A Clockwork Orange

I love this movie since the first time I saw it long time ago and I'm really happy because with this rerelease, it's the first time that I saw this awesome movie in a good theater, with a huge screen, with an amazing high definition image and with a great Dolby digital audio. This movie is simply amazing, and it's not easy to believe that Kubrick could make this film in 1971. The thematic about the life of that gang in a dystopian Britain of the near future (although with a cool seventies look&feel curiously typical now) and the hard criticism about the violence and the egoism (absolutely usual now) and the criticism about the behaviorism psychological techniques, are brilliant. The music of Beethoven, the sequences and the performance of Malcolm McDowell and the rest of the cast are fantastic. To me, this movie is almost perfect and it's a good example to show why Kubrick was a genius. Take advantage and go to see it at your nearest theater!

My score: 10 (out of 10)

Katyn

An excellent Polish film that shows quite clearly one of the most horrible hidden events of the WWII (only confessed 50 years later by Gorbachev). One of the massive and bloody crimes made by Stalin, who ordered to kill coolly 22,000 people (the higher Polish officers and most of their elite people of the country) to erase the possibility that Poland could "reborn" after Stalin and Hitler dealt out Poland like a pie. Very recommendable.

My score: 9 (out of 10)

Agora

I love the work of Amenabar since "Tesis" of 1996 and I liked a lot this movie, although I think after I was reading a lot about it, and waiting for a long time to see Agora and the result was not the master piece that I expected. This is n...ot a good example of rigorous historical investigation: lots of details about Hypatia of Alexandria are almost invented, and the attempt to show the Christians as a kind of Talibans are pretty forced, but anyway the film is great in a lot of ways. The set to recreate the old Alexandria is amazing, the gorgeous Rachel Weisz looks and works as awesome as usual, and the music is good. I hope next Amenabar's movie is better, but this is very recommendable as a good example of the new Spanish cinema.

My score: 8 (out of 10)

[Rec] 2

A great terror movie and very decent second part of the perfect [·Rec]. Jaume Balagueró and Paco Plaza made a sequel worth seeing, technically impeccable. I didn't like some changes toward the "supernatural world" but the way to drive the story, the tension, the fx and most of the characters are fantastic.

My score: 8 (out of 10)

El Secreto de Sus Ojos (The Secret of Her Eyes)

A master piece. This could be perfectly my full review. It's a brilliant story with hundreds of details that fit like Lego blocks. This Argentinian film, very well directed by Campanella, is a fantastic blending of drama, thriller, some moments of comedy and with a nice and deep semi-hidden love story along the full film. Excellent work of Ricardo Darin and the rest of the cast. And, by the way, I can't forget the amazing the sequence shot of the Stadium. A perfect example of good cinema.

My score: 10 (out of 10)

District 9

I've been waiting for this movie for almost a year after I saw the original short "Alive in Joburg" by the brilliant Saffa director Neill Blomkamp, and this is with out a doubt one of the best sci-fi movies that I've ever seen for last years. This guy is really good. The way to tell the story as a documentary is fantastic and very realistic, and the good fx are absolutely well integrated into the story. I didn't like a couple of details, but in general it's a great movie. Very very recommendable!

My score: 9 (out of 10)

He's Just Not That Into You

This is a nice film that you can see keeping your smile during most of the projection time. The cast of very famous actors is very interesting, and this strangely made me feel I knew the characters previously seeing the movie. The dialogs are great s...ometimes, and some of the concepts and situations about couples, relationships and mate finding processes are pretty realistic, although some things are quite stereotypical ;) This is a kind of movie like "Love Actually" but this film has a slightly less amount of intertwined stories and in this case it has been made to try people feel identified with someone of the characters.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

Frozen River

I enjoyed this movie. It's good "independent" cinema. It shows, in a cold environment, a brilliant story bordering the drama but betting on the comprehension, the solidarity, and finally the friendship. The frozen landscape is amazing,... and the story it's comforting. A very good movie for a good evening.

My score: 9 (out of 10)

Gamer

This is a surprising movie, because it's the typical sci-fi movie, but it has some details quite interesting. I love the virtual reality concept that it's a modern application of the myth of the cave by Plato, and that has been used in movies like "The Thirteenth Floor", "The matrix", etc. but this goes beyond. It plays and shows the concept the "real virtual reality" and the video-games pretty interesting, based on the nanotechnology. Anyway although the fx are good, the film reminded me too much the old Schwarzenegger's "The Running Man" and the story is very predictable. So...

My score: 6 (out of 10)

Case 39

This movie is made only for fast consumption... an unpretentious film. The tension moments are ok and some scares are pretty good. It's quite strange to see Renée Zellweger in this kind of character and she made it very well, however she must change his botox-pusher for a better one... She looks a pretty weird face sometimes during the film. So it's fun but not a masterpiece.

My score: 6 (out of 10)

Antichrist

Interesting and odd movie. Transgressor, suggestive, dirty, dark, visually delirious sometimes... Very typical of Lars Von Trier. It's a kind of psychedelic drama that enters in the deep world of a depression and the guilt. The film starts with an amazing, shocking and super-slow sequence in B&W with explicit sex (present in all the movie) and baroque music by Händel, whose crucial event beats time the drama during all the film. Some parts are really hard and some others are quite pretentious, but I liked the movie, although it's not an easy film.

My score: 8 (out of 10)

Public Enemies

This isn't a master piece but it's a good movie. The setting of the America during the years of post-depression is brilliant. Michael Mann took care of it very well. The camera work is very good, although sometimes he experimented with a kind of travelling more typical of the Dogma cinema, and this is quite estrange in a gangster movie of the thirties, but the result is great. The rivalry between Dillinger and the agent Melvin Purpis is not very balanced... Dillinger outshines Melvin. And by the way, the Marion Cotillard performance is surprisingly good. Recommendable film.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

Okuribito (Departures)

This is a brilliant Japanese movie that you can taste like a cup of tea. It's a good way to reflect about life and death, the slow rhythm and the typical long silences of these movies are well fitted, the drama are well mixed with a few points of comedy, and you can learn a lot about the broken dreams, the moving on in the life, the respect for traditions, the respect for people and jobs, and it's a good example to know more about the Japanese society. It's a good movie.

My score: 8 (out of 10)

Up

I was waiting for a long time to see this movie, and the only word to describe it is.. Awesome!! Pixar movies are better and better every summer. The quality of the animation of "Up" is as incredible as usual, but the best thing is the brilliant beginning... the first 10 minutes showing the amazing, tender and wonderful love story of a full life exceptionally well summarized... Simply a jewel of the cinema! The film is quite adult and full of symbology that you can taste. The 3D is used with mastery and the characters are great... All work like a clock! An essential film indeed.

My score: 10 (out of 10)

Brüno (Bruno)

I saw this movie yesterday, knowing that it was not a very good comedy and I confirmed this. The story line and the basic structure as a false documentary is quite similar to "Borat". It's less eschatological than the previous film and some moments are laughing, but the formula is already slightly hackneyed. Without a doubt there are better options to see.

My score: 5 (out of 10)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Just brilliant. David Yates made a great job. In my opinion this is the best movie of the saga at the moment. The fx are perfect, the environment is great and the story is dark, dramatic and adult... more adult and "less fantastic" than the previous films... You can see even violence and jealousy. There are several things of the original story that are not shown during the movie, but however this is the best Radcliffe's performance as Harry Potter, and indeed Watson and Grint (and the rest) did also a good work. Very recommendable!

My score: 8 (out of 10)

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Ice Age 3)

This is a good third part. Technically the graphics and fx are slightly better that the first and second, but the basic line of the story is quite similar. I saw this movie in Digital 3D with a very good quality of sound and the result is great. The weasel Buck is a breath of fresh air in this saga, but anyway the parallel story of the squirrel Scratch (now in love!) is the best part of the movie. This is not a masterpiece, but it's a cool film to enjoy an evening (and of course specially if you go to see it with some nephews and nieces) ;)

My score: 8 (out of 10)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I love the science fiction movies, but this is not a good one. The FX of this sequel are brilliant, even better than the first part's, but a lot of details of the story are almost ridiculous and sometimes I felt almost yawning waiting the end of some of the looooong fights between the robots. It's not a very very interesting movie even for geeks.

My score: 5 (out of 10)

Coraline

I had to see this movie, because for me Henry Selick is one of the genius of the animation since I saw the master piece "Nightmare before Christmas" (that I absolutely love!), and I really enjoyed this movie. The story is really less adult that Nightmare, but the film is brilliant. The environment, the characters, the surrealistic details, the animation, most of the factors are great. And the 3D format of the movie is very well integrated in the story. It doesn't distract you from the story, but it's a fantastic tool to enter and enjoy the film. Very recommendable (especially in 3D).

My score: 9 (out of 10)

Terminator Salvation

I was waiting for this movie since long time ago, and the result (as usual) is not as good as I wished, but anyway the it's a good science fiction film. The fx are really cool, although the story is very far away from the original stories of the Terminator Saga (especially from T1 y T2, of course). Christian Bale is a very credible John Connor, but I sincerely was waiting for a much more dehumanized fight between humans and machines (regarding the first movies), but this movie shows bigger and cooler machines although quite stupid!... Not like the cold and cruel assassins robots and droids with relentless mind of a "computer chess game" that could be reasonable and coherent with the original movies of Cameron. The machines of "The Matrix" are much more efficient in this task I think ;) Anyway, it's a good movie, especially to be seen in a good theater with THX and HD digital video projection.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

Star Trek

Of course... I had to see this movie, even if the result was a shit. I feared that the result could be disappointing, but.... the film is a brilliant prequel! The immersion into the initial Star Trek universe is great, the plot is really good (specially the first 45 minutes), the action and the FX are fantastic, but I loved specially the rebooting of the original series with a brilliant election of new and fresh actors. Wow! You can see the young "original" crew of the FIRST "USS Enterprise" starting his career and working together!!!! And this cast is totally credible. JJ Abrams knew quite well how to manage the difficult task of coming to life again the great and old series. Well, the result is not "perfect" in all the ways, but I'm sure that Gene Roddenberry is not upset with him while he still floats around the Earth!! ;) A recommendable film for Trekkers and "non-Trekkers".

My score: 9 (out of 10)

Let the Right One In

I loved this Swedish movie. It was a total surprise for me because it's a really atypical vampire film. It has a very strange and Nordic atmosphere absolutely kitsch of the eighties, and as good Swedish movie has a lot of silents and static shots... however it's a fantastic love story a lot much better than the Twilight saga. It's a "realistic" way to show the vampire world, and you enter in the story. The sequence of the swimming pool is ABSOLUTELY great! Well, it's not a "normal" movie and you can love it... or hate it. But anyway I think it's indispensable seeing it, so I recommend it!

My score: 9 (out of 10)

Blindness

I saw this movie because I love the work that the Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles made with his brilliant film "Cidade de Deus", although this movie is not as good. "Blindness" gives you a dirty and unpleasant feeling during most of the time of the projection, and it gives you also a surprising mix among novelty and strangeness vs. "things already seen". Well, some points of the history, based on the good novel of Saramago, are really unrealistic, but if you "believe" on those events and you see the movie as an allegory (of life, of politics, of human feelings, of countries... and evilness and goodness) the film is good. Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo made a fantastic work. It's not he best one I saw lately, but it's not a bad movie at all.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

Slumdog Millionaire

I loved this movie. A positive drama, a great love story, a lot of color, several difficult and hard lives, dreams, cruel events, unconditional love... and all those things are balanced with lots of good and deep feelings. A window to Mumbai... to India. Very recommendable.

My score: 9 (out of 10)

Gran Torino

I loved this movie! Clint has finally entered into a difficult and exclusive category: you can be sure that you don't throw your money if you buy a ticket to see one of his movies. And only a few of directors are into! This film is simply great. It changes from a starting comedy to become a good drama. It's a perfect closing movie (a kind of brilliant appendix) for several of his classic movies. Walt Kowalsky could be perfectly the old Dirty Harry (or the old Sergeant Tom Highway of "Heartbreak Ridge") living his last years in a neighborhood of Michigan. Brilliant movie. Thank you for your cinema Mr. Eastwood!

My score: 9 (out of 10)

Watchmen

Sincerely, I think this is a fantastic movie as adaptation of the brilliant comic. I admit that there are some factors, like the flashbacks, that aren't as good at the film as they are at the comic, but that is quite usual in a lot of adaptations. Different language... cinema vs. comic. However, the story is so well done (and even although there are some changes on the original story) and in general it's so accurate of the comic in a lot of aspects, that is... even surprising! You can feel the "passing" across every magazine of the comic, seeing on screen the scenes that reflect practically the exact image of every cover. The characters are portrayed in a absolutely accurate way. The "dirty" and typical New York of the eighties is awesome. There is not a soundtrack made specific for this movie that you can remember, but the songs of the eighties used is brilliant (it's really to remember the sex sequence in "Archie" with the song "Alleluia"... the same that is Shrek but in a different version). And it's invaluable the beginning with the history of all the Watchmen since the forties, and the alternative history of the world with that "Pinocchio" Nixon governing the USA until the eighties (the Watergate never was uncovered), the victory of the USA in Vietnam, and a lot of things of that masterpiece of the comic art. I can't wait to see the extended version in Blu-ray (with one more hour that was cut), because there are some gaps. I enjoyed this movie like a good dish! Very recommendable if you liked the original comic Watchmen.

My score: 9 (out of 10)

Julia

This French movie made in English has been a real surprise for me when I saw it yesterday evening. It's a "small" movie but with a "BIG" story inside. The performance of Tilda Swinton is awesome (the alcoholism, the hangovers, the path of the desperation, the crazy plans... and a surprising and hidden maternal instinct) and for me was very interesting seeing Bruno Bichir, a good Mexican actor, at this movie. I'm a fan of this guy since I saw the brilliant Mexican film "Conejo en la luna" (that is also totally recommendable if you wanna see a good story about a normal young couple stupidly and accidentally involved in a horrible corruption case of the Mexican politics. Also a good film).

My score: 8 (out of 10)

The Reader

That's incredible how Kate has done lately these two very good characters during the same year: "Revolutionary Road" and "The Reader". This is a film that shows a crazy and uncommon love story and how a secret, the pride and the shame could influence in the life of somebody. I liked a lot. The atmosphere is very good, although the physical transformation of Kate Winslet through the years is not as good as the rest of the movie, and especially compared with the awesome work about this matter that I saw in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button". Anyway, very recommendable.

My score: 8 (out of 10)

The Wrestler

"Superb" or "splendid" are two words that came to my mind while I was the more and more immersed as the movie was advancing! I enjoyed today this brilliant film about the loneliness, old dreams, remorse, regrets, strength, pain, griefs, decadence, hopes... real and false, love, big mistakes, attempts to correct those mistakes... and also respect and friendship. The director Darren Aronofsky is more and more one of my favourites. I loved his estrange but great "The Fountain" of 2006 and his awesome "Requiem for a Dream" of 2000. And of course I was really surprised at the incredibly reappearing Mickey Rourke! It's something as refreshing as the reappearing of John Travolta in "Pulp Fiction"! And of course the Marisa Tomei work is also very good. This is a movie that really makes you reflect on your the life??´s course. Surprising and very interesting.

My score: 10 (out of 10)

Entre les Murs (The Class)

This French movie is one of the best film about students and high schools in Europe that I've ever seen. It's a French movie but the story could be totally transplanted to the current situation in Spain (I know this by my friends teachers). It tries to show the reality without any estrange pretentiousness. It's a class! That's all. And... the students and the teachers are awesome. They seem even better than professional actors! I really liked. Very recommendable.

My score: 9 (out of 10)

Revolutionary Road

I think this movie is one of the best that I've seen in years about problems in a marriage. The conversations and the discussions are incredibly good and realistic (almost too much, may be!). And it's brilliant because sometimes you can feel that both have reason! And the faces!... the faces, the gestures, the expressions of Leo and Kate are totally real... and they transmit perfectly feelings and situations without any word! I saw that both of them have maturated A LOT since the cloying "Titanic". If you like to see a good movie you can spend your money with this one. I really recommend this film!

My score: 9 (out of 10)

Il Divo

Sometimes realistic, sometimes satiric... this is a good movie to have a slight idea about the Italian politics of their last ten or twenty years. The character of Giulio Andreotti is really good. It's a very surprising and interesting movie.

My score: 9 (out of 10)

RocknRolla

Cool! At last Guy Ritchie woke up! Since I saw "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch", that I love, I was waiting that Guy stops doing stupid and pathetic pseudo-movies (badly influenced I presume by his ex-wife Madonna)... And yeah! This is not his best movie at all, but Mr Ritchie is back! Hope next project about Sherlock Holmes continues the right direction and doesn't disappoint us!

My score: 8 (out of 10)