My Favorite Movies

wonderful film i speak spanish so i didn't need the subtitles too often, but they were well done... incredible make-up, costuming, effects... very realistic in terms of history time representation... the mother and the daughter are very talented actresses, the captain (sergi lopez) is also very talented... ivana baquero (ofelia) is the most incredible young actress i have ever seen and she has a beauty that is very natural, uncommon and fresh... i love this film, scary in many ways it is an well told tale with a clear message and truly allows us into the mind of a child as well as the "anomaly" of spiritual/netherworld happenings, which i actually believe may, in some way, be possible.

I have seen this many times and love it... there's something unique in the unexpected relationship between Reno (Leon) and Portmann's character... some say she was hitting on him in this film, but I see it as a young girl woefully lost in the world, coming from a crazy family with drug connections, how could she possibly be stable? the opening scene with the gruesome shootings was chilling to me, especially that an innocent was mercilessly killed. As always Oldman delivers a strong performance, he's soooo good at being the bad guy, almost too good. Aiello is always a welcome presence in a film for me, he truly was a "take advantage" type to Leon, two faced and deceitful, but good. Had a decent plot line, at times predictable, but well done. worth the watch.

It may feel "slow" in the beginning, but it is truly masterful the length to which this film goes in terms of character development, which is always a key thing for me in films. Day-Lewis is powerful, attentive to every detail of his character... amazingly well done. Supporting cast is outstanding, film locations/sets are incredibly realistic, truly captures the time period in terms of costuming as well. Thumbs way up!