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Photo of the Day
Lars and the Real Girl
Although it isn't uncommon these days to find your soul-mate on the Internet, when she happens to be an life-size inflatable doll, it raises eyebrows to say the least. This is the point of departure in "Lars and the Real Girl" - for more info , see the review .
English-Language Movies in Madrid - Elegy with Penelope Cruz
English-Language Movies in Madrid - Elegy with Penelope Cruz
by Andrew Poole
Far from the “Roses are Red, Violets are blue” simplicity of most “love stories”, Elegy...
Photo of the Day
English-Language Movies in Madrid at Cine Ideal
Penelope Cruz and Ben Kingsley star in Elegy, the adaptation of Philip Roth's short novel, "The Dying Animal". See today's review for more.
English Language Movies in Madrid - The Counterfeiters
English Language Movies in Madrid - The Counterfeiters
Anna Bogutskaia
What do you live for? What would you die for? These are questions that The Countefeiters...
Photo of the day
English Language Movies in Madrid
Check out the Oscar-Award-winning The Counterfeiters. See review for more info.
March in review
Check Out All Events in March
March was a busy month full of tapas bars, restaurants and flamenco.
For a peek into the real flamenco scene, see our feature, Flamenco 101- A Lesson in Life . For suggestions on where to catch a bit of flamenco action, see our flamenco page.
...
Films in Madrid - The Kite Runner
Films in Madrid - The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner, based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini, tells the story of the friendship of Amir and Hassan, two boys growing up in Kabul, Afghanistan in the 1970s. The boys are the best of friends, but they are not equals – Hassan, of the Hazara Shiite minority, is essentially Amir’s servant. This does not dampen their love for each other, though. “If you tell me to eat dirt, I will,” Hassan tells Amir, “but I know you won’t...
English Language Cinema in Madrid - No Country For Old Men
English Language Cinema in Madrid - No Country For Old Men
Jake Hansen
The four-time Oscar award winning film, No Country for Old Men, has drawn unprecedented publicity. In....
English-Language Movies in Madrid: There Will be Blood
English-Language Movies in Madrid: There Will be Blood
There Will Be Blood has been called "as close to perfection as you will find in a movie." That's some pretty heavy hype to go up against...
photo of the day
There Will be Blood
Photo:"There Will be Blood" is mezmerizing and perhaps genius according to Karina Stenquist's review.
English-Language Cinema in Madrid - Juno
Juno - Never Judge a Movie by its Super Stupid Poster
There’s been a lot of hype (internationally) over the film “Juno” - hype that I completely ignored the minute I saw the poster. Pregnant teenage girl, head-scratching teenage boy – yes, accuse me of judging the film by its cover – it was enough for me to dismiss any possibility of watching it...
photo of the day
Expecting?
If you are expecting the ordinary Hollywood fluff on this one, think again. For a review on Juno see Abha Malpani's review.
Madrid in Film History
Madrid in Film History - Skip the Exhibit but Read this List
According to Así es Madrid…en el cine, an exhibition of Madrid in film, around 300 films have been shot in Madrid so far. Not as impressive as New York, London or Paris, they say...
photo of the day
Spanish Film History
Poster link. Until March 11th there's an exhbiit on Madrid in film. Read the review before rushing heading out - it's a bit bare bones.
English Language Cinema in Madrid - Atonement
English Language Cinema in Madrid - Atonement
Now, when it comes to screen adaptations of novels, I generally try to see the...
photo ot the day
Atonement
Above: Keira Knightley in Atonement. For more details see today's review.
movies - Lust, Caution
English Language Movies in Madrid - Lust, Caution
Have you ever seen a film that’s nearly perfect but has some indefinable element missing? So close and yet so far – you obsess about the film as if it’s an unrequited amorous…
English language movies Madrid
English Language Cinema in Madrid: The Oxford Murders
In a logical world, any number series can be determined by rules. For example, take the following series: one, two, three...so what's the next number? Four would be the logical choice, no?–at least it's the most obvious. Yet Wittgenstein's Finite Rule Paradox tells us that the next number could be anything...
movies - I am Legend
I am Legend - Expect the Unexpected
Don’t make the mistake of assuming you know what this film is about. Yes, I know, you see the slick Warner Bros poster with Will Smith toting a shot gun and it recalls the scores of films in which the Hollywood stud saves the planet. But suspend...
photo of the day
I am Legend
Photo: Robert Neville (Will Smith) comforts his daughter, Marley (Willow Smith), in "I am Legend". The similarity between the two names above is no coincidence - they are father and daughter on and off screen. See review for more info. Other reviews available here
review of December
While You were Out...
Welcome back! Madrid’s international population dipped a bit during December as everyone flew here or there to do this or that. We truly hope your livers and your bank accounts survived the season. Ours did - more or less. Come on, what’s a bit of sclerosis and debt, it’s the f%&king holidays! Anyway, the elves at MAP were busy the whole while happily writing away. Here is a quick update. Spanish current events were...
movies - The Golden Compass
The Botox Plot
Walking into the Golden Compass, I have to admit that my primary concern wasn’t the debate over the anti-Catholic content, its translation into film or the caliber of acting. No, as I stepped into the cinema, my concern was, “Can Nicole Kidman still move her face or has she Botoxed herself into an infantile state of expressionless stares?” I realize this may not be...
photo of the day
The Golden Compass
Nicole Kidman stars in this season's fantasy thriller. See review for details.
film - Elizabeth, the Golden Age
The Queen Falters
As a big fan of Shakur Kapur's film Elizabeth (yup, I own it), I felt compelled to put aside what history tells me about sequels and see the highly anticipated, Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The second part of her story picks up after the wave of threats to her throne were settled...
movies - Michael Clayton
Michael Clayton - Not Seasonal Schlock!
I know what you’re thinking. In addition to its drab title, “Michael Clayton” has the double curse of being a Holiday and a Hollywood film. You’re probably imagining a least-common-denominator plot in which political intrigues, car chases and a dash of romance conspire to give everyone an adequate, but uninspiring, cinematic experience. Ho! Ho! Hold those assumptions about Holiday Hollywood films! Director/screenwriter Tony...
movies - Persepolis
A Cartoon of the Iranian Revolution?
Marjane Satrapi is a young girl with modest desires: one day she dreams of being able to wax her legs and… being a prophet. During early childhood, the Shah still rules her home country, Iran. When he finally resigns after mass demonstrations and an Islamic revolution...
Photo of the Day
Persepolis
Today's movie review - Persepolis. See what France is taking to the Oscars.
movies - Beowolf
Beowolf - Beauty, Brains and Head-Spinning Action
So I’ll be the first to admit it – I have a very low tolerance for historical film. The genre simply drips with excess. Characters drown in superfluous costumes, acting escalates to the point of absurdity, and, most mysterious of all, independent of epoch...
Cinema - Kylie Minogue's White Diamond
Back Stage with Kylie Minogue!
Perhaps you will treat this like a run-of-the-mill Thursday or perhaps, in the name of Thanks Giving, you will ingest a quantity of food that would hyper-extend the stomach of an adult elephant. In either case, a movie isn’t a bad way to end the day. Opening tonight is Kylie Minogue’s White Diamond – a must-see for those attracted to the glitz and glam of show bizz. On one hand, you could say that White Diamond follows in the footsteps of Madonna’s tell all “autofilmography”, Truth or Dare. On the other hand, it is quite the contrary...
cinema - CineMad '07
Festival of Independent and Cult Film
It is back! The 14th annual festival de CineMad has hit the town! As always they will dish up every type of independent and cult cinema from Bollywood to horror flicks to Documentaries. This year’s featured artist is Alejandro Jodorowsky, the Chilean-born mad man who seems to have dabbled in everything over his lengthily career: mime, writing, directing, psychotherapy… His seminal films such as...
art - Mad is Mad
The Art of Irony - Mad is Mad's Autumn Show
“Irony” was the unofficial theme of the evening at the Mad is Mad's Autumn Collective Show. Upon entering one was greeted by a series of Disney drawings gone pornographic: elaborate recreations of these world-famous characters – their heads all replaced with giant phalluses (by Jorge Gonzalez). This set the tone and, interestingly enough...
cinema - festivals and flicks
Three Film Festivals and More!
As the weather turns cold, it’s always good to have film weekend. This weekend there is no shortage of festivals and flicks. Madrid (and neighboring Alcalá de Henares) offers a full spectrum of possibilities. For those interested in the Spanish scene, there is El Festival de Cine de Alcalá (Alcalá Film Festival). Focusing on short films by young directors, this event offers a smorgasbord...
photo of the day
Film Festivals
This weekend in addition to film festivals in Alcalá de Henares, there are also the Science and Lesbian/Gay festivals here in Madrid in addition to a host of English language films - see article.
Cinema in Madrid
Cine Doré and The Filmoteca - for the Rarified, the Arty, the Quirky, the Camp and the Profound!
A true Madrileño weekend consists of the 5 C’s: Cañas, Clubbing, Chilling in Retiro and Caressing in a Cinema. In...
Film - documentary
"Lost in La Mancha": The Film That Wasn't
Perhaps this isn’t a film for everyone. However, for anyone who has ever tackled any major project - anything from starting a business to organizing a rave, elements of this documentary will likely ring true. Shot in Spain, “Lost in La Mancha” is definitely a film about a film, but, it isn’t a “making of” sort of documentary - to the contrary, it has been dubbed the first “un-making of a film” in history. You see, it charts the downward spiral of this 30-million-dollar project and ends with everyone from Johnny Depp to Jean Rochefort going home dispirited and...
film - San Sebastian Film Festival
Arabic Directors Win Top Spots at Spanish Film Festival
Arabic directors have made a strong showing at the internationally acclaimed San Sebastian Film Festival here in the north of Spain. Two excellent films are being presented with the Cinema in Motion Award...
architecture - abandoned buildings
Nobody’s Watching Anymore
The last time Cine Bogart, one of many abandoned landmarks in Madrid, was in the news was when okupas (squatters) entered to hold their conference for better housing in 2006. And this year, a gallery organized a photo shoot and decided to use Old Bogie, graffiti left by the squatters included. When they left, the 90-year-old entrances were shut with cement to discourage wannabee tenants and things went quiet again. Just as they have been for the last 7, 8 years, according to the porter next door. He has fond memories of...
DVD Rentals
The Place to Rent DVDs
Looking for easy access to quality, international, alternative movies in Madrid? Check out Ficciones. With an extensive collection of films meticulously selected and grouped according to country and director, you should be able to locate anything you can imagine.
Worth a shot
Movie: Red Road - Those Rule-Making Danes At It Again!
If you are looking for pure, unadulterated Danish cinema, we have got the movie for you! Uninhibited by pesky things like unrealistic sets and overpriced fancy lighting, Red Road is raw human emotion expressed through cinematic art. If the words “genuine” and “movie” don’t seem to go together for you, get ready to be surprised by what these Danes have to offer.
From our former site
Lucia Y El Sexo - A Movie Review
“Lucia Y El Sexo” Director: Julio Medem, 2001 With all the bad weather we thought maybe it was a good time to start our series on classic Spanish cinema (both old and new). Find out which movies have shaped the culture. “Lucia Y El Sexo” is the ...