OBI-WAN Ewan McGregor: 2009

Angels & Demons :by Eleonor McKay
Where Da Vinci code introduced us to Dr. Robert Langdon and his knack for solving puzzles, Angels and Demons ups the ante by providing a huge puzzle with an 8 hour limit.

With a cast of award winning actors, Ron Howard does a good job of directing a story that was easy to follow and even easier to accept. The Da Vinci code threw so many angles at you in such a short time that a quick bathroom break would leave you a bit confused on return. I didn't feel this was with Angels and Demons, the plot was straight-forward and the action kept the interest level peaked throughout.

Cardinal Strauss (Armin Mueller-Stahl) was easily my favorite character in the movie. His portrayal of the elitist, yet misunderstood rank of the Catholic Church was very good and combined with the victim of his treatment Camerlengo Patrick McKenna (Ewan McGregor), you will find yourself choosing sides immediately upon introduction. There isn't a great amount of Tom Hanks time as the film focuses more on story than character development and this did well with me being that I had more than enough introduction from the first movie.

Unfortunately I found Ayelet Zurer's character Vittoria Vetra to be an unnecessary femme assistant in the quest since her lines were a bit limited and seemed much like an afterthought. She does play a key role in the beginning of things but she soon fades into the background of being Langdon's "familiar" more-so than a necessary partner.

The plot is as such, one of the organizations that the Catholic Church wronged in the past (there have been quite a few) has sought revenge in a most artistic manner. Some men of the church are kidnapped and are set to be executed at specific times until an ultimate end to the church itself will happen. Dr. Robert Landon is brought in to help decipher the clues and teams up with the beautiful Vittoria Vetra, a scientist who witnessed a colleague die at the hands of the church's enemy.

Music staying relevant and the cinematography beautiful, I could chime on about this menial things but what makes Angels and Demons absolutely work is it's conclusion. It was by far one of the most amazingly surprising endings I have seen in a movie and I was impressed at how off-guard I was when it hit me. Like anyone else I appreciate a great wrap-up and this movie wraps it up quite tight and drops a pretty bow on it. Needless to say I left the theater pleased at the movie in it's entirety.

If you are religious and unsure if this movie will offend your Catholic principles. I can say that where The DaVinci code painted Catholicism as a shady cover-up group of sadists, Angels and Demons paints them with a much lighter brush. The church is shown as being a collective of good men who are made to suffer for the sins of evil and misguided men who wore their colors and even a few who have infiltrated their modern ranks.

04/05/2009 Actualizada a las 21:25h Cultura
Roma. (EFE).- Una nueva polémica con el Vaticano ha acompañado el estreno de "Ángeles y demonios", la segunda adaptación de un libro de Dan Brown, después de que ya "El código Da Vinci" levantara protestas entre la comunidad católica por su retrato de un Jesucristo casado con María Magdalena y con hijos.
Ewan McGregor se pone en la piel de un oscuro cura
El actor escocés aseguró que fue todo un desafío interpretar a un personaje aparentemente bondadoso, que no duda en hacer lo que sea para defender a la Iglesia. "No quise ser ningún villano", dijo.
PROTAGONISTAS. Ewan McGregor y la actriz Ayelet Zurer. REUTERS
Los Illuminati, una secta misteriosa que cobra actualidad gracias al cine
Con "Angeles y demonios" la polémica se instaló en Italia

Roma.- Ewan McGregor , se enfundó la sotana para representar al camarlengo al mando del Vaticano durante una sucesión papal en el Vaticano para la película "Angeles y demonios", de Ron Howard. Y aunque el personaje es un sacerdote, también tiene su lado oscuro.
"Es muy interesante ser bueno y malo. Es todo un reto. No intentaba representar a ningún villano, sólo interpreto a alguien que es muy devoto de su iglesia y que es capaz de llegar a niveles extremos para protegerla. Pero no quiero ser el tipo malo, porque no es así como funciona", explica el actor.
En "Angeles y demonios", McGregor es el camarlengo de un difunto Papa. Y como secretario del Sumo Pontífice, él está al mando del destino de la Santa Sede mientras se encuentra a un sustituto para dirigir la Iglesia Católica.
"Como para cualquier otro personaje, uno tiene que explorar en su imaginación todos los elementos que lo conforman. Busqué material para saber cómo funciona el Vaticano pero es muy aburrido ver los videos que me mandaron. Usé lo que pude de esa fuente, pero aproveché también la asesoría de un sacerdote durante la filmación", reveló el escocés.
McGregor, que se encuentra en Italia promocionando la película, no ahorró palabras para defender al filme de los ataques. "La gente puede decir lo que quiera contra el filme. Yo sólo interpreto un personaje en una película de ficción, es un thriller situado en el Vaticano. Mi personaje realiza acciones que algunos podrían considerar diabólicas, pero yo no sugiero que así son todos ahí. Simplemente así esa es la forma en la que es el personaje", agregó.
Cuestionado sobre la importancia de la religión en su propia vida, McGregor rechazó que exista tal cosa para él: "a mí me criaron sin religión. Aunque puedo entender por qué es reconfortante, entre otras muchas cosas", puntualizó.
Por su parte, el Vaticano negó ayer que haya obstaculizado la grabación de las escenas de "Angeles y demonios", pues aclaró que ningún productor cinematográfico está autorizado para filmar en territorio de la Sede Apostólica.
El subsecretario del Pontificio Consejo para las Comunicaciones Sociales, Angelo Scelzo, explicó a la prensa que el reglamento de la Santa Sede prohíbe cualquier realización de cine en los ambientes vaticanos. "Todas las producciones giradas sobre El Vaticano están obligadas a reconstruir en otro lado los espacios apostólicos", dijo el responsable de otorgar los permisos para los rodajes

Renton is a heroin addict. He is one of a group of friends who live their lives day to day and hit to hit. When he tries to kick the habit he manages it for a while but eventually falls back into his old way. Meanwhile his friends are as messed up as he is, whether it be Spud's pathetic addiction, Begbie's violent rages or the fact that he is sleeping with a girl who still goes to school.

When it came out this film was very hyped, the poster became a must-have on every student's bedroom wall and the media went nuts over it's supposed glamorisation of drug use. The plot is very difficult to summarise, as it doesn't really have a narrative flow other than the very disjointed experience of Renton. However it manages to be very funny and imaginative all the way, using many different tricks and touches to be funny. The dialogue is very well written and I must admit I found it a lot funnier than the last few comedies I watched.

The media may have condemned this film as promoting drug use, but I can only imagine that they watched a different film from me. Sure, the film shows drugs as being fun and enjoyable but, like Renton says, `why else would we do it?' However the film clearly shows a massive downside where people's lives are destroyed, people OD and lives go day to day just trying to get high. True, it does show this downside in a stylish and funny way but there is no question that the film is promoting drug use in any sense.

Too often I see films that are style over substance; Trainspotting gets it just perfect, stylish but not at the expense of dialogue, character or film. It is helped by a great cast. McGregor jumped to stardom off the back of this role and he deserved it. He keeps his character both likeable but repulsive at the same time and carries the film with surprising ease. The support cast is excellent, even if they lack the same good character of Renton. Whether it is the comic Bremner, the violent Carlyle or the tragic McKidd. While not all their characters are well developed, they do all give good accounts of themselves, whether it is comic or showing the effects of heroin on their lives.

Overall this is a great film that is refreshing to see now without all the `cult student cool' hype or media feeding frenzy over it's supposed pro-drug approach. It is stylish, funny, depressing and downright sobering. Ahora en Español! ESTA ES UNA DE MIS PELICULAS FAVORITAS , ES LOCA,PERO TIENE UN BUEN ARGUMENTO Y NOS DEJA LA MORALEJA DE QUE HAY QUE ELEGIR LA VIDA...

Elige lavida Elige el trbajo Elige una carrera Elige una familia Elige un gran y maldito tevisor ... La vida nos pone muchas tentaciones , pero como dice ,mi amigo ELIGE LA VIDA