For those of you who are looking for a serious, adult themed movie, "Precious" is currently showing in Cancun theaters. It's a look into an imagined life of an unattractive, grossly overweight, black teenage girl who- growing up in a welfare family, and sexually abused by her father- nevertheless aspires to an education and a better life. I saw it and appreciated it very much (its not a move that the word "enjoyed" seems appropriate for). See it, before it leaves the theaters.
Mariah Carey in Precious To get an idea how really powerful this movie is, watch this clip in which Mariah, playing a social worker, discovers that her client- a black teenage girl- has been sexually abused by her father. (You may have to click on the text, "Watch on UTube", in the center of the screen, after you first click the play button, to get the video to run.) [ame=&feature=channel]YouTube - PRECIOUS: "Your Father" Clip: In Theatres November 2009: MAPLE PICTURES
Paris en al Mira You can expect only mild entertainment from, "Paris en la Mira", starring John Travolta. He looks great with a shaved head, but I thought his overly broad acting spoiled, just a little, what could have been a pretty good action/adventure movie. For those who like Paris the movie has a number of street scenes that will bring back memories! ______________________ Has anybody seen, "La Pontifice"? I'd be curious to hear what you thought about it.... ______________________ Precious is still showing, so get out to see it, now, if you haven't!
La Pontifice, original title, "Pope Joan", will be playing at the Cinemark 5, in Plaza Isla, for five days, only, starting today. Showings are at 2:30 and 5:15 PM. To learn a little more about it, you could start here- Film|Neu - germany • austria • switzerland - Films - Pope Joan (Die Päpstin) - Goethe-Institut It is a German made movie, originally filmed in English, and released in 2009. It seems to have been well regarded by many.
La Pontiface I saw "La Pontiface" this afternoon and I have to say, I liked it a lot. It's not easy to get started when watching it because the time period, the 800s (that's right, not the 1800s), was so different from our own that it's a little off putting, at first. The poverty, malnutrition, squalor, brutality and disease that was a normal part of day to day life when people kept their domestic animals in the house with them, and considered bathing a luxury, is hard for us to relate to, and the movie paints this broad. The theme is primarily that of the repression of women, generally, and the aspirations of one young woman, in particular, to learn more about her world, through study and experience. Beaten and brutalized sexually by her priest father (the Catholic Church had not yet adopted celibacy as the norm), he also harassed and harried her with biblical quotes regarding the place of women when she expressed the wish to be educated. When an opportunity came for her to further her education, he attempted to thwart it, but due to her determination, her innate intelligence- and, pretending to be a boy and therefore not precluded from a formal education- she was given the opportunity to enter a school sponsored by the Church. Over the years, and through many trials, all the while pretending to be a man, she came to be highly regarded and recognized for her learning and intellect- to the point that she was elected Pope, following the murder of the former Pope, whom she had been serving as chief counsel. Feeling that God wanted this, she accepted the responsibility, knowing that, as Pope, she would attract powerful enemies, who then plotted her destruction. The movie is gripping, once you get past the first twenty minutes, or so, and the performance of the German actress who plays Johanna, excellent, I thought. It's a disturbing, yet surprisingly moving portrayal of a piece of the early history of the Church- history that has been scrubbed from the official records of the Church, if you accept the movies' premise. English, with Spanish subtitles: showing just three more days, at Cinemark 5, Plaza Isla, 2:30 and 5:15 PM. ________________________
"La Pontiface" is also playing at MM Cinema, Paseo Cancun. There are 4 show times today, and three show times at least Monday through Wednesday. I saw "Paris en la Mira" and found it entertaining, thanks to Travolta, who I really enjoy watching. Hiis character is larger than life and some of the "shoot 'em up, bang, bang" scense are not believable but I got what I wanted, good, cheap entertainment. I will try the more serious movie V liked before it goes away. I think today is going to be full of futbol soccer. 11:5014:5018:1021:10
La Pontifice T.J. is right, this film is also showing at MM Cinema, Paseo Cancun. www.mmcinemas.com Click on "selecciona tu ciudad", then, "complejo", then "Cancun" and continue. You should see the movies and show times displayed, there. If you see this film, you won't go wrong, T.J., though many might consider it a "chick flick", it being focused so on the struggles of women to find self-expression in a world dominated by men. It's interesting to see many of the same arguments being used to keep women down that were also used to to justify the institutional racism that black slavery represented- innate inferiority, etc., etc. For those who'd like to know more about the highly regarded German actress who plays the lead (and is ultimately elected Pope), see- Meet the Germans – Typically German - The Actors - Johanna Wokalek - Goethe-Institut Although the Catholic Church denies the election of a female pope at any time in its history, a chair of marble, similar to a toilet but taller and somewhat recumbent, having an opening in the seat and at the front, in which all those to be elected to higher office in the Catholic Church had to sit, and their gender verified, was said to have been created, subsequently- perhaps to avoid a need to deny again arising? ______________________
My opinion on what I've seen lately: - Toy Story 3 was excellent, even in Spanish (I did miss listening to Tom Hanks, though, but the guy who plays Woody did a great job in Spanish). - Paris en la Mira was so bad! Gosh, they were trying to create this trigger-happy super hero that just killed people without asking questions... boring and pointless movie. I'm looking forward to seeing "A-Team" this weekend and "Knight and Day" once it comes out (next week I think) cheers! Diana la cubana
Diana: I saw A-team last week. I thought it was going to be AWFUL, but I went bc it was the only decent-looking thing out at the time that we hadn't seen yet. It was HILARIOUS. The action scenes are completely unbelievable, but it's so funny you won't care. My fiance, my friends and myself were all really surprised how much we liked it!
