The Hidden Face movie review (2011)

La Cara Oculta a.k.a.
The Hidden Face (2011)

QuickRating: Although it suffers from a frustratingly uninteresting first half that feels rather pointless, later on everything falls into place perfectly, and half way through "La Cara Oculta" transforms itslef into a thoughtful, intense and uniquely claustrophobic thriller that quickly falls into the category 'like nothing we've seen before'. Plus, Martina García delivers an anxious and extremely convincing performance.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps movie review (2010)

Wall Street:
Money Never Sleeps (2010)

Twenty three years after the original "Wall Street" movie, acclaimed director, Oliver Stone, delivers a decent sequel, that unfolds around Gordon Gekko, who two decades after being imprisoned for insider trading is set free, profiting on his infamy as an author and public speaker. At a time when the market is crumbling and those working on Wall Street are scrambling to catch a break, Gekko is approached by Jacob, a young trader looking for Gekko’s guidance. "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" deals with the global recession and how it reflects on Wall Street stock market, which is a very current subject at this moment, since this financial crisis is surging the whole world. And while the world struggles with recession, Oliver Stone's "Wall Street" sequel suffers from other problems, like a slightly confusing narrative, an overwritten script and lackluster editing. However, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" is never boring, thanks to a solid acting from the entire cast, interesting characters and brisk dialogues. Since, this sequel is more charactar-driven, the performances are film's main strength. Michael Douglas steals the show every time he's given screen time - he's charismatic and truly captivating as the manipulative Gekko. Shia LaBeouf is one of my favorite 'young generation' actors - he's so energetic and so emotional as an actor, he's always a pleasure to watch. Plus, the on-screen chemistry between Douglas and LaBeouf is undeniebly strong. Carey Mulligan was absolutely amazing in "An Education", but here as Gekko's daughter, she's is.. well... pretty average. Susan Sarandon proves yet again what an incredible actress she is, as she totally shines here, despite the minor role she was given. Stone's directing is typically good, yet a bit unfocused, and the cinematography is top-notch - the amazing sweeping shots of stunning Manhattan give the film an extremely slick, stylish and expensive look. "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" may be 'too much talking and not enough action', but it's nicely-shot, well-acted and fairly gripping sequel, that somehow satisfies.

• My Rating: 6.00/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 55% (5.9/10)
• IMDb: 6.6/10

Red State movie review (2011)

Red State (2011)

Brief review: In its core, "Red State" is definitely a horror movie, even though it doesn't really feel like one. On one hand, it fails do deliver any real scares and thrills along the way, but on the other hand, this extreme fundamentalist Christian madness and denial of modern reality is nothing short of terrifying and utterly disturbing. Kevin Smith is that type of director that you ether love or hate, because he's a bit hard-to-get as a filmmaker. His films are a too weird and pretentious for mass tastes, and "Red State" is no exception. Here, Smith's direction often lacks focus and cohesion, the pacing drags a bit too much, and the movie is full of unnecessarily extended scenes that get tiresome real soon. Having said that, the script is clever and exceptionally well-written, and allows the entire cast to shine. "Red State" is worth-seeing for the performances alone. Academy Award winner Melissa Leo steals the show with her sensational performance as the brainwashed, yet tough believer, Sara. Michael Parks is absolutely brilliant as the manipulative crazy preacher, Abin Cooper, and Kerry Bishé delivers excellent performance as the innocent and caring Cheyenne. The rest of the cast does a great job as well, with Stephen Root and John Goodman being the standouts.

Overall summary: Believable, well acted and thoroughly disturbing, yet quite pretentious, too talky and visually dull, "Red State" fails in its ambition to be a subtle horror, dark comedy and action thriller all at once, and ends up being a mess that can't cope with its own weirdness.