800 Bullets 2002 N/R, 124 min. Genre: Comedy / Western
Director: Alex de la Iglesia Cast: Sancho Gracia, Angel de Andres Lopez, Carmen Maura, Eusebio Poncela, Luis Castro, Manuel Tallafe, Enrique Martinez, Luciano Federico, Eduardo Gomez, Terele Pavez, Gracia Olayo, Ramon Barea
Twelve-year-old Carlos (Luis Castro) searches for and finds his grandfather, stuntman Julian Torralba (Sancho Gracia), who plies his trade at Texas, Hollywood–a dilapidated movie set in the Almerian desert. Trouble brews just as the two begin to bond when Carlos' uptight mother (Carmen Maura) bursts onto the scene with intentions of tearing down the ghost town and turning it into a profit-making amusement park.
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Alice and Martin 1998 R, 124 min. Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Andre Techine Cast: Juliette Binoche, Alexis Loret, Mathieu Amalric, Carmen Maura, Jean-Pierre Lorit, Marthe Villalonga, Roschdy Zem, Pierre Maguelon, Eric Kreikenmayer, Jeremy Kreikenmayer, Kevin Goffette, Christiane Ludot, Ruth Malka-Viellet, Jocelyn Henriot, Patrick Goavec
After his father's mysterious death, Martin (Alexis Loret) leaves for Paris, becomes a model, falls in love with Alice (Juliette Binoche), and suffers a nervous breakdown when he learns that Alice is pregnant. Alice then is faced with uncovering the demons of Martin's past if she is to find future happiness with him.
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The Comet 1998 N/R, 95 min. Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Jose Buil, Marisa Sistach Cast: Diego Luna, Ana Claudia Talancon, Carmen Maura, Gabriel Retes, Patrick Le Mauff, Manuel Ojeda, Arcelia Ramirez, Fernando Rubio, Rodolfo Arias, Juan Carlos Colombo
Set in 1910 during the Mexican Revolution, this film follows Valentina (Ana Claudia Talancon) who has just witnessed her father's arrest for publishing material unfavorable to the dictator and for being a sympathizer of rebel leader Medero. Valentina takes cover in a traveling circus with the intent of delivering a bag of gold to Medero in San Antonio, Texas. Valentina not only falls in love with the son, Victor (Diego Luna), of the show's owner, but she becomes the star attraction as she continues to elude authorities and get to Medero.
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Common Wealth 2000 R, 106 min. Genre: Foreign / Comedy aka: The Community
Director: Alex de la Iglesia Cast: Carmen Maura, Eduardo Antuna, Maria Asquerino, Jesus Bonilla, Marta Fernandez Muro, Paca Gabaldon, Ane Gabarain, Sancho Gracia, Emilio Gutierrez Caba, Kiti Manver, Terele Pavez, Enrique Villen
Real estate agent Julia (Carmen Maura) moves into a luxury apartment that she is trying to sell. The apartment is in an old, rundown building inhabited by oddballs who keep a watchful eye on her. First, the dead owner of the apartment is found followed by finding a hidden fortune. But now she finds that she is being held captive by the other inhabitants of the building who all know of the money and have agreed to share it among themselves. And the terror begins in this dark comedy/thriller.
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Move Over, Mrs. Markham 1985 N/R, 85 min. Genre: Foreign / Comedy
Director: Fernando Trueba Cast: Ana Belen, Carmen Maura, Antonio Resines, Santiago Ramos, Veronica Forque, Guillermo Montesinos, Bibiana Fernandez, Chus Lampreave, Jose Luis Fernandez, Miguel Rellan
Paco and Fernando's (Santiago Ramos and Antonio Resines) publishing company is about to go under, so they manage to gain a contract with Adela (Chus Lampreave), a leading author of children's books. At the signing, the "fun" begins when partner trading and other wild love trysts begin.
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Queens 2005 R, 107 min. Genre: Foreign / Comedy / Romance
Director: Manuel Gomez Pereira Cast: Marisa Paredes, Carmen Maura, Veronica Forque, Mercedes Sampietro, Betiana Blum, Gustavo Salmeron, Unax Ugalde, Hugo Silva, Daniel Hendler, Raul Jimenez, Paco Leon, Fernando Valverde, Lluis Homar, Jorge Perugorria
Five mothers (Marisa Paredes, Carmen Maura, Veronica Forque, Mercedes Sampietro, and Betiana Blum) cope in their own unique ways with the marriages of their gay sons at a mass wedding celebrating Spain's first legal gay marriages.
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Tetro 2009 N/R, 127 min. Genre: Drama
Director: Francis Ford Coppola Cast: Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich, Maribel Verdu, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Carmen Maura, Rodrigo De la Serna, Leticia Bredice, Mike Amigorena, Sofia Castiglione, Erica Rivas, Francesca De Sapio, Silvia Perez, Adriana Mastrangelo
Thinking about launching a literary career, 18-year-old Bennie (Alden Ehrenreich) leaves his orchestra conductor father and arrives in Buenos Aires looking for his half-brother Tetro (Vincent Gallo). He arrives at Tetro's apartment and is greeted by a less than enthusiastic reception from Tetro and his common-law wife Miranda (Maribel Verdu). In an effort to better understand his brother, Bennie searches around Tetro's apartment and discovers Tetro's unfinished manuscript. After being hit by a motorcycle, Bennie convalesces and decides to spend his time helping Tetro by secretly finishing Tetro's play. He sends it off to critic "Alone" (Carmen Maura) who proclaims it a masterpiece. But, there are still family secrets to be revealed if Bennie and Tetro are to really understand each other.
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Valentin 2002 PG-13, 84 min. Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Alejandro Agresti Cast: Rodrigo Noya, Carmen Maura, Julieta Cardinali, Jean Pierre Noher, Mex Urizberea, Alejandro Agresti, Carlos Roffe, Lorenzo Quinteros, Marina Glezer, Stefano Di Gregorio, Fabian Vena, Juan Cruz Bordeu
Nine-year-old Valentin (Rodrigo Noya) lives in Argentina with his grandmother (Carmen Maura) because his father (Alejandro Agresti) is a brute living in another city, and his mother (Marina Glezer) doesn't come to see him. Lacking friends of his own, a lonely Valentin schemes to have a happy, loving family.
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Volver 2006 R, 120 min. Genre: Foreign / Comedy / Drama aka: To Return
Director: Pedro Almodovar Cast: Penelope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Duenas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo, Chus Lampreave, Antonio de la Torre, Carlos Blanco, Maria Isabel Diaz, Nues Sanz, Leandro Rivera, Pepa Aniorte
The definition of "Volver" is "To Return," and the theme of being haunted by the dead is carried out in this story by two sisters, Raimunda (Penelope Cruz) and Sole (Lola Duenas), who lost their parents in a fire years ago in La Mancha. Raimunda and Sole now live in Madrid but return to La Mancha regularly to visit their Aunt Paula (Chus Lampreave). After Aunt Paula dies, Sole learns that their mother, Irene (Carmen Maura), has been hiding with her sister, and, with the loss of Paula, the past returns with more than a few twists and turns. Penelope Cruz received a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
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What Have I Done to Deserve This? 1984 N/R, 100 min. Genre: Foreign / Comedy
Director: Pedro Almodovar Cast: Carmen Maura, Luis Hostalot, Ryo Hiruma, Angel de Andres Lopez, Gonzalo Suarez, Veronica Forque, Juan Martinez, Chus Lampreave, Kiti Manver, Sonia Anabela Holimann, Cecilia Roth, Pedro Almodovar
Gloria (Carmen Maura) works hard to keep some sort of order in a wildly dysfunctional family. Husband Antonio (Angel de Andres Lopez) is a cabbie (and forger on the side) and is infatuated with an aging opera star for whom he was once a chauffeur. His current issue revolves around two writers who have written a manuscript that is intended to be the memoirs of Hitler–if Antonio will copy it in Hitler's handwriting. One son sells heroin while the other moves in with a gay dentist. Meanwhile, the mother-in-law is perhaps the most weird. A fun romp.
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Women 1997 N/R, 94 min. Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Luis Galvao Teles Cast: Miou-Miou, Carmen Maura, Marthe Keller, Marisa Berenson, Geusch Patti, Joaquim de Almeida, Morgan Perez, Didier Flamand, Robert Guilmard, Maurice Chevit
Five middle-aged friends–Eva (Miou-Miou), Linda (Carmen Maura), Barbara (Marthe Keller), Chloe (Marisa Berenson), and Branca (Guesch Patti)–agree to be videotaped for a segment of Linda's TV show on which they will discuss their lives and loves through sarcasm, tears, and laughter.
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Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown 1988 R, 89 min. Genre: Foreign / Comedy / Drama
Director: Pedro Almodovar Cast: Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas, Julieta Serrano, Rossy de Palma, Maria Barranco, Kiti Manver, Guillermo Montesinos, Chus Lampreave, Yayo Calvo, Loles Leon, Angel de Andres Lopez, Fernando Guillen, Juan Lombardero, Jose Antonio Navarro, Ana Leza
Actress Pepa Marcos (Carmen Maura) gets dumped by her lover, but that's only the beginning of her story. When her ex-lover's son, Carlos (Antonio Banderas), arrives at Pepa's apartment, she takes him in along with his wife. Carlos proceeds to have an affair with Pepa's good friend, Candela (Maria Barranco), who Pepa has also taken under her wing because she is a fugitive from justice. When they talk to a lawyer, she just happens to be the new lover of Pepa's ex-lover. And the plot keeps twisting and turning.
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| 1. 800 Bullets (2002)
2. Alice and Martin (1998)
3. The Comet (1998)
4. Common Wealth (2000) aka: The Community
5. Move Over, Mrs. Markham (1985)
6. Queens (2005)
7. Tetro (2009)
8. Valentin (2002)
9. Volver (2006) aka: To Return
10. What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984)
11. Women (1997)
12. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
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