In Sin Nombre, Sayra (Paulina Gaiton) and El Casper (Edward M. Flores) join forces to battle the ever present and far reaching hand of the Mexican gangs. First and foremost, this is a film about gang violence. On a secondary level are the subplots of child abuse and the corruption of youth as told through the eyes of Benito (Smiley).

Third, however, is the theme of immigration to the United States and what the promise of this dream means for Sayra, the members of her entourage (her father and her uncle), and for El Casper. Beautifully filmed by Adriana Goldman as well as well directed by Cary Joli Fukunaga, who also wrote the brilliant script, as we watch the story of El Casper’s involvement in a gang called El Mara, Fukunaga contrasts Sayra’s journey with her father and her uncle across the Latin American Countryside from Honduras to The Mexican Border.

Although the film uses subtitles which are displayed too rapidly to read in some instances,uses frequent obscene language, and extreme violence is depicted (rape, murder, mutilations, armed robbery, and savage beatings) Sin Nombre is a first-class film worthy of the honors bestowed upon it thus far.

By Cleo Brown
Notorious is a film about Biggie Smalls, aka Christopher Wallace, struggling to be a man in a community which is notorious for robbing young black males of their dignity. The film, which is excellently written; superbly directed; and absorbingly performed chronicles the meteoric rise of Biggie Smalls and explores his relationships with his mother (Voletta Wallace), Sean Puffy Combs, Tupac Shakur, Lil Kim, and Faith Evans as Biggie struggles to make some sense out of his life.
Having been abandoned as an adolescent by his father ,who was a married man, Biggie turns to the street life and to …

Tyson: Portrait of the Pugilist as a Young (and Old) Man
By Javier E. David 
Witnessing the grotesque spectacle he’s managed to make of his life, it’s almost difficult to imagine that Mike Tyson was once a singularly fearsome fighter who bestrode the boxing world and pummeled opponents into submission. His turbulent personal life and professional controversies often made for the ultimate reality television show, one that gradually chipped away at the hard-earned respect Tyson garnered by way of his boxing prowess.  
James Toback’s documentary, Tyson, is a compelling yet ultimately one-dimensional film that manages to spotlight many of the characteristics …

By Javier E. David
Upon hearing the title of the recently released comedy-drama, “Sunshine Cleaning”, one might be forgiven for confusing this small-budget film with a 2006 film with a similar name, the light-hearted yet over-praised “Little Miss Sunshine.” Aside from their sunny titles, both of these films share (or suffer from, depending on who you ask) a similar trait: a contrived ‘quirk’ factor that has become endemic and somewhat cliché to the independent film genre. In short, these movies are designed to make you laugh, cry, and contemplate the vicissitudes of life and the sloppiness of love/romance.
“Sunshine Cleaning” labors under …