Best movie of this year hands down!

How sad is this?

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I unfortunately had never heard of the real Selena until after I saw this movie. I love how it portrays her as a strong, courageous young woman. Thanks to this movie, Selena has become an excellent role model for women and has proven that women can be just as good as men. I hope Yolanda saldivar sees this movie if she hasn't already and is ashamed that she robbed the world of one of the greatest people who has ever lived. I have no doubt that Selena would have made it big if she were still alive. It's a shame that she didn't get see it happen. But I digress. The cast was great. The producers had the right idea of casting a then unknown Jennifer Lopez as Selena because Selena herself wasn't quite known until after her death. Had they cast someone who was already famous, they probably would have over acted and made it look fake, not really capturing the spirit of Selena. All in all, even though I don't really like to watch this movie because of the end, i still consider this one of the best movies of all time because whenever I start to get discouraged, like to ask myself "What would Selena do?"

Selena is a biographical drama about the life and career of the late Tejano music star Selena, a recording artist who was well known in the United States and Mexico before she was shot to death.It stars Jennifer Lopez as Selena.Edward James Olmos and Constance Marie co-stars.It was written and directed by Gregory Nava.This film concentrates on Selena's relationship with her family and her rise to fame, dealing only briefly with her tragic death. Abraham Quintanilla is a veteran musician who leads a family-based singing group, The Dinos. At a young age, he notices that his daughter Selena has a strong singing voice, and he works her into the act. However, as she grows older, Selena wants to establish her own musical identity; while her heritage is Mexican-American, her primary language is English, and her favorite artists are American pop acts like Donna Summer. While Selena and Abraham sometimes argue about the musical direction of the group, he always respects and supports her talent, and her blend of Tejano roots music and danceable pop rhythms soon sparks a revolution in Latin music. Selena later earns the wrath of her father when she becomes romantically involved with Chris Perez, a rebellious and long-haired guitarist hired to play with the group, but when they elope and Selena convinces Abraham that their love is sincere, Chris is welcomed into the family. After a long string of successes on the Latin charts and playing to a sellout crowd at the Houston Astrodome and a crowd of 100,000 at a stadium in Monterey, Mexico, Selena begins recording her first album in English, which is expected to make her a mainstream star. However, the fates decreed it was an album she would never complete.The movie surmounts its connect-the-dots approach to its heroine's life to create an appealing, energetic look at a too-briefly soaring musical star.Also,it is a simple story of hope and triumph, of one girl with the drive to succeed defying the odds and following her dream that could truly inspire the viewer to achieve their goals.Finally,Jennifer Lopez truly shines in her performance in the title role as she elevates the film immensely with her radiant and energetic performance.

This is the heart-felt story of 23-year-old Selena Quintanilla-Perez,played flawlessly by Jennifer Lopez. Selena was a Texas born singer of Tejano music and going from a cult attraction to breaking into an international phenomenon. How factual this film is can be questionable; but very interesting nonetheless.As the rising star was showing brilliance, she was gunned down by the very president of her own fan club in 1995. Shown through flashbacks her father Abraham(Edward James Olmos), a typical stage father/manager, finally realizes how enormously talented and loved his daughter is. There is the extreme closeness of her family, the marriage to guitarist Chris Perez(Jon Seda)and the snowballing success being ended by tragedy(only dealt with via taped news reports). Actual Selena concert footage is used; and this film overflows with music. Enough can't be said of Lopez in her portrayal...she is so enjoyable, lovable and s-e-x-y! Others featured in the cast: Jackie Guerra, Constance Marle, Jacob Vargas, Rebecca Lee Mezza, Alex Meneses and Sal Lopez.

'Selena' tells the fascinating story of the late Selena Quintanilla, the first famous female tejano singer. In her short life, with the support of her parents and husband, the vivacious young Selena lived the dream of every girl. Nava does a fine job of telling the story. He shows us how happy Selena was with her life (even though there were ups and downs) and she lived it to the fullest. In her short 23 years she achieved what would take a lifetime for some. This was a life that wasn't a waste because Selena knew hot to live life.But the best thing about 'Selena' is Jennifer Lopez. Those were the days when Lopez acted her heart out on screen as has also been apparent in 'Out of Sight' and 'Blood and Wine'. Not only that, but Lopez looks stunning. Many prefer the way she looks today but in 'Selena' there's an innocence and honesty about her beauty and this coupled with her natural and spirited performance is a delight to watch. The supporting cast that includes Edward James Olmos, Jon Seda and Constance Marie are all very good too.I loved the way the soundtrack was used in the film and it brings a lot of energy to the story. The cinematography is quite good but I did not like the 3 split screen.Even though we know the tragic fate of Selena, this film reminds us that it's more important to live a big life than a long life. Make full use of what you have and take your chance. That's what Selena did. She was loved by her friends and family and won the hearts of millions. Strongly recommended.