Robert Rodriguez

[captainofbeef]

Discuss this master here.

[captainofbeef]

My Rodriguez list.
1. Sin City
2. Once Upon A Time in Mexico
3. El Mariachi
4. Desperado
5. From Dusk Till Dawn
6. Spy Kids
7. The Faculty
8. Spy Kids 2
9. Spy Kids 3
10. The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl

[captainofbeef]

I saw it. It was awful, I cant believe he made that. I just saw it on the base of the fact that it was Rodriguez.

[criterionmaster]

1. Sin City
2. El Mariachi
3. From Dusk till Dawn (fucking amazing!!!!)
4. Desperado
5. Once Upon a Time in Mexico
6. Spy Kids
7. The Falculty
8. Spy Kids 2

I haven't seen anymore! Unless you count his short film Bedhead.

[mixed]

The faculty is fun.

[PTAhole]

That is EASILY his worst non-kiddie movie.

[mixed]

Looking at his film list, he's yet to make a 'great' film, just moderate films which fall apart after the first act or so.

[criterionmaster]

I think Sin City is his only "great" film. But others I like.

[PTAhole]

I think Sin City and El Mariachi are both great. (EM more based on how it was made. If I didn't know about that, 8/10)

[THE NIGHTTHING]

Rodriguez may not be making "great cinema" but his films are always entertaining and his style is often innovative. And his films make money!

He is the true rebel among today's filmmakers. I love the little Troublemaker.

[ie]

Well, the main problem people might have with Robert Rodriguez is that he essentially makes crowd-pleasers.

I haven't seen a bulk of his work, so a bit of generalization follows, but he doesn't really make work that challenges you. You don't have to think too hard, or worry about what will happen. You just sit back, and let it all sink in. So as a result, there's not as much substance to think about later, just remembering certain scenes and being like "oh yeah, that was fun."

[PTAhole]

I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think everyone shoud ingest a fun movie once and while. Rodriguez can make this fun movies so well that I can remember every scene, and yes, it was fun. The Mariachi trilogy is a lot of fun, but I can remember everything about the movies. He's an amazingly talented guy, and I just love a lot of his stuff. I don't think a movie has to propose some philisophical question to be a great movie.

[kiddo]

No, but after you`ve seen alot of films, you often (read: me. I can only talk for myself) seek things that have a greater meaning than being "cool". When I understood that cinema can be something BIG, that can unfold so many apsects of us, others and the world we live in, I became more interested in finding these films wich manage to touch something, in stead of just showng superficial things on the surface. Of course I enjoy films like Die Hard, for example, once in a while, but Rodriguez has not THAT great of a talent, and mostly I find him to be too speculative conserning sex and violence.

[criterionmaster]

I would qualify myself in the same category you are kiddo. I have seen so many movies that I get sick of seeing the same old stuff, but in this case I actually enjoy this stuff. Look at El Mariachi, that is something different and has to give you hope that you could have a chance making a film. His films definitely have more merit than a lot of "cool" entertaining directors. At least he tries to do something new with stuff. From Dusk till Dawn is so kick-ass, one of the most fun "horror" films ever made. So you got to give it up to him for at least making that film; a film I could watch nonstop.

But like I said most films like this nowadays don't interest me at all, but for some reason Rodriquez films have something I like. Like a love for cinema passion that he has or something.

[kiddo]

I see what you mean, and I too like El Mariachi. It`s just a playful film with some cool and creative cinametography. But take Once Upon a time in Mexico; I think that is El Mariachi, but without the charm (which is essential to El Mariachi). And Desperado; it feels very "sex and viloence is cool, and if we mix these elements in a bit unrealistic way, we`ll get a badass film".

When that`s said, there`s a HUGE amount of directors which is far worse than Rodriguez. I admit that he is pretty good at what he does.

[ie]

I was just playing Devil's advocate there, explaining a possible reason why people might not like Rodriguez's work.

At the end of the day, though, I value thought and meaning in movies more than the explosions and the style. Then again, a philosophically-weighted slick action movie with plenty of innovative and entertaining style-to-spare, and more to say than a college textbook does seem like a good movie to me.