Film Reviews – from the last two weeks in Spain
I’ve just come back from two weeks of partying and chilling in Spain, and was also fortunate enough to see four films.
- Paris (50-50)
- New York, I Love You (thumbs up),
- El Secreto de Sus Ojos (The Secret of His Eyes) (thumbs up)
- Anti-Christ (hell no).
New York, I Love You follows the same concept as Paris, Je T’aime, a series of slice-of-life shorts each focusing on a relationship and featuring well-known actors. However, I believe the Big Apple version is a more fluid whole versus a bunch of shorts plopped one behind the other. Bravo. Get past the abruptly unrealistic, full-on dialogue between strangers and cozy up to some clever story developments.
The Secret of His Eyes is a clever mix of comedy, thriller, and drama. Gripping, engaging, and emotionally powerful.
The Anti-Christ, though co-starring the powerful Willem Dafoe, was a disaster. The first half so boring I wanted to bore my eyes out, and the second half just slightly weird thus annoying, followed by an end-cap scene that comes out of a bad science fiction movie shot on your grandpa’s VHS camcorder but with modern special effects. Not to mention the no-titted co-star who conveyed a blandness not even a Catholic communion round could compete with.
Paris was just run-of-the-mill drama, not particularly depressing and not gripping, far-fetched with Juliette Binoche playing a pre-dowager – please, Juliette? Yeah, right. Like someone would believe that. You want us to believe it? Cast an unknown. It’s like Kim Basinger who was supposedly a downtrodden trailer park cast-off in 8 Mile. Um, pasty foundation does not make a drop-dead gorgeous woman someone’s hand-me-downs.
So I wasn’t able to see as many films as usual. Such is life. I will make up for it with the DVD’s I bought. Reporting soon. Signing off.
Indie American chick flick Women in Trouble coming soonish
I just went to themoviebox.net to see what’s coming up in American cinema. Here comes a delight – okay, so it’s a click flick – featuring the fabulous Carla Gugino. It’s called Women in Trouble and you can watch a trailer at either link. Only playing in a few theaters in New York and Los Angeles on November 13, 2009, I hope it will come soon to a theater near me, perhaps at the SXSW Film Festival in March.
