Arthur Nascarella Movies

A minor crook finds himself in major peril when a "hot" weapon goes missing in this violent crime thriller. Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) is a low-level "mechanic" in the Mafia who hopes to rise through the ranks by doing whatever is needed. One night, a drug deal goes very wrong when police show up and try to close down the operation; shots break out and a battle ensues, with a pair of of cops meeting a particularly violent fate at bad end of a gun barrel. Joey is given the gun that killed the policemen and is told to make it disappear so it can't be used as evidence; however, before he can do that, the weapon is stolen by Oleg (Cameron Bright), a friend of Joey's young son, who takes the pistol and uses it to shoot his abusive stepfather. Now that the gun is implicated in high profile crimes, it's vitally important that Joey find it as soon as possible, but his search for the firearm is complicated by the fact that Oleg's stepdad is affiliated with a rival gang of Russian mobsters, and that Rydell (Chazz Palminteri), a seriously corrupt police detective, is hot on Joey's trail. Joey's search for the gun takes him through the grim criminal netherworld of the city, where he must face off against nearly every sort of crook, con artist, and deviate that has ever walked the earth. Running Scared is from writer-director Wayne Kramer, who made a name for himself with the well-reviewed independent feature The Cooler. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A frustrated New York actor whose sick of being typecast due to his Italian-American heritage sets out to seek help from the one actor who could provide his big break in a satirical showbiz comedy starring William DeMeo, Carmen Electra, Sandra Bernhard, and Tyson Beckford. Johnny Argano is Brooklyn born and bred. Though he's confident that he has the skills to make a name for himself on the big screen, he resents the fact that casting directors only seem to select him for stereotypical roles. In Johnny's eyes, the only way to break the vicious cycle of typecasting is to get the attention of his screen idol Robert De Niro, and in order to make that happen Johnny will have to pen a screenplay that truly stands apart from the pack. With his career on the line and nothing left to lose, the frustrated actor gathers together a dedicated team of die-hard filmmakers to raise the money they need to get their film made, and convince the star of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull to accept a starring role in the movie that will make them all famous. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Writer/director Wayne Kramer offers a glimpse into the aging Las Vegas casino world with the romantic drama The Cooler. Bernie Lootz (William H. Macy) is extremely unlucky at gambling, and he owes the Shangri-La casino over 100,000 dollars. He is so unlucky that he is hired as a "cooler," someone to gamble next to high rollers and give them some of his bad luck to stop them from winning. This arrangement works out for awhile, until Bernie has almost paid off his debt and meets cocktail waitress Natalie Belisario (Maria Bello). The two start to fall in love and Bernie's luck begins to change. However, the old-fashioned mob boss Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin) isn't going to let Bernie go so easily. Meanwhile, Larry Sokolov (Ron Livingston) arrives on the scene to help update the business management of the old mobster-run casino. Also starring Joey Fatone and Paul Sorvino as lounge singers. The Cooler was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the dramatic competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

David Anspaugh's mix of female bonding and mob drama, Wisegirls concerns a trio of waitresses. Meg (Oscar winner Mira Sorvino), wise-talking Raychel (Mariah Carey), and wannabe dancer Kate (Paul Thomas Anderson regular Melora Walters) grow close while working at an Italian restaurant. After saving a man's life at the eatery thanks to her time in medical school, Meg begins to realize that the establishment is mob-controlled. Soon she must hide the dead body of her boss (whose "whacking" she indirectly caused). Eventually, Meg discovers secrets about her two friends and is forced to risk her life in order to gain information on the mobsters. This mix of gangster film and female bonding screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Writer and director Woody Allen returns to the Manhattan of the past with this romantic comedy set in 1940, the era of fedora hats and gumshoe detectives. Allen stars as C.W. Briggs, an insurance investigator whose razor-sharp instincts have just led to the successful conclusion of another case, the recovery of a stolen Picasso. While he's a valued employee, Briggs is under fire from efficiency expert Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt) for his antiquated attitudes and refusal to accept modern crime-solving techniques such as fingerprinting. C.W. claims he puts himself directly into the criminal mind, a skill that will do him no good when he and Betty Ann are hypnotized at a Rainbow Room gathering one night by the magician Volton (David Ogden Stiers). As a parlor trick to entertain their co-workers, Volton makes C.W. and Betty Ann believe they're a couple that's deeply in love. But the performer secretly keeps up the ruse after the party's over, calling C.W. to whisper a magic code word and ordering the detective to rob wealthy homes with security systems that C.W. himself has designed. With no memory of his thieving activities, a frustrated C.W. can't solve the high-profile jewel burglaries, while he and Betty Ann struggle with their odd new attraction for each other, made more complicated by the fact that Betty Ann is romantically involved with their boss (Dan Aykroyd). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

A twenty-five year old New Jersey man who lives with his parents and can't commit to his longtime girlfriend begins to wonder if he's missing out on something more in life after meeting a bored but beautiful SoHo club hopper and hobnobbing in the Hamptons with a group of jaded sophisticates. Jack (Steve Parlavecchio) works in a New Jersey nursing home. He's always maintained a positive attitude, but lately he's beginning to wonder whether his life has come to a stand still. Despite the fact that Jack and his girlfriend Susan (Stacy Mistysyn) have been dating for seven years now, Jack can't seem to muster the motivation to ask for her hand in marriage. On evening, during a rare outing to a SoHo nightclub, Jack makes the acquaintance of beautiful model Samantha (Jill Wolfe). The encounter leaves Jack wondering if he's settling for something less than he truly deserves, and in the following weeks he begins shunting Susan aside in favor of spending more time with Sam. The entire time, Jack seems entirely oblivious to the fact that the movers and shakers who comprise the Hamptons elite seem just as bored with their lives as he once was with his. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In the summer of 1977, a serial killer who called himself Son of Sam (real name David Berkowitz) held New York City in terror as he went on a killing spree, periodically writing letters to New York's media in which he took full responsibility for the murders and made clear that he intended to kill again. Spike Lee's Summer of Sam deals in part with this crime spree, but it mostly looks back at the fearful impact of his crimes on New York's collective consciousness. Vinny and Dionna (John Leguizamo and Mira Sorvino) are an unhappy young married couple living in the Bronx; Vinny often cheats on Dionna but is wracked with guilt about it, while Dionna fears she lacks the looks or allure to hold onto a man. Ritchie (Adrien Brody) is a neighborhood kid turned punk rocker (complete with a fake British accent); he has a band and a girlfriend (Jennifer Esposito) but also makes money as an exotic dancer at a gay club. And Luigi (Ben Gazzara), a longtime leader of organized crime in the Bronx, is approached by the police, with whom he generally has a less cordial relationship, to help them find the killer, as the citizens of some neighborhoods barricade their streets in fear that he will strike there next. Meanwhile, a tortured psychopath named David Berkowitz (Michael Badalucco) seethes with rage in his gloomy apartment and receives messages from a demonic dog who commands him to kill and kill again. Spike Lee's first film without a primarily African-American cast (though bearing the unmistakable New York stamp that's one of his hallmarks), Summer of Sam was shown as part of the Directors Fortnight series at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This tense urban drama stars Nicolas Cage as Frank Pierce, a paramedic on the brink of physical and emotional collapse. Frank has worked for years in one of New York's most brutal neighborhoods, and the pressure of his job has taken its toll; plagued with self-doubt, he is haunted by the spirits of the people he couldn't save, and while he desperately wants to quit his job, outside forces won't let him walk away. Bringing Out the Dead brought director Martin Scorsese back to the streets of contemporary New York, one of his favorite locations, after three films set elsewhere: Kundun, Casino, and The Age of Innocence. The film also reunited Scorsese with screenwriter Paul Schrader, who scripted Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and The Last Temptation of Christ. The supporting cast includes Patricia Arquette as the daughter of a heart attack victim that Frank has fallen in love with, and John Goodman and Ving Rhames as two of Frank's fellow drivers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Michael and David DiCerto directed this crime drama about the Italian Mafia of East Harlem. After neighborhood hit man Benny (Nick Sandow) tortures and kills a rival family member, he gets his pal Vinny (Michael Aparo) involved in a bad coke deal. The bodies, including innocent bystanders, soon pile up, as acts of violence beget yet more violence. Shown at the 1998 Dances With Films Festival of the Unknowns (Santa Monica). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

The second film from writer/director James Mangold, the corruption drama Cop Land stars Sylvester Stallone as Freddy Heflin, the much-denigrated sheriff of tiny Garrison, NJ, a community which -- thanks to a technicality -- is populated almost entirely by members of the New York City Police Department. When young cop Murray "Superboy" Babitch (Michael Rapaport) becomes embroiled in a controversial shoot-out which leaves two black youths dead, he apparently commits suicide rather than face the wrath of an official investigation. In reality, however, he flees to safety back home in Garrison. In the wake of the controversial events, NYPD Internal Affairs lieutenant Moe Tilden (Robert De Niro) arrives in Garrison to uncover the truth, attempting to enlist Freddy to help watch the watchmen, including Superboy's uncle, veteran cop Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel); coked-out Gary Figgis (Ray Liotta); and Joey Randone (Peter Berg), the husband of the woman (Annabella Sciorra) Freddy loved and lost. A rich, complex film about redemption, Cop Land's portrayal of Freddy's struggles to prove his worth mirrors Stallone's own return to thoughtful, character-driven drama after years of vacuous action roles. Like Freddy, he faces an uphill battle, fighting for respectability in the face of a superb cast including Janeane Garofalo, Cathy Moriarty, and Paul Calderon. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

The action in this low-budget exploitation outing is presented with a decidedly feminist twist. Though violence abounds, it is largely devoid of exploitational sex. Allison came to New York City from Ohio to escape an abusive husband and ends up entangled with murderous female vigilantes who routinely castrate suspected rapists and batterers. Allison's dilemma begins when she is attacked on a city bus. Before she is harmed, five masked women pounce upon the attacker, deftly emasculate him and then kill him. Allison tries to flee, but the women surround her and demand that she join them to prevent her from going to the police. They ask her name; thinking quickly, she takes the name "Jennifer" from a nearby storefront. Jesse is the psychotic leader of the group and takes them on an increasingly crazed city-wide spree that results in the deaths of numerous well-to-do misogynists. As they slash their way across the city, the vengeful femmes are pursued by Billie Perez, a female cop determined to stop them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide