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LOCKED Is Intense and Entertaining A talk with the Director

We caught up with the director of LOCKED David Yarovesky (Brightburn, Nightbooks), just before we screened the film with no spoilers. The film took nineteen days to shoot. Watch our quick interview. Synopsis: No escape. No …

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At a Screening of Dog Man the Movie

It was an enjoyable screening with two of the grandsons. The five year old said it was happy and sad at the same time. And he loved it! The twelve year old who has read …

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Unstoppable Streaming on Prime Video

Unstoppable is the inspiring true story of Anthony Robles (Jharrel Jerome) who was born with one leg but whose indomitable spirit and unbreakable resolve empowered him to defy the odds and pursue his dreams. With the …

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 The Speed to the BoxOffice

“Sonic 3 will beat out Mufasa, for sure!” — JimmityCritic (12) Sonic the Hedgehog 3, what a fun evening with the grandkids it was. When you have a 12, 10 and 5 year-old clap their hands at the end …

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Mufasa: The Lion King the Prequel

Mufasa: The Lion King was entertaining and the production value was amazing to watch. Set in Africa, all-new film blends live-action filmmaking techniques with photoreal computer-generated imagery.  My 12 year-old grandson thought it was one …

LOCKED Is Intense and Entertaining A talk with the DirectorAt a Screening of Dog Man the MovieUnstoppable Streaming on Prime VideoSonic the Hedgehog 3 The Speed to the BoxOfficeMufasa: The Lion King the Prequel

Valerie Cruz has had kind of a weird career…and it’s just getting weirder

You’ve seen her before–plenty. She first got noticed almost eight years ago, in FX’s strangely wonderful plastic surgery series Nip/Tuck, and she’s been keeping busy ever since, with guest shots in every quality hour-long drama you can think of, as well as extended arcs or full seasons in SyFy’s The Dresden Files, HBO’s Dexter and True Blood, and most recently as one of the overly dedicated doctor in ABC’s ill-fated Off The Map. And she’s kept busy on the movie side as well, with a steady stream of strong independents like The Line with Andy Garcia, The Devil’s Tomb with Ron Pearlman, and the upcoming Loft opposite James Marsden.

Notice the weirdness: a SyFy series about urban magic, a season as a modern-day vampire on True Blood, Read the rest of this entry »

Miguel Ferrer: A Smart, Tough Guy Visits Wisteria Lane

Miguel Ferrer is surrounded by legends. It’s actually genetic: his father was Miguel Ferrer, the first Latino actor to win an Academy Award (for The Caine Mutiny). His mother was the equally legendary singer Rosemary Clooney, and Miguel toured with her and Bing Crosby when he was a boy (in fact, he didn’t start taking acting seriously until after Crosby died.) George Clooney is his cousin. So is Carlos Campo, the first Hispanic president of Regent University. He’s bandmates with Bill (Lost in Space) Mumy. Debby (You Light Up My Life) Boone is his sister-in-law.

We’re not finished. He played drums Read the rest of this entry »

Alfred Molina: Attorney, Cop, and Killer…and that’s just this year

In just the last few months, we’ve seen Alfred Molina, one of the best Latino actors in the business, play a detective and an attorney on Law & Order: Los Angeles…then switch gears and play an accused wife-killer in a multi-episode arc of Harry’s Law. And that is just the latest in a long string of “man of a thousand faces” portrayals that began, believe it or not, with Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Molina was born in London; his mother was an Italian housekeeper and his father a Spanish waiter. But what he really is, is ethnic. There is a powerful aura around the man that signals foreigner, other, outsider, pretty much all the time. And he’s made a career of that. “I’ve given a few
good Jews,” he says about his own acting career. “I’ve given a few Read the rest of this entry »

Karen Olivo hides Tony under a bushel, joins “Harry’s Law”

The Kathy Bates legal dramedy Harry’s Law barely squeaked into Season Two, given its lowest ratings and luke-warm critical reception. And part of the plan to bring it back big is, as usual, a revamp (removing at least some of the elements that made it marginally interesting, like a legal office in a bad neighborhood’s shoe store, or Brittany Snow as a paralegal). Mark Valley (Boston Legal, The Human Target, Fringe) is in as a new lawyer, Jean Smart has a recurring role as shark-like opposing counsel, and–best of all–Broadway star Karen Olivo is now working for Harry in her fancy new office.

It’s wonderful to see Olivo on a regular basis. She’s made the rounds of all the ‘classy’ TV shows already–guest shots on Criminal Minds, The Good Wife, and all three Law Read the rest of this entry »

Jon Huertas, “Castle’s” Secret Weapon

You have to watch those quiet ones. If most of what you know about Jon Huertas is his work on ABC’s Castle as one of the hard-working and often pretty funny detectives on Kate Beckett’s (Stana Katic’s) team–and one of Rick Castle’s (Nathan Fillion’s) greatest fans–then you have no idea just how talented this guy is.

He’s an actor, a musician, a producer, and a Tweet monster. In fact, he had an online musical performance on StageIt “from a secret location” just last Sunday, and if we at Se Fija! had been on top of it, we would have let you know about it in advance (next time for sure…and if anybody’s got reviews or footage of the show, let us know!). Read the rest of this entry »

Disney Channel actually celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with new programming and special episodes

After the freeze-out at the Emmys, it’s nice to see some genuine interest and authentic focus on Latinos from one of the biggest players in the entertainment business: the Disney Channel.

We don’t often quote big chunks from studio press releases, but this time we’re happy to:

Disney Channel celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month beginning Thursday, Sept. 15 with a host of original programming, including:

  • Kid-focused interstitials highlighting family heritage and cultural traditions.
  • A brand new “Handy Manny Great Garage Rescue” special, featuring guest stars Ed O’Neill (Modern Family), Freddy Rodriguez (Ugly Betty), George Takei (Star Trek) and Harold Perrineau (Lost) alongside series star Wilmer Valderrama.
  • A new episode of Special Agent Oso featuring Rita Moreno (West Side Story), Rico Rodriguez (Modern Family) and Raini Rodriguez (Prom). Read the rest of this entry »

Twelve Network Series with Latinos in the mix premiere this week

It had a slow start last week, but now–finally!—The Fall 2011 TV Season is really taking off, with an even dozen series featuring Latinos in regular roles premiering this week alone.

Monday, 9/19:

Jon Huertas and the entire Castle (minus Ruben Santiago-Jones, who betrayed them all and died for it last season!) returns with the season premiere, Monday night at 10P on ABC.

Eddie Cibrian is at his most suave and sophisticated in The Playboy Club, opening its 1960ish doors for the first time tonight, 10P on NBC. Read the rest of this entry »

Latinos Ignored at the “Emmy Awards” (again): 2 out of 65 acting noms, invisibility everywhere else

If you go to the Emmy web site, you’ll see a breathless countdown clock as we stagger towards the Sunday night Show. You’ll find handsome pictures of all the nominees, comprehensive lists of producers, lots of behind-the-scenes stuff…but what you won’t see are Latinos, in front or behind the camera. At least so few that it’s embarrassing.

There are sixteen ‘major’ performance and programming awards being given this year, to actors, actresses, and programs themselves. There are three others for reality programming and “music or variety” shows. You will find recognizably Latino names in exactly two of them–Sofia Vergara Read the rest of this entry »

Comedy Central Thinks Latinos Are Funny

Gabriel Iglesias gets a six-episode showcase for Latino comics, starting October 6

Gabriel Iglesias is a big, big guy who is big, big funny. With his funny voices, shotgun delivery and occasionally giddy on-stage personal, the “fluffy” comic in the Hawaiian shirt has been a popular addition to late-night stand-up TV for quite a while, from The Tonight Show to Conan to JKL. He’s also had two hour-long specials on Comedy Central already: I’m Not Fat, I’m Fluffy, and Hot and Fluffy (both available on DVD, by the way). According to ComCen, they’ve sold over a million copies combined–not bad at all.

Now Comedy Central, the Viacom home of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are taking the next step with the Latino comic as he hosts Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand-Up Revolution, filming at Stand Up Live in Phoenix, Arizona Read the rest of this entry »

HBO presents “The Latino List,” living portraits of prominent Latinos, beginning Sept. 28 & 29

Way back when, a director named Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, a celebrated portrait photographer whose work is in the collections of numerous museums (the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Metropolitan Museum, the National Portrait Gallery), worked with Elvis Mitchell and Freemind Ventures to produce The Black List Project, a series of three HBO documentaries, a traveling museum exhibition of portraits, a book and DVDs. It did tremendously well. In fact, The Black List, Volume 1 received a NAACP Image Award. Now Greenfield-Sanders has returned to HBO with The Latino List, the beginnings of a similar project, Read the rest of this entry »

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