Action & Adventure

Filmed in two weeks on a budget of 7,000 dollars, El Mariachi was one of the singular pleasures of the 1993-1994 movie season. Kind-spirited guitarist El Mariachi (Carlos M. Gallardo) simply wants to wander through life as his father and grandfather did, with a song in his heart and a smile on his lips. He wanders into a small mob-run town, guitar case in hand. It so happens that the local criminal element is awaiting the arrival of vicious hit man Azul (Reinol Martinez), who is well known for carrying his weapons in...a guitar case. Just when you think you've got a lock on what's going to happen next, director Robert Rodriguez throws us for a loop, unexpectedly alternating whimsical comedy with graphic violence. Rodriguez later retooled the plot of El Mariachi for his far more expensive (and far less satisfying) Antonio Banderas vehicle Desperado (1995). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Temporada Salvaje (also title Savage Season) is the tale of three criminals who attempt to steal a huge amount of platinum. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Police Captain Balbuena (Mario Almada) is taken off the case when he uncovers police involvement with notorious drug smugglers in this action drama. When he loses his job, Balbuena gathers a group of outlaws to go after the gangsters. El Loco Ordonez (Jorge Luke) is recruited to lead the vigilantes after the captain and his family are gunned down. The feature contains effective slices of comedy and violence and is a good action programmer. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Carlito's Way is a tale of a former hood trying to escape his former life. Al Pacino is Carlito Brigante, a high-level Puerto Rican drug dealer sprung from a three-decade jail sentence after only five years, thanks to a technicality and his sleazy, cocaine-addled lawyer, Dave Kleinfeld (Sean Penn). Carlito renounces his previous ways and takes a job as the manager of a club that Kleinfeld has invested in, planning to save enough money so that he can eventually move to the Caribbean. But no sooner is Carlito back on the streets of New York than his old life claws at him in the form of both old partners (Luis Guzman) and vicious up-and-comers (John Leguizamo). Nevertheless, Carlito stays clean and even restarts his relationship with a dancer named Gail (Penelope Ann Miller), until he is finally led astray by Kleinfeld, who manipulates Carlito into participating in the murder of a Mafia don from whom Kleinfeld has stolen a million dollars. At that point, the race is on to see whether Carlito and Gail can escape his world for good. The film is based on two novels about Carlito written by New York State judge Edwin Torres. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

An unlikely pair of outlaws take to the highway and become criminal folk heroes in this satiric comedy. Jose (Hector Alterio) is a 70-year-old anarchist who deposited $15,000 in a bank 20 years ago and wants to withdraw the money; however, he doesn't have the paperwork, and the bank staff keeps giving him the runaround. So he takes drastic measures: he arrives at the bank one day with a gun, and, pointing the pistol at his head, he announces that he'll blow his brains out if he doesn't get his money. Pedro (Leonardo Sbaraglia), a 23-year-old clerk working at the bank, is unhappy with his job and his life, and he impulsively announces that Jose has taken him hostage; they end up leaving the bank with $500,000, and they hit the road with both cops and reporters following their trail. Jose and Pedro seem like an odd team at first, but friendship and respect grow between them as they travel the backroads, spending some of the money, handing some of it out to poor people along the way, and sending occasional videotaped messages to the media. They also pick up a woman named Ana (Cecilia Dopazo), whose tough demeanor is intimidating but fits the situation perfectly; Pedro soon finds himself attracted to her as she joins in their low-level crime spree. Caballos Salvajes was the debut feature from Argentinean director Marcelo Pineyro, who became one of the most acclaimed young directors in South America on the basis of this and his second film, Cenizas del Paraiso. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

One of the finest filmmakers of Spain, Mario Camus turns his lens to a joyful and sad period of Spanish history in this historical drama about one man's struggle for a better life towards the end of the 18th century. Onofre Bouvila (Olivier Martinez) is a young man who has not had much luck in his short life. His father abandoned the family to make his fortune in Cuba and the boy grew up in misery with his suffering mother. Now grown up, he decides to make it in the big city and arrives in Barcelona on the eve of the Universal Exposition of 1888. He is immediately attracted to his landlord's beautiful daughter, Delfina (Emma Suarez), who has other plans for him. While the city is drowning in poverty and disease, the criminal gangs are having a field day. Onofre's attempts at finding a job fail. He is thrown out of his lodgings for lack of money to pay the rent. Just at that moment, Delfina appears with an answer to the problem. She puts him to work distributing revolutionary pamphlets for her anarchist organization to the workers at the Exposition. The relationship between the two young people soon turns into a passionate one, but a violent encounter with the police brings back unpleasant memories of the domestic misery Onofre left behind. He realizes that politics will not help him in his quest for fortune, which was the reason he came to Barcelona in the first place. The only thing standing in the way of social climber Onofre is his deep love for Delfina, and he is caught between ambition and love. La Ciudad de los Prodigios (The City of Marvels), which is based on Eduardo Mendoza's best-selling novel, was in competition at the 1999 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

Daniel Calparsoro's Guerreros is set in the Balkans in the wake of the ethnic conflict between the Serbs and the Kosovo Albanians that prompted NATO military intervention in 1999. A group of young Spanish army engineers is stationed in a Kosovo village to help the Albanians recover from the war's devastation. The unit is sent on a mission to restore electricity to a small town in hostile territory, but their operation is derailed when they get caught up in the fighting between Serb and Albanian paramilitaries. Struggling to stay neutral, the peacekeepers find themselves fighting for survival as they scamper around the Balkan countryside searching for a way back to headquarters. Their descent into the quagmire of ethnic fighting tests the limits of their idealism and underscores the moral complexities posed by humanitarian intervention. This polished actioner screened at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Elbert Ventura, All Movie Guide

The debut feature film from director Will Harper, this action picture finds Mexico in the grips of a group of no-good drug dealers. Luckily, one man has what it takes to go up against the cartels and return the country to the people. Starring Vincent Klyn, Blair Valk, and Ronald G. Joseph, Mexican Blow has also been released as The Warrior. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

When the leaders of a drug trafficking operation clash with the criminal masterminds of a rival outlaw enterprise, the explosive showdown that follows will have rattled viewers ducking gunfire in this two-fisted action thriller starring Alfredo Gutierrez. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The legendary Mexican hero returns to the screen in this swashbuckling sequel to the 1998 box-office hit The Mask of Zorro. It's 1850, and the people of California, eager to improve their difficult lot in life, have launched a campaign to become part of the United States. Don Alejandro de la Vega (Antonio Banderas) has become aware of a plot by moneyed Europeans to block the campaign for statehood through nefarious means, and it looks as if Alejandro's heroic alter ego, Zorro, may have to return to duty. However, Alejandro's wife, Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones), has grown weary of his secret life, and she demands that he choose between his family and his clandestine career as a champion of the people. This leads to a rift between Alejandro and Elena, and the couple separates, with Alejandro moving out while Elena continues to care for their son, Joaquin (Adrian Alonso). A few months later, Alejandro finds that Elena is already being wooed by Armand (Rufus Sewell), a suave French nobleman who wants her hand in marriage. However, Alejandro also learns that Armand is actually part of a plot to prevent California from attaining statehood by tampering with an upcoming election; meanwhile, there may be more to Elena's involvement with Armand than romantic courtship. Zorro must come to the rescue of the people of California and perhaps his beloved Elena as well before they both fall into dangerous hands. The Legend of Zorro was directed by Martin Campbell, who performed the same duties on The Mask of Zorro. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An abandoned Uruguay community rails against Hollywood's purchase of an antique locomotive in this comedy drama from sophomore director Diego Arsuaga. Despite the locals' joy over the sale of the train, the Friends of the Railroad Association views the purchase as the selling of an important part of the town's rich history. In a last-ditch effort to sabotage the sale and keep their beloved locomotive, the group hijacks the train and attempts a daring escape to Brazil. With the police in hot pursuit, the daring feat inspires new hope in a town who lost their connection with the outside world when the train stopped running years ago. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The action oriented crime film La Banda del Antrax concerns a former cop named Amezcua who now works on the other side of the law. As he orchestrates the kidnapping of a wealthy man, he comes head-to-head against Solis, a cop who was responsible for Amezcua leaving the force. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide