Washington Heights (2002)
Director
Alfredo De Villa
Main cast
Tomás Milián; Manny Pérez; Danny Hoch; Bobby Cannavale
Genres
Drama, Romance
Description
"Washington Heights" tells the story of Carlos Ramirez, a young illustrator burning to escape the Latino neighborhood of the same name to make a splash in New York City's commercial downtown comic book scene. When his father, who owns a bodega in the Heights, is shot in a burglary attempt, Carlos is forced to put his dream on hold and run the store. In the process, he comes to understand that if he is to make it as a comic artist, he must engage with the community he comes from, take that experience back out into the world, and put it in his work.
Alfredo De Villa
Main cast
Tomás Milián; Manny Pérez; Danny Hoch; Bobby Cannavale
Genres
Drama, Romance
Description
"Washington Heights" tells the story of Carlos Ramirez, a young illustrator burning to escape the Latino neighborhood of the same name to make a splash in New York City's commercial downtown comic book scene. When his father, who owns a bodega in the Heights, is shot in a burglary attempt, Carlos is forced to put his dream on hold and run the store. In the process, he comes to understand that if he is to make it as a comic artist, he must engage with the community he comes from, take that experience back out into the world, and put it in his work.
Similar movies
In the Time of the Butterflies is inspired by the true story of the three Mirabal sisters who, in 1960, were murdered for their part in an underground plot to overthrow the government.
Apathy, technology, paranoia, disease and medication. Meet Arin. Arin is a shy videographer who finds it too much to handle to go out and meet girls, so he sets up an account on meester.net. The flood of responses never comes, save for one email from Susan, a struggling artist who finds her job as a waitress stifling her creativity. Susan is also on the shy side and is seeking an alternative to the classic dating situation. When Arin and Susan finally meet, that alternative dating situation comes to life as the two refuse to communicate verbally with each other, wanting to avoid bs small talk.
A collection of twentysomethings try to cope with relationships, loneliness, desire and their individual neuroses.
Patricia, a woman from Dominican Republic, needs a home and an economic security that her illegal status in Madrid does not provide her. Milady, twenty, born in Havana and dying to travel the world. Marirosi has a job, a home, and the most complete solitude... just like Alfonso, Damián and Carmelo, men from the St. Eulalia, a village lacking both marrying women and future. A bachelors' party forces the encounter between them and the beginning of this bittersweet story of sharing a living.
Set in the Dominican Republic, Leticia Tonos Paniaguaâs uniquely Caribbean retelling of Romeo and Juliet chronicles the love between a kind-hearted teenager, ostracized for his mixed Haitian-Dominican descent, and the beautiful sister of a local drug kingpin heâs hired to protect.
Marcos, a boy looking sad and long-term projects, comes to the big city with the intention to find himself. The first thing is love. Falls in love with Daniel, a talented actor who continually seeks opportunities to prove it. This love newborn decays due to a stroke of fate that comes disguised as a disco mirror ball. After separation, Daniel gets the consolation of her best friend, Carmen, a woman who has answers for everything. Meanwhile, Marcos reconsiders his future and meets Marisol, a Dominican immigrant. Together they live a passionate love story punctuated by the circumstances.
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.
In New York, a struggling actress and a successful writer sing about their failed marriage from two perspectives.
An international soccer star (Eduardo Verastegui) is on his way to sign a multimillion dollar contract when something happens that brings his career to an abrupt end. A beautiful waitress (Tammy Blanchard), struggling to make it in New York City, discovers something about herself that she's unprepared for. In one irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down...
Alex Whitman (Matthew Perry) is a designer from New York City who is sent to Las Vegas to supervise the construction of a nightclub that his firm has been hired to build. Alex is a straight-laced WASP-ish type who, while enjoying a night on the town, meets Isabel Fuentes (Salma Hayek), a free-spirited Mexican-American photographer. Alex and Isabel are overtaken by lust at first sight and end up sp
John is an ex-cop who leaves small-town life and provincial attitudes behind for a new existence in West Hollywood. As he seeks an open, accepting gay life, John is introduced to the fast-paced Circuit Party scene, featuring beautiful people and a tantalizing mixture of sex and drugs.
Charlie Lang is a simple, kindhearted New York City cop. When he realizes he has no money to tip waitress Yvonne Biasi, Lang offers her half the winnings of his lottery ticket. Amazingly, the ticket happens to be a winner, in the sum of $4 million. True to his word, Lang proceeds to share the prize money with Biasi, which infuriates his greedy wife, Muriel. Not content with the arrangement, Muriel begins scheming to take all the money.
Vladimiro is in the Dominican Repubblic with his fighting-chicken. At one point the cock is stolen. Vladimiro starts immediately to look around for having it back. By doing this he discovers that someone is looking to set up a zoo-park full of giants chickens.
A contemporary comedy set in Los Angeles, Full Frontal traces the complicated relationship among seven friends as they deal with the fragile connections that bind them together. Full Frontal takes place during a twenty-four hour period - a day in the life of missed connections.
Gretta's celebrity boyfriend breaks up with her after a long-term relationship, leaving the singer to find success on her own. With the help of record producer, Dan and hip-hop celebrity, Trouble Gum, Gretta strives to fulfil her musical ambitions.
A story about a New York Chinatown cab driver who falls for college student.
An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.
Tender romantic comedy about an aspiring musician who arrives in New York in search of fame & fortune. He soon meets a taxi dancer, moves in with her, and before too long a romance develops.
A restaurant owner leads a double life.
Tinged with humor and romance, this affecting 1995 drama stars Luisito Marti as Balbuena, a genial illegal immigrant who makes his way to New York City to take a bite out of the Big Apple. But his hopes of finding a better life soon begin to fade as Balbuena encounters one obstacle after another in the hardscrabble, uncaring metropolis. The film's supporting cast includes Caridad Ravelo and Raúl Carbonell.
Wise, reflective and bittersweet, director/actor Sylvia Chang's Taipei-set triptych weaves through the lives of a 40-year-old divorcée (Chang), a thirtysomething flight attendant (Rene Liu) and an aspiring pop singer (Angelica Lee). Co-written by the three principals, the script's meditations on love, friendship and life choices are as thoughtful and intriguing as the performances are unforced.
Two teenage best pals attracted to the same boy end up scrambling his life after he walks into a door and is knocked unconscious.
A New York writer on sex and love is finally getting married to her Mr. Big. But her three best girlfriends must console her after one of them inadvertently leads Mr. Big to jilt her.
A computer specialist is sued for sexual harassment by a former lover turned boss who initiated the act forcefully, which threatens both his career and his personal life.
The life of a divorced television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.
Ten vignettes in New York City: a pickpocket meets his match; a young Hasidic woman, on the eve of her marriage, reveals herself to an Indian businessman; a writer tries a pick-up line; an artist seeks a model; a composer needs to read; two women connect; a man takes a child to Central Park; lovers meet; a couple takes a walk on their anniversary; a kid goes to the prom with a girl in a wheelchair; a retired singer contemplates suicide. There are eight million stories in the naked city: these have been ten of them.
Shortbus revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of emotionally challenged characters trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by various underground NYC gatherings that took place in the early 2000's. The film includes a variety of explicit scenes containing non-simulated sexual intercourse with visible penetration and male ejaculation.
Young Cuban Rafael just buried his mother, and comes to Houston to meet his father John for the first time. The difficult part is that John doesn't know he is Rafael's father. John runs a dance studio, and everyone prepares for the World Open Dance championship in Las Vegas. It soon becomes clear Rafael is a very good dancer, and Ruby is the biggest hope for the studio at the championship.
Nick cannot stop obsessing over his ex-girlfriend, Tris, until Tris' friend Norah suddenly shows interest in him at a club. Thus beings an odd night filled with ups and downs as the two keep running into Tris and her new boyfriend while searching for Norah's drunken friend, Caroline, with help from Nick's band mates. As the night winds down, the two have to figure out what they want from each other.
In New York City, Clary Fray, a seemingly ordinary teenager, learns that she is descended from a line of Shadowhunters â half-angel warriors who protect humanity from evil forces. After her mother disappears, Clary joins forces with a group of Shadowhunters and enters Downworld, an alternate realm filled with demons, vampires, and a host of other creatures. Clary and her companions must find and protect an ancient cup that holds the key to her mother's future.
This movie is a stark portrayal of life among a group of heroin addicts who hang out in Needle Park in New York City. Played against this setting is a low-key love story between Bobby, a young addict and small-time hustler, and Helen, a homeless girl who finds in her relationship with Bobby the stability she craves.
1950's New York City. A bad and bloody gang war is about to erupt on the dysfunctional streets of Brooklyn. The Deuces at war with the vicious Vipers. Scott Kalvert directs this tale of lust, drugs, mayhem and madness during one hot summer on the streets of New York.
Arthur is the most quotable drunk millionaire that is likely to ever steal your heart. Dudley Moore portrays Arthur, a thirty year old child who will inherit 750 million dollars if he complies with his family's demands and marries the woman of their choosing.
An ancient skeleton has been discovered in Jerusalem in a rich man's tomb. Colouration of the wrist and leg bones indicates the cause of death was crucifiction. other signs, include a gold coin bearing the marks of Pontius Pilate and faint markings around the skull, lead authorities to suspect that these could be the bones of Jesus Christ. Politicians, clerics, religious extremists and those using terror as a means to an end, find their beliefs and identities test while risking their lives to unearth the truth.....
The neurotic New Yorker Woody Allen tells one of the greatest romantic comedies to be set in the city of New York.
In Havana, Cuba in the late 1950's, a wealthy family, one of whose sons is a prominent nightclub owner, is caught in the violent transition from the oppressive regime of Batista to the Marxist government of Fidel Castro. Castro's regime ultimately leads the nightclub owner to flee to New York.
Carrie, Charlotte, and Miranda are all married now, but they're still up for a little fun in the sun. When Samantha gets the chance to visit one of the most extravagant vacation destinations on the planet and offers to bring them all along, they surmise that a women-only retreat may be the perfect excuse to eschew their responsibilities and remember what life was like before they decided to settle down.
Roselyn Sanchez play Amaryllis Campos, a young, classically trained Latina ballerina, who dreams of leaving her impoverished home in Puerto Rico to pursue fame and fortune as a dancer. Amaryllis heads for New York City, where she is forced to work in a seedy strip club to make ends meet. Setting audiences afire with her erotic moves, Amaryllis quickly becomes the strip club's hottest attraction, but must finally decide between true love and realizing her dream of becoming a star.
Interracial love story set in Detroit.
A sensitive girl is sent to an all-girls boarding school and develops a romantic attachment to one of her teachers. One of the earliest narrative films to explicitly portray homosexuality.
An emotionally and sexually charged journey through the love, addiction, and friendship of two men. Documentary filmmaker Erik and closeted lawyer Paul meet through a casual encounter, but they find a deeper connection and become a couple. Individually and together, they are risk takersâcompulsive, and fueled by drugs and sex. In an almost decade-long relationship defined by highs, lows, and dysfunctional patterns, Erik struggles to negotiate his own boundaries and dignity and to be true to himself.
A talented New York bartender takes a job at a bar in Jamaica and falls in love.
A naive male prostitute and his sickly friend struggle to survive on the streets of New York City.
Iva is a girl who receives a small digital video camera for her fourteenth birthday. Delighted by her new toy, the girl immediately starts taping everything around her, recording a series of events surrounding her birthday celebration on her first tape. These ninety minutes form the film What Iva Recorded on October 21st, 2003. Written by Anonymous
Fifteen years ago, their Washington Heights neighborhood was dubbed the crack-cocaine capital of the world, but today it is transforming into one of the most vibrant, Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. While the drug dealers continue to disappear, their violent legacy still casts a shadow over the neighborhood and its residents. Junior, an ex-convict struggling to get his life back on track, is a product of this legacy. His younger brother Manny, the salutatorian of his high school class, embodies the hope of the future. On the night of his graduation party, Manny finds himself faced with an ill-fated decision that could change his life forever
Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone.
Sugar is a 2008 sports drama film directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. It follows the story of Miguel Santos, a. k. a. Sugar (Algenis Perez Soto), a Dominican pitcher from San Pedro de MacorÃs, struggling to make it to the big leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. Playing professionally at a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States' minor league system; but when his play on the mound falters, he begins to question the single-mindedness of his life's ambition.
Hotshot Washington lawyer Robert Dean becomes a victim of high-tech identity theft when a hacker slips an incriminating video into his pocket. Soon, a rogue National Security agent sets out to recover the tape -- and destroy Dean.
Tough NYC police detective Dixon misses out on a promotion because of his record of roughing up suspects. When accidentally kills a suspect in a murder case he plants clues to absolve himself. But when the father of a woman he recently fell in love is accused of the crime his plan looks like back firing.
Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.
Neighborhood boy Todd Bowden (Renfro) discovers that an old man living on his block named Arthur Denker (Mackellan) is nazi war criminal. Bowden confronts Denker and offers him a deal: Bowden will not go to the authorities if Denker tells him stories of the concentration camps in WWII. Denker agrees and Bowden starts visiting him regularly. The more stories Bowden hears, the more it affects him.
A father, who is a failed former television reporter tries to mount a documentary about violence and sex among youths. He proceeds to have sex with his daughter who is now a prostitute and films his son being humiliated and hit by classmates. "Q", a perfect stranger somehow gets involved and enter the bizzare family who's son beats his mom, who in turn is also a prostitute and a heroin addict
A story about a simple man from the mountains, Guaguasi, who falls in love with a beautiful chorus girl, Marina, during the Cuban Revolution. Guaguasi joins the rebels and arrives in Havana at the end of Batista's dictatorship, and, in the midst of political turmoil, is swept off his feet by the mesmerising Marina. The story celebrates the vitality and lunacy of the Revolution period with surrealism, humor and sensuality and is a compassionate metaphor about the human condition.
An aspiring actress from Australia, Ellie Parker (Naomi Watts), lives a hectic Hollywood lifestyle, perpetually trying to land the role that will elevate her career. Living with her lothario musician boyfriend, Justin (Mark Pelligrino), Ellie is far from happy, finding support primarily from her friend Sam (Rebecca Rigg). When Ellie meets Chris (Scott Coffey) after a minor traffic accident, she sees new potential for both romance and her life in general.
In the city of 9 Million people everyone is engulfed in the everyday rat race chasing that almighty dollar. This movie tells the story of one of its own 'Carter Blanche'. Carter has staked his claim to the American dream. But history teaches us that behind every wealthy empire is a major crime; and Carter's rise to power is no exception. Trying to go legit, he is faced with deception, betrayal, and self serving agendas from those closest to him and must maneuver his way through all those who want to crumble what he has built. As he determines who's friend or foe. The decisions Carter makes can, and will cost lives.
Waking Life is about a young man in a persistent lucid dream-like state. The film follows its protagonist as he initially observes and later participates in philosophical discussions that weave together issues like reality, free will, our relationships with others, and the meaning of life.
A wealthy young woman, Anne-Marie Lamaury, decides to follow her vocation and becomes a nun in a convent which occupies itself with the rehabilitation of female prisoners. During a prison visit, she meets another young woman, Thérèse, with whom she starts to take an interest. Thérèse resolutely claims that she is innocent and rejects Anne-Marieâs attentions. When she is released from prison, Thérèse kills the man who committed the crime for which she was sentenced. She then seeks sanctuary in Anne-Marieâs convent but is unable to speak about what she has done. Anne-Marie is nonetheless determined to bring about Thérèseâs spiritual transformation, even if she risks alienating herself from her fellow sisters.
An orphan in a facility run by the mean Miss Hannigan (Carol Burnett), Annie (Aileen Quinn) believes that her parents left her there by mistake. When a rich man named Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks (Albert Finney) decides to let an orphan live at his home to promote his image, Annie is selected. While Annie gets accustomed to living in Warbucks' mansion, she still longs to meet her parents. So Warbucks announces a search for them and a reward, which brings out many frauds.
Weaving together fact and fiction, this docudrama performs a portrait of the often seamy underside of the city of Naples.Ferrara traveled to Italy to interview the inmates at the Naples Pozzuoli State Prison, a high security lockup for women, and with the help of a translator he allows a number of women doing time to talk about their lives before and after they were convicted. Ferrara chose to expand the short profile of the prisoners into a feature by offering a look at life in the slums of Naples and the actions of a number of law enforcement officers and social workers struggling to improve conditions for the poor, as well as adding three short fictional segments shot of digital video gear.
Izzy, the youngest son of a troubled New York family, takes a shine to breaking into people's apartments as a way to get attention.
© Valossa 2015–2024
