Reviews

If this is going to be an anthology or if this is going to be followed by that rumored third installment that has been recently spoiled by J.J. Abrahms, I can say that nobody doubts about the secretly marketed "10 Cloverfield Lane" is a great movie on its own. And a movie that if it were spoiled by someone here or at any review would be cruel.

Since the start it reveals to be a movie that doesn't hide an ace, but a hundred.

The pace can be a little slow at the first half only to add more and more tension, hooking the audience and introducing them into the movie like they were one of the people inside that bunker.

John Goodman will be a real trend the future days thanking its superb performance. He's so twisty, complex developed character. He and Mary Elisabeth Winstead make the movie shine alongside the story.

The story is so little, then so game-changer, with twists and turns that are smart rather than empty. It's one of that makes you guess all the time.

The ending is more of a bang than a whimper. Even when it succumbs to the action and polemic moves, it will leave you on a grim and high note, pestering for another outing if it's any good like this.

If the "Cloverfield" that started it all was about speaking without breath and CGI scares, this "10 Cloverfield Lane" is about deeper intentions, deeper tension and personal stuff that is scarier than a giant monster. While the connection to that movie is not so remarkable until the finale, this installment is so brilliant on its own, so well marketed (without ruining any twist) and so well ended that will surely please any viewer who were looking for a damn good movie. This is a scary movie like the classic ones. Don't miss it.

Just came out of the theater and I'm literally blowing away! As a moviegoer and movie lover looking for a good entertaining is simply irresistible not to like this movie even just a little. But if your genre is the action or you are a Bond fan-boy (but a real fan-boy, the one who knows that Bond is a dark killer with a great sense f humor as well a troubled human being and not just a fantasy and silly spy in silly missions with a handful of gadgets) then SPECTRE will be a total feast for you.

Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig give us another triumph after the polemic "Skyfall" and this time both have managed to get a perfect balance between that intimate psychology from the previous outing and the nostalgia from a classic Bond movie (with quality, not just passable) that hadn't had hit the theater in a very while. By that way we found ourselves in a very Bond centric movie (perhaps the only one in the whole franchise in which Craig is the absolute protagonist without being overshadowed even by the handsome villain) that explores and expands the character beyond the limits from the last third of Skyfall and a truly genuine adventure full of suspense and crazy twists to maintain the attention.

Across many places (Rome, Tangiers, Austria and coming back to London for a classic suspenseful climax) we found Bond getting started in a personal mission out from the MI6 (although later he will enlist some of his confidence partners with him) that drives him from a enigmatic widow (Monica Bellucci steals the scene alongside Craig) to a beautiful and looking innocent Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) until coming face to face to Franz Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz doing himself stills being fitted for the role and gives chills in his scenes with Craig).

The story is bigger than Skyfall, Quantum and Casino Royale all together. And that's funny because this movie is really connected to all of them (another thing that makes me love Daniel Craig's Bond era). And marrying the credible word (political games, drones included) with the preposterous touch of any of the classic movies of Bond (Oberhauser, his hidden base, his plan) as well giving the Bond past a lot more of light and an effective closure by the end makes SPECTRE to succeed over any negative expectation and to give the audience the most entertaining outing coming from Craig and probably his best Bond yet (anyone knows if he's returning for another one even at another studio?). It's clearly a movie for those of you who are truly fans of Craig's unique run, but for all the haters too (because that lack of Bondish elements are there and most notably than ever).

The humor is back (a drunken conversation with a rat makes the funniest and most hilarious moment) even at times that you couldn't imagine (the torture scene is intense, much better than the classic one in Casino Royale, but handed with dark laughs at some parts). The action is crazy and shot with class (the one shot that opens the movie is the most beautifully complex the franchise has given us so far) and the script goes along the way without going down at any moment or being lazy. It tries hard to touch a lot of plots into a big one to the final part of the film and that implies to focus on some parts more than others. But all the movie wants to be seen and experienced is explored and is a hell of a ride.

SPECTRE is the most enjoyable Daniel Craig Bond film (and probably his farewell-with-a-bang), and the best Bond movie in recent memory. I did not exactly know what to expect for this installment after being put to sleep after the breathtaking Skyfall (so all the hype surrounding it) but not such a bold movie like this. If he (Craig) really leaves after this one, he will achieve something that Connery, Moore & Brosnan failed to do: say goodbye to the character on a stunning high. My personal ranking of Daniel Craig as James Bond: SPECTRE (1º) / Skyfall - Casino Royale (2º, both deserve it) / Quantum of Solace (3º).

I said once i went out the theater:

Godzilla finally found the perfect movie for itself yet. The story works as well the pace and the special effects. The first half of the movie is absolutely perfect with all the destruction that the monster provokes. It leaves to the viewer unforgettable scenes. But the second half is not at all a disappointment. The action sequences are effective and spectacular. Godzilla is truly frightening. Young viewers are advised! The acting is also so nice delivering solid performances and helping the drama. Bryan Cranston may be a standout but Elisabeth Olsen is a scene stealer and a very important role here. With any doubts I had an encounter with one of the best movies of the year.

But now, after some days I say:

This is a riveting entertaining that will please the moviegoers. But it's s disappointment in terms of the monster itself and its fights against the other. An important lack.

Seasons 1 to 5 are incredible. Despite its limited plot (like I wrote in my review for its sequel: Live Another Day), it's a masterpiece of pace, storytelling, twists, entertaining and action.

From Seasons 6 to 8 the things changed. Season 7 is the only which is very good, close to the greatness for its riveting entertaining. But despite the show in fact was a let down, it always kept me hooked when other dramas didn't. I always wanted to see what happens next when any episode ended and some of the episodes of the show (even in the weakest season) are the best of the best in the TV history.

It deserved a better treatment in the later times, but then 24 was already a benchmark and a masterpiece of action and suspense. This isn't as perfect as other shows (see Breaking Bad), but deserves the greatest remember for all that times in which there was no Breaking Bad or Tue Detective or any other show or miniseries and just 24 was the best show of television. The bar now is rising (maybe too much and because of that Live Another Day has the things and the hype difficult) but was this show the one which started that.

10/10 (despie its weakness).

Since the original series premiered in 2001 and ended in 2010 the television has changed too much. TV Shows like Breaking Bad or the newest True Detective (just only with its powerful and unique Season one) showed than the gold era of the small screen wasn't dead and the bar could be raised far beyond the sky. That kind of shows included a truly intense and masterful psychological touches in the personality of its characters and in its stories. That stories and characters kept growing and growing never stopping challenging the audience (and our hype). A TV show like 24 had that amazing point in its era... until the last three seasons ruined it all. A show like 24 can't be a psychological show or an incredibly intelligent show because of its limited plot. In the first seasons the menaces were global but very intimating, close to the main character (the invincible Jack Bauer)and truly intense and groundbreaking to the television. But if the plot and the type of storyline were becoming repetitive since the beginning as a mechanical of the series, the last three seasons were truly disappointing in that terms. After a masterpiece like Season 5 was (in the same level of the very first one) the next season was make just for business and money reasons. Without a proper storyline and repetitive action, the show began its downfall. Season 7 was good. Very good. Could be one of the most entertaining of the series and the truly remarkable season of the last three. But it was no Series 1-5. And Season 8... Despite the last ten episodes were tense and heartbreaking, overall was disappointing and without the strength that a final season (like Breaking Bad, for example) could and MUST have. The ending could be fine to the season, but not very much for the series. And if the way was marked by a feature movie... Guys, don't call it an ending. Just say that it's a transition to make more money.

The movie didn't came out and the time was expiring. Then the miniseries appeared. I was truly happy with the plot and the teasers. In fact, the first episodes confirmed me that. 24 is back in the most entertaining of its ways. It could not be that masterpiece and that surprising fresh air of the Days 1 to 5, but it's truly better than the last seasons. We don't see Jack Bauer do extremely creative things, okay. It's running, escaping from his custody after being trapped by the CIA (IN A VERY COOL WAY THAT I WONT SPOIL), stopping attacks and trying to clean his name and helping his friends (?) (although this time he claims that he has no friends at all... and that could be truth).

24: Live Another Day is not truly original or innovative. By the first episodes, it's 24 compressed in 12 episodes. It's more of the same but with a plenty of energy and in the half of time. That allows to the show to be more flexible, to cut off poor story lines (the very weak point of the original series!), and to deliver the whole plot in a faster and (could be) better way. In fact, the most distinctive change from the original series is the jumping forward in the time. I think I remember that after the first episode that begins. And if the creators and writers take it in the best of the ways that could deliver a lot of chills, false clues and twists along the predictable way. Also is a clear opportunity to send off the (incomplete) plot of the Final Season of the original series recurring to "lost characters" (Audrey and Heller, for example) and with a more attractive plot than the typical nuclear bomb. This time, the drones and the leaks give us chills and it's treated in a very interesting way (at least, in the first episodes). In that terms, I'm very happy to say that Live Another Day delivers. I hope that this won't be ruined by the end of the miniseries.

And finally... My dilemma. The final day or not? Well, I'm a fan of 24. Really. But I wish this could the truly final day of Jack Bauer. He survives or dies... He is walking under the sun with a lover or going to the hospital dying... I'm risky, but I think that another season or another miniseries "if this is successful" it's not a proper treating for this or any show. Every story has an end. And I personally think that Live Another Day (if continues the same rhythm and the same top notch quality from its powerful start) could be that awesome final season that we didn't received in 2010. I clearly think that could be a very good end to Jack Bauer. Live Another Day could be the perfect movie to end Jack Bauer story in a happy or sad way. If the creators want a spin off with Kate Morgan (such an interesting character) okay, I let it go on. But let Bauer apart. The business is not a way to treat a show like this. It's only the way to drop it down in quality and excitement (look at Season 6 and the first half of 8, please).

The performances are terrific, the action is like a big budget movie, the tension is awesome and the storyline is not original but very good on its own terms. The menaces are more palpable and different from the usual ones (VERY GOOD!) at least until episode 3 (although I won't be surprised by the future moles, possible bombs... to come).

Let's hope that 24: Live Another Day would be an excellent miniseries, a rushing season and that last season that we didn't got when we need it.

Sorry for my English. I'm trying really hard to improve.

Okay, this is not the best Bond movie ever. That is Casino Royale (that is a so classic Bond movie that works in everything). But Skyfall doesn't have to receive bad reviews just for that thing.

It's actually a great movie. Amazingly entertaining, simply, easy to follow and with stunning performances overall. It has its flaws, its mistakes and the script needs a little of a more personal touch and complexity but it's a perfect movie experience and one of the very best entries of this everlasting series. Also the villain portrayed by Javier Bardem is a true hard role and one of the best bad guys of the series ever.

Daniel Craig stills rocking as the best Bond ever!

If the original version of "Oldboy" has a perfect 10 out 10, this one has a mixed 6 out 10.

At first, I just came back from the theater and I found this movie a very poor remake if I compare it with the excellence, the complexity and power of the Asian film. That film was purely brilliance. So this new version was really promising but had the bar raising too high.

From Spike Lee we could expect a truly mesmerizing movie or a very weak one. And in this case I say that this one is not so bad as it looks like here. It's obvious that some people is apparently going too far. It's a disappointing movie, but not a bad movie. It focuses too much in blood and gory instead of the script and the complexity of the characters and situations. The ending can be a bit upsetting for some viewers.

Josh Brolin is one of the better things of this version. His performance is as good as he always do his roles. The rest of the cast is between average or good. Nothing remarkable under my watch.

So, this "Oldboy" is not a brilliant movie or a powerful remake but it's an entertaining one. It's weird and bloody. Be prepared for that.