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Once Upon A Time In Mexico, a review by Rich

Once Upon A Time In Mexico



Leaping back into action, gun-slinging, guitar-toting hero "El Mariachi" is back in town in ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO, as director Robert Rodriguez delivers the epic final chapter of his pulp Western trilogy.  Starring Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Enrique Iglesias and Willem Dafoe, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO is a full-frontal assault.

Banderas reprises his role and is excellent as the brooding and intense guitar playing hitman, but as with many films Depp steals the movie playing the psycho FBI agent delivering classic lines and generally exercising his acting craft at a level above all others in this flick. Being like the other Mariachi films there is little substance to the plot, but what you do get is a slickly directed and produced action film rich in set pieces, amusing one-liners and blood aplenty. Mendes, Iglesias and Hayek provide eye candy for both sexes, and they work well as support to the 2 leads.
With a script all over the place, it was difficult to ascertain where the film was heading, and despite being of lesser quality than the first 2 films this still remained watchable.
 

**Eva Mendes mini-marathon


(From Riches Random Reviews on August 5th, 2009)

The Gladiator, a review by addicted2dvd

The Gladiator (1986/United States) Beverly Wilshire Filmworks, Telefilms International, Saturn Productions Director: Abel Ferrara Writing: William Bleich (Story By), William Bleich (Screenwriter), Tom Schulman (Story By), Jeffrey Walker (Story By) Length: 94 min. Rating: NR Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono Subtitles: None

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Stars:
Ken Wahl as Rick
Nancy Allen as Susan
Robert Culp as Lieutenant Frank Mason
Stan Shaw as Joe
Rosemary Forsyth as Loretta
Bart Braverman as Dan

Plot:
Ken Wahl plays a top-notch mechanic obsessed with creating an invincible automotive machine. So obsessed, he creates an indestructible weapon on wheels to avenge the death of his kid brother who was viciously murdered by a hit and run madman.

Extras:

• Scene Access

This is a TV movie from the mid-'80s. The audio and video quality on this release could be better. The video is a little on the soft side... and every once in a while there is a bit of a shake in the image. Not so much that you can't see what is going on... it is just enough to be barely noticeable. As for the audio... there is a bit of a hum under the dialogue. Once again it isn't so bad that you can't easily understand everything you are listening to... but there nonetheless. Through-out the time he was on the film I was thinking I knew the kid that played the little brother that got killed in the accident (Brian Robbins). After I looked it up I found out why. He played Eric on Head of the Class.

As for the movie itself. It is pretty good... I did enjoy it. But it isn't what I would call great. It is a little on the slow side for they type of story it was trying to tell. I almost lost my interest during some of the scenes... but it always seemed to pick back up shortly afterward. I also didn't care for the way it ended. It just left too many questions unanswered. Over-all I would say it is worth checking out if you can do so cheap... better yet for free. Luckily this is one of the many a friend gave to me... so didn't cost me anything.




(From What Movies I Been Watching on January 25th, 2012)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Clerks: Uncensored (2000/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Miramax Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 130 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: English

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Plot:
Based on Kevin Smith's cult comedy classic, this outrageous anthology brings together every hilarious episodes of Clerks: Uncensored - including 4 never before seen anywhere! It's the continuing adventures of clerks Dante and Randal, two guys just trying to make the best of menial labor! With constant interference from the outlandish Jay and Silent Bob - follow the clerks' wildly improbable antics from one riotous episode to the next! Filled with big laughs and hysterical jabs at popular culture - anyone who enjoys fun, irreverent comedy won't want to miss it!

Clerks
1.01 Episode 1
Writer: Kevin Smith (Original Characters By), David Mandel (Writer), Kevin Smith (Writer)
Director: Chris Bailey
Cast: Jeff Anderson (Randal (voice)), Jason Mewes (Jay (voice)), Brian O'Halloran (Dante (voice)), Kevin Smith (Silent Bob (voice)), Alec Baldwin (Leonardo Leonardo (voice)), Charles Barkley (Himself (voice)), Jeff Bennett (Various (voice)), Diane Devlin (Nicole Corwin (voice)), Dan Etheridge (Mr. Plug (voice)), Walt Flanagan (Walt the Fanboy (voice)), Sam Gifaldi (Various (voice)), Elon Gold (Various (voice)), Dana Gould (Various (voice)), Nakita Hopkins (Various (voice)), Bryan Johnson (Steve-Dave (voice)), Kerri Kinney (Various (voice)), Matt Maher (Various (voice)), Brian Posehn (Mooby-Shirted Fan (voice)), Kevin M. Richardson (Announcer/Desmond Pfeiffer (voice)), Lauren Tom (Various (voice)), April Winchell (Various (voice))

A fun short-lived series based on the movie Clerks. It was cancelled after two of the six produced episodes were aired. Probably because the network wanted a show for kids, but this one is more directed to adult Smith fans.
Even though this episode is one of the weaker ones, I still enjoyed it. Especially the beginning.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on March 31st, 2011)