Cronicas
by Sebasti?n Cordero
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DVD details
Actor: Alfred Molina, Dami?n Alc?zar, John Leguizamo, Leonor Watling, Walter LayanaDirector: Sebasti?n Cordero
Brand: Universal Studios
Writer: Sebasti?n Cordero
Producer: Alfonso Cuar?n
Producer: Bertha Navarro
Producer: Carolina Fox
Producer: Frida Torresblanco
Producer: Guillermo del Toro
Producer: Isabel D?valos
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 108 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-11-08
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Palm Pictures / Umvd
DVD Reviews of Cronicas
DVD Review: Amazing and Disturbing Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is superb - tightly written, directed, and acted. And very, very disturbing because of its subject matter. Contrary to what some reviewers have suggested, the story is more complicated than just a group of journalists exploiting a series of killings. They actually ARE trying to do the right thing and identify the killer, they just want to profit from doing it by getting a huge TV exclusive. And when they unintentionally muck things up, the film ending makes very clear the price that is paid (and by whom) after the journalists decide whether to save their own reputations and careers or expose just exactly how they botched things up. I think the most disturbing question the film leaves us with is: would we have done differently?
DVD Review: SEBASTIAN CORDERO, OPUS 2
Summary: 4 Stars
***1/2 2004. Written and directed by the Ecuadorian director Sebasti?n Cordero. Dami?n Alc?zar earned numerous awards for his performance as the serial killer Vinicio Cepeda. A reporter is sent to a small Ecuadorian town where a serial killer has already murdered several children. If you're a curious movie lover, CRONICAS is a film for you. To choose to handle the serial killer genre in a setting as original as an impoverished part of Ecuador allows the director to say two or three important things about journalism, ethics and the crowd's psychology. Recommended. DVD Review: Leguziamo is credible(despite his Spanish)
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie has the feel of a truth meets documentary film. John Leguizamo is really good as a Miami-based reporter, who is a star and sometimes acts like he's bigger than the story he's covering. Sound like anyone familiar? Can you say Geraldo Rivera? There are some similarities, but anyway, he's chasing a serial murder story down in Ecuador. The footage of the countryside in Ecuador is magnificent and adds to the realism of the movie. The scene where we meet the bad guy,a travelling bible salesman,(oh, the irony),has the misfortune of accidently running over a child and the ensuing mob scene is horrific. It is a vivid reminder of how justice is carried out in the backwoods of some countries, in this case, Ecuador. The hero reporter just happens to be on location to witness the gasoline being poured on the man, captures the images , sends them back home and an International story is born. The twist is predictable but the ride is gut wenching. The serial killer is revealed and the situation resolved, well, sort of. It takes the entirety of the movie to really put all the pieces together for a final end to Leguziamo's
quest. This is a movie that captures you, transports you to Ecuador and makes you a little sick. That said, I enjoyed it! It is afterall a movie but maybe a little too close to reality for some people. it comes with extras that are cool. The alternate ending is wild. Check it out. Leguziamo is terrific. Recommended for those that like foreign movies that have that American flair too.
DVD Review: Atmospheric Thriller Set In Ecuador
Summary: 4 Stars
My wife is originally from Ecuador and I have gone there with her several times to visit friends and family members. So I am always interested to see how the nation is portrayed in movies and other forms of media. Cordero, who was born there but went to film school in the United States, does an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere and personality of this fascinating but troubled country.
Manolo Bonilla (John Leguizamo) is a Miami based reporter who travels to Ecuador along with his collegues Marisa and Ivan. They are filing reports for a Spanish language tabloid news show about the search for a child killer and rapist known as the "Monster Of Babahoyo". Bonilla ends up conducting a series of interviews with Vinicio Cepeda (Damian Alcanzar), an imprisoned Bible salesman who claims to know secret details about the "Monster of Babahoyo". But Bonilla's actions are geared more towards furthering his own career than helping the police find the killer and he eventually ends up creating a tragic outcome.
Leguizamo and Alcanzar do sensational acting jobs. Manolo is an arrogant, self-centered jerk that I came to truly despise, while Vinicio is a complex and confusing character that I, at first, was quite sympathetic towards. I also found the movie to be suspenseful because I kept expecting a "whodunit twist" to occur involving the true identity of the "Monster". But instead the film continues along the more obvious plot line and ends up being less of a murder mystery than an indictment of Bonilla's selfish careerism and the profit driven tabloid media industry. By the way, my wife says that vigilante attacks like the one in this movie are a common occurrence in Ecuador because the people, especially among the poor, have so little faith in the country's corrupt and incompetent system of justice.
Definitely check out this well made and entertaining movie. I also recommend Cordero's earlier film - "Ratas, Ratones and Rateros".
DVD Review: predictable and abrupt...
Summary: 3 Stars
Manolo (Leguizamo) is a top-rated reporter for a tabloid TV show, based in Miami. He has been reporting on the crimes of the "Monster of Babahoya". This "monster" has been abducting, raping and killing over 100 boys and girls. He has yet to be caught.
Manolo is in Ecuador, filming a funeral of one boy who was murdered by the "monster". Not far away from the funeral, a driver accidently hits the twin brother of the boy that's being buried. The town goes into a frenzy and nearly lynch the driver.
When rescued and arrested by the police, the driver, Vinicio, tells Manolo that he has detailed information on the "monster". Manolo is intrigued and decided to interview Vinicio.
The thing is that Vinicio knows so much about the "monster" and where undiscovered bodies are located. So, it becomes a question of whether the "monster" indeed revealed everything or if Vinicio is the "monster".
For me, it was predictable, slow and abrupt. The movie ended with more questions than answers. Ugh!
Description of Cronicas
John Leguizamo stars as Manolo Bonilla, a tabloid TV reporter who traveled from Miami with his news crew on the trail of a story about a serial killer striking a small town in Ecuador. Convinced this story could be the 'big one' that makes him a network star, he is willing to bend the rules to get the facts. But the closer he gets to uncovering the truth, the more he finds his carefully planned story spinning dangerously out of control. Soon, Bonilla and his crew find themselves at the center of a frightening situation where even the best intentions can backfire.In twisty thriller Cr?nicas, John Leguizamo (Moulin Rouge) finally lands a lead role worthy of his talent. The Columbian-born actor is Manolo Bonilla, an ambitious Miami-based reporter for a Spanish-language news outlet. When a serial killer devastates a small town in Ecuador, he and his crew, Marisa (Leonor Watling, Talk to Her) and Iv?n (Jos? Mar?a Yazpik, Innocent Voices), fly down to cover the story. Shortly after their arrival, Bonilla saves the life of shifty-looking salesman Vinicio Cepeda (Dami?n Alc?zar). His intentions aren't as honorable as they seem. Cepeda claims to have information regarding the "Monster of Babahoyo" and Bonilla will do anything to keep him talking. Soon his star begins to rise as Cepeda provides him with more and more ratings-grabbing details. Then Bonilla discovers something even the authorities don't know about--another body. His decision to follow the lead on his own could make his career...or completely destroy it. Worse yet, another child may lose his life if Bonilla fails. Featuring Alfred Molina (Frida) as Marisa's TV host husband (seen only via monitor). Written and directed by Sebasti?n Cordero and produced by Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuar?n, Cr?nicas was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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