The forgotten Mexican version of 'The Snow Society' that survivors hated

 

With The Snow Society  sweeping Netflix , it is inevitable that Alive (or Live!) will return to the conversation , the Hollywood film that adapted the tragedy of the plane crash in the Andes in 1993 with a cast of stars such as Ethan Hawke , Josh Hamilton or John Malkovich. The comparisons with the new film by JA Bayona , which stands as one of the favorites for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, bring to the table debates such as, for example, which of the two titles is of higher quality, which is more truthful to the events, which is more respectful or which pays better tribute to the victims of the accident.

However, as our vision is so focused on the hegemony of the mecca of cinema, few tend to remember that before The Snow Society or Alive there was already another film that brought this story to our screens. In fact, it was a Mexican production released a few years after the tragedy and, in that decade of the '70s when commercial cinema was still taking its first steps in extreme proposals, it aroused a strong impact due to the issue of anthropophagy . for how he dealt with the survivors surviving by eating the flesh of the deceased. Although in a bad way.

Titled Survivors of the Andes , it was made in Mexico in 1976 by René Cardona , a legendary director from the golden age of Mexican cinema who crossed all types of genres with films such as Santo contra el rey del corazón , La llorona , El enmascarado de plata , The horrifying human beast or Duel in El Dorado and who we also saw as an actor in classics like Allá en el rancho grande . Like The Snow Society or Alive , this title was based on previous literary material, based on the book Survive written in 1973 by Clay Blair Jr. It is not that in the narrative it represented a huge difference with what these other two films did later, although in its dramatic treatment it did have another approach, and a quite controversial one that even bothered the real survivors.  

Perhaps due to a tight budget, the film was quite flat when it came to translating the real story to the screen . With a duration of less than an hour and a half, it barely has room to develop its characters. It relies heavily on a voice-over in overexplanatory passages that are far from creating an emotional depth at the level of what we have seen in The Snow Society . To compensate for this, the film resorts to artificial resources to shock , such as a pounding soundtrack or excessive recreation in the most morbid passages of the event, such as the question of feeding on the bodies of the victims.

The memory of 'Mean Girls' that in the new film takes on another meaning

 

Mean Girls marked a before and after in high school cinema. It's not that it invented anything, but its freshness in addressing adolescent stereotypes through an ingenious script, comic points that were recorded for posterity or a charismatic cast led by Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams , made it an unrepeatable classic. of comedy.

You just have to see how established it has been in popular culture since its premiere in 2004, how much the teenage generation that enjoyed it still lives surrendered to “pink Wednesdays” or phrases like “It's so fetch!” and that it is almost impossible to walk around the internet without finding some reference, meme or phrase to the film. Therefore, with the announcement of a new version for 2024, it was difficult to imagine a product that emulated these sensations .

Making a teenage title today and adapting it to a new youth audience was going to bring with it the modification of its original essence . Basically, because the objective of Paramount Pictures, the producer behind Mean Girls , was to bring this story to new viewers and repeat the success of yesteryear, not so much to focus on nostalgia to attract the public cloistered in the film of yesteryear and deliver a product with nothing. new to offer.

Therefore, it was easy to think that the new adaptation would have every chance of disturbing the good memory that many of us have of the 2000s classic, with changes that would squeak at us and make us put our hands on our heads because they were not directed towards our generation and break the image of the original film. But this has not been the case, because the memory of the Mean Girls of Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams or Amanda Seyfreid keeps it intact. In fact, he uses it actively and takes it towards new meanings that make this new film another unforgettable experience.

The ideal movie to watch when you're feeling down thanks to an approach that deserves to win the Oscar

 

To describe a recently released film as a new cinema classic is a big word, but anyone who enjoys a story like Those Who Remain , which is already a favorite for the Oscars , will not hesitate to apply this qualification. This film starring Paul Giamatti , Dominic Sessa , Da'Vine Joy Randolph and directed by Alexander Payne ( Sideways , The Descendants...) , offers us a Christmas story of those that we always want to enjoy on these dates, although not just any one. , rather one that breaks with the conventions of this type of cinema with a bittersweet comedy capable of waking us up from our worst mood .

Those Who Stay revolves around a Christmas celebration, but not one of those full of good vibes, happy wishes, fabulous family gatherings or dream experiences about the meaning of these holidays. We are placed in a boarding school in the '70s where a very grumpy teacher must spend Christmas taking care of a group of students who have nowhere to go . This will lead to each person's traumas forging unexpected bonds, which will make it easier for them to face the black side of this holiday.

We are presented with profiles of characters who, due to issues of class, family, race or due to dramas of the time such as the Vietnam War, carry internal conflicts due to which these dates choke them, people and realities that we often find difficult to understand when staying in the superficiality of, for example, this type of celebrations. The film uses Christmas in a symbolic way to talk about society , how incomprehensible and frivolous it can be and how sometimes it takes us to cloister ourselves in order to later label ourselves and leave ourselves aside.

Thanks to an overflowing humanity, all it needs is to lovingly develop its protagonists to weave the story and conquer us . There are no highlights or speeches to convey its message, simply a journey through the experiences of its characters that, thanks to the virtues of dramatic comedy, becomes enjoyable and very identifiable for viewers. Those who know Alexander Payne's films will know what I'm talking about, because The Leftovers draws on the same approach as the director's other acclaimed films such as Sideways or Nebraska .

Madame Web | Top reviews, reviews and ratings

 At the moment, Hollywood suffers from a trend that is affecting contemporary cinema, the urgency of creating shared universes in a series of films that are excessively high-grossing. All production companies try to emulate the success of Avengers: Endgame (95%) or Spider-Man: No Way Home (92%) and this ambition means that creative decisions remain in the background, giving priority to commercial decisions that end in a lot of heartless movies.

With the idea of ​​creating its own shared universe, Sony has been making films of villains or secondary characters from the world of Spider-Man, unfortunately with very negative results (speaking specifically of live-action films, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (100 %) and its sequel are excellent). From the moderately entertaining Venom (35%) to the disastrous Morbius (21%) they have not gotten a good movie and Madame Web (14%) seems to be one more in the collection of failures.

What is 'Madame Web' about?

Cassandra "Cassie" Webb ( Dakota Johnson ) is a paramedic in Manhattan who after suffering a near-death accident develops powers of clairvoyance. Having visions of three girls who will be attacked, she decides to help them, only to discover that the three have an important destiny. Julia Cornwall ( Sydney Sweeney ), Anya Corazon ( Isabela Merced ) and Mattie Franklin ( Celeste O'Connor ) will become superheroes in the future and Ezequiel Zims ( Tahar Rahim ) tries to prevent it. To help them Cassie will have to face her past where she may be the key to being victorious.

Madame Web seems to suffer from all the flaws that made Morbius a failure, a haphazard script, a confusing narrative, poor visual effects, and good actors trapped in a bad movie. Critics emphasize the waste of great potential, as several comment that the plot could well have developed into a great story, but instead they took the path of clichés. The general consensus is that it is a bad movie, whether it is entertaining enough will be a matter of what mood you are in when you see it, if you decide to see it.

What do the critics say about 'Madame Web'?

Zendaya's robotic look at Dune 2 premiere provokes memes

 

Actress Zendaya caused a stir on social networks, after the robotic look she wore during the premiere of Dune 2 in London.

The futuristic design is from the emblematic French brand Mugler, with which the American actress wears a silver-tone robot suit, with transparent plates on some parts of the body such as the buttocks, legs and abdomen.

Given this, social media users created the best memes to take advantage of the moment.

Through the X platform, Internet users spread the most original memes of the event.

Some couldn't help but relate the actress to a famous Star Wars character.

While others remembered the legendary movie "Metropolis."

Likewise, a sector of the public knows that Zendaya's clothing can be used as armor.

Finally, some created their own Dune 2 tape.

The long-awaited film by director Denis Villeneuve will be released on February 29 in theaters throughout Mexico, so pre-sales began on February 8.

Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender 'is fantastic', say critics' first reactions

 Due to the love that fans have for the original animated series, there was a lot of skepticism surrounding Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender , especially since the creators of the animated show left their position as showrunners of the new series. due to creative differences. However, initial reactions from critics on social media have begun to emerge, offering a generally positive view.

The series follows the story of Aang, the last Avatar and master of the four elements, in a world divided by war and the struggle for power. Accompanied by his friends Katara and Sokka, Aang embarks on a journey to master control of the elements and restore balance to a world torn by conflict.

Avatar: The Last Airbender poster (Image: IMDb)

Early reactions from critics have been mostly positive, highlighting several aspects of the series. The direction of the series is praised, with special attention to the action scenes and visual effects that bring to life the control of elements ( bending ), a fundamental part of the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender . In addition, the fidelity to the original material and the inclusion of new elements that enrich the story known to fans stand out.

Will Smith's most secret role that not even his co-stars knew about

 

There was a movie in which Will Smith 's appearance took everyone by surprise, including the cast themselves, who had no idea that the Independence Day or Bad Boys actor worked alongside them. It happened in 2014, when the director and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman , who had a close relationship with Smith thanks to their collaborations on I, Robot or I Am Legend , directed the romantic drama A Winter's Tale and, due to budgetary and cache reasons, could not reveal to absolutely no one that he decided to unofficially count on the Hollywood actor to whom he turned almost desperately to alleviate a problem in the film.

Goldsman himself told it in several promotional interviews with media such as Yahoo or Variety , where he clarified that putting this film forward, for which he was given a very limited budget, was not an easy task . If we remember, A Winter's Tale adapts the famous novel of the same title by Mark Helprin, a project that was floating around Hollywood for years and that no director dared to do. Its story, a proposal of fantasy and romance between two timelines of the 19th century and the present, was described as unfilmable by filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, however, Akiva Goldsman, who until then had never directed a film, launched into the adventure.

As media outlets like Vulture reported , doubts surrounding A Winter's Tale were in the air until the last moment. The production company, Warner Bros, was also not sure that this story could work on screen, so the director had no choice but to ask favors from some of his friends in the industry and accept a budget reduction of around 20 million. of dollars . In 2012, there was already talk of a rumor that Smith would be one of these actors who would have agreed to help Goldsman, however, when the cast was announced, only the names of Colin Farrell , Jessica Brown Findlay , Russell Crowe , Jennifer Connelly or William Hurt .

"This movie is about 20 years of favors," Goldsman told Variety while promoting A Winter's Tale . “The truth is that we didn't have a very big budget, so I asked everyone I had worked with if they would consider doing it. After he wrote I, Robot and I Am Legend for Will Smith, which became two of the biggest hits of his career, the actor agreed to help his friend , although yes, due to his high cachet, the only condition that The idea was that his participation be kept secret, that it simply be seen as a surprise cameo that no one should find out about until the film's premiere.

The great Oscar favorite that shows Nazi terror like never before

 

Dramas about Nazism have always been a weakness of the Oscars . Schindler's List , Life is Beautiful , The Pianist , A Secret Passion or Inglourious Basterds are some of the many examples that have been around the Hollywood Academy Awards with important victories. This 2024, we have confirmed it again, since The Zone of Interest , a British film directed by Jonathan Glazer ( Under Your Skin ) about the horror of concentration camps, is establishing itself as one of the great contenders to highlight.

In total, it has received five nominations for Best Film, Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound and Best International Film. This presence in the main categories predicts a clear victory in the foreign production category, where phenomena like The Snow Society do not seem to have any chance. However, as routine as it may seem for the Academy to once again fall in love with a theme that has already won awards on many occasions, the truth is that The Zone of Interest has a very good reason for winning.

It talks about concentration camps, but in a way never seen before. At no point does it show first-hand the horror of the Holocaust, since its idea is to focus on the good life that the senior Nazi officials enjoyed in front of the fences , on how they turned a deaf ear to the horror that was in front of them while they were immersed in dream experiences due to the privileged position that Hitler's regime gave them.

The zone of interest , which adapts the novel of the same title written in 2014 by Martin Amis, places us in Auschwitz, in a house right next to the concentration camp wall. The camera insists on pointing out a family enjoying endless luxuries: exotic gardens, succulent celebrations, pool afternoons... But, at the same time, the soundtrack is responsible for clarifying the terror behind that place, which The protagonists of the film remain impassive . This is a shocking job with the off-camera, since, although we see absolutely nothing explicit, the brutal contrast between what we observe and hear leaves us with a terrible bad body.