Stometer
Save your money for something good and enjoyable
Lollivan
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Bumpy Chip
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
ilania_a
A few instances in this film were aimed at people who really understand the rules of the game of Baseball. I missed why a fight started after one of Sugar's pitches. However, even if you miss a few spots, the film still merits watching. The main character in this story: SUGAR is played by a very charismatic actor Algenis Perez Soto - who will hopefully have a successful career. The plot brings to light the trials and tribulations of young immigrants who have to undergo the humiliations of living in a different world. Apart from being a bit too slow and lengthy, the story is at times heart-wrenching. The Latin music is pleasant to hear, and even Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah sung in Spanish performed by GEPE is a very good. The last piece of music chosen for the end of the movie while the credits are running....is a bit of an odd choice though. The film could have benefited from improved directing and better editing. Too much time spent on banal everyday life details. I had to stop the film a few times because it became a bit tiresome, but there was something quite fetching about it. I just wonder what Robert Redford or Clint Eastwood would have done with the same actors.
nikolay-golubev
I liked the movie. The picture, atmosphere, and documentary-feel casting are great. And I kept liking it until its middle. And then I started thinking, what is going on there. Why does the main character behave the way he behaves? What does the movie want to teach me or tell me? I couldn't find answers to any of these questions, except that "you should be a good and strong man who runs away from a challenge". And I don't think that's an idea someone wants to take away. Moreover, the challenge is almost not there. Just some disturbances with no major psychological significance to a strong guy like the main character. So, if you want to watch a beautifully made movie about giving up and running away from a challenge, watch this one. Otherwise, you're risking to be as confused as I am.
ldavis-2
The filmmakers want so badly for you to root for their hero, they saddle their little opus with enough clichés to choke a horse. The upshot is that their hero is the ultimate cliché: the arrogant, self-absorbed jerk with the $1,000,000 arm and the 10¢ head!When one buddy gets cut, another buddy gets promoted, and a third buddy's progress regulates our hero to the bullpen, how does he respond? He jumps the team. That's real mature! Even his mother's attempt to guilt-trip him back to his senses doesn't work. If Sugar doesn't care that his family is now screwed because he decided to screw up, then why should we care about him?Some reviewers have opined that the film is about how these poor non-white kids are exploited by rich white guys. But, as they say, it takes two to tango, and none of these kids have ever been forced to sign up for a shot at the big time. That Sugar and his fellow screw-ups decide to stay in the U.S. after their visas expire renders the filmmakers' self-righteous screed as pointless as their little opus.
jon_abbondanza
a movie that finally shows the true underbelly of what a Hispanic player who tries to make it in the USA's baseball machine goes through.When dumped into the mid-west with little or no real guidance and adaptation instructions, performing on the field is only a small part of success...Being a former baseball player and New Yorker who has played with many of these talented and cool people, I was touched by the depiction of what they go through, and the dignity and class they have despite the rough ride they go through...If you want a real baseball story, without the bells and whistles, then this is for you.Very well written, and very believably acted.Bravo!
