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HBO's most recent Spanish-language series, Like Water for Chocolate, lives under two great shadows. The first one is, of course, Laura Esquivel's seminal novel, a classic of Hispanic literature and one of the two finest examples of Mexican magical realism. The second is the 1992 film adaptation starring Lumi Cavazos and Regina Torn, which remains highly regarded today as a key entry into the New Mexican Cinema movement of the late 20th century.

During the 1960s, foreign language films achieved unprecedented box office success in the United States. International auteurs such as Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Luc Godard, and Federico Fellini were household names. In the years since, foreign language films have fallen out of fashion with American audiences for a multitude of reasons.

Americentric views, minimal marketing, and an overall preference for blockbuster movies over arthouse cinema have all contributed to a decline in the popularity of foreign language films in the United States. However, there have been a select few foreign language films that managed to capture the attention of American audiences, becoming massive box office hits in the U.S.

Like Water For Chocolate Is One Of Mexico's Most Acclaimed Films (1992)

Like Water for Chocolate

When tradition prevents her from marrying the man she loves, a young woman discovers she has a unique talent for cooking. Starring Lumi Cavazos and Marco Leonardi.

Wes Anderson has never won an Oscar, much to the consternation of many indie film lovers. With six career nominations to his credit, he’s certainly a chief member of the Overdue Auteurs Club. But he could cash in that awards Iou with “Isle of Dogs,” an animated fantasy about a future where Japan has banished pups to a remote island to combat a strain of canine flu. It opens on Friday, March 23. Could the academy finally reward him with a Best Animated Feature win? And how does this latest effort compare to the rest of his filmography? Tour through our photo gallery above of all nine of Anderson’s films ranked from worst to best.

Anderson made his directorial debut with “Bottle Rocket” (1996), released when he was just 27-years-old. He received his first Oscar nomination five years later: Best Original Screenplay for “The Royal Tenenbaums” (2001). He followed that eight...

Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki is a brilliant cinematographer whose work has helped shape the landscape of modern cinematic photography. During his 32-year career, Lubezki has worked with such greats as Mike Nichols, Joel and Ethan Coen, Terrence Malick, and Michael Mann, as well as technology-defying directors such as Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu. He even worked alongside Martin Scorsese as a camera operator on The Rolling Stones documentary Shine a Light, alongside Robert Richardson.

Lubezki’s latest project reunites him with Iñárritu for a brooding, intense historical epic about fur trapper Hugo Glass. Although the movie itself receives a somewhat mixed reception, Lubezki’s photography alone is worth the price of admission, as we noted in our yearly cinematography wrap-up. Before checking out The Revenant when it opens wide this Friday, we’ve selected some of our favorites in his illustrious filmography, each exquisite in their own unique ways. Please enjoy below,...

Moviefone's Top DVD of the Week

"Only Lovers Left Alive"

What's It About? Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston star as gorgeous, globe-trotting vampire lovers in this delectable treat from writer/director Jim Jarmusch

Why We're In: As Adam and Eve, Hiddles is the mopey yin to Swinton's yang. The costumes and production design are to die (or live forever) for. John Hurt, Mia Wasikowska, and Jeffrey Wright shine in smaller roles. In a word, it's gorgeous.

Rt 4 chance 2 win Tom Hiddleston's vampire drama #OnlyLoversLeftAlive -- on DVD this week! http://t.co/PJSHeLWlOu

- moviefone (@moviefone) August 17, 2014

Moviefone's Top Blu-ray of the Week

"Y Tu Mama También (Criterion)"

What's It About? Alfonso Cuarón's road trip romance features star-making performances by Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, who play two young dudes who both become infatuated with an older woman. Beautiful, sexy, and sad.

Why We're In: Now when...

Today sees the latest film from director Wes Anderson, "Moonrise Kingdom," hit theaters, and consistent with the music-obsessed filmmaker's work, it's as much a treat for the ears as it is for the eyes. 'Moonrise' boasts another soundtrack of unexpected cuts assembled with the great music supervisor Randall Poster, including Francoise Hardy, Hank Williams, and for the first time, a significant amount of classical music including Benjamin Britten and Leonard Bernstein. And if that's not enough, there's also additional pieces by Alexandre Desplat and drum percussion by old musical cohort Mark Mothersbaugh.

But as is the case with most films, not everything's on the official soundtrack release, which is in stores now: the movie features three additional Hank Williams songs, and pieces by Mozart and Schubert that aren't included on the disc. Given that Anderson's films are so replete with music, the soundtracks have quite often left out key songs for licensing or other reasons,...

Netflix has revolutionized the home movie experience for fans of film with its instant streaming technology. Netflix Nuggets is my way of spreading the word about independent, classic and foreign films made available by Netflix for instant streaming.

Sorry, folks… there are simply too many great films streaming this week to post an image for them all, but that’s a good thing, eh? You’ve got your movie watching work cut out for you, due in great part to Miramax releasing damn near their entire catalog of films on one day!

B. Monkey (1999)

Streaming Available: 05/01/2011

Director: Michael Radford

Synopsis: Good-hearted schoolteacher Alan Furnace (Jared Harris) desperately wants some excitement in his life — and he may just get some. One lonely night at a London bar, Alan spies the raven-haired beauty Beatrice (Asia Argento) arguing with two friends, Paul (Rupert Everett) and Bruno (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers). Beatrice quickly befriends Alan and...

Maids and butlers are hired to keep things clean, but they consistently fill our minds with dirty thoughts. That's the conundrum we faced when trying to choose only ten of cinema's sexiest maids and butlers. It was tough, but in the spirit of spring cleaning, we did all the messy work for you. 

10) Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) - Blue Crush

This hotel is our idea of heaven; all the housekeepers are surfer babes who run around giggling with each other before they strip down on the beach and shred waves. She's only acting as a housekeeper for a couple scenes, but Kate Bosworth looks great in this short flowered skirt. The thought of coming back to our room to find her rifling through our things would be enough to make us stay another night.

9) Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) - The Dark Knight

Yes, Michael Caine has grayed since the swinging '60s.

Chicago ??? Criterion made their debut on the next-gen format this month with a series of imports from standard to Blu-Ray, the first film by a regular for the Collection, Wes Anderson’s “Bottle Rocket”, and the movie that introduced Wong Kar-wai to the world, “Chungking Express”.

“The Third Man” and “The Last Emperor” were two of the most lauded releases on standard DVD for The Criterion Collection, so their inclusion in the first wave of Criterion Blu-Ray titles makes sense, but making “Bottle Rocket” and “Chungking Express” two of Criterion’s premiere HD titles was an unusual choice from a company known for doing things a little differently.

It begs an obvious question - Was anyone dying to see the low-budget debut of the Wilson brothers in stunning 1080p High-Definition? Even “Chungking Express”, with the accomplished visual sensibility of the great Wong Kar-wai, doesn’t seem like the obvious choice...

Back in June I watched Bottle Rocket for the first time knowing it was a film many loved, but considering I am not much of a Wes Anderson fan I expected very little - which is to say I expected to dislike it. For the most part I am relatively neutral on Anderson's movies; I neither like or dislike them and for the most part could just do without the majority of them altogether. I have never been able to finish The Royal Tenenbaums, I just couldn't get into that movie. Rushmore and The Life Aquatic are relatively harmless and I never watched The Darjeeling Limited since even Anderson fans didn't seem to like that film too much. Bottle Rocket, however, is a completely different story and Criterion's Blu-ray release is a phenomenal effort well worth the dollar. It's filled with special features to excite any fan of the film...

Hollywood International Film Festival

What gets exposed in "Exposed" is a lack of thought or ability behind the misbegotten project.

A sleazy, self-described "ambush journalist" (Tate Donovan) from a tabloid TV show sets out to get the dirt on three female TV journalists. Their only crime is having been nominated for a prestigious broadcasting award. What he digs up is hardly dirt. Light dust, perhaps.

Susan Andrews (Brenda Strong), a Martha Stewart-like queen of the household, is obsessive-compulsive and doesn't spend enough time with her family. Hardly the sort of scandal the real Martha Stewart is going through. Jade Blake (Gia Carides), a tough journalist and host of her own news show, fudged her bio by giving her English working-class parents university posts they never had, which hardly makes her another Stephen Glass.

Laura Silvera (Lumi Cavazos), a top Mexican broadcast journalist who co-hosts the No. 1 U.S. network morning program, depends too much on a half-witted New Age guru. But is this scandal? Has the film's writer-director-producer, Misti L. Barnes, read a newspaper lately? Scandal in America has moved way beyond such trivial misdemeanors.

This tedious exercise in celebrity trashing is crudely shot as much of the action is seen through the lens of the tabloid journalist's video camera. But even when the movie is not peering through his shaky lens, colors appear washed-out and the quality of the "sets" -- mostly corridors and backstage areas at TV stations -- is dull. Actors struggle with poorly conceived and written roles, maintaining their dignity but never locating anything dramatic in their characters.

Hollywood International Film Festival

What gets exposed in "Exposed" is a lack of thought or ability behind the misbegotten project.

A sleazy, self-described "ambush journalist" (Tate Donovan) from a tabloid TV show sets out to get the dirt on three female TV journalists. Their only crime is having been nominated for a prestigious broadcasting award. What he digs up is hardly dirt. Light dust, perhaps.

Susan Andrews (Brenda Strong), a Martha Stewart-like queen of the household, is obsessive-compulsive and doesn't spend enough time with her family. Hardly the sort of scandal the real Martha Stewart is going through. Jade Blake (Gia Carides), a tough journalist and host of her own news show, fudged her bio by giving her English working-class parents university posts they never had, which hardly makes her another Stephen Glass.

Laura Silvera (Lumi Cavazos), a top Mexican broadcast journalist who co-hosts the No. 1 U.S. network morning program, depends too much on a half-witted New Age guru. But is this scandal? Has the film's writer-director-producer, Misti L. Barnes, read a newspaper lately? Scandal in America has moved way beyond such trivial misdemeanors.

This tedious exercise in celebrity trashing is crudely shot as much of the action is seen through the lens of the tabloid journalist's video camera. But even when the movie is not peering through his shaky lens, colors appear washed-out and the quality of the "sets" -- mostly corridors and backstage areas at TV stations -- is dull. Actors struggle with poorly conceived and written roles, maintaining their dignity but never locating anything dramatic in their characters.

Although the title might at first blush suggest a comedy about drag queens, "Mascara" is a drama about a trio of female best buddies on the cusp of 30 who decide to conceal their emotional blemishes no longer and to get their messy lives in order.

The second feature from Linda Kandel ("Naked Jane") is fraught with self-absorbed, touchy-feely psychobabble - the kind of chick flick that gives chick flicks a bad name.

While bright performances and somewhat gratuitous nudity keep it from being completely insufferable, even the indie's target audience will turn elsewhere for messages of empowerment.

Kandel, who has said her intention was to update the classic women's film, does the genre no favors with her tediously insular profile of three Southern California friends at a crossroads.

First, there's Laura ("Like Water for Chocolate"'s Lumi Cavazos), a therapist who needs a little counseling after her marriage to selfish, big-spending Donnie (Steve Schub) goes south shortly after the wedding.

Then there's free-spirited Rebecca (Ione Skye), who's on the verge of committing to a relationship with older photographer Nick (played nicely by ex-Sex Pistol Steve Jones) when his incestuously flirtatious daughter (Tara Subkoff) moves back in with him, propelling Rebecca instead to have a tryst with a young man (Corey Page) who turns out to be Nick's son. Oh, and her life takes on deeper meaning when she learns that the father she thought long dead is alive and well and selling used cars in Northern California.

Last but not least, there's highly unsympathetic Jennifer Amanda De Cadenet), who, unable to forgive her husband for a past infidelity, ups and leaves him and their young daughter one day, checks into a San Francisco hotel, gets drunk and picks up a creep who subsequently rapes her.

Given what they have to work with, the cast - particularly Skye and Cavazos - does an admirable job grounding their soapy characters in credibility, and Kandel coaxes good things out of them.

While her script isn't always somber and introspective, Kandel's periodic attempts at light comedy fall awkwardly flat.

Considering the picture's low budget, technical contributions are impressive, though after the first half-hour of enduring cameraman Francois Dagenais' fondness for handheld sequences, you want to take up a collection and buy him a tripod.

MASCARA

Phaedra Cinema

An Anamorph Films production

Director-screenwriter: Linda Kandel

Producer: Crocker Coulson

Director of photography: Francois Dagenais

Editor: Jane Pia Abramowitz

Music: Steven Medina Hufsteter

Music supervisor: Tequila Mockingbird

Color/stereo

Cast:

Rebecca: Ione Skye

Laura: Lumi Cavazos

Jennifer: Amanda de Cadenet

Nick: Steve Jones

Donnie: Steve Schub

Daphne: Tara Subkoff

Andrew: Corey Page

Aunt Eloise: Karen Black

Running time - 94 minutes

MPAA rating: R...