dcldan

This movie is as stereotypical as a family comedy can get in fact we have seen so many similar roles from Steve Martin in family comedies that one cannot honestly expect much from such films and indeed i went into this movie(as the company demanded i see a pg rated film) expecting as much.

The good part about the whole thing is that family comedies follow fool proof formulas and as such it is rare to find a bad one. So we have the summer release the 2 hot teens, one hot mom (carmen Electra looked spectacular), the overzealous and protective dad, the childhood romance etc etc you get what I'm saying right.

The acting of this movie is good with special mention for Steve Martin who is a regular comedy dad and even though brings nothing new to the film at least insures you never get bored. Eugene Levy also does a good job playing the eccentric dad of the rival family. Carmen Electra i realised is actually a good actress and looks great in this movie. However former preteen-queen Hilary duff looked way to thin and quite ugly.

The jokes of the film mostly squeaky clean although there is some much appreciated jokes for the adults that are so needed in this film. Particularly funny is the scene where the dog spoils the elaborate lunch, the take on another famous creature movie was hilarious. The film is filled with funny moments that will make you smile maybe force a half laugh but no scene is fall out your seat funny.

The film also serves the regular family fare with ease but almost every scene looks run of the mill and there is nothing new to add to film in the family-comedy-drama department. Being from India i found the father following his child on a date quite funny and something which i can actually picture someone who i know doing.

The movie is absolute run of the mill affair and loosed out on the novelty value that the first one enjoyed. However it serves the regular enjoyable family fare.

Watch it only if the company (family, going with friend and his girl friend for the first movie hehe) requires that you watch such a film

Ricardo is an old man whose mind starts to fail. His family sends him to a sanatorium, where the doctors say Ricarda has the Alzheimer disease. In his time there, Ricardo meets Andres, an old man like him with a surprisingly enormous imagination. With the help of Andres and Ricardo's grand-daughter Ana, Ricardo will fight against the terrible disease he has. The movie deals with a hot point in the actual society, the Alzheimer disease, and it does it very well, the development of the story is totally believable and logic, with a great amount of feelings rising everywhere. Actors are superb, Alexandre and Lopez Vazquez has always showed it and ROndo is a new discovery. Although it is a movie that must be watched with handkerchief, it is moving and interesting, actors are impressive int heir papers and it is very well filmed. I hope it to triumph in the Goya these year. The only problem of the movie is that many times things happen excessively unsurprising, which can result boring to many people. To sum up, it is a good and touching movie, whose little errors can be forgiven due to its intense emotional charge.

Jorge is a work-less that one day, decides that this day is the one that will change his life. He fells in love with Hortensia, the woman in the INEM office (the Spanish agency that helps work-less to find a job). They both have suffered a lot in their past relationships and they feel great loneliness. They start going out, to discover these little things that makes that live worth it. Being short, the movie has some comic moments mixed with some enormously acid and touching. It is quick, as there's no time to waste. The actors play a good part (unexpected in Ana Belen) but, she has the problem of looking too wealthy, when she theoretically is a low-class woman, and that's a problem with most of the characters, that the all seem too wealthy (with Ana Belen the problem is worse indeed); and that makes the film a little too much unreliable. The action is the typical in these stories, it has anything new and sometimes can result a little annoying, as you know what's going to happen, but it's not boring and it's relaxed to watch to. It is probably the best movie of the director, but that was not very difficult, as he had done totally awful comedies before.

The movie tells us the story of the Borgia family, how they were able to "conquer" the Vatican and become the most influent family in Italy, a sort of Godfather of the time. Rodolofe is Voto, César is Sonny and sorry, there's no Michael. The movie is quite good in some aspects, the costumes are very well designed and historically correct, the setting is also very good (I'm sure they filmed in the Vatican) and actors play good parts. However, the result is not a very good film. First of all, it is about 150min long, that is TOO much, the story could have been told in about 45minutes less!! Many times, when you expect the movie to end, it just turns to be a new marrying to Lucrecia, and continue! In addition to this, the movie has another problem, the main characters result not to be charismatic, though the actors are good, you don't get easily interested in the story, things happen and well most of the time you don't mind. I must admit that it is a good attempt to make a good historical film, much better than usual in Spain for these kind of films, but the result is not totally good, specially because of its lenght, the fact that you soon get fed up by the characters doesn't help too. With more speed, probably it would have been a good movie, but, now, it is just decent.

Cristian is a women-hunter that comes from a New-York travel and tells his friend Jesus that he has the contacts to fulfill their dreams: Starting a advertisement business. Begoña, Jesus' wife, hates Cristian and is pregnant, so she doesn't want his husband to take stupid risks, and Jesus, not very willingly denies the project. The tryings of the two to convince Jesus become a theoretically funny situations in which everyone tell excuses to not really deal with the fact hey don't want to do something. I've seen the theatre part this movie comes from and it's quite bad, I hoped that the movie could be better, but it worse indeed. None of the actors makes the minimum decent part, characters are hateful and stupid (very!) and there are many scenes done only to fill minutes to the film. Some others, as Cristian driving a Ferrari, seem totally that as the actor wanted to drive it, knowing that Joel Joan is also the director, said: let's do it, I'm the boss, I can do it!. Please, there are better ways to spend 90minutes of your life.

Ladislao Jubala was one of the best football players of the 50's and this is more or less one kind of a biographic movie, with himself as actor! Whenhe was young, and he played with his national team (Eslovaquia), the Russian Comunists force him to work for them, as he rejects, he is exiled and forced to leave competitive football. He tries to escape to Hungary, but things are difficult and, despite all his problems, he is able to reach Spain of triumph with F.C Barcelona in one of the best moments of the team. The movie is very innocent, with the goods (Kubala and friends) being delicious naive persons, the bads (communists) are very bad an inhuman... It has lots of errors, cameras and microphones seen, strange changes of scene, long dances that are not well-related to the movie and things like that. But this is not a film not be strict with, it is done in so innocent way, that you can't be serious at judging it. It is very bad, but it's done with love, so, well let's put it a 3, so happy it is. In fact this could not be correctly marked, as though being enormously bad, it is tender and "cute" (lovely?).

The movie tells us the story of King Arthur, but, not as a romantic S. XVII middle age, but as ex-roman of the V century (Which is more historically correct). The story claims to b historical, and probably is the most correct in that way (Artuhr is Roman and lived about that time, as it is believed), but that's all, then the movie remains as a typical war-adventure movie, which, though enjoyable, is not anything spectacular. The action scenes are correct, good costumes (and, as happens in Gladiator, filled with anachronisms) and decent acting, it is just a summer entertainment, enjoyable, and nothing more. At least it is not as "The last legion" whose error are enormous (impressively) and it is totally unbelievable (they change totally the story, changing parents and families all-together), King Arthur it is a movie to watch to relaxed and without being too strict.

Jack Sparrow is a pirate without ship, the evil Captain Barbosa has stolen the Black Pearl (jack's ship) and he wants to recover it. Qill Turner is a young smith that is in love to Elisabeth Swann, the noble of the island. When she is kidnapped by Barbosa, he and Sparrow will work together (more or less) to defeat the evil Barbosa. This is the curious thing that surprised everybody, it has anything new, special effects are nowadays typical, it should be one senseless unknown film, but it had a great success. Why? Depp's acting as Jack Sparrow was just superb (nomination to Oscar included), he is able to make o charismatic character that all becomes easy when he is by there. Showing us one of the best character presentation in the last years, he is the one who really supports the movie. Rest of characters are correct and charismatic, but it is not SO impressive, this is the main thing of the movie, all actors make a good and catching part. In addition, the special effects are fabulous (as expected in such a expensive-to-make film), it is filled with stupid funny jokes (which you laugh because they are them) and a very confusing plot (who is friend of who??), but the result is funny and absolutely enjoyable.

This movie is almost unknown, but it is very good. In a lonely Danish town, two old sisters live remembering a far youths, when, due to a strict puritan education, they had to reject happiness. Lonely, then, the live in a dignified austerity, until Babette, who flies from Paris, frightened by the horror of the war, arrives. In few time, she will be able to turn the goodness and love she received when she arrived. A good lottery prize lets her organize a great banquet, following the best rules of French gastronomy. All neighbourhoods are invited (all fanatically puritans). They accept, but they pact to not show any trace of pleasure or enjoyment, as it would be a sin. However, the seductive force of the delicious meal they eat, that they become seduced by the sensuality of French gastronomy. The banquet end in a very felt, though quietly, happiness. The love between humans has awaken. The miracle of rise the human kindness due to the pleasure of the sense has begun. The movie is surprisingly good, but it is not for all tastes. During most of the movie, nothing happens, all is so quiet and so peaceful, that during many minutes, you can only see the life of the inhabitants of the town. But, as the movie develops, it becomes more precious, when Babette wins the lottery prize (after 30min movie), the show begins. The author is able, with a perfect directing, to show us how Babette prepares the banquet, how she mixes all the ingredients with the most wonderful one (Love), all told in a quiet delicious way, with a perfect knowledge of photography and acting. Then, as the banquet goes by, the quality in showing us how the mood of all eaters changes due to the meal, only with first shots, with impressively filmed scenes one after another is simply astonishing. In addition, the tact with the colours and the photography is also superb, almost every scene of the movie is like a picture, so work is involved there. If you are able to admire good cinema and are able to realize that sometimes the way on telling you something rather than what is told is more important, this is your movie. If you happen to like good meals and just love the good gastronomy, probably, you'll feel amused, as most feelings of the movie will be familiar to you. An Oscar totally deserved. The only problem is its slowness at setting up the story, but, I can forgive it (I hope everyone too)

Jean has problems with his current boy-friend, he is a domestic abuser. When she has to leave away to avoid more fights, she must go to her ex-father-in-law house, as she has nowhere to go. There, she will have to face the repulse of Einar, who blames Jean for the death of his son. They will have to be able to think about themselves, and harmonize their souls from loses, forgiveness and hope. The story, though seen lots of times is not boring, anyway, it's not enormously interesting, either. IT goes correct and ideal for spending a peaceful afternoon after dinner. The acting is surprisingly good for a good-humored drama as this one, Redford and Freeman are always int heir paper, even if it's so empty as these ones, and Jennifer Lopex surprises everyone and proofs that she can act, too (yes! even she!). With a precious photography (the best of the film, sometimes you can forget about the movie and just admire the environment) the plot develops quietly in a way that can make you relax about a movie with current-usual problems with a correct doses of drama/humour. Not bad.

José COrbacho is a Spanish humorist known for his gross humour sense and scatological jokes. People was frightened about the film he could do in his opera prima. Unexpectedly, he astonished everybody with this film. No comedy, no bunch of stupid jokes mixed together. We can find a correct mixture of little stories that happen in a workers town (the one the directors are from, l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, near Barcelona). Poor people with their fears and their hopes, their dreams and their desperation in order to survive in this life, always being able to face the world in an optimistic way. We can find the story of the old pair, that has to sell abuse drugs in order to pay the drags he needs for his cancer. The young pair whom only want to enjoy their lives, the barman that finds a new way of living when he contracts an Asian cooker. All these are little everyday stories, correctly filmed and with good acting. It has all the problems of the opera primas (lack of cash to spend, some scenes not totally thought) but it is a great surprise in Spanish cinema. If all his films are as good as this, I'll follow Corbacho's career as a director. A dramatic comedy of everyday stories, it is just a little film that wants to tell the existence of the "little unknown" people.

Well the plot is the same of Manfredi's book. The young kid Romulus is the last of Roman emperors. When Rome is sold to barbarians, he must go away to Britain to save his life, protected by his most faithful bodyguards. There, the last battle for the honour of Rome will begin, starting also the myth of King Arthur. This plot is not bad, and quite interesting, but is the only good thing of the movie. Characters are quite stupid, most of the dialogues are silly: the hand fight, the "seduction" of the captain, the finding of the sword, the attack to the Emperor's palace (and twenty barbarians conquer all Rome???). This, mixed with quite bad action scenes (all the fights are awful, there's no contact, in fact most of the time you can see the space between the bodies!!), worse special effects (Ambrosius throwing fire) and the worst of all is the historic facts: When was a LIberty Statue in Rome? Why the Emperor's palace is 3 metres far to the forest? It was not in the middle of Rome?? When there was huskies in the Roman Empire? (at the British town) Why the swords had no blood after beating an enemy?? (well, in the last battle they had...) In addition to this, the thing that upsets me more is the fact that the movie pretends to be good! It exhales an aura of: "I'm telling you the truth" that makes it irritating! It is almost insulting, doing something so bad, and indeed present it as a master piece.

From 1875, (second Carlist war) to 1935 (Spanish CIvil War) in Basque Country, we are able to see the relationship between two near families, their discussions, their fight and their envies. All is viewed form the point of view of the cows, so quiet, so peaceful, so able to forgive, while we watch to the humane, their madness their lack of respect for life, their irresponsibility. Though it is hard to digest (too much for my taste) it is clear that it is a Medem's movie: the treatment of time, the sense of quietness in the environment and the development of the story. But we can see a young Medem, not so expert in these tools, and the result is not good as is used in these author, as he was still a noob, but we are able to see that he was a promising talent. Carmelo Gómez makes a terrific triple part and he is the one that builds the movie, everything happens around him and he is able to take the responsibility. The director is able to mix in a curious way the peaceful live of cowman's in Basque Country (and cows too) with the horrors of the war. It is not the best Medem's movie (well it is the worst he has done), but, being his opera prima, it is a pleasure to watch to it. If you are able to digest more or less correctly his films, you should not let pass the opportunity of watching this one, although it is not as good as "Tierra" or "Los Amantes del Círculo Polar"

in "El metodo" we can see seven person inside one room. THey are the seven candidates to a perfect businessman job, with few work and great salaries. The seven candidates feel proud of their options and they will do as much as they can to take the job; but they will suffer a new method of selection. The Grönholm Method. There, they will suffer from different psychological test where one to one, the candidates will have to choose who has to leave the room. Then, we will be able to see how man becomes wolf to man, how, shyly at first, angrily at the end they let their most fiery temper rise and great arguments begin. In these claustrophobic environment of absolutely trust-less men, secrets, fears and traitors; the most desperate fight for survival will begin. What would you to do get a job? How deep can you descent in order to triumph in life? The story is enormously catching, with great doses of thrilling, it is like these Agatha Christie's books, where everyone meets and then, the guilty is discovered. You follow all the arguments with your favourites, asking your self who is going to be rejected. In addition, the actors are enormously good. They all are inside their parts and are able to make probable their best acting (it is astonishing to watch to Nimri being able to transmit feelings, and wow, she does it!). i say it is so good, but, why not 9-10?? It is because it is based in a theatre play of Jordi Galceran, and, comparing to the film, the theatre is much better. I'm not saying that the film is bad, it is very very good, but I must admit than the theatre is better and I cannot feel comfortable in giving the movie the best marks. If you could, go to Barcelona, and go to the theatre. It is there until the end of 2007.

Cat is an unstable (maybe mental) woman. She has taken care of her father Robert, a genius in maths, but, that is know old and has lost his mind. When he dies, she will have to deal with Hal, his most promising student and with Claire, her sister, that thinks that Cat is mad and wants to take her to a sanatorium. Cat will have to deal with her fears and her traumas (created by living with a mad genius during five years), being in the shaped part of a knife, between genius and madness, will she fall to one of the parts? The acting is surprisingly good, most of the time you can watch to nothing more than first term shots. Paltrow give us one of her best acting and the other ones are able to show us how good actors are. Despite this, the movie has the problem that none of the characters are charismatic. The movie passes by without any interest and it provokes that a good acting is wasted in a unfortunately uninteresting plot. However, it is not the fact that the movie is unbelievable, though. It approaches to mental illness in a very correct and respectful way, but it lacks something catching. Probably the fact that is an adaptation from theatre makes it more difficult to watch to. With these detail about the story, this lack of charisma or somewhat(maybe is too slow, I don't know but I did not get caught by the movie), the movie becomes just, correct; good if you want to see good acting, but boring as a result. It could have been done better, but it is not bad anyway.

Chili Palmer is tired of doing movies and know wants to do some success in music. Being half mafioso half expert negotiator, he wants to rise in the music market. However, know everyone is like him and making the good singer Linda Moon to record a hit will be harder as expected. The first part is funny and filled with irony, this one falls into the easy jokes and has many less good moments. Only the two women (Uma and Milian) are decent in their part. Most of the film is done with histrionic character, excessively exaggerated (a little is OK, too much is disgusting) and the only one that one could save is the gay bodyguard, who, at least is coherent, the rest, are too much idiot. The most surprising thing is the fact that the movie is not boring, everything happens so quick and there are so many things happening that you do not have time to get bored, if you want to follow the movie. It may insult your intelligence (a lot!), and the movie is bad(yeah!), but, well, it's not boring.

The level of Spanish cinema is usually quite low, but there's sometimes time for this pleasant surprises, hidden good movies inside all the mess. David is a young model guy. Good person, good student, lovely. He lives with his mother Irene and his grand-father, Mateo. He loves Clara, a young woman that works in a supermarket. Although she loves him, his poor condition will cause problems with Irene, who thinks that his son deserves something better. Mateo, tortured by his remembers of civil war, is probably the person that understands better David, who is quite unknown, despite his gentleness. The unexpected dead of David will cause the world of everyone to crack and they will be forced to live in a new reality, without David. Everyone is devastated, and adaptation is difficult, but this is the power of the movie, it becomes moving and it keeps the interest at every time. Emma Vilarasau and Fernan-Gómez play a very good part, and surprisingly, Marta Etura does it too! (well just correct, but it is a surprise anyway) The result is a very good movie, with a great story and a very good acting of well build characters, complexes, but human. Probably the thing that I don't know what makes there are the critic to the Civil War and Franco's dictatorship that are in some moments of the film, I think it is probably to understand more Mateo, but I think they are useless in the film. To sum up, a good surprise to watch to near of Kleenex, cause it is quite sad!

RJ is a ferret that has a great problem, Vincent the bear has threaten him to eat him unless he recovers a wagon filled with provision. RJ will use Verne's family (a bunch of different good-oriented animals) to achieve his objective. He will lead them to the city, where they can steal the things that human doesn't want. The movie intends to be a fun comedy (it has some great moments) and a light critic to human society, too consumerist, and it remains in a strange fifty-fifty, that, unusually, is not upsetting. The quality of the design is good and it results correct to the movie, maybe the action scenes are a little too quick but that's not very bad. I expected it being as bad as " a Shark's tale" and it is much better, it does not arrive to "finding Nemo" or "the Incredibles" but remains as a correct movie. The result is a film that can entertain the kids and that will not bore the parents.

In a new future, the society has gone to an offspring. Alex is a charismatic intelligent guy that loves violence and evilness. He is the leader of a gang and we can see him doing some act of terrific ultra-violence, just for fun. When he is arrested, as he wants to leave prison early, he accepts to be part of a new treatment which will cause him to be a good citizen. This is one of the best Kinrick's movies. Cruel, satiric, intelligent. The fact that ultra-violence is shown to us with lots of ironic and black humour, in almost a hypnotic-oniric way makes it special, then, violence becomes wonderful, and this disturbs you, which is specially the main of the director, he is able to make you love such a disgusting guy. Then, as the violent becomes the Government, Alex is just a victim, a guy that only wants to live quiet, and the "law" is the ultra-violent there, programming the prisoners, making them fools that cannot decide freely.

It is a critic not only to the violence (of course violence is bad) but also to the way that a country uses to fight against it, which are the limit should not be passed? Who will guard the guards? With all these thing in mind, th movie is just a masterpiece, disturbing and sometimes uncomfortable, but impressively good. The choose of Malcolm as the main actor is just perfect, he is able to play perfectly this not so mad danger and makes us ask ourselves why he was not even nominated to Oscars. may cause repulsion due to its violence (though lot of time has passed!) but it is totally good. Recommended to everyone able to think about ethics and who wants to watch to a good movie that makes you think.

A mad professor recruits the survivor of the last film (and new friends) to go to an ancient haunted house. Whith these so intelligent bunch of people, ghost will have their time to frighten them. And of course, absurd moments every time. This is all, the plot is just an excuse to make one joke after another, some of them are decent, most of them are bad. Now making a parody of "The Haunting" and everything they find, the result is a film that is funny, and sometimes disgusting (some joke are too much gross) but its only main is to make you laugh. Most of the film kicks intelligence and is stupid and absurd, anyway it has one or two good jokes, to spend 70min relaxed with a stupid movie and that's all, do not expect more.

This is the story of Little Red Hiding Hood but told to us in a more modern and perverted way. The story begins from the end, with the end of the tale, and then, as police arrives and arrest everyone. The four main characters start to tell his point of view of the story (Red, Granny, the wolf, and woodman. In a sense of comedy and absurd, the story will change and all will be related with a thief of recipes that is causing all the shops of the forest to close. Funny and absurd, the script is ingenious and has good moments (specially the beginning), but the story is too childish and the animation is quite bad for this times. Anyway this is a sort of independent-animation movie, and it has not the money of PIxar or Dreamworks, so these can be forgiven. The movie is able to entertain everyone during 80min and probably will cause you to laugh loudly a couple of times. In these way, much better than Chicken little or Sharktale, but the animation quality is quite hurting for these days. If this doesn't mind you, the movie is quite funny and enjoyable, but if you give importance to the quality of the technique, you can become disappointed.

Tere is a woman that lives quietly her life in the whereabouts of Madrid with her family. The death of her sister provokes that Héctor, her nephew, starts to live with them. This will cause Tere to remind some wounds from the past and the adaptation to a new way of life, with one more son. Hector, meanwhile, is a 16-year-old boy that seems to hide pain within and seems to have suffered a lot. The apparition of Martin, Hector's disappeared dad will make things worse, as Hector will have to choose between living with his new family and going to Mexico with his unknown father. This will cause, of course, Tere's world to become upside down and she will have to remake her points of view of life. The drama is convincing, the story is well settled and the way of telling to us the story is correct. But there's something wrong about the film, though Adriana Ozores plays a good part, none of the staff is a rival of her. That's the main problem of the film, none of the actors believe in her character and this makes the film a little disappointing, as you'd expect more, from the story. I think that the movie could have been better with better actors, but, well, it is not bad, anyway. Touching film, hard and well told. With better actors, probably very good, but just correct. Anyway, one of best Spanish films of 2004.

Garfia is a bloody murderer for whom the human life has any value. Natural leader, after he is caught, he leads lots of prison riots until he is keep in a total loneliness. There, he will spent two years, watching to anybody. The arrival of Emma to heal his wounds will men the first contact with human being and something (atraction, empathy) surge between them, and Emma makes his situation public and he is moved to a normal prison. Years later, they will meet again and then, love will begin, as Garfia learns how important is life. The story has a string beginning but later is quite lazy, it moves with time jumps (not told to us, you must be aware of them) and that's quite confusing. The prison part is well build, though topical, it is correct, and the beginning of the love story, quite believable, but as the relationship starts, things begin to result a little too candy, although the ending is well done. Antonio San Juan is a decent actor and makes a correct part, with his confused and dangerous character, on the other hand, Emma Suárez makes her usual part, as expressive as a marble statue. Probably a better actress could have result in a more touching movie. To sum up, the movie is not bad, is it entertaining, and, with some ups and downs, it goes decently, but the fact that Suárez is not good and some problems on developing the story makes it just watchable, nothing more.

Chris is sympathetic and good pale, but he is fat and quite silly. He is in love to Jaimie, the best girl of his school, but she likes him as a friend, so he'll never be able to say anything about it. Years later, Chris is a good-looking musical productor and is a killer in flirting. Due to a storm, he is forced to return to his old town with his girlfriend Samantha (a stupid empty-head blonde), there, he will meet Jaimie, and love will return, but now he is filled with arrogance and proud, so things will not be easy. Well it is the typical stupid Christmas movie, an absurd plot, none character is has the slightest coherence, not good jokes and as it happens in Christmas, everything has to end happily. Please, there's better ways to spend your time. It has not a 1 due to the fact that it contains one good joke, while they are all speaking in telephone at the same time and conversations start to mix. It is the only "interesting" moment.

Now, the Captain Jack Sparrow seems to have a problem with John Davey, the lord of the Oceans, captain of the legendary Flying Dutchman. In order to avoid it, he spills Will and Elizabeth wedding and takes him to another adventure. Meanwhile, they will have to fight the forces of Beckett, the general of the English army that tries to erradicate the pirates of the sea. More empty of depth than the first, but funnier and with more adventures and spectacular scenes. If you like the movies where you don't have to think and just sit and relax, this one is good. Anyway, the movie has nothing more than fireworks. Spectacular and enjoyable, the movie can result very entertaining (the 2 long hours it last become short while watching to it). It is just adventures in the old style, without pretending being more, and well, it is well done. It has lots of signaling that are important for the third part (they were filmed together) which can pass unseen unless you watch it as a whole. But well, just relax and take a good time.