Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as 3-AP and cisplatin, work in different ways to stop tumor cells from dividing so they stop growing or die. 3-AP may help cisplatin kill more cancer cells by making them more sensitive to the drug. This phase II trial is studying how well giving 3-AP together with cisplatin works in treating patients with recurrent or metastatic adenocarcinoma of the esophagus or gastroesophageal junction.