One of best movies I have seen lately: "Untouchable" (2012) by Belén Delgado

And this French comedy-drama has made our day, long time I haven't seen a film that has touched my heart and made me laugh at the same time like this one, even at the end I cried , so many feelings in 113 minutes. What is most appealing is that it's based on a true story and that the relationship that both protagonists: Quadriplegic millionaire Philippe & cheeky Driss have is so special that you enjoying watching them together. What witty dialogues , accompanied by very cleverly chosen soundtrack in the wonderful city of Paris. I don't want to tell you much , just that please see it in the original version with subtitles , avoid dubbed versions of it. Some of the highlights for me, the scenes when they go paragliding, When the classical band try to convince Driss so that he gets to like classical music, the very beginning of the film and of course I loved the end. The words that would describe better this movie are: inspirational, funny & beautiful.  I'm very glad i have chosen to see this one , something different for a change. Thanx Colette for the recommendation!

Recommended book: " A street Cat named Bob"

Today I have finished reading this beautiful warmhearted true story about the relationship of a cat called Bob and his companion: James Bowen. What really made me want to read this book was the first time I saw on you tube how James and Bob were busking in London streets, there was something special about them, and Bob just looks like my cat Pepe , and in a way our cat also changed our lives for the best, he's our most loyal companion taking into account that my husband and I also live very far from our families and only have each other ando now Pepe, too.

You can certainly understand the relationship they have after reading the book, there is no fiction or fancy anecdotes , it's a touching story that to my mind, should inspire many drug-addicts or people living on the streets who have lost hope, there is always a door open to change, you just need to find it and don't give up. Street cat Bob really changed Jame's life as he describes in the book, they just met at the time when James needed help to overcome his addiction to heroine. The fact that he needed to take care of him because he was hurt when he found him and since them Bob wanted to give back the love and caring that James gave him. James said that Bob changed his life but I think they both belong together and both lives changed when they met. This book has helped me to understand a bit better how people living on the streets feel, invisible to society ,as James described and how in this case, Bob made him "visible" again to passers-by on the streets of London. I even learned a few tips about cats and how tough it can be when people judge you just from your appearance ; I definitely was not aware of the whole process to become sellers of "Big issues" , it's really a business behind which helps people with few opportunities and "big issues" sellers need to buy the magazines in advanced before they sell them. If you ask me if I would recommend this book, hell yeah please do buy it and read it, I'm actually a bit sad that I cannot read more about James and Bob lives ( I didn't want it to end..)! I could definitely see some similarities in relation to how my ginger Irish cat, Pepe behaves sometimes  and I loved that!; I could also picture some of the scenes, I was even scared about Jame's and Bob's safety in some of "the lines" ( specially the bulldog story..), I do hope your life has improved after this book being n.1 best seller in U.k. , with their own facebook fanpage http://www.facebook.com/StreetCatBob?fref=ts (with almost 8.000 fans, my cat Pepe has only 62 lol http://www.facebook.com/PepeHernandezDelgado) and twitter https://twitter.com/StreetCatBob (with more than 10.000 followers)! By the way, as I was finishing reading the book, my cat was all the time with me, it looks like he really wanted to know the end lol. Last but not least, I want to dedicate this humble review to James and Bob whom I expect to meet one day in London and of course, if you two come to Ireland one day, let me know. James please go on leaving your life as you are now, even if your family is in Australia, you will always have Bob and now thousand of fans who want the best for you both.

I leave you with a photo of my cat the day I got the book anda video of James and Bob (there are many more on youtube if you want to have a look)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl2nBSqpsRA

Concert Review: The Best of Symphonic ROCK (5th of October)

Yesterday we had the pleasure to see live the RTE National Symphony orchestra playing classics of Rock-pop. It's the first time I have listened to something like this, a full orchestra playing Bon Jovi "Living on a Prayer" (one of my favorite tunes); "fix you" by Coldplay, Tina Turner "Simply the Best" and Queen's famous hits: " We are the champions" " we will rock you" " Bohemian Rhapsody" among other hits, what a joyful feeling to listen to the harmony of so many instruments together at the same time played by around 100 musicians. The anecdote of the night was one woman in the audience who was 99 old and didn't stop dancing! The presenter draw our attention to her and she even said a few words, so cute, when I "grow up" I want to be like that woman! I have lost count of how many times I have seen performed the RTE orchestra and I don't get tired of saying that if you haven't seen them yet, don't miss the opportunity! They usually play in the National Concert Hall in Dublin and tickets are not expensive, the cheapest (depending on the concert) can start from 10 euros. Thank you RTE orchestra one more time for making us smile , sing and dance along, specially with the last Abba's song " Dancing Queen".

For those curious ones below you can see the programme:

Aaron Copland " Fanfare for the Common Man"
Robbie Williams "Let me entertain you"
Procol Harum " Whiter Shade of Pale
Eryc Clapton "Layla"
Coldplay "Fix you"
Meatloaf" Bat Out of Hell"
The Beatles " Can't buy me Love"
Bon Jovi "Living on a Prayer"
John Miles " Music"

Interval

Survivor "Eye of the tiger"
Bette Midler " Wind Beneath My wings"
Michael Jackson " Thriller"
Deep Purple " Smoke on the Water"
Simon and Garfunkel " Bridge over Troubled Water"


Good old Rock and Roll Medley

Tina Turner " Simply the best"

Queen " We are the Champions", "We will Rock you","Bohemian Rhapsody"

as a bonus they ended up with Abba

Movie Recommended: "Taken 2" by Belén Delgado

We happened to be lucky and we could watch on TV "Taken" (the first movie) a day before going to see "Taken 2", just by chance, as I was doing zapping, I saw they were showing it and couldn't stop watching! You definitely need to have seen Taken 1 to enjoy fully Taken 2. I'd love to have a father like Bryan Mills, a retired CIA agent unstoppable who would do anything for his family (he actually kills a whole Albanian mafia living in Paris in Taken 1 to rescue his daughter, the French people should build a statue of him lol). What a feeling to receive a call from your father telling you " Liten to me carefully, Kim, you are going to be taken"  and on Taken 2, she receives a similar call because, of course, the whole Albanian Mafia that he killed on Taken 1 had a family, a family that wanted revenge and I have the feeling that it would be a Taken 3 lol (if there is a taken 3 and I'm the daughter I wouldn't answer the phone..). Mcgiver is a beginner in comparison with Bryan's skills( played by fab Irish actor Liam Neelson). Not sure if this film is for everyone taste, though, I just like Liam Neeson, the way he talks, the way he acts, punches, runs .. I think he is class and I'm fascinated by the role he plays. If you ask me which one is better Taken 1 or 2, I'll probably answer the first one but still we liked a lot Taken 2. But remember that you need to have seen Taken 1 since there are flashbacks about the first movie in this one and you will not understand it if you haven't seen Taken (1). I finish off with one of my favorite lines of this film " Can you shoot" ; No: then drive!" So what are you waiting for? Go to the cinema !! Have just recommended you 2 great action films (Looper in my previous post and now Taken 2!)

Movie recommended ( Great!): Looper (2012) by Belén Delgado

Totally recommend this film for lovers of science fiction movies like us! To me I rate it as 100%!! I can't say that it's 100% original though, it has some parts that reminded us of Terminator, I don't blame them since almost everything has been already shown in the cinema throughout the years. I actually think is very good that take previous films as an inspiration and improve them with better effects and some twists. I do not want to tell you much about "Looper" so that you can go and see it like me without knowing what to expect. The only thing I can tell you is that even though I hate Bruce Willis, he's very good  in it (of course there are a couple of scenes with the "Die hard" feeling of "shoot that no-one can kill me lol) and unrecognizable  (due to his looks in this film with a different nose) Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levit plays the role of the assassin brilliantly. Some of the highlights of the film for me, again without telling you much: The scenes of the little boy in the house  and the scene at the end. This little boy has a terrible evil look (I would be worried if he was my son). Of course, no need to say that you need to see this film in the big screen to get into the effect of travelling back and forth to 2072 ( don't bother to see it in a computer ). This is definitely one film that I'll see again and that I'd like to have in my collection of dvd's : LOVED IT!!!

Horror Movie: "House at the end of the Street" (2012)

Those who know me well can tell that I'm not a big fan of watching horror movies, I'm the type of person who doesn' t like to get scared or suffer in the cinema. However, yesterday we got to the cinema and the choices were limited: 2 horror movies versus one cheesy American film, I chose the horror movie that looked less scary (the other one was: "Resident evil: Retribution" (no thank you..)). I have to say that although I did not look some times not to get scared, it didn't help because Andres jumped out of the seat a couple of times. The film itself it's not good, dialogues are poor, plot is not strong enough, the way it was directed didn't bring much, the actors.. , in general not convincing at all. All in all, we were entertained somehow, maybe because we don't usually go to see this type of movies but for those who are really into horror films, I do not recommend this one. The plot in a few lines is  a couple that were killed in a house by their daughter and their only son left, Ryan, remains living in the house where they died. New neighbours come : Jennifer Lawrence (from "Hunger games",great movie, by the way) and Elizabeth Shue (gee haven't seen them since that Tom Cruise movie years ago "Cocktail"), they hear rumours about the house next door and Ryan and then it all starts. One highlight for me: Ryan, there is something psychotic about him that I like lol. I think I'll forget about this film in a couple of weeks, nothing memorable about it..

Beautiful movie, recommended: Ana Karenina (2012)

Atonement's British director Joe Wright surprised us positively when we went to see this film. It is beautifully done, with such a good taste.  I didn't expect to fall in love with it but I did. What a superb mixture of theatre, dance, cinema, costumes of that time & photography, I didn't want it to come to an end. It's definitely different from other versions of this Leo Tolstoy's Russian work "Anna KArenina" due to the originality of the combination of the factors I  have mentioned above. Sometimes the backstage mingles with the real personages & the story, from the stage it goes to the snowing outdoors in Russia. The 2 delicate and good-looking protagonists: Keira Knightley and Aaron Taylor-Johnson play an excellent role, their love story is so real and so difficult to handle for that time! To me , it was the first time I saw Aaron and gee, what a dude!! Jude Law's role as Ana Karenina's husband is very well portrayed, Jude does not have the looks in this one, he is barely recognizable but the beauty in his soul overcomes the lack of looks. Some of the highlights of the film for me, the aesthetic love scenes between the protagonists, the scene in the opera when the whole audience starts looking at Anna and the tragic end. It's the type of film that you want to see over and over again, of course I'll get the dvd once it's released, I recommend it 100% , one of the best films I have seen lately. Thanx Joe Wright, I love "Atonement" and now I love "Ana Karenina".

Comedy to suffer with a smile: A few best men (2012)

This British-Australian comedy had all the ingredients to make the audience laugh: A bunch of disastrous male British friends going to Australia for a stag party and then for a wedding, a crazy gay drug-dealer, a worshipped sheep, Oliva Newton John high with cocaine and funny chubby Australian actress: Rebel Wilson playing to be a lesbian just to bother her dad. I have to say that I laughed but I also suffered a lot putting myself in the bride's shoes most of the times. Yeah the plot of the film is simple, it's about a wedding of a young British guy and a young beautiful stink-rich Australian and all that happens before and during their wedding. I don't want to ruin this film, you can really see the British touch many times, it reminded me of Mr Bean's humour when you suffer watching him in difficult situations (sometimes I suffered way to much.. poor Bride!!). Andrés enjoyed the film more than I did but still I liked it. The critics gave it only a 19% versus the 69% of the audience scores in the rottentomatoes web page. If you ask me if I recommend it, well yeah, you will have a laugh even though it won't be the film of your life. Some of the highlights for me: The scene when they are trying to get the sheep back to life with the mouth-to-mouth; the scenes with the drug-dealer, all the scenes with the friend that is heartbroken because his girlfriend left him (I found him hilarious..) etc etc Of course, no need to say you have to see this film in the original version.

The moral of the story: Don't let your husband-to-be to go to a stag party and to invite his friends to his wedding, they will ruin it!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSzCVYD7C4w

Fiction movie: Total Recall (2012) by Belén Delgado

Remake of the 90'ies Schwarzneger movie of the same name "Total Recall" but this time with Irish hot actor Collin Farrell , Kate Beckinsale playing her wife and Jessica Biel. This 2012 version did not score the pass mark in the rottentomatoes movie page with a 47% but we actually liked the film and for us it does have a pass rate ( a 70% for me). I have not seen the Schwarzneger original film which actually has a score over 80% by the audience, I want to see it now to compare the two. The plot of the total recall is not complicated at all, there is a lof of action, chasing, jumps, fighting and a fiction story about getting an alternative life injected to experience any type of life you would have like to have. To me , this film achieved what I was looking for: To be entertained and not to think of the daily routine. I liked the modern effects and even the idea of going to the UK (representing the progress) to the colony in only a few minutes in a modern version of the London tube. The highlights for me, Kate played very well the role of the angry and energetic wife lol, she portrays the wife that every man should have (a bit of kicking if the hubby is late back home)!! When Collin returns to his real house and tries to remember. There are a lot of action scenes that I liked, specially the one in the lift or the one when they go from UK to the colony and the robots are on stand-by. If you ask Andrés he would probably tell you that his highlight was the street prostitute with the 3 tits , who also comes up in the original film, by the way. If you ask me if i recommend this film, I would say yes but always watch it in a big screen (cinema!), if you see it at home in a computer, I'm sure it loses a lot. If you are very demanding with action films, you may not like it,don't know but we liked it and Andres had actually watched the original film that I talked you about at the beginning and he still liked the 2012's version of it. I leave you with a photo of the original movie and the 2012 remake where you can see the similarities (I personally prefer Collin's looks hehehe):

and the trailer of the remake:

You will have a good laugh: The Watch (2012)

Yeah, I have to admit, I'm into this silly humorous American movies, I confess. The type of films that you know from the start that they are not going to have a complicated plot and that you are just going to laugh at the stupidity of the protagonists. Well, this is what we did, sometimes I laughed so loud and hard that I think even , Andrés was scared lol. What a better therapy that to go to the cinema to laugh with your hotdog and huge coke! The plot is simple , a group of neighbors that decide to watch the neighborhood due to one of the inhabitants being killed in unforeseen circumstances and they end up fighting against aliens. To me the 4 of them are freaking hilarious, all in their own way. Some of the highlights of the movie for me without spoling the comedy: The moments when they start taking themselves photos with the Alien (LOL,LOL) or when they shoot the allien non-stop in the store or when they start using the ball to shoot stuff and kill the cow (lol), or when they bring the kid to the police officers etc etc so many moments!! I recommend this film only if you are into this type of comedy, you know who you are when you see the trailer, I had a lot of fun, I enjoyed it so much hahahah.

Movie: Shadow dancer (2012)

I personally, I'm very interested in the topic of the IRA's times in Ireland back in the 90'ies because I live in Ireland and I'm interested in its history and in the way people lived here not so long ago. I had high expectations about this film and although I have to say that I didn't hate it, I didn't love it either. It was an o.k. film. Andrés fall asleep halfway and got bored the other half. I ,however, tried to follow the plot but still, the story did not captivate me. An ira female terrorist called Colette that started helping the police, being an informant to find future bomb attacks for the IRA planned from her natal Belfast.Have to say that Clive Owen plays an excellent role, as usual and as a highlight, I liked the beginning of the film and I did not expect the end, of course it's a very dramatic one. So we could summarize it as: It started very well, then in the middle it didn't get very exciting and the end caught you by surprise. If I recommend this film? uhm well, the answer is: Hell no.. rather save your time. I don't feel like writing more about this film. sorry. But remember to me I found it just "o.k." , I didn't hate it but to me it was not memorable, it will not be a a film I'll want to see again, no.