isabel_towns Reviews

Midnight in Paris (2011)

Funny in a nerdy kind of way

[10/10 · 9 October 2011]

This movie is great, begging to end. It's an original movie, it has themes like: Golden age thinking, denial and the real definition of success, which is not happiness.

The cast is so wonderful. You would like to kill Rachel McAdams, or at least scream at her. Marion Cotillard is such a wonderful muse, Owen Wilson plays the lost dreamer perfectly and the 20's characters are so good too, they not only look like their parts but also act it very well. I saw an interview with Corey Stoll (Hemingway) and he said it was hard to play the confident macho surrounded by winning Oscar actresses. At least, he fooled me. I thought he was confidence personified.

I read some reviews that said it wasn't funny. The only explanation I can give to that is the fact that it is a nerd movie. If you don't know who is Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Picasso and Dalí, don't watch it. It is impossible to relate to Gil (Owen Wilson) if you don't get the greatness of the people he is meeting. The first time I saw it I felt I was going to faint if I found Hemingway in a bar, and he is not even my favorite author, or how practical it would be to have surrealists as confidants. To really enjoy this movie, you need some background. I didn't know everyone, but the main characters of the 20's.

Another warning, don't expect the Hollywood ending.

Hunting and Gathering (2007)

When movies are nice

[10/10 · 27 April 2011]

This is a nice and quiet movie. There's no explosions or beautiful clothes or perfect people. We don't even see the beauties Paris has to offer. The actors do their job so well that they seem to really belonging there. The characters act on the base of regular people. For example: Frank falls in love with Camille and when he realizes she isn't, he is angry. The law of the first guy the girl sees is the one she would get, doesn't apply here. Don't believe me but that law is well respected in Hollywood cinema.

That's what makes it so comforting, if one can say that about a movie. It's easy to relate to. It's the life of four regular people, trying to get the best out of life. It's the tale of a modern family, people who don't have a family either because they are alone or they don't get along with them, form a community.

A weird comment: I've read the book after I saw the movie, and for me this is new, I like the movie more than I like the book. I never felt so attach to the book as I did to the film.

Last Night (I) (2010)

A movie to fall in love with

[10/10 · 26 April 2011]

Every time I see a movie that I like I feel like when I'm starting to fall in love, few movies have done that, but this movie made me feel like a teenager. It so good, I have been feeling the need to talk about, just like when I meet someone I like. What makes this movie so good? Everything. The story is quite simple. But the question behind it isn't: what is worst a sexual betrayal or a romantic betrayal? The movie let us decide that. It also plays with stereotypes. Guys will always wonder if they could have sex with a sexy women they meet and women always have a private prince charming. The one who they think off when life is not going well or when is going too well. The characters and performances are good. The thing is, Sam's performance is good until Guillame comes along and steals the show; he is so good. I had admired him since I saw Ensemble c'est tout, but here he is beyond good. So at the end Sam's seems made out of plastic, really. Keira is good, one can feel her uncertainty, anger and excitement. And Eva surprised me, she will not get the Oscar, but she proves she can work something serious and be right for such a roll. The script is also very good, one can tell that the characters have well developed backgrounds. The photography is also quite nice, it helps to create a intimate atmosphere. No need to say that if you like these kind of movies that deals with relationships and just the hard work of being humans this movie is for you.

Volverte a ver (2008)

The price of the worst movie of the year goes to... Volverte a ver

[1/10 · 19 March 2009]

OK, It was my idea to go to see the movie, why? I thought it would be something like "Cansada de besar sapos", a simple story that would make me have a nice time but I spent the next week complaining with my students about such a horrible thing. Why? 1. The character of Ximena Herrera is the most unbelievable thing ever. First her character is a girl who works for a radio station; she has a show where she discusses corruption, ecology, and important stuffs, well that was what Poncho Herrera said anyway. Because, the only things she says in her show are for a support group not for a committed radio show, all those corny phrases with the voice of a hot line girl. That is not all, in one of the firsts scenes, we see her all fashionable, talking to her boyfriend. He asks her to go to a fashion show, and she complains!!!!!!!! Come on! She makes Merlyn Streep in Devil's wear Prada, look hideous. I almost forgot, she supposed to be a real ecologist and she wears leather boots. And I'm being nice, since I'm not saying anything about the acting. 2. There are scenes that should be advertisements, they are long, boring and it made no sense at all. 3. Love?????????????? The guy is looking for a girl he meets and thinks she is beautiful, when he is writing with the same girl, without knowing, of course. He never falls in love with her, so he wasn't really interested in her mind, no that I judge him. I could continue, but really, it's awful, the photography might be the only cool thing.

Quatre étoiles (2006)

The worst movie I have ever seen

[1/10 · 21 November 2007]

It's so awful it's not logical; the character of Stéphane is never charming, gentle or other nice adjective, which would make me believe Frassau could fall in love with the guy. He is not even handsome, and he doesn't have the ability of saying the worst things one can imagine and still be cute and charming. He uses her, he slaps at her, and she stays with him like a puppy with his master. I must say that as a girl I was offended, to fall in love with a guy like that one has to be or mad or desperate, and very in both cases. The scenario is not beautiful; there is not even formal beauty in the takes, or something that would make the film worthy. Sorry to say this, but at least is true for me, if I could grade it with a 0 I would

Azul tequila (1998–1999)

A different kind of story

[8/10 · 2 October 2007]

This story had the fortune of not being so famous in México, I say fortune, because many good soap operas become boring and stupid when the producers get lucky, and they start to do horrible an illogical things to make it logger than it was planed. I normally don't like this kind of stories, but I have to admit that I was a really big fan of this one, specially of Mauricio Ochmann (not Isalas, like a comment said, Mauricio Isalas is another actor) and Lorena Rojas who was one of the funniest characters I have seen in a soap opera. The costumes and the places are great, actually the House of the main characters is a the place where a very famous tequila is made.