Stewart Steinberg Movies
A man finds himself caught between several worlds -- rough real life and a number of parallel fantasy lands -- in this blend of drama and fantasy. Jorge (Octavio Gómez Berríos) is a painfully shy young man from Ecuador who has immigrated to the United States. Jorge keeps body and soul together by washing dishes at a greasy-spoon diner in a Queens, NY, neighborhood that's dominated by a wide variety of fellow immigrants. Jorge spends most of his days at work being harassed by Rick (Mandy Patinkin), the diner's owner, and loud-mouthed manager Jerry (Aaron Paul). One of the only people at the diner who shows any kindness to Jorge is Amy (Eugenia Yuan), an Asian waitress, and Jorge has become deeply infatuated with her. However, Jerry also has his eyes on Amy, only adding to the tension between him and Jorge. As Jorge struggles to escape his grim circumstances, he passes into a variety of alternate realities, ranging from a pastel-colored wonderland ruled by animated bunnies to a grassy sylvan past a fence. Choking Man was written and directed by Steve Barron, best known for his groundbreaking work in music videos; the film received its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Octavio Gómez Berríos, Kate Buddeke, (more)
- 2005
When the disemembered head and arm of a female murder victim is found in a junkyard, the SVU team launches an extensive search for the killer. Several false leads later, a man comes forth with a confession--but this is not the end of the story, which involves a black-market ring specializing in illegal body parts. The plot takes a poignant turn when it is determined that the dead woman's missing kidney is about to be donated to an ailing youngster. This case is especially fascinating to Detective Munch (Richard Belzer), if for no other reason than it reunites him with attractive, hearing-impaired medical investigator Amy Solwey (Marlee Matlin). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
A tourist's video recorder captures the image of three men loading a stolen plasma TV into an SUV. The light-fingered trio find themselves murder suspects when a dead woman turns up in the apartment that they apparently robbed. As the trial progresses, ADA Serena Southerlyn (Elisabeth Rohm) cannot shake the feeling that the circumstantial evidence is not sufficient to send three dumbfounded people to their deaths. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
A teenager is found dead in a hospital ER. The subsequent investigation leads to a bizarre religious ritual, "dictated by a saint." Once the D.A.'s office takes over the case, they must deal with a self-styled prophet with a powerful gift for mass persuasion -- which may prove problematic once the fanatical defendant faces a jury of peers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
In this fourth-season opener of Law & Order, Robert Klein guest stars as controversial, confrontational TV talk show host Rick Mason. During one of Mason's broadcasts, a guest is murdered on the air (and this show was telecast long before the Jenny Jones affair). The DA's office endeavors to prove that Mason provoked the tragedy -- and that, in so doing, he is himself an accessory to murder. Jill Hennessy and S. Epatha Merkerson join the regular cast as, respectively, Assistant DA Claire Kincaid and police lieutenant Anita Van Buren. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Saul (Dudley Moore), a married psychiatrist, becomes romantically obsessed with Chloe (Elizabeth McGovern), one of his patients. Chloe has already devastated one psychoanalyst, and although the venerable Freud himself (Alec Guinness) appears to counsel Saul in his worst moments, the man continues on his tormented way. In spite of notable names in the acting field, neither the subsidiary characters nor the story itself rise above the limited dialogue and plot. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dudley Moore, Elizabeth McGovern, (more)
- 1980
- R
The Island, a turgid action drama directed by Michael Ritchie, revolves around the adventures of Maynard (Michael Caine), a newspaper reporter who tries to solve the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. Maynard, and his son crash-land on a remote island ruled by a gang of pirates who kill anyone who intrudes there. From beginning to end, The Island is slow, uninvolving and very bloody. The terrible script by Peter Benchley, who also wrote Jaws, is jagged and the dialogue is cliched. The film was an economic disaster and is only of interest because of a good score by Ennio Morricone. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Caine, David Warner, (more)
"Oh my God, that's my daughter." So read the advertising copy of Hardcore. George C. Scott plays Jake Van Dorn, a man of means and conservative values who discovers that his precious daughter is appearing in X-rated films. Desperately making his way through the sub-rosa world of pornography, Van Dorn talks to pimps, prostitutes, and other such sterling individuals in hopes of locating his daughter and dragging her home. At one point, he falsely advertises himself as a porn producer in hopes that his little girl will show up for an interview. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George C. Scott, Peter Boyle, (more)
- 1978
This lively musical comedy pays tribute to the birth of rock & roll in the late 1950s and the instrumental role played by disc jockey Alan Freed who helped bring the new sound into vogue. Much of the story centers on the daring deejay's attempts to put on the very first live rock & roll stage show at the Paramount Theatre in Brooklyn. To do this he must overcome the protests of concerned and angry parents, conservatives, and local police. Several performers of the era appear in the film including Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim McIntire, Fran Drescher, (more)
- 1977
Kojak (Telly Savalas) and his fellow detectives offer moral support to their police-officer colleague Richie Centorini (Joey Aresco), who is going through an unusually nasty divorce. The biggest thorn in Richie's side is his wife's sleazy attorney Everett Coughlin (played by future movie-studio executive David Ladd), who intends to take the hapless cop for every penny he has. When Centorini's private boat is torch--and a man killed in the process--suspicion falls upon Coughlin...and even worse, there's the possibility that Richie's ex-wife Sally (Shera Danese) may have been an accomplice. Future comedy star Joe Flaherty appears in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Larry Peerce directed this tired disaster movie about a mad sniper loose in a football stadium. At the beginning, the sniper picks off a cyclist for practice and then takes roost in the top tower of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Sent in to stop the terror is Captain Peter Holly (Charlton Heston), who wants to get his hands on the sniper without endangering the lives of the people in the stadium. Unfortunately, there is a second group of law enforcement officers, a tactical commando group, who want to go into the stadium and rush the sniper -- regardless of the danger such an action would cause to the crowd watching the game. The sniper plans to start blasting at the two-minute warning signal of the football game. Holly has to find the sniper before the two-minute warning is given -- not merely to prevent the killings threatened by the sniper but to head off the tactical force before any other unnecessary deaths are incurred by the force's bulldog techniques. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlton Heston, John Cassavetes, (more)
