Aftershock (Tangshan dadizhen) (2010)

  We live for so long, so comfortably in our cities, in our cozy environment that we forget how fragile we are in front of nature. Aftershock reminds us of that in a very hard way.  There is some difficulty for a westerner to understand the mentality and behaviour of the film’s characters. However, the acting of each and every one (*) makes Aftershock an interesting story. Had the propaganda about the magnificence of the Red Revolutionary Army and the rest being less obviously insulting, it would have being a much better film.

My rating: 06/10

PS. (*) except the guy playing the Canadian who gave the worts performance I have ever seing in film!

Eat Pray Love (2010)

A good movie (or a not so good movie) is an excuse for a discussion, an expression of a point of view… What is left in a human being  if it is deprived of the means to communicate?

Eat: if someone is walking in the clouds, away from the joys of this world (believe it or not, there are people like this!), then food is one of the ways of bringing his/her feet in touch with the surface of the Earth. Yes, there is nothing wrong with experiencing the pleasures of life.

Pray: a controversial issue. Is out there something more … important than us? Something comprising the best of each and every one of us? Hmmm…This is outside the scope of this blog 🙂

Love: the only thing that could save us as persons and humanity as a whole. We spend most (if not the whole) of our lives aching because we did not have enough when we should, we make other people miserable by not giving enough to them…

I have not read the book. The way some things are presented are naive and misleading. This may be attributed to the fact that “Eat, Pray, Love” has the American-like flavor that polishes with a negative manner almost every film in order to maximize its audience at the expense of its quality. May be this is part of the book. But there are a number of “lines” stated by the characters of the story that are really powerful, as well as some good performances.

Overall, I’d say it is a good film to watch because it conveys many truths for our lives, the struggle we make as humans, the effort needed for every quest we make. I totally agree with the closing lines.

My rating: 07/10

Equilibrium (2002)

 We humans have two brains: a logical one and an emotional one. Attributing all the evils of the human race to the existence of the our emotional brain, Equilibrium presents a challenging story on the mutilation of that brain through drugs. One must bypass all notions about emotional intelligence to accept a society that may function only based in logic. However, once this is done, then, there is a very good film that speaks about what is human and what is not, the beauty of the feelings, music, love … This is the best of Kurt  Wimmer‘s films so far (writer and director for this one).

My rating: 08/10

Thor (2011)

 A tale may be nice, no matter how unreal, improbable, impossible or provoking it may be, as long it is not become simply unacceptable! Thor had some good moments but they were disappointingly few.

The real surprise is that it was directed by Kenneth Branagh!!! Wouldn’t believed it if I has not seen it!

My rating: 03/10

The Counterfeiters (2007)

 When the personalities, the dignity and finally the life of human beings becomes nothing because of the madness of war, when all values seem to vanish in the face of survival, when idealists, “respectable” members of the society (which they are usually different!) and criminals face the same unhuman situation, then the canvas of The Counterfeiters appears: a film of Stefan Ruzowitzky, based on the book of Adolf Burger narrating part of his own life (read the link, it is very interesting…).

One may wonder: to which extent things like those described in the film, do not happen sixty-six years later in another place of the planet? And to which extent, other, less obvious crimes, diminishing the human personality, dignity and even life as we know it, are not performed in  a wider, more massive  scale?

Excellent acting and a good direction.

My rating: 07/10

I am number four (2011)

 I am number four: Well, there is romance, fiction, action, almost everything … in the blender! Not much of a film though….

My rating: 04/10

Even the Rain (2010)

 The idea of a film shot within a film is far from new. In”Even The Rain” however, Paul Laverty (scenario) and Icíar Bollaín (direction) make an amazing film that vividly portrays how exploitation of the fellow human has so many things in common with situations taking place 500 years ago.

The film without being melodramatic, extreme or biased presents honestly real, day-life characters with an exquisite plot.Humane, optimistic, simply wonderful. although this is a blog about movies, as said in the film, there are more important things than movies! A contradiction in terms? Far from it!

Do NOT miss it!

My rating: 09/10

The Eagle (2011)

 A good adventure, with a good plot, not too glamorous or extraordinary, but will keep your mind on the screen for the time you see it. Just don’t ask yourselves  who is right and who is wrong (if there is any such notion left in this world) in the situations portrayed…I cannot say more because I will ruin the play 🙂

My rating: 06 / 10