Antone Pagan
Fresh off the success of his award-winning senior thesis film The Underdogs, Tisch School of the Arts graduate Jim Mickle returns with this tale of a mysterious virus that causes mass chaos as it sweeps through a terrified Manhattan neighborhood. It's another sweltering summer day in downtown New York City, and as the residents of 51 Mulberry Street lament their crumbling building, higher rent prices, the rising cost of gas, and the ongoing war in Iraq the heat continues to climb as tempers begin to flare. The city is changing, but it's an unseen transformation that won't be noticed until it has evolved into an unstoppable force. A rat has attacked a passenger on the city subway, and just downtown another unsuspecting victim is bitten by a ravenous rodent. As darkness falls over the city, emergency response teams struggle to contain what appears to be a rapidly-spreading virus that is metamorphosing the helpless denizens into a bizarre new species. The streets are quickly filling with these malevolent new creatures, and as a retired boxer named Clutch awaits the return of his daughter from the battlefields of Iraq, the fearless fighter and seven other evicted tenants from 51 Mulberry Street will be forced to bolt the doors, secure the windows, and take one last stand against the mindless, frenzied masses who will stop at nothing to ensure total assimilation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Damici, Antone Pagan, (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)
- 2000
The detectives investigate when the co-owner of a clothing store is murdered. The chief suspect heads to Israel; to avoid extradition, he invokes the "Law of Return," which decrees that every Jew on earth is automatically a citizen of Israel. To crack this case, the DA's office must enter into a tense series of conferences with an impartial group of New York rabbis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Hangin' with the Homeboys follows four young men--two Black, two Puerto Rican--over the course of one night in the Bronx. During the night, they have several misadventures as they talk, argue, play and get into accidents. This coming-of-age film was directed by the late Joseph B. Vasquez and features an early performance by John Leguizamo. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Doug E. Doug, Mario Joyner, (more)
- 1990
An artist specializing in S&M paintings is found murdered, dressed in full leather fetish regalia. During their investigation, detectives Greevey (George Dzundza) and Logan (Chris Noth) follow the trail of clues to city arts commissioner Henry Rothman (Larry Keith). As an alibi, Rothman insists that he was with prominent socialite Elizabeth Hendrick (Frances Conroy) at the time of the murder -- but it turns out that Hendrick has more than a few leather-clad skeletons in her own closet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A teenage girl learns about love, adult responsibility, and how to do The Dirty Boogie in this romantic drama. In 1963, "Baby" Houseman (Jennifer Grey) is a 17-year-old spending the summer with her family at a resort hotel in the Catskills; she plans on being in the Peace Corps next summer, so this is expected to be her last summer as a carefree adolescent. Baby doesn't get along with her older sister, Lisa (Jane Brucker), and she's bored to tears by most of the older guests at the resort. However, one night Baby hears what sounds like a party going on in the employee's dormitory, and she pokes her head in to discover most of the hotel staff enjoying the sort of close dancing that would get you kicked out of the senior prom in no time flat. Baby is particularly struck by handsome Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze), a dancer in the resort's floor show, and falls head over heels in love, wanting to be near him. When Johnny's dance partner, Penny (Cynthia Rhodes), finds herself pregnant after a fling with one of the waiters, Baby volunteers to learn her steps and take her place; however, Baby's father, Dr. Jake Houseman (Jerry Orbach), will have none of it, convinced that Johnny is a low life and that his daughter is too young to understand her own feelings. Dirty Dancing was a surprise box-office hit, and the soundtrack album was an even bigger success, spawning several hit singles and inspiring a top-drawing concert tour featuring several of its artists. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, (more)
Young art student Virna Nightbourne (Elizabeth Kemp) has the unconscious ability to draw the future victims of a serial murderer, in this standard thriller that also involves Paul "Mac" McCormack (Perry King) a sleazy talk-show host and the local police. McCormack is out to promote number one as best he can, and when he catches on to the notoriety that Virna could lend him if he capitalizes on her psychic powers, he has no problem in exploiting her. At first one of the local cops, a part-time stand-up comedian of dubious talent, is out to help Mack. But Mack's sensationalism turns off the police in the end, though they also have no problem in exploiting Virna's unique visions of the murder victims. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Perry King, Elizabeth Kemp, (more)
Bill Murray decides to be all that he can be -- and it ain't pretty -- in this hit comedy. John Winger (Murray) is a quick-witted but unambitious loser who comes home after getting fired to discover that his car has been repossessed and his girlfriend is leaving him. With no idea of what to do next, John and his best friend Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis) impulsively join the Army, more as a practical joke than a career goal. John and Russell find themselves in basic training under the hard-nosed and impatient Sgt. Hulka (Warren Oates), who is stuck with an outfit of goofballs, including overweight Ox (John Candy), naive Cruiser (John Deihl), perpetually stoned Elmo (Judge Reinhold), and the appropriately-nicknamed Psycho (Conrad Dunn). The platoon succeeds in impressing the generals spite of themselves, and John and Russell even find time to romance two pretty female MPs, Stella (P.J. Soles) and Louise (Sean Young). However, when John and Russell commandeer a high-tech military vehicle for a European weekend getaway with the girls, they happen into Soviet territory and stumble into an international incident. Remarkably, Stripes was made with the full cooperation of the U.S. Army, despite its less-than-rosy view of the all-volunteer armed forces. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, (more)
