Nick de Mauro 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

Comedian Eddie Murphy tried something different with this 1995 film that he produced and co-wrote, enlisting veteran horror director Wes Craven to give the story some chills. The uneven comedy-horror tale features Murphy as a vampire named Maximillian who arrives in Brooklyn on a ship full of people who have been brutally murdered. One of the corpses on board closely resembles that of Rita (Angela Bassett), one of the detectives assigned to the case. Maximillian targets Rita, hoping to get a dance with her that will bring her under his control. He enlists the help of a worker named Julius (Kadeem Hardison), biting his neck and turning him into a slowly decaying ghoul. Also seeking to romance Rita, though in a less sinister way, is her longtime detective partner Justice (Allen Payne). Maximillian uses his supernatural powers to interfere with the budding romance. Murphy also plays a preacher and an Italian gangster in this bizarre film. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Technology runs amuck when an elite squad of police cyborgs turn on their masters in director Richard Pepin's action-packed sci-fi thriller. The future is now, and in order to minimize human casualties on the dangerous city streets, scientists have created a team lifelike androids that have been specially trained to do man's dirty work. Nicknamed the T-Force, these unstoppable humanoids are frequently sent to capture criminals who wouldn't hesitate to kill a flesh-and-blood cop. When the T-Force goes too far and shoots down a terrorist helicopter with six hostages on board, officials quickly decide to pull the plug on the project. The only problem is, the T-Force doesn't want to be shut down, and they have programmed themselves into extreme self-preservation mode as a precautionary safety measure. There is one lone cyborg who resisted the uprising though, and his name is Cain. When Lt. Jack Ford (Jack Scalia) is charged with the task of tracking down the renegade death machines, he's going to need all the help Cain can offer in order to take down the renegade robots restore order in the city. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Action star Steven Seagal crosses Rip Van Winkle with Clint Eastwood in this belabored revenge odyssey. Seagal plays L.A. Detective Mason Storm and, over the opening credits, Storm is seen busily eavesdropping on crooked politician Vernon Trent (William Sadler). Once he has the goods on Trent, Storm phones his partner Kevin O'Malley (Frederick Coffin) to report on his progress. Unfortunately, crooked cops in the same room pick up the extension phone and listen in, thereby dooming Storm. Soon killers show up at Storm's home and blow away Storm's wife Felicia (Bonnie Burroughs) and their young son. Storm himself is also assumed dead, but when he is taken to the hospital, he lapses into a coma. O'Malley spirits him away, and everyone else, for all intents and purposes, thinks Storm has died. Seven years later, under the tutelage of incredibly beautiful nurse Andy Stewart (Kelly LeBrock), Storm rises from his coma and plots his revenge. With the able assistance of Andy, Storm heads off on a killing spree, becoming (as one character describes him), "the most unstoppable sonuvabitch I ever met." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Steve (David Garrison) thinks he's scored a collector's coup when he trades his wife Marcy's 20-year-old Barbie doll for a pair of classic baseball cards. But Marcy (Amanda Bearse) is sorely displeased: she'd hoped to hand Barbie down to her own daughter, assuming that she ever has her own daughter. When the store that purchased the doll is robbed, Steve and Al (Ed O'Neill) must pound the pavements and interview every bum in Chicago to retrieve the valuable plaything. If you miss the references to Gilligan's Island and The Addams Family in this episode, it's because you're tuned to another channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In a well-wrought sex comedy with one foot in the feminist camp and another on a banana peel, Casey Meadows (Deborah Foreman in an excellent performance) defies social custom when she gets a job as a limo driver. The manager of the Brentwood Limousine Company, McBride (Howard Hesseman), and her co-workers give her both a hard time and some of the worst fares possible. She is eventually assigned to chauffeur an overworked executive (Sam Jones) who just broke up with his girlfriend. After drowning his sorrows in the back seat of the limo, the ingrate wakes up in Casey's bed the morning after, refusing to believe he had anything to do with her. Their antagonistic relationship is stressed all the more when she has to drive him on a vacation and the car breaks down. What Casey does not know is that she has not been given the complete scoop on her passenger. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

While postman Cliff (John Ratzenberger) is ill at home, Norm (George Wendt) helps out his pal by taking over Cliff's route. As a result, Norm is arrested for impersonating a postal employee. Cliff, of course, could clear up the problem in a minute -- but when a cop shows up at Cheers to get the facts, Cliff pretends that he's never heard of Norm. Meanwhile, dainty Diane (Shelley Long) is coerced into fixing a ventilation duct. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In his last acting assignment before his death, Orson Welles narrates this highly unusual episode of Moonlighting. While gathering evidence for their latest case, David (Bruce Willis) and Maddie (Cybill learn of the famous Flamingo Cove Murder, a 1946 case that has never been solved. It doesn't take long for the two detectives to dream up their own separate solutions to the murder--dreams filmed in glorious black and white in the manner of a classic film noir (David's scenario looks like something out of the Rita Hayworth flick Gilda, while Maddie's resembles a Tennessee Williams-style romantic melodrama!) Cybill Shepherd sings "Blue Moon" and "I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide