It's Difficult NOT To Enjoy This Movie

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Admirable film.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Refreshing to see authenticity and the reality faced by many Dominican Americans. The hopes, the dreams, the challenges all represented in this story paint a true picture of our lives. Much needed in a time period where polarization of politics, the arts, culture runs rampant. We must continue to fight for representation of our own stories. We must create a space for our stories to be shared. I was so proud to watch in HULU and SHOWTIME! Proud to know that films like this are being supported. Proud of the actors and most importantly proud of seeing Dominican American Culture reflected in film. Thank you! A proud Dominican American Latina Patricia Minaya-Orsini New York, New York

A marine returns to his ramshackle burgh after serving in Afghanistan. No sooner do his friends and family welcome him back, he gets word that somebody will be coming to town to settle an old score with him. As good a premise as any, but the film doesn't do much with it. The former marine spends about 90% of the film looking for backup in advance of his foe's return. The acting is good, the people he interacts with are well characterised, yet one can only watch so many variations on the same conversation before it gets tiresome. I won't give away what happens when his nemesis arrives on the 11:55 bus but I found it seriously anti-climactic.

This is an excellent and entertaining drama/western; a powerful instant classic on its own right. Credibility and authenticity in a movie are the most important proofs of talent. Issler, Snyder and Almanraz, the writers/directors and the lead actor of the film, do have that special talent. They created a carefully designed, suspenseful story about revenge, forgiveness and redemption in the life of a returning US Marine and his community. It is resourceful and successfully avoids gimmicks, packed with well-motivated and surprising twists; it's a gem of creativity, full of fascinating and complex characters. Remarkable film by filmmakers to watch. (In Cinema Village (NY) and also available on Vimeo.com and YouTube.com to buy or rent everywhere.)

There was a lot I liked about this film. The connections between the people families, friends, and the functions in the region they live was done well. I had a very in-depth understanding of their culture and community. The character of Nelson played by victor Almanzar was also done at some length so we really have a good sense of who he is and what he stands for as the film progresses. He does a half decent job with this part, but the range of his character is really quite narrow so I can't truly attest to his ability.Elizabeth Rodriguez who plays his sister gives an exceptional performance and adds some serious dimension to all the sections in which she's featured. The rest of the cast is quite capable though besides Rodriguez I can't say there are any outstanding characters.It's a pretty straight forward story essentially about a 'showdown' and the events that preclude it. Nothing spectacular, and even a little bland in some aspects. The deprived neighbourhood was depicted very well, but there was an absence of authenticity about how the characters fit within that environment as well as discrepancy in character that individuals in such surroundings would exhibit. In my opinion the characters lacked the edginess and the harsh natured brutality that comes with life in such neighbourhoods.Nelson as a typical example, is an ex-drug dealer and gang member, but what we see here is a pensive man with serious concerns about his place in life, his family, friends, and honour, as well as pained disquieted feelings of remorse about killing someone. There is none of the course hard nature that such a life would betray, nor any real sense he was anyone of real questionable conscience. The film really centres on this inner conflict Nelson has without really filling in the enough else to keep us really fired up in interest.Even though there a period of peace and calm has cloaked the neighbourhood since Nelson's spell in the military, the prior gang members all seem to have suddenly reformed. None seem to have any dealings in any gang related activities, and besides a bit of 'hood talk' even seem to be like genuine gang members at all, reformed or otherwise. There was never any mention of guns, and even when knives are drawn on two separate occasions in the film, this is done by two of the female characters. We don't even see a gun till the final part of the film. I'm not an expert on gang activity or rough neighbourhoods; indeed, most of my knowledge on such matters comes from Hollywood, but I have seen 'Cops' and on the few occasions I met people from such backgrounds I was in no doubt about the validity of who they were and what they represented.That said, the film does stay true to the tone it sets from the outset, and even the conclusion, if lacking in my opinion, holds true to this tenet. I personally would liked this to have been a little more hard edged, a little more gritty... possibly some of that hot Latin Caribbean sauce to spice things up a bit, because as it is, it's a little lack-lustre.Nothing to write home about, but a decent film anyway.