On the occasion of this long bridge, film releases are brought forward a couple of days and improve in quality compared to last week.
‘Fatal Weapon’ (‘Hot Fuzz’)
Director: Edgar Wright
Performers: Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
Synopsis: Nick Angel is a London police officer who is promoted to sergeant and, at the same time, demoted to the town of Sanford because he works so diligently in the capital that he makes his peers and superiors look bad. In the field he will encounter the highest levels of police incompetence imaginable in the figure of Frank Butterman and his son Danny who, despite everything, will become his best friend. But the little town that appears to be all harmonious and that wins the prize for the most charming town year after year, hides many secrets.
My opinion: Possibly the funniest movie of the year, as you can read in my review. And also one of the two or three best, therefore there is no doubt that it is the best option of the week. The Spanish title lowers the category, as happened to ‘Zombies Party’ (‘Shaun of the Dead’), but don’t be fooled.
‘The Golden Compass’ (‘The Golden Compass’)
Director: Chris Weitz.
Performers: Dakota Blue Richards, Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman, Eva Green, Sam Elliott and the voice of Ian McKellen.
Synopsis: Teenager Lyra Belaqua embarks on an adventure to save two of her friends, who have been kidnapped by the Magisterium. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, will march for her on an expedition to find the dust particles that would link this world with another dimension, but Mrs. Coulter and his disciples will try to stop him at any cost.
My opinion: As an adventure movie, more than correct. But the best thing is its metaphysical depth and its criticism of the Church, which make it a much less childish film than it appears, as I told you in the review I dedicated to it. It can also be seen that the best are the plots that open for the other installments of the trilogy. We will have to go see it to be encouraged to shoot them.
‘The sunset’ (‘Evening’)
Director: Lajos Koltai
Performers: Glenn Close, Toni Collette, Claire Danes, Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson and Meryl Streep, Patrick Wilson, Hugh Dancy, Mamie Gummer and Eillen Atkins.
Synopsis: On her deathbed, Ann (Vanessa Redgrave) remembers a person her children don’t know: Harris. We then see a young Ann (Claire Danes) attend the wedding of her best friend, Lila (Mamie Gummer) and fall in love with Harris, a man whom she also loves, albeit unrequitedly, her future wife. .
My opinion: In my review you can read that it seemed to me that, apart from the spectacular cast, I did not see many incentives, except for the character of Hugh Dancy, who becomes the most interesting, although he is not the intended protagonist.
‘The Inner Life of Martin Frost’ (‘The Inner Life of Martin Frost’)
Director: Paul Auster
Performers: David Thewlis, Irène Jacob, Michael Imperioli and Sophie Auster.
Synopsis: Martin Frost is a successful writer who has just published a book and decides to retire for a while to a country house that some friends lend him. Waking up the first morning, Frost is shocked to discover a woman lying next to him. She claims to be the niece of Martin’s friend and to have the writer’s first name as her last name. Although at first Frost finds it difficult to accept the company, since he had come to the field to be alone, he soon begins a romance with the mysterious woman. And when everything starts to go well, a call from the owners of the house will reveal that there is no such niece.
My opinion: Those who do not know the work of Paul Auster will probably benefit from seeing the reflections he proposes in ‘The Inner Life of Martin Frost’. However, the film cannot bear comparison with previous works by the writer and director in which the same constants appear: identity, inspiration, creation, the portrait of himself thanks to a transcript. Here you can read this opinion with more complete arguments.
‘Donkey.Xote’
Director: Jose Pozo.
Doublers: José Luis Gil, Andreu Buenafuente, David Fernández, Jordi González, Sancho Gracia, Sonia Ferrer, Luis Posada, María Luisa Solá, Félix Benito, Jordi Hurtado.
Synopsis: Quixote and Sancho receive the challenge of going to a fight in Barcelona so that the true identity of Dulcinea de El Toboso is revealed to them. But, as the title indicates, ‘Donkey Xote’, the protagonist is the donkey who wants to be a horse and who will encourage his friend Rocinante to attend the appointment.
My opinion: The good thing about it is the humor that parodies other animated films and talks about modern real life situations. You can read the rest of my review here.
‘Mr. Brooks’ (‘Mr Brooks’)
Director: Bruce A. Evans.
Performers: Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, William Hurt, Reyko Aylesworth, and Marg Helgenberger.
Synopsis: Mr. Brooks (Kevin Costner) is a tortured man unable to control his emotions. He has an evil half, an alter ego who loves murder and mayhem. Detective Atwood (Demi Moore) is a seasoned investigator whose devotion to her work captures the attention and admiration of the murderer behind Mr. Brooks.
‘Mallorca’s song’ (‘Four Last Songs’).
Director: Francesca Joseph.
Performers: Stanley Tucci, Rhys Ifans, Hugh Bonneville, Jena Malone, Jessica Hynes, Karl Johnson, Marisa Paredes, Maria Esteve.
Synopsis: Larry (Stanley Tucci) is an American who has failed to succeed in life, either personally or professionally. He resides in a small town on a beautiful Mediterranean island.
‘Death of a President’ (‘Death of a President’)
Address: Gabriel Range.
Performers: Hend Ayoub (Zahara Abu Zikri), Brian Boland (Larry Stafford), Becky Ann Baker (Eleanor Drake), Robert Mangiardi (Greg Turner), Jay Patterson (Sam McCarthy), Jay Whittaker (Frank Molini), Michael Reilly Burke (Robert H Maguire), James Urbaniak (Dr. James Pearn), M. Neko Parham (Casey), Seena Jon (Samir Masri).
Synopsis: It is a fictional documentary that shows the assassination of President George W. Bush. Despite the sensationalism of its plot, the film tries to be a sober portrait of the effects of Bush’s post-9/11 policies on American society, especially on civil liberties. The film opens with demonstrations against the President of the United States during his visit to Chicago in 2007. As he leaves the hotel after giving a speech, a sniper stationed in a nearby building shoots him. Police detain a Palestinian man with weak evidence. The man is convicted of the murder and remains in prison although the evidence suggests that another man had committed the crime.
’14 kilometers’
Director: Gerardo Olivares.
Performers: Adoum Moussa, Illiassou Mahamadou Alzouma, Aminata Kanta.
Synopsis: Fourteen kilometers is the distance that separates Africa from Europe, but it is also the barrier that separates the dreams of millions of Africans who see in the West their only way out of hunger and misery. Hand in hand with three young Africans (Violeta, Buba and Mukela) we will travel a long and dangerous journey through the Sahara to learn what the media never teach. The repeated images on television of cayucos reaching the coasts of the Canary Islands have ended up numbing us to a drama that only shows the tip of the iceberg. Those images of exhausted faces attest to the harshness of the journey, a journey that originates thousands of kilometers away and can last for years. And this is what ’14 kilometers’ intends.
‘The Keeper’
Address: Rodrigo Moreno,
Performers: Cristina Villamor, Elvira Onetto, Guadalupe Docampo, Julieta Vallina, Julio Chávez, Marcelo D’Andrea, Osmar Núnez, Osvaldo Djeredjián,
Synopsis: Rubén works as a bodyguard for an Argentine Minister. He follows in his footsteps into a world that is alien to him. The Custodian brings us closer to a man who has stopped feeling his life as such, of being the protagonist of his own life. Plunged into this kind of non-existence, he will move like a shadow in the world of those around him.
‘The Keeper’ Awards: Berlin Film Festival Alfred Bauer Award – Guadalajara Film Festival Best Film, Best Screenplay, Critics’ Award – Sundance NHK Best Latin American Script – Ceará Film Festival Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Critics’ Award.
Source | basecine.
