futurama-3

Finally a Harry Potter film that seems like a real film. The two first movies, directed by Chris Columbus, weren't bad, but seeing them without having read the books was a confusing, and sometimes boring experience.

This new installment is superior to its predecessors in many aspects: the plot is better explained from the first moment, and the script (by Steve Kloves, who also wrote "Philosopher's stone" and "Chamber of secrets") condenses better the story without missing capital points from the book. The CGI, which improved a lot from first to second movie, are even more polished, with astonishing new creatures as Buckbeak the hippogriff and things less sensational: the moving stairways are, to give an example, much more credible. The three principal actors have grown "a little", as their characters (or a little more), but this is always interesting. New themes are starting to develop that will transform those "kid's movies" into something more. Correct performance of Sirius black by Gary Oldman, and hilarious new teacher played by Emma Thompson. All the rest of the original cast are in this one too (excepting Richard Harris, of course, greatly replaced by Michael Gambon), but is a pity for a fan like me to have so few scenes with Maggie Smith. The atmosphere in the film is very creepy, so the younger audiences can be scared with it...a price we have to pay for a more adult, more complex, and a better Harry Potter film. P.S.: The Spanish dubbing is horrible! (almost as much as my written English...)

I have just seen one of the first passes of the new Pedro Almodóvar movie. I think I've got to see it again, but the first adjective that comes to my mind is "excellent". Soon people and critics will start to compare this one to "Hable con ella" and "Todo sobre mi madre", and if I have to do it myself I will say this is the best. But, speaking about this film...there are millions of things to admire, starting with Almodóvar's writing and directing. This is the most complex and original film of the Spanish filmmaker, a black story about catholic (mis)education in the sixties' Spain, murder and revenge in the seventies...and a filmmaker who, in the eighties, makes a movie about all that. The surprises will appear on the three decades, making the movie even more interesting. With this premise Almodóvar treats his favorite topics, especially movies inside the movies. There are lots of excellent things on this film, as the performances of the main characters by Gael García Bernal, Fele Martínez, Daniel Giménez-Cacho...Javier Cámara, the star of "Hable con ella", also plays a supporting role that, I think, will report him many film awards.

One of the great virtues of the film is the cinematography by José Luis Alcaine, giving the movie the colours and light of earlier Almodóvar films as "Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios" and "¡Átame!". Also, the Alberto Iglesias' score, making the tragedy bigger, is also very good.

One of the best Spanish films of this early 2004, and with no doubt the most international of the year...at least until Alejandro Amenábar releases his new movie.

It has been almost five years since "7 vidas" started running on Telecinco. Yeah, it's true that this series has suffered lots of casting and storyline changes, but this only have confirmed that this is a great show, 'cause it´s getting more and more popular, and has attracted many famous people as guest stars. The scripts are very original, truly hilarious; and the actors do a great work, specially Amparo Baró as Sole and Anabel Alonso as Diana. It's got to be mentioned its particular kind of humor, combining perfectly local spanish humour and universal jokes.