DVD Releases

Hotel California

Luis Manuel Ochoa

Jul 08 |00:50

Hotel_California

Hotel California made its debut at the 2008 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival.   This gritty drama is about a drug smuggler Troy, turned on crime boss Dmitri, he was forced to leave Los Angeles and spend some time hustling in Miami. After two years, and the loss of his leg in a shootout, Troy returns to L.A. to reclaim what’s his. Troy arranges a meeting with his former partners Pete and Al, who are extremely conflicted about the return of their old friend, as they have pledged their loyalty to Dmitri. With a prosthetic leg, a cocaine habit, and nothing to lose, Troy tries to push the limits to figure out where Pete and Al’s loyalties lie.

 

With an all-star cast featuring Erik Palladino as Troy (Over There, ER), Simon Rex as Pete (Scary Movie 3/4), Tatyana Ali as Jessie (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), supermodel Tyson Beckford as Al, Yancey Arias as Hector (Kingpin, Die Hard 4), and Raymond J. Barry as crime boss Dmitri (Steel City), Hotel California checks you into a twisted world of crime, drugs, and murder, where tension mounts, bullets fly, and blood flows.

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Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

LIFI

Jul 08 |00:44

women_on_the_verge

Back on DVD! Pedro Almodóvar at his outrageous best, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is the most delightful of farces: charming and kinetic, it envelops a message of strange lucidity in a package of vibrant absurdity. Everything in the film's parallel universe abides by its own bizarre but oddly rational logic, from the premise that a forgotten pitcher of sleeping pill-spiked gazpacho meant for one person's suicide will of course be consumed by someone else, to the idea that no matter how much of a lout your ex-lover may be, he's no match for the Shiite terrorist your best friend happens to be dating. Throw in the ex-lover's gun-toting, bewigged wife; a tangle of friends, lovers, and their previously unheard-of relations who all show up at the same place; and a bed set afire by a stray cigarette, and you have the unique reality of Pedro Almodóvar. Almodóvar had previously directed a number of films that found success (and, more often than not, controversy) in his native Spain, such as Matador, Law of Desire, and What Have I Done to Deserve This?, but none reached the level of international acclaim achieved by Women. A stylish, sophisticated farce, it was a perfect blend of the director's candy-colored vision and his offbeat, devilishly witty brand of humor. In addition to establishing him as a master of farce, the film enhanced Almodóvar's reputation as a woman's director and solidified his standing as an important figure in world cinema, with many critics hailing him as the most significant Spanish director since Luis Buñuel.

 

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The Maid

Luis Manuel Ochoa

Jul 08 |00:41
The Maid
The Chilean film entitled, The Maid (La Nana) was a hit at the 2009 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and went on to win on a Golden Globe nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Written and directed by Sebastian Silva, it stars Catalina Saavedra as Raquel, a live-in maid who has worked for the same family for the past two decades. Having moved in when she was 21, a year before her employers had their first child, she has given up her whole life to serve her adopted clan. There are four children now, plus the mother Pilar (Claudia Celedon) and the fussy professor father (Alejandro Goic). Everything Raquel does revolves around her household.
The Maid is a subtle satire about the divisions of class, and Raquel is a surprisingly intriguing character. Having forsaken her own people and, really, her own experiences for her job, Raquel has never truly lived. This secondary family is all she has. Which is why she fights for them, though in ways that often make her seem crazy. As she enters middle age, things aren't going so well for Raquel. She's always at odds with the eldest daughter Camila (Andrea Garcìa-Huidobro), and she's getting too old to cover the whole house herself. Pilar keeps hiring other housekeepers to help her, but Raquel hazes them until they run off. The stress is weighing on her health. Raquel is suffering from headaches, and a mid-movie collapse makes it impossible for her to fend off a second maid any longer. Luckily, this new hire, Lucy (Mariana Loyola), will end up offering Raquel a friendship that will remind her of everything she is missing.

the_maid

The Chilean film entitled, The Maid (La Nana) was a hit at the 2009 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and went on to win on a Golden Globe nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Written and directed by Sebastian Silva, it stars Catalina Saavedra as Raquel, a live-in maid who has worked for the same family for the past two decades. Having moved in when she was 21, a year before her employers had their first child, she has given up her whole life to serve her adopted clan. There are four children now, plus the mother Pilar (Claudia Celedon) and the fussy professor father (Alejandro Goic). Everything Raquel does revolves around her household. 
The Maid is a subtle satire about the divisions of houclass, and Raquel is a surprisingly intriguing character. Having forsaken her own people and, really, her own experiences for her job, Raquel has never truly lived. This secondary family is all she has. Which is why she fights for them, though in ways that often make her seem crazy. As she enters middle age, things aren't going so well for Raquel. She's always at odds with the eldest daughter Camila (Andrea Garcìa-Huidobro), and she's getting too old to cover the whole house herself. Pilar keeps hiring other housekeepers to help her, but Raquel hazes them until they run off. The stress is weighing on her health. Raquel is suffering from headaches, and a mid-movie collapse makes it impossible for her to fend off a second maid any longer. Luckily, this new hire, Lucy (Mariana Loyola), will end up offering Raquel a friendship that will remind her of everything she is missing.
 

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Dark Mirror

LIFI

Jul 06 |15:52
dark_mirror
Dark Mirror was highlighted at the 2009 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and is now available on DVD.  This psychological horror film is about a housewife and aspirant photographer Deborah Martin, who is strangely attracted to a house and convinces her husband Jim to buy it. They move from Seattle with their son Ian and Deborah takes a photo of a mirror in the bathroom. She soon discovers that her neighbor is snooping on her family and a stranger is stalking her. She researches the house history and finds that it belonged to a painter who might have killed his wife.  Later, things get from strange to deadly as the house brings out an evil that can destroy a family and everyone around them.
 

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Alondra Smiles

LIFI

Jun 30 |00:21

alondra-smiles



2008 LALIFF presented the coming of age gem Alondra Smiles and now it has been released on DVD.   Alondra has had a rough start in life, but with the love and support of her grandparents and friends she is planning to have a very special 15th birthday. Her plans seem to be coming along better than expected, that is until her spoiled cousin Tatiana has her own aspirations and is willing to ruin anyone's life to get her way.
This Award Winning film conveys a positive message and shows the importance of family and friends while entertaining the old, the young and the young at heart.
2008 LALIFF presented the coming of age gem Alondra Smiles and now it has been released on DVD.   Alondra has had a rough start in life, but with the love and support of her grandparents and friends she is planning to have a very special 15th birthday. Her plans seem to be coming along better than expected, that is until her spoiled cousin Tatiana has her own aspirations and is willing to ruin anyone's life to get her way.
This Award Winning film conveys a positive message and shows the importance of family and friends while entertaining the old, the young and the young at heart.
 

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La Vida Loca

LIFI

Jun 30 |00:20

la-vida-loca


Last year LALIFF presented a riveting documentary that is now on available on DVD.  In Central America they are referred to as the maras: modeling themselves on Los Angeles youth gangs, these groups are now spreading terror in El Salvador and further afield. A childhood at once terrifying and hateful but strangely captivating which typifies the disintegration of family life within Salvadorian society and the despair in which they have grown up. La Vida Loca is what life is really about over there :youths who suffer; who defy us; who look down on us; who resent and dislike us. Though this vision of evil stirs up our fears and provokes nightmares, I also hope it shall invoke compassion and cause us to question our notion of the world. And so, like cornered dogs, this lost generation responds with pessimism, revolt and death. A total lack of communication! La Vida Loca is a documentary about absolute human solitude.
Photographer and Documentary Filmmaker, Christian Poveda s political involvement during the Vietnam War in the 1970 s allowed him to experience the power of images, and the influence they can have over certain events. This is what made him want to work in photojournalism and documentary filmmaking. His entire filmography is dedicated to extraordinary political and social situations. His filmography includes over 15 documentaries that have been presented at some of the most prestigious festivals and TV markets worldwide. Christian Poveda was shot to death in Tonacatepeque, El Salvador on September 2, 2009, one month before his film debuted at the 13th annual Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival.
Last year LALIFF presented a riveting documentary that is now on available on DVD.  In Central America they are referred to as the maras: modeling themselves on Los Angeles youth gangs, these groups are now spreading terror in El Salvador and further afield. A childhood at once terrifying and hateful but strangely captivating which typifies the disintegration of family life within Salvadorian society and the despair in which they have grown up. La Vida Loca is what life is really about over there :youths who suffer; who defy us; who look down on us; who resent and dislike us. Though this vision of evil stirs up our fears and provokes nightmares, I also hope it shall invoke compassion and cause us to question our notion of the world. And so, like cornered dogs, this lost generation responds with pessimism, revolt and death. A total lack of communication! La Vida Loca is a documentary about absolute human solitude.
Photographer and Documentary Filmmaker, Christian Poveda s political involvement during the Vietnam War in the 1970 s allowed him to experience the power of images, and the influence they can have over certain events. This is what made him want to work in photojournalism and documentary filmmaking. His entire filmography is dedicated to extraordinary political and social situations. His filmography includes over 15 documentaries that have been presented at some of the most prestigious festivals and TV markets worldwide. Christian Poveda was shot to death in Tonacatepeque, El Salvador on September 2, 2009, one month before his film debuted at the 13th annual Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival.
 

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El General

Juan Ochoa

May 24 |19:02

 

‘EL GENERAL’ will premiere on PBS July 20, 2010 (P.O.V. Series).

Producer/Director: Natalia Almada
Genre: Documentary
1 Episode/60 Minutes

The past and the present collide as filmmaker Natalia Almada brings to life audio recordings she inherited about her great-grandfather Plutarco Elias Calles, a revolutionary general who became president in 1924. In his time, Calles was called “El Bolshevique” and “El Jefe Maximo” (the foremost chief). Today, he is remembered as “el Quema-Curas” (priest –burner) and as a dictator who ruled through puppet presidents until he was exiled in 1936. Through his daughter’s recordings, EL GENERAL moves between the memories of a daughter grappling with history’s portrait of her father and the weight of his legacy on the country today. Time is blurred in this complex and visually arresting portrait of a family and country living under the shadows of the past. Co-production of ALTAMURA FILMS and ITVS in association with (LPB), with funding provided by the CPB and AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY | P.O.V.

EL GENERAL has a Premiere Date of July 20, 2010 (P.O.V. Series). More information at the P.O.V. website: www.pbs.org/pov/elgeneral.

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