EisenstarkD-1

I caught this film last night at the Beverly Hills Film Festival and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a legitimate bi-lingual, bi-cultural experience, taking place both in the US and Mexico. William Forsythe as "Gringo Dog" is at his creepy best, but Walter Perez also holds his own as the hero along with sidekick Charley Koontz. I'm in love with Romina Peniche but that's another story. Why she isn't a huge star mystifies me. The story's not the greatest, but the dialogue's pretty good, and if you speak Spanish and English you're way ahead on this one since the English subtitles are sometimes a PG translation of what they're really saying. Obviously done on a budget, the film manages to squeeze some real production value out of several cool-looking locations and some second-unit material shot in Mexico City and environs. Sound and picture are first rate, as is the music. Worth watching.

This is a terrific film, full of heart without being sappy, with believable characters and a wonderful story. It's a shame a film like this doesn't get widespread theatrical distribution anymore. I would have died to have a film like this to take my daughter to when she was of the right age (8-15). This one captures the imagination without an avalanche of sound and fury, topical jokes or plain silliness. But the biggest testament is that I saw this with an audience of youngsters, and they watched with great concentration, quietly, engrossed in the story. I'm not sure I've ever witnessed this before. It reminded me of my own childhood favorites, My Friend Flicka, Fury, and the live-action films Disney doesn't make anymore. James Cromwell and Frankie Faison are a couple of solid actors, and here they are together, with an ensemble of incredible young actresses playing a troupe of trick-riders on the rodeo circuit. Take your kids to see it if at all possible. If not, find the DVD--it's worth seeking out.

I caught this at the Action on Film Fest in Pasadena this afternoon (July 26, 2010) and it cracked me up. This is high camp of the first order, NOT to be taken seriously, and very very funny. Lots of bang for a couple of bucks, and it's clear the actors are having a great time with the material. Morgan Mead is terrific in the lead role and newcomer Patrick Babbitt is dynamite as her intended, (as in Napoleon Dynamite, which the part reminded me of a little.) There's one goofy touch, which I won't give away, which was absolutely perfect--a visual gag played with a straight face throughout--bordering on brilliant. Needless to say: recommended.