The Mambo Kings

I thought the srory was great and protrayed very well. I even wept in one of Antonio's scenes. Great acting!... Full review

don't you love watching highly-paid actors phone in their performances? This film was a huge disappointment after reading the book which was excellent. Less entertaining than a PTA meeting.... Full review

Excellent "mambo" music and colorful characters made me rate this a "9" after the first viewing. After several looks, the novelty - how many mambo movies are there? - wore off and it settled in as an "8 stars" film... Full review

I saw this movie for the first time in 1995 on television and it has been a favorite of mine ever since.Armand Assante was absolutely awesome! Pure male magnetism just oozed from his pores in this role and I think... Full review

Except for "The Hotel New Hampshire" this has got to be the worst movie ever made. The acting is horrendous and the storyline so thin you can see through it. I wish the whole cast would have died in the car... Full review

Cuban brothers arrive in America with a suitcase full of songs, hearts filled with passion and a desire to make it big in the promised land. One is a bit more passionate than the other, who likes the simple life... Full review

The first time I saw this movie, I cried. It brought out emotions I did not know I had. The performances were phenomenal. I knew Antonio could sing but Armand Assante was a huge surprise! The late, great Celia Cruz... Full review

The movie is just great. The acting is so-so but the story and the music makes up for it. If you really enjoy the movie read the book. It really takes you back to that time.... Full review

freaky good, what can i say i was bord and this entertained me.Antonio Banderas show some og his talents in this ine of his early works. who would had tought how far he has come to.... Full review

Regarding the recent death of Latin superstar Celia Cruz, I was surprised by the lack of mention of her role in this film in the various obituaries and tributes I read. I don't know if she made movies in Cuba,... Full review

Nonetheless, The Mambo Kings is a fine, underrated time capsule of a movie swimming in the atmosphere and glorious music of a period long gone. Art dealer turned movie producer Arne Glimcher made his directorial debut in 1992 with The Mambo Kings , an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Oscar Hijuelos. ... Full Review

Undaunted, the Castillos form their own band, the "Mambo Kings," and have another chance at stardom when a big-time music impresario, Fernando Perez (Roscoe Lee Browne), spots them and offers them a job; but Cesar is too proud to work for anyone but himself and, of course, turns him down. ... Full Review

In fact, Nestor writes his greatest song about Maria, "Beautiful Maria of My Soul," a lovely, heartfelt song that was nominated for an Oscar....Assante and Banderas work splendidly together, regardless of the fact....Still and all, I doubt that anyone who enjoys the music....On their first night in town at a big club, Cesar does an impromptu drum solo with legendary musician Tito Puente, where it looks.... ... Full Review

The flip side of The Mambo Kings is how compromise-and the refusal to compromise-keeps that moment from ever being savored again. Unfortunately, the drama goes downhill with the band's career. ... Full Review

And it is those moments, showcasing the film's music, that make "The Mambo Kings" worth seeing - with an extra boost by Assante's energy level as Cesar. They soon have a band, "The Mambo Kings," and play lively Latin music highlighted by original songs penned by Nestor. ... Full Review

BY ARIEL GONZALEZ BEAUTIFUL MARIA OF MY SOUL. Oscar Hijuelos. Hyperion. 352 pages. $25.99. In Oscar Hijuelos' Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love , two Cuban musician brothers become one-hit wonders in the United States after... ... Full Article

"Beautiful Maria of My Soul" by Oscar Hijuelos (Hyperion, 338 pages, $25.99): Oscar Hijuelos' prequel to his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love," starts out innocently enough. ... Full Article

Sunsets and Margaritas: Comedy. By Jos? Cruz Gonz?lez. Directed by Amy Gonzalez. With Tommy A. Gomez, Roxane Carrasco, Daniel Valdez. Through April 4. TheatreWorks, Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. ... Full Article

May 4th, 2009 TCM's latest edition of Race in Hollywood, an ongoing series of retrospectives that examines ethnic representation in American cinema, turns its focus to the Latin community and the depiction (good, bad and otherwise) of its people by... ... Full Article

Pentimenti are the shadows of images covered over by later brushwork that emerge in old paintings. The word derives from the Italian "pentirsi" - to repent - which suggests that the artist reconsidered an earlier choice. ... Full Article