Vidal, Lisa

Fall

Writer/director Eric Schaeffer (If Lucy Fell) and Amanda De Cadenet (Four Rooms) steam up the screen with this humorous, provocative and sexy tale of lust and desire that "examines the surprisingly tender sides of erotic craving" (MovieMaker). For Michael Shiver (Schaeffer), life as an easy-going cab driver in New York suddenly changes when he picks up supermodel Sarah Easton (De Cadenet) and falls head over heels in love. But Sarah has more than just passion on her mind ? she also has a husband and a glamorous lifestyle that she can't seem to leave behind. Torn between her feelings for Michael and the security of her marriage, Sarah is forced to make a realistic decision about the sacrifices that must be made to be truly and totally in love.

Odd Girl Out

"Girls are brutal," a father warns his young son in the course of Odd Girl Out. "They… tear each other to bits over the smallest things." Director Tom McLoughlin's 2005 film proves it, too, offering up a harrowing tale of one teenager's horrendous treatment at the hands of her high school classmates. When we meet Vanessa (Alexa Vega, also seen in Spy Kids), she's a reluctant member of a group of spoiled, snooty girls who rule the school hallways like designer-dressed harpies. But when she betrays "best friend" and clique leader Stacey (Malcolm in the Middle's Leah Pipes), it all starts to go south; little matter that said betrayal is actually concocted by the genuinely vicious Nikki (Elizabeth Rice). What begins as a relatively petty campaign of text messages, rumor-mongering, and daily ostracism soon escalates into full-scale torment and cruelty, including a particularly nasty website, an invitation to a party that doesn't exist (the better to humiliate the eager and insecure Vanessa), and her near-tragic reaction to these events. McLoughlin's resume includes TV shows based on A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th, so it's no surprise that this film has a stylized, horror film vibe; there is nothing remotely light-hearted about this story (loosely based on Rachel Simmons' non-fiction book Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture Of Aggression In Girls), which focuses not only on Vanessa's nightmare but on the well-meaning but futile efforts of her mother (Lisa Vidal) to help. But having stoked the viewer to expect Stacey, Nikki, and their co-conspirators to get the comeuppance they so richly deserve, the director delivers a largely unsatisfying denoument. Too bad, because up until then, Odd Girl Out is a real eye-opener, and a frighteningly accurate account of the living hell that is high school life. --Sam Graham

Vanessa Snyder (Alexa Vega) is a middle schooler whose future is bright: she's a straight A-student a star on the soccer team and her mother's (Lisa Vidal) pride and joy. Pretty popular and well-adjusted Vanessa finds that her life turns upside down when her so-called best friend (Leah Pipes) turns on her mounting a smear campaign of monumental proportions and setting Vanessa on a path to self-destruction that her mother desperately tries to prevent.System Requirements:Running Time 85 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG-13 UPC: 012236187455 Manufacturer No: 18745

I Like It Like That

A Latina woman from the Bronx shakes up her life--which consists of a difficult marriage and three kids--by taking a job at a Manhattan recording company. Playing the central character, Lauren Vélez has a captivating rough beauty that suggests her suspension between misery and grace. Director Darnell Martin also has a kind of unpolished approach that keeps the film looking a bit amateurish. But Martin's observations of and insights into the heroine's world--a slice of American Latino life that hasn't been particularly well represented on film--are original and potent. Griffin Dunne is very good in a supporting role as the heroine's exploitative boss. --Tom Keogh

Director Darnell Martin's acclaimed debut film stars Lauren Velez Jon Seda Rita Moreno and Griffin Dunne as members of a battling Bronx family filled with love passion and real-life choices. When her well-meaning husband China is arrested a young mother Lisette finds herself unprepared to support the family. Fast-talking her way into a job with a record producer Griffin Dunne Lisette quickly discovers her own hidden talents. But the boys in the neighborhood report back to Chino that Lisette is "dating" her bigwig boss leading to a major confrontation that changes their life together.System Requirements:Running Time: 106 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 043396042162 Manufacturer No: 04216

Chasing Papi

A breezy exercise in "Latina Lib," Chasing Papi is a premarital variant of The First Wives Club, with enough jiggle to compete with Charlie's Angels and Victoria's Secret. The sexy fun begins when well-meaning Latino lover Tomás (Eduardo Verastegui) is confronted by the three girlfriends he's been wooing while traveling on business: Miami cocktail waitress Cici (Sofia Vergara), New York heiress Patricia (Jaci Velasquez), and Chicago attorney Lorena (Roselyn Sanchez) have discovered Tomás's infidelity, and they're primed for payback. Their romantic revenge involves a contrived subplot of drug money, inept criminals, and a gorgeous FBI agent (Lisa Vidal), but it's the allied girlfriends who steal this dim-witted fashion show. The female costars (all veterans of Spanish-language soap operas) are smart, sassy, and incredibly attractive, and director Linda Mendoza (herself a TV graduate, making her feature debut) keeps the comedy on an even, good-natured keel. The laughs are sporadic at best, but Chasing Papi is a bubbly babe-fest that either gender can appreciate. --Jeff Shannon

Handsome advertising executive Tomas "Papi" Fuentes (Eduardo Verastegui) is truly, deeply in love?with three gorgeous women in three different cities. There's prim-and-proper Patricia (Jaci Velasquez) in New York, lovely Lorena (Roselyn Sanchez) in Chicage, and spicy Cici (Sofia Vergara) in Miami. But when all three arrive in L.A. to surprise Papi at home, the situation doesn't just heat up, it explodes! Filled with beautiful bodies, hip Latin rhythms and plenty of passion, Chasing Papi will leave you cheering!

The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit

The Blue Diner

The Blue Diner is a film about food, memory, language, and caskets. It is the story of a Puerto Rican mother and daughter living together in Boston and the difficulties they encounter when the daughter, Elena, mysteriously loses her ability to speak Spanish, her first language. Everyone has a theory about the origin of Elena's misfortune, but no one knows for certain what has caused the tragic and absurd event. As Elena's language disappears, her boyfriend's painting inexplicably appears at the Fine Arts Museum where her mother works. In a misguided attempt to obtain an artist's visa, his actions unleash a world of misunderstanding and trouble for Elena and her mother. As the relationship between mother and daughter deteriorates, the two women are forced to confront each other and their murky past. A haunting song, a missing father, and a plate of fried brains help to reunite Elena, her mother, and her language.

Hit and Run

HIT AND RUN (DVD MOVIE)

Hit and Run

Destination Unknown

Active Stealth