Sem Notícias de Deus

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.

Amusing film which is in four languages! Do your best to get an original copy, not a dubbed one. The language of hell is English, the language of heaven is French, the angels communicate to each other in Latin, and the language of Earth is Spanish. It's worth it just for that. Good acting, creative story and filming.

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 ****

When the leaders of Heaven and Hell, Marina D'Angelo (Fanny Ardant) and Davenport (Gael García Bernal) respectively, decide to fight for the soul of the decadent boxer Manny (Demián Bichir), they send their best agents to Earth. The singer Lola Nevado (Victoria Abril) from Heaven and the former gangster Carmen Ramos (Penélope Cruz) from Hell are assigned to get his soul, and they have a tough dispute to accomplish their mission.

"Sin Noticias de Dios" is one of most original comedies I have ever seen. The story is very funny, ironical and charming, with splendid lines and dialogs in the screenplay. The direction is very precise; the wonderful cast, with a very charming and sexy Penélope Cruz; a stunning (as usual) Victoria Abril singing in a perfect Portuguese; an elegant and classy Fanny Ardant; and a very funny Gael García Bernal, has also the participation of Demián Bichir (from "Sexo Pudor Y Lágrimas", "Santitos" and "In the Time of the Butterflies"), Elsa Pataky (from "Beyond Re-Animator" and "Romasanta") and an uncredited last scene with Javier Bardem. The vision of Heaven as Paris, Hell as an American prison (could be a South-American one – certainly they are worse) and the Hell's administrator as an American president in his car with his body-guards are absolutely hilarious. Victoria Abril singing "I'm Evil" and Penélope Cruz dancing an extremely sexy dance are delightful. I highly recommend this movie, which has two (2) wins and seventeen (17) nominations of festivals, for those viewers that like a refreshing and very different comedy. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Sem Notícias de Deus" ("Without News From God")

"Don't Tempt Me" is a very pleasant action comedy plenty of humor , surrealist dialogs , emotion , spectacular scenes and mayhem . Heaven and hell send their best agents to Earth , and they're wearing heels . Two angels are on Earth , one named Lola (Victoria Abril) from the heaven and one named Carmen (Penelope Cruz) from the hell, come to save a boxer named Many (Damian Bichir) who finds his soul to be the object of a metaphysical fight.

This exciting film results to be a surrealist comedy/action/drama/thriller and displays an all Spanish star-cast. The singer played by Victoria Abril and the former mobster performed by Penelope Cruz star this dark story of redemption about heaven and hell ; both of whom have a violent confrontation to accomplish their objectives . Rightly enjoyable and fun-filled , milestone comedy which neatly combines humor , mirth , entertaining situations and amusement . The funny screenplay manages a lot of laughs from the audience and twisted elements that you never loose your attention from the film . The only flaw I can find is that some of the story lines are overwhelmingly absurd and some character arcs end up being implausible . Some situations are laugh out loud ridiculous and the story proceeds at a breakneck speed that never falls flat .Pay attention as one couple of younger actors very well played by Victoria Abril and Penelope Cruz alternate with the other pair of older players perfectly performed by Fanny Ardant and Emilio Gutierrez Caba . I liked everyone in the excellent cast, and the male and female actors , they were all very attractive . Flawless and fantastic story full of twists and turns with a duo of sensational protagonists , including an unforgettable Penelope Cruz , she parades and dances sexily at her best and more relaxed and enticing than ever . The hit of the show is undoubtedly for the fetching Penelope who gives one of the best screen acting . The support cast is top-notch as Elsa Pataky , Luis Tosar , Gael Garcia Bernal , Gemma Jones , Cristina Marcos , Elena Anaya , Bruno Bichir , Juan Echanove and many others . And cameos by Javier Bardem in the closing credits, as we learn that Penélope Cruz was changed back into a man in the afterlife , then we see the man's photo , it is Javier Bardem ; furthermore , the photo Victoria Abril puts into the album shows the mother of Manny , the woman in this photo is the actress Pilar Bardem . Atmospheric and appropriate musical score by the recently deceased Bernardo Bonezzi . Colorful and adequate cinematography by Paco Femenia .

Agustin Diaz Yanes' return to top form , with an intelligent and engaging script which uses amusing situations to give us a good movie in fast pace , entertaining events , plot twists and that kept me entertained for the almost two hours of duration . Diaz Yanes is a fine craftsman , thanks to his reputation as screenwriter and the support of Victoria Abril he was able to set up his first film as director: "Nobody Will Speak of Us When We're Dead " that became the greatest hit of Spanish cinema at its release in 1995 and the Festival San Sebastian , including best actress to Victoria Abril . Yanes subsequently directed the successful ¨Alatriste¨ and ¨Solo Quiero Caminar¨ that failed at Spanish box office .