Jason Anderson (gravityandgrace2003)

Comes off like a disconnected series of bad sketch comedy routines and computer animation reels for a sophomore graphic design class; throw in a few "join the Army" ads and bad romance montages complete with 'Wonder Years' style dialog and bad Fray piano ballad music, you have 'Revenge of the Fallen.' I will gladly give my entire paycheck to the first person who can prove that there was an actual script for this "movie" and that the filmmakers weren't just making this up as they went along.

Amores Perros (English title: Love's a Bitch) is the debut film of director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu; and special mention must be made of the cinematographer, Rodrigo Prieto, whose hand-held camera style gave it a documentary feel akin to the television show The Shield (the dogfights and opening car crash scene are good examples). I loved this movie beyond words. The film has a frantic feel that calls to mind Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi, while the entire picture is saturated in colors akin to Martin Scorcese's Taxi Driver. The saturation of film stock is an ever-present tool which intensifies the violence and visceral nature of the picture. Amores Perro explores both the dark recesses of human nature and the kernel of hope found within. The narrative itself is non-linear; it often runs the gamut in its sojourn into the often-times eldritch caverns of human nature: betrayal, infidelity, violence, fratricide- the 'original sin,' if you will. Dispensing with a straightforward narrative strengthened the visceral quality of the film; emotions run their course in uncomfortable bareness. I suggest that all of these elements together also heighten the seeming absurdity of unpredictable everyday life. The film is actually three separate stories (I. Octavio y Susana II. Daniel y Valeria III. El Chivo y Maru) held together through the locus of a car crash that occurs at the beginning of the film. The dogfights ostensibly serve as a metaphor for 'homo hominus lupus.' I drew parallels between Octavio's well-intentioned plans that nevertheless ends in tragedy and Park Chanwook's Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, which sees the protagonist?s plans meet a fate similar to Octavio's. The saturation of film stock is an ever-present tool which intensifies the violence and visceral nature of the picture. There are scenes where not only film stock/saturated color work to convey this ?violence,? but also the frenzied camera work of the cinematographer (nb: 2:16:25- El Chivo telling the half-brother "He's all yours, fucking Cain")The dog fights as well are a testimonial to the interplay between saturated color and editing- the bloody wounds of the animals were often disturbing to watch, but definitely served their purpose of conveying the message. Everybody was good in this, from Gael Garcia Bernal to Goya Toledo. and especially Emilio Echevarria (as El Chivo). There's really not much more that can be said without you actually sitting down and watching it. So, totally check it out.