Film reviews
Men In Black 3
It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.
Bel Ami
The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.
The Dictator
A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.
The Woman In Black
Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.
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Machete (Film)
Rating: MA
Running Time: 105
Country: USA
Director: Ethan Maniquis, Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Jessica Alba, Jeff Fahey, Don Johnson, Lindsay Lohan, Cheech Marin, Rose McGowan, Robert De Niro, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, Danny Trejo
Distributor: Sony
Release Date: November 11, 2010
Film Worth: $9.50
FILMINK rates movies out of $20 - the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worthWhile it’s well made and Danny Trejo is an amazing presence on screen, the sustained over-the-top violence becomes tiresome.
Anyone who's seen the famed Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino exploitation movie salute double shot, Grindhouse, has probably been looking forward to Machete ever since they saw its hilarious fake trailer - since before it existed, so to speak. The disappointing reality is that as a feature film, Machete makes a damned good three-minute trailer.
Not that there aren't exciting elements here, and towering (literally) above them all is the amazing presence of Danny Trejo as the titular Machete, a sort of uber-Charles Bronson with tattoos, scars and leathery skin who looks like he was carved from Mount Rushmore. It's just that the film falls - with a dull thud - between two stools. It's too much of an over-the-top sustained spoof on seventies exploitation flicks to be seriously gripping, and yet too gory, repetitive and frenetic - and short on actual jokes - to be particularly funny.
In any event, the story revolves around former Fed turned contract hitman Machete being hired, grudgingly, to assassinate rabidly anti-Mexican politician Senator John McLaughlin, who is played to fine effect by Robert De Niro, one of a slew of stars, from Steven Seagal to Don Johnson, who've evidently queued up to be part of Robert Rodriguez' self-parodic fun. Machete's backers double-cross him, he seeks revenge, and the conspiratorial plot which then unfolds is merely instrumental to the racking up of a whopping body count. Modes of despatch include shooting, stabbing and crucifixion, and Machete's comrades range from a gun-toting priest called Padre (Cheech Marin) to immigration officer - and love interest - Sartana Rivera (Jessica Alba). On the other side are all manner of corrupt opportunists who are bent on killing Machete and each other.
This is well made schlock, but it's schlock nonetheless, and it gets boring.
