Jaime Tirelli Movies

A Latino dancer from the Bronx helps a privileged woman from the Upper East Side rediscover her love of dancing after a tragic accident renders her wheelchair-dependent in this life-affirming musical romance. Hardworking Armando (E.J. Bonilla) is a handyman with some seriously smooth moves, while talented dancer Mia (Leah Pipes) is the hot draw at a prominent Manhattan dance studio. In order to be closer to the action, Armando lands a job as a maintenance man at the studio. But just then, Mia is involved in an accident that robs her of the use of her legs. Convinced that Mia could excel at the art of wheelchair dancing, Armando talks her into taking part in a wheelchair ballroom-dancing competition and helps her to begin the arduous training process. At first Mia can't help but feel awkward as she attempts to dance gracefully in her wheelchair. The harder Mia trains, however, the clearer it becomes that dance is still the driving force in her life, and that just because she can't walk doesn't mean she can't still pursue her one great passion. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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, Rovi

Adrift in Manhattan, the third feature effort of Hispanic writer/director Alfredo de Villa (Washington Heights, Yellow), intercuts three intensely dramatic stories of life during a cold New York winter, each of which revolves around the concept (and thematic motif) of vision. In the first, an eye doctor grieving from a traumatic loss (Heather Graham) must reexamine her life and priorities; in the second, an artist of advanced age must contend with encroaching blindness -- thus losing the one of his five senses that represents his greatest asset; in the third, a photographer grapples with inner turmoil. De Villa brings these stories together for an unanticipated intersection on a Manhattan subway line, and watches as these individuals -- initially, complete strangers to one another -- help to guide each other through their struggles, pain, and angst. William Baldwin and Erika Michaels co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A man finds himself caught between several worlds -- rough real life and a number of parallel fantasy lands -- in this blend of drama and fantasy. Jorge (Octavio Gómez Berríos) is a painfully shy young man from Ecuador who has immigrated to the United States. Jorge keeps body and soul together by washing dishes at a greasy-spoon diner in a Queens, NY neighborhood that's dominated by a wide variety of fellow immigrants. Jorge spends most of his days at work being harassed by Rick (Mandy Patinkin), the diner's owner, and loud-mouthed manager Jerry (Aaron Paul). One of the only people at the diner who shows any kindness to Jorge is Amy (Eugenia Yuan), an Asian waitress, and Jorge has become deeply infatuated with her. However, Jerry also has his eyes on Amy, only adding to the tension between him and Jorge. As Jorge struggles to escape his grim circumstances, he passes into a variety of alternate realities, ranging from a pastel-colored wonderland ruled by animated bunnies to a grassy sylvan landscape past a fence. Choking Man was written and directed by Steve Barron, best known for his groundbreaking work in music videos; the film received its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The follow-up to his feature debut, director Alfred De Villa's Yellow is drama starring Roselyn Sanchez as Amaryllis, an aspiring dancer trying to make it in New York City. After her father unexpectedly commits suicide, Amaryllis leaves her native Puerto Rico for the Big Apple with dreams of stardom. Naturally, she meets more than a little adversity and soon finds herself working as a stripper to make ends meet. But with a cadre of supportive new friends and ample moxie, she just might beat the odds. Also starring D.B. Sweeney, Yellow screened at the 2006 New York Latino Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

Karyn Kusama makes her debut with this sensitive, subtly told coming-of-age story about boxing and love. Diana (Michelle Rodriguez) is a tough though painfully honest girl living in Brooklyn. Surly, frustrated, and directionless, Diana seems to have a ticket on the express train to expulsion; she repeatedly finds herself in detention and schoolyard fights. At home, her weak though abusive single father Sandro (Paul Calderon) clearly favorites her bookish brother Tiny (Ray Santiago) over her. While running an errand for her father, Diana finds herself in one of New York's more renowned boxing gyms, and she instantly connects to the same. Though traditionally a thoroughly male pastime in Latino culture, Diana perseveres and gains self-worth thanks to the help of gruff Panamanian trainer Hector (Jaime Tirelli). Soon Hector assumes the role of Diana's father from her deadbeat biological progenitor. As Diana gains physical strength and agility in the ring, she finds herself drawn to the dashing boxer Adrian (Santiago Douglas), who is supposedly involved with someone else. Slowly though, the two give into their mutual attraction and fall completely in love. Fate intervenes when the two lovers are scheduled to fight one another in the ring, forcing each to choose boxing or love. Executive-produced by none other than John Sayles, this film received rave reviews at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

The lives of four hardworking people living in modern Brooklyn provide the basis of this upbeat drama. Hank is the only high school graduate on his basketball team; he works for Flo in a neighborhood liquor store and is dating Joy, Flo's step daughter. Joy and Hank are 18-year old virgins who are giving careful consideration to sleeping with each other. Hank's father, Milton is a divorced street musician and recovering alcoholic. The story revolves around an upcoming lottery with a $27million jackpot, and everyone in their neighborhood is hoping to win. Joy's father, whom she hasn't seen in ages, bought seven tickets just before he was arrested and sent to jail; Hank, who, unlike his friends, has no taste for drugs or drug dealing, himself has purchased $100 worth of the tickets. The drawing is made and the authorities state that the unclaimed winning ticket is somewhere in their neighborhood. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this action comedy, director Gregg Champion relies on the premise that, indeed, "country boys can survive," as Sonny (Kiefer Sutherland) and Pepper (Woody Harrelson, always game) head off to the Big Apple in order to rescue a mutual friend's daughter from the clutches of an evil sweatshop owner. Naturally, there are lots of encounters highlighting the two fishes out of water; there are opportunities to lasso bad guys; there's even a chase on horseback through the city streets after Sonny and Pepper steal a pair of NYPD horses. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi

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, Rovi

After his partner is killed, a police officer's vow of vengeance threatens to expose a cocaine dynasty. ~ Rovi