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Reviews
After School (2014)
An important film that addresses real problems.
After School is an excellent movie. It is entertaining, well directed, and very well acted. It is also one of the most important films that I have seen in the past year. After School addresses current topics that are very real problems in America today. Guns in school, and sexual predators are an all too real problem. What After School does so very well is to approach these topics in a level and gentle way. After School could have easily taken the easy road by giving the audience a shock value. It would have been easier in some respects for the makers of After School to depict graphic violence and over the top drama, but instead the light touch is a welcome change to other films about gun violence and child endangerment.
The performances are solid throughout. Mendoza is an accomplished actor and it shows in his performance as Michael Brooks, a mentor to students with a secret drug problem. He is very real and I expect that Mauricio Mendoza will become a household name very soon. Yennifer Behrens is another solid actress. I've never been disappointed by this fine actress' performances. She accomplishes a difficult task of bringing to life a very real police officer without falling back on well established clichés we see again and again in pop culture. Behrens' officer Hanson is very real. Her portrayal allows for a strong connection to the other side of the story. The real breakout performance in After School is delivered by Adrian Moreira-Behrens. His part demanded a great deal of him and he delivered in brilliance! I expect to see a great deal from Moreira-Behrens. He is at the beginning of what will be a dynamic career.
After School is both entertaining and important. It is a no brainer recommendation.
Strike One (2014)
A realistic look at the temptations of gang life in the hard streets of Los Angeles
Strike One kept me wanting more from the first scene. The director, David Llauger Meiselman did an outstanding job bringing an accomplished screenplay to life. When watching the film one really feels Los Angeles through a mosaic of street scenes and graffiti. "Strike One" doesn't just transport it's viewers to Los Angeles, but also highlights life in the tough under belly of Los Angeles. Llauger Meiselman does a phenomenal job walking the line and the urban feel of the movie does not come off as a "Hollywood interpretation". This is not a "ghetto glamorization", but rather the feel of the movie is gritty, and the story lives right there.
Danny Trejo gives the most solid performance that I have seen in his canon of work. His character is the epitome of art imitating life. His character Manny Garcia has a soft heart with regard to his family and in particular his nephew. It was very refreshing to see Trejo stretching passed his hard as nails tough guy street thug that he normally plays. There is realism to his part as he attempts to protect his nephew from going down the same path that he had taken.
"Strike One" illustrated how a kid in a gang controlled area can see joining a gang as a viable option for survival. As the audience watches the story unfold it is difficult to know which way the character Juan Garcia (portrayed brilliantly by Johnny Ortiz) will choose, and the either path seems not only viable, but the right path. This is what makes the film so great. Strike One doesn't make the life of the gang member wrong, but rather shows why it happens.
Speaking of Johnny Ortiz it has to be written that this kid is destined to be one of the Hollywood greats! He delivers a solid performance as Juan Garcia and was a treat to watch. He was the breakout performance in a cast of solid and competent actors.
The cast was another strong point to the film. Many times when watching independent films the caliper of performance is all over the place, but not so with "Strike One". Maria Isa, Billy Gallo, and Leo Oliva bring great performances, of course rounded out by Ortiz and Trejo.
The film is impressive. But when one learns that it was an independent film, it becomes an even more impressive film. The story is strong, the directing is masterful, and the acting is rich and engaging.