Richard Barton Lewis Movies

Director Michael Corrente's coming-of-age comedy drama Brooklyn Rules unfurls in 1985, coincident with the early rise of John Gotti. Three young Brooklyn men of Italian-American heritage -- Michael Turner (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Carmine Mancuso (Scott Caan), and Bobby Canzoneri (Jerry Ferrara) -- make the pivotal, potentially irreversible choices that will determine their directions in life. The boys' periodic run-ins with a sadistic mobster type who rules the neighborhood, Caesar Manganaro (Alec Baldwin), suggest the ever-present option of drifting into a career of crime. On the surface, Michael courageously and doggedly bucks this choice, opting instead for the pre-law program at Columbia and a straight-laced romance with blonde-haired, blue-eyed coed Ellen (Mena Suvari), yet this path is not as antiseptic as it may seem, for he actually scammed his way into the law program. Meanwhile, Carmine idolizes Caesar, and his desire to emulate this thug not only compromises his own moral integrity, but threatens to jeopardize the stability of Michael's life as well by drawing him into a sticky web of criminal activity. While the first two men navigate these treacherous paths, the third friend, Bobby, stakes out safer ground with a low-key job at the post office and married life with his intended. Over the course of it all, the boys' bonds of friendship become stressed and strained given the divergence of their paths. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Actor David Duchovny made his debut as a director and screenwriter with this coming-of-age drama, in which a grown man looks back at his adolescence. It's 1973, and Tommy (Anton Yelchin) is a 13-year-old boy living in New York's Greenwich Village with his mother (Téa Leoni), who is still coming to terms with the death of her husband. Tommy's best friend is Pappass (Robin Williams), a mentally challenged man who is in his thirties, but is at the same emotional age as Tommy; Pappass delivers meat for a local butcher, and Tommy helps him out. Tommy has discovered women, and has a crush on Melissa (Zelda Williams), a cute girl in his class, but Pappass isn't much interested in the opposite sex, and can offer little advice on the subject. Tommy's lone confidante on this issue is Lady Bernadette (Erykah Badu), a woman locked up in the nearby Women's House of Detention who offers advice shouted from her window. When Pappass begins to realize that Tommy is falling for Melissa, he's convinced he's losing his best friend, and in a moment of anger he steals a bicycle. Tommy tries to protect Pappas by claiming he was the thief, leading to a series of serious repercussions. Years later, Tommy (now played by Duchovny) is a grown man who leaves his home in Paris, France, to pay a visit to the old neighborhood and come to terms with the life he left behind. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Made for television, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three is adapted from the suspense novel by John Godey, previously filmed as a theatrical feature in 1974. The earlier version was highlighted by the verbal cat-and-mouse game between a cynical veteran NYPD detective, played by Walter Matthau, and a world-weary master criminal, played by Robert Shaw. The remake offers two detectives, Piscotti (Edward James Olmos and Ray (Lorraine Bracco), who match wits with a man calling himself Mr. Blue (Vincent D'Onofrio), who has masterminded the hijacking of a New York subway car. As his cohorts hold the 14 passengers hostage, Mr. Blue demands a $5 million ransom, to be delivered in one hour, or else the captives will be killed one by one. Though the dark humor which pervaded the 1974 version is largely absent here, the remake pulls off the neat trick of being highly suspenseful and subtle and low-key at the same time. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three debuted February 1, 1998, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Season One of the TV western The Magnificent Seven: The Series begins with a 2-hour opener, set in the early 1870s, which details how seven "fast guns" were united under the guidance of reformed gunslinger Chris Larrabee (Michael Biehn) to protect a peaceful Seminole Indian tribe from being slaughtered by an insane ex-Confederate officer and his band of brigands. Reportedly, one of the Seven was to have been killed in the pilot and replaced by actor Francis Riley as Irish expatriate Darragh O'Malley, but the producers were so impressed by the chemistry among the leading actors that it was decided to keep the original cast intact. Once their job is done, Chris and his companions--tactiturn ex-bounty hunter Vin (Eric Close), ladies' man Buck (Dale Midkiff), defrocked priest and "mad prophet" Josiah (Ron Perlman), cynical Southern con-man Ezra (Anthony Starke), former slave Nathan (Rick Worhty) and Eastern-born naïf J.D. (Andrew Kavovit)--are invided by Judge Orin Travis (Robert Vaughn) in remain a team in order to safeguard the town of Four Corners from any and all outlaws, killers and other miscreants. Travis is willing to tolerate the the Seven's unorthodox (and sometimes downright) unethical methods, so long as they get results. Likewise grateful for the Seven's presence is Travis' widowed daughter Mary (Laurie Holden, editor of "The Daily Clarion", as well as local cowgal Casey (Dana Barron). In the course of the season's 10 episodes, our heroes rescue a group of "working girls" from their brutal overseer, redeem of professional safecracker, help Mary's son (Justin Travis) overcome a traumatic experience, and contend with the arrival of Ezra's equally larcenous mother (Michelle Phillips). Also, Chris is given an important lead to the man he holds responsible for the murder of his wife and child; an evil land developer (Tim Thomerson) shows up to gyp the locals out of their property; and in the season's final episode, the Seven square off against a corrupt sheriff (Cliff DeYoung) who is running an illicit prison camp and exploiting the convict labor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frank Military and Susan Rhinehart scripted this western, a look back at the post-Civil War Black cavalry troops known as the Buffalo Soldiers, the fierce fighting unit previously covered in a PBS four-parter (1970) and an NBC pilot (1979). In the New Mexico Territory, ex-slave Sgt. Wyatt (Danny Glover) and the Buffalo soldiers arrest Captain Draper (Robert Knott) and other Texas Rangers, but politics mean the Rangers are quietly freed later. Back at Fort Craig, Wyatt reports to anti-black General Pike (Tom Bower) and Col. Grierson (Bob Gunton), a white responsible for assembling and supporting the black regiment. A search is underway for Indian chief Victorio (Harrison Lowe). Indian prophet Nana (Chesley Wilson) is tortured in an effort to get him to reveal Victorio's whereabouts. Determining that Victorio is at Rattlesnake Springs, the Buffalo Soldiers head in that direction for a confrontation. Filmed in the desert of Arizona's Cochise County, Buffalo Soldiers premiered December 7, 1997 on TNT. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

An orphaned young woman struggles to overcome a difficult childhood and her later experiences as a prostitute in this period drama set in 18th century London. Drawing only loose inspiration from the Daniel Dafoe novel that provided the film's title, writer-director Pen Densham creates a new story surrounding the title character of Moll Flanders (Robin Wright). The daughter of a thief, young Moll is placed in the care of a nunnery after the execution of her mother. However, the actions of an abusive priest lead Moll to rebel as a teenager, escaping to the dangerous streets of London. Further misfortunes drive her to accept a job as a prostitute from the conniving Mrs. Allworthy (Stockard Channing). It is there that Moll first meets Hibble (Morgan Freeman), who is working as Allworthy's servant but takes a special interest in the young woman's well-being. With his help, she retains hope for the future, ultimately falling in love with an unconventional artist (John Lynch) who promises the possibility of romantic happiness. While Densham's script reflects the intricate plots and varied characters of the period's novels, the often deliberate film stresses Moll's self-determination and emotional journey over the narrative's melodrama. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Opening within one month from each other in 1994, Blown Away invited many comparisons to Speed. Both are pyrotechnical displays involving mad bombers and a multitude of flying building debris and body parts. The cop and the mad bomber in this one are Jimmy Dove (Jeff Bridges), a veteran of the Boston Bomb Squad planning to retire from the force, and Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones), a revenge-crazed explosives expert who has recently escaped from a detention center in Northern Ireland. It seems that Gaerity is out to get Jimmy and has been nursing his grudge for the past twenty years. Back in his Irish past, Jimmy, then known as Liam, was a student of Gaerity, who constructed bombing devices for the IRA. But when Gaerity's bombing plans included the killing of innocent civilians, Liam opposed him and thwarted his efforts. As a result, Liam escaped to the United States to become Jimmy, and Gaerity was arrested and sent to prison. But now that Gaerity is out of jail, he is traveling to Boston to wreak havoc upon the city in revenge for what Jimmy has done to him. His plan is to create so many bombings in Boston that the bomb squad's strength will be depleted, allowing him to get to Jimmy and his family. The goal? Blowing up Jimmy's wife (Suzy Amis) and stepdaughter at a Boston Pops concert. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This film is a '90s version of the classic Robin Hood story, with Kevin Costner starring as the good-guy thief. Costner is joined in his efforts against the murdering Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman) by Morgan Freeman who plays a philosophizing Moor, and by Nick Brimble, who plays Little John (anything but little). After Robin barely survives a watery skirmish with Little John, the two become allies and Robin joins forces with Little John's band of robber thieves to overcome the evils of the dastardly Nottingham sheriff. ~ All Movie Guide

The Kiss, an erotic horror film dealing with ancient curses and the occult, is the story of a teenage girl whose world is destroyed by the arrival of her mysterious aunt and the death of her mother. Amy (Meredith Salenger) leads a normal, suburban existence until the mysterious death of her mother and the simultaneous arrival of her exotic, beautiful jet-set model aunt Felice (Joanna Pacula) who she has never met. Amy's world is completely changed as she watches her father become increasingly sexually attracted to Felice. When Amy rejects Felice's strangely intense interest, Amy and her friends begin to suffer from a series of accidents which leads Amy to believe that black magic is involved. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

The Borgia Stick opens with a funeral: the "guests of honor" are also the film's stars, Don Murray and Inger Stevens. In flashback, we learn that Murray and Stevens were for all intents and purposes a happily married suburban couple. Before long, we discover that the couple wasn't married at all, nor were they particularly happy. In fact, Murray and Stevens were employees of an all-powerful crime syndicate, plunked down in suburbia to lay the groundwork for a mob takeover. When the couple decides to go straight, they sign their own death warrant....maybe. A tremendous improvement over the handful of made-for-television films that preceded it, The Borgia Stick was the first TV movie to enjoy favorable notices from the critics. Its first telecast on February 25, 1967, was one of the highest-rated events of the 1966-67 season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide