7 Kilos

"Danny Ortega" (Manuel Garcia) is an up-and-coming drug dealer in the city of Houston who tries to sell 7 kilos of crystal meth to some other drug dealers in another part of the city. But things don't go as planned which results in a gun battle and the deaths of all three members of the rival gang. Now, needing to off-load his merchandise he goes to another rival group who decide at the last minute not to give him the $2.5 million he wants. So once again a gun battle takes place and he kills all three of them as well. This leaves him with 7 kilos of crystal meth and $2.5 million--but also some very unhappy rival drug members. That same night he goes to his favorite nightclub to unwind. Not long afterward the rival drug boss shows up and kills everyone at Danny's table except for his girlfriend, "Camilla" (Brenda Estrella Rojas) who just happened to be in the restroom at the time. After seeing the carnage she rushes out to his car and finds the money and the crystal meth inside it. Fearing for her life she drives as fast as she can out of Houston until finally being pulled over by the sheriff of Medina County (which is on the other side of San Antonio). It's at this point that her troubles really begin. Anyway, I bought this movie in the bargain bin at my local Wal-Mart for about $5 and I must say that I was quite satisfied with the purchase as I have watched this movie several times. Now, that is not to say that this movie is going to win an Academy Award or anything like that because it is clearly a low-budget film that had to make do with less. I especially didn't care for the flashback scenes which I felt were unnecessary and made the movie look a bit cheap. Even so, I thought Brenda Estrella Rojas performed in an excellent manner as did Cliff Weeks (as "Cain") to a lesser degree. Again, this isn't a first-run type of movie but as long as a person doesn't expect too much it might just surprise them. In short, while it might not necessarily merit a high score I think it deserves at least a rating of average.

I was surprised this movie went straight to video. I wouldn't say it was the best movie I've ever seen, or even one of the top 10, but it was pretty darned good, especially considering it was probably low budget. The movie had a good amount of action, including a shoot-up scene that was well done. The script was also good, allowing some character development and a nice twist at the end. The acting wasn't great all-around, but there were some good performances - Cliff Weeks, who played Cain was particularly good and so was Manuel Garcia (Danny Ortega) & Bratton who played the sheriff.

The movie also has some good location shots and did not feel static. It wasn't a sitting on the edge of your seat kind of movie, but at no time was it boring. Give it a shot, you'll be entertained.

Pablo Veliz from San Antonio, Texas wound not know a good film if it hit him across the ass. He has repeatedly written, produced & directed films that are absolutely despicable. They have no storyline or plot and the acting is extremely bad. The directing & editing is even worse. Someone needs to tell him to stop attempting to make films that no one wants to watch and tell the distributors to stop buying them from him!!!! BY FAR ONE OF THE WORSE MOVIES EVER MADE!!! Just because he graduated with a communications degree, does not mean that he can produce good movies. The independent film industry will not elevate itself to a higher level until people like him stop what they are doing!! STOP MAKING PATHETIC MOVIES THAT NO ONE CAN STAND TO WATCH OF STAY AWAKE LONG ENOUGH TO WATCH!!!!!

To my finalcutpro friend who spends his time critiquing films by merely using talking points I say this: to say Mr. Veliz is a talent-less director is like spitting in the face of Robert Rodriguez(who has expressed his admiration for this young director). It is also ignorant considering that Mr. Veliz's first film "Tragedia de Macario" was an official Sundance Festival selection and went on to get rave reviews by the Mass Media. While I'll admit that "7 Kilos" is no masterpiece, one must also consider that some films are not meant to be!!! This movie is simply entertaining and was a creative outlet for a very talented director with a very limited budget. I look forward to Mr. Veliz' future projects!!!