Juan Fernandez Movies

Carmen Elias and Susi Sanchez star in director Juan Carlos Claver's drama exploring Spain's "social danger" laws through the story of two lesbian lovers whose relationship is marred by tragedy. As the film opens, middle-aged Elvira is saved from a suicide attempt and charged with the murder of her longtime lover Pilar. As Elvira's memories come flooding back, the viewer is transported the early 1970s, when young teachers Elvira and Pilar first fell in love. When Pilar's mother discovers that her daughter is involved in a lesbian relationship, she sends the frightened girl to an asylum where electroshock therapy is employed to "cure" her perversion. Though forced to endure year after tormenting year of psychological reconditioning, Pilar clings to her love of Elvira as her only true happiness. Years later, Pilar and Elvira are reunited. But Pilar is different now, and after years of abusive treatment by misguided doctors, her relationship with Elvira seems destined to end in tragedy. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Antonio Cuadri's Eres Mi Héroe (You're My Hero) stars Manuel Lozano as Ramon, a 15-year-old who is going through a rough period of growing pains while adjusting to his new school in Seville. He becomes involved with the school's disciplinary system when he chooses to fight with the boy who has been bullying him. The death of Franco ends up playing an important part in the film's conclusion. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A doctor's past comes back to haunt him in an unexpected way in this modern variation on the classic tale of Faust. Dr. Fausto (Miguel Angel Sola) is a respected oncologist whose career has practically taken over his life; he has no wife or children, and he's barely aware of the fact his beautiful assistant Julia (Najwa Nimri) is obviously in love with him. One day, Fausto finds himself so overwhelmed with his wildly stressful career that be begins pondering suicide as he waits for a train, only to be interrupted by Julia, who brings him the briefcase he left at his office. After boarding his train, the distraught Faust encounters Santos Vella (Eduard Fernandez), who introduces himself as one of Fausto's former patients; after Fausto removed his stomach and informed him that he had but three months to live, Vella opted to stop seeing doctors and ignore their advice -- and he says he's been feeling fine ever since. Despite Vella's contemptuous attitude towards modern medicine, he is both friendly and grateful to Fausto, and insists on giving the doctor a ride after a taxi breakdown leaves Fausto stranded. From then on, Fausto finds he can't get rid of his new friend, no matter how hard he tries -- everywhere he goes, Vella is close behind, and when Faust declares that he needs female companionship instead, Vella arranges for Fausto to spend the evening with Marta (Irene Montala), a prostitute who proves to be similarly unavoidable. Fausto 5.0 was the first motion picture directed and produced by members of La Fura, an acclaimed Spanish theater troupe. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Sex, drugs, lies and betrayal form the basis of this gritty crime thriller that centers on two white guys, Pooch and Big Boy, lifelong friends who decide they want a piece of the local drug trade action in their old neighborhood. They end up being distracted by aspiring-model and pathological-liar Eva, who involves them in an increasingly kinky menage-a-trois that results in jealousy between the friends. Still the two, with the help of their pal Juanito, are getting close to having total control and will be able to make a proposition to the mob behind it all. Unbeknownst to the others, Pooch is working as a spy for the police, but toward the end, he is undecided about whether he should help them, or help himself. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Scriptwriters Robert Malcolm Young, Sue Grafton and Stephen Humphrey transposed the Agatha Christie story Sparkling Cyanide from its veddy British locale to the plush environs of Pasadena for this 1983 TV-movie adaptation. Leading character Anthony Andrews is still a Briton, mingling with the rich and famous. Seeking glamour, Andrews finds only depravity and death as several of the glitterati drop dead due to poisoned champagne. The motives are the oldest and most reliable: avarice and jealousy. Sparkling Cyanide was filmed at the same time as Caribbean Mystery, another Christie adaptation utilizing the same producer, director and scenarists. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A cop teams up with the former head of a drug cartel to avenge the death of the woman he loved in this action-drama. Sean Vetter (Vin Diesel) and Demetrius Hicks (Larenz Tate) are a pair of DEA agents who think they've made the bust of a lifetime when they capture 'Memo' Lucero (Geno Silva), a multi-millionaire drug lord who controlled most of the narcotics traffic along the border of Mexico and the United States. However, with Lucero behind bars, a new and decidedly more dangerous underworld kingpin rises to take his place, and Diablo (Timothy Olyphant), also known as Hollywood Jack Slayton, soon proves to be even more dangerous than Lucero when he orders his gunmen to assassinate Vetter. While Vetter escapes unharmed, his wife is killed, and Vetter is thrown deep into despair. Now Vetter is obsessed with bringing Diablo to justice, and he's willing to do anything to bring him down -- even if it means teaming up with Lucero. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this action thriller, a group of Islamic terrorists, led by Nagi Hassan (David Suchet), highjacks a 747 jetliner with 400 passengers aboard, but Lt. Col. Austin Travis (Steven Seagal), a United States intelligence agent, is convinced that this isn't an ordinary case of air piracy. His suspicions are soon confirmed; Hassan's men have obtained a large cache of stolen Soviet nerve gas, and they are using the 747 to smuggle the deadly gas into the United States, where they intend to use it to wipe out Washington D.C. and possibly the entire East Coast. As the jet approaches the U. S., engineer Dennis Cahill (Oliver Platt) designs a plan in which a military plane will be able to transfer U.S. soldiers onto the 747 and regain control of the plane and its deadly cargo. However, when Travis dies in the course of the mission, intelligence agent Dr. David Grant (Kurt Russell) is forced to take his place alongside explosives expert Cappy (Joe Morton), commando Rat (John Leguizamo), and stewardess-turned-anti-terrorist Jean (Halle Berry). Executive Decision was the first directorial assignment for veteran film editor Stuart Baird; he cut the film as well. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A group of mobsters fight for control in this satirical comedy-drama. Vic (Richard Dreyfuss) is a not-especially-stable crime boss who -- following a spell in a mental hospital after being diagnosed with schizophrenia -- is sent home and is ready to resume his place as supreme leader of the mob. Mickey Holliday (Jeff Goldblum), Vic's enforcer and right hand man, is trying to get everything squared away for Vic's return, which may complicate his personal life, since he's been having an affair with Vic's girlfriend Grace (Diane Lane), as well as her sister Rita (Ellen Barkin). While Vic has been away, a number of other gangsters have been squabbling over who will take control of his territories, including Jake Parker (Kyle MacLachlan), Jules Flamingo (Gregory Hines), and Jacky Johnson (Burt Reynolds). However, it's the seriously eccentric Ben London (Gabriel Byrne) who turns out to be Mickey's and Vic's most potent rival as the various gangsters shoot it out over who gets what piece of the pie. Inspired in part by the "Rat Pack" crime flicks of the 1960s -- such as Ocean's Eleven and Robin and the Seven Hoods -- Mad Dog Time (also released under the title Trigger Happy) was written and directed by former actor Larry Bishop, son of Rat Packer Joey Bishop, who pops up in a small role. Larry's co-star from Wild in the Streets, Christopher Jones, appears in a supporting role as a gunman; it was his first film appearance since Ryan's Daughter in 1970. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Chappy Sinclair enlists the aid of a team of wild air show pilots after he discovers that a Peruvian drug lord has set up shop in a small village. The fly boys make off with a fleet of World War II vintage aircraft in an effort to drive the drug dealers out of business, but they come up against a former Air Force comrade of Sinclair's, who is part of the illegal operation. ~ Rovi

Elmore Leonard's brittle novel is brought to the screen in this adaptation by director Abel Ferrara and screenwriter James Borrelli. Peter Weller plays George Moran, a Miami hotel owner who in times past fought in Santo Domingo during the American intervention into that country. George finds himself drawn back to Santo Domingo to try to find a woman who had given him the moniker of Cat Chaser. Instead of the woman he is looking for, George finds Mary (Kelly McGillis), and as it comes to all men, George ends up having a passionate affair with Mary -- so passionate, in fact, that Mary announces to her husband Andres (Tomas Milian) that their marriage is over. Unfortunately for Mary and George, Andres, who at one point in the past was the head of the Santo Domingo secret police, has other ideas concerning the dissolution of their marriage. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Once again, Charles Bronson plays a renegade cop out for vigilante justice in the darkest heart of the urban jungle. This time, he is targeting an especially ruthless pimp who has been leading innocent young girls into prostitution. When the pimp kidnaps the beautiful daughter of a Japanese businessman, rapes her and forces her to begin streetwalking, the cop decides to let nothing, not even the law, stop him from bringing the slimeball to graphically violent justice. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

While Salvador wasn't Oliver Stone's first film (a pair of offbeat horror stories preceded it), it defined his style of fiercely dramatic, politically oriented filmmaking, staked out his territory as one of the major directors of the 1980s and 1990s, and remains one of his strongest works to date. Veteran photojournalist Richard Boyle (James Woods) has been taking his camera to the world's trouble spots for over 20 years; while he does good work, Boyle's fondness for booze and drugs, and his colossal arrogance, have given him a reputation that's left him practically unemployable. Broke and with no immediate prospects, Boyle and his buddy Doctor Rock (Jim Belushi), an out-of-work disc jockey, head to El Salvador, where Boyle is convinced that he can scare up some lucrative freelance work amidst the nation's political turmoil. However, when Boyle and Rock witness the execution of a student by government troops just as they enter the country, it becomes clear that this war is more serious than they were expecting. Increasingly convinced that El Salvador is a disaster starting to happen, Boyle eventually decides that it's time to get out; but he has fallen in love with a woman named Maria (Elpidia Carrillo), and he doesn't want to leave her behind. James Woods gives one of his best performances as Boyle; and the passion of Stone's message, aided by the power of its truth (the film is based on actual events), propels the film forward. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi