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The Outpost (2019)
7/10
Based on facts, about about an American army unit besieged in Afghanistan by a heavily armed group of Taliban.
19 April 2024
Spectacular and noisy film set in Afghanistan. This is a 2019 American wartime action-thriller film directed and produced by Boaz Davidson/Avi Lerner/Yarid Lerner/ Samuel Hadida/Victor Hadida and written by Paul Tamasy/Eric Johnson, based on the book of the same name by Jake Tapper: "The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor". In 2006, the USA army set up several outposts in northern Afghanistan to prevent the entry of Taliban weapons and troops from Pakistan. One of them is located near the town of Kamdesh, at the foot of the Hindukush mountains. A place so difficult to defend that one analyst stated that it could well be called 'Camp Custer' since all the soldiers stationed there seemed condemned to die.

A realistic and almost documentary film, including moving images with a camera on the shoulders. The film follows various members of an army unit who fought to defend the American compound and whose main mission was survival. Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, Lod of the Rings), the young Scott Eastwood (Pacific Rim: uprising, Diablo), son of Clint Eastwood, and Caleb Landry Jones (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ) star in this frenetic war drama that tells of the battle of Kamdesh, one of the hardest and bloodiest of the Afghan war. In which, In 2009, a few American soldiers (plus a Latvian, and some Afghans) had to face hundreds of Taliban. The film is based on the book by the war reporter, Jake Tapper: Outpost, An untold story of American Valor and also features the interpretations of other young actors such as Milo Gibson (All the Devil's Men), Jacob Scipio (Bad Boys for Life)

Situated in an isolated area of Afghanistan, Combat Outpost Keating is manned by a small force of US Army soldiers. Years later of sporadic, light attacks, in October 2009 the Taliban attack in force. An investigation into the battle of Kamdesh faulted army leadersip for failing to improve the camp's defenses. The investigation also recommended that all obviously indefendible outposts are closed. For their bravery on October 3, 2009, Bravo Troop 3-61 Cavalry became the most decorated unit of the Afghanistan War. The Bronze Star for Valor was awarded to Daniel Rodriguez, The distinguised Service Cross was awarded to Andrew Bundermnann. The battle of outpost Keating was the first in 50 years the Medal of honor was given to two living servicemen.

Rod Lurie helped immeasurably by superb cameraman Lorenzo Senatore and an excellent creative team have created the ultimate vision of war as hell on earth, a nightmarish firefight. Stirring and emotion of the film is aided by an exciting musical score by Larry Groupé. Conventional elements in the screenplay as heroism, comradeship, are based on a story devoid of sentimentality and balanced by a genuinely complex examination of courage in the field. It is overpowered by one of the most relentlessly and realistic harrowing war action.

Received many mixed reviews from critics. While the film was praised for its acting performances, action sequences, and dark tone, the script was criticized for some historical liberties. Rod Lurie's direction (Nothing But the Truth, The Contender) also received a mixed response, with many criticizing his emphasis on over-the-top action, but some also noting it as one of his most mature and grounded films. Rod is a talented film critic-turned-director who burst onto the scene in late 2000 with his hotly debated political thriller ¨The contender¨. After writing some scripts , Lurie was already hard at work at his next film, working with his acting hero Robert Redford. The result was the 2001 action/drama ¨The last castle ¨ (2001). It centered on an imprisoned military general, forced to go up against a tyrannical prison warden . He subsequently directed ¨Resurrecting the champ¨ and ¨Nothing but the truth¨, both of them were commercial failures despite some favorable reviews as well as ¨Straw Dogs¨. The outpost (2019) rating: 6.5/10. Better than average.
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Manhattan (1979)
6/10
Assured and endearing comedy, with gorgeous cinematography and sensitive musical score. .
19 April 2024
Woody Allen's New Comedy Hit in which he's a successful television writer , Isaac Davis, who wants to do something more worthwhile. Isaac yearns to be a serious writer, that's why he struggles through a series of ill-fated romances, including one with high school senior (Mariel Hemingway), and another with Mary (his then-sweetheart Diane Keaton), who's also having an on-again, off-again with Yale (Michael Murphy), Isaac's best friend. But Isaac feels guilty about his relationship with teenage girl Mariel. And his ex-wife , Jill (Meryl Streep) is a lesbian, while he is hesintant with the affair with Keaton.

Acclaimed coming-of-cinematic-age movie for Allen is based in part on his own life with the theme of the main role living in New York. ¨Manhattan¨shows a comic view and scathingly serious of modern relationships in urban America and of the modern intellectual neurosis. His love affair with Mariel Hemingway and Diane Keaton is chronicled as a wistful, episodic comedy commenting on love, family, loneliness, communicating, maturity, city life, careers and various other topics. It is a brilliant combination of the best American comedy tradition with the most accurate diagnosis of relationship problems. Considered to be one of his most autobiographical films (something that Allen has always denied) and one of the best of his long career. Director, writer and starring Allen himself alongside his then muse and girlfriend Diane Keaton, both of whom giving stunning interpretations. Being the fifth collaboration between Allen and Keaton. Meryl Streep does very well with her character of Jill, Isaac's ex-wife, who's come out as a lesbian and is writing a withering and successful account of their marriage. Considered by many Woody Allen fans to be his best film, it is more thoughtful and less obviously fun than the similiar but Academy Award-laden 'Annie Hall'.

It all sounds more complicated than it is and Allen's notable storyline and deceptively simple direction make 'Manhattan' a joy to watch. The fact that it is filmed in black and white entirely on location in Allen's home town adds to its quirky appeal. In ¨Manhattan¨ excels the black and white cinematography by cameraman Gordon Willis, Allen's usual cameraman, shot to capture the mood of N. Y. streets and mated with an excellent George Gershwin soundtrack.

The motion picture was well directed by Woody Allen, although it is excessively talky, and is somewhat boring for those who are already tired of Allen's peculiar personal world. In the beginning Woody made usually hilarious films with hardly any personal comments about his own life in which he used to act, such as : ¨What's Up, Tiger Lily?¨, ¨Take the money and run¨, ¨Pussycat, Pussycat I Love You¨, ¨Sleeper¨, ¨Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex but Were Afraid to Ask¨, among others . Subsequently he made several masterpieces. Including a series of movies in which he provided nice direction, investing care enough, wit and warmth, such as : ¨Crimes and misdemeanors¨, ¨New York stories¨, ¨September¨, ¨Radio Days¨, ¨Hanna and her sisters¨, ¨Broadway Danny Rose¨, ¨Zelig¨, ¨Stardust memories¨, ¨A midsummer Night's Sex Comedy¨, ¨Interiors¨, ¨Purple rose of Cairo¨, ¨Manhattan¨,¨Melinda Melinda¨and many others . And ¨Annie Hall¨, Allen's most awarded film, the Oscars voters were impressed and awarded various statuettes, winner among many other awards, of the Oscar for Best film, Direction, Script and Lead Actress. Rating Manhattan 6.5/10 . Better than average. The movie will appeal to Woody Allen and Diane Keaton enthusiasts.
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6/10
A spy movie with full of non-stop action, thrills, violence, twists and turns
19 April 2024
A gripping story of spies, betrayal, vengeance, justice and retribution. An ex-C. I. A. Operative Peter Deveraux (Pierce Brosnan) is brought back by his chief Hanley (Bill Smitrovich) in on a very personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil (Luke Bracey) in a deadly game involving high-level C. I. A. Officials and the Russian President-elect (Lazar Ristovski). Peter Deveraux heads to Belgrade, where he saves the social worker Alice Fournier (Olga Kurylenko). A spy is never out of the game !. The Spy is Back !. Pierce Brosnan the spy is back !. Follow the target !.

A twisted thriller with intrigue, action-packed , suspense, car pursuits, violence and high body count. Brosnan's outing with overwhelming action and spectacular scenarios, and being accompanied by the beautiful Olga Kurylenko and the brave Luke Bracey as a merciless young hitman. Director Roger Donaldson (The Recruit) directs this thriller with plenty of noisy action, murders and intrigue starring the icy agent Peter Deveraux, the main character in the saga of 13 novels that the American writer Bill Granger published between 1979 and 1933. The film is based on the book ¨ There are not spies¨, but this work is set in the Cold War. To update the backdrop, the scriptwriters looked for a modern problem with the same tension, so they placed the story in the conflict between Chechen nationalists and Islamists opposed to the Russian state.

Starring the now quite veteran and somewhat old Pierce Brosnan, he delivers a stoic performance as he relentlessly confronts his enemies who mercilessly try to corner him and the always beautiful Olga, both of them have a great experience in the world of spies and in action movies. Brosnan played James Bond up to four times ('Golden Eye' the first, Tomorrow Never Dies, World is not enough, Die Another Day), while the Russian actress Olga Kurylenko was a Bond girl in 'Quantum of Solace'. Well accompanied by other secondaries as Bill Smitrovich, Eliza Taylor, Amila Terzimehic, Lazar Ristovski , Mediha Musliovic, Caterina Scorsone and Will Patton.

It features atmospheric and evocative cinematography by Romain Lacourbas. And a soundtrack full of tension and suspense by Marco Beltrani. This film which was originally titled ¨November Man" or ¨Spy Legend¨ or ¨La conspiración de noviembre¨ was professionally directed by Roger Donaldson, although it has some flaws. Donaldson's first film was Sleeping Dogs (1977), which was the first made in his native New Zealand in 15 years and also the first to be shown in American cinemas. Roger is a good director and producer, known for The Bounty (1984), Dead End (1987), Burt Munro (2005), Species (1995) and Cocktail (1988), among others. Rating: 6/10. This film is exactly aimed for Pierce Brosnan fans.
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7/10
Over-the-top and very spectacular James Bond movie in which he confronts Spectra in Japan.
18 April 2024
007 (Sean Connery) goes Japan to take on arch-nemesis Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) who has been capturing Russian an American spacecrafts in order to cause the WWIII. To investigate, MI6 operative James Bond is sent by M (Bernard Lee), the head of MI6, to Tokyo, after faking his own death in Hong Kong and being buried at sea from HMS Tenby. Upon his arrival, Bond attends a sumo match where he is approached by Japanese secret service agent Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi), who takes him to meet local MI6 operative Dikko Henderson (Charles Gray). Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond !. This Man IS James Bond, Sean Connery is James Bond. You Only Live Twice...and "Twice" is the only way to live!.

A very good entry in James Bond series with implausible plot but very amusing script. Here Bond is again the efficient, relentless agent trying to chase obstinately the criminals, traveling around the world as always, as this time is mostly set in Japan. Bond to achieve his aims, along the way uses violent means, pulling off brutal killings against enemies who wreak all sorts of havoc. This time Bond goes East, traveling to Japan to take on arch-nemesis Blofeld who attempts to start a new world war, and anticipating future Karate film trends: six years after with ¨Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon¨, martial arts thrillers would be all the rage. This solid , slick thriller with magic mix of action-packed, dazzling stunts, gadgetry, romance and flirts provided by sexy company as Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Karin Dor, Tsai Chin and the indispensble secretary Miss Moneypenny, Lois Maxwell. As always Bond will use "state of the art" and fantastic gadgets provided by ¨Q¨: Desmond Llewelyn. They include a deadly rocket that uses a cigarette as its firing tube, and a speedy one-seat autogiro in which 007 does battle with a fleet of Spectre helicopters. The most fun item though, is a helicopter equipped with an electromagnet for removing unwanted cars from the motorway. Being shot in Japan, there're a lot of Oriental actors providing adequate acting, such as: Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Tetsurô Tanba, Teru Shimada, Tsai Chin, Michael Chow and Burt Kwouk.

Great location cinematography by classic cameraman Freddie Young, breathtaking production design by Ken Adam, unforgettable musical score by John Barry, and catching theme sung by Nancy Sinatra enhance the attractivenes of the film. Lewis Gilbert directs the plentiful action in nice style, it is definitely the mechanical marvels that hold sway in this overwhelming thriller/adventure. The motion picture was competently directed by Lewis Gilbert who was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to the film industry. Lewis has directed four actors to Oscar nominations: Michael Caine (Best Actor, Alfie,1966); Best Actor, Educating Rita (1983), Vivien Merchant (Best Supporting Actress, Alfie , 1966), Julie Walters (Best Actress, Educating Rita (1983), and Pauline Collins (Best Actress, Shirley Valentine (1989). He was a successful producer and directo , getting some hits , such as : ¨Alfie¨ , ¨Operation: Daybreak¨, ¨Shirley Valentine¨, ¨H. M. S. Defiant¨, ¨The 7th Dawn¨ , ¨Light up the sky !¨, ¨Sink the Bismarck !¨ , among others . And directing three notable James Bond films : ¨The Spy Who Loved Me¨, ¨Moonraker¨ , ¨You Only Live Twice¨. Rating : 7.5/10. Above average. Well worth seeing .
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5/10
A typical eighties action film with sloppy action, a lot of shooting, fights and synth music.
18 April 2024
Martin Kove vehicle in which our starring called John Steele decides to deal out justice in his own hands against maniacal killers. Steele (Martin Kove) is ex-cop and Vietnam vet who is determined to bring down Kwan, former South Vietnamese general. Steele suspects Kwan is involved with Lee's (Robert Kim) death but unfortunately Kwan's (Soon-Tek Oh) now respected and wealthy member of the community, but he's actually a powerful drug lord. Then, a massacre takes place. John cares vital witness (Jan Gan Boyd) and then has to protect her from the efforts of the bad guys. Former boss Bennett (Ronni Cox) is not in a rush to find the killers cause investigation reveals that Lee may have been dirty which Steele knows is not true. When the police needed someone to stop the Vietnamese Mafia, there was only one choice...Only law is the Black Tiger's !. The only justice is John Steele's !. You don't recruit John Steele !. You unleash him!.

This comic-book stuff contains suspense, thrills, chills, noisy action-packed, gun-play and lots of violence. Here Martin Kove is a lone-wolf ex-cop who with his usual stoic acting displays amount of weapons arsenal, track down and exterminates nasty psycho killers. The villiains are encouraged to overact, which they carry out without much flair. This was the highlight of Kove, being an usual secondary actor who first appeared in bit parts in films like ¨Karate Kid¨ saga and ¨Rambo: First Blood Part II¨ . Trying to make a new action hero imitating to ¨Commando's Arnold Schwarzenegger¨, ¨Invasion USA's Chuck Norris¨, ¨Cobra's Sylvester Stallone¨; however, this project failed at the boxoffice, continuing a second-class career in B films and in increasingly insignificant roles. In Steel Justice , the long list of secondary characters that have long and well-known careers in cinema stands out, such as: Sela Ward, Ronny Cox, Bernie Casey, Joseph Campanella, Sarah Douglas, Shannon Tweed, Kevin Gage and oriental actors as Soon-Tek Oh, Jan Gan Boyd , Eric Lee, Peter Kwong of 'Big trouble in Little China' and the prolific secondary that even has a cult status, Al Leong, featured by long wavy black hair and Fu Manchu mustache, who frequently plays mercenaries who are killed by Hollywood's biggest stars.

The motion picture was mediocrely directed by Rober Boris. He is an artisan who has written, produced or directed a few films with not much success, such as: ¨Backyard dogs, Marilyn and Me, Extreme Justice, Buy & Cell, Frank and Jessie, and Oxford Blues¨ with Rob Lowe. Rating: 4.5/10, only for hardcore action movie lovers .
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El Diablo (1990 TV Movie)
6/10
This wacky western is packed with crossfire, mayhem, and great entertainment and fun.
17 April 2024
Funny though unknown TV Western with noisy action, brawls , humor, mirth, shootouts and amusement. This Western comedy deals with the young man, Billy Ray (Anthony Edwards), a gentle children's school teacher who must fight against a nasty enemy to free his kidnapped student Nettie Tuleen (Sarah Trigger's film debut). Firstly, Billy Ray enlists the aid of unscrupulous gunman (recently deceased and unforgettable Louis Gossett Jr). His mentors are some sympathetic crooks. The cocky dandy Billy Ray wearing elegant clothes but he changes his garments to a ridiculous cowboy style with pants made of animal skin. Billy Ray Smith creates a 'posse' made up of the most eccentric gunslingers: The Preacher (John Glover), the writer Kid Durango (Joe Pantoliano) Zamudio (Miguel Sandoval), Bebe (M. C. Gainey) and Indian Dancing Bear (Branscombe Richmond). The veteran partners teach him the West manners and training him for shooting. Along the way, the bunch confronts the deadly outlaw nicknamed "The Devil" (Robert Beltran). When a young man can't ride or shoot he needs help real bad and here's help that's real bad!.

Anything is possible in this comical-serious Western movie. This film contains Western action , shootouts, fist-play, high body-count, humor with tongue-in-cheek and results to be pretty bemusing. A good Western with lots of silly laughters in which the notorious outlaw El Diablo kidnaps a schoolgirl, her teacher, an Easterner named Billy Ray, decides to rescue her. It's an entertaining film with enjoyable comedy in which Anthony Edwards plays a young man who teaches at a school and promises to rescue a girl kidnapped by a bandit, incompetent to track her alone, he joins a team of gunfighters. And the leader results to be Louis Gossett Jr who steals the show as the shameless and ambitious ex-Union soldier, along with a notable plethora of secondaries, such as: John Glover, Joe Pantoliano, Robert Beltran, M. C. Gainey, Miguel Sandoval, Sarah Trigger, Jim Beaver and Branscombe Richmond.

The comical formula deals to enhance the hilarious observations of the western originated on the decade of the Sixties, including the following filmmakers : Andrew McLagen with ¨McLintock!¨, ¨The rare breed¨, Something Big¨ and Burt Kennedy with ¨Support your local gunfighter (one of his better spoof Western)¨ , ¨Support your local sheriff¨ (his highpoint) , ¨Dirty Dingus Mcgee¨ , ¨War Wagon¨ and ¨ The Good guys and bad guys¨, ¨Texas Across the River¨ by Michael Gordon and a bit later on, Mel Brooks directed the indispensable ¨Blazing saddles¨ and after ta-hat, Hugh Wilson made ¨Rustlers' Rhapsody¨.

The motion picture well directed by Peter Markle. And John Carpenter was the film's executive producer and writer. Peter Markle is an expert on all kind of genres as comedy as ¨Hot dog , the movie¨, ¨Wagon East¨ the last film of John Candy¨ ; Sci-Fi as ¨White dwarf¨; Sports as ¨Youngblood¨ ; ¨Drama¨ as ¨Personals¨, ¨Nightbreaker¨, and suspense as ¨Through the eyes of a killer¨ and ¨Last days of Frankie the Fly¨ , and Wartime genre as ¨Bat 21¨. Rating : 6,5 . Worthwhile seeing, better than average humorous western.
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The Good Liar (2019)
7/10
A solid film with superb interpretation from Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren, along with enjoyable support cast.
17 April 2024
This first feature film collaboration for British stage and screen legends Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren is set in London 2009. Estelle and Brian, two elderly widowers, connect on a dating website. On the first date, both confess that they have not given their real names. Ian McKellen and Mirren, two British legends of acting, star in this dramatic thriller in which Roy Courtnay, an accomplished swindler, targets the wealthy woman and recently widowed Betty McLeish. So, career con artist Roy Courtnay (Sir Ian McKellen) can hardly believe his luck when he meets well-to-do widow Betty McLeish (Dame Helen Mirren) on-line. As Betty opens her home and life to him, Roy is surprised to find himself caring about her, turning what should be a cut-and-dry swindle into the most treacherous tightrope walk of his life. In gaining Betty's confidence, Roy believes he has one thing going against him and one thing going for him. The former is Betty's suspicious grandson, graduate student Stephen (Russell Tovey), who is writing his dissertation on Albert Speer and who seems to be looking out for his grandmother in not trusting Roy on any little thing. Read between the lies !.

A good thriller with suspense, tension, intrigue, twists and turns. What starts out as a simple scam becomes more and more complicated becoming a dangerous cat and mouse game with the ultimate stakes. Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen star together for the first time in a movie and both of whom give sensational performances. Cleverly written by screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher who previously wrote Mr. Holmes (2015). The director and screenwriter Bill Condon had already directed McKellen in 'Gods and Monsters' (with which he won the Oscar for best screenplay) and 'Mr Holmes' and he is the director and adapter of this rendition of the bestseller "The Good Liar" by Nicholas Searle. The great duo of protagonists are well accompanied by a competent supporting cast, such as: Russell Tovey, Jim Carter, Mark Lewis Jones, Jóhannes Jóhannesson, among others.

The motion picture was well directed by Bill Condon. He is good writer and filmmaker who has achieved some successes. Directed two films where Ian McKellen played with two actresses he had previously co-starred in different stage productions of August Strindberg's "Dance of Death", both of them directed by Sean Mathias: Mr. Holmes (2015) with Frances de la Tour and The Good Liar (2019) with Mirren. Bill Condon has directed notable films, such as: Mr. Holmes (2015) , Dreamgirls (2006) , Gods and monsters (1998) , Kinsey (2004) and Beauty and the Beast (2017). This God Liar (2019) marks the fourth collaboration between writer and director Bill Condon and Sir Ian McKellen, after Gods and Monsters (1998), Mr. Holmes (2015), and Beauty and the beast (2017). Rating: 6.5/10. Better than average. Not a complicated movie , but clever , enjoyable and warm.
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6/10
A pleasant movie full of fantasy, emotion and friendly characters.
16 April 2024
Paul Carpenter is desperately looking for a job. After a most unusual interview he ends up hired in a company, but he neither knows what they do nor does he even know his duties. Then, two lowly newcomers , Paul (Patrick Gibson) and Sophie (Sophie Wilde), at J. W. Wells and Co., a mysterious firm based in London, uncover a plot by their CEO to disrupt the ancient magical world with modern corporate practices. Nasty villains Humphrey Wells (Christoph Waltz) , the CEO of the company, and middle manager Dennis Tanner (Sam Neill) are disrupting the world of magic by bringing modern corporate strategy to ancient magical practices

There are some similarities to 'Harry Potter' and ¨Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them¨sagas in this solid fantasy with adventures, magic and imagination. ¨The Portable Door¨ is the first book in Tom Holt's J. W. Wells & Co. Series, made up of eight books: The Portable Door (2003), In Your Dreams (2004), Earth, Air, Fire and Custard (2005), You Don't Have to Be Evil to Work Here, But it Helps (2006), The Better Mousetrap (2008), May Contain Traces of Magic (2009), Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Sausages (2011), The Eight Reindeer of the Apocalypse (2023). Following a fascinating first 30 minutes the movie loses impetus as the writer struggles to spin it out towards two-hour length. Patrick Gibson and Sophie Wilde star in this magical film playing two interns become increasingly aware that their mysterious employers are anything but conventional, discovering the true agenda of the vast corporation; alongside the winner of two Oscars for best supporting actor Christoph Waltz (Django unchained) and Sam Neil (Jurassic Park) performing two charismatic villain chiefs. This likeable quartet of protagonists are well accompanied by a wonderful supporting cast, such as: Damon Herriman , Demi Harman, Rachel House, Miranda Otto, Chris Pang, Arka Das, and Jessica De Gouw.

It displays a thrilling and enjoyable musical score by Benjamin Speed. Likewise , a brilliant and colorful cinematography by Donald McAlpine. Along with stunning state-of-art special effects and creatures from Story Bridge Films and The Jim Henson Company. The motion picture was professionally directed by Jeffrey Walker though borrows heavily from other known stories. Craftsman Jeffrey Walker at his debut feature film, but he has directed a number of episodes of popular TV series, such as: The Artful Dodger, Bones, The Clearing , Blue heeler, H2o, Lambs of God, LA to Vegas, The Clearing, Home and away, Dance academy, The Elephant Princess, The young rock, Wild Boys , Angry Boys, among others. Rating: 6.5/10. Well worth watching.
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7/10
A documentary by Isaki Lacuesta about the beautiful actress Ava Gardner focusing on her Spanish experiences.
16 April 2024
Like so many other actors, Ava Gardner hated watching her movies. However, she was ranked 25th on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female legends of the American screen. She said the woman on the screen was not her. But all films tell two stories: the plot and the story of the filmed bodies. This film tells what happened between two images: a close-up of 'Pandora and the Flying Dutchman' and a close-up of 'Harem', the first and last film shot by the actress in Spain. Surely Ava must have thought that neither of these two women had anything in common with herself. Ava went abroad for the first time to film Pandora, and therefore the first country to know about her was Spain, and specifically Tossa de Mar where said film was filmed. Previously, she had already filmed successful Hollywood films, such as: Venus Was a Woman or Outlaws with Burt Lancaster. So Ava lived in Madrid in the 60s before settling in London in 1967 and here she played alongside Charlton Heston: 55 Days in Peking, produced by the powerful magnate Samuel Bronston. Starting with Pandora, she was the main representative of the Spanish Carmen, that is, the typical woman who is the object of desire by various male conquerors and who are the object of their downfall because of her evil charms, thus she interpreted Spanish women. In The Naked Maja, The Angel Wore Red, The Barefoot Contessa, The Sun Also Rises, and The Snows of Kilimanjaro set mostly in Spain.

All the Night Long is the fourth feature film by Catalan screenwriter and director Isaki Lacuesta concerning the attractive actress considered 'the most beautiful animal in the world'. An outstanding documentary that pleased audiences when it premiered at several national and international festivals. While Lacuesta's previous works have tended towards the overly ambitious and slightly pretentious end of the arthouse spectrum, this study of golden age legend Ava Gardner - focusing on her years working and living in Spain - is a documentary playful, accessible but attractively unorthodox that explores countless clips from the actress' catalog, impressively recovered from the archives of the American cable company Turner Classic Movies, which commissioned the film.

This documentary is a good companion to the television series ¨Arde Madrid¨ by Paco León in which the life of Ava in Madrid, played by Debi Mazar, is described, dealing with her usually noisy parties at night and regularly bothering her neighbors, one of which was the Argentine dictator Juan Domingo Perón, which is why the boisterous parties organized by Ava Gardner cause growing tensions with her neighbors below. Both in this TV series and in the documentary we contemplate the life of Gardner, a woman with a strong temperament but extremely lively, who liked vices, drinking, smoking, and dancing. Vices that were partially destroying her life, and wasted at the same time after spending the nights dancing in the public venues of Dolce Vita and in the most fashionable clubs in Madrid. In fact, flamenco became one of her favorite pastimes after learning it in The Barefoot Condesa (1954); increasingly competent and needing little sleep, she often danced all night.

While living in Spain, she became good friends with the writer Ernest Hemingway, whom she and her other friends called "Dad", both of whom were fans of bullfighting. Ava appeared in three films based on stories by Ernest Hemingway, of whom she was a dear friend and who also lived a lot in Spain: Fiesta (1957), The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) and The Killers (1946). We also see Ava sing some songs such as: "Can't Help Loving That Man" written by Jerome Kern & Oscar Hammerstein II and "Can't Help Loving That Man" written by Jerome Kern, P. G. Wodehouse and Oscar Hammerstein II.

In 1995 she was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 sexiest stars in the history of cinema and the great Ava has been portrayed on film by many actresses, she has been played by Marcia Gay Harden in Sinatra (1992), Deborah Kara Unger in The Sinatra Clan (1998), by Christine Andreas in Mia Farrow (1995), Jon Mack in Dorothy Dandridge (1999) and by Kate Beckinsale in The Aviator (2004).

Ava spent her last years in seclusion in her London apartment; her only companions were her housekeeper Carmen Vargas and her beloved Welsh Corgi, Morgan. Two strokes in 1986 left her partially paralyzed and bedridden. Although she could easily afford her medical expenses, Frank Sinatra wanted to pay for her to visit a specialist in the United States and she allowed him to make arrangements for a private plane with medical personnel. Her last words (to her housekeeper Carmen de ella) were, "I'm so tired," before she died of pneumonia at age 67. Vargas took her body to his native North Carolina for a private burial. None of her ex-husbands attended.
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6/10
Good and moving film plenty of mystery, intrigue, frantic action and surprises .
16 April 2024
This notable mystery thriller results to be the first entry on Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman), a Washington D. C. cop and forensic psychologist, as he heads to Durham, North Carolina to solve a homicide (where a beaten wife has killed her husband) and then learns that his niece Naomi (Gina Ravera), a college student in North Carolina, is missing. He awares of the local police, including Detective Nick Ruskin (Cary Elwes), that Naomi is the latest in a series of young women who have vanished. So he goes there and learns that the police think she's among the victims of someone who kidnaps young girls and holds them captive at the sicko's love dungeon and kills them. He dubs himself Casanova after the great lover. Soon after his arrival, one of the missing women is found dead, bound to a tree in a desolate forest, and shortly after that, intern Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd) is kidnapped from her home. After doctor Kate, who also happen to be a kickboxer, helps Cross track him down. A cop and a witness on the trail of a brutal killer !. They must see as one, they must act as one, they must think as one, before the next victim falls !. A detective is searching for a deadly collector !. His only hope is the woman who got away. Smart Girls. Pretty Girls. Missing Girls.

A thrilling film with big name cast and full of action, tension, entertainment, twists and turns. Morgan Freeman lends his authorative presence to the central role as Washington, D. C. detective and forensic psychologist Alex Cross who learns his niece is abducted and he'll stop at nothing to free her. There are similarities to 'The silence of the lambs in this solid serial-killer with girls victims underground by a mysterious sadist who calls himsef Casanova. Following a fascinating first 30 minutes the movie loses impetus as the writer struggles to spin it out towards two-hour length. Gripping, dark, and tense movie is packed with suspense from the beginning to the end. In this thrilling, grim and suspenseful film, developing a game of cat and mouse between a creepy murderer and Alex Cross. It isn't too hard to figure what follows from this contrived scenario: lots of gruesome slayings to be picked over, moody set-pieces where Jolie has to creep around in the dark wondering if the maniac is going to leap out. The material is well known and clichéd at times, no doubt, but all concerned give it top class treatment. Casanova's lair and his harem of victims are a shade too lurid to be chilling and a conversation between bad and good guys doesn't work. This is a modern and impressive thriller that meets all the requirements of the genre, belonging to the new generation of intrigue films from the late 90s and early 2000s. Director Fleder already had experience in mystery stories and demonstrates it efficiently. On this occasion we once again have a stellar couple of actors leading the cast. On the one hand, the Afro-American actor Morgan Freeman is a guarantee at the box office by playing a police hunting for a serial kidnapper, being helped when a victim manages to escape for the first time. Freeman is commanding as he barks orders to the support team. Next to him appears the actress Ashley Judd, somewhat unknown at that time, she is terrific as the doctor who's also kidnapped. She would shortly after rise to international fame thanks to her following films. The great duo of protagonists are well accompanied by a wonderful supporting cast, such as: Cary Elwes, Alex McArthur, Tony Goldwyn, Jay O. Sanders, Bill Nunn, Brian Cox, Richard T. Jones, Roma Maffia, Jeremy Piven, Gina Ravera, William Converse-Roberts, among others.

Adapted from the novel by James Patterson and followed by two sequels: ¨Along Came a Spider¨ (2001) by Lee Tamahori with Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter and ¨Alex Cross¨ (2012) by Rob Cohen with Tyler Perry, Matthew Fox, Edward Burns .

Filmmaker Gary Fleder is enough of a technician to make sure the movie pushes the right intrigue buttons, and the art direction at the crime scenes is so hideous that isn't apt for squeamish. This mysterious and sinister motion picture was compellingly directed by Gary Fleder, he skillfully orchestrates a cool film plenty of suspense, action, thrilling moments and plot twists. The flick works pretty well and is paced along admirably but also packs some brief flawed scenes.

It displays a thrilling and suspenseful musical score Mark Isham, a musician expert on mysterious and sinister enviroments. Likewise , a brilliant and colorful cinematography by Aaron Schneider. The motion picture was compellingly directed by Gary Fleder. But he borrows heavily from ¨Seven¨ and ¨Silence of the lambs¨, and this psycho-killer thriller falls far short of both. Gary Fleder is a known craftsman who has directed successful action movies such as: ¨Homefront¨ , ¨The Express¨, ¨Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead¨, ¨Runaway Jury¨. But he often shoots episodes of famous series, such as ¨The Impostor¨, ¨Kingdom¨ , ¨Guilt Scorpion ¨, Star-Crossed¨, ¨Beauty and the beast¨ , ¨Happy Town¨ , ¨Lincoln Rhyme¨, ¨Zoo¨, ¨October Road¨ and many others . Rating : 6.5/10. Notable, worthwhile watching . After principal photography was completed, a sequel to this film was planned, and subsequently materialized . Better than average .
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5/10
Fun and slight sequel with same ingredients about the eccentric doctor who talks to animals.
15 April 2024
Loose non-musical adaptation of the 1967 movie has Eddie Murphy in this follow-up playing straight man to a group of furry friends voiced by the likes of Steve Zahn, Lisa Kudrow, Mike Epps, Jacob Vargas, Michael Rapaport, Isaac Hayes, Andy Dick, Joey Lauren Adams, David Cross, David DeLuise. Here Murphy Dr. John Dolittle the beloved doctor is back, living with his intimate family, wife (Kristen Wilson and children (Raven-Symoné, Kyla Pratt), but this time around he plays cupid to bumbling circus bear Archie as he's so smitten by a Pacific Western bear female, Ava. Dr. Dolittle must help a group of forest creatures to save their forest against enemies (Kevin Pollak, Jeffrey Jones) who want to destroy it . The good doctor goes back, persuaded to save the forest from human developers. With the aid of his mangy, madcap animal friends, Dr. Dolittle must teach Archie the ways of true romance in time to save his species and his home before their habit is gone. Dolittle is reduced to reacting lamely and is upstaged throughout by the wisecracking critters. He doesn't just talk to the animals!.Dolittle Is Back !. The doctor is in again !. The Doctor Is Back! For thousands of year animals have been trying to tell us something, but their cries have fallen on deaf ears...until they found John Dolittle !. This Summer...The Doctor is In Learn to talk in 500 animal languages from a parrot who speaks 1000!.The most joyous entertainment for the whole family! You've never seen anything like it in your life!.

An enjoyable adventure about a botcher doctor, regaining his wit and courage as he makes friends, crosses adversaries and encounters wondrous creatures created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The marvelous and agreeable premise suffers, at times, from a poor and weak script, this time Dolittle is faced with the challenge of reintroducing a circus bear into the wild in order to save a forest . Children will find this flick very amusing thanks to Eddie Murphy 's stunning acting, a lot of beloved animals, colorful cinematography and sympathetic script. May pack a bit too much bathroom for some family tastes. Gastrointestinal, flatulence and other bodily functions dominate the humor and subplots involving Dolittle's daughter nearly undoes te charm, but it's a passable entertainment. No animals were harmed during the making of this film, but there was probably cruel and unusual treatment of the interns involving pooper-scoopers. Murphy's well accompanied by Kristen Wilson, Raven-Symoné, Lil' Zane, James Avery, Andy Richter, Kevin Pollack, the always likeable Kyla Pratt who stars the sequels, among others. Traditional values and great movie for families, resulting to be an exciting movie from beginning to end, this is an amazing feel nice film and I was hoping to see more like it. Direction by Steve Carr (Movie 43, Iznogoud, Rebound, Paul Blart: Mall Cop , Are We Done Yet?, Next Friday) is ordinary, fitting to comedy film. Rating 5/10 . Average but amusing.

Other versions about Hugh Lofting's acclaimed tales were starred by Eddie Murphy, made in 1998, 2001 and 2006, such as : The first ¨Dr Dolittle¨ (1998) by Betty Thomas with Murphy, Ossie Davis, Oliver Platt, Peter Boyle, Richard Schiff, Kristen Wilson, Jeffrey Tambor, Raven-Symoné. ¨Dr Dolittle 2¨ by Steve Carr. ¨Dr Dolittle 3¨ with Kyla Pratt, Kristen Wilson, Walker Howard, John Amos. ¨Dr. Dolittle 4: Tail to the Chief¨ (2008) by Craig Shapiro with Kyla Pratt, Peter Coyote, Malcolm Stewart, Niall Matter. And recent ¨Dolittle¨ (2020) by Stephen Gaghan with Robert Downey, Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen , Jim Broadbent, Jessie Buckley, Emma Thompson , Rami Malek. And the 1967 classic ¨Doctor Dolittle¨ by Richard Fleischer with Rex Harrison, Anthony Newley, Samantha Eggar, Peter Bull , Muriel Landers, Portia Nelson, William Dix and Richard Attemborough. Wholeheartedly recommend for a great family movie. Fun enough and great adventure for kids and adults. Doctor Dolittle is one of the most joyous entertainment for the whole family.
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Smile (V) (2022)
6/10
A good horror film with thriller, tension, suspense, chills, twists and turns.
15 April 2024
This chiller follows the committed psychiatrist Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon, who's the daughter of actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick), she is the kind psychiatrist tries to get to the root of the problem and figure out a way to help the desperate patient. But her prolonged sessions reveal the naked, horrible truth, she is exhausted after hours on call in the psychiatric emergency service. Rose attends to a young woman who turns to compassionate therapist Dr for advice, then she's terrified by an evil presence. When the girl finally seems calm, a big smile appears on her face and a criminal act happens to herself... from that moment on, an overwhelming terror takes over the woman, unsettling the life of Dr. Cotter. Desperate to rid herself of a recurring nightmare and tormented by disturbing appearances every time she falls asleep, Rose is teetering on the brink of madness. Believing that Laura's shocking death may have caused a mental breakdown, Rose's boss Dr. Morgan Desai (Kal Penn) puts Rose on one week's leave. After her fiancé Trevor (Jessie T. Usher) returns home, Rose notices her cat is missing. Later on, the young woman seeks the help of her former boyfriend (Kyle Gallner). Once you see it, it's too late !. Pass it on !. The new face of fear !. What makes you smile?. Can Laura prevent the inevitable? Will she escape the terrifying supernatural entity ?.

Parker Finn's disturbing first feature fully achieves what the director was looking for: provoking a feeling of panic attack from start to finish. This frightening movie displays terror, shocks, hard-edged drama and creepy images. While the look is suitable atmospheric and eerie, the argument stretches plausibility to the breaking point. ¨The Smile (2022)¨ is inspired by a short by the director himself (¨Laura Hasn't Slept ,2020¨), starring Caitlin Stasey, Lew Temple, winner of the special jury prize in the SWSW midnight shorts category. 'Laura has't sleep' is a bit different from 'Smile' though, 'Smile' was more about trauma affecting people and dealing with a mysteriously threatening curse. The visual effects used were terrifying in a good way and on point. I especially liked the CGI for the faces of the attackers and victims. A lot of tension, mystery and horror and the ending was surprising and not where I thought it was going.

'Smile' received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised the visuals, make-up, themes and Bacon's acting. Bacon is pretty good as the deranged therapist who's refusing to sleep, haunted by a blood-curdling vision. But criticized its jump scares, easy screams and plot similarities to ¨It Follows¨ (2014), ¨The grudge¨(2004), The Ring (2002) and ¨The Ring 2¨(2005). This disturbing motion picture was well and originally written/directed by Parker Finn at his film debut. Rating: 6.5/10. A decent horror film that will appeal to terror fans.
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The Head (2020– )
7/10
A cold thriller with twisted intrigue, good eye cinematography and a cast actually competent.
14 April 2024
TV series (2020-) in 2 seasons and 12 episodes, it is located at the Polaris VI international station, in Antarctica. It is only known that every April 29 in Antarctica, the sun sets and does not rise again for the next six months. Winter has fallen on the South Pole, and most of the staff evacuate the Polaris VI Antarctic Research Station. A small team, known as the Winterers, will remain at the Polaris VI Antarctic Research Station to continue their innovative research, a crucial part in the fight against climate change. The small group stays on to continue their work led by renowned biologist Arthur Wilde (John Lynch). But when spring comes, summer commander Johan Berg (Alexander Willaume) returns to find the entire team are either dead or missing. The Head is in a strange way in a facility that has occurred at the South Pole. There is only one survivor, but he does not remember anything of what happened. A killer is on the loose and Annika (Laura Bach), Johan's wife, is missing. If he wants to find her alive, he will have to trust Maggie (Katharine O'Donnelly), the young doctor who is traumatized and apparently the sole survivor from the group. The Longest Night !. The Coldest Truth !.

Whodunit in which a serial killer executes gruesome murders and an investigation attempting to resolve. Through questions and flashbacks from the only survivors, during that period of winter time, the scientific group has ended up dying one less person and they will try to find out the truth behind this strange event. An intriguing and apocalyptic story that focuses on an investigation of the inexplicable death of a group of scientists. Thrilling, suspenseful series packing chills , tension, noisy action, violence , intriguing events , gruesome slaying and winds up into an astonishing finale. Exciting, slow-paced and stirring development , though predictable, when starring find that their colleagues are being murdered one by one ."The Head" was filmed on location in Iceland and Tenerife, Canary Islands, España. In the first episode the series pays tribute to John Carpenter when the remaining crew is watching The Thing (1982), and the plot The Head (2020) bears a certain resemblance to that film. There're a nice actors in the cast, such as: John Lynch as leader of the innovative research, a crucial part in the fight against climate change, Katharine O'Donnelly as Dr. Maggie Mitchell, Alexandre Willaume, Johan Berg , Richard Sammel as Erik, Tomohisa Yamashita as Aki, Hovik Keuchkerian as Charlie, Laura Bach as Dr. Annika, Alvaro Morte as Ramón, Enrique Arce as Óscar, Mónica López as Astrid, among others.

Compellingly written by David and Alex Pastor, they offer us an intelligent flick of the frozen Antarctic, tense, intimate and committed, they're expert on apocalyptic and Sci-fi films as ¨Carriers¨, their first American film with Chris Pine, Piper Perabo. David and Alex Pastor Brothers directed in 2013 ,¨The Last days¨ , with Quim Gutierrez , Jose Coronado and wrote Out of the Dark (2014) and Eternal (2015). This killer-chiller coproduced by Spain and Japan was professionally directed by Jorge Dorado. He's a good craftsman who has shot decent films and TV series,such as: Objetos (Lost and found) , Mindscape, Gigantes, El Ministerio del Tiempo, Feria: La luz más oscura, El embarcadero (The Pier), among others. Rating: 7/10. Decent series that will aapeal to mystery thriller fans.
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Robot Dreams (2023)
8/10
A sensitive and enjoyable cartoon movie, stunningly written/produced/directed by Pablo Berger.
14 April 2024
The Spanish director and screenwriter Berger (Snow white) adapts the graphic novel by Sara Varon in this tender story, as simple as it is profound, which obtained the Oscar nomination for best animated film. It follows the adventures and misfortunes of Dog and Robot in New York City during the 1980s. Dog lives in Manhattan and he's tired of being alone. One day he decides to build himself a robot, a companion. Their friendship and mutual affection blossoms, until they become inseparable, to the rhythm of 80's NYC. One summer night, Dog, with great sadness is separated to Robot, due to life circumstances, they are forced to live without each other. Will they ever meet again?. "Beautiful, Unexpected, and Tender" (Guillermo del Toro).

It is a beautiful story of friendship, companionship, fidelity and 80s nostalgia; being developed with fine sensitivity, tenderness and love. It tells the story of a strange friendship that arises between a lonely dog who spends his days in front of the television and the robot he buys to keep him company until Dog is forced to abandon Robot at the beach. As there is no dialogue in the movie, voice actors are credited but not associated with a determined character, adding catching songs and agreeable musical score from Alfonso de Villalonga. The roles don't speak, just make sounds; however, it is known that voice director Pablo Berger and actor Ivan Labanda voices both Dog and Robot. The music and songs are the following: ¨A Bailar El Son¨ performed by Canelita Molina; ¨I Hate Hate¨performed by Reagan Youth, ¨Bucket drums¨ by John Bryant; ¨Breakdown¨ written by Clarence Keaton, Kevin Keaton; ¨Concert mandolina en C mayor¨ composed by Antonio Vivaldi; ¨(It's A) Monster Holiday¨ written and performed by Buck Owens; ¨Mister Softee Jingle¨ written by Les Waas; ¨Danny Boy¨performed by Ayna Ziordia; ¨Eternal Love¨ written & performed by Imade Saputra; ¨Beloved Secrets¨; ¨Bamboo Wok Solo¨; ¨Hip Hug Her¨; ¨Happy; ¨Let's go; ¨Apres Sky; ¨Easy money¨; ¨Oh Yes Baby I Love You So¨; ¨September¨; ¨You sweet love¨; ¨The New Explorers¨, among others.

The motion picture was well written/produced and compellingly directed by Pablo Berger, a pretty good Spanish movies director. Being winner of the Goya for best adapted script, and for best animated film, the Contrechamp grand prize in Annecy and the audience prize in Sitges, among many other awards. Here Berger delivers a very worthy work in which he demonstrates how with simple jobs can make a decent film. Director Pablo Berger developed the project for some years before being able to shoot it. Pablo is a well recognized filmmaker both nationally and internationally , and in proof of it he won many prizes in several Cinema Festivals, his feature debut was ¨Torremolinos 73¨ and following the excellent ¨Snow White¨ or ¨Blancanieves¨ and ¨Abracadabra¨. Rating ¨Robot Dreams¨(2023) : 7.5/10 . Above average.
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5/10
Weird and outlandish Sci-Fi movie in low budget from Quentin Dupieux.
14 April 2024
Stars an odd group of fantastic vigilantes called the "tobacco-forces", the five super heroes are nicotine, benzène (benzene), méthanol (methanol), ammoniaque (ammonia), and mercure (mercury), their names are all chemical components found inside cigarettes and now they're falling apart. To rebuild team spirit, their leader, Benzène: Gilles Lellouche, suggests that they meet for a week-long retreat, before returning to save the world.

Cinema Indie's 'Enfant Terrible', Quentin Dupieux (Yannick, Mandibules), directs this surreal, sloppy fantasy comedy full of stories as extravagant and bizarre as the film's premise. After annihilating a dangerous giant torture facing off against them, the ungainly tobacco patrol formed by a motley team uses the negative energies of tobacco to drown their enemies until they die, they receive the order to begin a retreat that strengthens the cohesion of the group and allows them to defeat Lizard, a villain who intends to destroy the earth before the year ends. From there, the tacky story of the retreat joins the stories of the eccentric protagonists in a spiral of dark humor, full of puddles, unpredictable characters, incongruous events, ramshackle gore and lousy special effects. The cast is largely unknown to the general public, except for Gilles Lellouche, Vincent Lacoste, Adèle Exarchopoulos as Céline and voice by Alain Chabat as Chief Didier.

Mediocre and somewhat blurry photography mainly in the South of France: the opening scene was shot in the quarry Cabrières d'Avignon, Vaucluse; the lake in Lac de Peïroou, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône; the sawmill in Les Mages, Gard; Uzès and studios of Provence, Martigues, Bouches-du-Rhône, Francia.

This absurd motion picture was mediocrely directed by Quentin Dupieux and it premiered at the midnight section of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. Being second film directed by Quentin Dupieux released in 2022, after Incredible But True (2022). Quentin has made some bizarre, offbeat films, getting some french hits. He has directed: Le Daim or Deerskin (United States, English title) (2010), Au poste (2018), Mandibules (2020), Yannick (2023), and its most succesful film was Rubber (2010). Rating: 4.5/10. Only advisable for fans of strange and surreal films.
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5/10
A new remake of the classic 80's film with budget enough, lots of violence and gore.
13 April 2024
This terrifying movie delivers grisly horror, tension, mayhem, horrible gore and lots of blood and guts. Searching for his missing sister, Clay (Jared Penderecki) heads to the eerie forest of the legendarium Crystal Lake, where he stumbles upon the old, decrepit remains of a cabin covered in dense moss. Against police advice and warnings from local residents, Clay continues with the search, helped by a young woman (Danielle Panabaker) he has met among a group of young students ready to spend an exciting weekend. What they least imagine is that they have entered the domain of one of the most terrifying serial killers in history: Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears). Welcome to Crystal Lake !. Jason lives !. Many will die !. Prepare for the day everyone fears... You know his name. You know the story. On Friday the 13th, witness his resurrection...!. Bad luck? ...You don't know the half of what you're in for.

From the Producers of 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' comes the usual slasher packing thrills, chills, nudism, shocks and terrible deaths. The plot is plain, simple and well-known: A group of young adults visit a boarded up campsite named Crystal Lake where they soon encounter the mysterious Jason Voorhees and his deadly intentions. Unsettling gore-feast contains uncountable killings with lots of guts and gore, including impaling, stabbing, beheading, among them. Nor is it the best when it comes to dialogue. Much of it is very silly, crude, non-sense and cheesy. Or character development, while the roles are actually still easy to sympathise with to some extent they are stereotypes that we don't know an awful lot about generally. 'Friday the 13th' is far from the best when it comes to performance, excepting for the resourceful Jared Padalecki and the always charming Danielle Panabaker. The others: Travis Van Winkle, Aaron Yoo , Jonathan Sadowski, Julianna Guill, Ben Feldman, Arlen Escarpeta and America Olivo are mediocre at best, though it was interesting to see Amanda Righetti in an early role pre-The Mentalist.

The creepy screenplay and story, based on characters created by Victor Miller, was written by Damian Shannon , Mark Swift and Mark Wheaton. And lavish production by the great Joel Silver along with Sean S. Cunningham, Andrew Form, Hamada and Brad Fuller. The motion picture was professionally directed by Marcus Nispel, though with no originality because it copies the premises and situations that we have already seen many times earlier. Marcus is a video hits director and expert on terror and action genres as he proved in ¨Frankestein¨ , ¨Texas chainsaw massacre¨¨Friday the 13th¨, ¨Exeter¨, ¨Pathfinder¨, ¨Conan¨, but none of his movies have been based on original plot.

Since the first entry: 'Friday the 13th' (1980) directed by Sean S. Cunninghan (series' usual producer) one of the most famous and influential horror films, the franchise containing one of horror's most iconic villains in the already very long series, there have been many sequels, such as: 'Friday the 13 II' (by Steve Miner,1981), 'Friday the 13 III' (1982 Steve Miner in 3D).... The best Friday 13 are: 'Jason takes Manhattan part VII' (1989), 'Jason X' (2002,James Isaac), 'Freddie Kruger vs. Jason' (Ronnie Yu) and the last 'Friday, the 13th' (2009) with Jared Penderecki and Daniella Panabaker. Rating: 5.5/10. This film has images of graphic violence and may not be suitable for all audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.
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J. Edgar (2011)
6/10
A good portrayal about the powerful head of the F.B.I. for nearly fifty years, decently played by Leonardo DiCaprio..
13 April 2024
Leonardo DiCaprio plays competently 'The Most Powerful Man in the World' in this biopic well directed by Clint Eastwood, in which Hoover himself looks back on his professional and personal life. J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio) was the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly fifty years. Hoover was feared, admired, reviled and revered, a man who could distort the truth as easily as he upheld it. His methods were at once ruthless and heroic, with the admiration of the world his most coveted prize. During his FBI life he investigates mobsters , swindlers , the Klu Klux Klan, the famous case of the kidnapping of Lindbergh's son, the case of Oklahoma Indians who were being killed, strikers, communist spies and cold war spies, among others . But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life. At the beginning Edgar tells her mother (Judi Dench) that Palmer has put him in charge of a new anti-radical division, and that he has already begun compiling a list of suspected radicals. Edgar hires Helen Gandy (Naomi Watts), who has just started as a secretary at the Justice Department. The Bureau pursues a string of gangster and bank robbery crimes across the Midwest, including the high profile John Dillinger, with general success. When the Lindbergh (Josh Lucas) kidnapping captures national attention, President Hoover asks the Bureau to investigate. Later on, Hoover has a meeting with Robert Kennedy (Jeffrey Donovan) where he almost blackmails Robert to give him authority to pursue radical groups in exchange of keeping information of President John Kennedy having sex with a communist girl.

Interesting story about the Federal Bureau , -headquarters in Washington- , and his chief, that unfolds through his own eyes, his personal secretary, Helen Gandy who vowed to protect him at all cost; and Clyde Tolson, the F. B. I. Associate Director, who was more than just a right hand man and friend. Through Hoover himself, masterfully played by Leonardo DiCaprio- his performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination - as the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F. B. I.), the first person in this position, dictates the biography of his career from 1919 onward to a fellow Agent, so it explores the life and public and private relationships of a man who could distort the truth with the same ease with which he defended it throughout. A life dedicated to his own idea of justice, often dominated by the darker side of power. However, the film relies heavily on his private life, his peculiar relationship with his mother: Judi Dench, his alleged lover: Armie Hammer and his faithful secretary: Naomi Watts, all of which makes it a little tiring and overlong.

Through his long life as head of the FBI, we review the various historical events that occurred in the United States: notorious gangsters and with high profile bank robbers of the 30s show uphere and there: Pretty Boy Floyd , Baby Face Nelson , John Dillinger , Alvin Karpis , Nash, Baby Face Nelson. Although Hoover gained fame for arresting criminals as John Dillinger, when agent Melviln Purvis was the one who actually caught him. Alvin Carpis -the last of the high-profile 1930s era bank robbers- is ¨personally¨ arrested by J. Edgar Hoover (though it has since been debunked as a myth created by Hoover himself) ; these events were also developed in the classic film ¨Mervyn LeRoy's FBI story¨ (1959) as Hoover and his assistant 'Clyde Tolson' (who makes a cameo appearance in the film in the same scene as Hoover) came out and Hoover dramatically showed Carpis his badge , declaring , "Carpis, you're under arrest! . The motion picture will appeal to Leonardo DiCaprio fans. Rating: 6.5/10. Better than average. Well worth seeing.
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30 Coins (2020– )
7/10
Pretty good TV series stunningly written and directed by Alex de La Iglesia, including his usual trademarks.
12 April 2024
Father Manuel Vergara (Eduard Fernández), an exorcist by profession, boxer and former prisoner, lives in Pedraza, a town in Segovia, to forget his past and start a new life. However, paranormal phenomena soon begin to occur in the place and he will have to count on the help of Paco, the mayor (Miguel Ángel Silvestre), and Elena, the town veterinarian (Megan Montaner), to solve the mystery of a coin. Vergara could have part of the thirty with which Judas was paid for his betrayal of Jesus Christ. The three protagonists will end up at the center of a global conspiracy that involves the Cainites and that threatens to destroy Christianity.

Devilishly fun and entertaining terror series with some elements of black humor and wonderful performances. This is a full-on surreal terror movie that blends thriller, a lot of amusement , suspense, tension, an intriguing script full of underlying seriousness , horror, as well as comedy and embarrassing situations. According to the same director Eloy de la Iglesia himself: ¨the series is a demonic nonsense with blood, sweat, tears... and monsters, and feverish satanic sects, and couples destroyed by the hell of jealousy and also a final smile. The essence of the story really is that God is an author. God might not create reality, he might observe himself or exist himself surrounded by nothingness. But he decides to carry out creation, he decides that man exists and let's say that, in that divine plan, each of us plays a role. So we are all characters in a creation and, as Lucifer says, we are all a little bit of God and we are all a little bit of the devil. God is all the characters. Therefore, doing good is the same as doing evil, which is the idea defended by the Cainites, the cursed sect that liberates the rite at the end¨.

For the first season, the main setting of the series was especially on location in the town of Pedraza (province of Segovia), where most of the places were recorded. In addition, it was also filmed in the Aldeadávila de la Rivera (dam) , Salamanca, Castilla y León, the Calatrava La Nueva castle, the General Library of Salamanca, the Institute of Spanish Historical Heritage, in Alcalá de Henares and the Palace of the Marqués de Santa Cruz (Viso del Marqués) in Ciudad Real and Tenerife, Canary Islands. Likewise, it was recorded in the foreign cities of Jerusalem, Rome, New York and Paris; although Spanish scenarios were recreated for Aleppo. The second season was filmed in 27 weeks in Spain, Italy, the United States, France and the United Kingdom.

Adding a thrilling, suspenseful and evocative musical score by Roque Baños. And colorful, brilliant and dark at times, cinematography by Pablo Rosso, Jaume Balaguero's usual. The series was well written (along with his regular writer Jorge Guerricaechevarría) and shot by Alex de la Iglesia. Well known as the Spanish king of black comedy. He's a cool director who has got much successes as ¨Accion Mutante¨,¨Dying of laughter¨ or ¨Muertos De Risa¨ , ¨Baby's room¨ , ¨Oxford murders¨ , ¨Balada Triste De Una Trompeta¨ and ¨Perdita Durango¨, the latter is probably the weirdest Javier Bardem film ever made . And, of course , ¨Day of the beast¨ and ¨La Comunidad¨ obtained the unanimous praise of both the critics and the public and they result to be a lot of fun, especially for those who enjoy surrealist humor, won several Goya prizes and and turned to be a turning point in his meteoric career; from then on he became his own producer, beginning with '800 bullets' (2002) through the Pánico Films company . Winner of several Goyas (Spanish Oscars), however his movies have not yet reached box office in USA, but he has strong followers , as his films have a kind of comic edge to them. Nonsense, ridicule , laughters , absurdity , disturbing scenes and many other issues ; you can find everything in this series. Rating: 7.5/10.
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5/10
Ethan Hawke is nice as a hitman who seeks redemption after being given a second chance at life.
12 April 2024
It starts in South Africa, a convoy of Interpol agents led by Lin (Xu Qing) transport a prisoner, Keith. At a checkpoint, they are ambushed. Most of the agents are shot, but Lin escapes with Keith (Tyrone Keogh). Later on, Agent Travis Conrad (Ethan Hawke), who becomes embroiled in a series of murders involving people around him and sacrifices everything for his employers, including his family and, ultimately, his own life. He's a professional assassin who dies during one of his jobs, but is brought back to life for a day to fulfill an important mission, that's timed to last exactly twenty-four hours. Once the countdown clock embedded in his arm reaches zero, he'll once again nod off into an eternal slumber if he hasn't completed his task. He will have to team up with the spy who murdered him in order to take revenge on the powerful criminal syndicate that ended the life of his family. Contracted to kill !. Fighting to survive !. He'll stop when he's dead !.

An action-packed film that contains thrills, suspense car crashes , a complex intrigue and plot twists. Thriller directed by Brian Smrz features the performances of Ethan Hawke (Regression), here making a rare foray into rock 'em, sock 'em action territory as a merciless assassin to wreak bloody havoc on his targets, the deceased Rutger Hauer (unforgettable android from Blade Runner) as his father-in-law, Paul Anderson (Hostiles), Lian Cunnigham (Game of thrones), Natalie Boltt (The Cure), among others . The film is set in South Africa which, with its attractive plot, offers entertainment, fun, and a visual style reminiscent of similar productions from the 80s as D. O. A.

The motion picture was professionally directed by , but nothing special. He previously directed 'Hero Wanted', though has been director assitant in various blockbusters, such as ¨Ghostbusters: Afterlife Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Shazam !, X Men Dark Phoenix, X Men: First Class, Terminator Genisys, Iron Man 3: , among others. Rating: 5.5/10. Passable and acceptable. The film will appeal to Ethan Hawke fans.
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Stranger on the Run (1967 TV Movie)
6/10
Henry Fonda heads the top-drawer main and support cast, he gives a dignified acting as a drunkard.
12 April 2024
A homeless man, Ben Chamberlain (Henry Fonda), shows up in a dusty railhead town. He arrives in a little town whose population includes an obstinate marshall (Michael Parks) , several homo-erotically fixaded gunslingers and an assortment of ready-mades, like the comely widow (Anne Baxter) whose teenage son (Michael Burns) is ripe for a few life lessons. Chamberlain finds himself wrongly accused of a murder by a crazed and stubborn sheriff. The sheriff gives him a horse, some supplies, and a free hour in the wilderness before sending his hunters (Dan Duryea, Sal Mineo, Tom Reese, Zalman King) after him. Hot lead and fast death!.. Brand New Major Motion Picture - First Time on Any Screen!. Before he finished with this town, every gunslinger would know he was a man !.

This early and decent western telefeature (Siegel's third) is based on a story by Reginald Rose (12 angry men) and its blend of popular Freud and social consciousness, including some unexpectesd themes as the depiction of the railroad not as an emblem of progress but as a bringer of corruption and violence. Stranger on the Run(1967) contains thrills, intense drama, emotion and violence. In addition, being directed by Don Siegel, whose filmography includes several films starring Eastwood. Siegel barrels energetically through a tangle of supplots: the film was his ticket back to big-screen projects. Western television film starring Oscar winners Henry Fonda (On Golden Pond, Once upon a time in the West) and Anne Baxter (The Razor's Edge, All about Eva). Fonda gives a nice acting as a drunk in search of redemption. Michael Parks as the unstable sheriff is acceptable but sounds as though he's gone. And adding a splendid support cast, such as: Dan Duryea, Sal Mineo, Lloyd Bochner, Michael Burns, Tom Reese, Bernie Hamilton, Zalman King, Madlyn Rhue, Walter Burke and Anne Baxter.

The motion picture was decently directed by Donad Siegel who handles both tone and pace adequately, but not notable, being in fact inferior to other films he made. Donald got his reputation in the early and mid-'50s with a series of tightly made , expertly crafted , tough but intelligent "B" pictures , among them : The Lineup (1958), Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954) , then graduated to major "A" films in the 1960s and early 1970s . Director Siegel brought an entirely new approach to the Sci-Fi field Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) . He made several "side trips" to television, mostly as a producer . Siegel directed what is generally considered to be Elvis Presley's best picture , Flamingo Star (1960). All of Eastwood's later Western and his ¨Dirty Harry¨ movies owe a considerable debt to Sergio Leone and Donald Siegel . As Donald directed Eastwood in various films , such as : ¨Coogan's bluff , The beguiled , Dirty Harry , Escape from Alcatraz and Two mules and sister Sara¨. He had a long professional relationship and personal friendship with Clint Eastwood , who has often said that everything he knows about filmmaking he learned from Don Siegel . Rating: 5.5/10, acceptable and passable TV Western.
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5/10
Funny and entertaining comedy about an eccentric doctor who talks to animals.
11 April 2024
Loose non-musical adaptation of the 1967 movie has Eddie Murphy playing straight man to a group of furry friends voiced by the likes of Chris Rock, Albert Brooks, Reni Santoni , Jenne Elffman, John Leguizamo, Julie Kavner, Ellen DeGeneres, Brian Doyle-Murray and Garry Shanding. Here Murphy is reduced to reacting lamely and is upstaged throughout by the wisecracking critters. While fellow humans Dr Weller (Oliver Platt) and Calloway (Peter Boyle) are shallow villians to prop up a shaky story involving the corporate takeover of Dolittle's vet clinic. He doesn't just talk to the animals!.For thousands of year animals have been trying to tell us something, but their cries have fallen on deaf ears...until they found John Dolittle !. This Summer...The Doctor is In Learn to talk in 500 animal languages from a parrot who speaks 1000!.The most joyous entertainment for the whole family! You've never seen anything like it in your life!.

An enjoyable adventure about a botcher doctor, regaining his wit and courage as he makes friends, crosses adversaries and encounters wondrous creatures created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. The marvelous and agreeable premise suffers, at times, from a poor and weak script. Children will find this flick very amusing thanks to Eddie Murphy 's stunning acting, a lot of beloved animals, colorful cinematography and sympathetic script. May pack a bit too much bathroom for some family tastes. Gastrointestinal, flatulence and other bodily functions dominate the humor and subplots involving Dolittle's daughter nearly undoes te charm, but it's a passable entertainment. No animals were harmed during the making of this film, but there was probably cruel and unusual treatment of the interns involving pooper-scoopers. Murphy's well accompanied by the always likeable Kyla Pratt who stars the sequels, Ossie Davis, Oliver Platt, Peter Boyle, Richard Schiff, Kristen Wilson, Jeffrey Tambor, Raven-Symoné , among others . Traditional values and great movie for families, resulting to be an exciting movie from beginning to end, this is an amazing feel nice film and I was hoping to see more like it. Direction by Betty Thomas(28 days , Troop Beverly Hills , Dr Dolittle , Alvin and the chipmunks the squeaksequel, I spy), is ordinary, fitting to comedy film. Rating 5/10 . Average but amusing.

Other versions about Hugh Lofting's acclaimed tales were starred by Eddie Murphy, made in 1998 , 2001 and 2006, such as : ¨Dr Dolittle 2¨ by Steve Carr , the good doctor goes back, persuaded to save the forest from human developers. And ¨Dr Dolittle 3¨ with Kyla Pratt, Kristen Wilson, Walker Howard, John Amos. ¨Dr. Dolittle 4: Tail to the Chief¨ (2008) by Craig Shapiro with Kyla Pratt, Peter Coyote, Malcolm Stewart, Niall Matter. And recent ¨Dolittle¨ (2020) by Stephen Gaghan with Robert Downey, Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen , Jim Broadbent, Jessie Buckley, Emma Thompson , Rami Malek. And the 1967 classic ¨Doctor Dolittle¨ by Richard Fleischer with Rex Harrison, Anthony Newley, Samantha Eggar, Peter Bull , Muriel Landers, Portia Nelson, William Dix and Richard Attemborough. Wholeheartedly recommend for a great family movie. Fun enough and great adventure for kids and adults. Doctor Dolittle is one of the most joyous entertainment for the whole family.
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Tank Force (1958)
5/10
Suspenseful WWII epic packs notable plethora of prestigious Brit actors along with the American Victor Mature.
11 April 2024
This exciting war/adventure about a misfit band of soldiers on a daring mission while flee from a camp from Lybia desert. Tank Force! (1958) is set during WW2 in North Africa, an American sergeant, Daniel Thatcher (Victor Mature) serving with the British 8th Army in a British tank corps in North Africa. He and most of his unit (Leo Genn, Anthony Newley, Bonar Colleano) are captured by the Germans, and imprisoned at a concentration camp. But Nazis learn his identity as a man who once tried to assassinate Josef Goebbels, Hitler's right-hand man. He hatches various plans of escape from the POW camp. The escaped prisoners throughout desert trying to make their bid to freedom , including pursuits and tank attacks. When iron men in iron monsters fought for a continent !. Hitting the Screen With Irresistible Force!. And introducing...Italy's most exciting new film firebrand Luciana Paluzzi !. The Titanic Battle of World War II! When the men from the ranks held the Desert - in Tanks !.

This WW2 movie is packed with noisy action, suspense, thrills, spectacular tank combats and is quite entertaining. By the time the plentiful action and incident get under way, there's not much time to relax either. This is the story of four men who believed in freedom, and had the guts to seek it across the burning desert. This is a thrilling, if implausible WWII adventure that has its good moments here and there. Director Terence Young (who had previously served in the British Army) and his cast were shooting in the Libyan and Morocco deserts for 8 weeks. The film was internationally released as No time to die ! Or Tank Force!. Runtime film is adequate, 86 min minutes, but isn't boring and gets lots of amusement for the fast-movement. From the beginning until the ending , the action movie is continuous. Interesting screenplay by director Terence Young himself, Merle Miller and "loosely based" on author Ronald Kemp's "No Time to Die" novel (London, 1954). It is co-written by veteran James Bond film series writer Richard Maibaum who co-wrote thirteen Bond movies and collaborated with producer Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli on eight other pictures . This is one of the best of several movies about commandos and imprisoned soldiers from beyond behind enemy lines. The film is more in the wake of the concentration camps with a study of the characters, and their getaway as will be the later ¨John Sturges' The Great Escape¨ more than the style of commando subgenre as ¨Dirty dozen¨,¨Tobruk¨, ¨Kelly's heroes¨ , ¨Where eagles dare ¨ and the group of films that were made regarding to warlike adventures during the 1960-1970 years about special forces in dangerous missions. However, Tank Force!(1958) obtained limited success at the box office.

The film is mediocre, but you really can't blame Victor Mature as a tough Sergeant for his idiomatic choice of command to his fellow escapees from an Italian prison camp in the Libyan desert. Because he is laying that almost inevitable role in British movies of the Fifties, the token Yank. Mature became one of Hollywood's busiest and most popular actors after the war , though rarely was he given the critical respect he often deserved. These enjoyable films were all ordinarily played by Mature who was nearly at his most agile and deft style , as he starred various Adventure films and was superstar of Hollywood epics . His roles in John Ford's My darling Clementine (1946) and in Henry Hathaway's Kiss of the death (1947) were among his finest work, though he moved more and more frequently into more exotic roles in films like Samson y Delilah (1949) and Sinuhe, the Egyptian (1954) . Never an energetic actor nor one of great artistic pretensions, he nevertheless continued as a Hollywood stalwart both in programme and in more prominent films like The Robe (1953). More interested in golf than acting, his appearances diminished through the 1960s, but he made a stunning comeback of sorts in a hilarious romp as a very Victor Mature-like actor in Neil Simon's Zorro (1966). One of six movies (Zarak, The Bandit of Zhobe, Safari..) that Victor Mature made for the British production company Warwick Films. Warwick was set up by Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli, and its main purpose was that it offered a Europea lifeline to fading Hollywood stars such as Mature, Robert Taylor and Alan Ladd. Victor Mature is well aaccompanied by a good secondary cast - mainly made up of British actors-, such as: Leo Genn, Anthony Newley, Bonar Colleano, Anne Aubrey, George Coulouris, Alfred Burke, David Lodge and the wasted italian Luciana Paluzzi, who Terence Young himself, shortly after, would lead her to success as a Bond girl in Thunderball (1965).

The motion picture was professionally directed by Terence Young, though has some flaws and failures. Young participated in the Royal Armored Corps as an officer during the Second World War. Terence Young was an uneven filmmaker with hits and flops. As he made three of the best Bond films: Doctor No , Thunderball, From Russia with love, he also directed other genres , Western : Red Sun , Drama/intrigue : Klansman, Bloodline , Jigsaw man , The poppy is also flower, wait until dark ; Costumer : Adventures of Moll Flanders , Adventure : The Rover and WWII : Triple Cross. Rating 5,5/10 , acceptable and passable . The movie will appeal to WWII buffs.
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Dark Habits (1983)
6/10
A strange and peculiar film full of eccentric characters, bizarre situations and other Almodóvar trademarks.
10 April 2024
Yolanda Bell (Cristina Sánchez Pascual), a bolero singer, addicted to drugs, risky and ambiguous, sees her boyfriend (Will Moore) die before her eyes from an overdose of adulterated heroin. Scared, she decides to disappear and seclude herself in a convent belonging to a very particular order, "Redentoras Humilladas", whose Mother Superior is a great cheerleader for Yolanda, whom she has seen in the "Molino Rojo". For many years these nuns have been trying to save girls from wayward lives from sin, although lately the convent is going through a crisis. So nightsinger Yolanda is impelled, via a bit of drug trouble, into the arms of the Mother Superior. Yolanda is well received, especially by the Mother Superior, who likes young girls, and who usually becomes a drug addict and friend of all the girls who pass through the convent of 'Humble Redeemers'. Lying low in in spacious cell, decked with the trappings of Catholic kitsch, Yolanda finds the demands of the religious life needn't cramp her style too much. These off-beat nuns include a heroin using abbess (Julieta Serrano) who loves Yolanda, one (Chus Lampreave) who writes romance novels under a pseudonym, another (radiant Carmen Maura) is spotted from a bedroom window raising and wrestling a tiger in the convent yard, and one (Lina Canajejas) who designs fabulous fashions and is in love with the local priest (Manuel Zarzo). They plan an evening extravaganza starring Yolanda to celebrate the abbess's birthday and to convince their wealthy patron (Mary Carrillo) not to leave them.

Third feature film by Pedro Almodóvar, it is slapdash, occassionally slow-moving, haphazardly plotted, with the action centered around the reverend mothers of a very 'sui generis' convent. That's also wildly fun, bitchy, affecting and surreal is a tribute to his perennial warmth and wit. This funny film is a production in low-budget by producer Hervé Hachuel who only asked Pedro to have Cristina Sánchez Pascual as the off-the-wall starring. A typical Almodovar film, covering everything from drugs, disconcerting scenes, nunexploitation, profanities, lesbianism, bad taste, with plenty of outlandish characters, and attractive songs, such as: ¨Salí porque salí¨ performed by Sol Pilas, ¨Feelings¨(Pour Toi) music by Louis Gasté, ¨Encadenados¨performed by Lucho Gatica and ¨Suck It to Me¨performed by Pedro Almodóvar & Fabio McNamara. Pedro builds an apparent and formal melodrama, although without reaching the later brilliance of ¨The Law of Desire¨ with an incredibly delirious background around some unusual nuns (Sor Rata del Callejón, Sor Perdida, Sor Víbora, Sor Estiercol ...) with impossible, torn, sad and self-destructive fates. The poster of the Spanish film was designed by writer/director Iván Zulueta. With this film Almodóvar addresses the topic of religion for the first time, beginning his collaboration with Chus Lampreave, Carmen Maura, Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes and other actresses who became emblematic in his cinema. It was the first popular hit since his two previous films: ¨Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón¨ (1980) and ¨Laberinto de pasiones¨ (1982) were not as successful. The whole thing winds up with the inevitable scandal and is almost completely silly; but as ever, Almodóvar's adoration of his female stars is heart-warming and his visual style a delight.

Almodovar's first film was ¨Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón¨(1980): portraying life in Madrid during the punk and ¨La Movida¨, it was lousily realized and devoid of laughs. This is really his worst film; however , subsequently his style to be compellingly purified, and following: ¨Laberinto de pasiones¨. Developing his own trademaks , as he often uses symbolism and metaphorical techniques to portray circular story lines. In in his later films Almodóvar directs throughout with splendid zip and he usually portrays strong female characters and transsexuals . In 1987, he and his brother Agustín Almodóvar established their own production company: El Deseo, S. A. The "Almodóvar phenomenon" has reached all over the world, making his films very popular in many countries. Pedro subsequently made successes such as: ¨Labyrinth of passions¨, ¨Law of desire¨, ¨Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown¨ , ¨Bad education¨, ¨All about my mother¨, ¨Talk to her¨, ¨Broken embraces¨ , ¨The Skin I Live In¨, ¨I'm So Excited¨, ¨Julieta¨, ¨Dolor y Gloria¨ and many others¨. ¨Dark Habits¨ (Entre tinieblas, 1983) rating: 6/10. Only for completists of Almodovar's fruitful career.
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Critters 2 (1988)
5/10
A sympathetic and passable follow-up that shares a sardonic similarity to its original.
10 April 2024
Sequel of the hit horror-comedy Critters with the voracious alien furballs occassionally inspired 'Gremlins' rip. Comedy horror with entertainment, funny scenes and deft satiric edge. A gang of furry, razor-toothed alies getting away from its prison ship to Earth with their bounty hunters right behind them. The not-so-loveable critters make it to a small town in Grovers Bend, Kansas, where they start attacking anything that moves. In Critters 2 (1988) eggs of the small but voracious alien creatures called Critters are left behind on earth and, after hatching, set their appetites on the small farm town of Grover's Bend. The townfolks become the main dish on their menu. However, the citizens will have the unexpected help of a couple of intergalactic hunters. The original second tasty entree!. When you've got Critters... you need all the help you can get. They bite!. The battle began in another galaxy. It's about to end in the Brown's backyard. They eat so fast, you don't have time to scream. The Main Course. Get ready for seconds... they're back!. It's Everyone's Turn For Seconds. They're back for seconds!. "Critters 1" got your blood pumping... This time they want more than a taste. Rolling In For Halloween. The most illegal aliens of all are back -- and they're hungrier than ever.

'Critters 2' had the good business sense to lay some eggs before getting splattered, so now Grover's Bend is up to its neck in the little buggers again, and the space-borne pest control are back on the job. Director Mick Garris presents a quite acceptable and violent but far more campy vision, paying myriad surreal tribute to movies as well as soundtracks of the 80s with great sense of amusement. Not just a thrill-kill adventure, but a sarcastic other-worldly thrill-kill epic. Naturally, there're lots of mayhem, frolics, antics and jokes , this all happening at the town and the countryside, while the result is a gang of nasty creatures who decide to tear up the houses, causing wreak havoc. The story is nothing more than an amusing excuse to string together gags, silly sketches, ironical craziness and fast-paced set pieces. Garris is surely right to let his visual imagination run along with likeable comedy, irony and inventive enough. The Chiodo brothers' creations are, as before, both spectacularly silly and disconcertingly vicious as they munch people's vital organs. The effect perhaps not unlike watching a video nasty. 'The filmmakers wish to thank the people of Grover's Bend, without whose support this motion picture could not have been made'.

Inspired by 'Gremlins', a dangerous bug film that enjoyed a certain popularity among fans of the genre, ¨Critters¨saga has had 4 movies. The 'Critters quartet' is made up of: ¨Critters I¨ by Stephen Hopkins with Dee Wallace, Billy Green Bush, Don Opper, M. Emmet Walsh, Scott Grimes, Billy Zane, Lin Shaye, it concerned a group of oversized mothballs from space who landed on Earth and ate everybody, until some intergalactic bounty hunters turned up and fried them. ¨Critters 2¨ by Mick Garris with Scott Grimes, Don Opper, Barry Corbin, Terrence Mann, Eddie Deezen, Lin Shaye . ¨Critters 3¨ by Kristine Peterson with Frances Bay, Leonardo DiCaprio, Don Opper, Aimee Brooks. ¨Critters 4¨ by Rupert Harvey with Angela Bassett, Brad Dourif, Don Opper, Terrence Mann.

It packs a thriling and terrifying musical score by Nikolas Pike. As well as atmospheric and adequate cinematography by Russell Carpenter. This watchable enough motion picture was professionally directed by Mick Garris displaying the characteristic surrealist humor and sense of style, but being inferior than the original flick. Garris is an expert on terror movies writing, producing and directing several films and TV episodes , Television miniseries of this genre , such as : ¨Sleepwalkers¨, ¨Tales From the crypt¨, ¨Quicksilver Highway¨, ¨Masters of horror¨, ¨Ravenswood¨, ¨Bag of bones¨, ¨Nightmare cinema¨, ¨The Shining¨, ¨Psycho IV¨, ¨Witches of East End¨, ¨Amazing stories¨, ¨Freddy's nightmares¨, ¨Desperation¨, ¨Sleepwalkers¨, among others. Rating : Passable and acceptable 5.5/10. The picture will appeal to completists of the ¨Critters¨ quartet and to science fiction lovers with drops of humor and terror.
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4/10
Below average Paella/Butifarra Western shot in Spain, starring the usual secondary characters of the genre.
9 April 2024
Amusing but disconcerting Tortilla or Gazpacho or Butifarra Western with plenty of action, crossfire, brawls, double-crosses , twists and loads of shots. Butifarra Western realized in laughable style with a screenplay written by the prolific Ignacio F Iquino , including amusing dialogue, silly situations, plot twists and turns . Spanish production filmed in Fraga (Huesca) and Barcelona surroundings, Catalunya, full of familiar faces, action , exaggerated characters , crossfire and lots of shots and fights with belly punches. The movie is running out of ideas a bit, but it has some nice moments here and there. It deals with three nasty but likeable smugglers , 3 burly brothers called Bud (Cris Huerta) , Ray (Ricardo Palacios) , Charles (Tito García) that are detained and imprisoned at a Mexican jail. They're locked in a prison under the command of the chief warden, Coronel Jiménez (Fernando Sancho), a relentless follower of General Emilio Zapata during the time of the Mexican revolution. Then, a pretty girl, Nora Winters (Fanny Grey) alias Vargas, appears who claims to be the niece of the three fat brothers, the head of the prison falls in love with her and she demands that he release them. When Sancho realizes that she has deceived him, he sets off in pursuit of the three burly brothers. From now on, a series of chases, arrests and again escapes of the three always hungry brothers take place, along with a number of betrayals, fights, shootouts between them, the Mexican colonel and the bounty hunter Richard Harrison who is also pursuing them. Shortly after, the three villains but sympathetic bandits face off new enemies, messes and fights.

Hilariously ridiculous tortilla Western in Terence Hill/Bud Spencer style in which three weapon smugglers carry out several adventures, brawls and resolve a conflict among them , being mercilessly chased by Fernando Sancho and Richard Harrison. Along the way, a lot of fights, punches, hits, slaps and kick-asses take place. This silly tortilla Western packs thrills , shootouts , noisy action , humor with tongue-in-cheek and riding pursuits. The Spanish westerns of this era were far more likely to try and emulate their American source material than cultivate a distinctive style of their own the way the Italians were doing but their product, though this Los fabulosos de Trinidad(1972) has penchant for hilarious happenings, as if you like comical westerns remains lightly watchable. Totally Spanish production filmed in Catalunya, full of familiar faces , assaults , exaggerated characters, gun-down , lots of shots and fights. Given the peculiar economics of the Spanish industry there was a great deal of freedom for how to make satisfying movies for an ample export audience . Unfortunately, many of the 400-500 films made during this cycle were poorly made . It is a ridiculous tortilla Western in which 'Los fabulosos de Trinidad' (1972) resolve conflicts among them when they escape from jail. The film packs comical elements in charge of the peculiar and fatty trio: Chris Huerta , Ricardo Palacios and Tito Garcia, including tongue-in-cheek, fighting, gun-play , and it turns to be amusing but embarrassing. There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some fights, shoot'em up or stunts every few minutes . It's an absurd western with idiotic confrontations between three protagonists and their pursuers. It can be considered the ¨swan-song¨ of the Paella/Tortilla or Chorizo Western , that's why it is one of last films shot in Western town in ¨Fraga¨and ¨Splugues De Llobregat¨ where during the 60s and70s had been filmed hundreds of Westerns, until the unfortunate owner, the known producer/director Alfonso Balcazar went bankrupt and had to sell the terrains. The cast and support cast are passable . It stars strong and robust Richard Harrison who was a magnificent muscle-man. Harrison played in Hollywood some minor roles as ¨Kronos¨, ¨South Pacific¨ and ¨Master of world . Then , Harrison jumped at the chance when offered the first character in 1961 ,¨The Invincible Gladiator¨ , which was filming in Europe. He wound up settling in Italy for the next two decades. To avoid being penned in too much as a muscle man , he sought characters in routine spaghetti westerns as ¨Texas the Red¨, ¨Gringo¨, ¨Reverendo Colt¨ , ¨Joe Dakota¨ , even the main role from ¨For a fistful of dollars¨ was offered to Richard Harrison , but he turned down and explaining : 'Maybe my greatest contribution to cinema was not doing Fistful of Dollars, and recommending Clint Eastwood for the part'. And sympathetic acting by starring trio , the fatty and usually secondaries in a number of Spaghettis: Tito Garcia, Cris Huerta, Ricardo Palacios that this time they are protagonists. And regular secondaries from Spaghetti/Tortilla or Paella Western show up, these are the following: Gustavo Re , Gaspar 'Indio' González, Cesar Ojinaga and the always great Fernando Sancho playing his habitual role as boastful Mexican.

The picture being regularly photographed by Antonio L. Ballesteros hijo, though is necessary a fine remastering because the film-copy is washed-out. Mostly filmed in atmospheric scenarios on location in Fraga (Huesca) similar to Almeria , and a Western village located in ¨Splugues De Llobregat¨, it resulted to be the location where were shot lots of Westerns produced and directed by Catalan people as Alfonso Balcazar, J. J. Balcazar , Jose Antonio De La Loma, Juan Bosch, Xavier Marchal , Manuel Esteba , Ignacio F. Iquino , and Julio Buchs , among others , because Almeria was too far and the Fraga landscapes bear remarkable resemblance. Anti-climatic musical score by Enrique Escobar, including some catching songs.

¨Los fabulosos de Trinidad¨ (1972) directed by Ignacio F Iquino had a sequel ¨Fat Brothers of Trinity¨ (1973) directed by Pedro Ramírez with similar cast as Cris Huerta , Ricardo Palacios, Gustavo Re, Margit Kocsis, Daniel Martín, Gaspar 'Indio' González and Richard Harrison. The motion picture was poorly produced by Ignacio F Iguino, ¨IFI¨, and lousily directed by Iquino himself. He wrote, directed and produced lots of films by means of his production company: ¨I. F. I.¨ that financed lots of Westerns such as: ¨Oeste Nevada Joe¨ , ¨Ninguno De Los Tres Llamaba Trinidad¨, ¨La Diligencia De Condenados¨, ¨Fabulosos De Trinidad¨, ¨20 Pasos a Muerte¨ , ¨Dólar a Fuego¨, ¨Abre Tu Fosa Llega Sabata¨ , and ¨5 Pistolas De Texas¨ . Most of them starred by Richard Harrison, Jorge Martin or George Martin , Luis Davila , Daniel Martin or Robert Woods . Iquino was a Spanish craftsman , writing and directing ; working from the 40s in all kind of genres and B movies until the late 80s. Nevertheles, he also directed acceptable films as ¨Historia De Una Escalera¨ based on Antonio Buero Vallejo's novel , ¨El Judas¨, ¨Angeles Al Volante¨, ¨Tambor Del Bruch¨ and ¨Brigada Criminal¨ at his best .
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