Archive for the 'Mexico' Category

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Published
by
Chalupa
on July 9, 2006
in Adventure, Crime, Drama, Forgiveness, Kidnapping, Mexico, Neo Noir and Western
. 0 Comments

I unfortunately missed this one in the theaters, but luckily netflix came through for me. This movie stars Tommy Lee Jones(Pete), Barry Pepper(Mike), Julio Cedillo(Melquiades), and Dwight Yoakam(Belmont). Tommy Lee Jones also directed this movie. This is his second movie to direct and I think he did a wonderful job. This movie has ‘three burials’ in its titled because it’s about a man that was buried three times. A mexican migrant worker is accidently shot by a border patrol officer and the officer tries to cover it up. The body was later found by the authorities and the victim’s best friend, Jones, starts his own investigation. Jones goes on his own personal vendetta to track down the man responsible and make the killer realize exactly just what he has done.

I think I was first drawn to this movie by the title. Then I was drawn to it by the setting, actors, and then by the story. This is a great story about having to face the music when we screw up. This is also a movie about intense friendship and loyalty. I’d like to think I would be willing to do the same thing for my friend.

After Jones tracks down the man responsible, they go retrieve Melquiades’ body and proceed to transport to his hometown in Mexico. It takes them a while to actually find the town and once they do, they immediately go to work. First they repair Estrada’s house. They then post a sign so anybody coming by will know what they’ve found. Lastly, they bury Melquiades Estrada for the third and last time.

It’s not quite over yet though. Pete now makes Mike beg for forgiveness. At first Mike tries to shirk this one final responsibility given him, but things don’t work out the way Mike would like. Even though nothing can be done to bring Melquiades back, and the whole thing was an accident, Mike is still responsible. I really felt like personal redemption was gained by the end for Mike. Some of this can be painful to watch, but I think it needs to be that way. So much of our culture today glorifies death, killing and violence. Many people view hispanic people as just “spics” or “wetbacks” and would probably even voice their opinion in support of Mike’s actions. I would like to think that these kinds of people would really feel this way if put into Mike’s shoes.

I also get the feeling that Pete is like a “ghost of Christmas past”. In the same way that Scrooge is made aware of the consequences of his actions, Mike is made aware of the consequences of shooting Melquiades. Mike also repents of his actions and comes out on the other side of his wild adventure a changed man. I’m not sure if this was done on purpose, but I think it could lead to some great discussion.

There’s definitely some objectionable content in here, but this is a film very much worth watching.

Nacho Libre

Published
by
Chalupa
on June 20, 2006
in Comedy, Family, Mexico, Sport and Wrestling
. 0 Comments

Jack Black has got to be one of my favorite current actors. He’s so funny, so hilarious. My first realization of him was in the movie High Fidelity. I had seen him in things before, but had never really noticed him. What’s amazing is that Black continues to make-me-laugh-til-my-sides-ache time and time again.

I’d like to start off by saying that this movie has been heavily marketed to kids on Nickelodeon so that gives you an idea of its target audience. However, that doesn’t mean it still can’t be funny to 20, 30, 40, 50, or whatever year olds.

This also happens to be the 3rd notch on Jared Hess’s director belt and I’d have to say I haven’t been dissapointed yet. If you consider yourself a real movie buff and like to watch extra stuff about movies, you have to visit the movie web site and check out the confessionals. These are little clips of Jack Black talking about the day-to-day happenings while on set.

This movie should make you laugh. Black plays a mexican monk who dreams of being a luchador (professional wrestler). The only problem is that this fighting is forbidden. Meanwhile, a hot, new nun comes to the monastary and Nacho is doing all he can to impress her. Eventually Nacho gets into a prize fight with the chance to win some money to help out the orphans and I won’t say any more about the plot because I wouldn’t want to ruin it for you. All in all, I would list this movie as very entertaining and worth seeing this summer.

The Matador

Published
by
Chalupa
on February 24, 2006
in Assassination, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mexico and Thriller
. 0 Comments

Today was an awesome day. I got out of work at 10am and was able to catch a 12:30 movie. That’s the life if you ask me. Phil told me he didn’t really like The Matador, but I’m going to have to disagree with him here. I really liked it.

For starters, this is the first thing I’ve seen Pierce Brosnan in since his James Bond days. I think he’s doing a pretty good job. Also in the cast we have Greg Kinnear, Hope Davis, Philip Baker Hall and Jonah Meyerson (I immediately recognized him as Uzi Tenenbaum). The story is about a washed up assasin, played by Brosnan who seemingly comes off as a matador of sorts (hence the title). The movie isn’t so much about his “jobs”, as he likes to call them, but more of how he makes a friend. A friend that helps pull him out of the pits of despair when he’s hit rock bottom.

As an added bonus you get to see bits and pieces of a bull fight in Mexico City. Kept me entertained. Besides being just a tad serious and dramatic, there’s also some pretty funny parts in here. I hope Brosnan has some more rolls where he gets to let loose a little bit.

El Crimen del Padre Amaro

Published
by
Chalupa
on August 8, 2005
in Based on a novel, Drama, Foreign, Mexico, Religion and Romance
. 0 Comments

Another Gael García Bernal movie. I think this guy is quickly rising in ranks to be one of my favorite international actors…up there with Audrey Tautou. This one is about a recently ordained priest that comes to a town to find the Catholic church not as clean and scandal-free as he had always thought. The local bishop has earmarked him for greatness and so he comes as a sort-of Joseph in a ‘coat of many colors’ to work with a group of priests who are are all old enough to be his father. Eventually Padre Amaro becomes engulfed in a scandal of his own and tries hard to wiggle out of the consequences.

This is probably one of the better films to come out of Mexican cinema since Amores Perros and is filled with a strong cadre of actors and actresses. If you don’t mind subtitles you should definitely check this one out - just remember, it’s rated R for a reason in case you’re sensitive to that.

Amores perros

Published
by
Chalupa
on July 19, 2005
in Dogs, Drama, Foreign, Independent, Kidnapping, Mexico, Multiple story line and Thriller
. 0 Comments

Another decent movie with Gael Garcia Bernal. This is one of those movies where you have several stories and they’re all tied together somehow. It’s similar to Crash, Pulp Fiction or Sin City in that respect.

I really enjoyed the diversity portrayed in this film. It’s basically about love and it definitely showed many different aspects. You had the model going nuts over her dog trapped under the floor, a father and his daughter who didn’t know him, friends, a man and his dog, etc. In all cases one or more facets of this thing we call love was shown. Some were healthy and others not so. It’s really interesting how we use the word, ‘love’. Some are afraid to say it and others throw it around like last week’s lotto numbers. We may use it to describe that special someone, those cheese fries we get at our favorite restaurant, a close friend or a pet. Why are people so careless with words and feelings? Maybe this movie has a bit to that answer.