The Theory of Everything

Most of us know or at least have heard about Stephen Hawking: The astrophysicist that has been revolutionizing the scientific world for more than three decades despite being completely paralyzed and having to speak through a machine. It is no surprise that someone would take his story to the big screen. 

The Theory of Everything is a film that has no intention to be much more than a very accurate and romantic representation of Hawking's personal life. A film that chooses t

o focus on the most intimate and personal circumstances of his life rather than on the scientific or academic part of it.

Some people complain that it was too much of his life and too little of his work, but I personally found it fascinating to get a deeper view of his personal life. A perspective that shows you how love, family and friends have deeply influenced his famous theories and ideas. 

Another reason to go watch this movie is the OUTSTANDING performance by Eddie Redmayne. I'd dare to say that he will be the big winner for this years Best Performance at the Oscars. 

If you still need more reasons to decide wether or not to watch this movie, here's a trailer that says more than I can: 

INTERSTELLAR

After watching it two times on IMAX and having spent an extra week digesting this movie, I still don't have enough words or writing capacity to explain the radical philosophical and cinematographic experiences I had while watching INTERSTELLAR.  

I would like to warn you that if you are not the kind of person who has been involved in a scientific environment and do not have much knowledge or interest in physics, this may be a very confusing and even unrealistic movie. At least that's what happened to most film critics who were disappointed by it and clearly didn't understand the fundamental message. 

Christopher Nolan, the director, is known for movies such as Inception and The Batman Dark Knight Trilogy. Movies that can be very entertaining, but specially, very philosophical and mind blowing. 

Interstellar is no exception, in fact, this one has such profound argument that it was written under the meticulous advisory of the worldwide known astro-physicist Kip Thorne. Most film critics argue that the movie was a bit unrealistic, but I'm sorry to say that, this is in fact, "the most realistic Sci-fi movie ever made", according to no other than Stephen Hawking.      

The special effects were mesmerizing and so attached to the reality that one can almost feel completely immersed into a space journey. 

This film is certainly a piece of art, philosophy and science. A perfect combination of the most relevant and abstract physics theories like relativity, wormholes, black-holes, time and gravity with some of the most accurate visual representations of space and astronomy anyone has ever achieved. 

I guess this film affected me more than other film critics. Maybe, because of my scientific background and deep love for science and philosophy. Maybe, because I payed less attention to cinematographic elements like acting or screenplay. Whatever the reason may be, all I have to say is that this film touched me deeply and will always be remembered as one of the most mind blowing and awe inspiring movies I've ever seen. 

If you have a chance to see it on an IMAX or a big high resolution screen with top sound system, don't let the opportunity pass. This movie was definitely not designed for TV. 

Birdman

It's been almost a week since I had the chance to watch this piece of art. 

For more than a decade, Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu has rapidly become one of the most talented and admired Latin American filmmakers in the world. This Mexican artist, the same one who brought us Amores Perros, Babel, 21 grams and Biutiful has made it again! 

Birdman is probably one of the best representations of Magical Realism in the form of film. Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu has taken the Latin American Magical Realism movement from books to the big screen. I'd dare to say he's the new Gabriel Garcia Marquez of cinema. 

The whole movie is an experiment of the most realistic and even shocking representations of the circumstances of being an actor, wonderfully exaggerated with magical scenes, that not only fit perfectly, but turn the dialogues and the entire screenplay to a next level of understanding. 

 

In addition to the exceptional work of the filmmaker and writers, I can't avoid giving huge credit to Michael Keaton and Edward Norton. As usual, they were impeccable. I actually think that this performance will earn Keaton a nomination for an Academy Award. 

Be open to experience something different, something intense, something outstanding. One of the best films of the year without doubt. 

SF Urban Film Festival

For the first time in the US I've seen someone put together a Film Festival on Urbanism and city planning. For most people this sounds kind of weird but the truth is most developed countries with amazing cities and spectacular quality of life do this a lot. 

Not surprisingly San Francisco is one of the very first cities in the US to take the lead. A city full of creative, proactive, advanced people who have come together to set the pace and lead important changes in the world. Fay Darmawi, is one of them: A wonderful scriptwriter and entrepreneur, who has taken the initiative to put together cinema and urbanism. 

As different as it sounds, this is actually one of the best ways to introduce people to the topic of urban planning and proactive citizenship. People love movies, people love living well, so no wonder this is a great idea to bring these two things together in order to create a think tank for the development of the city. 

The fest was hosted at SPUR, a place that is always open to the public and specifically designed to promote urbanism and social planning. The films were very well curated (I personally recommend a documentary called Urbanized streaming on Netflix), the organization and dynamic were excellent as well. Let's hope next year this initiative gets continuity and hopefully gets replicated in many other cities. 

Here's the Link to the Website in case you want to know the rest of the schedule and their info. 

Nightcrawler

For someone who's not a huge fan of thrillers, action and murder films like me, I would have to say that Nightcrawler is one of those that I can certainly watch again and recommend. 

Full of twisted humor, excellent performances and hard realities, this is one of those films that not only entertain you all along, but also give you a pretty interesting perspective of the fucked up values of our society. Values that are so up side down that turn people into such soulless and ruthless beings whose idea of success is only fueled by the need of money and fame. 

Besides its originality and very well paced intensity, I would recommend watching this film because of Jake Gyllenhaal's excellent and different performance. This is a freaky-weirdo-crazy Jake Gyllenhaal we have never seen before. Not only he lost more than 15 pounds for the role, but he finally came out of his typical good guy/hero/perfect gay boyfriend role. 

This is certainly not an artistic masterpiece, but it's one pretty entertaining and original indie thriller for those who like a little stress and wickedness in the big screen. 

Here's the trailer: 

Whiplash

Last year, Miller Teller captured my heart and my respect after seeing him star in the indie film The Spectacular Now. It was pretty obvious this kid had some talent, but after a couple of super random parts in mediocre teenager films, I got a little disappointed. 

But to be fair, every actor, specially indie films actors need to play mediocre but high paying roles in order to be able to accept more challenging and less profitable projects. Because these independent and more artistic films, such as Whiplash, are the ones that will catapult them into the acting elite. And that was exactly the case for Milles Teller in Whiplash. 

This young actor just played the role of his life. This film was most likely going to be pretty good with or without Teller, but having him was certainly one of the key elements that made this film one of the best of the year. 

The rest of the cast was full of great indie stars: J.K Simmons, well known by his role in Juno, was outstanding too. He was so good I almost hate him. What a good way to play the biggest asshole! 

The cinematography was impecable. From beginning to end, the colors, the angles and the lights are just wonderful. I felt so captivated by the visuals and the music that I almost wanted to be able to pause and rewind some parts to enjoy them once again. (This is the kind of movie you can watch over and over again). 

Hands down, Whiplash is among my top 10 of the year. Wouldn't be surprised if it makes it into the list of Best Films for this year's Academy Awards. 

Tracks

Captivated by the beautiful Australian landscape and the always excellent performance of Mia Wasikowska I came out of the theaters feeling as if it had been me who was traveling across Australia. 

This film is certainly not a screenplay masterpiece, not the kind that's Oscar material, although I felt it was worth recommending it and giving it a few minutes to write about because of it's magnificent footage, great performances and a an almost unbelievable true story that many of us should know and get inspired by. 

Tracks not only made me fall in love with the Australian landscapes and feel completely immersed into a beautiful journey, it also gave me the opportunity to reflect on what it means to be alone, to give yourself a chance to look deep inside your past and your memories and how important is to be connected to every living creature. (As an animal lover I will tell you it will be pretty emotional. I cried like 3 times). 

If you have the chance to watch it on a big screen, please do so. This is the kind of film that's worth the price of the ticket and the drive to the theater. 

Enjoy the journey...