Jaime Tirelli Movies

An orphaned boy is thrown head-first into a new and different life in this drama. Twelve-year-old Hector (Jacob Kiron Shalov), who has lived all his life in New Jersey, is riding in the car with his mother when they're struck by another driver; Hector receives only minor injuries, but his mother is killed. With nowhere else to go, Hector is forced to take up an offer to stay with his grandmother, who lives in the Philippines and has never met him. Hector can't speak Tagalog and his grandmother Lita (Angie Ferro) knows no English; not only can't they communicate, but Hector and Lita soon discover they don't much like one another. The teeming slums of Manila are like no place Hector has ever seen, and with few other options he falls in with a gang of teenage thugs led by Miguel (Pierro Rodriguez), who goads him into breaking into a house in a well-to-do neighborhood. Hector is caught red-handed by the owner of the house, Jose (Jaime Tirelli), a photographer who speaks fluent English. Jose insists that Hector work off the damage he's done, but he soon takes the boy under his wing, teaching him a bit about photography and giving him chores to keep him out of trouble. Hector also attracts the attention of a pretty girl, Sel (Maria Lopez), but while they're clearly fond of one another, Hector soon discovers Sel already has a boyfriend -- Miguel. Santa Mesa was the first feature film from writer and director Ron Morales. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A Latina eager to embrace America finds her tongue is a bit more eager to betray her culture than she is in this comedy-drama with elements of both romance and satire. Elena (Lisa Vidal) is an attractive Puerto Rican immigrant who is eager to make a career for herself in business. With that in mind, Elena strives to make herself seem more "American," to the annoyance of her mother, Meche (Miriam Colon). Elena has also landed herself an Anglo fiance (Jack Mulcahy), who makes a good living selling coffins, though Elena is still attracted to her former boyfriend Tito (Jose Yenque), an artist and fellow Puerto Rican. One day, Elena's attempts to assimilate into mainstream culture begin to manifest themselves physically and psychologically when she discovers she's lost the ability to speak Spanish, her primary language for most of her life. Can Elena tear herself away from the white-bread culture she's embraced and reconnect with her roots -- and with Tito? While shot in Boston by American independent filmmakers, much of La Fonda Azul's dialogue is delivered in Spanish by a multilingual cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

As Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits) try to determine the motive for an Indian matron's murder, Andy has problems with the new temporary PAA. Now back on the force, Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) teams with Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) to connect a bizarre robbery with a widespread credit-card scam. And, in her efforts to nail an illegal-weapons dealer, Diane Russell (Kim Delaney) insists on going it virtually alone -- and reacts violently when Bobby offers to provide backup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the final episode of Law & Order's fourth season, a highly independent hearing-impaired woman is found murdered. Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Logan (Chris Noth) turn their sights on the dead woman's two most recent sweethearts -- one of whom was her mentor at the institute where she studied to overcome her handicap. This episode represents the last regular series appearances of Richard Brooks as Assistant D.A. Robinette and Dann Florek as Captain Don Cragen, though both actors would reprise their roles in subsequent guest appearances, while Florek would again play Cragen on the spin-off series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The ongoing war of words between abortion advocates and right-to-life activists literally explodes into violence when an abortion clinic is bombed, killing a woman inside the building. Putting his own pro-life sentiments aside, assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) wastes no time mounting a case against the most likely suspect. Even so, Stone's pro-choice boss, D.A. Adam Schiff (Steven Hill), cannot help but wonder if his subordinate's personal feelings can be kept out of the courtroom -- especially with public opinion mounting against Stone's remaining on the case. Featured in the supporting cast is Camryn Mannheim, who would herself portray an attorney on the long-running series The Practice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

More than anything else, 13-year old New Jerseyite Josh (David Moscow) wants to be "big". That's the wish he makes at an odd-looking amusement pier fortunetelling machine. The next morning, Josh wakes up-only to discover that he's grown to manhood overnight! (At this point, the part is taken over by Tom Hanks). Still a 13-year-old mentally and emotionally, Josh decides to hide out in New York City until he can figure out what to do next. He lucks into a job with a major toy company run by kid-at-heart McMillan (Robert Loggia). By cannily bringing a child's eye view to McMillan's business, Josh rises to the top-and in process, he falls in love with fellow employee Susan (Elizabeth Perkins). But he's still a kid, and he'd like to go back to his own world and own body. Written by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg, Big proved a crucial success for budding director Penny Marshall, who'd work harmoniously with Hanks again on the radically different A League of Their Own. The cinematography was by Barry Sonenfeld, who went on to become a director himself with The Addams Family. That Big was heavily reliant upon the input of Tom Hanks and Penny Marshall was proven by the failed attempt to turn the property into a Broadway musical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmmakers Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson) weave this introspective sports drama concerning a talented Dominican baseball player who longs to break into the American big league and earn the money needed to support his impoverished family. Miguel Santos is a talented pitcher who might just have what it takes to earn a prized spot on a Major League Baseball team, but before that happens he'll have to prove his worth in the minor leagues. Advancing into the United States' minor league system at the tender age of 19, Miguel is warmly welcomed into the small-town Iowa home of his host family, but can't help but struggle with language and cultural barriers despite the kindness of strangers. Subsequently forced to reevaluate his life's ambition after his once-trusty arm becomes unreliable, the previously single-minded pitcher gradually begins to question both the world he lives in and the role he has chosen to play in it. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Neil Jordan's The Brave One stars Jodie Foster as a happy woman whose life changes irrevocably after a brutal assault leaves her partner (Naveen Andrews) dead. The woman, feeling that the police investigation will be unable to catch the perpetrators, begins to live in constant fear. This outlook results in the woman eventually dispatching vigilante justice. Terrence Howard co-stars as the officer in charge of the investigation. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Alfred Kinsey was an entomologist who taught at Indiana University and had a keen interest in an area of human behavior that had seen little scholarly research -- human sexuality. While the courtship and reproductive patterns of animals had been carefully documented, Kinsey believed that most "established facts" about human sexual behavior were a matter of conjecture rather than research and that what most people said about their sex lives was not born out by the evidence (a subject that had personal resonance for him given the troubles he and his wife Clara Kinsey had in the early days of their marriage). After introducing a course in "Marriage" at Indiana University which offered frank and factual information on sex to students, Kinsey began an exhaustive series of interviews with a wide variety of people from all walks of life in order to find out the truth about sex practices in America. When he published Sexual Behavior and the Human Male in 1948, his findings were wildly controversial, indicating that most men had a wider variety of sexual experiences than most people imagined, including a number of practices commonly thought to be dangerous or perverted (including pre-marital sex, same-sex contacts, and masturbation). An even greater outcry greeted Kinsey's next volume, Sexual Behavior and the Human Female, which contradicted common notions than most women went into marriage sexually inexperienced. Kinsey is a film biography written and directed by Bill Condon which examines Kinsey's life and work from his strict childhood until his death in 1956. Liam Neeson plays Alfred Kinsey, and Laura Linney co-stars as Kinsey's wife and colleague Clara. John Lithgow highlights the supporting cast as Kinsey's repressed and moralistic father, while Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard, and Timothy Hutton play members of Kinsey's research team and Tim Curry appears as an IU faculty member at odds with Kinsey's teachings. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

French director Felix Olivier explores the very few options an at-risk Latino teen must choose between in his 2002 film All Night Bodega. Venus (Tammy Trull) gets arrested for a crime she had nothing to do with. While in a holding cell at city jail, she gains an ally in street tough Juanita (Romi Dias) who watches over Venus and protects her from the other miscreants in their cell. Fortunately for Venus, her foster mother Eta (Blanca Camacho) has been dating undercover cop Ralph (Jaime Tirelli) -- who gets Venus released from jail. When she gets home, however, she and Eta get into a fight that prompts the youngster to move out. In desperation, Venus reunites with the recently freed Juanita and the two become romantically involved -- which also results in Venus gaining membership in Juanita's gang. Venus later begins to have second thoughts when she crosses paths with Ralph's rookie partner (Gabriel Salvador). All Night Bodega premiered at the New York International Latino Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

Bille August directed this film version of the Isabel Allende novel, featuring a cast that includes Jeremy Irons, Meryl Streep, and Glenn Close. The story is a sweeping and brooding melodrama, spanning generations and filled with violence, revenge, and telekinesis. The tale begins in South America in 1926, when a young man, Esteban (Jeremy Irons), falls in love with the daughter of a rich man, Rosa Del Valle (Teri Polo). He vows to become rich enough to make her his wife and spends months of toil in the gold fields to earn enough money to do just that. Before the two marry, however, Rosa is killed by poison meant for her father. After the tragedy, Esteban moves to Trés Marias, an abandoned ranch, and spends 20 years of his life turning the ranch into a thriving estate, exploiting the labor of the poor who live off the land. When he returns to the city, he comes across Rosa's younger sister Clara (Meryl Streep), now a woman with telekinetic abilities. Clara took a vow of silence years before, but upon the arrival of Esteban, she speaks for the first time in years -- "You have come to propose marriage to me," she says. Esteban and Clara marry, and Esteban takes her back to the ranch, where they have a daughter, Blanca (Winona Ryder). Their daughter falls in love with the son of one of Esteban's foremen, a hot-headed revolutionary named Pedro (Antonio Banderas). Now, the country is in the throes of revolution. Esteban banishes his sister Ferula (Glenn Close) from the ranch, beats his wife, and rapes a peasant woman. The product of Esteban's rape (Joaquin Martinez) grows into an angry young man who convinces Esteban to send him away to military school. When there is a military coup, the illegitimate son returns to Trés Marias with revenge and torture on his mind. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

A city pulses with racial problems, political corruption, and small-time crime in this ambitious microcosm of urban life, written and directed by John Sayles. Nick Rinaldi (Vincent Spano), a lost soul usually high on drink and drugs, has spent his life in one New Jersey city, getting free rides from his connected father (Tony LoBianco) and hearing the locals talk of his brother's death in Vietnam. Searching for more control, Nick quits the cushy contractor's job provided by his Dad, feeling that major events are about to happen to him. That feeling proves accurate -- by film's end his life will change, as will the lives of many others. Nick is only the center of the movie's sprawling collection of people and plotlines; Sayles takes full advantage of this expansive landscape, as he often begins shooting one conversation, only to pull back and eavesdrop on another, in one smooth, intriguing shot. By listening in, we slowly learn about the citizens and their dilemmas, as the city's woes bubble to a narrative climax. Many of Sayles' regular players are on-screen (the movie features 52 roles), including Joe Morton as a frustrated councilman and David Strathairn as a disturbed street person. ~ Norm Schrager, All Movie Guide