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joan-sanchez
Reviews
Nihon bundan: Heru doraibâ (2010)
Japan, future time. Zombies have taken half of the country and want the other half. Only the brave can stop them
Interesting mix of Zombie and Gore action film, with many references to many modern fantasy and sci-fi movies and Japanese gore taste for fine bleeding fans. With some elements taken from the 'trifids', some post-apocalyptic scenes like Carpenter's Rescue from NY, some characters like Blade Runner's ones, references to I'm Legend and many more, this extra-large mesh-up film can be either disgusting and creative the most of times. Following with the well known Japanese tradition of telling the story with a bunch of flashbacks and flash-forwards, it contains lots of absurdities and null deployed characters, lots of story lines, irregular tempo and several flashes of very very intense action with astounding sound. For these actions it deserve to be watched, but for the others it's a waste of time, unless gore zombie films are your main interest.
Dugo ng birhen: El kapitan (1999)
Filipin Zombie Cult Movie
When a maiden is raped by El Kapitan during the Filipino-Spanish war, her mother bestows a terrible curse on him. A hundred years after, an archaeologist unleashes the evil again in the world. In this Filipino movie there are combined the best of all time horror films, ninja zombies, undead that behave like Terminator, some parody of Steven Segal movies and many reference to other films. As an special bonus, a lesbian couple shows a little of good manners on zombie killing. However this movie lacks on some action at many times, being terribly boring sometimes. It provides also a good finale, with an enthusiastic zombie massacre Just for fun and for laughing with a beer. Zombie-movie goers only!
Snake Sisters (2008)
The rule of nature shall be done
This Filipin film is a tale about three good-looking girls who are born from snake eggs. They live on a paradisaic island far apart from civilization, thinking and acting as the snakes they are. But girls go old and they become woman, so they decided to leave her island. However, nature rules shall be accepted and they shall never go so far with men.
Even this surprising argument, this is only the beginning. After watching carefully the "natural" live of these girls on a selvage island, the plot goes more beyond introducing a man with no care for matting the snake womens and dozens of human monkeys, so the human-animal relationship is more and more complicated.
This enjoyable "masterpiece" of Filipin cinema on 70s must be taken with a bit of humor, and accounting for a tale simply story with no so many intentions. Some explicit sex is provided to entertain the audience and an epic ending with many many monkeys.
Barcelona sur (1981)
The dark side of Barcelona
Ambicious but Disappointing. Taking the baseline that most people in the whole movie were newbies trying to make his own work-style in the new context of democracy, and with the ambitious idea to show up the worst side of Barcelona and get his place on the uprising "kinki cinema", the final result is far enough from good. The story is about a young woman trying to leave delinquency, drugs and abuses, and finding no help but deception from anyone. It is explained in plain terms and well common topics but still it fails to connect with any audience. The characters are also well defined and sharp minded, but cannot perform better in the overall movie design. The first time I saw it I thought there was a small connection with "Notti di Cabiria" and similar realistic cinema and social criticism, but it falls to a movie action that could happen in any place of the world, in any city and circumstance, so loosing very soon any interest. Recommended for anyone who likes "spanish kinki cinema" and to laugh a little, but it does not deserve much apart from this.
La crisis carnívora (2007)
George Orwell meets South Park
When the mighty wolf leaves the forest, it also leaves five rules for the self-management of the animals. But not everybody agree...
With this Orwell's Farm, basis, the movie goes on 90 minutes of rude language and explicit animation to describe how cruel is to live in the jungle, where everyone cares for itself trying to get rid of the others; in the meanwhile several characters refers to "working class" to remember this main idea.
So far it could be taken as a serious movie, but style is purely South Park, both language and visual depiction slightly overdoses the Canadian animators, to finish into the epic song "Hijo de Puta" (literally "You son of a fu** bi**" that can remember to the also well known "Kyle's mother song") so better don't bring your mother with you to the show.
This 1st movie ever made 100% in a well known computer animation program for internet browsers is close to perfect, and deserves to be taken as reference for low cost productions of good ideas like this movie has.
But the main interest is on the Perfect character voices gift by certain Spanish humorists like Enrique Sanfrancisco and Pedro Reyes, which can maintain the movie even when the story is getting weak. I had a good laughing with this movie, which is quite unusual nowadays.
For the technical reasons, rude humor, splendid voice work and the Rabbit Niko I give it 7/10. To raise up to 8 I wanted the drug dealer blue cat and his friend Nobita to appear once at least! Thanks Niko! (Note for non Internet Users: Niko is creator of the super-hero "Cálico Electrónico" , a real must in Internet TV Series)
La habitación de Fermat (2007)
top performers x good plot = enjoy with maths!
Let me say in advance that, even it is a general audience movie it does the best with a bit of maths on the background, but still a very good movie indeed.
The strongest point are the top performances of Lluis Homar and Federico Luppi, finest actors very skilled in theaters and movies, supported by unexpectedly good beginners, Santi, Elena & Alejo, more trained in plain roles of teen comedies and late shows than in cinema, they do quite well and finally you understand why were they chosen for this film.
The plot is atracting from the very beginning, the most of time it goes on real-time action, with a countdown that will kill many of them if several mind games are not achieved. A new shape for a known theme, yes, but it works 100%.
And now the maths class: Every character is playing a role of a great mathematic and both players and characters were selected to fit into that role: Hilbert is an old mathematic devoted to the riddles, Pascal an engineer thinking only on the commercial application of any idea, Fermat an enigmatic person showing no more that what you want to see and Galois a young genoius but not used to think on advance. The life of those people plays a little on the movie. So now you can see what a good selection of players for this roles.
The mathematical riddles are explained easily and with no so much relationship with the main plot so they are not required to be understood to follow the film, but of course is a good point if you do it.
And finally, the Fermat's Last Theorem: It is already demonstrated so don't expect any surprise on this movie. But if you want, you can take a look to the Goldbach's Conjecture, maybe it helps.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Tatooine Sunset
Of course everybody know what happened. Naturally no one is surprised by the facts. But the ways are surprising, amazing, and a masterpiece for any cinema lover. How to tell a known story and get all people sticked to their seats? Lucas did it!
I remember when I was fourteen and I saw "A new hope". I got caught by Tatoonie sunset and that heart-breaking music. In that moment I realized I was looking to a hero, a man who took the right way without knowing were that path was going to.
Twenty years after, I could see his father taking the same decision in the same place under the same sunset. But he was wrong, he was moved by arrogance his mighty power granted him. These are the seeds of the darkness in any known world. Same decision, opposite result.
And at the end of the journey, Lucas reward us with the perfect ending under the same Tatooine sunset and the same music that makes the people to choose to serve the Sith or obey the Jedi code.
And, oh, I forgot them, there are several high level space battles and fantastic light-saber duels, a very evil robo-Jedi and hundreds of wookies, senator Organia, young Tarkin, old Palpatine, a death star, Luke and Leya, Beru, C3PO, R2, a volcano, Dooku, imperial bodyguards, Yoda, Kenobi, the old fashioned star destroyers, and trendy CG effects.
But that Tatooine sunset will remain forever in the best shots ever seen at cinemas, together with the death of Roy Batty, HALL shutdown, the Rohirrim charge and a few more.
Thank-you George. You really did know what the film was about.
El corazón del guerrero (1999)
more than a fantasy
Yes, another silly film about mind-affected teenager that see coinsurance's and evil wizards ruling the world... But he was right, or really he *is* right. Because the world is ruled by them, the mighty and his warriors. You can close your eyes, but they are still there.
In fact, I started to see the film as a fantasy but at the end I thought that it was allegorical. Not so accurate, but you can see lesser relationships linking a fantasy role-playing game and political and social facts on a certain country, where the film was made on, my country.
OK, let's say I have so much imagination, too. But can you say that you never suspected about a conspiracy in your own country? never thought that there is some people ruling the rulers? If so, this film is for you. enjoy it.
(note: RPG players are not mind-affected. Most of times.)
Izo (2004)
Finally I understand the film
Let me explain: When you leave the room and are incapable to explain anybody what you have seen, two chances appears: a great movie that will transcend space and time or a total mistake.
Finally, two months later I understood the film: Miike tried to do "Apocalipse Now" and was out of money, so he swap Napalm for a guy with a Katana. And also fired the entire Writing team and let cameras in the hands of trained monkeys.(This maybe explains why in some shots the viewpoint is turned over 90º.) Sure they will be happier than original costume and makeup crew, because I think nobody will never appreciate his efforts, this is what it happens when you have no time to see no more than a dancing katana... Here ends the funny part. I will not do more comparisons.
YES, my guess is maybe wrong and finally it really becomes true that I did not understand anything... but does anybody believe that this film was against war? or a political point of view? or with some content at all? To do that, maybe it were better to do "Apocalipse 2: the return of the horror" or "Fahrenheit 666: the temperature where celluloid burns" or ... no, no, no, it has no sense. You better try to do not understand and maybe you can enjoy with this mix of samurai + terminator with Monty Phyton's plot, oh I did it again, please forget and empty your mind before seen this film. Do not be worry about getting sleeped, you sure could not do so, with all that people crying like Nightmare Elm Street, ...oh I did again.
Dos tipos duros (2003)
It seems to be comedy, let's shalke it!
Not just a funny movie. In fact, after a short intro to meet the characters, it's all action. Nothing is what it seems to, even the most lesser detail comes into work to push the players to run, jump, shot and keep running to breathe one more minute. Not a buddy movie, just action with three top class comedy players and, well more funny that many archetipical shot-and-run productions.
Although Antonio Resines is not so known outside Spain, he's a great comedy actor, so he can provide the plot of that special moments that the average 'buddy-movie actor' cannot show to screen. In this film we can see him as a self-defeated man, without hope nor friends, that turns off managing for a few days a gang band to safe a lad and his girlfriend from a very very sadistic killers.
Jordi Vilches breaks into the movie with his unforgettable Catalan tone, and reveals himself as the worst enemy of his friends taking them from victory to victory until the final disaster... This player, who was skilled in a circus school rather than an acting class, is able to afford most-demanding scenes and to make them easy. Jordi is a gem to take care for, we will sure hear from him at the highest level.