CineCineCineCine Reviews

The Rodriguez and the Beyond (2019)

Fun and crazy

[8/10 · 22 March 2024]

I'm writing a review just because I find the rating this film has right now on IMDb is really unfair.

This is a highly original and crazy family movie which kept me entertained from beginning to end.

It isn't Mexican as one reviewer wrote, but Spanish. The mother of the family is Mexican and several other characters have Latin American or Brazilian accents, plus one has a British accent. The rest speak in Spanish from Spain.

If you want to spend a couple of hours enjoying very original sci fi content for a family audience, please give it a chance. If you're Spanish you will certainly enjoy the great cast.

A Good Marriage (2014)

Very interesting and original

[7/10 · 11 March 2024]

If you're not looking for cheap thrills and gore, but for low key, understated terror, this is a very good film, with a fantastic couple of leads. LaPaglia is terrifying in his everyday life dull character of the boring accountant and obsessive husband. Allen is also magnificent in her calm, subdued development as a character. I think the low scores are from people expecting a roller coaster unrealistic scary movie with lots of blood and screams. Nothing like this here, rather the little music of human perversity sounding like a distant radio. I love the ending, the power of resilience of so many women.

The Signal (2024)

Excellent German sci-fi

[8/10 · 9 March 2024]

I'm posting here to counteract a couple of totally unfair reviews giving this very interesting German series too low a score.

I really enjoyed it and the end was really magical.

Since it's an European series, it will not have the easy sentimental glamour or special effects glitter of American series.

But I binge watched it with delight in it's original German version and can really recommend it.

With its female astronaut and the topic of first contact, it reminded me of another favorite, "Contact". It has also some undertones of "Encounters of the 3rd kind".

Please disregard those bad reviews that didn't go further that the first episode.

Soof: een nieuw begin (2017– )

Light but fun series

[7/10 · 23 August 2021]

I'm enjoying this series very much; I think it's a compassionate look at the life of a middle aged divorced woman trying to build a life of her own. Also, as someone studying Dutch, it's very easy to follow with great subtitles following closely the spoken script. I'll miss Soof and g her tribe when I finish watching this.

Caught in the Net (2020)

Disturbing but important document

[9/10 · 14 August 2021]

This documentary is incredibly shocking but also a must see for parents who allow their teenagers unrestricted access to the net. The level of filth the 3 actresses are exposed to in internet chats is unbelievable. I think the most disturbing sentence I've heard for a long time in a documentary is the question, repeated over and over to these men: are you not bothered I'm only 12? And of course they all say no while they start going about their nasty business.

A very moving scene where the actress and part of the crew shed tears during one of those chats will also remain in my memory.

Spring 1941 (2007)

Very moving, well filmed, a gem of a film

[9/10 · 2 August 2021]

I cannot understand how the average score of this movie is so low if most of the reviews are excellent. This is an intimate, subdued approach to the horrors of antisemitism, which for me has caused as strong an impression as super productions like Schindler's List. I will now do a bit of research on the character if Ida Fink and jew persecution in Poland. It's also a heartbreaking love story. Totally worth watching although a couple of scenes are really painful to witness.

The Red Pill (2016)

Interesting but lacking in many ways

[7/10 · 23 July 2021]

I've just finished watching this documentary, which I thought I'd hate, but I must say it has quality in presenting in a calm way a number of issues which were unknown to me till today.

I'm giving it a 7 because I think it doesn't delve deep enough in many of the topics it presents.

For example, several times we're presented with statistics claiming that men have much higher death tolls from professional activities or suicide. Surely this cannot be seem as an effect of discrimination against them in favor of women; if men choose those risky professions or do not seek psychological help this is a personal choice. Mortality in women does have often a connection to their societal role versus men, be it from gender violence, child birth etc.

The pay gap is also somehow weirdly put in connection with women's longer life expectancy, which is really absurd.

The statistics that almost equate violence in both directions would also have merited some further explanation, since it's very clear that all countries register very high figures of feminicide, and not the other way round.

One of the main characters explains with detail his ordeal as a husband and father; however the things he's telling about depict his partner as a person with severe mental issues, and cannot be taken as an example of marital difficulties in general.

The feminists chosen to represent the opposite point of view are not very articulate.

In general, most of what those men complain about are the product of societal and economic structures created by men themselves. If women have not participated more in the building of society till the last decades was mainly because they weren't allowed to; as soon as they were, they started studying and working and contributed even more to society than they had done before, which was already a huge lot.

The segments about Boko Haran and infant circumcision are indeed worrying. Again, probably practices decided by men

I didn't like the final sentence either: "Now I'm no longer a feminist". Nothing shown in this film justifies this; the film explains men have issues too, but doesn't preclude the existence of very real problems for women.

This is Greece with Michael Scott (2016)

Learning a lot about Greece from my couch

[9/10 · 20 July 2021]

This series is an absolute delight to watch, specially in these Covid times where traveling is just a dream for the future.

Stunning photography of the beautiful Greek landscapes, historical and social insights, talking with the locals, even teaching you what kind if coffee to order.

David Suchet's relaxed voice is a joy to listen to, as is Michael Scott's enthusiasm and knowledge of all things Greek.

Polònia (2006– )

Hilarious and irreverent!

[9/10 · 7 July 2021]

This series is really a treat, whenever I feel a bit low and want to laugh to tears I choose a Polònia episode. Of course, it can only be understood if you're a bit up-to-date with Catalán and Spanish politics. I watch it in the Catalán tv channel, TV3, with Catalán subtitles, and it has done wonders for my learning of the language.

El nudo (2019–2020)

Not too bad, but a bit disappointing

[6/10 · 7 July 2021]

I started watching this today and as the series progressed I started to feel there was a bit too much melodrama in this; I checked a number of reviews online and found out a lot of reviewers were feeling the same, characterizing this as a "soap opera". There are some aspects which add a bit of interest, like the fake interviews framing the story, or the hints about some kind of conspiracy in the University besides the main story about the car accident, but by chapter 3 these are still too vague to justify continuing watching this. Of course, I always enjoy series showing Madrid, my city, and its region, although as it often happens some of the houses shown are of an incredibly high status which is not very realistic in this academic context, as happens also with the lobby of the hospital or the facilities of the private University; it's all too shiny and expensive and does not reflect very well life in contemporary Spain.

Natalia Verbeke is a bit out of place in this production, and what I find really interesting is the actor playing Daniel, since his facial expression and demeanour are so radically different to his best known role as Martin in "Laura's mysteries", to the point of making him difficult to recognize. The police investigator is for me the best and most realistic character, with a very credible Madrid accent.

All in all, a series to pass the time of the day with good production values but with a not all too interesting script.

Rara (2016)

A nice, sensitive film about same sex parenthood

[8/10 · 7 July 2021]

I'm writing this review as a balance to several of the other reviews which seem most of them to have been written by the same person, repeating the same topics which really are not relevant at all for this film (like absence of special effects or boring music) and with very similar choice of words.

This is a sensitive, low key film about growing up in a different type of family combined with the difficulties of puberty. The lesbian couple in the film has built a very normal family, with times of fun and tenderness, and also times when discipline has to be imposed or arguments ensue, like any other family. This is used by the much more affluent father to obtain custody of the two girls.

A slow, deep and sensitive film about growing up, with very subtle nuances, and really lovely actors among the adults and the children.

The film is set in Viña del Mar, Chile. As a native speaker of Spanish from Spain I had some difficulties understanding parts of the spoken language, as it happened to me when I visited Chile, and I'd have been thankful for subtitles, which my streaming platform (the wonderful Filmin) didn't provide. For other Spanish speakers not used to the Chilean variety, a word frequently used in this film and which I had to learn while in Chile is "pololear" (be in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship).

Mirage (2018)

Really solid time travel movie

[9/10 · 6 July 2021]

I'm a huge fan of time travel movies and series, so, being Spanish I'm really proud of this little gem of a film which, with a modest budget, provides a really satisfying experience with a thoroughly well-thought script that leaves just a couple of plot holes. Adriana Ugarte, Chino Darín, Álvaro Morte and the boy are all outstanding.

SPOILER ALERT

The main plot hole I can see is that the Spanish police would never accept somebody with such a heavy psychiatrist past as Nico. Although maybe in a 2nd viewing it could be shown that in adult Nico's first life he wasn't in the police after all, I'm not sure if this is just an assumption by the viewer; he could be some kind of external advisor or just the next of kin the police contacted to be with Vera (which then wouldn't explain why he was present in the questioning of the murderous couple). Of course, in his 2nd adult life he wouldn't have had psychiatric problems, after having been advised by his adult self to forget Vera, so it's believable his being a police agent. Plus of course the name of Nico is mentioned very early on in the investigation, and nobody says to Vera who he is. I might watch again that part to see if there is a way to explain this.

Another rather difficult twist to believe is that the child Nico would have been allowed to go day after day for years to wait at the tube station till he finally met adult Vera.

Somebody in a comment highlights a couple of questionable topics which they leave for people in the same country to answer, so here is my contribution:

• The child is a lonely boy whose mother works night shifts, so he's probably quite used to being alone and thus quite adventurous, so it's not entirely unbelievable that he goes next door to see what's happening.

• The impersonation at the airport happens with a forged passport with the photo ID of the woman leaving the country, so, as was the case back then and now, it only requires from the steward a quick glance at the document to see it matches with then name in the ticket and the person boarding the plane. Besides, in this case the security person was the woman's brother who was helping her escape.

All in all, a really enjoyable experience.

Parot (2021)

Remarkable contemporary Spanish thriller based on recent judiciary conflict

[8/10 · 27 June 2021]

This series is quite remarkable in many regards, from acting to script, locations and depiction of the fictional consequences of a recent judiciary drama in Spain (the reversal of the Parot doctrine by the Strasbourg international Court). Only caveat: this real-life fact underlying the fiction should be much more clearly explained from episode 1 both for international audiences and for the younger generations in Spain. Adriana Ugarte and Blanca Portillo are magnificent and convincing, as is Javier Albalá. The criticism of the gutter press in Spain is very justified, and the character of the gossip journalist bears a strong resemblance to some very public characters.

Amnesia (2004)

What is this weird language?

[2/10 · 3 April 2021]

Less than 9 minutes into the 1st episode, I'm struck like by thunder by this incredible computer image shown on the screen: under the English sentence "Brussels missing person database" a sentence appears, allegedly a translation, saying: "Databas du Bruxelle a la loste personne". As a professional translator, I was first horrified, then curious and tried to see if this was Esperanto or Romanian, since it wasn't any language known to me, and in any case, none of the languages spoken in Belgium, where I've lived for many years.

Is this a joke by the production team? How on Earth did they find such an absurd translation into an imaginary language?

Of all the many linguistic absurdities I've seen in films, this one is the absolute winner.

By the way, I'm watching this on Acorn in Spain, and it's really a shame that the only subtitles available are in Spanish; English subtitles are missing in all the series and films in this platform.