saynomore Wrote:Machete was a one-joke trailer on the Planet Terror double-feature a few years back. Well, the one-joke has been extended to nearly two hours, and its seams are showing. Every sentence contains an anti-immigrant or anti-Mexican cliche--this is dialog that really pushes he evelope regarding the immigration reform issue, which is what this movie tries to approach both seriously and mockingly. The mock is hilarious; the serious slows down the movie with its preachy, touchy-feely lectures.

Hardworking illegals are portrayed as heroic; whites are portrayed as bigots, calling Mexicans lazy. The movie goes out of its way to portray every illegal either as a doctor, nurse, construction worker, day laborer, taco vendor, ice cream vendor--no job is left unturned. The running gag is that whites pick up the day laborers to do their septic tank work because they can't find anyone else to do the dirty work.

Well, Rodriquez, who has shown his polictics peripherally in most of his movies, including Spy Kids, wears his politics on his sleeve in this movie. The villain is a Texas senator (Robert De Niro) who wants to make all the illlegals build an electric fence around the border before sending them back to Mexico; but little does he realize that drug cartel money is paying for his election bid because the cartels stand to make more money if a border wall is built. There is a Minutemen type group (led by Don Johnson--remember him?)--killing illegals after saying "Welcome to the USA."

Laugh out loud funny for a few scenes, but the rest is grade B movie fare by an A movie director. Only thing I can recommend is Jessica Alba's nude scene, Lindsey Lohan's naked breast shot, and Michelle Rodriquez in low-rise jeans. For the immigration politics, I find the threads on this site much more funny. See it now if you like cliched politics and gratuitous violence.

Or rent it later, to slo-mo the chick scenes and ff the political soap-boxing.

AC

P.S. Steven Seagal plays the "Mexican" cartel kingpin. Now, that's funny. Also, my favorite joke: Cheech Marin offers Machete a Cuban cigar; Machete says, I prefer Mexican, to which Marin opens another cigar box filled with marijuana joints the size of cigars. Yes, they do light one up. Funny stuff. Me and two others in the sold out theater applauded with envy.

saynomore Wrote:Machete was a one-joke trailer on the Planet Terror double-feature a few years back. Well, the one-joke has been extended to nearly two hours, and its seams are showing. Every sentence contains an anti-immigrant or anti-Mexican cliche--this is dialog that really pushes he evelope regarding the immigration reform issue, which is what this movie tries to approach both seriously and mockingly. The mock is hilarious; the serious slows down the movie with its preachy, touchy-feely lectures.

Hardworking illegals are portrayed as heroic; whites are portrayed as bigots, calling Mexicans lazy. The movie goes out of its way to portray every illegal either as a doctor, nurse, construction worker, day laborer, taco vendor, ice cream vendor--no job is left unturned. The running gag is that whites pick up the day laborers to do their septic tank work because they can't find anyone else to do the dirty work.

Well, Rodriquez, who has shown his polictics peripherally in most of his movies, including Spy Kids, wears his politics on his sleeve in this movie. The villain is a Texas senator (Robert De Niro) who wants to make all the illlegals build an electric fence around the border before sending them back to Mexico; but little does he realize that drug cartel money is paying for his election bid because the cartels stand to make more money if a border wall is built. There is a Minutemen type group (led by Don Johnson--remember him?)--killing illegals after saying "Welcome to the USA."

Laugh out loud funny for a few scenes, but the rest is grade B movie fare by an A movie director. Only thing I can recommend is Jessica Alba's nude scene, Lindsey Lohan's naked breast shot, and Michelle Rodriquez in low-rise jeans. For the immigration politics, I find the threads on this site much more funny. See it now if you like cliched politics and gratuitous violence.

Or rent it later, to slo-mo the chick scenes and ff the political soap-boxing.

AC

P.S. Steven Seagal plays the "Mexican" cartel kingpin. Now, that's funny. Also, my favorite joke: Cheech Marin offers Machete a Cuban cigar; Machete says, I prefer Mexican, to which Marin opens another cigar box filled with marijuana joints the size of cigars. Yes, they do light one up. Funny stuff. Me and two others in the sold out theater applauded with envy.