Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Sheila_Beers I found "Casa De Los Babys" complex and entertaining, and I believe the "loose ends" serve a purpose as the viewer is to form his own conclusion about the characters, their motives and conflicts, and the possible outcomes. The six women who want to adopt are so wrapped up in their own frustrations and needs that they are blind to the destitute and desperate lives of the hotel workers and the Latin American community around them. The hotel manager and her con artist lawyer-brother, who run the adoption agency, play heartless "bait and switch" games with the childless women, and the women fail to see the operators are taking advantage of them. As a result, the women hand exorbitant amounts of money over to the operators when they more wisely could use the money to help the native people around them.There is opportunity for a relationship between the single woman of the group, who has given up hope for a husband and family, and the handsome, young, and educated Latin man who dreams of going to the U.S. The possibilities never enter their minds, with the woman focusing on single-parent adoption and the young man pinning false hopes on a lottery ticket."Casa De Los Babys" is a film I would recommend to socially conscious people and prospective parents alike.

annamarievh307 I was completely disappointed. The movie seemed contrived and forced. There were too many back stories combined into one, and I found it difficult to concentrate on the story at hand. The ending was far too abrupt. I normally like all of these actresses, but this was not a good movie to show them as a solid cast. I would have liked to see each character fleshed out a bit more.I also agree that it was a completely one-sided view of international adoption. The whole time watching, I had trouble really understanding most of what was going and why characters were popping in and out of the story.

jfdelgadoinsc No resolution, no real conflict, or at least not one whose solution we see; enormous talent wasted by appalling direction: Marcia Gay Harden works too hard, ironically unconvincing. The dialogue, a few memorable lines, all derivative ("Pray for Rosemary's baby"?) Instead of a series of visuals leading to something, it was a moving slide show (with terrible camera work) without any development. Some of the situations are confusing and contradictory: when the attorney, Buendía (Armendariz), talks to his sister the motel owner (Moreno), we get the impression he is going to give Nat the baby just to get her off everyone's back. When she leaves, he states she is not getting a baby. At the end, there she is, receiving one. Uh? And Rita Moreno should never again do Spanish dialogue: she sounds as if she is reading and her punctuation is terrible, breaking up phrases at the wrong point, very disconcerting if you speak the language. She also steals scenes like a pro. In the scene where we are trying to focus on the plight of the unemployed man, she keeps tapping her fingers together, thus removing all attention from the poor sap (I wonder what he did off-camera to earn her ire, as she must know exactly what she was doing). If the point is to see the backbiting, it lacks true bite; if the point is to see what these women's lives are like, it's not deep enough. Sayles drags us in all directions and then bounces us off the wall in a dead end. 3/10

David Eastman A great start to the London Film Festival.You would have to be fairly desperate to go to Mexico from the States to adopt a child. And maybe a similar desperation is needed to put a baby up for adoption, knowing it could go to another country and culture.John Sayles film covers all sides to this cultural and economic problem. While much of the film is understated and not overly impressive, the central female ensemble is very good. It was fascinating seeing Daryll Hannah after all these years; and after The Secretary, I'm a big fan of Maggie Gyllenhall. Mary Steenburgen plays.. well, Mary Steenburgen. All the women are very watchable, and are given space to get emotional without reverting to sentimental melodrama.The film is no cinematic treat, and has little in the way of a full resolution for the characters but its one of the better ensemble pieces I've seen in some time.