Javier Bardem

No Country for Old Men
$19.99
This movie starts off great, with sharp, clever dialog and an engaging plot. The photography is excellent and the choice of actors was very good. The action keeps things moving and it's fun to watch the cat and mouse game between the two principal characters, and there's a sprinkling of genuine humor throughout.

Javier Bardem is brilliant, as are most of the others.

My principle gripe was the ending. It was almost like a power failure at the theatre. The movie just ENDS and nothing is resolved. We sit through the whole movie waiting for the point where the amoral gunman is blown away- presumably by Tommy Lee Jones Sheriff character and instead being given nothing. Others have interpreted this ending in different ways, but I liken it to some of those gibberish novels and plays we were forced to read in college that looked to me like the author had decided to write something deliberately meaningless and then chuckle as everyone argued over what it meant.

This movie is nothing but a two hour long trailer for another movie that maybe they will make in the future.

Extasis
$14.98
Gripping and intense this unusual tale of seduction stars Oscar(r)Winner JAVIER BARDEM in one of his earliest films. Rober (BARDEM) areckless 25-year-old concocts an outrageous scheme with friend Max(DANIEL GUZMAN) and girlfriend Lola (SILVIA MUNT) - they will robtheir families and flee their hometown. When Max is arrested during oneof the robberies Rober impersonates him and successfully dupesMax's estranged wealthy father (FEDERICO LUPPI) into giving them bailmoney. But the trio's plan goes awry when Rober refuses to give uphis luxurious new life putting all of them at risk...System Requirements:Running Time: 92 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre:?LATIN/DRAMA Rating:?NR UPC:?012236236313 Manufacturer No:?23631

The Dancer Upstairs
$9.98
2003's "The Dancer Upstairs" is an underappreciated but very worthwhile departure from the standard movie drama. It is a thinly fictionalized account of the pursuit of the murderous head of the Peruvian Maoist terrorist group Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path). What could easily have been a flashy, violent thriller is, in Director John Malkovich's treatment, a slow-burning, richly textured movie centered on its characters and its location.

Javier Bardem is superb, and subtle, as a middle-aged detective charged with the pursuit of the leader of the terrorists. His edge is a chance encounter with the otherwise faceless suspect many years earlier. His methodical pursuit of a thin trail of clues is complicated by competition and corruption within the law enforcement community and by his own troubled personal life, not least his interest in his daughter's ballet teacher.

The movie's studiously even-handed presentation provides a textured look at the Peruvian society of the day, including our detective's uncertain links to his own Quechua heritage. This approach may distract viewers looking for police procedural content, but it imparts significant emotional content to the ending of the movie. "The Dancer Upstairs" is very highly recommended to the patient viewer looking for something different in a movie drama.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
$19.95
I am very happy I bought the movie. I liked Penelope's character. I really enjoyed the music, the beautiful spaces in Barcelona where the movie takes place.