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Piñero

R Released Dec 13, 2001 1h 43m Biography Drama List
43% Tomatometer 61 Reviews 70% Audience Score 1,000+ Ratings
"Piñero" tells the story of the turbulent and creative life of a Latino icon, the poet-playwright-actor Miguel Piñero (Benjamin Bratt), whose urban poetry is recognized as a precursor to rap and hip-hop. Piñero became a hero to many in both the theatrical and Latino worlds. But the resulting notoriety and fame was too much for the Latino bad-boy genius who died a premature death in 1988. His legend lives on. Read More Read Less
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Critics Consensus

Though Bratt is great in the title role, the biopic itself is messy and Piñero grows tiresome.

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Critics Reviews

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Lisa Alspector Chicago Reader Overlapping the artist's biography and his work, writer-director Leon Ichaso pointedly reflects the chaos in his subject's shortish life, but he links the artist's frustrations and talent in the usual manner: as cause and effect. Jul 31, 2007 Full Review Dennis Harvey Variety A scattershot stab at a fascinating life and times. Jul 31, 2007 Full Review Derek Adams Time Out Flashily but irritatingly shot, full of unmotivated switches from colour to b/w, sudden flashbacks, mannered slow mo and jump cuts, this is hardly a subtle evocation of its subject's life. Feb 9, 2006 Full Review Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed A dull, slow, and completely uninteresting biopic. Apr 29, 2009 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Jul 19, 2005 Full Review Eric D. Snider EricDSnider.com Who was Piero, and more to the point, why should we care? Bratt brings him to life, but we come away appreciating his genius no more than we did before. Rated: C+ Dec 7, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member This biography of sorts about Miguel Piñero, a conspicuous figure of the Nuyorican movement, is tiresomely superfluous and distracting with its onslaught of jazzy soundtrack and camera work. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member A great biopic film that realistically and emotionally shows a lesser-known but important life in Latino culture who is brilliantly played by Benjamin Bratt. It effectively shows the sensitivity and talent of the man in a film with no Hollywood sugar-coating. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member If you don't know anything about this artist (like myself), you won't get much out of this biopic. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member Great poetry of a miserable, so close to be fabulous life: "Cause even if I am half-and-half, any of the halves is more whole than all of you" Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member **1/2 (out of four) Pinero was a poet who lived in New York. The troubled man's life was splattered with excessive drug and alcohol abuse. Benjamin Bratt stars as Pinero and he does a good job at showing the poet's torment and disinegration. But his performance is the highlight. The film never finds a cohereant narrative, losing its focus. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member The grittiness and realistic look to the film just doesn't work. I can see what they were going for but the movie is quite simply a boring mess. It's disjointed and lacks a cohesive structure. Considering the fact the movie is a biography of a real person, it's amazing the filmmakers were so far off from capturing the character they apparently found interesting. Miguel Pinero isn't interesting or appealing here. You just don;t care. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis "Piñero" tells the story of the turbulent and creative life of a Latino icon, the poet-playwright-actor Miguel Piñero (Benjamin Bratt), whose urban poetry is recognized as a precursor to rap and hip-hop. Piñero became a hero to many in both the theatrical and Latino worlds. But the resulting notoriety and fame was too much for the Latino bad-boy genius who died a premature death in 1988. His legend lives on.
Director
Leon Ichaso
Producer
John Penotti, Fisher Stevens, Tim Williams
Distributor
Miramax Films
Production Co
GreeneStreet Films Inc., Lower East Side Films
Rating
R (Drug Use|Strong Language|Sexuality)
Genre
Biography, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 13, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 7, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$302.3K
Runtime
1h 43m
Sound Mix
Surround, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Dolby Stereo
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