Armando Hernandez Movies
Carlos Cuarón, who co-wrote the script for his brother Alfonso Cuarón's breakthrough hit, Y Tu Mamá También, makes his feature directorial debut with Rudo y Cursi. The film also reunites the stars of the earlier film, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, and is the first release from the production company Alfonso started with Guillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu, Cha Cha Chá. Rudo y Cursi depicts the changing relationship between two brothers who become soccer stars. Beto (Luna), the goaltender, is nicknamed "Rudo" because of his hard-nosed style of play, while Tato (Bernal), a forward, gets the nickname "Cursi" for his flamboyant goal celebrations and his flashy lifestyle. They both start out picking bananas in remote Tlachatlán, where they share a devotion to their mother. Then Batuta (Argentinean comic Guillermo Francella), a charmingly shiftless professional scout, happens by. He can only sign one of the brothers, so they battle it out on the pitch to see who gets his break. Instead of throwing the match to his brother as plan, Tato scores a goal and is on his way to stardom. He's more interested in becoming a pop star than a soccer star, but when he meets Maya (Jessica Mas), a famous TV hostess he's dreamed about for years, he begins to enjoy the trappings of fame. Meanwhile, resentful Beto waits for his chance. When he finally gets his break, he leaves his disapproving wife, Toña (Adriana Paz), and his kids to sneak off to Mexico City. The brothers' fortunes rise and fall, with Tato distracted by a demanding girlfriend and a hopeless singing career, while Beto deals with marital strife and a serious gambling problem. Rudo y Cursi had its New York Premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, (more)
Writer/director Christopher Zalla authored and helms the contemporary post-noir thriller Blood of My Blood. The film concerns Juan, a ruthless and conniving ex-career criminal who tries to escape his past by hopping a truck transporting illegal immigrants from Mexico to the Big Apple. Over the course of his journey, Juan meets and befriends Pedro, a sweet but illiterate Puebla native -- long-estranged from his father, Diego -- who harbors a strong desire to make contact with his dad and holds a letter of introduction from his mother to help him accomplish his goal. The naïve Pedro falls into the clutches of the sociopathic Juan, who promptly wins his confidence, then rips off all of his belongings during the night and attempts to steal his identity, plotting to fallaciously present himself to Diego as the gentleman's son. The film then cross-cuts between the story of each man (one desperate, the other slick and arrogant) as they each seek out food and shelter and comb the city for the man in whom they see a chance to establish a secure future. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jorge Ádrian Espíndola, Armando Hernandez, (more)
Two strangers' lives intersect in shocking and cataclysmic ways in La Sorpresa, Oscar Gonzalez's explosive tale of infidelity, passion and revenge. The story begins simply, with a man heading home to see his wife after a lengthy trip; he catches a cab, and speaks openly and candidly to the driver about his beloved spouse. Returning the favor, the cab driver then describes his own love, a young woman rebounding from a broken and contrite heart. Lo and behold, the women turn out to be one and the same, which pits both men head-to-head against one another, and sets the stage for virulently ugly conflict. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luis Fernando Peña, Maya Zapata, (more)
Inspired by author Eric Schlosser's New York Times best-seller of the same name, director Richard Linklater's ensemble drama examines the health issues and social consequences of America's love affair with fast food and features an all-star cast that includes Greg Kinnear, Ethan Hawke, Kris Kristofferson, Patricia Arquette, and Luis Guzman. Mickey's is the most popular fast-food chain in America, and The Big One is the top-selling burger that put them on the map. When the higher-ups at Mickey's corporate offices learn that the frozen meat patties used to make the wildly popular burger have somehow been tainted with contaminated meat, they send marketing executive Don Henderson (Kinnear) on an urgent mission to ensure quality control and find out precisely how their product became compromised. It's a long way from the Southern California boardroom to the immigrant slaughterhouses, though, and the further Henderson works his way through the bustling feedlots and toward the ubiquitous restaurant sites that have become a staple of modern culture, the more he begins to realize just how dangerous convenience can become when it leads to blissfully ignorant complacency. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patricia Arquette, Bobby Cannavale, (more)
- 2006
Javier Fox's drama Fuera del cielo (AKA Beyond Heaven, 2006) spans a 24-hour period. It begins at 6am with young Cucú, who is greeted by the return of his brother Malboro after a five-year separation. The brothers unite and embark on a long journey to the locales inhabited by their relatives, and wrap at 6am the following morning. The theme of Fox's film is "orphanhood," not in the literal sense (where children lose their parents to death) but in the abstract sense - the sense in which individuals can easily fall out of touch with their family ties. That estrangement brings to Cucú and Malboro a sense of social disconnectedness that causes a great deal of inner pain, pain they must strive to overcome. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Demián Bichir, Armando Hernandez, (more)
