Beetlejuice

Directed by Tim Burton in 1988, this comedy tells the story of a recently deceased ghost couple  that contact a 'bio-exorcist' in order to remove the obnoxious new owners of their house. 

It stars Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis as the Maitlands, Winona Ryder as Lydida Deetz and Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice. 

One of - I think - the less known Tim Burton movies. It's also one of his first full-length movies. And it's pure Tim Burton style. 

The story is funny and well developed. The Maitlands are your typical american loving-couple from the 80's, whereas the Deetz are atypical, and strange and really bizzare. The wife is a modern artist, the father want's just peace and quiet but can't leave his work behind him and the daughter is a goth girl who can see ghosts. 

If you ask me the only thng you have to take out of the movie is Beetlejuice. I think you either love the guy or you hate him. I hate him. I don't find him funny and whatching the movie in spanish didn't help. I swear in the 80's there where only 4 spanish dubbers, you hear the same freaking voices in every movie. 

Anyway. The best thing of the movie is the visual part. As I said before Beetlejuice is your pure Tim Burton movie with it's bizzare buildings - the Maitland's house has only 10 windows, and it ends up looking in the inside more like a grave than a real house. The collors are saturated and bright with loads of black and white and strange lights. And then comes the stop-motion animation, which is, like allways pure awesomeness. 

BEETLEJUICE TRAILER

All in all a very decent movie, with a good script, funny moments, great music by Danni Elfman and awesome stop-motion. Please don't watch it doubled in spanish. 

Police Academy

This american comedy was directed by Hugh Wilson and stared by Steve Guttenberg, G.W. Bailey and Kim Cattrall in 1984. It tells the story of a good-hearted but incompetent misfits that enter the police academy, yet the instructors there are not going to put up with their pranks. Steve Guttenberg plays Carey Mahoney, a cadet forced into the police academy because of his bad behaviour, Soon Mahoney finds that his efforts to get thrown out establish him as the leader of the group.

I watched this movie without very high expectations. There are around 7 movies of Police Academy, and I've watched bits and pieces of the other parts and didn't find them funny in the least. Yet the other day I had a huge urge to watch a comedy, so, coming across this one I decided to watch it in Spanish as I didn't have the movie in V.O

And it was a good decision. 

Starting with the name of the NY Mayor - Mary Sue - up to the last second, I laughed myself sick. The characters are very well created, and  the script is really funny. It has both stupid and intelligent humour and the movie balances both really good. 

 The music is your typical American 80s comedy music, so don't look for a great BSO. The acting is fine, and even the dub is OK. 

All in all a very agreeable movie, and funny above all. 

Midnight in Paris

Written and directed by the genius Woody Allen this fantastic fantasy comedy tells the story of a young engaged couple and her parents that travel to the French capital. There they have to confront their differing views of a perfect life. Starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates, this Spanish and American co production was released in 2011 and has won some important awards so far.

I have to say I had had some very good reviews from this movie before I saw it, and that those where the ones that encouraged me to watch it. I didn't really feel compelled to see it as I don't like Owen Wilson, and I'm not that drawn to Paris or the Vanguards. Another fact is that I've watched it because it was in the wikipedia list of time-travel movies and I'm checking those up. 

Now, as I said I don't like Owen Wilson, and I usually don't watch his movies, but this is some really amazing work he does here. He's perfect, and I don't mean only the acting - which is flawless - but all him. His face is so expressive and it expresses so good the astonishment and naivety of the character, that you can only like him. 

The story is nice and it pictures the anxieties that a lot- if not all - of us go through in relation with the past. Woody Allen underlines this by putting the main character through a somewhat horrible present.  The past is full of his idols whereas the present is full of uncertainty and boredom and threats. His main 'enemies' are his girlfriends parents - specially her father, John, played by Kurt Fuller - and an old friend which is a real pest called Paul, played by a very convincing Michael Sheen. Both are brilliant and absolutely detestable and one really feels the urge to punch this pedantic Paul guy in the face - if it weren't for the fact that Michael Sheen is also Lucian in Underworld, whom I absolutely love... 

Back to our movie: 

The music isn't bad. If you like music from the 20ies. I'm not very fond of it, but it's nice in the whole context of the movie and helps for the setting. 

The impeccable setting changes between  2 Paris: the one in 2010 and the one in the 20ies. I love the light of each Paris and I think that it pictures perfectly the nostalgia Gil - Owen Wilson - feels towards the past. And every setting is so full of detail, I just love it. 

All in all this is a very, very, very good movie. The acting, the music, the setting, the camera action, the simply everything. I highliy recomend it.