It's like a "bye week" in the NFL as film companies save their expensive blockbusters for a time when more people are paying attention, but Sony is betting some of you will want to take a break from all the hype around the big game to go see "Miss Bala."
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Sometimes a movie exists to introduce us to a star of tomorrow who is here today, or in the case of Gina Rodriguez, to reintroduce us to a performer we thought we knew. Fame came to Gina as "Jane the Virgin" on TV, but as "Miss Bala" (which means "Miss Bullet" in Spanish), she's been around the block a few times.
Her character travels from California to Mexico to support her best friend, who's competing in a beauty pageant, but when Suzu goes missing, the search for her puts Gina's character under the control of a drug lord.
By placing her friend in peril, the bad guys get Gloria into smuggling and arson, and blowing up a DEA safe house gets the attention of the drug enforcement agents.
Anthony Mackie has a very small but pivotal role, but it's not enough to be worth the price of admission. I had fun watching this one, but with so many similar shows available on TV right now, it's hard to justify paying to see movies like "Miss Bala." -- however worthy as its story of female empowerment may be and as hard as the star works to put it over.
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Whether or not you go see her is, of course, up to you! "Miss Bala" isn't a bad alternative to the Super Bowl, especially if you're not a football fan. If it were up to me, I'd probably wait to see it on video during a lazy weekend afternoon sometime in the future.
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