Road Dogz

I read some other comments and can't understand why some people didn't like this film. The problem is someone who's never made a film doesn't know what it takes to make a film for very little money. I've done it twice. I thought this film was very good. It made me laugh, cry and think, which is what every film is supposed to do. Great job directing and well acted. Some of the comments said the film had bad acting. Those people obviously don't know what good acting is.

A good story and fine direction combine to make for a very worthwhile indie that should make it to wide distribution. Powerful performances by Jacob Vargas and Emilio Rivera, as well as other notably strong roles, bring the audience into the film with the characters to intimately feel their experiences. Deep insight into the plight of young adults trying to develop themselves in the midst of negative influences and vivid depiction of the fragility of their life styles.

I could hear the pitch: "It's Boyz 'N The Hood meets Blood In, Blood Out, with a sprinkle of Saturday Night Fever thrown in for good measure with a vision by Spike Lee if he was Mexican-American instead of an African-American." But despite my cynicism, of the three Hispanic-themed in-the-hood movies I have seen in the last two weeks, this is the most professional production with a nice 35mm print and director of photography who knew what he was doing behind the camera. This was not an amateurish, half-ass attempt as I have seen till now that plagues this genre. But what I do agree with the reviews here is that this is not really an original screenplay. Yes, we have seen this storyline in many other movies such as those that I have cited earlier, but for some reason, I liked it more than I thought I would. I felt ALL the actors did a good and believable job. The three main characters are likeable in their confused, on-the-cusp of adulthood identities, though some of the scenes were repetitive between them. What I felt lacking though were the depth of the female characters. They had a breezy presence which could have added to the story if used correctly. (General question here: In movies, why can't Hispanic males wanna go to college and better themselves? Why is it that only Latinas have this ambition?) I did notice something which I felt added to the overall story arch sublimally: everyone seen onscreen was a Mexican or Mexican-American. I hope film producers will make more of this homogenous society in East L.A. I imagine there are so many stories out there as long as they do not fall into the trap of ethnic stereotyping or cliches, even if the makers are Hispanic themselves.

The list of problems I had with this film is long, and I agree with many of the comments I've read and heard about the film, that it's unoriginal and a knock-off of Boyz in the Hood, but you know what? Who cares? This film is actually pretty good and has a strong sense of humor to counterbalance it's more serious side. After a half an hour of snickering at some awkward scenes, I gradually began to get hooked, and by the time the powerful climax arrived, the director and the actors had won me over. Sure, the film isn't perfect and some scenes don't work, but rarely do Latinos get 30 million dollars to make their personal films, if given the chance to make films at all. Despite what some people have written about this film, the cinematography is excellent, and so are some of the actors like Jacob Vargas, and the guy who played Gramps is terrifying. The director did a great job with the few resources he had and his heart and passion are evident in every frame. One thing that bothers me, particularly from fellow Latinos, is that they're always ready to knock a film like this by calling it negative, or calling it "typical" or saying things like "not all latinos grew up in the hood". Fine. Make your own movie! If you don't like hood movies don't watch them, but don't knock a filmmaker for making a movie about something he cares about, just like I wouldn't knock Scorcese for making another "gangster picture", or the coen Brothers for making another "film noir" picture. Film is film, and if it's well done I'm ready to give it a shot, regardless of the subject matter.

This is similar to a lot of the other movies out there, yet i still found it enjoyable. Its about 3 young men dealing with their lives in the ghetto. One a sex-craving addict deals with relationships when he meets a certain female character. The other, a wise talking kid who falls into the wrong hands when he starts doing drug deals. Then the main character who tries to make a decent living, in a dump of a neighborhood. The movie had all around good scenes, and some very good words of wisdom. Although, i feel the ending was similar to a lot of the "gangster" type movies. Other than that, i felt it was a good movie to watch on a Friday night when you have nothing better to do. I gave it an 8/10.