Rubén Blades Movies

A rookie CIA operative goes on the run with a rogue former intelligence officer after a South African safe house comes under attack by heavily armed mercenaries. Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) is a CIA agent just waiting for the perfect opportunity to prove himself. But that's no easy task when you've been cooped up in an empty Cape Town safe house for a whole year. Weston realizes that a prime opportunity is headed his way, however, when he learns that former agent Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) has been captured after nearly a decade on the run. Frost is about to become Weston's one and only guest at the safe house, and the fledgling agent is determined to handle the situation like a true professional. But by selling U.S. secrets to countries like North Korea, Frost has made more than his fair share of enemies in high places, and shortly after he arrives at the safe house, all hell breaks loose. A small army of gunmen are determined to see Frost dead. Meanwhile, Weston will do everything in his power to protect Frost, regardless of his crimes. Now Weston's only hope for getting out of this alive is to find out who's gunning for them, and seek out someone he can trust before it's too late. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The current wave of kidnappings in Latin America inspired this tense suspense drama. Martin (Jean Paul Leroux) and Carla (Mía Maestro) are a wealthy young couple who, after a night of club hopping, head back to their car to go home. However, three kidnappers -- Bubu (Pedro Perez), Niga (Carlos Madera), and Trece (Carlos Julio Molina) -- are waiting for them; seeing how free they are with their money, the men figure that Martin and Carla should fetch a decent ransom for their release. The kidnappers demand 20,000 dollars to set Martin and Carla free, and Carla's father (Rubén Blades) struggles to raise the cash, with the criminals insisting upon payment in a mere two hours. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

James Redford, the son of actor and filmmaker Robert Redford, made his directorial debut with this independent coming-of-age drama set in the 1950s. After his parents are killed in the wreck of a light plane, young Eddie Haley (Max Madore) is left in the care of his uncle Frank (Stanley Tucci), an emotionally removed man who was once a major in the air force. When Frank decides to take an extended leave of his ranch in Arizona, Eddie is left behind with caretaker Ernesto (Rubén Blades) and his wife, Margaret (Dana Delany), a schoolteacher. Ernesto and Margaret are caring and capable surrogate parents to Eddie, but the boy has grown into a troubled and hot-headed teenager (now played by Ryan Merriman) by the time Frank comes back. As both Ernesto and Frank try to put Eddie back on the right track, the young man struggles with his decisions about his future, his love for his classmate Francesca (Paula Garcés), and some unanswered questions about the death of his parents. Spin was adapted from a novel by Donald Everett Axinn. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Eight of the most renowned artists in Latin music are featured in this release from Beverly Wilshire Filmworks. Quiero My DVD! Latin Magic, Vol. 1 includes "Sonadores" by Julio Iglesias and Plácido Domingo, "Bailame" by Gipsy Kings, "Sopa De Caracol" by Banda Blanca, "Caminando" by Rubén Blades, and much more. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Director Robert Rodriguez returns to the characters of his breakthrough hits El Mariachi and Desperado in this grand scale south-of-the-border action-adventure saga. Sands (Johnny Depp) is a rogue CIA agent who is working in cahoots with Mexican officials who've caught wind of a plan by corrupt military leader General Marquez (Gerardo Vigil) and ruthless drug kingpin Barillo (Willem Dafoe) to assassinate Mexico's president (Pedro Armendáriz Jr.). Sands needs to recruit a gunman to take out Barillo's assassins before they can complete their mission, and through barman Belini (Cheech Marin), Sands learns of El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas), a fabled musician turned vigilante with a remarkable talent for violence, and a score to settle with Marquez. El Mariachi is living quietly in hiding after the death of the woman he loved, Carolina (Salma Hayek), but Sands lures him back into action through the promise of a final showdown with his nemesis Marquez, forcing El Mariachi to retrieve his guitar case (containing a mighty arsenal) and once again do battle against the lawless. Robert Rodriguez not only directed Once Upon a Time in Mexico, but he wrote the screenplay, handled the camera work, edited the film, and composed the musical score. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Leading man Robert Duvall writes and directs his third feature, the romantic thriller Assassination Tango. John J. (Duvall) is an aging hit man who has settled down into family life in New York with teacher Maggie (Kathy Baker). After he is offered a good sum of money, he accepts a job to kill an Argentinean General in Buenos Aires. When he gets there, he finds out he has to wait three weeks to finish the job, so he stays in Argentina and studies the tango. He meets young dancer Manuela (real-life girlfriend Luciana Pedraza making her film debut) and the two become dance partners and begin to flirt with one another. Meanwhile, the assignment lingers. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Director Billy Bob Thornton explores coming of age in this Western based on Cormac McCarthy's prize-winning novel of the same name. John Grady Cole (Matt Damon) and Lacey Rawlins (Henry Thomas) are young Texan men who seek a more fulfilling life as cowboys in the slowly fading Old West, circa 1949. One night, the duo head for Mexico in hope of finding some adventure and employment, and along the way run into Blevins (Lucas Black), an even younger drifter who has supposedly stolen a horse from private property. Begrudgingly, Cole and Rawlins take him under their wing before they eventually find themselves in Mexico, working for a wealthy landowner (Ruben Blades). His stalwart and beautiful daughter Alejandra (Penelope Cruz) develops a romantic interest in Cole, which threatens the friendship between him and Rawlins, not to mention their living quarters, where Alejandra's watchful aunt (Miriam Colon) warns Cole that she has professed allegiance to her. Cole and Rawlins' thrill-seeking adventures with Blevins and the stolen horse catch up to them, however, and they are held prisoners in a brutal penitentiary, where their cowboy instincts are put to the ultimate test. Cole, meanwhile, wants nothing more than to get back to Alejandra and resume their love affair. The film also features Bruce Dern in a small role as a judge who eventually gives much-desired guidance to Cole. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi

The sometimes rocky relationship between art and politics in America in the 1930s -- as well as the gulf between the wealthy and the struggling -- sets the stage for Tim Robbins' ambitious comedy-drama Cradle Will Rock. Pulling together a variety of threads from actual events, Robbins examines the lives and ambitions of a variety of creative mavericks and figures of power. Orson Welles (Angus Macfadyen) and John Houseman (Cary Elwes) are working with Marc Bliztstein (Hank Azaria) to stage the latter's leftist musical "The Cradle Will Rock" for the WPA-funded Federal Theater Project. After Congress cuts funding for the embattled Federal Theater over the perceived leftist slant of their presentations, the project is canceled on the day of its premier. Welles and his cast respond by marching 21 blocks from the theater where the show was to open to another venue where, in deference to Actors Equity regulations, they perform the entire show from the audience. A member of Welles' cast, Aldo Silvano (John Turturro), is a dedicated actor from Italy who is trying to resolve his attitudes about his family, who loyally support Mussolini, to Silvano's disgust. Meanwhile, El Duce's former mistress, Margherita Sarfatti (Susan Sarandon), is consorting with industrial tycoon Gray Mathers (Philip Baker Hall) -- whose wife, Contesse LaGrange (Vanessa Redgrave) is a friend and supporter of Welles' project. Elsewhere, Nelson Rockefeller (John Cusack) has hired expatriot Mexican artist Diego Rivera (Ruben Blades) to create a mural for his projected Rockefeller Center, but the two are soon locking horns over their different views on art, politics and the work at hand. And a ventriloquist fallen on hard times, Tommy Crickshaw (Bill Murray), finds himself trying to teach both comedy and speaking without lip movements to a pair of would-be performers at a WPA-backed vaudeville house. William Randolph Hearst (John Carpenter), Marion Davies (Gretchen Mol), Frida Kahlo (Corina Katt), and Olive Stanton (Emily Watson) are also woven into the tapestry of this historical epic, which premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this final volume of the three-tape documentary Roots of Rhythm, host Harry Belafonte chronicles the rise to fame and fortune of Latin-influenced performers. As in the first two volumes, Roots of Rhythm, Vol. 3: To the Top of the Charts features the performances of some of the leading lights in the field of Latin music including Dizzy Gillespie, King Sunny Ade, the Miami Sound Machine, and many more. ~ Sean Hurley, Rovi

In this first tape of the three-tape documentary Roots of Rhythm, host Harry Belafonte traces the roots of the musical form that has come to be called Latin music. From its origins in Africa and Spain, Belafonte details the evolution of the rhythms that would eventually be carried across the sea on slave ships. Featuring archival clips of early Latin superstars, the video sets the historical stage for a thorough exploration of this passion-filled musical form. ~ Sean Hurley, Rovi

This violent crime drama has its dramatic roots in old spaghetti westerns. It is set in a small southwestern town on the US-Mexican border. The ordeal begins as a lone Frenchman hitchhikes. He is boorish, misogynistic actor Denis Brabant who was dumped there by his lover after he informed her of his wife's pregnancy. Meanwhile, all-around good guy Zac Cross is on a phone trying to convince his lover, Beth, to return to him. Denis asks for a ride. Zac, who is low on cash decides to take him in provided he pay his way. They load up Zac's convertible and set off. Soon they end up entangled with Astor, a drug dealer, and the non English-speaking Mexican girl Nadia, who hit the travelers up for a ride across the border. Along the way, they encounter a variety of self-serving characters. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This comedy, set in the barrios East L.A. is loosely based upon Mark Twain's parable The Million Pound Bank Note. The new version tells the tale of Juan Lopez a nice, but uneducated hombre trying to earn enough money to support his little boy. Though Juan was born in the States, he lacks proper documentation and is sent back to Mexico. Now he sells oranges at an intersection. His life looks hopeless when a limousine pulls up and he is handed an envelope containing a check for one million dollars. He is told that he has one month. If he uses the money correctly he will get an award. Juan is suspicious and takes it to his immigration worker who encourages him to check it out. A Beverly Hills banker almost has apoplexy upon examining the check and Juan knows he has the real thing. Now the good-hearted Juan must avoid the temptations, and the greedy people that suddenly surround him. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Based on the 1989 earthquake that rocked San Francisco, this is the true story of the rescue workers who at their own peril tried to free the people trapped under a collapsed highway. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi