Machete

Machete is really, really violent. If you are the kind of person who is turned off by anything gratuitous in a movie, this one is not for you. However, if you have a special place in your heart set aside for camp and ridiculous beheadings, you should really go see this movie.

Machete makes a coherent argument against the anti-illegal immigration zealots using the normal arguments – that America is a place for people to get a shot at a new life, that people are people, and that a great deal of work is done in our country for costs well below what they should actually be. Film director and writer Robert Rodriguez also paints an unflattering picture of politicians, Mexican cartel drug lords, and hyper-conservative border militiamen. This is a film with an agenda, a story that gives you the good guys and the bad guys in clear, certain terms and then makes sure that justice is served.

This movie is solidly built, well-edited, well-paced, and has a good score. The screenplay is well written. My favorite part of the whole deal is probably how happy everyone in the cast seems to be. For a movie that grew out of a joke trailer in GrindHouse, Rodriguez got some real talent for his picture, not the least of which is Robert De Niro, who in excellent work as the corrupt Texas state senator is afforded the rare opportunity to be something other than a tough dude from New York.

Another interesting thing about the movie is how plausible some parts of it are, despite how ridiculous the whole package is. With some of the political animosity flying around these days – and considering how the truly crazy only seem to be rewarded for increasing their levels of insane rhetoric and bullshit – I can absolutely see some things from this story ending up as news headlines.

Also, living in Texas for most of life, it is pretty fun to see things like a battalion of low-riders, en route to war with militiamen, rolling and grinding down the streets of Austin directly in front of the Capitol. I liked this movie quite a bit.