Freddy Rodriguez Movies
Born in the Windy City on January 17, 1975, the prolific Puerto Rican-American thespian Freddy Rodriguez cut his acting chops at Chicago's Lincoln Park High School, where he headlined a number of time-worn stage classics, including The Crucible, Twelve Angry Men, and To Kill a Mockingbird. He married his high school sweetheart, Elsie, and slid effortlessly into a cinematic career soon after graduation, taking his first official onscreen bow at the age of 19, as the younger version of Billy Wirth's prison parolee Terry Griff in the sobering and gritty 1994 drama The Fence. That feature lacked wide distribution and slipped by many, but no matter, for two highly coveted spots in A-list features followed the next year. Rodriguez portrayed Anthony Quinn's son, Pedro Aragon, Jr., in Alfonso Arau's lush 1995 romantic melodrama A Walk in the Clouds, and Vietnam vet Jose in The Hughes Bros.' period piece Dead Presidents, the Menace II Society follow-up about a young African-American man who drifts casually into a crime-infested life in the late '60s.Countless spots in films of equal weight followed, including Can't Hardly Wait (1998), Payback (1999), and Chasing Papi (2001), but Rodriguez made his most enduring mark on the small screen, where he became a familiar face on a number of hit series. He appeared in three 1999 episodes of Party of Five, as Albert, the man who mugs Sarah and later rips her off, despite her vain attempts to befriend him. The spot was short-lived, but productive; the added exposure eventually led to Rodriguez's most prominent role. He entered the mind's eye of cable devotees everywhere by becoming a permanent fixture on the HBO/Alan Ball production Six Feet Under, a jet-black comic series about the Fisher family, proprietors of a Los Angeles mortuary. As Federico Diaz, a gentle, emotionally sensitive mortician-cum-partner, Rodriguez proved popular with audiences and helped to sustain the series throughout its five-year run. He followed this up with yet another minor role, on the Emmy-award winning NBC series Scrubs, as Nurse Carla Espinosa's (Judy Reyes) brother. The part entailed only fleeting, intermittent appearances, but left a memorable impression nonetheless.
Rodriguez temporarily reemphasized his silver screen work beginning in 2006, with tertiary roles in several prominent features. These include Valentin in Poseidon (2006), Wolfgang Petersen's disappointing remake of the 1972 Irwin Allen disaster pic The Poseidon Adventure; Reggie, a character restricted to only using half of his body, in M. Night Shyamalan's seventh feature, Lady in the Water; and a fleeting role as Jose in Bobby, Emilio Estevez's docudrama on the assassination of presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy by Sirhan Sirhan in 1968.
In 2007, Rodriguez returned to television in a recurring role as sandwich vendor Giovanni "Gio" Rossi on the enormously popular Ugly Betty. He stayed on with the show into its third season in 2008, while also starring in and executive producing the holiday comedy Nothing Like the Holidays. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Brought together by a curious twist of fate on a dusty California road, a wandering vintner and a struggling winemaker find both their lives, and their careers, forever transformed at a blind Parisian wine tasting that introduced the world to the extraordinary wines of Napa Valley. The year is 1976, and Napa Valley has yet to gain the reputation as one of world's best-known wine regions. Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) has sacrificed everything in life to realize his dream of creating the perfect Chateau Montelena. Yet despite the fact that Jim's Napa Valley vineyard has great potential, his son, Bo (Chris Pine), doesn't seem to have much interest in the family business. Most days, Jim and Bo can be found trading blows in their backyard boxing ring -- their attempts to knock a bit of sense into one another usually amounting to naught. Meanwhile, in Paris, British expatriate Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) finds necessity dictating that he educate Parisians on the latest wines to come out of California. Steven owns the Académie du Vin, and is eager to travel to the United States in order to ensure that he has conducted his research properly. Little did Steven and Jim realize that they were both on course for a chance meeting that would revolutionize the wine industry while opening up a whole new world of possibilities for wine lovers everywhere. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, (more)
Freddy Rodriguez, John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Alfred Molina, and Elizabeth Peña star in Washington Heights director Alfredo de Villa's earnest family drama about the importance of familial relationships in times of personal crisis. The snow is falling and Christmas has come to Chicago. For the Rodriguez family, there is particular cause to celebrate this year; youngest sibling Jesse (Rodriguez) has recently returned home safe and sound after fighting in the war overseas. But as the members of the Rodriguez family converge on their parent's home, there's a strange sense of tension lingering heavy in the cool winter air. Despite the fact that Jesse is doing his best to get back in the good graces of his old flame, she seems reluctant to forgive him for leaving in the first place. Meanwhile, his older sister, Roxanna, has little to show for time spent chasing her Hollywood dreams, and eldest brother Mauricio (Leguizamo) is married to a high-strung executive who seems more interested in advancing her career than starting a family. But while none of this sits too well with concerned mother Anna (Peña), the bombshell she's about to drop could prove the straw that broke this family's back. When Anna announces to her children that she is planning to divorce their father, Eduardo (Molina), Roxanna, Jesse, and Mauricio instinctively pull together and begin to reevaluate their past while looking at the future in a whole new light. Later, as lingering resentments are let go and weakened bonds are reaffirmed, the Rodriquez family begins to experience the healing power of laughter while discovering that together as a family they are far stronger than they ever could be apart. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddy Rodriguez, John Leguizamo, (more)
Betty Suarez is smart, sweet and hard working. They only problem is that she s not thin and beautiful like all her co-workers at Mode, the high-fashion magazine where she works. The only reason the publisher hired her to be his son s secretary is that he thought Betty was someone who Daniel would never sleep with. Betty s hard work and determination earns Daniel s respect, as she helps him find his way through the shark infested waters of the fashion industry.
- Starring:
- America Ferrera, Eric Mabius, (more)
Maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez details the violent struggle between a ravenous army of zombie-like humanoids who have taken control of the planet and the remaining survivors who refuse to go down without a fight. A dangerous government experiment has unleashed an abominable contamination that turns normal people into murderous mutants. Now, as an infinitely multiplying horde of frenzied psychotics flood the Texas plains, a dangerous outlaw named Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), a sexy stripper named Cherry (Rose McGowan), an unscrupulous smuggler named Abby (Naveen Andrews), and the curiously incapacitated Dr. Dakota Block (Marley Shelton) must try and make their way to the helicopter that could provide their only means of escaping to a place untouched by this nightmarish scourge that threatens to wipe out all of humankind. This nonstop action-horror hybrid originally was released as part of Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's ambitious Grindhouse double bill. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, (more)
- 2007
- R
Kill Bill director Quentin Tarantino and Sin City director Robert Rodriguez join forces to offer a cinematic tribute to the blood-soaked exploitation epics of yesteryear with this hyper-violent coupling of two full-length features punctuated by a collection of outrageous trailers. The first segment, directed by Rodriguez and entitled Planet Terror, details the violent struggle between a ravenous army of zombie-like humanoids who have taken control of the planet and the remaining survivors who refuse to go down without a fight. Freddy Rodriguez, Naveen Andrews, and Rose McGowan headline a cast that also includes Marley Shelton, Michael Biehn, Josh Brolin, Bruce Willis, and Tom Savini. In Death Proof -- director Tarantino's take on such peddle-to-the-metal shockers as White Line Fever -- Kurt Russell stars as an engine-revving psychopath who prefers to take out his beautiful victims at 200 mph. With a list of potential roadkill candidates that includes Rose McGowan, Jordan Ladd, Rosario Dawson, and Vanessa Ferlito, Death Proof takes viewers on an adrenaline-infused drive that's as sexy as it is shocking. Its tantalizing title borrowed from the term frequently used to describe the seedy, 1970s-era inner-city movie theaters that screened excessive, low-budget independent films containing copious amounts of violence and nudity as a means of offering counter-programming to the decidedly more restrained big-budget studio films, Grindhouse takes its love for these unabashedly sleazy efforts one step further by offering a jaw-dropping collection of fake exploitation trailers from such directors as Rob Zombie, Eli Roth, and Edgar Wright. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, (more)
Set adrift in the vast waters of the North Atlantic for a luxury New Year's Eve party staged in the ship's magnificent ballroom, the massive ocean-liner Poseidon receives an unexpected jolt when a rogue, 100-foot wave rolls it completely upside down, forcing the surviving passengers to fight their way to safety in Das Boot director Wolfgang Petersen's waterlogged blockbuster. Trapped beneath the waterline and implored by the captain to remain in place until a rescue team arrives, the panicked survivors struggle to keep their cool as the water begins to rush in, infernos blaze all around, and a loss of electricity plunges the doomed vessel into total darkness. Seasoned gambler Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas) isn't willing to wage his life on the prompt arrival of help, though, and as he attempts to navigate the treacherous, inverted maze of death, he is flanked by desperate band of like-minded seafarers including eight-year-old Conor (Jimmy Bennett) and his mother, Maggie (Jacinda Barrett), reticent stowaway Elena (Mía Maestro), suicidal Richard (Richard Dreyfus), and concerned father Robert (Kurt Russell), whose missing daughter may still be somewhere onboard along with her frightened fiancé. With a little luck and a little help from onboard waiter Marco (Freddy Rodriguez), the desperate team may just live to see the morning after. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, (more)
An unstable Gulf War veteran with a savior complex receives a shocking wake-up call upon returning stateside and accepting a position with the Department of Homeland Security in the directorial debut of Training Day screenwriter David Ayer. Jim (Christian Bale) is a Gulf War veteran who believes his sworn duty to protect his fellow Americans extends to the streets of Los Angeles, and he longs to fulfill his destiny by joining the LAPD. Rejected by the force and left to ponder his future with his impoverished Mexican paramour -- whom he had intended on bringing to the city after joining the police -- the dejected and unemployed veteran is offered a second shot at helping his country when he is subsequently approached by the Department of Homeland Security. As Jim and his unemployed best friend, Mike (Freddy Rodriguez), carve a swath of chaos through the streets of Los Angeles, the weight of their American dream soon comes crashing down in a devastating blow that threatens to dash their high hopes for a bright future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Bale, Freddy Rodriguez, (more)
Twenty-two people become unwitting participants in a tragic and defining moment of the 1960's in this period drama from actor and director Emilio Estevez. It's early June in 1968, and the California presidential primary elections are occupying the minds of many in the Golden State, with Robert F. Kennedy in a close race against Eugene McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey. The Kennedy campaign staff has set up camp at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, while the staff and guests become observers as the brother of fallen president John F. Kennedy sets out to pick up where his sibling left off. Paul (William H. Macy) is the manager of the Ambassador, and his wife Miriam (Sharon Stone) is a hairdresser who runs's the hotel's beauty salon. Angela (Heather Graham) is a receptionist working the hotel's switchboard who has been sleeping with Paul behind Miriam's back. Timmons (Christian Slater) is in charge of the hotel's restaurant and catering department, and makes no secret of his dislike of the African-Americans and Latinos under his employ. Miguel (Jacob Vargas) and Jose (Freddy Rodriguez) are two young Chicanos on the kitchen staff who have it in for Timmons, while Robinson (Laurence Fishburne) is an older black man who counsels them on dealing with their rage. Virginia Fallon (Demi Moore) sings in the hotel's cocktail lounge and has a serious problem with alcohol; her husband Tim (Emilio Estevez) is a Kennedy supporter and also her manager, and he's nearing the end of his rope in dealing with her problem. William (Elijah Wood) is a young man desperate to avoid being drafted and sent to Vietnam; Diane (Lindsay Lohan) is a pretty young woman dating William's brother who agrees to marry him so William can avoid being drafted, though William is clearly infatuated with her while she considers this a marriage in name only. John Casey (Anthony Hopkins) is one of the owners of the Ambassador, and Nelson (Harry Belafonte) is an old friend who works at the hotel. And Jack (Martin Sheen) is a wealthy Kennedy campaign financier who is married to Samantha (Helen Hunt), an attractive but much younger woman. Bobby also features Joshua Jackson, Nick Cannon and Shia LaBeouf as young Kennedy campaign volunteers, while Ashton Kutcher, Joy Bryant, Kip Pardue and Mary Elizabeth Winstead also highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Belafonte, Joy Bryant, (more)
M. Night Shyamalan writes and directs this self-proclaimed, grown-up "bedtime story" about an apartment building superintendent named Cleveland (Paul Giamatti) who discovers a magical sea-nymph named Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) who's been transported to this world and is living in the building's own swimming pool. As this bizarre revelation sinks in, Cleveland becomes enraptured by her other-worldly charm. As he shelters her in his apartment, other inhabitants of the building begin falling into place as representations of characters from an Eastern myth in which these mermaids, or "narfs," co-exist unhappily with more beastly and violent characters. In human reality, the forces of darkness that threaten the heroes of a fairy tale prove to be much more terrifying, and the victory of good over evil is by no means guaranteed. Jeffery Wright, Jared Harris and Mary Beth Hurt co-star, as well as Shyamalan himself, playing the visionary writer Vick. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard, (more)
The Fisher clan suffers, suffers some more, and eventually begins to heal in the fifth and final season of HBO's Six Feet Under. As the season begins, Nate (Peter Krause) and Brenda (Rachel Griffiths) are finally ready to wed after four seasons of tumultuous courtship. But when Brenda miscarries Nate's baby before the ceremony even gets under way, the prospects for their union don't seem particularly bright. Federico (Freddy Rodriguez) and Ruth (Frances Conroy), too, face trouble on the marriage front: Rico as he attempts to win back the love of estranged wife Vanessa (Justina Machado, now a series regular) and Ruth as she cares for mentally ill husband George (James Cromwell). When George's daughter, Maggie (guest star Tina Holmes), arrives in town to help out, she unexpectedly strikes up a friendship with Nate, her stepbrother, whose mood grows dark as his 40th birthday approaches. David (Michael C. Hall) isn't exactly a ray of sunshine, either, as he continues to deal with the emotional fallout of his near-murder the previous season. Then he convinces partner Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) that they should become parents, leading to a whole new cycle of joy and heartache. As for the youngest Fisher, Claire (Lauren Ambrose) drops out of art school and dates Billy (Jeremy Sisto), Brenda's frequently unbalanced brother. When things with her photography career and her relationship go south at the same time, Claire takes a menial office job to support herself. There, she meets Ted (Chris Messina), the Republican lawyer and unlikely love interest who will support her during the unexpected tragedy that brings Six Feet Under to a close. By the end of the show's final episode, the fates of the entire cast have been revealed in a finale as offbeat as it is elegiac. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael C. Hall, Peter Krause, (more)
- 2005
- PG
- Add Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story to QueueAdd Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story to top of Queue
A man and his young daughter face almost impossible odds as they struggle to help an injured horse return to the racetrack in this family-friendly drama. Ben Crane (Kurt Russell) is a horse trainer whose career has gone into a bit of a slump, and after years as his own boss, he's signed on to work for Palmer (David Morse), a breeder whose wealth and success has given him a certain degree of arrogance. While Ben has learned to keep his mouth shut around his boss, he forgets himself when one of his favorite horses, Sonador, breaks its leg during an important race. Palmer insists that the horse should be put down on the spot, but Ben doesn't have the heart to kill the animal, especially since his young daughter, Cale (Dakota Fanning), is in the stands watching. Ben and Palmer have harsh words with one another, and Ben is fired, but is allowed to take Sonador with him when he leaves. Ben has a hard time convincing anyone that the injured horse has any potential, especially his father, Pop (Kris Kristofferson), a fellow trainer who rarely sees eye to eye with his son. But Cale loves the horse, and Ben believes that Sonador can make a comeback with the right care, and together with stable men Balon (Luis Guzman) and Manolin (Freddy Rodriguez), he sets out to put the filly on the road to recovery. As its subtitle suggests, Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story was based on the story of Mariah's Storm, a filly who broke a leg during a race in 1993, but a year later came back to win the Arlington Heights Oaks, and in 1995 won the Turfway Breeder's Cup. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, (more)
A pair of naïve young girls learn that even the most insignificant actions can have lasting consequences in this music-driven take on teen culture starring Anne Hathaway and Bijou Phillips and directed by two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple. Influenced by the hip-hop thug lifestyle and seeking to explore life outside of their insulated, culturally homogenized suburb, pretty young teenagers Allison (Hathaway) and Emily (Phillips) set their sights on East L.A. to experience the "gangsta" lifestyle firsthand. By the time the pair meet some true-life Latino gang-bangers and realize just how far out of their element they really are, it may already be too late to turn back. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The mysterious death of Lisa Fisher (Lili Taylor) -- revealed in the third-season finale, "I'm Sorry, I'm Lost" -- casts a dark shadow across the entire fourth season of this critically acclaimed HBO drama. As funeral director Nate (Peter Krause) grapples with single parenthood and the aftermath of his wife's apparent drowning, he makes his way back into the arms of ex-girlfriend Brenda (Rachel Griffiths). Their reunion does little to help Brenda's budding romance with a hunky neighbor (Justin Theroux), but it does plenty to upset Lisa's grieving family. Meanwhile, David (Michael C. Hall) finds his newfound domesticity with boyfriend Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) interrupted by a surreal carjacking incident. As David slowly cracks up, Keith goes out on the road to provide security for trashy pop star Celeste (guest star Michelle Trachtenberg), who at one point unexpectedly seduces him. Art-school student Claire (Lauren Ambrose), too, find herself batting for the other team when she takes up with audacious performance artist Edie (guest star Mena Suvari). The relationship doesn't last, but ex-boyfriend Russell (Ben Foster) does help Claire stumble upon the new artistic direction that will lead to her first gallery show. Fisher matriarch Ruth (Frances Conroy) slowly gets to know the real George Sibley (new series regular James Cromwell), whom she impulsively married before learning about his history of mental illness. Meanwhile, family man Federico (Freddy Rodriguez) finds his own marriage disintegrating after he gets caught up in an affair with a needy lap dancer (guest star Idalis DeLeon). With its even darker-than-usual storylines, apocalyptic imagery, and shocking revelations, the fourth season of Six Feet Under alienated some fans and critics. Nevertheless, the show remained a strong ratings performer during this slightly shorter, 12-episode run. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael C. Hall, Peter Krause, (more)
A pair of impulsive young men take different paths on the road to maturity in this drama, the first feature film from actor-turned-filmmaker Scott Caan. Rusty (Shawn Hatosy) and Dallas (Caan) are two buddies in their early twenties who live on the rundown underside of Los Angeles; they both have an appetite for alcohol and trouble, and would probably be in jail if it weren't for Rusty's understanding mother, Mary (Kelly Lynch). Mary is worried about her son, and when she begins dating an analyst, Bob (Jeff Goldblum), she persuades him to take Rusty on as a patient. As Rusty begins to work through the demons that have raged within him since the death of his father when he was a child, he begins putting his life on a more positive path. Dallas, however, is drawn deeper into a life of crime, and he wants Rusty to join him for a potentially risky job. Dallas 362 also features supporting performances from Marley Shelton, Selma Blair, Freddy Rodriguez, and Heavy D. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Caan, Jeff Goldblum, (more)
Love and death (and the problems they bring) remain the constants in the third season of the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. In season three, now that Federico (Freddy Rodriguez) has bought a 25 percent interest in the funeral home, the name changes from Fisher and Sons to Fisher and Diaz, and he sees to it that his presence is felt in the business. Nate (Peter Krause) has a series of bizarre and troubling dreams, and his relationship with Lisa (Lili Taylor) becomes strained; he becomes all the more conflicted in his feelings about her when she disappears en route to a visit with her sister. Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) and David (Michael C. Hall) hit a rocky patch in their romance, with the two trying counseling, vacations, and even threesomes in hopes of smoothing things out. Ruth's (Frances Conroy) loneliness manifests itself in not one but two romances. And Claire (Lauren Ambrose) finds her love life becoming quite complicated as she becomes involved with a crematorium employee as well as a troubled fellow student, and must also fend off the advances of a lecherous art teacher. The 13 episodes in the show's third season originally aired between March and June of 2003. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael C. Hall, Mathew St. Patrick, (more)
A man learns the hard way that, when it comes to women, three is more than a crowd in this frantic comedy. Tomas Fuentes (Eduardo Verástegui) is a successful advertising man living in Los Angeles who has a way with the ladies. Almost too much of a way, in fact, since he's currently dating three beautiful women in three different cities: Lorena (Roselyn Sanchez), a bright and attractive lawyer living in Chicago; Cici (Sofía Vergara), a cocktail waitress from Miami with a fiery personality; and Patricia (Jaci Velasquez), a New Yorker looking to get out from under the domineering shadow of her mother. As it happens, all three women are fans of noted television astrologer Walter Mercado, and on his advice, they each decide to take a bold step in their relationships and visit Tomas in L.A. Needless to say, the women are enraged to discover Tomas' rather spectacular infidelity, but that turns out to be the least of his problems after a mixture of booze and tranquilizers lands him in the hospital, a pair of crooks (D.L. Hughley and Freddy Rodriguez) kidnap him, and he discovers Cici and Patricia are wanted by the law. Produced under the title Papi Chulo, Chasing Papi was the first feature film from director Linda Mendoza after an extensive resume of credits in television comedy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roselyn Sanchez, Sofía Vergara, (more)
The second season of HBO's critically acclaimed series Six Feet Under finds the Fisher family struggling to keep Fisher & Sons, their funeral home, from being bought up by Kroehner, one of the leading conglomerates in the local death business. Meanwhile, the Fishers grow exponentially complex: Nate (Peter Krause) is baffled when his relationship with Brenda (Rachel Griffiths) becomes unhealthy, both emotionally and sexually; David (Michael C. Hall) continues his rocky relationship with Keith (Mathew St. Patrick) and slowly comes out of the closet; Ruth's (Frances Conroy) eccentricities keep her from fully realizing a relationship with her family and lovers; and Claire's (Lauren Ambrose) romance with the troubled Gabe (Eric Balfour) takes a turn for the destructive. Meanwhile, the entire family is still reeling from the impact of Nate Sr.'s (Richard Jenkins) death, and some members, particularly Nate, who is coming to terms with a potentially deadly medical diagnosis, are met by what appears to be Nate Sr.'s ghost when their sense of self is at its most complicated. The family is simultaneously rocked and brought together when Nate (Krause) finally reveals the news of his AVM, a rare brain condition which, without a highly risky operation, will likely cause Nate an early death. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael C. Hall, Mathew St. Patrick, (more)
The first season of HBO's critically acclaimed series Six Feet Under starts out with a bang; or, perhaps more appropriately, a crash, as the patriarch of the Fisher family (Richard Jenkins) is hit by an oncoming bus while driving the family hearse. Suddenly, his business -- Fisher & Sons, a family-owned California funeral home -- is left without an owner, and his survivors, of course, are left without a husband and father. The 'sons' portion of Fisher & Sons includes David (Michael C. Hall), who is still closeted after recently having come to grips with his homosexuality, and Nate (Peter Krause), who had left the morbid funeral trade and his anxiety-ridden mother, Ruth (Frances Conroy), for a career as a health-food store manager. Ultimately, his decision to come back and help the family cope with the elder Nate's (Jenkins) death sets the premise for the entire show; it isn't long before he's fully absorbed in the family business, consumed in a relationship with the quirky Brenda (Rachel Griffiths), and serving as a well-meaning, if distant, influence on Claire (Lauren Ambrose), his angst-ridden teenaged sister. In the meantime, the Fishers are individually affected, both directly and indirectly, by the continuous stream of cadavers into their household, which, along with the loss of their father, forces them to grapple with their own mortality and place in the world far more than most people would be prone to do. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, (more)
Philippe Mora's drama Joseph's Gift, adapted from the biblical story of Joseph, stars Freddy Rodriguez as Joseph Kellar. Joseph has long been the apple of his father's eye, making his brothers seethe with jealousy for years. When the father gives Joseph a gift of an expensive coat, the brothers decide to finally act on their base impulses. During a visit to New York City, the brothers strand Joseph and convince their father that Joseph is dead. Cut off from his family, Joseph is forced to start his life over again. Decades later, Joseph confronts his family, and must decide if he will sink to their level, or take the high road. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
A man discovers the lighter side of being hunted down like an animal in this manic comedy. Pestario "Pest" Vargas (John Leguizamo) is a low-rent con man from Miami's South Beach who has fallen deeply in debt to ill-tempered members of the Scottish mafia (complete with kilts). Desperate to raise $50,000 to stave off having his legs broken (and possibly turned into haggis), Vargas takes an offer for a very high paying one day job from Gustav Shank (Jeffrey Jones), a German businessman visiting Florida. However, it's not until later that Vargas finds out what Shank has in mind. The lunatic white supremacist Shank transports Vargas to his island compound, Little Germany, and announces that he will hunt him as wild game. If Vargas can survive for 24 hours, he gets the cash; otherwise, his head will join the others stuffed and mounted on Shank's wall. Can Vargas' speed, agility, and gift for cheesy impersonations save him now? John Leguizamo co-wrote The Pest's original story, loosely based on the classic adventure tale The Most Dangerous Game. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Leguizamo, Jeffrey Jones, (more)
- 1996
- Add Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story to QueueAdd Seduced by Madness: The Diane Borchardt Story to top of Queue
Inspired by a true story, director John Patterson's made for television thriller stars ageing screen siren Ann-Margaret the titular black widow, a deeply-disturbed, part-time Wisconsin schoolteacher who manipulates her students into killing her husband under the false pretences that he is an abusive tyrant who is about to end their marriage and send her packing from their lavish suburban home. The truth, however, is that Diane's husband Ruben (Peter Coyote) is just a regular guy who realized that his marriage was a mistake when his irrationally jealous wife fails to prevent signs of her acute instability from bubbling to the surface. While Ruben staunchly opposes divorce, he is increasingly drawn to the beautiful Claire (Leslie Hope), a married woman who effectively signs his death warrant after luring him into an adulterous affair. Meanwhile, back in study hall, Diane plies impressionable sixteen year-old student Doug Vest (Christian Campbell) with elaborate yarns of abuse and mistreatment, eventually spurring him into action lest she lose everything in the impending divorce. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann-Margret, Peter Coyote, (more)
In this atmospheric romantic drama, Keanu Reeves plays Paul Sutton, who has just returned home from a stretch in the Army during World War II. Still reeling from the horrors of war, Paul wants to settle down and start a farm, but his wife Betty (Debra Messing), whom he met and impulsively married shortly before shipping out, has arranged for him to take a job as a salesman peddling chocolates. While taking a sales trip to another town, he befriends a beautiful but distraught young woman, Victoria Aragon (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon). While away at college, Victoria met and fell in love with a young man and soon became pregnant; however, when her boyfriend discovered she was expecting, he abandoned her. She returns home full of shame and fearful of her father's reaction. But Paul gets an idea -- he'll pose as her husband and leave after a day or two, so when she's left alone with the child, the disgrace will be on him, not her. Victoria agrees, and Paul joins Victoria as she arrives at her family's estate in the California wine country. Most of the Aragon family take to Paul readily enough, especially Grandfather Don Pedro (Anthony Quinn), but Victoria's father, Alberto (Giancarlo Giannini), senses something amiss between the young couple. A Walk In The Clouds was the first American film from director Alfonso Arau, who previously made the international hit Like Water For Chocolate. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keanu Reeves, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, (more)
Albert Hughes and his brother Allen Hughes followed their striking debut Menace II Society with this ambitious look at the social and political lives of the African-American community in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Anthony Curtis (Larenz Tate) is a young man coming of age in the Bronx in 1968. Working two part-time jobs -- one as a milkman's helper and another for local numbers runner Kirby (Keith David) -- Anthony is torn between doing the right thing and trying to get by in a environment that offers few opportunities to young black men. After graduating from high school, Anthony decides to join the Marines, news that is not well-received by his parents, who want him to go to college, or his girlfriend Juanita (Rose Jackson), with whom Anthony recently lost his virginity. After serving a horrific tour of duty in Viet Nam with his friends Skip (Chris Tucker) and Jose (Freddy Rodriguez), Anthony finds himself back home in 1973, where Juanita has been raising the child he fathered before he shipped out, drugs and crime have crippled his community, and honest job prospects are practically nil. Eventually, Anthony falls in with Kirby, Skip, and Jose, who have teamed with Juanita's sister Delilah (N'Bushe Wright), a Black Power activist, and Cleon (Bokeem Woodbine), in a scheme to rob an armored truck taking worn greenbacks ("dead presidents") to a mint to be destroyed. Martin Sheen and Seymour Cassel appear unbilled in small roles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larenz Tate, Keith David, (more)
