 "Boring" | 2008-09-25 |
| - Reviewed By Barbara G. |
| This movie does not do justice to the visionary that was Pinero. Benjamin Bratt is a B-List actor who couldn't fill the shoes of this poet. I fell asleep 3/4 of the way through. Pass. |
| |
 "Garbage" | 2008-09-15 |
| - Reviewed By cosmoeticadotcom from New York, USA |
| MP, the man & the character in the film, was a loser from Day 1, who whined to be spared punishment for his sins because he was an artiste. Many gave him those breaks, which ironically just sped his path to a well-deserved oblivion, 1 this film should emulate. In fact, in the 10 or 15 minutes you've read reading this essay you probably know 10 times as much about Piñero- man & film- than the film says. While Leon Ichaso deserves a panning for his take with the film, in truth, the only vaguely interesting things about the real MP was his bad art & why it caught on (briefly & limitedly) & then disappeared- as a man he was a cipher, thus the film's worship of `art' over humanity, not to mention its ridiculous conflation of import on MP by counterpointing the protagonist against documentary footage of celebrities like Muhammad Ali, Richard Nixon, Ayatollah Khomeini, & John Lennon). LI, however, failed to realize there was nothing to the art, to boot. Let me end this piece be reiterating that biopics need not be slavish to every dull detail of a person's life, but it cannot wantonly distort a person's life out of proportion with its reality. So, it's time someone finally told the truth about Piñero & the Nuyoricans. |
| |
| "the real Pinero deserved better" | 2007-04-12 |
| - Reviewed By J. Reilly |
First, let me say that Benjamin Bratt was great, despite the fact the script didn't give him much to work with. The rest of the cast, also very good.
But I wish the filmmakers had more courage.
I knew absolutely nothing about Miguel Pinero walking into this movie. But I'll say this for the film; it made me want to learn more about him. Unfortunately, it didn't really give me much information.
The filmmakers seem to have a genuine reverence for this poet/playwright, but seem petrified of exploring any of the negative aspects of his life in any kind of depth, in case that might take some of the shine off their reverence.
For example, the movie strongly hints he was bisexual. OK, so? If he was bisexual, what kind of struggle did that lead to in his relationships, or even more interesting, in himself? The movie never even begins to address these questions.
It also portrays Pinero as the victim of child abuse. Pretty powerful stuff, no? We see disturbing images from his youth. But they are never really followed up on. They are just there, as if to say, "hey, that must have been pretty bad."
The movie suggests that most of this talented man's relationships were quite complicated. But we never really get a demonstration of that. Only vague innuendoes that are occasionally thrown out with little reference.
The real Miguel Pinero sounds like he was a talented, complicated and very interesting man. One who deserves a better treatment of his life's story. |
| |
| "Lower East Side" | 2007-04-08 |
| - Reviewed By good friend, damn fool from Wet, Wild, Wonderful Virginia |
The work and art of Pinero inspired me - not this film. The confusing, and utterly diabolical frame shifts from black and white to grain to color to just about any other amateur film technique reminded me of my experience during "The Blair Witch Project". Using nonadhesive storytelling with a jumbled voice to the camera, one watching this may not make it to the end. I did, mainly due to the captivating work of one Benjamin Bratt - but I cannot give this film much more credit.
Let me state: Pinero is a genius. He work will be forever remembered. I just could not pull myself together for this film. I think over the past five years, or at least since the release of this film, the biographical film has grown to be a stronger production. Actors are willing awards for their work (i.e. Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy), and this film allowed Bratt to be better than I could have imagined, but it was the surroundings of this film that made me take a step back. To begin, the story was troubling. Pinero's life was not light, or one that will make children smile, but it did have its moments to shine. Director Leon Ichaso, I believe, understood Pinero's chaotic life, thus created a film with themes of the same chaos. The issue then becomes that it didn't translate well onto the screen. In one instance, we were captivated by Pinero's life behind bars, the next moment he is winning awards, then we are pushed back into his jail time. There was no consistency. We would have moments when we went from his accomplishments to his troubled times that happened in the past, to something in the future. This could have been a strong accomplishment to help accompany the work of Pinero, but instead what occurred was a jumbled mess of cinematic value in which our characters outside of Bratt become merely nameless shadows. Also, his poetry (due to the lacking cohesiveness) becomes less poignant. We see very little of his play "Short Eyes" and really how he drew his inspiration for this award winning work. Ichaso tried to be original with his direction, but it withdrew from Pinero, ultimately turning those casual viewers away from watching the life of a great poet.
As you watch this film, keep you eye on Bratt's honest moments. There are times that he fades in and out of Pinero, but he gives over 100% dedication to what Pinero represented. His performance is one that should have put him on a fast-track to being the next Brad Pitt, but I think what ultimately hurt his opportunity was the fuzzy direction and inconsistent camera (as discussed) of this film. He is the only character in this film. Ichaso attempts to bring the people from Pinero's life to screen, but since we jump sporadically throughout the hour and a half, we never quite know who these important assets were. The friend in the van, for example, I thought was a performer in the play. Who really was the man that he lived with? These questions could have been easily answered through dialog or perhaps an informative introduction, but instead Ichaso cut corners and just gave us names throughout the film. A possible strong opportunity again lost due to over-creativity. What really happened to Pinero and Sugar? That was a deep relationship that needed a further element - she was his muse...correct? With a straight forward bio-pic I shouldn't be asking these questions. Again, Pinero was phenomenal with his words, which wasn't accentuated enough. Ichaso could have taken lessons from a small film like "Lenny" which was able to use Bruce's words and story of his life cohesively.
The greatest element, for me, of this film was the ending. The poem about spreading his ashes through the Lower East Side made me want to read more of his poetry. It was such a powerful, yet flawed scene. I needed - wanted - to know more about the poets that were reading his work. Nonetheless, it was breathtaking. It showed the power of his words, and just a taste of how his influences now resonate throughout the hip-hop music genre. I was disappointed with this disc, because if offers nothing to really see the real Pinero. I was hoping for a bit of a "real life" biography, but nothing of the sort happened outside of Bratt speaking about how great this man was - which is not true. Pinero, as stated before, is a genius, but not a great man. His work was sometimes underscored by his addiction - imagine if he wasn't influenced by drugs ... hum ... would his work be as good?
Overall, I think this could have been a great film. I have no problems with independent cinema - or - about biographical films, but when you push too hard on one side, you sometimes loose the central focus. This was the case with "Pinero". Ichaso focused so heavily on making a cutting edge film that a good chunk of the story got muddled through the trenches. I wanted to know about Pinero, the struggling artist, not a confusing epileptic episode that was the final product. The characters got muddled in this mess, Bratt was the shining star, but that can be the only positive reaction one could have. The ending eerily reminded me of Depp's "Blow", but that could be a whole new conversation. I saw the angle that Ichaso was going, I just don't think the final product was put together very well. It seemed rushed and completely absurd at times.
Lower East Side
Grade: ** out of ***** |
| |
 "Benjamin Bratt" | 2007-01-04 |
| - Reviewed By lil saal from dakota |
| Benjamin Bratt the beautiful man from Law and Order held his own in this epic work of his portrayal of the life of the dead poet but not forgotten. Pinero is a movie every artist must see. This man was a "street disciple" words were like water to him or perhaps dope, but in any case check out the movie because Benjamin Bratt does a heck of a job, and Pinero was not only poetic but he was eccentric yet his faults cannot be denied like his writings. |
| |
| "Recommended" | 2006-04-27 |
| - Reviewed By polymath from Chicago, IL USA |
| This drama contrasts the transcendent nature of Miguel Pi?ero's art with the dark struggles of his life. The director seems to suggest that art gives the strength to struggle - perhaps to even break free. |
| |
Expedited Available
