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LIVE! music love on RCE's #TheClubW/Lucas as Attih Soul swept into the studio so YOU could catch some of BCN's best. His latest album releases next week and his launch party at LaNau Barcelona on 12 NOV still has a few tix  available here https://my.weezevent.com/attih-soul-barcelona SATURDAYS from 11h-13h, #TheClubW/Lucas on English Radio & RCE... serving facts with shade and tea & jamz weekly in BCN!

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A WOKE! Film Review As Awards Season Begins...       by Lucas Avram Cavazos

Midway ###-1/2

Roland Emmerich is the mind behind the helming of huge blockbusters Stargate in 1994 and Independence Day a couple of years later. These flicks created stars and launched careers, but Emmerich went on to continue creating mega-movies that required big budgets, special effects and often (for this critic and viewer) way too much suspension of disbelief…e.g., Universal Soldier, his disaster flicks like Day After Tomorrow and 2012, Godzilla, the heinous Stonewall violation and yes, even the Independence Day sequel from three years ago.  I would also note that he is one of only two big budget directors who is gay and can still draw your atypical, straight male, aged 18-49 audience to his flicks. The other man would be Bryan Singer but as he is a paedophile piece of shit whose actions ruined the joy that was The X-Men and savagely drivelled out his take on Freddie Mercury, only to then be removed as director, we’ll not speak of his nasty, botoxed-ass face.

My grandfather on my mother’s side was one of the only (if not the only) Mexican-American naval admirals during the WWII era, so watching this film really kept putting a lot of my mother’s yapping over the years into focus and later became a notice of something awry, but we shall speak of that later. This autumn’s big (and a tad desperate attempt) at wooing Oscar falls a bit right of the middle, (almost) like a poor man’s version of a Dunkirk endeavour, though it’s fair to say that Emmerich and Christopher Nolan are very different directors.

Starting briefly in 1937 with an also quick meeting between Japanese Marshal Admiral Yamamoto and US intelligence officer, and a lead character in the film, Edwin Layton (never-ageing Patrick Wilson) where Yamamoto tells him that the Japanese will do whatever necessary if their oil supplies are in any way jeopardised. Fast forward four years, the world is at war, and what starts off as a film with way too many sappy one-liners that are ultra-cringeworthy soon turns into a visual tour de force that is incredible as much as it is laborious.

For certain, while Emmerich and film rookie writer Wes Tooke pull out all the wannabe-an-epic stops with a semi-lock on military vernacular and shoddy banter, they also do a decent job of covering the Pearl Harbor drama that securely put the US into World War II, and they end up nailing it with a lot of historical accuracies. From documenting the Doolittle Raids (Jimmy Doolittle is played here by a where’s-he-been Aaron Eckhart) to US cryptographers breaking some of the Japanese codes to highlighting the inefficiency of US weapons and their ridiculous uses, even bringing in cinema director John Ford and his presence during a Japanese raid that made its way into one of his movies, they accurately get a show-in of facts as the plot plods along. What does not seem to make its way into the film is a sense of realness expressed by the myriad of stereotypes employed here from the goofy Italiano-type guys to the smarmy Southerner to the golly shucks whitey fords, it seems that every 40s, male, US-American film role was taken up by someone except that there was not a single, solid scene that had any African or Native or Latin-American or Asian-American person in the mix here at all, despite the fact that millions of them, as well as, more than half a million Jews and Arabs and Armenians and so many more served hand-in-hand with the nearly 16 million men and women who comprised some part of the armed services during the WWII years. As a tutor and student of history, I take issue with that, and I also wonder if Emmerich had actually been from the US, would he have paid a tad more attention to that? I’d like to think so, but sincerely doubt it at the same time...Yet I digress.

It seems to me that the glory of Midway lies in its impeccable action sequences which engage the audience so vividly that it is virtually impossible not to stay glued to the intensity being displayed so spectacularly before you, but then that is exactly the stuff that big war movies are made of. Well…that and a huge lineup of stars to draw different audiences from all over the entertainment spectrum. To note, and in addition to anyone named above, we also have Woody Harrelson, Luke Evans, the odd-looking Ed Skrein, Darren Criss, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, and even Nickalicious Jonas, playing the role of an ill-fated pilot. I kept seeing a new actor every ten minutes and thinking, ‘Oh shit, is that so-and-so?’…and it was so-and so!

Now while I would likely be safe to predict that there may be a nomination thrown in for some of the effects sequences perhaps, this mediocre war film is not likely to pick up any major love come awards season soon, but what it does do in its own way is completely highlight all the chaos of the attacks over three crucial days in US and Japanese history. The battle moments fought over a blazingly clear and sunlit sky serves to add credence to the heroic and insane nature of the US and Japanese pilots, but what it also does is introduce just how vital passing through this evil war was in relevance to what would turn out to be this modern age.

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WOKE! Film Reviews in BCN

The Summer 2019 Movie Season Kick-Off!

by Lucas Avram Cavazos

Cue DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince! When I was coming of age in the 90s and early millennium, there were moment of sheer relief, joy even, as June broke through with certain heat in tow, that the summer would be bringing with it a break from the reality of non-stop scholastic rigamarole, as well as, a load of blockbuster films and some hot dance jams of the summertime. It was also usually ushered in by the Entertainment Weekly annual summer movie preview, but who gets magazine subscriptions nowadays? What we do get is down to business, so let’s roll!

Men In Black International ##-1/2

The first MIB film was released just as I made that high school to uni transition, and over two decades later, we start the 2019 summer movie season with this fourth instalment of what may have easily been put out to pasture long ago, but why stop when there is profit to be had, right? The charming sense of wonder that was first introduced to us back in ’97 was even served up back then with a now no longer Fresh Prince, but instead a mediocre hip-pop Will Smith single…oh the 90s. The thing is, that first film came across as right on time. Remember, this was at the height of paranormal entertainment, as the X-Files ruled the telly waves, alien movies started being produced in spades and pretty much everything commenced a somewhat pre-millennium tension, so setting a comedy/action thriller based on the tracking and maintaining of aliens in modern NYC society was a perfect, cinematic fit. In 2019, we now get the “int’l” version of MIB, where Agents H and B come poised like action figures in the skins of Thor:Ragnarok alums Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. They have been given the specific job of playing escorts to one of H’s old alien buddies who is a bigwig now and visiting Earth in search of a grand old time…cute. And then it becomes clear that old homeboy is also in possession of a diamond-sized weapon that could be a seismic shift to life as we know it and other evil forces want this for their possession too and la di da di da….It’s all been so overdone before, and I abhor seeing Miley Cyrus’ bro-in-law making such trite shite when, despite the obvious camaraderie between him and Lady Agent B, of which there is suspiciously mucho, when the script by three different writers is so obviously lacklustre, where is one to go from there? I digress but while it’s fun to see director F. Gary Gray do his attempt at dealing with alien life forms and shape-shifting cretins with a glossy sheen of comedy, if there is such real substance, how can you make a tired series shoot back to life? Answer: NOT LIKE THIS!

Aladdin ###-1/2

Disney’s consistent, modern renderings of animated classics into live-action, blockbuster behemoths continues with Guy Ritchie’s take on this undoubted classic from 1992 remade for #metoo 2019. While it may seem odd to not give the task to an Indian or Arab director, Ritchie takes on the task with aplomb that even gives this version a, dare I even say it, a woke feel to a story that truly should not be lily-white. Original Broadway star of Aladdin and TV’s Jack Ryan star Mena Massed nails it just as annoyingly as Robbie Benson did back in the day as the titular character, and although Indan-English actress Naomi Scott is a tad meh in her role, she also employs a fresh sense of independent woman ‘tude that vibrates through the celluloid and scenery despite the paint-by-numbers songs. But, let’s be frank, it’s beyond time that a production so perfectly timed and so immense in this modern time should and would have POC actors painting a picture of those times, so it comes to no surprise that Ritchie would want a big name star like Will Smith to embody the role left so perfectly-tinged with greatness like the cartoon original voiced by the late, great Robin Williams. Guess what? He does the role very fine justice…thankfully. And he does it in a classic, Fresh Prince vibe…smoothly and with easy aplomb. I also found the choices of lady-in-waiting Nasim Pedrad as Dahlia and Marwan Kenzari as the cruel Jafar as impeccably cast worthy…timely comic and story relief. Gone, however, is the annoyingly necessary voice of evil parrot sidekick Iago by Gilbert Gottfried and instead is a guy with a bird-like tone. Only time will tell if this particular film piece stands the test of time as I believe The Jungle Book and latter Beauty and the Beast will, but after the ho-hum taste of MIB Int’l, I’ll take this eye-spectacle anyway!

Godzilla: King of the Monsters ##-1/2

In this new addition to the decades-old franchise, our infamous title character gets to slug it against a foe out on the field at Fenway Park…fun! For years now, dino and/or Godzilla movies have consistently littered the summer movie theatres for more than a couple of decades now. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a sequel to the last 2014 eyesore, which was released just before I began critiquing cinema, so right off the bat, the film  commences with a throwback to the drama where the other film left us and we get paleo-biologist and mum Emma Russell (Vera Famiga of The Conjuring and Bates Motel fame) tethered to her adorable one Madison (Stranger Things star Mille Bobby Brown) as they gaze in awe at the apparent nascence of a larva named Mothra. This kaiju movie (entertainment that employs the use of oversized combative creatures) happens to present us with the fact that Godzilla is a supposed ringleader of the Titans, which are huge, dormant creatures ensconced beneath the earth…you know the ones, Rodan, the aforementioned Mothra, Monarch, something called Monster Zero…oh and don’t forget that Monster Zero is also called Ghidora, and if you’re not confused yet, let me give you another interesting summer movie fact…this film also stars Sally Hawkins of The Shape of Water and Blue Jasmine success and king of character actors and John Sayles movies David Strathairn as some admiral. My qualm comes down to this…if this is the shlocky summer stuff Hollywood is going to be throwing at us for the next three months, we’ve got a long way to go, and I’m going to have to apply some indie skills real fast because watching so many good actors put to mediocre use is not the way to start off the summer! Here’s to hoping.

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      Three Summer Taquilla Behemoths in Cinemas!       WOKE! Film Reviews...Halfway Through Summer                                        by Lucas A Cavazos

It goes without saying that Disney is undoubtedly the strongest hand in all of cinema. They have proved that beyond any shadow of a doubt over many decades but definitely most recently, what with the takeover of Pixar and LucasFilms and Marvel Studios and and and… As I hinted at last time, growing up, whether in Texas or Brooklyn, my dorky bum always had that weekly subscription of Entertainment Weekly waiting for me come week’s end. And that meant I had all the box office data, top album sales, Nielsen TV ratings, book sales and such all there to satiate my stats-obsessed appetite. Now, I bring to you a summer run-down of what fare has been most successful throughout this first half of the summer. Believe it or not, we are only halfway through the summer cinema season and these last six or seven weeks mark the last summer fare that either got delayed from the early summer due to concern of being pulverised by these upcoming blockbusters, or they are merely getting rid of fodder too long on the shelf or in need of distribution.

I’d dare say in fact that it was a rather smart move on behalf of Guy Ritchie and the entire marketing team behind the live-action remake of Aladdin, to release it just before the summer season truly hit. It is now fast closing in on 25€M in Spain alone, and has surpassed 1.1€B globally…quite an accomplished feat and second in box office stealth only behind Endgame for 2019 so far.

But let’s please talk newer reviews first as Disney’s The Lion King ###-1/2 burst into Spanish cinemas with a loud roar two weeks ago, and the same can be said of its success worldwide. Now soon to pass 19€M in Spain in a matter of mere days and more than 1.0€B globally, we at Bitter Life are pleased to say that the film, much like the formerly mentioned live-action remake, is a thing of wonder. What director Jon Favreau, who so lovingly concocted the impeccable remake of The Jungle Book a few years ago, does so well is adapt a timeless, and much beloved, cartoon classic into a breathtaking adventure story of the animal kingdom. One thing is for certain, if you are a true lover of the cartoon, this film will merely be palatable. For those few of us who were none too keen on the cartoon and its cheese-tactic musical numbers nor its cornball last-attempts at Top 40 numbers by Elton John, this film is quite the spectacle to behold. Telling the story of a proud lineage of lions who preside over what could best be described more as a savannah than a jungle, this rendering gives us a lifelike portrayal of fathers and sons, duty and honour, and is easily a testament to whatever family means to any individual. Apart from the brilliant, yet almost frightening, way in which the creators have anthropomorphised the creatures into almost too-real perfection, there isn’t too much to tell that the viewer is not going to know already, and thereby lies a part of the challenge that I find intriguing. While Disney continues to take risks in revamping their classics into live-action newer ones, do they then run the risk of petering out of new ideas? I mean, now that they have Pixar and so many more studios to pick up the slack, will we slowly see the demise of the annual big, Disney cartoon classic? We already have Frozen 2 appearing soon enough in cinemas, but even that is not building anything new and original into the cartoon oeuvre…it’s a damn sequel. I say it’s fair enough that most all investments in Disney live-action prequels are bound to be successful in terms of box office. Still, few of them will boast the talent power of Beyonce and Donald Glover, along with original Mufasa James Earl Jones, plus John Oliver, Seth Rogen, Keegan-Michael Key, Alfre Woodard. Amy Sedaris and so many more. These artists breathe life into a fun, if tired, film that we’ve all seen before, just never in this way. Here’s to hoping the tots of today don’t scare too much from the frolicking if fierce, fun found in this film.

The next big movie that has blown up the taquillas here in Spain is also the best one of the lot…Toy Story 4 ####.  If we have to wait nearly a decade between film sequels to have this type of wonderment thrown lovingly at our eyes, I’ll gladly take it and wait. So far, the film has taken in a nearly whopping 19€M in Spain alone, and it is also nearing 950€M worldwide, so far be it from me to deny that absolute scores of millions agree that this film marks itself in our hearts yet again. It is rather surreal that over the span of well over a generation, the creators have moved through the mid-90s to damn near 2020 with the same revolving door of a family, while carefully detailing the intricacies of our own nostalgia…and playing on that also forces us to love it.  Again, I dare say that they have achieved that tremendously throughout the entirety of the series’ lifespan. The premise this time revolves around Andy, now all grown up and, I’d suppose well past grad school, has donated his toys to little sister Bonnie, who has her own taste on what she prefers to play with versus her older brother, and dear ol’ cowpoke Woody, sensing certain neglect under the ownership of Bonnie, sneaks himself into her rucksack one day y voila!…the new adventure commences. The others set off to search for Woody, outdone by no one less than Buzz Lightyear, who is allowing himself to be led by his inner voice, which fits wonderfully into the guffaws of this type of silly and campy humour. What I began to notice while the screening went on is that the film continues to come up with a specific theme that ties itself into the plot, the denouement and frankly, throughout the film. Simply put, that would be the fear of rejection or not being wanted/accepted. Herein is where story developers like John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Rashida Jones, Stephany Folsom, amongst others, and all under the directing tutelage of Josh Cooley, spring to life and steer the film into witty and on-fleek, au courant elements that should make excellent fodder for post-parental conversations! What more can be said? Steal away and grab a 10’er and retreat to the coolness of your local cineplex!

Lastly, the other big box office behemoth so far this summer in Spain’s movie houses is Spider Man: Far From Home ###-1/2, with just under 12€M reaped into the Spanish taquilla coffers. This time around finds us back in live-action mode and with our recurring Marvel characters picking up after the what can only be described as intense ending of Avengers:Endgame. Okay then, while I was not a fan of the new Peter Parker with Homecoming from a couple of years back, I can now see how Tom Holland has taken a stab at ye olde generic if endearing dork-that-could appeal, and he feels much more fluid now a few Marvel flicks in. Director Jon Watts and go-to writers McKenna and Sommers seem to strike a chord with their flow, though we really do have to wait until the last half of the film to see the ebb actually catch up with that flow. Here’s why…our Marvel superheroes have gone bye bye, you dig? Flashbacks of the fallen Marvel superheroes actually made me a tad sad to be honest, so when the injection of the last part kicks in with all its CGI glory, what I take the director and writers to be doing, this time around, is actually showing us how Parker is growing into his own belief within himself and his powers. Zendaya as his love interest, and I’ve monitored her from afar for quite some time, is fun as hell to watch, and she should seriously star in a film version of Sade’s life story, but it really does come down to the charm and vivid need for suspension of disbelief that envelops the characters towards the end of the film. This has a lot to do with the enter-stage-right presence of Quentin Beck, a.k.a. Mysterio, played with an enigmatic if smug awareness by Jake Gyllenhaal, and frankly, all of the myriad cast of characters do their thang to breathe a sense of renewal just when you think the film is getting a tad too slow and eager. From Sam Jackson to Marisa Tomei, though perhaps not Jon Favreau as Stark caretaker Happy Hogan…he’s best suited as a director of Disney re-boots these days, me thinks (see The Lion King review above). Apart from all that, I’d say the Marvel universe has quite rightly fixed another pathway into the continuance of the Spiderverse journey.

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                                            “Villains of Verano”

                    WOKE! Film Reviews for a Hot Time in the City

                                                          by                                    

                                              Lucas A Cavazos

No summer cinema season is complete without some bad guys and gals to muck things up oh just so right. These three films have just hit our movie screens, and while they don’t necessarily run circles round a boogeyman, they surely do make it easy to despise a few characters. Let’s

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood #### Quite likely one of the finest films I’ve seen all year, Quentin Tarantino’s latest film burst into Spanish cinemas this week, and I do declare that this is perhaps some of the most fun he has had making one of his celluloid, revenge opuses in years. Why, you ask? Because he gets to return to the envisioned Hollywood of his childhood and in this way, we the viewers get to escape into an idealised late 60s Los Angeles. Starring Leo DiCaprio, who plays former TV Western actor Rick Dalton, as well as, Brad Pitt as his stalwart driver and stunt double, Cliff Booth, director Tarantino takes us into the hills to his Cielo Drive home and lets comical magic just flow. What we then learn is that his next door neighbours are Roman Polanski and his young actress and beautiful wife, Sharon Tate, played to utmost perfection by my newest fave actress over the last few years, Margot Robbie. It is certainly important to state that Tarantino more than takes his time giving us plenty to think about. I’ve heard that DiCaprio would not permit workers on set to look him in the eyes, even when speaking to him…only other actors of his ilk. If that is so, and it likely is, fuck him, but boy does the director do his fair job making us look at our own desperate attempts to not be left stuck in the past when we so want to be relevant in the here and now. DiCaprio plays this fear to utter success and there are so many joyously hilarious scenes that should earn him a spot on actors’ awards lists later this year, assuredly. But it’s the scenes with Pitt as Cliff that engage us and ingratiate us more into the goings-on of the time and just how easily Tarantino starts to play historian and detailing the scenes of US-American life via California, long before it was a Democratic/liberal haven. Using Pitt in his car, we meet some of the guys and gals that were clamouring together at the Spahn Ranch, and we even meet Charlie Manson for a quick spell. And one gets roused by the way Tarantino also tips his hat to filmmakers of yesteryear, players like Sergio Leone or the silly minds behind Sharon Tate’s film Wrecking Crew, nothing lost on me, and he paints a picture that definitely comes across as nostalgia gone all-too-real. When the finale presents itself, and it does so on an evening that hints at incorporating a good time and all next to Polanski’s compound, we kind of know what we are in for, but naturally Tarantino loves to paint history to his own liking. We then determine who lives on and who doesn’t. One thing should be known: Tarantino and his oeuvre will continue to live on proudly…Loves!

Cold Pursuit ###  Oh Liam Neeson, we verily know thee…If you think that this is just another over-55/60 year-old, angry dad getting revenge movie that the actor’s been so famous for the last decade, you’d be right. If you think that this may be the last in the tired genre that he can possibly eke out to moderate success, you’d also be very correct! As it stands now, the film which cost roughly $60 million to make has only recuperated $75 million in its worldwide box office. Let it be known that a film, in order to be considered financially successful, in this millennial digi-age in which we live, a film must garner two-and-a-half to three times more than its total budget. To have a varied cast that also includes Laura Dern as Neeson’s wife, as well as, TV faves Emmy Rossum and Tom Bateman, you certainly lack not for having a set of decent, emotionally-charged actors. The challenge with this hopefully last of the Livid & Vengeful Neeson series is that we dive so quickly and head-long into his pursuit of the band of no-goodniks who attacked his family and thereby set off the action which the film follows. Norwegian film director Hans Petter Moland remakes his own film from five years back, merely changing the main character’s name from Nils Dickman to Neeson’s Nels Coxman. Phallic naming aside, the film’s Denver setting does little to paint a picaresque action film and instead, stays true to the Neeson theme of late, pursuing him as he pursues those responsible for his family member’s demise until he slowly makes his way to the top drug lord. How this ski-lift plow man has the skills to bust up a ring like this and simply murder away is beyond anyone, except perhaps the Native Americano thugs thrown in for, I suppose, PC measure although that falls flat. In the end, what we get is a sometimes engaging, sometimes too formulaic film and a pile of mob boss and Native American villains do nothing to enhance the fun. Over it…NEXT!

Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs and Shaw ###-1/2… Say what you will about this interminable franchise as one must certainly have an opinion about this modern testosterone putz-fest by now, but man alive, do they serve up incredible, often impeccable, action sequences that either keep you at the edge of or throw you right the hell off of your seat. A couple of flicks ago, we had to say our goodbyes to poor Paul Walker after his uncannily and ill-fated final car ride demise. Since then, the last F&F was a sad complaint of a film, cast members had a series of rows and since Dwayne Johnson is also a businessman, his smart self decided to screw over shmuck Vin Diesel and silly-ass Tyrese and buddy up with charming Brit Jason Statham and POOF!... another branch of the series is born! This time around, we focus on a more comical, emotional and familial Hobbs and Shaw as, early on, we see a split-screen sequence between their US/UK lives, but soon enough after that, the action gets legit lit when we’re introduced to Shaw’s sister and criminal Hattie (Vanessa Kirby) who has been in possession of a fast-acting super-virus which can jelly one’s guts instantly. Throw in eye candy delight Idris Elba and a Robin Hood-esque attempt at “saving humanity’ from the spread of this virus only serves to boost the action and fun when we realise we’re also up against a real villain of verano, which in this case is a big tech demon called Etheon. As all my readers know, I despise spoilers so all I can say is that, even when the film cuts to a boring scene or two, it is the symbiotic nature and wittiness between the main characters that keep you smiling and highly convinced that F&F should be put to rest please and the mid-life crises adventures of Hobbs and Shaw should slide easily into its place…perhaps served up with non-stop celeb cameos and hot cars as always.

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#theclubwithlucas welcomes #Barcelona's fiercest #English #theatre @escapadetheatre when Lady @flacksue joins us live with the deets of their new production SILENCE @almeriateatre. Join us live from 11-12h Tuesdays on #radiokanalbarcelona 106.9FM #englishradiobcn #GoI #actors #stage #screen #silence #local #vintage #WOKE #abitterlifethroughcinema #VOSE (at RKB Radio Kanal Barcelona 106.9 fm) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw3q7mJBEzn/?igshid=18vcfb4qxko6e

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         #ABitterLifeThroughCinema’s WOKE! Film Reviews

     The Top Ten (+1) Best Movies of 2018 and where to find them!

                                                          by

                                           Lucas Avram Cavazos

+1…11. Overlord  Having its premiere at this year’s Sitges Int’l Film Fest, Overlord not only happened to be one of the fave films screened there this past festival, but this cinematic fantasy is an all-too-real and stark portrayal of a horror that actually occurred, and it deserves a nod from the Barcelona film critic family, so here it goes. Duly noted, I’d say. It starts with an insane aerial combat mission on the night of D-Day, one which goes awry and sees only a handful of paratroopers surviving the drop when enemy fire rains hell. They land in provincial France and the plot sets out to detail some of the inner workings of the Third Reich in reference to the insane, gruesome experiments done on captured Europeans and Jews. Those stories you’ve heard about turning these poor people into guinea pigs for super soldier intent using potent, injected serums…yeah, those? They’re true, if you believe the words of JJ Abrams. Are they as utterly brutal and horror/zombie film-like as displayed here? I sure as hell hope not. (now available On Demand and DVD)

10. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs There once was a film called O Brother Where Art Thou? While this is not its sequel, there is a sharp-witted vein to this film that could only be crafted and gifted to us by the Coen Brothers. What a hoot it is, even if it is a rather darkly-tinted hue of that hoot and humour. It is also one of their finest in years. Revolving around the singing cowpoke Buster Scruggs (Tim Blake Nelson) and five other tales brought to us with the commonly-threaded theme of death in often brutally funny ways, this film is a fine return to oddball form from two of the finest sibling directors of all time. Starring Liam Neeson, James Franco, Zoe Kazan, even Tyne Daly and so many in its vignettes, and that acting star power fuses this Western comedy into new territory for the brothers. Their previous works set in the west always seemed to be re-hashing works of years gone by but here, with their usage of almost comic-book-like details and witty banter make this much more enjoyable than their other historical works like O Bother and their remake of True Grit. Best western in absolute years! (available on Netflix or VOD)

9. Eighth Grade This poignant little film, which should have been wide-released everywhere the world over, is given fierce and bittersweet star power by Elsie Fisher, protagonist and student at the heart of this film. Comedian Bo Turnham has brought us the quintessential coming-of-tweenage story and along with Fisher, everyone in this film is so perfectly placed in their roles, especially Josh Hamilton as her dad, who deserves some nominations for this film but is unlikely to get any. Telling the story of 13-year old Kayla, we the audience get a sneak-peek into the minds and lives of today’s young adults. From her simple YouTube videos made to encourage other young kids to her obvious desire to fit in with older kids to her insecurity with boys, this film paints a stark reality that too many have lived through and this little indie film deserves aplomb from anywhere it can get it! (now available On Demand and DVD)

8. A Star is Born I skipped the critics’ screening of this film for the mere fact that I couldn’t bear to see if the acting and plot lines were another torrid take on a much-redone film. Even into the holiday season, I had not yet seen it and then when I did, I certainly took back any reservations. Bradley Cooper’s update of the film starring himself and Lady Gaga is just about as good as everyone said it was, and that was beyond refreshing to note post-viewing. In many ways, I feel that Cooper is likely revealing a few things about himself with the guise of “it’s a movie” being a nice cover; in some ways, he gives us what I believe are hints of his covert life, and it’s with Gaga’s turn as Ally that we really see him shine beyond the shtick of his character, country-rocker Jackson Maine. In a tad corny-tad, gripping way that takes hold the moment you see Gaga, let’s be frank and real, this film goes on to detail a Diet Coke version of the grim realities that often detail too many a tale of celebrity in Hollywood. Without revealing too many details of the film’s plot and denouement, we are looking at a necessary conversation about alcoholism, drug addiction and fame (plus a lack of ’NO’ men/women in many relationships) that needs to addressed for all ages. Well done, Mr. Cooper Goes to the Oscars. (At select screens, On Demand & DVD)

7. El Angel Incidentally, this may be the first time in a rather long time that I say something good about Argentinian men, so do take note. Telling the true story of fresh-faced boy killer Carlos Robledo Puch, played to Oscar-worthy perfection by newcomer Lorenzo Ferro, the masterful detail to which director Luis Ortega has crafted this arthouse meets dramedy-thriller is astounding and easily touches heights set by dePalma and even, dare I say it, Scorcese. We follow young Carlitos Puch, who is just nearing the edge of seventeen, as takes up with a rough and tough family of his devilishly attractive school chum Ramon, played by the spirited Chino Darin, son of Ricardo Darin. But as Carlitos comes to find out, his street crimes can easily be paved to real ones and his sadistic tendencies suddenly yet gradually paint a picture of someone who is in part desperate for attention and tacceptance and in part a fairly smart, well-to-do young adult. He parlays his sociopathy at pubescence into psychopathy with time, and this film will likely be, but should definitely not be, forgotten come awards and Best Of lists time.(available On Demand and DVD)

6. Black Panther As Oscar season comes to a head, it is worth talking about one of the most striking films that you’ll see for a while. Black Panther is that good, not only because of its genre but also because of its message: that seeking freedom through recreating systems of oppression will only extend the ill-treatment and broken nature we find ourselves in nowadays. Set in the fictional African nation of Wakanda, protagonist King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) brings us the first real black superhero from the Marvel universe. With a cast including Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and Michael B Jordan, the acting is beyond impressive. What is even more amazing, however, is how the plot power-plays many elements of our world’s current political climate. (now available On Demand and DVD)

5. Chappaquiddick Another film which is nothing short of striking in its relevance to the current political situation in the USA. Senator Ted Kennedy was the only remaining Kennedy that I was familiar with throughout my adolescence and early adulthood. Jason Clarke as the Massachusetts senator is astounding, as is the cut of his jib and chin, although the accent was a tad weak, to be ever sincere. This is a complete revelation on the many details that were only gingerly touched upon during the course of the week following the death which this movie is detailing . As the facts are laid out in the film, it astounds me that the American people continued to vote and elect Kennedy for decades after. This is a study on arrogance, class and governmental ambiguity. And if that was the case with liberals in the Sixties, how much more so with conservatives in this digital age? My favourite film of last year’s BCN Film Festival. (now available On Demand and DVD)

4. Private Life Good Lawd this is such a heartwarming/breaking story with the finest elements of believable comedy and situational realism that define the art of the classic Gen X film from the 90s to now. May we never forget that it was Gen, and even those a few years before them, who gave us the digiverse-Netflix-instant oatmeal www.orld in which we live today and when I see a very NYC film like this one, it makes it a true reality check. Being the age that one should be married with kids, I watched Kathryn Hahn as Rachel absolutely slay the silver screen and am eager to see if she picks up any more accolades throughout the current awards season. Simple plot…she’s in her early 40s and her hubby Rich (played by Paul Giamatti) is entering his late 40s and they are fully entrenched within the confines of every single way to conceive a baby. Following the couple through their trials and tribulations really get pushed up an ante when sort-of relative Sadie (the lovely Kayli Carter) decides she will be the surrogate mum for them as things get a tad pear-shaped. This could easily be dubbed a dreamed, for in effect, it is; what needs to be known is that this is also a morality tale for a new age. The old-fashioned ethics of yesteryear just do not apply anymore, at least not in big cities, and the less is more factor easily makes this one of the finest films released within the last year. (available on Netflix)

3. BlacKKKlansman Without a doubt, this is the finest work in all too many years by Spike Lee, and he takes no prisoners in letting you know that the spilled essence of blaxploitation all over this celluloid is to egg you into knowing that this story is 100% true…and crazy. The mere fact that David Duke is literally cheerleading for the current President of the United States should scare us all and wake those who are not. Watching actor John David Washington portray Ron Stallworth, the real-life cop who slyly infiltrated the inner workings of the Klu Klux Klan 40 years ago. After signing up for the Colorado Spring PD, he realises the lack of trust in the 98% Anglo-Saxon workforce, as he’s thrown into monitoring the goings-on of any Black Panther student situations. Eventually, he takes up with a guy on the force that he can dig called Flip and played to skilled excellence by the oddest of lookers Adam Driver. Basically, the plot follows the twosome, as they tag team the aforementioned white supremacist movement, Ron being the voice and Flip being the wingman as they start an investigation on grand wizard bastard himself David Duke, played to troubling perfection by Topher Grace, evoking all of the calmness and utter sociopathic tendencies of a man reviled by most yet revered by still too many. And watching this taut film and how it rolls through such a daunting story with comedic aplomb and vicious realness gives you goosebumps. That said, as the film gets toward its ending, is when Lee gives you the goods when he flashes to scenes from the crazy Charlottesville, Virginia, riots, AntiFa protesting and subsequent death of Heather Heyer, may she rest in peace. God Save the World…and Amerikkka.

2. Fahrenheit 11/9  Premiering a few weeks ago here in Spain at very select cinema screens across the country, this is the first documentary in some time by Michael Moore that could play across an international landscape and should be required viewing on any critic’s or person’s list. The titular oddity refers to the day after we all woke up across the world in shock and awe that Donald J Trump had won the Presidency of the USA. Even if this is not Morre’s best film to date, it is undoubtedly the one that holds the viewers’ feet to the fire and calls for them to fight the nasty funk of this administration. But, it’s when he takes it back to his roots, to Flint, Michigan, and ends up involving all local and state politics, that we start to see the more sinister undertakings happening amongst conservative parties, ideals and societies. When you add in the fact of the Parkland High School shooting and the way Moore later fuses footage of Hitler and his minions and followers with a rally speech made by the current occupant of the White House, it becomes all too obvious that things are exactly as we think they are (A HOT MESS!) and we have very little recourse rather than claiming truth. (now available On Demand and DVD)

1. ROMA There are tender moments of realism that are permitted to happen with the rise of instant cinema on VOD and direct-to-home films, and it has been a pleasure to see that sites like Netflix and Amazon and Canal+ have truly added to the foray in which great celluloid can be brought to the masses. Case in point comes the finest piece of dramatic celluloid that graced the silver screen in the last year. Being a Mexican whose father is a naturalised citizen of the US and a mother who is Chicana from the US, like myself and my siblings, the sentimentality ran deep with this film. One of the differences I experienced was the fact that we were the only Mexican-American family in a stately US country club…and we had an entire childhood spent with loving housekeepers, which is what this film inherently is honouring and depicting, using the backdrop of Alfonso Cuarón’s take on growing up in 70s-upper middle class Mexico City in the neighbourhood of Roma. Depicting the life of the house assistant Cleo (first-time performer Yalitza Aparicio in a J.Hud moment, frankly) and the family of Sr. Antonio (Fernando Grediaga), a doctor in the Mexican capital, what Cuarón has called his most personal film to date, is also a B&W modern tale in the vein of Gone with the Wind, and the fact that he centres around a privileged Mexican family is poignant for several reasons: it not only takes a focus away from how Donald bloody Trump has painted Mexicans, in general, to the world, but it also highlights a very human element to how many classes of society function and live there in the frontier regions of North America and, more importantly, EVERYWHERE…easily put, this is a sweet, oft-times simple, oft-times brutal story on humanity. What binds so many critics together on this film’s merits is that fact that Alfonso Cuarón has crafted the past year’s most enigmatic movie, leaving us to make our own answers to what happens to Lady Cleo, her best mate Teresa, and this beautiful family. Absolutely and quietly stunning! (available on Netflix and selects screens across the country)

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The Nun ###

Box-office records were set by this Conjuring series when it opened two week back in the States. Watching it, I kept wondering why? The series usually follows cases remedied by real-life exorcists Lorraine and Ed Warren, the latter may he R.I.P. Telling the story of a touched nun-in-training (Taissa Farming) who is elected by the Vatican to accompany a father named Anthony Burke (Demian Bichir) and pursue the case of a deceased nun in an abbey hidden away in forestal mountains. Director Corin Hardy paints a macabre series of events that does dot the cinematic landscape of the film with jumps and scares, but that only goes so far when a slow story, weak script and sophomoric horror BUT CATHOLIC hijinks ensue…As a story used to explain the Warren files films, this one pales in comparison, in my opinion. Please bring back the Warrens full-time next time, and make the script air-tight!

Chappaquiddick ####

This film is nothing short of striking with its relevance to the current political situation in the USA. Senator Ted Kennedy died exactly nine years to the day that Senator John McCain (R.I.P) and of the same bloody disease, so watching the film now (it premiered at the BCN St. Jordi Film Fest last spring) is ra there poignant in its own right. Actor Jason Clarke simply nails it as the Massachusetts senator, although I found his accent a bit weak. This is a complete revelation on the many details that were only gingerly touched upon during the course of the week following the death. As the facts are laid out in the film, it astounds me that the American people continued to vote and elect Kennedy for decades after. This is a study on arrogance, class and governmental ambiguity. And if that was the case with liberals in the Sixties, how much more so with conservatives in this digital age?

The Mercy ####

A film with Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz screams drama and critical aplomb. So, let’s talk about the sad and odd story behind what can only be described as a lesson in futility and pride. Doing its best to detail the life story of wannabe adventurer and inventor Donald Crowhurst, who boldly enters a competition to sail around the globe in some middle-class, suburban man-made boat doomed to fail. Prowess of a man being what it is, we find our lead character in a war cry of middle-age deceit and a fed-up energy that emboldens him to pursue his unlikely fate...Slow if compelling, this film with its lead stars forces you to watch the untimely demise that only leaves you irretrievably aware of the preciousness of life.

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Let the #bcn #livemusic #love shine its light on you this week as @theclubwithlucas gets it LIT on with @miriamlunamusic just as she intros her newest album release at @nota79bcn this Tuesday evening! #fresh #live #bcn #local #global #HI #EnglishRadioBCN #rkb1069 #pianoandsoul #new album (at RKB Radio Kanal Barcelona 106.9 fm) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QPMDoIs9t/?igshid=14t9qqyvzo2yt

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WOKE! THEATRE REVIEWS by Lucas Avram Cavazos

Double Take Theatre Company and Sala Fenix BCN Presents

Dealing with Clair

By Martin Crimp

Direction by David Adeane

Last week, Barcelona’s own Double Take Theatre premiered their interpretation of Martin Crimp’s 1988 play Dealing with Clair at Sala Fenix in Raval. The play itself was inspired by the still unsolved cold case of Ms. Suzy Lamplugh, a London estate agent who disappeared in 1986, at the age of 25, after leaving her west London offices to meet a client known only as Mr Kipper. Eight years later, she was officially declared dead, presumed murdered, but no one has ever been brought to justice. That very fact sets the energy level at a stronger dial when a spectator knows that fact, but assuming most don’t, as the play is now three decades old, it is undeniable that Crimp’s unique jargon and sardonic sense of wordy humour makes even more pertinent sense today in the age of ego and selfies.

The intimacy of a cozy venue like Sala Fenix puts everyone directly into the affair, and with the sparest of furnishings, director David Adeane assembled the camaraderie of a tight group of actors who kept their characters’ voices on fleek and by any account, embodied them to sometimes creepy aplomb. In that vein, I must also add that there were moments where an overreach of acting crept in, usually from the two male leads, but considering the unexpected thresholds suddenly crossed in the play’s last act, it was also fairly easy to emotionally attach to (or not) the characters, which is always the mark of a skilled dramatic creator/interpreter. Anarosa de Eizaguirre Butler masterfully plays the titular character of Clair, easing her way through subtle nuances of naivete and awareness, smoothly endearing herself to the audience with her ‘every-girl’ niceties and easy-on-the-eyes looks. She is also in complete change of life mode when we meet her, lazily chatting on the phone, new real estate job in tow and with a small little flat just above a train line. The city is London…the time is the late 80s, and perhaps that is exactly what makes the script come alive, where witty banter and knowing cheap shots are easily sewn into the fabric of an already-lived time, so we know, just as Thatcherism was coming to an end, that everything was going to be okay…right?

Meanwhile, Mike and Liz (actors Billy Jeffries and Margo Ford, respectively) are a young, and somewhat restless couple, embodying the image we all recognise as somewhat WASPy and wannabe bourgeois, as clearly middle class tendencies loom large. But those social norms don’t end there, as flirtation flits its way here and there, as when husband Billy does so with their live-in, Italian au pair Anna (Julieta Moras), who literally assists in baby care whilst always bedecked in loungewear. Meanwhile, Liz, played with ease and almost Meryl-like certainty by Ford, seems casually aware yet non-plussed with her husband’s artless, sometimes lackadaisical, manner of house-selling with wink-wink nods to his wandering eye, all the while trying to score a nice deal that may see them selling their property to the tune of a cash-buy option, which may or may not come to fruition.

As any home buyer/dealer knows, cash options (perhaps less so today but still…) always ring in more joy to any interested parties involved, so when the dapper and seemingly charming James (Edward Joe Bentley) enters the scene with a suave lean, it’s hard not to notice the beguiling way in which the play takes a seedy turn into egotistical fortitude. James’ lush way of speaking in almost bemused tones, while often dancing around a subject, is quasi-sociopathic in its nature, so the actor must have either taken great leaps to touching that character’s surface or it resides safely tucked away within, bringing its lively self to the surface once the act is required. Either way, the performance is, at once, chilling as it is repugnant, and yet its foreshadowing in its own right to the rest of the story is, in a word, brilliant.

I shan’t give away any spoilers here, for also a hope of a continued run later this year will certainly draw a host of other spectators, as this quick-run was a sold-out success every night. Add in the trifecta performance of Samuel Sargeant in a variety of roles, and under Adeane’s astute direction, what we have here is a well-executed thought piece of a play. This is one that gives credence to the fact to how the state of the world in which we now live in is a mere symptom of many years living in a squandered element, often glossed over with a fine sheen of capitalistic, usually feigned, purity. What stuck with me as I left the theatre Sunday night is that, like most plays or films I love, it gave the viewer the chance to establish what they think happens at story’s end…Such is life. ###-1/2

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The attitude of gratitude abounds! #galleryofideasgoi #charla #englishradiobcn #radiokanalbarcelona #woke #diputacio290 #charla #you #I #charla #local #bish #jam (at RKB Radio Kanal Barcelona 106.9 fm) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxI9ExOByIo/?igshid=2y1ef56nyxy4

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Like a fine wine, this king amongst men introduced #ThePradoMuseum documentary at @bcnfilmfestival! @jeremyirons_ Your riding boots were slaying that night, I must say! #cinema #vintage #theclubwithlucas #art #pradomuseum #docs #englishradiobcn #WOKE #abitterlifethroughcinema (at Cines Verdi Barcelona) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw204ytBqrF/?igshid=1fd3kc2fbd989

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                                             WOKE! Film Reviews

                                BCN FILM FESTIVAL 2019 (DAY ONE)

                                                          by

                                           Lucas Avram Cavazos

The BCN/St. Jordi Film Festival inaugurated its third annual showcase in the beloved Gracia district of BCN on the eve of Saint George’s Day…HappyBelated!… with a swirl of roses and lines of books, cinema lovers and industry milling  about despite the rather finicky weather this year. Inaugurating the eight day affair was local director Dani de la Orden’s latest piece Litus, which was simple yet surprisingly effective… See review below. The BCN Film Fest revolves around literary and historically-based films and adaptations, and also works in tandem with EducaCine and acontracorriente films to bring cinephiles, students and history buffs together from all over the world. Below is a quick selection of films from the first day. Without further ado…let’s twawk, shall we?

Litus ###-1/2   Barcelona director Dani de la Orden made his name a few years back with his sentimental rom-com city pieces Barcelona, nit d’estiu and its sequel Barcelona, nit d’hivern with the backing of beloved TV host Andreu Buenafuente. This film however takes a step into a mature fase of what de la Orden is certainly processing, not necessarily in reference to the theme, but this is definitely a more personal take on a group of friend’s worst nightmare. When dear mate and singer Litus commits suicide, months later, his brother Toni (Quim Gutierrez) takes it upon himself to call the core group of friends together for a specific reason. He holds a series of goodbye letters from his brother for each of them and upon their opening, the truth slowly seeps out like honey. The performances by all involved are spot on, and it is hard not to love the soulful longing and sincerity in Belen Cuesta’s eyes or Tu Cara Me Suena winner Miquel Fernandez’s expressions. This may well be the best film of de la Orden’s career so far, but much of that has to do with the real-life concerns that hit all too many of us after whatever certain age. Based on Marta Bachaca’s theatre play of the same name, some things have been tweaked from her original but the exploration of themes like unexplained loss, mortality, love’s labour lost, Peter Pan syndrome and even, oh so charmingly, the wonderful film Peter’s Friends make for a film that stays with you well after you leave the movie theatre…wonderful Spanish cinema.

Rojo ###-1/2    A look-back on a time gone by, this film could easily be based on true events if it’s not already. Imagine rural Argentina, mid-70s during the Triple A drama and coup d’ etat…there is a tense yet agreeable nature to things all around you and the way director Benjamin Naishtat paints the film is curt yet on point, sad yet beguiling. Dr. Claudio Moran (Dario Grandinetti) lives a content and stable life and is a pillar in the community AND a successful attorney. This can go a long way in that day and age…unless surprise murder springs its meddling head. And this is where Rojo really begins. Here at abitterlife, I never give away spoilers (unless truly necessary, read: casi nunca!), so while there is an astounding if languid presence that mopes about this taut drama piece, there is also a wonderful telling of the 70s via the spectacle of the Latin American middle class. The style, music, autos, food and Euro-American melding, that only places like Argentina can often serve up heartily, hearken back to a time that was just starting to touch the essence of a new age dawning. The latest pieces of Argentinian cinema reflecting on its history (think El Angel from last year…exquisite!) have been rather remarkable in their ability to be good thought-provokers. No award winners here, most likely, but gripping in its own subtle way.

Sir ###-1/2     My twin brother Matthew is in love with India…and so is my dear friend Kiki, whose mum lived there for years. As I’ve never been, I can only say that the Hindi take on spirituality, spicy food, cinema, colours and great dance music make me love them…full stop. In dealing with the tensions that can most certainly exist amongst the caste systems of the Indian population of nearly 1.4 billion, it must be ever so important to shine a light on that still very wretched and enforced mentality. The beauty of this film lies in the simple gentility with which director Rohena Gera portrays the intricate, almost innocent, sensuality that plays itself out between Ratka and Ashwin,  respectively Tillotama Shome and Vivek Gomber. She is his housekeeper and also a student of clothe making, so she keeps busy as does Ashwin, playing building foreman for his father’s construction company after the calling-off of his wedding after a massive row with his now ex. Ratka is then called on to be something of a constant house companion to the depressed, handsome loner. I love the way tiny details make extraordinary realities so apparent. When Ratka is out and about, she wears bangle jewellery; however, when she heads back home via bus, she takes them off and puts them away. Will they or won’t they becomes the big question and documentary filmmaker Gera takes her time to be cordial in her revelations of love and lust. A nice Mumbai film and a sweet showcase for this first feature film director and her actors.

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This is BCN...every Tuesday at 11h! #theclubwithlucas #reomplo #englishradiobcn #WOKE #radiokanalbarcelona #verd #daJamz #livestreamluv #WikiLukesNews #weirdnews #PlasticFree #healthdarling (at RKB Radio Kanal Barcelona 106.9 fm) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvtJDUOnkTy/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1kb2a7xufl3le

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Giving you full, plumped love... #carmendemairena meets #kyliejenner and I burst forth with fruit flavor! #theclubwithlucas #mornings #englishradiobcn #weekend #getaway #CHURRIBDAY #miti3 #ReadMyRealLips #ribesdefreser #danceINfrance #vintage #strikeapose (at Barcelona, Spain) https://www.instagram.com/p/BvECXvQHEq5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=hgsu3ti506a3