Jose Rabelo Movies

Karyn Kusama makes her debut with this sensitive, subtly told coming-of-age story about boxing and love. Diana (Michelle Rodriguez) is a tough though painfully honest girl living in Brooklyn. Surly, frustrated, and directionless, Diana seems to have a ticket on the express train to expulsion; she repeatedly finds herself in detention and schoolyard fights. At home, her weak though abusive single father Sandro (Paul Calderon) clearly favorites her bookish brother Tiny (Ray Santiago) over her. While running an errand for her father, Diana finds herself in one of New York's more renowned boxing gyms, and she instantly connects to the same. Though traditionally a thoroughly male pastime in Latino culture, Diana perseveres and gains self-worth thanks to the help of gruff Panamanian trainer Hector (Jaime Tirelli). Soon Hector assumes the role of Diana's father from her deadbeat biological progenitor. As Diana gains physical strength and agility in the ring, she finds herself drawn to the dashing boxer Adrian (Santiago Douglas), who is supposedly involved with someone else. Slowly though, the two give into their mutual attraction and fall completely in love. Fate intervenes when the two lovers are scheduled to fight one another in the ring, forcing each to choose boxing or love. Executive-produced by none other than John Sayles, this film received rave reviews at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

In the tradition of neorealist films like Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief comes an American film (in Spanish) about Latin-American immigrants living in New York City. La Ciudad, which was screened in the American Spectrum series at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, was directed by David Riker, who spent five years researching the project and working with the non-professional actors in the film to capture the impoverished authenticity of life on the streets in New York's Latino community. All four stories concern the lives of poor, working-class people. In the four segments, a young bricklayer is killed when a wall collapses on him; two teenagers fall in love at a Sweet 15 party, only to lose each other in a housing project; a homeless man cannot enroll his daughter in school because he lacks proof of residency; and a seamstress in a sweatshop cannot pay for her daughter's medical treatments. The stories have tragic endings, reflecting the harsh realities of life in the ghettos of New York. ~ Arthur Borman, Rovi

The reinstatement of New York's death penalty is the catalyst for this emotion-charged episode. Executive Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston) insists upon using capital punishment to deal with the murderer of an undercover cop. But McCoy's more moderate associate Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) disagrees, citing a powerful argument against execution presented by defense attorney Helen Brolin (Maria Tucci). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Two socialites find their view of the world changed when a young man takes advantage of their preconceptions in this thoughtful comedy-drama. Flan and Ouisa Kittredge (Donald Sutherland and Stockard Channing) are a married couple who have built highly successful careers as art dealers catering to Manhattan's upper crust. The Kittredges are entertaining friends one evening when a young black man named Paul (Will Smith) appears at their door. Paul says that he's a close friend of their children, with whom he attended boarding school, and he's just been mugged and needs to get off the street for a moment. Flan and Ouisa invite him in, and they are immediately taken by Paul's intelligence and charm; he offers to prepare dinner, regales them with stories about his father, Sidney Poitier, and ends up spending the night at their apartment. However, the next morning Flan and Ouisa discover that they've been had; Paul is actually a con artist from the streets who has been pulling the wool over the eyes of many of their friends -- and his actions are beginning to have serious consequences. John Guare adapted the script from his own successful stage play; the supporting cast includes Ian McKellen, Mary Beth Hurt, Bruce Davison, and Heather Graham. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Robin Williams stars as Vladimir Ivanoff, a Russian sax player working in a circus whose home life with his warm and colorful family does not compensate for his feelings of repression and lost opportunity in his native land. When the circus comes to New York, Williams goes on a shopping trip to Bloomingdale's -- where he suddenly announces his intention to defect. Befriended and given a place to stay by security guard Lionel Witherspoon (Cleavant Derricks), Vladimir makes the slow and sometimes painful transition from Russian to American citizen, helped along by his lady love (and fellow immigrant), Lucia Lombardo (Maria Conchita Alonso), and immigration attorney (and onetime Cuban refugee) Orlando Ramirez (Alejandro Rey). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Christopher Walken stars in John Irvin's graphic adaptation of Frederick Forsythe's novel about a mercenary sent to overthrow the government of an African country. Walken is Shannon, an American soldier of fortune who has staged incidents in Central America and Africa that helped topple governments. Shannon decides to take on one more mission when American businessman Endean (Hugh Millais), working for a large mining company wanting to move into an African country, hires Shannon to scout out the terrain of the country and see if the government is weak enough to be overthrown. Shannon assumes the guise of a photographer for a nature magazine and travels through the country, meeting a wide-array of people. But the government becomes suspicious of Shannon and throws him in jail, where, between torture sessions, he meets an imprisoned dissident leader. Through his imprisonment, Shannon comes to understand more fully the struggles of the African country. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Amy Irving plays a deaf woman whose ambition is to become a professional dancer in this drama. Rosemarie Lemon is unhappy with the support she is getting from her family for her dreams. She meets a sensitive truck driver, Drew Rothman (Michael Ontkean), and they become lovers. Rothman's family is full of hatred for the world and ridicules his dream of becoming a singer. Their common ambitions and need for support make their relationship stronger, as each pursues a dream. Director Robert Markowitz uses rock & roll songs to fill in the parts in the movie where Lemon's deafness is emphasized. The soundtrack includes tunes by Burton Cummings, Tom Petty, and Willie Nelson. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi