Carl Ciarfalio Movies

Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is hired by West Coast Mafia chieftan Salvatore Lucarelli (Philip Baker Hall) to locate a murderer and avert an all-out mob war. Our hero's investigation takes him far beyond the sphere of Lucarelli's empire and plunks him into the headquarters of the Chinatown gang run by Jimmy Lu (Brian Tee). As Monk assembles the clues and arrives at a surprising conclusion, his nurse-assistant Sharona (Bitty Schram) is wooed by Lucarelli's nephew Tony (Lochlyn Munro), a charmingly modest young man who isn't connected with any of his family's criminal activities...or is he? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Unreleased to the general public and infamous for its poor quality within geek circles, this Roger Corman adaptation of the Marvel Comics supergroup is an interesting cult item that ranks up there with the dismal Captain America feature and the cheap Hulk TV movies. The story of the film goes back to the late '80s when Marvel Comics were licensing out their characters for mild profit in a time when the comic industry was failing. Enter a German company called Neue Constantin and producer Bernd Eichinger, who held the rights for almost four years before their contract was about to run out. In order to retain the rights to future remake/options and get out of paying a five-million-dollar fee, Neue were forced to put something to film, so they made a deal with Roger Corman's New Horizons studio to make the film quick and on the cheap for $1.5 million. Once the film was finished, Eichinger bought out Corman's interest, then turned around and sold it to 20th Century Fox, who were then prepping a 50-million-dollar adaptation with director Chris Columbus. The film then dove into virtual obscurity, save for the comic convention bootlegs and later through the internet. The storyline follows the basic framework of the comic, with the exception of a few minor details, including the introduction of a new villain, The Jeweler, who directly becomes responsible for the team's mishap in space and takes liberally from another one of the comic's famous villains, The Mole Man. In reference to its underground popularity, Corman now regards it as his most profitable film that never saw release, while Marvel president Avi Arad reportedly burned Fox's only print. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

A ruthless drug lord must be stopped, pronto. Three able-bodied cops go undercover to bring the drug dealer to justice -- or, preferably, to kill him. Once in a while, the bad guys call a halt to the film's bloodshed to allow a sex scene to play itself out. Otherwise, this is essentially cable-TV stuff, blown up (sometimes literally) for the Big Screen. A good cast, headed by Michael Nouri and John Saxon, is the film's most tangible asset. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally made for cable-television, this thriller centers on the attempts of an innocent teenage girl to prove that the boy she has her eye upon is not a ruthless serial killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A blushing bride (Melissa Gilbert) doesn't catch on that something's fishy when her new husband (Joe Penny), last name "Moran", introduces her to his distinctly Italian family, who kiss each other's hands a lot. In fact, she doesn't tumble to the fact that her "perfect" spouse is a Mafiosa until it's Too Late. Before she knows what's happening, the wide-eyed (and soft-headed) girl is swept up in drug trafficking. To keep the Italian anti-defamation league at arm's length, the producers of this film contrive to have Tony Franciosa portray an Italian-American FBI agent who comes to the heroine's rescue. Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife was originally telecast January 18, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kicked out of school once again, R.J. Masters (Tate Donovan), punkish nephew of Robin Masters, is sent to Robin's Nest for the summer to learn the finer aspects of gentlemanly behavior from Jonathan Higgins (John Hillerman). Unfortunately, R.J. has no intention of reforming, as he quickly demonstrates by posing as Magnum (Tom Selleck) and accepting an investigation job from a beleagured widow (Meredith MacRae). Before long, the kid is up to his neck in danger, and it looks as if the "real" Magnum may not be able to bail him out! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Christmas season just got a lot less joyous in this very dark comedy. Willie T. Stokes (Billy Bob Thornton) is a con man and a thief who teams up with his friend Marcus (Tony Cox), a midget, for a very special scam each year during the holiday season. Willie gets a job as Santa Claus at a shopping mall, his pal tags along as an elf, and they use their employee status to crack mall security and rob stores blind just before Christmas. However, there's one flaw to this plan -- Willie is a bitter, foul-mouthed and perpetually grouchy alcoholic who doesn't care for kids, and it's all he can do to keep himself from getting fired while on the job. The mall's manager (John Ritter, in his last film appearance) is certain something's wrong with the Santa he's hired, so he asks the mall's chief of security (Bernie Mac) to do some research on Willie. Meanwhile, one of the kids Willie is forced to talk to becomes a regular customer; overweight, awkward, and the frequent target of bullies, the boy manages to arouse something like sympathy from Willie, who tries to give him some advice and develops something vaguely resembling Christmas sprit along the way. Bad Santa was directed by Terry Zwigoff, who enjoyed previous success with Crumb and Ghost World. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A frenetic, bloody look at mass murder and the mass media, director Oliver Stone's extremely controversial film divided critics and audiences with its mixture of over-the-top violence and bitter cultural satire. At the center of the film, written by Stone and Quentin Tarantino, among others, are Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Juliette Lewis), a young couple united by their desire for each other and their common love of violence. Together, they embark on a record-breaking, exceptionally gory killing spree that captivates the sensation-hungry tabloid media. Their fame is ensured by one newsman, Wayne Gale (Robert Downey, Jr.), who reports on Mickey and Mallory for his show, American Maniacs. Even the duo's eventual capture by the police only increases their notoriety, as Gale develops a plan for a Super Bowl Sunday interview that Mickey and Mallory twist to their own advantage. Visually overwhelming, Robert Richardson's hyperkinetic cinematography switches between documentary-style black-and-white, surveillance video, garishly colored psychedelia, and even animation in a rapid-fire fashion that mirrors the psychosis of the killers and the media-saturated culture that makes them popular heroes. The film's extreme violence -- numerous edits were required to win an R rating -- became a subject of debate, as some critics asserted that the film irresponsibly glorified its murderers and blamed the filmmakers for potentially inciting copy-cat killings. Defenders argued that the film attacks media obsession with violence and satirizes a sensationalistic, celebrity-obsessed society. Certain to provoke discussion, Natural Born Killers will thoroughly alienate many viewers with its shock tactics, chaotic approach, and disturbing subject matter, while others will value the combination of technical virtuosity and dark commentary on the modern American landscape. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Lorenzo Lamas plays a bounty hunter who seeks revenge on the crime syndicate responsible for killing his brother and sister-in-law in this actioner. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Martial arts abound in this taut adventure, yet another version of the 1924 classic story "The Most Dangerous Game," by Richard Connell. Big-game hunter Danton Vachs and his pals live on a remote island off the Mexican coastline. The island is densely jungled and Vachs makes a good living staging hunts involving human victims. His latest victim is an exceptional athlete and Vietnam veteran. To get him to the island, Vachs has his girl friend kidnapped and will not release her until the vet, Matt Collins agrees to play. He is given a four hour start upon his pursuers. While making his way through the jungle, he runs into John Blackwell, his predecessor, a survivalist who faked his death, and who has been hiding out on the island ever since. Together the two team up to make it back to the big house, get deadly chopsocky revenge and save Matt's girl friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Geoff Murphy directed this time-travel chase movie. Emilio Estevez stars as Alex Furlong, a racecar driver from 1991, who is just about to experience a deadly crash in his Formula Atlantic. But at the last moment Alex finds himself transported to the streets of New York in 2009. He is saved from certain death and zapped into the future by 21st-century bounty hunter Vacendak (Mick Jagger), who wants to take over Alex's body. Alex escapes Vacendak's clutches and decides to look up an old girlfriend. When he locates Julie (Rene Russo), he enlists her support to help him from being captured by Vacendak. Much to Alex's surprise, he discovers that Julie now works as a top executive for a giant corporation presided over by McCandless (Anthony Hopkins). Julie, separated from Alex for almost twenty years, must decide whether to renew their relationship. But there is not much time for thought by either party, since Vacendak is still coming after Alex. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This taut suspenser juggles perspectives of patriotism, media roles and the relationship between government officials and their economic interests. After a journalist covers a story about a secret military transaction between an American aerospace engineer and a Japanese agent, she continues her investigation with the help of a private eye. Before long, she figures out that she is merely a pawn and nothing around her is as it seems to be--including the people she has trusted. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide