Pedro Armendariz, Jr. Movies

Jon Seda, Alison Eastwood, Paul Rodriguez, Ed Begley, Jr., and Karen Black star in writer/producer/director David Siquerios' fish out of water comedy following a conservative half-Mexican, half-Caucasian businessman as he attempts to navigate a foreign land that he could have called home. The year is 1994. California Governor Pete Wilson has just signed the proposition that drove a sizable wedge between Mexicans and Americans. Into this catastrophe wanders Richard Macedo (Seda), an average businessman of mixed heritage who's about to get lost in Mexico. Can Richard survive one night in this close but strangely foreign land, or has he been so Americanized that he's forgotten what it means to be a true Mexican? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A pair of scientists have their beliefs shaken while studying a holy relic in this inspirational drama. Jose Maria (Aleix Albareda) and his sister Mercedes (Ivana Miño) are archeologists who have been given a grant to study the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in which Juan Diego (José Carlos Ruiz), an ordinary man living near the hill of Tepeyac, saw a vision of the Virgin Mary in December of 1531. The apparition urged Juan to build a house of worship on the hill; he approached a bishop, Father Juan de Zumarraga, with the news of his vision, but the holy man was wary of Juan's story and demanded further proof. The Virgin returned to Juan and urged him to gather a bouquet of winter roses to present to the bishop; when he did, the petals fell on the bishop's apron, leaving behind an iconic portrait of the Virgin. Jose and Mercedes are eager to determine how much of this story has a basis in fact and how much is fiction; they travel to Tepeyac to study the artifacts of the legend firsthand, but their study has an impact upon them that neither had expected. Guadalupe was produced to coincide with the 475th anniversary of the Guadalupe apparition, and was created with the participation of leading members of the Mexican Catholic clergy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

John Sayles' Casa de los Babys tells the tale of a half-dozen American women who travel to Latin America in order to pick up their adopted children. They all stay at the same motel while they each wade through the bureaucracy. Sharing with each other their fears, hopes, dreams, and frustrations at the thoughts of becoming mothers comprises the majority of the drama in the film. The cast includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, Daryl Hannah, Marcia Gay Harden, Susan Lynch, Mary Steenburgen, Lili Taylor, and Rita Moreno. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A priest discovers the path of virtue can be steep, and temptation can demand a heavy price, in this controversial drama from Mexico. Father Amaro (Gael Garcia Bernal) is a young Catholic priest whose mentor, the Bishop (Ernesto Gomez Cruz), expects great things from him. However, like all priests, Amaro must first be assigned where he is needed most, which leads him to the small rural community of Los Reyes, where Amaro is to assist Father Benito (Sancho Gracia). To his shock, Amaro discovers Benito is hardly following Holy Law -- he's having an affair with Sanjuanera (Angelica Aragon), a woman who runs a local restaurant, and he's been helping a drug dealer launder his profits in exchange for large donations to the church, which Benito feels is justified as the funds are being used to build a hospital and orphanage for the poor. Amaro is disgusted with Benito's actions, but he soon discovers his own weaknesses when he falls in love with Amelia (Ana Claudia Talancon), Sanjuanera's teenage daughter. As Amelia finds herself falling for Amaro, she breaks off her relationship with Ruben (Andres Montiel), a reporter. Ruben responds by publishing a story which reveals the details of Benito's dealings with the drug dealers; Benito in turn tries to lay the blame at the feet of noble Father Natalio (Damian Alcazar), whose work with local peasants has been wrongly interpreted as supporting armed revolutionary factions. As Amaro tries desperately to distance himself from the growing scandal, he receives shocking news from Amelia when he learns she's pregnant with his child. The Crime of Father Amaro's portrayal of corruption within the Catholic Church led to an outcry from Catholic organizations, both in Mexico and the United States, where they attempted to organize a boycott of the film. However, the tactic failed in Mexico, where the controversy helped to boost ticket sales, making it the highest-grossing Mexican film ever in its native country. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A lonely man's search for companionship soon takes him to dangerous and unexpected places in this erotically charged drama. Luis Antonio Vargas (Antonio Banderas) is a successful coffee salesman living in Cuba in the 1880s. Luis has had little luck finding love among the women of his native island, and he sends away to America for a mail-order bride. To his pleasant surprise, his fiancée from the United States, Julia Russell (Angelina Jolie), turns out to be not only beautiful but passionate and devoted. But Luis' happiness proves to be short-lived when he learns that Julia is not the person he imagined her to be, and detective Walter Downs (Thomas Jane) appears, trying to get to the bottom of Julia's mysterious past and possibly deadly secrets. Original Sin is based on the novel Waltz Into Darkness by Cornell Woolrich, which Francois Truffaut previously adapted for the screen as La Sirene du Mississippi. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Tres Mujeres involves the complicated love life of a mother and her two daughters. Greta, the mother, has had a long marriage but still carries a torch for the man who first won her heart. Daughter Barbara's family life seems perfect, but the family bonds are straining under her intense desire to have another child. Fatima is preparing to marry a man who is cheating on her. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

While films about polygamous men who don't bother telling their wives about their other wives are not uncommon, those concerning polyandrous women doing the same thing are rare. This featherweight romantic comedy from Mexican director Jaime Humberto Hermosillo is one of those films. Esmeralda is passionate about life and simply has too much love in her heart to be monogamous. She is just about to marry her sixth husband, a student named Pedro, when one of her other five husbands calls the police and she is arrested. She tells her story to the stern judge Solorio, and her reasons for marrying each husband are revealed in flashback. It doesn't take long for the judge to become as enchanted by her as the others. Like other Hermosillo films, this one is filled with inside-jokes for film buffs. For example, one of Esmeralda's husbands is a gay man masquerading behind the marriage to appease his overbearing mother. This is a direct reference to Hermosillo's Doña Herlinda and Her Son. In the story's final segments, the director pays tribute to Gene Kelly's famous dance scene from Singing in the Rain via the song "Amorcito Corazon." ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Greed and playing into the hand of providence provides the focus of this Mexican comedy adapted from a novel by Jorge Ibarguengoitia. Marcos, an architect, has just returned to the home of his wealthy uncle Ramon after squandering his money in Mexico City and subsequently finding himself falsely accused of a crime. Although he is flat-broke, he conceals this from Ramon, telling him that he has returned home to buy a local gold mine. Marcos finds the lies come easily as begins trying to induce his uncle to fund his endeavor. Irascible Ramon, who likes Marcos for his similar love of drinking and smoking is duped, but Ramon's sons are not fooled by Marcos. To them he is a threat, and they fear he will be placed in the will. Soon all of them are trying to out-manipulate each other. Even Ramon, who is not as innocent as he appears is involved in the mayhem. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A high-energy action adventure based on legend rather than historical fact finds Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) desiring to retire from law enforcement. With brothers Virgil (Sam Elliot) and Morgan (Bill Paxton), he arrives in Tombstone, Arizona intending to build his fortune. He discovers that long-time friend Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) is there and that the town is run by a group of brutal outlaws called the Cowboys. Earp, frustrated with his laudanum-addicted wife, begins a romance with traveling stage actress Josephine Marcus (Dana Delany). Meanwhile, the Cowboys terrorize the citizens of Tombstone unchecked.

When the town marshal is killed by a Cowboy, Earp steps in to prevent a lynching by an angry mob. He also refuses to hand the killer over to his fellows, beginning the enmity between the Cowboys and the Earp brothers. Virgil, overcome with guilt at doing nothing to help the Tombstone citizens, accepts the position of town marshal. With Wyatt and Morgan as his deputies, and the help of Doc, Virgil attempts to arrest several Cowboys, resulting in the famous OK Corral shoot-out. The Cowboys take revenge by ambushing two of the brothers and injuring Virgil and killing Morgan. The Earps leave town, apparently cowed. Wyatt returns, wearing the badge of a U.S. marshal, vowing to destroy every last Cowboy. He hunts them mercilessly, until the leader, Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) challenges Wyatt to a duel. While not regarded as an artistic masterpiece, "Tombstone" is considered the best of director George P. Cosmatos' prolific films. The all-star cast (including Thomas Haden Church and Billy Bob Thornton in small roles) delivers solid performances. Both William A. Fraker's cinematography and Bruce Broughton's stirring musical score are expertly designed for dramatic effect. Blood is shown liberally in several key scenes, but seems intended to show that there is nothing glorious in Wyatt Earp's actions, only necessity. He and his deputies take on the symbolism of the horsemen of the apocalypse -- dispensing judgement, and the Biblical references form a symmetry at the beginning and end of the film.
~ Lucinda Ramsey, All Movie Guide

It may come as quite a surprise to people living elsewhere that Mexico (and Mexico City in particular) has a small but thriving Jewish community. In this story, set in the 1960s, the daughter of Ladino-speaking immigrants from Turkey is attempting to cope with their very conservative attitudes towards young women, and her own desires for her life. They believe that the only career for a girl is marriage, whereas she wants to be an artist, and doesn't care about being a bride. A compromise is briefly achieved when she announces her engagement to a Jewish boy who is a doctor, but the conflict resumes when she calls it off. Meanwhile, she has a friend who is the daughter of Eastern European Jews: her life is much freer, but she, too, is able to shock her parents. In her case, the shock is that she has become romantically involved with a gentile boy who is active in liberal political circles. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Gustavo may be the only one of Greta's relatives who will put up with her, but to his credit (and despite numerous provocations), he is a loyal nephew to this lively, demanding and uncomfortable woman. At first she is sleeping in her nephew's childrens' room, but her erratic sleeping habits disturb the youngsters and the family moves her into a maid's room near the roof of their house. Greta wants to be helpful; she washes dishes after meals from time to time, but breaks a great many of them. She also tries to pass messages along when she answers the phone but forgets them or messes them up. When she breaks a leg while running for the bus, the amount of care she needs is almost more than the beleaguered family can manage. Luckily, she has an old friend who is better situated who says that she wants to take care of her for the company she can provide. Greta blossoms in her new freedom and even undertakes an autumnal romance with an attractive old man named Pascual. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide