Run Lola, Run (1998)

"Run Lola, Run" (or Lola Rennt in German) is a German film about, of course, a girl named Lola running....Now that we have that established. Lola has only twenty minutes to get $100,000 or her boyfriend, Manny, will be killed by a mob style gang in Germany. It actually uses a pretty genius method to come to the conclusion. Rather than just running down the plot, the movie is sort of divided up into three segments. Each segment is separated by an interlude which consists of an in depth conversation between Lola and Manny about something associated with their relationship.
The first two segments also end with with either Manny or Lola Dying. So how can we have a movie where the main characters die? Well we don't. The film recounts Lola's attempts to save Manny in three different ways. The first time she fails and she dies. However, while her body is falling towards the pavement with a bullet lodged in her chest she cries "STOP!" The film then starts back to where she begins her attempt to save Manny. Unfortunately, Manny dies the second time. Third times the charm and, without revealing too much of the plot, things manage to work themselves out with an action filled last twenty minutes that will keep you on the edge of your seat. What makes the movie more enjoyable is the subtle differences in Lola's behavior that leads one to believe that she has learned from her mistakes in her last attempt and learns from them. Another movie with subtitles which I didn't mind. There's so much packed into this film that it's difficult to explain it completely in a blog post, but it's definitely one to check out. This one gets 5/5.

El Mariachi (1992)

For my very first review that I post, we have "El Mariachi". "El Mariachi" is a very early independent film by the now significantly more recognized Robert Rodriguez ("Planet Terror" anyone?). In my research for this film I discovered that it had such a small budget that most of the guns used were squirt guns made to look like the real thing and most of the sounds and dialogue was recorded using a handheld voice recorder.
Lets get into it. "El Mariachi", despite it's low budget and in some cases poor production quality, is in fact a great film in my opinion. It follows a man who goes solely by Mariachi who is trying to make his way as a mariachi guitar/singer in Mexico, only to find that he has been replaced by technology and lack of funds to pay him. Our hero Mariachi gets mixed up in a fire fight and is mistaken for a vigilante who is trying the get at the antagonist for a sum of money owed to him. He continues to get drawn up in a fight that is not his own until a slightly depressing but forward looking climax. Overall, great acting with an intriguing plot. Spanish subtitles for those of you who can't read...I would check this one out and it receives a 4/5.

Hello and Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog focusing on film reviews. My name is Jory Tindall and using this blog I will be posting what I think of as many different films as I can. I enjoy a broad range of movies including a lot of old and independent films, but also some of recent ones. Since I've just started this I will write up some reviews for good and bad movies that I've watched recently to get started. If you have any recommendations for what movies I should check out let me know and I'll get on it. Enjoy!

-Jory