Jordan Lage Movies

With his English-language political thriller The Feast of the Goat, action helmer Luis Llosa cinematizes Mario Vargas Llosa's sweeping, epic novel about the myriad of events leading up to the assassination of a real-life tyrannical despot. The story opens in 1992, when a Dominican émigré attorney, Urania Cabral (Isabella Rossellini) leaves her new home in the U.S. and heads back to her native country, for the first occasion in decades. She intends to confront her father, 80-year-old Augustin (Tomas Milian), about his former employment in the government of the supremely corrupt dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo (Tomas Milian). The film then flashes back to the events surrounding the assassination of Trujillo on a highway in late May of 1961, by delving into the lives and motives of each of the participants - from Amadito (Juan Diego Botto), whom Trujillo forced to execute his future brother-in-law, to that victim's father (Murphy Guyer), to Antonio (David Zayas), the brother of an incriminating witness whom Trujillo's men executed. One by one, as their stories are disinterred, the assassins gather on a nighttime road, brandishing guns, and prepare to shoot Trujillo and throw his body into the trunk of a car. Paul Freeman, Stephanie Leonidas and Richard Bekins co-star; Llosa co-authored the script with Augusto Cabada and Zachary Sklar. ~ Nathan Southern, 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

In this powerful and disturbing drama, Danny Balint (Ryan Gosling) is a member of a gang of racist skinheads who espouses a vile but well-articulated philosophy of anti-Semitism. Danny also has a secret -- he is a Jew, and was a top student in Hebrew school before he began to ask too many questions about the deeper implications of the teachings in the Torah and the Old Testament, leading to his expulsion. Angry and confused, Danny began to explore the philosophies of the neo-Nazi movement, which he soon came to embrace through a mixture of anger over the tragic history of the Jewish people, bitterness over his experiences in Hebrew school, and a loathing of himself. Danny soon becomes a key member of a skinhead sect led by Curtis (Billy Zane) and Lina (Theresa Russell), but while Curtis and Lina believe that the desire for cultural assimilation by many American Jews will lead to their self-destruction, Danny advocates a more direct and violent approach in dealing with the "enemy." Danny gains the admiration of his fellow skinheads for his intelligence and commitment, and wins the affection of Carla (Summer Phoenix), a group member with severe masochistic tendencies. But in time Danny's beliefs begin to shift once again, just as the truth about his background becomes known to his comrades. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, The Believer was inspired by the true story of Daniel Burros, a member of the American Nazi Party who committed suicide in the 1960s when it was revealed by the press that he was born to a Jewish family. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) swing into action when a fertility clinic employee is murdered. The ensuing investigation leads to the two wives of a dead sperm donor. As indicated by the title of this episode, it will take a lot of work from the D.A.'s office to "unscramble" this case of deadly possessiveness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Created by William Finkelstein of Civil Wars fame, the made-for-TV feature On Seventh Avenue was intended as the pilot for a weekly series. Wendy Makkena stars as Nadine Jacobs, the owner of a high-profile fashion business established by her father (played by actor-director Gene Saks). In order to keep her business afloat in a sea of cutthroat competitors, Nadine recklessly cuts several deals with a major investment firm--and with the Mob. In typical "pilot" fashion, the film ends with several loose plotlines still dangling and unresolved; guess we'll never know what happened now (sigh!) On Seventh Avenue was telecast by NBC on June 10, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The third film written and directed by playwright David Mamet, this combination of crime drama and character study stars several of Mamet's stock players. Joe Mantegna stars as Bobby Gold, a detective with a gift for negotiation who, along with his partner Tim Sullivan (William H. Macy), accidentally stumbles upon a crime scene -- the murder of an elderly Jewish woman in her corner store. When it turns out that the victim was politically well-connected and Jewish, Bobby's superiors assign him the case because he's also Jewish. The problem is that Bobby isn't very religious and he resents being taken off a higher profile drug investigation involving a dealer, Randolph (Ving Rhames). Bobby's also highly skeptical when the murdered woman's family claims that her death was not a simple robbery but an anti-Semitic hate crime. As he gets deeper into his case, however, Bobby discovers that a larger conspiracy may be afoot, and he begins to question his own ethnic roots. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide