Every day we’re adding at least one great new gift you can give to your loved ones (or yourself!)–Se Fija!’s picks of movies, DVDs, books and more that celebrate Latinos in front and behind the camera. Check out the growing list…and Happy Holidays!
$24.99 on amazon.com
There is, sad to say, probably only one movie with Latino actors, a Latino director, and dominant Latino themes that’s got a chance to be remembered come Oscar Nomination time: Chris Weitz’ A Better Life, featuring a touching and award-worthy performance by Demián Bichir.
Because it came out early in the calendar year, and because it received sinfully wretched distribution, A Better Life is already available on DVD. Its message of hope and courage in the face of adversity is a perfect Christmas message, whether it’s set in December or not…and part of that hope is that Bichir, Weitz, and the film in general will get at least a fraction of the attention it deserves in 2012. Pick up your copy here…and Merry Christmas!
#19: We Still Love Lucy: The Complete Series available on DVD
$134.98 on amazon.com
As Christmas Eve creeps closer, the Editorial Mind at Se Fija! leans towards the classics…and what’s more classic than Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball? In many ways, Desi was the first and best example of a successful Latino that many of us saw–for generations. An entertainer, a business mogul, a leader, and an idol. And even today, almost fifty years after the original season, I Love Lucy continues to be one of the most important, and one of the funniest, artifacts ever to come from the early generations of television.
This terrific boxed set includes all sorts of amazing extras, including all the half-hour programs digitally remastered, the long-lost pilot, thirteen episode of Lucy’s radio show My Favorite Husband, behind-the-scenes featurettes,
Deleted scenes and blooper reels, interviews and script excerpts and even more. You could spend an entire Christmas holiday–or more!–enjoying the shows and the extras–all 70 hours of classic entertainment for less that $150 including shipping. There’s probably isn’t a better Christmas present, this year or any. Click here to get one for yourself or a deserving loved one.
#18: Resurrect Resurrection Blvd. This Christmas…but only a little
$23.80 on amazon.com
It’s hard to believe that the last new episode of Resurrection Blvd. appeared almost ten years ago…and it’s even harder to list all the amazing Latinos who were part of any or all of those three seasons and 53 episodes. And the hardest thing of all to believe? Only the first season’s 20 episodes are available on DVD.
Elizabeth Peña, Ruth Livier, Nicholas Gonzalez, Daniel Zacapa, Marisol Nichols, Esai Morales. Nestor Carbonell, Adam Rodriguez were all there–and that’s only scratching the surface. Directors included Camilo Vila, Jesús Salvador Treviño, Norberto Barba; producers included Dennis Leoni, Edwin J. Nunez, Adam Fierro and more. And those twenty episodes are available at a little more than a buck a piece: a steal.
So where are the rest of the episodes? With all that star power (in its early stages, of course) packed in the program, you’d think a boxed set would have been inevitable years ago. Maybe it’s time to start a movement…but first, pick up the First Complete Season.
#17: A Happy Ghost from Christmas Past: Cantinflas Four-Pack
$38.99 on amazon.com
When Christmas comes around, we always get a little nostalgic…and when we get nostalgic, we think of Cantinflas. Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes was an important part of Latino cinema for generations; even today, he’s fondly remembered, carefully studied and often still imitated. Best of all, you can still see almost all of Cantinflas’ work, lovingly preserved. And this special pack for of his best-loved movies—Cantinflas Four-pack: El Padrecitos, El Bolero de Raquel, El Analfabeto, and Su Excelencia–is available for less than $40. It’s a great remembrance or introduction to one of the most important Latino artists of the last century (and it’s funny, too!) Order it here.
#16: Have Yourself a Dexter Little Christmas
$175.99 on amazon.com
We’ve said it before and we’ll be saying it again around Emmy time: Showtime’s Dexter is not only one of the most bizarre and riveting TV series in production today, it also has some of the most authentic, intense, and fascinating Latino characters and cultural portrayals on screen–ever. Guest stars and season-long featured players like Jimmy Smits in the past and Edward James Olmos this last season, as well as the consistently incredible work of David Zayas and Lauren Vélez, continue to make Dexter not only well worth watching, but an important part of Latino Hollywood.
Season 6 just ended, and its incredible last few scenes are still the talk of the town. And though you can’t pre-order the Season 6 DVD yet (and why not?), you can get a nifty boxed set of the first five seasons. We’d suggest a holiday marathon, but considering the subject matter, that seems very…un-Christmas-like, somehow. Better to buy it now and keep it for viewing on some other long, dark night of the soul–other than Christmas even, that is.
Still: wonderful work, and worth every penny.
Click here to order.
#15: Once More, With Feeling: Desperate Housewives
Check prices on amazon.com
We know, we know, there are still a few more episodes left. But when a series with classy and beautiful (if somewhat twisted) Latinos goes a full eight years on network television, and then has the grace to announce its departure months in advance…it deserves some recognition.
There’s already a boxed set of the first six seasons of DH, complete with all of the best (and worst) from Eva Longoria, Ricardo Chavira, and many other Latino actors and actresses who wandered in and out of Wisteria Lane over the years. Still: before they turn the lights out that last time, let us gather together in the cul-de-sac of broken dreams and start to build our permanent collection.
You can get a boxed set of the first six seasons, with commentaries and bonuses, then add The Complete Season Seven…and even pre-order The Complete and Final Season Eight. Over 150 hours of Desperation, much of it shared with Eva. Now that’s a Christmas Marathon!
Desperate Housewives Seasons 1-6
Pre-Order Desperate Housewives, Season 8
#14: Off the Map: The Complete Series
$19.49 on amazon.com
It was only on for a season and a half or so, but Off the Map offered some pretty decent drama, a beautiful setting, and a host of hot young Latino actors. If you’re looking for a holiday marathon that you haven’t seen ten times before, and don’t have a problem with beautiful people like Jonathan Castellanos, Valerie Cruz, and Nicholas Gonzalez curing disease, being heroic, and making out in the jungle for 13 hours or so…here you go!
#13: The Robert Rodriguez Mexico Collection
$63.99 on amazon.com
Robert Rodriguez is one of the most active Latino directors and producers working today; you could spend your whole paycheck trying to gather all the movies he’s written, directed, or produced (and some of them would even be worth it). But the best short series–the one that built his reputation and still holds up–is his early “Mexican Collection,” the four movies that span his career and show his raucous, rough energetic, and almost gleefully violent tendencies at their best. The four films in the collection–El Mariachi, Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and the almost-brand new Machete span his career…and make four eight hours of exciting (and slightly crazy) action. If you’re a Robert Rodriguez fan, this is the box to get.
#12: Bring Guillermo del Toro home for the Holidays!
Films on amazon.com
Books on amazon.com
If you haven’t got at least a couple of Guillermo del Toro’s better movies on your DVD shelf already, now is a good time. You could go back to Mimi or The Devil’s Backbone, but we’d recommend the ornate, exciting, and surprisingly durable Hellboy, as well as the stunningly beautiful, hallucinatory fantasy Pan’s Labyrinth. They’re all available at amazon.com for reasonable prices (you can even get used copies!)…or you can pre-order a movie that he didn’t technically direct, but that everyone agrees he molded and guided right through the final edit, Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. It’s coming out the first week in February, but it could still make a great little card under the tree.
#11: Action Latinos: Battle: Los Angeles
$14.99 on amazon.com
There were a great many action movies this year, and some of them were even good…but only one of them featured Latino actors as something more than window-dressing, victims, or innocent bystanders: Battle: Los Angeles. Sure, it had its own tiny little flaws (like being a pastiche of half a dozen other recent, better alien-invasion flicks, from Cloverfield to Independence Day), but at least we got to watch Michael Peña, Michelle Rodriguez and Ramon Rodriguez in major roles, not only kicking ass but actually surviving the entire movie (something that Michelle, in particular, has trouble doing in action pictures.) So: consider it the cinematic equivalent to that wading pool you pull out of the garage every summer: it’s a little soft, it has a few holes, and it’s pretty shallow, but it can still be a ton of fun! Available from amazon.com right now.
#10: Celebrating Ugly Betty
Check prices on amazon.com
$20.99 on amazon.com (4th season)
Take a moment to remember–and re-enjoy–the phenomenon that was ABC’s version of Ugly Betty. An international hit even before it hit the U.S., America Ferrera, Tony Plana, Ana Ortiz, and Mark Indelicato made something that was really amazing–touching, odd, outrageous, and funny as hell, for (almost) all of its four seasons. Strangely, all four seasons are not available in a single boxed set (and what’s up with that?), but you can get the first three seasons in a set, and the fourth complete season separately…then wrap it up yourself, just long enough to unwrap it and have a UB marathon over the holiday weekend. All the necessary parts are available here on amazon.com!
#9: Get Switched for the holidays!
$20.99 on amazon.com
Switched at Birth kind of came out of nowhere last year–a prickly little family drama from ABC Family, of all places. The premise is persistent and unlikely–two female babies, accidentally switched at the hospital moments after they were born, grow up with the ‘wrong’ family, and no one discovers the truth until they’re teenagers. But then it gets interesting: one of the babies is deaf (and no one else in either family is), and one of the families is mixed-race…and the feisty Constance Marie is one of the moms. The acting is terrific, the plots surprisingly fresh, and the two young actresses (Katie Leclerc, Vanessa Marano) are terrific. They better be; they’re surrounded by proven talent, like Marie, D.W. Moffet and Lea Thompson. The first season has just become available on DVD, right here. And a second season is on the way…
#8: Find The Way for Christmas
$24.49 on amazon.com
Emilio Estevez combined his own love of film and family to create a remarkable ‘road trip’ film, starring his father Martin Sheen, re-creating a story from the Estevez clan about “el camino de Santiago.” The Estevez and his dad took off on an equally remarkable road trip across the U.S. to promote their independent film (there’s even a book about it coming out next year). The Way is a great holiday gift: about love, grief, healing, and acceptance…and it’s available from amazon.com and elsewhere, just in time for Christmas.
#7: Christmas in Rio
$29.99 on amazon.com
Latino voices were in all sorts of animated features this year, from Puss in Boots to How to Train your Dragon and back again. But probably the best of the lot–and certainly one of the most profitable!–was Rio, directed and co-written by Brazilian Carlos Saldanha. A good chunk of the story takes place south of the border–way south, in Rio de Janeiro–and a number of local Brazilian voices join George Lopez and voice artist Jeffrey Garcia for this whacky-co-lucky, ultra-colorful romp. It’ll warm you up even on the coldest December night.
#6: Go For Go For It!
$14.99 on amazon.com
Director Carmen Marron worked long and hard to put together this smart, warm and gentle film about a young Latina who really really wants to dance, and the challenges she faces–and overcomes–to makes her dreams come true. Aimee Garcia (Dexter, last week’s Hawaii Five-O) and Gina Rodriguez (Filly Brown, a recent episode of The Mentalist) among many other up-and-coming Latino actors are all part of this inspirational story–one that didn’t get nearly enough theatrical attention or promotion. The message of courage, hope, and (extended) family unity is particulary appropriate during this season, so consider it: it’s available at Amazon.com right here.
#5: Law & Order, Anyone?
$37.99 on amazon.com
The Law & Order franchise was one of the longest-running crime series in TV history—20 years and still on the air (in one form or another). Over the years, it has showcased many Latinos in front and behind the camera, including regular characters going back to the early days of the original series when Benjamin Bratt was partnered with Jerry Orbach, then later when Alana de la Garza joined the legal team. Most recently, Danny Pino was made a regular on this season’s Law & Order: SVU.
The last spin-off of the franchise was Law & Order: Los Angeles, which seemed to have a lot going for it: a new city and new faces, including a strong contingent of Latinos. Rachel Ticotin was Lieutenant Arleen Gonzalez; Alfred Molina was Deputy District Attorney Ricardo Morales (who switched back to being a plainclothes cop), and after a bit even Alana de la Garza flew in from New York to join the team.
The show had its ups and downs, and a major course change in mid-season, but there is still plenty of great work by some of our favorite people. If you’re a fan of the Law & Order franchise, here is another one for your collection, Law & Order: Los Angeles-The Complete Series.
#4: Our Childhood OZ was never like This…
$136.99 on amazon.com
The complete six seasons of HBO’s gritty prison drama is available as a special edition box set. This series—which was tough to watch at times, had some great Latino actors. For some of us, it was our first introduction to Lauren Vélez (Dexter) and Kirk Acevedo (Prime Suspect). And it had a familiar face in legendary actress, Rita Moreno (Happily Divorce) who played a psychiatrist and nun.
This special edition is full of extras on (18 discs) DVDs on amazon.com.
#3: Zoë Saldaña in Colombiana
$22.99 on amazon.com
Okay, maybe it wasn’t the greatest action-adventure that Luc Besson ever produced, but Zoë Saldaña did more than just look terrific and tragic in this revenge-thrillers. She also established herself quite firmly as a Latina who can do the serious stuff and kick a bit of butt (as if we hadn’t seen that in Star Trek, Avatar, and The Losers already!). So just ignore the plot holes and let yourself go…’cause she really does look great.
It’s available now right here. Have a kick-ass Christmas!
#2: Shakira: Live from Paris (a brand new concert album, dropping today!)
$16.99 on amazon.com
Deluxe CD/DVD edition. 2011 live release from the Latin superstar. This special live concert was shot at the Palais de Bercy, in Paris, France. On the DVD, fans will get to experience Shakira like never before with an all-access pass to behind-the-scenes documentary footage.
Shakira is brilliant. Incandescent. Unpredictable. And she’s finally put out a new album, releasing today, December 6: a live concert recorded at the Palais de Bercy in Paris. You’ll get new, live renditions of her classics like “Underneath Your Clothes” and “Hips Don’t Lie,” along with 17 others…plus behind-the-scenes documentary footage.
Shakira herself sounds pretty happy with the album: “This album represents exactly the way I am—my state of mind today, as an artist and as a woman,” she said in a promotional copy. “Some of the songs remind me of my beginnings, so it’s kind of like going back to where everything started, but from a new perspective, with the way I see things now.”
You can get a full playlist and even listen to samples here. Or just go ahead and order it–you know it’s going to be good!
#1: West Side Story (50th Anniversary Edition)
$19.99 on amazon.com
Sometimes it feels like it all started with West Side Story. Suddenly, wonderfully Latinos were on Broadway–Broadway, and music with a Latin flare, made even more beautiful by Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Robbins. And above and beyond all that, past the songs we all remember, the quotes we can all spout…it’s where we first really noticed Rita Moreno.
You’re not going to find a better tribute than this special 50th Anniversary Edition. Not only will you get it digitally remastered HD film itself, you get a one-hour documentary featuring interviews with cast members (including Rita!), director Robert Wise, Sondheim, and more. The commentaries are equally incredible, and you’ll even hear a bit of Natalie Wood’s original vocals not enough: how about a handsomely made book that accompanies the set, with an introduction by screenwriter Ernest Lehman. And all this for under $20.00 on amazon.com!
Too good!
