1. A film Review: CRASH (2004)
Marcos Carretero
The film Crash was directed by Paul Haggis. It stars Don Cheadle as Detective
Graham Waters, Sandra Bullock as Jean Cabot, Thandie Newton as Christine Thayer,
Matt Dillon as Officer John Ryan and more… The Film won three Academy Awards
including Best Movie, Best Writing (original Screenplay) and Best Achievement in Film
Editing.
The film is set in Los Angeles and it was shot on location in different places of
L.A.
In the film you can see four different stories which are connected at some point
of the film. Each story tries to show us how different people with different lives, jobs or
social status see or experience racism under their own point of view. Some of the
characters suffer from racism and some others are the racist who look for redemption
at the end.
“Crash” is a definite must-see. It´s such an intense and beautiful drama with a
deep message against racism and with an optimistic message of redemption as well.
“Crash” is so far one of my favourite films.
2. WHIPLASH – REVIEW (2014)
PROVOCATIVE AND EMOTIONALLY INTENSE
Susana Sánchez
The film Whiplash is a drama and it is based on the script written by its director Damien
Chazelle. Its stars are J.K. Simmon, who received the Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actor and Miles Teller, a young actor from EE.UU.
This film is set in New York nowadays, but it is not known exactly when.
The film depicts the relationship between Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller), a young and
ambitious jazz music drummer and his abusive instructor, Terence Fletcher (J.K.
Simmon). Andrew is a first-year jazz student at the prestigious Shaffer Conservatory in
New York and he is accepted by Terence Fletcher as a drummer into his studio band,
but Fletcher is well known for his talent as much as his terrifying teaching methods.
Andrew wants to be the best but that becomes an obsession for him. At the same time
his ruthless teacher continues pushing him to the limits of his ability and his mental
health.
This film has some scenes which are really stressful, like one where Miles crashes into a
car but he going to a music competition all in blood.
If you like jazz music its soundtrack is simply wonderful. The end of the film is a
masterpiece. I strongly recommend watching it because it is a brilliant film. I think it
shows the hardness and sacrifice for the music. While you enjoy watching the movie,
you can listen to the best jazz music as well.
3. August: Ostage County (2013)
Juan Fries
The film August was directed by John Wells. He describes his film as “a pitch black
comedy-drama”. The cast is headed by Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and Ewant
McGregor.
The script for August was adapted by the author of the play, Tracy Letts, who won a
Pulitzer Prize of the same name.
The film is set in the deep Oklahoma during an extremely hot week in the summer.
The plot is about trouble relationships between a hasty mother and her three
daughters when their father disappears and finally commits suicide.
One particular strength of this movie are its dialogues and the fight between Violet,
suffering from cancer of the mouth, drug addiction and an embittered personality
versus her daughter Barbara, nearly as embittered as her mum.
I highly recommend August to anyone who is interested in psychology and psychotic
relationships between different characters. My only criticism of the movie is the
absolute lack of hope.
4. LOVE ACTUALLY
Leonor Benítez
Love Actually is a rom-com. It was directed and written by Richard Curtis in 2003. He is
well-known in UK for directing or writing great successful films like Four weddings and a
funeral, Notting Hill or Mr. Bean.
One particular strength of the film was the cast. There were a lot of famous actors and
actresses like Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, Keyra Knightley, Bill Nighy and so on.
The film was nominated in different categories by BAFTA awards, but only Bill Nighy won
for the best actor in a supporting role.
Most of the film was shot on location in London (Trafalgar Square, Heathrow Airport,
Tate Gallery...)
The plot is a mixture among different love stories and it´s set before, during and after
Christmas time. Here there are some love stories of the film: one is about a just married
couple, whose best friend fall in love with the young wife, another story is about an
elderly married couple, whose husband is cheating on his wife, in addition to this, there
is a love story between the Prime Minister and his secretary. But, in my opinion, the best
story in the film is the funny relationship between an ageing pop-rock legend and his
manager.
Personally, I think it´s a definite must-see in Christmas season and I strongly recommend
it because it´s an amusing and funny film about different kinds of love. When you are
upset you must watch it because it has a positive message.
5. Wadja, a Saudi Arabian – German film
Esther Martínez
Wadja is the name of the lead character, as also, the original
name of the film. It was translated as “The green bicycle”.
It is a 2012 Saudi Arabian- German film written and directed
by Haifaa al-Mansour. It was the first feature film shot entirely
in Saudi Arabia and made by a female Saudi director. It won
numerous awards at film festivals.
It stars Reem Abdullah as Mather and Waad Mohammed as
Wadja.
The film is about an 11 year-old Saudi girl who lives in the
capital and dreams of buying a green bicycle that she sees in a
store every day when she goes to school. She wants to win a
race against her friend Abdulah. Wadja’s mother doesn´t want
to buy the bicycle because riding bikes “is not for girls” in their
country. At the same time Wadja’s father was thinking of
taking a second wife to have a son. Wadja decided to earn
money to buy the bicycle selling several things to her
classmates, but it is not enough, so she decided to participate
in a Quran recital competition. The prize will allow her to buy the bike. The girl won
the competition, but when she announced to her headmistress what is she going to do
with the money, the headmistress decided to donate it to Palestine. When Wadja
returns home, she discovered that her father had taken a second wife and that her
mother has bought the green bicycle for her. In the end Wadja wins the race against
Abdulah.
I recommend this film because speaks about the freedom and the bravery of women in
a culture where girls are nothing and men use women for having children and cook.
6. A FILM REVIEW: THE WIZARD OF OZ
José Antonio Ponce Real
“The Wizard of Oz” is an American fantasy film based on the book “The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz” by Lyman Frank Baum. The film was directed by Victor Fleming. It stars Judy Garland as
Dorothy and Frank Morgan as the wizard. The film won two Oscars in 1939 for Best Song
(Over the rainbow) and Best Music.
The Wizard of Oz was shot in California (USA) and is set in Kansas (USA) in the early 1900´s.
The film is about Dorothy, an orphan girl who lives with her aunt and uncle in Kansas. One
day she and her dog Toto are caught by a tornado and Dorothy’s house (with them) is
transported to another world: Oz. The Land of Oz is inhabited by fantastic and strange beings:
witches, winged monkeys, unicorns… On her arrival, Dorothy is received by the Good Witch
of the North and the Munchkins, little people who live in Oz. They were happy because
Dorothy’s house had flattened and killed the Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy is considered
a heroine but she wishes to get back home and see her family. The Good Witch of the North
tells Dorothy that the Wizard of Oz, who lives in Emerald City, might be able help her. Dorothy
was very happy and decided to go to there, immediately. She and Toto have to follow a yellow
brick road to Emerald City. On her way to Emerald City, Dorothy will meet friends: the
scarecrow, the tin man and the cowardly lion. They also want to ask the Wizard of Oz for their
wishes and they decide to join her and help each other. Dorothy and her new friends will live
a lot of adventures on their way to Emerald City.
I loved “The Wizard of OZ” when I was child. It’s one of the first films I saw. I strongly
recommend it. The film has a wonderful soundtrack and the song “Over the rainbow” is very
popular. There are a lot of sequels of The Wizard of Oz, but none managed to surpass the
original film.