fergarza71 Reviews

Turtles Can Fly (2004)

The most powerful movie I've seen... period

[10/10 · 6 May 2008]

There comes a time in a movie buff's life where all his expectations are thrown way off by the sudden realization that he or she has seen the best representation of the medium, or theme movie... I really don't know what to think about my life long love with the movies, as both an escape and as entertainment. This movie is definitely not your ideal entertainment, but it's message cannot be denied, controlled or diminished... the power it emanates from it can be viewed as either loss or gain, depending on the perspective of the viewer.

It's a simple story of youths running wild and doing foolish things to entertain themselves. The only problem is that these kids are in the iraki border, at the end of Sadamm's reign. We get treated to a whole lot of kids and their daily lives on a refugee camp, where leader Satellite moves and gives orders to his minions, which include a lot of war-injured kids. Out of the blue three kids appear, a girl who Satellite fancies from the moment he sees her, her brother who lost his arms to a land mine, and a 2-3 year old boy, who hold a distance to this group led by Satellite, and it is these three kids who will forever change the minds and souls of the main characters.

I don't want to say more, as to not spoil the discovery from the first frame to the last one, but let me tell you that I have never been so moved by a movie in all my life. The obvious should be clear from the start, since the movie takes place on a ravaged land, where kids fend for themselves in unimagined ways and try not to lose their innocence in the process. One thing that I need to make clear is that maybe if I saw this movie 10 years ago it would not have passed the test of greatness, but being older and a little wiser (plus a father of a 2 year old girl), it hit too close to what as humans we wouldn't want to endure even in the worst times, which isolation, despair and the loss of hope. Suffice to say, there are moments where I pleaded with the movie's heroine and could not understand the great pain that would lead her to such extreme acts but they are there to understand that simply life is not all good, that the loss of innocence is far worst than limbs being ripped off or injured.

Watch the movie and prepare to be entertained, suffocated, horrified, but also be educated in the teachings of hope... be it either the hope of life or death. In the eternal words of Al Pacino, from the movie 'Scent of a Woman': '... there is nothing like and amputated spirit, there is no prosthesis for that...' With this in mind go out and enjoy this movie to the fullest... I know that you will not forget it, as I will not either.

Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

A movie so ahead of its time, it will never be equaled

[10/10 · 7 April 2008]

While a lot of people would be offended by the subject matter, I find it fascinating as part of a genre that wasn't like this at all. Part of the Italian cannibal genre, beginning with Umberto Lenzi's 'Man from deep river' in 72, the main draw was as morbid as you could imagine, since the only thing going for these movies was to see a bunch of people being eaten by cannibals. Ruggero Deodato (and Franco Clerici) had the idea to be equal to the movies that were in vogue in those days, part of the ongoing 'Mondo' movies, like 'Mondo Cane' and 'Africa Addio', made by two Italian mavericks called Jiacopetti and Prosperi, who were also made famous by the same accusations of staging scenes for shock value on their documentary films. Of course Deodato being a filmmaker, decided to base his movie with this in mind, as a tale of black ethics and demoralizing anti-heroes that no way you would root for. That's the power of this movie. While I definitely do not agree with some of his decisions, they are part of what makes this movie look so real. There's no way a movie like this would get made today, since this type of 'guerrilla' filmaking doesn't exist anymore. It's obvious that Deodato was filming without any regret or remorse, and he wanted to make a film that would stick to you no matter what, and he succeeded. The tale is bare bones, but its social commentary is what puts it above anything else in the cannibal genre, and horror movies for that matter. The camera work, cheap sets, and passable acting add just what the movie demands, which is to say that it looks like it was made by amateurs, not professional actors or filmmakers. Let's not forget that indeed the cannibals look bad because they have to be like that to survive in the jungle, but the filmmakers in the story are far more depraved and horror filled that their means do not justify the end. In the case of Deodato, I have only but praise for such a maverick director to tackle such a difficult project that will be vilified and praised as nothing short of a masterpiece. Remember that this movie was made in the 70's and just to be still talking about it proves it's power to titillate and disgust. For me it's a milestone that will never be equaled.

The Masseuse (2004 Video)

A great reminder of how hot Jenna was then... not a bad movie either!

[8/10 · 17 January 2008]

Seeing Jenna and her body and mind decline today, could really make you think that it's not the same woman in this video... since she is smokin' hot in this little romp about the life of a lonely guy and the masseuse girl that gets into his fantasies. As somebody who has seen the rise and decline of the XXX rated film as a whole, it's nice to have something that at least pretends to have a story and characters, although somewhat unbelievable (not the situation) since the acting is a little subpar on the side of Justin Long, who pretends to be a lonely inexperienced guy with 'um..' kind of curious ticks. The story is good, but it plays too much, too fast... I would have liked the relationship to be a little more forced, and not slide all the way like it plays, since Jenna plays a go get it! kind of person that at least would have to be a little scared of the fantasies or things that would await her in the end... it's too easy, but in the end what would you expect of a XXX movie nowadays. But anyway, the sex scenes are hot and Jenna is up to her standards, and do not disappoint.