Tanguy
Tanguy is a 28 year old french guy who still lives with his parents. The problem is, his parents want him out of the house at any cost, and since Tanguy doesn't have a clue about it, the father tries to make their home a truly awful place for Tanguy to live, leading to hilarious and crazy schemes.
There is an american film based on the same premise, "Failure to launch", which is horrid. In the french movie, the spotlight is in the relationship between Tanguy and his parents, and the extreme actions a desperate father is capable of doing to get rid of his son (short of murder).
Robotech
Robotech is actually a cocktail of three japanese series (Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, and Mospeada), which were strung together to create this 85 episode series for the american public.
And they totally rocked it!
The series follow three generations of earth fighters who are attacked by alien forces, who want to 1) rescue an alien ship that landed on a Pacific Island 2) retrieve the last source of "protoculture" (a kind of energy) that was on this same ship and 3) enslave the earthlings and make them produce protoculture.
The only help these fighters have is the technology that came with the spaceship, which allows them to construct the most amazing human controlled robots you've ever seen, which can transform to fighter planes, motorcycles, etc.
In my humble opinion, the best of the three generations is the first one, in which you're introduced for the first time to this amazing robots along with the hero, who goes from being a talented but clueless pilot to this ace of the skies. You'll also be swept into the most heart-wrenching love triangle, between Rick (that's our hero) and Lynn-Minmei and Lisa.
There has been talk that Tobey MacGuire is going to produce and act in the movie, and opinions are polarized about it.
Harry Potter series
Some of the best british actors support the threesome of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Some people say that they can't act, or that they've become to old for these roles, but I don't care. For me, they are Harry, Ron and Hermione.
This movies are packed with action and adventure, and even some romance (and oh, all that angsty adolescence love), and with the power of friendship.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Against the gorgeuos scenery of New Zealand - I'm sorry, Middle Earth - this epic tale comes to life.
Lost
It was epic, but like all good things, it came to an end in 2010 after 6 glorious seasons.
The serie begins with an airplane crash. The survivors soon realize that they are stranded in an island, which has more secrets that what meets the eye. It's inhabitated by a group of mysterious and dangerous people, the "Others", and by a bloodthirsty "Black Monster".
Also, in each chapter you get to know the past history of one of the survivors... and they too have more layers and secrets that what appears at first sight.
Dawn of the Dead
For unknown reasons a mysterious virus has attacked mankind, turning the infected into zombies... but these are faster, smarter, stronger, and ultimately scarier zombies than the ones you see in George Romero's movies.
A group of survivors barricade themselves into the city's mall (if everybody's dead, I guess all is free for grabs), where they seem to be safe and sound... but are they really?
A Escrava Isaura
This is a brazilian soap opera based in a book by a brazilian abolicionist, written in the XIX century, when Brasil did have slaves. It's the story of a "white slave" (a mulatto, actually), who after the death of her mother is raised by the plantation's mistress, who doesn't have any daughters and gets to love Isaura dearly. She loves her so much that she won't allow her father (who is a free white man) to buy her, but promises to give her her freedom... one day.
The crisis arises when her mistress dies without giving her her liberty. Isaura becomes an object of obsession to her owner's only son, Leoncio, who has returned after many years to the plantation after being expelled from University and leaving a bunch of debts and a pregnant mistress in the way. Leoncio will try any dirty trick to make Isaura his, and thus she has only one alternative: escape.
I watched this soap opera with my husband when we where dating, and it brings a lot of memories.
That Mitchell and Webb look
The series is truly hilarious, and I highly recommend it.
Mr. Bean
If you've only seen the Mr. Bean movies, don't give up yet. I didn't like them, even though I'm a fan. I think Mr. Bean is better in smaller dosis, and the 30 minutes episodes express better his weirdness.
Saint Seiya (aka Knights of the Zodiac)
Saint Seiya is a Japanese manga that was later transformed into anime. The story begins with our hero, Seiya, a japanese boy who has spent the last 6 years training in Greece to become a knight, or "holy fighter", sworn to protect the goddess Athena, and who after a bloody battle wins the Pegasus armour. He returns to Japan to meet his only sister, from whom the Fundation that send him to Greece has kept him apart, only to be told that she has dissappeared. However, the current CEO of the Fundation, Saori (a girl with purple hair and roughly his same age) promises Seiya to help him find his sister, if he participates in the fighting match the Fundation is holding, and wins the first (and only) prize: a golden armour, aka Sagittarious Gold Cloth.
Seiya accepts, but when he's fighting some mysterious enemies steal the Gold Cloth. Seiya and his former opponents start giving chase, and during their battles they become real friends. They learn that Saori is the goddess Athena reincarnated, and that there's an evil enemy in the Santuary who wants to kill her and possess all the 12 Gold Cloths so he can become the most powerful man in the world. Where is the zodiac in this? There are 12 Gold Cloth knights, named after the zodiacal signs, and Seiya and his friends must battle all of them in order to get to the evil "Master".
In the picture, clockwise: Shiryu, the Dragon knight; Hyoga, the swan; Seiya, Pegasus; Shun, Andromeda, and Ikki, the Phoenix knight. The girl is Saori/Athena.
Candy Candy
Candance "Candy" White is an orphaned girl growing up in an orphanage in Michigan in the early XX century. In spite of her humble circumstances, she's a sunny and happy child, full of mischief and adored by Miss Pony and Sister Maria, the two ladies who run the orphanage. She has a best friend, Annie, and has vowed never to be apart from her.
In one of her adventures, Candy catches the eye of rich Mr. Brighton, who wants to adopt her. Candy refuses because she doesn't want to leave Annie. However, Annie is not so generous, and accepts to be adopted. Heartbroken, Candy runs to Pony's hill and starts crying. In that moment, a boy dressed in full scot dress appears and comforts her, but dissapears before Candy can ask him his name, leaving behind a gold brooch. Candy names him "The Prince of the Hill".
A little while later the Leagan family offers to take Candy in as a playing companion of their two children, Eliza and Neil. Candy accepts because she recognizes the same design of her Prince's brooh in the carriage door, and thinks she's going to meet him.
Here start her misadventure. There is no Prince at the Leagan house, only two extremely spoiled and wicked children who enjoy bullying and torturing poor Candy. Crying once more, she meets their handsome and kind cousin, Anthony. At first she thinks he's the Prince of the Hill, but he denies it. However, they soon become fast friends and start falling in love.
Eliza, who has her eye on Anthony too, complains to her mother and they sell Candy as a bonded servant to a cruel man going to Mexico. Candy escapes, and after hearing of her plight, the head of the Andry family and Anthony's great uncle adopts her.
Candy feels herself living in a dream, but it's all too good to be true. Anthony is killed in a fall from his horse, leaving Candy devastated. The Andry family decides to send her to a boarding school in England where she can further her education and forget Anthony.
Saint Paul's Academy is a harsh and severe school run by nuns, and unfortunately both Eliza and Neil attend it as well, and still want to make Candy's life a living hell. Luckily, both of Anthony's cousins, Archie and Stear are going to the same school, as well as Candy's friend from the orphanage, Annie. Moreover, there is also rebellious Terrence, who is trying hard to break all the nun's rules. If Anthony was the first sweet love, Terry becomes the fiery one, arguing and teasing one moment, feeling attracted to each other the next. Candy also becomes friend with Albert, an animal lover who works at the local zoo.
Once more, Eliza Leagan steps in to distroy Candy's chances, accusing her and Terry to the Superior Mother. Terry takes all the blame and leaves the school to become an actor in New York. After Terry leaves, Candy realizes how much she loves him and follows him, always arriving just a little bit late.
Finally Candy catches up with Terry in New York, where he's acting in Broadway. They're about to be happy for ever after, but then Susannah, an actress who was in love with Terry, saves him from an accident, becoming paralized herself. Terry feels it's his duty to stand by Susannah and ends his relationship with Candy.
Heartbroken once more, Candy decides to become a nurse, and has to attend the wounded during WWI. After the war is over, her former nemesis Neal becomes obsessed with her and tries to marry her againts her will. Candy flies to the great uncle Andry, only to discover that he's the friend who always stood by her side.
The series is great, but right now there's a battle for the rights between the author and the illustrator, so everything is frozen and there won't be any legal copies of the anime until that mess is solved.
By the way, there's also a manga of the series, which I intend to read shortly.
The Tudors
As we all know, Henry VIII had six wives. In the first two Seasons, he tries to get rid of her first wife, Catherine of Aragon (the daughter of the Catholic Kings from Spain, and aunt of Emperor Charles V) in order to marry his lady love, Anne Boleyn, who has promised him the son the first queen failed to provide. However, Catherine's relations are too powerful and the king can't get a divorce from Rome. After 7 years of trials and paperwork, he cuts the Chuch of England from Rome, declares his first marriage invalid, sends queen Catherine to rot in some Godforsaken castle, and marries Lady Anne. However he tires of Anne when she fails to give him a son, and after accusing her of witchery and sleeping around, he has her beheaded.
He already has his eye in his new Queen, Jane Seymour. In Season 3 he marries her and crushes a religious rebellion in the North. Queen Jane dies giving birth to his son. At first the King is desolate, but quickly decides to take another wife.
This time his chief adviser, Cromwell, convinces the King of making a political marriage with Anne of Cleves, a german duchess. Unfortunately the king is repulsed by his new wife, and even if Anne is spared and only divorced, Cromwell's head falls under the axe.
In Season 4, Henry marries for love Catherine Howard, a lustful and silly girl, who is too soon doomed by mistakes of her past and by the powerful factions of court. Her head rolls too, leaving the king once more a widower.
By this time all the ladies at court - and abroad - are afraid of becoming the next queen, but when Henry proposes to the recently widowed Lady Latimer, Catherine Parr, she cannot refuse, even though she's in love with one of his courtiers. Then it becomes a question of who can survive longer. Can this Catherine keep her head on her shoulders until the old king passes away, or will she fall to the axe too?
Underworld
In this movie we come across a secret war that has been going on between vampires and lycanthropes since they were both created. So far, vampires are winning, but the lycan leader, Lucian, is about to change that.
Selene (Kate Beckinsale, in the poster) is a soldier vampire and a hunter, and she's everything you come to expect when you think of a vampiress: beautiful, sexy as hell and lethal. Things start rolling when she follows some lycans and find Michael Corvin, a descendant from the Corvinus family from which came both vampires and lycans, and a man with the capacity to combine in himself both the lycan and vampire "virus". The decision to protect him will force her to face past betrayals and make a stand.
I can only say that This Movie Rocks! Kate Beckinsale became one of my favorite actress after this movie.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
