csxmph

IMDb member since February 2007
    Lifetime Total
    5+
    IMDb Member
    17 years

Reviews

Snitch
(2013)

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's Best Acting Job To Date
I truly enjoyed this movie and I consider it (in my opinion) Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's best acting performance. I found him playing the character of a successful businessman who encountered a detour in a very good life as very believable. He didn't physically kick anybody's butt (he actually got his butt kicked in one scene), however, this was still an action movie. I found the supporting cast did an excellent job as well. John Bernthal was very good as a felon trying to stay clean. That his character was doing it for the wife and child that he loves very much (like Dwayne Johnson's character) lead to some emotionally gripping moments. Barry Pepper, playing an undercover law officer, stole a lot of scenes in this movie. I didn't even realize it was him until after the movie ended and the credits rolled. I really hope more people see this movie and that Dwayne Johnson does more believable roles like this in his acting career. It's fun to see him as a Rambo clone, but that gets old. Movies like "Snitch" however, which are based on current events (in this case the Mexican Narco-Wars) don't seem to get old to me.

Boulevard Nights
(1979)

Authentic as I remember the era.
I was eleven years old when this movie came out. Further, I think my dad took my brother and me to the Golden Gate Theater in East L.A. to see it. My parents used it as an example of what not to be like when we grew up. I was born in East L.A. (Santa Marta Hospital) and grew up near East L.A. I saw in life what I saw on the screen with Boulevard Nights. On the street that I grew up on there were some vatos with low-riders and I remember the hopping competitions and the oldies music. One particular vato who was very nice to the local kids ended up getting stabbed (although I cannot recall if he died). They were most likely 18th Street gang bangers, which was the most notorious gang in L.A. back then. My dad moved us out of that area when I was 14 which may be a big part of why my brother and I didn't end up like our former neighbors.

I have to say that for me, Boulevard Nights was authentic. It was like the real thing. My dad never took me to Whittier Boulevard in East L.A. nor Pacific Boulevard in Huntington Park nor Valley Boulevard in El Monte on cruising nights during this era, but I imagine that it was like in this movie. I've only seen the movie twice. Once when it was released in theaters and again when I was 16 or 17 on VHS. Colors could not compare, at least not on a personal level for me. Now at 42 years of age, I'm going to have to check it out again.

Mechanized Death
(1961)

Driver's Ed of the past.
I saw this film for the first time on YouTube today. I'm not sure if it's true or if I was getting my leg pulled, but when I was a kid, a friend told me that his older teenage cousin was ordered by a judge to see films like this, and, to tour a morgue that had car accident victims after he accumulated a bunch of speeding tickets. This was in Los Angeles, California, in about 1977 or 78. In my Driver's Ed classes in the 1980's, I never was shown films like this. They sure would have made an impact on me, and on others for sure. I wonder if schools would get sued today for even attempting to show a film like this say in High School or Junior High?

Some Kind of Wonderful
(1987)

A John Hughes Unknown 80's Classic!
I saw this movie when it was released in theaters back in 1987. I had just turned 19 and had finished high school only six or so months before. God this movie made an impact on me! I loved it! It is so total 80's. What does every U.S. kid in high school seem to want? He/She wants to fit in. To be accepted. Yet others in high school can be so cruel. John Hughes certainly knew how to get into the heart of an 80's American teenager.

I could relate so much with Eric Stoltz's character (Keith Nelson) and with Mary Stuart Masterson's character (Watts). In high school, I had a female friend who hung around with me a lot and I had a huge crush on her. I never let her know of the crush for fear of losing her altogether. Also, I didn't live in the city where I went to school. That was basically like living on the other side of the tracks. To top it off, I even had my dad pushing me hard to go to college (which I did).

One thing about seeing this movie on cable, DVD or VHS…it is not the same as seeing it in a movie theater with an audience. Elias Koteas as "Duncan" the skinhead steals all the scenes he is in and makes you laugh hard. That laughter was further amplified by everyone else who laughed in the movie theater. However, Mary Stuart Masterson's heart wrenching emotion transfers very well on both the big screen and on the silver screen. In my opinion, she was the true star of the movie.

Over twenty years later, I still enjoy watching this movie and consider it one of my top ten favorites. I highly recommend it.

Tegeran-43
(1981)

Made an impact on me at 15.
I am US born and raised. However at age 15 I lived in Guadalajara, Mexico, and was exposed to many items not available in the US. I remember taking Soviet made vitamins and there were some Cuban products that my family purchased at the supermarket. I also saw quite a few foreign movies and Tegeran-43, which came out on the big screen in Mexico in 1983, made a very impressionable impact on me.

In particular, the music (score) used in the movie seemed to add to the drama and emotion drawn on by the actors. The plot that was going to be used to assassinate the big three was better than any James Bond movie plot I had seen to that date.

I have casually looked for this movie here in the US for about ten years now but have never found it. I hope that now in today's DVD era, this movie becomes available or is available and I just haven't found it.

Booker
(1989)

I hope Booker becomes available on DVD
I personally liked the Booker series. Richard Grieco had a good shot at becoming a high profile star back then. He was on the cover of multiple magazines. He made black leather jackets all the rage. He inspired hair styles and, to me, he made Harley Davidsons cooler than crotch rockets amongst younger motorcycle riders. It's a shame the show didn't reach the fame of 21 Jumpstreet. I know the show could have matured had the network given it more time to evolve. The addition of Lori Petty was a plus. I've seen what I consider less quality shows available on DVD box sets and every once in a while I look to see if Booker has been released. I hope that It eventually does.

The Zodiac
(2005)

Not a documentary but a good movie
I have read a lot about the Zodiac case and have even visited the locations where the murders took place (I did the same for The Onion Field murders). I lived the the Night Stalker scare of Richard Ramirez in 1985. Basically, I like true crime stories. I knew when I rented this movie that I would be watching a movie and not a documentary. So I can say that I enjoyed it. Since I knew the chronology, I knew which murders were going to take place. The scene of the two approached by the Zodiac Killer in mask made for a great scene. I strongly recommend this movie as a movie, not as a documentary. It's much better than the dramatizations of the movies Titanic and Pearl Harbor. Still, I can't wait for this years Zodiac movie.

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