The filmmakers of American Sons, producer Laura Varela, along with producer and director Andrew Gonzales, skillfully use the video diaries of Corporal  Jorge “JV” Villareal, the young Marine who did not return, which he recorded for his family in San Antonio, Texas. Those diaries serve as the storyteller’s voice of day-to-day life during his tour of duty in Afghanistan; he tragically did not survive.

The film is skillfully edited into a bookend, non-linear, fractured structure that goes from the video diaries to ten years after, with his surviving Marine brothers sharing their thoughts about J. V., their struggles trying to reconnect back into the “real world”, and tender scenes of his family recalling memories of their son, JV Villareal.

The various emotional and haunting testimonials by Villareal’s brothers in arms, spoken in frank,  intimate streetwise vernacular about their PTSD, isolation, alienation, and hopelessness, often rise to the level of working-class, urban free verse poetry. There’s an eloquent urgency to their authenticity that echoes the pain of servicemen from past conflicts and foreshadows what may be awaiting those serving in the military now.

The overarching truth of American Sons is in its honoring and celebration of those generations of men and women who have given us so much and all too often received so little in return.

American Sons also underscores and reminds us of the tremendous contributions and historic participation of Latinos in the U.S. armed forces since the days of the American Revolution to the present.

It is an honorable legacy of our heritage that Latinos are the most decorated ethnic group in the long and storied annals of American military conflicts.

The story of JV Villareal and his Marine brothers in American Sons is an important chapter in the book of that proud history.

American Sons is a co-production of Infinite Warrior LLC, Latino Public Broadcasting, and Black Public Media. Major funding by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and additional support by the Jacquie Jones Memorial Fund. This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Additional funding is provided by Bexar County and the City of San Antonio Arts and Culture.

American Sons premieres on PBS on Monday, January 12. Check local listings for time.

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In 2015, six women from La Cantera, a community in the municipality of Guanajuato, established a civil association called MAYOYE. They discovered that the water in their area was radioactive and joined forces to investigate the cause of several girls suffering from a particularly aggressive form of cancer. Their efforts led them to uncover the radioactive contamination of their water supply, which they believed contributed to the deaths of three girls within just one year. This experience transformed them from leading ordinary lives into dedicated activists.

Brother and sister filmmakers Alfredo and Isabel Alcántara chronicle the long, determined, and inspiring struggle of these Mexican women as they confront the patriarchal bureaucracy in their quest for answers in the PBS documentary Age of Water.

The film, shot in the classic cinema verité style, features no celebrity voiceover, narration, or musical score to enhance the dramatic narrative. The story is told simply through the eyes, voices, and faces of all the characters involved, moving the narrative from one act to the next, employing basic storytelling structures and minimal editing.

The collective efforts of the women of La Cantera underscore a long tradition of Mexican women in the vanguard of social justice movements dating back to the 19th century in their fight for education and political participation, their valiant efforts in the Mexican Revolution, events for women’s suffrage, and Chicana feminism and against gender violence.

Mexico now has the distinction of electing its first woman president, Claudia Shinebaum, who has implemented policies to address some of the environmental issues facing Mexico.

Clean water, climate change, and other pressing environmental issues continue to be topics of interest for Alfredo and Isabel.

Unfortunately, our current US administration has gutted the EPA standards for clean water and cleaning up the pollution that contaminates our water system.

Pity, they could learn much from the resolute Mexican women of Lan Cantera and the Age of Water documentary directed by Alfredo and Isabel Cantarra.

The Age of Water is streaming on PBS.org until December.

The post REVIEW: Documentary: ‘The Age of Water’ first appeared on .

I’ve been watching Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain and Pati Jinich Explores Panamericana with mixed feelings. I am on record as being an unapologetic, gushing fan of director, actor, producer, and Latina superstar, Eva Longoria. I followed her through Mexico in her Searching for Mexico series on CNN. If she did a series titled, Eva Longoria: Searching for Lint in Her Coat Pocket, I’d watch it because I’m a diehard fan.

Pati Jinich, best-selling cookbook author and TV host of PBS’s long-running, popular series, Pati’s Mexican Table is another favorite of mine. Jinich has a great on-screen persona, but is there any Latina TV personality who looks more like a gringa than Pati Jinich but sounds more Mexican than she does? I enjoy her infectious charming curiosity  when she ventures out finding new Mexican cuisines.

But so far for my personal Mexican taste buds, Eva and Pati have encountered mostly ho-hum cuisines on their very different food journeys

The historical and gastronomical fact is we Mexicans took Spanish food stuffs; beef, pork, lamb, flour, rice manteca, and citrus and other fruits, incorporated them into an already outstanding diet and turned it into the world’s most popular and delicious cuisine. I don’t see people lining up for tappas and sangria. But you can find snotty, stuck-up Parisians in France eating tacos from Mexican food trucks (holding them incorrectly) and foregoing their overrated wine for good Mexican beer.

¡Hay Dios Mio! We even improved the language they gave us! Who can understand the Catalan Spanish that comes out of the mouths of Spaniards with that lisp, cotton balls  in their mouths, dropping the “S” off the end of words, jamming words together and shooting them out in rapid machine gun bursts of nouns, vowels, and verbs.?

We Mexicans modified, moderated and improved the pronunciation of Spanish so that Mexican-style Spanish is the foreign language of choice to learn and despite what Trump says, it is the “official” language of most of America and the world.

Eva for the most part, seems to be living la vida loca in Spain, but occasionally she puts on a brave face when she is offered unappetizing Spanish food.  But she smiles graciously, takes a small bite, swallows and washs it all down with glasses of wine.

Meanwhile Pati, up in the frozen tundra of North Alaska and The Yukon and living the vida of Nanook of the North, suffers eating seal fat, moose meat and other Alaskan delicacies. Although she has been treated to some delicious Alaskan salmon, crab and other seafood treasures, Pati has also  bravely tasted unappetizing  items like seal fat, whale blubber and moose meat with her typical grace and humor.

Surprisingly, Pati has found Latino culture and people up in the frozen tundra of the Great White North.  Eva, for her part, has taken us back to the Mothership of all Latin American countries and reminded us of the Arab, Middle Eastern and African culinary, cultural and musical influences that flourished in Spain for centuries and were brought to us buy the Spaniards during The Conquest.

But what both these two food / travelogue programs emphatically demonstrate is the influence and global dominance of Hispanic culture that came to Mesoamerica from Spain, took root there and blossomed into the worlds’ most vibrant, colorful and delicious cultural expression.

Gore Vidal once characterized the grater Southwest, but especially the Tex Mex Border from El Paso to Brownsville, as The Occupied Territories.

How about if Eva and Pati team up and do a Latina Lewis & Clark type exploration of The Occupied territories on their next food / travelogue series? They will certainly encounter a helluva lot tastier food and easier to understand Spanish.

Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain – Sundays at 9 PM ET On CNN

Pati Jinich Explores PanaAmerica – PBS, Check for Dates and times

Streaming on Amazon Prime video 

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In movies like Avatar and Guardians of the Universe, just to name a few, Zoe Saldana has solidified her creds as a lethal action / adventure hero superstar who happens to be Latina. And now on the heels of her powerful dramatic performance in Emilia Perez (and the girl can dance and sing, too), which has garnered her many award nominations, Saldana puts both acting / action talents in violent, harmonic, full blown display on Lioness.

Saldana plays Joe, the head of a top-secret special op unit called “Lioness.” Their top-secret CIA mission is to insert a female asset (a lioness) into terrorists’ cells and make high value targets in the cell vulnerable and exposed, at which point, Saldana’s team “terminate” the target with “extreme prejudice.”

Saldana and her team are salty, earthy, hardened, experienced warriors and they all drop more “F” bombs in one episode than all the bombs dropped  on Germany, Japan and Vietnam combined. The shootouts are nail-biting bullet blazing scenes with Saldana relishing all the action, almost to a fault.

Her life is complicated by a marriage and family she is neglecting to fulfil these dangerous missions.  Saldana finds herself torn between duty and family. She’s a flawed, adrenaline- driven, emotionally conflicted person. Saldana plays it beautifully in a compelling, riveting performance.

“Lioness” is the name of the special ops program and the female asset to be inserted in a terrorist cell. But it also perfectly describes the fierce persona of Zoe Saldana in this pulse-pounding, Latina character-driven, action, thriller hit Paramount+ Original TV series.

Lioness streams on Paramount+, Hulu and other streaming platforms.

Stars:  Zoe Saldana, Laysla De Oliveira, Dave Annable, Jill Wagn

The post Zoe Saldana a Ferocious Force of Nature on Paramount+ TV Series ‘Lioness’ first appeared on .

Emilia Perez starring Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascón and Selena Gomez, is a gender-bending, genre-busting, phantasmagorical, operatic, hyper theatrical, electrifying crime and redemption melodrama.

Saldana plays Rita Mora Castro, an attorney tasked with negotiating a sex change operation for Manitas Del Monte, an arch drug cartel criminal . In a dark, unsettling scene, we meet the mobster with Gascón eerily portraying Del Monte in heavy prosthetic make-up.

Del Monte is born again as Emilia Perez. She tries to make up for her previous evil ways by helping  grief-stricken Mexican citizens find loved ones who have disappeared, often at Manitas’ hands. It’s a nice try, but sometimes redemption is a bridge too far.

Emilia Perez is a powerful Latina centric film. Saldana showcases her singing and dancing talents. Gomez, as Jessi, Manitas’ clueless spouse, gives a surprisingly strong and tough performance proving she has the acting chops for more demanding dramatic roles. Gascón shines in the dual role of Manitas and Emilia.

 The three leads, Saldana, Gascón and Gomez all shared a Best Actress Award for their performances in the film at the Cannes Film Festival. They will all get Oscar nominations. Hopefully, they won’t cancel one another out.

Writer / director Jacques Audiard will, no doubt, be considered for an Oscar for Best Director, as well as the movie for Best Picture. Could this, at long last, finally be the year Latinos make their too often overlooked and snubbed presence known at the Academy Awards? Hope so, otherwise the Academy will be on the receiving end of an acid drenched “WTF were you thinking? ¡Fideo Loco! blog from yours truly.

Emilia Perez is streaming on Netflix.
Director: Jacques Audiard
Cast: Karla Sofía Gascón , Zoe Saldana , Selena Gomez , Adriana Paz , Edgar Ramirez
Running time: 2 hr 10 minCast:  

The post REVIEW: ‘Emilia Perez’: Can Changing Your Body Change Your Soul? first appeared on .

Film The Gray Man

Genre: Action, Thriller

Directors: Anthony russo, Joe Russo

Writers: Joe Russo, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely

Cast:  Ryan gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Billy Bob Thornton, Jessica Henwick, Dhanush

REVIEW

Fact: Behind every bad ass white guy is an equally bad ass Latina. When the CIA’s most skilled operative code named Six, played by Ryan Gosling (La La Land, Dune) inadvertently uncovers dark agency secrets a nutso evil looney tunes former colleague, Lloyd Hansen, played with demonic over-the-top glee by Chris Evans (The Avengers, Captain America: Civil war) puts a bounty on Six’s head setting off a world-wide manhunt by international assassins.

But coming to protect Six’s head as well as his “six” (behind) is Agent Dani Miranda played by Ana de Armas (Knives Out, No Time to Die). Miranda is every bit as capable and tough an agent as Six which is handy since the two get involved in more furious, fever-pitched gun battles with Lloyd’s hired goons than the Marines in the Battle of Okinawa in World War II. Fortunately for Six and Miranda the paid pistoleros are either myopic or just terrible shots because despite all the firepower aimed at Six and Miranda, they never seem to hit anything and come off looking more like the Keystone Kops than stone-cold killers.

The Gray Man is one of those large-scale action-adventure movies that is meant to be seen in a theater with appropriate booming deafening sound system. But now that The Gray Man is streaming on Netflix in order to fully appreciate the powerful visual impact of the film the bare minimum of a 60-inch flat screen TV with surround sound is required to get the full effect.

However, no particular screen size is required to enjoy watching Ana’s exploits as Agent Miranda in The Gray Man as she shoots, fights, kicks but and escapes danger side-by-side with Six as they battle the seemingly overwhelming and endless killer, heavily armed enemy forces of Lloyd Hansen. Ana de Armas is on the verge of becoming a superstar in Hollywood. Her star power gets closer and closer to supernova brilliance with every movie.

Ana de Amras has proven her acting versatility in different genre films like Blade Runner 2049 and Knives Out. She was the “Bond” girl in No time to Die and soon will be seen in Netflix’s highly anticipated biopic of Marilyn Monroe, Blonde. The Gray Man is a crowd-pleasing high-octane action-adventure movie that could turn into a franchise like The Bourne Identity or Mission Impossible which will give us the pleasure of watching Ana de Armas’s future exploits as Agent Dani Miranda either in the theaters or on a streaming platform near you.

Producers: Chris Castaldi, Jeff Krischenbaum, Mike Laroca

Production Company: AGBO

Distributor: Netflix

Available: Netflix

Rating:

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Film: The Valet

Genre: Comedy, Romance

Director: Richard Wong

Writers: Bob fisher, Rob Greenberg, Francis Veber

Cast: Eugenio Derbez, Samara Weaving, Max Greenfield, Betsy Brandt,  Carmen Salinas, Amaury Nolasco

REVIEW

A Mexican character actor puts on a Master Class in light comedy.  The Valet, a sweet, charming romantic comedy becomes the perfect vehicle to showcase the comedic acting talents of Eugenio Derbez (Acapulco, CODA). Derbaz plays Antonio, a parking valet for a swank Beverly Hills restaurant. His life takes a convoluted turn for the weird when a beautiful movie star, Olivia, played by Samara Weaving (Ready or Not, Guns Akimbo), talks Antonio into posing as her boyfriend to cover up her relationship with a married man. Antonio is offered a lot of money for the gig and he needs it, so he agrees.

This theme of a famous  gorgeous female superstar celebrity getting romantically involved with a regular guy was used successfully in the hit movie, Marry Me with Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson and sadly all too briefly in the short-lived TV series, The Baker and the Beauty featuring Victor Rasuk and Natalie Kelley. In all three stories the Hollywood star is transformed by her relationship with her  “down to earth” working-class romantic interest. In The Valet, Olivia not only is smitten with the irresistible good-natured charms of Antonio, but also finds herself accepted into his Mexican family, especially by his mother, Cecilia, played by the late veteran Mexican actress, Carmen Salinas (Man on Fire, Carnival Nights) in a lovely supporting role.

But it’s Derb az’s effortless comedic performance that is the linchpin of The Valet. Light comedy acting is an underappreciated art in Hollywood. Performing light comedy at a high level like Derbez does in The Valet is not only underappreciated but often overlooked when it comes to getting nominations during award season.

Such was the case this year as the Emmys looked past Derbaz’s comedic performances in both The Valet and his bi-lingual comedy TV series, Acapulco. But Derbez is in good company. Cary Grant, another master of light comedy roles, never won an Oscar (except an Honorary one toward the end of his life)and was only nominated twice. Whether Derbez ever wins any acting awards for his unique light comedy gifts, his on-screen persona will continue to warm our hearts and bring a smile to our faces.

Producers: Eugenio Derbez, Ben Odell

Production Company: 3Pas Studios

Distributor: Hulu

Available: Hulu

Rating:

The post Thumbnail Reviews: ‘The Gray Man.,’ ‘The Valet.’ first appeared on .

TV Series:  Mayans M.C.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Creators: Elgin James, Kurt Sutter, 

Showrunner: Elgin James

CAST: JD Pardo, Clayton Cardenas, Sarah Bolger, Michael Irby, Carla Baretta, Raul Max Trujillo. Edward James Olmos

REVIEW

Get ready for the return of cool tunes, cooler bikes, and the coolest group of motorcycle dudes on TV, because FX has renewed Mayans M.C. for a 5th season.

Watching the Mayans M.C. roar down the highway on their Harleys sounding like approaching heavy metal thunder while gripping those butterfly handlebars, they look like a flock of bad-intentioned raptors searching for some prey to pounce on.

During the Dark Ages feudal lords had small armies of knights who protected the feudal lord from his rivals, helped collect taxes and tributes and controlled the peasants who lived on the lord’s land. Mayans M.C.is a modern hipper retelling of that medieval European reality. But now rather than European knights in shining armor on mighty steeds, we have leather-clad, tattooed Latinos on powerful chrome and steel “hogs”.

For four seasons, the Mayans M.C. have dealt with the usual drug cartel mayhem: battles with rival gangs over territory and distribution routes, protection and distribution of the Galindo heroin and cocaine, revenge killings, kidnapping, extortion and assassination, family secrets, and the audience can’t get enough of this.

Season 4 ended with EZ Reyes (JD Pardo) taking the reins of the club as the President of the Mayans after Marcus (Emilio Rivera) is ousted. All of this is cause for Angel’s (Clayton Cardenas) concern for his brother. Meanwhile, Galindo (Danny Pino) is revealed as “familia’ to the Reyes’ by the patriarch Felipe (Edward James Olmos).

Despite the fact that the Mayans are a motorcycle gang of arch criminals, you find yourself rooting for these “bad boys” because they do everything with kickass Latino gusto style and flair to a great soundtrack.  Bring on Season 5!

Producers: Elgin James, Kurt Sutter, Sean Trotta

Production Company: FX Productions

Distributor: FX Network

Available: FX, Hulu

Rating:

TV Series  Now and  Then

Genre: Crime, Drama. Mystery

Creators:  Ramón Campos, Gema R. Neira, Teresa Fernández+Valdés

Showrunners:  Ramón Campos, Teresa Fernández-V aldés

CAST: Mateo Guerrero, Naruba de Tavira, Maribel Verdú, Jose María Yazpik, Manolo Cardona, Soledad Villamil, Zeljko Ivanek, Rosie Perez

REVIEW

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive” —William Shakespeare. 

It’s an accepted historical fact that Richard Nixon didn’t have to resign his presidency because of the break-in at the Watergate hotel. He had to resign because of his subsequent cover-up and lies surrounding the third-rate burglary of the Democratic Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel by his “Plumbers.”

Now and Then is the multi-level story of five well-to-do individuals in Miami who have been covering up the mysterious death of one of their friends twenty years prior at a college graduation beach party. During the ensuing twenty years, these five people have formed a secretive cover-up bond that holds them together like connective tissue. The threads of their tangled web now weave through each other’s lives and affect them personally, politically, financially and emotionally.

Making matters more complicated now is Detective Sergeant Flora Neruda (Rosie Perez) who back twenty years ago was just a rookie cop on the initial investigation. But now she is back investigating the case and driven by a personal agenda  not to let “those rich kids get away with it again.”

Now and Then features a brilliant cast of actors from various Spanish-speaking countries. As a result, you will hear the distinctive accents from Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Argentina and Brooklyn. The creators and writers of this eight-part mini-TV series envision it will have global appeal. Now and then has all the ingredients for global appeal; an international cast, an intriguing mystery, complicated characters, and a plucky little latter-day Inspector Hercule Poirot-like detective sergeant in Perez bound and determined to figure out whodunit. 

Producers: Andres Barahona, Victor Fandiño, Luís Malet

Production Company: AppleTV+

Distributor: AppleTV+ 

Available:  AppleTV+

Rating:

The post Thumbnail Reviews: ‘Mayans M.C.’ Returns for Season 5; ‘Now & Then”, It’s Complicated first appeared on .

Genre:  Comedy, Family

Creators:  Dan Hernandez, Benji Samit

Showrunners: Leo Chu, Eric Garcia

Cast:  Scarlet Estevez, J. R. Villareal, Marianna Burelli, Juan Alfonso, Zelia Ankrum, Lorena Jorge

REVIEW

Oh, the growing pains of a teenage apprentice Latina superhero. When Violet (Scarlet Estevez) discovers a magic luchador mask has “chosen” her to wear it and become a superhero, it sets her off on a journey to become a crime fighter. However, being the typical rebellious teenager, Violet needs adult guidance

Luckily for her, the well-known local crime fighter, Black Scorpion, just happens to be her uncle, Cruz (J.R. Villareal) which she did not know. Black Scorpion becomes her mentor and takes Ultra Violet under his wing and teaches her the time-honored ethical ways of a superhero crime-fighter in a continuing effort to suppress the irrepressible, rambunctious teen’s tendency to think and act “outside the box” of a superhero’s sacred code of conduct.

In this first season, Ultra Violet’s rite of passage, into a budding Latina superhero is bolstered by the show’s clever light, fast-paced tongue-in-cheek comedic approach to the storyline and the positively charming and winning performance of Estevez as Ultra Violet.

The show is also enhanced by a good supporting cast, great special effects and the exceptional and imaginative cinematography of Rafael Leyva. Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion is a thoroughly enjoyable Disney production action-adventure comedy family TV series that will no doubt inspire young Latinas to discover and unleash the superhero within themselves.

Producers: Ian Watermeier, Nelson soler, Lisa Parsons, Leo Chu

Production Company: Chu Garcia

Distributor: Disney Channel

Available: Disney+

Rating:

TV Series:  Gordita Chronicles

Genre: Comedy, Family

Creator: Claudia Forestieri 

Showrunner:  Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz

Cast: Diana Maria Riva, Juan Javier Cardenas, Olivia Goncalves, Savannah Nicole Ruiz, Cosette Hauer, Noah Cottrell, Noah Rico

REVIEW

Is there a DR in the house? Happily, yes, four of them recently arrived from the DR (Dominican Republic) to Miami, Florida in search of the elusive American Dream and into our homes in this delightfully nostalgic semi-autobiographical good-natured family comedy by the creator, Claudia Forestieri.

The Castelli family is comprised of Adela, the mother, (Diana Maria Riva), the father, Victor (Juan Javier Cardenas), his older sister, Emilia (Savannah Nicole Ruiz), and la gordita, Cucu (Olivia Goncalves). Set in the 80s, the story is narrated by the adult Cucu recalling the family’s trials and tribulations of adjusting to their new life in the United States.

The Castelli’s immediately find out their illusions of America are in stark contrast to the reality of life back home in the DR to those in the good old USA. The Gordita Chronicles has some good fun with the Castelli’s coming to grips with such unknown things as taxes, coupons, Halloween, and Sadie Hawkins dances. Adela’s misadventure with coupons is an especially funny episode.

Victor who works in the marketing department of an airline is expected by his boss to be a great softball player because “all the great baseball players come from the Dominican Republic.” Well, that’s mostly true, but not about Victor who went to an expensive European boarding school and never learned how to play baseball.

Emilia tries to fit in at school by joining up with the popular girls known as the Bubble Gums.  The Bubble Gums make the Mean Girls look like Girl Scouts.  Emilia is in the drama class and has a crush on Rigo (Noah Cottrell).

But the story principally revolves around Cucu who is trying to navigate her way through school and social life with best friends, Ashley (Cosette Hauer) and Yoshi (Noah Rico). Cucu meets every obstacle and challenge confronting her with characteristic plucky determination and an innate intelligence beyond her young years. 

Gordita Chronicles is a madcap, zany look at an immigrant family’s adjusting to life in the states through the eyes of Cucu and her battle with body image in a world where “gordita” is no longer a Latin American term of endearment. You can’t help rooting for Cucu and her family as they struggle with joyous funky spunk and good humor to realize that all too often elusive American Dream.

Producers: Brigette Muñoz-Leibowitz, Claudia Forestieri, Dan signer

Production Company: Cinestar Pictures, Unbelievable

Distributor: HBO Max

Available: HBOMax

Rating:

The post Thumbnail Reviews:  ‘Gordita Chronicles’ and ‘Ultra Violet and Black Scorpion’ first appeared on .

(TV Series): TEXICANAS 

Genre: Reality-TV, Drama

Writers: Casaqndra Gaffney, Anna Rodzinski

CAST: (As Themselves) Penny Ayarzagoitia, Mayra Farret, Lorena Martinez, Ana Nolasco, Luz Ortiz, Karla Ramirez

REVIEW:

A disparate group of lovely, well-high heeled San Antonio Latinas balances their active social life with raising their families.

So-called “reality” shows are not reality. The lighting and camera work is too good to be real. It doesn’t even qualify as cinema vérité because the very creative writing, camera work, music and editing make Texicanas an enjoyable visual teat. The pacing and MTV music video-like jump cuts and hand-held camera shots give Texicanas a sense of immediacy and urgency that accentuates the dramatic conflicts between all the “easy-on-the-eyes” characters.

During The Great Depression, Hollywood produced a lot of “feel good” films with beautiful people wearing tuxedos, evening gowns and drinking champagne in posh nightclubs Texicanas could serve that same purpose during this seemingly endless pandemic. A little voyeuristic escapism watching the hijinks of six San Antonio socialites could not hurt.

Producers: Caroline Davoli, David Downey, Ron Mencer, Morgan Miller

Available: Bravo, Hulu, YouTube, Tubi

Rating:

(Short Film): GROWING FANGS

Note:  This project is part of Disney+ Launchpad the studios’ new initiative to support and uplift underrepresented filmmakers.

Genre: Fantasy, Comedy

Director: Ann Marie Pace

Writer: Ann Marie Pace

CAST: Griselda Alonzo,  Sean Burges, Nicole Goosby, Terri Hoyos, Zainnam Johnson, Yona Kibreab, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Gilberto Ortiz, Grace Song, MichelleSophia, Oliver Sullivan

REVIEW:

“You try being the only half living hormonal teenager in the school of undead.” Such is the dilemma facing Lupe Garcia (Cristela Alonzo) in this delightful teen vampire comedy by writer/director Ann Marie Pace. The Garcia’s are your typical modern blended Latino family. Some family members are human. Some are half-human, half-vampire. While others are full-blooded (pun intended) vampires. Lupe is half ‘n half and just wants to be friends with her human amigo, Jimmy (Gilberto Ortiz). When Lupe attends a school of her own kind, she finds it difficult to navigate and fit in with teen werewolves, vampires, zombies and witches. It’s enough teen angst to give any teenager a chronic case of severe acne.

Alonzo, the pride of San Juan, Texas, is a superb comic actress, she had her own ABC TV series Cristela and voiced the Cruz Ramirez car in Cars 3. Growing Fangs is supernaturally funny with enough special effects to keep it interesting. Growing Fangs has all the ingredients for a great TV sitcom series. We could use the laughs these days.

Producers: Geneva Faye, Steak House, Melody Sandoval

Available: Disney+

Rating:  

The post Screaming Pleasures: ‘Texicanas’ & ‘Growing Fangs’ first appeared on .

Genre: Drama

Director: Edward James Olmos

Writers: Marcus DeLeon, Timothy J. Sexton

CAST: Alexa Pena Vega, Michael Peña. Yancey Arias, Laura Harring, Efren Ramirez, David Warshofsky

 A Retrospective Screening of Walkout will be shown at the Mexican American Film & Television Festival on May 15, 2022 at Raleigh Studios: Click Here for tickets.

REVIEW

They stood. They walked. They delivered. Walkout is the inspiring true story of solidarity, determination and courage by a group of East LA Chicano high school kids fighting against the oppressive racist policies of the local school system, set against the backdrop of the social unrest and turbulence of 1968 America.

It would have been easy for Walkout to be turned into a preachy, didactic, self-congratulatory story about some noble Chicano kids organizing a movement that resulted in some historic drastic changes in the East LA school system. But under the evenhanded direction of Edward James Olmos, Walkout shows us the complicated humanity of the principal characters, their doubts, fears, courage and ultimate resolve and call to action.

 It’s almost impossible to comprehend that in 1968, Chicano high school kids in East LA were not allowed to speak Spanish in class and suffered corporal punishment if they did. They could also be forced to do janitorial duties for the same offense. Their school counselors routinely discouraged them from applying to go to college. The massive walkout by the students of the East LA high schools resulted in the school board finally having to address those overtly racist policies.  Walkout is the story of one of the earliest and most dramatic episodes of emerging Chicano Power.

Producer: Lisa Bruce, Félix Enríquez Alcala

Production Company: Esparza / Katz Productions

Distributor: HBO Max

Available: HBO Max

Rating:

Film:  GREEN GHOST AND THE MASTERS OF THE STONE

Genre: Action, Adventure, comedy

Director: Michael D. Olmos

Writers:  Charlie Clark, Michael D. Olmo, Brian Douglas, Rafael Antonio Ruiz

CAST: Charlie Clark, Danny Trejo, Rene Victor, Elpidia Carrillo, Sofia Pernas, Michelle Lee, Kuno Becker, Pepe Serna, Enrique Castillo, Jesse Garcia, Marco Zaror

REVIEW

Lets’ go get stoned! Green Ghost and the Masters of the Stone is not about a Sixties-era San Francisco psychedelic rock band. Green Ghost is equal parts comic book, video game and Hong Kong martial arts film all wrapped up in this action, adventure, comedy film featuring a Latino cast.

The story is a familiar one to this genre: the existence of the universe is at stake due to the existence of an omnipresent evil force that can only be defeated by an elite team of heroes imbued with special martial arts fighting skills. The source of the power is usually housed in a seemingly insignificant object like an amulet, a ring or in this case a green stone.

But these are not plot-driven stories. They are action and character-driven stories, and Green Ghost has both in abundance. There is enough bruising, intense martial arts fighting scenes in this movie you will wonder how many tubes of Ben Gay and bottles of Advil they went through at the end of the day.

But happily, Green Ghost does not take itself too seriously and there are many moments of good-natured comedy. Danny Trejo as Master Gin is a riot as a kind of drunken Mr. Miyagi to Charlie Clark’s Karate Kid in training. Trejo has one of the best self-referential scenes when he is handed a machete. Trejo looks at it quizzically and says: “Machete? I don’t need no stinking machete.”

Elpidia Carrillo is deliciously sexy and wicked as the villainous Lechusa. She makes Cruella Devil look like Mary Poppins. The hero’s nana is played by veteran actress Renee Victor and it also features appearances by popular favorites like Pepe Serna and Enrique Castillo.

The recent arthouse success of Everything Everywhere All the Time, a fanciful kung fu flick starring Michelle Yeow, is a hopeful sign Green Ghost should also find an audience in the arthouse circuit and then on a streaming platform. There is an untapped treasure trove of Chicano and Mexican comic book action-adventure stories that need to be told and there’s plenty of Latino talent behind and in front of the camera ready to bring them to life

Producers: Karen E. Goulekas,  Nicolás Ibieta, Brandon Lee Kerpian, Aaron Lee Lopez

Production Company: Mutt Productions

Distributor:  Gravitas Ventures

Available:  Premieres Nationwide April 29, 2022.

Rating:

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