Actor Antonio Banderas (1960)

Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002) is an American spy action comedy film that was both co-produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Siblings Carmen and Juni Cortez are now full-time agents for the OSS’ recently established Spy Kids Division. Their main competition comes from Donnagon Giggles’ children, Gary and Gerti. During a mission to rescue the president’s daughter, Alexandra, the Giggles siblings outshine Carmen and Juni. While defending Gary, Carmen’s actions drive a wedge between her and Juni. At the OSS awards ceremony, Donnagon manipulates the president’s teleprompter and takes over as director of the agency instead of ...

Femme Fatale (2002), an erotic thriller directed and written by Brian De Palma, follows Laure Ash, a mercenary thief involved in a diamond heist during the Cannes Film Festival. Her target is model Veronica, who wears the diamonds as part of a gold ensemble accompanying director Régis Wargnier to his premiere of East/West. With the help of ‘Black Tie’ and Racine, Laure seduces Veronica to obtain the diamonds. However, things go wrong and Laure betrays her partners before escaping to Paris with the jewels. While there, she is mistaken for Lily, a missing woman from the city. As she relaxes in Lily’s ...

Original Sin (2001), an American erotic romantic thriller, stars Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie. Based on the novel Waltz into Darkness by Cornell Woolrich, it is a remake of the 1969 François Truffaut film Mississippi Mermaid. The story takes place in late 19th century Cuba during Spanish rule, and alternates between scenes of a woman confessing her past to a priest as she awaits execution and the events leading up to her impending fate. Luis Vargas, a ...

Spy Kids (2001), an American spy action comedy film, was a collaborative effort between Robert Rodriguez who co-produced, wrote, edited, co-composed and directed the movie. Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez lead a double life as spies while protecting their two children, Carmen and Juni. Their work at the Organization of Super Spies (OSS) usually involves desk jobs but they are called back to active duty when agents go missing. Their prime suspect is Fegan Floop, a children’s TV host who has allegedly turned his victims into ‘Fooglies’, creatures featured on his show that Juni is an avid fan of. In their absence, the children are entrusted to their uncle ...

Play It to the Bone (1999) is an American sports comedy-drama directed and written by Ron Shelton. Close friends Vince Boudreau and Cesar Dominguez, both aging prizefighters, often regretted not having one last chance in the ring. That opportunity unexpectedly presents itself when boxing promoter Joe Domino faces a predicament. The fighters scheduled for his Las Vegas undercard, leading up to heavyweight Mike Tyson’s main event, suddenly pull out. In desperate need of replacements, Vince and Cesar are contacted from Los Angeles. With both willing to step into the ring, Domino decides to pit them against each ...

Desperado (1995) is an American neo-Western action film that was written, co-produced, edited, and directed by Robert Rodriguez. In a Mexican bar called Tarasco, an American man named Buscemi recounts witnessing a brutal massacre at another bar. The perpetrator was a Mexican armed with a guitar case full of guns. At first, the bar’s patrons are disinterested, but their attention is piqued when Buscemi mentions the name ‘Bucho’. Meanwhile, El Mariachi has a dream about his encounter with Moco – Bucho’s right-hand man who killed his lover and shot his left hand. However, Buscemi wakes him up ...

Assassins (1995), an American action thriller film directed by Richard Donner, features a screenplay written by The Wachowskis and Brian Helgeland. Protagonist Robert Rath, plagued by guilt over his past deed of killing mentor Nicolai, is ready to hang up his deadly profession. However, his plans are halted when he finds out that fellow assassin Miguel Bain has taken out one of Rath’s assigned targets. Despite admiring Rath, Bain also wishes to eliminate him in order to claim the title of the world’s greatest ...

Four Rooms (1995) is an American black comedy film that combines elements of farce and anthology. The movie features a star-studded team of writers and directors including Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino. Taking place on New Year’s Eve at the fictional Hotel Mon Signor in Los Angeles, the plot is centered around Ted, a bellhop who experiences four unique encounters with different hotel guests during his first night on the job. Honeymoon Suite. The Missing Ingredient (Allison Anders). Ted helps a unique group of ladies ...

Based on Anne Rice’s 1976 novel of the same name, Interview with the Vampire (1994) is an American gothic horror film directed by Neil Jordan. Set in late 20th century San Francisco, the movie follows reporter Daniel Molloy as he interviews Louis de Pointe du Lac, who claims to be a vampire. Initially skeptical, Molloy listens as Louis shares details of his life as a wealthy plantation owner in 1791 Louisiana. After experiencing the tragic loss of his wife and unborn child, Louis wanders the New Orleans waterfront one night and is attacked by Lestat de Lioncourt, a ...

The American legal drama film, Philadelphia (1993), was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. Andrew Beckett, a senior associate at the largest corporate law firm in the city, keeps his homosexuality and status as an AIDS patient hidden from his colleagues. Despite attributing a lesion on his forehead to a racquetball injury, it is actually Kaposi’s sarcoma, a defining condition of AIDS. Beckett takes several days off work to try and conceal the lesions and manages to finish the paperwork for an assigned case. He then instructs his assistants to ...