Matando Cabos

[arturo_gtz]

este mes se estrenó esta película en EU, y parece que a los críticos no les gustó:

Matando Cabos

By Michael Rechtshaffen


Mexico City's disturbing wave of kidnappings is played for (intended) laughs in "Matando Cabos" (Killing Cabos), a Spanish-language black comedy with a frenetic style that plays out like regurgitated Tarantino and Guy Ritchie.

The film marks the second release from Televisa Cine, which saw its inaugural issue -- the satirical "A Day Without a Mexican" -- do more than $4 million worth of business in the U.S.

It's a safe bet that "Cabos," which screened at this year's Sundance Film Festival and performed well south of the border, will have to settle for a considerably smaller ransom stateside.

For his feature debut, filmmaker Alejandro Lozano has set his sights on a farcical wrong-man vehicle involving the kidnapping of an individual believed to be tycoon Oscar Cabos (Pedro Armendariz).

In reality, the captors have instead snatched the multimillionaire's janitor, while the real Cabos lies unconscious in the trunk of his future son-in-law's car. Given that setup, it's only inevitable that all manner of wacky mayhem will ensue.

Unfortunately, while Lozano, who co-wrote the script with two of his actors, busies himself with his trick bag full of flashbacks and film speeds, he hasn't bothered to notice that the endlessly repetitive mistaken-identity plot line gets old really rapido.

More problematic is his failure to establish the right kind of comedic tone that would support some of the film's darker, sadistically violent impulses.

While the oh-so-zippy visuals feel less than fresh, some of Alejandro Vazquez's special effects admittedly pack a punch of their own, particularly a chase sequence in which an out-of-control car plunges through the seating of an outdoor stadium.

Too bad it wasn't saved for a better film.