Olinda Turturro Movies
A hit man discovers the pros and cons of getting to know his victim in this dark comedy. Margaret (Cher) is supposed to be celebrating her 20th wedding anniversary, but she hardly feels like having a party; her marriage is in sad shape, her husband Jack (Ryan O'Neal) has just called to say he's going to be working late (she realizes this means that he's actually with his mistress), and she's sunk into a deep depression that borders on the suicidal. After a long bath, Margaret discovers that she's not alone in the house; Tony (Chazz Palminteri), a hit man, has been hired by Jack to knock her off (Margaret's death would mean a $5 million insurance claim for Jack), and he ties her to a chair, waiting for a call from Jack that signals he's out of town and that it's all right to proceed with the execution. With nothing to do while they wait, Tony and Margaret begin to talk; Margaret starts to feel like death isn't such a good idea after all, while Tony isn't so sure he wants to kill her anymore. Faithful was based on a stage play by co-star Palminteri; Robert DeNiro, who made his directorial debut with A Bronx Tale, written by Palminteri, served as co-producer for this film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cher, Chazz Palminteri, (more)
The Ballad of Little Jo is based on a true story -- several true stories, in fact. Suzy Amis plays demure young Josephine Monagan, who in 1866 is run out of her home town after bearing an illegitimate child. Fleeing westward, Josephine is terrified by stories of how treacherous the frontier can be for a woman alone. As a result, upon arriving in the muddy burg of Ruby City, she disguises herself as a man, going so far as to scar her face to suggest that she's been in a few scrapes. In this guise, "Little Jo" does just fine by herself for nearly 30 years! Almost as good as Suzy Amis is Bo Hopkins as gunslinger Frank Badger, Little Jo's best buddy (if only he knew....) Written and directed by Maggie Greenwald, The Ballad of Little Jo does a marvelous job conveying the people and places of its period; and, unlike Bad Girls (which was released around the same time), we aren't bludgeoned to death by feminist revisionism. Unfortunately ignored when it went out to theatres in the fall of 1993, The Ballad of Little Jo has fared rather better on video. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Suzy Amis, Bo Hopkins, (more)
- 1990
A victim of AIDS is murdered, and detectives Greevey (George Dzundza) and Logan (Chris Noth) collar a suspect who may have been responsible for a string of killings in the gay community. The suspect claims that he is an "angel of mercy," putting AIDS sufferers out of their misery. Reluctantly, assistant D.A.'s Stone (Michael Moriarty) and Robinette (Richard Brooks) take the case to court, operating upon the theory that the killer was nothing more than a homicidal homophobe. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
