El Cantante
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Movie Reviews of El Cantante
Movie Review: Why the high ratings? Why no Spanish translation?
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm a Puerto Rican who was raised in a sort of Puerto Rican ghetto yet these movie was not compelling at all. First of all it was more J-Ho than Marc- wasn't the movie about Hector? That and the ignorant accents used by Marc and JHo while they were impressive- that they could pull them off that is- annoyed me immensely- and I could see why there existence but they weren't really necessary. Also, the dialogue makes Puerto Ricans seem as if they have a lack of intelligence. This is a bad representation above all and is a negative portrayal of Hectors character- it might be accurate but it makes him seem deficient in many ways no wonder his and friends and family didn't support it. Some of you guys are too ethnocentric. Save ur money and buy this used.
*This is an edit- I saved this movie to show it to my Grandma (I showed it to four other people also) and was shocked to discover that it didn't have Spanish dubbing. I was thus unable to show it to her for she wouldn't understand. This makes this movie even more of a shame. I would have rated it a 2 if I noticed this sooner. I have never watched a Hollywood released CD that didn't have a Spanish version- they're all usually English, Spanish and French. Its very ironic that this movie based on Hispanic personas, with Hispanic actors and depicting a story of a certain generation (many peole of this generation who are still alive today do not speak the English language) would lack this. Its also a shame that with Jho and Marc as the main attractions this deficit wasn't addressed. Tisk!
Movie Review: Salsa Legend's Biopic
Summary: 3 Stars
Watching "El Cantante" is my 1st experience at learning anything about Salsa superstar Hector Lavoe.... I'd never heard his name before or even any of his songs, so looked forward to watching this movie.
"El Cantante" covers Lavoe's adult life from his rise to fame & his success as a singer though the point of view of his wife, Puchi. I think the acting, screenplay, music, and cinematography were all excellent. The only major complaint about this movies was how TERRIBLY SLOW it was, which surprised me.
Movie Review: ho hum biopic
Summary: 2 Stars
**1/2
In 1963, Hector Perez was already a promising young singer in his native Puerto Rico when, at the age of seventeen, he moved to New York City to try and make a name for himself as a performer there. In no time flat, he was playing in clubs, had signed a lucrative recording contract with the Latin-flavored Fania Records, and had changed his name to the far more exotic-sounding Hector Lavoe. From the mid-1960s to his death from AIDS in 1993, Lavoe was an international sensation who helped to popularize the musical style known as "Salsa." But, as with most artists, he lived a life of self-destructive self-indulgence, marked by serial philandering and hardcore drug abuse. He also had a volatile relationship with "Puchi," the Bronx girl who became his wife and who narrates "El Cantante," the glossy movie about his life.
Despite the novelty of the milieu and an undeniable sincerity on the part of everyone involved in its production, "El Cantante" remains doggedly conventional, lackluster and superficial in its treatment of the kind of material with which we are all too familiar from previous biopics that have chronicled the rise and fall of artists of all categories and stripes. Marc Antony brings a certain ferocity and depth to his portrayal of the struggling celebrity, but real-life wife Jennifer Lopez is all fluttery overacting as the woman who stood by her man through good times and bad (mostly bad). The music is enjoyable, but I'm afraid we've all been down this road so many times before that "El Cantante" fails to stir either our passions or our sympathy for the sadly benighted couple and all that they're going through. You'd be better off buying the albums instead.
Movie Review: Save your money, this is NOT an accurate account of Hector Lavoe!!
Summary: 1 Stars
If I could give this no stars, it would be too much!
There is nothing accurate about this movie other than what has already happened to many artists out there. This movie completly destroys the Hector Lavoe mystic. He is portrayed as a junkie, p-whipped individual under the control of a floozy. The film did no justice to what Hector meant to many in Latin America. Elvis was a heavy drug user too, and we would have not been happy to see an Elvis movie that focused on his habit throughout the duration of his film, which is what the Cantante movie does. For those that do not know Hector, salsa and the Fania explosion of the 70's and 80's, this movie only says that latinos were druggies losers.
Hector is a legend, bigger than life! He was our Latino Elvis. He had his demons and tragic moments in his life...he was human. This movie should have focused on the Lavoe career and what he did for the salsa movement. His songs are legendary and his voice inimitable! The movie never explored how Hector came to be, never explored the artistry of Willie Colon and the collaborations they did, their experimentation of music generas and their successes. This is the lamest "drug addict musician" film ever made!
If you dare buy it, then resell it or use it as a coaster, like Gigli. If you are a J-Lo fan, you will be happy to know she took up more film time than Marc Anthony. They should have titled this movie " Puchie". As you can see, as of today, 50 used DVD's are for sale by the vendors and I won't be surprised to see more. Wait till it comes on bradcast TV, because there is nothing positive to see here.
This movie does no justice to the view Anglo's have of Latinos; just like the movie Scarface, we are a bunch of junkies!
Thanks for nothing, Leon Ichaso.
Movie Review: How many times have we seen a drug addict singer biopic?
Summary: 1 Stars
Jenifer Lopez and husband Marc Anthony's latest film El Cantante about the Hector Lavoe and the birth of Salsa, is an Oscar nominated-wannabe biopic mess of a film.
The film follows the life of Puerto Rican singer Hector Lavoe, who came to New York in 1975 and became a mega star, starting the Salsa genre. Marc Anthony plays Hector and Jenifer Lopez his wife--Puchi. One of the many problems with this film was that Marc did not have a strong screen presence and his performance became overpowered by the amazing performance by Jenifer Lopez who did such a wonderful job I started thinking it was more about Hector's wife than about Hector.
One effective part of the film I thoroughly enjoyed was how the story cut back and forth through an interview of Hector's wife looking back on Hector's life story. The interview was shot in black and white contrasting with the rich colors of the rest of the film.
Despite this technique, the rest of the film was hard to follow. It seemed to follow a pre-made formula of music montage after music montage intercut with short scenes of dramatic acting, as if the director was following a manual of how to make a musician's biopic film. Also the use of fancy, rapid editing was way overused and after a while seemed only there to give it a sophisticated look.
I love long films but this two hour movie had me checking my watch frequently. Overall it was a big disappointment and I felt the only thing that was good in the film was Jenifer Lopez's performance. Unfortunately even her Oscar worthy performance couldn't save this muddled film.