Reviews by skykid

The debut album of Antonio Jose - Te Traigo Flores is full with hits - from greats ballads such as Digale and Qiero Ser to energetic vibes such as Vente and Vive la Vida. I have this album and have heard every single song of it more than 100 times - the voice of Antonio is so unique. I highly recommend this album and can`t wait for his second to to be released in the fall 2007.

econd best is a touching and moving masterpiece directed by Chris Menges . The plot reminded me of another

great British movie – “Dear Frankie “.I guess it is that father – son relationship that makes movies like these two so special. The loyalty of the son both in the characters of Jimmy played by Nathan Yapp and Graham Holt (William Hurt) is touching and I am not ashamed to admit that there were moments of this movie which truly brought tears to my eyes.

One other reviewer wrote:

“Chris Cleary Miles’ apparently initial screen performance as the troubled youth is near amazing.”

And I just couldn’t agree more with that – the acting of Chris Cleary Miles, William Hurt and for that matter all the other actors in this movie is first class – their gestures, the words they say , the way they say them – you just have to watch it to experience the movie – because that is what you are going to get an unforgettable experience.

The flashbacks moments (the memories of the little Jimmy) were very careful chosen and I felt really weird watching them , knowing that there is something more hidden out there– this feeling stayed with me until the final scenes in which these flashbacks became more revealing …

There also a lot of symbolism is Second Best –the scene in which the boy looks at the man who wants to adopt him trough a broken window is just one example and if you watch it more than once you will sure notice many other symbols – the letter, the scars … etc

You just couldn’t watch the movie without noticing how much the music contributes to it – piano or guitars, it fits the scenes really good - making the emotional impact they have on the viewer’s powerful and overwhelming.

The movie did not impress me with its story. The nature scenes and the acting of the young Jeremy Cooper was what did impress me. Actually from what I saw I was almost convinced that all characters in the movie except the three boys the movie starts with are crazy or something. As one other reviewer wrote “In The Reflecting Skin, nobody behaves like a normal person would, and the viewer is left as a patron at a freak show.”

The sheriff for example – I felt the desire to kick his …..you know what for the way he spoke to people, including Seth ( the leading character) .

It was an entertaining movie nevertheless – especially the first scene with the exploding frog. There are some disturbing scenes – like a father who commits a suicide in front of his nine years old son – or an English Lady who is acting as weird as it can dreaming of her dead husband.



As I mentioned the brilliant cinematography was probably the best asset of this movie. I watched it at home, but am sure that on a cinema screen the sunset’s scenes or the nature one would look absolutely amazing.

Reflecting Skin is not the best movie I have seen, but I guess some scenes will be stuck in my mind for a while. After all being characterized as Coming out of age movie – it does a great job in the genre if you look at it from that perspective.

I have to admit that if I first didn’t stumble on that movie on IMDb I wound have not even know about it. It is almost 2 am and I just took the DVD out of my computer. Have to admit that this is one of the most brilliant films I have ever watched.
The movie shows the growth of two boys – in parallel - they both were abused as kids from they Baseball coach and are striving to find a way to cope with the past. Whatever happened back then seems to be shaping their personality – but in a different way. When I think about it – it is only natural that people are different and, being so they perceive different events and situation in their own unique way.
Mysterious skin – you may wonder why they picked such a name for that movie, but I am sure that by the time the last credits roll you will have some idea. What would be the life of the boys, if things happened differently? That is the question you have to answer for yourself.

There are quite a few sex scenes, which I didn’t like much – probably because the lust was overwhelming, and the money played their role. I guess it is just me, being romantic as usual – but these scenes just didn’t seem right to me. Then again – without them the movie wouldn’t be the same.
The acting in this movie was terrific, I almost felt like I can sense the feeling of the actors. Watch this movie and remember that what happened in the past may leave its traces for many years to come…

Recently I have noticed that the Russians began to make very good movies – and Svolochi is for sure one of them. The action is really moving – while the viewer has a choice - to sympathize with the young criminals who seemed doomed to die or to look at them from a different perspective. Some of the boys were caught for committing crimes such as murders and they were given a chance between death and training in a military preparing them for risky missions behind the enemy lines. The movie does not do very good on the realistic scale but still seeing it is worth it as it has some quite emotional moments and the acting was pretty decent. The music in the movie is really nice - I have been listening to the theme song over and over again.

“12 and holding” is another great movie directed by Michael Cuesta, who recently became my favorite movie director. If you are looking for a fine Coming out of Age story – chances are that that you will find it all in “12 and holding”. It is a simple story – without much special effects or famous actors playing – but the way the story is shown will make you remember what you’ve seen .One could say that the movie was disturbing – as it showed things most people would never want to happen to them or their kids – at the same time everything seems to real. One just couldn’t miss the exceptional performance of the young Conor Donovan who plays two roles – and does it so well, that I have to admit that I haven’t noticed that both boys are played by the same actor.

The soundtrack is extremely powerful – especially the melancholic music in some scenes. The theme song from it is called “Reckless burning” and it is performed by Jesse Sykes - most of the other songs from the soundtrack are performed by of Elysian Fields. I did not notice any flaws and felt quite related to the actors. My opinion that all viewers would able to sense something similar to what they felt when they were growing up – that sense of anger, or desire for revenge …or the will to protect your relatives and friends .

Despite of what some other reviewers wrote – I did not find the movie tough to watch – yes it deals with violence even death , but it does it in quite an unique way . 12 and holding an independent movie that conveys powerful messages.

Sometimes I stumble on a movie which all of the sudden turns out to be a real masterpiece. Pelle the Conqueror really surprised me – touching story told in a unique way. Pelle is a boy from Sweden who immigrates to Denmark with his dad after the death of his mother. They are both full of hope – hope for a new beginning – and there is a scene in the boat on which Pelle wants to hear over and over about the new country they will be living at:

Tell me about it again, papa. It’s very different this new country.

- You’ll hardly…

- You’ll hardly believe your eyes. They put raisins in the pork roastand butter on your bread…Some places they put butter on your bread.- And kids are free all day.

- Yes, Pelle, yes. Wages are so incredibly high, that kids…That kids don’t have to work.

It sounds too good to be true – may be not for you – but imagine what those words meant for a boy who is used to live in a missy , probably due to the hard life he had to live after the death of his mother. As soon as the boat reaches the shore the reality of this new world came out of the dream mist. Finding employment is not as easy especially considering the age of the Pele’s father and the fact that he has a small boy with him. At the end they are offered an employment at a large farm, but find the life would present many challenges to them.

The acting is very good – the young Pelle Hvenegaard who plays the role of Pelle is so good that one can thing that he has a dozen of movies in his carrier and probably that is the reason for which 2 years after the movie is released he wins two award for the Best Young Actor in 1988 at the European Film Awards and for Best Young Actor in a Foreign Film in a Foreign Filmat the young artists awards for his role in Pelle the Conqueror.

I watched this movie with constant hope to see happiness in the eyes of Pelle and the moments in which he felt happy was shining like a real diamonds surrounded by the dust of the harsh live he had to deal with. Although Pelle is often refused friendships from the local Danish boys he shows his good heart befriending a boy who has some physical disability – and their friendship through a little odd at times shows that people can find someone to care for , even in the toughest places.

Pelle the Conqueror is classic movie and although some may thing that the story gets a bit depressing at times I recommend it to anyone who treasure excellent coming of age movies.

Much more than another coming of age movie – Ciske the rat is a fine example of the Dutch cinema. If you are found of the treble music you will definitely notice the song at the beginning performed by the Danny De Munk (famous singer from Netherlands) who plays the role of the troubled young lad – Ciske.

The childhood of Ciske in not easy – his father is sailing away and his mother does not really care about him. With rebellious spirit the young Ciske spends most of his time on the streets of Amsterdam. No one pays attention to the lonely boy. Trying to cope with the harsh live and attract some love and sympathy he has troubles with the law and even spends some time in prison. I really admired the way he protected himself there – if only all people were as strong as he turned out to be.

Ciske has generous heart and when his teacher notices that he tries to help the young lad to take the right path.

Ciske the Rat is powerful and graphically brutal drama which is sure to leave a long lasting impression to anyone who has a chance to see it. I truly enjoyed watching it and highly recommend it.

This movie is full of emotions. I think that everyone who sees it – would feel them. The main character of the movie is Frankie – 9 and half years old boy who is deaf – but that isn’t really that much important as he does have a great personality . You should see him writing the A in Deaf when one of his classmates tries to bring him down. Frankie miss his fatter terribly and writes to him often – only it is not his dad who writes back , but his mom – I don’t want to include any spoilers – so I would just highly recommend this movie to you. At first I was heaving a bit of trouble picking up the English accent , but in a few minutes got used to it – the movie did not have subtitles, which was fine by me as I generally don’t like movies with subtitles anyway ( with exception of anime movies – most of which are in Japanese as you know ). The moments which Frankie shared with his “ dad “ ( you will see for yourself why I am using the quotes here ) reminded me of my own dad – who is away now – and I am pretty much in the situation of Frankie – writing to him , only am using yahoo messenger – rather than mails. There were quite some moments in the movie I could relate to myself.

The music is well chosen as well and adds to the overall atmosphere – I do not know the reason but UK movies seems to be much better made than any else – on a psychological base if you want to call it that way. Like Billy Elliot, Dear Frankie would make you feel.

The movie started and I noticed a familiar face – an actor from one other movie – Jamie Bell in the role of Chris. He has grown up since the time I watched him as Billy in Billy Elliot – but his acting talent remained unchanged.

The movie itself is excellent and I caught myself thinking of it quite a lot the next day after seeing it. There are many nice effects such as changing colours, negative frames, freezing moments and they all contribute greatly to the overall atmosphere making you think of the movie as an art masterpiece.

As I was watching the movies I almost jumped several times - it builds a lot of tension and evokes emotions with supercharged scenes. The characters are quite interesting as well – the older brother Chris with his dreams and pursuits that get him in troubles sometimes (which is why he is known to the police) –and the younger brother – Tim (played by Devon Alan) – extremely smart and at the same time weird kid who likes to eat books and taste or eat just about anything he finds interesting – things like mud or paint…etc. Their hardworking father who takes care of his two sons is another interesting character – after the death of his wife he choose to live in isolation in Georgia – he to has some skeletons in his closet like all of us. I agree with the opinions with some other reviewers that the characters are so well developed characters that a different movie can be filmed for every single one of them.

The soundtrack interesting as well – combination of orchestra music, children voices, mystery vibes it is at least as good as the movie itself and my guess is that most people who like the movie would want to get the soundtrack as well – I know I do.