Ocho apellidos catalanes (2015) Reviews

• Nice and nutty sequel with crazy events , romances , amusement and absurd situations

  ma-cortes2016-05-11

  Entertaining and bewildering sequel that has defied gravity at the box office . Fun Spanish comedy full of entertainment , humor and sheer amusement , being become Box Office Phenom in Spain . Emilio Martinez Lazaro's romantic comedy with fine actors , appropriate cinematography , adequate score and professional direction . Thorny comedy concerning about a pressumed independent Catalonia , full of humor , bemusing scenes , good feeling and being swiftly paced . Romantic as well as attractive comedy "Ocho Apellidos Catalanes" is taking the country by storm , and its success on the Bigscreen owes much to the Smallscreen . Spanish comedy in which some top-notch actors give terrific and sympathetic acting along with a funny screenplay filled with charming and bemusing situations . It deals with Amaia (Clara Lago) after breaking up with Rafa (Dani Rovira), falls in love with a Catalonian called Pau (Berto Romero) . Koldo (karra Elejalde) , her father , goes to Sevilla to persuade Rafa to go to Catalonia and take Amaia's heart back . Once time in Cataluña , there appears Merche (Carmen Machi) , and the Pau's grandmother (Rosa Maria Sarda) ; then , things go wrong . Emilio Martinez-Lazaro's broad comedy Ocho Apellidos Catalanes or Spanish Affair 2 , the sequel to the all-time local hit Spanish Affair, was the top grossing film of 2015, taking $34.7m (€32m) . This is an extremely funny film with entertaining events , giggles , emotion , craziness , binge , twists and intimate love stories . The film moves in fits and starts most of which would be desirable , with more traps the viewer resists any kind , and some moments of enjoyment and others quite a few embarrassing . This disconcerting film packs amusement , comical situations , tongue-in-cheek , politic critique , surrealist comedy , adding conventional pitfalls and many other things . Close comedy regarding crazy roles , mayhem , antics , frolics , and a moving romances ; including enjoyable interpretations with outcast roles were pretty well developed . As their touching love story and , subsequently , a possible wedding suspension that becomes really amusing . This is a special Spanish comedy from the 2015s with the usual ingredients such as wild humor topped with a little bit of original touches here and there and the tone of the film is light-hearted . Witty and agreeable screenplay from Borja Cobeaga and Diego San José , deemed to be new kings of Spanish comedy . Borja Cobeaga is a director and writer, he was born in Donostia-San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa, País Vasco, where he usually shoots his movies . He a good writer/filmmaker expert on comedies as he has proved writing several amusing flicks . Being known for Pagafantas (2009), Éramos Pocos (2005) and Negociador (2014) . Being especially known for ¨8 Apellidos Vascos¨ or ¨Spanish affair¨ considered to be the biggest box office in Spanish cinema and this ¨8 Apellidos Catalanes¨. After 2012s The Impossible and 2014s Ocho Apellidos Vascos , Ochos Apellidos Catalanes topping the 2015 Spanish movie office charts will also mark the third year out of four that a Spanish film tops Spanish box office charts . It's an agreeable , moving film , perfectly acted and concerning the narration about the relationship among bride , grandmother , guests , fiancée , fiancés , best man , relatives and friends . On the surface, ¨8 Apellidos Catalanes¨ doesn't get much wrong , it looks okay , the comedy misunderstandings pile up in a reasonably amusing fashion and the performance is acceptable . Great acting by Dani Rovira , he truly steals the show . Dani is the recent king of Spanish romantic comedy and considered to be the new Alfredo Landa with successes as ¨Ahora o Nunca¨ , ¨8 Apellidos Vascos¨ and ¨8 Apellidos Catalanes¨ . In fact , the film is a Dani Rovira recital , as he stooges , jokes , makes acrobatics , and puts faces and grimaces . It's a pretty amusing farce with this master actor , ordinary in ¨Stand-up comedy¨ shows . Sympathetic acting by Clara Lago as lovely bride . In reality Clara Lago and Dani Rovira are a couple and this film marks the third time they have worked together . And enjoyable performance from Karra Elejalde as likable Basque father . Fine support cast , such as : the TV star Berto Romero , Carmen Machi , Belen Cuesta , Alfonso Sánchez and special mention for Rosa Maria Sardà as stiff Catalonian grandmother . Colorful and appropriate cinematography by Julian Molina . Evocative as well as adequate musical score by Roque Baños . Roque has made a prestigious career , as National : ¨800 bullets¨ , ¨Fragiles¨ , ¨Celda 211¨ , as International : ¨In the heart of the sea¨, ¨Cantinflas¨, ¨Old boy¨ , ¨Evil Dead¨ , ¨Machinist¨, ¨Sexy beast¨. Well produced by Lazona Films, Kowalski Films , Snow Films and Telecinco Cinema, whose owner, Spain's biggest broadcast network Mediaset . Distributed by Universal Pictures Intl. , the film has made more than $21 million since its premiere , a third-frame feat that even blockbusters "Welcome to the Sticks" and "The Intouchables" couldn't match in their home territory of France, or anywhere in Europe . This Spanish blockbuster "Ocho Apellidos Catalanes¨ was well directed by Emilio Martínez Lázaro . He was born in 1945 in Madrid , location in which he often shoots his films . He is a Spanish prestigious cinema director . Emilio is a director and writer, a good filmmaker expert on comedies as he has proved in : Los Peores Años De Nuestra Vida (1994) , El Juego Más Divertido (1998) and Amo Tu Cama Rica (1992) , drama : Las 13 Rosas (2007) La Voz De Su Amo (2001) , Musical as : Al Otro Lado De La Cama (2002) , Los Dos Lados De La Cama (2005) , among others.

• Weak, diluted and, sometimes, insulting

  tenshi_ippikiookami2017-09-10

  "Ocho apellidos catalanes", the sequel to smash hit "Ocho apellidos vascos" suffers from the same problems of the first one: weak love- story, actors who look bored, yokel humor and ambiguous political messages about Spain and Catalonia. The story picks up with Amaia engaged to a Catalan guy named Pau, after Rafa got cold feet and left her. Koldo, Amaia's father, goes to see Rafa for help (we never really get the reasoning behind it, because he doesn't even know Pau; it just happens). Cue Rafa and Koldo going to Catalonia, and trying to wreak havoc and stopping Amaia from marrying Pau. What follows is worth a couple of chuckles and a smile. The humor is juvenile, and quite stupid, and no viewer will ever believer Amaia loves Pau (there's no chemistry between the actors, like none whatsoever). There are a couple of seen-a-hundred-times-but-still- acceptable funny moments, like the one where Rafa has to hide from people discovering him in his underwear in Pau's grandmother's house, but otherwise, the effort is zero. If that was everything, the movie would end being a harmless, but boring, love story. But the movie keeps sending messages about Spain and Catalonia, with the underlying message of the stupidity of the Catalans for wanting independence behind it all. With so much to poke fun to about Spain and Catalonia, it makes little sense that they just go for the independence thing, all the jokes a variation of: those Catalan people are snobs (and funnily enough, all of them speak Castilian, not Catalan, which makes no sense either). And, if that was not enough, there are head-scratching cheap shots to hipsters and cosmopolitanism, which reinforces the idea that the movie seems to be saying that culture, education and all that is all a lie and that the dancing and music from the south of Spain is what is really worthwhile in life. Boring and insulting.