Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

ThurstonHunger In contrast to some of the other reviewers here, I thought this film did cross the line, and joined the very exploiters it was assailing. But it was close.The tone of the film is quite strange, from the excellent albeit over-the-top comedy of Alfred Molina, to the action-paced adventure of most scenes involving a car, to the criminal psychological relationship of the newsman and his prey, or is that vice versa? The film feels like "Salvador" in parts, but this film refuses to adopt a true hero. That is its best challenge, and its potential undoing.Speaking of inconsistencies, Damian Alcazar's portrayal of the accused Bible salesmen is also quite a puzzle. His facial quirks during delivery were most of the time contradictory to what he was saying, but not always. Was it slyness, or just schizophrenia, or the actor trying hard to deliver what I assume the director wanted, a character that may be sinner or saint.I think there are easier ways to portray both, but not when you have the lurid tinge of pedophilia lingering throughout the film. Thus the film is quite brutal in content, and for many, that should serve as a warning to skip this film. No one could "enjoy" the film for the effect of that tinge permeating one's consciousness...Similarly the second scene involving Alcazar as the Bible salesmen is a very tough watch for vigilante justice gone awry, although the crowning achievement of the film (evidently incorporating footage also from one of the actors playing a camera man as well, there's a nice fifth wall.) Of course that second scene is placed there both for fact's sake evidently from what I've read, as well as for the sake of fiction and blurring our view of that salesman. That view, as it is shoved around from the very first scene on, I think is what most drove my feeling of being exploited.So that presents the great challenge of this film, that I think frustrated the filmmaker as well as me. Hence the alternate ending provided with the DVD. The ending not chosen closes the story more which, the film demanded for some of the reasons above, but I can see why the other ending was chosen. Underscoring that this story does not end, on both sides of the exploitational line, is crucial.And now back to the old, cheap theater of the "News"...

thinker1691 I'm a great fan of John Leguizamo. I and millions of fans have watched this young man emerge onto center stage with such enormous abilities few can gage his ultimate limits. He is by far the most impressive, certainly the most gifted and multi-talented thespian to come along since the late great Danny Kaye. Anyone who has followed his career, has seen him express himself in such venues as Comedian, Singer, Dancer and of course Screen Actor. This is just one of the dozens of film he can be found in. In this story entitled "Cronicas" (Which means, Newspaper) he plays an international reporter who comes across a disturbing story of a Serial Killer. Not only is the man wanted for the murder of dozens of missing children, but the majority of the victims have been raped and dispatched horribly. Leguizamo plays the part of Manolo Bonilla, a gifted, aggressive, crafty but most of all unscrupulous T.V. reporter. Dismissing the ramifications of acting hastily, he sees an opportunity to advance his career in the industry by first enlisting, befriending and eventually releasing the serial killer, Vinicio Cepeda (Damián Alcázar) whom the people call 'The Monster.' Although repeatedly warned his actions might create unwarranted sympathy for the suspect, Bonilla nonetheless proceeds and eventually creates an up swelling of support for the prisoner, despite the fact other inmates have ascertained his guilt. It is not until Bonilla has his story and returning home that several of his sources inform him, he may have been wrong, does he realize his culpability. The movie is great in location, drama and character definitions. Perhaps the only draw-back to the film is that its nearly all in Spanish and viewers must struggle with sub-titles. One other warning is that a viewer must not be faint of heart as this movie is downright disturbing in topic. ****

Vomitron_G This has got to be one of the most powerful movies I've seen in a long time. Like most movies, it's best that you go into this one without even having seen the trailer (in my opinion, even though it doesn't spoil anything really, it still gives away too much). It deals with journalist Manolo Bonilla (John Leguizamo) and his two-headed crew on the trail of a child-murdering serial killer in Ecuador (refered to as the Monster of Babahoyo). At the same time, bible-salesman Vinicio accidentally runs over a little kid with his car and ends up in jail. Manolo sees this opportunity as an extra story, and decides to interview the man. When he does, he finds out one or two things related to the child-murders. To uncover the truth to the matters (as well as getting the story of a lifetime), Manolo will stop at nothing...The foul, hot and steamy Ecuador settings used throughout the movie are as unsettling as they are dominant. After the little prologue, the real opening-scene is extremely hard and uncompromising. After having hit (and killed) the kid with his car, a raving mad crowd tries to lynch Vinicio. They kick his face to a bloody mess, and even set him on fire... until Manolo and his crew intervene. After that, you just know that the movie will not hold back on disturbing and shocking subject matter. And it's not really that there is more on-screen violence or bloodshed in the rest of the movie. It's just that the subject matter is so alarming and the truth to the matters is severely disquieting.The cinematography is excellent. Often hand-held cameras are used, to re-create some sense of realism, but it still looks very stylish and it always feels like a real film (so no documentary-style of filming here). The soundtrack is also worth mentioning. Music isn't over-used in the movie, but when it's there, it strikes the right chords or just provides a welcome pause to breath. Because at some times the events in this movie are so compelling that they nearly suffocate the viewer (which is, of course, intentional). Sebastián Cordero clearly is a gifted film-maker, since he established a look & feel for this movie that worked effectively. Some shots of the city and landscapes (though not very numerous in the movie) look beautiful. But also during conversations, Cordero chooses his angles carefully. I was pretty amazed on how good he could make it all look with hand-held cameras (kudos also to cinematographer Enrique Chediak, of course).But the best thing about CRÓNICAS must be the story itself, and the way it is set up. However, around the one hour mark, the movie does slow down a bit. Some might say it's a little flaw in the script, I myself think it's not. To me it was a welcome moment to just slow down together with the movie and think things over. Speculate and re-evaluate. Because even if CRÓNICAS isn't a high-tense, fast-paced thriller about the pursuit and capturing of a villain, it does contain a lot of tension and even nerve-wrecking scenes as well as gruesome images (not likely to be found in other drama movies). The script itself has got a unique approach to it: After about 20 minutes into the movie, the viewer already knows who the main suspect is, and he's even already locked behind bars. Only, the authorities don't know it. The only one who does, is Manolo. But he himself is not sure of it at all. Vinicio knows stuff, but that doesn't necessarily make him the killer. Manolo's ways to uncovering the truth get very manipulative at points, and he, as well as his crew, are just bound to make mistakes... but at what costs? The progress of the story does try to mess with your head because as a viewer you also get the feeling you're being deceived. And even if the story itself, with its mildly convoluted ways, doesn't really get to you, then the ending most certainly will. Because most likely, you will not like how this movie ends. And that is the biggest strength of this film. It's just too damn powerful.But CRÓNICAS manages to make other points too. The power of the media is severely questioned here. Also whether the end justifies the means. A topic like Ecuador Police Forces being severely under-staffed gets briefly touched too. And in a detailed manner, I believe Cordero even was trying to tell us: Producers just can't be trusted. How all this relates to the story, you'll just have to see for yourself. And let's not forget the extremely capable cast giving excellent performances. John Leguizamo is as decent as can be. So is Leonor Watling, fellow-journalist (and producer's wife) in Manolo's team. Even the whole supporting cast is highly believable. But it will probably be Damián Alcázar, as Vinicio Cepeda (who spends the biggest part of the story behind prison walls), that is most memorable. His performance, and even more, the character he plays will stick with you forever. The man at least deserves an award of some sort.Because of being such a powerful movie with a compelling story, I can do nothing but strongly recommend CRÓNICAS. But a word of warning nevertheless: Parents who lost a kid in some way beyond their will, should probably better not see this film. It's very difficult subject matter to handle. And people just looking for a feel-good movie to watch, should best run like hell when they come across CRÓNICAS.

noralee "Crónicas" is an updated, Latinization of Billy Wilder's cynical 1951 film "Ace in the Hole (The Big Carnival)," where a tabloid reporter selfishly manipulated an emotional story of a trapped miner.Where films like "Medium Cool" and "The China Syndrome" showed reporters as heroes getting radicalized by the stories they are covering, writer/director Sebastián Cordero effectively creates a hot, grimy, gritty environment for an ethically-challenged tabloid TV reporter who gets too mired in a serial murder investigation in the slums of Equador that recalls the hysteria and circus around the Atlanta child killings.The irony of the power of today's ubiquitous media is shown to searing effect, including the power to manipulate it for personal purposes by all sides. The cat and mouse negotiations between the reporter and a questionable source (the enthralling Damián Alcázar) are as tense as those in "The Silence of the Lambs," and in an ugly environs that we can practically smell through the screen.John Leguizamo is completely believable as a swaggering, self-promoting celebrity TV reporter for a popular show covering scandals across the southern hemisphere, flitting from his Miami base to drug lord hostages in Columbia to salacious murders, in and out of English. We are alternately sympathetic to his efforts and his bouts of conscience, then repelled by him.He is flanked by somewhat stereotypes of a lanky, battle-hardened cameraman who eagerly focuses on close-ups of violence and gore and an ambitious woman producer who plunges into research and infidelity with equal verve, who utilize the most shiny, high tech communications gear to capitalize on their tunneling through the muck of human nature, though even they finally reach their ethical boundaries.The focus is kept tightly on the reporter's responsibilities, as the producer comments ruefully: "We got the only honest cop in Latin America." The script and the camera certainly play with us, in edits of slowly revealed information that change our impressions of the facts, and as the reporter tensely tries to both get a scoop and do as much of the right thing as his ambitions allow.As an intelligent thriller, this film certainly puts a brutal spin on the issue of a reporter protecting his sources, even as the worst of the implications happens off camera.The background song selections fit the mood, though I have some feeling that the Spanish lyrics had significance.The English subtitles had some errors.