Illegal Tender

I think you need to see the movie again because it is not about Mexicans (you wish) the movie is about Puerto Ricans, I enjoyed watching the movie it showed how true family power can overcome anything, how a mother is willing to do anything die or kill for her family safety. It's about pride,honor and values. Wilson De Leon, Jr. is an exceptional college student with an adoring girlfriend, doting mother and a future full of promise. He has never wanted for anything, and he has never been forced to stand his ground. But when ghosts from his mother's past come back to haunt his present, he must defend his family and quickly turn into the strong man his father prayed he'd become.

Whats to say about Latino Scorcese reshuffle, lack of originality Cliché after cliché, Over acting, Ridiculous motivations.

Decent use of music.

Is this the best we can do?

how about a filmmaker with the balls. Is there anyone out there? someone who's not gonna cut to the gun.

"but without violence they won't come" maybe. Or at least the gangbangers wont.

But you can try something else that may show a different side life. Something deeper. and Who knows maybe you'll find a voice.

21 years after her husband, a drug dealer looking to get out, is gunned down, a woman finds that her husband's cronies are still looking to kill her and her family. Her son at first doesn't believe her, but when he's forced to defend the family home against attackers plan are made to turn the tables on the attackers.

Good little action thriller from John Singleton. I don't know what else to say but this is an old school style crime thriller that has characters you care about and real tension that comes from the characters and situations. Definitely worth a look at some point.

6.5 out of 10

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Puerto Rico, Stand Up!, September 2, 2007

I have to give John Singleton major respect for giving Puerto Rican actors their time to shine. I was going to see this movie regardless because I think Rick Gonzalez is gorgeous. (It's a weakness, but if an attractive man plays a lead role, chances are it's going to catch my eye.) However, I read in JET magazine that the cast was many shades of Puerto Rican people, and I really respected that. African American actors get shunned plenty of times for trying to go against stereotypical roles, and Latino actors absolutely get treated the same if not worse, so for Singleton to put out a movie with a dominant PR cast was something I really respected.

Now on to the movie. Not only did I respect the cast variation, but I also liked how Singleton took this movie against the grain. Instead of having Latinos in a poverty-stricken neighborhood looking mean as hell, he went against the stereotype and made the main characters upper class in an extremely nice neighborhood. Whatever car Wilson (Gonzalez's character) was driving was FILTHY GORGEOUS! Wilson grew up with the spoiled, rich kid lifestyle thanks to his mother fleeing his parents' past. But the witness protection program is a joke, and his mother has involuntarily made herself a subtle gangster...no, a woman protecting her children who just happens to know how to shoot. When Wilson finally finds out that his rich kid life has to stop cold after a visitor arrives, all hell breaks loose, and he's on a mission to save his mother.

Pros: The dialogue, the scenery, Wilson and his mother, and the plot of the story were intriguing enough to not want the movie to end. I grinned, frowned, and laughed, and I never got bored. Sadly, Wilson's gullible character fit the description of one of those rich kids who thinks they can solve everything without having an ounce of street smarts but being book smart. I thought his reactions were accurate, from his shaking hands to his travels. The handshake between him and his little brother was entertaining though. I'd never seen Tego Calderon much besides in a couple songs, so it was interesting to see him act. He did a pretty good job too! I don't know if Wanda De Jesus (who plays Millie the mother) used to model, but she is beautiful. Striking complexion and one pretty woman. In the cab scene, I was thinking those two would be a great-looking couple although she's a bit older than him.

Cons: Wilson's girlfriend was too goofy for me. I guess he needed someone to add more depth to his role, and it made Wilson's character even more attractive, but I wanted his girlfriend to be less vulnerable. She was way too damsel in distress for my taste, and I don't think in real life the movie would have ended with the same results those two had. However, whenever I saw Rick kissing her, you could see all my teeth. Man, he's one good-looking cat.

Overall, it was a great movie, and I'd recommend it.

This is not a John Singleton movie as the person above me stated. And the reason it was given so little attention is because even though the cast of what most would consider unknowns is strong, it is just a generic John Singleton style movie replacing African Americans with Hispanics. If this film had been made 15 years ago it might garner more attention, but with so many generic life in the hood films made over the last two decades it is easy for something like this to slip under the radar. Good acting is not enough to carry a movie, there has to be a strong plot and character development. In fact, I'm surprised more Latinos were not upset by what seemed to me a very stereotypical look at life in a ethnocentric neighborhood. Personally, I feel a move like "Wassup Rockers" did a better and more entertaining job of looking at diversity issues, crime, bigotry, and even inter-cultural separation. Yes, its nice to see more Hispanic and Latinos in films. But if this is the roles they are getting no progress has been made and they got a long way to go.