1. THE FIRM
Beatriz Fernández, NI1G
The Firm is an American legal thriller which was directed
by Sidney Pollack in 1993. It stars Tom Cruise, Jeanne
Tripplehorn. The rest of the cast are: Gene Hackman, Ed
Harry, Holly Hunter, Had Holbrrook and David Strathairn.
The Firm is based on the novel The Firm by the author
John Grishman in 1991. This movie won two Academy
Award nominations including Best supporting Academy
Actress for Holly Hunter and Best original score for Dave
Grusin.
The Firm was set in 20th century. It was filmed on
location in Memphis, Tennessee and Arkansas.
This film is about a young man called Mitch McDeere with a promising future in Law
when he graduated from Harvard Law School, he was approached by Bendini Lambert
& Locke. The Firm make an offer he can’t refuse. He and his wife Abigail move to
Memphis where The Firm is located. Avery Tolar is his mentor in the company. Mitch
at first is totally unconscious about the sinister acts which were happening in the Firm.
Then, suddenly two members or associates were murdered. The FBI contacts with him
and ask him for information. The Firm is connected with the mob and every member
who has ever tried to leave the company ends up murdered. He has two choices:
working with the FBI and risking of being discovered by The Firm and losing his law
licence or saying to The Firm that he had violated his personal code of ethics from
revealing confidentiality client’s information and going to jail when FBI cracks the firm.
My favourite scene is when Mitch devises a plan that allows cooperating with the FBI
by finding proofs that all partners in the firm were guilty of overcharging, while at the
same time reaches an agreement with The Mob Morolto brothers. At the end he
manages to do it without breaking any laws and he is able to keep his status as a
lawyer. And the McDeeres leave their house in Memphis to return to the old house in
Boston.
I definitely recommend The Firm. There are some scenes of thriller and action,
fantastic actors and actresses to the character which they had to perform. The
soundtrack is amazing. Finally, this film shows the reality of legal corruption.

2. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
Manoli Pineda NI1C
“Life is beautiful” was directed and
starred by Roberto Benigni. It’s based on
the book “At the end I defeated Hitler”.
The film won three Oscars in 1998 for the
best soundtrack, best star and best foreign
Language film.
The film is set in Italy in the 1940s during
the Second World War. It was filmed on
location in Arezzo (Italia)
The film is about a young Italian Jewish
called Guido. He meets a young teacher
and falls in love with her at that precise moment. Guido gets her love with his
friendliness and romanticism to her. They get married and have a son. The family was
very happy until they were arrested and taken to a concentration camp. There Guido
does everything possible for his child not to be aware of the situation. Therefore he
tells him that they are in a game ant they must win points to get a tank. Later the war
ends and the allies come to the concentration camp to liberate all the prisoners, but
the Nazis want to kill them before. Guido is captured and shot. When the boy sees the
allies’ tank, a soldier picks him and he believes that he has won the tank.
I recommend this film because despite being a drama, it also makes you laugh. It offers
much sensitivity, humor and a great love for family.

3. SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE
Beatriz Nogales, NIG
Shakespeare in love was directed by John Philip Madden. It
stars Joseph Finnes as William Shakespeare and Gwyneth
Paltrow, who plays the other part, Viola de Lesseps. The film
won seven Oscars and it was the most nominated film in 1998
with thirteen nominations.
The film is set in London in 1593. It was filmed on different
locations like Banbury, Holkham, Richmon and London.
The film is about the loving relationship between William
Shakespeare and a noblewoman, Viola de Lesseps. At the
beginning of the film Shakespeare is blocked with the writing of
his new novel. He hasn't finished it yet, but he begins the
auditions for Romeo. The role is for Thomas Kent. But he hides
a secret; Kent is a young noblewoman, Viola de Lesseps. She
dreams of acting, but women can't. After Shakespeare
discovers the true identity of Kent, they begin a passionate secret affair. Viola is his
new muse, and he starts to write a lot. They live a love that is similar to Shakespeare
new story. William is married and Viola is arranged to marry. At the end the Lord of
Revels discovers the identity of Viola and she has to go to the colonial settlement in
Virginia with her new husband, Lord Wessex. Viola and Shakespeare never meet again.
I strongly recommend Shakespeare in Love. It shows you the real situation of women
at that period of time, and it is a beautiful but tragic film about two lovers. You can
also see how he wrote one the most famous theatre plays by Shakespeare, Romeo and
Juliet.

4. Saw
Sergio Valero, NI1E
Saw was directed by James Wan. It stars Leigh Whannel as Adam Faulkner-Stanheight,
and Cary Elwes as Laurence Gordon. It is based on the short with the same name, Saw.
Although the film didn't win any Oscar, it collected $103.096.345 when its budget was
$1.1 million.
The film is set in USA in the present. It was filmed in Lacy Street Production Facility in
Los Angeles for 18 days.
The film is about Adam and Lawrence, two men who are chained in a nasty bathroom
and are each given instructions via a microcassette recorder on how to escape. Adam
is told he must escape the bathroom, while Lawrence is told to kill Adam before a
certain time, otherwise Lawrence's family will die. Meanwhile, police detectives
investigate other similar incidents to catch the mastermind behind this game.
I strongly recommend Saw. You think that it is another thriller, but its end is incredible.
This film is comparable to Seven, well Saw is even better.