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Danimejuto
Reviews
Películas para no dormir: La habitación del niño (2006)
Its Back!
This movie is the first one of a series of movies made for television which are supposed to revive the spirit of the TV - show "Historias Para No Dormir". The show was very successful at the time, each episode would be a scary or disturbing story with a twist at the end. I've watched very few of these episodes as well... i am young, i wasn't even born when the show was on. The few episodes i watched had in common that there was a basic story-line which was respected all way through, except the ending, which was twisted in some way and effectively left you sleepless (As the title would say). This movie brings back the spirit and man... it feels good.
The story is very simple. Couple moves in to this house with their new born baby. At night time they hear voices through the baby-speaker, and realize that there is someone else in the baby's room. Alex De La Iglesia is an amazing director (La Comunidad, Ferpect Crime or The Day Of The Beast have confirmed this) and in here we see how with all his experience he is capable of making a typical and simple story into an entertaining and almost scary story. The final scene is very effective thanks to, Leonor Watling. I am in love with this actress not only is she beautiful but in every role she is in, she just owns it and the film, I would watch anything just for her. She delivers an interesting performance and manages to add credibility to a very intense role. Javer Guiterrez also delivers a coherent performance and manages to convey the idea of madness and confusion. Those of you are thinking that the ending made no sense, or that there is lots of things which remain unexplained... well that is the point, this is a horror flick, its only pretension is to make you tense and make you nervous all way through. As in "Historias Para No Dormir" De La Iglesia manages this , with a great story and ending, and with the great Leonor Watling.
Best Bit: L. Watling and kick - ass ending. Worst Bit: The whole thing with that old lady seemed a little too cliché and unnecessary for the story.
7 vírgenes (2005)
Not Bad
Well... its generic, predictable, and well... living in Spain let me just tell you that this movie wasn't that hard to make and most of the characters in the movie are typical. It may impress foreigners but theses characters are stereotypes of Spanish cinema.
Even so... Jesus Carranza does a neat job as Richi, proving that even the most superficial character if done with dignity can be interesting to watch and well... Juan Jose BAllesta probably had fun playing himself.
If it wasn't for its twisted ending, the movie would be below average in my opinion, but everything must be said, Did anyone expect Richci to die?
El laberinto del fauno (2006)
Creative, Stylish, Original... Amazing.
I must say i don't like Del Toro. I found The Devils Backbone to be simplistic and obvious. Blade 2 was simply the sequel to a movie which wasn't that good anyways. Hellboy was OK, not good, not bad... just OK. But the movie i saw this evening...
Del Toro manages to portray various feelings in what seems to be a fairy tale. Its complexity lies on its apparent simplicity, Ophelia representing the good natured heart of innocence and Captain Vidal the corruption of the time. Visually its outstanding, Notice the scene involving that deadly white creature or the first encounter with the fairy when Ophelia is on her bed. Del Toro shows off his astonishing skills as a director as he manages to overwhelm us, make us smile and most crucially entertain us. The ending was simply heart-breaking and the scenes involving the fictional world, were as nerve-shattering as astonishing.
The movie not only benefits of Del Toro's wonderful script but also of some compelling performances. The actress playing Ophelia, was simply perfect, spot on. Maribel Verdu is convincing as the troubled servant and well... Sergi Lopez gets the show stealer role as the evil Captain Vidal which he portrays successfully.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Almodovar has a serious rival for the Oscars. Personally I really find it hard to choose this movie or Volver as a winner, as they are both original and superb in their own way.
I must also underline the feeling of melancholy or maybe nostalgia which i got after seeing this movie, as i realized it was a fairy tale, and maybe this is what is really great about this movie... lots of directors try to complicate things. Del Toro manages to overwhelm us by simply telling us a fairy tale, the most beautiful fairy tale this critic has heard in a long time.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Amazing Movie
The only flaw i can think of, is thatit is a bit boring at the beginning, but then when i think about it, the beginning has to be that way in order for the story to develop logically.
Some scenes will simply be remembered as classics. The scene where Jack and Ennis have the massive argument or the last scene where Ennis remembers Brokeback with guilt and deep sorrow. In my opinion the last twenty minutes of the movie (From Jack's death on) are simply 10/10. Thanks of course to ledger's amazing performance. I thougth he was particularly good in the scene with Jack's parents and the last scene as he contains his tears and even finds difficulty to breath. I have no clue how come they could not give him the Oscar, his work here is superb and its been a while since I'm not so impressed by a performance. So far this has been Ledgers best work.
jake is also good, though he got the Oscar-role in my opinion as he is supposedly the one that suffers the most and effectively has th most dialogue, but Ledger with those few words and his body language, eclipses the co-star.
The soundtrack was also amazing and ideal. I'm particularly in love with that guitar score, heard at the end, as Ennis views the Brokeback picture. When i hear it i can feel the guilt Ennis feels, which drags my soul down to the ground.
Every time i think about it, i have no clue how it got beat by Crash for the best movie and by Hoffman in best actor. Ledger'srole was much harder, and Crash was okay, but not that great, plus this is a much more complex and smart movie that Crash will ever be. Actually the only thing i thougth Crash would get, was Supporting Actor thanks to Matt Dillon's amazing work, but thats exactly what it didn't get... Whats wrong Academy?
Lords of Dogtown (2005)
Movie was good not great; Heath Ledger Saves The Day
Every time i see this movie it makes me want to do 2 things. One; get out my skate-board and hit the town. two; Admire heath Ledger's performance. Of all the characters Skip is by far the most memorable and believable. Ledger does some great work here. The way he walks, talks, and addresses to people is just brilliant. The bets bits in the movie are the ones he is in. Frankly i didn't give a damn about Stacy or whatever.
Emile Hirsh also deserves a special mention and Viktor Rasuk was able to do some great skate in such a small amount of time. johnny Knoxville is also convincing in his small role.
But the movie has to many flaws, the script is too predictable and there is a lack of surprise in almost every aspect approached by the film.
In conclusion it seems to me that the only reason we should remember this movie is by the amazing work Ledger does. I'm my opinion he will soon become one of the most respected actors. His work in this movie, Brokeback Mountain, Candy, Monsters Ball and even Casanova is excellent. God why did he do "The Order"....
Best bit: The scene in the skat-board competition where ledger almost gets in a fight with the opposite team, and the whole party where Skip loses it.
Worst bit: The movie never develops any character so its only a scratch on the surface