Flash Movie Review: Maestro
I PROBABLY WAS HEARING MUSIC BEFORE I could even understand what sounds I was hearing. Music was always playing in our house and since I was the last one to be born, I had at birth a vast catalog of different sound genres. There were records, yes vinyl records, of classical, jazz, blues, opera, and Broadway shows to name a few. I did not know the difference between, for example, the romantic and baroque periods; I just knew there were these sounds filling up the house that had the ability to make me feel different emotions. Some music made me want to move, where I would stop whatever I was doing, to stand up and bounce up and down to the beat. Other kinds of music would lull me to sleep. I do not remember doing it, but there is a photograph of me standing on a chair, wearing a big hat, which caught me in the middle of bouncing. One of the first things I learned, when I was at the appropriate age, was how to handle a vinyl record. Pulling it out from its record cover, sliding it out of its paper sleeve, making sure to balance the edge of it on the palm of a cupped hand, with the longest finger holding it from the hole in the center, or at least on the paper label, was the correct way to do it. My favorite feature on the phonograph was the repeat button. Once I found something I liked, I would play it over and over. AT SOME POINT GROWING UP, WE started watching a television show called, “New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts. The conductor was Lenard Bernstein. It aired on Saturday afternoons, so I always made sure I was home by the time it came on. Mr. Bernstein was this animated character who sweated and laughed; he was enthusiastic about the things he was talking about. I loved it when he conducted the orchestra and sometimes, I would try to mimic his movements as if I were leading the orchestra. He explained what piece he was going to play, stopping at various times during it to explain what the notes they just played were telling the listener. After he explained the different sections, he would have the entire orchestra run through the piece. I learned about a variety of composers from him and would seek out their albums in our collection, after the shows ended. For decades, these shows have remained a fond memory for me, having contributed to my love for music. There was no way I was going to miss this film about such an extraordinary man, who had a prominent place in my early life. AS A LAST-MINUTE REPLACEMENT, A YOUNG conductor quickly makes a name for himself, catching the eye of many people along his journey to fame. With Carey Mulligan (The Dig, She Said) as Felicia Montealegre, Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born, Silver Linings Playbook) as Leonard Bernstein, Matt Bomer (Magic Mike franchise, In Time) as David Oppenheim, Vincenzo Amato (Unbroken, Golden Door) as Bruno Zirato and Greg Hildeth (Radium Girls, Dr. Death-TV) as Isaac; this biographical, history drama excelled because of Carey and Bradley. They were incredible both together and apart, to the point they were absolutely believable. I found the story fascinating and thought Bradley did an excellent job of directing. The pacing kept steady, with an even mix of music and drama. The one thing I was disappointed in was the stories to each character did not venture far from the surface. Granted, it is almost impossible to translate a lifetime of a person’s life into a 2-hour movie; however, I did not get to the point where I clearly understood each of the main character’s back stories. And on a personal note, I would have enjoyed hearing more music. Nonetheless, this easily could be an Oscar contender for the acting categories.
3 ¼ stars
Flash Movie Review: Godzilla Minus One
THE FIRST MONSTER MODEL I EVER built was the Bride of Frankenstein. We were on a road trip, passing through a small town, where we stopped for lunch. There was a toy store next to the restaurant. I remember this because attached to the inside of the door of the toy store was a little bell. Evey time the door opened and closed; the bell would jingle. I was allowed to buy one model without using any of the allowance money I brought with me on the trip. There was a section, or more like a large bookcase that was filled with toy model sets. I was already good at building and painting them, mostly doing racing cars, planes, and battleships. On one shelf there were several kits of different monsters. Prior, I never had a desire to build a creature but there was something about the assortment on display that intrigued me. There was the Creature from the Black Lagoon, a werewolf, and a mummy amongst the kits. I considered them but decided they were too easy to paint, and I was at a stage where I wanted more details. I continued looking through them and came upon the box showing the Bride of Frankenstein on the front. There was something about the hair that I thought would be fun to paint. I had never seen someone with two stripes in their hair. As soon as we were back from our trip, I built and painted the model of her and placed it in our China cabinet in the dining room. FROM THAT FIRST MONSTER MODEL KIT, I started to collect other monster kits. One of them was Godzilla, who I had seen on television. Every Saturday afternoon, there was a TV program that aired movies. Looking back, I would say most of them were “B” or campy movies geared to a younger audience. When Godzilla blew that fiery stream from its mouth, I thought it was so cool. It did not matter to me that Godzilla looked like a man dressed in a rubber suit, or that the buildings looked like model kits; I enjoyed all the action and explosions. From that Saturday program I think I have seen every Godzilla movie; ones where it would fight other monsters like Mothra, King Ghidorah and the robotic version of itself, Mechagodzilla. Looking back at them now with fondness, I can appreciate the entertainment value, even if the special effects were poor. Through the years, things may come and go but Godzilla always lives on. And with that, how could I not see this latest version? I was not expecting much, but I wound up leaving the theater with a whole lot more. IT WAS THE END OF THE WAR and Japan was starting the process of rebuilding itself. Its plans would quickly get derailed when a monster appeared at its shore. With Minami Hamabe (The Promised Neverland, Shin Kamen Rider) as Noriko Oishi, Ryunosuke Kamiki (Noise, Dr. Coto’s Clinic) as Koichi Shikishima, Sakura Ando (Shoplifters, Love Exposure) as Sumiko Ota, Kuranosuke Sasaki (Aircraft Carrier Ibuki, The Pass: Last Days of the Samurai) as Seiji Akitsu and Munetaka Aoki (Silence, Independence of Japan); this action, adventure drama stunned me. Sure, it had the trappings of a Godzilla film; however, it had a story with a lot of heart in it. I loved the way the writers wove personal stories into the script; it took this movie genre and raised it up to a different level. The way the characters developed in the middle of this disaster film was refreshing. For me, this picture tickled my memories of those Saturday afternoon films; this is one I will not forget. Japanese was spoken with English subtitles.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Leave the World Behind
MORE TIMES THAN NOT, WHENEVER I must go inside the bank to see a teller, I get a brief perplexed look when I tell them I do not have an ATM card. It is automatic for them to ask their customers to swipe their ATM card to begin the transaction. When I say I do not have one, they look up at me with this odd look before asking for a form of ID. I am so used to it now that it does not bother me. There is something about doing online banking that makes me uncomfortable. Who knows, maybe if I start traveling more and cannot always be back home to pay a bill on time, I might have to make arrangements to make payments online; however, for now, I am not interested in doing such a thing. I do not know what it is, but the more things turn to electronic internet-based methods, the more leery I become. Recently I discovered with my new vehicle I can lock, unlock, and start it with my phone. No one at the dealership mentioned it; I just happened to come across it when I was looking for something on the app that was downloaded to my phone when I purchased the vehicle. Though the idea of starting my car before I get inside of it on a cold wintery day sounds appealing, I am unsettled about the prospects that this app might be something that hackers would attack to take my car away from me or get used if I am the victim of a carjacking. These are things I think of. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS OUT there that I could get stuck dwelling on. Such a great idea of the air tags to keep track of one’s luggage when traveling, but then I find out ex-partners/stalkers use them to track their victim. Or I know someone out of state who drives an electric car. There was a power outage that lasted several days. They were not able to drive their car because they did not have sufficient time to charge it. Though I certainly benefit from some of the technical achievements brought into our world, I am concerned that too much will be operated through a sole source that could wind up giving us a negative experience. There are refrigerators, washers, dryers, automobiles, picture frames, televisions, and many more that are “cloud” based. I worry what if the power goes out or there is a computer malfunction or worse, a computer attack that brings everything to a standstill? Watching this dramatic, mystery thriller did nothing to soothe my concerns. WHEN TWO STRANGERS COME TO THE house that a family has rented for vacation, claiming they are the owners, the family members have no way to see if the strangers’ story is true because the internet was down. With Julia Roberts (Ticket to Paradise, Ben is Back) as Amanda Sandford, Mahershala Ali (Green Book, Swan Song) as G.H. Scott, Ethan Hawke (The Black Phone, The Northman) as Clay Sandford, Myha’la (Dumb Money, Bodies Bodies Bodies) as Ruth Scott and Farrah Mackenzie (Logan Lucky, Ascension) as Rose Sandford; this film was disturbing. It started out slowly, but as it moved along the tension kept building. The cast did a wonderful job with their acting, blending well with each other. For me, there were parts of the story that were uncomfortable and scary; but then some scenes seemed odd, not making much sense. I thought the writers were adding things into the story just to scare the viewer, even if they were not relevant to the story. By the time the ending came along, I was disappointed. The idea for this story was excellent; it sure made me react to it. Also, I felt it was a topic that might be on many people’s minds. I just wished the writers dug deeper into the characters and painted a broader picture of the world around us.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Gran Turismo
MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH A FAST vehicle took place at a local amusement park. In front of the park entrance there was a go kart track. I always assumed it was separate from the park because we had to pay for each ride, unlike paying admission to the park and getting the rides for free. I stood and watched the karts roll by for a minute before I decided to join my relatives in line. Unlike some of the car rides I had been on at other amusement parks, where the vehicle was attached to a groove that went down the middle of the track, this ride let the driver have free rein to safely drive wherever they pleased on the track. When it was our turn to get into the karts, there were attendants who helped buckling in the drivers. I noticed the cars had extra big bumpers, like the bumper cars that were an attraction in the amusement park. The older relatives in front of me took off as soon as they were cleared by their attendants. I wanted to catch up to them, so as soon as I was given the okay, I pressed hard on the gas pedal and went out in pursuit. I loved the way the wind hit my face as I drove down the track, staying close to the left side. By the time we were flagged to stop, I had passed just a few of the younger relatives; but it did not matter, I was hooked on the speed. I CONTINUED TO GO ON THE ride until I was no longer able to fit into the kart. By that time, I had collected an array of race car toys, including a racetrack that I put together in our living room, so I was getting my thrills from racing toy cars. In fact, there was a toy shop I went to weekly that had a huge racetrack; customers could rent a race car or bring one of their own to play on the track against other customers. One of my relatives and I saved up and bought our own toy race cars to use at the store. It took me a while to get used to adjusting the speed when my car was taking a turn; I had a few wipeouts, but I was determined to make it through the whole track without an incident and win the race. I believe, all the times I played at the shop led the adult me to always go for the sportiest car whenever I was car shopping at dealerships. Who knows what would have happened if the racing video game in this film had come out when I was a little boy; I might have had a whole different career. EVER SINCE HE WAS A LITTLE boy, all Jann Mardenborough, played by Archie Madekwe (Saltburn, Midsommar), could think about was racing cars. When an advertisement came out announcing a racing contest, Jann felt with all his video playing he might have a chance at becoming a race car driver for Nissan. With David Harbour (Black Widow, Revolutionary Road) as Jack Salter, Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) as Danny Moore, Takehiro Hira (Snake Eyes, Killing for the Prosecution) as Kazunori Yamauchi and Darren Barnet (Never Have I Ever-TV, Turnt-TV) as Matty Davis; this action adventure film based on a true story had some great racing scenes in it. I was not familiar with the story nor the video game, so for me everything seemed fresh and new. I do feel the script was conventional because it never felt like we were getting the full story on the characters. The drama was kept to a certain level, so that it never dripped over into the action scenes. Nonetheless, this movie was still fun to watch, though if one is not interested at all in races and racing cars then you might want to pass this one on the right.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Killer
THROUGH THE YEARS, THE TALENT I saw in employees went from one extreme to the other, from crazy to amazing and everything in between. I recently told you about the switchboard operator who dropped acid. Believe me, she was just one of many characters I used to work with at my various jobs. At one place, I sat across a fellow employee who was obsessed with keeping their workspace perfectly clean. I mean to the point they would spray half a can of sanitizer all over their desk after removing everything off it. This meant they were disconnecting their phone and computer every day for this deep cleaning. The amount of sanitizer that they sprayed was so thick that you could see a cloud of it forming above them as they began to wipe everything down. Another employee at the same company threw off our supply budget because of the amount of paper towels she went through each day, washing her hands, face, and meal utensils that she kept individually wrapped in a plastic storage bag. It was obvious to me that both these individuals had OCD issues. I could at least understand where they came from with their daily rituals. But what can you say about the new employee who on their first day of work, kept leaving their training to ask a fellow employee if they could go out for lunch sometime. It was a form of harassment that the person had the power to correct but chose not to do so. The Human Resources department terminated their position. ONE OF MY MAIN GOALS AT my various jobs was to avoid conflict. I cannot manage drama, both at home and at the office. From the different companies I have worked at, I usually will study those employees who display vast knowledge and skills in their line of work. Though it is a cliché, I want to learn from the best. There was an employee at one company who not only had the knowledge for what their job required, but they also had the temperament. It was fascinating watching this person in a meeting because when asked to explain something, they would be able to communicate it in easy terms for the rest of us to understand. Their knowledge of the inner workings of the company was vast; they were like the resource center for the employees. I have to say it was impressive to see someone so skilled at their job. If my occupation were in the same field (gratefully not) as the main character in this action, crime film he would be someone I would watch and study. WHEN AN ASSASSIN MISSES HIS INTENDED target, not only was his reputation put in jeopardy but his life as well. With Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs, The Light Between Oceans) as The Killer, Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton, Three Thousand Years of Longing) as The Expert, Charles Parnell (A Million Little Pieces, The Last Ship-TV) as The Lawyer-Hodges, Arliss Howard (The Time Traveler’s Wife, Full Metal Jacket) as The Client-Claybourne and Kerry O’Malley (Cowboy Drifter, 1923-TV) as Dolores; this adventure movie was an interesting study. I thought Michael was perfect in the role. At first, I felt lost watching this picture; I was not sure where it was going. However, as the scenes unfolded, I started to appreciate the work being done in creating a sense of tension, dread, drama, along with an unbelievable, intense fight scene. If only the writers could have started adding these things in earlier, it would have made this a better viewing experience. Though this film will not win any awards, it was an interesting inside look at the mind of an assassin.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Trailer: May December
AS I GUEST, I HAD NO idea what to expect as I was greeted into their home. I was the “plus one” who had been invited by the hosts to come and help celebrate the holiday. As the front door opened, the host’s daughter greeted us. I had met her a few times previously, but tonight something was wrong; I could immediately feel it in the air. Her eyes were red, and the eyelashes looked damp as if she had been crying. Since nothing was being mentioned, I was not going to ask if everything was okay; I was not a family member, so I did not feel it was my place. We were directed into the living room where other family members were seated. The matriarch of the family stood up to greet us as we entered the room. Sitting in the chair next to her was another daughter, who remained seated. She looked at us and said hello with a slight nod before turning her gaze back to the fireplace. There was something going on, I just knew it because people were acting odd. It was as if they were going through the motions at a bare minimum, with nothing more to offer. We found two spots on the sofa and sat down. There was dead silence for the moment. I could not stand it; so, I spoke up first, thanking the host for having me for holiday dinner. DINNER WAS READY AND NOT A moment too soon for me. It was so uncomfortable to be sitting in a room with people, where little conversation was going on. Questions were asked to all on how they were feeling, and each person responded with one word, “fine.” I was hoping the meal would provide a couple of avenues to start a conversation. Platters of food were brought out, wine was poured, and the matriarch thanked us all for being there. Everyone acknowledged her comments, reciprocating in kind. Afterwards, there was dead silence again. As soon as I took a bite of something, I would comment on how wonderful it was, asking how it was prepared. I just did not want there to be this constant silence hanging over the dining room table. My comments on the food dishes and questions were politely answered, but none of it sparked the beginning of a conversation. We sat quietly, except for the clinking of silverware on plates and bowls. I could not wait to get out of there. It was three days later when my feelings were confirmed. Before we arrived, the family members got into a big fight because one of the guests refused to test themselves for COVID, after having been with a friend who afterwards tested positive for it. Instead of talking it out and coming to a mutual agreement, the family members yelled and accused each other of ridiculous things. They certainly did not know how to communicate, instead just sat there pretending everything was all right. It was like what the family was doing in this dramatic, well-cast film. AFTER BEING MARRIED FOR MANY YEARS, one would have thought everything would have been dealt with and worked out for the infamous couple. But when an actor comes into their life to study one of them for a movie role, she sees more than what she was expecting. With Natalie Portman (Lucy in the Sky, Black Swan) as Elizbeth, Julianne Moore (After the Wedding, Gloria Bell) as Gracie, Charles Melton (The Sun is Also a Star, Riverdale-TV) as Joe Yoo, Cory Michael Smith (Call Jane, Carol) as Georgie and Andrea Frankle (Crime Story, Walkaway Joe) as Rhonda; I was captured by the incredible acting skills of the cast. Natalie, Julianne, and Charles were so coordinated that I forgot their real selves and took them as the characters they played. The story was deftly told, and the direction and music were brilliant. There were moments of camp and drama, blended into the script that kept the viewer wondering about the intentions of the characters. This was such a strong film that kept me totally engaged with it. I never thought a movie that shows the faults of being non-communicative would be so thrilling to watch.
4 stars
Flash Movie Trailer: Wonka
I TEND TO BE SKEPTICAL WHENEVER a restaurant or food product gets rebranded or announces they are “new and improved.” More times than not, when a food establishment announces a change, their portions or their menus get smaller. Now I am not saying this happens all the time; it just seems to have happened enough for me to notice it. A restaurant I frequent came up with a new menu. It had the same colorful type of pages, but there were several items missing from it. When our meals came, the French fries that had always accompanied the entrée on the plate were instead stacked into a freestanding metal cone. As a display presentation it looked cool, but I could see there were not as many fries in it as there had been on the plate. It is not something I would complain about, especially since they did not increase the price for them. I have been to some restaurants that came out with a campaign about being better or tastier, and yet it all tasted the same, except the price for it was higher. That type of situation annoys me. I would rather they just raise the prices without trying to disguise it as some new and improved thing. THOUGH, I AM OPEN FOR TRYING new food items, my experience has been more of a negative reaction. There was a particular brand of ice cream I always bought. One day, while shopping, I stopped at the freezer case to pick up a container of it. At first, I missed it entirely because the packaging had been changed; it looked completely different. I looked over the label that was touting a new and improved flavor and did not see anything that stood out as unusual. Later that day, when I was back at home, I helped myself to a serving from it and immediately saw fewer chocolate chips. Not only did that bother me, but the other flavors in the mix were not as pronounced. It was another example of masking the true reasons behind their “new and improved” marketing ploy. I am aware in this line of work; the company must keep their eyes on their competitors’ pricing and not price themselves out of the market. Still, what purpose does it serve to produce something not as good? I would have rather paid more money for it and still enjoy the original flavors in the product. In my opinion, it is not always a clever idea to redo something that already works well. Case in point, today’s film. I know it is supposed to be a prequel, but something was missing from it. EVERYONE IN TOWN SEEMED TO LOVE the stranger’s chocolates, except for the members of the chocolate cartel. They were not about to let a stranger ruin their business plan. With Timothee Chalamet (Dune, Bones and All) as Willy Wonka, Hugh Grent (The Gentleman, Cloud Atlas) as Oompa-Loompa, Olivia Coleman (The Lost Daughter, Empire of Light) as Mrs. Scrubitt, Paterson Joseph (Aeon Flux, The Beach) as Slugworth and Calah Lane (The Day Shall Come, Kiddings-TV) as Noodle; this family, adventure comedy was like an assortment of Halloween candy: some scenes were good, others were not. My first reaction was about Timothee’s character; he was too mild in my opinion. There was not anything magical or special about him that made the character stand out on the big screen; unlike Hugh Grant, who I thought for the few scenes he was in was fun to watch. There was more of a cartoonish flavor to the movie as opposed to an exciting fantasy. Granted it is a prequel, but I was bored through the first half of the movie. The odd assortment of supporting characters added more “oomph” to the story. Also, except for a couple of well-known songs, the others were not memorable. I felt as disappointed as getting an apple instead of a chocolate bar for Halloween. There was an extra scene early in the credits.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: Locked In
I KNEW HIM BEFORE AND AFTER. We were acquaintances; he was a friend of a friend of mine. He had few filters, so he shared more information about his life than most people cared to hear. However, because he was fun and engaging, many folks just went along with whatever he was saying. I am not a mind reader or psychic, but after hearing about several of his dating exploits, I had a sense he was not as interested in the person as he was in what they did for a living. The more time I spent with him socially, the more I felt I was correct about my feelings. He was looking for someone with a large bank account who could take care of him. It was not my place to judge him; if there was someone out there who wanted to take care of him, then I had no issues with it. When he talked about a recent date he was on, he did not mention some key words like fun, enjoyed, kind. He would make mention of their fancy watch or expensive car or large residence. For me, these were not important things that I cared about when dating a person. These types of comments were mentioned over and over during his “before” years. THE “AFTER” YEARS WERE THE ONES where he found what he was looking for in a date and they settled down to form a couple. The person he found came from money, something about a family company in business for a few generations. If you care to know; yes, they had an expensive watch, a fancy car and a huge home. They had traveled all over the world and as far as I could tell they loved him. My friend’s friend started coming to our social events dressed in the latest fashions, talked about the places the two of them traveled, flying to New York City for the weekend to see a Broadway show, the expensive restaurants they had visited; you get the idea. This is why I refer to him as “before and after” because there was such a drastic change in him once he found and dated someone who could provide him with all the things he had been searching for. I could not tell you if love was involved on his part; I have only heard him express his love for inanimate objects. Through my life experiences, I have never met anyone else like him except possibly one of the main characters in this dramatic, mystery thriller. LINA, PLAYED BY ROSE WILLIAMS (MRS. Harris Goes to Paris, A Quiet Passion), was grateful for the kindness her mother’s friend showed her by taking her in after her mother’s death. The kindness began to wear thin once Lina found the woman’s son attractive. With Famke Janssen (X-Men franchise, Redeeming Love) as Katherine, Alex Hassell (The Tragedy of Macbeth, Violent Night) as Doctor Lawrence, Finn Cole (F9: The Fast Sage, Peaky Blinders-TV) as Jamie and Anna Friel (Limitless, Land of the Lost) as Nurse Mackenzie; this film had the trappings of a good suspense story, but the script kept getting in the way. The characters were never fully developed, and the dialog lacked authenticity. I was drawn by the scenes with Nurse Mackenzie, but there were not enough of those good scenes to make up for poorly done ones. The twists and turns offered seemed more done to provide a shock value than giving them some added weight to make sense. I enjoyed the look of the movie and the settings, but again, I did not feel a connection to the characters. This film was more like a jigsaw puzzle, where the writers took bits and pieces of other films and recreated them for this one without giving much thought to the fact, they made no sense.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Radical
NO SOONER AFTER THE FOURTH-GRADE teacher started telling me about the visitors she had at her school, I knew this was going to be a heartwarming story. A group of graduating high school seniors returned to their elementary school for a special assembly. During their visit, a group of them went to pay a visit to their fourth-grade teacher. She was totally surprised when they walked up to her and luckily, she said she was able to recognize a good portion of them. She told us the students wanted to see her because her class had been their favorite one all through elementary school. They said it was because of her they found excitement and fun in learning. I was happy to hear this because I knew how hard she worked to make her classes a safe, exciting place for her students to explore the world around them. She would be working on lesson plans and activities at home, early in the morning before the school day started, and even at weekends; she was dedicated to her job. I could tell she was moved by the experience, more so when she said the students wanted her to know that each one of them was going to college. This bit of news truly made her day, and I was thrilled for her; she deserved it. I HAVE ALWAYS SAID ONE OF the hardest and most important jobs is being a teacher. They are entrusted with the task of expanding a child’s mind by teaching them everything from the alphabet to music to history to art to science. Compare the work and pay they get for it to a sports figure (baseball, basketball, football player for example), there is no comparison. In my opinion, it is completely lopsided. Not to “knock down” any sports figures, but having an inside look into teachers’ lives, they are underpaid. Of course, there are some teachers who should never have become teachers; I have seen and experienced them for myself. However, there are so many dedicated teachers who just want to make a difference in a child’s life. My music teacher was the one who solidified my love of music, exposing the class to all types of music from around the world. I also had a great literature teacher who instead of having us give book reports, wanted us to create something to depict a scene or theme from the assigned book. It was such an imaginative way of teaching, I thought. It all comes down to caring, I believe, on what makes a teacher great. A perfect example can be found in this drama based on a true story. IN A SMALL MEXICAN TOWN, FILLED with violence and neglect, a new teacher arrives who wants his students to have a better chance for opportunities in life. With Eugenio Derbez (Overboard, Dora and the lost City of Gold) as Sergio, Daniel Haddad (Murder City, All the Freckles in the World-TV) as Chucho, Gilberto Barraza (The Land of Silence, Rage) as Papa Palome, Enoc Leano (Roma, Parientes a la Fuerza-TV) as Administrator and Erwin Veytia (The Black Minutes, Go Youth!) as Sr. Garcia; this was such a feel-good story that I enjoyed watching all the way through to the end. Eugenio was outstanding in his role and the rest of the cast was so good as well. The story was fascinating to me; I am positive there was so much more to this story than what was depicted in this picture. And that is the issue I had with this movie; it had a predictable factor that I was able to figure out upcoming scenes. Despite this, I still feel this was a worthwhile film to view and I am glad I got to see it. Spanish was spoken with English subtitles.
3 ½ stars
moviejoltz 