MOVIE CHAT: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO

[rocketmaster]

MOVIE CHAT: ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO

Wow, what a GREAT DVD! (I bought it used at 20/20 video for less than 10 bux). The extras are great fun and very educational. It was one of the first major releases filmed on digital, and unless told, I would never have known. The writer/director Robert Rodriguez also scored the film, VERY NICELY, I might add, and included music performed by all of his stars. Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Enrique Eglasias (sp?)... all of it quite good! The man has vision, and my respect. Awesome results on tiny budgets. (El Mariachi was 7 grand, Desperado was only 7 mil!) Definitely check out those extras from RR's studio!

Johnny Depp has a lot of screen time and he deserves it. He's so amazingly creative with how he delivers a line. Hard to describe, unusual. Just slightly offbeat so that the line could have been said straight by anybody else, but makes you laugh out loud or in someway react differently when coming from Depp. (I was made to think of Nic Cage...of how Cage tries to do similar in the way he comes up with accents and speech patterns, etc, but usually shows himself as a self-congratulatory buffoon, while Depp comes off as an ARTIST.) Anyway, Depp's character is a total jerk, but he manages to make us love him by the end.

Salma Hayek. One of the most beautiful women on earth. I guarantee, her opening shot will make you say "WOW" against your will. (After you hear that word unexpectedly blurt out of your mouth you will remember that I said that.)
She isn't in it as much as one might like, and ::SPOILER!:: her character does not appear in present day. The script was written around the availability of the actors, and that, unfortunately, shows. I was wondering why the story moved in the way it did until I listened to that explanation in the commentary. The story could have been a bit stronger if actor availability was not a factor, however, it is still good story telling, and awesome movie-making, so...lamentable but excusable.

Antonio Banderas. Cripes. Every girl I know melts at the very thought of him and every guy I know hates his guts. "Desperado" is why. In that role, and interestingly, only in that role, he is the sexiest man alive. In this one, he walks back into the character after 7 years, effortlessly. That balletic felinoid movement of his...sonuvabitch...he could trade on that forever, but he doesn't. I can't think of another role where he emotes in that specific way. I'd build a series around him in that character if I could. I was wondering how he looked so YOUNG. Did they shoot his face full of botox? He hasn't looked like that in a while. No. Apparently "Mexico" was filmed 3 years prior to its release.

Anyway, aside from my perving on all the actors involved, this film as a whole is WONDERFUL! A LOT of fun. I've watched it 4 times going over all the bits on the DVD so far, and will definitely watch it many many more. This one will stay in my permanent collection. I only have around 80 DVDs so that is actually saying something. If I don't love it, I trade it. This one I love.

I never saw the original film, El Mariachi. Want to comment on that? Should one collect the complete trilogy?

[Tard]

D'OH! Is this the finale of the trilogy?

I didn't even realize it was a 'trilogy', rather than three very similarly-themed movies. But then, I don't pay too much attention to current Hollywood.

(PS - How did the remake of Solaris measure-up to the original? New thread for this Q, right?)

[kingfozzy]

Wasn't Desperado just a remake of El Mariachi anyway??? So that's not really a trilogy. [img]smile.gif[/img]
I could be wrong as I haven't seen either one in quite awhile. [img]wink.gif[/img]

[rocketmaster]

Wellll, the director considers it a trilogy*. Not having seen the first one, I don't know if it's a direct remake, but Desperado definitely had a back story. Did El Mariachi show how he became a vigilante and the murder of his first family?

*Actually, the director considers it a four part series...with "Mexico" being the 4th one, and the flashback sequences with Salma the mostly untold 3rd story.

[kingfozzy]

I'm pretty sure that it was almost a shot for shot remake. Again, it's been awhile since i've seen either one of the movies and i've yet to see the latest one (which I will be renting). [img]smile.gif[/img]