Shera Danese

A drug dealer moves on to bigger crimes in an effort to settle a score with disastrous results in this drama inspired by actual events. Though barely out of his teens, Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) has already built a lucrative career for himself selling drugs -- he has his own home, a luxury car, and posse of friends who do double duty as his crew, including Elvis (Shawn Hatosy), Frankie (Justin Timberlake), and Tiko (Fernando Vargas). While life at Johnny's house is usually a constant party interrupted by occasional dope deals, Johnny has lost all of his patience with Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), a regular customer who has run up a large tab that he can't pay. Determined to clear Jake's account, Johnny and his boys plan to kidnap Jake and hold him for ransom, but when they happen upon his 15-year-old stepbrother, Zack (Anton Yelchin), they impulsively decide to take the youngster instead. Jake's father, Butch (David Thornton), and his stepmother, Olivia (Sharon Stone), are already furious with their junkie son when they learn about Zack's disappearance, and aren't sure what they should do. Meanwhile at Johnny's place, Frankie takes a liking to young Zack, who already admires his brother's high-flying lifestyle, and introduces the kid to the joys of grown-up partying, which he takes to with dangerous zeal. Also featuring Bruce Willis as Johnny's father, Alpha Dog was based on the real-life story of Jesse James Hollywood, who at the age of 21 became one of the youngest people to ever appear on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A national health care crisis in the United States yields this tense drama from screenwriter James Kearns and director Nick Cassavetes, who experienced a real-life dilemma with his daughter's congenital heart disease that mirrors the one in this film. Denzel Washington stars as John Q. Archibald, a factory worker facing financial hardship as a result of reduced hours in his workplace. When his young son, Michael (Daniel E. Smith), is stricken during a baseball game, John and his wife, Denise (Kimberly Elise), discover that their child is in need of an emergency heart transplant. Although the Archibalds have health insurance, they are informed by hospital administrator Rebecca Payne (Anne Heche) that their policy doesn't cover such an expensive procedure. Unable to raise the money himself, John persuades the hospital's compassionate cardiac surgeon, Dr. Raymond Turner (James Woods), to waive his lofty fee, but is still left with too much of a financial burden to bear. With no recourse but to take his son home to die, John snaps and holds the staff and patients of the hospital's emergency room hostage at gunpoint. John is soon a media hero, the focus of intense news coverage, even as police chief Gus Monroe (Ray Liotta) and hostage negotiator Frank Grimes (Robert Duvall) try to resolve the situation before it leads to bloodshed. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In this episode of the long-running detective series, Lt. Columbo delves seven years into the past to look into a lucrative bank robbery. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Julia Cole (Diane Salinger) is more than a little upset about turning 40. She's depressed about growing older, distressed at the lack of attention from her workaholic husband Charles (John Calvin), and bored with being a stay-at-home wife and mother. On her birthday, she finds a bottle of enchanted soap bubbles. Blowing them transports her to moments of happiness from earlier times in her life. Soon, she not only regains her youthful vigor, she cannot even remember how old she is. She changes her appearance, her personality is transformed from reclusive to outgoing, and her values change from strict to permissive. Eventually, she realizes that happiness is not age-dependent. George Clooney and Wallace Shawn are the biggest names in this low-budget, independently produced romantic comedy, also known as The Magic Bubble, directed by Deborah Taper Ringel and Alfredo Ringel. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Columbo: Murder, A Self Portrait stars Patrick Bauchau as an artist hounded by a contentious ex-wife (Fionulla Flanagan). He murders his former spouse on the beach at Malibu, but arranges things to make it seem he was far away in his art studio at the time of the killing. Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) has heard this song before, and he meticulously chips away at the artist's alibi. Also in the cast is Shera Danese, a.k.a. Mrs. Peter Falk. Murder, A Self Portrait was one of the handful of Columbo 2-hour episodes shown during the 1989-1990 season on The ABC Saturday Mystery Movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A rare attempt by a female director to attack the issue of rape from a woman's perspective, this drama is sure to cause varied reactions. A sense of the film's perspective can be garnered from paraphrasing its publicity: "Rapists have two problems and the 'Ladies Club' is about to remove them both." Statistics of the time note that a woman was raped every seven minutes while the conviction rate was an incredibly low 2%. A policewoman who was brutally raped and the sister of a rape victim who was incurably traumatized band together for a surgical attack on the offenders, aided by a physician whose own tragedy inspires her to lend her skill with a scalpel to the cause. The encounters with rapists, court hearings, and sneaking through police files to identify the men who got away bring suspense to this crusade for justice. Comic relief crops up now and again to leaven the seriousness of the topic. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-TV comedy, a group of single adults attempt to find their perfect mates in the harsh world of dating. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Rob Reiner coproduced, cowrote and costarred in this TV-movie about suburban "angst" in the 1980s. Reiner is one of four wealthy Long Islanders who play for an amateur softball team. All four men (Reiner, Bruno Kirby, Robert Costanzo and Christopher Guest) suffer from profound personal and professional problems, thus the weekly ball game becomes a method of working out their frustrations. So adept do they become at this cathartic activity that their team makes it to the state-wide championship--which leads to yet another crisis. Million Dollar Infield was the first of several "behind the scenes" projects for onetime TV sitcom star Rob Reiner; more recently, Reiner has been responsible for such moneymaking theatrical films as This is Spinal Tap, Misery and A Few Good Men. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Kojak (Telly Savalas) and his fellow detectives offer moral support to their police-officer colleague Richie Centorini (Joey Aresco), who is going through an unusually nasty divorce. The biggest thorn in Richie's side is his wife's sleazy attorney Everett Coughlin (played by future movie-studio executive David Ladd), who intends to take the hapless cop for every penny he has. When Centorini's private boat is torch--and a man killed in the process--suspicion falls upon Coughlin...and even worse, there's the possibility that Richie's ex-wife Sally (Shera Danese) may have been an accomplice. Future comedy star Joe Flaherty appears in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Martin Scorsese combined the splashy atmosphere of the old studio musical with an unromanticized marriage story in his valentine to Hollywood and the Big Band era. On V-J Day 1945, newly minted civilian saxophonist Jimmy Doyle (Robert De Niro) meets USO singer Francine Evans (Liza Minnelli) at a dance, but she rebuffs every advance that he makes. A day and a hotel lobby meeting later, Jimmy finally wins Francine over after she uses her pop instincts to save his too-jazzy audition at a nightclub. When she goes on tour with Frankie Harte (Georgie Auld) and his Orchestra, Jimmy tracks her down, taking a job with the orchestra to be with her. Together on stage, they make beautiful music; off stage they marry, but the struggle between two artists begins to take its toll. Unable to understand that Francine's needs and talents are just as important as his, and unwilling to compromise his music for security, Jimmy abandons Francine after their baby is born. Separately, the two succeed even more, as Francine becomes a music and movie star, while Jimmy has a top hit and opens a jazz club. When they are reunited several years later, the pair must decide if their relationship is worth another try. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide