Reviews
A pesar de todo (2019)
Abrupt and shallow
Maxi Iglesias (Alejandro) diction, was a disgrace!!! Can't be understood, his horrendous abrupt Spanish, common in Spanish actors between the ages of thirteen and forty. The female actresses (including Marisa Paredes) who have enough proof that they can act, look here like plasticine, soft, hollow bodies meaning NOTHING. And then the obsession about the word "follar" (to fu*"*k), overly used: it seems that Spaniards in general are insecure beigns, feeling kind of inferior and they can only assert their value by swearing: how limiting, what a lack of artistic value. Awful movie, what a waste!
Vera: Broken Promise (2017)
Smart
This episode was very well written, not just because of the plot but the emotions that all suspects carry in their minds especially the young man who's death is being investigated. Father-son relationships become leitmotif. Vera is powerful and faces the boys (not just her team, all of them) like thunder! The powerful lawyer-father last line is brilliant. Recommended for sure.
La vida inesperada (2013)
An amazing effort
As a whole the film is very good. It has an excellent pace and plot; it's a pleasure to see it, the dialogue is always dynamic and very creative, à la Woody Allen but not copycat except for the Brooklyn Bridge shot. The cultural contrasts between the two cultures are clever and funny. A plus: NO clichéd, unnecessary, sex scenes. My favorite character was the Argentinian, well written part, extremely real, very good actor. Javier Cámara, one of my favorite Spanish actors, since his magnificent work in Almodovar's "Hable con ella," overacts a bit, probably trying to hard --paradoxically--- to get close to the character, and ends up playing himself but his character is written as such a generous man that the audience continuous watching with pleasure. In certain situations the screenplay reaches farcical levels, but this is to be expected in Allen-influenced writing. A very enjoyable movie, no pretenses, for the love of the art. I hope this team gets together again.
Otros días vendrán (2005)
Life after making mistakes
Very good movie. Intelligent, well written and acted. About common people making mistakes and surviving them with eventually time to reflect that life is worth living. Not a boring lecture: just life as common as it is, but always verging on situations that can destroy it if an effort is not made to go on. The pace is a metaphor of the pace of daily life, not fast not slow. The acting is excellent including the teenage actors, all of them. Cecilia Roth is a veteran thus she delivers, always. Antonio Resines an excellent, character actor, as the grieving father. The contrast between the father figures is part of a sub-theme: absent-fathers (that of the teenage girl,) distant- fathers (that of Alicia,)dedicated-fathers (that of Zak-Javi and of the sick girl.) I recommend this movie.
La embajada (2016)
Very good series
The writing, production design and overall content of this series is very good. The international setting of Thailand adds to the mystery and surprise element. The plot is well-paced and the corruption denounced is actual and appropriate: corruption is alive and kicking in most countries in the world. The acting is good, modulated in general, since the series doesn't try to show screaming, shouting-out-loud characters. On the contrary, the conniving, silences, pauses, and sexuality of the characters add to the lies and corruption. Nevertheless, the enjoyment of an interesting and well-written dialogue is TOTALLY DESTROYED by the HORRENDOUS DICTION (in Spanish, of course) of actors Úrsula Corberó (who plays daughter Esther) and Maxi Iglesias (who plays the brother of Eduardo, the villain in the series): It's not their accent, it's the way they deliver their lines, absolutely NOT trained as actors. It's amazing how these two individuals are hired as actors. The rest of the actors do a fine, professional job.