Ranchero

I disagree w. the previous reviewer. As a Chicano, I really wanted to like this movie. However, there was little about this movie that I enjoy, maybe the music but this is not enough to warrant seeing this film. First off, the actor playing the lead was miscast, he was way too old to play this role. The acting was poor especially by Jesse's childhood friend. I don't think I've ever seen Danny Trejo in a worse movie. The only positive aspect of the movie was Lil Bit's character, at least she was believable. I saw this movie at the Laemmele in Encino, Ca. I was the only one in the theater! It played there 1-2 weeks and is no longer showing there. I really wish I could recommend this movie but I just can't. If you want to see an excellent independent movie, see "Miss Bala" before it disappears from the theaters.

The first thing that really struck me as I watched this movie was how well placed the music was. I remember watching the opening scenes and every time a piece of music would start, all I could think was "That is PERFECT!"

As the movie progresses, you can tell that a lot of care and patience was put into this. The director did a great job of establishing scenes and telling the story by simply lingering on certain shots just long enough. There was no heavy-handedness here. Whatever wasn't said in the dialogue, was clearly stated by what was being seen.

I heard this film won the highest honor at Indie Fest in Anaheim, CA. After watching it, I can see why. It's been a while since I've seen an independent movie made this well, that wasn't churned out by a big studio's "independent" branch, with a big star attached. These guys know what they're doing and they've set the bar pretty high for their next film.