Cynthia Cidre Movies

Best described as Dallas with a Latino flavor, the CBS drama series Cane dealt with a wealthy and powerful Cuban-American family, the Duques, who ran a luctrative rum-and-sugar business in South Florida. Sensing that he wasn't long for this world, patriarch Pancho Duque (Hector Elizondo) began making arrangements to turn over his business to a younger member of the family--but which one? The two leading contenders were Pancho's oldest biological son Frank (Nestor Carbonell) and his adopted son Alex (Jimmy Smits), who in his own sly-and-cunning way was the series' "J.R." character. As Frank and Alex fought tooth and nail over control of the Duque empire, Frank indicated a willingness to sell out to the rival Samuels family, if for no other reason than he was having an affair with Ellis Samuels (Polly Walker). Alex resisted the notion of a sell-out, not only out of loyalty to his adoptive father, but also because he was married to Pancho's biological daughter Isabel (Paola Turbay), making him son and son-in-law all in one! Befitting his status as the series' "hero-villain", Alex handled his business and personal affairs with equal ruthlessness, especially when it came to his dealings with his own son Jaime (Michael Trevino), who in the earliest episodes was being pressured to stay in college, though he himself was torn between joining the Army and making a commitment to his girlfriend Rebecca (Alona Tal). Cane premiered on September 25, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

New York art dealer Arne Glimcher took his first crack at film directing with this florid, high-energy romance about two brothers who flee Cuba in the early 1950s to make it as musicians in the United States. Cynthia Cidre wrote the literate screenplay adapted from Oscar Hijuelos's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. Cesar (Armand Assante) and Nestor Castillo (Antonio Banderas) are popular musicians on Havana's club circuit, but when they make enemies of the wrong people, they are forced to leave for New York City, the moody Nestor leaving behind his true love. In New York, the brothers work as meat-cutters during the day as Cesar tries to organize a band and make inroads into the lively New York music scene. Soon, as The Mambo Kings, they get club bookings and Cesar falls in love with a sharp-tongued cigarette girl, Lanna Lake (Cathy Moriarty), and Nestor with the beautiful Delores Fuentes (Maruschka Detmers), who wants to be a teacher. Cesar concentrates on singing and managing the band, while Nestor plays the trumpet and writes emotional songs of love. All seems to be going well until Cesar antagonizes the moneymen on the Latin nightclub circuit and they finds themselves playing bar mitzvahs. But after they're discovered by Desi Arnaz (Desi Arnaz Jr.), the group is prominently featured on I Love Lucy. Their popularity soars and they cut a successful album called "Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love." Cesar is glorying in his success, but Nestor is disappointed and longs to return to Cuba. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

To escape from the boredom of her small-town life, Sunday School teacher Candy Morrison (Barbara Hershey) engages in an affair with a fellow churchgoer. When his wife Peggy learns about the relationship, she attacks Candy with an axe; after a struggle, Candy kills Peggy, hitting her 41 times with the axe. In the resulting trial, her plea of self-defense is examined. This TV-movie is based on a true story. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide