11:45 AM
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By Robert Jay Moore
Written and Directed by
Robert Rodriguez. Columbia Pictures, 1995. Color, 1 hour 44 minutes.
With this sequel to
El Mariachi, Robert Rodriguez employs a similar storyline on a higher budget. El Mariachi, this time played by Antonio Banderas, comes into a town and tries to kill the drug lord. There isn't a mistaken identity in this one, but he still ends up falling for the drug lord's girl and sleeping in her upstairs apartment.
With the bigger budget comes better special effects, better acting, and better looking, higher quality shots. Also, the film isn't dubbed, so for viewers who aren't totally fluent in spanish, like myself, that's a plus.
Rodriguez proves he can make a great action movie just like the best of them, the gunfights are incredible, the explosions exciting, and the tension pretty darn tense. What this outing misses of the heart and soul of the original (probably communicated by the passion needed to make such a low-budget film), it makes up for with the high action and big names (great performances by Steve Buscemi and Quentin Tarantino). Not to mention the big twists at the end that will keep you guessing.
Over all, this movie is very exciting. It is a little strange to see the lead role replaced, especially when the actor who played El Mariachi in the first film has a cameo in this one, but it is definitely for the better. Not saying the original actor was bad, but Banderas is a lot more fun to watch, especially back in his earlier days.
Four and a Half out of Five Stars.
8:48 AM
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By Robert Jay Moore
Written and Directed by Troy Duffy. Franchise Pictures, 1999. Color, 1 hour 48 minutes.
Wow. My least favorite part about Boondock Saints is the fact that it took me so long to watch it.
Sure, it had a ton of language, and yes it was pretty violent. But in a mob film set in Boston, what can you expect? The "saints" do a fantastic job of bringing about their characters (kind of makes me wish I was just a little more Irish so I could be such a BA), and Willem Dafoe is incredible as the cross-dressing FBI agent. Duffy does an amazing job of making you sympathize and side with the vigilante justice. These guys may as well be the foul-mouthed, sloppy version of Robin Hood and his merry men. The character of Rocco "The Joker" is just like that goofy friend that everyone has, in my case, the roommate, and the sarchastic Detective Greenly is just like that other friend everyone has that no one really invites, he just shows up with his stupid comments.
My favorite part about the film, though, is the device of playing with time. We rarely see any action as it actually happens, and it is all rehashed by Dafoe, Rocco, or someone else piecing together the puzzle. In some scenes there is even crossover between present time and past. This was probably a lot more acceptable to me since I had just finished watching the last two episodes of LOST, but I still think that it was genius.
I don't have anything else to say, except if you haven't seen this movie, you are as stupid as I was. Go see it right now.
Five out of Five Stars.
1:02 PM
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By Robert Jay Moore
Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez. Columbia Pictures, 1992. Color, 1 hour 21 minutes, English Dubbed.
This is the film that puts other independent features to shame. For just $7,000, Robert Rodriguez made an exciting, suspenseful, action-filled shootout of Western proportions.
The story of mistaken identity may be frequently used in it's roots, but Rodriguez crafts a tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat and engaged apart from the cheesy dubbing (at least in the copy I watched). This was especially appreciated after the last four movies I watched that didn't have very many original ideas.
Yes, the special effects can be pretty cheesy at times, and yes the acting can be pretty campy, but it's way better than one may expect from such a low budget. And the characters are so well developed and identifiable, it's very easy to imagine Clint Eastwood walking into this drug-owned town with his guitar case. I greatly enjoyed this movie and cannot wait to watch the sequel.
Five out of Five Stars.
Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez. Columbia Pictures, 1995. Color, 1 hour 44 minutes.
