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Jack Callahan Movies

2002  
R  
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The acclaimed graphic novel from crime writer Max Allan Collins becomes this big budget Dreamworks drama from director Sam Mendes and screenwriter David Self. Tom Hanks stars as Michael Sullivan, a morally conflicted Depression-era hit man committing murder in the name of his employer, John Rooney (Paul Newman). A kindly, aging Irish crime boss who raised Sullivan as his surrogate son, Rooney is affiliated with Al Capone in Chicago and thus wields great power in the "Tri-Cities" of Moline, IL; Rock Island, IL; and Davenport, IA. Curious about his father's mysterious profession, Sullivan's son, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), stows away in his father's automobile one night and witnesses the execution of a man at the hands of Sullivan and Rooney's biological son, Connor (Daniel Craig). Although Michael keeps his promise to remain silent about what he's seen, the paranoid and unstable Connor tries to wipe out the entire Sullivan clan anyway, succeeding only in killing Sullivan's wife, Annie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and youngest son, Peter (Liam Aiken). Enraged at this and another surprise betrayal by the Rooneys, Sullivan embarks on a path of bloody retribution, Michael in tow. Although he intends to leave his boy with relatives in the rural town of Perdition once the coast is clear, he ends up exposing Michael to the goriest aspects of his talents, slaughtering former associates as he dodges contract assassin Maguire (Jude Law) and cripples the cash flow of the Rooney and Capone organizations through a series of bank robberies, attempting to force either mob family to offer up the sequestered Connor as a sacrifice. Inspired by the popular Japanese comic book series Lone Wolf and Cub and based loosely on an episode from the life and career of notorious real-life crime figures John and Connor Looney, Road to Perdition co-stars Stanley Tucci as legendary Chicago mobster Frank Nitti. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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Starring:
Tom HanksPaul Newman, (more)
 
1986  
 
Vital Signs stars Ed Asner and Gary Cole as father and son, both prominent surgeons. Asner's skills have diminished as his alcoholism increases. Cole returns to his home town to straighten his dad out. What no one knows is that Cole himself is a substance abuser, addicted to morphine. After several near-disasters and squabbling denials, father and son make a mutual pact to wean themselves away from their addictions--with tragic results. Vital Signs is a better than average "affliction of the week" TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1986  
R  
This comedy makes fun of teen comedies as it chronicles a Midwestern town's feverish preparations for a big weekend party. Much of the story centers around the mad scramble for both youngsters and adults to find appropriate dates. The story was penned by Saturday Night Live alumni Al Franken and Tom Davis. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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Starring:
Tom DavisAl Franken, (more)
 
1981  
PG  
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Skokie is the true story of a critical test of Constitutional rights in Illinois. In 1977, a small band of American neo-fascists calling itself the National Socialist Party of America plans to stage a swastika-dominated demonstration and rally. Their intended site is the Chicago suburb of Skokie, a town populated predominantly by Jews--many of them survivors of the Nazi holocaust. Jewish ACLU lawyer John Rubinstein is compelled to lobby for the National Socialists' freedom to express their views, despite his own inner turmoil over defending the very people who'd destroy him. The most vocal opponent to the planned rally is Skokie senior citizen Max Liebman (Danny Kaye), who spent five years in Hitler's death camps. Ernest Kinoy's teleplay for Skokie is fair-minded to a fault, presenting all points of view with equanimity, proving that there are no simple solutions when the fundamental right of Free Speech is involved. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1980  
R  
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Expanding on their Saturday Night Live characters, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd star as Jake and Elwood Blues, two white boys with black soul. Sporting cool shades and look-alike suits, Jake and Elwood are dispatched on a "mission from God" by their former teacher, Sister Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman). Said mission is to raise $5000 to save an orphanage. In the course of their zany adventures, the Blues Brothers run afoul of neo-Nazi Henry Gibson, perform the theme from Rawhide before the most unruly bar crowd in written history, and lay waste to hundreds of cars on the streets and freeways of Chicago. In case you aren't swept up in the infectuous nuttiness of the brothers Blue, you might have fun spotting film's legion of guest stars, including James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Candy, Carrie Fisher, Steve Lawrence, Twiggy, Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman), Frank Oz, and Steven Spielberg. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
John BelushiDan Aykroyd, (more)
 
1978  
R  
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Brian De Palma returns to the mind-blowing potential of telekinesis in the follow-up to his 1976 horror hit Carrie. While vacationing with his psychic son, Robin (Andrew Stevens), and close associate Childress (John Cassavetes), government agent Peter Sandza (Kirk Douglas) survives a terrorist attack, only to discover that it was staged by Childress so he could kidnap Robin for his own nefarious purposes. With the assistance of another psychic (William Finley) and Hester (Carrie Snodgress), an employee at the Paragon Institute for Psychic Research, Peter discovers a telekinetic Chicago high-school girl named Gillian (Amy Irving), who may be able to help him find Robin. Even though they have never met, Gillian can see Robin's memories and experiences telepathically, and she knows that he is in trouble. But Childress knows all about Gillian, too, and he is not about to let Peter's paternal quest get in the way of his plans for harnessing their psychic power. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

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Starring:
Kirk DouglasJohn Cassavetes, (more)
 
1974  
 
The made-for-TV Stowaway to the Moon may be regarded by some as an excellent argument for birth control. Michael Link plays E.J., an 11-year-old boy fascinated by manned space travel. While visiting Cape Canaveral, E. J. accidentally finds himself on board a space missile. By and by, he is accidentally launched to the moon. But don't despair--this is a kiddie movie. Also in the cast is Lloyd Bridges, Jeremy Slate, and, in the role of a TV commentator, real-life former astronaut Pete Conrad. Curiously, the full-color Stowaway to the Moon was often telecast in black and white when it went into local syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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