Fun Movies for the Familia

Family Fun Night.

For me, those words bring images of Friday nights filled with board games, movies, and pizza. Of course, FFN does require some preparation.

The most difficult part of FFN, in my opinion, is the preparation. After all, not all movies are family friendly. Of course, a good recommendation can go a long way in this process.

What follows is a good list of movies. This list features both movies in Spanish or, if it is in English, movies featuring Latinx actors.


Are you a fan of superhero movies? Are you interested in watching a Spanish language superhero movie? If so, I think you will like this film. This movies takes the Superman trope and makes it funny.

Super Lopez is sent to Earth by his father and mother to prevent him falling in the hands of a villain. In this case, the super baby lands and is raised in Spain. Early on, Super Lopez wants to showcase his alien superhero skills. His father, a Spanish garage owner, explains to him that in Spain mediocrity is preferred. Super Lopez grows up to be a low level manager in a technology company.

Unfortunately, Super Lopez is chased to Earth by an alien supervillain who seeks to return him to the home planet for the purposes of turning him over to her father, the master villain. At age 30, he must achieve his super potential. Here, the story becomes extremely comical and endearing. I highly recommend this movie to all.


This is a 2014 movie whose storyline features a Mexican-American protagonist who endeavors to break into a career that is plagued with racism and sexism. Sushi chef. The movies ending is beautiful and poignant. It demonstrates the power of human drive to succeed.


This movie uses Pedro Infante as the central protagonist. For those who might not now, Pedro Infante is the cultural icon in Mexican history that defined for generations what it meant to be a man.

This movie poses the question, could a womanizing former cultural icon return to earth, fix problems for his biggest fan, and earn entry into heaven? In a fun, slightly sexist storyline, the protagonist learns how to become more sympathetic to the women of the world. If this story sounds familiar, it is. It is inspired by “Down to Earth” starring Chris Rock and “Heaven Can Wait” starring Warren Beatty.

Movie Review: Desierto

“Desierto” is a horror/action movie starring my favorite Mexican actor, Gael Garcia Bernal. It also features Jeffrey Dean Morgan as antagonist/bad guy/monster. Garcia Bernal plays a man trying to get back to his son who is living in California. Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays a man embittered by conservative rhetoric on immigration who sees himself as the person protecting the US-Mexico border.

The movie features a small group of people crossing the border. The coyotes (slang name given to human traffickers) who are paid to transport these people have a problem with the vehicle. They force their people to walk through the desert (i.e. Desierto) and that is when the real horror begins.

The movie focuses on the action of Morgan hunting migrants. The anxiety of whether or not Garcia Bernal will die carries the movie quite well. Despite the lack of dialogue, the movie is quite good and extremely horrifying. The scariest part of the story is the mind of Morgan. The rhetoric that demonizes immigrants serves to infect the minds of people who listen to it. Overall, I recommend the movie.

Do you like horror movies featuring real life monsters (i.e. murderers) or invented monsters?