dg-op Reviews

Love & Other Drugs (2010)

The same story... ugh

[3/10 · 14 March 2011]

It's very difficult to give a higher rate to this movie. It's supposed to be presented as a different romantic comedy, yet, it's the same old story that bores to death. The promiscuous irresponsible guy ('cause men are always like that) and the promiscuous irresponsible girl (she's just that way 'cause she has a broken heart, 'cause women are never like that) played by Gyllenhall and Hathaway are just not convincing. Their respective friends -his loser brother and her gay black friend (sounds familiar?) are just useless for the plot.

The "originality" is in the "dramatic" story of Hathaway's character and the 90's background, with its medical consumerism and the negotiation with the health system. Yet this two aspects, perhaps the less bad things of the film, are poorly treated in the script. Such a bad cinematographic experience. The movie is not only bad, is not even funny!

The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

Very good, but...

[9/10 · 11 March 2011]

"The secret in their eyes" is the story about a man (Ricardo Darín) who tries to have a closure for an unresolved case of murder he dealt with 25 years ago, as a prosecutor. The need of a closure is also for the hidden love for his former boss (soledad Villamil). With no doubt Campanella executes an interesting story with an accurate direction and cinematography. Performances are satisfying; nevertheless, the only one that greatly shines is Guillermo Francella - his character, Sandoval, is the only one that is lovable and touching in his pathetic.

The film achieves a coherent pathos through the first half, yet, at the end, the story is "dilated" and loses part of its charm: the suspense is resolved in a very easy way. Camapnella shows his knowledge of the Academy's taste, 'cause his movie has a major inspiration in "the life of the others" (Florian Henckel, 2006), a minor tittle that won an Oscar due to the unpredictable taste of a still polemic institution.

Once (I) (2007)

A modern-day musical, and so much more!

[8/10 · 30 January 2011]

John Carney has amazed the entire world with this low budget but high quality indie film. Set in Dublin, tells the story of a "guy" (Irish singer Glen Hansard) stuck in everyday routine in his family business who escapes from it by playing by nights in the streets of Dublin, and a "girl" (Czech musician Markéta Irglová) who struggles with everyday life like an immigrant in Ireland, yet has a talented gift for Piano music. Together, they'll be connected through their art, and realize how music changes the way they see each other, their own lives and the dreams -big or small- they want to accomplish.

Once is an honest, simple, but amazing film. Shot with two digital cameras and with a budget lower than 100000 euros, the direction is powerful yet soft, and goes perfect with the story: close-up shots combined with other general views of the city, with a shivered touch that makes it more interesting, familiar and intimate, as well as in the scenes where the family life of the girl is shown.

A movie full of music, rhythm and romance, that yet has that powerful and calmed silence that makes it more interesting. Such a wonderful surprise, the fact that the movie's songs were written by the two leads, and the main theme "Faillins slowly" was awarded by the American Academy with an Oscar.

Gabbeh (1996)

Beauty does not need words, high-tech nor media

[8/10 · 7 November 2010]

Mohsen Makhmalbaf has done it with every movie he's made. Gabbeh is a major film where beauty is presented in the original language of filmmaking: music -not only the "human music", rather than the music from the sounds of nature- and images -"life is color", "love is color" is said just twice in the film, but the entire film is exactly that: life and love, which is just color-. The expressiveness of the landscape, the Iranian women's clothing and fabric are the main characters of the film. Because masterpieces do not need words, high-tech, major budgets, nor even a plot. 60 minutes of beauty, that's Gabbeh.

Donnie Darko (2001)

A pleasant surprise

[8/10 · 6 August 2010]

Donnie Darko is the first, and perhaps the best motion picture of the young director Richard Kelly. With an interesting cast, that includes new Hollywood faces like Noah Whyle, Drew Barrymore, the Gyllenhaal brothers, Jena Malone and Seth Rogen with more experienced artists such as Mary McDonell, Katherine Ross, Patrick Swayze, Beth Grant and Holmes Osborne, the movie was produced with a low budget and shot in a very short period of time.

Now, we have Donnie Darko: The director's cut, a DVD that includes 15 more minutes than the original film, which represents the real work Kelly and his crew did. Set in 1988, the movie narrates the story of Donnie Darko, a troubled teenager that suffers from schizophrenia. One of his hallucinations, in the form of a giant rabbit called Frank, tells him that the world will come to an end in exactly 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds.

This singular event is accompanied with the fact that a plane motor falls in Donnie's bed at midnight (he's saved because Frank's appearance). Since then, the facts of the history and the situations the characters are in, seem to drag them to that imminent end. Kelly shows Donnie's world, with his parents (Holmes Osborne and Mary McDonell), his sisters, his psychiatrist (Katherine Ross), his teachers and girlfriend (Jena Malone).

Donnie Darko tells a complex but well worked story. Understood in first moment as a psycho-thriller, the film combines effectively elements of comedy (with acid sarcasm), drama and science fiction. The 80's background is also greatly accurate, in its political and social context, where we can see Donnie as a teenager looking for the truth, affected by two visions of the world: one of the annoying teacher Kitty Farmer (Grant) and the hypocrite Jim Cunningham (Swayze), that represent the most conservative side of the American way of life; and the other, represented by teachers Monitoff y Pomeroy (good performances of Whyle y Barrymore), young and in-conformist characters at the school.

With outstanding and realistic special effects, a precise direction and an open final, Donnie Darko is a great surprise and an interesting and unclassified movie; a sort of gem in the American film industry: a total win for its director, who was awarded with more than 10 prizes for the film, mostly in independent film Festivals.

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

A mediocre film that can't be compared to the series

[4/10 · 6 August 2010]

It was ridiculous to ask for a Simpsons' movie, when we could've enjoyed the series for free. However, producers convinced us of the "need" of a movie. With too much expectations the movie was produced and then released, but the result is extremely poor.

Since the 2000's the show had already changed its ironic and sarcastic humor to something more likely to a typical American sitcom, lowing its quality and sacrificing its intelligence. Somehow, this was a total sell- out. So, its creator decided to continue with this pathetic humor, since it cost lower and reported greater benefits for him.

So, the movie is mediocre just as the last season of the Simpsons have been. The plot, though it has some modern references (like the inclusion of a popular band at the time, like Greenday) fails to be funny when it sacrifices its intelligent humor and decides to be some sort of romantic comedy/road-pop movie. Yes, you'll see "the guy" (Homer) doing everything wrong, disappointing his family, but then having the opportunity for a redemption... sounds familiar, right? It's the classical romantic comedy, but in the Simpsons the failure is major because the plot is just ridiculous: some sort of Apocalypse is approaching to Springfield, and the fault is Homer's.

Is so terrible that such a great series at its beginnings has lost during the years so much of its quality, hitting a new low with the movie. And, just for you to know, the series has gotten even worse after the movie. Please, just keep in your memory the first ten seasons of the Simpsons. The rest is just a waste of your time.

15 Minutes (2001)

Obvious, predictable and boring

[4/10 · 5 August 2010]

Presented as a suspense-action-police thriller, "15 minutes" is supposed to be a critic to the American mass-media consumist society. The society watches and enjoys television; through it they see all that matters, and only what can be known by TV is worth knowing... even police officers are caught in this American "mania", having TV shows, fighting between each other in order to have a "15 minutes breakout". Also the western Europe killers... who come to America and first get a camera (obviously by stealing it, since they are immigrants)...

The idea seems to be at least not bad, but the script is too obvious, half of the movie the word "Television" is pronounced. The motif that makes the two Europeans kill is not shown, but those stupid dialogs like "more illumination to the scene" or "cut and rolling" are said a hundred times, making the film obvious, predictable, and hence, boring.

The movie, is in my opinion, racist. The whole story is about two European guys that will kill anyone for no reason, these killers are really lame because they let everyone to see their faces through the videos, their fingerprints and so much more. But the police officers have too much trouble capturing them (so they are even more stupid I guess?). How can someone be so unreachable in the mass-media era? That's the major failure of the story.

And the movie itself is boring, Robert De Niro, an experienced actor, is just doll. The rest of the cast is not worth mentioning, but the Melina Kanakaredes' character.

Too bad that an interesting story like the idea of snuff in our media (perhaps a reality nowadays) is wasted in such a terrible film. The idea, at the end, is stolen from Amenábar's "Thesis", one of the best horror films of the 90's.

The Road Home (1999)

My father, my mother

[9/10 · 10 July 2010]

Zhang Yimou has done it again: a masterpiece of the oriental cinema, both an emotional and artistic triumph. "My father and my mother", the original Chinese tittle, tells the love story of a rural beautiful woman and the foreign school teacher, during Mao's Cultural Revolution. Whereas the director's identification with this episode of modern China is ambiguous, the excellent quality of the story and the cinematographic is just outstanding. In this movie, you'll be delighted by Zhang Ziyi's tenderness and by the fantastic art direction. Notice that most of the scenes have red elements: the color of the Communist revolution; but also, the color of human love, and the human passion for having a transcendental life.

V for Vendetta (2005)

Political propaganda full of clichés turn out to be a pathetic, mediocre movie

[4/10 · 1 May 2010]

The Wachowsky brothers just don't know how to tell stories (The Matrix trilogy is barely decent), and they prove me right with V for Vendetta. The story of freedom after repression, directed by the mediocre James McTeigue, is interesting, but the film (script and scenes) is full with cheap political propaganda, clichés and terrible performances (Natalie Portman disappointed me, Hugo Weaving is just ridiculous/stupid with the pathetic detail of the mask and Stephen Rea saved all his acting abilities for this film).

The problem of this film is that, in its mad necessity to do the political propaganda, tries to tell a lot of stories in one. And the result is a horrible, horrible script, where we see the performance of at least 100 characters!! To make the story "intense" McTeigue tries to put some "comedy" (pathetic humor in the scene where they make fun of the dictator), "drama" (the idiotic story of Portman's character entering in jail by the dictator, when later you realize that was V himself who do that (¿?), suspense (not effective AT ALL, of course), and -of course the "top" ingredient in American blockbuster industry- action (Not kidding: You'll see fires, bombs, police chasing, bullets all over the film, and, as a closure, a fire games' show).

But why can a movie be so overrated in its home country and so hated in THE REST OF THE WORLD? It's easy: The scenes work as individual scenes, but when you try to put a movie together, the result is terrible. American critics and public liked it since it deals with sensitive topics like totalitarianism, racism, homosexuality and others, and the film at the end has a "positive message". Nothing wrong with that, but I won't waste two hours of my life watching a political propaganda that is dressed as a "movie". If you haven't watched it, you're lucky. DO NOT WATCH IT!

The Milk of Sorrow (2009)

A masterpiece by Claudia Llosa

[9/10 · 7 March 2010]

Young director Claudia Llosa (Madeinusa) has won the Golden Bear and a dozen of other prizes around the world for her second work, The frightened tit, its original Spanish tittle.

Though the plot itself may seem awkward, the movie is a group of 95 minutes rich and beautiful images. The pearls, the potato, the dog, the wedding, the impoverished suburban Lima, everything is accurately directed and carefully thought by Ms. Llosa.

Fausta (outstanding Magaly Solier) is suffering from The frightened tit, an illness that she caught through her mother's breast-milk since her pregnancy happened during the 1980s and 90s terrorism and State violence in the Andes. Now in Lima, Fausta is afraid, she's put a potato in her vagina in order to protect her from being raped, and after her mother dies she finally has to deal with the real life and face her fears,starting to work in a high- class house as a made.

The plot of the movie is fictitious, but it lies on a cruel and past reality of Peru's modern history, combining it with a delicate halo of surrealism, magic realism and sometimes ironic humor. The image of the potato -all time Peruvian ingredient for cuisine- involves the subject of a war and a fear that affected an entire country, though our differences may not accept it yet. The scenes in Fausta's home are the opposite where she works: though the high-class house is in the same impoverished area (another reference to Peruvian social differences), over there is no gray, no dust: there are plants, color, life.

At the end, Fausta realizes that in the root of her fears is the solution of them. The movie, indeed, is presented as a cure for the unhealed wounds of a terrible and recent war that happened on Peruvian soil.

Luz María (1998–1999)

Late 19th Century Peruvian Cinderella. Major soap opera

[6/10 · 17 February 2010]

Yes, it is true, Latinamericans like telenovelas. However, during the 1990s most of the Mexican productions (the biggest industry) weren't original nor even worth-watching. It is during this time that the Peruvian soap opera industry seemed to get much better, not only with the number of productions; also in their quality.

This is what happens with "Luz María". The plot, an adaptation of Corín Tellados' Lucecita, is strongly based in the Cinderella story. Yet, there are major aspects on the adaptation that make this soap one of the bests of the decade.

First, the story itself has been adapted to the late 19th Century in Lima. Not only the post Chile war is well represented, also the political environment is greatly accurate in the telenovela (the transition from the military governments to the democracy period called the aristocratic republic).

Second, the performers. Colombian Angie Cepeda does a great performance of the innocent young girl that leaves the impoverished home in the Andes in order to work as a maid in a high-class family house in Lima, meeting the man of the house (Peruvian pop singer Christian Maier), and falling in love with him. and here is where problems begin. Excellent performances by Sonia Oquendo, Teddy Guzmán, Mariela Alcalá and Rosalinda Serfaty.

Finally, the production itself is a major accomplishment. Filmed in the Historic Centre of Lima, declared world's heritage by UNESCO, and letting know to the audiences the colonial and early republican extravaganza, the major success of this soap opera helped in the recovering of the Historic Centre, severely damaged by the 1980s guerrilla and terrorism

Under the Same Moon (2007)

A major road movie. The illegal Mexicans drama through the story of a nine year old

[6/10 · 7 February 2010]

Carlitos (very good acting by Adrián Alonso) has lost his mother (Kate del Castillo). She's not dead, no. She left him when he was five to work as an illegal housekeeper in Los Angeles. Though everyday she deals with major problems (two jobs, one of them with a bad employer, running away from the "migra") she has managed to have a decent living in order to send money to her impoverished family back in Mexico. However, when his grandmother dies, Carlitos decides to cross the US/Mexican border with the help of two young Chicanos (America Ferrara and Jesse García), since doña Carmen, la coyote (Carmen Salinas), refuses to help him, due to a promise made to Rosario, Carlito's mother, even though she handles an illegal crossing business. However, things for him will get complicated right from the beginning, starting a dangerous, but beautiful and rich travel from his impoverished town in Mexico to the modern L.A., meeting a lot of people that, somehow, try to help him on his way to his mother, knowing different stories and cultures, finding his past in order to have a better future.

This is not just a simple movie. It tries to tell a simple story, but is in this simple story that lies a major problem: the illegal immigration in the U.S. Beautifully directed by Patricia Riggen and with a great script by Ligiah Villalobos, the film is a touching,amazing and unknown type of road movie, and a totally worth watching cinematographic experience. It's not perfect, being a little "too Mexican" (it's a little kind of a Mexican telenovela), but it is definitely a major film: a must-see for all Latin American audiences

Dragones: destino de fuego (2006)

It's not enough being the firsts, it's also necessary being the bests

[3/10 · 6 February 2010]

Peru, my homeland, has been the first country in Latin America to produce full 3-D animated films. First movie to be released was "Piratas en el Callao", a really interesting story with not so interesting results as a movie. Then, the second movie to be made was this tittle.

Yes, it's a good thing to be the firsts in Latin America. Some aspects of the story are interesting, as well as the theme song by famous Peruvian pop singer Gian Marco (which also puts the voice for the main character). But that's it. There's not much to celebrate from this film.

But, the story, appreciated globally, is far from being original, having several copies (not elements, copies) from American animated films. Then, Peruvian actress Gianella Neyra is not even nice hearing, and perhaps is the worst decision of the director, maybe in a desperate attempt to gain fame. At the end, the result is very poor. A little disappointing since Peruvian film industry has given us good news among critics. Is not enough to be the firsts in Latin America, is necessary to be the bests.

Big Nothing (2006)

One of the best American indie films of the year, unfairly underrated

[8/10 · 5 February 2010]

An unemployed teacher (good performance by David Schwimmer) tries to find a way to earn money so he can support his family, but ends up in a messy crime with his two accidental "comrads" (master of comedy Simon Pegg and beautiful Alice Eve).

This is the plot for a brilliant black comedy made by French director Jean-Baptiste Andrea. And by brilliant, I mean exactly that.

Thought the plot may not seem that interesting, Andrea directs a great story, combining effectively resources form comedy, black humor, and even suspense. the result is a brilliant black comedy, perhaps the best of its year, unfortunately underrated.

This is a totally worth-watching film. But if you wanna see "Ross" or a simple comedy, you won't like it. This is an intelligent film. 8 out of 10.

Una sombra al frente (2007)

Good quality Peruvian film

[6/10 · 5 February 2010]

Peruvian film industry is far from being big. Ten, maybe twenty movies per year. However, and here is the difference between other industries such as the Argentinian or Mexican ones, most of its tittles are usually good, being awarded in Latinamerican festivals and some European ones.

This happens with Una sombra al frente, by Augusto Tamayo. Not only he releases a movie passing all the inconveniences of working in a difficult industry in Peru. He also gives a fine look at the life of imaginary character Enrique Aet, based on the real life of Tamayo's grandfather.

With a general good cast' performance (no acting is great, but almost every actor does accurately its job), the movie has as a strong suit its technical quality (photography, art direction, and music), earning recognition for having worked with a small budget. Specially, consider the fantastic technical approach Tamayo has made to the historical context using as filming locations the most important streets of the Historic Centre of Lima, declared by UNESCO as World's Heritage

It is not perfect, but it fulfilled my expectations, having won at Cartagena film festival in Colombia. Consider that Una sombra al frente is just his second job. We still have to see more from him.

Take the Lead (2006)

The same story told. The same poor results

[3/10 · 31 January 2010]

Once again we find the same story, told thousands of times in movies before. The white, not so poor professor (poor performance by Antonio Banderas)arrives to a marginal high school and tries its unconventional teaching models (in this case is ballroom dancing) to his students, which are, of course, minorities.

We already know how this kind of movies go. First the rejection, then the surprise for how it works. After that, one or two "weakness" to make the story touching and the happy ending, that proves that everything is possible if you truly want it with your heart. there's nothing wrong about it, it's just it's been so used in movies that it no longer surprises us, it no longer has an effect on the viewer. Specially with "take the lead".

Not only the story is absolutely not original, the script is inconsistent, having contradictions all over it. Then, all the acting is just mediocre. And, for last, the directing is just awful. Liz Friedlander, a video clip director, does that. tries to film a 90 minutes video clip. With such awful consequences. A waste of my time.

Vanilla Sky (2001)

Do not open your eyes! Close them and DON'T watch this film!

[1/10 · 17 January 2010]

It's a fact. The few ones that consider "Vanilla Sky" a good movie (or even great ¿?) have not seen the "real" movie, Spaniard "Abre los ojos" by Alejandro Amenábar.

It's common in the American film industry to see remakes of foreign films, due to the fact that usually, the traditional American film consumer will not watch a subtitled film. It happened with Amenábar's firs film "Thesis" with a very poor result. It is the same with Vanilla Sky.

First, the performers. We have a non convincing Tom Cruise, which has had much better roles in his career (just remember "Magnolia" and you'll understand what I'm talking about). Cameron Diaz -considered by many as a not serious actress- plays a whore, not the interesting, bitter character played by Najwa Rimji in "Abre los ojos". Penelope Cruz, doing the same role, fails to achieve the complex performance in the original film. Finally, while McCabe (Kurt Russell) is just ridiculous, Jason Lee does a decent job as Brian Shelby.

Second, Crowe proves everyone (and perhaps himself) that he's just a mediocre director: the story is too complex for his abilities. His script is just awful: it makes the story just stupid! In his next work, "Elizabethtown", he's just a decent director. But the bitter taste of this awful movie is still in me. You won't miss much if you don't watch this tittle. Rent "Abre los ojos" and you'll understand what I'm saying.

Not One Less (1999)

Perhaps Zhimou's best

[8/10 · 8 August 2009]

The substitute teacher in a remote poor Chinese village is a 13 years old. Wei Minzhi plays Wei Minzhi, the mayor of a poor village plays the major of this fictional village, the teacher is the teacher, and the TV Host is the TV host...

Mr. Zhimou has created a fictional story, however, with the movie's style (as it was based in real life events) and with the use of "reliable" elements (non professional actors playing themselves), he makes it so believable, so, at about the first half of the movie, the bystander already feels identified with the film, it's touched by it, by its beauty, tenderness and sorrow.

This is not a real story, however, it shows a reality in every day China (and perhaps other countries). Since it was impossible to do a documentary criticizing the Chinese government, he made this outstanding, touching, brilliant film. 10 out of 10.

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Such a big surprise at the beginnings

[6/10 · 3 August 2009]

At first, the tittle seemed like the typical teen romantic comedy that showed, at the end, that inner beauty is the real one... However, there is much more in this movie.

The story of Andrea (Anne Hathaway), a young journalist who can only find a job as an assistant of Miranda Priestly (wonderful Merryl Streep), Runway Magazine's head gives an interesting sight at the fashion world, inspired in the true story of Lauren Weisberger and her experience with the legend Anna Wintour.

Executed with a nice directing, good performers and a very original script by most of the film, the movie ends up being just slightly different from the other romantic comedies, when at the beginning seemed to be much, much different. A shame that a movie with so much potential ends up in such a commercial-blockbuster way...

The Kid (1921)

The little tramp perhaps at his best

[9/10 · 5 July 2009]

The simple, lovely story of an abandoned kid and found and raised by the little tramp is executed by Chaplin with an incredible sensitive touch. I'd say that it is as much funny as sad, and the music score couldn't be more accurate.

Perhaps the most delightful surprise was to "In the dreamland" scene. So full of symbolism and lyrically narrated, the scene made me question myself if, at the moment, I was watching Buñuel and not Chaplin.

It is not my Chaplin's favorite, but it's for sure one of his bests. Totally recommend to be watched. Chaplin will never disappoint you, that's for sure. If you watch this one, also with "City Lights" and "Modern Times", you'll be ready to enjoy his talkies: "The Great Dictator", a classic, and the perfect, touching till tears, "Limelight".

Yes Man (2008)

Such a disappointment

[5/10 · 5 July 2009]

When I see on theaters a Jim Carrey movie, I always get excited 'cause their usually quite interesting and nice, though I haven't seen him yet doing a great performance. "Yes man" was just disappointing. Although it could be considered as a good idea, the whole movie ends up failing for having the typical cheap romance comedy structure.

There are several elements from the script that are very good (Mocking blockbusters such as Harry Potter and 300, the psychosis of the American government for Carrey's character buying an Arabic wife and learning to fly...) However, it is so obvious that ignorant producers have changed the film, and turned it in a poor romance comedy, a genre that Carrey would have to consider continuing, 'cause the typical character, the single-irresponsible man it's just not for him at his 47 years old. It is time for Carrey to move on and to start doing some real acting. The rest of the cast is just barely decent.

It's sad to see such a talented actor in such a poor movie

Limelight (1952)

Perfect. Brilliant. Tocuhing. Chaplin

[10/10 · 8 June 2009]

All the terrible facts in his life during the 1940s made Chaplin realize he was a lucky artist, having for almost 3 decades both critics recognition as well as worldwide fame. His personal problems originated by his marriage with young Oona, added to the hate generated in the United States from the brilliant, anti-capitalism movie "Monsieur Verdoux" left him in a very dramatic situation, that made him look back at the past, only to realize how the art he made better was changing... characters, themes, directors and actors were now different. His eternal black and white pantomime was at the moment "useless", and colored motion pictures were appearing...

"Limelight" is the bittersweet movie that narrates the impossible love story between Calvero, the fading comedian, and Terry, the suicidal Dancer. Perhaps his final masterpiece, Limelight earns recognition and admiration for its philosophical thoughts about life, love, and the mix of comedy and drama. Considered as his will to artists and his homage to his three loves: London, arts and women, the movie reflects Chaplin's worries about his audience, his marriage, society. Almost every aspect of Chaplin's life is represented in this motion picture. Just the tittle evokes his theatrical debut, in the late XIXth Century, Calvero is just a variation of Chaplin's eternal character, The Little Tramp, the story of Therry is the same as his mother (her sister also prostituted to make a living), and it goes on...

There will be no movie that'll make me laugh and cry as much as Limelight. I consider it as the last Chaplin film. Enjoy the gag between Chaplin and Buster Keaton, long-time rival in the silent-film era, and the marvelous original score composed by Chaplin himself.

Limelight is a perfect, brilliant, touching movie that'll make you know the person that hid 30 years under the Little Tramp character: a great artist and unique man called Charles Spencer Chaplin.