Sans nouvelles de Dieu

I saw this movie today and I absolutely adored it!

Originally, I watched it for Gael Garcia Bernal, who was quite good as the operations manager of hell. Victoria Abril played a wonderful Lola and Penelope Cruz, who I'm not very partial to, almost made me like her as the little hellion, Carmen.

The only horrid part of the movie was Manny. I absolutely loathed that character. He was such a pig!

Anyway, even though the movie was a bit confusing and odd at parts, I still found it wonderful.

*** out of ****

Agustín Díaz Yanes's mesmerizing, quirky and funny 'Sin Noticias de Dios' is a refreshing take on heave and hell on earth. With an original and amusing premise and strong writing, it is a fun ride all the way. I haven't seen anything like it. The humour is a good mix of quirkiness, dryness and sarcasm that works on multiple levels. It's funny how a black and white 50's French setting is chosen to depict heaven while a dirty (perhaps South American prison) setting is chosen to portray hell. Similarly language selection is interesting as French is spoken in heaven, English is spoken in hell and Spanish on Earth.

Heaven is shown as a very romantic, classy and glamorous place to be at (a bit like the romanticized image one sees in classic French films) while hell is quite the opposite. Fanny Ardant and Gemma Jones play the leaders of the respective places (and they're both terrific). Their character recruit Carmen and Lola to conquer fallen boxer Manny's soul. Of course battle ensues when the two recruits come face to face but not the way you think.

Yanes assembles a n enviable cast that includes Penelope Cruz, Victoroia Abril, Gemma Jones, Gael Garcia Bernal, Elena Anaya, Elsa Pataky, Fanny Ardant, Demián Bichir, Cristina Marcos, Peter McDonald, Luis Tosar and more. All the actors do a great job. Abril sure is stunning and she sure can sing. Her rendition of 'I Want To Be Evil' is a must-see. Penelope Cruz has a tricky role and she does full justice to it. She is sexy, spunky, streetsmart and not to be messed with but at the same time she's just 'like one of the guys'. Saying more would be revealing too much.

On the technical side, it's a very well made film. Colour is used very effectively. The cinematography is first rate. I especially enjoyed the long single shots. And of course, the soundtrack is magic.

'Sin Noticias de Dios' is one of a kind. I'm surprised it's received so little recognition but it's a thrill ride all the way.

Augustin Diaz Yates heaven-vs.-earth satire DON'T TEMPT ME is really NOTHING that hasn't been done before, and in better films. An angel from heaven (Victoria Abril) and an angel from hell (some Spanish chick named Penélope Cruz...lol!} fight over the soul of a brutish boxer (Demiån Bichir). The way the plot develops is predictable, as is the ending. But there are laughs around the way, most of them provided by Cruz. I can't begin to comprehend why she's such a dull, tedious, unconvincing actress in American films when she's proved to be such a vibrant, energetic and entertaining actress in Spanish films. And while she's made better films (BELLE EPOQUE, JAMON JAMON, LIVE FLESH, ABRE LOS OJOS and even the American ABRE remake VANILLA SKY), I think this is definitely her best performance yet. Her character is the most interesting and entertaining figure during the entire duration of the film, and one of the reasons she gets the biggest laughs is because the screenwriter gave her most of the best lines. The ridiculously talented and versatile Gael Garcia Bernal is a total hoot as a top CEO in hell who's a mix of Spike from BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER and Tony Shalhoub's eccentric shyster in THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE. He's so much fun that the movie is hurt because he's a supporting character who only appears in a few scenes, and so many of the lead characters are so one-note and tiring we keep waiting for him to show up more to liven things up. Anyways, this isn't a very good film, certainly one you may not remember for a long, but the good aspects in it kept me entertained...most of the time. B-

Needing a bit of comedy after the Danish film, Craig, I turn to the ever luscious Penelope Cruz who, along with Victoria Abril, are sure to delight.

To say that Cruz is hot is putting it mildly, as she plays an inhabitant of Hell who is sent to Earth to grab the soul of a losing, debt-ridden, boxer (Demián Bichir). Heaven sends their own representative and the battle is on.

Abril, who falls short of her most skintastic performance, nevertheless gives us a glimpse of her heavenly body as she plays the misogynistic boxer's wife. Cruz keeps it hot as she struts and dances, but does keep it on as the boxer's cousin. Why the bum doesn't stray is a big mystery.

Gael García Bernal (The Crime of Father Amaro, Bad Education, babel) plays the administrator of Hell, who becomes concerned about a corporate takeover by the rich, who are working to convince everyone that they are not really bad, but victims of society. Sides become blurred as the need to continue the existence of good and evil, and Heaven and Hell become more important that who gets the soul.

Fanny Ardant (8 Women, Paris, je t'aime), Elena Anaya (Van Helsing), and Gemma Jones (Bridget Jones Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason), and Elsa Pataky (Snakes on a Plane, Romasanta) all add to the fun.

Entertaining. Unique in style. It's a story about an angel from Heaven and a fallen angel from Hell who both compete over the soul of a boxer.

Penelope's role in this film is more of a far cry than in her previous roles. Normally, she is cast as a beautiful object of desire, as in Vanilla Sky, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, All the Pretty Horses and Woman on Top. She has even been cast as a slightly less-than-attractive, but still desired woman, as in Blow and Gothika. For the first time, Penelope Cruz is actually shot in an almost undesirable way in this film - even letting herself get beat up a couple of times. She does pull it off, and the film succeeds as an off-kilter dark comedy with that Hollywood "Heaven vs. Hell" factor added in.

It is worth it, if for nothing else, to see Penelope dance around her room "Travolta style" to the song "Kung-Fu Fighting".