All posts tagged: movies

‘Beautiful Boy’: A true story of addiction and hope

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Looking for your teenage son on the streets when he doesn’t come home can be an excruciating experience. It’s a recurring one for David Sheff (Steve Carell). His son, Nic Sheff (Timothée Chalamet), tends to disappear when he is high.   The movie “Beautiful Boy” is the story of father and son, David and Nic Sheff, and their ongoing battle with Nic’s drug dependency. The script is based on two memoirs: “Beautiful Boy,” by David Sheff and “Tweak,” by Nic Sheff.   The movie tries to blend two perspectives of addiction: one from a father who is constantly trying to help his addicted son and the other from the son, who tries to stay sober only to relapse. The story is a reminder that when someone is addicted to a substance it affects their entire family.   From the first scene, David is trying to help Nic, who is doing crystal meth. He wants to know more about his son’s drug addiction, in an attempt to help him. We go back to the previous year …

‘A Star is Born’: A Heartfelt Remake

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Fame, talent and love are at the heart of the new reincarnation of “A Star is Born.” The film marks Bradley Cooper’s impressive directorial debut. He also co-wrote the screenplay, composed original songs for the film and produced it. His female counterpart is the pop superstar Lady Gaga. She fills in the shoes of previous divas who took on the role: Judy Garland in 1954 and Barbra Streisand in 1976. The story has been told previously in three movies but this version feels particularly personal and grand. The movie follows the love story between Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) and Ally (Lady Gaga). They meet in a drag queen bar where she is the only performer singing live. Ally sings a cover of “La Vie en Rose.” Jackson is mesmerized by her performance and meets her backstage. While he is waiting for her, he sings to an audience of a few drag queens. Ally watches him from afar and an instant connection is made through their love of music. They go out into the night, get …

“The Tale” opens dialogue about sexual abuse for BU community

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Audience at Boston University College of Communication before a screening of “The Tale” on Friday, November 9, 2018. / Photo by Mariana Sánchez    BOSTON, November 10, 2018 – “This film was created to start a dialogue,” Jennifer Fox said before screening her movie “The Tale” at Boston University last night as part of the series Cinemathèque. The film, directed by Fox, is a fictionalized version of the sexual abuse she experienced at 13.   “People need to know that it happens, it’s real, and that woman just don’t imagine it”, Gerald Peary, curator of Cinemathèque, said on why he programmed the movie. Cinemathèque is a series of film screenings and conversations with their creators organized by the Department of Film and Television at BU opened to the general public.   “The Tale” narrates the story of how Fox, played by Laura Dern, in her forties reframed what she used to call her first relationship. Mrs. G (Elizabeth Debicki), her riding coach, groomed her into a relationship with Bill (Jason Ritter) a middle-aged former athlete …

‘All About Nina’: the movie that echoes a movement

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“All About Nina,” featured in the Spotlight Screening at the Boston Women’s Film Festival at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge during the last week of September, is the dramedy that reiterates the current #MeToo climate. The festival’s main goal is to highlight female-centric stories directed by women. This year, it offered 16 films made in 2017 and 2018 from China, New Zealand, Indonesia and the U.S. with two venues at the Boston Museum of Modern Arts and The Brattle Theatre. They also added two previously released films to the festival’s schedule. “All About Nina” tells the story of stand-up comedian Nina Geld, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Nina writes her set around her own bad decisions and performs it with coarse jokes. The director, Eva Vives, who also wrote the screenplay, based Nina’s struggles on her own life experience. Vives was not a stand-up comedian, but she was a regular audience member in New York stand-up shows when she was younger. She has previously said that attending these shows helped her come to grips to what happened to …

‘Blaze’: The Forgotten Troubadour

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Country music’s best kept secret might just be Blaze Foley. The singer-songwriter who died at 39 from a gunshot wound in 1989 is the topic of Ethan Hawke’s latest directorial cinematic work, Blaze. The movie is based on Blaze’s partner and muse Sybil Rosen’s memoir “Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley.” Hawke and Rosen co-wrote the screenplay. The movie diverges from the usual chronological structure of a biopic. Hawke took a chance in showing specific periods of Foley’s life that let the audience see a complex character. The narrative is divided in the past when Rosen, played by Alia Shawkat, and Foley, interpreted by newcomer Ben Dickey, lived in a tree house. The warm colors and idyllic montages show a dreamer in the cusp of looking for something bigger. When Blaze and Sybil leave their home to look for better opportunities, Blaze says to Sybil, “I don’t want to be a star, I want to be a legend.” The movie goes back and forth with Blaze’s performing his repertoire to an indifferent …

Inception

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En el 2010, entre “The Dark Knight” (2008) y “The Dark Knight Rises”, Christopher Nolan era el constante tema de conversación por su filme “Inception”. La película de los múltiples niveles de sueños que impresionó a muchos y enojó a otros. En la ciudad de México, Warner Bros. tuvo problemas con las dos distribuidoras de cine mexicanas y se rehusaron a exhibir la película. La tercera cadena, ahora inexistente, era la única que la tenía en cartelera. Las colas eran interminables y debías llegar horas antes para conseguir boletos. Cuando la película terminó, recuerdo que mi primera palabra fue: “wow”. No podía creer lo que había visto, la historia, los lugares y los efectos a esa escala no se comparaban con nada de lo que había visto antes. Nolan describe “Inception” como una heist movie por que Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) reúne un equipo para originar una idea dentro de la mente de Robert Fisher (Cillian Murphy). Una vez que aceptas la premisa de que pueden entrar en el subconsciente de alguien, te rindes ante un …

Love, Rosie

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La película “Love, Rosie” está basada en la novela de Cecilia Ahern “Where Rainbows Ends”, autora de “P. S. I love you”, a la Nicholas Sparks se está convirtiendo en un nombre conocido dentro de la literatura comercial romántica. Comparada con lo predecible que es “The Longest Ride”, “Love, Rosie” no rompe el molde pero sí lo hace más entretenido. La historia es sobre dos mejores amigos Rosie (Lilly Collins) y Alex (Sam Claflin) se conocen desde niños pero por miedo o circunstancias de la vida no pueden estar juntos como pareja. Todos conocemos estas situaciones de primera o segunda mano, al igual que incontables películas con la misma trama, todas con desenlaces similares. Uno de los obstáculos de la relación es que Rosie se embaraza por que el condón se le queda atorado, al parecer eso pasa, y decide tener al bebé. Cabe destacar que muchas películas tratan el tema de la decisión de una mujer sobre su cuerpo siempre igual, no porque la protagonista decida tener un aborto automáticamente se convierte en un …

Inherent Vice

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Confusa, graciosa, inexplicable, paranoica y diferente son algunas palabras que describen la nueva película de Paul Thomas Anderson “Inherent Vice”. Basada en la novela del mismo nombre de Thomas Pynchon y nominada al Oscar por mejor guión adaptado. El mismo Anderson la describe como caer en el “rabbit hole” de “Alice in Wonderland”. Todo empieza con la visita de Shasta (Katherine Waterston) a Larry ‘Doc’ Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix). Su antigua novia le pide a Doc ayuda por que su amante Mickey Wolfmann podría ser institucionalizado por su esposa y el amante de ella para quedarse con su fortuna. Este es el inicio de una trama tan enmarañada, que el espectador tiene dos opciones: perderse o tratar de no hacerlo. Este era uno de los objetivos del director, sumergirte en una historia tan inverosímil que podría ser probable. Incluso un reflejo de la realidad que incluye Pynchon es la historia de la confabulación entre el gobierno y un cartel de drogas asiático. Ya que en los 70s la CIA contrabandeaba droga de Asia. La historia es …

Big Eyes

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La película “Big Eyes” del director Tim Burton cuenta la historia de Margaret Keane. Artista estadounidense conocida por pintar ojos grandes en los sujetos de sus obras, principalmente niños. Pero antes de que Margaret fuera conocida por las pinturas de “big eyes”, su esposo Walter Keane era quien se llevaba el crédito. La película inicia cuando Walter y Margaret se conocen y se centra en cómo su obra llegó a ser un éxito de consumo masivo. El personaje de Walter Keane, interpretado por Christoph Waltz, es quien sobresale con su personalidad extrovertida y su artística manipulación para engañar a todos incluyendo a si mismo. Mientras que el personaje de Margaret Keane, interpretado por Amy Adams, vive pintando día y noche para poder mantener la demanda de sus pinturas creada por su esposo. Él la convence de que sus pinturas no serán compradas sí saben que el arte es hecho por una mujer. Además él es mejor para venderlas que ella. Ambos son cómplices de un fraude del que les fue difícil desprenderse. Él nunca admite …