. Monteverde is a good filmmaker who has directed a few films characterized by dealing with human feelings, religiosity, spirituality and high social values, such as: Cabrini (2024), Little Boy (2015), Bella (2006) and Sound of Freedom (2023). Rating: 7.5/10. Better than average. Well worth watching. The flick will appeal to James Cazievel fans.
Richard Jewell (2019)
Clint Eastwood directs efficiently this drama focused on a real case with very good interpretations.
Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser), a helpful and vehement man who always follows the rules, has dreamed of belonging to the police or another security force. Now, during the celebration of the Centennial Olympic Games, he has gotten a job as a security guard. Security guard Richard Jewell is an instant hero after foiling a bomb attack at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but his life becomes a nightmare when the FBI (Jon Hamm) leaks to the media (Olivia Wilde) that he is a suspect in the case. Life turns a nightmare when the security guard is unfairly blamed for an attack at the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Giorgia, during the 1966 Olympic Games. The world will know his name and the truth !. Based on the true story of Richard Jewell !.
An enjoyable film containing drama, psychological insight, a great cast of well-known actors, and great performances. A good cast star in this epic story about media manipulation, parallel trials and false culprits. Here the main actors: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Jon Hamm , Olivia Wilde stand out. With special mention for Paul Walter Hauser who plays excellently a security guard who discovered a bomb and saved many lives at a concert at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and he was seen as a hero by many and a suspect by the FBI and press. Paul Walter Hauser is a somewhat unknown performer but who thanks to this film has achieved glory. And Kathy Bates playing his mother, nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for best supporting actress for her role. The interesting script was well written by Billly Ray (Terminator: Dark Fate ) is based on the article ; American hightmat¡re: the ballad of Richard¨written by Marrie Brenner for Vanity Fair.
We are watching a sensational film in which its message shows us a broody story of wrong guilty, faith, redemption, suffering, pain, friendship and feelings ; a right allegation and relentless denounce against the abuses of journalism, and the errors of FBI authority. Here the maestro Clint Eastwood gives us a film-making lesson from the simplicity of a thought-provoking screenplay. This film along with the filmed in the 2000s as ¨Gran Torino¨, ¨Mulla¨, ¨Sully¨, ¨American Sniper¨, The 15:17 to Paris¨, ¨J. Edgar¨, ¨Invictus ¨ , " Changeling" , ¨ Million dollars baby ¨ ¨Mystic river ¨ , ¨Blood Work¨ make that the dramatic force of this great director turns outs to be breathtaking and still strong despite his years . Rating: 7.5/10, Above average. Well worth seeing.
Hellzapoppin' (1941)
Outrageous and relentlessly hilarious musical comedy that still works pretty well.
A pair of stage comedians (Olsen and Johnson), try to turn their play into a movie and bring together a young couple in love, while breaking the fourth wall every step of the way. A musical is being filmed in a mansion that is the background for the development of two love triangles. They have to support Jeff and Kitty in setting up a musical revue in their garden and want to bring it up on Broadway. The projectionist (shemp Howard of Three Stooges fame) attempts to run the film while arguing with his girlfriend and the stars have to step out of it and remonstrate with him. And Mischa Auer plays a real Russian nobleman who is pretending to be a fake Russian nobleman. A woman with a potted lant wanders through the movie looking for Mr Jones and a mad private eye (Hugh Herbert) keeps adressing the audience. At last it's on the screen! Greater than the Stage Show! Best dance scenes and wildest cinematic tricks for its time!. Blazing, blasting, exploding, fun !. Just The Type Of Entertainment For The Blues !. At last it's on the Screen!. Bigger, better, Funnier, crazier with those two howling madcaps Olsen and Johnson who will have you roaring with glee from start to finish!. The stage's zaniest show...becomes the slap-happiest film ever made!. What show rocked Broadway for 4 solid years? What show is now on the screen...Funnier, wilder, Crazier than ever? Starring the Kings of the Screwball...!.
Amusing and entertaining Olsen and Johnson picture with enough gags for give several movies. It has a lot of funny material and unfortunately intrusive songs. Wisecracks and the incomparable Olsen an Johnson carry the movie. We are faced with a delirious and crazy musical comedy, adapted from Broadaway's hit "Anything Goes", starring the same actors as the film adaptation: Ole Olsen and Choc Johnson. Hollywood's craziest comedy this side of the Marx Brothers , only originally less madcap than the long-running stage show on which it was based. Many funny sequences , this is the most sustained bit of insanity, full of crazy gags , antics and amusement , being now deemed a satiric masterpiece ,and one of the biggest hits. Although it suffers from staginess and musical comedy plotting but gives the zany duo Olsen and Johnson, along with Martha Raye and Mischa Auer, plenty of comic elaboration. It revived the dormant cinema careers of Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson.
There are some of the craziest moments in an unique Hollywood experience, being directed in freewheeling fashion by H. C. Potter. Although few of his films are really distinguished, Potter was a very successful stage director, directing three top Broadway plays which eventually became highly successful films. In 1927 he founded and was a director for the Hampton Players, a Long Island (NY) repertory group. He later worked as a director on Broadway, then moved to Hollywood in 1935. At first he freelanced, then went under contract at MGM (1939-40), RKO (1947-48) and United Artists (1948). Also directed for Disney and Goldwyn. Returned to the theatre in the 1950s. He directed a number of films, the following being worth highlighting: The Miniver story, The Time of Your Life, Mr Lucky, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, A likely story, The Shopworn Angel, The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, You Gotta Stay Happy, The cowboy and the lady, The Farmer's Daughter . Rating: 7/10. Better than average.
Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer (2022)
Extraordinary portrayal of offbeat director Herzog showing his great creavity and awesomeness.
Herzog is one of the founders of the New German Cinema along with Alexandra Kluge, Volker Schlöndorff, Win Wenders and of course Rainer Fassbinder. Throughout his career he has directed, written and produced more than 60 films. With the locations of his films he has been able to take us to the most remote places on the planet and his characters have allowed us to imagine what we thought unimaginable.
This documentary analyzes the work of this visionary dreamer. The director himself, accompanied by those closest to him, as
the writer Lotte Eisner and including his wife, analyzing his career since his beginnings in cinema with Lebenszeichen (1968)
. Together with them, Christian Bale who played in ¨Herzog's Rescue Dawn¨, while Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattison acted in ¨Queen of the Desert¨, review their works with him. Herzog's usual cameraman Thomas Mauch tells his experiences while shooting these spectacular on the dangerous Amazon lands . Wim Wenders tells us how the director helped him reach a wider audience and Chloe Zao tells us about his admiration for him,
There's also a chilling portrayal of Klaus Kinski and his profoundly creative partnership with his friend/enemy Werner Herzog , the latter regards him as a man plunging into insanity but also to lucidity and genius , as Kinski is assaulted from all sides by forces he cannot control between brilliance and craziness . Werner Herzog depicts this prestigious actor as a very strange , mysterious and bizarre person , gradually devolving into maniac instinct and attacks of rage . Werner Herzog offers a sturdy studio from Klaus Kinski , an extremely furious and strong actor , usually providing magnificent performances . Werner Herzog's relationship with Klaus Kinski reached thunderous walks . Being five the Werner Herzog/Klaus Kinski collaborations; Klaus Kinski gave portentous interpretations in these films providing various eccentric , queer , insane characters similar to him . The first was : ¨Aguirre, Warth of God¨ (1972) , from now on , a violent, intense , love-hate relationship was born ; the four remaining and essentially combative relationships were the following ones : ¨Nosferatu, the vampyre¨ (1979) ¨Woyzeck¨ (1979) and ¨Fitzcarraldo¨(1982) , while this interesting documentary depicts the tumultuous relations between them . ¨Aguirre¨ was the start of an extremely stormy, and sometimes violent, professional relationship with Herzog that lasted 15 years .There are frames from films as ¨Aguirre , Wrath of God ¨ (1972) , according to director Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski threatened to abandon the film entirely at one point during the shooting. Herzog says he threatened to kill Kinski and then turn the gun on himself if Kinski left and later declared he was quite prepared to do so. Kinski stated in interviews that Herzog wielded a pistol to emphasize the threat, but Herzog denies this . While in Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) , Klaus plays an outlandish Count Dracula who moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land and only a woman pure of heart : Isabelle Adjani , can bring an end to his kingdom of terror.¨Fitzcarraldo¨based on an actual story of a charismatic Irishman's impossible quest at the turn of the Century . Here Kinski gives an awesome acting as the dreamer who moves mountains , carrying out a monumental mission : hauling the ship manually over a hill towards a parallel river . ¨Woyzeck¨ the same dizzy folly as Aguirre , but Herzog´s similarly long perspective conjures as a brooding and thought-provoking film , giving a harsh vision of suffering beyond despair , eventually cracking when Woyzeck discovers his wife's infedility played by Eva Mattes who tells a splendid description about her colleague Kinski . Kinski/Herzog relation was also tumultuous in their last collaboration : ¨Cobra Verde¨ in which he delivers a peculiar and intense acting in his usual style as the freed outlaw Cobra Verde hired by a plantation owner to supervise his slaves , being fifth and final reunion. Even by Werner Herzog/Klaus Kinski standards , their last collaboration was a wild trip, as well .
This documentary was competently directed by Thomas von Steinaecker, though some may find hard to take . This great German director Herzog has made several thoughtful , provoking and interesting films , such as : "Fata Morgana" , "Aguirre Wrath of God" , "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser", "Heart of Glass" , "Stroszek", "Woyzeck" , "Nosferatu the Vampire", "Where the Green Ants Dream" , "Cobra Verde" ,"Lessons in Darkness", "My Dearest Enemy", "Invincible" , "The White Diamond", "Rescue Dawn" , and without forgetting the prestigious documentaries such as: ¨Grizzly man¨, ¨Into the Inferno¨, ¨Fireball: Visitors from Darker World¨, ¨Cave of forgotten dreams¨ . Rating : 7/10 above average and irresistible movie thanks to the great Werner Herzog . The flick will appeal to Werner Herzog followers.
Fatum (2023)
A thriller with twisted plot, plenty of action, drama, twists and turns.
Fatum (2023) boasts a good cast with Luis Tosar, Álex García, Elena Anaya. Follows compulsive gambler Sergio (Luís Tosar) and his wife threatens to leave him. Despite his promise to stop gambling, he went "one last time" to his usual bookmaker accompanied by his children to make up for it. After receiving a tip-off returns to the betting house trying to recover all the money he has lost , but a robber bursts into the place with a gun and a gunshot will change his life forever. Meanwhile, a police shooter (Álex Garcia) fires his precision weapon against the criminal who is threatening to kill the kidnapped people. ¡A cop is forced to choose between the badge he wears and the son he loves... no contest !. ¡Time is running out !. His son needs a donor to live. ¡ The clock is ticking. The only match is a vicious killer. Now all Pablo has to do is shoot him. Desperate times call for. . .
A thriller with intrigue, noisy action, suspenseful and plot twists. ¨Fatum¨ is a Spanish film co-written and directed by Juan Galiñanes. The initial idea is rather nice; there's a violent robbery, the police are quickly on the scene and the customers are held hostage. The filmmaker has obviously sought to go further than the classic situation of the hold-up with hostages by juxtaposing a second situation based on the notion of responsibility and attachment. The idea seems good but, in practice, its exploitation makes the whole thing fall back into classic patterns that we have the impression of having seen a thousand times, especially in a film as ¨Desperate Measures¨ (1998) by Barber Schroeder with Michael Keaton, Andy Garcia, of which this ¨fatum¨ appears to be an almost remake. We can also reproach this story for being highly improbable. But there's action enough, in fact the entire hospital becomes a battleground, in which a game of cat and mouse takes place between the two main protagonists of the plot and in which a criminal results to be the son's only hope for survival. Cast is pretty good. Luis Tosar is terrific , as usual, as an addicted to betting who becomes involved in a kidnap with fateful consequences. Álex Garcia plays efficiently the deranged father who has to choose between fulfilling the line of duty or saving his son. And Elena Anaya is the police-in-command that gives quick orders to avoid greater evils, though she has a secondary role.
In spite of the known and already seen premise, Juan Galiñanes has nevertheless managed to install a tension that does not weaken, even if the outcome is too predictable. The motion picture was professionally directed by Juan Galiñanes, though with no originality, because this twisted situation we have already seen on other films. Juan Galiñanes is a craftsman who previously was director assistant in animated films, such as: ¨El Espíritu del bosque¨ , ¨El Sueño La noche De San Juan¨ and directing ¨Noche ¿de Paz? Holy Night!¨ (2011) that won various awards and nominations , such as Cinema Writers Circle Awards, Spain, 2015 Nominado CEC Award Best Animated Film: Juan Galiñanes and Goya Awards 2016 Best Animation Film. And this¨Fatum¨ (2023) is his first live action film. Rating: 6/10. Acceptable and passable. The pic will appeal to Luis Tosar and Elena Anaya fans.
The Visit (2015)
A terrifying and suspenseful film dealing with two siblings become increasingly frightened by their grandparents.
This eerie, mysterious and terrifying movie depicts two brothers while vacationing at a house along with their grandparents. 15-year-old Rebecca 'Becca' (Olivia DeJonge), and her 13-year-old brother Tyler (Ed Oxenbould), travel to a remote Pennsylvania farm to spend a week with their maternal grandparents, whom they don't know. Their mother Paula (Kathryn Hahn) stays behind because of her dark past with her parents. After a few nights the kids find out their grandparents, Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) have a dark, deadly secret. Along the way, Becca intends to collect all the experiences in a documentary. No one loves you like your grandp-arents. Grandma's Rules: 1. Have a great time. 2. Eat as much as you want. 3. Don't ever leave your room after 9:30 pm.
This is a horror thriller with touches of black humor, told through the images recorded by the protagonists. It is a contemporary rereading of the story of Hansel and Gretel. It is a return to M. Night Shyamalan's early films, shot with a very tight budget and a much more artisanal production than his immediately previous works. A disturbing staging and good editing immerse an essentially malicious atmosphere and well written for the screen by director M. Night Shyamalan himself . M. Night toys with strange ideas, but at times, he buries them under an illogical and rather predictable tale. The film itself benefits from the chemistry displayed by the two brothers, Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, they are quite sympathetic even though they find themselves entangled in a terrifying situation. This the tale of an isolated house in which two brothers arrive and they meet their offbeat grandparents resulting in bizarre events until a revelatory twist at the end. Through the interaction of a few roles, the filmmaker manages to awaken great tension caused by the isolation in the middle of the field and a very strange house with sinister secrets.
The motion picture was professionally written/produced/directed by Night M. Shyamalan, though being slow-moving and some claustrophobic due to be mostly staged at the house. Competently made by Night Shyamalan, many of his films involve pivotal roles with extraordinary abilities or events happening to them and with children always having family problems. Many of his films focusing on everyday terror, prophecy, security, self-preservation, frightening to unknown and natural disasters, where nature becomes something fantastic, overwhelming, almost supernatural. Night Shyamalan is an expert on fantastic and mysterous films with plenty of intelligence and thought-provoking issues as proved in : ¨Signs¨ , ¨The village¨ , ¨Lady in water¨ , ¨The Incident¨ , ¨The sixth sense¨, ¨Old¨ with exception for an extreme flop as critical as boxoffice: ¨Airbender¨. Shyalaman usually shoots in Philadelphia, this is Shyamalan favorite location. Night is an avid comic books fan, which he made the fabulous trylogy: "Unbreakable" , ¨Multiple¨and "Glass" starred by Bruce Willis , Samuel L Jackson and James McAvoy. And his last film ¨Knock at the Cabin¨ (2023) that can be depicted as a story about human beings struggling against the overwhelming power of the Apocalypse. Rating The Visit (2015) : 6/10 . Well worth watching for Night Shyamalan. Acceptable , but neither outstanding, nor notable, but simply decent.
Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
A thrilling warlike movie about a squad of U. S. Marines becomes the last line of defense against a global invasion.
A wartime fiilm in which a two-fisted sergeant and his handful of loyal men are humanity's last hope, as numerous cities around the globe crash down one by one due to an alien invasion. This spectacular motion picture, inspired by H. G. Wells' novel, was professionally directed by Jonathan Liebesman but without much originality. Over the years there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world. But now what until then had been simple sightings become a terrible reality when the earth is attacked by unknown forces. While the world witnesses how great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last bastion of humanity in a battle that no one expected. On August 12, 2011, a number of apparent meteors land in the world's oceans, near 20 major coastal cities. The objects prove to be spacecraft containing hostile extraterrestrials. San Diego and San Francisco are already lost, and LA has the last military force on the west coast. As Los Angeles (LA) is being evacuated, Marines from Camp Pendleton arrive, including United States Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), an Iraq War veteran. Nantz, who was to begin his retirement, is assigned to 1st Platoon, Echo Company, of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines. The platoon, flown by chopper to the forward operating base at Santa Monica Airport, is being led by a new 2nd Lt. Martinez (Ramon Rodriguez). They are sent on a mission to rescue some civilians who are trapped at the police station within alien territory. They must fight an alien invasion and invading machines war. No matter how much armaments are utilized facing them, the lethal aliens and flying aircrafts are invincible and impassive . Neither army , tanks , air force or bombs arrange to vanquish the imperturbable and unalterable invasion alien . Later on, TSgt. Elena Santos (Michelle Rodriguez joins the brave group to tell the killer aliens. It's not war. It's survival.
Lots of action in a Sci-fi film in which the military of the earth have to face a much more powerful army, that of some aliens who a long time ago began to prepare for the invasion. It's a fabulous story , and well paced , about a deadly alien attack and a sergeant and his subordinate soldiers have to save unfortunate people at whatever cost .The film concerns the survival of human specie, the fundamental theme results to be the humanity confrontation and the main enemy: an alien invasion at an exceptional world happening. The destroyed urbanizations, with the citizens going away and the aliens themselves, are stunnningly brought to life and created in state-of-art special effects, delivering eerie highlights. The yarn is developed in the ordinary world, out of Pentagon and White House. It's loosely based on the H. G. Wells notorious novel that remains as landmark in the sci-fi history , but has been changed the location of original novel from London, 1890, to Los Angeles in year 2011. The best thing about the film is the impressive action scenes, with overwhelming combats, made using steadycam and camera above the man, in the wake of 'Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan', in fact from this film most of the images of shootings in the war genre are made in that style. Well starred by Aaron Eckart as the tough Marine sergeant who lead his team, he will have to define the limits against an enemy like never before. Eckart is appropriately accompanied by a good cast with plenty of familiar faces , such as: Ramón Rodríguez, Micahel Peña, Will Rothhaar, Bridget Moynahan, Joey King, Ne-Yo, Jim Parrack and special appearance from Michelle Rodriguez.
It packs an adecuate and atmospheric cinematography by Lukas Ettlin. As well as a rousing and suspenseful musical score by Brian Tyler. Competently directed by South African fimmaker Jonathan Liebesman, who until then had focused more on the horror genre. Jonathan is a good filmmaker , a fine craftsman who thanks to his first horror film ¨Darkness Falls¨ was hired by powerful producer Michael Bay to direct : ¨The Texas chainsaw massacre : the beginning¨. Liebesman has directed a few of blockbusters and successful TV series, such as : t¨Teenage mutant ninja turtles¨, ¨Wrath of Titanes¨ , ¨The killing room¨, ¨The Shannara Chronicles¨, and ¨Halo¨. Rating ¨Battle Los Angeles¨: 6/10, decent and acceptable warfare movie.
Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)
Billy Wilder's satire on greed, lust, and sexual game-playing.
Dino (Dean Martin) , the good looking and lecherous Las Vegas singer, stops for gas on his way to Hollywood in Climax, Nevada. The oily gas station attendant is Barney Millsap (Cliff Osmond) , a would-be lyricist who writes pop songs with Orville Spooner, the local piano teacher. By disabling Dino's car, Barney contrives a scheme to have charming Dino sing one of their songs on an upcoming TV special. Possessively jealous piano teacher Orville Spooner (Ray Walston) , a local songwriter, wants Dino to hear his tunes but knows the cad will seduce his pretty wife, so he hires a floozy (Kim Novak) to pose as the tempting spouse. Meanwhile, Barney sends his beautiful wife (Felicia Farr) , Zelda, away for the night while he tries to sell a song to famous nightclub singer Dino, who is stranded in town. There Was This Girl in Climax, Nevada!. It happened in Climax, Nevada !. Dino...he came to dinner...Polly the Pistol - she stayed for breakfast...Beethoven - he cooked up the whole mess...This picture is for adults only !.
An enjoyable film with funny, amusing script by the compelling tandem LAL Diamond and Billy Wilder. A roguish, vulgar and thorny issue at the time by passing off a local prostitute as the complacent wife of one of them. Chance and infidelities mix in this uninhibited sitcom, one of the director's best. The attack on 'good customs' and the dominant puritanism in broad sectors of North American society complicated the dissemination of the film at the time. It gets better as it goes along, but the whole thing suffers from staginess, being an adaptation of an Italian play ¨L'ora della fantasia¨by Anna Bonacci. However, one condemned as smut, this lesser Wilder effort now seems no worse than a TV sitcom. Rightly agreeable with plenty of sly bits of business and fun-filled , milestone comedy which neatly combines humor , mirth , entertaining situations , a feeling romance and bitterness . Notable direction render this stunning story more funny than usual. Giving a jaundiced vision leavened by a tender sympathy for the frailty of human motives. Dean Martin basically plays himself as a horny Vegas crooner stranded in the boondocks. Drawing heavily on Martin's offscreen persona, this sees him as a sex-crazed, arrogant crooner stranded in a remote Californian town and feigning interest in a songs composer -nicely played by Ray Walston who steals the show- in return for the sexual favours of the latter's wife -attractively played by Felicia Farr.
The motion picture was well directed by Billy Wilder who includes several punchlines . Being one of Wilder's most inventive and furious screen adaptations .Billy was one of the best directors of history . In 1939 started the partnership with Charles Bracket on such movies as ¨Ninotchka¨ , ¨Ball of fire¨ , making their film debut as such with ¨Major and the minor¨ . ¨Sunset Boulevard¨ was their last picture together before they split up . Later on , Billy collaborated with another excellent screenwriter IAL Diamond . Both of them won an Academy Award for ¨Stalag 17¨ dealing with a POW camp starred by William Holden . After that , they wrote/produced/directed such classics as ¨Ace in the hole¨ , the touching romantic comedy ¨Sabrina¨ , the Hickcoktian courtroom puzzle game ¨Witness for the prosecution¨ and two movies with the great star Marilyn Monroe , the warmth ¨Seven year itch¨ and this ¨Some like hot¨. All of them include screenplays that sizzle with wit . But their biggest success and highpoint resulted to be the sour and fun ¨The apartment¨. Subsequently in the 60s and 70s , the duo fell headlong into the pit , they realized nice though unsuccessful movies as ¨Buddy buddy¨ ,¨Fedora¨ , ¨Front page¨ and ¨Secret life of Sherlock Holmes¨, though the agreeable ¨Avanti¨ slowed the decline . The team , Wilder-Diamond , had almost disappeared beneath a wave of bad reviews and failures . Rating : 6.5/10 . Above average , essential and indispensable watching ; extremely funny and riveting film and completely entertaining .It's the kind of movie where you know what's coming but , because the treatment , enjoy it all the same .
El camino de los ingleses (2006)
Uneven and mediocre second film by the famous Spanish actor with international fame Antonio Banderas.
A nostalgic coming-of-age tale charting a group of friends on vacation at the end of the 1970s, including friendship, sex, love, adventures and misfortunes. Miguelito Dávila (Alberto Amarilla) is a young man from Málaga who has just had a kidney removed, which forces him to spend a long time in the hospital. There he meets a cultured man who introduces him to poetry and makes him reconsider leaving his job in a small hardware store to be a poet. Once he leaves the hospital, Miguelito begins the transition from innocence to adult life, embarking on the journey with his friends: Paco Frontón (Félix Gómez) who falls in love for La Cuerpo (Marta Nieto) and the violent Babirusa (Raúl Arévalo). Including some events that will prove crucial in his life with experiences that will reach the limit . Miguelito begins a relationship with Luli (María Ruiz), a beautiful girl whom he deeply loves and in which an older man, Cardona (Antonio Garrido) is interested, and he also starts a relationship with a teacher (Victoria Abril). Following the right path only depends on him.
A coming-of-age story depicting lives of a group of teens, who during the summer experience with mutual camaraderie, the first loves, lusts, obsession, sex, comradeship and violence. Adaptation of the same name from the novel by Málaga writer Antonio Soler, who also wrote the script for the second film directed by actor Banderas, his first was ¨Crazy in Alabama´. But while ¨Crazy in Alabama¨, starring his then wife Melanie Griffith, was a decent film, this ¨El camino de los ingleses¨ result to be mediocre and uneven, including ridiculous situations and a pretty bad filming.
The film was nominated for two Goya awards: best new actor (Alberto Amarilla) and best adapted script (Antonio Soler) and won the Label Europa Cinemas award at the Cine Festival in Berlin.
Among its protagonists appear the youngsters: Alberto Amarilla (Princesas, Mar adentro), Raul Arevalo (La isla mínima), Félix Gómez (Carlos rey emperador) , María Ruiz (Paquirri) and Marta Nieto (Madre). Completing the casting, veterans as Victoria Abril (Tirant Le Blanc), Cuca Escribano (Mapa de la geografia humana), Antonio Garrido (Zona Hostil) and Juan Diego (Vete de mi).
In ¨El camino de los ingleses¨ excels the colorful cinematography by Xavi Giménez and the second unit director of photography was made by another prestigious cameraman, Oscar Faura. As well as the sensitive and attractive musical score by Antonio Meliveo, including catching songs. The motion picture was averagely directed by Antonio Banderas and I think that it includes some autobiographical elements from his native Malaga. Rating: 4.5/10. A so-so film that turns out to be a little tiring and boring.
The Last Full Measure (2019)
An exciting and patriotic American production sensitively shot and with high narrative quality.
Scott Huffman (Sebastian Stan) is a happily married young man (to Alison Sadoul) and a member of the Pentagon who is tasked with reviewing the posthumous decoration of a Vietnam War veteran. This is William H. Pitsenbarger (Jeremy Irvine), a paramedic who saved more than 60 lives in the Vietnam conflict. Scott Huffman is a young member of the Pentagon who is tasked with reviewing the posthumous decoration of a Vietnam War veteran. Scott Huffman doggedly investigates a Congressional Medal of Honor application for Pitsenbarger and uncovers a high-level conspiracy behind the decades-long denial of the medal, leading Huffman to risk his own career to seek justice for the fallen airman. The supreme sacrifice deserves the greatest honor!
It is an interesting drama inspired by the incredible true story of one man's tenacious struggle to discover the truth about the death of a soldier that occurred long ago during the Vietnam War, and there are even interviews with real airmen and soldiers who met Pitsenbarger, the paramedic who saved more than 60 lives in the Vietnam conflict. To do this, our protagonist encounters many obstacles, while interviewing those who participated in the battle in which our hero died, and even travels to the same place of events in Vietnam to find a main witness. The film is well shot with serenity, sensitivity and sense of style. An acceptable war drama that tells the true story of William H. Pitsenbarger and the investigation that Huffman carried out. Compiling the testimonies of veterans who knew him and claimed the Medal of Valor for his colleague 34 years after his death. As Huffman delves deeper into Pitsenbarger's heroic story, what seemed like a mere bureaucratic process becomes a passionate struggle to do justice to the memory of the soldier to be decorated.
Well directed by Todd Robinson (Phantom) and starring Sebastian Stan (Captain America, Winter Soldier), the film features film veteran actors playing Vietnam veterans who interacted with the soldier, such as: Samuel L Jackson, Ed Harris, Dale Dye and John Savage from 'The Hunter'. The cast is completed by other younger actors such as Jeremy Irvine (War Horse), in the role of the hero Pitsenbarger, and Alison Sadoul (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid's Tale), Linus Roache (Mandy) and the already very old Christopher Plummer and Gena Rowlands. The film's large cast includes two Oscar winners: William Hurt and Christopher Plummer; and five Oscar nominees: Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Diane Ladd and Peter Fonda. And this is the last live-action film by Christopher Plummer and Peter Fonda, in fact the film is dedicated to the memory of Peter Fonda. The last Full Measure (2019) rating: 6/10. It is an acceptable and decent film that will attract due to its human values and the long list of well-known actors who act in it.
The Invisible Man (2020)
An intriguing film about invisibility with twisted events, bone-chilling scenes , violence and blood.
Two weeks after having escaped her toxic relationship with the rich and brilliant but abusive scientist Adrian Griffin (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) , Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) is convinced that Adrian is going to appear in any moment, until she receives a note informing her of her partner's suicide. When Cecilia's ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see. Along the way, a being bearing invisibility causes wreak havoc, mayhem and killings. What You Can't See Can Hurt You !
This horror thriller contains thrills, chills, grisly killings, gory happenings and anything else. Elizabeth Moss (The Handmaid's Tale, Mad Men) stars as Cecilia, a young wife who begins to re-build her life for the better after his husbad committed suicide; however, her sense of reality is put into question when she begins to suspect her deceased lover is not actually dead. The not very attractive Moss -she never wears makeup nor is she well groomed- gives a good performance as the tormented woman who's really harassed. In this thriller, a new version of the novel of the same title written by H. G. Wells in which the center of the plot is not on this occasion the Invisible Man, but rather his victim. In fact, this 'Invisible Man' has little connection with the classic novel except the situation of invisibility.
After the pale project of the Dark Universe, with which Universal wanted to revitalize its classic characters, ¨Blumhouse¨, the most successful producer of current genre cinema: El sótano de Ma (Ma), Let Me Out y Sagas: Feliz día de tu muerte (Happy Death Day) , The Purge, or Insidious, took the reins of this new version of the H. G. Wells classic, in which the 'Invisible Man' uses his power to continue controlling the woman who abandoned him. Written and directed by actor Leigh Whannel (Insidious 3), the cast also includes Aldis Hodge (Black Adam, Hidden Figures), Oliver Jackson-Cohern (Faster, Emily, The Healer) and Storm Reid (The Nun 2, Missing, One way).
The visual detail is maqnificent with adequate cinematography by cameraman Stefan Duscio , as well as tense musical score by Benjamin Wallfisch. This hair-rising chiller was competently written/directed by Leigh Whannell, although the first half is slow and fails a bit; the second is more moving, intriguing and chilling. Leigh is an Australian actor/writer/producer/director whose starts in small acting roles cropped up from time to time ,including one in Matrix Reloaded (2003). His role in Alex Proyas Australian Garage Days (2002) that finally broke the camel's back. He attended the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's prestigious Media Arts course, where he met fellow filmmaker James Wan. He called Wan and told him that if they wanted to get a film made, they would have to pay for it themselves and they created Saw (2004) . Writing or producing or directing the following ones : Dead Silence, Insidious saga, Saw saga, The Mule, Cooties , Upgrade, The Invisible Man, among others. Member of the unofficial "Splat Pack," a term coined for the modern wave of directors making brutally violent horror films, the other "Splat Pack" members are Alexandre Aja, Darren Lynn Bousman, Neil Marshall, Greg McLean, Eli Roth, James Wan, and Rob Zombie. Rating The Invisible Man(2020) : 6/10 . Worthwhile watching.
Commando (1985)
Violent action-packed movie spiced with throwaway comic lines.
The movie opens on a close-up of Arnold's biceps. Various members of a commando team led by John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger), have appeared murdered. Matrix is a hulking ex-Colonel whose exploits have made him and his men enemies among totalitarian empires and groups around the world. Matrix is now retired and lives with his daughter Jenny (Alyssa Milano) alone in the mountains of upstate California. Matrix's former commanding officer, General Franklin Kirby (James Olson), flies to the house to tell Matrix about the killings of his men (Lawson (Drew Snyder), Forrestal (Michael Delano) and Bennet (Vernon Wells). But the ex-commando leader's daughter is kidnapped in a blackmail scheme to make him depose a South American President, but he fights instead. To get her back, Arnie's army consists of himself and a stewardess (Rae Dawn Chong) he hijacks into help him, but it's more than enough for the bad guys, mos of whom are Arnie's size just to even the odds a little. If there's a mission that no man could survive...then he's the man for the job. They hunted him down. They murdered his friends. Now they've taken the one thing he would kill for - his only daughter. May Heaven help them. Let's Party!. Somewhere, somehow, someone's going to pay.
Enjoyable thriller with tongue-in-cheek, containing suspense, thrills, chills, noisy action-packed, gun-play and loads of violence. Mark L. Lester directs this film that mixes for the first time action, a lot of violence and humor in the way that would later characterize the films of the genre from the eighties and especially those starring Arnold. Leading the cast is our endearing Arnold Schwarzenegger as one army man, he did not want to use doubles for the stunts and ended the filming with several wounds, bruises and a dislocated shoulder. Arnold with his usual stoic acting and he displays amount of weapons arsenal killing nasties. The mayhem is largely wrought by mighty Arnie, who never delivers one blow or bullet where three will do. The filmmakers fall back on the old story of the quiet strong-man stung into action by a threat to something he loves -in this case his young daughter. So he proceeds to rescue his beloved daughter amid a torrential flow of failing bodies. Arnie just straps on his arsenal and it's all over bar the shooting, not to mention the limb-hacking, throat-hacking and head-chopping, with the most surprining death of all reserved for the chief villian, who fails to shoot our hero when he has the chance. Along with the Austrian-American actor, there are several secondary familiar faces, such as: Rae Dawn Chong, Dan Hedaya, Vernon Wells, James Olson, David Patrick Kelly , Bill Duke, Drew Snyder, Michael DeLano and a very young Alyssa Milano as the protagonist's daughter.
It displays a somewhat heavy score with excessive synthesizer music by the well-known composer James Horner, who later composed classical symphonic compositions in a number of popular films. In addition, adequate and atmospheric cinematograhy Matthew F. Leonetti. The motion picture lavishly produced by Joe Silver was professionally directed by Mark L Lester. He's a cool director and producer-American World Pictures- of B movies , his greatest success was during the 80s, when he directed hits , such as ¨Commando¨, ¨Firestarter¨, ¨Showdown in Little Tokio¨ and ¨Class of 1984¨ . Rating : 6.5/10. An entertaining action movie, essential and indispensable for Arnold Schwarzenegger fans.
Jarhead: Law of Return (2019)
Thrilling sequel about a fighter pilot for the Israel Defense Forces shot down while flying through Syrian airspace.
This exciting and nail-biting film contains loudy action, full of suspense, tension, crossfire, chases and adrenaline. Major Ronan Jackson (Devon Sawa), an accomplished fighter pilot and Israeli by Law of Return, and son of a U. S. Senator (Robert Patrick), is shot down and subsequently captured in Syria after an assignment. Miraculously surviving the crash, Jackson is taken captive by a group of Hezbollah militiamen. Jarhead: Law of Return follows a squad of elite Marine Raiders, led by Gunnery Sergeant Dave Torres (Amaury Nolasco), as they risk their own lives in the hope of saving an ally they've never met. While, the Hezbollah terrorist group decides to take him prisoner and serve as prey and ransom.
A gripping and powerful story packed with hard-hitting action, shootouts, nudism ,violence and many swearings and bad language. A bone-chilling and action-packed film about warlike feats in which a joint Israeli US squad's sent in to rescue Ronan within 36 hours. Not everything revolves around shooting and chases: the key is humanity, so the most dangerous thing is not the mission, it is the rescue and escape and that is what the character of Amaury Nolasco , who is the true protagonist of this intricate and fast-paced action thriller, is very clear about. There is also a description of the Middle East war with the Hezbolla militia supported by Iran, Lebanon and Syria and its fight against Israel for possession of the Golam Heights. Acceptable interpretations from Devon Sawa as Commander Ronan Jackson who's hunted while flying over the Syrian sky, Jeff Pierre as Sgt. Johnson, Yael Eitan as tough soldier israeli Neta, the decesed Ben Cross as USMC General Betz, Robert Patrick as the worried senator and special mention for Amaury Norlasco who's the main starring as two-fisted, and experienced sergeant who in compliance with his military duty will not stop at anything in order to fulfill his mission.
Jarhead: Law of Return (2019) contains colorful cinematography by cameraman Alexander Krumov filmed in several locations from Bulgaria and Israel. As well as a moving and functional musical score by composer Frederik Wiedmann . The motion picture was professionally directed by Don Michael Paul. Don is a secondary actor and an occassional professional director. He is an artisan who has directed a lot of action films as cinema as television , such as : ¨Jarhead 2¨, ¨Sniper Legacy¨, ¨Lake Placid : Final chapter¨, ¨Death race : Beyond anarchy¨, ¨Bulletproof 2¨, ¨Kindergaten cops 2¨, ¨Who is your caddy?, The garden¨, among others. Jarhead: Law of Return (2019)rating: 5.5/10.
The saga Jarhead is made up of: ¨Jarhead¨ (2005) by Sam Mendes with Jake Gyllenhaal, Scott MacDonald, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black. ¨Jarhead: Field of fire¨(2014) by Don Michael Paul with Cole Hauser, Stephen Lang, Bokeem Woodbine, Esai Morales , Jesse Garcia, Jason Wong, Josh Kelly.¨Jarhead: The siege¨ (2016) by William Kaufman with Scott Adkins, Charlie Weber, Dante Basco , Romeo Miller, Erik Valdez, Sasha Jackson, Dennis Haysbert. ¨Jarhead: Law of Return¨ (2019) with Devon Sawa, Amaury Norlasco, Amos Taman, Nicholas Aaron, Robert Patrick .
Arthur & Merlin: Knights of Camelot (2020)
Another of the many adaptations based on the life of King Arthur, being regularly directed and on a small budget.
Co-written and directed by Giles Anderson, the film narrates the confrontation between Arthur and his illegitimate son Mordred, who he had with the magician Morgana. A reinterpretation based on the famous legend of Arthur with many battles, magic, as well as sword games; following King Arthur and his people rushing home to stop Mordred from taking over Camelot. Decaffeinated, uneven and revisionist version based on the legendary historical figure, recalling several events - many in flashbacks - such as the extraction of the sword in the stone, Excalibur in the hands of the Lady of the Lake and the final fight with Mordred, including a great Lots of battles with colorful visual effects. After defeating the Romans in a bloody war, King Arthur (Richard Short) moves to France to continue fighting and becomes a wandering swordsman. Arthur embarks on a long and hard path, meanwhile Mordred covets the throne and will try to seize power at any price. His son Sir Mordred is an unscrupulous young tyrant who will stop at nothing to reign. Mordred (Joel Phillimore) is ruthless and eventually becomes a false monarch with excessive ambition. He assumes control of Camelot and prepares for his wedding to Queen Guinevere, Arthur's wife. Now King Arthur must meet with the wizard Merlin (Richard Brake from Game of Thrones) and the Knights of the Round Table and fight to regain his throne. The classic love triangle between (Tim Fellingham), Guinevere (Stella Stocker) and Arturo is also revived, including an eventual sincere respect to the old legend. Set in ancient England during the civil wars and where King Arthur rules, he managed to maintain Christianity and civilization in the west of England, although it is not exactly congruent with the 6th century, it is presumed that this was the time in which he lived. But the film takes place in a high medieval panoply. A King emerges from nowhere! No mortal could possess it! No kingdom could command it! Forged by a god! Predicted by a magician. Found by a king. Temptation blackens the heart! . From stone to throne!
This is a moving story about knights, honorable medieval chivalry and the days of the Round Table in the time of King Arthur, coming to the screen with all the pomp and circumstance, but on a medium-low budget. This spectacular film has some attractive action scenes, an evocative soundtrack and forested, but unrealistic settings. Adding dark cinematography, in fact the director of photography shot the entire film using only natural light; extra bright candles were brought in for lighting. Here an older King Arthur returns home after fighting against the Roman Empire when his illegitimate son has corrupted the throne of Camelot. It follows the 'Sword and Sorcery' subgenre more than the traditional story about Arthur, his court of Camelot and the round table. Here, the legendary character is not based on the writings of Thomas Mallory (book "Le Morte d'Arthur"), or the Perceval of Chrétien de Troyes, but rather has been treated freely, adding imagination, emotion, necromancy and fantasy with functional special effects. Turning out to be an extremely revisionist adaptation of ancient legends, about peculiar roles, history and time in which the events take place, set in a dark Middle Ages with a huge castle next to the sea as a background. But at least there are the classic characters of the famous legend, such as Merlin, Genivieve, Lancelot, Mordred, Lady of the Lake, Tristan, Gawain. The cast is little known, the main protagonist, Richard Short, gives a lackluster performance as the brave and reckless Arthur, while Stella Stockery is the doubtful Guinevere, Sanna Kelly plays the strange witch with extraordinary powers, and Richard Brake as the wizard Merlin who usually appears as a falcon that suddenly transforms and appears before the knights. An imperfect, light and sensational version, but it will appeal to fans of medieval adventure and fans of Arthurian legends. Rating: 4.5/10.
Other films about the legends of Arthur that have had countless adaptations turned out to be: the Hollywood version "The Knights of the Round Table" (Richard Thorpe, 53) with Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer, Stanley Baker; ¨Lancelot and Guinevere¨ (1963) by Cornel Wilde with Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Brian Aherne, George Baker; the musical ¨Camelot¨ by Joshua Logan with Franco Nero, Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave; ¨Merlin and the Sword¨ by Clive Donner, (85) with Malcolm McDowell, Candice Bergen, Edward Woodward; ¨Merlin¨(1998) with Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson, Rutger Hauer, Isabella Rossellini, Martin Short; ¨The First Knight¨ with Richard Gere, Sean Connery, Julia Ormond; ¨King Arthur¨(Antoine Fuqua, 2004) with Clive Owen, Stephen Dillane, Ioan Gruffud, Mikkelsen, Kiera Knightley; and recently "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" (2017) by Guy Ritchie with Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Jude Law, Djimon Hounsou, Eric Bana, Aidan Gillen. And Walt Disney's animated version: "The Sword in the Stone¨(1963) by Wolfgang Reitherman, Clyde Geronimi. As well as the comic adaptation¨Monty Python and the Holy Grail¨ (1975) by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. And the excellent ¨Excalibur¨ (John Boorman, 81) which is considered the best and most tremendous epic based on the legend, performed by Nigel Terry, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Nicol Williamson, Gabriel Byrne, Keith Buckley, Katrine Boorman, Ciarán Hinds, Cherie Lunghi; this has not been indisputably surpassed until now.
How to Steal a Million (1966)
Sophisticated and fun romantic comedy with big name cast dealing with a caper at a french museum
Attractive and agreeable comedy with star-studded cast, sympathetic incidents , entertainment and amusement. Shot on location in París, but no showing sightseeing or monuments, though it has luxurious houses and gorgeous indoors. Peter O'Toole and Audrey Hepburn give glorious, charming acting, and the latter is especially frankly delightful. Paris, 1966...Monsieur Charles Bonnet (Hugh Griffith), the current head of the Bonnet family, custodian of the family's legendary collection of fine art, and he's a noted collector in his own right. His daughter, Nicole Bonnet (Audrey Hepburn, dressed in Givenchy clothes, as usual), wants him to stop this business fearing that some day soon he will get caught. To save her father from prison she contacts the only person she knows who she believes can help her, namely a burglar named Simon Dermott (Peter O'Toole), in order to attempt to steal a priceless statue. Meet a couple of smart operators who give a lesson in love and larceny !. A movie about those who appreciate the finest things in life... for free! Having a Wonderful Crime! Wish You Were Here!
Enjoyable and attractive comedy based on the story¨Venus Rising¨ by George Bradshaw. Stylish and fast moving picture in which a girl is drawn into a criminal intrigue to save her father resulting in surprising consequences. This is a sparklingly sophisticated comedy/thriller/romance with Wyler's stylish direction and full of plot twists and red herrings. From the opening credits to the ending, entertainment and amusement are well provided. William Wyler is prepared to resort to all the tricks in the cinematic trade to make this a fascinating thriller-comedy. It displays some very diverting and funny moments, with a lot of diversions into the museum, involving a million-dollar heist of a sculpture in Paris art museum. The robbery itself is the complete spectacle, in which 'Topkapi'-like safety precautions have to be overcome. Here Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole are perfectly cast as partners in crime. Elegant Hepburn delivers the goods in more ways than one. This girl is such charming to watch , the voice, the face are ever-changing, completely individual. While Hugh Griffith gives a nice acting as Hepburn's art-forging father and he steals the show, at times. A charming, lightweight script and various Parisian locals combine for fun, above average fluff. Four French matinee idols of the Thirties: Charles Boyer, Fernand Gravet, Roger Tréville and Marcel Dalio show up in supporting characters each in his 60s, but all as debonair as ever. And a fat comedian called Moustache is very likeable as a museum guard, along with the indispensable Jacques Marin as a chief guard.
This comedy-crime caper was competently directed by William Wyler, who had a long Hollywood career. Wyler was considered by his peers as second only to John Ford as a master craftsman of cinema and the winner of three Best Director Academy Awards . Wyler was a great professional who had a career full of successes in all kind of genres as Film Noir : ¨Detective story¨ , ¨The desperate hours¨ , ¨Dead End¨ ; Western : ¨The Westener¨, ¨Friendly persuasion¨ , ¨Big Country¨, but his speciality were dramas such as : ¨Jezebel¨ , ¨The letter¨ , ¨Wuthering Heights¨ , ¨The best years of our lives¨, ¨Mrs Miniver¨, ¨The heiress¨ , ¨the little Foxes¨ , ¨Friendly persuasion¨, ¨The Liberation of L. B. Jones¨, ¨The collector¨ and Comedy as two films starred by Audrey Hepburn : ¨How to steal a million¨ and of course the immortal comedy-romance ¨Roman's holiday¨. Rating ¨How to Steal a Million¨ : 7.5/10. Better than average , worthwhile seeing . It results to be a pretty good film that catches up the audience .
Child's Play (2019)
Passable remake with similar incidents and lots of gore and blood.
Decent terror film with awful murders by the malevolent creature attacking unsuspecting people. Thrilling and horrifying if somewhat moronic movie with nice special effects. Mindless and so-so horror film is packed with thrills, intrigue, suspense, horror , interminable screams with no much sense. After moving to a new city, young Andy Barclay (Gabriel Bateman) receives a special present from his mother (Aubrey Plaza) a seemingly innocent Buddi doll (Mark Hamill's voice) that becomes his best friend. When the doll suddenly takes on a life of its own, Andy unites with other neighborhood children to stop the sinister toy from wreaking bloody havoc. Soon, the block is thrown into chaos as a series of horrifying murders with lots of blood and gore begin to expose the city's hypocrisies and secrets. Along the way, the arrival of other characters threatens to expose the truth behind the killings, as well as the demon doll's untold origins that somehow became this notorious monster. More than a toy... he's your best friend !. A Boy's Best Friend !. Friends to the End !. Prepare to Meet Your New Best Friend !. Playtime is Over !. An evil too great to play on just one network !. A new original series featuring an old friend...A classic coming of rage story. Fear the second coming !. The killer doll is back !. This year, get a load of Chucky !. Get a load of Chucky. The second coming. The country is chucked. This doll is killer. Chucky is one mean S. O. B. Time to Raise Some Hell !Deliver us some evil !.
Gory and bloody film about the creepy, ruthless, sly series killer named ¨Chucky¨, the creepy events start when a mother gives her 13-year-old son a toy doll for his birthday, unaware of its more sinister nature. The original creators of Chucky ó Buddi and every sequel before this decided to do a separate television series to continue the storyline there; being written by Tyler Burton Smith displaying a twisted and surprising script; based on "Child's Play" whose screenplay was written by Don Mancini , John Lafia, Tom Holland. Here the evil, devilish-doll Chucky is brought-to-life by means of excellent special effects, in this exciting terror movie packing suspenseful horror, thrills, chills , graphic violence, hemoglobin scenes, grisly killings and some satirical/comical elements. It manages to be a budget enough film that makes for big scary scream-feast, guts, and frights , including creepy scenes , eerie make-up and lots of special effects for the sinister demonic being. And the ending will stick with you and will have you on the edge of your seat, it's a real shocker. The plot is is simple and it will continue similar on all versions or follow-ups, here the malicious Chucky moves a flat carrying out the ordinary massacre and criminal spree. However, this is an acceptable pic that relies heavily on the impressive special effects from the fantastic doll. As the real star is the boastful doll that's magnificently made. Adding a frightening and suspenseful musical score by composers Bear McCready and Jason La Rocca, as well as adequate cinematography by cameraman Brendan Uegama. Well produced by Jason Cloth, Ferguson, Aaron Gilbert, David Katzenberg and Michael Williams. The motion picture was professionally directed by Lars Klevberg (Polaroid), though without originality because being a simple copy of previous entries. Rating: 5.5/10.
The initial film from the overlong saga¨Chucky¨ results to be ¨Child's play¨ (1988) by Tom Holland with Brad Dourif, Alex Vincent, Catherine Hicks and Chris Sarandon. To be continued by ¨Child's play II¨ (1990 ) by John Lafia with Jenny Agutter , Alex Vincent , Gerrit Graham . ¨Child's play 3¨ by Jack Bender with Justin Whalin , Peter Haskell , Dakin Matthews . ¨Bride of Chucky¨ (1998) by Ronny Yu with Jennifer Tilly , Brad Dourif , Katherine Heigl, Nick Stabile, Alexis Arquette . ¨Seed of Chucky¨(2004) by Don Mancini with Brad Dourif , Billy Boyd , Tony Gardner , Jason Flemyng , Hannah Spearritt , John Waters , Redman , Keith-Lee Castle . And ¨Curse of Chucky¨ (2013) by Don Mancini with Chantal Quesnelle , Fiona Dourif , Jordan Gavaris, Danielle Bisutti, A Martinez and ¨Cult of Chucky¨ (2017) by Mancini with Allison Dawn Doiron , Alex Vincent , Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif went straight-to-video , until the release of the remake ¨Child's Play¨ (2019) by Lars Klevberg with Tim Matheson, Ben Daon, Zahra Anderson, Aubrey Plaza . In addition , "Chucky¨, is formed by 21 episodes in three seasons by Don Mancini stars Zackary Arthur, Bjorgvin Arnarson , Alyvia Alyn Lind, Devon Sawa , Brad Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, Meg Tilly, Ted Briones, Barbara Alyn Woods, Fiona Dourif, Carina Battrick, Lexa Doig, Rachelle Casseus, Lachlan Watson, among others .
Maximum Risk (1996)
Van Damme spectacle against the violent Russian mafia and using his incredible fighting skills
Fine flick with more than a semblance of an enjoyable and entertaining story without being excessively cerebral, including thrills, spectacular fighting , mayhem and breathtaking chases . Van Damme plays two twins and one of them goes to a relentless vendetta agains Russian mobsters (Zach Grenier). In Niece, France, Mikhail Suverov (Jean Claude Van Damme), a former Russian gangster is pursued by two corrupt FBI agents Pellman (Paul Ben Victor) and Loomis (Frank Senger) and Mikhail is murdered. French police officer Alain Moreau (Jean Claude van Damme) discovers Mikhail is his twin brother he never knew and was given up for adoption. Investigating Mikhail's murder, Alain travels to New York City and assumes Mikhail's identity, where he meets Mikhail's sexy girlfriend Alex Minetti (Natasha Hensridge). The good brother takes over his life to find out whodunit. The Other Side of Safety !. The other side of safe !. The nearer he gets to the truth, the closer he gets to the edge !.
Van Damme in a deja vu, similar to 'Double Impact', plays a double role, two identical twins -a good French guy and a bad Russian good- and he goes into action when the bad guy is killed. But
this lunkhead kick-em-up doesnt take advantage of that gimmick. This violent film contains thriller , suspense , action , tension and spectacular/well choreographed fights . Entertaining movie , thanks to tight pace, skillful edition and well mounted combats . It's tense and exciting , at time glossy enough action movie and the overwhelming struggles are well done. The basic story would have been the same with just one Jean-Claude. Risk, noisy action and danger aside is not alll that bad, what with gorgeous Natasha Hensridge as his sib's squeeze, unaware that the man she has in a lip lock is not her beloved. Lots of profane dialogue and some gratuitous nudity fot the adults in charge of Natasha Hensridge. Has all the action you'd expect from a pic with 'The Muscles of Brussels' and more fists, guns, and car chases is, of course, the major reason to invest your entertainment here.
The motion picture was professionally directed by Ringo Lam . In 2015 , Hong Kong director Ringo Lam received the Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award at the 14th New York Asian Film Festival. Hong Kong action auteur Lam's stateside debut ensures that fast-paced pursuits and full-throttle combat is well made and visually appealing. He was a craftsman who made a trilogy for Van Damme : Maximum Risk , Replicant and In Hell . His film City on Fire (1987) was the inspiration for the plot and some of the scenes in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) . Ringo was a a nice Chinese director who recently passed away , and filmmaker for Jackie Chan : Double dragon . And was hired in US for Jean Claude Van Damme vehicles . He also directed ¨On fire¨ trilogy : the first is titled ¨City on fire¨ , the second titled ¨Prison on fire¨ and the third titled ¨ Prison on fire 2¨ and ¨Risk In Hel¨ (2003) stars Van Damme as well. Pointlessly energetic and excessively violent , this Maximum Risk (1996) will appeal the true devotee of main actor . It's a must see for Van Damme fans . Rating : 6/10 . Decent action movie .
Session 9 (2001)
Tension, chills, and suspense when an asbestos cleaning crew working in an abandoned mental hospital.
Kirkbride Mental Health Hospital, built in 1871 is being reclaimed as a town hall and renovated after being closed down nearly fifteen years earlier in 1985. Hazmat Elimination Company, an asbestos removal company run by Gordon Fleming (played by Peter Mullan) , he secures the contract by promising to complete the work in a week , although under ideal circumstances it should take a month, unfortunately ideal circumstances are not afoot in the creepy booby hatch. And his associate is Phil (played by David Carusoe), they are the first to start on the renovation of the building. The film opens with a lightly humoured tour through the asylum led by Bill Griggs (a cameo by Paul Guilfoyle). To get a big bonus, Gordon recklessly promises that his men can complete the job in record time, despite the advice of the team leader. Dressed in protective suits, the five workers venture through the rooms and other corridors of the demolished hospital. As they advance, the team is dragged deeper and deeper into the mysteries that surround the place, patient abuse, medieval medical procedures, rumors of possession. Tensions rise with a horrific past that seems to be coming back. Fear is a place !.
Brad Anderson's third film, after 'Darien Gap' and 'Next Stop Wonderland', Brad is also the author of the script along with Stephen Gevedon who plays a bit role, and using dolby and state-of-art cameras in this thriller to give the story greater realism. Intriguing film containing drama, thrills, chills, suspense , twists and turns , and results to be entertaining, but slow and mediocre. The highlight of the film is the opressive atmosphere, including the vast, eerie halls that soon get to Gordon and his crew, as they start turning on each others after the discovery of nine audio tapes confirming rumors of satanic rituals and torture of patients. Somewhat marred by editing that gives away the story too early, and also by the fact that for workers under a deadline, these guys stand around getting freaked out eay too much. Stars Peter Mullan que gives a good acting as a hazardous materials contractor who bids on a job to remove asbestos from a rundown insane asylum, being well accompanied by a nice cast of familar actors, such as : David Caruso, Josh Lucas, Stephen Gevedon, Paul Guilfoyle and Brendan Sexton III.
This displays a somber and appropriate photography for the spooky events that take place. Shot by cameraman Uta Briesewitz, using Sony's Cine Alta HD digital video cameras instead of film. Likewise, a thrilling and suspenseful score by Climax Golden Twins. The motion picture was professionally directed by Brad Anderson, though results to be a bit boring. Anderson won the award for best director at the Sitges festival. He is a good filmmaker who has directed thought-provoking and thrilling films such as ¨Happy accidents¨ , ¨Transsiberian¨. ¨Session 9¨ , ¨Stonehearst Asylum¨, ¨The machinist¨ , and ¨The call¨ his last film starring Halle Berry. Rating: 5/10. It's an average film with tense, suspenseful, and violent scenes .
Der Pfad (2022)
Nice co-production between Germany and Spain about two children and a dog who flee from the Nazis through the Pyrenees.
A passionate and emotional film dealing with German journalist Ludwig get in trouble, he has written too sincerely for the Nazi regime and realizes that he must be prepared to flee. He takes his son Rolf and his inseparable dog Adi (inexplicably named after Adolf Hitler) to head to the United States, passing through France and Spain. It stars Julius Weckauf, who plays Rolf, a twelve-year-old boy who in 1940 wants to flee the Nazis from France to Portugal with his father (Volker Bruch), a dissident journalist, to take a ship to America. Rolf's mother (Anna Maria Mühe) is waiting for them there. Ordered to leave his dog, Rolf (Julius Weckauf) prefers to hide it in his bag. At first it seems like a not too difficult path, but then the journey becomes bumpy and ends abruptly. In a hard cut, the Nazis appear with consequent turmoil, confusion and danger. The journey becomes increasingly dangerous and exhausting, forcing them to depend on an anti-Franco resistance network. Even though junior guide Nuria (Nonna Cardoner) bribes a police patrol, the barking stray dog attracts the attention of the Germans, so Ludwig delivers the essentials to his son before saving the children to the get trapped alone. Rolf teaches Nuria the power of fiction and helps her free her parents, eventually arriving at Liberty Station.
Family films certainly have the task of preparing serious and stressful themes in such a way that children and young people do not suffer any psychological damage, but this "Road to Freedom" (2022) sometimes almost feels like a crazy comedy for children. However, the threat and seriousness of a situation can still be conveyed, something that is done even in children's series. Lead actor Julius Weckauf makes a decisive contribution to the feel-good factor suitable for the mainstream. The child actor resorts to very childish interpretive means that fit him like a glove. With his fatness, precocious charm, sympathy, and stubborn daydreaming, the 14-year-old achieves a comedic screen presence that shines even brighter in contrast to the harsh realism of the little girl played by Nonna Cardoner. And his father is played by Volker Bruch, apparently a well-known German actor and protagonist of the successful series "Babylon Berlin" by Tom Tykwer. While Bruna Cusí, protagonist of ¨Upon entry¨ is a leader Maquis, Esther, who helps them achieve the desired freedom.
Resulting to be a sensitive and adventure film about two children who flee through France, the Pyrenees and Spain. Unlike the book, the smuggler who crosses the Pyrenees is a girl, not a shepherd boy. Of course, such a delicate and childish approach to the sexes is always nice to see, but even here there are exaggerations in some scenes, such as when Rolf carries a gun without knowing anything about it, threatening and shooting the kidnappers of the parents of the girl, or for example, when he once drags Núria to the lake to have fun - which gives the whole thing a kind of country holiday atmosphere, however we are dealing with much more serious things.
Jokes, fantasies, diversion, and funny sayings among children are followed by drama, pursuit, or danger, and vice versa, changing rapidly and in constant succession. This allows screenwriter Rüdiger Bertram to tell two stories in one in his fictional adaptation of Lisa Fittko's memoirs: 'My Way Over the Pyrenees'. On the one hand, the adventure story typical of children's cinema, animated by the fun and loving father, who embellishes the hardships of the expulsion of his son with a slight style. On the other hand, the film adequately reflects the universal destiny of all displaced people at all times and in all places, showing it in a concrete tough experience. The Pyrenees route designed by Lisa Fittko helped several persecuted people escape in 1940, who were also persecuted by the Nazis during the collaborationist Vichy regime. The most famous was the philosopher and writer Walter Benjamín, who arrived in Spain but was not allowed to enter due to lack of valid documents and died in the border town of Portbou. Even today, the road referred to in the film is called "Chemin Walter Benjamin." This theme about the passage of the Pyrenees with people fleeing and relentlessly pursued, has already been treated in other films such as ¨The Passage¨ by J. Lee Thompson with Anthony Quinn as the well-known shepherd-guide and ¨Behold a Pale Horse¨ by Fred Zinnemann with Gregory Peck.
The motion picture was professionally directed by Tobias Wiemann (Amelie Rennt) who has adapted Rüdiger Bertram's novel 'The Road - The Story of an Escape to Freedom' to film with some variations. The author also collaborated on the script together with Jytte-Merle Böhrnsen, the director's wife. A material that will probably interest both adults due to its action details with unfortunate people harassed by the Nazis, and children, following the adventures of two little ones and a friendly dog.
Doctor Mordrid (1992)
Fantasy, action and magic with primitive but effective special effects.
It follows the story of the talented Doctor Mordrid (Jeffrey Combs), a suspect inhabitant at a block of apartments. An unspeakable evil has come into our dimension and wants to rule over Earth, and only a mysterious sorcerer known as Doctor Mordrid can stop him. Mordrid must put ego aside and develop the secrets of a hidden world of mysticism and alternate dimensions. Doctor Mordrid, helped by his neighbour Samantha Hunt (Yvette Nipar), must act as an intermediary between the real world and what lies beyond, utilising a vast array of metaphysical abilities and artifacts to protect Earth and the universe against his nemesis Kabal (Brian Thompson). Open your mind !. Change your reality !. Question reality !. Change your destiny !. The impossibilities are endless!. Expand your mind !.
A trilling and fantastic film in which a battle of wits takes place between two immensely powerful sorcerers from the 4th dimension, both of whom cross over into present time with two very different missions -one wants to destry Earth, one wants to save it. Fantasy and science fiction come together in this imitation of 'Marvel's Doctor Strange' with well-known actors from the best B-series: Jeffery Combs (Re-animator) and Brian Thompson (Cobra). Jeffrey Combs and Brian Thompson are popular in the Star Trek universe, guest starring in multiple episodes and both acted in a same episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. Jeffrey Combs plays the powerful sorcerer Doctor Mordrid, whose mission on Earth, for more than a century, is to be prepared for the lethal attack of the Lord of Death and the first signs of his arrival have just occurred. The film produced by 'Full Moon', the distributor and producer of low-budget horror and fantasy films created by Charles Band, who here also serves as writer and co-director along with his father Albert Band.
It contains traditional special effects by means of stop-motion, in the wake of Ray Harryhausen; in fact, there's a spectacular fight between a bony Tiranosaurius Rex and a skeletal Mamouth. In addition, a rousing and spectacular musical score by Richard Band, 'Full Moon' and 'Empire' regular composer. The motion picture was mediocrely but professionally directed by veteran filmmaker, Albert Band; he was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors who started his career in the early 50s and continuing the legacy, his son, the equally prolific producer/director Charles Band. Albert Band began financing a number of motion pictures through the sixties, seventies, and eighties decades and helped his son, Charles, to bring together his own production company, 'Empire Pictures', in the early eighties. Upon the collapse of Empire Pictures in the early nineties, Band continued to work with his son and help bring a number of low-budget and medium budget films to the Hollywood screen or direct to video releases. Albert Band directed some Westerns, such as : ¨She came to the Valley¨, ¨Massacre at Grand Canyon¨, ¨The Young Guns¨ and ¨The Tramplers ¨ at his best . Furthermore, he made terror and Sci-fi , such as : ¨Aliens Gone Wild , Prehisteria , Prehisteria 2 , Robot War , Ghoulies II , Satán's Dog¨ and all kind of genres. While his son Charles Band has written/produced/directed a lot of films, such as: ¨The Creeps, Hideous, Dollman vs demonic toys, Puppet master, Crash and burn, Trancers , Trancers II: the return of Jack Deth, Dungeonmaster, Metalstorm: the destruction of Jared Syn, Parasite, The alchemist¨. Rating : 5.5/10, acceptable and passable . The flick will appeal to Jeffrey Combs fans, worthwhile watching for his followers, that's why he's an actor that has a 'cult status'.
Las pirañas (1967)
Spanish-Argentine co-production with plenty of black humor and nice interpretations.
Ricardo (Rodolfo Bebán) is an executive who has great success with women and behaves almost like a play-boy. His wife, Carmen (Sonia Bruno) , an attractive housewife without children, it feels ignored by him and seeks solace from her mother (Ana María Campoy), who proposes Carmen a change in the way she acts in order to do not lose permanently her husband or even fall into madness. So the mother-in-law informs Ricardo that she is suffering from multiple sclerosis. From there, Ricardo changes his attitude and tries to make Carmen happy, who develops a relationship with a designer named Carlos (Lautaro Murúa). At the same time, Ricardo finds in the youth and beauty of Piti (Marilina Ross), the shop assistant, an attractive future for when his wife dies.
An attractive but uneven film that aims to create a black comedy in the marital sphere about a couple crisis, emotional blackmail and infidelity. The constant clashes with Franco's censorship led Luis Berlanga to film this comedy in co-production with that country in Argentina. The picture is acceptable and passable , but some of the dialogues do not lack vividness, but the script ends being a tour of dull vignettes based on an unoriginal deception and several unfunny misunderstandings. With a lot of sarcasm and details of black humor, Berlanga, with the collaboration of his usual writer Rafael Azcona in the script, analyzes husband-wife relationships in the key of a fable. The film, also known as "The Piranhas", is well paced, overtalking,and developed with long sequence shots composed with style. The performances are meritorious, Along with the leading role of Sonia Bruno who left the film showbusiness to marry a known footballer, the presence of Argentine actors such as Rodolfo Beltrán, Lautaro Murúa, a cameo by Luís Garcia Berlanga himself as a cinema spectator and the then almost debutant Marilina Ross (¨La Raulito¨, ¨Reina Zanahoria or Queen Carrot¨) stands out who would have a prosperous career in Spain. Everything is resolved with foreseeable results despite the fact that Berlanga and Azcona want to twist the story with a forced and unsatisfactory ending that delves into its blackish nature.
Direction by Luis Garcia Berlanga is decent, but inferior to his other films . He shows his skill for edition , realizing long shots that he moves easily and efficiently. Berlanga filmed several polemic movies during the 50s, all of them were beset by difficulties with the censors caused by real critical to social stratum such as ¨Bienvenido Mister Marshall¨ (1953), a very good film which tended not to be very well received by the censor for its acidity and considered to be one of the best Spanish films of the history ; however, his strong portrait of Spanish society , plenty of sharpness, didn't please the pro-Franco authorities . His next joint venture was ¨Los Jueves, Milagro¨ (1957), it was modified by the censors and delayed for several years before its eventual release . Later on , Berlanga made one of his best films ¨Placido¨ (1961) masterfully played by Cassen , this is the film debut for the great producer Alfredo Matas and received an Oscar nomination in 1963 , being well-received at the International Festivals , reviewing the useless charity , it's a sublime film but with censorship realized by this great maestro Luis Garcia Berlanga. And the masterpiece ¨El Verdugo¨ (1963) about a justice executioner with full of satire , criticism and black comedy. He continued filming other interesting pictures, as in 1973 he went to Paris to begin filming ¨Grandeur nature¨ with Michael Piccoli , another problematic film , focusing this time on the fetishism of a man who falls in love with a doll . Several years later , after Franco's death, he filmed a trilogy comprising ¨La Escopeta Nacional¨ (1978), ¨Patrimonio Nacional¨ (1981) and ¨Nacional III¨ (1982), where he clarified the evident disorders in the Spanish upper , middle-class upon being confronted with a new political status quo , realizing a sour denounce of the Spanish society . Berlanga ulteriorly shot a peculiar film titled ¨La Vaquilla¨ (1985) plenty of Spanish-star-cast and set in the Spanish Civil War , resulting to be the first time dealing with this convulsive period in comedy style . Following the same themes, he went on filming choral films such as ¨Moros and Cristianos¨ and ¨Todos a Carcel¨ (1993) that won three Goya Awards for Best Film, Best Director and Best Sound ; being his final film: ¨Paris Tombuctu¨. Rating ¨La Boutique¨: 6/10. Essential and indispensable watching for Berlanga aficionados and completists.
Muertos S.L. (2024)
Fun and enjoyable series full of black humor and with a good casting of familiar actors.
The story begins with the sudden death of Gonzalo Torregrosa (Juan Miguel Bataller), the owner of a funeral home who did not establish who would succeed him in management, so the commercial director Dámaso (Carlos Areces) is considered the natural successor to run it. Until the widow Nieves (Ascen López) decides to take charge of the funeral home herself, and against all odds the septuagenarian woman decides to run the family business, which leads her to practice nepotism with her son-in-law Chemi (Diego Martín). Thus the clueless older lady is helped by her useless and enthusiastic son-in-law Chemi, who although he has never worked in her life, is supposedly an expert in Marketing, and all this against the daughters' desire to set up a gym. Meanwhile, Manuela (Adriana Torrebejano) is determined to make public the harassing practices of the deceased boss, trying to enlist the complicity of the receptionist Olivia (Aitziber Garmendia) and the tanatopractor Abel (Gerald B. Fillmore). Also working at the funeral home are the lazy Nino (Salva Reina), the semi-retired cremator Anselmo (Manolo Cal) and the intern Morales (Roque Ruiz). Many twisted and bizarre incidents happen, so the crematorium breaks and Chemi orders another one and to save costs they request that it be sent by Ali Expres, when it arrives they deposit it on the street; while Dámaso conspires and manipulates his colleagues against the new management . And the company will face competition from the 'Transitus funeral home' and its business expansion plan, and whose manager is a former worker (Amaia Salamanca) who is a competitor of Dámaso.
A decent ¨Sitcom¨ created by siblings Laura and Alberto Caballero that takes place in the day-to-day life of the 'Torregrosa funeral home', a family business on the brink of disaster that always manages to stay afloat. After the founder's death, his widow defies her expectations by taking over the funeral home against the plans of her right-hand man, facing competition, internal conflicts, and a 'me-too' case that threatens the company's legacy. Director Laura Caballero refers to the use of a different style for this series, incorporating resources such as 'zoom', treating it as an essential element of the narrative with which many of the reactions of the characters that are important to highlight the set pieces, while emphasizing customs and paying attention to those moments that we consider funniest and sometimes adopting the style of 'The Office' and other work comedies in a similar style. The series is agreeable thanks to its short duration of 30 minutes, which that's why it does not become heavy, something that the creators already experienced with success in 'Machos Alfa' and it seems that it will continue to be the usual format in the new projects of the Caballero brothers. The series takes advantage of black humor to introduce absurd elements around funeral services, such as when an abandoned lover decides to bury his girlfriend who has left him, a worker sleeping in a coffin, a deceased person who is too obese to fit in any coffin or a man's last wish is to be buried dressed as a clown. It is in these crazy situations that the creators find their best comedic moments, and feel most comfortable with these stunning events. Deploying the usual subplots of personal relationships that we have seen in other series by these showrunners. Nor does it avoid falling into some well-worn jokes, such as the one referring to the inclusive language, which was part of one of the main characters, and the heavy plot of the role played by Adriana Torrebajano, who is relentlessly determined to accuse the deceased owner, all of which is a bit repetitive. However, the character of Diego Martín is quite funny as the presumptuous and wise-cracking Chemi who believes that he does everything well and is really a fragrant bungler, so his mother makes him responsible for the non-existent marketing department, but who is actually a Horse of Troy introduced by her daughters, convinced that Chemi's lack of commercial capabilities will improve so that he can single-handedly sink the company and thus be able to sell it to the competition. The series has the advantage that the actors are comfortable because their best resources have been chosen, with a decent cast, being well led by Carlos Areces who usually plays this type of comedies very well.
The series is slight and simple with sympathetic humor, and is professionally created and directed by the Caballero brothers, along with Nando Abad, Julián Sastre, Araceli Álvarez de Sotomayor, Daniel Deorador and the eight episodes were acceptably directed by Laura Caballero. Previously they created the successful ¨La que se avecina¨, ¨Aqui no hay donde viva¨ and ¨Machos Alfa¨. Rating: 6/10. An acceptable and passable series that will entertain the usually long-suffering viewers.
The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975)
A fun but uneven film, being acted/written/directed by Gene Wilder.
Queen Victoria (Susan Field) sends an important document to the British Foreign Secretary. It is about a writing on which the destiny of the nation depends. That same night the message is stolen, being taken from the safe in Lord Redecliff's (John Le Mesurier) bedroom. Sherlock Holmes' younger brother is annoyed that he has had to live in Sherlock's shadow for so long. When Sherlock goes to the continent, he sends a case to his brother named Sigerson (Gene Wilder) who constantly tries with varying success, to imitate Sherlock's deductive and observational tricks. The younger brother of the consulting detective tries to steal Sherlock's glory by solving an important issue assisted by an eccentric Scotland Yard detective Orville Sacker (Marty Feldman) and a lovely but suspicious actress (Madeline Kahn) .
Gene Wilder (the producers, The woman in red) debuts as director of this parody about the famous detective immortalized by Arthur Conan Doyle. Here the unknown brother of the famous Sherlock takes on some of his brother's more disposable excessses and makes some hilarious moves. Gene Wilder incorporates a hypothetical brother named Sigerson, played by himself, who believes himself superior to his relative Sherlock. Moments of engaging farce borrowed from the Mel Brooks school of parody and parts of the Brooks ensemble cast as well. Fussily set in Victorian times with colorful cinematagraphy by cameraman Gerry Fisher, lively musical score by composer John Morris, nice production design from Terence Marsh and evocative sets. Of course the best and most outrageous scenes are the dance scenes when they enter the luxurious and high class ballroom and start dancing with their butts in the air. These are mostly played for laughs, but includes one piece of calculated excitement with really stirs the blood, as Gene Wilder and Roy Kinnear swing at each other with giant-sized boot and glove from the tops of speeding carriages. There are some amusing scenes involving notorious secondaries, such as: Dom DeLuise, Leo McKern, Roy Kinnear, John Le Mesurier, Douglas Wilmer, Thorley Walters, Albert Finney, among others.
The picture was mediocrely directed by Gene Wilder, who doesn't distributes what is expected from this great comic actor. Gene made his name as a funny man in Brooks' movies and his film debut as star-director turns out to be a typically Brooksian curate's egg of a helter-skelter farce. Gene Wilder was a good comedian (Frisco kid, Stir Crazy, Willy Wonka, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, Blazing saddles, Hanky Panky, The Little Prince, Silver Streak) who directed a few of acceptable films, such as: The Lady in Red, Haunted Honeymoon, The French Method, The World's Greatest Lover and The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother . Rating: 5.5/10. Average but passable.
The Martian (2015)
An intelligent and brilliant science fiction pic with spectacular scenes and well pace.
When they have only been on Mars for 18 days, involved in a dangerous storm, the members of NASA's Hares III crew (Jessica Chastain, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie) are forced to abort their mission and abandon the planet. Astronaut (Matt Damon) becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive and can survive until a potential rescue. Bring Him Home !. Help is only 140 million miles away !.
Science fiction, adventures on the edge of survival and an intense drama of a man abandoned on an inhospitable planet with little chance of being rescued alive, give shape to this film. Based on the book: 'The Martian' by Andy Weir, this is a love letter to survival, serenity, patience and fight for live against the mosts dangerous circumstances. Ridley Scott stated: ¨this is a story of extreme survival, something like the science fiction version of Robinson Crusoe. Mars is not a particularly welcoming planet, its temperature varies between 153 degrees below zero and 22 degrees, the air is composed of 95% carbon dioxide, the soil does not have the necessary bacteria to grow anything, and water does not exist, just a form of ice. But the protagonist is a botanist, and he will try to find a way to make the soil of Mars fertile, although that will be only one of his problems¨. In addition, its almost absolute protagonist Matt Damon explains: ¨This enjoyable film is intertwined with the experience in loneliness of the protagonist on Mars and that of the team on Earth trying to find a way to solve it¨.
Despite the extremes of story, The Martian is an exciting and, above all, fun film in which there is dry humor and black humor everywhere. Displaying stunning interpretations from our main starring Matt Damon and features a good cast of great stars such as the actors playing the earth personnel roles: Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Benedict Wong, Mackenzie Davis , Donald Glover, Sean Bean and space astronauts: Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Michael Peña, Sebastian Stan Stan, Aksel Hennie. Which we must add the wonderful and sensitive sonorous score musical by composer Harry Gregson-Williams. As well as the authentic luxury, and, colorful cinematography by cameraman Dariusz Wolski . The motion picture was competently directed by Ridley Scott, at his best and as stylish as ever. Scott has directed a lot of notable films, such as: ¨Someone to watch over me¨, ¨Blade runner¨, ¨Black rain¨ , ¨Legend¨ in which his visual style is impressive . And his speciality , is the historical genre, such as: ¨Robin Hood¨ , ¨Kingdom of heaven¨ , ¨Duelists¨, ¨Black Hawk down¨, ¨1492¨, ´Exodus¨, ¨The Last Duel¨, ¨Napoleon¨ and Sci-fi genre, such as: ¨Alien Covenant¨, ¨Prometheus¨, ¨Blade runner¨, ¨Alien¨, among others. Rating : Above average . Essential and indispensable watching for Ridley Scott followers.
Rome (2005)
A realistic account of the lives of illustrious and common Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.
In this British historical drama, the turbulent transition from the Roman Republic to the autocratic empire, which changed world history through civil wars and wars of conquest, is outlined both from the aristocratic point of view of Julius Caesar (Ciarán Hinds), his family, his confrontation against Pompey Magnus (Kenneth Cranham), his adopted successor Gaius Octavian Augustus (Max Pirkis), his ally Mark Antony (James Purefoy) and political adversaries, and from the politically popular point of view of a few ordinary Romans , in particular the soldiers Lucio Voreno and Tito Pullo and their families. The main characters, Lucius Vorenus (Ray Stevenson) and Titus Pullo (Kevin McKidd), are named after real-life historical figures. They are mentioned in Caesar's Gallic Wars as two close associates with disputes between them over each other's bravery and over who will be promoted to Primus Pilus. They are referred to as explicitly brave when Marcus Tullius Cicero's brother was besieged. Then Caesar's love affairs with Cleopatra take place. When he goes to Egypt he receives the head of Pompey from Ptolemy XIII, which was not a dish of pleasure for Julius. Furious, he orders his executioners to be beheaded, and then sides with the faction of Cleopatra VII with whom he has a son and defeats Ptolemy. Some time later, in Rome he is murdered in the Senate by Brutus (Tobias Menzies) and Cassius. Antony is married to Octavia, Augustus's sister. After that, Antony marries Cleopatra and they are defeated by Augustus at Actium. After the assassination of Caesar by the senators, among others by his protégé Brutus , his political heir Augustus takes power. Before Spartacus: Sand of Blood. Before Game of Thrones. There was Rome! Rome without government... The lust for power begins! What would you do for power? Every city has its secret!
A good historical series turning out to be quite entertaining, dealing with Roman times during the fall of the Republic, providing decent performances and acceptable production design. And with an interesting and attractive script by the best writers, such as: William J. MacDonald, Scott Buck, Todd Ellis Kessler, Alexandra Cunningham, David Frankel but the real creators and show-runners were Bruno Heller and John Milius. The various directors: Michael Apted, Mikael Salomon, Allen Coulter, Steve Shill, Alan Taylor, Jeremy Podeswa, Adam Davidson, Carl Franklin, Alik Sakharov, Roger Young were determined to create a more authentic, evocative, realist and raw representation of classical Rome than films like Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960) or Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000), which featured a shiny and prosperous version referred to as Holy Rome. Historical consultants stated that they did extensive research to be as real as possible, although they strove for authenticity rather than accuracy as they were not making a documentary. This series follows the history of the Roman Empire, from the first triumvirate: Crassus, Pompey, Caesar, following the life and death of Julius, as a powerful aristocratic family rises to power. Dealing with the extraordinary rise of Julius Caesar and subsequently Augustus, who overcame adversity to become the most powerful leaders in the world. This tangled story is about Caesar, Pompey, Marcus Antonius, the Roman Julia-Claudian dynasty, during the bloody civil wars, which will later follow a long 'Pax Romana' ruled by Octavian Augustus. The 'Pontifex Maximus' Octavius Augustus was the nephew and heir of Julius Caesar, and after the assassination of the latter on the 'Ides of March', he formed the second triumvirate with Mark Antony and Lepidus. And then he proclaimed himself Emperor, being succeeded by other much worse emperors such as Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero.
This television hit within the historical framework was produced by HD Vision Studios, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Home Box Office (HBO) Sky Atlantic who brought Ancient Rome to life with a treatment in which sex and swords are mixed, with many scenes of love, violence and strong confrontations. Sex and violence on the plates in this peculiar portrait of Roman times that precedes and serves as a model for the less successful ¨Domina¨ (2021) which starred Livia (Kasia Smutniak) - wife of Augustus - as the cunning empress who little by little he tries to get his son Tiberius to assume the throne.