Ed's Review Dot Com

Dos Corazones Films, NewLand Films,

Andy Garcia, Oscar Isaac, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Santiago Cabrera, Eva Longoria, Peter O’Toole

This historical movie is the story of the reign of President Calles in the late 1920′s in Mexico where he instituted a vicious ban on Catholicism. What followed is known as the Cristeros War (1926-1929) where the people rose up and fought against the atheistic government. Knowing they were severely outnumbered, they were able to convince retired general Enrique Gorostieta (Andy Garcia) to join them in the fight.

This was a very interesting film. It was actually pretty well done, and was certainly able to grab my attention and hold it throughout the whole movie. It was a story that I was not familiar with at all, and I was surprised that I had never heard of this particular war. As with any historical film, of course, there is a lot of debate over what is true history and what is poetic license. I’m not in a position to judge that, so I am taking the story as a movie that covers historical events, with a few liberties here and there I’m sure. Still, the story is good, and the acting is very good. It is a bit odd to have a film set in Mexico starring a lot of Mexican actors that is completely in English, but I guess many historical films have gone that route. Peter O’Toole has a very important but minor role as a priest who stands up for the church and refuses to bend to the restrictions placed upon it by the government. This story reminds me of movies from many years ago specifically 1964′s Becket, which also starred Peter O’Toole along with Richard Burton. The movie really reminded me of that, probably due to the O’Toole connection. Though there are bound to be many critics specifically hating on the religious persecution focus of the film, I really enjoyed this. I was able to stream this from Netflix “Watch Instantly” and it made for a very enjoyable afternoon watching a movie like movies used to be made. I found it very enjoyable.

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NALA Films, Gary Sanchez Productions,

Will Ferrell, Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Genesis Rodriguez, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Nick Offerman

The Alvarez Brothers, Armando (Will Ferrel) and Raul (Diego Luna) are trying to save their ancestral. But Raul has been messing with drugs and set himself against drug lord Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal) and soon are in the middle of a drug war with DEA Agents Parker (Nick Offerman) and Agent 2 (Jerry Collins). What follows is a bloody, violent drug war in this Spanish language Novella spoof.

It helps to be familiar with the Spanish TV Novellas as this is a true parody of those. All the jokes are around that, and if you get that, you’ll be in on all the inside stuff. But even if you’re not, if you’re looking for the right thing, this is a hysterical film. Granted, a lot of people expect to see a serious Western starring Will Ferrell, and are shocked to find a corny story, completely in Spanish, with unbelievable fight sequences. Hey, this is a satire, folks! Will Ferrell can speak Spanish. Yeah, he does all the dialog himself, and even sings in this film. But his horrible American accent and childish dialog is hysterical. But there’s lots of other jokes here as well. Just like some people cannot get the King Arthur gags from Monte Python and the Holy Grail, or the race driving humor of Cannonball Run, or other such movies of satire, it takes a special sense of humor to get this one.

But in my opinion, Ferrell did an amazing job in this movie and it was really funny. As it started, I could only think, “What the heck?” but as I got into it, I found myself laughing harder and harder. A really unusual film with BIG English subtitles for us gringos, and a great sense of humor.

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Indigo Film, Medusa Film, Mercurio Cinematografica,

Kseniya Rappoport, Filippo Timi, Antonia Truppo, Gaetano Bruno, Fausto Russo Alesi, Michele Di Mauro, Lucia Poli, Edoardo La Scala

Guido (Filippo Timi) is a former cop and trying the speed dating scene. He meets a Slovenian immigrant Sonia (Ksenia Rappoport) who is a maid at a local hotel. The two fall for each other and it turns into a passionate affair until something terrible happens to Sonia and her past comes back to haunt her. What follows is a dark and twisty story, part real, and part unreal, that leads us into a convoluted mess of an existence.

This film is a foreign film, in Italian actually, with subtitles. There are so many twists and turns that you have to follow closely to catch the direction changes as they come along. I watched this on NetFlix Watch Instantly, and I don’t know if I’m the only one, but my PC speakers seem to work fine for everything else, but typically NetFlix films are very soft. The sound just doesn’t come through. Watching DVD’s and streaming videos are fine, but NetFlix films have had this problem before. My attempts to follow the subtitles without musical and sound effects queues made me lose a lot of the story. Then it was so complicated that I found it very hard to keep up. The whole thing seem contrived to me, and took twists and turns just to confuse the story. I wasn’t impressed with the actors or the script, and the story seemed unnecessarily complex. I was tempted to turn it off multiple times, but stuck through it to the end and was very disappointed with the surprise ending. Not much redeeming quality here, and I don’t recommend this one!

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Menageatroz, Mod Producciones, Focus Features

Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Eduard Fernández, Diaryatou Daff, Cheng Tai Shen, Guillermo Estrella, Hanaa Bouchaib, Luo Jin, Cheikh Ndiaye

Uxbal (Javier Bardem) — a divorced father raising two children was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. He is determined to atone for his life as a black marketeer in this engrossing character study that unfolds in the slums of Barcelona, Spain. Uxbal is involved in a lot of illegal activities, from human trafficking to drug dealing and everywhere in between. Uxbal has an ex-wife who is bipolar and is very abusive of the children every time he turns his back. He knows the children won’t survive with her, but as his time is running out he has to figure how to support them.

This is a highly accredited foreign film, all in Spanish. The DVD has English subtitles. The movie is L-O-N-G!!! It’s over 2 1/2 hours and for no logical reason that I can see. The story is very, very slow. It’s a dark, sad character study, and nothing seems to happen. There are long dragged out scenes of talking and talking, in Spanish, so for those of us who don’t understand it, it’s long dragged out scenes of reading and reading. I know this was nominated as best foreign film, and I know Javier Bardem was the first performer in a 100% Spanish role who was nominated for best actor, but this is not the kind of movie I can enjoy. Now I know that some people love this type of film. These are the ones who hang out at film festivals and art theaters and attend brunches where the hidden meaning of The Great Gatsby is discussed ad nauseum. Although I typically like films that make you think and have strong characters, I don’t think this really has either. Be forewarned if you want to watch it. Drink lots of coffee.

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Eros International, Reliance Big Pictures, Vinod Chopra Productions

Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor, Sharman Joshi

3 Idiots is a Bollywood film. It’s partially English, but has subtitles. It’s the story of 3 friends, well, actually more than 3 who are students in an Engineering University who disagree with the premise of all that is important is grades and a degree and the opportunity to migrate to the United States. Rancho (Aamir Khan) is the leader and is always in trouble with the dean because his view is that they should teach Engineering to people who love engineering. Instead they are teaching memorization and test taking and how to get a good grade. The story is told in flashback where Rancho has been missing five years, and the friends are trying to find him to find out what happened to him. After this setup, we see a series of flashbacks to the trouble the guys get in through following Rancho who seems to be the only student in the school who really loves to learn Engineering.

THis is a very funny film. It also has a lot of Bollywood music and dance throughout and an interesting love story. Rancho meets Pia (Kareena Kapoor) while crashing her sister’s wedding, and doesn’t realize she is the daughter of the Dean. She is engaged to a guy who doesn’t appreciate her and only cares about posessions and wealth and power. Pia is attracted to Rancho, but it’s a difficult row to hoe, as there are many problems to face.

This film has been long awaited by the fans of Bollywood films, and for us white western folk, it’s a great initiation to this genre. It’s got enough English to be easy enough to follow, and subtitles for the rest. It’s got the best of Bollywood in song and dance mixed with a charming love story and humor that matches some of the funniest movies out there. These guys are in trouble all the time, and the way they react is a riot. I highly recommend 3 Idiots for anyone who doesn’t mind subtitles who would like to see the situation from the other side, from inside India where kids are just trying to find a way to support their families and have a better life. It’s not as easy as we think. It’s got a lot of heart and a lot of humor and is well worth it. One warning though. This is a very, very long film. It’s nearly 3 hours and it certainly did not need to be that long. But at least you’ll get your money’s worth as it’s a funny movie and sure to please.

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