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Jerky_Jones
Reviews
The Barrio Murders (2001)
Decent Movie Belies the Low Budget
As mentioned in other reviews, it has a great plot twist. Ruben Garfias is a brilliant actor, plain and simple. And Jojo Henrickson, who wrote, directed, edited, and had a secondary acting part, can evidently do it all. The only disappointment for me was that I was hoping and expecting to see the female lead in a topless scene, but for some reason it did not happen. But still, the story was engaging, the characters well-performed and written, and basically the whole think showed a lot of competence and care. Henrickson deals with racial tensions in a realistic and non-preachy way, without irritating me. He remembers, the point is story-telling and entertainment. Well done. Look for the two big talents in this film, (Garfias and Henrickson), to reunite in the futuristic sci-fi barrio thriller GB: 2525, now in post-production according to IMDb database.
Robbing Peter (2004)
In the True Indy Film Spirit:
This film is available now on Netflix and I HIGHLY recommend it. The visual look and acting and writing all work together in a cool way. Distinct and interesting characters, somewhat profound and poignant comments about human nature, and of course the unexpected plot twists. This movie has a lot going on. Be sure to consider it's a fairly low-budget flick, so you don't get the explosions and all that, but the story, characters, and overall quality shine through all that. A must see for anyone serious about film. And especially, an inspiring piece of work for any aspiring filmmaker. Oh, and don't forget to pay attention to Don Epifanio and his "partner."
Walkout (2006)
Waste of Precious Latino Resources
I was hoping, for the sake of the talent, crew, and Chicano people, that this film would be good. I was also hoping to be inspired by this movie. No such luck:
The writing was poor to mediocre, in spite of at least four credited writers. The plot moved slowly, the characters were stereotypical and uninteresting, and either the actors or director (or both) left me unfulfilled. The monologues (and there were many) were preachy and uninspiring. The editing was poor, and the musical direction even worse.
Both major trade reviews (Variety and Reporter) mention the nepotism behind this movie as an obvious shortcoming, so I'm not the only one talking about it. This poorly-made movie belies its own purported intentions in so many ways.
Walkout also reinforces the false notion that Latinos cannot be expected to make good films. Latinosand, more importantly non-Latinos who hold important walletscontinue to have low expectations of what Latinos are willing and able to accomplish when given multi-million dollar budgets, and access to a mainstream audience such as the viewers of HBO.
Even though Walkout is a lackluster effort reflecting the intentions of those who made it, it is Latinos as a whole who ultimately pay the real price. Because it's not like HBO is handing out multi-picture deals to other Latinos at the moment.
Circumsized Cinema (2005)
The Important Aspect of this Show
...is that it's a really bad show, and it was allegedly stolen, according to the lawsuit that was filed in L.A. Federal Court. Read all about it: HTTP://ICBIC.TRIPOD.COM Watch this show. Watch a few episodes, and ask yourself why anybody in their right mind would green light something like this. Unless the pilot was presented by real artists who made good on a great concept and then got kicked to the curb without credit or payment. Oh, wait, and it's interesting how these plaintiffs don't have a pot to pee in, yet were able to secure Ricardo Cestero of Greenberg Glusker, who got a multi-million dollar judgment for Tom Cruise. Hmm.