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Not that I watch much TV... When I was around 15 or 16 years old, I decided I watched too much TV and it was, for the most part, a total waste of time. It was back then when I started to get into the habit of reading, walking and writing about all sorts of things. Still to this day, I don't watch more than 1-3 hours of TV a week and even that tends to be carefully chosen documentaries and movies. What I publish here is not necessarily reviews of movies and TV shows. In some cases, I will simply use something I watched as an excuse to reflect upon any other related topics.

Documentaries
A&E: Biography The American cable channel A&E started a one-hour series many years ago titled Biography. Not that they can cover someone's life in depth in one hour, but it is nevertheless one of the best programs on American TV these days.
The Shock Doctrine Based on a book by the same title, well known Canadian activist Naomi Klein argues in this documentary that the free market economic policies of Milton Friedman (implemented in the 1980s by Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher) were a part of a deliberate strategy to exploit world crises in order to pursue the interests of the rich and powerful.
(January 2014)
The French Revolution All the violence and upheaval of the French revolution packed in a couple of hours. Not very deep, but it is a nice historical overview. Here, instead of reviewing the documentary itself, I reflect on its historical significance.
(January 2005)
Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary A series of interviews with Traudl Junge, personal secretary of Hitler's between 1942 and 1945, where she tells us about life in the bunker up until the very end.
(December 2004)
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance A quick overview of the Italian Renaissance and the key role played by the Medici family in its own birth and development.
(November 2004)
American Visions: The Republic of Virtue Australian-born art critic Robert Hughes made this PBS documentary as what he called "a love letter to America" after living here for 20 years. In this first episode of the series, Hughes studies the neoclassical roots of American art.
(November 2003)
Martin Luther A PBS documentary on the monk behind the Protestant revolution that shook the Western world and set in motion the changes that would reshape Medieval Europe. Luther preached the direct relationship of the individual with God, without the interference of the Church. In doing so, and with the assistance of other intellectual forces, he unleashed the power of the individual that would end up creating the modern world.
(July 2003)
The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization A PBS documentary on the classical Greek civilization, centered around the figures of Themistocles, Pericles and Socrates, teaches us about the key contributions of their civilization to our Western culture. These are some thoughts that occurred to me as I watched this stupendous documentary.
(June 2003)
Movies
On the Road Adaptation of the book written by Jack Kerouac, which became the best known example of literature by the beat generation and personal bible of plenty of youngsters back in the 1960s.
(June 2013)
Into the Wild Adaptation of Jon Krakauer's book to film. This movie, directed by Sean Penn, tells us the story of Christopher McCandless, a young American who left it all to live an adventure in the wilderness in Alaska and perished there.
(February 2012)
Dorian Gray New adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray brought to the screen by the English director Oliver Parker.
(July 2010)
Johnny Mnemonic Traditionally considered one of the science-fiction key films, this movie adapts to a William Gibson story to the big screen.
(August 2007)
Marat/Sade In an insane asylum, the Marquis de Sade directs Jean Paul Marat's last days through a theater play where the actors are the patients. Peter Brook directed both the movie and the stage version of the play written by Peter Weiss in 1963.
(August 2005)
Farewell My Concubine A sweeping overview of 20th century China and its effects on two actors who spend their lives interpreting a traditional opera that gives title to the movie.
(November 2004)
The Blair Witch Project Filmed with an extremely low budget, The Blair Witch Project lacks any special effects whatsoever but still manages to distill fear. A good example of how it is still possible to make good cinema without much money.
(October 2004)
Psycho One of the moviemaking's all time classics. Hitchcok's masterpiece is still too suspenseful for those among us who cannot watch a thriller without sitting on the edge of the chair.
(Septiembre 2004)
El Mariachi Robert Rodriguez's first big hit, and perhaps the movie that, together with Pulp Fiction, started the whole indie craze here in the USA.
(Agosto 2004)
Good Bye Lenin! Winner of the 2003 European Film Awards, this movie offers a different, more personal approach to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the German unification.
(Agosto 2004)
Todo sobre mi madre El largometraje de Almodóvar que ganara el Oscar a la mejor película extranjera en el año 2000. Como de costumbre en el caso del cineasta manchego, se trata de un filme donde las mujeres tienen un papel principal.
(Marzo 2004)
The Passion of the Christ One of this year's most talked about events. Mel Gibson's movie has been accused of many things, but it still surprises me how many people manage to talk about it (and even criticize it) without having seen it.
(February 2004)
Nosferatu A remake of Murnau's classic Nosferatu (the silent movie from 1922), directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski in the role of Count Dracula.
(February 2004)
The Hours A very sui generis interpretation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, this existential movie portraits three women and how they deal with meaningless and trivial lifes.
(November 2003)
One Hour Photo A fascinating first movie by director Mark Romanek. Using an intriguing and disturbing plot, One Hour Photo keeps you on the edge of the sofa without a need to resort to the cheap Hollywood extravaganzas.
(October 2003)
A Clockwork Orange A classic of the history of cinema. In Kubrick's nihilistic future, a young man with a love for ultra-violence gets in trouble, is incarcerated and brainwashed in order to be "cured". But things do not go as expected.
(August 2003)
Rosemary's Baby Mixture of thriller and horror movie, Rosemary's Baby is a true masterpiece, and one that manages to keep the viewer constantly on the verge of yelling out for help without resorting to lots of blood, creepy murders and expensive but easy special effects. Polanski, in the good tradition of Hitchock, shows us how to make a demonic movie on a low budget.
(July 2003)
American History X A former neo-nazi skinhead tries to prevent his younger brother from falling in the same trap. A virtual journey to the heart of white supremacism, hatred and political extremism.
(June 2003)