film critic journal | by ares

Yesterday -  directed by the great Danny Boyle and written by the genius Richard Curtis - is, without a doubt, "the feel-good movie" of the summer.  This film is a rom-com, as Richard Curtis is the best writer of this kind of stories (Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, About Time or Love Actually), that recounters the story of Jack (Himesh Patel), an aspiring singer that cannot find the way to succeed, and Ellie (Lily James), his best friend, supporter, and manager that is secretly in love with him, even though everyone notices she is into him  except Jack.  As everyone in the world forgets who The Beatles are, Jack finds his opportunity to fulfill his dream of becoming a singer, but he will have to face the struggles of fame and its impact on her friendship with Ellie.  With this movie, you have the opportunity to listen to the great songs of The Beatles and watch this love story, with two actors that have great chemistry on screen. Also, there i

Rocketman ( & why is it different from  Bohemian Rhapsody ). These past weeks all I could hear about this movie was the comparison with what we had seen in  Bohemian Rhapsody.  There has been a debate on which one is better, the realistic and intimist Rocketman, with no censored scenes on drugs and sex, or the grandiose and spectacular Bohemian Rhapsody w, Taron vs Rami, imitation vs inspiration, etc.  And yes, the biopic film based on the life of Elton John's life is definitely different from Bohemian Rhapsody, because it is a musical with all its letters. It reminds me of the West End and Broadway musicals because the songs from Elton John, sang by Taron Egerton, are the ones that flow and lead the plot and help to understand the feelings from that kid, called Regiland Dwigh to the creation of the music star Elton Hercules John and its descent to the "underworld".  Egerton delivers a great performance - imitating Elton in the musical numbers but most

It's never too late, they say. I've finally watched this film and all I can say is that, if you haven't watched it, go and do it 'cause it will move you for sure. It is the heartbreaking story of the first love, the discovery of those feelings that you feel for the first time, the sadness of knowing it has to end, the fear of love and being loved (plus, in this film we have a homosexual love), the inexperience, it is the "crazy" thoughts you have and the "crazy" actions you do.  In this film though, the first love from Elio is Oliver, a doctoral student that spends the summer with Elio's family, helping out Elio's father, Professor Pelman, to do some research.  I've always thought that an image is worth a thousand words and in this case, I think that the scene where Elio's father addresses his son is the summary of the whole movie. Not just the story, but also the way Luca Guadagnino, the director, conceived this film; an

The movie - based on the memories of David & Nic Scheff - explores the addiction and the consequences not just only on the addict and his addiction but on their families.  It juxtaposes two addictions, the drug addiction that Nic, marvellously played by Thimothée Chalamet suffers but also the addiction of a father to help his son even, struggling with his own life and family. Steve Carrell shows his talent for drama one more time, letting go his comedian side and portraying a character that, as said before, battles with his own demons like his son.  A film that opens the debate of the drug addiction, the way that it should be treated  and thought-out by the drug addicts, their families but also the governments with their policies.  After all, a feature length where the director, Felix Van Groeningen, achieves to show us both sides of the coin.  Everything . Beautiful boy. 

A really good (and must) film to watch during the holidays. This is apparently an ordinary story told by an immense Alfonso Cuarón. The movie was shot in black and white and it is also beautifully shot in long takes. Fundamentally Roma is the tale of two women, Cleo (play by Yalitza Aparicio) working as a live-maid for a beleaguered upper middle-class family in Mexico City. It is an autobiographical story from the director and during the film you can see that there are signs of tensions and dysfunction from both the family and the maid. Those little things are hints and demonstrations of the feelings of the characters. The man of the house (Antonio) can't stand being at his own house, you can see that by the way he parks his car, and his wife  (Sofía) is struggling to keep the family together.  So, meanwhile Antonio keeps travelling for what, supposedly, are business trips, a stressed Sofia one day tells the children it would be a good idea to write to their dad, implo

This film is based on the book written by Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows where every chapter is a letter written by a different character.  Juliet Ashton (Lily James) is the main character of this lovely film that portrays the story from some citizens from Guernsey Island that became a family when the nazis occupied the island during the II World War. As they had taken away all what they loved, they started a literary club where they discussed about books and life while they refuged from the demands of the nazis.  Juliet Ashton, a londoner who lost her parents when she was a girl, meets this literary club through a letter that Dawsey Adams, a citizen from the island, sends to her when he found out her name and address in a book from the local library that had been abandoned. Juliet that loves reading books, but also is aspiring to be a writer thinks that visting the island can be her inspiration to do so as she is curious about this literary club and its story so she as

Ten years after... here we go again! Mamma Mia! 'cause is that kind of memory that you will recall from your summer.  Besides from the original cast with Donna Sheridan - Meryl Streep - as the main character along with her daughter Sophie - Amanda Seyfried - in this film we have the young Donna (Lily James), Bill (Josh Dylan), Sam (Jeremy Irvine), Harry (Hugh Skinner),  Rosie (Alexa Davies), Tanya (Jessica Keenan Wynn) and Sophie's grandma (Cher). The past and the present from this characters is combined and intertwined and keep you on the edge of your seat during 2 hours.  Normally, sequels from movies aren't as good as the first one, but in my own opinion, this film is as good as the first one mainly because of the amazing performance that Lily James - young Donna - offers us. She totally knows how to step in Meryl Streep's shoes (and that's not easy as Meryl may probably one of the best actresses ever). She has charisma and accomplishes the mission

[CAT] C oco  és una pel·lícula que té el seu punt de partida en la història d'una família que viu a un llogaret, en castellà "aldea" de Mèxic, Santa Cecília. Només amb el nom fictici d'aquest llogaret tenim una pista del fil conductor i l'essència del film, la  música . Així doncs, ens trobem amb una família, fabricants de sabates tots ells, que - per una raó que s'explica al principi del film - tenen vetada la música en tots els àmbits de la seva vida. Tanmateix en Miguel, el més jove de la família, és un gran fanàtic d'Ernesto de la Cruz, qui sembla ser el més gran dels cantants mexicans de tots els temps. Per aquest motiu ell vol "viure el seu moment" i esdevenir músic encara que això suposi enfrontar-se i allunyar-se de la seva família. Durant la pel·lícula, Miguel aprendrà a veure des d'una prespectiva el significat d'estimar i a valorar la seva família i també veurà quines són les conseqüències del pensament basat en la ide

[CAT] Tren de nit a Lisboa és una pel·lícula que gira entorn un llibre i el seu autor, d'origen portuguès i, com moltes altres, està basada també en un llibre. Sota el meu parer, a més, la manera com es narren els fets en ella, la fan una pel·lícula que és una mena de "llibre visual". Hi ha diversos temes que es tracten en el film que, especialment, em recorden a la manera en què estic últimament percebent les lectures que faig i potser per això l'he qualificada de llibre visual.  En primer lloc, m'agradaria destacar la idea del viatge , similar que seria una "road movie" on els personatges troben el sentit d'allò que estaven buscant realitzant aquest viatge al seu interior, i a un indret nou.  En aquest cas no hi ha carretera, ni diverses parades, si no que només n'hi ha una, Lisboa. El protagonista, Raimund, un professor d'escola divorciat amb una vida que ell descriu com "avorrida"- i percebem que sense gra