Freddy's Cine It

Theme Week Wrap-Up John Leguizamo Week This was not one of our strongest theme weeks, but it still had good surprises. We found one near mind-blowing highlight, one absolute disaster, and a few films in between that were messy, funny, or unexpectedly informative. Top Pick of the Week Critical Thinking (2020) - 72/100 A solid biopic directed by and starring John Leguizamo that made us want to dust off the chessboard. Ranked Board From best to worst, this is how our five picks landed. The gap between first and last place was huge, but the week still gave us a fun actor-focused ride with one standout and one unforgettable train wreck. #1 of the Week Critical Thinking (2020) Score: 72/100 A motivating true-story drama with Leguizamo in top form as teacher Mario Martinez. #2 of the Week Summer of Sam (1999) Score...

Summer of Sam is a 1999 American crime thriller film  directed and co-produced by Spike Lee, who also co-wrote the film with Michael Imperioli and Victor Colicchio. It stars John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito and Anthony LaPaglia. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_of_Sam Spike Lee's take on the "Son of Sam" murders in New York City during the summer of 1977 centering on the residents of an Italian-American Northeast Bronx neighborhood who live in fear and distrust of one another. source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162677/ ***SPOILER ALERT*** A Sweaty, Chaotic Portrait of 1977 New York KRASNAYA: Hello friends! We finish the week dedicated to John Leguizamo with Spike Lee's movie - Summer of Sam. When Freddie said that this movie was about serial killer David Berkowitz, who called himself "Son of Sam", I decided that I would have to suffer from on-scree...

Critical Thinking is a 2020 American biographical drama film directed by John Leguizamo based on the true story of the 1998 Miami Jackson High School chess team. Critical Thinking was written by Dito Montiel, and stars Leguizamo alongside Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Angel Bismark Curiel, Will Hochman, Corwin Tuggles, Jeffry Batista, Ramses Jimenez, Rachel Bay Jones and Michael K. Williams. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Thinking_(film) Miami - 1998. Poverty, broken families, and a prejudiced system push underprivileged youth to the fringes of society. But for a magnetic group of teens, there's a reprieve. A game where it's not about where you come from, but how you play. That equalizer is chess. Mr. "T" Martinez, a chess militant and passionate coach, leads them to a completely foreign field of battle. source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7870102/ ***SPOILER ALERT*** A Risky Start That Turns Into a St...

John Leguizamo's Latin History for Morons is an original Netflix comedy stand-up special directed by Aram Rappaport and starring John Leguizamo. It was released on November 3, 2018. source: No wikipedia. Comic and actor John Leguizamo examines the repression of Hispanic culture throughout American history in his one-man show "Latin History for Morons." source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9777830 ***SPOILER ALERT*** John Leguizamo's One-Man Show With Comedy and History FREDDY: Hello mortals! Today, for our Leguizamo week, we don't have a movie, but a theatrical stand-up history lesson with some fantastic dance moves in the middle! From this 2018 Netflix original we get to see the full potential of John Leguizamo as a comedian, and I can say that I've enjoyed his one-man Broadway show very much. John tells us the story of when he tried to help his son carry out a project for school where ...

Spun is a 2002 American black comedy crime drama film directed by Jonas Åkerlund from an original screenplay by William De Los Santos and Creighton Vero, based on three days of De Los Santos's life in the Eugene, Oregon, drug subculture. The film stars Jason Schwartzman, John Leguizamo, Britanny Murphy and Mickey Rourke. Åkerlund made his debut as a feature film director with Spun, having already become known for his work in music videos. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spun A drug dealer introduces one of his customers, a 'speed freak', to the man who runs the meth lab. A crazy three-day adventure ensues. source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283003/ ***SPOILER ALERT*** A Hyperactive Descent Into Meth Chaos FREDDY: Second film of the week with John Leguizamo, where he's not the main actor as I thought, but in any case, he has an important role and a lot of screen time. The film begins with Ross (...

The Pest is a 1997 American black comedy film directed by Paul Miller inspired by the classic 1924 Richard Connell short story "The Most Dangerous Game". It stars comedian John Leguizamo. The Pest was a box office bomb. The film came in at #12 in its opening weekend at the box office, with a gross of $1.8 million from 1,205 theaters. The film grossed a total of $3.6 million against an estimated budget of $8 million. source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pest_(1997_film) Miami scam artist Pest Vargas is on the run from the Scottish mob and a German headhunter, the mob after 50,000 dollars, the German guy after his head. Pest dons many disguises in an attempt to evade their clutches. source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119887/ ***SPOILER ALERT*** A Chaotic Start to Leguizamo Week FREDDY: And here we have the first film starring John Leguizamo. I must admit that I should have listened to the film critics f...