Latino Movies

Brazilian filmmaker Aluizio Abranches, who garnered international attention with his debut feature Um Copo de Colera, directed this audacious and idiosyncratic crime thriller. When she was a young woman, Filomena Capadocio (Marieta Severo) had pledged to marry Firmino Santos Guerra (Carlos Vereza), but she opted to call off the engagement and instead wed Borges Capadscio, one of his greatest enemies. An angry Santos Guerra swore to someday take vengeance against Filomena, but waited thirty years to make good on his promise, when arranged for the cold-blooded murder of Filomena's husband and two sons. Distraught, Filomena brings together her three daughters -- Maria Pia (Luiza Mariani, Maria Rosa (Maria Luisa Mendonca) and Maria Francesca (Julia Lemmertz) - and tells them of her plan to avenge these deaths of her men. Each of the sisters is given the name of a different hired killer, and each is to arrange for the death of one of the men responsible for the slayings. Maria Pia has to free Jesuino Cruz (Wagner Moura) from jail so he can perform the hit, Maria Rosa must convince a usually honest cop (Tuca Andrada) to turn to the wrong side of the law, and Maria Francesca has the assignment of tracking down the crazed Ze des Cobras (Enrique Diaz), who likes to feast on snakes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this reteaming of actor Antonio Banderas and director Robert Rodriguez -- their first film together since the 1995 feature Desperado -- Banderas plays Gregorio; he and devoted partner Ingrid (Carla Gugino), comprise the greatest pair of secret agents working. Both are masters of disguise and have the ability to prevent wars, but eventually they want to settle down and begin raising a family. Nine years later, after retiring and giving up the lives of super-spies, Gregorio and Ingrid find themselves at the call of duty again when techno-genius Fegan Floop (Alan Cumming) and his insidious, ruthless sidekick Minion (Tony Shalhoub) have plans for world destruction. The only hope for Gregorio and Ingrid are their children, Carmen (Alexa Vega) and Juni (Daryl Sabara), who are called upon to save their missing parents, eventually learning their former identities. The film also features Cheech Marin, Robert Patrick, and Danny Trejo. In the summer of 2001, five months after Spy Kids had become a major box office success, an expanded edition was released, featuring several minutes of footage not used in the film's original cuts (including special effects sequences that couldn't be completed within the film's original budget). ~ Jason Clark, Rovi

A dignified mother who is about to become the recipient of some very bad news unexpectedly turns the tables on her recently laid-off son in director Santiago Carlos Oves' award-winning family drama. Jaime is a family man whose wife and two children mean the world to him. His 82-year-old mother has always taken pride in her independence, and when Jaime and his wife Dorita purchase an apartment for Jaime's mother, the aging woman couldn't be happier. Unfortunately Jaime has recently been laid off by his company, and in order to maintain the payments on his beautiful house and support his family, Jaime realizes that he will have to sell the apartment in which his mother currently resides. Upon breaking the news to his mother, however, Jaime soon finds that his own revelation is just the tip of the iceberg, and that dear old mom has some pretty shocking news of her own to share. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Fans of man-eating midgets, incompetent criminals, and violent ex-luchadors will find plenty to cheer about in director Alejandro Lozano's vibrant and comedic thriller that was awarded "Favorite Movie," "Favorite Actor," and "Most Bizarre Sex Scene" at Mexico's 2006 MTV Movie Awards. Oscar Cabos is a wealthy entrepreneur who is well known for his violent temper. When two men kidnap the unconscious Oscar as another team of criminals embark on their own quest to capture the despised millionaire, the chaos that erupts leads all involved on a wild chase through the streets of Mexico City. Highly stylized and endlessly energetic, Lozano's non-stop joy ride is certain to appeal to Quentin Tarantino fans and lovers of extreme international cinema alike. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Join legendary comic Cheech Marin as he returns to the stage alongside an all-star collection of the hottest comics on the stand-up circuit in this release of a hilarious performance captured live on stage in March of 2006. Originally aired on Comedy Central in an abbreviated, thirty-minute format, this release presents the uncensored, hour-long performance just as it was meant to be seen. Absolutely nothing is sacred when Marin and friends set their sights on the most outrageous aspects of Hispanic and American culture, and from the east coast to the west coast, everyone is sure to find something to laugh about as Marin makes his historical return to stand up comedy. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Season One of confrontiational comedian Carlos Mencia's weekly Comedy Central rantfest The Mind of Mencia begins as guest star Peter Boyle helps Mencia read his voluminous hate mail, generated by the star's willingness to attack everyone and anyone whom he regards as a racist hypocrite; Carlos also takes time out to skewer the racism inherent in ordinary road signs. Next up, the host literally smashes obsolete technology (corded phones, audio cassettes) with the help of the hammer-wielding "Mini- Gallagher". Then, "Judge Carlos" hands down harsh sentences to stupid people and conducts a search for the last white family in the barrio. West Hollywood's gay community is in for a thrashing the following week; and then, "Carlos the Dinosaur" educates his kiddie fans about the real world and goes around harrassing people who aren't working. And Rapper Method Man joins Carlos the following week for an in-depth discourse on the "N" word. Also: Holidays are "redefined" in racial terms in an episode with Gene Simmons, in which Mencia also waxes Freudian about What Women Want. Next up, the first "Dee Dee Dee Awards" and a session with the studio audiences saying whatever they &@#*ing well please. This is followed by a segment of "Why The **** is this News?" (Shark attacks in the ocean? Where ELSE?) and a tutorial on tattoos. The following week focuses on a deadly competition between the Wetbacks and the Crackers in the Biker Build-Off. Hurricane Katrina is grist for Mencia's mill in the next episode along with an "Ask Whitey" segment. Then's its off to visit Carlo's brother Joseph and revel in his "loco" DVD selections. The season ends with some "Best Of" moments and the living ghosts of Episodes Past--not to mention guest star Ryan Seacrest,who apparently never says "no"to anyone. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Argentine filmmaker Fabian Bielinsky makes his directorial debut with this taut crime thriller about a stamp and con artists on the make. The film opens with low-rent hustler Juan (Gaston Pauls) trying to scam the workers in a convenience store when Marcos (Ricardo Darin) steps in to arrest him. In truth, Marcos is veteran con himself and the two split the money after fleeing the scene. Soon after, Marcos asks Juan to be his partner in a series of small-time jobs. When one of the men gets a message from his sister, the two head to the tony hotel where she works. There they try to pull off a big con that was initially planned by an aging criminal too ill to do it. The swindle centers around a fantastically accurate forgery of a rare stamp called the Nine Queens. As the two doggedly try to set up the deal, mobsters and the like learn of the job and try to horn in. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

The director of the enigmatic, entirely memorable feature Man Facing Southeast confronts viewers with another exhuberantly metaphysical movie in Ultimas Imagenes del Naufragio. In the story, Roberto (Lorenzo Quinteras) is a man whose inner life has gone dead. He has no interest in his job (selling life insurance) or his family. About the only thing that interests him is his writing, but he currently has writer's block. When he sees a lovely young woman on the verge of throwing herself in front of a train, he can't help himself: he has to stop her. It turns out that the woman, Estela (Noemi Frenkel), is only slightly addled: she is a prostitute who uses this rather dramatic technique to pick up men. Interested in her as a character for his novel, he accompanies her home. At one point, the ghosts of her dead relatives get on the bus they are traveling on, but she refuses to speak to them so as to avoid having to speak about her father. Once Roberto gets to her home, he finds it to be a hot-bed of odd characters. Attracted by them to participate in life once more, even if that life is very peculiar, he visits them more and more frequently, and is fired from his job and abandons his wife. Estela has a very personal relationship with Jesus, and seeks his advice on how to get Roberto to notice her as a woman. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The Spanish/Argentinian Of Love and Shadows (De Amor y Sombras) is a fragmentary adaptation of the Isabel Allende novel of the same name. The scene is Chile, during the dictatorial Pinochet regime of the early 1970s. Journalist Jennifer Connelly, insulated from the truth and enjoying the romantic favors of Army officer Camillo Gallardin, prefers to turn a blind eye to the political turmoil all around her. She changes her attitude abruptly when she falls in love with charismatic self-styled anarchist Antonio Banderas. The grim realities depicted in the Allende novel are soft-pedalled in favor of the Connelly-Banderas love story-which, truth to tell, doesn't play very well on screen. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Eduardo Mignogna's comedy drama Cleopatra tells the tale of friendship between two women who need to reevaluate their lives. Cleo (Norma Aleandro) is having a mid-life crisis. Her nearly four-decades-old marriage is wilting as her husband is becoming an alcoholic after being out of work for two years. Her grown sons have little meaningful contact with her. She works as a teacher, but must sell makeup door-to-door in order to survive. Remembering her dreams of becoming an actress, she auditions for a new television show. While at the audition, she meets Sandra (Natalia Oreiro), a soap opera actress who is chaffing under the control of her manager/husband. The pair escape together and go on a road trip in which Sandra falls in love and reconciles with her family, while Cleo grows to accept where she is in life. Cleopatra was screened at the Montreal Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A taxi driver and a failed actor accept an underworld job that could make them rich in this madcap crime comedy from director Antonio del Real. Down-on-his-luck Augusto drives a cab for a living, and his best friend, Julio, just can't seem to land any good roles. When a local crime kingpin offers the pair one million euros to execute a daring crime, Augusto and Julio eagerly accept. With Augusto's senile father-in-law, a beautiful hooker, and the girl of Julio's dreams along for the ride, Augusto and Julio must carry out their mission before a vengeful group of local drug dealers catchs wind of the plan and puts the pair out of business permanently. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi