Machete

[modage]

While I'll admit there is something to be said for backwards engineering an entire film around a series of nonsense scenes, the film gets bogged down with a heavy-handed political plot that involves too much exposition and not enough action.  At almost two hours the movie feels really long for what should have been a breezy 80 minutes.  Trejo is good in the lead but it feels like Rodriguez really slapped this one together, even bringing in his editor as co-director.  Isn't this the guy that would write/direct/score/edit his own movies?

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

I loved this except I wish it was a gritty looking as the Grindhouse trailer (albeit fake trailer) made it appear to be.  Films don't have balls anymore, they always try to be so god damned polished that they can't embrace an aesthetic.  They want to teeter on the line, but then cut all the corners that actually give it any  fucking edge.

Everything was in the script to make this a full bodied exploitation film on par with recent greats like Black Dynamite and Viva, but it loses the pastiche and just looks like a sloppy homage.  The CGI is just too much and too cartoony and it makes the deaths less serious.  People just die in this, but I just imagine dudes falling over and then other dudes later using computer programs to digitally float knives jutting out of them and blood spurting out.  It seemed lazy and bogged down every kill (of which, there are very, very many).

That being said, I still thought this was pretty great.  Predictable plot twists but executed with such prowess that they worked.  I almost viewed this the way I saw MacGruber, it touched all the bases in its own way and Danny Trejo just totally annihilates the screen.  I feel he really rocked that scarred mug for all it was worth in this.

Could've used more tits if anything.

[brockly]

I loved this except I wish it was a gritty looking as the Grindhouse trailer (albeit fake trailer) made it appear to be.  Films don't have balls anymore, they always try to be so god damned polished that they can't embrace an aesthetic.  They want to teeter on the line, but then cut all the corners that actually give it any  fucking edge.

haha what are you saying here? going by the trailer, the only difference between the look of the feature film and the fake trailer was that they eased off that bullshit flickering and graininess. did you really want to sit through 2 hours of that? why would u want the film to look like shit? if a film needs to look old in order to embrace an aesthetic, i don't think that film has any worth (i'm talking strictly about the quality, not the style). i agree with what you said about CGI tho, i don't think there's anything worse than bad CGI.

[MacGuffin]

If you're looking for the film that was promised in Grindhouse, it's here... and yet, not. Certainly all the scenes teased in the "trailer" are shown, but the B-movie that got everyone excited enough to turn this into a reality is missing. This could have been a perfect Machete as Shaft-type Mex-plotation flick, but instead Rodriguez pushes his message across to the forefront, leaving the camp and fun on the backburner. Machete is like Once Upon A Time In Mexico Lite, using multiple storylines and a convoluted plot instead of keeping things simple and letting the action and a very likable hero be the stars.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

I loved this except I wish it was a gritty looking as the Grindhouse trailer (albeit fake trailer) made it appear to be.  Films don't have balls anymore, they always try to be so god damned polished that they can't embrace an aesthetic.  They want to teeter on the line, but then cut all the corners that actually give it any  fucking edge.

haha what are you saying here? going by the trailer, the only difference between the look of the feature film and the fake trailer was that they eased off that bullshit flickering and graininess. did you really want to sit through 2 hours of that? why would u want the film to look like shit? if a film needs to look old in order to embrace an aesthetic, i don't think that film has any worth (i'm talking strictly about the quality, not the style). i agree with what you said about CGI tho, i don't think there's anything worse than bad CGI.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind a dingy aesthetic.  The bullshit flickering and graininess can be done well, it doesn't need to look old, but looking new dodges the aesthetic itself... which isn't a bad deal necessarily, but look at House of the Devil.  They shot a film that looks exactly like a slasher, but it was made a couple years ago.  They really nailed the pastiche.

The CG as well was a nail in the eye that could've otherwise worked in their favor to work lo-budget.

[Gloria]

I think I watched only 60% of this movie -- the rest of the time, I had my hands over my eyes.  Now, don't get me wrong, I've seen my share of violent movies -- but this one was merciless!  It was gleefully brutal, but there was too much of it, making the running time about 30 minutes too long.  I thought Don Johnson and Michelle Rodriguez were the stand outs in this (And Jeff Fahey has the most memorizing eyes ever).  I also learned a creative place to store a cell phone.  I wonder if she had it set to vibrate...

[RegularKarate]

I thought that there were some really awesome moments in the movie, but the moments that weren't awesome, were completely boring.

I appreciate the attempt with this one.  I like ridiculous movies that push the envelope of ridiculousness.  I just think it takes a different approach.  It still wanted to take itself seriously in parts.  Oh well.  I still had fun.

One thing that bugged me was, being from Austin, I could tell where every single scene was shot.  This could have been taken care of by re-framing a lot of the shots.  It took me out of it.

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

One thing that bugged me was, being from Austin, I could tell where every single scene was shot.  This could have been taken care of by re-framing a lot of the shots.  It took me out of it.

I'm sure some people absolutely loved that aspect, though.  Taking pride in their city and what have you.  But I can see what you're saying.  When I see movies made in Chicago, depending on the capitalization of the Sears tower or other landmarks, it can be quite a tourist city or a photogenic city.  Just depends on how it's shot.