osanjose

Not just a set of stereotypical characters, boring and childish stories with an excess of clichés. The Europavision episode is quite disrespectful, with an outdated and ridiculous vision of Europe. As a gay and European man, very disappointed. In 1990 it might have amused homophobes now it's just out of date.

Germán and their false cliche about Spain. What are they still afraid of?

After watching the premiere two things. One the budget for this version of "Damages" is considerably smaller. Filmed still in 4:3 format, actors too close to the camera what doesn't let you see the, in general, small set. Second, at least the actors are very good in their role and the adaptation to Spain's reality is quite good. Blanca Portillo is now a Judge instead a Lawyer, and Jose Coronado is a Politician involved in dark business and corruption, instead a rich businessman. The young lawyer is now a man instead a woman, and a court secretary instead a lawyer. He moves from Salamanca to Madrid as big career opportunity. His sister in law has also things to hide...

The case is based on a fire in a discotheque that had collateral damages in neighbors houses, not collateral damages based on chemical exposition.

Let's see how it develops for the next chapters. But is a promising start.

Whereas "Antena 3" makes legal versions of foreign series like "La chica de ayer" (authorized version of the British Life on Mars), Telecinco insists producing counterfeits. Acusados was a good one from the American "Damages". This one is another counterfeit, in this case of "The OC".

Filmed with lower budget in the beautiful island of Mallorca, it has the same starting point and similar characters and than the American one.

I don't know why there are so little fresh ideas in Telecinco, but this does not help to change the image of Trash TV channel it has.

Like Acusados maybe the final result is almost as good as the original, but I expect better things from Spain's writers.

Spanish premiere of the local version of Life on Mars was yesterday on TV. Cinematography and art direction are good, not in 16:9 format yet, but not cheesy. It looks like it has had some supervision from the original producers of the British version.

Some unbelievable things like a Policeman could have as official car an Alfa Romeo Giulia. In 1977 imported cars were extremely expensive, even a non-expensive, in the rest of Europe, car as the Giulia, was very expensive in Spain due to taxes on imported cars. It would have been more believable for 1977 a Seat 128, a Seat Sport 1430. If the condition was a 4 door sedan a Chrysler 150, or a Chrysler 180 even though it was a high class car.

Terrace houses were very uncommon in 1977 in Spain , so the initial shots in such houses when police is going to arrest the criminal, looks like Spanish production has imitated British one without having in mind working class used to live in flats.

Besides this acting is very bad, even for great actors as Ernesto Alterio. They don't believe a word of their roles. Antonio Garrido looks younger than Ernesto Alterio. The script is the same one than UK premiere slightly adapted to Spain, but slow and boring.

After watching the premiere two things. One the budget for this version of "Damages" is considerably smaller. Filmed still in 4:3 format, actors too close to the camera what doesn't let you see the, in general, small set. Second, at least the actors are very good in their role and the adaptation to Spain's reality is quite good. Blanca Portillo is now a Judge instead a Lawyer, and Jose Coronado is a Politician involved in dark business and corruption, instead a rich businessman. The young lawyer is now a man instead a woman, and a court secretary instead a lawyer. He moves from Salamanca to Madrid as big career opportunity. His sister in law has also things to hide...

The case is based on a fire in a discotheque that had collateral damages in neighbors houses, not collateral damages based on chemical exposition.

Let's see how it develops for the next chapters. But is a promising start.

I remember going to the movies in Madrid when I was 15 to watch that year's 007. I remember a surprise to see how Spain was, once again, depicted. The action with the Citroen is supposed to be filmed in Spain, near Madrid!! Goatees and sheep in the city, women with scarves on their head, a Mediterranean forest, the most funny was to see people harvesting olives...hahahahaha. Mixed feelings about feeling embarrassed for the ignorant producers and movie director, and feelings about they did it once again.

Well they should be better have done near Granada, or Jaen, but near Madrid, no way! I don't need to explain why, but anyway I guess British people is the image that had about Spain due to their holidays in Southern Spain...

On the other hand besides that surprising part, the rest was completely foreseeable. Carole Bouquet was a beautiful model, but not still an actress. At the final part any shot of a person feet immediately had another shot of that person slipping down, I knew what it was going to happen long before it happened. Definitively one of the worse 007's

I saw this film afraid of what I was going to see was going to be something like Chuecatown (a self indulgent comedy about gays just for a group of gays). But I found something much better suitable for broader audiences.

There are gay characters but the story show them as people with their good and their bad things. They are not idealistic perfect, nor the weeping victims of society, not evil, they're just persons. And that's a good staring point for the "normalization" of gay people also in movies.

Of course there are some stereotyped behaviors, either from gay or heterosexual characters, but fits very well in the play, and are not very far away from some real truths.

Most of gags work very well, the story is credible and having in mind that is a comedy for all family is a good entertainment. Maybe in some countries that prefer kids to watch violence than love scenes it can be somewhat slightly sexy, but here it is perfectly suitable for all family, as I think it should be.

A very good "Opera-Prima" for a director/writer of sitcoms in Spain TV channels.

*** Warning it could contain some Spoilers ***

I went to see this movie the release date in Madrid. From the first minute everything is predictable and the general tone of the movie is defined by the names of the old lady kittens: Aznar, Acebes... all from the members of the former right winged government of Spain (1996-2004).

Ads say it's a comedy mystery movie in Chueca, the gay quarter of Madrid, more or less like Castro in San Francisco. But neither mystery, no much fun as comedy during the whole duration of the film.

As a comedy it does not work, just a couple of good gags, mystery is inexistent. For a broad audience is boring, as they won't understand most of jokes. For a gay audience is only enjoyable by all those who likes listening to the same old jokes again and again. The only valuable thing is the work of Actors,. Concha Velasco is incredible in her role, even though some of her dialogs are unbelievable, also Rosa Maria Sardá does her best at a completely stupid and unbelievable role.

Losers and low class people are heroes, and posh people are the evil ones. That could be funny if the final message weren't so close to the bipolarity of the Spain's politics and maybe society (influenced by mass media). What is most irritating to me is about knowledge and culture. Director shows that as if it were a sign of posh people. Knowledge has nothing to do with remembering 100 fashion designers, that's nonsense.

Another problem is that all jokes are too private for gays that lives or visits Chueca frequently. Too old ones listened too many times for local gays.

The jokes against PP (right winged political Popular Party) renamed as RR are too local to Spain and even, to Madrid. The parody of the visit to Chueca by the wife (as a counselor) of the former President of the government Jose Maria Aznar, is somewhat naive and inspired in the naive shows of transvestites common in some Chueca clubs. Maybe in the 80's could be modern, not now, maybe it would scandalize the Right Winged bigoted Spaniards, for the rest is somewhat pathetic.

Finally I hate the twisted message about bipolarity, unluckily very common again in Spain. Good, left winged, losers, ignorant, but with good heart ones, against right winged, posh, ice-heart, fashion victims or metrosexuals, the bad guys. As if it was everything that simple. There's no room for the rest, for the majority don't identified neither with PP nor PSOE, neither with extreme masculinity nor femininity, neither being fat hairy bears nor shaved fashion and body fitness victims. Neither with ignorant only reading comics or sport press (Marca) nor the ignorant only reading fashion magazines... I expected to see more diversity but on the gay side we have also so many stereotypes as the heterosexual world to see us as a group.

Just for fans of the old Chueca humor.

Hitchkock here denounces the seed of fascism, but also does not hide the homophobia of of the original theatre play. I guess those days any gay character deserved to be considered as an assassin or evil in anyway, or even worse a sympathetic poor queen costumed in women's wear.

I don't like this movie specially for this because show gays as bad people just because we have a different sexuality (not because we are different to the rest of human beings)... It's ridiculous I still have to say this in XXI century.

The technique of using what is apparently one shot with the camera moving all the way as if it were in a theatre stage could be innovative those days, now is just a curiosity.

However the hidden or not so hidden message that homosexuality is something bad and homosexuals are always evil or sympathetic people spoils from my point of view, the rest.

Take some lines from the scripts of Logan's run, Blade Runner and THX1138. Put them all together in a very simple plot. Use a lot of CGI visual effects and action scenes. Finally add some "drops" of ads from Cadillac, Microsoft, a real one from Calvin Klein, etc., Mix well, Here you have the brand new cocktail called The Island.

Entertaining and refreshing for the summer, and well, even though it has a thin plot, it also has a very interesting let's say message, about the ethics of cloning human beings. The topic is probably only an excuse for the plot and the director's message is only superficial , but as in The Day after Tomorrow, when the leaders of the world does not care about the problems of the real world, and people is so alienated with trash TV, Hollywood has to come with topics that at least produces discussion.

Lately I don't watch TV in the public channels in Spain (pay TV I think is not much better either).But It's worth to see this TV series, adaptation of another with same title on Hispanic channels on the USA.

Characters are credible (even Leonardo Sbaraglia can speak with Castilian accent credibly), Fanny Gautier a good surprise, and Natalia Verbecke and Emilio Gutierrz Caba gorgeous as always.

It has also verosimile plots considering all chapter needs it's suspense parts, but anyway well told and directed and very entertaining. It shows how real courts are and works in Spain not trying to imitate the American courts and legal systems as other stupid movies do.

Probably it has not been a big success yet because it not shows the tacky Spain people likes to see lately but a more sophisticated one (by the way it also exists, even though some inferiority complex yet in our society...) Maybe other problem is that is on air on TVE the government controlled channels, and as "E" means Spanish, word that seems forbidden by some sectors of Spain (specially politics) because it means for many something old fashioned. Many left winged people and specially the separatist sectors of Catalans and Basques think it's right winged, or not avant Gard to say Spain, or even bigger nonsenses. I'd like to ask them specially those separatists that consider themselves as superiors (like other nationalities during the 1930's) what word is acceptable instead Spanish, Iberica, ...Pata Negra????...

But anyway it's a very well done series, well performed and directed and should be in my opinion more successful

I know this is just a Blockbuster pop corn movie and nobody cares about nuances or giblets like geography or world traditions.

The stupid idea to mix a religious fair (the traditional fair during Holy Week, before Easter in Seville, Andalusia, Southern Spain, Europe) and a non-religious-at-all-fair in Valencia, Western Spain, Europe too, "Las Fallas" as the same thing, should be considered a serious misdemeanor in such a high budget film like this. Mr Cruise and Mr. Woo should have hired a much more competent documentation team, and art direction team too.

This is not a documentary about European traditions, but after watching this I can imagine a director from another "undocumented" country imagining a XXI century US where main cities has no skycrapers but small wood-made buildings, and a saloon with ignorant cow-boys riding on horses instead cars,thinking the earth is flat, and treating all bearded arabic people wear as terrorists.

Moreover that stupid constant in Hollywood movies showing Spain as an undeveloped thir world country and its inhabitants as Latin Americans or Africans instead Mediterranean Europeans is somewhat funny, because it probably means that Hollywood thinks that the rest of the world thinks Spain is part of the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa or Atlantis (yes Atlantis, it exists it has borders with Syldavia .... )

Thandie Newton looks African, not Spanish, many guys here probably are wishing more Spanish women were like that, but no, poor guys, here all women look so European....

Anyway who cares, don't you think so?. Many spectators in Spain did not care too, some just watched this part astounded, some other could not help to start laughin and some (a few) felt indignant.

Advice for non Spaniards: please after watching this kind of Hollywood trash please review your geography books and maps. I hate listening things like "I'm planning to visit Spain traveling by my car.... from Seattle to Spain.... Unbelievable! He just had an old Ford, neither James Bond's Aston Martin, nor Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car.

Oscar