To Rome with Love (2012)

Rome, the Eternal City, owner of an ancient history and an extraordinary rich culture, is a city that has been pictured on film on countless occasions, being the background of several classic films. Now Rome becomes the setting of American filmmaker Woody Allen's 43rd film, whom after making the charming comedy "Midnight in Paris", moved to the capital of Italy after the invitation of Medusa Distribuzione, a distribution company company that offered to finance a film for him under the condition that the resulting film was set in Rome. So, that was the origin of a project originally titled "Bop Decameron", but after several changes would end up being titled simply as "To Rome with Love"; where following the path set by his previous "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" or the already mentioned "Midnight in Paris", the New York filmmaker Woody Allen takes the little corners of the city as the background for a new exploration of his familiar themes. However, unlike those two films, "To Rome with Love" may be an slightly less polished light comedy, though that doesn't make it any less interesting.

"To Rome with Love" narrates four stories where the only thing in common is the fact that they take place on the streets of Rome. In the first one, Jerry and Phyllis (Woody Allen and Judy Davis) are a marriage traveling to Rome in order to meet their future son-in-law Michelangelo (Flavio Parenti), who knew their daughter Hayley (Alison Pill) during her last vacations. Things get complicated when Jerry discovers that Michelangelo's father Giancarlo (Fabio Armiliato) has an extraordinary (and wasted) gift for singing opera. The second story is about Leopoldo (Roberto Benigni), a typical office worker who one day becomes a celebrity for no apparent reason, taking him to experience the problems that come with fame. The third involves young student Jack (Jesse Eisenberg), whom is in the middle of a crisis when he falls in love with his girlfriend's (Greta Gerwig) best friend, the extroverted actress Monica (Ellen Page). Finally, the fourth tale deals with Antonio (Alessandro Tibero) and Milly (Alessandra Mastronardi), a recently married couple whom discover Rome's delights when they are accidentally separated.

As expected, the screenplay is a piece written by Woody himself, so it's not exactly a surprise to once again find that his familiar themes are all over it: nostalgia, love, death, neurosis and relationships. However, and while the stories of "To Rome with Love" aren't related between them, they all have in common the greater common theme of fame and fortune: Jerry wants to succeed as a producer through Giancarlo's voice, Jack is looking to revolutionize architecture, Antonio wants to make a good impression in business, and finally, Leopoldo deals directly with the mysteries of being a celebrity. Something interesting about the stories found in "To Rome with Love" is that in general the four of them have several lovely nods to the oeuvre of one of Woody Allen's greatest heroes: legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini. This is particularly obvious in the case of Antonio and Milly's story, which works as a charming extrapolation of the plot of Fellini's very first film, 1952's "Lo sceicco bianco" ("The White Sheik").

In "To Rome with Love", director Woody Allen once again showcases his skill to get deeply into the life of a city and uncover its many different faces. It's true that unlike some filmmakers (Wim Wenders for example), Allen never leaves completely the American tourist's perspective when portraying a city in his films, however, Allen is not exactly a very typical American tourist, but one who truly enjoys taking the camera of cinematographer Darius Khondji to capture a city vibrant with life, from the classic touristic spots to the lesser known places. Khonji's work regarding this aspect is without a doubt of high quality. However, the real challenge of "To Rome with Love" is to be able of developing the four different stories that make the film, while keeping the appropriate rhythm for his overall narrative. And while in general Allen does a good job at handling this, his work is not without its problems, as at times the jump from story to story is a bit harsh, a bit forced, breaking the agile rhythm that Allen's comedy usually has.

But where "To Rome with Love" truly shines is in the performances done by its cast, which are in general of a great quality. Jesse Eisenberg and Alec Baldwin deliver the best performances in the film, both in the story of Jack, where a quite interesting dynamic of mentor-disciple is somehow formed between them. In the same story, Ellen Page would seem like a bad choice to play Monica, but Page manages to make the character her own and finally delivers a pretty solid work of acting. In Leopoldo's story, Roberto Benigni delivers a surprisingly restrained performance, a contrast to his usual self; however, he is equally as funny as ever and his work is what saves his segment, which is unfortunately amongst the weakest in the film. In Antonio's segment, a great surprise is the work of Alessandra Mastronardi as the not so naive Milly, and the inclusion of Penélope Cruz in the same story is more than welcome. In his return ti acting, Allen still looks fresh and skilled in his performance, though wisely, he gives more room to the rest of the cast to shine.

Films dealing with multiple story lines tend to have problems with the rhythm of their narrative, and unfortunately, "To Rome with Love" isn't an exception. As mentioned before, there are moments in which this is lost when Allen moves between its different plot lines, resulting in scenes that could be shorter, scenes that could be longer, and some oddly harsh cuts between them (editing in general looks as if it had been rushed). Nevertheless, and while the work of editing isn't that effective, the root of the problem is perhaps in a script where not every story has been so throughly developed. While Jack's story is a superb modern fantasy dealing with nostalgia, Jerry's story suffers from a little excess of melodrama while Leopoldo's seemed a tad forgotten amongst them. This last story presents a quite interesting premise that seems that couldn't be explored at all, as while its by far the funniest of them, there's the feeling that it should had been a bit longer (while Antonio's could had been shorter). Leopoldo's story is saved thanks to the charm and talent of Roberto Benigni.

With all that it would seem that "To Rome with Love" is a bump in Woody Allen's career but far from it, as in fact it is a quite entertaining movie despite its problems. As a light-hearted comedy, "To Rome with Love" fulfills its job without pretensions, and offers a new glimpse to Woody Allen's world, which becomes even more special as the film allows him to visit the Rome of his hero, Fellini's Rome. Its greatest sin is precisely that it is a Woody Allen film, whose long filmography has include several masterpieces that make "To Rome with Love" pale in comparison (and comparison is often inevitable). Finally, what can be said is that in Allen's body of work, "To Rome with Love" is certainly a minor film. Though of course, many filmmakers would like to have a film like "To Rome with Love" as a mere "minor film".

7/10
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This review was originally published in Spanish for Habitación 101 on July the 20th of 2012. Habitación 101 is a great site to check for news and reviews on cinema and theatre in Spanish.

Incubo sulla città contaminata (1980)

Without a doubt one of the key moments in the history of Italian horror took place in 1978 with the release of American filmmaker George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead". Distributed by Dario Argento with the name "Zombi", the film became a total success and the Italian film industry saw in Romero's zombie epic the path to follow in the making of new horror films. So, the following year would see the release of "Zombi 2" by director Lucio Fulci, and even when it had nothing to do with Romero's film, it was named that way to capitalize in the success of "Dawn of the Dead". Applying the classic stylization and aggressive violence of Italian horror, "Zombi 2" also was a great success, so soon more films about the living dead began to appear, copying the model established by Fulci. Italian horror was gaining new force thanks to the zombies, but just like it happened before to Spaghetti Weseterns, the clones rarely reached the level of quality of the original. "Incubo sulla città contaminata" is a classic example of this, as it's closer to involuntary comedy than to true zombie horror.

Known in America as "Nightmare City" (though the literal translation is "Nightmare in the contaminated city"), the film begins when reporter Dean Miller (Hugo Stiglitz) is assigned with the job of interviewing Dr. Otto Hagelberg, famed scientist who designed a nuclear plant where a damage has been reported. Miller goes to the airport to wait for Hagelberg's arrival, when a an unidentified plane makes a forced landing in one of the runways. When the local police surrounds the plane, Miller gets closer to watch the facts. The door is opened and a group of mutant zombies comes out from the plane, armed with axes and knives. A bloody battle begins between the police and the zombies, while Miller manages to escape without being seen. Desperate, Miller tries to warn the population about it, but he is stopped by General Murchison (Mel Ferrer), who doesn't allow the news to be known. The plague spreads, and Miller decides to find his wife Anna (Laura Trotter) to the hospital where she works, in order to escape from the city that has become a nightmare of death and destruction.

Written by veteran Piero Regnoli collaborating with Antonio Cesare Corti and the Spanish writer Luis María Delgado, "Incubo sulla città contaminata" isn't technically a zombie film, as the creatures that it shows are radioactive mutants with a taste for human flesh and the necessary lucidity to handle weapons and drive vehicles. Nevertheless, the story follows closely the classic pattern of a zombie movie, with the main characters trying to survive in the middle of the chaos that engulfs their city as the plague spreads and society begins to crumble. The story does handle several interesting ideas, like for example its heavy handed ecological message, its clearly anti military stance and its use of intelligent and agile zombies as the monsters of the film (predating the running zombie of modern films). Unfortunately, those ideas are lost in a screenplay plagued with holes, incoherence and a bunch of characters making illogical actions, that more than once result in absurd situations of great involuntary comedy.

The execution from director Umberto Lenzi (famous for his cannibal horror film "Il paese del sesso selvaggio") doesn't help much to solve this big problem, on the contrary, the poor craftsmanship the film has make even more ridiculous the situations that take place in "Incubo sulla città contaminata". Nevertheless, if there's anything worthy of recognition in Lenzi's work is the fact that he keeps action a constant in the film, with a frantic rhythm that avoids tedium. Despite the low quality of the whole production, Lenzi achieves to make a couple of quite effective scenes where his eye for mise-en-scène. These are the attack to the dances at the TV station, and the big attack to the hospital, two scenes where Lenzi manages to transmit the atmosphere of chaos that the story has. Sadly, Lenzi fails to keep this level of quality through the film, and "Incubo sulla città contaminata" ends up filled with technical problems, that range from an awful work of make-up to a pretty uneven editing, not to mention a somewhat mediocre cinematography (by Hans Burman, whom years later would do the cinematography for the film "Tesis").

The acting in the film is another of the biggest problems in "Incubo sulla città contaminata", as in general the quality in this element is pretty poor. Leading the cast is Mexican actor Hugo Stiglitz, playing reporter Dean Miller, and actually his work isn't that bad. While he lacks the classic image of the hero, Stiglitz manages to transmit an intensity pretty appropriate for his desperate character, and he is perhaps the only actor in the film taking the movie seriously. Mel Ferrer, with his days of "Scaramouche" (1952) long gone, makes an uninspired turn as General Murshison, as if he wasn't really interested in the resulting film. The same can be said of Spanish actor Francisco Rabal, who had the main roles in Luis Buñuel's classics "Nazarín" and "Viridiana", and in this film makes a pretty poor performance as Major William Holmes. Nevertheless, if the acting from those actors looks pretty average, the rest of the cast is completely awful, beginning with the work of Laura Trotter, whom seemed to base her entire performance in screaming constantly.

As mentioned before, "Incubo sulla città contaminata" is a film full of technical problems, something that wouldn't be that bad if it wasn't for the fact that the film also suffers from a poorly developed screenplay where things take place randomly and even characters and subplots are introduced without a reason other than to extend the movie's runtime. While director Umberto Lenzi has demonstrated in the past to be a competent filmmaker, in "Incubo sulla città contaminata" there's nothing that could give ground to that argument. However, something pretty remarkable about "Incubo sulla città contaminata" is how oddly funny it is. While maybe this wasn't done consciously, as the Lenzi's film unfolds and the story moves towards absurd, soon the ridicule of the scenes becomes downright comedy stuff. Despite its innumerable technical problems, there's in "Incubo sulla città contaminata" a certain charm in the exaggerated things that take place on screen that's impossible not to think that the crew had a great time making the film.

With a terribly awful screenplay, mediocre acting and a craftsmanship that leaves a lot to be desired, it's hard to recommend "Incubo sulla città contaminata" as a good example of Italian horror cinema, as even when compared to other films of its time it's still a pretty bad movie. However, if there's anything that Lenzi has achieved in "Incubo sulla città contaminata", that is the film's skill to avoid falling in tedium. Despite its many flaws (or perhaps due to them), the film ends up being a quite funny experience, though one that's probably not everyone's cup of tea. The truth is, if one's looking for true horror cinema of good quality, the best that one can do is to search somewhere else; but if what one's looking is a piece of involuntary comedy, "Incubo sulla città contaminata" from director Umberto Lenzi could actually be a pretty good choice.

4/10
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Chernobyl Diaries (2012)

On April the 26th, 1986, one of the greatest nuclear catastrophes in the history of mankind took place, the explosion of the nuclear reactor of Chernobyl, in the then Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Considered as the worst nuclear disaster in history, the explosion at Chernobyl launched enormous amounts of radioactive contamination to the atmosphere, provoking the evacuation of the nearby area, particularly the town of Prypiat, where the families of the nuclear plant workers were living. Years went by, the Soviet Union disappeared, but Prypiat remains exactly as it was abandoned; and now, more than 20 years after the tragedy, the nuclear contamination has descended to levels that make possible to visit this ghost town, desolated relic from the Soviet era. This touristic expeditions to the abandoned Prypiat served as inspiration to filmmaker Oren Peli (of "Paranomal Activity" fame) to write a horror screenplay, "Chernobyl Diaries", which has been taken to the big screen with Peli as producer and the débutant Bradley Parker at the helm.

"Chernobyl Diaries" begins with images of a trip through Europe done by Chris (Jesse McCartney), his girlfriend (Olivia Taylor Dudley) and their friend Amanda (Devin Kelly), who has just broken with her boyfriend. Chris' plan is to propose to girlfriend when they reach Moscow, their final destination. Their trip takes them to Kiev, Ukraine, where they meet Paul (Jonathan Sadowski), Chris' brother, who offers them to change their route a bit and do something of "extreme tourism". Paul's plan is to visit Prypiat, the ghost town evacuated near the Chernobyl plant. Chris refuses to go, but finally he gives int, convinced by Natalie and Amanda, who find the idea very attractive. The four friends take a tour organized by an ex-military man named Uri (Dimitri Diatchenko) where they meet Australian Michael (Nathan Phillips) and his girlfriend Zoe (Ingrid Bolso Berdal). Arriving to Prypiat, they are marveled by a place forgotten by time. However, soon they'll realize that they aren't alone in the desolation left by the Chernobyl disaster.

The story developed by filmmaker Oren Peli was adapted to the big screen by screenwriters Carey and Shane Van Dyke, collaborating with Peli himself. While the premise of "Chernobyl Diaries" does reminds a lot to Wes Craven's 1977 film "The Hills Have Eyes" (and its 2006 remake by Alexandre Aja),the movie has a greater focus on suspense instead of graphic violence, and leaves in the mystery the nature of the ones hunting the group of young tourists. In a way, this gives to "Chernobyl Diaries" a tone akin to the one found in a zombie movie, as there is not a properly defined villain in the film (like for example, Craven's savages), but the characters face a horde of mysterious nameless creatures that lurk in the darkness. Certainly, this forces the story to be focused on the main characters and the relationships between them, particularly in the bitter rivalry between siblings Chris and Paul. Unfortunately, Peli and the Van Dykes are unable to properly develop this key aspect of the story, leaving them a tad shallow.

Debutant Bradley Parker manages to create quite an interesting atmosphere of desolation in his "Chernobyl Diaries", really taking advantage to the setting of the story and the remarkable work of cinematography done by Morten Søborg. In "Chernobyl Diaries", Parker and Søborg truly capture the strange and melancholic beauty of Prypiat, generating an ominous sensation of abandonment and dread. Given the presence of Oren Peli as the film's producer, it could be expected that "Chernobyl Diaries" was a found footage film; nevertheless, director Bradley Parker distances himself from Peli in terms of style and opts to have a more traditional narrative in his movie. Despite having previously developed his career as a visual effects supervisor, Parker gives greater importance to the atmosphere and suspense to develop his film, and truly knows how to play with shadows and to use the darkness to his advantage. Søborg's camera flows dynamically through Prypiat following the action, giving the sensation of being with the characters, in a way quite reminiscent to the horror survival video games.

The performances in "Chernobyl Diaries" are of an uneven quality, as while there are some effective works, there are also a couple that are unfortunately regrettable. Sadly, to the latter belongs the one done by Jonathan Sadowski, whom playing Paul, becomes the de facto protagonist during great part of the film. Sadowsky looks stiff and wooden in his performance as Paul, and while the conflict his character has with Chris opens the door for a couple dramatic moments, Sadowski fails to exploit them in any way. Devin Kelly, whom also has a key role, is in the same boat as him, being unable to give her character a defined personality and leaving her as the most stereotypical final girl cliché. Quite a difference is the work of Jesse McCartney, whom truly manage to create a convincing character despite the very few chances the screenplay gives him to do it. The same case for Dimitri Diatchenko, who makes a very effective job as the funny strongman Uri. The rest of the cast is pretty much average, though it's worth to point out that the screenplay doesn't give them much chance to shine.

And that's definitely the main problem in "Chernobyl Diaries", as since it presents a story focused on its characters, the ideal would be that said characters had well defined personalities that made attractive to the audience. However, what Peli and the Van Dyke have created is a group of shallow and void characters, that seemed to lack any identity beyond their professions and nationalities. On top of that, the plot resorts a bit too often to clichés (which wouldn't be that bad if the film had better characters), moving from one common place to the other without truly taking advantage to its premise. Certainly, director Bradley Parker achieves a film that's visually very attractive, though it would had been preferable to have him put on the screenplay the very same effort he put to the film's visual design. Something of interest: instead of having the bullied character, Chris, as the protagonist (the perennial underdog), the writers instead put the bully Paul on the spotlight, resulting in a not very interesting (and often annoying) main character.

While it would seem like it, "Chernobyl Diaries" isn't really a complete disaster, as it does have its fair share of pretty interesting moments, mainly during the first half and thanks to Parker's choice of giving atmosphere and mood an important role in his movie. However, this doesn't stop the film from being a failed experiment in which once again it's proved that a poorly developed screenplay doesn't give much chance to be translated into a good movie. Certainly, the newcomer Bradley Parker shows a lot of promise at rescuing the somber atmosphere that the story inherently has; unfortunately, this isn't enough to save a plot that sadly falls deeper in tedium and boredom as it unfolds. In fact, "Chernobyl Diaries" is not really bad, just painfully mediocre.

5/10
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This review was originally published in Spanish for Habitación 101 on July the 7th of 2012. Habitación 101 is a great site to check for news and reviews on cinema and theatre in Spanish.

Zombi 2 (1979)

In 1978, ten years after having revolutionized horror cine with the classic film "Night of the Living Dead", American filmmaker George A. Romero would return to the subgenre of his creation with a new zombie film: "Dawn of the Dead". The success of his new epic about the living dead was astounding, particularly in Europe, where director Dario Argento had distribute it under the title of "Zombi". The success of "Dawn of the Dead" was so huge that soon the Italian film industry would try to capitalize the zombie genre, and the most famous of those attempts was the retitling of a modest horror film that was being produced at that very moment, under the command of a filmmaker better known for his comedies, westerns and gialli (thrillers), Mr. Lucio Fulci. While released with the not so subtle title of "Zombi 2" (in the United Kingdom the title was "Zombie Flesh Eaters" and in America simply as "Zombie"), Fulci's film would depart from Romero's canon by its inclinations to the supernatural and mainly, its more realistic graphic violence that Fulci had already employed in his gialli. Thus was the birth of the Italian zombie.

"Zombi 2" begins with a yacht apparently abandoned, drifting to the New York's coast apparently without crew. The coast guard arrives to the scene in order to investigate when a monstrous decomposed body attacks them. After this event, Ann Bolt (Tisa Farrow) is questioned by the police, as she recognizes the ship as being owned by her father (Ugo Bologna), whom had been missing. At the ship, Ann finds a note from her father, discovering that he is at Matool island; so with this in mind she decides to follow the clues and find out what's happened. To do this, Ann recruits the help of journalist Peter West (Ian McCulloch) when he offers to help her in exchange for the exclusive rights to publish the story. The two head for the tropic, where with the help of a local couple, Bryan Curt (Al Cliver) and Susan BAttett (Auretta Gay), find the Matool island. However, they realize that the island is curse, and the dead rise to devour the living. At the island they'll meet Dr. David Menard, who has been doing research about the mysteries behind the curse of Matool island.

Written by Elisa Briganti and Dardano Sacchetti (who had previously worked with Fulci in the giallo "Sette note in nero"), "Zombi 2" really has very little in common with "Dawn of the Dead", as even when Filci's film follows the general rules established by Romero in his "Night of the Living Dead", the creatures in "Zombi 2" are closer to their roots in mysticism and the supernatural than Romero's ghouls. The monsters in "Zombi 2" are ancient corpses, reanimated by a strange curse that makes them rise and exterminate the inhabitants of the island of Matool. Certainly, while it's probable that neither Briganti nor Sacchetti had intended to include a social commentary in "Zombi 2", it is interesting to point out that the story makes a stark contrast between the main characters (all coming from the first world) and the islanders, who live under the scourge of disease, poverty, superstition and now the zombies. In fact, "Zombi 2" has a constant atmosphere of decay and despair in its plot, which director Lucio Fulci manages to translate successfully to the screen.

And this atmosphere of dread is perhaps the greatest achievement of Lucio Fulci in "Zombi 2", as he manages to transform this tropical paradise in a true zombie apocalypse, where the rotting corpses attack with a terrifying brutality. The chief characteristic in Fulci's brand of horror in "Zombi 2" is precisely his very creative use of violence, displayed in several sequences that are as imaginative as they are explicit, making them both fascinating and repulsive at the same time. A lot of the visual power contained in the gory violence of "Zombi 2" rests in the talented work of make-up artist Giannetto De Rossi, who was in charge of bringing to life the decidedly realistic vision of Fulci, and created many of the most powerful images in Italian horror. The contrast between graphic violence and the natural beauty of the island is captured by the eye con cinematographer Sergio Salvati, who makes an effective job and with Fulci, generate this atmosphere of constant desolation that the film has. In a way, while Romero is the creator of the subgenre, Fulci's "Zombi 2" is the film that defined it.

Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems in "Zombi 2" is the uneven quality of the acting through the film, made even worse by the low quality of the dubbing done for the film (dubbing was a common practice in Italian cinema of its time). Actress Tisa Farrow (sister of Mia Farrow) doesn't do a bad job, and as the protagonist Ann Bolt, she manages to carry the film with her talent despite not having a very developed character. Unfortunately, the same can't be said of Scottish actor Ian McCulloch, who looks a bit stiff in his role, yet still somewhat acceptable in his role. Actor Richard Johnson (famous in the horror genre for the classic "The Haunting"), shows a bit of overacting, but that exaggeration is an important part of the obsessive nature of his character, desperate to find a rational explanation to the zombie outbreak. The rest of the cast is less fortunate (particularly Olga Karlatos), though the always reliable Al Cliver (familiar face in Italian horror) has some very good moments in his supporting role.

Despite its many virtues and is status as a classic of the genre, "Zombi 2" is far from being a perfect film, and some of its flaws are sadly quite notorious. The most obvious is perhaps the inclusion of a couple of scenes that can only be described as silly given the sharp contrast they have with the serious and raw tone of the film (exactly, the famous scene of the fight between the shark and the zombie is one of them). Besides this, it's necessary to admit that the screenplay has its fair share of holes and illogic situations that downgrade a bit the impact of "Zombi 2". It's very probable that the lack of care in the developing of the screenplay had been due to the urgency of the production company to release a film related to the successful "Dawn of the Dead". Nevertheless, it's worth to point out that after all, there are more good things than bad in "Zombie 2", and despite its problems, it's perhaps the most influential film that filmmaker Lucio Fulci made in his career (generating a style of making zombie films).

Violent, aggressive, yet owner of a strange charm, "Zombi 2" is an Italian classic that lives up to its reputation, and serves a the perfect introduction to the Eurohorror of the 70s. With its beautiful work of cinematography contrasting with the graphic explicit violence, it shows all the typical traits of Italian horror with brutal intensity. "Zombi 2" was a landmark in the career of Lucio Fulci, whom after the film would become a real icon of the horror genre, making a couple of masterpieces of horror cinema later in his career. While it probably will always live under the shadow of Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" (impossible to talk about one without mentioning the other), the truth is that the influence of "ZOmbi 2" still reigns supreme to this day.

8/10
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Quella villa accanto al cimitero (1981)

Italian director Lucio Fulci found international recognition with the release in 1979 of "Zombi 2" (also known as "Zombie Flesh Eaters" in the UK), a violent tale of zombie horror that was sold as an unofficial sequel to George A. Romero's classic "Dawn of the Dead" (which was known as "Zombi" in Italy). After this success, Fulci would use the horror genre to explore more complex ideas, related to metaphysics and the after life, resulting in the films "Paura Nella Città Dei Morti Viventi" ("City of the Living Dead") and his masterpiece, "L'aldilà" ("The Beyond"), films that, while dealing with different stories, both explored the theme of portals that communicate between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Fulci would close the circle with a third film, "Quella villa accanto al cimitero" ("The House by the cemetery") in 1981, and while the film returns a bit to a more traditional style of making horror cinema, it also explores a similar theme and completes a thematic trilogy related with death, melancholy and hopelessness.

"Quella villa accanto al cimitero" begins with two deaths: a woman and her boyfriend are brutally murdered in an abandoned house located in New Whitby, Boston. The following day, Norman and Lucy Boyle (Paolo Malco and Catriona MacColl) are in New York preparing their stuff to move, as Norman wants to continue the research that his late colleague, Dr. Peterson, was doing before committing suicide. Their destiny is precisely the house in New Whitby, despite the fact that their little son Bob (Giovanni Frezzi) has warned them not to go, as he has received a strange psychic message from a mysterious girl (Silvia Collatina) telling him there's a grave danger. The family moves anyways, and begin to install themselves in New Whitby. Norman finds out that his colleague was researching on a certain Dr. Freudstein, the old owner of the house the Boyle live now. In the meantime, a young woman named Ann (Ania Pieroni) is hired by Lucy as a babysitter. Strange noises are heard in the mansion, so Norman and Lucy decide to open the cellar; however, this will release the evil locked under the house by the cemetery.

Based on a story by Elisa Briganti (author of "Zombi 2"), the screenplay was developed by Fulci and his regular collaborators, writers Giorgio Mariuzzo and Dardano Sacchetti. As mentioned before, "Quella villa accanto al cimitero" is a more traditional horror film, that leaves aside the oneiric surrealism of the previous films and focus instead on a more linear plot that seemed to mix the classic Gothic horror with the gory violence of Fulci's style. In top Gothic fashion, the film features a family moving to an old house and ending up a victim of the dark secrets that the mansion has buried in its past. And yet, "Quella villa accanto al cimitero" returns to the very same concepts of the Gates of Hell films: again there's a portal that has allowed the crossing of dark forces into our world, though this time they have taken possession of the rotting corpse of Dr. Freudstein, transformed by Fulci's imagination into one of the most iconic monsters of Italian cinema. It's worth to point out that in the screenplay there's a notable influence from the stories by the master of supernatural horror, H.P. Lovecraft.

The influence of Gothic horror that's imbued in the script for "Quella villa accanto al cimitero" can be found as well in the style given by director Lucio Fulci to this film. In this movie, Fulci shows a greater care in the creation of atmospheres and the handling of suspense than in his previous works, and while his taste for gore is still present, in "Quella villa accanto al cimitero" this stops being a gratuitous effect and becomes a quite important element in the characterization of the film's monster. Certainly, there's a great improvement in Fulci's technique, which is made apparent by the great use he gives to the brilliant work of cinematographer Sergio Salvati and the score by Walter Rizzati. Both elements are use to great effect, giving the film an uneasy atmosphere of dread that remains constant ever since the family sets a foot on the Freudstein house. The work of Salvati is worthy of recognition, as he manages to give "Quella villa accanto al cimitero" a very particular look, capturing Fulci's vision of a savage, brutal and oneiric tale of Gothic horror.

As in the previous films in the Gates of Hell cycle, British actress Catriona MacColl appears in a main role, playing housewife Lucy Boyle, who faces the horrors found in the Freudstein's house while his husband Dr. Norman is away. MacColl makes a very good job as Lucy, though maybe not on the same level as her performances in "L'aldilà"; nevertheless, she shows that amongst Fulci's cast, she is one of the most talented members. But if MacColl doesn't shine that much, that's maybe because the main role is for young Giovanni Frezz, who plays little Bob, the psychic kid. The problem with Frezza's performance is that his work is the one that suffers the most problems with the awful work of dubbing done for the film, receiving a voice such annoying and bland that doesn't match his acting. Better luck has Paolo Malco, who makes a good counterpart to MacColl when playing her husband, Dr. Norman Boyle. The beautiful Ania Pieroni appears as the babysitter Ann, but her performance is so poor that seemed to be limited to looking good and recite her lines.

Again it could be said that the acting is the weakest link in this film by Lucio Fulci, however, the problem is not exactly in the acting per se, but in the disastrous work of dubbing done in the film. The core of the problem is that, in those days dubbing was common place in Italian cinema due to the multicultural casts. To Italian producers, it was easier to have each cast member to act in their own language and then to make the dubbing later. For "Quella villa accanto al cimitero", this was tragic, as those who dubbed the child actors Giovanni Frezza and Silvia Collatina doesn't sound really as kids, and instead give their roles annoying voices that do not represent by any chance the work done by the young actors. Adults fare better, but the fact that the kids sound that bad provokes an unintentionally comic effect in what otherwise is a serious horror film. It's sad that this problem has such effect in "Quella villa accanto al cimitero", as even while this is not a revolutionary horror film, it is really one of the best works done by the Italian filmmaker.

Owner of a gorgeous Gothic beauty and a savage gory violence (that made it to be included in the infamous video nasties list in the United Kingdom), "Quella villa accanto al cimitero" is a powerful example of Fulci's craftsmanship at a moment when it was at its best. Certainly, its low budget affects the results in more than one occasion, but Fulci manages to create a tale of Gothic horror with a powerful atmosphere and a brutal climax that make it one of the most interesting movies in the Eurohorror of the 1980s. Of course, the dubbing is awfully bad, but leaving that aside, one can see that Fulci was not merely a commercial filmmaker jumping on the bandwagon of Italian horror cinema, but a truly consummated artist of the genre. "Quella villa accanto al cimitero" closes with style the Gates of Hell trilogy.

7/10
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Colosio: El Asesinato (2012)

March the 23rd, 1994, the presidential candidate from the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI, Institutional Revolutionary Party), Luis Donaldo Colosio, leads a campaign rally in the neighborhood of Lomas Taurinas, in the city of Tijuana. Colosio finishes his speech and steps down the stage, walking through the multitude of followers who cheer him towards the vehicle that would take him to another event. As he walks, a man gets close with a gun and shoots him in the head. Moments later, Colosio would receive a two more shots in the middle of the chaos, and later he would die in the hospital from the wounds. Colosio's assassination would leave a profound mark in Mexicos' political history, as it left multiple doubts about the identity of those who were behind the candidate's death. While the official version determined that the killing was the work of a lone shooter, the theory of a conspiracy within the Party has always been in the mind of the public. And this theory becomes the basis for a movie directed by filmmaker Carlos Bolado, who tackles the killing at Lomas Taurinas in "Colosio: El Asesinato".

Set in 1994, "Colosio: El Asesinato" (literally "Colosio: The Assassination") begins with the news of the death of the presidential candidate (Enoc Leaño) at Lomas Taurinas, seen on TV by agent Andrés Vázquez (José María Yazpik) and his family. As the official investigation begins, the President (Nando Estevané), through his adviser "the Doctor" (Daniel Giménez Cacho), orders a secret inquiry, running parallel to the official one but specifically aimed to find the intellectual authors of the crime. Andrés is called to lead the operation under the orders of the Licenciate (Odiseo Bichir), to whom he reports the result of the investigation. Andrés gathers his most trusted agents and begin to do research on those close to Colosio's presidential campaign, while in Tijuana, the local chief of police, Benítez (Dagoberto Gama) coordinates his operation with Andres' team. However, things are complicated when a mysterious assassin is killing all the suspects that Andres and Benítez are identifying. Someone doesn't want the truth regarding Colosio's assassination to be known.

Written by Hugo Rodríguez, Miguel Necoechea and director Carlos Bolado himself, "Colosio: El Asesinato" is a political thriller that details on one side the police work of investigation done by Andrés and Benítez around the crime, and on the other unfolds the complex net of secret alliances that run behind the scenes in Mexican politics. While the movie declares initially that the story is a work of fiction, the screenplay of "Colosio: El Asesinato" includes characters clearly based on the real protagonists of Mexican politics of the time and, with certain historical liberties, builds up its plot following the popular conspiracy theory in a way similar to Oliver Stone's "JFK". Beyond the politics, it's interesting the agile way in which Rodríguez, Necoechea and Bolado construct their plot with the goal of keeping the action flowing smoothly without leaving aside their harsh criticism against the Partido Revolucionario Institucional. Nevertheless, there are certain elements that aren't that well done, like the romantic side story, which feels out of place in the film.

The work of directing done by Carlos Bolado is effective and dynamic, moving through the different narratives without problems and showing a skilled use of devices such as montage sequences and flashbacks.In general, the visual narrative that Bolado employs is appropriate and his greatest achievement is the creation of an ominous atmosphere of fear and uncertainty that grows through the film as Andrés' investigation makes progress. Carefully, Bolado builds up the sensation of paranoia that begins to surround Andrés and his team as their work takes them to the inner circles of politics. The work of cinematography done by Andrés León Becker is traditional but effective, using a specific atmosphere for each location in the investigation, though everyone, from the arid desert of Tijuana to the cold walls of the Government's offices, have in common the feeling of desolation. It's worth to point out the work of Sandra Cabriada as production designer, managing to recreate the period of the film with accuracy and verisimilitude.

Leading the cast, actor José María Yazpik makes a good job as agent Andrés, evoking with ease the self-confidence and professionalism of his role. While Yazpik has a somewhat limited range, in the role of Andrés he finds a character that allows him to truly exploit his talent and screen presence. And while the movie has in Yazpik a defined protagonist, the film's plot allows the rest of the secondary characters to have their moment to shine. Fortunately, the cast makes the best of this and deliver excellent performances in the supporting roles. This is particularly note worthy in the case of Dagoberto Gama, whom makes a terrific job as the lonely Benítez, and Daniel Giménez Cacho, truly excellent as the Doctor (thinly veiled portrait of José María Córdoba Montoya), the Machiavellian presidential adviser. Giménez Cacho's acting shines in its restrained intensity, which leaves mark of his sinister presence even when he is not on screen. Without a doubt, the best acting in the film.

There are also pretty good performances by Tenoch Huerta, Luis Ernesto Franco and Karina Gidi, who play the agents working in Andrés' team (Gidi in particular is remarkable). However, there are unfortunately two performances of bad quality that diminish the strength of the film. The first is Odiseo Bichir's work, who results too stagy in his performance as the Licenciate, looking artificial and out of place given the tone of the film. Kate del Castillo is the other one, lacking screen presence in her role as Yazpik's wife and leaving her character like a side note. Nevertheless, in her case it certainly matters that her character is too underdeveloped, limiting her to represent the role of a wife forgotten by an Andrés too absorbed by his work. And this is a problem in the film, as at times it gets lost in its many subplots and leaves more than once without too much development. Also, the film falls in the big problem of conspiracy theory stories (specially those based on real life events): its argument tends to force a bit too much the common sense and the suspension of disbelief.

Nevertheless, it's commendable that director Carlos Bolado manages to create an atmosphere of paranoia so strong that those flaws do not stop the enjoyment of the movie. "Colosio: El Asesinato" may not become a classic of the genre, however, it results a very well done film that dares to touch a subject that mainstream Mexican cinema had not tackled before (in independent cinema there is the low budget "Magnicidio. Complot en Lomas Taurinas" done in 2002). Despite its problems, Carlos Bolado's "Colosio: El Asesinato" is an intelligent thriller that beyond its political agenda, shows how the assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio is a huge shadow that still hangs over Mexican politics.

7/10
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Get the Gringo (2012)

Having become one of the biggest movies stars during the decades of the 80s and 90s, Australian actor Mel Gibson was heading to leave his mark as a filmmaker with the making of this epic adventure drama "Apocalypto" in the year 2006, hoping to find again the level of success and acclaim that Gibson had received a decade before with "Braveheart". However. that very same year Gibson fell in a great ditch of negative publicity in which his personal problems, controversial points of view and all in all erratic behavior ended under the spotlight. After this series of scandals, it seemed that Gibson's career was over; nevertheless, little by little the Australian filmmaker has been rebuilding both his life and career with a series of performances in modest films (including Jodie Foster's debut as a director,"The Beaver"). "Get the Gringo", directed by Adrian Grunberg, is not only the return of Gibson as a scriptwriter and producer, but also a return of the kind of character that helped him to conquer Hollywood: the lovable tough bastard.

"Get the Gringo" begins with a high speed car chase near the border between the United States and Mexico, where the American police is after two criminals in a car. With great effort, the two criminals crash the wall and manage to cross the border, seemingly escaping from the American jurisdiction but, to their bad luck, they are received by the Mexican police. The Americans want the criminals but, upon seeing the amount of money the criminals have, the Mexican police decides to arrest them themselves instead of turning them to the Americans. Since only one the driver (Mel Gibson) survived the chase, the police officers decide to keep the money for themselves and sent the American to "El Pueblito", a local jail where a crime lord is the real boss. Inside "El Publito", the American criminal is welcomed with a hard beating, but soon the hardened thief begins to adapt to his new environment, determined to get out and recover his money. In jail, he becomes friends of a kid (Kevin Hernández), son one of the inmates (Dolores Heredia), whom will help him to plan his revenge.

As mentioned before, the screenplay is written by Gibson himself, collaborating with Stacy Perskie and director Adrian Grunberg (whom by the way, worked previously with Gibson as assistant director in "Apocalypto"). whom orchestrate an action film where what initially is a quest for revenge soon becomes a somewhat bizarre trip of self-discovery for the nameless American bandit. What I mean is, "Get the Gringo" is in a way a return to the kind of action films in which the Australian actor played tough and flawed men, but owners of a certain inner nobleness that set them apart from other tough guys. The theme of the American lost in a Mexican prison gives the story a "fish out of water" theme in which the gringo must face the status quo established by gangster Javi (Daniel Giménez Cacho). It's interesting that, while the story doesn't really show a nice face of Mexico, it avoids any paternalistic sense of superiority and instead, doesn't hold to mention that the United States of America lives exactly the same degree of corruption, but in disguise.

Now, this doesn't mean that "Get the Gringo" is a deep serious study about the rampant corruption and crime in both countries, on the contrary, Adrian Grunberg's film never attempts to be anything more than an action thriller full of energy, bullets and a quite healthy dose of black humor. What Grunberg employs in "Get the Gringo" is a sly impudence and a cynicism that help him to give the film a well defined identity of its own (to the point that the film's original title was actually "How I spent my summer vacation"), allowing to construct his film around an antihero that, as noble and charming as he may seem, he's still as tough as the other inmates in "El Pueblito". Cinematographer Benoît Debie's camera (responsible of, among others, Gaspar Noé's trippy "Enter the Void") movies smoothly through the walls of "El Pueblito", jail that honors its name by being an actual little community living under the protection of corruption. Benoît Debie makes a straightforward yet effective job. Nothing too fancy perhaps, but still notable nonetheless.

But it's not in the visual where "Get the Gringo" has high marks, it's in the performances by its cast, which by the way is made of mainly by high quality Mexican actors. Heading the cast is of course Mel Gibson, whom as the Gringo of the film's title shows himself again in the kind of character he mastered in his younger years, as the role of bandit allows him to exploit his natural charm and great screen presence. In spite of his questionable real life antics, it's still nice to see this side of Gibson in the big screen again. Gibson seems at ease in the role and carries the film with strength. Nevertheless, the revelation of the film is without a doubt the young Kevin Hernandez, whom as the Kid he makes a great job serving as the counterpart of Gibson's character. Mexican actress Dolores Heredia shows her great talent playing the Kid's mother, and while her role perhaps is a bit lacking in character development, it's interesting to see a capable middle-age woman as the film's romantic interest instead of younger actress.

The supporting cast also delivers very good performances, particularly Daniel Giménez Cacho and Jesús Ochoa, who play the siblings that control the criminal life in "El Pueblito". Also good is Mario Zaragoza's acting as the Mexican border patrol officer that arrests the Gringo and Peter Sormare as a somewhat slow American gangster. Nevertheless, their performances end up a but minimized within the great population of characters that inhabit the story. And this may be one of the main problems in "Get the Gringo": several subplots are resolved a bit hurriedly and the chronology of the events that take place during the last third of the film is a bit confusing, even incongruent at times. that is, events than in theory are supposed to take place at the same time, feel like the aren't due to the problematic rhythm in which both events have been edited (while one involves a long and slow sequences in the United States, the other moves with a frantic speed in Mexico). A severe error on Grunberg's side that harms an otherwise quite entertaining film.

In fact, it could be said that despite its problems, "Get the Gringo" manages to recover quite faithfully that mix of action and black comedy that became the trademark of those films that Mel Gibson starred in the 90s ("Payback" perhaps being the most obvious reference). Agile, fun and without pretensions, "Get the Gringo" is an irreverent action thriller that, while taking a quite typical theme (friendship between a bandit and a kid), gives it a fresh spin by having as background the difference between the United States and Mexico, and while this film isn't particularly serious about this subject, the irreverence that Grunberg employs in his modest film allows him to say clearly an interesting message: deep down both countries are very similar.

7/10
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This review was originally published in Spanish for Habitación 101 in June the 21th of 2012. Habitación 101 is a great site to check for news and reviews on cinema and theatre in Spanish.

Act of Valor (2012)

Amongst the U.S. Navy's special operations units, the Sea, Air and Land Teams (SEALs for short) are considered the principal force, due to their rigorous training and high degree of professionalism that have earned the reputation of being amongst the most capable military units in the world. However, despite this reputation as an elite squad, the recent wars in Irak and Afghanistan borough the need of increasing the numbers of SEALs, so with this goal in 2008 a recruiting film was commissioned. The production company that won the project was Bandito Bros., founded by former stuntman Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh. The project kept growing and, after having won the support of the SEALs that were collaborating in their video, McCoy and Waugh offered a twist to the project: instead of a recruiting film, it would be a feature length film that served as tribute to the SEALs. The project was a approved and the result was "Act of Valo", film that while it certainly does a great job as a recruiting tool, has numerous severe flaws as a drama film.

"Act of Valor" begins with a terrorist attack to an elementary school in the Philippines, where the American ambassador (Marc Marguiles) is killed as he was there to pick up his little son. The attack has been organized by Chechen terrorist Abu Shabal (Jason Cottle). While this take place, two CIA agents, Walter (Nestor Serrano) and Morales (Roselyn Sánchez) are working in Costa Rica tracking drug smuggler Mikhail "Christo" Troykovich (Alex Veadov). The agents are discovered and Walter ends up murdered while Morales is kept a prisoner by Christo. With this situation, the Bandito Platoon, SEAL Team Seven is called. In their last day at home, Liutenant Rorke confides Chief Dave that his wife is expecting a baby, so Dave decides to get Rorke a vacation as soon as the new mission is over. The SEALs get into action and manage to rescue Morales in Costa Rica, however, they also discover that Christo not only is linked to the operations of Abu Shabal, they find that Shabal is planning a major attack on American soil.

Taking as basis diverse real life stories about the SEALs, "Act of Valor" was written by Kurt Johnstad (scriptwriter of Zack Snyder's "300"), who was hired to tie all those stories in a cohesive plot where the SEALs' courage and valor were honored and praised. The result is a tale that will definitely sound a bit too familiar for those versed in the action film genre: a dangerous terrorist threatens the nation and a special team is sent to stop him, two team members are best friends and of course one is about to become a father and eagerly hopes to finish the mission to be with his family. The resulting conclusion is unfortunately too easy to guess, and that's because to build up the plot of "Act of Valor" scriptwriter Kurt Johnstad seems to have picked every single cliché of the genre he could find. In fact, even the film's villains form a collection of every single group of America's enemies (it has Muslim terrorist of Russian origin with close ties to Mexican drug lords), making up a true "axis of evil" that the SEALs must face heroically.

In a certain way, "Act of Valor" shows a lot the background found in the careers of directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh, both former stuntman turned commercial directors. The action scenes are frequent, and are superbly done, with a high quality technique and a quite dynamic style, very energetic. And even when "Act of Valor" is a film of a relatively low budget, McCoy and Waugh manage to take full advantage to the invaluable support of the U.S. Navy, so there's a great showing of the SEAL's tactics and equipment. And that's where the main selling point of "Act of Valor" is: the film is not just a film about SEALs, actual real SEALs play the main roles in the film. So, what is seen in the screen are real SEALs fighting as real SEALs would do, with the same kind of strategies and movements they would do in real life. This realism is the strongest element of the film, and through the lens of cinematographer Shane Hurbult, filmmakers McCoy and Waugh achieve remarkably done action scenes full of a vibrant dynamism that truly transmit the adrenaline of combat.

However, while the SEALs that work in "Act of Valor" are truly at top form when acting like soldiers in the carefully designed action scenes the film has, when the plot requires them to actually act and develop their characters is where their limitations are seen, because their talents is not precisely the most adequate for this mission. And while it's obvious the great deal of effort done by the soldiers to recite their lines, their nervousness and lack of experience can't be hidden, resulting in a series of pretty poor performances that severely harm the resulting film. Nevertheless, this isn't entirely the SEALs' fault, as in all honesty, Johnstad's character are so poorly developed that to make them interesting would be a real challenge even for an experienced actor. A testament of this is the fact that the rest of the characters (played by professionals) are equally as underdeveloped as the soldiers are. Not even a single one of them offers a good chance to their actors to shine, perhaps only Roselyn Sánchez and Alex Veadov, are the only ones able to create something out of the cliché.

And that's why unfortunately the cliché is the dominant element in "Act of Valor", where it seems that the last thing that was developed was the story. This is tragic for the film, as it leaves it as a group of action scenes connected by a series of poorly acted scenes where nothing relevant or exciting takes place. And the reason of this is simple: the characters are mere caricatures. While "Act of Valor" makes clear that the SEALs have a life full of risk where they face the enemy face to face and offer their lives for their countries, Johnstad offers only eight soldiers that lack a defined personality of their own, avoiding a greater identification with them. True, one of them has five kids, and the other will be a father for the first time, but other than those details, there is nothing else to define them beyond their patriotism and their dedication to their job. In a way, what Johnstad has done is a disrespect to any soldier of any country, as his screenplay dehumanizes them and makes them nothing more than an action figure.

At this point, it's unnecessary to mention that besides it's poorly constructed screenplay, "Act of Valor" is imbued by an excessive American patriotism that shows little interest in presenting the reality of the countries in which the action takes place (it happens everywhere except in the U.S.). However, and while the ethics of their propaganda is questionable (and not a bit subtle), at least in this aspect it can be said that "Act of Valor" accomplishes its mission as a recruiting tool. The truly unforgivable sin of the film is that by pretending to honor the American soldiers, it presents them as empty machines void of personality and useful only to do their job. Nothing is know about they like, what they feel or what they think. the only think known about them is that they are good at killing. Not a particularly honorable portrait.

4/10
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This review was originally published in Spanish for Habitación 101 in May the 25th of 2012. Habitación 101 is a great site to check for news and reviews on cinema and theatre in Spanish.

The Hunger Games (2012)

According to author Suzanne Collins, the concept that would later become "The Hunger Games" was born while she was swapping channels on TV, and happened to watch the contrast between reality shows and the Iraq war. With those images in mind, Collins took the myth of Theseus as basis and developed a novel of romance and science fiction about a futuristic society where television and death are heavily linked. Published in 2008, "The Hunger Games" appeared in a time in which young adult literature was at its best moment in terms of sales and popularity: Stephanie Meyer was at the top with her "Twilight" and there was a healthy audience for the genre that welcomed Collins' books with arms wide open. Naturally, talks about a film adaptation soon began, and just as the "Twilight" film series was about to end, director Gary Ross would start the series of films based on "The Hunger Games".

"The Hunger Games" takes place in the futuristic nation of Panem, which is made up by 12 Districts governed by a Capitol. After the rebellion and eventual destruction of a thirteenth district, the Capitol established the Hunger Games, a televised event in which two youngsters of each district, a male and a female, are selected in an annual lottery as "tributes", to fight against each other in a combat to death, until only one of them remains as victor. The story begins in the impoverished District 12, where young Primrose Everdeen (Willow Shields) is chosen as female tribute for the celebration of the 74th Hunger Games. Knowing that young Prim wouldn't be able to survive in the games, her older sister Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) decides to trade places with her and voluntarily participate in the Hunger Games. This will be the first act of rebellion in Katniss' fight against the Capitol.

Adapted to the screen by author Suzanne Collins herself collaborating with scriptwriter Billy Ray and director Gary Ross, "The Hunger Games" is relatively faithful to its source novel, narrating Katniss' progress through the Hunger Games, as well as the relationship that's formed between Katniss and her fellow District 12 tribute, Peeta (played by Josh Hutcherson). Like the novel, the screenplay is focused totally on Katniss' character, and through her eyes it takes us inside this society in which entertainment controls the masses. However, another inheritance from the novel is that there is a greater weight placed on the relationship between Katniss and Peeta and the conflict this causes with Katniss' feelings for her best friend Gale, who remained in District 12. The plot unfolds smoothly, though often the many details that were cut while adapting the book are missed, as several aspects of the story are explored in a quite shallow way.

Director Gary Ross employs a series of different visual styles to narrate his movie, supporting himself in the effective work of cinematography done by Tom Stern. To do this, Stern gives a washed out look inspired by the Great Depression for the humble District 12, and contrasts it with the colorful kitsch world of the Capitol. However, with the idea of replicating the look of reality TV, Ross and Stern abuses a bit of "shaky cam", which becomes a tad annoying. The production design by Philip Messina is quite interesting as, with a certain degree of minimalism in its construction, it achieves a futuristic style that generates the appropriate atmosphere without taking precedence over the story, which is where director Gary Ross's vision is chiefly focused. This focus on the human side of the plot follows the novel's style, where Katniss' feelings are what matters the most over any aspect of social criticism that the premise may have.

Carrying the weight of the film is Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen, whom manages to transmit effectively the inner strength that her character has. Lawrence gives Katniss a restrained intensity, quite appropriated for a character as independent as hers. In fact, perhaps the only problem in Lawrence's performance as Katniss is the fact that she just doesn't look physically as someone who has lived in hunger (in fact, the hunger element is downplayed as a whole). The same thing happens to Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta Mellark. However, in contrast this is only the lesser of Hutcherson's problems, as his acting is considerably inferior to Lawrence's, lacking the naturalness and screen presence that his counterpart has, ending up looking wooden and stiff in his acting. The rest of the cast does have interesting moments, though in general, it's brief the screen time they could use, as the film is entirely focused on Katniss and Peeta.

This is perhaps the greatest problem in "The Hunger Games" as a science fiction film, because by centering exclusively on the relationship between Katniss and Peeta, it leaves aside no only the supporting characters, but also any kind of exploration of the world that Collins has created in her story. In fact, the explanation of "The Hunger Games"' premise is reduced to a narrated explanation at the beginning, which isn't quite clear in its explanation about the Capitol or the 12 Districts. In general, any attempt to let us inside the workings of Panem's society ends up being too shallow, avoiding the chance of taking the plot to any kind of social commentary. This is particularly notorious in the fact that the great dramatic implication of the premise, having teenagers killing each others for a prize, isn't really tacked at all, and it would seem that none of those youngsters truly cares about being forced to kill each other.

Certainly, none of this prevents "The Hunger Games" from being entertaining, and in general, director Gary Ross makes an appropriate job in his film adaptation. However, there's still an odd feeling about the film, as if something was missing, as if it was incomplete in some way. By focusing exclusively on Katniss' feelings, the great potential of the film's premise has been sadly left aside, and the result is that rather than being a science fiction film with touches of romance, "The Hunger Games" is a teenage romance film with some deaths and brief touches of science fiction.

6/10
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Trespass (2011)

American filmmaker Joel Schumacher's career is certainly one full of contrasts: after starting with a meteoric rise to fame with the making of two defining classics of 1980s pop culture ("St. Elmo's Fire" and "The Lost Boys" of course), Schumacher would cement a reputation as an effective artisan with a series of thrillers of acceptable quality, but unfortunately, he would end up crashing disastrously with a great classic of infamy: "Batman & Robin", film that put an end to the first saga of the Dark Knight and that irremediably became a liability for the rest of his career. From this point onwards, Schumacher's career has been uneven, as even when there has been an occasional hit ("Phone Booth"), the great majority of the results have not been truly favorable. "Trespass", thriller released in 2011 that starred Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman, became sadly another example of this.

"Trespass" is the story of the Miller family, which is made of the skillful diamond trader Kyle (Nicolas Cage), his wife Sarah (Nicole Kidman) and their teenage daughter Avery (Liana Liberato). The Millers live in a modern and luxury mansion in the middle of the woods, and while they do have a privileged life, they aren't a quite functional family, as Sarah suffers from boredom as she feels abandoned by her husband, who seems to reject her, hiding himself under his absorbing job. At the same time, Avery is a rebel and stubborn teenager, whom escapes from home in order to go to a party one night. When Kyle is about to leave for business, a gang of criminals break into his house disguised as cops, and quickly subjugates the Millers with the intention of stealing diamonds. Lead by Elias (Ben Mendelsohn), the criminals torture the couple, but Kyle decides to use his skill to negotiate with them. Things get complicated when Sarah recognizes one of the criminals.

With the theme of criminals breaking and torturing a family, the screenplay by débutant Karl Gajdusek can't help to bring comparisons to horror films like "The Last House on the Left" or "Funny Games", however, Gajdusek doesn't follow that route and instead, what he explores in "Trespass" isn't horror, but suspense, building up a thriller where the question is if Karl will be able to use his skills to negotiate their escape. The premise isn't really bad, but unfortunately Gajdusek makes an awful job at developing int, falling in innumerable clichés, incoherences and ridiculous situations, as the characters seem to forget common sense in order to move on with the plot. Of course, there are interesting points, such as the Sarah's conflicts with her marriage that may or may not have ended with an extramarital affair. But Gujdasek is unable to tie up his ideas and the story looks more like a badly done farce than the thriller it aimed to be.

Joel Schumacher's direction doesn't really help to improve the disastrous screenplay that he has to work with. In fact, the polished work that Schumacher does (taking advantage of a great work of cinematography by Andrzej Bartkowiak) rather than hide the flaws in the screenplay it actually enhances them. Schumacher's style, so visually colorful, pristine clear and clean, ends up being perhaps too polished for the kind of gritty story that "Trespass" is. Too stylish perhaps. And while Schumacher does know how to handle suspense (as proved in "Phone Booth"), this time it seems as if, bored by his own story, Schumacher just had left the boat adrift. The result: a carelessly conceived rhythm, a complete lack of suspense, and a series of sequences where common sense is gone. Of course, certainly it's in Gajdusek's screenplay where most of "Trespass"' problems have its roots, but Schumacher's work is still pretty poor.

About the cast, it's a bit extraordinary to see two Academy Awards winners, Kidman and Cage, trying to survive unscarred in such a disastrous movie. And while it wouldn't be the first time that Cage is involved in a debacle, at least in previous occasions he had delivered performances with a certain commitment, with genuine interest in what he was doing. Not in "Trespass", where he limits himself to deliver an overacted version of his classic desperate persona. The beautiful Nicole Kidman looks lost in the middle of the chaos, with a performance that seems uninterested in what's going one, and that's based mainly in overacted screams and intense staring. The rest of the cast ranges from mediocre to awfully terrible, with a wasted Ben Mendelsohn trying to make the most of his poorly written character, while Cam Gigandet and Jordana Spiro deliver the worst acting in the movie.

While the bad acting and the poor work of the director are already two highly negative elements, the real problem in "Trespass" is without a doubt the badly developed screenplay by Karl Gujdusek. Full of unnecessary plot twists and completely lacking verisimilitude, Gajdusek's "Trespass" is an example that even in fiction coherence is needed in the construction of the characters. Leaving aside the apparent elitism of his character design, the really problematic is the fact that his characters act in such an incompetent way as the story unfolds. Gajdusek doesn't shy away from sacrificing common sense in order to keep his story going, opting to use improbable situations instead of building any personality or motivation for his character's actions. In the end, the characters are mere walking clichés, empty stereotypes that seem more appropriate for a parody of the genre than for a real thriller.

As mentioned before, Schumacher doesn't do much to save the movie from disaster, and the result is a poorly done film that lacks any interest besides the morbidity of watching two Academy awards winners involved in a bad B-movie. Of course, there are some good things, such as the great cinematography by Andrzej Bartkowiak and the whole production design done by Nathan Amondson; but nevertheless, these elements aren't enough to give life to a movie that simply lacks spark. Joel Schumacher does know how to make a movie, his narrative is effective and the work is polished; however, "Trespass" seems like one of those times in which the director just lost interest in the project. A disaster. A beautifully looking disaster, but a disaster nonetheless.

3/10
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This review was originally published in Spanish for Habitación 101 in May the 18th of 2012. Habitación 101 is a great site to check for news and reviews on cinema and theatre in Spanish.