gonzo931 Reviews

On the Edge (2006)

Like this... from falling into a soap opera

[1/10 · 18 August 2008]

Even though, after watching its trailer, I thought this movie would be a strong portrait of self-destruction motivated by the consumerist world we live in, I ended up being rather disappointed, for the only thing I found, was either an erotic film, or a one-episode soap opera with lots of explicit but pleasurable sex scenes, which does not help at all to reflect the pain and the anguish the terribly built characters were going through.

After having watched Salò, I understood the absolute need to show hard to watch scenes in order to make the audience understand the situations a character is going through, but in this film, I found Emmanuelle-like sex that didn't contribute to create an atmosphere of decay, but actually made me think some viewers might get aroused when watching it.

For example, there's a scene in which Lucía -Ana de la Reguera's character- ends up with a group of lowlifes because she needs some cocaine, and after wards we see her lying in bed next to one of them, but we didn't get to see what happened before -which would have been more humiliating and meaningful for the character's sake and would have made the audience feel more concerned about her state- and the director ends up redeeming the character for its faults, especially after showing more comfortable to watch sex scenes with Lucía's boyfriend -which I found quite pointless- a while before.

The subplots that accompany Lucía's story, are the ones that follow the doom of her girlfriends, who are played horribly by Gabriela Platas and a bit better than OK by Ingrid Martz. These stories seem out of place, since they don't get the same focus as Lucía's, and the worst part is that one of them -Martz's- is about a Jewish lesbian girl who's beginning to find her sexual identity, which is not precisely the story of a fall, but rather the finding of one's true self.

The photography in the film isn't there to express anything, and the dialog sounds so fake that after watching the film you really need to listen to some of Scorsese's street talk. Also, the editing is ridiculously inexistent, so there's truly no artistic merit in the film.

The script doesn't manage to give us a message about a decaying society, but it actually makes us think "Hey, it's just a movie" due to the huge exaggerations and some dream sequences that make it look like a comedy.

With an OK script, a lousy directing, terrible acting -except for De la Reguera and maybe Martz- and no technical value, I highly recommend to avoid Así del precipicio and better try watching Trainspotting, Sid and Nancy, or Requiem for a Dream.

J.C. Chávez (2007)

Mexico's First True Documentary

[4/10 · 20 May 2007]

I just saw this film the very next day it premiered here in Mexico, even Diego Luna was there, and I got to ask him some questions and congratulate him for his work, which is superb, because it's an incredibly great directing work by Diego, especially being his first time in the director's seat. The film has everything a great documentary can have: Brilliant editing, great and very characteristic Mexican music, the people he interviewed was greatly chosen, they range from journalists, Chavez' family, the great Mexican writer, José Agustín, to box promoters, even the former president and most famous Mexican political villain, Carlos Salinas de Gortari makes an appearance, and of course, there's the appearance of Chavez himself. All of the Mexican people interviewed in the film, fit in the archetype of Mexican boxers, politicians, etc. and they are often hilarious, just like we Mexicans tend to be. The film as a whole, is a great portrayal of Mexico through Julio César Chávez, the greatest boxer the world has known. I highly recommend this film to anyone who likes the documentary genre, the only regrettable aspect about this film is the fact that it's a bit short, but it's most definitely worth while, since it will make you understand this great man's life, it will make you laugh quite often, and remember (if you're Mexican) those golden years in which we thought the country just couldn't be better.

Lolo (1993)

A Great Try

[5/10 · 15 January 2007]

Although Lolo, tries to be a sensational movie about poverty and its effects on the people who suffer it, such as crime, violence, coldness, and disinterest, but also love, mercy, and sacrifice, unfortunately, it just stays as a good movie due to the time in which it was made. Athié's work is pretty good, unfortunately, he made his film in a time in which the influence of the terrible quality Mexican films of the 70's and 80's was still beating, one can tell by the disastrous musical score and the incredibly old camera format, which is also due to the fact that there wasn't any kind of support for cinema; but still, Lolo is pretty well written and amazingly well acted, Roberto Sosa, is as always perfect in his role of a poor young man caught in between the pressures of a life of misery and a cruel society that will judge and punish him after making the mistake of fighting for survival in such a way that he uses crime as a way to escape his poverty; Lucha Villa, I don't think I need to say, and the same goes for Damián Alcázar and Alonso Echánove who make a great support cast that represents a society full of disinterest, coldness, and even cruelty. Lolo is overall a pretty decent film, but it's not meant to be seen by just anyone, it's a film that only true cinema lovers will enjoy.

El coronel no tiene quien le escriba (1999)

A Beautiful Masterpiece of the Mexican Cinema

[7/10 · 14 September 2006]

As many people know, Mexican cinema was very poor after the so-called Golden Age of the Mexican Cinema, fortunately, during the late 90's, and early 21st century, great movies like La Ley de Herodes, Bajo California, Amores Perros, Y Tu Mamá También and, of course, El Coronel No Tiene Quien le Escriba, appeared. El Coronel..., is a wonderful movie, that retells the classic story by Gabriel García Márquez, by eliminating the magic realism elements, and replacing them with the crude reality lived in Mexico, not only by people like the Colonel, who wait for their pensions, but by more than the half of the Mexican population, who live in complete poverty. The film's characters, satirically represent classic characters found in Mexican society, such as the nationalist Colonel, the cold and even ambitious priest, the hypocrite, but at the same time loyal compadre, the tolerant and patient wife, the hidden homosexual, etc. This movie, is a must-see if you want to know more about Mexican society, and specially, if you want to watch a gorgeous movie, by one of Mexico's finest directors