Sin Nombre and The Great Buck Howard
I will say a few words about two very different movies that I saw earlier today. First up is Sin Nombre. This film is a terrific debut by writer/director Cary Fukunaga. The film focuses on people who live in Latin America under very difficult conditions. There are two strands in the story and they meet up midway through the film.
Caspar/Willy (Edgar Flores) is a member of a ruthless gang in Mexico. At the beginning of the film we watch the brutal gang initiation of his protege Smiley (Kristian Ferrer). But something happens to sour Willy's feelings for the gang. He gets into big trouble and finds himself on a train to the USA.
The second strand is about Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), who lives in Honduras. She is reunited with her father who wants to take her to the USA for a better life. It is on the train that she meets Willy. I won't tell you what the circumstances are. You will have to see the film to find out.
Sin Nombre is a very good film. All of the actors are good. The look of the film is realistic. The story is compelling and the direction is spot on. I was riveted throughout. Fukunaga is an exciting new talent to watch. I look forward to seeing what he does next. I should mention that Sin Nombre is very relevant in these difficult times. We get a good look at the lives that these people lead. And it makes us think about the complicated issue of immigration. There are no easy answers.
The Great Buck Howard is a good film but not up the level of Sin Nombre. But it has a lot of laughs and some fine acting and was quite enjoyable.
John Malkovich stars as Howard, a Mentalist (magician if you will) who has seen better days. He was once very popular but now works in smaller venues. But he does have his fans. He hires novice Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) to be his road manager. Howard is not an easy man to work for. Emily Blunt plays a publicist named Valerie brought in to set up interviews for Howard and keep his name in the news.
The plot itself is somewhat predictable. Sean McGinley does a good but not spectacular job of directing the film. Malkovich is wonderful and has once again (see Burn After Reading) proves that he can be a very funny man. Blunt is good as always. There are other good actors in the film - such as Ricky Jay as Howard's associate Gil and Steve Zahn as an overzealous fan. But Hanks is a bit too bland for my taste. He needed to have more umph! Tom Hanks, the real life father of Colin, has a cameo as Troy's father. All in all an entertaining way to spend 90 minutes.
Oh, I should say that the film was inspired by The Amazin Kreskin. I found that to be most interesting.
Caspar/Willy (Edgar Flores) is a member of a ruthless gang in Mexico. At the beginning of the film we watch the brutal gang initiation of his protege Smiley (Kristian Ferrer). But something happens to sour Willy's feelings for the gang. He gets into big trouble and finds himself on a train to the USA.
The second strand is about Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), who lives in Honduras. She is reunited with her father who wants to take her to the USA for a better life. It is on the train that she meets Willy. I won't tell you what the circumstances are. You will have to see the film to find out.
Sin Nombre is a very good film. All of the actors are good. The look of the film is realistic. The story is compelling and the direction is spot on. I was riveted throughout. Fukunaga is an exciting new talent to watch. I look forward to seeing what he does next. I should mention that Sin Nombre is very relevant in these difficult times. We get a good look at the lives that these people lead. And it makes us think about the complicated issue of immigration. There are no easy answers.
The Great Buck Howard is a good film but not up the level of Sin Nombre. But it has a lot of laughs and some fine acting and was quite enjoyable.
John Malkovich stars as Howard, a Mentalist (magician if you will) who has seen better days. He was once very popular but now works in smaller venues. But he does have his fans. He hires novice Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) to be his road manager. Howard is not an easy man to work for. Emily Blunt plays a publicist named Valerie brought in to set up interviews for Howard and keep his name in the news.
The plot itself is somewhat predictable. Sean McGinley does a good but not spectacular job of directing the film. Malkovich is wonderful and has once again (see Burn After Reading) proves that he can be a very funny man. Blunt is good as always. There are other good actors in the film - such as Ricky Jay as Howard's associate Gil and Steve Zahn as an overzealous fan. But Hanks is a bit too bland for my taste. He needed to have more umph! Tom Hanks, the real life father of Colin, has a cameo as Troy's father. All in all an entertaining way to spend 90 minutes.
Oh, I should say that the film was inspired by The Amazin Kreskin. I found that to be most interesting.
posted by Film Fanatic | 7:53 PM
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