diegotarabilla Reviews

The End of Quantum Reality (2020)

Very disappointing

[3/10 · 3 April 2021]

This is a documentary with due quality in its manufacture; however the content is disappointing. The real point of the whole film is to point to the mess in which Physics have fallen into, and one can easily agree with this as it is referred by many other concerned physicists. But the solution proposed, the return to medieval philosophy (Aquinas and Averroes) is so odd that the show should have made so much more to, first, argue why Science should become ancilla theologiae again; and second, why a return to naïve realism and geoccentrism would help us understand Mother Nature better. Even if I were a religious person I´d be disappointed, because the documentary will not really help me defend that anti-copernican shift. I want to stress that what I find disappointing is not the thesis itself, but the poorly argumentation that can hardly help to stir a debate in society about the real need to go beyond quantum relativism.

Clueless (1995)

A very decent adaptation of Jane Austen

[8/10 · 30 November 2019]

The more they try to force socialism and the planet of the apes in our minds through the media, the more I like wealthy, superficial characters. We are a social species, and all social species are about promoting the best over the rest and showing off to make the cut. Superficiality matters. Anyways: I think a movie should be judged in relation to its own genre and its aims. Clueless does very well in this sense, with a great casting, and agile pace. A good soundtrack is missing however. I wish teen movies today were this good.

Emma (2009)

Austen would be very satisfied

[9/10 · 11 August 2019]

I have only watched the four episodes three times; but I think I can say I enjoyed this adaptation. Romola Garai is just delightful, with her funny faces and candid attitude. I totally prefer it to the one with Gwynneth Paltrow, an over-valued actress in my opinion. Jonny Lee Miller does a very good job too. Jane Austen´s stories are all about empowered girls: women who excel at feminine traits, like beauty, tenderness, social skills or intelligence, so necessary to balance the also important yang qualities in society. They are the opposite of macho heroines in current movies that are all about kicking asses, swearing and looking like they have not had sex in years.

Love's Kitchen (2011)

waste of time alert

[1/10 · 15 June 2019]

I could not finish watching it, not even with Claire Forlani on the screen. A genre film can use clichés; clichés are good, Greek comedies and tragedies had many of them. However, you still need a good story, script, something to help the viewer do the proverbial suspension of disbelief. There´s nothing here, it´s just a bad movie. I´m sure wicked relatives comment this movie in Forlani´s family gatherings.

At Middleton (2013)

very moving and well done film

[7/10 · 25 May 2019]

Because Feminism is about going against anything that is kind, healthy, deep and worthwhile, feminists (only in public) think little and despise romantic comedies and dramas. They are so wrong: these movies are the lyrical side of epics in life, in the same fashion that romantic songs in the military are the lyrical side of war. A romantic story is the background of any struggle or heroic enterprise, as Joseph Campbell taught us.

Anyway, this film was a good contribution to the genre: good pace, very appropriate soundtrack, with likeable characters very well carried out by Garcia and Farmiga. Plus a lot of green grass, that people like me who live in semi-desertical regions totally appreciate.

UFO (2018)

if this helps!

[5/10 · 15 May 2019]

I wanted to share that boy meets alien spacecraft does happens in reality; it happened to me and a friend when we were very young, and in my late thirties I found out (through declassified files from the Spanish Air force) that in the eighties we did had a wave of sightings, also by soldiers, and "my" UFO was in the list. The shape made such an impression on me that I can identify it among many different "models" of UFOs. Even as a child I was aware that it was not a plane, since my friends and I used to play with aircraft trading cards and knew all that could fly, military or civil, certainly what we saw very clearly and physically on the blue Spanish sky, at the end of the street did not look at all like what we knew from the trading cards. It did not make noise either, despite being larger than the chapel it was hovering over. I´m a very science-minded person , but I use that early experience as a remainder that things exist that we don´t know about. If you can accept that these things do happen, this movie has much more meaning.

UFO (2018)

entertaining but not a must for sci-fi fans

[5/10 · 15 May 2019]

This is a realistic UFO encounter movie, meaning that it´s not symbolic like Arrival. More in the vein of Contact, without the budget and a Carl Sagan´s story behind. I could relate with the young nerd´s experience, as I had a UFO sighting when I was a boy too; a real one, and I understand his urge to make sense of such a bizarre event. I also found lovely that the "hero" is male, and not a girl who demands to be treated as a man, as feminist propaganda imposes on most films.

However, the characters are poorly developed; they are too plain. This works against the story. It would have been more interesting if told from the police officer´s point of view.

Faustine et le bel été (1972)

Beautiful and entertaining

[9/10 · 1 May 2019]

Very aesthetic and romantic film, conveying the feeling that Josh Pyke expressed in his song "The summer." In Spain we say about a fool person: "le falta un verano". The movie is precisely about that summer that so many people seem to have missed nowadays, hence the angriness and envy towards other citizens who smile or say smart things. I recommend this movie about adorable young people, French countryside and carefree days.

Café Society (2016)

Boring as hell but also beautiful

[4/10 · 7 April 2019]

I found the story very dull, I could not even achieve the "suspension of disbelief" that is required to enjoy a movie. I got a lot more involved with some episodes of Peppa Pig. This said, the photography and recreation of the historical period are marvellous. Just for this the film is worthy, you feel like saving frames to print out and hang on a wall all the time.

Standby (I) (2014)

A jewel of a film

[9/10 · 27 March 2019]

I find this movie might have been underrated. Perhaps critics sometimes confuse simplicity and fidelity to the purposes of a genre, with limitations. A genre, in this case romantic, is necessarily limited in its scope and predictable; but those are not shortcomings, but merits of a genre, as classic tragedies and comedies show. To me it was a very good romantic movie, neat, elegant and charming. Classic. I watched it twice and the second time I enjoyed it even more; to me is a good sign that the film will stand the pass of time very well.

Little Miss Millions (1993)

a very decent movie

[31 December 2018]

Most movies that use the background of the Christmas season are a collection of clichés. This story however, offers an original story, a christmas road movie. Howard Hesseman does a fine job, I totally respect the work of this actor. With Love Hewith in this film I got the strange feeling that she was her mature self, playing a young girl. She´s totally adorable in each scene and there is chemistry with Hesseman. Their performances are just right, not over-acted and the neat, effective script helps.