jobeblanc

Made as a sort of political commentary for free trade agreements - NAFTA (North American Free Trade) - that was a mistake, someone got really sidetracked! This is a movie very worth seeing, and a story that is screeching for a gesture of humanity. It stands on its own without any need for appeal to populist causes.

This a story and wants to be a film, a dramatized documentary about sordid evil human exploitation. What has been happening in Juarez, Mexico for the past decade may have been helped by some political and commercial developments, but the origin and the result is pure deathly evil.

Pay attention. The first nearly 50% of 200 votes about this film on IMDb were "1". Eh ... one? Think here for a moment . . . the story was and continues to be viciously true, the depiction is very accurate. Over 4000 (!) women in this US/Mexican border town have gone missing, and over 400 have been found dead !! In just a few years.

This has been going on for a decade and has been repeatedly reported throughout the world's press. Dedicated reporters and honest police in this town have been killed in numbers scraping to reveal the truth, and still the vacuum of female death continues.

For credibility, Antonio Banderas and Jennifer Lopez have had so so ratings, but have had hits as well as misses, but have not been known to be lacking in integrity. Greg Nava, writer and director has had some strong directing with some powerful histories (6+ ratings most of the time.) Martin Sheen, rarely misses. So, should the first 40% of the votes really be "1" ?? Were all these cinema professionals so off base, or is an internet group subverting the IMDb voting system en mass?? Well, this is the question that probably is begging the integrity of not just this film, but even the IMDb. Guys we need an investigation here. Please check folks, this leads to the very heart of what 10,000's and perhaps 100,000's of IMDb fans trust in. (And in the case of this film, 100's are dying for.) For the film, Jennifer is pretty good, and Antonio has a few but not so many good lines. Nothing is spectacular, but the story and the cinematography is on. The script and direction could have been much better.

Objectively and even from an informed perspective - I've seen 100's of films each year for nearly 50 years,worked in the industry, and have called about 80% of the winners for the top 5 or six film awards ceremonies (by award criteria/bias) for the past 15 years with better than 85% accuracy - this movie is not a popularly rated film so far, per 388 "objective" persons surveyed viewers. But take a look and tell whether the package rates a 4.8 ! I don't believe that this film rates a "10" any more than it rates a "1" or a "4.8". So based on that ludicrousy, I vote "10" until the investigation resolves the nearly 20% of early volume of "1" votes.

It is important that honest and committed film viewers and consciences, vote to give this movie, issue, and the IMDb a dignified rating so that the curious uninformed will be properly attracted to an awareness of this better than average film, that portrays this horrific reality.

If you get conned into watching past the trite, Angelina Joli homemaker beginning . . . and if you can somehow accept the James Bond weapons jive . . . you'll see a pretty fair chase scene.

Then you can get ready to be mind-numbed by endless moronic shooting. I stopped counting after 90,000 rounds or so.

If you haven't shut off or walked out yet, then get ready to puke - at the worst humor you can buy from two actors who earned $30 million for this crud.

Basement performances for Pitt and Jolie. How many couples actually can make a descent film together? Perhaps the bigger the stars, the bigger the flop.

Earthy cast of characters plays a simple story very well. Exceptional character development. Writer-director Craig Brewer wrings star performances out of his team of actors.

This very contemporary Afro-American striving musician story goes much deeper, and it is as gritty as it is funny. The story dwells along the thin edge of Memphis street culture, and you feel the edge - like a shard of glass - and just how fragile and jagged it is.

The characters "will" the plot along, from moment to moment, from scene to scene. Every moment is fresh.

Craig Brewer and most of this cast are artists to watch. Remarkable performances and film gems like this are career foundations.