alanramirez1 Reviews

House of Gucci (2021)

The amazing cast saves a very flawed movie

[7/10 · 25 November 2021]

I was really looking forward to this movie as after Gaga's amazing performance in A Star is Born I was really eager to see her future performances.

House of Gucci has good things and bad things, let's start with the positive things: 1. Lady Gaga's performance as Patrizia Reggiani is wonderful. She's an amazing actress, her expressions, accent and mannerisms were on point. It sure feels like she did her research very well because she always seemed really on character and she was always 100% believable. She was a delight to watch on screen and should be able to get nominated for the Oscars and Golden Globes.

2. Salma Hayek and Jared Leto do an amazing job as supporting actors and even though their talent is mainly used (and to be honest a little wasted) to be the comedic reliefs, they are entertaining to watch on screen and they will keep you entertained. The movie's comedy is always on point and well-done.

3. The costumes don't disappoint. All the looks but especially (of course) Gaga's and Adam Driver's looks are always amazing and really great to look out.

4. The story, even though it's told with several plotholes and several things explained in a poor way manages to entertain you through the almost 3-hour length.

Now with the negative aspects.

1. The length of the movie is really unnecessary. I feel like they could have done a better job making it a little shorter, the editing is not that good. A lot of scenes could have been deleted and I don't think anything would have really changed as the pace is really bad. Some acts of the movie are really long and others feel so rushed and this is the kind of movie that needs your whole attention at all times, otherwise you will be lost and asking what just happened.

2. I feel like they left out several key moments of the story. I'm happy I knew the whole story before watching the movie, because if you don't know it you won't really know how some things happened as the movie does a bad job explaining (or totally avoiding) several key moments. For example I would have loved to see the aftermath of what happened after Maurizio was shot. I found the ending very rushed. It would had been awesome to see the police investigating and realizing that Patrizia was behind everything. The ending feels very meh because you don't get to see anything of that. Really hoping they shot some of that and they include it as deleted scenes on the Blu Ray release.

Overall I do think House of Gucci is enjoyable but the amazing cast saves the movie more than once because the pace and editing are bad. I managed to be entertained the whole time but I feel like the regular moviegoer will find it very long and boring.

Do It Like An Hombre (2017)

Good idea but poorly executed.

[4/10 · 3 September 2017]

I wasn't particularly excited about this movie, as I'm gay and the trailers just made the film look like a big giant mess. I felt like it would be a big homophobic movie, because let's face it, Mexico is a homophobic county and making fun of gays would be a success. I still decided to give it a chance, but I'm not really shocked at how bad it was. The problem with the movie is that by the first 5 minutes, you're really annoyed at how the characters curse IN EVERY SENTENCE they say. Sure, that's how most Mexican comedies are, but after that opening scene, you're pretty sure of how the rest is going to be. Another problem with the movie is the pace... it feels like everything happens so slowly, as for more than half of the movie you have the main character Raul making homophobic jokes that might be funny the first two times you hear them, but after that, the same jokes are made and you barely laugh. You also have Miss Aislinn Derbez, who did a good job on A La Mala but on this one she delivers a cringy performance. She ends up screaming and basically is annoying the audience on every scene she's in, I believe this is because of the poor writing and direction. The only character with depth is the gay character, played by Alfonso Dosal, who delivers a believable performance, but you are not able to care about him, as his character gets very little screen time.

You can tell that the script for this movie was poorly written, as the scenes basically repeat themselves four or five times with similar lines or jokes. It feels like nothing happens until the last 20 minutes, when after Raul's wife finds out he has been cheating on her, he finally opens his eyes, but it's too late to care about him, because you could care less about him at the end of the movie. I believe that the film could had been much better with faster pacing, different jokes and more depth for all the characters because the potential was there but it was so poorly executed. I still applaud that the movie gives a message of tolerance and acceptance, but it ends up being clouded for how bad the rest of the movie was.

Hush (I) (2016)

An amazing ride

[10/10 · 15 April 2016]

Wow, I didn't expected a lot from this title and I ended up loving it! I'm a fan of home invasion movies, so I said... "okay, let's give this one a try, it's short, and I will probably end up liking it". I was right, but I couldn't believe how good this was! First, the movie starts as the average home invasion film, but with all the twists and turns gives this genre a new fresh view, with the main character being deaf and mute. The question that was going through my mind through the whole movie is how her disability made her situation 10 times harder. If you can't speak or hear, and if you're at a life or death situation in a place where you can't even be heard or seen, you're probably a goner, but Hush dares the viewers to root and see how a seemingly harmless lead quickly evolves to an amazing heroine. Kudos to Kate Siegel for playing such a strong lead without saying a single word, I even believed she was deaf-mute in real life. John Gallager Jr. does a great job as the killer, he accomplishes to be, well... hated by the viewer. The movie doesn't let you breathe (literally!), kicking off strong and staying like that until the very end. It might not be super believable or realistic, but the truth is that "Hush" is a roller-coaster that will stop your heart and make you scream at your TV, that you won't even mind. One of the best horror movies of the last few years.

Bad Adventure (II) (2011)

Waste of time (and of mind)

[1/10 · 4 June 2015]

I didn't expected so much from this movie, it seemed like it had some potential to be good with the trailers, but on the first minutes of the actual movie you know they wasted it all. During the 90 cringe-worthy minutes of the movie, it tries to "gringalizar" a group of preppy and annoying guys that do drugs, get drunk, do stupid stuff to impress a girl that doesn't give a crap about it and then they suffer the consequences, in a "comedic" way, of course, but you end up annoyed. The characters are big U.S. stereotypes (the "hot" leader, the dumb friend, the pretty girl, the "easy" girl) that just don't work out, they feel forced all the time, like the characters don't even believe on their roles. Sorry, Mexico, but rich guy teen comedies will never work; Malaventura is the proof. Nice try, though. It's just that they're so annoying on this case that instead of laughing you end up with joy that they're suffering. The script is so poorly written (it's a mess), with stupid "comedic" situations every ten minutes, with one-liners that are supposed to make you laugh but they don't have that effect. Maybe it was the awful cast, or just the way it was written, who knows. No wonder why it took four years to get released! Don't waste your time. One of the worst movies ever.

Katy Perry: The Prismatic World Tour (2015 TV Special)

Amazing!

[10/10 · 28 March 2015]

I gotta say that so far in my life, "The Prismatic World Tour" is the best concert I have ever attended to. So I was excited for the movie to relive the amazing experience this tour was to me. And I wasn't disappointed at all! "The Prismatic World Tour" is a tour filled with amazigness, colors, great songs, and overall the amazing production that Katy has on this tour is present on this "movie". The way the concert is edited feels like you're actually there, and you can see how down to earth Katy is while you're singing along during the 2 hours. It's the full concert, with hits from her previous albums like "California Gurls", "I Kissed a Girl", "Teenage Dream" among others, and almost all her newest album Prism is played on the concert, from smash hits like "Roar", "Dark Horse" and other great songs from her album like "This Moment" or "Walking on Air". Overall, I really liked this movie, you'll definitely love it if you're a Katycat or if you're looking for a great concert. You'll have fun. I hope it gets released soon on DVD or Blu-Ray!

Darker Than Night (2014)

Filled with clichés and boring

[2/10 · 10 March 2015]

I didn't had huge expectations for this movie, because Mexican horror films usually suck. Being a Mexican, I hate Mexican horror/suspense films, because one thing they don't have is horror. And with "Más Negro Que la Noche", a remake from an old Mexican classic, I prove my point again. I missed it when it was on theaters, and it seemed really good, but I'm thankful I didn't paid more than 30 pesos to rent it. This movie is full of horror clichés, but the movie takes these clichés to another level: A haunted house that looks like something horrible happened there, four unlikeable lead characters that are molded with the typical personalities; the actresses acted like it was a theater play instead of a horror movie, they overreact too much, and the scared faces or screaming were too fake, seems like they didn't even tried. 90 of the 100 minutes of the movie are so boring. Nothing happens during the whole movie, the script is so messy and forced, you wait for at least one character to die but nothing happens. All the "horror" you get is noises, random stuff moving, and a very annoying score that was all over the top, and it attempts to scare you but fails miserably. If you know the Mexican horror movie formula, you'll predict that this movie includes ghosts, a black cat, and an old lady that acts as poorly as the young cast. I recommend you to avoid this one! You'll lose 100 minutes of your time.

A la mala (2015)

A feel-good Mexican comedy

[8/10 · 3 March 2015]

I wasn't really expecting a lot from this movie, because let's face it, one thing that Mexican comedy/romance films don't have is originality. With US chick flick wannabe "Cásese Quien Pueda", one of the worst films from last year, I didn't had high expectations from "A La Mala", starred by Aislinn Derbez, daughter of one of the most famous comedians from Mexico, Eugenio Derbez.

The plot, which is pretty original for Mexican movies, it manages to keep entertained the audience from beginning to end, showing us a little bit of comedy (if you are Mexican, you know there's a lot of cursing, which guarantees a lot of laughs during the whole movie) and drama. But at the middle of the movie, you know exactly how it's going to end. We have seen these kind of endings in Mexican movies and shows that they don't have the "Wow" factor anymore. But I was happy with how this expected ending was executed, it was funny, and dramatic at the same time. The cinematography is also amazing.

The movie also shows us a lesson learned for Mala, and you leave the theater feeling happy and joyful. After you watch the movie, you forget she's Eugenio's daughter. Aislinn is a charismatic actress that shines on her own during the whole movie, she's a talented actress with a huge future waiting for her. She's not like "a famous comedian's daughter that got a leading role because of that", she's really an amazing actress, and it seems that she earned the role and that she embodied Mala pretty nicely. Overall, this movie is an great comedy to watch with your family or your loved one, it's nothing we haven't seen before, but you'll enjoy the movie anyway. You won't want to miss it!

Bandslam (2009)

An underrated teen classic that was killed by its own studio

[10/10 · 25 January 2015]

Every time I remember this movie, I always think of how horribly it was mistreated by Summit, because it's a movie that deserves to become a classic of the teen genre, but it will never be because it was awfully marketed as a "High School Musical" without Zac Efron or Ashley Tisdale.

"Bandslam" is much more adult than you think. The film delivers a real vision of high school, all the bullying, the awkwardness, love, and with a little injection of rock... the cast is perfect, maybe Vanessa was a little weak at times, but I think it was Sa5m's personality, not her skills. Aly and Galean steal their scenes, being dramatic when they have to be dramatic, funny when they have to be funny... it's a movie that has you smiling, crying, being shocked. The story is believable, it has you interested from beginning to end. It's definitely one of my all-time favorite movies. If you're a rock/indie fan, you'll be pleased with the soundtrack.

Maybe if Summit would have marketed Bandslam the way they marketed "The Perks of Being a Wallflower", it would have the attention and love it deserves, oh well. I highly recommend it! Give it a chance!

Gloria (II) (2014)

"Gloria" is full of glory

[7/10 · 1 January 2015]

Not being a huge Gloria Trevi fan, although I enjoy some of her old songs, I never knew her real story. I only knew a little of her past, but this movie shows her story (I'm not saying it's a real portrayal), but from a neutral view, I enjoyed this film. If you're Mexican you must know at least who she is, or some of her songs, so when I started seeing the teaser trailer or posters at the movies I got really excited, it seemed like a great movie. And it ended up being great. "Gloria" gives us an inside scoop of how everything was for Gloria, from her rise to fame, to all the drama and complications that came along with it. Sofía Espinosa portrays Gloria perfectly, all the mannerisms, the energy, and the attitude is there; the rest of the cast does an amazing job, but Espinosa steals the show, her acting is believable and well-done. My only problem would be the length. Although it's a well-told story, the movie seems to get too long at times, I feel like this movie could have easily lasted from 90 to 100 minutes, but it wasn't a problem, even the boring scenes were good. The ending seems too rushed, but it was an OK ending. There are some songs present on the film, from "Doctor Psiquiatra" to "La Papa sin Catsup", so, if you know the lyrics, you'll be singing along. The best parts have to be the concert scenes, they are beautifully shot and they seem like they were really part of a recorded concert! Overall, I think this movie is great, not as amazing as other biographic movies from Latin singers, like Selena, but Gloria fans and the regular audiences will enjoy this movie, you will enjoy the story, you will connect with the characters and you'll be entertained from beginning to end. A great Mexican movie to start 2015 with the right foot.