28 Weeks Later: film has more Swiss-cheese holes than the zombies make in their victims
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, “28 Weeks Later” (2007) On paper it looked like a good idea: a sequel to the original zombies-on-the-run flick “28 Days Later” by…
Spanish Films
Reviews of films from Spain or made or produced by Spanish-based individuals and studios. This category includes films made in Basque, Catalan and Spanish languages.
French and French-language Films, German and German-language Films
Carnage: comedy of no-manners patronises Americans and diminishes its audiences
Roman Polanski, “Carnage” (2011) Not one of his better efforts due to the nature of the original play but then again, a comedy from Polanski is…
The Skin I Live In: tricked-up film about identity change misses some deep lessons about obsession, control and revenge
Pedro Almodóvar, “The Skin I Live In / La Piel Que Habito” (2011) Georges Franju’s sci-fi horror classic “Eyes without a Face” was overdue for a remake…
French and French-language Films, Spanish Films
L’Age d’Or: cheeky and hilarious attack on religious, social and political repression and corruption
Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, “L’Âge d’Or” (1930) On the heels of “Un Chien Andalou”, a short film, comes this proper full-length surrealist feature by Buñuel…
Un Chien Andalou: a special once-in-a-lifetime visual experience
Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, “Un Chien Andalou” (1929) Famous surrealist film that never fails to shock and surprise despite having been made over 80 years,…
The Awakening: tasty little film of death and how suddenly it comes
Ignacio Cerdà, Ethan Jacobson, Francisco Stohr, “The Awakening” (1991) This 8-minute short is the first of three films forming a trilogy about death and how we…
Fermat’s Room: a light and entertaining if not completely satisfying film about professional rivalry and intellectual obsession
Luis Piedrahita and Rodrigo Sapeña, “Fermat’s Room” (2009) Three brilliant mathematicians and an inventor, each already having solved a difficult problem, are invited to dinner together…
Superego and Id meet slapstick in Oristrell’s breathless “Unconscious”
Joaquin Oristrell, “Unconscious” (2004) An amusing and vivacious romance comedy set in Barcelona, 1913, “Unconscious” starts off as a search, possibly whodunnit, mystery and winds up…
Agora: Hypatia’s life and times not done justice by film plot and structure
Alejandro Amenabar, “Agora” (2010) This Spanish production presents a fictional account of the final years and death of the Greek female scientist / mathematician / philosopher…
Buried: film just manages to avoid burying itself with gimmicks and diversions
Rodrigo Cortes, “Buried” (2010) For a one-trick pony in which the trick is one man stuck in a wooden box buried 2 metres underground, this is…