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ragingbollocks
Reviews
Selena (1997)
Every movie has their Harlingen
Gregory Nava is a director who has established himself as being a "Mexican American" writer/director. Therefore some corporate entity thought it would be a good idea to hire him to tell the tragic story of Selena. The movie based on her life is easily one of the most ridiculous and cliched Mexican American films ever made. When I was watching it I couldn't figure out if Gregory Nava was a worst director or writer. The dialogue is absolutely laughable and is nothing that we haven't seen in other movies. The only reason I thought that somebody felt that this movie needed to be made was to cash in on her death before she stops being "bankable". I, as a Mexican American, found the casting of Jennifer Lopez as one of the worst decisions ever made by anyone. I found it very hard to get past her thick New York accent. Gregory Nava is not a Mexican American director and will never be one. He is one of many so called "Mexican American" directors who is guilty of depicting Mexican Americans as flat, one-dimensional character. He stereotypes his characters and tries to make them "cool", but in reality there is nothing that is cool about them. I have no doubt that some of the events in the film really happened, but do they have to be so corny and cliched and unoriginal? But, I guess that's why Gregory Nava is as "popular" as he is. He is making movies that make people feel "good" about things that aren't real. He is guilty of not portraying Mexican Americans as real people and he is trying to manipulate that reality. The one I truly feel sorry for is Selena. I feel sorry about the fact that the last image that people will get to see of her would be of Jennifer Lopez playing her with a thick-ass New York accent. Ridiculous.
Pain Flower (1996)
The Citizen Kane of South Texas Films
This is a truly under appreciated film that deserves more attention than it has received. The story is about a man named Gus who comes back from the Army only to find his former girlfriend with his best friend. The film was independently made in South Texas and shot on 16mm, but the distribution has not been very successful. Hopefully this movie will someday get distribution so a larger audience will be able to enjoy it. The director, Fred Garcia, should get his ass kicked into making another movie in the near future.......in the very near future. I would recommend this movie to any lover of films and cinema. Overall, a 9/10.