"Bread and Roses"

United Kingdom, 2000
U.S. Release Date: 5/11/01 (LA), 5/18/01 (limited)
Running Length: 1:50
MPAA Classification: R

Cast: Pilar Padilla, Adrien Brody, Elpidia Carrillo, Jack McGee, George Lopez, Alonso Chavez, Monica Rivas, Frankie Davila
Director: Ken Loach
Producer: Rebecca O'Brien
Screenplay: Paul Laverty
Cinematography: Barry Ackroyd
Music: George Fenton
U.S. Distributor: Lions Gate Films
In English and Spanish with subtitles

Bread and Roses is not a film you come across on a regular basis, and I’m pleased I happened to stubble upon it this past week.

The film is based on two sisters who have come across the border from Mexico to create a new life in Los Angeles, in an immigrant community. The first sister, Rosa has been living in Los Angeles with her ill husband, working excessive hours as a janitor to pay rising medical bills. Eventually Rosa is able to save some money to pay someone to bring her sister Maya from Mexico to LA. However, as Maya is brought across the border, Rosa is unable to provide the full amount of money that was agreed upon. To compensate Rosa’s short-comings, Maya uses her body.

Soon after, Maya escapes. She and her sister are reunited and they proceed to make a living for themselves as janitors in the same building. Rosa continues to have financial problems and when there is talk of creating a union for the workers in the building she is against it – for fear she will lose her job. Maya sees things differently, believing that a union will only be beneficial. This creates major conflict between the two sisters that plays out with emotions running high.

What I really appreciated about this film was the way the characters were able to practically reach out of the screen and demand emotion from its audience. I think that films are much more successful when the audience is able to make a connection with the characters of the story – Bread and Roses exemplifies this. As an added bonus, the cinematography also made the film very realistic and interesting to watch through the use of simple angles, shots and handheld cameras.

I enjoyed this film for the human emotion and the elements of this film were well put together. It may not be an “in your face” Blockbuster, but Bread and Roses is a drama that will evoke emotion and (in my opinion) stand as a success.

Personal Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Further information can be found at IMDb.com

"The Day After Tomorrow"

United States, 2004
U.S. Release Date: 5/28/04
Running Length: 2:04
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Cast: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sela Ward, Ian Holm, Emmy Rossum, Dash Mihok, Jay O. Sanders, Austin Nichols, Tamlyn Tomita, Kenneth Welsh
Director: Roland Emmerich
Producers: Roland Emmerich, Mark Gordon
Screenplay: Roland Emmerich & Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Cinematography: Ueli Steiger

So, this movie may be based in the U.S. for the majority of it’s plot, however, there was one interesting factor that made me re-visit the destructive The Day After Tomorrow flick for this blog.

Not going to lie, the last time I watched this film I fell asleep near the beginning, but the second time around I was much more attentive – and make a note that I used to fall asleep in practically every movie I watched, so, that said, this is not a terrible film by any means.

The Day After Tomorrow is definitely a spectacle to be reckoned with. Watching the world being ripped apart by natural forces – that aren’t even natural for where the tornadoes, hurricanes and blizzards are taking place.

Climatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) has stumbled upon evidence that the world will have its next ice age much sooner than originally predicted. Jack believes that the next ice age will occur in the next 50-100 years, until he meets with Terry Rapson (Ian Holm) a British scientist who has been tracking the dropping temperatures of the Northern Atlantic. As the ocean temperatures drop, both scientists realize that the global freeze-over is going to be much sooner than originally anticipated. Jack approaches the President about this devastating manner and (of course) the White House brushes it off – similar to President Bush’s action plan (or lack there of) for Hurricane Katrina.

The U.S. (focusing on the major cities as many films tend to do) is then bombarded by extensive weather phenomenon’s – New York City floods, Los Angeles is ripped apart by tornadoes (multiple tornadoes that even the team from Twister would be completely helpless to) and the Northern hemisphere is hit by hurricanes. Without any plan of defense from the government, the U.S. public is screwed. So! For once, we see a bunch of Americans fleeing for the Mexico border…

And, this is why I put this film in this blog: I found the situation pretty damn ironic when Americans flee for the border - and the Mexican government has taken over the border and basically say, “Nope, no way” - keeping the people from engrossing their country. Strange.

The movie did have its downfalls. The acting, well it was OK. The overall plot, OK – not to mention that some of the circumstances seemed a bit farfetched, and I’m not talking about the weather. It didn’t have a whole lot of human heart like that of Deep Impact, but it definitely captured the action.

Ultimately, The Day After Tomorrow was far more entertaining from the first time I attempted (poor attempt, but still) to watch it. The special effects were pretty cool to watch and some of the events – like the flooding of Manhattan – seemed pretty realistic. The other thing I though was pretty attention-grabbing was seeing what it would be like if these natural forces took over another region, rather than their usual territory. It was quite odd.

Personal Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Further information can be found at IMDb.com

"A Man Apart"

United States, 2003
U.S. Release Date: 4/4/03
Running Length: 1:47
MPAA Classification: R

Cast: Vin Diesel, Larenz Tate, Steve Eastin, Timothy Olyphant, Jacqueline Obradors, Geno Silva, Juan Fernadez
Director: F. Gary Gray
Producers: Robert John Degus, Vincent Newman, Joey Nittolo, Tucker Tooley
Screenplay: Christian Gudegast & Paul Scheuring
Cinematography: Jack N. Green

Ok, so maybe I’m biased – I’m not a big fan of Vin Diesel... And, I am female. So these are two very possible reasons why I wasn’t a big fan of the film A Man Apart.

Since I haven’t watched enough films with violence lately (a bit of sarcasm thrown in there) I have realized that it isn’t the violence I mind. As long as the film has something going for it other than it’s one-liners, massive explosions and action sequences, it’s an O.K. film with me.

Now, I may be giving away the ending here, so if you really don’t want to know I would recommend stopping here…

A Man Apart is your standard “good guy” out to get the “bad guy” movie – and not to be sassy, but why would be expect anything else from Vin Diesel? The film is about Sean Vetter (Diesel) who is a DEA agent south of the border. Sean has been chasing the same man for seven year – “Memo” Lucero (Geno Silva) who happens to be one of the largest drug lords, period. When Sean is put in control of a raid in Tijuana and pulls it off successfully, sending Memo to prison in California for life.

Memo is sure to make Sean pay and soon after, Sean’s wife Stacy (Jacqueline Obradors) is killed. The film continues as Memo attempts to keep his drug empire from total devastation. In comes Diablo – who is yet another powerful force in the drug world and is hard to identify because he could be either Hollywood Jack Slayton (Timothy Olyphant) or Mateo (Juan Fernández). Memo finds out that Diablo is out to kill his wife and children and tells Sean that Diablo was also the one who murdered his wife. Sean and his partner Demetrius (Larenz Tate) are out to find Diablo and will fight until justice is served.

I know that Vin Diesel is the new “action hero” and this movie does show that typical side we are used to seeing him deliver. The reason I wasn’t very impressed with this film is because it is the typical we are used to seeing. I think that Vin Diesel needs to be able to attain the different skills of acting – for example, emotion. When his wife is murdered, there is really no emotion of sadness. I mean he can do anger pretty well, but I would personally like to see him try to reach deeper into his character.

It wasn’t a terrible movie by any means, just typical. I think that it really is a film that would appeal much more to men than women for the action and testosterone that this movie exudes. Entertaining, sure; however, A Man Apart isn’t a film I would take a second look at.

Personal Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Further information can be found at IMDb.com

"From Dusk Till Dawn"

U.S. Release Date: 1/19/96
Running Length: 1:48
MPAA Classification: R

Cast: George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Ernest Lieu, Salma Hayek, Fred Williamson, Cheech Marin
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino
Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro

Many people have heard stories about vampires – they have definitely made a name for themselves through out the years. From Dusk Till Dawn is about vampires of the 21^st century.

Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino come together again to create a hip and strangely comedic horror story about two robbers who make their way across the Mexico border to find themselves at an all-night bar filled with the blood-sucking creatures.

The film starts when Seth Gecko (George Clooney) and his brother Richie (Tarantino) have robbed a bank and need to get across the Mexico border. The only problem they face is crossing the border without being caught. The two manage to hijack a mobile home which belongs to an ex-preacher Jacob Fuller (Harvey Keitel) with his two kids (Juliette Lewis and Ernest Liu) along for the ride. The brothers make sure to flash their guns and force Fuller to take them into Mexico. When they arrive in Mexico they stop at a bar to relax and they are able to do anything but that. When dusk comes, they realize that the place is infested with half-naked dancing vampires – and then some.

I thought the acting was fine, and for Clooney’s first big-screen he was able to do justice when running his stone-faced lines which only added to the dark humor of the film.

This film is more about the dialogue than the plot. It is filled with straight-faced humor and one-liners that will either want people wanting more, or will leave people wondering what just happened. The writing isn’t much compared to Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, but then again – in my mind – Pulp Fiction is a classic.

However, if you’re into the dark humor that is usually produced by these two men, and you aren’t afraid of in-your-face films, you may find From Dusk Till Dawn to be quite entertaining. More so, if you enjoy the work of Rodriguez and Tarantino, this film will not disappoint.

I definitely think that Rodriguez and Tarantino pushed what we know as a “standard” R-rated film. From Dusk Till Dawn is pretty damn relentless and right in your face – which we should be fairly used to when viewing a film by these outlandish artists. If you are not into excessive gore and nudity, you may want to look elsewhere.

Personal Rating: 3.5 out of 5

More information can be found at IMDb.com

"Babel"

United States, 2006
U.S. Release Date: 10/27/06
Running Length: 2:22
MPAA Classification: R

Cast: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Adriana Barraza, Gael García Bernal, Rinko Kikuchi, Kôji Yakusho
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga
Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto

Since there didn’t seem to be any worthwhile movies to be seen in the theater over the weekend, I decided to backtrack and rent Babel since is was recently released to DVD. I was surprised that I missed this one – I always wanted to see it, but I never had the pleasure to until now.

Babel has been one of the most acclaimed and talked about movies of the past year. It was rewarded with seven Oscar nods and won an Oscar for “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score”. The film was also nominated for seven Golden Globes, and walked away with a Golden Globe for “Best Motion Picture – Drama” – just to name a few of the film’s many achievements.

The film is all about the importance and struggles of language and the barriers it can create. It expresses people at their most vulnerable state as minor miscommunications lead to life-changing repercussions.

The film basically consists of four different story lines, three of which are universally connected – the fourth, not so much. The first mini-story talks of two children in Morocco who get their hands on their father’s gun (that is meant for anything trying to kill his sheep) and choose to test it in the wrong place, at the wrong time. One of the boys shoots the gun around a tourist bus when one of the rounds severely injures an American tourist (Cate Blanchett). This intertwines these two stories of the children and two Americans Susan and husband, Robert (Brad Pitt) in a huge international problem with terrorist implication as Susan fights for her life.

Back in America, the third story plays out as Robert and Susan’s two children (Elle Fanning and Nathan Gamble) are brought to Mexico by their nanny, Amelia (Adriana Barraza). Amelia happens to be an illegal immigrant and needs to travel back to Mexico for her son’s wedding. When Robert and Susan are unable to make it home on-time she decides to bring the children back with her. Problems arise as she tries to bring the children back across the border to America.

The fourth story is about a deaf-mute teenager in Japan, Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) who tries to find affection around her where there is little to be given. Her mother had committed suicide and her father is anything but warm and compassionate. As she tries to find means of compassion, she believes that sleeping with different people around her will fill this void. Her story is eventually brought together with the three other stories in the second half of the film.

I thought that this movie was definitely intense, but very good. It really just shows humans being humans, in elements they are unable to control, as they try their best to make it through unpredictable and difficult situations. There is no villain or “bad guy”, only those who sometimes don’t make the best judgment calls – as we are all guilty of at times in our lives. Bad things happen through out this film, but none are intentional.

Another aspect I admired about this film was how each character is developed in his or her unique way. They each stand out as their own person, but ebb and flow with those around them without losing sight of the overall picture.

I think Babel is one of the few films that I strongly would suggest to anyone. It is memorable not only for the story line itself, but for the characters and moving cinematography.

Personal Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Further information can be found at iMDB.com

"All the Pretty Horses"

United States, 2000
U.S. Release Date: 12/25/00 (wide)
Running Length: 1:55
MPAA Classification: PG-13

Cast: Matt Damon, Henry Thomas, Lucas Black, Ruben Blades, Penélope Cruz, Robert Patrick, Bruce Dern, Sam Shepard
Director: Billy Bob Thornton
Producers: Robert Salerno, Billy Bob Thornton
Screenplay: Ted Tally, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy
Cinematography: Barry Markowitz

All the Pretty Horses is a visually beautiful movie capturing the feel that an old Western film exudes. However, this film is not the standard American Western movie, for the sole fact that it takes place in the late 1940’s, and has a plot that is heavily located in Mexico.

Matt Damon plays the naïve John Grady Cole, who lives for ranching and a love for the outdoors. He is run off his property in San Angelo, Texas when his mother sells the land to an oil company. John decides to travel to Mexico with his close friend Lacey Rawlins (Henry Thomas).

Close to the U.S.-Mexico border the two cowboys run into Jimmy Blevins (Lucas Black) another rider who asks to tag-along. John and Lacey let Jimmy join them, and along with Jimmy comes the trouble. Jimmy – who happens to have a few oddities making his character more interesting – involves his newfound friends in some horse stealing.

The Texan cowboys escape the mess and eventually land on a ranch owned by Don Hector de la Rocha y Villareal (Rubén Blades) who offers John and Lacey jobs on his ranch. Of course, this could not be a Western without the love story. John falls-head-over-heels-in-love with Don Hector’s prized daughter, Alejandra (Penélope Cruz), and she is just as crazy about the American cowboy. And, of course, this romance creates a big problem as cultures clash and their relationship fizzles just as quickly as it began.

All the Pretty Horses had one major flaw: Little character development. Thornton seemed to be taken over by the technical aspects of the story and leaves out the importance of building the characters. When there is a lack of character development, the audience is not really able to become invested in the film, because there is no real relationship or understanding of the characters. However, I think that the actors did their characters justice with the amount of detail they were allowed – which wasn’t a lot.

Other than a need for character depth, I though that the film had a lot going for it. The plot was entertaining and kept my interest. Also, the cinematography in a film is a crucial ingredient to me, and the cinematography of the scenery was stunning, and really makes you want to be there. This is one film I regret not seeing on the big screen for detail of the scenery.

Personal Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Further information can be found at iMDB.com

"Lone Star"

United States, 1996
U.S. Release Date: Summer 1996 (limited)
Running Length: 2:15
MPAA Classification: R

Cast: Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena, Joe Morton, Ron Canada, Miriam Colon, Clifton James, Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey
Director: John Sayles
Producers: R. Paul Miller and Maggie Renzi
Screenplay: John Sayles
Cinematography: Stuart Dryburgh

I work at as a bartender when I’m not in class, and the other weekend I was slingin’ some drinks and I had a guy asking me what movies I write about for my blog. Luckily, he was able to give me a lead on yet another border movie to watch. He suggested Lone Star.

I thought that this was a very entertaining movie. However, it’s one that you really need to be in the mood for. I have officially been able to escape from the high profile to something that contains some lower-profile names. Well I guess Matthew McConaughey is now a high-profile name; but, in 1996 when this movie released he was still on the rise. It was nice to watch a flick that was totally different from the ones I have blogged about thus far.

Each of the characters played their roles well. Sheriff Charlie Wade (Kris Kristofferson) executes his role as the villain well – even though he doesn’t have a whole lot of screen time. The views of the two men are memorable and people speak very differently about their character. “Sheriff Buddy kept to his word. That Sheriff Wade, though, he could get ugly.”

It seems that everyone in the community is crazy about Sam Deed’s (Chris Cooper) father, Buddy Deeds (Matthew McConaughey)– however, Sam believes that he was not the “local hero” everyone remembers. However, Sam is popular within the community due to his last name, not his own accomplishments.

In 1996, Sheriff Wade’s bones show up in Rio County, and Sheriff Sam Deeds is out to find out who killed him and why. On the side he has to deal with an old flame with his childhood love – who he never let go – Pilar Cruz (Elizabeth Peña). Pilar is a teacher who tends to go against the grain when it comes to Anglo-approved teaching. She goes back and forth with her feelings for Sam and battles with her rebellious teenage son.

The story plays out seamlessly, as the view is transported between the past stories and present with one clean swoop – and, there are no voiceovers. John Sayles uses creative styles to make these transitions evident and enjoyable.

The film looks at all the different cultures of Rio County and how they are all able to help and hinder one another. Sayles was able to keep the mystery and romance subtle, but never lost sight of either. I thought that this movie was very engaging but not over the top. Lone Star is very clean, classic film.

Personal Rating: 4 out of 5

Further information can be found at iMDB.com