Films
Festival València Escena Oberta 2010
Feb 5th
The 8th edition of Valencia International Festival of Scenic Arts will run from 10-21 February.
This year’s displays include film, music, street theatre and dance, in venues ranging from the Jardines de Viveros to Teatre el Musical.
While the festival has something for all tastes, I’ll be taking the chance to see Man on Wire. This Oscar-winning documentary gives an insight into the world of Philippe Petit, the French tightrope walker who in 1974 crossed the space between the World Trade Center towers balancing on a wire suspended illegally between the buildings (IVAM, 17-18 February).
You can find the full programme of events and information on how to get tickets, here:
Claire Huston
And the Oscar goes to…
Feb 4th
¡Peeeeeeeee! ¿Otra vez? ¿Cómo? Parece ser que la academia estadounidense de cine continúa rebajando más y más su aprecio por las buenas actrices y ha decidido nominar, de nuevo, a Penélope Cruz al premio Oscar a la mejor actriz de reparto por su papel en el musical Nine. No cabe duda de que Penélope es lo mejor de la película, pues ningún otro de los miembros del plantel del filme ha tenido el honor de estar en esa lista, pero es el momento de preguntarse, ¿De verdad la chicuela de Alcobendas es tan buen actriz? ¿O es, como decía un antiguo compañero de piso, que los Oscar no premian la calidad sino el efecto publicitario?
Sean cuales sean la pregunta escogida y su respuesta, solo nos queda esperar un mesecillo para ver si la morenaza que llegó al estrellato de la mano de Bigas Luna y soltando la perla aquella de Eres un guarro se hace con la estatua dorada del tío Oscar.
Tampoco cabe decir que mi favorita es, no doubt, Inglorious bastards, del dios de los ateos Quentin Tarantino.
J. Landa
Films in “VO”
Sep 21st
If you’d like to see films in “version original” (which means in English, French, German, etc. with Spanish subtitles, rather than the more mainstream dubbed version) in Valencia you have a few options.
For new mainstream releases, try UGC Cine Cite in Campanar, a short walk from Nuevo Centro shopping centre and the Turia metro stop:
http://www.ugc.es/reservation/ChoixResa.jgi?REGION=5
For films that are considered more “art house”, try Cines Babel and Cines Albatros:
District 9
Sep 20th
Trailer in English:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6PDlMggROA&feature=channel
Trailer en castellano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVhmbZALmcQ
Having heard only good reviews of District 9, this weekend I went to check it out for myself.
If you can’t stand sci-fi, stay away (note: science fiction isn’t as popular a genre as it is in the UK or USA where the film has made millions at the box office).
For everyone else, this is an entertaining monster morality tale. At its most profound the film explores issues of racism and immigration. On its surface it is a winning combination of The Fugative, The Fly and every buddy movie you’ve ever seen with lots of weaponry, explosions and special effects thrown in for good measure.
The biggest winner must surely be the lead actor, Sharlto Copley, who gives an excellent performance, something that is even more notable given that he is not a professional actor and this is the first time he’s appeared in a feature film. Oscar nomination rumbling has already begun…