René Lavan Movies
A reality television series crosses into deadly territory in this social satire. Patricio (Francisco Reyes) is a television executive who has created a new show, "Baja Tierra," in which a dozen people of different backgrounds and personalities are taken to a remote location high in the Andes, where they'll be kept in an underground holding area while cameras monitor their actions. As Patricio and host Rodrigo (Cristián de la Fuente) watch the proceedings, it becomes increasingly clear they're less interested in the welfare of the contestants than coming up with material that will draw an audience, especially since the show will be airing opposite a major soccer tournament. So far, Patricio is satisfied with the angry outbursts and illicit sexual encounters among his charges, which are attracting a large audience, but things take a disturbing turn when Miguel (Sebastián Layseca), one of the contestants, snaps and begins killing the other players, leaving Patricio to wonder if he should stop the violence or keep giving the viewers at home the violence they want. El Nominado was screened as part of the 2004 Los Angeles Latino Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cristián de la Fuente, Francisca Merino, (more)
Not a sequel, not really a prequel, sort of a remake, more of a re-imagining, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights follows the blossoming love affair of young couple Katey (Romola Garai) and Javier (Diego Luna) against the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution in 1958. Katey is an American girl living in Cuba with her parents who meets Javier, a local. Javier takes Katey to a nightclub where he teaches her how to dance dirty Cuban-style. The two grow closer and closer, but when Castro takes over, Katey's parents decide to flee for the U.S., leaving Katey to make the ultimate decision. Tying the film together with the classic 1987 original is Patrick Swayze who reprises the role of Johnny Castle in a cameo. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diego Luna, Romola Garai, (more)
Based on John Grisham's novel Skipping Christmas, Christmas With the Kranks revolves around Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Luther Krank's (Tim Allen) decision to put their normally fanatical enthusiasm for the holidays aside for a tropical cruise. With their daughter in Peru with the Peace Corps, the Kranks believe it just isn't worth it; thus, no presents, Christmas trees, or decorations of any kind will adorn their house to the great consternation of their neighbor Vic (Dan Aykroyd). Just as it looks like Christmas will be successfully skipped, Blair (Julie Gonzalo) throws a major kink into her plans when she suddenly has a change of heart and announces she'll be coming home for Christmas after all. The film ran into troubles early on in production when Ben Affleck's similar sounding bomb Surviving Christmas won the race to the theaters, forcing the filmmakers to depart from the book title in favor of the catchy Kranks one. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, (more)
Gustavo (Rene Lavan) is an engineering student born and raised in Cuba who strongly believes in his nation's socialist ideals at a time when those ideals are crumbling around him. His girlfriend, Yolanda (Mayte Vilan), dreams of emigrating to Miami and making a life for herself as a professional dancer. His father, Tomas (Miguel Gutierrez), is a respected psychiatrist who he can barely support himself working at a state-run institution; he moonlights as a jazz pianist, where he makes four times his medical salary playing for tips to tourists at a nightclub. And his brother Bobby (Larry Villanueva) is a rock musician whose long hair and defiant posture have made him an enemy of the state and an outspoken opponent of Castro's regime; when yet another of his performances is shut down and his equipment is confiscated by police, Bobby, in an extreme act of protest, publicly injects himself with HIV-tainted blood, making clear that when presented with the slogan of "socialism or death," he would prefer the latter. Azucar Amarga was a highly personal project for director Leon Ichaso, a emigre from Havana who has offered one of the few portraits of Cuban unrest in the 1990s from a Cuban point-of-view. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- René Lavan, Mayte Vilan, (more)
