John Ortiz Movies
A tough and slightly surly character actor most at home in ethnically oriented Hollywood roles, John Ortiz often found himself cast as nefarious hoods and toughs. Ortiz landed one of his earliest assignments with a 1992 guest appearance on Law & Order, then branched out into A-list supporting roles in such features as Carlito's Way (1993), Ransom (1996), Piñero (2001), and Miami Vice (2006). Ortiz essayed two extremely different cinematic assignments in 2007: a part in the Ridley Scott-directed period crime drama American Gangster and one in the sci-fi-horror opus Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide- 1992
A 17-year-old suffers a fatal heart attack which results in a major traffic accident. This tragedy leads to a morass of legal complications involving the sale of faulty pacemakers. Assistant D.A.'s Stone (Michael Moriarty) and Robinette (Richard Brooks) must determine who, at the end of the day, is truly to blame: the dead youth's doctor, the pacemaker salesman, or the manufacturer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Carlito's Way is a tale of a former hood trying to escape his former life. Al Pacino is Carlito Brigante, a high-level Puerto Rican drug dealer sprung from a three-decade jail sentence after only five years, thanks to a technicality and his sleazy, cocaine-addled lawyer, Dave Kleinfeld (Sean Penn). Carlito renounces his previous ways and takes a job as the manager of a club that Kleinfeld has invested in, planning to save enough money so that he can eventually move to the Caribbean. But no sooner is Carlito back on the streets of New York than his old life claws at him in the form of both old partners (Luis Guzman) and vicious up-and-comers (John Leguizamo). Nevertheless, Carlito stays clean and even restarts his relationship with a dancer named Gail (Penelope Ann Miller), until he is finally led astray by Kleinfeld, who manipulates Carlito into participating in the murder of a Mafia don from whom Kleinfeld has stolen a million dollars. At that point, the race is on to see whether Carlito and Gail can escape his world for good. The film is based on two novels about Carlito written by New York State judge Edwin Torres. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
The classic 1955-59 sitcom The Phil Silvers Show (also known as "You'll Never Get Rich" in its first few episodes) became this high concept comedy with an all-star cast. Steve Martin stars as U.S. Army Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko, a conniving motor pool supervisor who uses his position to finance various get-rich-quick schemes, including illegal gambling, at a Kansas military base. His commanding officer, Colonel Hall (Dan Aykroyd) is mostly oblivious to Bilko's antics. Trouble arrives when the master sergeant's old rival, Major Thorn (Phil Hartman), appears. It seems that Thorn, the butt of several past Bilko capers, is eager to settle the score by spearheading a review of Bilko's records and stealing away his fiancée Rita (Glenne Headley), who may have been left at the altar one too many times. At the same time, military engineer Major Ebersole (Austin Pendleton) is testing a new high-tech "hover tank" that may not be quite ready for deployment. Directed by light comedy specialist ($Jonathan Lynn, who brought a similar touch to My Cousin Vinny (1992) and Greedy (1994), the updated Sgt. Bilko costarred Cathy Silvers, daughter of the TV show's late star, as Lieutenant Monday. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, (more)
Ron Howard directed this thriller which stars Mel Gibson as Tom Mullen, a former fighter pilot who built a ramshackle one-plane airline into a major multinational service fleet. Mullen has a multi-million dollar fortune, a beautiful wife, Kate (Rene Russo) and a nine-year-old son, Sean (Brawley Nolte) that he dotes on. However, Mullen's life comes crashing down around him when Sean is kidnapped. The FBI are called in, but Mullen is wary -- he was the recent target of an FBI investigation in which he was found to have bribed union officials while negotiating a contract. FBI Agent Hawkins (Delroy Lindo) advises Mullen to make the $2 million dollar drop to pay the kidnappers, which will make it easier to track the criminals, but when the tradeoff goes wrong, Mullen takes a new tactic -- he goes on television and offers a $2 million bounty for the heads of the people who kidnapped his child. Meanwhile, it becomes clear the kidnappers include Maris Connor (Lili Taylor), who once worked for the Mullens, and Jimmy Shaker (Gary Sinise), one of the cops who investigated Mullen for bribery. This remake of the 1956 Glenn Ford vehicle of the same name was scripted by Richard Price, who has a bit part as a police detective. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, (more)
This Steven Spielberg-directed exploration into a long-ago episode in African-American history recounts the trial that followed the 1839 rebellion aboard the Spanish slave ship Amistad and captures the complex political maneuverings set in motion by the event. Filmed in New England and Puerto Rico, the 152-minute drama opens with a pre-credit sequence showing Cinque (Djimon Hounsou) and the other Africans in a violent takeover of the Amistad. Captured, they are imprisoned in New England where former slave Theodore Joadson (Morgan Freeman), viewing the rebels as "freedom fighters," approaches property lawyer Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey), who attempts to prove the Africans were "stolen goods" because they were kidnapped. Running for re-election, President Martin Van Buren (Nigel Hawthorne) overturns the lower court's decision in favor of the Africans. Former President John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) is reluctant to become involved, but when the case moves on to the Supreme Court, Adams stirs emotions with a powerful defense. The storyline occasionally cuts away to Spain where the young Queen Isabella (Anna Paquin) plays with dolls; she later debated the Amistad case with seven U.S. presidents. The character portrayed by Morgan Freeman is a fictional composite of several historical figures. For authentic speech, the Africans speak the Mende language, subtitled during some scenes but not others. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, (more)
This off-beat urban anthology offers four different views of the mayhem and destruction that came from the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The first vignette "Gold Mountain," directed by Galen Yuen, centers on a struggle between a traditional-minded Chinese storekeeper and his increasingly uncontrollable son, who is assimilating rapidly into American ghetto life. Their relationship explodes as their store is looted during the riot. Alex Munoz's "Caught in the Fever," featuring a screenplay by the late Joe Vasquez, follows the corruption of a basically good Latino couple who get caught up in the riot's hysteria and set aside their values participate in the chaos. In "Empty" an Anglo policeman finds himself in the center of the riot alone and surrounded by angry youths who force him to take desperate measures. The final vignette, "Homecoming Day" centers upon a black man who managed to escape South Central and forge a better life for himself and his wife. The day the verdict for the Rodney King trial was announced, he goes back to the old neighborhood to see his mother, not realizing that the place will soon become a maelstrom of hatred and violence. In making this anthology, the four filmmakers created continuity by having characters from each film occasionally appear in the background of the other films. They also all utilized the same cinematographer, editor and basic crew. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Perry, Cicely Tyson, (more)
- 1997
Originally an episode of the Touched by an Angel spinoff Promised Land, this is the conclusion of a two-part story begun on Angel (and as such is included in the current Angel syndication package. Having been chosen to act as the "eyes" for temporarily inded angel Monica (Roma Downey), young Joshua Greene (Austin O'Brien) is himself rendered sightless in a drive-by shooting. Dr. Serena Hall (Lynn Whitfield) holds Michael Burns (George Newbern), the man who brought Joshua to the inner-city Denver neighborhood where the shooting occurred, responsible for the tragedy, but both Monica and friendly beauty-shop owner Queenie (Jenifer Lewis) do their best to alleviate Michael's guilt feelings. Meanwhile, Joshua's dad Russell (Promised Land star Gerald McRaney) rallies the neighborhood to take a strong stand against gang violence. Evidently, this episode was intended as the pilot for a new series starring George Newbern, which never got off the ground; however, the Denver-ghetto setting would be utilized again during Promised Land's third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
In this first episode of a two-part story, Tess (Della Reese) pays a visit to the Greene family, the protagonists of the Touched by an Angel spinoff series Promised Land. She informs Joshua Greene (Austin O'Brien) that God has reserved a special purpose for him, specifically act as the "eyes" for the temporarily blinded Monica during her next assignment. Hitching a ride with one Michael Burns (George Newbern), Joshua and Monica end up in a rundown Denver neighborhood, where Michael's grandfather runs an inner-city mall. Here the travellers befriend lunch-counter owner Mary Harding (Esther Rolle) and her grandchildren Calvin (Sean Nelson) and Chanice (Myriah Darden), and also beauty salon proprietor Queenie (Jenifer Lewis). Unfortunately, the neighborhood is rife with tension over a dangerous band of "taggers" who have covered the walls with gang graffiti--and just before the episode ends, tragedy strikes one of the principal characters. Though the concluding half of this story originally aired as an episode of Promised Land, it is currently included in the Touched by an Angel syndication package. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Tony Gerber made his directorial debut with this anthology film, a comedy-drama that opens with a 1950s black-and-white newsreel focusing on the ethnic diversity of New York City. This multicultural mix is dramatized in five interlinked tales set in each of NYC's five boroughs on a hot summer day: In Manhattan, a Soho fashion designer on the brink of eviction begins a relationship with a Japanese department store buyer. In the Bronx, the daughter of a Puerto Rican baker thinks her lover can provide a portal to a glamorous, successful life. For the Queens segment, Gerber expanded his 1995 short film, A Small Taste of Heaven, about a gambling Romanian butcher's apprentice who dreams of someday purchasing a nice suburban house for his wife. On Staten Island, the wife of an Indian limousine driver is treated like a servant by her husband's visiting brother. In Brooklyn, a West Indian man makes the mistake of pawning his wife's family heirlooms to buy a Cadillac. Shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valeria Golino, Shashi Kapoor, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benjamin Bratt, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
Notoriously obsessive director Michael Mann and star Will Smith devoted nearly two years and over 100 million dollars from the coffers of Columbia Pictures and other financiers to creating this biography of boxing great Muhammad Ali, which focuses on the ten-year period of 1964-1974. In that time, the brash, motor-mouthed athlete quickly dominates his sport, meets and marries his first wife (Jada Pinkett-Smith), converts to Islam (changing his name from Cassius Clay), and defies the United States government by refusing to submit to military conscription for duty in Vietnam. His world heavyweight champion title thus stripped from him entirely for political reasons, the champ sets about to win back his crown, culminating in a legendary unification bout against George Foreman (Charles Shufford) in Zaire, dubbed the "Rumble in the Jungle." In his travels, Ali becomes a symbol of power to disenfranchised African-Americans everywhere and meets such luminaries as Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles), Martin Luther King Jr. (LeVar Burton) and Maya Angelou (Martha Edgerton). Ali features an all-star supporting cast that includes Jon Voight, Giancarlo Esposito, Jamie Foxx, Nona Gaye, Michael Michele, Joe Morton, Paul Rodriguez, Ron Silver, Mykelti Williamson, and Jeffrey Wright. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, (more)
New York City may be the city that never sleeps, but that means some people have to stay awake all night to look after the folks whose days begin after the sun goes down; this made-for-premium-cable drama looks at a group of cabbies trying to get by while working the night shift. The Lady Luck Cab Company is a taxi service run by Box (Sarita Choudhury), who inherited the failing business from her late father and is struggling to keep it afloat against long economic odds as Lady Luck's drivers work long shifts in some of the Big Apple's less picturesque neighborhoods. Hershey (Danny Glover), one of Lady Luck's drivers, was once a professional boxer, but when his athletic career went south, so did his wife, and now he drives a hack while trying to romance George (Pam Grier), a good-looking waitress who likes Hershey, but is frustrated with his schedule, which rarely allows him a night off. This is bad news for Hershey, since Ralph (Paul Calderon), a regular at the diner where George works, has been making a play for her as well. Another driver, Salgado (Michelle Rodriguez), is a short-fused Latin American woman who is frequently the victim of sexual harassment from her customers, which makes her all the more difficult to be around. Jose (Bobby Cannavale) thinks he's hit the jackpot when he discovers a briefcase full of cash has been left in his cab, though he has reason to believe it's stolen. And Rasha (Sergej Trifunovic), a refugee from Bosnia, is still tormented by the violence that cost his family their lives, and has trouble concentrating on his driving, leading him into more than one auto accident. While the drivers deal with their individual dilemmas, all of them are suddenly wary of their customers, thanks to reports of a serial killer preying on New York's cab drivers. Produced for the Showtime premium cable network, 3 A.M. was screened at the Sundance Film Festival prior to its broadcast debut, where it earned an enthusiastic reception. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Glover, Pam Grier, (more)
Suspended from the police force following an undercover drug bust gone horribly awry, Detroit undercover narcotics officer Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) is reluctantly goaded back into active duty in hopes that he can help to crack the case of a slain fellow officer. Promised reinstatement in the force in exchange for his efforts, Tellis is paired with the victim's volatile ex-partner Henry Oak (Ray Liotta) and soon begins to actively seek the killer in an increasingly complex case. A recent father whose wife fears for her husband's safety and begs him not to take back to the dangerous streets, Tellis struggles with his conscience as he navigates a twisting road of half-realized truths, shifting loyalties and questionable agendas. With every step closer to Tellis gets to solving the troubling murder, he grows farther away from his wife and newborn son, and edges ever closer to a resolution so complicated that it threatens to devour his soul and shatter every preconceived difference he has ever made between cop and criminal. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, (more)
Pop icon Marc Anthony steps into the role of Salsa superstar Hector Lavoe in this biopic that follows the singer from his early career success as a Puerto Rican teen sensation to his later status as a New York City Latin idol while also documenting his ongoing struggle against drug and alcohol addiction. Actress and pop star Jennifer Lopez co-stars as Puchi; Lavoe's longtime muse and love interest. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, (more)
Writer and director Michael Mann updates the groundbreaking television crime series he created in the 1980s with this stylish thriller. Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) and Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) are two police detectives working undercover in Florida; Tubbs is smart, cool, and resourceful, while Crockett has his own way of doing things, though he stays close enough to the rules to stay out of trouble. Their latest assignment is to get the goods on Arcangel de Jesus Montoya (Luis Tosar), a local drug kingpin whose men are believed to be responsible for a handful of recent murders. In order to infiltrate Montoya's operation, Tubbs and Crockett pose as powerboat racers willing to use their talents to pilot drug-smuggling ships for the right price. The detectives' ruse works, but as they dig deeper into Montoya's inner circle, they become involved in a dangerous operation that will take them to Haiti and Cuba, where neither the Miami Police Force nor the United States government can help them if things go wrong. Crockett also begins walking a risky path when he begins an affair with Isabella (Gong Li), a woman high up in Montoya's organization. Miami Vice marked Michael Mann's third consecutive directorial effort with Jamie Foxx after Ali and Collateral. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, (more)
- 2006
Dante's classic poem The Divine Comedy gets a modern update in this edgy indie from writer/director Matthew Harrison. Set in New York City, Tami Reynolds plays a lovelorn woman who follows Kris Park as they set off in search of paradise. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tami Reynolds, Kris Park, (more)
A teacher and his students open up new worlds for one another in this urban drama inspired by a true story. Pierre Dulaine (Antonio Banderas) is a prize-winning ballroom dancer and instructor from Manhattan who volunteers his services to a high school in one of the roughest neighborhoods in the Bronx. Principal Augustine James (Alfre Woodard) in turn gives Dulaine a tough assignment -- a detention class with some of the biggest troublemakers on campus. When the kids learn that Dulaine intends to teach them how to dance in the classic style, they're incredulous at best and dismissive at worst -- until Dulaine demonstrates his moves for the class. While Dulaine's charges -- including Rock (Rob Brown), LaRhette (Yaya DaCosta), Ramos (Dante Basco), Eddie (Marcus T. Paulk), and Sasha (Jenna Dewan) -- respect his talent, they have their own way of dancing, and as they mix hip-hop moves with ballroom discipline, they create an exciting new style. Dulaine also strives to instill self-confidence and a work ethic in his kids, insisting they can make their way out of the ghetto if they're willing to try. Screenwriter Dianne Houston based Take the Lead on the real-life story of Pierre Dulaine, who taught dance as a volunteer to at-risk students at New York elementary schools. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown, (more)
Visual effects specialists Greg and Colin Strause both make their feature directorial debut with this no-holds-barred monster mash that attempts to set itself apart from the 2004 Paul W.S. Anderson original by serving as a straight-up sci-fi horror scarefest. The aliens (and a predator) have landed on planet Earth, and small-town America is about to become the scene of an epic interstellar showdown. As these two breeds of cosmic killers clash in the small-town streets Gunnison, CO, the locals are sent running for their lives. From the murky sewers to the rain-soaked streets, Gunnison has become a total bloodbath. Nowhere is safe, especially from the unstoppable new hybrid known as the "predalien." Now, as the once-quiet community of Gunnison is overrun by Aliens, the only hope for humankind is a fierce hunter from the deepest reaches of space. But this predator is far from a benevolent savior of the human race, because he'll kill any man, woman, or child who gets in the way of his mission to destroy every last alien under these stormy Colorado skies. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, (more)
Director Ridley Scott spins this yarn concerning a Harlem drug kingpin (Denzel Washington) who smuggles heroin into the country by hiding it in the bodies of U.S. soldiers killed during battle in Vietnam. There was a time when no one noticed reserved driver Frank Lucas (Washington), but when the criminal kingpin he was charged with transporting through the city streets suddenly dies, Lucas seizes the opportunity to build his own criminal empire. In the following months, Lucas solidifies his status as Harlem's most innovative drug dealer by delivering a product that is purer than the competitors' and cheaper, as well. When innovative businessman Lukas attempts to go semi-legit by becoming one of the Manhattan borough's biggest civil supporters, however, street-savvy outcast cop Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe) begins to sense a sizable shift in the hierarchy of the drug underworld. But Roberts is one of the few honest detectives operating within a corrupt system, and as he sets out to investigate the case, crooked detective Trupo (Josh Brolin) does everything in his power to compromise the integrity of his idealistic counterpart. Upon clearing all of the usual Mafia-connected suspects, Roberts begins to believe that a previously unknown black power player has come out of the woodwork to dominate the local drug trade. While Roberts and Lucas may be operating on opposite sides of the law, the one thing that both men have in common is a strict code of ethics that separates them from their opportunistic colleagues. Now, as a confrontation between the two men becomes inevitable and the fate of each becomes inexorably tied to the other, it gradually becomes apparent that only one of them will emerge from the conflict victorious. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, (more)
A depressed young man moves back in with his parents and finds his life turned upside down as he struggles to choose between the beautiful daughter of a close family friend and the scintillating but volatile next-door neighbor whose passion helps to reignite his lust for life. The third screen outing for writer/director James Gray and actor Joaquin Phoenix following We Own the Night and The Yards, Two Lovers co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Isabella Rossellini, and Vinessa Shaw. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, (more)
Director Gavin O'Connor collaborates with Narc director/screenwriter Joe Carnahan on this family-focused police drama concerning an honest homicide detective (Edward Norton) assigned to investigate the precinct run by his potentially crooked older brother (Noah Emmerich). As the investigation begins to reveal some troubling facts about the precinct, it gradually becomes apparent that the policeman who is also the older brother's best friend (Colin Farrell) may be the man orchestrating many of the suspected crimes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, (more)
Based on author Bryan Burrough's ambitious tome Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43, director Michael Mann's sprawling historical crime drama follows the efforts of top FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale ) in capturing notorious bank robber John Dillinger. A folk hero to the American public thanks to his penchant for robbing the banks that many people believed responsible for the Great Depression, charming bandit Dillinger (Johnny Depp) was virtually unstoppable at the height of his criminal career; no jail could hold him, and his exploits endeared him to the common people while making headlines across the country. J. Edgar Hoover's (Billy Crudup) FBI was just coming into formation, and what better way for the ambitious lawman to transform his fledgling Bureau of Investigation into a national police force than to capture the gang that always gets away? Determined to bust Dillinger and his crew, which also included sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi), Hoover christened Dillinger the country's very first Public Enemy Number One, and unleashed Purvis to take them down by whatever means necessary. But Purvis underestimated Dillinger's ingenuity as a master criminal, and after embarking on a frantic series of chases and shoot-outs, the dashing agent humbly surmised that he was in over his head. Outwitted and outgunned, Purvis knew that his only hope for busting Dillinger's gang was to baptize a crew of Western ex-lawmen as official agents, and orchestrate a series of betrayals so cunning that even America's criminal mastermind wouldn't know what hit him. Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, and Stephen Dorff co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, (more)
