José Zuñiga

When Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) reluctantly moved to the perpetually overcast town of Forks, WA, and set out to carve a niche for herself, she assumed it would be one similar to the low-profile social position she held back in Phoenix. First on the list of surprises was the unfamiliar attention from the male population of her new high school; second, the attention from one male in particular: Edward Cullen, Vampire (Robert Pattinson). Before long, the unlikely soul mates find themselves in a passionate relationship with a variety of significant setbacks, including Edward's special-needs diet (he doesn't eat humans, but Bella's scent inspires a nearly impossible to harness bloodlust) and the human girl's mortality. Though things proceed relatively smoothly at first (Edward even introduces Bella to his adoptive vampire family), a visiting vampire clan consisting of James (Cam Gigandet), Victoria (Rachelle Lefevre), and Laurent (Edi Gathegi) catches Bella's unique scent and threatens the young couple's budding, if dangerous, happiness. James, known for his powerful tracking ability, becomes obsessed with making Bella his next victim. Fearing for Bella's safety and that of her loved ones, the Cullens must combine their collective talents in order to stop the highly predatory James before his goal is accomplished. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

A tightly-knit New Mexico community devoted to God, family, and fresh Mexican food is unexpectedly thrust into the national spotlight when the face of Jesus Christ appears on a tasty tortilla as the owner and head cook prepares for the Sunday lunch rush. Isidor Navarro is the owner and proprietor of Tortilla Heaven - a modest Mexican restaurant located in the remote town of Falfurrias. Though Tortilla Heaven may indeed have the best food in all of New Mexico, the only people aware of the restaurant are the seventy-two other residents who live in Falfurrias. All of that changes one fateful Sunday, however, when the citizens of Falfurrias file into church to pray the Lord's Mass and Isidor steps into the kitchen to make some fresh tortillas. When the dough that morning proves especially hard to handle and Isidor curses the difficult mixture before slamming it down on the grill, the God-fearing cook is suddenly taken aback when the face of Jesus Christ appears on the burnt tortilla. Of course in a tiny town like Falfurrias it's impossible to keep a secret, and the very next day curious citizens are filing into Tortilla Heaven to find out if there is any truth to the rumors concerning a divine flatbread. As Isidor realizes the moneymaking potential of the culinary anomaly and begins to charge admission, worshippers begin to appear from all corners of the state and Tortilla Heaven soon begins to turn a tidy profit. Later, after a series of incredible miracles are attributed to the tortilla, a shady city-slicker named Gil Garcia appears at Tortilla Heaven throwing around such words as "expansion" and "franchising." It doesn't take much for Gil to convince Isidor to sign on the dotted line, and it's only when greed begins to plague the citizens of Falfurrias that the true miracle comes to light. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An ordinary man with an extraordinary gift must save the planet from evil in this action-packed fantasy. Unknown to most people, the world is crowded with spirits both good and evil who walk among us in human guise. One of the few who can see these spirits is John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), but the responsibility of his vision is more than he can stand, and he tries to kill himself. Saved from death, Constantine must now atone for his actions by acting as a guardian in the middle ground between Paradise and Hell. Constantine also makes the acquaintance of Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), a police detective who becomes aware of his unusual gift while looking into the death of her sister; he leads her into the unknown world of the spirits and soon circumstances demand that they join forces in a desperate bid to save humanity from evil. Constantine also features Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormare, and Gavin Rossdale, the latter best known as the lead singer of the rock group Bush. Michelle Monaghan (Made of Honor) was originally in the film (cast as a half-breed demon) but director Francis Lawrence cut her scenes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Aceveda (Benito Martinez) goes over the edge while he's engaged with Sara (Abby Brammell). After another young black woman is found strangled, Monica (Glenn Close) takes Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) off the cop-killer case so that they can interrogate Kleavon Gardner (Ray Campbell) again. Unfortunately, their only witnesses are a husband and wife who seem more interested in attacking each other than in helping the police. While Vic (Michael Chiklis) and Monica interrogate Antwon (Anthony Anderson), Lem (Kenny Johnson), Shane (Walton Goggins), Ronnie (David Rees Snell), and Army (Michael Pena) are in Griffith Park, using the information they got from Pitarrio (Danny Martinez) to find Angie's body, so that Shane and Army will be in the clear, and Vic can really go after Antwon. They can't find the body, though, so Vic has to try to keep the interrogation under control. Lem goes back to Pitarrio to clarify the location of the body, taking his stash of heroin as collateral, but Monica pushes Antwon with leverage she has over his son, and Antwon, distraught, instructs his lawyer to phone in an anonymous tip about the body to the police. Vic is forced to try a new tactic. This was a special 90-minute episode. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

In this dark comedy, a group of retirees wants to save their homes -- but they're not typical senior citizens trying to make the most of their Social Security checks. Four aging former mobsters -- Joey "Bats" Pistella (Burt Reynolds), Bobby Bartellemeo (Richard Dreyfuss), Mike the Brick (Dan Hedaya), and Tony "The Mouth" Donato (Seymour Cassel) -- live in the same rundown Miami apartment complex, the Raj Mahal. New owners hope to clear out the current tenants and replace them with a younger, more lucrative clientele. But the veteran gangsters don't want to move, so to scrape up the extra rent money, they take a job executing the father of a Miami mob boss. They happen to know he's already dead, so all they have to do is make it look like they did the hit. Their problems start when loudmouthed ladies' man Tony tells too much to Ferris (Jennifer Tilly), a stripper, and soon she's talked him into murdering her mother (Lainie Kazan) in exchange for her silence. The Crew also features Carrie-Anne Moss as a detective and Jeremy Piven as a mob kingpin out to avenge his father's death. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this downbeat drama, a reformed criminal finds himself led back to a life of crime. Fresh out of prison, former safecracker Victor Kelly (Christopher Walken) wants to support his daughter Miriam (Vera Farmiga) and Aunt Dierdre (Anne Pitoniak) with his new career in auto repair. But Victor's deep in debt, and he's in no position to say no when he and his Irish gangster cousin Michael (Peter McDonald) hook up with two security guards (Jose Zuniga and (Donal Logue) looking for someone who can open a safe. The Opportunists was written and directed by Myles Connell in his feature debut; the supporting cast includes pop singer Cyndi Lauper as Victor's girlfriend. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An independent romantic comedy, Next Stop, Wonderland (1998) made headlines at the Sundance Film Festival when it became the object of a bidding war, ultimately won by Miramax Pictures to the tune of $6 million. Hope Davis stars as Erin Castleton, a night-shift nurse who's cruelly dumped by her boyfriend Sean (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a political activist. When her mother Piper (Holland Taylor) places a wildly inaccurate personals ad in the local paper, Erin is at first enraged, but then becomes curious. After she dates a variety of men who are all wrong for her, she meets Andre (Jose Zuniga), a handsome Brazilian music expert who invites her to Sao Paulo. Although Erin likes Andre, her Mr. Right is actually Alan Monteiro (Alan Gelfant), a plumber she's never met, though the two keep crossing paths. Trying to break out of his working class existence, Alan is studying marine biology but is indebted to a local mob boss, who wants him to kidnap a star blowfish from the local aquarium. Actress Taylor, the real-life aunt of co-writer, editor and director Brad Anderson, also appeared in his next film, Happy Accidents (1999). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Recalling (but not duplicating) the memorable Miami Vice, this TV drama series focuses on Miami Beach cop Vince Karol (Australian stage actor Marcus Graham). Fired after an adulterous escapade with his boss's wife, Miami Vince becomes a private investigator, remaining in touch with his police pal Freddie (Jose Zuniga) and also getting an assist from his bright attorney friend Sam (Barbara Williams). The basic premise here is that Vince does more than just bag the bad guys; he becomes obsessed with their true motives and inner feelings. Filmed in Miami, the series premiered July 19, 1998 on the USA Network. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Former war hero Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) is sentenced to eight years in prison when he accidentally kills a man in a barroom brawl while defending his pregnant wife. When his release comes through, he's eager to see the daughter he's never met. However, Poe's original flight is delayed, so he's put aboard a flight transporting ten of the most dangerous men in the American penal system to a new high-security facility. One of the criminals, Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom (John Malkovich), is a serial killer and insane genius who has hatched a diabolical plot: with the help of several other hoods, including Diamond Dog (Ving Rhames), Johnny 23 (Daniel Trejo), and Garland Greene (Steve Buscemi), Cyrus and his men will hijack the plane and fly to a neutral nation where they can live as free men. Poe finds himself stuck in the middle; he has to find a way to get home, keep himself alive, look after his cellmate Baby-O (Mykelti Williamson), who will die without proper medicine, and try to help the cops on the ground, including agent Vince Larkin (John Cusack). Producer Jerry Bruckheimer's first film after the death of his partner Don Simpson, Con Air shows he learned well how to assemble the formula all by himself, with plenty of action, stunts, and special effects and not a lot of story to get in the way. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on Carl Hiaasen's satirical novel, Striptease tells the story of Erin (Demi Moore), who has just gotten a divorce from Darrell (Robert Patrick), the sleazy ex-con she foolishly married. However, the judge's memories of Darrell's days as a football hero win him custody of their daughter, and Erin, concerned for her child's safety, is determined to fight the decision. Erin has just lost her position as a secretary for the FBI, so, to cover her legal bills, she takes a job as an exotic dancer at a strip club called the Eager Beaver. While she has no experience taking off her clothes in front of an audience, Erin soon makes friends with the fellow dancers and finds a protector in the club's burly but good-hearted bouncer, Shad (Ving Rhames). She also makes a few fans among the regulars at the club, most notably David Dillbeck (Burt Reynolds), a drunken lout with a bottomless appetite for sleaze -- who also happens to be a conservative congressman with ties to right-wing religious groups. One of Erin's admirers snaps a photo of her with the congressman when a brawl breaks out at the club, and he suggests that it would make fine blackmail material. However, when the man with the photo turns up dead, Erin discovers that Dillbeck's people play a bit rougher than she expected. The home video version of Striptease contains two minutes of footage that was clipped from the theatrical release in order to win the film an R rating. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Paul and Jamie Buchman (Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt) have decided to hold off telling everyone that Jamie is pregnant until the couple can make a formal announcement at their Thanksgiving dinner. This plan is undermined by a number of "security leaks" in the office of gynecologist Joan Golfinos (Suzie Plakson). The ending offers six degrees of surprises thanks to an unheralded guest star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Brooklyn cigar shop is the setting for this drama from director Wayne Wang that interweaves the stories of several characters that have fractured family relationships in common. Harvey Keitel is Auggie Wren, poetic owner of the Brooklyn Cigar Company, a store that he considers the center of the world -- a place where all of humanity eventually parades through. One of his regular customers is Paul Benjamin (William Hurt), a writer and a broken shell of a man whose pregnant wife was shot and killed near the store. When Paul's life is saved one day by a young black man named Rashid (Harold Perrineau, Jr., the writer and his rescuer strike up a friendship and begin searching for Rashid's long-lost father (Forest Whitaker). At the store, Auggie is surprised by the appearance of Ruby (Stockard Channing), an ex-girlfriend who informs him that her pregnant, drug-addicted daughter Felicity (Ashley Judd) may also be his -- and is in dire need of help. Screenwriter Paul Auster based the script for Smoke on a 1990 short story he wrote for "The New York Times." He also wrote and directed the film's sequel (of sorts), Blue in the Face (1995). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

The birth of the gay rights movement gets a fictionalized treatment in this drama based loosely on the acclaimed documentary of the same name by Martin Duberman. In 1969, Matty Dean (Fred Weller) arrives in New York City's Greenwich Village hoping that life there will provide the sexual liberation forbidden to him by his small town upbringing. Matty falls in love with LaMiranda (Guillermo Diaz), a cross-dresser who introduces him to the regulars at the infamous Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar. He is shocked, however, to learn that the NYPD regularly raids the Stonewall, harassing the clientele and closeted owner Vinnie (Bruce MacVitte). After one such incident, Matty ends up in jail, where he's attracted to Ethan (Brendan Corbalis), a gay activist preaching a moderate policy of conformity and peaceful protest. The latter is not possible, however, when police storm the Stonewall yet again and, led by Vinnie's lover Bustonia (Duane Boutte), enraged drag queens fight back in a riot of historical significance. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide