Gloria Irizarry Movies

A cranky janitor tired of governmental red tape turns a special election into a horse race in this independent political satire. Leo Meruchal (Ricardo Barber) is the elderly superintendent of a decaying brownstone in a Latin American neighborhood in Manhattan. Leo is a chronically grumpy man who doesn't like his job and is having a hard time looking after his mother, who is waiting out a terminal illness in a local hospital. Leo would prefer to care for his mother at home, but bureaucracy prevents it, and when he learns that a seat in Congress has suddenly become vacant, Leo impulsively decides to run. While a grouchy man waving a mop and plastering homemade signs around the neighborhood wouldn't seem to have much of a future in politics, his two competitors in the race are just inept enough -- and Leo's no-nonsense attitude and winning habit of breaking into song are refreshing enough -- that for a moment it looks like the old man might just pull off the political upset of a lifetime. Vote for Me was the first feature from writer and director Nelson Antonio Denis, a former East Harlem assemblyman who was inspired to make the film after his own unsuccessful run for Congress. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Character actor Victor Argo made one of his last screen appearances -- and landed one of his few leading roles -- in this independent drama. Hugo (Argo) is a loan shark who spends his days pounding the pavement in New York City, shaking down cheapskates who owe him money. Hugo believes in his job, and subscribes to the philosophy that everyone has to pay in one way or another to get through this life. But Hugo's great passion is New York City, and as he makes his rounds, he philosophizes about the city he loves and what has happened to it in the name of gentrification; he's also a fan of what he calls "real New Yorkers," and loves their open-hearted toughness as much as he loathes the weak-willed yuppies who now dominate the city. As he wanders the city sharing his views with anyone who will listen, Hugo is occasionally visited by the ghost of Archie (Jordan Lage), his onetime running buddy who is no longer among the living. Lustre was screened in competition at the 2004 Avignon Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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

Season Seven of Law & Order begins with the good news that Assistant D.A. Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) was not immediately killed in the car accident which took her out of commission at the end of Season Five (though actress Hennessy would not return to the show, necessitating a later episode which confirmed beyond doubt that Kincaid was never going to come back). New to the D.A.'s office is Jamie Ross (Carey Lowell), an ambitious young woman whose approach to her job does not always meet with the approval of her partner Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston). In the season's first episode, Ross intends to use a gruesomely graphic audiotape to put the noose around the neck of carjacker-murderer Fernando Salva (Victor Sierra). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There's a real murder and a real mystery in Woody Allen's Manhattan Murder Mystery, but these plot pegs are used mainly to allow Allen to explore modern urban relationships. Allen plays a N.Y.C. book editor, Larry Lipton, married to Carol (Diane Keaton, who replaced Mia Farrow at the last minute, for reasons well publicized at the time). Carol is a free spirit, ever willing to try new experiences, but Larry is a wet blanket. When it begins to look like a neighbor has killed his wife, Carol is eager to investigate the mystery, but Larry thinks her suspicions are nonsensical and doesn't want to leave his apartment. Undaunted, Carol finds another "Nick Charles" in the form of family friend Ted (Alan Alda), who joins the investigation, and feels attracted to Carol and isn't afraid to let her know. Meanwhile, a writer under Larry's aegis (Anjelica Huston), who feels romantically drawn to him, also decides to join in the fun. Slightly jealous of Carol in the face of her budding relationship with Ted, Larry reluctantly agrees to go along on her clue-hunting expedition -- and it is he who discovers the corpse, who as it turns out was killed after Carol started poking around the apartment building. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A tortured man finds himself caught in a middle-ground between hallucination and reality in this supernatural thriller, scripted by Bruce Joel Rubin of Ghost (1990) and My Life (1993).
Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) is a soldier stationed in Vietnam who undergoes a traumatic experience on the battlefield - the nature of which is initially unclear. The film then moves into his post-Vietnam experience in 1970s New York, where he feels consistently traumatized, but can never quite remember exactly what happened to him in Southeast Asia or to free himself from his anxieties over the recent tragic death of his young son (Macaulay Culkin). Though well educated, Jacob works as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and has become romantically involved with one of his co-workers, Jezzie (Elizabeth Pena), after divorcing his wife. Soon, Jacob's tenuous hold on reality starts to slip as horrifying events befall him; he is nearly run over by a subway train, pursued by faceless demons in cars, and spots reptilian tails and horns protruding from the bodies of those he encounters. Jacob also suffers severe panic attacks related to the chaos that may be reality, or may exist only in his mind. He seeks counsel from Louis (Danny Aiello), a kindly chiropractor, as his ex-wife Sarah (Patricia Kalember), fellow Vietnam vet Paul (Pruitt Taylor Vince), and enigmatic stranger Michael (Matt Craven) all try to help the tortured soul. Jason Alexander, Ving Rhames and Eriq LaSalle highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Johnny Walker (Mickey Rourke) is a punch-drunk and alcoholic cowboy pugilist who gives boxing one last shot in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He meets Wesley Pendergrass (Christopher Walken), the smooth-talking hood who tries to talk Johnny into helping in the heist of a jewelry store. Johnny considers the offer but elects to enter the ring to help Ruby (Debra Feuer) and her financially troubled arcade with the prize money. He agrees to the bout despite the fact that a blow to his fractured temple bone could kill him. Music is provided by Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In a comedy as flat as the cardboard cut-outs of movie stars that appear in one scene, Steve Martin plays Larry Hubbard, a wild and lonely guy who has been dumped by his girlfriend. Since misery loves company, he takes up with Warren, a fellow Lonely Guy (Charles Grodin), and eventually both Warren and Larry find some surprising companions, especially after Larry writes a best-selling Lonely Guy Guide. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Paul Newman stars as an essentially decent cop patrolling that decimated, drug-and-gang-ridden borough known on the city maps as the Bronx, but known to its denizens as "Fort Apache". While Newman tries to hold on to his basic humanity and to treat even the sorriest of the people on his beat with dignity, he can't do much to convince his superiors that blind brutality is not the answer to social blight. When he witnesses fellow-cop Danny Aiello cold-bloodedly murdering a crime suspect, Newman is advised to sweep the whole incident under the rug. He refuses to do so, and as a result becomes "persona non grata" to his former friends on the force. Ed Asner co-stars as the beleaguered captain who has given up trying to treat his job as anything but a necessary evil, while Rachel Ticotin is Newman's love interest. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Lt. Kojak (Telly Savalas) assigns Enrique Alvarez (Tony Diaz), a police officer of Puerto Rican descent, to work undercover in his old neighborhood. Alvarez's job is to investigate reports of a murder-extortion ring operating in the vicinity. Eventually, the young cop uncovers a scheme to play one side against the other and set off a gang war--but by this time, Kojak is unable to provide any backup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide