Two great releases are going to be shown on screens in the coming days, the new adaptation of the cult novel The Great Gatsby by Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet…) and Stoker, the American debut of a very interesting filmmaker from Korea, Park Chan-wook who has great success the last decade with the ultraviolent film Old Boy. There are two superb British classics in CBA: Brief Encounter and Saturday night and Sunday morning, a must!
RELEASE! Stoker (2013) by Park Chan-wook
Critics are divided analyzing Park Chan-wook’s debut in Hollywood. Korean director has had to soften his extreme style (that use to be very bloody) for American audiences and the result looks like a Hitchcock film. Starring Nicole Kidman and Mia Masikowska (the last Jane Eyre), this is the best option if you like thriller movies.
Stoker [Stoker, 2013]-Directed by Park Chan-wook
Screenplay: Wentworth Miller
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Mia Masikowska, Matthew Goode, Jackie Weaver
Genre: Thriller
Nationality: USA
Length: 98 min.
Synopsis: After India’s father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.IMDb
At last (this film was announced for 2012) we can enjoy the Baz Luhrmann’s return. There is always controversy with his releases, his personal style can be very excessive and baroque but this is something negative or positive, it depends of the spectator. It is not easy to adapt this American literature classic written in 20s but excessive as it is there are a plenty of fans of his films.
The Great Gatsby [El gran Gatsby, 2013]-Directed by Baz Luhrmann
Screenplay: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce (Novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald)
BASIC CLASSICS! Brief encounter (1945) by David Lean
David Lean is a safe. This is one of the most important films in his incredible career because he has a great success with this passionate love story. A curiosity: after this release, David Lean could roll the two Dicken’s adaptations of his filmography: Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948). Then came the most popular films as The bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962) or Doctor Zhivago (1965). So excellent a director!
Cine Estudio Círculo de Bellas Artes
Calle Marqués de Riera 2, Metro: Banco de España
Tickets 5,5 € [4 Reduced]
On Thursday 9th 5.00pm; On Friday 10th 5.00 pm; On Sunday 12th 10.00 pm.
Brief encounter [Breve encuentro, 1945]-Directed by David Lean
Screenplay: Noël Coward, David Lean, Anthony Havelock Allan
Cast: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, Joyce Carey
Genre: Drama | Romance
Nationality: United Kingdom
Length: 85 min.
Synopsis: Meeting a stranger in a railway station, a woman is tempted to cheat on her husband.IMDb
BASIC CLASSICS! Saturday night and Sunday morning (1960) by Karel Reisz
The other British basic classic of the weekend on CBA screen is this film which it is said that this title is a good example of Free Cinema, one of the mean British Cinema movements in Twenty Century. This films were considered free in the sense that they were made outside the confines of the film industry and so they had a personal style influenced by this condition. All the great titles of this movement (such as If…, This sporting life or A taste of honey) are very important in British culture.
Cine Estudio Círculo de Bellas Artes
Calle Marqués de Riera 2, Metro: Banco de España
Tickets 5,5 € [4 Reduced]
On Saturday 11th 5.00 pm; On Sunday 12th 7.30 pm.
Saturday night and Sunday morning [Sábado noche, domingo mañana]-Directed by Karel Reisz
Screenplay: Allan Sillitoe (based on his own novel)
Cast: Albert Finney, Shirley Ann Field, Rachel Roberts, Hylda Baker
Genre: Drama | Free Cinema
Nationality: United Kingdom
Length: 89 min.
Synopsis: A rebellious, hard-living factory worker juggles relationships with two women, one of whom is married to another man but pregnant with his child.IMDb
The new Dicken’s adaptation is already here. Critics have not been very flattering but it always a nice experience to watch a British adaptation of this immortal writer. The last year we could enjoy of the most beautiful film about Great Expectations filmed by David Lean in 1946 (and distributed in Spain as Cadenas Rotas), in fact, this huge novel has been read by the higher grades but, not be seen before the end of the novel! There is a very important American release this weekend, the new film by Terrence Malick after the controversial The Tree of Life.
RELEASES! Great Expectations (2012)
Mike Newell is not a brilliant director but he is very efficient. All films can not be masterpieces but at least they have to be well made. He is specializes in adaptations of novels as Harry Potter (J. K. Rowling), Love in the time of cholera (Gabriel García Márquez) or The man in the iron mask (Alexandre Dumas). His great success was Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994. Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes, this Great Expectations comeback will be fine because the amazing stories of Pip, the convict Magwitch or the mysterious Miss Havisham are assured.
Great Expectations [Grandes Esperanzas, 2012]-Directed by Mike Newell
Screenplay: David Nicholls (Novel by Charles Dickens)
Cast: Jeremy Irvine, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Jason Flemmyng
Genre: Drama | Romance
Nationality: United Kingdom
Length: 128 min.
Synopsis: A humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.IMDb
This is an absolute controversial film. It was released in the last Venice Film Festival where it was nominated (as Best Film). Starring Benn Affleck and Olga Kurylenko, this is story narrated as The Tree of Life (with a slow rhythm, poetical scenes, beautiful music…). It could be a Channel spot or a masterpiece filmed by an absolute auteur. A must this weekend!
To the wonder [To the wonder, 2012]-Directed by Terrence Malick
Screenplay: Terrence Malick
Cast: Benn Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams
Genre: Romance | Drama
Nationality: USA
Length: 112 min.
Synopsis: After visiting Mont Saint-Michel, Marina and Neil come to Oklahoma, where problems arise. Marina meets a priest and fellow exile, who is struggling with his vocation, while Neil renews his ties with a childhood friend, Jane.IMDb
It is a pleasure to introduce this masterpiece by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, one of the great American directors ever. You know because he is who filmed basic classics as All about Eve (Eva al desnudo, 1950), Cleopatra (Cleopatra, 1963) or The Bareffot Contess (La condesa descalza, 1954, starring Ava Gardner). All his films are excellent! The honey pot was one of the last productions of this genius, starring Rex Harrison and set in the world of theatre. A delight!
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
On Thursday, 11th. 5:30 pm. Sala 1. VOSE. Price: 2’5 €. (2 € reduced)
The Honey Pot [Mujeres en Venecia, 1967]-Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Screenplay: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Cast: Rex Harrison, Susan Hayward, Maggie Smith, Capucine
Genre: Comedy | Theatre
Nationality: USA
Length: 1967
Synopsis: Inspired by a performance of his favourite play, Volpone, 20th-century millionaire Cecil Fox devises an intricate plan to trick three of his former mistresses into believing he is dying.
At last we can enjoy of one of the gems of the American indie cinema, three years afther its release in the rest of the world! However this opportunity must be seized. As it is said in the Peter Bradshaw’s review of this post “Blue Valentine is certainly a serious, intelligent film which deserves to be considered in the same light as Sam Mendes’s Revolutionary Road”. The other interesting release is Mama, a horror film that has become a success in Spain, in fact, there is a Spanish producer (Guillermo del Toro included). And finally, two absolute basic classics in Filmoteca Española, the particular John Huston’s Moby Dick adaption and Falstaff, one of Orson Wells’ works rolled in our country with several Shakespeare’s theatre plays. We must go to the movies!
RELEASE! BLUE VALENTINE (2010)
This interesting film is released with a considerable delay; it could not be an impediment! An intense romance is waiting for us starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, a couple very well chosen, indeed, Michell was nominated in the Oscars.
Blue Valentine [Blue Valentine, 2010]-Directed by Derek Cianfrance
Screenplay: Derek Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne, Joey Curtis
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Mikel Vogel, John Doman
Genre: Romance | Drama | Indie Cinema
Nationality: USA
Length: 114 min.
Synopsis: The film centres on a contemporary married couple, charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods.IMDb
If you like horror films it could be the best chose this weekend. A Canadian movie produced by Guillermo del Toro starring the actress on fashion, Jessica Chastain who could win the Oscar in the next ceremony. It is difficult to recognize her because she is blonde and she appears brown in the film. There will be chills.
Mama [Mamá, 2013]-Directed by Andrés Muschietti
Screenplay: Andrés Muschietti, Neil Cross, Barbara Muschietti
Synopsis: Annabel and Lucas are faced with the challenge of raising his young nieces that were left alone in the forest for 5 years…. but how alone were they?IMDb
John Houston’s film has superb action sequences and some well done work filmed in supporting roles, which helps overcome Gregory Peck as Ahab. The script, one of the sacred works of American literature) was adapted by Ray Bradbury, the great science fiction novelist who is well-know from great classics as Fahrenheit 451 or The Martian Chronicles.
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
On Saturday, 23th. 17:30 h. Sala 1. VOSE. Price: 2’5 €. (2 € reduced)
Moby Dick [Moby Dick, 1956]-Directed by John Houston
Screenplay: Ray Bradbury, John Houston (Novel by Herman Melville)
Cast: Gregory Peck, Orson Welles, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn
Genre: Adventures | Drama
Nationality: United Kingdom
Length: 116 min.
Synopsis: The sole survivor of a lost whaling ship relates the tale of his captain’s self-destructive obsession to hunt the white whale, Moby Dick.IMDb
Shakespeare again. Because he never is old fashioned. The master of cinema Orson Wells come to Spain because he could not make films in Hollywood with absolute freedom. This co-production between Spain and Switzerland is very curious because, in the same film, we can enjoy with a mix of four Shakespeare’s plays: Henry IV, Henry V, Richard II and The merry wives of Windsor. How intense!
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
On Sunday, 24th. 19:30 h. Sala 1. VOSE. Price: 2’5 €. (2 € reduced)
Falstaff [Campanadas a medianoche, 1965]-Directed by Orson Welles
Screenplay: Orson Welles, Raphael Holinshed (Theatre plays by William Shakespeare)
Cast: Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Fernando Rey, Keith Baxter, John Gielgud
Genre: Drama | Theatre
Nationality: Switzerland-Spain
Length: 115 min.
Synopsis: The career of Shakespeare’s Sir John Falstaff as roistering companion to young Prince Hal, circa 1400-1413.IMDb
Happy New Year! After these special days, we return with great proposals, among themselves to watch a lot of films in English. This firs moth will release several important films of Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino or Dustin Hoffman. To begin I recover two of the most important films released in Christmas and a beautiful British classic in Filmoteca. Enjoy it!
RELEASES! LES MISÉRABLES (2012)
One of the greatest musical of ever has a new cinema version, starring Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman or Helena Bonham Carter, this adaptation is the most important British production of 2012. If you watched the musical you need to compare with this film, it could be curious!
Les Misérables [Los Miserables]-2012 Directed by Tom Hooper
Screenplay: William Nicholson (Novel by Victor Hugo)
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Helena Bonham Carter, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway…
Genre: Drama | Musical
Nationality: United Kingdom
Length: 152 min.
Synopsis: In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole, agrees to care for factory worker Fantine’s daughter, Cosette. The fateful decision changes their lives forever.
Paul Thomas Anderson who directed the acclaimed movie Magnolia (1999) returns with The Master, an essay about loneliness and power. It is inspired in the Scienciology Church’s leader but there are not explicit references in it. This is a very intense film that you will like if you enjoy other works of this director as There will be blood (2007) or Punch-Drunk Love (2002).
The Master [The Master]-2012 Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Laura Dern…
Genre: Drama | Biopic
Nationality: USA
Length: 137 min.
Synopsis: A Naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future – until he is tantalized by The Cause and its charismatic leader.IMBb
There are several The Thief of Bagdad’s versions but this is very special. Filmed with a very good taste this British remake is recommended to people who like classic productions, filmed in theatrical sceneries, with beautiful costumes and a touch of magic. Based in Arabian Nights (Las mil y una noches), to watch this film is an absolute pleasure.
The Thief of Bagdad [El ladrón de Bagdad]-1940 Directed by Michael Power
Screenplay: Lajo Biro and Miles Malleson (Based on Arabian Nights)
Cast: John Justin, Sabu, June Duprez, Conrad Veidt, Miles Malleson…
Genre: Fantastic | Adventures
Nationality: United Kingdom
Length: 109 min.
Synopsis: After being tricked and cast out of Bagdad by the evil Jaffar, King Ahmad joins forces with a thief named Abu to reclaim his throne, the city, and the Princess he loves.IMDb
After a two horrifying weeks (I am talking about releases) the Spanish cinemas present two interesting films because these movies are created by two acclaimed filmmakers, Ang Lee and Constantin Costa-Gavras, curiously, no one of them are British or American. The recommendation of the week is completed with one of my prefer movie ever: Sunset Boulevard. The most perfect film that I have ever seen. Good weekend!
LIFE OF PI (2012) by Ang Lee
Ang Lee is this kind of director who falls well. He has rolled some of the most successful movies of the last years as Crouching Tiger & Hidden Dragon (2000), Sense and Sensibility (1995) or Brokeback Mountain (2005). He can realized blockbusters but with a special touch of sensibility that it could get the difficult harmony between box-office and criticism. In this occasion, Lee presents a nice best seller’s adaptation, Life of Pi, the amazing story of a boy who needs to survive in a boat after a shipwreck with a wild tiger in it. The gossips from Hollywood talk about it as the favourite film in the next Oscars Ceremony.
Life of Pi [Vida de Pi, 2012] Directed by Ang Lee
Screenplay: David Magee (Novel by Yann Martel)
Cast: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Gérard Depardieu, Tabu…
Genre: Drama | Adventures | Survival
Nationality: USA
Length: 127 min.
Synopsis: A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor … a fearsome Bengal tiger.IMDb
He is the man associated with a cinematographic subgenre: Politic Cinema. The veteran Costa-Gavras is again here because he wants to show us her particular vision of this crisis. All his films are about great themes (especially about historic conflicts) as Missing (1982) about the Chilean dictatorship or Hanna K. (1983) about the Middle East conflict. Le Capital is a particular film because it is talked in English and French. This is one of the more attractive releases of the month!
Le Capital [El Capital, 2012] Directed by Constantin Costa-Gavras
Screenplay: Constantin Costa-Gavras, Karim Boukercha, Jean-Claude Grumberg (Novel by Stéphane Osmont)
Cast: Gad Elmaleh, Gabriel Byrne, Jordana DePaula, Hyppolyte Girardot…
Genre: Thriller | Drama | Crisis
Nationality: French
Length: 114min.
Synopsis: The head of a giant European investment bank desperately clings to power when an American hedge fund company tries to buy them out.IMDb
BASIC CLASSICS! SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) by Billy Wilder
A very inspired Billy Wilder rolled this spectacular film in the Golden Age of American Cinema at 50s. A ironic and corrosive portrait of the Hollywood underworld, with a fantastic rhythm, brilliant dialogues, superb interpretations and a script with any error. Simply perfect!
Sunset Boulevard [El crepúsculo de los dioses, 1950] Directed by Billy Wilder
Screenplay: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr.
Cast: Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson…
Genre: Drama | Satire
Nationality: USA
Length: 110min.
Synopsis: A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.IMDb
After a horrible weekend without interesting releases the next is not looks like better. However, the Ang Lee’s comeback, Life of Pi, is near and I am sure that this will be one of the best American films of the year. At any rate, if we want to watch a release we could chose between these two films with similar theme: sports. Enjoy this!
Trouble with the curve (2012) by Robert Lorenz
The Robert Lorenz’s debut is been released in our country starring Clint Eastwood, indeed, he was his assistant director in the beautiful The Bridges of Madison County (1995)or in the awarded Mystic River (2003). This is a nice story about improvement and sportsmanship. It looks like a film friendly.
Trouble with the curve [Golpe de efecto, 2012] Directed by Robert Lorenz
Screenplay: Randy Brown
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman…
Genre: Drama | Sports
Nationality: USA
Length: 111 min.
Synopsis: An ailing baseball scout in his twilight years takes his daughter along for one last recruiting trip.
Despite the sad Hanson’s trajectory, this filmmaker is the director of one of the masterpieces at 90s: L.A. Confidential. An excellent movie from which there is no trace in his later films. What a pity. If the previous movie is about baseball, this is about surfing so it is not only appropriate to the season in which hits theaters. Anyway, seems very entertaining.
Chasing Mavericks (2012) [Persiguiendo Mavericks, 2012] Directed by Curtis Hanson
Screenplay: Brandon Hooper, Kario Salem
Cast: Gerard Butler, Johnny Weston, Elisabeth Shue, Scott Eastwood
Genre: Drama | Sports
Nationality: USA
Length: 116 min.
Synopsis: When young Jay Moriarty discovers that the mythic Mavericks surf break, one of the biggest waves on Earth, exists just miles from his Santa Cruz home, he enlists the help of local legend Frosty Hesson to train him to survive it.IMDb
We will always have… the classics! And we must remember that Ida Lupino is been honored in Filmoteca. Ida Lupino’s case is not very common in Hollywood where directors mostly male in the Golden Age. The Bigamist is a classic drama with Ida Lupino as director and actress, at the same time and with a curious gossip: the story was written by Collier Young, recently divorced from Lupino, only to remarry her co-star – Joan Fontaine!
The Bigamist (1953) [El Bígamo, 1953] Directed by Ida Lupino
Screenplay: Larry Marcus, Lou Schor, Collier Young
Cast: Joan Fontaine, Ida Lupino, Edmund Gwenn, Edmond O’Brien…
Genre: Drama
Nationality: USA
Length: 80 min.
Synopsis: Harry and Eve Graham are trying to adopt a baby. The head of the agency senses Harry is keeping a secret and does some investigating. He soon discovers Harry has done an unusual amount of traveling from his home in San Francisco to Los Angeles. Harry gets tracked down in LA where he has a second wife and a baby. Via flashbacks, Harry tells the adoption agent how he ended up in two marriages.IMDb
There are not a great release this weekend but the next 15th we could watch a very British movie: Angeles’ share with a curious event organized by Renoir Cinema. I will explain bellow. However we can enjoy two basic classic from Hollywood with Nicholas Ray (in Filmoteca Española) and Stanley Donen (CBA).
RELEASE! Angel’s share (2012)
If you like whiskey you will enjoy with this curious event. The next 15th Thursday, Renoir allows you to watch the new Ken Loach’s film with a whiskey tasting for only six euros. The men who dress in kilts, are free! It is an activity that seems unusual but very funny. You can buy your tickets in: http://www.pillalas.com/pelicula/2004/
The angels’ share [La parte de los ángeles, 2012] Directed by Ken Loach
Screenplay: Paul Laverty
Cast: Roger Allan, John Henshaw, William Ruane, Daniel Portman…
Genre: Comedy
Nationality: UK
Length: 101 min.
Synopsis: Narrowly avoiding jail, new dad Robbie vows to turn over a new leaf. A visit to a whisky distillery inspires him and his mates to seek a way out of their hopeless lives.IMDb
This beautiful movie, elegant and twilight, starring Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney, with a immortal soundtrack created by Henri Mancini (Pink Panther, Breakfast at Tifanny’s, Charade, Touch of Evil… ) and directed by Stanley Donen is an absolute classic. A study of marital bliss very refined but sad. A sample of the great pain that can cause us to return to the places where we were happy. Essential!
Two for the road [Dos en la carretera, 1967] Directed by Stanely Donen
Screenplay: Frederic Raphael
Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney, Eleanor Bron, Jacqueline Bisset…
Genre: Drama | Romance | Road Movie
Nationality: USA
Length: 111 min.
Synopsis: A couple in the south of France non-sequentially spin down the highways of infidelity in their troubled ten-year marriage.IMDb
This picture looks as the typical hidden gem. Directed by Nicholas Ray, this is a sample of the tribute to Ida Lupino, a singular women, actress and not well known director. One of the few relevant female directors during the golden ages of American Cinema. We can watch films directed by her but, in this case, this is a film starring her. Enjoy it!
On dangerous ground [La casa en la sombra, 1951] Directed by Nicholas Ray
Screenplay: A.I. Bezzerides (Novel by Gerald Butler)
Cast: Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Charles Kemper, Anthony Ross…
Genre: Thriller | Noir
Nationality: USA
Length: 82 min.
Synopsis: Hard, withdrawn city cop Jim Wilson roughs up one too many suspects and is sent upstate to help investigate the murder of a young girl in the winter countryside. There he meets Mary Malden, whom he finds attractive and independent. However, Mary’s brother is chief suspect in the killing. And Mary herself is blind.IMDb
Gunfight at the top of the Spanish theaters! Two of the most acclaimed directors release two British productions. One side, Sam Mendes (American beauty, Revolutionary road) takes charge of the famous James Bond, one of the heroes more profitable for British cinema; this new release claims to be more humane, deep and clever than others. On the other hand, Fernando Meirelles (Cidade de Deus, The constant gardener) presents 360, a film with an interesting cast: Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins or Ben Foster. I will not recommend a classic this weekend because we have three British releases, something unusual. The other film is Submarine, a release late (this movie is from 2010) but absolutely British!
RELEASES! Skyfall (2012) by Sam Mendes.
It was an absolute surprise when it was announced that Sam Mendes was directing the new James Bond’s film. Criticism has been very good because this new adventure shows a different James Bond portrait: more human, more close. This could be the mean reason of this election, Sam Mendes, a filmmaker far away from action films.
Skyfall [Skyfall, 2012] Directed by Sam Mendes
Screenplay: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan
Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney
Genre: Thriller | James Bond
Nationality: UK
Length: 143 min.
Synopsis: Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.IMDb
Generally speaking, criticism has been very cruel with Meirelles’ comeback. This is an adaptation of the great figures of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: Arthur Schnitzler. Despite having a large casting, 360 looks like a film failed. But he deserves a change (even for our English!).
360 [360, 2011] Directed by Fernando Meirelles
Screenplay: Fernando Meirelles (Novel by Arthurz Schnitzler)
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, Ben Foster
Genre: Drama | Romance | Erotic
Nationality: UK
Length: 110 min.
Synopsis: A dramatic thriller that weaves together the stories of an array of people from disparate social backgrounds through their intersecting relationships.IMDb
The famous British comedian Richard Ayoade adapts the Joe Dunthorne’s best seller in the most British film of the week (perhaps, of the month). A comedy made with a peculiar style (between Wes Anderson or Jean Luc Godard) that, it is sure, it will be one of the best election to practise our English.
Submarine [Submarine, 2011] Directed by Richard Ayoade
Screenplay: Richard Ayoade (Novel by Joe Dunthorne)
Synopsis: 15-year-old Oliver Tate has two objectives: To lose his virginity before his next birthday, and to extinguish the flame between his mother and an ex-lover who has resurfaced in her life.
There are not British releases this weekend even if we can watch two interesting new American films on Spanish theaters: Ruby Sparks, a film directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, two directors well known because they are the filmmakers of the famous film Little Miss Sunshine; and Argo, a new Ben Affleck’s sample as director. The classic of the week is Miller’s Crossing, one of the Coen Brothers’ masterpieces. Enjoy it!
RELEASES! Ruby Sparks (2012) by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
This movie looks good! A story about a writer that fall in love with his character starring Annette Bening and Antonio Banderas. If you liked Little Miss Sunshine this could be you election this weekend. I will tell us because I will premiere on Thursday. Very interesting!
Ruby Sparks [Ruby Sparks, 2012] Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Screenplay: Zoe Kazan
Cast: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening,
Genre: Comedy | Romance
Nationality: USA
Length: 104 min.
Synopsis: A novelist struggling with writer’s block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence.IMDb
Nobody knows the Ben Affleck’s filmography as director and this could be a good film to discover his talent making movies. This is not his debut, Affleck had previously filmed two films: Gone baby gone (2007) and The City (2010). Already there are rumors that Argo might be one of the big winners of the Oscars.
Argo [Argo, 2012] Directed by Ben Affleck
Screenplay: Chris Terrio
Cast: Ben Affleck, John Goodman, Alan Arkin, Bryan Cranston, Taylor Schilling…
Genre: Thriller | Drama
Nationality: USA
Length: 120 min.
Synopsis: A dramatization of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out of revolutionary Iran.IMDb
BASIC CLASSICS! Miller’s Crossing (1990) by Coen Brothers
“A handsome film about men in hats” was how Joel and Ethan Coen described their third film, this beautiful gangster classic that takes great pains to resurrect the genre. Inspired by Dashiell Hammett‘s classic novel The Glass Key, Miller’s Crossing contains some fabulous set-pieces and memorable dialogues. Essential!
Miller’s Crossing [Muerte entre las flores, 1990] Directed by Coen Brothers
Screenplay: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (Novel by Dashiell Hammett)
Cast: Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney, John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, Frances McDormand…
Genre: Drama | The 20s | Gangsters
Nationality: USA
Length: 115 min.
Synopsis: Tom Regan, an advisor to a Prohibition-era crime boss, tries to keep the peace between warring mobs but gets caught in divided loyalties.IMDb
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
On Friday, 26th. 7.45 pm Sala 1. VOSE. Price: 2’5 €. (2 € reduced)
This is the Fiesta del Cine week! If you buy a cinema ticket this week you will receive a little card witch enables to you to buy tickets to next week (only Monday, Thursday and Wednesday) to 2 euros! The best (V.O) theaters are included (except Verdi Cinema). In spite not having big releases this weekend, I am going to remember us the best films (in English) on theaters:
-A Rome with love(2012) by Woody Allen. {Woody is always funny}
-The Impossible (2012) by Juan Antonio Bayona {The Spanish film about the tsunami}
-Kill them softly (2012) by Andrew Domink {Interesting thriller starring Brad Pitt}
-Savages(2012) by Oliver Stone {From Don Wislow’s novel}
-Bel Ami (2012) by Ormerod and Donellan {One of the few films made in UK in theaters}
-Frankenweenie (2012) de Tim Burton {Ideal to see with children}
-Cosmopolis (2012) de David Cronenberg {Bizarre and extreme fable anti-capitalist}
The promotional video (in Spanish):
RELEASES! Looper (2012) by Rian Johnson
An original American movie about time travels and others CI-FI adventures. Starring Bruce Willis, this is the most remarkable release in a insipid weekend. This film is recommended to people who like movies like Matrix, Inception, Blade Runner or Minority report, this kind of films that are often referred as “Futuristic Thriller”.
Looper [Looper, 2012] Directed by Rian Johnson
Screenplay: Rian Johnson
Cast: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano…
Genre: Thriller | Sci-Fi | Futuristic Thriller
Nationality: USA
Length: 118 min.
Synopsis: In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to ‘close the loop’ by transporting back Joe’s future self.IMDb
BASIC CLASSICS! Bunny Lake is missing (1965) by Otto Preminger
We can watch on CBA’s theater this interesting film directed by Otto Premiger. A suffocate thriller adapted from Evelyn Piper’s novel starring Laurence Olivier, one of the great British actors whose presence justifies the film’s vision. A British classic that I have watched and it is very amazing, a dark story about a missing child with an unexpected end. I liked it!
Bunny Lake is missing [El rapto de Bunny Lake, 1986] Directed by Otto Premiger
Screenplay: John and Penelope Mortimer (Novel by Evelyn Piper)
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Keir Dullea, Carol Lynley, Martita Hunt…
Genre: Thriller | Psychological Drama
Nationality: United Kingdom
Length: 107min.
Synopsis: A woman reports that her young daughter is missing, but there seems to be no evidence that she ever existed.IMDb
Hello, I am here again because I will continue to carry the film blog. I cut and paste my presentation of the last year (because I am going to do the shame): I am Antonio and from this moment on I am going to recommend the most important releases every week. I will provide a link to the best films in English, especially British and some from Hollywood. They can be movies from other nationalities because there are films shot in English from many other countries (such as Sweden, Canada…). It will depend on the quality and on how many British movies have that week.
I will also recommend British films shown in the Filmoteca Española and Círculo de Bellas Artes, two great screens where we can see basic classics. This option has guaranteed success and a very good price.
Thank you for your interest, watching British films is a good way to practise our English understanding skills. And one way to have fun!
BRITISH RELEASE of the Week! Bel Ami (2012)
Everybody says that this is the worst adaptation of Bel Ami, a masterpiece written by French novelist Guy de Maupassant, well-know for his horror tales like Edgar Allan Poe or H.P. Lovecraft. But this is not a horror film, it is a story about love and the most important British release of the week. It looks like a movie designed for Robert Pattison, the young actor on fashion who also features another important release the next weekend, Cosmopolis by David Cronenberg. There is also another remarkable Hollywood adaptation of the 40s starring Angela Lansbury and George Sanders that is better… but this is the film that we can watch on screens these days. Enjoy it!
Bel Ami [Bel Ami, historia de un seductor]-2012 Directed by Nick Ormerod and Declan Donnellan
Screenplay: Rachel Bennette (Novel: Guy de Maupassant)
Cast: Robert Pattison, Christina Ricci, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas…
Genre: Drama | Romance | Literary adaptation
Length: 103 min.
Synopsis: A chronicle of a young man’s rise to power in Paris via his manipulation of the city’s most influential and wealthy women.IMDb
ON THEATER! (SO BRITISH!) The Deep Blue Sea (2011)
This is a particular recommendation because it is not a release. I decided to rescue this film on theatres because it is a good example of the British label on cinema. I had the opportunity to watch this film last year in a festival but the release was delayed until recently. This is not a simple film because it is directed by Terence Davis, one of the British filmmakers acclaimed by critics, a particular artist whose cinema is closer to art than it is to entertainment. The cinematographic rhythm is very slow and there is a very theatrical staging but the plot is very easy to follow and Rachel Weisz is fantastic. I loved it!
The Deep Blue Sea [The Deep Blue Sea]-2011 Directed by Terence Davis
Screenplay: Terence Davis (Novel: Terence Rattigan)
Cast: Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston, Simon Russell Beale, Ann Mitchell…
Genre: Melodrama | Romance
Length: 98 min.
Synopsis: The wife of a British Judge is caught in a self-destructive love affair with a Royal Air Force pilot.IMDb
Finally, and as usual past year, I will recommend a film from alternative screens. This weekend we can enjoy an absolute masterpiece in Círculo de Bellas Artes. John Huston filmed this sad story when he was very ill in a wheelchair, in fact, he died soon and this is his last work. This film is an adaption of The Dead, the short story that close Dubliners, the amazing book of James Joyce. This was the John Huston’s testament, a film that celebrates the joy of life and the sadness of the memories. Essential.
The Dead [Dublineses (Los Muertos)]-1987 Directed by John Houston
Screenplay: Tony Houston (Story from Jame Joyce’s book Dubliners)
Cast: Anjelica Houston, Donald McCann, Hellena Carroll, Ingrid Craigie…
Genre: Drama | Romance | Literary adaptation
Length: 83 min.
Synopsis: Gabriel Conroy and wife Greta attend a Christmas dinner with friends at the home of his spinster aunts, an evening which results in an epiphany for both of them.IMDb
Sorry for the delay but the cinema post are here. This weekend has been the release of Tim Burton’s comeback. During nineties, Burton was one of the most exiting directors in Hollywood but, unfortunately, his last works has been very disappointing. He is the creator of memorable films like Edward Scissorhands (1993), Ed Wood (1994) or Sleepy Hollow (1999), beautiful modern horror masterworks. This new film about vampires does not look very good but a film directed by Burton is going to have something different. And, if you want to know what a brilliant comedy is, you must to go to Filmoteca Española on Sunday; Stage door is a sample of the Golden Age of American Cinema.
RELEASES! Dark Shadows (2012)
Tim Burton loves monsters with emotions, different people with particular characters, tormented souls… And everything with a magic touch and some kind of gothic tasted. Her style is very accurate, we can not forget that he is an author and a lot of fans go to the cinema waiting for his personal cinematographic sight. Dark Shadows is a vampire story starring Johnny Deep and Michelle Pfeiffer that it could not be a masterwork but can be entertaining.
Dark Shadows [Sombras Tenebrosas]-2012 Directed by Tim Burton
Screenplay: Seth Grahame-Smith (Characters: Dan Curtis)
Cast: Johnny Deep, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham-Carter, Chloe Grace Moretz, Eva Green, Christopher Lee, Alice Cooper
Genre: Comedy | Horror | Fantastic
Length: 112 min.
Synopsis: An imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins, is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection.IMDb
Gregory La Cava is well-known because is one of the directors associated with an elegant and refined Hollywood films during 30s-40s like George Cukor, Ernst Lubitsch or Howard Hawks. This films is about the world of theatre and performance starring Katherine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers. This movie is included in a excellent cycle about “The most important films in the cinema history”.
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
On Sunday, 20th. 17:30 h. Sala 1. VOSE. Price: 2’5 €. (2 € reduced)
Stage Door [Damas del teatro]-1937 Directed by Gregory La Cava
Here come the recommendations of the weekend with two interesting films, a British drama signed by Swedish film director Lasse Hallström starring Ewan McGregor, and one of the best films ever, the canonic western The Searchers, filmed in an American mythic scenario with the ideal hero: John Wayne. An absolute masterwork directed by John Ford.
RELEASES! (So British!) Salmon fishing in the Yemen (2011)
Veteran film director Lasse Hallström returns with a British film with an unusual title: Salmon fishing in The Yemen. It looks like ridiculous but there is a beautiful romance story inside. We need to remember the past successes of this director for trying to confide in him, like: What’s eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) The film that discovered Leonardo Di Caprio starring Johnny Deep; The Cider House Rules (1999) based on a novel by John Irving, with several Oscars, or Chocolat (2000), with Johnny Deep and Juliette Binoche. So, we can imagine what kind of film could be this release.
Salmon fishing in the Yemen [La pesca del salmón en Yemen]-2011 Directed by Lasse Hallström
Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy (Novel: Paul Torday) Cast: Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, Kristin Scott Thomas, Rachel Stirling Genre: Comedy | Romance
Length: 111 min.
Synopsis: A fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik’s vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert and embarks on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible possible.IMDb
A singular western directed by a genius like John Ford, is waiting for us in Filmoteca Española next sunday. This film is adored by criticism because is made with a suberb talent, with subtexts, an epic history and very iconic images. It is not an easy film… but it will stay in your memory for ever.
The Searchers [Centauros del desierto]-1956 Directed by John Ford
Screenplay: Frank S. Nugent Cast: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Natalie Wood, Ward Bond, Vera Miles, John Qualen Genre: Western | Drama
Length: 119 min.
Synopsis: As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.IMDb
During this month, we can enjoy some of the most remarkable films of Alfred Hitchcock. Cines Verdi (Bravo Murillo Street, 28) have had this excellent idea and we must support them. The films selected are: The Birds (1963), Psycho (1960), Vertigo (1958) and North by Nortwest (Con la muerte en los talones, 1953). I could not to choose only one!
The realeases of the week are not so important that a film that I am not talking about the last week: Take Shelter. An independent production from USA that had been treated with special interesting by cinematographic criticism.
This weekend we can enjoy two fantastic films in Filmoteca Española, the immortal drama by Tennessee Williams, Cat on a hot tin roof, with another actoral lesson by Liz Taylor, and The Ladykillers, an outstanding collection of British black humour in the tribute that pays this month to the Scottish filmmaker Alexander McKendrick. Enjoy it!
RELEASES! Take shelter (2011)
After a collection of films about the end of the world, directed by Lars von Trier (Melancholia)or Abel Ferrara (44:4 Last day on Earth), came an attractive film about a man that is obsessed with the Apocalypse and protecting his family. We do not know if he is crazy, influenced by a mental illness or it is true that the end of the world is starting. We need to watch the movie to know it.
Take shelter [Take shelter]-2011 Directed by Jeff Nichols
Synopsis: Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.IMDb
What can we say about this absolute classic? A masterpiece signed by Tennessee Williams that shows an ideal mosaic built with the typical elements of this author: melodramatic style, tortured souls, lies, a hypocritical society, a lot of tears and passion. The cast is also great: Liz Taylor (with a memorable performance) and Paul Newman (with a very sad character). This is one of those films required viewing (but then you do not like).
Curiosity: The Spanish translator decided to delete the word “HOT” from the original title. This had a very explicit sexual connotation.
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
On Saturday, 14th. 19:00 h. Sala 1. VOSE. Price: 2’5 €. (2 € reduced)
Cat on a tin hot roof [La gata sobre el tejado de zinc]-1958 Directed by Richard Brooks
Screenplay: Richard Brooks, James Poe (Theatre play: Tennessee Williams)
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Brick Pollit, Larry Gates, Burl Ives, Madeleine Sherwood, Judith Anderson
Genre: Drama | Theatre adaptation
Length: 108 min.
Synopsis: Brick, an alcoholic ex-football player, drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife, Maggie. His reunion with his father, Big Daddy, who is dying of cancer, jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.IMBb
BASIC CLASSICS (So British!)! The Ladykillers (1955)
Moreover, we can watch an advisable tribute to Alexander McKendrick, a typical filmmaker form UK that I like to put him the SO BRITISH! Label because with this kinds of films we can understand more than a language, knowing particular elements of British life or the way that they understand the world. The Ladykillers is an ideal black humour comedy that probably you know because there was a remake, a few years ago (2004), directed by Coen Bros. and starring Tom Hanks. Fun is guaranteed!
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
On Sunday, 15th. 21:45 h. Sala 1. VOSE. Price: 2’5 €. (2 € reduced)
The Ladykillers [El quinteto de la muerte]-1955 Directed by Alexander McKendrick
Screenplay: William Rose
Cast: Alec Guiness, Peter Sellers, Kate Johnson, Danny Green, Jack Warner
Genre: Comedy | Black humour
Length: 123 min.
Synopsis: Five diverse oddball criminal types planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.IMDb
At last, we can enjoy a British vision of Emily Brönte’s masterpiece. Experimental, sensual, different, controvert, original, boring, bizarre… We can put so many adjectives… But, to do it, we must watch it! Advertisement: This is not a faithful adaptation, it is a possibility of regenerating concepts from the novel, an essay of Wuthering Heights that it will give us a polemic (and interesting) conversation.
Moreover, I dare to recommend a silent movie, one of my favorite movies ever, Sunrise, a visual poem signed by Murnau in Hollywood that it is considered a masterpiece of the silent period, simple and beautiful at the same time, unique…
RELEASES! Wuthering Heights (2011)
What can we say about this immortal story? A volcanic passion written by a solitary woman in a desolate place, one of the superb chapters in British Literature History… What makes this new adaptation interesting? It is directed by a woman, Andrea Arnold, with not much budget, with a radical and different point of view and (like always) it is British!
Wuthering Heights [Cumbres borrascosas]-2011 Directed by Andrea Arnold
Screenplay: Olivia Hetreed (Novel: Emily Brönte) Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Nichola Burley, Oliver Milburn Genre: Romance | Drama
Length: 128 min.
Synopsis: A poor boy of unknown origins is rescued from poverty and taken in by the Earnshaw family where he develops an intense relationship with his young foster sister, Cathy.IMDb
April starts in Filmoteca Española with a selection of the main films of the history of the Cinema, so we can watch Sunrise this Sunday, a film that represents the degree of stylization that got silent movies before the advent of sound. It is a nice story (not much original) but narrated with the style of a genius, composing planes with a delicious taste, being so interesting and amazing at the same time. If you want to start watching silent movies, this is an ideal election. I love this film!
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
Sala 1. VO. English intertitles-Spanish subtitles. Sunday, 17:30. Price: 2’5 €. (2 € reduced)
Sunrise [Amanecer]-1927 Directed by Friedrich W. Murnau
Screenplay: Carl Mayer Cast: George O’Brien, Jane Gaynor, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston Genre: Silent cinema | Romance Drama
Length: 94 min.
Synopsis: A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.IMDb
Sorry, the film post comes a little bit late but here it is with a British release and one of the films selected in the Liz Taylor’s tribute by Filmoteca Española.
Release: We need to talk about Kevin (2011)
Imitating films like “Elephant” (by Gus Van Sant) or “Bowling for Columbine” (by Michael Moore), Scottish director Lynne Ramsay presents a film about a young assasin in a school ambient. The film is directed with pulse, modern images and a good sense of the tension but the project fails in something so important than characters, superficially drawn .
So, it is the British release of the week and has interesting aspects, like Tilda Swinton’s perfomance because it is very easy do a good work in a good film, but get it in this case, with a irregular film, it is admirable.
We need to talk about Kevin [Tenemos que hablar de Kevin]-2011 Directed by Lynne Ramsay
Screenplay: Lynne Ramsay, Rory Stewart Kinnear (Novel: Lionel Shriver)
Cast: Tilday Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Ashley Gerasimovich, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Alex Manette, Kenneth Franklin
Genre: Psycologic drama
Length: 110 min.
Synopsis: Kevin’s mother struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly vicious things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.IMDb
Basic Classics-Tribute to Elizabeth Taylor: A place in the sun (1951)
A selected compilation of the British actress Elizabeth Taylor is happening in Filmoteca Española. This saturday we can watch an important Liz’s work in Hollywood (with several Oscars) called “A place in the sun” and based on a successful best-seller called “An American tragedy” by Theodor Dreisen. Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift are an explosive combination and, if it were not enough, Shelley Winters is in the cast.
It looks like a very melodramatic and passionate film! I have not watched it but I will try to do it.
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
22:00h. Sala 1. VOSE. Price: 2’5 e. [Reduced: 2 e. ]
A place in the sun [Un lugar en el sol]-1951 Directed by George Stevens
Screenplay: Michael Wilson, Harry Brown (Novel: Theodore Dreiser)
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, Shelley Winters, Anne Revere, Fred Clark
Genre: Drama | Romance
Length: 122 min.
Synopsis: A poor boy gets a job working for his rich uncle and ends up falling in love with two women.IMDb
In regard to releases this is not a glorious weekend. There is only a remarkable release, George Clooney’s comeback like director (and actor). It is not his debut, he was a great success in 2005 with the story about Joseph McCarthy and the CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow, a movie calls Good night, Good luck. Programming of musical films in CBA coming to an end so I recommend the last one, Gigi, a film directed by one of the best directors of musicals: Vicente Minelli (married with Gudy Garld, so he is Liza Minelli’s father) with ¡nine Oscars! (when this prizes had prestige). Enjoy them!
Release! THE IDES OF MARCH (2011)
George Clooney insists again with a story about politicians and what is the way they could sell their soul to the Devil. After her great success in Drive, Ryan Gosling has become one of the fashionable actor. The ides of March is a cinematographic adaptation of the theater play Farragut North written by Beau Willimon.
The ides of March [Los idus de Marzo]-2011 Directed by George Clooney
Screenplay: George Clooney, Grant Heslov (Theater play: Beau Willimon) Cast: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Max Minghella Genre: Drama | Political
Length: 101 min.
Synopsis: An idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.IMDb
Gigi is an American musical with a French touch (Americans have an special attraction to French Culture). Based on Colette’s novel, this film won nine Oscars in 1958, including Best Film, Best Direction, Best Music or Best Adapted Screenplay. This year Gigi faced against Cat on a hot tin roof but the Elizabeth Taylor’s masterpiece lost.
Gigi [Gigi]-1958 Directed by Vicenti Minelli
Screenplay: Alan Jay Lerner (Novel: Colette) Cast: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jordan, Eva Gabor, Jacques Bergerac, Hermione Gingold Genre: Musical | Romance
Length: 115 min.
Synopsis: Weary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship, but it may not stay platonic for long.IMBb.
This month (and on April) we can see several Liz Taylor’s films on Filmoteca Española’s screen. The beautiful British actress will be honored (after her passed away) with a selection of some of her most remarkable performances (Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The cat on a hot tin roof, Cleopatra, Suddenly last summer, Giant…) An absolute icon of the Seventh Art.
Wikipedia: Farragut North is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C., on the Red Line. →
A little later than normal (I was waiting for March programmes), I post the recommendation of the weekend. We have two special movies: a British release called Tyrannosaur and the Spanish filmmaker’s comeback Rodrigo Cortés, a Spanish film but is like a Hollywood product because is talked in English starring Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver. I do not know if a film like this could be classified like Spanish. We can practice our English and this is the importante of the film.
BRITISH RELEASE! Tyrannosaur (2011)
A typical British movie like Ken Loach’s films about outsiders and marginal people, starring two great actors, Peter Mullan (Tranispotting, My name is Joe, Braveheart…) and Olivia Colman (Peep Show (tv), The iron lady…). This movie is released in Spain with an important foreign success like the Best Director and Best Film’s prizes in Sundance or The Best Debut Prize in BAFTAs.
Tyrannosaur [Tyrannosaur (Redención)]-2011 Directed by Paddy Considine
Screenplay: Paddy Considine
Cast: Peter Mullan, Olivia Colman, Eddie Marsan, Ned Dennehy, Sally Carman
Genre: Drama
Lenght: 91 min.
Synopsis: Joseph, a man plagued by violence and a rage that is driving him to self-destruction, earns a chance of redemption that appears in the form of Hannah, a Christian charity shop worker.IMDb.
Rodrigo Cortés had a great success in 2010 with the film Buried, the story of a man buried alive. Now he returns with a film produced between Spain and USA, with two great claims: Robert de Niro (Taxi Driver, The Godfather, Novecento…) and Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Working girl, Gorillas in the Mist…).
Red Lights [Luces rojas]-2012 Directed by Rodrigo Cortés
Screenplay: Rodrigo Cortés
Cast:Robert De Niro, Cillian Murphy, Elizabeth Olsen, Sigourney Weaver, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Jan Cornet
Genre: Thriller | Supernatural
Lenght: 119 min.
Synopsis: Psychologist Margaret Matheson and her assistant study paranormal activity, which leads them to investigate a world-renowned psychic.IMDb.
As for our weekly appointment with the classics we turn back to the CBA selection with the best American musicals. In this case with a remake of a beautiful film called like the original: A star born (from 1937). One of the most interesting studies about the Success in show business, directed by a perfect actress director as Geroge Cuckor starring lovely Gudy Garland and the great James Mason. This film would be remade in 1976 with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson in a forgettable version.
Rumours! It is announced a new remake directed by Clint Eastwood starring Beyoncé that would be released this year. This smells very bad.
A star is born [Ha nacido una estrella]-1954 Directed by George Cuckor
Screenplay: Moss Hart, Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell, Robert Carson (Plot: William A. Wellman & Robert Carson)
Cast: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Charles Bickford, Tommy Noonan, Lucy Marlow, Amanda Blake, Irving Bacon, Hazel Shermet
Genre: Musical | Drama | Remake
Lenght: 175 min.
Synopsis: A movie star helps a young singer/actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.IMDb.
The Martin Scorsese’s comeback with a special film that he considered a honest tribute to Cinema. Something is happen to Hollywood because it is very nostalgic with the ancient times. The Artist is a good example. I thought it was a totally French film but the producers are the famous Westein Brothers (they produced the Tarantino’s films, Shakespeare in love, etc…). Hugo is the first familiar film by Scorsese but it seems very recomendable. The other release is British and with another nostalgic touch. Remembering one of the most known cinema icons, My week with Marilyn is a film about Marilyn Monroe starring Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh and Judi Dench. At last, the real classic of the week, an absolute pleasure for the senses: Singin’ in the rain, the perfect musical where all is suberb: songs, music, photography, perfomances, the script, direction… If you do not still seen it you must go to the Círculo de Bellas Artes cinema this weekend. It is pleasant to see so absolut masterpiece. This film is included in a retrospective about American musicals like Gigi, West Side Story or A star is born.
RELEASES! Hugo (2011) by Martin Scorsese
Hugo [La invención de Hugo]-2011 Directed by Martin Scorsese
Screenplay: John Logan (Novel: Brian Selznick)
Cast: Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law, Asa Butterfield, Christopher Lee, Helen MacRory, Frances de la Tour…
Genre: Familiar | Adventures | Fantastic
Length: 127 min.
Synopsis: Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.
My week with Marilyn [Mi semana con Marilyn]-2011 Directedby Simon Curtis {Debut} Screenplay: Adrian Hodges (Novel: Colin Clark)
Cast: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Dominic Cooper, Emma Watson, Julia Ormond…
Genre: Biographic | Drama | Cinema
Length: 98 min.
Synopsis: In 1956, Marilyn Monroe arrives in England to star with Sir Laurence Olivier in The Prince And The Showgirl. Well-connected 23-year-old Colin Clark gets a job as a production assistant, witnesses the clash of titanic egos and forms a brief intimacy with the emotionally fragile screen goddess.
At last, we can enjoy two British releases this weekend. One hand, there is a horror film about enchanted houses, with spirits and ghosts, a victorian touch and (this is important) no blood. On the the other hand, the controversial movie “Shame” arrives Spanish cinemas with a big marketing campaign.
RELEASES! THE WOMAN IN BLACK: Daniel Radcliff (yes! Harry Potter) is the main character in this film produced by Hammer Films, the most important British horror producer, the creators of the great gothic horror films on seventies or the extraordinary Christopher Lee’s success performing Dracula. Hammer was a lot of years disappear but they have returned since two years ago.
The woman in black [La mujer de negro]-2012 Directed by James Watkins
Screenplay: Jane Goldman (Novel by Susan Hill)
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciaran Hinds, Janet meter, Shaun Dooley and Liz
Genre: Horror | Drama
Length: 95 min.
Synopsis: A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.
RELEASES! SHAME: It is story about a sex addict, starring Michael Fassbender, that I could see last year in Festival de San Sebastian, and I did not like too much. It is not a bad filming but its screenplay is a little bit stupid, with a musical overdose and a Fassbender saturation. I recommend it because is British and also because everybody is going to talk about it. A controversial film (because is about sex). We are not going to change ever.
Shame [Shame]-2011 Directed by Steve McQueen
Screenplay: Steve McQueen & Abi Morgan
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan , James Badge Dale, Nicole Beharie
Genre: Drama | Erotic
Length: 99 min.
Synopsis: In New York City, Brandon’s carefully cultivated private life — which allows him to indulge his sexual addiction — is disrupted when his sister Sissy arrives unannounced for an indefinite stay.
BASIC CLASSICS! Nicholas Ray’s BIGGER THAN LIFE. Ray’s tribute is still on Filmoteca’s screen. This weekend we can see an American way of life attack with a story about drugs called “Bigger than life”. Starring James Mason and Walter Matthau, it is very bizarre because the drug that produces James Mason’s hallucinations is ¡cortisone! A very common medicine nowadays but not so usual in 50s.
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
On Saturday, 18th. 19:30 h. Sala 1. VOSE. Price: 2’5 €. (2 € reduced)
Bigger than life [Más poderoso que la vida]-1956 Directed by Nicholas Ray
Screenplay: Cyril Hume & Richard Maibaum
Cast: A seriously ill schoolteacher becomes dependent on a “miracle” drug that begins to affect his sanity.
Genre: Drama
Length: 95 min.
Synopsis: A seriously ill schoolteacher becomes dependent on a “miracle” drug that begins to affect his sanity.
Original Trailer (VOSE) with an introduction by James Mason:
A few days ago, I found this list compiled by Time Out. There are a lot of lists in Internet –British love it!-, but I liked it so much because there are an interesting mix between classics and cult movies. I thought that you could been interesting in it and I share in our blog.
Watching movies is a good way to practice our English. Evidently, we must watch them with subtitles.
We do not have British releases but we can enjoy an excellent Nicholas Ray’s tribute on the Filmoteca’s screen, with two masterpieces, and Spielberg’s comeback.
RELEASES!War Horse is directed by Steven Spielberg, who is a great director but, honestly, I do not expect too much of this film because a friend of mine has seen it and told me it is a film for children. However, this story could be recommended to those of you with children or to whoever is fond of animals.
War Horse [War Horse (Caballo de batalla)]-2011 Directed by Steven Spielberg
Screenplay: Lee Hall, Richard Curtis (Novel: Michael Morpurgo)
Cast:Benedict Cumberbatch, David Kross, David Thewlis, Emily Watson, Jeremy Irvine, Niels Arestrup, Peter Mullan, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hiddleston
Genre: Drama | War | Animals
Length: 146 min.
Synopsis: Young Albert enlists to service in I World War after his beloved horse, Joey, is sold to the cavalry. Albert’s hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on.
BASIC CLASSICS! Tribute to Nicholas RAY: Johnny Guitar (1954) | Rebel without a cause (1955)
Nicholas Ray’s birth centenary is commemorated this year. He is a good representative of Hollywood’s Golden Age. A brilliant director who worked on the film studios and could print his personal mark on them. In order to check it we could see two of his most famous works, two absolute masterpieces that have become Seventh Art icon. On the one hand, James Dean becomes a youth icon in Rebel without a cause, a generational film with an extraordinary success. On the other hand, Joan Crawford performs one of the best characters of her notorious career in the unusual western Johnny Guitar. She plays Vienna, a strong woman who runs a saloon and is attacked by the people of the neighbour town because they hate her life style. Before seeing Johnny Guitar, I recommend to go through classic western films because Ray perverts some of its codes.
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
Sala 1. VOSE. Price: 2’5 €. (2 € reduced)
Johnny Guitar: 12th on Sunday 21:40h. | Rebel without a cause: 10th on Friday 19:30h.
BASIC CLASSICS!: Johnny Guitar [Johnny Guitar]-1954 Directed by Nicholas Ray
Synopsis: Vienna has built a saloon outside of town, and she hopes to build her own town once the railroad is put through, but the townsfolk want her gone. When four men hold up a stagecoach and kill a man the town officials, led by Emma Small, come to the saloon to grab four of Vienna’s friends, the Dancin’ Kid and his men. Vienna stands strong against them, and is aided by the presence of an old acquaintance of hers, Johnny Guitar, who is not what he seems.IMDb.
Johnny: How many men have you forgotten?
Vienna: As many women as you’ve remembered.
Johnny: Don’t go away.
Vienna: I haven’t moved.
Johnny: Tell me something nice.
Vienna: Sure. What do you want to hear?
Johnny: Lie to me. Tell me all these years you’ve waited…
Vienna: All these years I’ve waited.
Johnny: Tell me you’d have died if I hadn’t come back.
Vienna: I would have died if you hadn’t come back.
Johnny: Tell me you still love me like I love you.
Vienna: I still love you like you love me.
Johnny: Thanks. Thanks a lot.
Rebel without a cause [Rebelde sin causa]-1955 Directed by Nicholas Ray
PD. The next week we could see on Academia de Cine (Zurbano nº 3, with the PP headquarters) the foreign nominated films for Goyas 2012. All of them are in English language and FREE entrance!! 20:00 h.
JANE EYRE (by Cary Fugunaga) -14 feb Tuesday
MELANCHOLIA (by Lars Von Trier) -15 feb Wednesday
THE ARTIST (by Michel Hazanavicius) -16 feb Thursday
CARNAGE [A UN DIOS SALVAJE] (by Roman Polanski) -17 feb Friday
RELEASES: We were going to have a British release, a film called Tyranossaur but it has been delayed (on March) so, the most interesting release of the weekend is Moneyball, the new Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay. He is the creator of the famous tv series The West Wing [El ala oeste de la Casa Blanca] and won a Oscar prize in 2010 for the screenplay of the film The Social Network [La Red Social]. Starring Brad Pitt, it is a film about baseball directed by Bennett Miller who had a great success in 2005 with a biopic about Truman Capote (called like the journalist/writer). Philip Seymour Hoffman has a role in the film. This movie is nominated for Oscars in important major categories like Best Film or Best Actor in Supporting role (Brad Pitt).
Moneyball [Moneyball: Rompiendo las reglas]-2011 Directed by Bennett Miller Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian (Novel: Michael Lewis) Cast: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright Penn, Chris Pratt, Kathryn Morris, Tammy Blanchard, Glenn Morshower, Erin Pickett, Sergio Garcia, Jack McGee Genre: Drama | Sports | Based on real events Length: 133 min. Synopsis: The story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.IMDb.
BASIC CLASSICS: There are a lot of important films on the Filmoteca screen this mounth but we could see a beautiful film called The Deer Hunter [El Cazador] in Círculo de Bellas Artes, another interesting and chip screen. This is a good representative sample of the excelent Hollywood filmography on seventies, another golden age where American cinema had been influenced by European masters (Fellini, Godard, Truffaut, Buñuel, Pasolini…) getting a suberb decade plains of masterpieces by Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, William Friedkin, Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola… This film is an intense travel around the Vietnam’s nightmare, with a good cast where we could see one of the best perfomances of Robert de Niro and Christopher Walken (and a very young Meryl Streep!). It is long but is good.
The Deer Hunter [El Cazador]-1978 Directed by Michael Cimino Screenplay: Deric Washburn (Story: Deric Washburne, Michael Cimino) Cast: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Savage, John Cazale, Amy Wright Genre: Drama | War Length: 182 min. Synopsis: An in-depth examination of the way that the Vietnam war affects the lives of people in a small industrial town in the USA.IMDb.
Cine Círculo de Bellas Artes
Alcalá, 42 Metro Station: Banco de España / Sevilla
VOSE. Price: 5 €. (Normal), 3.40 €. (Reduced)
Saturday: 04.02.12 • 21:15
Sunday: 05.02.12 • 17:00
Curiously, I am not a follower of this prizes but this year we have several beautiful films like Midnight in Paris directed by Woody Allen (with Spanish production!), The Descendants (featuring George Clooney) directed by Alexander Payne, he is the main rival of Jean Dujardin starring The Artist, one of the surprises of the season. And everybody say that Maryl Streep will win the Best Actress in Supporting Role with her amazing Margaret Thatcher performance in The iron lady. The Iranian film Nader and Sinim. A separation is also favorite in Best Foreign Language Film (not talked in English). Our Jean Eyre is logically nominated for its costumes.
There are several special films like The tree of life directed by Terrence Mallick, one of the best directors of Hollywood with a special sensibility that it is far away from great audiences. Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese have returned with two familiar films that I will recommed later War Horse and Hugo.
And I do not want to forget the two Spanish surprises! Chico & Rita directed by Fernando Trueba (who wone this prize with the film Belle Epoque) is nominated in Best Animated Film and the suberb Spanish musician Alberto Iglesias, (who also was nominated for the music of The constant gardener [El jardinero fiel, 2005] and The kite runner [Cometas en el cielo, 2007]) could win the Best Original Score prize for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy [El Topo, 2011].
Beat the best!
RELEASES: We can enjoy two recommended releases this weekend, both with proper names. There is an interesting British release, Albert Nobbs, the great Glenn Close’s project based on a theatrical play and directed by Rodrigo García (Gabriel García Márquez’s son). On the other hand, Clint Eastwood returns with a biopic about Edgar Hoover, a mysterious and powerful person who was the FBI director. Enjoin them!
Albert Nobbs [Albert Nobbs]-2011 Directed by Rodrigo García Screenplay: Glenn Close, John Banville (based on the theatrical play “The singular life of Albert Nobbs”). Cast: Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Brendan Gleeson, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Janet McTeer, Brenda Fricker, Pauline Collins, Bronagh Gallagher Genre: Drama Length: 108 min. Synopsis: Glenn Close plays a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in 19th century Ireland. Some thirty years after donning men’s clothing, she finds herself trapped in a prison of her own making. IMDb.
J. Edgar [J. Edgar]-2011 Directed by Clint Eastwood Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Josh Lucas, Judi Dench, Armie Hammer, Ed Westwick, Dermot Mulroney, Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Donovan, Michael Gladis, Stephen Root Genre: Drama | Biopic | Political Length: 136 min. Synopsis: As the face of law enforcement in America for almost 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life.IMDb.
BASIC CLASSIC: I recommend again a film on the Filmoteca Española screen because Carmen reffered to it in class on Monday (and it is also a good movie), the acclaimed Jim Sheridan’s film In the name of the father [En el nombre del padre, 1993].
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
Saturday 28th. 19:30h. Sala 1. VOSE. Price: 2’5 €.
In the name of the father [En el nombre del padre]-1993 Directed by Jim Sheridan Screenplay: Terry George & Jim Sheridan (Novel: Gerry Conlon) Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Emma Thompson, Pete Postlethwaite, John Lynch, Beatie Edney, Mark Sheppard, Don Baker, Frank Harper, Saffron Burrows, Tom Wilkinson, Gerard McSorley Genre: Drama | Political Length: 125 min. Synopsis: Man’s coerced confession to an IRA bombing he didn’t do imprisons his father as well; a British lawyer helps fight for their freedom.IMDb.
RELEASE: There are not British releases this week so I am going to recommend the more interesting Hollywood release: The Descendants. This could be one of the best films of the year, with an inspired George Clooney and a good director like Alexader Payne who made the satiric movie Election (featuring a funny Reese Witherspoon), About Schmidt (starring Jack Nicholson) and the romantic comedy Sideways (translated into spanish like “Entre copas”).
This film has received great praises like “Mr. Payne, with a light touch and a keen sense of place has made a movie that, for all its modesty, is as big as life.” (New York Times) or “It is an exceptionally smart and enjoyable comedy” (The Wall Street Journal).
We cannot miss this movie!
The Descendants [Los Descendientes] 2011-Directed by Alexander Payne Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash (Novel: Kaui Hart Hemmings) Cast: George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard, Judy Greer, Robert Forster Genre: Drama Length: 115 min. Sinopsis: Matt King (George Clooney), an indifferent husband and father, has to reconnect with his two young daughters when his wife is involved in a boating accident and falls into a coma. While struggling to make a decision about whether he should sell the family land that has been handed down through the generations, he uncovers a troubling secret about his wife.
BASIC CLASSIC: The next 21th Saturday we can watch an extraordinary film directed by Sidney Lumet, 12 Angry Men (12 Hombres sin piedad), the aclaimed movie about trials, with a very theatrical staging and starring Henry Fonda. It was the Lumet’s debut and a film with a perfect narrative structure based on spectacular plays and dialogues. Essential!
Cine Doré (Filmoteca Española), Santa Isabel 3 [Metro: Antón Martín]
20:20h. Sala 1. VOSE. Price: 2’5 e.
12 Angry Men [12 Hombres sin piedad] 1957-Directed by Sidney Lumet Screenplay: Reginald Rose (Theater: Reginald Rose) Genre: Drama Lenght: 97 min. Synopsis: The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case of murder soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors’ prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other. Based on the play, all of the action takes place on the stage of the jury room. (IMDb)
Although this biopic has not had good reviews, the fantastic Margareth Thatcher’s characterization has become one of the topics of the moment. The great actress has been nominated twenty-eight times. The Iron Lady was our cinematographic recommendation last week.
This ceremony is a preview of the Oscars, so the excellent Iranian film Nader and Simin. A separation, which was wone the Best Foreingn Film Prize, is going to be the favorite for the Oscars and the main rival of the Spanish movie chosen, Agustí Villaronga’s Black bread (Pa Negre).
The Artist, a movie about Hollywood, that has been filmed imitating silent movies (without dialogues, in black and white…) it is an excersice of nostalgia for the past times. Although, it is a French movie but, I think, the intertitles must be in English, so it can be a recommendation (but only to improve our reading skills, not listening).
