Louis di Bianco Movies

Everyone who grew up watching the original Saturday Night Live remembers the fateful night in 1976 when Lorne Michaels, with mock gravity, announced that NBC would pay the munificent sum of 3,000 dollars if the Beatles would agree to come on the show and perform three Beatles songs. But everyone may not know that ex-Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney happened to be in New York, watching that particular episode of SNL -- and for a few moments, they were tempted to play along with the gag and accept the offer. How did this come about? Well, it seems that McCartney, riding high with his hit single "Silly Love Songs," was in Manhattan to promote an upcoming concert. For old time's sake, and (probably) to heal a few long-standing wounds, McCartney called upon Lennon at the latter's apartment in the Dakota. First telecast February 1, 2000, Two of Us dramatizes this bittersweet reunion, of which "L'Affair SNL" was but one of many extra added ingredients. Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who'd also helmed the Beatles' swan song movie, Let It Be, Two of Us was seen over the VH1 cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The treachery of seduction takes hold when, after manipulating her lover to do away with her faithful husband, a scheming black widow stealthily begins plotting her next deadly move in a steamy erotic thriller starring Susan Lucci and Philip Casnoff. Isabelle Collins (Lucci) has been married to power broker husband Stewart (John O'Hurley) for over a decade, and despite his endless wealth, her eyes have begun to wander. After using her beauty to seduce rich and handsome widower Richard (Casnoff), Isabelle quickly manages to convince her new lover that she is stuck in an abusive relationship with no way out. Soon lead to believe that both of their lives are in immediate danger as a result of their heated affair, Richard is skillfully manipulated into hiring a violent parolee to do away with the unsuspecting Stewart. When the deed is finally done and Isabelle begins to grow increasingly distant to her ever-loyal lover, it doesn't take Richard long to realize that not only has he been manipulated into killing an innocent man, but he may be the next in line to die at the behest of the insatiable Isabelle. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Due South regular Daniel Kash exits the series in spectacular fashion when his character, Chicago detective Louis Gardino, is killed by a bomb intended for Ray (David Marciano). His grief exacerbated by a thirst for vengeance, Ray goes after the man whom he thinks is responsible for Gardino's death: Mafia boss Frank Zuko (Jim Bracchita), who grew up in Ray's neighborhood. Complicating matters is the growing romantic relationship between Ray and Zuko's sister Irene (Carrie-Ann Moss)--a relationship that leads inexorably to another tragedy. First broadcast on Canadian television, this episode made its US debut on February 2, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this campy, nostalgic comedy based on a popular TV series from the early '60s, the two bungling cops Toody and Muldoon are assigned to guard a key witness who is planning to testify against a crime lord. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Arthur Hiller directed this comedy/drama concerning three couples, thrown together by fate, who become friendly and help each other through their marriage difficulties. Claire (Cybill Shepherd) and Leo (Ron Silver) are a wealthy couple having trouble with a daughter from a previous marriage. John (Beau Bridges) and Iris (Stockard Channing) are a couple from the '60s who have weathered a relationship involving sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Chuck (Robert Sean Leonard), a securities analyst, and Nina (Mary Stuart Masterson), a child psychologist, are newlyweds needing guidance through the pitfalls of married life. The couples meet on a committee formed at a PTA meeting. They find they like each other and invite each other to dinner parties. As they meet and talk with one another, they reveal their problems and help each other. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Based on the book by Meg Wolitzer, This Is My Life is the directorial debut for Nora Ephron, who adapted the script with sister, Delia Ephron. Dottie Engels (Julie Kavner) is a single mother with aspirations of becoming a standup comedian. When her Aunt Harriet dies, Dottie gets an apartment in Manhattan with her daughters, teenaged Erica (Samantha Mathis) and ten-year-old Opal (Gaby Hoffmann). Soon, Dottie's career is taking off and her agent, Claudia Curtis (Carrie Fisher), gets her on a comedy tour. Everything seems to work out well for Dottie, except that her daughters are left without a mother. Erica, who has just started dating Jordan (Danny Zorn) gets especially mad when she hears Dottie talking about her personal information on a talk show. The two girls are further upset with their mother's choice for a boyfriend, Arnold Moss (Dan Aykroyd). Eventually, Erica and Opal try to track down their real father, Norm (Louis di Banco), in upstate New York. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Nearly three decades after the cancellation of the original Untouchables TV series, Robert Stack reprises his role as gangbuster Eliot Ness, who returns from retirement to hunt for the killer of a former colleague and finds himself caught in a war between rival mob kingpins in 1947 Chicago. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

When there's a full moon over Brooklyn, anything can happen, and everything happens in the neighborhood where widowed bookkeeper Loretta Castorini (Cher) lives. First, Loretta agrees to marry a man she does not love, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello), simply because he knows how to propose properly. Before the wedding can take place, Cammareri must visit his dying mother in Sicily. In his absence, Loretta is supposed to try to patch up the differences between Johnny and his brother, bakery operator Ronny Cammareri (Nicolas Cage). Having never forgiven Johnny for indirectly causing the accident that crippled him, Ronny flies into a rage whenever his brother's name is mentioned. He does, however, fall for Loretta like a ton of bricks. After a torrid affair, Loretta tries to avoid Ronny out of respect to Johnny, but he's just too fascinating to resist. Meanwhile, Loretta's father (Vincent Gardenia) is fooling around with his mistress Mona (Anita Gillette), while Loretta's mother (Olympia Dukakis) is wooed by a college professor (John Mahoney). These brief flings are forgiven and forgotten, but there's still the delicate situation of Loretta being in love with her future brother-in-law. A now-classic romantic comedy, Moonstruck won Oscars for Cher, Olympia Dukakis, and screenwriter John Patrick Shanley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Prolific actor-stuntman Conrad Palmisano directed this average action-thriller about the owner of an inner-city gym. Earl (Paul Coufos) happens to also be a skilled fighter, and when he is pressured by real-estate developers to close the gym, he fights in order to save it. Former Saturday Night Live regular Tony Rosato co-stars with Irene Cara, who sings a cover version of "She Works Hard for the Money," as well as portraying Earl's love interest, Simone. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Based on the story of Antoinette Giancana, Susan Lucci plays a mobster's daughter who is trying to learn the truth of her father's shady dealings in this made-for-TV movie. Tony Curtis plays the boss, Sam Giancana. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

This macabre, whimsical, erotic, dark, seriocomic film is a complex tale about an eccentric family and the psychological and emotional maelstroms that follow them around from New England to New York to Vienna, where the Hotel New Hampshire is located. Writer-director Tony Richardson worked from the convoluted novel by John Irving that covers most universally saleable topics -- homosexuality, death, incest, abandonment, Nazis, masochism, terrorists, rape, mental instability, and anarchists. The children in the family are the main focus: John (Rob Lowe) is a womanizing high-school student with a deep-rooted desire for his own sister; Franny (Jodie Foster) is the eldest daughter, a victim of a gang rape, now morbidly fascinated by one of the rapists, and equally attracted to her brother with incestuous desire; Frank (Paul McCrane) is the younger gay brother; and Lilly (Jennifer Dundas) is the little sister who blossoms into a famous author. Associated with the family is Suzie the Bear (Nastassja Kinski) who is not secure enough to come out of her bear suit. One friend of the family, Freud (Wallace Shawn), has been blinded by the Nazis and is running the Hotel New Hampshire in Vienna when he asks everyone to come and help him out. By this time, the plot has run out of room, and the climactic endings to several unresolved relationships happen in quick succession. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide