Gary Perez Movies

Carlos (Manny Perez) is a talented artist who draws comics for a living. He's desperate to move out of his Washington Heights neighborhood. His girlfriend, Maggie (Andrea Navedo) feels more connected to the neighborhood. She's not so eager to leave. Carlos's best friend, Mickey (Danny Hoch), works as a super in the building his father owns, but he dreams of being a professional bowler. He's scheming to raise three grand to enter an open tournament in Las Vegas. Carlos's father, Eddie (accomplished Cuban-born actor Tomas Milian, who starred in Michelangelo Antonioni's Indentificazione di una donna), owns a neighborhood grocery store, and is well-liked in the neighborhood for his friendly way of doing business. Despite his advanced age, he's also a ladies' man, and was so even before Carlos's mother passed away. His philandering ways account for a lot of the tension between father and son. Carlos wants to draw his own comic book, but his boss, David (David Zayas) tells him that while he's got technical ability, his work is soulless. But Carlos's plans for the future are disrupted when Eddie is shot and critically wounded during a robbery at the store. Carlos resentfully takes care of his ailing father, and runs the store until Eddie can go back to work. Carlos's growing understanding of his community, and his father's importance to it, is reflected in his work, and he has a creative breakthrough. Meanwhile, Mickey's moneymaking schemes get him into trouble with Angel (Bobby Cannavale), Maggie's gangster brother. Washington Heights was directed by Alfredo De Villa, who wrote the script with Nat Moss. Novelist Junot Diaz (Drown) wrote additional dialogue. The film was shown at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival, and at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival, where it received a Special Mention. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

This made-for-cable thriller-chiller was filmed in Ohio, where most of the story takes place. A pair of young brothers, Andrew (Jase Blankfort) and Carl (Trey Rogers), cannot get their fill of the spooky ghost stories told by local undertaker Mr. Bennett (Frank Langella). The boys are particularly fascinated by the legend of a brace of long-deceased Siamese twins -- one good, one evil -- who were literally torn apart at the time of their funeral. Intending to learn more about the twins, the adventurous Andrew conducts a séance, only to get more than he bargains for when he releases a horrifying demon, which promptly wreaks havoc upon the community. It is up to Andrew's mild, unassuming brother Carl to undo the damage -- if it isn't already too late. Cry Baby Lane made its Nickelodeon TV debut on October 28, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bartender Ronnie (Cameron Dye) has gone from one job to another a lot over the years, and he wants to settle at a place that he can call his own. So Ronnie teams up with his friend Dave (Kevin Geer) and together they raise the money to buy a popular bar in Manhattan. However, while things start out well for Ronnie and Dave, business has its ups and downs and soon they're in financial trouble; as they add fine dining and live music in an effort to keep people coming in, Ronnie and Dave find themselves learning the hard way about keeping a bar afloat. Meanwhile, Ronnie's love life takes it on the chin when his girlfriend leaves him, and Dave has to tighten his belt when he's let go from his regular job. The Tavern was the feature debut for director Walter Foote, and was screened at Ireland's Galway Film Festival in the summer of 1999. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

How long can a grown-up hold on to her childhood dreams? That's the question posed in this independent drama. Lena (Marlene Forte) is an actress who has just turned 32, and she doesn't feel especially good about it. Lena promised herself years ago that once she turned 30, if she hadn't become a success in her profession, she would quit the theater and get a "real" job. Two years after her deadline, she still clings to her dream, but with considerably less hope and enthusiasm. Her boyfriend Mike (Gary Perez) just packed in his own acting career for a job with a steady salary and health insurance, and he's pressuring her to do the same so that they can get married and raise a family. Lena's agent Jorge (David Zayas) doesn't seem to believe in her and doesn't send her out for important auditions, while casting directors find her too difficult to cast; a Cuban-American, Lena looks too ethnic for many roles, but she isn't dark enough to conform to the visual stereotype of a villain. Lena is forced to ask herself if she's willing to take the route of Mike's friend Johnny (Jeremiah Birkett), who has learned to be content doing a television spot every once in a while as he keeps up with a straight job, or if she should heed the warnings of Suze (Susan Peirez), who traded in a failing acting career for a good job with decent pay and stability -- and has hated every minute of it. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A police officer is killed and a hired driver kidnapped during a carjacking. Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) manage to capture one of the perpetrators, who offers to reveal the whereabouts of the missing driver to Assistant D.A. Ross (Carey Lowell) in exchange for immunity on the cop-killing charge. This potential deal results in much professional grief for Ross' partner Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston). Edie Falco returns in the role of defense attorney (and McCoy's ex-lover) Sally Bell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A teen girl struggles to reconcile her desire for self-improvement with her rebellious nature and her lack of maturity in this coming-of-age drama, which won first-time director Leslie Harris a special jury prize at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. Chantel (Ariyan Johnson), the self-possessed eldest child of hard-working parents in a Brooklyn housing project, hangs with her homegirls, helps out at home, studies hard, and holds down a part-time job. Stymied by teachers whose lessons she doesn't find relevant, Chantel asks her guidance counselor to let her graduate early so she can get a jump on college and eventually medical school; he declines, telling her that her explosive temper proves she lacks the necessary maturity. Meanwhile, frustrated by her responsibilities at home, Chantel begins making time with boys -- first with her broke but sweet neighbor, Gerard (Jerard Washington), then with the financially well-off, parentally unsupervised Tyrone (Kevin Thigpen), who refuses to wear a condom when Chantel begins having sex with him. When she becomes pregnant, Tyrone flips out and tries to pressure her into having an abortion; Chantel refuses, goes deep into denial, hides her pregnancy, and alienates even her best friend, Natete (Ebony Jerido). Reportedly shot for 100,000 dollars in just 17 days, Just Another Girl was billed as the first film ever written, directed, and produced by an African-American woman. The actors are mostly unknowns, although star Johnson would go on to appear in Hollywood features such as Bulworth and The General's Daughter. The hip-hop-heavy soundtrack made prominent and repeated use of rapper Nikki D's "Daddy's Little Girl," whose lyrics echo the film's story line and whose chorus samples "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide