Movie reviews: ‘Chasing 3000’ and ‘Chamaco’

Baseball fans will find the start of “Chasing 3000” tough to resist: highlights from the career of one of the greatest, Roberto Clemente. This sincere, nostalgic, brothers-on-the-road movie has its strong points but sadly fails to do what Clemente so famously did in his final at-bat — finish on a high note.

It’s 1972, and teens Mickey (Trevor Morgan) and Roger (Rory Culkin) aren’t taking well to being transplanted from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles, away from their grandfather (Seymour Cassel) and beloved Pirates. Their struggling single mom (Lauren Holly) made the move to secure better treatment options for muscular dystrophy-suffering Roger, who has watched Mickey star in youth baseball for them both.

Despite Roger’s severe cough, the two steal mom’s car to make it back to Pittsburgh in time to see Clemente collect his 3,000th hit. Soon enough, the boys are separated from their vehicle and crossing the country on luck and Roger’s crutches.

It’s one of those stories too earnest to be fiction, and indeed it’s “inspired” by true events. The film is at its best in scenes of baseball-as-lingua franca, moments in which disparate characters find common ground in America’s Pastime.

For longtime fans, the very subject of Clemente, one of the game’s most inspiring figures, can be emotional. Despite that, the gentle film generally avoids excessive sentimentality until its late innings — when it heaps the treacle on with a shovel.

--Michael Ordoña

“Chasing 3000.” MPAA rating: unrated. Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes. At the Mann Chinese 6, Hollywood.

Fighting fiercely to survive

“Chamaco” (The Kid) is a boxing drama with an unusually high ring IQ. But its most memorable aspects are its candid, disturbing views of life on the streets of Mexico City, informed by a strong cast.

Abner (Álex Perea) is an angry teen who dreams of becoming a professional fighter, but though he’s long on guts, he’s short on skill. He and his streetwalker sister (Danny Perea of the excellent “Duck Season”) cling to each other to survive their abusive father, while Abner’s sweet girlfriend sells crystal meth under the heel of a corrupt cop. Meanwhile, kindly American doctor Frank (Martin Sheen) reunites with son Jimmy (co-writer and producer Kirk Harris), a fading former Olympian who has come to Mexico to recuperate from injuries suffered in the ring.

The performances are solid, especially Sheen’s settled, believable turn in a role that could have easily seemed too angelic. The Pereas are convincing, he in his drive and she in her hope. The boxing details are excellent, and as Abner, Álex Perea shows the lightning hand speed that explains why Jimmy sees something in him. If anything, the action seems less authentic when the fighters are supposed to look bad.

The story isn’t full of surprises — these people will become intertwined and the wild, furious Abner will have to show discipline and focus to succeed. But though hampered by a clichéd score and forced plot point toward the end, “Chamaco” can be gritty and effective.

--Michael Ordoña

“Chamaco” (The Kid). MPAA rating: unrated. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes. In Spanish and English, with English subtitles. Playing at the Mann Chinese 6, Hollywood (through Sept. 2, then at the MPark 4 in Koreatown).

Some frights from demons

“The Last Exorcism” stirs up a caldron of handheld-camera technique, faith-challenged drama and solid acting for a suitably squirmy tale of demonic possession. It won’t supplant “The Exorcist,” but it stands up nicely to DIY-tinged shiver stalwarts “The Blair Witch Project” and “Paranormal Activity.”

Director Daniel Stamm’s faux documentary begins as a “Marjoe”-like portrait of Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian), a charming huckster preacher who intends to show a film crew how the fake-exorcism business works by taking the case of a distraught, hyper-religious Louisiana farmer (Louis Herthum) who believes the devil has taken hold of his teenage daughter (Ashley Bell).

Naturally, a few freaky incidents point to a situation not so easily explainable, but what roots this chiller beyond a creepily effective farmhouse locale and admirably claustrophobic camerawork are two oft-ignored keys to good horror: humor and performance. Early laughs from Fabian’s lapsed-believer cynicism are like nervous ice-breakers for the second half’s grim turn of events, when Bell takes over with an eerie physicality that elicits a potent mixture of fear and sympathy.

As with many well-intentioned scare flicks, the wrapping-up feels dissipated and obvious, but for a good while “The Last Exorcism” makes for an atmospheric, character-rich stab at movie fright.

--Robert Abele

“The Last Exorcism.” MPAA rating: PG-13. Running time: 1 hour, 28 minutes. In general release.

Having fun and facing consequences

Director Quentin Lee continues to explore the Asian American experience in his fourth feature, “The People I’ve Slept With,” a saucy comedy that deftly turns serious. As in such films as “Shopping for Fangs,” which took an amused look at sex and materialism in upscale suburbia, and “Ethan Mao,” in which a gay youth copes with his ultra-traditional, homophobic family, Lee finds the universal in the particular: You don’t have to be Asian to identify with his people and their predicaments.

Lovely, free-spirited Angela (Karin Anna Cheung), an aspiring artist, has taken quite literally the advice of her friend Gabriel (Wilson Cruz) to “relax and have fun.” Unfortunately, she realizes there were four instances, among many, in which she engaged in unprotected sex, and now she’s pregnant. Screenwriter Koji Steven Sakai, in sync with Lee’s detached yet caring sensibility, sends Angela off to determine in this age of DNA testing which of the four candidates is the father.

Over time, Angela becomes increasingly aware of the challenges and choices she faces. If she should ascertain the identity of her unborn child’s father, then what? Throughout the film a subtext suggests that young people, especially Asian Americans, need to think for themselves rather than feel obligated to fulfill their parents’ expectations.

Lee’s young actors shine with talent and personality, but the film’s gravitas lies in the wisdom and insight of Angela’s loving father, so beautifully played by the distinguished veteran James Shigeta.

--Kevin Thomas

“The People I’ve Slept With.” MPAA rating: unrated. Running time: 1 hour, 29 minutes. At the Sunset 5, West Hollywood.

Coming to his bride’s rescue

“Soch Lo” (Think About It) marks a promising if uneven debut from actor-writer-director Sartaj Singh Pannu. As a filmmaker, he whips up moments of raw emotional impact and makes expressive use of stark desert vistas and verdant unspoiled countryside, but he can’t always restrain his narrative from veering into sheer improbability.

Pannu stars as Baba, a man who’s been left for dead in the desert but is rescued by a group of passersby. Although he’s suffering from amnesia, he recalls being savagely attacked on the beach while on his honeymoon with his exquisite, shy well-born bride Riva (Iris Maity), who agreed to an arranged marriage to him apparently to escape a secret, tempestuous affair with Basu (Nishan Nanaiah). It soon becomes clear that Basu has kidnapped Riva, and Baba, although he still doesn’t know his own identity, is determined to track her down and rescue her.

The action in the film gets bogged down, though, when Pannu turns his attention to the plight of the family of one of Baba’s rescuers — the digression allows him to comment on the blight of corruption and drug trafficking in rural India (shades of “Winter’s Bone”) and also on lingering class discrimination in the nation, but the subplot proves needlessly complicated and hard to follow.

Still, there are enough riveting moments in “Soch Lo” to inspire hope that Pannu, a charismatic actor, can bring more coherence to his next picture.

--Kevin Thomas

“Soch Lo” (Think About It). MPAA rating: unrated. In Hindi with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours. At the Big Cinema, Norwalk.