Henry Bronchtein Movies

Andy Sipowicz' (Dennis Franz) joy over being promoted is tempered by his grief at the funeral of former partner Danny Sorenson. Additionally, Andy is nervous about being teamed with John Clark Jr. (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), the son of an old and vengeful enemy (Joe Spano). Before the reason for the animosity between Andy and Joe Sr. is revealed, the squad tackles a burglary-homicide case involving a valuable guitar and a nutty roommate (Pamela Gordon), and tries to nail the victim's husband in a stabbing death. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Series co-star Michael Imperioli, who also wrote the feature film Summer of Sam (1999), penned the script for this episode of the popular pay-television drama. Shot several times in the previous episode, Soprano family lieutenant Christopher Moltisanti (Imperioli) clings to life in a hospital and has an out-of-body experience that brings him into contact with his ghosts of his late father and a slain former associate, Mikey Palmice, in the afterlife. Shaken up by Christopher's account of his supernatural journey, Paulie Walnuts (Tony Sirico) visits a psychic, a priest, and even Palmice's widow, convinced he'll go to Hell when he dies. Mafia boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) receives a tip regarding the whereabouts of Matt Bevilaqua (Lillo Brancato Jr.), one of the gunmen who shot Christopher, and pays Matt a lethal visit with Big Pussy (Vincent Pastore), who's forced to commit murder despite being a federal informant. Hearing about the illegitimate child borne by another mobster's mistress, Carmela (Edie Falco) urges her husband Tony to get a vasectomy, as she's aware of his affair with a Russian girl, Irina (Oksana Babiy). Tony insists the affair is over, but Carmela is highly skeptical. Janice (Aida Turturro) continues to pressure her boyfriend, Richie Aprile (David Proval), to move against her brother Tony. Tony blows up at his son, Anthony Jr. (Robert Iler), and then tries to rectify the situation by spending time with him. Tony also attempts to be a good husband; he tells Carmela he'll get a vasectomy, but she tells Tony she's changed her mind and may want another child. Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) confesses during a visit with her psychiatrist Dr. Kupferberg (Peter Bogdanovich) that she has made an unholy alliance with her notorious client and that she's becoming increasingly dependent upon alcohol and pills. "From Where to Eternity" first aired on March 12, 2000. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

If it is truly possible to make a bunch of criminals, thieves, and cold-blooded murderers amusing and appealing, then the much-praised HBO serio-comedy The Sopranos did the trick. The title refers not to a gaggle of singers, but to a powerful New Jersey mob family who goes about it's business behind a disarming veneer of suburban respectability. Most of the stories concentrate on middle-aged mob boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), whose illicit and homicidal activities are treated as par for the course by his wife Carmela (Edie Falco), his college-age daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler), and his listless teenage son Anthony Jr. (Robert Iler). Plagued with the usual problems attending his profession, Tony is also weighed down by the travails of his immediate family, not to mention such irritants as his thoroughly venal mother, Livia Soprano (Nancy Marchand), and the overly ambitious Soprano patriarch Corrado "Uncle Junior" Soprano (Dominic Chianese), with whom Tony is locked in an eternal power struggle. At his wit's end, Tony begins consulting a psychiatrist, Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), who is understandably queasy over being privy to the most intimate details of mob activity. The large and ever-changing supporting cast includes Tony Sirico as obsequious mob torpedo Paulie Walnuts, John Heard as "bought" detective Vin Makazian, Michael Rispoli as capo Jackie Aprile, David Proval as Jackie's testy ex-con brother Richie Aprile, Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti, Steve Van Zandt as Silvio Dante, Aida Turturro as Tony's sister Janice, Drea de Matteo as Adrianna, Vincent Pastore as Pussy Bompensiero, Joseph Badalucco Jr. as Jimmy Altieri, Michele DeCesare as Hunter, Anthony de Sando as Brendan Filone, Jerry Adler as Hesh Rabkin, and Kathrine Narducci as Charmaine Bucco.

The series was created by David Chase, who previously served as a writer/producer for such "mainstream" shows as Northern Exposure and I'll Fly Away, and who, born David DeCesare, claimed that a goodly portion of the series is autobiographical (in terms of family interrelationships, if not "the family business"). The Sopranos was almost picked up by Fox, but Chase took a pass when the network insisted upon having casting approval (apparently Fox preferred the best-looking actors to the best actors). The HBO link-up allowed Chase greater freedom in terms of the series' profanity and violence quotient, which provides a realistic backdrop for the oftimes surreal comings and goings of the Sopranos and their various relatives, friends, foes, and business associates. Debuting January 10, 1999, The Sopranos immediately became a popular and critical favorite with the New York Times gushing that the series is "the greatest work of American pop culture of the past quarter century." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this slightly dark comedy about romantic obsession, Sam (Matthew Broderick) is an astronomer who likes his life in the small New England town he calls home and loves his fiancée, Linda (Kelly Preston). But one day, Linda tells Sam that she's moving to New York because she has found a new job -- and a new boyfriend. Sam is shocked and doesn't want to give Linda up, so when she moves to Manhattan, Sam follows her. Moving into an empty loft across the street from Linda's new apartment, Sam constructs a camera obscura that allows him to watch what she and her new beau, a French restaurateur named Anton (Tcheky Karyo), are up to. Sam's convinced that Linda is just going through a phase, and when she gets tired of Anton, he'll be there to pick up the pieces. But Sam soon has company in his obsessive watch over Linda's new flat: Anton's former girlfriend, Maggie (Meg Ryan), crashes Sam's hideout and joins him in his spy mission. While Sam just wants Linda back, Maggie is seething with rage against Anton after he dumped her and now she's out for revenge. Addicted to Love was the directorial debut of actor and producer Griffin Dunne; he cast his father, noted author Dominick Dunne, in a small role as a food writer. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Director Barbet Schroeder and screenwriter Ted Tally adapted the novel by Rosellen Brown into this intriguing drama that, while heavily criticized for a third-act revelation that is something of a cop-out, nevertheless features -- typically of Schroeder's work -- compelling performances, domestic discord, and a search for the truth. Meryl Streep stars as Carolyn Ryan, a rural Massachusetts pediatrician married to Ben (Liam Neeson), a handsome, rugged sculptor. Although theirs is not a picture-perfect marriage, the Ryans consider themselves happy, until police arrive at their home one morning to inform them that their son Jacob (Edward Furlong) was the last person seen the night before with a teenage girl who has been murdered. Jacob is missing, and the Ryans frantically search for him, but when the boy returns, it is obvious that he's not being completely truthful about the night's events. While Carolyn wants the truth, Ben is willing to go to whatever lengths are necessary to defend Jacob, hiring an expensive lawyer (Alfred Molina), destroying evidence, and encouraging Jacob to be deceitful. Carolyn and Ben's opposing views of their son's legal trouble cause serious turmoil in the Ryans' marriage, which may be irreparably harmed in spite of the 11th hour appearance of the truth. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Loosely based on a true story, this uneven romantic comedy depicts the unexpected way in which a winning lottery ticket unites a pair of strangers. Waitress Yvonne (Bridget Fonda) first meets police officer Charlie (Nicolas Cage) when he eats in her restaurant. Realizing that he doesn't have enough money to give her a tip, Charlie promises Yvonne to split any winnings from the lottery ticket he just bought. The skeptical Yvonne dismisses Charlie as just another cheapskate until he wins four million dollars and, much to Yvonne's surprise, decides to honor the agreement. His action becomes front page news and wins public acclaim, but it doesn't go over nearly so well with Charlie's wife Muriel (Rosie Perez), who has her own plans for the money. Muriel's shallow, greedy behavior disgusts Charlie, who finds himself spending more and more time with Yvonne, developing a friendship that threatens to blossom into something more. Jane Anderson's screenplay stresses the relationship between Charlie and Yvonne's characters over the situation's comic potential; this earnest tone will please romance fans but may disappoint viewers expecting the farcical comedy of writer/director Andrew Bergman's and Cage's previous effort, Honeymoon in Vegas. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Rookie of the Year is a light-hearted comedy about a 12-year-old baseball fan who, despite his love for the sport, can't play the game at all. During one Little League contest, he breaks his arm. After it heals, it miraculously becomes a super-human arm that can out-pitch any player in the major leagues. The boy joins the Chicago Cubs and helps lead them to the World Series. Though the plot is silly and contrived, it's a pleasant film that is ideal for young sports fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

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, Rovi

In the early 1960's, Eddie Wilson (Michael Pare) and his band The Cruisers enjoyed a brief fling with success, but their career came to a halt when Eddie's badly damaged car was discovered in an accident on a bridge. However, Eddie's body was never found, and years later, a reissue of the group's only album sparks rumors that the mysterious Eddie might still be alive. Frank Ridgeway (Tom Berenger), Eddie's former piano player and lyricist, finds himself trailed by Maggie Foley (Ellen Barkin), a reporter trying to find out the truth about Eddie, as well as another former bandmate who wants Frank to join his revamped version of the Cruisers -- and is trying to track down the tapes for the Cruisers' unreleased second album. While not a box-office success on its original release, Eddie and the Cruisers developed a following after its showings on cable television and release on videotape; this led to the belated success of the film's soundtrack album, featuring a number of bombastic neo-Springsteen numbers by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. Beaver Brown saxophonist Michael "Tunes" Antunes plays Wendell, the Cruisers' sax player and Eddie's best friend (despite the fact that we never hear him speak). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi