Savage Roses (2002) Poster

(2002)

User Reviews

Review this title
9 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
8/10
Very pleasant surprise.
gabbers200412 February 2004
I found this movie through lesbianalliance (It was called Savage Roses) and it looked interesting so I checked the website where I found it is now called Locas 4 Life (I don't know why). Anyway, When I saw it played in the New York and San Francisco G&L film festivals I really wanted to check it out. After watching it I checked the IMDB user comments and found it interesting how strongly mixed they are. I do understand why...the filmmaking shows a tiny budget and the shot on video look can be very distracting. However, I did think the acting was great...great in that the girls were very raw and believable. It matched well with the raw way the film was shot. What makes this film stand out to me is that it is really an unusual take on a low-budget lesbian film...I've seen enough Claire of the Moon types and enough Kissing Jessica Stein types...It was very refreshing to see something diffrent...I'm not really into "urabn gang" type films but by the end of this movie I did find all the gang girls very charming and very funny. Obviously these people had little to no money to make this film but in the end I liked it more than many high bidget pictures. And the main character stayed in my head afterwards and i couldn't get her out. A very unique take on a girl/girl love story.
3 out of 10 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
Worst movie I've seen this year. Maybe all time.
AtlantaRules10 July 2004
I can't think of one movie I've seen this year that's worse, and I saw Gigli. The acting was horrible, as if they never rehearsed. The story was even worse so it's possible that even the "actresses" and "actors" didn't believe in what they were doing. I sure didn't. I don't think most of them had any other work before or after this movie, so that makes sense. I'm trying to think of something good about this movie, and the best I can come up with was the camera work didn't bother me, as I have heard that it was subpar but looked OK to me. Pretty bad stuff if you ask me.

Director James Tucker has made some other movies, and I am promising myself I will steer clear of anything else he has done or will do. By the way, this movie is hiding in Blockbuster as Locas 4 Life so don't be fooled! I gave the movie a 1 of 10.
7 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
Who Thinks This Is Great Acting? ZERO of 10!
BunkhouseTito8 February 2004
You want great acting? Watch anything by Robert DeNiro or Edward Norton. Stay far away from this.

After seeing this movie and coming to the conclusion that not ONE person, male or female, in this movie seems to have an ounce of acting skill in their entire bodies, I feel tricked into expecting some great acting by reviewers for this movie. They can't even make a beating look decent!

Misha Gonzalez needs to find a new profession, though I doubt she's making her living on this. The film is clearly on her shoulders and she buckles under the pressure. Her dialogue sounds like a "slow" child trying to read.

Maybe I'm directing my criticism to the wrong people. If I was the director, I would never let my name be attached to this trash. In fact, I would have had an entirely different cast.

This was bad even for a High School project. Can't say it much clearer than that. Zero of 10 if possible.
8 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
I've seen better acting in a porn movie (I'm not kidding)
BigHardcoreRed14 January 2004
This is the first time I've seen a movie so horrible that I felt I should write a review to warn others of it!

You might think I'm kidding or exaggerating here but I assure you, I'm not. I rented this movie with the hope of finding some kind of underground gem similar to Blood In Blood Out, only with females. Boy, was I wrong!

My main problem with this film is that I can't suspend my disbelief that even one of these girls is in a gang, or even tough for that matter. I've seen many "B" movies where this is the case but this one goes far beyond. Even the scenes when someone is getting jumped or beaten up are done so horribly, it made me hate the movie even more. I could go on about how the camera work is also subpar, along with the soundtrack and dialogue, but I won't. I can only pray that I never see any of these actresses in another movie until they've finished their acting classes.

Tania Galarza is the closest thing there is to eye candy here, but that's not saying much either. I give this movie 1 out of 10, only because I can't go lower.
7 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
9/10
A really good, Non-typical Lesbian film.
pinkeye4 April 2003
Although this movie is very raw (shot on DV) it's very funny, powerful and really draws you in. Basically a story about a female gang member from the Bronx that falls in love with a struggling young mother that is trying to survive her abusive relationship. Some great acting in this film as well! Really worth checking out if you can find it.
5 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
Absolutely Horrible. I want my $3 back.
LemonyHegstrand31 December 2004
Needless to say, I sat through the entire movie, hoping for some kind of payoff in the end. It never came. I was bored before I got through the first 15 minutes. I actually feel ripped off for paying the $3 to see it I can't say enough at how bad the acting is. Not one person in this movie stood out as an actor or actress worth my time. Tania Galarza was supposed to be the lead female, or, well, the lead feminine female. The whole movie was pretty much cast as female. If a male showed up, he was a stereotyped male pig or a weak male which the girlie gangsters could easily rough up, and I use that term loosely. Anyhow, Tania was supposed to be the beautiful woman with whom the lead male, in this case Misha Gonzales, would fall for. Tania could not even convince me that she was just a normal girl. That's how bad her acting was. And don't get me started on the even worse Misha.

One last complaint... It seemed as this movie was made for some kind of a school project or something. I doubt anyone got paid and all the scenery shots were re-used over and over and over. I got tired of seeing the same train tracks with the same train rolling by at the exact same time. If there's one thing this movie lacked, it's professionalism. That's it for me. I've wasted enough time on this already.
8 out of 13 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
9/10
Small budget, great acting...
NYFOCUS27 January 2004
Rented this from Blockbuster...It's very low-budget, like shot on video low-budget but i thought the acting was great. Living in new York these girls are either amazing actresses or they found them on the Bronx streets. Also, for a latina gang movie I was surprised at how touched I was by the love story. I've seen a lot of straight to video gangbang films, especially the Latin type but this definitely had something special about it. I did have some problems with the shaking camera and sound sound problems but I really liked this movie.
3 out of 10 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
1/10
Lesbian, Gangster, Anti-Male, Below Average B-Movie. Can You Say Terrible?
FrancesTheWHORE10 August 2004
My one line summary says it all. I agree with the reviewer who compares the acting to a porn movie. It's just horrible. No ifs, ands or buts about it, this movie could not be worse even if I had made it.

It went out of it's way to try to prove women are the stronger sex, physically and mentally. You won't find one positive male figure in this movie. Usually they're either a real jerk or a stereotype of some kind.

My recommendation to anyone who sees this movie sitting on a shelf somewhere is to AVOID AT ALL COSTS! You couldn't pay me to watch this bag of monkey crap again! I'm surprised I got through it all the first time.
7 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
This movie is great!
Steelfuel28 January 2004
Locas 4 Life is very dynamic with its range of sometimes camp humor to serious deep moments. It makes me laugh, cry, get angry and smile. It is full of many real emotions and actions of rebellion and transformation, all of which draws the viewer into the reality of these everyday local thugs.

It is refreshing that this movie does not play into stereotypical gangs in which there is nothing but bloodshed and sex. It depicts a gang of young, impressionable women who have not yet crossed the lines of being strictly hardcore thugs. They still have an innocence about them. Some are trying to find purpose, knowing that eventually gang life will bring them only death. Some bring conflict and fight against any threat of change to the way things are. An abused woman helps to break the cycle. She brings change and new opportunities that even she could not foresee- a love affair with the leader of the gang. All of the women take serious risks challenging each other and the choices they have made, some times breaking the rules and gang loyalty. Locas 4 Life delivers a powerful message about life.

The actors did a great job portraying these women in the societal roles in which they ended up. The producers did a wonderful job with what they had to work with! Even though this movie had almost no budget, I still recommend it!
4 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed