Author: pedrosfilms

I wanted to do this list earlier but decided to wait until I had seen Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi in case it deserved to be up here but sadly I don’t believe it did. Although enjoyable, it was simply that… enjoyable.

Anyways back to topic, here is a list of what I think are the top 10 films of this year. I tried to be as diverse as possible and include films that many people might not have seen and I also tried to be as unbiased as possible. For example, as much as I wanted Split on this list for James McAvoy and/or Baby Driver for Eiza Gonzalez lol, these films were still borderline and ultimately were not included. I hope you like my picks and if you haven’t seen them I hope my words can encourage you to check out these amazing films!

10. Detroit

Detroit is based on the Algiers motel incident in 1967 during the Detroit riots. It tells the story of how three young African-Americans were murdered by policemen. The acting is superb and the story is intense from start to finish. Runtime is a bit long at 2 hours 20 minutes but still definitely recommend.

9. The Disaster Artist

This is probably James Franco’s best film to date. His portrayal as Tommy Wiseau was so cringeworthy that it worked perfectly. I don’t think anyone could’ve pulled this film off but the Franco brothers. It helps if you’ve seen The Room (2003) but if you haven’t you’ll still enjoy it.

8. Thor: Ragnarok

I don’t really need to explain why this film is #8 but if you haven’t read my review yet, you can read it here.

7. It

Same as the one above, read my review here.

6. Lady Bird

Perfect coming-of-age story. So simple yet so good. This film really connects with you, especially if you, like me, have felt lost with no purpose at some point in life. if you enjoy this one, I also recommend watching Brooklyn (2015).

5. Logan

Finally the film Wolverine needed. Rather than a superhero film, Logan feels more like an old western. It also gives Hugh Jackman the perfect ending and it also sets up for a possible future Wolverine. I recommend watching the Noir version that gives it a more authentic and dark style.

4. Get Out

At number four is Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out. It’s easily the film with the most significant meaning on this list. Peele perfectly uses different metaphors throughout the film to give a better understanding to the deep narrative behind this film. Peele was able to combine both comedy and horror elements without it being excessive. He uses common film tropes but uses them to highlight the systematic racism there is in this country. Aside from the message, the film also works solely as a horror film although predictable at times.

3. Coco

My top three was difficult since I really enjoyed all of them but I decided to place Coco at three because I felt the other two were superior in terms of cinematography and directing. Coco itself was brilliant filled with bright vivid colors thanks to the vibrant culture of my beloved Mexico. My review for this film can be found here.

2. The Shape of Water

Guillermo del Toro managed to create a monster movie and turn it into a beautiful, bizarre, love story. All the characters have so much depth and each one is trying to find a deeper meaning to fix what’s “broken” inside of them. This film is very similar to his others in that he sends a message that sometimes man is more evil than even the most gruesome looking monster. Sally Hawkins’ performance as the mute “princess” who falls in love with the monster is exceptional. The Shape of Water is cinema at its finest.

1. Dunkirk

My number one pick has to go to Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. The film focuses on only one event but splits it into three different points of view all at three different times which connect at the end of the film. Nolan’s vision and his directing style make this film feel realistic. You feel and sympathize for the soldiers on the beach and at times you even hold your breath wondering what’s next. It literally has you on the edge of your seat hoping for the best outcome. It avoids excessive bloodshed and extreme action scenes to show actual fear in the soldiers who are tired and they’re only mission is to simply survive. Seeing it on IMAX was an intense experience and for me this was the easily the Best Picture of the year.

I hope you liked my top picks and thanks for reading!

So last night I went to see the latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe Thor: Ragnarok and I must say I left the theater very much impressed. As the third film in the Thor franchise, this one is way above the other two. The mood of this film is completely different than its predecessors in that this film leans more towards a Guardians of the Galaxy type of humor, and it actually works extremely well. Right from the opening we see Thor (Chris Hemsworth) crack jokes despite being in a somewhat difficult situation. From the opening sequence, I feared that it would rely heavily on humor but I’m glad that it managed to maintain a good level of both humor and seriousness. Overuse of humor made me dislike parts of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 but this wasn’t the case here. This film also wins for best use of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song,” which is so often used in film.

Best part of the film has to go to the casting. Cate Blanchett as Hela has to be one of the best villains Marvel has introduced in their MCU. She absolutely kills it in her role as the Goddess of Death, being both gorgeous and menacing at the same time. Tom Hiddleston as Loki is obviously a crowd favorite and he doesn’t disappoint either. His scenes were probably some of my favorite of the film. There was one scene in particular that was absolutely hilarious and to avoid any spoilers I’ll just say they involve a flashback to the first Avengers film so keep an eye out. Mark Ruffalo and Tessa Thompson also had solid performances. They finally gave the Hulk a personality and improved on the CGI.

The film is 2 hours and 10 minutes so it’s around the same running time as other films in the MCU. If you can I recommend watching it in IMAX since there are a lot of well done action sequences and the cinematography is excellent with very vivid colors and backgrounds. Make sure to stick around until the very end since there are two post-credit scenes. 

That is all I have for this review!

Thanks for reading!

I just finished watching Pixar’s latest film Coco and I must say that it might have become one of my new favorites. I might be biased because of how well Pixar was able to portray my beloved Mexican culture but in all honesty, I really enjoyed it from start to finish and towards the end; I couldn’t contain the tears. From start to finish, you could tell the attention to detail that was put into this film. The visuals are stunning and the bright colors compliment the world of the dead to bring it to life. 

I’ll start with my favorite part of the film; the attention to detail to Mexican culture. Right from the start we hear a new version of the Disney intro with mariachi and right after we are redirected to a small intro to the story through the use of “papel picado,” a widely known Mexican practice. Not only was it symbolic and appreciative but it also was a great way to introduce Miguel, the boy protagonist’s, and his family’s background. Although some instances headed toward stereotypical views towards Mexican people, it wasn’t done in a way to insult or frown upon. In order for you to understand what I’m referring to I must talk about 2014’s The Book of Life. In The Book of Life, we are bombarded with stereotypical views of Mexicans, which included but wasn’t limited to Machos, mustaches, and sombreros. To make things worse, they decided to cast Channing Tatum as one of the leads, as if there weren’t any Mexican actors who could’ve done the role. Now back to Coco, the most extreme stereotype on here was of the typical grandma that makes you eat and runs around with a chancla. 

Now no Disney film could be complete without the animal companion and Dante was the perfect partner for Miguel. The animators really nailed to detail the qualities of the xoloizcuintle. Dante brings comedic relief and like a man’s best friend, Dante never leaves Miguel’s side. The inclusion of alebrijes, originated first by Pedro Linares in the 1930’s, is also a great homage to Mexican folktales. Plus to the writers for including Frida Kahlo and Cantinflas to the story. 

For my readers in the US, sadly this film won’t be released until Thanksgiving but if you’re from Mexico or have a chance to come down, then I suggest you watch this great film NOW. With a runtime of 1 hour and 49 minutes, it never drags or feels too rushed. On the plus side, it also gives the world an opportunity to view the rich culture of Mexico and its beloved Día de los Muertos. It also sends a great message to never forget your loved ones. 

This was me watching the film and typing this review. I apologize in advance for possible typos as I’m currently crying.

Enjoy my review!

NO SPOILERS SO FEEL FREE TO READ!

*I feel like I’m stating the obvious but if you aren’t a fan of clowns I suggest you don’t watch this film*

SO LET’S DIG IN!

I came in with high hopes for this remake after reading that Stephen King himself approved this film and I have to say that I wasn’t disappointed. This new adaptation of It delivered the perfect amount of scares and laughs that had people laughing one second to jumping the next. Director Andy Muschietti (Mama), took the momentum of 80s nostalgia that last year’s Stranger Things brought and used it perfectly to tell the story of the kids from “The Losers Club” and their fight against the infamous Pennywise the clown.

Fun fact: It’s been 27 years since the mini-series was released. For those of you that don’t know, “It” emerges from the shadows every 27 years so it’s great timing for this film’s release. 

First things first let’s discuss the cast. The cast was brilliant. Each character really stood out on their own but if I had to pick I would say Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) as Richie stood out the most. He brought great comedic relief even during the most scary scenes. He’s also involved in what I believe to be the scariest scene of the film so keep an eye out for it. The actors genuinely appear to be very close with each other. I definitely got a Stand by Me (1986) vibe from this coming of age story.  The film starts off slow with each character encountering “It” by themselves and it isn’t until the whole cast gets together that we finally progress in the story. This is where the real fun begins.

What really makes this film great is the portrayal of Pennywise by Bill Skarsgård. Pennywise in short is superb. I know there will be many arguing that Tim Curry as the original Pennywise was better but I believe Skarsgård brought a different approach to the dancing clown and gave it a brand new persona. 

The character is disgusting, horrendous, terrifying, and creepy as hell all while enjoying himself and having fun in his own way. Even though I was excited to see Will Poulter (We’re the Millers) portray Pennywise when Cary Fukunaga was set to direct, I am very pleased with what Skarsgård has done with “It.”

The film isn’t perfect. It has its flaws like depending on many horror tropes and clichés but it does this in a way that actually works with the score and the lighting of the film so it isn’t all that bad. Another flaw was in the special effects. While some were really great, others weren’t and that took some of the horror out of scenes that could have been truly terrifying. The ending itself is also somewhat weak compared to previous scenes in the film. The film was at its best when it didn’t rely too heavily on CGI and just depended on Skarsgård. For the next film I hope he gets more lines and screen time! 

Overall It is probably my favorite horror film in recent years. It’s also the best Stephen King adaptation for a horror film in my opinion aside from The Shining (Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile don’t count since they’re not considered horror). But lately everything that has been coming out of the horror genre involves James Wan in some way so this was a fresh breather from the Insidious extended universe. If you were expecting a film with jump-scares and extremely loud music to cue the horror scenes then this isn’t for you. If you actually enjoy good cinematography and a well-developed plot with good acting then I encourage you to watch it, maybe you’ll float too.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought of the film.

Yesterday I went to see the prequel of a prequel and although I had very low expectations for this film, I was actually surprised. With the success of The Conjuring came a prequel solely about the doll Annabelle (which was terrible imo) and after that came another prequel about the origin of this doll. The film opens to a slow start but does a very good job in the second part of the film to make it a solid horror flick. Here are some of my thoughts about it.

David F. Sandberg, director of Lights Out, does a much better job this time around. The doll itself is creepy as hell and Sandberg utilizes this to his best advantage. Rather than focusing on jump scares, this film manages to maintain a creepy atmosphere that keeps you trying to guess what will happen next. I didn’t jump at any particular scene and yet I felt I got more scared than any other recent horror film. The best part is no doubt the connection towards the first film. The plot is very well thought out and it didn’t felt forced like The Conjuring 2 did with the original. Horror films tend to have such bad endings that this ending was actually a refresher. 

The bad parts of this film have to go to the acting. I didn’t really care for any of the characters aside from the two little girls, Lulu Wilson and Talitha Bateman.

Side note: Lulu Wilson was also in Ouija: Origin of Evil which also happens to be a prequel to a terrible first film. Both Annabelle: Creation and Ouija: Origin of Evil have been much better films than their original installments. (I recommend this film as well)

Another bad aspect of the film is the demon. All this tension builds up and when we finally get to see the demon in the shed house, it disappoints. Rather than a demon, it reminded me more of a “lagoon-ish” creature. 

Overall, the film is decent. I recommend it for anyone who likes the horror genre. Leave your thoughts on the film!

For this week, I decided to talk about Guillermo del Toro’s fantastic film Pan’s Labyrinth. First things first, I just want to make it clear that I am a huge fan of del Toro’s work (and even more since he’s Mexican). It’s not certain yet but for the next few weeks, I want to continue talking about two other films by del Toro because I really want you to get to know his amazing films. To start things off, I wanted to explore Pan’s Labyrinth and deeply analyze everything that is happening in the film especially since there are two stories happening simultaneously. The way Del Toro presents both stories with different color tones helps the viewer understand the difference between the fantasy world and the dark ordinary world set during the Spanish Civil War.

In simple terms, the film is a fairy tale. We have Ofelia, an ordinary girl, who meets a faun that tells her she is a princess. In order to return with her family as the princess she is supposed to be she must complete a set of tasks to prove her worth. These tasks are to obtain a key, a dagger, and a last one that I will not mention. The way Ofelia completes these tasks will prove if she’s worthy or not and if she really is a princess. Although a fairy tale, it is far from the Disney fairy tales we are used to seeing. The faun and the fairies are never really good nor bad and it is up to the viewer to decide. We never fully trust the faun’s intentions and at some points of the film it even appears that he is simply trying to trick Ofelia. The film’s opening sequence itself shatters the notion we have of fairy tales. Disney has managed to transform fairy tales and make us used to happy endings where everything turns out perfectly for the protagonist at the end. In this film, del Toro breaks away from stereotypical fairy tales since the very first scene by showing the protagonist, Ofelia, laying on the ground as blood is slowly dripping from her body. We can already assume that this “fairy tale” might not have the happy ending we hope it deserves. 

After we catch a glimpse of the dying Ofelia, we then go back in time to the start of Ofelia’s story as she arrives with her mother to Captain Vidal’s house. The house plays a pivotal role since the entire film is set here and we only see different settings from the fantasy sequences. I believe this was done so we could see how the Spanish War affected the people at the time. It isolated people and therefore raised tension between family members. This can be further seen through Captain Vidal and his actions. In the film, Vidal serves as the villain; the bad guy that Ofelia must overcome. In a fairy tale sense, Vidal resembles the “big bad wolf” and towards the end of the film, Vidal has fully transformed into a monster. This causes Ofelia to take certain actions that, depending on how you view the ending, harm or benefit her.

 Aside from the film’s opening sequence, there are various points throughout the film that also break away from classic fairy tale stories. One of the scenes that served as a perfect example of this is my favorite scene, the one where Ofelia meets The Pale Man. In this scene, we see The Pale Man eating the fairies that served as a conscience to Ofelia, something a classic Disney film would never show. We also see a pile of children’s shoes in a corner of the room implying that The Pale Man has taken the lives of many innocent children. 

Ofelia defies the rules that were told to her and because of this, two fairies pay the price. She still manages to escape despite disobeying the faun. This in my opinion gives Ofelia the strength she needs to follow her instincts, which will help her towards the end. (Pay attention to the the mise en scène, or the scene’s arrangement, because this scene resembles the dinner scene with Captain Vidal sitting in the same spot as The Pale Man.)

Like my other posts, I don’t want to ruin the film by providing all these spoilers. There are so many things I want to talk about that it’s hard for me to check off every point without ruining the film. So please bear with me if I ruin some parts but hopefully after reading you will still want to either watch it again or for the very first time. I do want to talk about the ending however and what it could mean. As Ofelia is running away from Vidal to meet up with the faun, we see her arguing with the faun regarding the last task. We clearly see the faun through Ofelia’s point of view. When Vidal approaches Ofelia and the faun arguing however, the faun is nowhere to be seen. This brings the idea that perhaps all these fantasy scenes are in fact simply just in Ofelia’s head. If you decide to watch it keep in mind that shortly before this scene, Ofelia puts the medicine that her mother was taking to sleep inside Vidal’s drink. This leaves open the question of whether or not we can trust Vidal’s point of view. We then see the same scene as the beginning but we now understand that Ofelia chose this path. In a sense, she did believe she obtained her happy ending and it is up to the viewer to decide if this is in fact true.

This is why I really recommend this or any of del Toro’s film’s. He pays so much attention to detail that even with a blink of an eye you might miss an important detail. For example in this film, look at how the colors change when Ofelia is in the real world versus the fantasy world. In the real world, we see dull colors. The war has sucked all the happiness from everyone and the gray colors show this. In the fantasy world, we see a much vivid palette of colors and we obtain hope that Ofelia will escape the wrath of the fascist Vidal. Also pay attention to the different shapes. Everything is so linear but if you look hard enough, you’ll see how all these circular shapes appear in the scenes with Ofelia and the faun. 

Thank you for reading and I hope you find my thoughts interesting! Feel free to comment your opinions or any questions you have. Stay tuned for more opinions of del Toro’s films.

– Pedro Torres

P.S. This was Mexico’s official submission for Best Foreign Fim at the Academy Awards and although it didn’t win in that category, it did win for Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Art Direction, and Best Achievement in Makeup. 

Okay so this week I decided to not recommend a film but instead to just talk about the highly anticipated Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Now I know this film isn’t released in the U.S yet but luckily I live in San Diego and well it was released last friday in Mexico. I, along with probably a large majority of people, was very eager to witness the sequel to what many believe to be one of the best films in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe for those that aren’t into Marvel). From what I had seen in the trailers leading up to its release I expected this film to be a joy ride from start to finish and to my surprise, I left the theater feeling a bit disappointed that it didn’t live up to the hype. Now don’t get me wrong, I did laugh and was entertained throughout. I really tried to enjoy it simply for what it was. I knew going in to not have high expectations and to simply view it as a fan but even so, it left me wanting more. It does deliver on the action sequences and in the visuals but story wise, it lacked.

Overall, the film isn’t bad, if you’re a fan of the first or just a fan of previous Marvel films, then I’m sure you’ll love this one as well. It’s fast paced and it features the same characters with the same witty dialogue of the first….

AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I DISLIKED PARTS OF THE FILM

I felt James Gunn tried too hard to imitate the same winning formula the first film had and this is why the film didn’t deliver at times. The CGI, although good, was used way too much. I know it’s a superhero film but at times it felt too exaggerated. I honestly felt as if I was watching the last Fast & Furious film where the gang never gets hurt despite being attacked by a million guns and cars. We know the characters will ultimately survive in the end but at least make it interesting. This leads to another weak point of the film, Ego. Ego was such a bad villain. We have a character that is supposed to be this all-powerful being who created his own planet and what does he do? Oh yeah he reveals to Peter information that will make him get angry right before he sets his plan in motion. SO CLICHÉ.

Not everything about the film is bad though. I can honestly say the opening sequence was wonderfully made and it sets up the comical tone of the film perfectly. Baby Groot as expected steals the show in every one of his scenes. There is a particular scene that I simply adored. To avoid any spoilers I will just say it involves Rocket and Baby Groot and it is towards the end. The cut and shift from action packed to awkward silence is perfect and is done extremely well. Peter (Chris Pratt) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) were underused but luckily the supporting cast was excellent and more specifically Yondu (Michael Rooker) delivered one of the film’s best performances.

To sum it up, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was decent. It doesn’t live up to the first but then again, the first was very hard to top. I still recommend to go watch it. The design and color are so vivid and the action sequences, although too many in my opinion, are executed perfectly. If you can get past my negative points of the film, then you’re in for a joyride.

I hope you are enjoying my posts! Thank you for reading, it means the world to me.

– Pedro Torres

To start things off, I want to talk about this film I saw last week. I had been waiting for a long time to see it but there weren’t any places screening it nearby. When I realized that it was showing at one theater in Tijuana, I knew I couldn’t miss the opportunity. Raw is a French film by first time director Julia Ducournau. It deals with a young teenager, Justine, who is forced to taste meat for the first time in her life. She then begins to develop a strong liking to the taste all while experiencing big changes in her life. Some of these include living away from home, hazing, sexual feelings, and most importantly, her relationship with her sister which I will talk about further down. After the movie ended and I was exiting the theater, I didn’t really know how to feel about it I just knew that it was brilliant and unlike anything I had seen before.

The film introduces Justine, a timid and quiet vegetarian, going off to veterinary school. Right from the start, you already know that the world this film lives in is far from ordinary. This bizarre and wicked world helps set the tone for the gruesome and sexual awakening Justine goes through. She is forcefully made to eat a rabbit kidney during hazing week, and this sets in motion a series of events that get more and more intense as the film progresses. The set up is very cliche to the horror genre but the way that Ducournau puts in on screen is what makes it very unique. She takes the overused topic of cannibalism and creates a fresh take on it, unlike Eli Roth’s failed attempt with The Green Inferno (2013). I won’t go very much into detail on the film since I am encouraging you to watch it but I will talk about two of my favorite scenes just so you can be prepared to look at visual mastery. The first scene is Justine’s first taste of human flesh. Grace Marillier delivers a solid performance and in this scene you can literally see her battling her emotions on whether to continue to go with her primitive instincts or to control herself. In the second scene, Justine is calmly viewing from a distance the students as they are playing a soccer match. The way she observes one particular person however is what blew my mind away. You can feel what Justine is feeling, you understand her desire and even though it’s a desire for human blood and flesh, the scene is completely sexual.

Apart from Justine’s awakening, the film deals a great part about the relationship Justine has with her older sister. The relationship between them feels very real thanks in part to their superb acting. It perfectly describes how family can be and that no matter what happens between family, you will always have a strong love connection between one another. One scene they’ll be bonding and in the next they would completely hate each other. Towards the end of the film you will have a better understanding of this and why Justine and her sister, Alexia, act like this towards each other.

Overall, Raw is an excellent film. If you have an open mind and don’t mind reading the english subtitles you will be amazed by it. The cinematography is stunning and the acting goes from good to excellent. For those that don’t like horror, don’t worry this isn’t a cheap horror film with cliche jump scares and cued loud music. Trust me, Hollywood will somehow ruin it by making a remake of this film. MARK. MY. WORDS.

After every post, I will try and include links to the film or tell you where you can watch it, whether on Netflix or Amazon Prime or if it’s still in theaters. Unfortunately, this film isn’t being shown anywhere at this time and it doesn’t have a specific DVD release date. If you are willing to and live in the Tijuana area, then there is one showtime per day at Plaza Monarca so I recommend to see it before they remove it. I will warn that some scenes are very intense and if you are easily disgusted with blood, then beware.

Dear reader,

Hello and welcome to my blog! First of all thank you for visiting this page! I am so excited to start this new project and hopefully you stay with me on this journey. My name is Pedro and I have finally decided to share with the world (or whoever wants to read) my thoughts and opinions about one of the things I am most passionate about…

FILMS!

I am about to graduate as a Communication major/Film Studies minor and since I’m done taking classes, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for me to practice my writing skills. Each week I plan on sharing with you a film that I enjoyed either recent or from the past. I will give my thoughts and hopefully encourage you to watch these films that have brought so much joy to me. I will attempt to show you a wide range of genres as well as films from various countries. Just remember this is simply my opinion and personal view on these films. You are welcome to comment and give your opinions and even help me improve my blog. I will gladly take any constructive criticism or tips to help improve my blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as I hope to enjoy it! I will write my next entry very soon!

– Pedro Torres

P.S. I decided to add an image from Harry Potter simply because I am a huge fan and nothing you can say will ever change my stance on the films/books.