Weekend Movie Forecast: Machete Vs. The American

Machete, an ex-Federale looking to avenge wrongs against him, was first introduced as a fake trailer during, Grindhouse, where the Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino paired their movies in a double bill, and then Rodriguez decided to make it an actual feature length film. Besides Rodriguez's cousin Danny Trejo in the lead role, there are many notable starsâRobert DeNiro as a Texas State Senator, Michelle Rodriguez as a taco truck owner, Don Johnson as a vigilante, Lindsay Lohan as a drugged out sexpot. The Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips thinks it sucks, "At 105 minutes, Machete is at least half an hour too long for its own good... Don't get me wrong: Robert Rodriguez and co-director Ethan Maniquis (a longtime Rodriguez colleague) waste no time with sober discussion of U.S. immigration policy, or a serious investigation into the matter of Jessica Alba and why she never seems to get any better as an actress... The beheadings and behandings and eye-gougings and stiletto-heel-in-the-craniums are diverting for a while." — Gothamist

Jen Chung

Published Sep 3, 2010

Modified Sep 3, 2010

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This week's new movies include Machete, The American, Going the Distance, Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1, A Gun, A Woman And A Noodle Shop, The Winning Season, Last Train Home, White Wedding, My Dog Tulip, Prince of Broadway, Etienne!, Max Manus, Our Beloved Month Of August, Clear Blue Tuesday, and The Big Uneasy, plus Pulp Fiction and 2001: A Space Odyssey in repertory.