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A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Saturday 2 February 2019
Gina Rodriguez deserves more than bland 'Miss Bala'

By JOCELYN NOVECK evening of networking at
Associated Press a swishy nightclub, where
If you've ever watched TV's they hope to rub elbows
hugely entertaining "Jane with the pageant's lecher-
the Virgin," you'll know that ous and corrupt patron.
its star, Gina Rodriguez, is But minutes after they ar-
one of the most engaging, rive, a gaggle of gang-
charismatic and relatable sters intent on killing the
actresses out there. patron force their way in
It was only a matter of time — through the ladies room
before she headlined a window! — and a huge
big-studio movie — a truly shootout ensues. Suzu is
welcome development. kidnapped, and Gloria sets
But Rodriguez and her fans out on a desperate quest
deserve better than "Miss to find her. A corrupt police
Bala," a disappointingly officer hands her right over
bland and formulaic Hol- to the gunmen, led by the
lywood remake of a much menacingly handsome,
grittier and bleaker Mexi- blue-eyed Lino (Ismael Cruz
can thriller. Cordova, a charismatic
No discredit to Rodriguez, actor doing his best with a
of course, who remains cardboard role).
genuine and appealing in Lino demands a favor in re-
scene after scene where This image released by Sony Pictures shows Gina Rodríguez, left, and Ismael Cruz in a scene from turn for helping Gloria. As al-
her character, a Mexican- "Miss Bala." ways here, declining an of-
American makeup artist, is Associated Press fer means death. This leads
tasked with finding her way Mexico and drug wars and, ingly predictable. swipes some free makeup to her unwittingly bombing
out of the most terrifying well, anything but a PG-13 We first meet Gloria (Rodri- and heads down to visit her a DEA safehouse. When she
jams. And it's undeniably "You go, girl!" action film, guez) in Los Angeles, where childhood best friend, Suzu, manages to escape Lino's
satisfying, in one climactic you won't find it here. Direc- she has a backstage make- in Tijuana. clutches soon after, she
scene, to watch her saun- tor Catherine Hardwicke up job at Fashion Week. But Their goal: securing a vic- falls directly into the hands
ter in a satiny red, high-slit ("Twilight") does a fine she aspires to much more. tory for Suzu in the local of a DEA agent (Matt Lau-
evening gown, settling enough job staging action Proposing her design ideas, beauty pageant, which ria). Hardly a knight in shin-
scores with the villainous sequences and keeping she's met with a snide retort will lead to a better life for ing armor, the American
men around her. the pace; the script has far from a male boss: "Honey, her and her young brother. threatens her with years in
But if you're looking for bigger issues, with lines that we're not paying you to After registering, the two jail or much worse, unless
a movie with something are often banal and ach- think." Discouraged, she women head out for an she cooperates.q
substantive to say about
The Motet brews funky grooves on

'Death or Devotion'

stumble into "Death or De- vice of a smooth flow that's
votion" and, based on first dancefloor ready and a
impressions, figure that it's fun listen to boot.
a lost funk/soul gem from The album's first single,
the late 1970s. They may "Whacha Gonna Bring,"
even guess The Motet is a besides conveying a mes-
band whose only album — sage of tolerance and un-
maybe long out-of-print or derstanding, was tied to
even hardly ever in-print — efforts to sign up voters for
was discovered by a crate- last year's mid-term elec-
digging DJ in a basement tion. While the album's title
record store in Brooklyn or isn't directly mentioned in
Los Angeles. the single's lyrics, the song
In fact, The Motet is a Den- attempts to inspire some
ver-based septet that's reflection and make us
been around for nearly more conscious about the
two decades and "Death choices we make and the
or Devotion" is the band's attitudes we assume.
This cover image released by ninth studio album. It is a There's a lot of positivity in
The Motet shows "Death or De- funk/soul gem, but luckily the songs, plenty of passion
votion," by The Motet. it's not at all lost. — both idealist and sensual
Associated Press Already on lead track "High- — and it all comes full circle
ly Compatible," The Motet's with the nearly instrumen-
By PABLO GORONDI intentions are clear. Strings, tal "Speed of Light," which
Associated Press horn accents, vintage key- sounds like a Rick James riff
The Motet, "Death or Devo- board sounds, funky bass done like Daft Punk where
tion" (The Motet) grooves and Lyle Divinsky's even the usually overused
Unsuspecting listeners may vocals are all at the ser- vocoder fits the bill.q