358 Best Movies to Watch In Spanish (Page 24)

Based on Mark Miller and Peter Gross' graphic novel American Jesus, The Chosen One opens with a tedious build-up and a predictable plot. The possibilities are endless when you have a superpowered Christ-like boy as a protagonist, but in four of the six episodes watched, the pacing only manages to come up with a myriad of miracles, a teenage love triangle, and strange voices in the wind. Even more potential is lost as side stories begin and never end, giving side characters backstories that only resurface to contextualize Jodie's story. The worst of these is when one of Jodie's spiritual possessions overshadows Tuka (the only native in his friend group), who is protesting the mistreatment of the Yaqui tribe. And although the Mexican setting and the secrets behind Jodie's powers were initially exciting, the show ends up feeling as narrow as its 4:3 ratio.

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Bobby Luhnow, Carlos Bardem, Dianna Agron, Juanito Anguamea, Lilith Curiel

Rating: TV-MA

Good ol’ fashioned live-audience sitcoms feel like a thing of the past, especially with Netflix’s whole season drops, and the binge-watching culture that has developed due to streaming. End of the Line brings back the sitcom approach, with Rodrigo Sant'anna and Roberta Rodrigues leading the comedic ensemble as a bickering driving divorced couple forced to share a space, but the fast-paced Brazilian show isn’t the laugh-out-loud, hilarious comedy of yesteryear. With an actual live audience that they actually show, it’s possible that some of the humor might be specific to the country. There are some moments that might pull out a chuckle or two, but most of the comedy feels more like clumsy improv, rather than well-written jokes based on characterization, set-up, and chemistry.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Rodrigo Sant'anna

Rating: TV-14

Cindy la Regia: The High School Years has interesting and relatable plot points. With her unfashionable and socially-unaware cousin moving into her home, Cindy has to introduce her to the rich and privileged world of San Pedro Garza García, while trying to adjust to co-ed high school, joining resume-friendly philanthropic organizations, and generally succeeding. It’s practically Clueless, but with other details scribbled in. Except… events in the first few days lead her to be ostracized, so she can’t actually introduce her to things. And her cousin isn’t actually socially inept. And emotional outbursts come and go without any build-up or warning. It’s possible that the show had to rush through its plot to ensure it fits the spry seven episode runtime, but Cindy la Regia: The High School Years feels like a cash grab for the successful 2020 Mexican film it’s based on.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Carola Cuarón, Luciana Vale, Michelle Pellicer, Nahuel Escobar, Vincent Michael Webb

At its core, this series is a socio-economic commentary wrapped in heavy discrimination of poor and queer communities with a sprinkle of Disney Channel music numbers. It tackles issues like gentrification, climate change, the refugee crisis, and homophobia, but even for a teen drama, this all feels like too much, especially since it forwards a forbidden romance above all else. It tries to save face with music; the show uses songs and musical expression to bridge the divide between the people about to lose their neighborhood and the rich kids oblivious to it all. But the talent show quality eclipses the impact. One should expect the large cast and storylines to iron themselves out after two episodes, but with the class-difference romance carrying the bulk of the story forward, the investment isn't worth it.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Erika de la Rosa, Jorge Salinas, Mar Sordo, Marco de la O, Roberto Aguilar

The idea behind the accident itself, the reason this story exists, is hard to wrap your head around because it borders on silly—how do you get a missing girl from that? The way it’s filmed doesn’t help either, as for the most part, you can’t tell if the bouncy house is just tipping over or what. The show sells itself as really serious and melodramatic, and I’m sure it is, but the execution really gets in the way. There are other things to be infuriated about, as well, like the unnatural expository dialogue, and the jumping timelines in the first episode that seem like they didn’t even trust that they could hold your attention with the main storyline. And maybe their instincts were right.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Alberto Guerra, Ana Claudia Talancón, Eréndira Ibarra, Erick Elías, Erik Hayser, Macarena García, Regina Blandón, Sebastian Martinez

Rating: TV-MA