Bala Loca (2016) User Reviews

Not the same old stuff

[tombrannom · 9/10 · 12 February 2019]

I have to admit that I like the fact that the hard-living main character just happens to be in a wheelchair. People come in all shapes, colors, sized and some even have physical disabilities. So why shouldn't movies and tv shows reflect that? The main character is a macho, and he's no saint, that's for certain. But he's a decent human being. When his son turns out to be gay, he has no patience for anyone who tries to act like there is anything wrong with being gay. He's ready to put anyone in their place if it needs doing. He even has to argue with his ex-wife to make her a bit more accepting. Yes, the ex-wife's fears are based partly on her concern that her son will be bullied or mistreated. But it's also because it's simply hard for her to accept. Straight men always get such a bad rap for being homophobic and women are supposedly more accepting. In my experience, that's not necessarily true. Not by a long shot. So the writers have added a bit of truth into the story - a rugged, macho who is gay friendly. And it's all part and parcel of his no BS personality. It happens that way, sometimes. Really, that's only a minor part of the plot. But it does speak to the sort of human being the main character is - someone who would be on the side of people who are unfairly treated. There are times when he is forced to reflect on his past actions, before he became sober (and then became un-sober again right in front of our eyes), and he is able to apologize to people he's hurt. Oh yeah, and being in a wheelchair doesn't seem to prevent hot women from being attracted to him. Who knew a dude in a wheelchair would be sexy? (He is.) The production values are good. Nothing seems cheap or cheesy, even though those types of things can be overcome by a good story line, in my opinion. What else? Well, the dude's a journalist by profession. He's trying to redeem himself after having spent time starring in a trashy television program that specializes in celebrity scandals. As for how he redeems himself? You'll have to watch the series to find out. It's well worth your time, in my opinion.

Largely something for most demanding viewers

[catnapbc · 8/10 · 29 June 2023]

If you want to watch something a bit different and yet still 'familiar', this Chilean series (no news on a second season though) will satisfy for the most part. The acting is generally really very solid and the characters quite convincing, with believable relationships and interactions. The complex and yet fact-based scenarios behind the main story combine politics, the military, journalism, crime and personal issues in a unique format and way not seen before. The Pinochet era is presented as having no long-term and far-reaching consequences, which rings very true even and maybe especially today. Pinochet, Putin and Assad of Syria have much in common. Despite a few drawn-out episodes where the personal issues dominate (the son's sexuality, drug and alcohol abuse, infidelities, and absence of actual journalistic work by Mario), the pace and tension and hard-hitting dialogue keep your attention. It started to veer off a bit once Mario's self-abuse became apparent and the sympathy one had for him up until then evaporated, yet towards the end, he redeems himself and finds his humanity again. It's not a linear story and not always smooth in its execution, but it is an interesting production out of Chile and deals with the corruption both in society in general and the various institutions it highlights: the military and politics. There is worse being shown on the small (and large) screen.

I may be biased

[cresta-72234 · 10/10 · 18 August 2017]

I am very close to the origins of this series, cause I'm a Chilean person and after watching almost all these chapters I found these guys show a terrific advance in the productions of movies (videos) happening in the country. I have been very interested on this, as I was interested in the House of Cards also in Netflix. The language (the terms) used is definitely Chilean, the slang, the cursing, all very typical from the country. I just hope the translation (I don't use it) is commensurable with the real talking. Well worth it to spent the time watching it.