RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Cronicas
Cronicas

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Cronicas (2005)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
71 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:70

Fresh:50

Rotten:20

Average Rating:6.6/10

Consensus: An unsettling and absorbing cautionary tale with John Leguizamo playing an unscrupulous TV reporter who uses the medium to further his own goals.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violence, a scene of sexuality, and language.

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Theatrical Release:Jul 8, 2005 Limited

Box Office: $138,868

Synopsis: The hot and humid village of Babahoyo, Ecuador is besieged by an elusive serial killer. The police have no clues but this mystery has become an obsession for Miami-based tabloid television reporter... The hot and humid village of Babahoyo, Ecuador is besieged by an elusive serial killer. The police have no clues but this mystery has become an obsession for Miami-based tabloid television reporter Manolo Bonilla (John Leguizamo) who is convinced breaking this story will make him a star. Bonilla has traveled to the remote village with his producer, Marisa (Leonor Watling) and cameraman, Ivan (José Maria Yazpik) to cover the story for the tabloid TV show "One Hour With The Truth". Manolo has dubbed the killer as the "Monster of Babahoyo" on the show and is determined to uncover the killer's true identity. Tension in the town reaches a boiling point when Vinicio Cepeda (Damián Alcázar), a poor traveling salesman, accidentally runs over a child, and an angry mob led by the child's father, Don Lucho (Henry Layana), attacks him in the streets. Both Vinicio and Don Lucho are arrested. Manolo, who happens to be present during the incident, interviews both men inside a jail teeming with violence. Vinicio tells Manolo that he has information about the "Monster," but in exchange for it, he wants Manolo to do a story exposing his unjust arrest to sway public opinion. After checking out Vinicio's information, Manolo immediately suspects that Vinicio himself could be the killer, but chooses not to tell the corrupt local authorities; he'd rather use the information to make a great story for his show. How far will Bonilla go to get his story? Where is the line between a journalist revealing the truth and inventing it? How powerful is the media? Palm Pictures and Anhelo Productions present CRONICAS, written and directed by Sebastián Cordero (RATAS, RATONES, RATEROS) and produced by Alfonso Cuarón (HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN) and Jorge Vergara (Y TU MAMÁ TAMBIÉN) and Guillermo del Toro (HELLBOY), Bertha Navarro and Isabel Dávalos. The executive producer is Frida Torresblanco. Cinematography by Enrique Chediak. Music by Antonio Pinto. --© Palm Pictures [More]

Starring: John Leguizamo, Leonor Watling, Alfred Molina, Damián Alcázar

Starring: John Leguizamo, Leonor Watling, Alfred Molina, Damián Alcázar

Director: Sebastian Cordero

Director: Sebastian Cordero
Screenwriter: Sebastian Cordero
Producer: Alfonso Cuaron, Jorge Vergara, Guillermo Del Toro
Composer: Antonio Pinto
Studio: Palm Pictures

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Cronicas Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Nov 8, 2005

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Cronicas

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
10/08/05
Boston Phoenix
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
12/24/05
Arizona Republic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
09/26/05
AV Club
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
09/24/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
08/03/05
Los Angeles Daily News
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: NPR.org | comment Comment
10/18/08
Bob Mondello
Bob Mondello
NPR.org

An ambitious social-commentary melodrama that works about half the time -- until it engages in the very behavior it sets out to condemn.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/08/05
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post

Though Crónicas starts as a stark tragedy about widespread suffering, it morphs into a preachy, languorous treatise on manipulative media.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/22/05
Bruce Westbrook
Bruce Westbrook
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An efficient but not-terribly-surprising crime drama that spins off a Silence of the Lambs-like dynamic.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
08/25/05
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

...thoroughly underwhelming and surprisingly dull.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
12/06/05
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Starts out bracingly but gradually loses focus.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/14/05
David Rooney
David Rooney
Variety

Cronicas is two thirds of a really good movie – someone let me know when they find the rest.

Full Review Source: CHUD | comment Comment
07/07/05
Devin Faraci
Devin Faraci
CHUD

Nothing in this would-be thriller grabs you by the throat, never mind reaches down to your guts.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
10/07/05
Janice Page
Janice Page
Boston Globe

We've seen this cautionary tale before, and the outcome, while chilling from an ethical perspective, is almost a foregone conclusion.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
08/26/05
Jeff Shannon
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times

For a film shot in Ecuador, Crónicas feels curiously American in design.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
07/07/05
Jeremiah Kipp
Jeremiah Kipp
Slant Magazine

full review in Greek

Full Review Source: Movies for the Masses | comment Comment
10/03/06
Joseph Proimakis
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses

A scathing indictment of writer-director Sebastian Cordero's ability to put together a credible story.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
07/08/05
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The movie is devoid of subtext because every idea is expressed with bold punctuation.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
07/08/05
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It never quite achieves the level of journalistic condemnation it so clearly seeks.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
08/07/05
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

An honest effort that is too dramatically slack to sustain more than average interest.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
05/14/05
Mark Keizer
Mark Keizer
Boxoffice Magazine
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
all

Latest News for Cronicas

November 09, 2005: RT Interview: "Crónicas" Director Sebastián Cordero
It played in just over 100 theaters back in July, so you can be forgiven if you haven't heard a whole lot about "Crónicas" just yet. But the Ecuadorian crime thriller... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
67% 67% Public Enemies
75% 75% Julie & Julia
95% 95% The Cove
85% 85% World's Greatest Dad

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood

Take a trip through Clint Eastwood's career!

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

RT on DVD

RT on DVD

Find the latest releases on DVD and Blu-ray!

D.C. Film Critics

D.C. Film Critics

Up in the Air takes top honors!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Avatar Picks Up Golden Globes Buzz Source: HitFix
1
  • Disney's Upcoming Hand-Drawn Movies Revealed Source: Slashfilm
0
  • Cameron Explains Blue Avatar Aliens Source: MTV
15
  • Matt Damon Expects Greengrass to Return for Fourth Bourne Source: Collider.com
4
  • Burton's Dark Shadows Rising in 2010 Source: Sci Fi Wire
4
  • Exclusive: The World of Where the Wild Things Are
27
  • Peter Jackson Talks Hobbit, LotR Blu-ray Source: Collider.com
20
  • Woman Jailed for Filming New Moon Screening Source: Chicago Sun-Times
18
  • McG Has Plans for Fifth and Sixth Terminator Movies Source: Gizmodo
201
  • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
22
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
83
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
57
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
50
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
46
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
41
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
40
  • Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole
37
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: The Blind Side Takes the Lead
29
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
28
  • Friday Harvest: Iron Man 2, Harry Potter, and more!
24
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Avatar's Sam Worthington
24
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Cronicas at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Cronicas at IGN
  • Cronicas at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
History of Disney Animation
History of Disney Animation External Link

MSN Movies offers a little background on the success of Disney Animation.

90 Years of Screen Vampires
90 Years of Screen Vampires External Link

TIME takes a look back at the history of vampires on film.

Virtuoso Vistas of Lovely Bones
Virtuoso Vistas of Lovely Bones External Link

Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.

Recent Headlines as TV Movies
Recent Headlines as TV Movies External Link

AOL put together a list of 10 recent news items that would be perfect as TV Movies.

The Death of Original Thought
The Death of Original Thought External Link

Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill explores how remakes and reboots have warped our thinking.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.