Alien_Latino Reviews

Innocent Voices (2004)

90% Accurate Regarding the Civil War

[9/10 · 5 February 2005]

I also saw this movie and can testify that it's 90% accurate regarding how the civil war really was. But it's still a left-wing flick, it tilts that way. For instance, it showed us the brutality of the right-wing military but never once did it mentioned the atrocities of the communist guerrillas. I for one lived in El Salvador during the civil war and can say it was an ugly, nasty war. Most of the atrocities were committed by the communist left-wing guerrillas. They also committed massacres en-masse of civilians.

There still DOESN'T exist ONE flick about the Salvadoran civil war which showed BOTH sides of the atrocities. All of them are left-leaning.

Anyways, let's pardon this movie for neglecting to show us the atrocities of the other side (communist guerrillas) and let's focus on the cinematography.... it was excellent, excellent cinematography, I liked the attention to detail in this movie, the recruitments and the sudden barrages of gunfire.. that's exactly how this war was. Boys were forcefully drafted into the army and thrown into battle-infested areas as soon as they reached 12, sometimes younger (amazing that this movie neglected to depict the fact that the guerrillas were worse, they took kids at 9 years of age and gave them Ak-47's to attack military bases).

Anyways, I really enjoyed this "coming of age" movie in a war-torn country, at least it was accurate and not preposterous like James Wood's/Oliver Stone's 1985 "Salvador".

Hidalgo (2004)

Too Slow at the Beginning, But Made my Eyes Tearful

[6 March 2004]

I just came from seeing this movie, it was slow in the beginning with too much dialogue, the producer takes too much time to develope the story of a man who is half-indian and half-white whom must compete in a horse version of the Paris-Dakar race only that this time it's across the Saudi desert into Iraq and on to Syria, a 3,000-mile race.

This movie is one of the few that made my eyes watery and almost made me shed tears, after say the first 3rd of the movie it really picks up with Indiana Jones-like action across deserts, sand storms, locusts and treacherous bedouin towns. The movie couldn't have a better ending, a sentimental but yet happy ending, the end seems so familiar to other ends but yet it's so different. But I have to take into account the slow beginning of this movie and many minutes wasted on incomprehensive gargle.

I give it a 7/10.

The Lion's Den (1988)

Realistic and Cold

[5 March 2004]

I just saw this movie and let me say that it's as realistic as it can get, in some scenes it's hard to distinguish if it's a movie or a documentary. The movie not only documents the reality of the peruvian civil war but also what exactly goes on in villages afflicted by war, the movie also depicts the racism against indian peoples in latin nations. This movie is the epitome of realism. I know this because I have been myself in the middle of a Latin American civil war and there's nothing you can subtract from this movie as being unrealistic. The "Sendero Luminoso" (Shinning Path) guerrillas were the most strange guerrilla movement in the American continent, it was refreshing to see this movie and see their modus operandi in the battlefield.

I give it an 8/10.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

Very Violent, Funny Moments, but Needs to be Less Gross

[13 September 2003]

*MINOR SPOILERS: nothing to worry about on this post*

I saw it last night and yes it was a movie worth seeing, very funny and fantastically violent. To make a long story short I should say this movie is a cross between "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", "Desperado" and "The Crow", yes.... the Crow. About 3 characters in "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" looked like Brandon Lee in his movie, with long hair, eyeshadow make-up and dressed like Goths. Director Rodriguez seems as if he's fascinated with men's genitalia, he brought over references to them from his "El Mariachi" movie and wastes no time in mentioning them whenever he gets the chance in his new movie. There are many old characters from "Desperado" (mainly villains) which is something I liked very much because they are talented actors and nobody else could have filled-up their place.

The funniest guy was Johnny Depp, he was excellent and hilarious, Salma Hayek looked the most beautiful n' sexy I have ever seen, and Enrique Inglesias showed great acting considering he has never acted. I see a new star being born here, remember my words. What you are going to like the most about this movie is it's soundtrack, both in Spanish rock and English techno. The company that did the special effects for director Rodriguez should get an academy award for that, they were the best I have ever seen of people getting run over by trucks, I mean it looks realistic with no camera cuts. The only drawback I saw in this movie was it's constant and insistent reference to men's genitalia, and that scene where Johnny Depp searches that guy's rectum for drugs was also not very tasteful, I would have left that out if I had been Rodriguez.

I give it an 8 out of 10.

Bad Boys II (2003)

Great Sequel, Why can't Others be like This?

[5 August 2003]

Great sequel, it's amazing that a sequel for a hit movie outshines the former one nowadays. Clever, funny, and violent movie, at times gross and bleak with the subject of corpses falling out of funeral vehicles but overall a great movie with a clever plot line. It was explendidly long and I loved it. Just when I thought it was coming to an end at approximately the 2-hour mark an amazing turnaround happens and the whole story changes into a spicy finale. Who would have thought that the 2 bad boys would end up in THAT place (when you see the movie you know what I'm talking about). This movie must have costed over $140 million to make I'll tell you that right now. I never saw the first one and never bothered but I went to see this one and now I regret not having watched the first one (considering it's half as good as #2). I give it 5 stars out of 5, there's no reason to give it anything less, at last I see an action movie with an intelligent plot and no breaks or boring moments throughout the film. I wish I could say the same thing about "Terminator 3" but it disappointed me with their ridiculous and at times preposterous plot line.