Ed Vassallo Movies
- 2003
A mentally challenged man named Robbie Delgado (Chandler Adrian Parker) is arrested for the murder of a luxury-car dealer. It turns out that Delgado may have killed at the behest of Tina Montoya (Vanessa Ferlito), a beautiful and manipulative young woman with very expensive tastes. The problem: Although a case can be mounted against Delgado, the mercenary Montoya may very well get off scot-free. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Miguel Pinero became a leading figure in New York's art scene during the 1970s as a poet, actor, and playwright whose vibrant, often pointed, work spoke directly to the lower classes and to disenfranchised minorities. As a founder of the influential Nuyorican Poets Cafe, his poetry soon became recognized as a forerunner to rap and hip-hop music. TV screenwriter turned director Leon Ichaso spins this impressionistic biographical look at this artist. Raised in an abusive family, Pinero (Benjamin Bratt) turns to streets for solace. Soon he is engaging in petty crime, drug dealing, and addiction. When he finds himself in Sing-Sing, he turns his experiences in prison into the play Short Eyes, which eventually garners him seven Tony awards in 1974. Uncomfortable with his new fame, he clings to his girlfriend, Sugar (Talisa Soto), and his childhood buddy, Miguel Algarin (Giancarlo Esposito), who is a literature professor and who co-founded the Nuyorican Cafe. Though Pinero makes cameos on such shows as Kojak, his art begins to suffer as he starts to succumb to his drug addictions. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Benjamin Bratt, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 2000
In latter-day Manhattan, mere mortals co-exist with classical entities. One such entity is Allissandra (Teri Lamm), a Muse who is consumed with despair over the decision of Fate (Ryan Dunn) to off her lover, the young composer Ralph. Numbering among the deceased composer's friends are John (Ed Vassallo) and Zoe (Sarah Winkler), novelists who have been married for seven years; John's friend Jonas (Charles Tuthill), a musician and conductor; Cedric (Gordon Elliott), a British museum curator; and Cedric's very young girlfriend Karen (Kat Gang), a painter. Also in the picture are Fame (Bridget Moynahan) and Fortune (Vivienne Benesch), who promise to give Ralph's work the recognition it deserves. Eventually, the depressed Allissandra realizes that she's had enough of Fate, and rallies Fame, Fortune, Cause & Effect (Robin Dorian), and the male Muse David (Holter Graham) around her to make a provocative wager with the entity. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bridget Moynahan
- 1999
Jonathan (Kevin Corrigan) is a computer expert who is a bit shy and lonely, though he's recently begun courting a schoolteacher named Judy (Amy Ryan). One night, Jonathan encounters a Latina prostitute named Roberta (Daisy Rojas), whom he's convinced he knew as a child. Jonathan is immediately obsessed with Roberta, though not for sex, which she finds more puzzling than reassuring. Jonathan soon moves Roberta into his apartment, begins teaching her office skills, even asking Judy to help take care of her. Roberta is not sure what to make of Jonathan's improvement program, her short-tempered pimp is decidedly unhappy with this arrangement, and Jonathan's friends try to convince him he's making a mistake. This socially and politically charged melodrama was shown in competition at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kevin Corrigan, Daisy Rojas, (more)
