El Cortez

Name: El Cortez
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Released: October 6, 2006
Duration: 94 min
Rating: 36

2006

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Generally unfavorable reviews based on 7 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 6 Ratings

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5.3

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5.3	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 6 Ratings

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El Cortez

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Movie Details & Credits

Brazos Productions | Release Date: October 6, 2006 | R

Summary: El Cortez is the story of an autistic man (Phillips) who attempts to start a new life after a five year incarceration in a prison for the criminally insane.

Director: Stephen Purvis

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 94 min

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Critic Reviews

TV Guide Magazine Maitland McDonagh

Director Stephen Purvis and writer Chris Haddock never rise above the material's inherent pulpiness, but they keep the twists coming until the very end. Read full review

Ronnie Scheib

An ambitious, low-budget neo-noir, Stephen Purvis' El Cortez navigates the genre's tawdry twists and crosses and double-crosses with intermittent flair. Read full review

Michael Ordona

Perhaps in an effort to root the film in the genre, the dialogue reaches for a particular hard-boiled register but grasps only clichés. El Cortez, like so many before it, searches for that nugget in the genre mine but just doesn't find it. Read full review

Luke Y. Thompson

Every "twist" is so telegraphed that there's little suspense here. Phillips' performance is an enjoyable change of pace, and the gratuitous sex scene with Middendorf is fairly hot, but the story's just an aggravating wait for the inevitable double-crosses. For it to be a true lowbrow pleasure, more sex would be needed. Read full review

Michael Rechtshaffen

Sharing its title with a historic Reno hotel that's seen better days (or maybe not), El Cortez is a clumsy lump of ponderous pulp fiction with "Cooler" aspirations. Read full review

Anita Gates

The script, by Chris Haddock, leaves numerous questions unanswered. It also reflects the character depth and conversational complexity of a 14-year-old’s first effort at fiction. Read full review

V.A. Musetto

Lou Diamond Phillips is let down by an uninspired supporting cast, including Bruce Weitz as a crippled con artist and Tracy Middendorf as the requisite femme fatale, a clichéd script, and flat direction by Stephen Purvis. Read full review

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