Nicotina

It's a warm night in Mexico City and we peek in on 90 minutes of obsessive behavior mixed with criminal activity.

Lolo (Diego Luna) is trying to sell codes to a Swiss bank to a Russian in exchange for diamonds, while he peeks in on Andria (María Beláustegui). She discovers his peeping, and destroys the disks he made. Now, the fun begins.

Lolo meets Nene (Lucas Crespi) and Tomson (Jesús Ochoa), but he doesn't have the disk they are paying for. Double cross? No, just carelessness, but shooting starts and the Russian starts running. He ends up in a barbershop run by Carmen (Rosa María Bianchi) and Goyo (Rafael Inclán), where things really get bizarre and out of control.

Nene ends up in a pharmacy with Clara (Carmen Madrid) and Beto (Daniel Giménez Cacho). Lolo ends up there, too.

The whole movie plays like a guy Ritchie caper with a Mexican flavor.

The subject of smoking and quitting runs throughout. it provides many moments of humor, and eventually, one smoker's carelessness does him in.

At best a PG-13. It' s dark comedy with only suggested sex.

I saw a cut of this film back in February in order to cut a trailer for American audiences. I must say that I was not impressed after viewing it. The film started off interesting and silly, but as the plot unfolded it really had no where to go. Actor Diego Luna has done some fine work in his previous films, but he phoned this performance in.

Also, film makers felt that they should use a Guy Richie style of editing in order to spice the film up and give it some edge, but all that did was make the film look contrived.

Right now they are trying to market this film like it's Amores Perros, but this film is absolutely nothing like it, wait till video to see this film.

Hugo Rodriguez' "Nicotina" is a fun picture, but it is enough to say that it is a Mexican version of Guy Ritchie's English heist flicks, albeit less so. Less violent, less convoluted, less hilarious. And yet, still violent and convoluted and

hilarious enough. So there it is. Diego Luna's in it, and ain't nobody doesn't think he's cute. Rodriguez uses funky wipes as scene transitions, punched up by

goofy sound effects, there's a scene where a bitchy barber's wife cuts open a guy's belly to get at some diamonds. And there's that smoking theme --

everybody's quitting, trying to quit, in denial about quitting, can't afford the smokes, can't find any lighter fluid, something. It's a motif and it's a metaphor, though perhaps not the deepest one ever (you never what's gonna kill ya!). It makes for a catchy title, though.

NiICOTINA is a perfect example of the transformation Mexican cinema has undergone in the past 30 years!!!

Equal parts Tarantinoesque film noir, Greek tragedy and sociocultural satire, Nicontina makes for a rousingly entertaining 90 minutes!!!.

Populated by a rather oddly colorful assortment of characters whose lives, seemingly, in one way or another, revolve around cigarettes or attempting to curtail their use. In this way, "NICOTINA" is a passive cast member of sorts.

What really makes this work is the quality of the ensemble performance, and the uncanny sense of timing of both director (Argentine Hugo Rodriguez-Producer/The Violin) and editor (Alberto de Toro). Diego Luna(Y Tu Mamá También) delivers an Oscar nomination worthy performance as the Über-creepy obsessive voyeur nerd next door!

With a Classic flair noir twist, Lolo (Luna) learns a painful Karmic lesson on the nefarious repercussions of his techno-voyeurism.

8.5********* ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

There is a problem in the mexican film industry: the mexican directors and producers are filming basically light comedies. Their main goal is to recover their investment, they think that comedies with a simple plot is the best way to bring people to see their movies (and pay for a ticket to do it) So, most of the recent mexican movies are comedies and most of them have a great technical realization but with a poor argument. And off course, the actors are repeating the same characters over and over again.

Nicotina is just another urban comedy. As simple As that. The film hasn't any improvement at all. The plot, and the situations are very familiar with some previous films like "Todo el Poder" or "Ciudades oscuras" Here in mexico we're waiting for a breakthru motion picture, with a good and trascendental plot...Since "Amores Perros" or "Y tu mamá también" the mexican films are just the same.

nicotina is 6 out of 10.