alucinecinefago
Joined Nov 2016
Welcome to the new profile
We're still working on updating some profile features. To see the badges, ratings breakdowns, and polls for this profile, please go to the previous version.
Reviews34
alucinecinefago's rating
In my opinion, "El Patrón del mal" is much better than "Narcos". More realistic and accurate to real facts. If you are from a Spanish speaking country, or if you are familiar with this language, you will realize that, no doubt.
In "El Patrón..." all actors are Colombian; you feel like you are there with them, at the times and places the events are happening. The main actor, Andrés Parra, really looks like Pablo here, talks like him, moves like him... And this is also the case with most of the other main characters (even if the names are changed sometimes, for instance Carlos Lehder is here "Marcos Herber", and so on).
Some have critized that this series are like a "telenovela", but I don´t agree. Maybe the structure is similar, but the main thing in the plot are not the love stories and the romantic misunderstandings of the characters (like it is the case in telenovelas), but the recent Colombian history, seen from different perspectives: Pablo and the Medellín Cartel on one side, and the authorities fighting against crime on the other.
Some have critized that this series glorifies Escobar, but I do not agree with that either. One of the scriptwriters is actually Camilo Cano, a grandson of Guillermo Cano, the director of an important newspaper who was killed by Escobar. And the script is based on a book written by a former mayor of Medellín.
By the way, there´s a book out there about this series written by a fan, it is a guide for the episodes of the series. As far as I know it is only in Spanish for now, but if you speak this language, love this series and/or are interested in the story of Pablo and the Medellín Cartel it could be interesting for you. The book´s name is "Pablo Escobar: El Patrón del Mal (Guía de todos los episodios)" and you can find it in Amazon (ebook and paperback).
In "El Patrón..." all actors are Colombian; you feel like you are there with them, at the times and places the events are happening. The main actor, Andrés Parra, really looks like Pablo here, talks like him, moves like him... And this is also the case with most of the other main characters (even if the names are changed sometimes, for instance Carlos Lehder is here "Marcos Herber", and so on).
Some have critized that this series are like a "telenovela", but I don´t agree. Maybe the structure is similar, but the main thing in the plot are not the love stories and the romantic misunderstandings of the characters (like it is the case in telenovelas), but the recent Colombian history, seen from different perspectives: Pablo and the Medellín Cartel on one side, and the authorities fighting against crime on the other.
Some have critized that this series glorifies Escobar, but I do not agree with that either. One of the scriptwriters is actually Camilo Cano, a grandson of Guillermo Cano, the director of an important newspaper who was killed by Escobar. And the script is based on a book written by a former mayor of Medellín.
By the way, there´s a book out there about this series written by a fan, it is a guide for the episodes of the series. As far as I know it is only in Spanish for now, but if you speak this language, love this series and/or are interested in the story of Pablo and the Medellín Cartel it could be interesting for you. The book´s name is "Pablo Escobar: El Patrón del Mal (Guía de todos los episodios)" and you can find it in Amazon (ebook and paperback).
Narciso Ibáñez Serrador (NIS) is truly the Hispanic Hitchcock. To develop this "Historias para no dormir" he actually was inspired by the famous British series "Alfred Hitchcock presents". NIS was the first one who introduced this genres into Spanish TV.
In some chapters he adapted tales by Edgar Alan Poe or Ray Bradbury. In others, he created his own stories. He was a real genius, clearly a visionary filmmaker. One of the chapters of this series has a very similar plot like Carpenter´s "They live"... and was made years before! So Carpenter maybe saw this (or heard about it), and got the idea thanks to NIS.
Anyway, I´m not sure if there is some version with English subtitles of this series out there. In Spain, this was on TV in the ´60s, ´70s and first ´80s. Some of the episodes, like the Bradbury-style dystopic science-fiction, look quite prophetic if you see them now (kind of a pre-"Black mirror" maybe).
By the way, there is a book that reviews and analyzes all of the chapters of the series, and also the two feature films by NIS (unfortunately he only made two, "The house that screamed" and "Who can kill a child"). It looks like the book is only in Spanish for now, but if you speak this language and love intelligent horror and science-fiction, it could be interesting for you. The book is "Historias para no dormir: ...y otros inquietantes mediometrajes televisivos de Narciso Ibáñez Serrador" and you can find it in Amazon (ebook and paperback).
In some chapters he adapted tales by Edgar Alan Poe or Ray Bradbury. In others, he created his own stories. He was a real genius, clearly a visionary filmmaker. One of the chapters of this series has a very similar plot like Carpenter´s "They live"... and was made years before! So Carpenter maybe saw this (or heard about it), and got the idea thanks to NIS.
Anyway, I´m not sure if there is some version with English subtitles of this series out there. In Spain, this was on TV in the ´60s, ´70s and first ´80s. Some of the episodes, like the Bradbury-style dystopic science-fiction, look quite prophetic if you see them now (kind of a pre-"Black mirror" maybe).
By the way, there is a book that reviews and analyzes all of the chapters of the series, and also the two feature films by NIS (unfortunately he only made two, "The house that screamed" and "Who can kill a child"). It looks like the book is only in Spanish for now, but if you speak this language and love intelligent horror and science-fiction, it could be interesting for you. The book is "Historias para no dormir: ...y otros inquietantes mediometrajes televisivos de Narciso Ibáñez Serrador" and you can find it in Amazon (ebook and paperback).
The following review is an extract from the book "Italo-Western and more...: A filmic guide", which is now available on Amazon.
"An unusual and unclassifiable product, which in the context of western film combines genres such as sword and sorcery with horror - all full of anachronisms and with touches of surrealist comedy in the style of Monty Python. Although the theme is not very original (the main character's mission is to protect a princess and find a treasure), the approach and context in which the story takes place is very original indeed: From the Wild West we go to (medieval?) Spain; in the same film we have a gunman who, armed with his colt, has to face a horde of barbarian warriors with huge swords and horned helmets; likewise, María's companions seem to have come out of a chapter of "Curro Jiménez" (Spanish TV series from the late ´70s, about a Robin-Hood-like bandit), dressed in the style of the Andalusian bandits of the early 19th century."
"An unusual and unclassifiable product, which in the context of western film combines genres such as sword and sorcery with horror - all full of anachronisms and with touches of surrealist comedy in the style of Monty Python. Although the theme is not very original (the main character's mission is to protect a princess and find a treasure), the approach and context in which the story takes place is very original indeed: From the Wild West we go to (medieval?) Spain; in the same film we have a gunman who, armed with his colt, has to face a horde of barbarian warriors with huge swords and horned helmets; likewise, María's companions seem to have come out of a chapter of "Curro Jiménez" (Spanish TV series from the late ´70s, about a Robin-Hood-like bandit), dressed in the style of the Andalusian bandits of the early 19th century."