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João Guilherme dos Anjos

Sony's specialty division Sony Pictures Classics has picked up the US distribution rights for Broken Embraces (original title Los Abrazos Rotos), the latest movie from acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar (Volver). This is somewhat surprising because while Sony has distributed many of Almodóvar's films in the past, Universal Pictures participated in the financing.

In other words, yet another foreign film that Americans won't see unless they live in a big city and are actually aware of its release. Why can't US companies give international films big releases? Some people argue that Americans won't read subtitles, to this I reply The Passion Of The Christ, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Apocalypto, etc... All you need to do is market the film well and reap the rewards. And for those who won't read subtitles, dubbing works well for American films overeseas.

Broken Embraces will be a film-noir thriller centering on a four-person love story and reunites Pedro Almodóvar with Volver actresses Penélope Cruz and Blanca Portillo as well as actor Lluís Homar (Bad Education). It will premiere in Spain on March of next year.

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Whew! Just survived an over-the-top, really fun Aztec Chihuahua party we threw for our 9-year-old daughter's slumber birthday party. She saw the upcoming Beverly Hills Chihuahua movie trailer (film comes out October 3rd), with the Aztec warrior dogs on a giant temple, thought it was hilarious and decided that would be a blast for a party of 8 rambunctious girls. Here's what we did to create the right atmosphere:

Aztec Temple/Mayan Pyramid: My husband built a huge South American pyramid - a quasi Aztec or Mayan temple - in our driveway. It is 14' wide at the base and about 11' feet high. Made quite an impression on the arriving girls as they clamored to play on it and check out the view from the top. The prize for one party game later was a Slinky and we got it to slink down the full set of stairs on the pyramid, sending up a round of cheers from all of us!

Birthday Cake: I created a three-layer stepped-pyramid cake out of alternating vanilla and chocolate layers that I topped with a seated Chihuahua dog. My 12-year-old daughter made a golden headdress for the chihuahua giving it just the royal warrior look we were after. For instructions for making the cake, visit Aztec Chihuahua Dog Cake on Mayan Temple.

Chihuahua Piñata: For the piñata, I started with a pink pony piñata that I stripped down and converted to a golden Chihuahua. Again, my daughter made a stunning headdress for it out of golden poster board and wrapping paper. At the last minute the kids decided they couldn't bear to destroy the fancy golden piñata, so we grabbed a Hawaiian hula girl piñata we had planned for another party, quickly spray-painted her Apocalypto blue to create an instant sacrificial Aztec maiden, then let the kids have at it. (Explanation: in the movie Apocalypto, the individuals captured for human sacrifice were painted blue before being sacrificed to the gods. Not that any of the girls (or me) had actually seen the movie, but they'd heard of it.) We filled the pinata with gold foil wrapped chocolates or golden colored candies such as toffee, caramels, Werther's, Nestle Treasures, etc.

Food: For breakfast, we created Mayan Temple French Toast by stacking up three progressively smaller layers of bread and topped them off with a Chihuahua skewer, strawberries, powdered sugar and maple syrup. Big hit!

For dinner, had the girls create build-your-own personal pizzas. We used the refrigerated pizza dough from Trader Joe's and let each girl roll out and add toppings to create their personal favorite. For 9-year-old-girls, apparently this, sadly, is still just pepperoni or cheese pizzas....

We served apple juice and sparkling water so the girls could create soda-like drinks that were free of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

Entertainment: The girls played on a slip-n-slide until all the children arrived. Pink seems to be the color of the Beverly Hills chihuahua dog, so what movies could be more perfect than the Legally Blonde movies? We rented videos of Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2, which feature heroine Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) and her pet chihuahua Bruiser.

Party Games: Traditional favorites included tape the Chihuahua to the temple top, memory game with 25 assorted items on a tray, and a treasure hunt. The prize for the memory game was a stuffed toy - the Taco Bell Talking Chihuahua Dog that we got from Stupid.com. It says, "Here lizard, lizard", "I think a need a bigger box" and "Yo quiero Taco Bell" ("I want Taco Bell"). The kids thought it was cute (they don't remember the original TV commercials), but the adults thought it was a scream. And we actually did scream while watching the Legally Blonde movie when we realized that the commercial was playing in the background of one scene!

Party Favors: Instead of traditional party favor bags, I made a choker dog collar necklace with Chihuahuas on it for each girl. Every dog collar was a different color and the girls could pick out their favorite as they arrived. What girl doesn't love jewelry?!

To see more or larger pictures and read tips and tricks for the fancy dog piñata, games and food, visit Beverly Hills Chihuahua Dog Party. If you love chihuahuas, be sure to check out my Cool Chihuahua Gifts like the Chihuahua Night Light or Chihuahua iPod Case above.

Technorati: Chihuahua, Chihuahua Party, Dog Party, Birthday Party Ideas, Kids, Children, Pinatas, Party Games, Birthday Cakes, Beverly Hills Chihuahua Party, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Legally Blonde, Legally Blonde 2: Red White and Blonde, Apocalypto, Movies, Films, Dog Pinata, Night Lights, iPod Cases, Play Structures, Mayan Temple, Mayan, Aztec, Pyramid, Chihuahua Gifts, Dog Gifts, High Fructose Corn Syrup, HFCS, Slinky, Jewelry, Dog Cake, Cake Instructions, Fun Games, Treasure Hunt, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Memory Games, Online Shopping, Taco Bell, Taco Bell Chihuahua, Unique Gifts

INFO:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472043/

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Voici le site en flash du film Apocalypto qui retrace l'expérience d'un homme avant le déclin de la civilisation Maya.

Le site est vraiment très prenant par sa conception et ses animations flash plein de réalisme. Je vous invite à le visiter pour le découvrir ou redécouvrir.

Mel Gibson, le réalisateur de ce film va tout faire pour essayer d'enrailler l'inéluctable, mais rien n'y fera et la Civilisation Maya s'éteindra!

Yahoo has put together a list of the 10 most historically inaccurate movies to date.  I noticed with interest that movies either produced by and/or starring Mel Gibson seem to feature heavily - namely, "Apocalypto", "Braveheart" and "The Patriot".

As someone of Scots descent, I'm really glad "Braveheart" made the list.  On one of my many visits to Scotland I got into a conversation with one of the armourers at Edinburgh Castle and you should have heard how scathing he was about the weaponry and battle scenes used in that film!  Some of the broadswords used hadn't even been invented at the time the film was set, and don't ever mention the blue paint Mr Gibson covered himself in during the film to any Scot, or you'll get an earful!

Yahoo also point out that kilts weren't even being worn at the time the film was set and their timeline corrections about Queen Isabella and Edward III are just hilarious!

Other films on the list include "Memoirs of a Geisha", "The Last Samurai", "300", "Gladiator", "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and "10,000 BC".

And their last one, "2001: A Space Odyssey" shows a nice touch of irony.

To see the full pictorial list, and the reasons for inclusion, click here.

*Acest articol a aparut in publicatia Zile si Nopti, 23.04 - 05.04.2007

Lui Mel Gibson i s-a pus iar pata. De data aceasta pe mayasi, astfel ca a rezultat Apocalypto. Cunoscand deja apucaturile australianului, stim prin definitie ca avem de-a face cu ceva violent, tezist si meserias facut. Sa detaliem.

Violent. Cu o eroare de plus sau minus o unitate, la fiecare zece minute moare cate cineva in Apocalypto, cu o concentrare mai mare pe la mijlocul filmului. Tehnica nu era prea avansata atunci, dar mayasii stapaneau destul de bine gama sfartecat-decapitat, incat Mel Gibson a fost scutit de a fi repetitiv la partea sanguinara.

Tezist. Australianul n-ar fi el, daca, pe langa a ne lua ochii cu imaginile, sa nu ne agreseze si cu vreun mesaj. In cazul de fata, ni se spune ca o civilizatie nu piere decat atunci cand coruptia din interior a ajuns la apogeu. Viata la tara este simpla, frumoasa si racoritoare, satul din jungla este un microcosmos a la Morometii, mustind de relatii inter-umane (sugestiv exemplificate de drama unui vlajgan impotent, carait permanent de soacra-sa). In contrapondere, viata la oras este degenerata, mercantila si de-a dreptul imputita. Gibson nu s-a putut abtine si i-a infatisat pe mayasii citadini ca fiind atat de urati, incat mai ca-ti pare bine ca la final apar nu-mai-spun-cine-ca-sa-nu-spulber-si-ultima-farama-de-suspans. M-am mirat ca scena sacrificiilor [scoatere inima + decapitare + aruncare pe scarile piramidei (cap +corp)] a durat atat de putin; pesemne ca Mel a lasat-o mai moale dupa ce s-au burzuluit atatia la el din cauza Patimilor lui Hristos.

Meserias facut. Unii joaca in filme de actiune o viata intreaga si nu invata nimic (dar ajung guvernatori). Dupa doua serii in care a fugarit pe unul sau pe altul, Gibson a deprins, insa, mestesugul pomparii adrenalinei. Acalmie prevestitoare de rau, scene de bataie, urmariri fulminante, toate sunt asamblate sub o forma atat de noua, incat am uitat ca le-am mai vazut de zeci de ori pe strazile intunecate ale New York-ului. Fostul partener de peripetii al lui Danny Glover demonstreaza chiar ca e in pas cu moda, inserand si o scena de efect cu o fetita sinistra, in dulcele stil clasic al filmelor de groaza asiatice, pe care Hollywood-ul l-a imbratisat cu atata ravna. Ca sa nu uit, toate replicile filmului (reduse la strictul necesar unui scenariu subtire) sunt in limba Maya (asta e clar marca Gibson).

Recunosc, l-am bestelit excesiv pe Mel pana acum, dar constiinta nu-mi da pace si ma indeamna sa recunosc. Abia astept sa i se puna iar pata si sa faca precum zicea Marin Sorescu:

Cand voi izbi cu barda mea, profund,

Aceasta stanca are sa se crape

Si va tasni din ea suvoi de ape...

Baieti: pazea ca va... inund.

10,000 B.C.
Director Roland Emmerich is usually a stickler for realism (see: sending a computer virus via Macintosh to aliens in Independence Day). So we hate to inform him that woolly mammoths were not, in fact, used to build pyramids. Heck, woolly mammoths weren't even found in the desert. They wouldn't need to be woolly if that were the case. And there weren't any pyramids in Egypt until 2,500 B.C or so.

2001: A Space Odyssey
According to this film, in year 2001 we would have had manned voyages to Jupiter, a battle of wits with a sentient computer, and a quantum leap in human evolution. Instead we got the Mir Space Station falling from the sky, Windows XP, and Freddy Got Fingered. Apparently the lesson here is that sometimes it's better when the movies get the facts all wrong.

Apocalypto is the story of a young Mayan tribesman, Jaguar Paw, whose village is destroyed and the villagers killed or taken captive by a party of fierce raiders led by the intimidating Zero Wolf and taunted by the cruel, menacing Middle Eye. Because of a recent plague and drought we discover that the men will be sacrificed to appease the gods, and the women will be sold to slavery.

As in all of Mel Gibson’s movies there are many inaccuracies or distortions. For instance, mass human sacrifice was more a feature of Aztec culture, and was only practiced by some Mayans that neighbored the Aztecs. The first Spaniards arrived long after the Mayan civilization had collapsed. There is no evidence to support mass graves, or even widespread slavery.

The movie also ignores Mayan achievements, focusing on imagined depravities instead of their mastery of mathematics, agriculture, astronomy, literature and art. However, the film is a fable of the collapse of a society. Many of the reasons for their collapse correspond to what Jared Diamond writes about in his book, Collapse. Diamond devotes several chapters to the Mayan case study, citing drought, possibly lasting 200 years, as a factor.

Historical inaccuracies aside, Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto is gorgeously made. The costumes, the hair styles, the tattoos and piercings were all copied from Mayan artifacts. Although, elements from various historical periods and geographic locations were conflated into one Mayan aesthetic. The Classical Period, for instance, lasted almost 700 years. So I imagine it would be like mixing George Washington’s wig and breeches, with Kennedy’s pinstripe suit and Lincoln’s top hat to represent an American aesthetic. Still, for someone not well-versed in Mayan culture, it was pure, enjoyable eye candy.

The use of the Mayan language is an inspired layer of realism, with most of the cast actual Mayans. Several of the leads weren’t Mayan, but the exclusive casting of an all Native American cast lends an aura of credibility to the film.

From a narrative standpoint, the story moved briskly, with lots of action. Jaguar paw’s escape is one of the highlights of the film as he begins to hunt his pursuers in his own element, the jungle. But if you’re sensitive to graphic violence, this may be a movie you might avoid.

Knowing Mel Gibson’s evangelical Christian bias, the arrival of the Spaniards probably represents the salvation of a sick, heathen society. The allegory of a decaying society, rotting away from within, is reinforced several times throughout the film. A shaman tells of the story of a never-satisfied man. A girl, afflicted with disease, prophesizes destruction of the captors.

All of these commentaries within the story are warnings of the possible decay that we may be facing, contributing to our own collapse. Intended or not, we are warned of the false embrace of religion that arises out of fear, whether it be sacrifice to one priest in a headdress or another bearing a crucifix.

Juno Good.  So many people said it and I finally got to see it and it proved to be good. 

10,000 BC Kind of reminded me of a non gory Apocalypto without so many subtitles. It was really good and had a fantasy/sci fi twist that involved people from a land that sank (Atlantis?).

Vantage point So everyone in this movie was superman.  So many people got hit by cars and then got right back up. I find that hard to believe. Besides this and the fact that there was no explanation or motivation for the terrorists actions it was a good movie.

Superbad Like the critics said funny but with plenty of foul language. And more people getting hit by cars and then getting right back up. Good music helps too.

Kagehime

Exceptional music, incredible scenes

What a show, I saw it in Blue Ray HD, an unimaginable tale so very close to us, as if to remind us of our origins and our place in the evolutionary chain.

To build itself, life throws in breakups, dead ends and chaos; it leaves happiness a short time to exist and then breaks it down, smashes it in a rush of feelings made of fire and ice.

Fully enjoy the time of your life when you grasp happiness, it leaves indelible marks on you, but it ends up running away… Stay with the people you love without fail, without finding excuses to leave them for futile reasons. This time is precious, it won’t come back.

Nature gave man a brain which is driven by pulses and feelings with a precise aim. We don’t know this objective, the finality of evolution yet, but one day we’ll know…

Apocalypto, Mel Gibson, 2006

I was really impressed and amazed while watching the movie Apocalypto . A movie about the Mayan civilization and  a young man captured for sacrifice, flees to avoid his fate. Gibson's direction was amazing. The whole movie is in the deep forest and we can see that how they would have struggled to take this movie. We can able to see a beautiful love in the movie , a strong friendship , a true family affection. The movie was completely screened with English subtitles. Still we can able to understand completely. The character called "Jaguar Paw"(Rudy Youngblood) has been defined and shown well. His fate was decided but , Driven by the power of his love for his wife and son, he makes an escape to rescue them and ultimately save his way of life. Really a must watch movie .

Recently i watched the movie "The passion of the Christ". A film detailing the final hours and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The movie was about the last twelve hours of Jesus Christ. Shows some of the untold moments of Jesus. The punishments given to the Jesus was really horrible. A normal human being could not have tolerated the pain and the punishments.(forget about " The Da Vinci Code" for now, it just given me a different perception on Jesus).

In some scenes I have just turned my face other side. I was just thinking of the others those who are worshiping Jesus as a God. How they would have felt while watching this movie. Sure most of them would have cried. I can able to understand why this movie faced lot of oppositions all over the world .

The cinematography , the way they handled the scenes , acting of Jesus (James Caviezel) and Mari (Maia Morgenstern) was excellent. I was just wondering about the director . Its like simply he is taken a risk by choosing this subject. But he scored for the way he handled this subject.

Nice watching Mel Gibsons movies. From his 4 movies I have watched 3 of them. The left out is "The Man Without a Face". Wish to watch the movie soon.

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Grados de recomendación.

***** obra maestra
**** excelente
*** distinguida
** recomendada
* suficiente
- no recomendada

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Nota: El cinéfilo ejercita su derecho a reservar sus comentarios para sí mismo.

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Semana 24:

Eyes wide shut (Kubrick, 1999) ***
There will be blood (P.T.Anderson, 2007) *
Closer (M.Nichols, 2004) *
King Kong (P.Jackson, 2005) -
Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962) ****
Kaze no tani no Naushika ("Nausicaa del valle de los vientos", Miyazaki, 1984) **
Apocalypto (M.Gibson, 2006) **
Out of Africa (Pollack, 1985) ***
King Kong (M.Cooper, Shoedsack; 1933) ****
Hotaru no haka ("La tumba de las luciérnagas", Takahata, 1988) ***

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- - -

Contribuciones Cinematográficas Distinguidas:
(excepto: King Kong, 1933)

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Dirección:
Eyes wide shut (Stanley Kubrick) ***
There will be blood (Paul Thomas Anderson) **
Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean) ****
Apocalypto (Mel Gibson) **
Out of Africa (Sydney Pollack) **

Guión:
Lawrence of Arabia (Robert Bold, Michael Wilson) ****
Kaze no tani no Naushika (Hayao Miyazaki) **
Out of Africa (Kurt Luedtke) **
Hotaru no haka (Isao Takahata) **

Producción:
Eyes wide shut (Stanley Kubrick) **
Lawrence of Arabia (Sam Spiegel) ****
Apocalypto (Mel Gibson, Bruce Davey) **
Out of Africa (Sydney Pollack) ***

Dirección de fotografía:
Eyes wide shut (Larry Smith) ***
There will be blood (Robert Eslwit) **
King Kong (Andrew Lesnie) **
Lawrence of Arabia (Freddie Young) ****
Apocalypto (Dean Semler) ***
Out of Africa (David Watkin) ***

Edición:
Lawrence of Arabia (Anne V. Coates) ****
Out of Africa (Pembroke Herring, Sheldon Kahn, Fredric Steimkamp, William Steinkamp) **

Arte:
Eyes wide shut (Roy Walker, Leslie Tomkins) ***
There will be blood (Jack Fisk) **
King Kong (Grant Major) **
Lawrence of Arabia (John Box) ***
Kaze no tani no Naushika (Mitsuyoshi Nakamura) **

Música original:
Lawrence of Arabia (Maurice Jarre) ***
Kaze no tani no Naushika (Joe Hisaishi) **
Out of Africa (John Barry) ***

Sonido:
There will be blood (Matthew Wood) **
Apocalypto (Kami Asgar, Benjamin Cook, Sean McCormack, Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Fernando Cámara) ****

Interpretación:
Eyes wide shut (Sydney Pollack) **
There will be blood (Daniel Day-Lewis) **
Closer (Natalie Portman) **
Closer (Clive Owen) **
Lawrence of Arabia (Peter O'Toole) ****
Lawrence of Arabia (Omar Sharif) **
Lawrence of Arabia (Anthony Quinn) **
Lawrence of Arabia (Claude Rains) **
Lawrence of Arabia (Alec Guinness) **
Out of Africa (Meryl Streep) **

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En AM:
Peliculas recientes.
Cine.
Todas las películas que he visto.
Ranking: Las películas de 2007.

 remember looking at this poster a lot in 2006, but never appealed to me, on saturday, anand said lets see apocalypto, n it happened.

mel gibson takes you into a whole aboriginal world, of native american tribes and their life.it’s the story seen through the eyes of a tribesman, jaguar paw, who is also the lead..

their forest, their village, their ways of hunting, living, their families, village elders and their stories, etc… is what we watched out for.. it is shot in the native american 'mayan' language and hence subtitles need to be on all the time. this by the way adds to its exotic flavour..

absence of civilization – translates into inhumanness. a more prosperous tribe, comes and invades them, kills some of them and take them as captives to their city. here, some are sold as slaves, some are used to sacrifice to their diety to pray for rain etc… jaguar paw then manages to escape and is chased by the tribesmen, till he defeats them one by one…story is simple. intricacies in the culture, evident from their dialogues, their concepts and common sense passed on to each others make for some curious observations.

rating : there are some movies which are 'watchable' due to the cinematography n the hardwork behind the costumes, places, graphice - just like chronicles of narnia. this is one of them. not bad.

For me, I think the straw that broke the camel's back was 2005's King Kong.  Before then, I'd certainly noticed that the jungle people in these "explorer" movies were, brown primitive savages, while the heroes were always white men, but it had always just been some short "hmm," footnote in the back of my mind.

I don't know what is was about King Kong in particular that made it click (maybe it was the fact that they pulled out all the stops to make the natives look extra extra "tribal"), but the whole primitive savage thing in that movie quickly wore thin and just thoroughly pissed me off.

The next time I could remember grimacing at the Primitive Savage Issue was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Savages: see above).  "Ha ha, look...the stupid island savages are fooled by Captain Jack Sparrow.  It's funny!  Oh look, they want to eat Orlando Bloom!  Because they're cannibals!  How ever will the white good guys escape?!"  Um, no. 

From an interview with Ve Neill, Oscar-nominated Pirates make-up artist: "The trinkets used for the cannibals makeups were accumulated during prep by either my team or myself during a trip I took to Africa earlier in the year.”  Uh...last I checked, this was Pirates of the Caribbean, not Pirates of the continent of Africa.  But you know, those tribal Africans have all the right stuff for the making of scary brown cannibals.  Eyeroll.

[I'm just gonna leave out Mel Gibson's Apocalypto for the sake of brevity, because that in itself is a whole 'nother can of worms.]

Which brings me to my current target: Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.

Considering how he's an explorer and all, Indy is no stranger to Primitive Savages and the delights they have to offer (monkey brains, anyone?).

But Christ, could Spielberg have gotten any more offensive with this movie?

Here's what I don't get about these types of films.  The (typically white) hero(es) are always in search of an ancient treasure of some sort, usually more than just unlimited gold (i.e., the fountain of youth, all the knowledge in the universe, etc.), right?  So these ancient peoples had to be pretty damn smart in order to know these secrets AND figure out some pretty hardcore boobytraps to guard these treasures.

Centuries upon centuries later, along comes the white man trying to be a badass and figure out if the myths about ___ are true, and he encounters the Primitive Brown Savages, presumably descendants of those really smart ancient peoples (because why else would they be so keen on guarding the loot?).  Except the centuries must've really taken a toll on these formerly-brilliant natives, because they've gone all vicious and shit; they have nothing better to do than sit around all day perfecting the art of poison dart-blowing.  Or something.  They have no civilization or culture, they're just cannibalistic, savage rock-dwellers.

But I think what really was the last straw for me was when the other bad guys showed up (you know, the ones who didn't speak like Americans...the Russians or whatever).  While Indy et al were inside staring at the aliens, the Russians were outside gunning down the Savages, and Spielberg made it a point to show the dead Savages riddled with bullets, which I read as a grotesque symbol of imperialism.  Nothing kicks savage native ass like a big Western gun, huh?

These images of the Primitive Savage so incredibly played out and based on racist stereotypes.  Then when it comes to recent news like the photographs of the Amazon Indian tribe, some of the commentary is abhorrent (along the lines of "look at those stupid Indians, thinking they can shoot down a plane").  It's striking to see some of the ignorant commentary describe presicely the roles seen in Hollywood films: stupid, uncivilized, warring savages. 

A coincidence?  I think not.

I was pleasantly surprised with the movie.  I guess I was expecting a 'serious' movie along the line of 'The Passion of the Christ'.  While the movie is a drama, it is not nearly as heavy.  The main positive of the movie is that it started with a good story.  It is a story that could be played in any time period, but setting it in period that Mel Gibson did, gave it an other world feel.  It felt more real than almost all period pieces.  I felt like I may have actually been transported back to that time.

There are moments that feel contemporary, yet are organic.  I think it was a smart move to use relatively unknown actors for the roles.  Russell Crowe of Brad Pitt would not have been right.  Even the level of detail for the extras is appreciated.  Gibson has a style that includes lot of close-ups on extras and it lends more realism to the setting.  This film is much more accessible than I was anticipating. 

Revolver (2005)

I'll start off by saying that I enjoyed the movie.  The casting was well done (who knew Andre 3000 was a decent actor).  The pacing is such that it pulls you right into the action.  The editing style was starting to get old in 'Snatch'.  By now, it is almost cliche'.

My problem with the film is that it tries too hard to be clever.  Setting the story against a backdrop of a chess game is just so overused.  While I appreciate the mental aspect of the game, there are no real changes in the game.  After 5 moves, you can identify who's gambit a player is using.  It's the same thing with movies that involve chess.

If it is all building up to a big reveal, the twist should be smart.  The twist in 'Revolver' fell well short of its aim.  It was telegraphed so plainly that I wonder if Guy Ritchie intended this.  I really hope not.  The first 80 or so minutes were enjoyable.  The last 20 just unravelled into self indulgence.  At least we weren't subjected to Madonna making an appearance.  That's my criteria for viewing Ritchie films.

På kvällen bänkade jag mig framför TV1000 Action, mest för att det passade med tiden då det precis skulle börja en film. APOCALYPTO, regisserad mm av Mel Gibson visades.
Åh jäklar, vilken bra film!
Enormt rå, men också med en massa känsla och hjärta. Jag låg i soffan med en klump i magen mer eller mindre hela tiden, vilken rysare alltså!
Det måste vara en av de bästa filmerna jag har sett, och det var ju lite otippat.
Sen blev jag även lite kär i Rudy Youngblood som spelade Jaguar Paw.
Om du inte sett den, se den!

Para empezar, la película es bastante curiosa, ya que los diálogos están grabados en maya yucateco, de tal modo que casi toda la película va subtitulada al castellano. En fin, un detalle curioso el estar viendo la película en "versión original" pero sin entender ni palotada vamos. Curioso este idioma.

La película no es del todo recomendable para todos los públicos (corazones a tutiplén, comida de testículos de tapires a bocados, sacrificios humanos, ...), pero la verdad que me gustó bastante, y a las críticas que luego ví por Internet (soy de esas personas "raras" que posteriormente a ver una película que le gusta, se pone a buscar más información por Internet sobre ella si tengo tiempo) también. Está en la franja de las cuatro estrellas sobre cinco normalmente, bastante respetable.

El propio Mel Gibson me sorprende con unas afirmaciones suyas al respecto que me dejan helado:

"No mostré ni la mitad de las cosas que leí. Leí acerca de una orgía de sacrificios: en cuatro días sacrificaron 20 000 personas. También tenían afición por empalar genitales y por torturar a personas durante años. Por ejemplo, si capturaban a un rey o a una reina de algún otro lugar, lo humillaban durante una década. Le cortaban los labios, le arrancaban la lengua, lo dejaban sin ojos ni orejas. Ah, y le comían los dedos. El tipo quedaba vivo, pero en un infierno sobre la Tierra, una masa balbuceante de terminales nerviosas. Después de nueve años de esto, lo enrollaban y lo dejaban caer por las escaleras del templo, y se hacía pedazos."

Cada cual que de la credibilidad a Mel Gibson que le de la gana claro xD. Lo que si es increible de esta película son los paisajes naturales, francamente increíbles. Me recuerdan todavía cuando estuve en República Dominicana viendo Altos de Chavón, paradisiaco din duda es mi palabra para definirlo.

Podéis encontrar más información acerca del film en la Wikipedia y en su web oficial claro, aunque os comentará que en Navidades del año 2006 no todos estaremos preparados jeje.

Como casi todas las producciones hollywoodienses que se precien de ser a la vez "películas históricas", sin duda que posee un buen número de elementos y detalles que, siendo puristas, serán invenciones de guionistas hartos de largas noches delante de su ordenador a golpe de taza de café pensando como rentabilizar su producción. Pero en fin, sigo siendo de los que piensan que el cine es en parte espectáculo, aún en estas producciones. Y evidentemente, hay que intentar balancear ambos intereses.

Algunos datos triviales de la película que me llamaron la atención en la Wikipedia fueron que:

• El término griego apocalipto (αποκαλύπτω) es la forma de primera persona del presente del verbo que significa ‘yo revelo’, ‘yo descubro’. Este verbo es el mismo del que procede la palabra apocalipsis, la cual en griego significa simplemente ‘revelación’.

• Entre la escena de los cuerpos en descomposición y la siguiente, donde los perseguidores van corriendo por el maizal, existe una escena de un sólo cuadro de duración en el que se puede observar a Wally, personaje de ¿Dónde está Wally?, tendido entre los cuerpos.

• En uno de los trailers de la película, se puede ver en una milesíma de segundos a Mel Gibson con cara de loco y un cigarrillo vistiendo una camisa de cuadros junto a la gente de blanco Maya. La escena se ve en un momento de un mix de escenas que pasan rápidamente en pocos segundos luego de mostrar a la mujer embarazada.

Nota final: 7.5 / 10.

Se admiten comentarios adicionales, críticas, ...

Last night, we watched Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto, here at home on the little tv.

Setting in a movie house, nowadays, don’t hold no appeal for me.

Too modern, too loud, all together too colorful, coming at you every which way.

Movie houses of my youth were beautiful. Decorated all with long drape, scrolled inlay, and chandeliers.

For a very few cents, you could transport yourself into other worlds all day.

I miss the cartoons.

In my dotage, I prefer to recline on my chaise, with a light repast and a bev on my tray. Take the odd cigarette break, or watch something over if I not sure what I seen.

*

I had no idea what to expect. Of course, I had inkling it had created a lot of ambivalent reaction. Mr. Gibson felt pressured to defend it, which he did in varying degrees of clarity. An artist is umbilically attached to their work. It is very wrenching to have it publicly took apart, diminished, or fatally misunderstood.

The first thing that struck me, when the film began, was the beauty of the nature there where they was, in the jungle forests of an ancient land.

Mr. Gibson’s has a remarkable eye; his images are consistently intriguing, enthralling, and deep. Remember how the group of hunters first sees refugees in the forest? We stared at them leaves and branches a long time, till they were made visible to us.

The theme of trusting your gut ran all through the story, even when guts was being yanked out and tossed down steep steps.

The forest people were funny folks, who liked having a good time with each other. Just minding they business. Did not deserve what happened to them. The scenes where the city dwellers came to rape and murder were horrendous.

It come to my mind no culture or religion in this world since time began,

have resisted displacing, over-riding, subjugating, and ethnically cleansing.

Human history is an embarrassment of brutal acts.

Maybe that is why Mr. Gibson chose to dedicate this work to Abel;

 ‘brother killing brother’?

*

The difference in life style between the forest people and the ‘civilized’ made a comment on the structures in place worldwide, from the inception of hierarchical systems. Among the foresters, there was a sense of community and sharing, of equality.

The city on the other had, had its underbelly, seething in pain and poverty. The rich and arrogant who lived off sweat and blood, oblivious of anything but selfish appetites. And lording over all, the boss men, on high pedestals.

Spouting diatribe and enriching themselves with illusionary power, by praying on the fear of their subjects. Sound familiar? That is history in a nutshell, across the board.

Mr. Gibson’s story is about the man who got away. Aided by luck, chance, and the ability to instantly turn situations to his advantage escape: under, over and around the most difficult obstacles, was achieved.

He accomplishes his promise. He gets his family out and a new beginning.

The ominous presence of European sailing ships at the end hints that the city dwellers were about to meet their match in trickery, ruthlessness, and butchery.

*

We watched all the credits, as we talked over the film. Mr. Gibson employed many actors, technicians and such, thousands maybe. Giving people work is always a good thing.

We noticed there was no mention of whether animals were hurt making the film.

I know nothing about the technological business, except that some effects is made by computer. Credit to the tapir, monkey, snake, frog, bees, and jaguar.

I hope they were real and not killed in the process.

I’d give this film a thumb up, if mine weren’t permanently disabled.

I don’t take its factual history to task. Creative license forgoes footnotes.

Our hero prevailed. All cheer.

  ;~}

  -lp08-