Hungry (2026) directed by James Nunn is another of those animal killer movies, we had a couples in the past two years already and right from the opening scene inside a loud Louisiana bar, you can tell exactly what kind of movie this is trying to be so dont expect nothing ground braking here. Sistine and Hannah are partying hard, throwing shots and just having a blast, until Sistine gets a phone call from her boss and gets fired out of the blue. She basically decides to make one last reckless move and is here where both of them show up at the docks looking completely looking like shit. They have the dark sunglasses on, they look exhausted and you can tell the night before destroyed them, so they walk into this strange little shop that feels half store, half creepy animal museum, with old gator bones, weird taxidermy pieces and even a giant hippo skull sitting there like the place was designed to make everything feel more cursed. They board a tiny wooden boat guided by a local captain named Rodrigo and the thing looks exactly like a Jungle Cruise boat from Disney. Within the ones onboard are a retired firefighter named Tim grieving his dead wife, his middle aged daughter Sally, his grandson Mikey, and a pushy businesswoman named Dionne in a pantsuit. Their clashing personalities immediately drive the danger, especially since Dionne paid Rodrigo a three hundred dollar tip to navigate completely off the grid to photograph a giant alligator named Big Ben. Rodrigo starts throwing white marshmallows into the muddy river because alligators treat them like turtle eggs and we even get a cool close up shot of a real little green turtle sitting on a log. They navigate around a grassy area using an electronic tracker, finding Big Ben dead and ripped apart in the muddy water. Rodrigo tries to get them back but before they can turn around an enormous animal rams the boat, completely thrashing the boat until it flips over and dumps everyone into the water, with the radio shorted out by the flood, I got to give it to this movie, it wasnt fucking around to get you into the action.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34494076/
• Platform: PRIME VIDEO

The movie is more than fine for the first half obviously because of the physical creature design, because the production quality is super solid for a low budget movie, relying heavily on a giant rubber animatronic hippo head combined with CGI for the full body movement. You can feel the heavy weight and menacing presence of this creature whenever the three and a half ton, probably me exagerating; thrashes the tour boat. I did some digging after the movie and apparently giant practical prop took five separate crew members to operate on set, controlling the snapping jaw, rubber tongue and mouth slime to make it as realistic as possible before they throw in the CGI sauce. The cinematography gives us menacing shots right on the muddy rim of the swamp where the giant dark eyes of the creature slowly break the water surface, quietly watching the trapped travelers before making a sudden charge, its funny how you got now idea of whats comming if you only see the eyes and the tiny ears above water. You actually care about this group, especially the older grandfather Tim. Tim acts like a true classic hero when the beast returns finish the job and rams poor Hannah into the muddy river, Tim immediately jumps straight into the dangerous murky water to save her without a second thought, even though the giant drags both him and Hannah under the surface. That scene was powerful but it also make them look helpless and destine to die since its clear that there is no contest for the size and power of this animal. Sistine had this idea to use a video camcorder with a green night vision setting to scan the foggy swamp mist. Sally, who turns out to be a nurse, takes charge of treating the shoulder puncture wound of Rodrigo while Sistine helps out by retrieving the flare box with a branch and the practical blood effects look real enough for you to think the rest of the scene is possible, it doesnt feel too over the top. The group feels very authentic during these desperate medical moments, showing us real human beings dealing with severe shock and septic infection warnings, proving that a creature feature can deliver real emotional weight when the cast commits to the cold physical reality of water survival.

Hungry feels like a massive nostalgic throwback to the late 90s and early 2000s with all the animatronic involve, mainly because when you watch the giant hippo aggressively thrashing against the tiny Jungle Cruise sized tour boat in the middle of a remote muddy river, you can immediately see heavy structural similarities to movies like Anaconda where trapped travelers try to escape from a location in this case a river but you just dont see how its possible against such beast. Now that I think about this also feels like a carbon coopy of the survival horror movie The Bayou, where a plane crash survivors battle hungry alligators in the deep Louisiana swamplands until emergency backup arrives, so as I mention above there is nothing revolutionary or new about this movie that we have not seen in the past, all you got to do is replace the animal in between. Just like The Bayou, the traverlers in this case eventually row away from their sunken tour boat and seek temporary refuge inside an old abandoned structure built directly over the swamp water, almost perfect setup for claustrophobic location full of metal animal cages and flooded concrete hallways that look like an old gator farm tied to the abandoned hippo farming attempt, already giving you context from where this beast escape and even made me think if this is the only one?. There are many other movies that I would say influence this one, quick example is Jaws, specifically in how Big Ben had a tracking tag early on and later the survivors recover the GPS tracker from the boat so rescuers can find them, which mirrors the famous yellow wooden barrels used to track the great white shark. You feel the Jaws influence during quiet scenes where the travelers monitor the blinking GPS signal. The movie does this big data dump during the dock museum scene that roots the absurd concept in real American history. Walker explains to Mikey and the travelers that during a national meat shortage in 1910, a Louisiana congressman seriously pushed a plan to farm hippos across the Louisiana swamps and provide subsidized beef for regular American citizens. Walker notes that President Teddy Roosevelt himself backed the idea of importing the aggressive African animals to America, knowing that the vegetarian brutes would also solve an ecological crisis by eating the thick invasive water hyacinth plants completely choking the local rivers.

It is such a shame that the pacing feels all over the place once the sun completely sets over the muddy river because the movie stalls out and wastes a massive amount of time with the characters endlessly hanging out in the low swamp trees making boring small talk. You have to sit through long repetitive dialogue where they start throwing blame at each other for no grounded reasons, crying and arguing over whose fault, when they should literally just be swimming to the riverbank to escape the territory. Middle aged mother Sally suffers a complete mental break after her teenage son Mikey falls off the slippery boat and gets dragged under by the beast. She had this emotional reaction that feels incredibly forced and over the top dramatic, probably one of the worst moments of the movie even a bit cliche and then she literally just slides into the muddy water and swims away into the thick swamp fog never to be seen again. Around this moments I also remmber how a scene that was suppose to probably look bad ass, turn very hilarious to me as when they pour fuel across the muddy water to create a protective ring of fire so Sistine can dive underneath the sunken wooden hull and retrieve the damaged GPS transponder so rescuers can eventually locate them. All this felt so draggy that I was tempted to fast forward but the cast still made it watchable, even though the sudden rough edit makes it look like the post production team literally lost an entire physical scene and slapped the remaining pieces together without any smooth transition. The recovery dive also drives me crazy because Sistine successfully swims underneath the dark wooden hull, screams when she finds the floating dead body of Hannah, unlocks the metal storage container to grab the damaged GPS device. To make things worse, the director tries to inject some incredibly cheesy comedy into the dark survival atmosphere when veteran guide Walker goes out in his personal motorboat to search for the missing tour group. He cruises into the dark foggy swamp blasting the loud Twisted Sister rock song We Are Not Gonna Take It on his boat speakers, and the stranded travelers bizarrely start smiling and singing along with the corny music.

When the last few survivors finally make it to the old gator farm, the movie starts pulling all the hippo stuff together. The place is creepy, abandoned, full of old cages, records, bones and all those hints that these things have been out there for way longer than anyone realized. Then they hear the baby hippo crying and find it stuck under the broken cage and right away you know the mother is not just randomly killing people. She is pissed off because everyone is in her space and her baby is trapped. This brings out the worst in Dionne like she was not already hard to like, but this is where she fully crosses the line for me but cant denied that it was hilarious of how fucked up her reaction was. When the mother hippo gets inside and everything goes crazy, she shuts the door and basically leaves Walker trapped with that thing. Then she tries to act like she had no choice, like she was only trying to save everybody but come on. After that, I was just waiting for the movie to give her what she deserved, but the contrast between personalities also works because Sistine is the total opposite by the end. She starts the movie getting fired, feeling like a mess and barely holding her life together, but towards the end she is the one actually thinking, helping people, using the camcorder night vision, starting the fire and eventually realizing that the baby hippo is the key to stopping all of this. It is not some deep character but for a killer animal type of movie it just works. She goes from “my life is falling apart” to “fine, I guess I have to survive a giant hippo now,” and Madison Davenport does a good job to makes this movie watchable. The ending is easy to predict, I’m not going to pretend it shocked me but it still works because the movie understands what kind of movie it is. It has some lower budget moments, some awkward edits and a few jokes that don’t always hit properly, but watching this giant hippo stalk people through a dark swamp and an abandoned animal facility is still a lot of fun. The mix of practical hippo work and CGI helps too, because when the creature is close to the camera, it actually has weight instead of looking like a full cartoon. Hungry is not reinventing this type of killer animal movies or anything like that, but if you like stuff like Jaws, Anaconda or Primate, this is a very solid watch, I would give it a strong 7 out of 10.

#hungry2026, #jamesnunn, #creaturefeature, #swamphorror, #killerhippo, #louisianabayou, #madisondavenport, #joaquimdealmeida, #timmeskimen, #tracybonner, #survivalhorror, #animatronicmonster, #nightvisiongoggles, #jawsomage, #anacondavibes, #thebayou, #teddyroosevelt, #waterhyacinth, #butcherfactory, #twistedsister, #goodburgerreviews, #popcornmovie, #sledgehammerhorror, #tombofterrors, #nightlightpodcast

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Years ago, I saw a profoundly impactful film, which I've been remembering because of the desperate situation we Venezuelans are currently experiencing. I'm trying to clear my mind of the events that have transpired, but I can't stop thinking about the thousands of people whose lives were changed on June 24th.

The film is called The Impossible, from 2012, and it recounts the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, based on a true story. The tsunami sequence is truly shocking. At first, I thought it was a film with no basis in reality, but then I found out it was based on real events that occurred during a powerful tsunami in Thailand.

source

The first half hour of the film is filled with a very distressing tension. The story introduces us to an ordinary family, like any normal family, spending their vacation at the beach, but the peace at the hotel where they are staying is suddenly shattered by a terrifying sound. A huge wave is approaching, a gigantic and brutal tsunami; The film's director confronted us with incredibly realistic and harrowing effects. I particularly suffered watching the moments when the mother persistently fought for her life alongside her son, and despite the dire situation, managed to evade all dangers.

After being swept away by miles of floodwaters, Maria (Naomi Watts) and her eldest son, Lucas (Tom Holland), manage to find each other. Maria suffers severe injuries, especially a deep laceration to her leg and chest after colliding with underwater debris. Lucas, her teenage son, becomes her greatest support. In their arduous journey to survive, they manage to save a young boy named Daniel and are rescued by local Thais, who take Maria to a completely overwhelmed local hospital. There, Maria is mistakenly declared dead in a moment of administrative chaos, which almost permanently separates Lucas from her, but the misunderstanding is resolved. Lucas spends his time helping other patients at the hospital find their families.

Meanwhile, her husband Henry and their two youngest sons, Thomas and Simon, are separated from her. Henry will do everything in his power to find his wife Maria and their eldest son. He leaves the two boys in a shelter and embarks on a mission: his goal is to fight until he finds them.

After several attempts, always expecting the worst, Henry manages to find his wife and eldest son. In the end, amidst overwhelming emotion, the family is reunited. The only one receiving medical attention is the mother, who suffered the most severe injuries.

The film is hopeful and shows us how strong family bonds are and the importance of always staying united. I empathize with this family who suffered in this tsunami, and I also empathize with the thousands of Venezuelans who are suffering today from the devastating earthquake of June 24th, exactly yesterday, in the year 2026.

I used Google Translate (my native language is Spanish)

Rating: 100/100

Whether the pre-COVID Hollywood blockbuster paradigm has been rescued from extinction by the Barbenheimer phenomenon or merely granted a stay of execution remains a matter of debate. Nevertheless, what transpired in cinemas worldwide in July 2023 was genuinely unusual: a single studio releasing two radically different films simultaneously, yet instead of cannibalising each other’s box office, Barbie and Oppenheimer became one of the rare successful examples of counterprogramming – even a double feature. This is a notable achievement given both films’ excessive running times. Of the two, Barbie is the more conventional Hollywood blockbuster: a family-friendly fantasy satire based on a beloved toy line. What makes its existence even more surprising is that the creative forces behind it – director Greta Gerwig and her husband and co-writer Noah Baumbach – were previously known primarily for low-budget independent arthouse dramas such as Lady Bird and Marriage Story.

The film, narrated by Helen Mirren, opens in Barbieland, a universe conjured from the imagination of girls playing with Barbie dolls. The protagonist, known as “Stereotypical Barbie” (Margot Robbie), lives there alongside numerous variants of herself, various Kens, and assorted Barbies discontinued by Mattel for their unorthodox traits. Barbieland is a matriarchal society where women – or “Barbies” – hold all positions of power and responsibility, while men – or “Kens” – such as “Beach Ken” (Ryan Gosling) simply loiter about, though Beach Ken secretly yearns for a closer relationship with Barbie.

One day, the protagonist is suddenly afflicted by thoughts of death, cellulite, bad breath, and flat feet. The only person who understands what is happening is “Weird Barbie” (Kate McKinnon), who identifies the source as the child playing with her doll in the real world. To cure herself, Barbie must find that child and travel to the real world, with Ken accompanying her.

Barbie and Ken arrive at Venice Beach, where Barbie tracks down the doll’s owner, Sasha (Arianna Greenblatt), a teenager who accuses Barbie of making girls and women feel inadequate about unrealistic beauty standards. It transpires that the source of the problem is Sasha’s mother, Gloria (America Ferrera), who had dark thoughts while playing with the doll. Gloria nevertheless decides to help Barbie and, after assisting her escape from pursuing Mattel executives who want to box her up, travels to Barbieland. Complications arise when Ken, having become enamoured with the patriarchy and masculine orientation of the real world, decides to recreate it in Barbieland by taking over. Barbie must therefore reprogramme all the other Barbies.

Barbie is the most iconic doll in the world, and attempts to turn her into the protagonist of a live-action film date back to the 1980s, beginning with Cannon Films. Yet for decades the idea never reached production, unlike the series of animated children’s films. Actual development began in 2009 when Mattel signed a deal with Universal, but the project remained in development hell until it landed at Warner Bros. with Margot Robbie – arguably the most celebrated female film star of our times – expressing interest in the lead role. With her on board, the project was entrusted to Gerwig and Baumbach.

On a strictly superficial level, Barbie looks like a typical summer blockbuster: a family-friendly spectacle based on well-known intellectual property with a dedicated fan base of children and some of their parents. Gerwig, given a substantial budget, does not shy away from displaying it – primarily through visually impressive CGI-assisted surrealism of Barbieland, plenty of bright colour, ingenious imagery, a cool soundtrack, and numerous cinephilic references, most notably the opening homage to the “Dawn of Man” sequence from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Robbie is enthusiastic in her role, which cannot be said for Gosling, who is burdened with a one-dimensional and poorly written character. Arianna Greenblatt and America Ferrera are far more effective as the protagonist’s guides in the real world. Will Ferrell is wasted as the fictional Mattel CEO – the writers seemingly unable to reconcile the idea of presenting him as a hypocritical corporate semi-villain while simultaneously appeasing the film’s real-life corporate sponsors. Rhea Perlman provides one of the more memorable roles of her career as the ghost-like presence of Barbie’s real-life creator, Barbara Handler.

While a degree of feminist overtones was always to be expected from this female-centric film, and such content was arguably inevitable in the hyperpartisan, ideologically driven “woke” Hollywood of the post-Trump years, Barbie nevertheless not only wears its radical feminist and left-wing ideology on its sleeve but delivers it to the audience with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. There is hardly a tenet of modern-day US progressivism that is not, explicitly or implicitly, endorsed by the characters. Barbieland is presented as a matriarchal utopia where men know their proper place as mere decoration, while “girlbosses” such as President Barbie (Issa Rae, channelling Kamala Harris) run the entire place. The character of Sasha, representing the future of America, calls Barbie and other “moderates” “fascists”. The opening scene depicts young girls destroying their old baby-like dolls, explicitly rejecting motherhood in line with radical progressive feminism and the “childfree” movement.

The character of Ken and his ilk are poorly written: on one hand, pathetic, worthless losers who must come to the real patriarchal world to experience it as paradise, and then, despite their inferiority, somehow seduce all the women and install patriarchy in Barbieland. Many have observed, not without irony, that Barbie is actually more explicitly political than Oppenheimer, despite the latter dealing with real-life issues of nuclear warfare.

A serious issue with Barbie is its pacing. The film runs almost two hours, which may not be appropriate for its target audience of young children. Much of the budget was spent on an unprecedented advertising campaign that paid off handsomely. Barbie became a major commercial success, easily surpassing Oppenheimer, itself a surprise commercial hit. Yet critics were far more appreciative of Nolan’s work, and this was reflected in its Oscar triumphs. Considering Barbie is a deeply flawed and disappointing film, that fate was well-deserved.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

(Note: The text in the Crotian version is available here.)

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Hola amigos || Hello friends

Desde hace un tiempo tengo un Fire TV en una antigua televisor y en el tengo instalado Xuper Tv lo que me recuerda la experiencia de ver televisión en los 90y les digo algo, yo me emociono ahora daca vez que se activa las distintas publicidades de por ejemplo, en Warner Channel y es que no cabe duda que ver Tv antes era un deporte extremo comparado con el streaming de ahora. ¿O se les olvidó lo que era calarse cada tanda comercial completa porque no había un botón de “omitir anuncio”? ja ja ja… Sí amigos esos minutos eternos que mantenían los canales al aire y a nosotros al borde del asiento esperando que regresara nuestra comiquita favorita. Y sí beno, me emociono porque intento mantenerme en los 90 por mi edad y por sus programas de Tv ja ja ja…

For a while now, I’ve had a Fire TV hooked up to an old TV, and I’ve got Xuper TV installed on it, which reminds me of what it was like to watch TV in the ’90s. And let me tell you something I get excited now every time the commercials come on, for example, on the Warner Channel. There’s no doubt that watching TV back then was an extreme sport compared to streaming today. Or have you forgotten what it was like to sit through every single commercial break because there was no “skip ad” button? Hahaha… Yeah, friends, those endless minutes that kept the channels on the air and us on the edge of our seats, waiting for our favorite cartoon to come back. And yeah, well, I get excited because I try to stay in the ’90s both because of my age and because of those TV shows. Hahaha…

Siempre recuerdo que cuando niño los fines de semana eran como mis mini vacaciones ya que solía despertar temprano, con energía, directo a sembrarme frente al televisor. Pero los lunes, soy de los que quisiera que no existieran ja ja ja… Levantarse para ir a la escuela era la última opción en mi lista de deseos. La energía para salir de la cama no venía de un café ni mucho menos de mí, venía de mi papá que con aquel inolvidable grito de guerra: "¡Que se levante dijo su mamá!" acompañado de lo primero que tuviera a la mano para lanzarme claro esto en sentido figurado... o no tanto ja ja ja... Gracias a Dios no era el único que sufría con el despertador rústico en casa pues mi hermana pasaba exactamente por lo mismo. Pero por el lado de ver tv con ella curiosamente casi nunca discutíamos por el control de la tele más bien ella no era tan fanática de las series de acción y prefería jugar con sus muñecas aunque de vez en cuando nos unía el Pato Lucas, Bugs Bunny o su verdadero punto débil Los Ositos Cariñosos.

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I always remember that as a kid, weekends were like mini-vacations for me I’d wake up early, full of energy, and head straight for the TV. But Mondays… I’m one of those people who wish they didn’t exist, ha ha ha… Getting up for school was the last thing on my wish list. The energy to get out of bed didn’t come from coffee or from me, for that matter—it came from my dad, with that unforgettable battle cry: “Get up, your mom said!” accompanied by whatever was closest at hand to throw at me figuratively speaking, of course… or maybe not so figuratively, ha ha ha… Thank God I wasn’t the only one who suffered from that makeshift alarm clock at home my sister went through exactly the same thing. But when it came to watching TV with her, curiously enough, we almost never fought over the remote she just wasn’t that big a fan of action shows and preferred to play with her dolls, although every now and then we’d bond over Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, or her true weakness: the Care Bears.

Pero hoy quiero hablar de tres series en específico. Tres joyas de los 90 que sinceramente si las transmitieran hoy en la televisión abierta, les juro que dejaría de ver lo que estuviera en el momento para sentarme a verlas y recordar que todavía hay un niño en mí. Estas series de seguro algunos de ustedes la recordaran y otros quizás conozcan algo de los 90 así que bueno, que tal si empezamos recordando a los Street Sharks. Ver a estos tipos nadando literalmente a través del asfalto, rompiendo calles y comiendo hamburguesas mientras luchaban contra el Dr ¨X¨ porque la verdad no me acuerdo del nombre pero en fin, estos panas fueron el pico del entretenimiento de acción de la época y tenian toda esa onda rebelde y genial de los 90 que te hacía querer tener todas las figuras de acción.

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But today I want to talk about three specific shows. Three gems from the ’90s that, honestly, if they were airing on broadcast TV today, I swear I’d stop whatever I was doing right then and there to sit down and watch them and remember that there’s still a kid inside me. Some of you will surely remember these shows, and others might know a thing or two about the ’90s, so, well, how about we start by reminiscing about the Street Sharks. Watching these guys literally swim through the asphalt, tear up the streets, and eat hamburgers while fighting Dr. “X” because, to be honest, I don’t remember his name but anyway, these guys were the pinnacle of action entertainment back then and had that whole rebellious, cool ’90s vibe that made you want to collect all the action figures.

Y si combinar tiburones con patinetas les parece que era genial, imagínense poner a tres ratones gigantes en motocicletas chopper, eso sin duda era de otro planeta. Bueno si, literalmente dado que los ratones eran de Marte. Estos amigos no solo tenían un estilo increíble y chaquetas sin mangas sino que defendían a Chicago de los malvados extraterrestres que querían robarse los recursos de la Tierra. Curiosos verdad, tres extraterrestres definiendo la tierra de alguna otra raza desconocida ja ja ja… Eran una nota!!

And if combining sharks with skateboards seemed awesome to you, imagine putting three giant mice on chopper motorcycles—that was definitely out of this world. Well, yes, literally, since the mice were from Mars. These guys not only had incredible style and sleeveless jackets, but they also defended Chicago from the evil aliens who wanted to steal Earth’s resources. Funny, isn’t it? Three aliens defining Earth as belonging to some other unknown race, ha ha ha… They were something else!!

Ahora bien, de las dos que he mencionado esta era definitivamente mi debilidad absoluta. Sé que era más pequeño pero esas imágenes de ver como se transformaban en máquinas era una emoción gigante la que sentía de niño. Estoy amigos eran lo máximo. Lo que hacía alucinante a Los Centuriones era el concepto de los trajes tecnológicos. Ellos se Fusionaban con armamento pesado que les enviaban desde la estación espacial que tenían y contactaban. La verdad es que era una genialidad de la ciencia ficción para niños. No recuerdo muy bien algún capitulo pero si recuerdo que habían batallas que eran simplemente épicas. Me pasaba el día imaginando que tenía mi propio traje de combate ja ja ja… Por eso sin duda, esta era la que lograba que mi niño se imaginara ser un Centurion ja ja ja…

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Now, of the two I mentioned, this one was definitely my absolute favorite. I know I was younger back then, but seeing them transform into machines gave me a huge thrill as a kid. Man, they were the best. What made The Centurions so amazing was the concept of the high-tech suits. They would fuse with heavy weaponry sent to them from the space station they were in and made contact. Honestly, it was a stroke of genius in children’s science fiction. I don’t remember any specific episodes very well, but I do remember that there were battles that were simply epic. I spent my days imagining that I had my own combat suit, ha ha ha… That’s why, without a doubt, this was the show that made my inner child imagine being a Centurion, ha ha ha…

Y así fue mi niñez, entre tiburones patinadores, ratones marcianos en moto y superhéroes con trajes que llegaban desde el espacio. Así pasé los mejores años de mi infancia y pueda que hoy los niños ya no se reúnan en la calle a jugar, que las series no sean como las de antes o que aquella diversión que vivimos nosotros se haya reemplazado por una pantalla táctil. Pero de algo estoy seguro, y es que sé que dentro de mí sigue estando ese niño que se despertaba temprano y muy emocionado los sábados para no perderse ni un segundo de sus héroes. Puedo decirles que aunque el tiempo pase y la tecnología avance, los 90 siguen vivos en cada recuerdo de aquellos que como yo, vivimos tantos ser niños.

And that’s how my childhood was filled with skateboarding sharks, Martian mice on motorcycles, and superheroes in costumes who came from outer space. That’s how I spent the best years of my childhood, and maybe today kids no longer gather in the street to play, maybe TV shows aren’t like they used to be, or maybe the fun we experienced has been replaced by a touchscreen. But of one thing I’m certain: I know that deep down, there’s still that little boy who used to wake up early and full of excitement on Saturdays so he wouldn’t miss a single second of his heroes. I can tell you that even as time passes and technology advances, the ’90s live on in every memory of those of us who, like me, truly lived as children.

Disculpen, sé que me extendí ja ja ja...

Sorry, I know I went on a bit, ha ha ha...

(English version)

This is an action movie with Jackie Chan as the lead actor, and Claire Forlani who has also played in the Police Academy: Mission to Moscow film, as some of you may remember.

There are no long introductions, and the heroes of the movie get into the thick of action right from the beginning.

The pace is hectic, to say the least, with Jackie Chan running like crazy from one scene to the next, as he follows trail of Snakehead, a major underworld figure with an international presence and influence.

Snakehead is after a magical medallion with the power to give life, and take life, as well.

A boy is the Chosen One as a keeper of the medallion and its superpowers, and when Snakehead learns that, he kidnaps the boy and takes him to his secret headquarters in Ireland.

Discussion

On top of the non-stop action which is captivating throughout the movie, there are various themes that are touched upon.

One example is the life-death theme that is related with the powers of the magical medallion.

As opposed to other martial arts action movies, where an old guru is the wise man who holds or has access to magical powers, in this movie, it is a boy that holds such powers.

If it falls in the wrong hands, the same object that is supposed to give life can also cause death.

In other words, it works like a double-edged sword.

Another key theme of the movie revolves around love.

On the one hand, there is unfulfilled love between two people that is sacrificed for the sake of hunting a career in the police.

The medallion does its magic, as it becomes the force that gives back life to the unlucky wannabe lovers, and finally unites them to eternity.

On the other hand, there is love between two people who are married, have kids, and live a settled life, until the serenity of their family life is disrupted, as the medallion gets in their life too, turning everything around and making it a mess.

Humor also plays a big part in this film.

Amid violent scenes, Jackie Chan and Lee Evans have a sense of humor that makes viewers smile and laugh.

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Jackie Chan is the Charlie Chaplin of martial arts movies.

(This post was translated from English into Italian with Google Translate)

(Versione Italiana)

Questo è un film d'azione con Jackie Chan come protagonista e Claire Forlani, che ha recitato anche in "Scuola di polizia: Missione a Mosca", come alcuni di voi ricorderanno.

Non ci sono lunghe introduzioni e gli eroi del film si ritrovano subito nel vivo dell'azione.

Il ritmo è frenetico, a dir poco, con Jackie Chan che corre come un matto da una scena all'altra, sulle tracce di Snakehead, una figura di spicco della malavita con presenza e influenza a livello internazionale.

Snakehead è alla ricerca di un medaglione magico con il potere di dare e togliere la vita.

Un ragazzo è il Prescelto, custode del medaglione e dei suoi superpoteri, e quando Snakehead lo scopre, lo rapisce e lo porta nel suo quartier generale segreto in Irlanda.

Analisi

Oltre all'azione ininterrotta che tiene incollati allo schermo per tutta la durata del film, vengono affrontati diversi temi.

Un esempio è il tema della vita e della morte, legato ai poteri del medaglione magico. A differenza di altri film d'azione di arti marziali, dove un vecchio guru è il saggio che detiene o ha accesso a poteri magici, in questo film è un ragazzo a possedere tali poteri.

Se cade nelle mani sbagliate, lo stesso oggetto che dovrebbe dare la vita può anche causare la morte.

In altre parole, funziona come un'arma a doppio taglio.

Un altro tema chiave del film ruota attorno all'amore.

Da un lato, c'è un amore non corrisposto tra due persone, sacrificato per la ricerca di una carriera nella polizia.

Il medaglione compie la sua magia, diventando la forza che restituisce la vita agli sfortunati amanti e li unisce finalmente per l'eternità.

Dall'altro lato, c'è l'amore tra due persone sposate, con figli e una vita tranquilla, finché la serenità della loro famiglia non viene sconvolta dall'arrivo del medaglione, che sconvolge tutto e crea scompiglio.

Anche l'umorismo gioca un ruolo importante in questo film.

Tra scene violente, Jackie Chan e Lee Evans dimostrano un senso dell'umorismo che strappa sorrisi e risate agli spettatori.

Non sarebbe esagerato affermare che Jackie Chan è il Charlie Chaplin dei film di arti marziali.

(Questo post è stato tradotto dall'inglese all'italiano con Google Translate)

Rating: 35/100

The Good News (S4x03)

Airdate: 8 August 2010

Written by: Matthew Weiner & Jonathan Abrahams Directed by: Jennifer Getzinger

Running Time: 48 minutes

For its first three seasons, Mad Men basked in the near-unanimous adoration of critics, who hailed Matthew Weiner’s period drama as a masterpiece of television. Yet, as the fourth season began, a subtle but perceptible shift occurred in the critical consensus. The bloom was, if not entirely off the rose, certainly beginning to wilt. The third episode of the season, The Good News, became the first instance where the chorus of enthusiasm was notably muted, and a nagging question began to surface in reviews and recaps: had Matthew Weiner, like his protagonist Don Draper, lost his creative “mojo”? The episode was not bad, but it felt like a stumble, a moment of uncertainty from a show that had previously seemed so sure-footed.

The episode is set around the New Year of 1965, and its central storyline finds Don Draper, alone and depressed in his bachelor pad, telling anyone who will listen that he plans to spend the remaining days of 1964 vacationing in Acapulco. This is, of course, a lie. Instead, he takes a detour to California, to visit his quasi-wife and old friend, Anna Draper, the only person who knows the truth of his stolen identity and who has always understood him without judgement. For Don, California has always been a precious getaway, a liberating escape from the tiresome entanglements of his corporate life and the wreckage of his family life. It is the place where he can shed the skin of Don Draper and be Dick Whitman, if only for a while. Yet, in a significant departure from the show’s established pattern, this visit marks the first time he leaves the West Coast in worse shape than when he arrived.

His stay at Anna’s home begins pleasantly enough. He is greeted by Anna’s sister, Patty (Susan Leslie), and her college-attending daughter, Stephanie (Cathy Lotz). Stephanie is young, spirited, and attractive, wearing skimpy clothes and enthusiastically embracing the burgeoning counterculture of the 1960s, whether it be political protests or marijuana. Don, feeling rejuvenated by the liberated atmosphere of the West Coast, cannot resist the opportunity to flirt with her. But Stephanie is not impressed, and she delivers a devastating blow: Anna has terminal cancer. The family has deliberately chosen not to tell her, hoping to allow her to die in peace. Don is sworn to secrecy. He initially resolves to spend extra time with Anna, to savour what little time remains. But in the end, he simply cannot cope with the emotional weight. He flees back to New York, leaving Anna blissfully unaware that they have just seen each other for the last time.

The other storyline of the episode concerns Joan Holloway and her increasingly fraught marital situation. A scene in a doctor’s office reveals that Joan wants to get pregnant, but is deeply concerned about the potential complications from her two previous abortions, as well as the very real prospect of her husband, Greg, being sent to Vietnam. She attempts to secure some extra vacation time from the overworked Lane Pryce, but he refuses. Later, she receives a bouquet of flowers and an apology note from Lane, which prompts her to storm into his office, only to discover it was a mix-up. The package was intended for Lane’s wife, and his incompetent secretary, Sandy (Bayne Gibney), sent it to Joan by mistake. Joan’s reaction is swift and brutal: she fires Sandy on the spot. The emotional climax of her storyline comes when she accidentally cuts herself while making breakfast for Greg. He immediately takes charge, expertly “fixing her up” with a bandage, demonstrating a skill and tenderness that is entirely absent from their emotional life. The sight of this small, competent kindness is so jarring and so painful that it makes Joan cry.

Don, at a loss for what to do with himself, ends up in the otherwise empty SCDP offices, where Lane is still working. It does not take much time or alcohol for Don to realise that Lane is in a similarly dire situation: his wife has left him and will not be returning from England. The two men decide to comfort each other with a classic night out on the town, involving heavy drinking, an expensive restaurant, a trip to the cinema, and a visit to a comedy club. There, an unknown comedian (Will Janowitz) mistakes them for a homosexual couple, a moment of awkward humour that is quickly defused when they are joined by a call-girl, Candace, and her colleague, Janine (Elaine Carroll). The night ends at Don’s apartment, where Lane has sex with Janine and later pays her extra for her service. The episode closes the next morning, with the SCDP leadership assembled in the conference room, and Joan asking them, “Gentlemen, shall we begin 1965?”

+The Good News+ is a solid episode, but it feels like a misstep. Matthew Weiner, who co-wrote the script with Jonathan Abrahams, gives the impression of trying too hard to engineer a tonal shift following the dark overtones of the previous episode, but he apparently lacks the conviction to see it through. Don’s vacation, which was supposed to rejuvenate him, ends with another devastating revelation, but the way it is handled feels soapish and brings too much bathos to the proceedings. The emotional weight of Anna’s impending death is undercut by the melodramatic reveal and Don’s subsequent flight, which feels less like a profound character moment and more like a plot device to get him back to New York.

Weiner does provide a light at the end of the tunnel, ironically, when Don returns to New York and has his “Boys’ Own Adventure” with Lane, which is presented in a largely humorous fashion. This segment, however, is spoiled by a glaring anachronism. The film the two men watch is Gamera, the 1965 Japanese monster classic, which was actually released later in the year than the episode’s setting. This is a major faux pas for a series that has prided itself on its meticulous attention to period detail, and it is the kind of error that breaks the immersion for attentive viewers.

Ultimately, the episode is saved by Christina Hendricks, whose storyline finally gives her character something substantial to do after being tragically underused in the previous season. Joan’s arc is the emotional core of the episode, and Hendricks delivers a performance of quiet desperation and simmering rage that is far more compelling than Don’s maudlin journey. Her storyline provides the genuine emotional weight that the rest of the episode strives for but fails to achieve. The Good News is a reminder that even the best shows can stumble, and that sometimes, the supporting cast is the only thing holding the whole thing together.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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Hello film lovers, /Bonjour les cinéphiles,

We’re on Netflix.

We’d got as far as season 3 of this dystopian series.

I saw that season 6 was coming to the platform and thought it was time to catch up and see what else was in store for June Osborne.

Season 6 is the final season, so we can bring this series to a close.

Nous sommes sur Netflix.

Nous nous étions arrêtés à la saison 3 de cette série dystopique.

J'ai vu que la saison 6 arrivait sur la plateforme et je me suis dit qu'il était temps de rattraper notre retard et de voir ce qu'il allait encore arriver à June Osborne.

La 6e saison est la dernière, ce qui nous permet de clore cette série.

Source

Synopsis :

June Osborne managed to rescue 22 children from Gilead, as well as a few handmaids, thanks to her well-placed contacts. They were put on a plane bound for Toronto, Canada.

June remains in Gilead; she wants to rescue other handmaids, but also her daughter Hannah.

Moira, a friend of June’s and a former Handmaid, was on the plane with Nicole, June and Nick’s daughter. Moira will be staying with Luc, June’s husband, and they will look after Nicole whilst they wait for June to return.

Nick, the Waterfords’ former driver and a member of the ‘Eyes’, gradually rises through the ranks to become a Commander. He marries Rose, the daughter of a high-ranking Commander, and is soon to become a father. He remains deeply in love with June and will regularly help her out of difficult situations.

Serena Waterford, wife of Commander Fred Waterford and June’s former employer, will often cross paths with June.

June Osborne a réussi à sauver 22 enfants de Gilead, ainsi que quelques servantes, grâce à des contacts bien placés. Ils sont embarqués dans un avion à destination de Toronto, au Canada.

June reste à Gilead, elle veut sauver d'autres servantes, mais aussi sa fille Hannah.

Moïra, une amie de June et ancienne servante, était dans l'avion avec Nicole, la fille de June et Nick. Moïra sera hébergée par Luc, le mari de June, et ils s'occuperont d'élever Nicole en attendant le retour de June.

Nick, l'ancien chauffeur des Waterford et membre des "yeux", monte progressivement en grade et devient commandant. Il se marie avec Rose, fille d'un haut-commandant, et sera bientôt papa. Il reste profondément amoureux de June et l'aidera régulièrement à se sortir de situations complexes.

Serena Waterford, épouse du commandant Fred Waterford et ancienne employeur de June, croisera souvent la route de June.

Many people, both friends and enemies, will be killed. The Gilead system is, at times, likened to the Nazi regime, but it is not limited to that. It is clearly not an ideal system, as no one can flourish within it, not even those in high places, who are monitored and eliminated if they stray from the straight and narrow.

The Council of (high-ranked) Commanders meets whenever necessary, but also regularly to take stock of the situation. During these meetings, the commanders put forward proposals which are then debated in a select committee. It was in this way that High Commander Joseph Laurenz proposed building New Bethlehem, a new district of Gilead by the sea, where Gilead’s rules would be significantly relaxed (no more handmaid roles, women would be allowed to read, etc.).

Minds are changing, even at the very top of the hierarchy.

De nombreuses personnes, amies et ennemies, seront tuées. Le système de Gilead est, par moments, assimilé au système nazi, mais pas seulement. Ce n'est clairement pas un système idéal, puisque personne ne peut s'y épanouir, pas même les haut-placés qui sont surveillés et éliminés s'ils se détournent du droit chemin.

Le conseil des (haut-)commandants se réunit dès que nécessaire, mais aussi régulièrement pour faire le point. Lors de ce conseil, les commandants émettent des propositions qui sont alors débattues en conseil restreint. C'est ainsi que le haut-commandant Joseph Laurenz a proposé de construire la Nouvelle-Bethléem, un nouveau quartier de Gilead, en bord de mer, où les règles de Gilead seraient fortement assouplies (plus de rôle de servante, les femmes peuvent lire, etc.).

Des esprits changent, même dans le haut de la hiérarchie.

My opinion and a few facts /Mon avis et petites infos :

We didn’t like the series finale. June seems to give in to it, to resign herself to it.

On several occasions, we found ourselves thinking that the acting was very well done, particularly in the case of Aunt Lydia.

We couldn’t bring ourselves to warm to June, despite her central and ever-present role. She had too selfish and aggressive/combative a personality to be endearing, but that very personality saved her on several occasions.

Some scenes dragged on, especially in the final episodes with their repeated flashbacks.

I’m glad I watched this series and I’m glad it’s over. Thanks to this story, written by Margaret Atwood, we can realise the kind of horrors some people are capable of imagining. Gilead is supposed to follow the precepts of the Bible… but these are twisted to serve the power of a select few.

Nous n'avons pas aimé la fin de la série. June semble s'y abandonner, s'y résigner.

Plusieurs fois, nous nous sommes fait la réflexion que c'était très bien interprété, notamment pour Tante Lydia.

Nous ne sommes pas parvenu à nous attacher à June, malgré son rôle central et omniprésent. Elle avait une personnalité trop égoïste et agressive/combative pour en être attachante, mais cette personnalité l'a sauvée à diverses reprises.

Des moments étaient tirés en longueur, surtout dans les derniers épisodes avec des flash-backs à répétition.

Je suis contente d'avoir vu cette série et je suis contente qu'elle soit terminée. Grâce à cette histoire, écrite par Margaret Atwood, nous pouvons nous rendre compte de ce que certains peuvent imaginer comme horreur. Gilead est censée suivre les préceptes de la Bible .. mais ceux-ci sont détournés au profit du pouvoir de quelques-uns.

The cast hasn’t changed much:

Elisabeth Moss: June Osborne / Dejoseph / Defred Joseph Fiennes: Commander Fred Waterford Yvonne Strahovski: Serena Joy Waterford Alexis Bledel: Emily Malek / Deglen / Desteven / Dejoseph Madeline Brewer: Janine Lindo / Dewarren / Dedaniel Samira Wiley: Moira Strand / Ruby Ann Dowd: Aunt Lydia / Lydia Clements O. T. Fagbenle: Luke Bankole Max Minghella: Nick Blaine Amanda Brugel: Rita Blue Bradley Whitford: Commander Joseph Lawrence Sam Jaeger: Mark Tuello Stephen Kunken: Commander Warren Putnam Jonathan Watton: Commander Calhoun Mckenna Grace: Esther Keyes Zawe Ashton: Oona Jeananne Goossen: Aunt Ruth

The actress Alexis Bledel bears a striking resemblance to Robin Tunney, who plays Teresa Lisbon in the series The Mentalist. However, they are not related.

Basically, we didn’t really enjoy the story and were very disappointed by the ending.

What did you think of it?

Enjoy your evenings in front of the telly, everyone, and see you soon,

Le casting n'a pas beaucoup changé :

Elisabeth Moss : June Osborne / Dejoseph / Defred Joseph Fiennes : le commandant Fred Waterford Yvonne Strahovski : Serena Joy Waterford Alexis Bledel : Emily Malek / Deglen / Desteven / Dejoseph Madeline Brewer : Janine Lindo / Dewarren / Dedaniel Samira Wiley : Moira Strand / Ruby Ann Dowd : Tante Lydia / Lydia Clements O. T. Fagbenle : Luke Bankole Max Minghella : Nick Blaine Amanda Brugel : Rita Blue Bradley Whitford : Commandant Joseph Lawrence Sam Jaeger : Mark Tuello Stephen Kunken : Commandant Warren Putnam Jonathan Watton : Commandant Calhoun Mckenna Grace : Esther Keyes Zawe Ashton : Oona Jeananne Goossen : Tante Ruth

L'actrice Alexis Bledel a une très forte ressemblance avec l'actrice Robin Tunney qui joue Teresa Lisbon dans la série Mentalist. Elles n'ont pourtant aucun lien de parenté.

En gros, nous n'avons pas trop apprécié l'histoire et avons été très déçus par la fin.

Et vous, qu'en avez-vous pensé ?

Bonnes soirées-tv à tous et à bientôt,

Florence

Source photo : image Qwant autorisée

I used Deepl Translator to translate French into English

Proud member of the Principality of Bastion

Christmas Comes But Once a Year (S4x02)

Airdate: 1 August 2010

Written by: Matthew Weiner & Tracy McMillan Directed by: Michael Uppendahl

Running Time: 48 minutes

Of all the ways in which the modern conception of Christmas has been hollowed out, few are as thoroughly documented as its utter commercialisation. A holiday that once served as a moment of religious reflection and familial gathering has, in the popular imagination, become little more than an engine of consumption, driven in no small part by the very industry that Mad Men spent seven seasons dramatising. It is therefore almost inevitable that the series would eventually turn its attention to the season of goodwill, and the fourth season’s second episode, Christmas Comes But Once a Year, represents the first serious attempt to do so. The previous three seasons had concluded in late autumn, but the fourth begins in November 1964, allowing the show’s creators to place their characters in the thick of the holiday season for the first time. What emerges is an episode that is less a critique of Christmas as a commercial construct and more a character study of a man whose personal and professional life has unravelled to the point where the season’s enforced jollity becomes a source of genuine pain.

The episode opens with Don Draper in a state of profound dislocation. For the first time after long time, he is spending Christmas without his family, and the loneliness that this engenders is something he is manifestly ill-equipped to handle. His attempts to deny the reality of his situation—that he is a man in his late thirties, newly divorced, living in a sparsely furnished Manhattan apartment, and dependent on the charity of his secretary to remember where he left his keys—are increasingly pathetic. The bottle becomes his refuge, and the consequences are predictable. His professional judgement suffers, and the awe that once surrounded him among the junior staff of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce gives way to something far more corrosive: mockery. It is a striking reversal for a character who has, for three seasons, been presented as the unassailable genius of the advertising world, and Jon Hamm’s performance captures every nuance of this decline with remarkable precision.

The central plot of the episode revolves around the SCDP Christmas party, and it is here that the show’s writers, Matthew Weiner and Tracy McMillan, deploy their sharpest observations about the intersection of commerce and celebration. Roger Sterling and Lane Pryce, acutely aware of the firm’s precarious financial position, have planned a modest, low-budget affair. But when Lee Garner Jr. of Lucky Strike calls Roger to announce his attendance, the calculus changes instantly. The party must be expanded, the budget increased, and the tone shifted from collegial to sycophantic. It masterfully shows dynamics of power within the advertising industry: the client is king, and the king’s whims must be indulged, no matter how degrading they may be to those who serve him.

The return of Freddy Rumsen (Joel Murray), provides a counterpoint to the excesses of the party. Freddy, who was fired from Sterling Cooper for his alcoholism, has spent the intervening eighteen months rebuilding his life. He is sober, he has secured a two-million-dollar account through his AA network, and he has bought his way back into the firm. Yet his reunion with Peggy Olson is not entirely comfortable. She finds him “old fashioned,” and their relationship, once that of mentor and protégé, has become strained. Freddy’s refusal to attend the office party, for fear of temptation, is a poignant reminder of the fragility of recovery, and his subsequent advice to Peggy—that she should not sleep with her new boyfriend Mark (Blake Blashoff) if she wants to marry him—is both wise and anachronistic. Peggy, for her part, ignores the advice, unwilling to face New Year’s Eve alone.

Don’s encounters with two women during the episode serve to underscore his diminished state. Phoebe (Norah Zehetner), the nurse who lives in his building, helps him to bed when he is too drunk to manage on his own, but there is no hint of the predatory charm that characterised his earlier seductions. Dr. Faye Miller (Cara Buono), a consultant who administers a psychological test to the SCDP staff, is similarly immune to his advances, and his refusal to complete the test—because it asks questions about his father—reveals a vulnerability that he is unable to articulate. These are not women to be conquered; they are witnesses to his decline.

The subplot involving Sally Draper and Glen Bishop is, perhaps, the weakest element of the episode. Glen’s obsession with Sally, mirroring his earlier obsession with her mother, feels less like psychological depth and more like a narrative convenience. His decision to break into the Francis home and trash it, leaving only Sally’s bed untouched, is genuinely disturbing, but it is also somewhat gratuitous. The episode does not have the time to explore the implications of this act, and it remains an unresolved thread.

The party itself descends into the expected chaos. Lee Garner Jr. bullies Roger into playing Santa Claus and delivering a series of humiliating remarks, and the evening becomes a study in the degradation of the powerful by the even more powerful. Don, who has drunk too much, leaves early but forgets his keys. In desperation, he calls the office, and his secretary Allison retrieves the keys and accompanies him home. What follows is one of the most uncomfortable scenes in the episode: Don kisses her, they have sex, and the next morning he pretends that nothing happened. Allison’s transition from romantic elation to heartbreak is handled with devastating economy by Alexa Alemani, who delivers a performance that is all the more powerful for its restraint.

Christmas Comes But Once a Year is a solid episode, but it is not a great one. Weiner seems more comfortable depicting the old, static world of the Eisenhower era than the rapidly changing landscape of the mid-1960s. The focus on Don’s personal issues, while effective in isolation, threatens to turn Mad Men into a soap opera rather than a period piece. The Christmas theme is addressed through predictable musical choices—the 1950s standard “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” makes an appearance—and Phoebe’s observation that people get depressed at Christmas, which brings her extra work as a nurse, is a rare moment of genuine insight.

What saves the episode is the quality of the performances. Jon Hamm continues to demonstrate his remarkable range, finding new depths in a character who has been defined by his surface-level competence. Joel Murray’s Freddy Rumsen is a welcome return, and he manages to retain the sympathy he earned in the first two seasons. Marten Holden Weiner, the showrunner’s son, is considerably more unsettling as Glen Bishop than he was in previous appearances, and his actions carry a weight that the episode does not fully earns. But it is Alexa Alemani who delivers the episode’s most memorable performance, capturing the precise moment when a woman realises that the man she has just slept with is not going to remember her name in the morning. It is a small, cruel moment, and it is the one that lingers longest after the credits roll.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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Released In 1994, Clerks became one of the biggest surprises in independent cinema history. Made for almost no money, the film showed that filmmakers did not need expensive sets, famous actors, or Hollywood backing to create something memorable.

Kevin Smith wrote and directed the film while working at a convenience store, and that real life experience became the foundation for the story. Instead of creating some unrealistic comedy world, Smith focused on ordinary people, everyday conversations, and the strange moments that happen during a boring workday.

The plot follows Dante Hicks, played by Brian O’Halloran, a young convenience store employee who gets called in on his day off. Dante spends the day dealing with customers, coworkers, relationship problems, and the frustration of feeling stuck in a life he is not sure he wants.

Alongside Dante is Randal Graves, played by Jeff Anderson, his best friend and coworker at the video store next door. Randal is loud, sarcastic, and constantly pushing boundaries, but his friendship with Dante is the heart of the movie. Their endless conversations about movies, life, and their jobs created some of the most memorable dialogue in independent film.

The cast was filled with mostly unknown actors at the time. Marilyn Ghigliotti plays Veronica, Dante’s girlfriend, while Lisa Spoonauer plays Caitlin, someone from Dante’s past who creates more confusion in his already complicated day. The performances feel natural because the characters sound like real people instead of typical movie characters.

What made Clerks stand out was its honesty. The film was not trying to make minimum wage jobs look exciting or glamorous. It showed boredom, frustration, and the feeling of being young and unsure about the future. That honesty connected with audiences who saw themselves in the characters.

The movie famously cost very little to make, with Smith using credit cards, personal savings, and selling parts of his comic book collection to help finance production. The fact that something created with such limited resources became a major success completely challenged the idea of what an independent movie could be.

When Clerks arrived in the nineties, it helped inspire a new wave of independent filmmakers. The success of the film showed that someone with a strong voice and a good script could break through without needing a massive studio system behind them. It became a symbol of the do it yourself filmmaking movement.

The film also helped establish Kevin Smith as one of the recognizable voices of nineties independent cinema. His style of fast dialogue, pop culture references, and flawed but relatable characters became his signature. The movie eventually led to a larger connected universe of films featuring many of the same characters.

Of course, Clerks is not a polished Hollywood production. It is rough around the edges, shot in black and white, and clearly made with limited resources. But those imperfections are part of the charm. The low budget actually adds to the feeling that viewers are watching real people having real conversations.

More than thirty years later, Clerks remains a true classic because it proved that creativity can overcome limitations. It changed independent filmmaking in the nineties, inspired countless creators, and showed that a small story about ordinary people could leave a massive impact on cinema history.

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Hey guys. We're going to review one of the superhero movies that has impacted me the most. Especially because it's not your typical Hollywood production, which I also enjoy. However, Watchmen goes much further; it's profound because its characters aren't just perfect heroes. They're ordinary people who feel, fall in love, suffer, and cry. They have inner conflicts, hope, yearn, and carry traumas, desires, and frustrations.

image

In addition to the psychological aspects of its characters, this film immerses us in the atmosphere in which the story unfolds. Zack Snyder (a renowned American film director, producer, and screenwriter) plunges us into an alternate 1985 where the Cold War is at its most critical point. The entire world lives under constant tension, with the latent fear of a nuclear apocalypse between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Visually, the film is a somber work of art. Nighttime settings predominate, along with rain, the dirty streets of New York illuminated by neon lights, and a high-contrast, dark color palette that evokes the decadence and pessimism of the era. This is not the bright, perfect cities of other heroes; this is a real world, hostile, cynical, and worn down by politics and fear.

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Someone might say I liked it because of its decadent style or the conflicted world of the characters; however, it's not that I like this style, but rather that it's something different and uncommon in films today. The realistic atmosphere of the era also caught my attention, and the music throughout the film is wonderful because it makes you feel part of it. I think it plays with your emotions, making you part of the story.

Another key and deeply moving point is the relationship between Doctor Manhattan (Jon Osterman) and Laurie Jupiter (Silk Spectre II). It is undoubtedly one of the most poignant and complex emotional moments in the entire film. It perfectly reflects the profound and tragic tone that shows us how love can deteriorate when one of the two ceases to be fully human.

If there's one thing that demonstrates the profound humanity and pain in Watchmen, it's the tumultuous love affair between Doctor Manhattan and Laurie*. This isn't the typical idealized romance found in most films and novels; this is a heartbreaking love story, marked by existential distance and disconnection.

Laurie fell in love with Jon Osterman when he still remembered what it was like to be a man. However, as Manhattan's quantum powers grow, he begins to perceive time, space, and matter simultaneously. For a living god who can witness the birth of stars and the end of the universe simultaneously, the everyday problems of a couple and all of humanity begin to seem insignificant.

Laurie feels trapped beside a being who loves her, but who can no longer connect with her on an emotional level. I recall a heartbreaking scene in the film where Jon, in order to work on his experiments and attend to Laurie at the same time, duplicates himself. Feeling "cared for" by a clone while the real Manhattan is distracted breaks Laurie's heart, making her realize how profoundly alone she is.

Manhattan isn't cruel out of malice, but by his very nature. He has ceased to understand the value of a moment, a tear, or an embrace. He sees Laurie as a collection of beautiful atoms, but no longer as a woman he needs to comfort. For me, this story was truly moving.

This breakup not only destroys their romance, but also condemns the world: when Laurie leaves him, Doctor Manhattan loses his last tie to Earth and decides to exile himself to Mars, abandoning humanity to its fate in the face of imminent nuclear war.

The most beautiful part of this arc occurs when they travel together to Mars. It is there that Manhattan, while analyzing Laurie's past and discovering a painful secret about her origins, experiences a revelation: he understands that human life, with all its imperfections, traumas, and contradictions, is a thermodynamic miracle. Laurie, with her tears and vulnerability, is the one who manages to remind a god what it means to be human.

This chaotic relationship highlights how a lack of attention or emotional distance can destroy a bond, even between people who love each other. It's a film worth watching if you enjoy unique and thought-provoking stories.

Thank you all for reading. Many blessings!

Images from https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/13183-watchmen?language=es . I used Google Translate.

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Hola, chicos. Vamos a realizar una reseña de una de las películas de superhéroes que más me ha impactado. Sobre todo porque no es la típica producción de Hollywood que estamos acostumbrados a ver;las cuales también me gustan. Sin embargo, Watchmen: Los Vigilantes va mucho más allá; es profunda porque sus personajes no son simples héroes perfectos. Son personas comunes y corrientes que sienten, se enamoran, sufren y lloran. Tienen conflictos internos, esperan, ansían y cargan consigo traumas, deseos y frustraciones.

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Además del aspecto psicológico de sus personajes, en esta película nos encontramos con el ambiente en el que se desarrolla la historia. Zack Snyder(un reconocido director, productor y guionista de cine estadounidense) nos sumerge en un 1985 alternativo donde la Guerra Fría está en su punto más crítico. El mundo entero vive bajo una tensión constante, con el miedo latente de un apocalipsis nuclear entre Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética.

Visualmente, la película es una obra de arte sombría. Predominan los escenarios nocturnos, la lluvia, las calles sucias de Nueva York iluminadas por luces de neón y una paleta de colores oscuros de alto contraste que nos hace sentir la decadencia y el pesimismo de esa época. No estamos ante las ciudades brillantes y perfectas de otros héroes; este es un mundo real, hostil, cínico y desgastado por la política y el miedo.

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Cualquier podría decir que me gustó por su estilo decadente o el conflictivo mundo de los personajes, sin embargo, no es que me guste este estilo sino que es algo diferente y no común de ver en las películas que se nos presenta en la actualidad. El ambiente realista de la época también me llamó mucho la atención y la música que se aborda durante toda la película es maravillosa porque te hace sentir parte de ella, creo que juega con tus emociones, haciendote parte de la historia.

Otro punto clave y a la vez emotivo es la relación entre el Doctor Manhattan(Jon Osterman) y Laurie Jupiter (Espectro de Seda II) es, sin duda, una de las momentos emocionales más conmocionantes y complejas de toda la película. Refleja perfectamente ese tono profundo y trágico que nos muestra cómo el amor puede desgastarse cuando uno de los dos deja de ser completamente humano.

Si hay algo que demuestra la profunda humanidad y el dolor en Watchmen, es la tormentosa relación amorosa entre el Doctor Manhattan y Laurie. No estamos ante el común romance idealizado de las mayorías de las películas y novelas; ésta es una historia de amor desgarradora, marcada por la distancia existencial y la desconexión.

Laurie se enamoró de Jon Osterman cuando él todavía recordaba lo que era ser un hombre. Sin embargo, a medida que los poderes cuánticos de Manhattan crecen, él empieza a percibir el tiempo, el espacio y la materia de forma simultánea. Para un dios viviente que puede ver el nacimiento de las estrellas y el fin del universo al mismo tiempo, los problemas cotidianos de una pareja y de la humanidad entera empiezan a parecer insignificantes.

Laurie se siente atrapada al lado de un ser que la ama, pero que ya no puede conectar con ella a nivel emocional. Recuerdo una escena triste en la película donde Jon, para poder trabajar en sus experimentos y atender a Laurie al mismo tiempo, se duplica a sí mismo. Sentirse "atendida" por un clon mientras el verdadero Manhattan está distraído rompe el corazón de Laurie, haciéndole ver que está profundamente sola.

Manhattan no es cruel por maldad, sino por su propia naturaleza. Ha dejado de comprender el valor de un instante, de un llanto o de un abrazo. Mira a Laurie como un conjunto de átomos hermosos, pero ya no como a una mujer a la que deba consolar. Para mí fue verdaderamente muy conmovedor esta historia.

Esta ruptura no solo destruye su romance, sino que condena al mundo: cuando Laurie lo deja, el Doctor Manhattan pierde su último lazo con la Tierra y decide exiliarse a Marte, abandonando a la humanidad a su suerte ante la inminente guerra nuclear.

Lo más hermoso de este arco ocurre cuando viajan juntos a Marte. Es allí donde Manhattan, al analizar el pasado de Laurie y descubrir un secreto doloroso sobre su origen, experimenta una revelación: entiende que la vida humana, con todas sus imperfecciones, traumas y contradicciones, es un milagro termodinámico. Laurie, con sus lágrimas y su vulnerabilidad, es quien logra recordarle a un dios lo que significa ser humano.

Esta caótica relación pone de manifiesto que la falta de atención o la distancia emocional pueden destruir un vínculo, incluso entre personas que se quieren. Es una película que vale la pena ver, si te gustan las tramas diferentes y que te hagan reflexionar.

Gracias a todos por leer. ¡Muchas bendiciones!

Imágenes de https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/13183-watchmen?language=es . Utilicé el Traductor de Google.

Rating: 100/100