Quinn Paterson

Beautiful, fun and original. Probably best watched without spoilers

This is a musical about a transgender Mexican drug lord, and it manages to be boring... For all the talks about being willing to explore controversial themes, the movie while willing to bring them up, is uninterested in actually exploring them. There any earlier parts of the movie we get an overly hyped drama of trying to find a surgeon. Why the surgeon would care about providing the surgery or not I don't know. El deseo is kind of a basic I wish I was a woman song, which, fine. But it's not exactly an interesting exploration. We don't get any idea of why this person became a drug lord. Apparently that's what Mexicans do I'm going to shorten this part of the review for the second third of the film. Again the depth of the topic explored here is very minimal. We do not get to see character progression in Emelia, she is just better now. We do not get to explore how her past impacts her we just got to vaguely here how she's not happy about it and that she opens an NGO. "El Mal" is supposed to be the movie being serious. But again it leads nowhere. If you think that just saying "corruption exists in Mexico" is a deep exploration then fine. The other buzz song of the movie is "Mi Camino" from Jessi. Apparently her finally being able to embrace Gustavo is a big deal, but again, this goes to why should we care. Her husband is from what she is aware dead and has been dead for years, why the pearl clutching. Do Mexicans never remarry? Emelia is apparently also moved on (and once again we never really get an explanation of that Queer experience unless you find just showing her being with a woman as transgressive) Which all leads into the climax of the film, apparently Emelia expected Jessi to just live with her forever (I guess sister wives is just something Mexicans do). But again, rather than doing any expiration on why she would choose to keep her and identity hidden. Or showing any regression in her character, or showing the regression letting go of her wife, we instead get the most exciting possible solution. Just have her be kidnapped. What we then get is a fun shootout scene (I guess her new boyfriend is a drug lord too? I guess that's just what Mexicans do. Also why does Emelia have her own soldiers? (Again I guess that's just what Mexicans do) This is all to result in Emelia coming out before dying with Jessi (who apparently chose her over the man she's been in love with for 5 years, which, apparently wasn't a tough choice) This is not really a movie that explores its characters, it's also not really a good movie to explore it's themes. If Manitas had just gotten a good plastic surgeon to look like a different person you could do the same movie almost beat for beat and it would be the same. If Manitas had never been a drug lord you could still basically have the entire movie be the same. This is a film that manages to have it's description be "a musical about a Mexican drug lord who wants to live as a woman" and manages to be boring.

I loved this film. The aesthetics are fresh and I find fits the spirit of the film well. The plot feels well paced and captivating, and found it to be an interesting piece on desire. Overall a strong reccomend, but I'd guess this movie will be polarizing to mst

First battle Royale I've very much enjoyed. Fights are mobile, yet slow enough to avoid twitch based gameplay. Good music, good balance and interesting setting.

Loved this anime. I found it emotionally touching and asked interesting questions about the meaning of life, the ability to communicate and understand others, who we are as people and does so from a consistent point of empathy. For anyone who found the squick factor of the first episode to be high, the first episode is as squick as it gets.