Up, close and personal

I'm back from my yearly weekend in Madrid (I hope to go back soon, though, many things to do, many things to do ...) Basically, I did the same I do every year, some shopping, walk the city, meet some friends and go to the theater. This year I watched Mamma Mia. I like musicals very much so it was only to be expected that I liked this one. However, it was better than I thought (not the best I've seen, though, but enjoyable, nevertheless). The only black point: translations of the songs to spanish was not that good, but it possibly could not have been done better. On the good side, the lead singer, Nina, has an amazing voice. She overacted a bit, but it did not matter. The best, though, were her friends, Marta Valverde and Paula Sebastian. Both women were amazing and extremely funny, not only in their renderings of Chiquitita, Dancing Queen, Take a chance on me, does your mother know and, of course, where they sing as Donna and the Dynamos, but practically every time they appeared on stage. Looking forward to their future works!



Mamma mia! in spanish

I watched this movie last wednesday and I liked it a lot. Visually, it is amazing how they can get such results without virtual reality. I particularly loved the butterfly effect at the end ('m not telling in case I spoil it for potential viewers). Emily manages to look fragile, scary and funny, while Victor is mostly unsure. Plus the rest of the characters are so well (er) characterized that they do not even have to open their mouths to realize what their personalities are. I also loved the fact that the land of the dead is far more colored than the Victorian UK. The storytelling leaves that bittersweet sensation afterwards that is so typical in Burton's movies, like Big Fish. The story seems to be based in a 16th Century Jewish folk tale, but it is definitely very Burton-like. The corpse bride reminds me of a Nightmare Before Xmas in the clash of different worlds implied in the plot, but it is far more serious and, in general, less crazy. Still, I can not decide which one I like more ...

Plus I'm seriously considering to re-watch Wallace and Grommit unless something comes fast on-screen. BTW, Helena Bonham Carter seems to be at ease with animation!

The brothers Grimm: Quite nice, well paced, fun and a bit stranger than Terry Gilliam has us used to, but nevertheless enjoyed the ride. The Grimms are a couple of con-artists that acquired some fame as ghost-hunters. However, luck goes tough when they have to face the very real danger of the mirror witch, who is kidnapping the kids of a small german village. I'd have given more lines to Monica Bellucci, noone like her to play the evil queen, but I liked the film.

Wallace & Gromitt: Shiny. Loved the rabbits and enjoyed the faces Gromitt put all the time. The giant vegetables were cool as well and I loved the homages to the Universal horror movies.

The dark: Not bad, but not that good either. A typical ghost story that drinks of welsh folk tales. Atmosphere and actors are okay (BTW, where did Maria Bello come from? She is everywhere these days!) Could have been better, but the storyline has many cracks. Sean Bean does not do much in the film and Paul Anderson only plays producer (as in the infamous Resident Evil 2).

Nothing particular this week, so I thought I'd upload an sketch instead. Yep, still stuck to Firefly ...