Rodriguez doesnt really seem to have much range as a writer/editor/director imo. I know he does all his own stuff, but that guerilla filmmaking stuff doesnt work in the long run. I mean OUTIM seems like a rehash of Desperado with just more characters and more action (BIG DEAL). I’ll probably see it, but its nothin thats going to be a classic of the action genre. Rodriguez isnt that kind of director. Anyone that makes 3 Spy Kids movies isnt gonna be hailed as a great director in their career.  He seems to just be goin for the quick bucks like a mexican version of Michael Bay.
Someone needs to tell Robert that the John Woo gunfighting stuff is old hat. Its 2003 not 1994. I honestly dont really find Rodriguez as intriguing as I did when he first came out.  I think hes kind of a goofball. lol.
I think RR can be a fucken awesome director. He just needs to take the time to fully developed his scripts/stories. I actually think he is a good director I look at the camera angles in his movies and they are nicely placed. And if only cared about money I don’t think he would take so much time into making one of his films. I think he loves making movies. And  I think someone here once read that he said that he hated the film making process, then remarked with something like see he only makes it for the money or implied that. Ive heard a lot of directors making the same comment and it doesn’t mean they are in it just for the money.
If RR and QT would have worked together on the script and RR directed it, there is NO doubt in my mind that it would have been an instant classic.
And he didn’t make Spy kids 2 and 3 just because there was money to be made. He had always wanted to make a family adventure film staring Latinos. And that what he did. The fact that people liked it gave his the excuse to make more of what he already wanted to do in the first place. SO BACK THE FUCK OFF of Spy Kids what made for kids. Im so fucken tired of hearing people saying, “spy kids suck spy kids suck� well don’t see it then. Just like Quentin said if you don’t like his movie then fuck you it wasn’t made for you. He did it for him self.
[quote] If RR and QT would have worked together on the script and RR directed it, there is NO doubt in my mind that it would have been an instant classic.
And he didn’t make Spy kids 2 and 3 just because there was money to be made. [/quote]
I think RR should do his own dialogue, QT shouldnt be helping him write stuff. The same goes for Roger Avary. Those guys need to find their own voices and stop leeching off QT.
Spy Brats series wasnt about money? I dont know about that. Cranking out 3 of those movies loaded with CGI shit in em isnt the mark of a master filmmaker.
RR needs to show he can be more than just a mexican John Woo/George Lucas wannabe. You saw what happened to Woo and Lucas, they both suck now.
I think everyone knows exactly what I’m saying. I’m just being honest about what I’m seeing in front of my eyes.
pete, you have to consider what a technical genius rodriguez is. he is a true filmmaker. he makes his movies way under budget, has enourmous ideas and tricks and he is the first director who used High Definition in a way that it looks good (fuck Lucas). He hasn’t really made any “great” movies and all but his work - the work itself! - is awesome. I watch Desperado and I know that all the stuff is just made on this “little” budget and i watch the documentary and all and its just amazing how this guy works.
he’s not a great writer or anything, he’s a great film-maker, because he knows how to handle camera, editing and all…
what are talking about leeching. Tarantino touches up scripts all the time. Its not Tarantino makes movies all the time. And some directors arent always writers. He is far from a George Lucas wannabe. Just cause he does some effects in his movies to save money doesnt make him one. Im sure he knows what happen to lucas and woo. But what was the one thing people kept buging him about when he kept making those spy kids films. “fuck spy kids wheres OUATIM”
I hope he does make a different type of movie as well. who knows maybe theyll let his ass do that preditor movie he wrote years back.
I like Rodriguez, but those spy kids movies are pretty hard to watch. I also like special effects/fantasy movies, but spy kids 3 had some of the worst special effects I’ve ever seen. It just really felt slap-dash, like he wan’t putting enough time into it.
The interviews I’ve seen with Rodriguez lately don’t help things. He comes off very arrogant. He talks shit about all the failures of the “studio” system or the traditional way of filmaking, but isn’t really putting out superior product, IMHO. He does seem happy with it, though. Most DVD commentaries from directors seems to focus on failures or things they are not happy with, but not Rodriguez.
Say what you want about him, there is no doubt that that is his vision on the screen. He does so many jobs now that there is really only him to blame for failures or give the credit for successes. Production designer, cinematographer, camera operator, editor, director and now he learned how to score film for OUATIM.
He said that the reason OUATIM was delayed was because he wanted to take the time to learn how to do real film scoring.
I also applaud him for being one of the few mainstream directors out there who employs or makes stories about Latinos. He’s also a populist, in that he seems to really encourage people to learn about filmmaking and that’s nice.
He seems to make his money back each time he makes a film, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more movies from him in the future.
I love RR, he is such a great filmmaker, and he is just about as insparational to me, as QT. He tells people to go for it, and make their movie, and that you don’t need all the circumstances to be just right. And he is such a pioneer, he made a decent cheap movie, he did a 3D movie, and he is shooting in HD (that looks good transfered to film.) And he never said that he hates the actual production process, he has often said that he doesn’t understand why other directors say this, in his book for one, he said that he was listening to the Scorcese commentary on the Taxi Driver laserdisc, and that Scorcese said that, and he didn’t understand why he felt that way, because he (RR) loved shooting the movie.
i agree with little parts of what everyone has said. he is a good director but all his movies are shot similar. i don’t think he thinks about why he’s doing certain things, he just does them because they look cool, which kind of gets boring. Oh yeah, and the bar scene where banderas never gets hit did piss me off, i just forgot about it. I’m definatley going to see once upon a time in mexico, but i’m not sure what to think right now. hey, only three days right.
I sooo wanna see a 3-D movie; I’ve never seen one in my whole life. But my friends 'll probably laugh at me if I tell them to go watch “Spy Kids”.
I haven’t seen any of the Spy Kids movies-I will someday, but I saw yesterday, the only movie by Rodriguez except SK that i hadn’t see. “The Faculty” what a piece of crap!! Awfull! The only good thing was the homages to “The Thing” I can’t believe that Rodriguez made that a-la Scream flick! :-X
El Mariachi is beautiful. A very short film but very good nonetheless. It’s amazing how he took on this project all by himself with such very little money that he obtained by subjecting himself to experimental drugs. But judging by the script, which I read a few hours ago, (it was kind of hard to find), production companies wold have eventually passed on it. Not because it’s horrible, but because of the whole latin dialect and characters. But when you read you can tell that he wrote it for the sole purpose of creating it himself. This movie is a real charmer, it reminded me of Romero and Night Of The Living Dead. You can hear Romero commenting on Rodriguez in the blueundergrund DVD version of “The Crazies”. Geoge Romero: “Have you seen that 10 minute flick school from that Rodriguez guy? It’s real guerilla filmmaking”. Now that’s a great complement paid to Rodriguez from a real icon.