El Cortez

R

2006

1h 30m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

List

29%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

33%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

After Manny (Lou Diamond Phillips) is released from jail, where he was serving a five-year sentence, he travels back to his hometown in search of a job. The fact that Manny is autistic complicates the hunt but he finally lands a job at the front desk of the Hotel El Cortez. But things don't stay quiet for long. Manny soon finds himself involved in a tangled web involving a police officer, a gold prospector, a drug dealer and the drug dealer's money-hungry girlfriend.

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Audience Member

A low budget dramatic thriller starring Lou Diamond Phillips. LDP's performance as a medicated sociopath is terrific and the supporting actors are good. Unfortunately the poor writing results in some painfully lame dialogues between characters. BELOW AVERAGE!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It had some high points, but in the end the plot was just too unbelievable to be realistic.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

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Audience Member

Predictable and boring.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

good movie must c it!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

odd little movie aboutthe residents of a hotel. decent

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

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Audience Member

Another cheap drama/action/thriller. Neither really bad nor really good. 3 out of 5 stars because I like Lou Diamond Phillips, in spite of the fact he does more and more of these low budget movies.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

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Stephen Purvis

Director

Lou Diamond Phillips

Manny DeSilva

Tracy Middendorf

Theda

Bruce Weitz

Popcorn

James McDaniel

Arnie

Glenn Plummer

Jack Clay

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Michael Rechtshaffen

Hollywood Reporter

A clumsy lump of ponderous pulp fiction with Cooler aspirations.

Oct 20, 2006

Full Review

Michael Ordoña

Los Angeles Times

El Cortez, like so many before it, searches for that nugget in the genre mine but just doesn't find it.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 19, 2006

Full Review

Ronnie Scheib

Variety

Somehow, El Cortez is stronger than its component parts.

Oct 10, 2006

Full Review

Luke Y. Thompson

L.A. Weekly

Every 'twist' is so telegraphed that there's little suspense here.

Oct 19, 2006

Full Review

Maitland McDonagh

TV Guide

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.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 6, 2006

Full Review

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Synopsis

After Manny (Lou Diamond Phillips) is released from jail, where he was serving a five-year sentence, he travels back to his hometown in search of a job. The fact that Manny is autistic complicates the hunt but he finally lands a job at the front desk of the Hotel El Cortez. But things don't stay quiet for long. Manny soon finds himself involved in a tangled web involving a police officer, a gold prospector, a drug dealer and the drug dealer's money-hungry girlfriend.

Director: Stephen Purvis
Producer: J.B. Roberts, Stephen Hunter Flick
Screenwriter: Chris Haddock
Production Co: Three-Four Prods
Rating: R (Some Violence|Drug Content|Sexuality|Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Mar 27, 2007
Runtime: 1h 30m
Sound Mix: Dolby