Vinny Vella Movies
One of Hollywood's old standbys for playing imposing, street-smart Italian-American hoods, Vinny Vella grew up in New York's Little Italy and dreamed of movie stardom from a young age; he entered show business via a back door, by founding and running the company Star Truckers, designed to provide transportation to Hollywood A-listers. Vella's related presence on movie sets, in turn, encouraged directors to begin summoning him for walk-ons and bit parts, including a small role as a driver in Spike Lee's comedy drama Girl 6 (1996); also in the mid-'90s, Martin Scorsese recruited Vella as one of the main characters, ill-fated stoolie Artie Piscano, in his epic crime drama Casino. On the side, Vella also made guest appearances on MTV's House of Style, which also expanded his résumé and gave him added audience recognition. Additional movie projects included Jane Campion's In the Cut (2003), Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), and lead billing opposite Ty Jones and Connie in the action thriller Holla at Me. Meanwhile, Vella also teamed up with ESPN to do over 30 commercial spots for Monday Night Baseball. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
The inner-workings of a corrupt Las Vegas casino are exposed in Martin Scorsese's story of crime and punishment. The film chronicles the lives and times of three characters: "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro), a bookmaking wizard; Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), a Mafia underboss and longtime best friend to Ace; and Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone, in a role she was born to play), a leggy ex-prostitute with a fondness for jewelry and a penchant for playing the field. Ace plays by the rules (albeit Vegas rules, which, as he reminds the audience in voiceover, would make him a criminal in any other state), while Nicky and Ginger lie, cheat, and steal their respective ways to the top. The film's first hour and a half details their rise to power, while the second half follows their downfall as the FBI, corrupt government officials, and angry mob bosses pick apart their Camelot piece by piece. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, (more)
Ryan Hurst, Jeremy London, and William Devane star in director Russ Emanuel's docudrama detailing the Federal Trade Commission's case against an independent sales organization seeking to redefine the way Americans use credit cards. Adam (London) and Ross Franklin (Hurst) were still in their twenties when they became millionaires by marketing electronic terminals for credit card transactions. It was the early '90s, and Americans were spending more money than ever before. But while Adam and Ross had ambition to spare, their refusal to acknowledge the demands of others more powerful revealed a certain lack of business savvy. Ignoring government warnings to "respond" to various complaints regarding their practices, the brothers built their modest startup company into a multi-million-dollar empire. But that empire would crumble when the FTC set out to destroy their company at the behest of powerful industry competitors. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy London, Ryan Hurst, (more)
Jim Jarmusch's black-and-white feature Coffee and Cigarettes contains three vignettes originally released as short films along with separate yet somewhat related sketches. As the title suggests, most of the vignettes involve famous people smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. The first, "Coffee and Cigarettes," is a six-minute short from 1986 starring Stephen Wright and Roberto Benigni. The 1989 installment, "Memphis Version," stars Steve Buscemi, Joie Lee, and Cinqué Lee. The award-winning 1993 segment, "Somewhere in California," stars musicians Iggy Pop and Tom Waits. The remaining sketches include Cate Blanchett performing a duel role, a conversation with Bill Murray and members of the Wu-Tang Clan, and Alfred Molina and British television actor Steve Coogan as themselves. In its full-length version form, Coffee and Cigarettes was shown at the 2003 Venice Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roberto Benigni, Steven Wright, (more)
- 2003
- R
A gambling addict with a dangerous debt attempts to bury his past and start life anew in this dark crime drama from director Paul Borghese. Bobby Venuti (Richard Castellano) has a pregnant wife, and a mountain of gambling debts. Now, despite Bobby's best efforts to get out of the city and raise a family far away from the temptations that nearly consumed him, the troubled debtor is about to find just how far some people are willing to go to collect on an outstanding debt. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Spike Lee directed this comedy-drama about a woman who falls into a career in phone sex. An African-American woman (Theresa Randle) who aspires to a career as an actress endures a number of dispiriting jobs (handing out leaflets and working as a coat check girl) before reaching the end of her rope at an audition with Q.T. (Quentin Tarantino), a sleazy movie director. Q.T. claims that he wants to offer her a role in his next film -- but since the role requires nudity, she will have to show him her breasts first. After firing her agent, the actress is strapped for cash and is offered a job enacting sexual fantasies for men over the phone. Dubbed "Girl 6" by her employers, the actress is treated with respect by her boss (Jennifer Lewis) and is well-liked by her co-workers. However, she has a hard time emotionally distancing herself from her work, and she finds herself becoming infatuated with Bob (Peter Berg), one of her regular callers, going so far as to set up a meeting with him. As she deals in other people's fantasies for a living, Girl 6 begins retreating into her own world of make-believe, where she can be a sexy screen siren or a butt-kicking blaxploitation star. Meanwhile, her former fiancé (Isaiah Washington), who scrapes by as a shoplifter, desperately wants her to give him another chance, and her next door neighbor, a baseball card collector named Jimmy (Spike Lee), keeps pestering her that she ought to be doing something more positive with her life. Girl 6's supporting cast includes Madonna as one of Girl 6's supervisors, John Turturro as her agent, and Debi Mazar as one of the other phone-sex girls; the film also features an original song score by Prince. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Theresa Randle, Isaiah Washington, (more)
A veteran mobster discovers the grass is greener on the other side in this broad independent comedy. Frank (Frank Adonis) is a 60-year-old Mafia lieutenant who has been entrusted with a suitcase full of high-quality marijuana that has arrived in Manhattan from the Deep South and is ready for sale. Frank, however, happens to make the acquaintance of Jade (Theo Kogan), an attractive young woman who sings with a punk-rock band. Jade turns Frank's head, and she, in turn, samples the wares from Frank's suitcase. Jade persuades Frank to try some of the weed, and before long he has a decidedly more forgiving attitude about life and those around him. Frank's new laid-back personality, however, doesn't go over well with his bosses, especially after the stash he was given goes missing and ends up being stolen and re-stolen by a dizzying variety of underground personalities. High Times' Potluck -- which, as the title infers, was produced and financed in part by the well-known marijuana advocacy magazine -- also stars Jason Mews, Frank Gorshin, Sylvia Miles, and Jason Isaacs; noted cannabis enthusiasts Tommy Chong and David Peel also make cameo appearances. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Tommy and Joe are two cold-blooded hit men who never take business personally, but even the most hardened assassins can start to sweat when the violence strikes too close to home. Now Tommy and Joe's guilt is growing, and they are about to realize that ever action has consequences and no one is bulletproof. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Jane Campion directs the erotic thriller In the Cut, based on the best-selling suspense novel by Susanna Moore. Set in New York City during the summertime, the film is centered on Frannie Avery (Meg Ryan), a middle-class English teacher in the midst of researching a book project about colloquial language. One night she accidentally witnesses a sexual situation involving a suspected killer, which may make her valuable to a police investigation. When Detective Malloy (Mark Ruffalo) comes to her apartment to interview her about a neighborhood murder, she becomes intensely attracted to him. Although they are not sure if they can completely trust each other, Frannie and Malloy start up a passionate love affair. Meanwhile, the killer remains on the loose and the list of suspects includes Malloy's partner, Rodriguez (Nick Damici), and Frannie's student Cornelius (Sharrieff Pugh). Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as Frannie's half-sister, Pauline. In the Cut was shown at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meg Ryan, Mark Ruffalo, (more)
A woman searching for the perfect man instead discovers the perfect woman in this romantic comedy. Jessica Stein (Jennifer Westfeldt) is a woman with a solid career as a copy editor, but her love life isn't much to write home about; she's been through a long series of disastrous first dates that refuse to evolve into second dates, and the well-intended advice of her best friend Joan (Jackie Hoffman) and former boyfriend Josh (Scott Cohen) isn't helping a bit. One day, Jessica is scanning personal ads in the newspaper with her friends, and she sees one with a quote from her favorite poet. Jessica reads on to discover that she has a lot in common with the person who placed the ad -- too much so, since it turns out the notice is from a woman, Helen Cooper (Heather Juergensen), who manages an art gallery. Jessica figures it would at least be nice to hang out with someone who shares her interests, and she gives Helen a call. Jessica and Helen quickly strike up a close friendship that evolves into something more intimate, though neither of them has ever been involved with another woman ... and Helen is a bit more avid about her new romantic horizons than Jessica. As their relationship progresses, Jessica finds herself struggling with her feelings about her new sexual outlook, and she isn't sure how to break the news about her relationship to her mother (Tovah Feldshuh) as she tries to decide if she should bring Helen along to her brother's wedding. Kissing Jessica Stein was based on the off-Broadway play Lipschtick, which was written by Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen, who starred in the original stage production as well as this film adaptation; the film won both the Critics' Special Jury Award and the Audience Award at the 2001 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Westfeldt, Heather Juergensen, (more)
Grandnephew of the famous mobster known as Tony Pro, Danny Provenzano is the co-writer, director, and star of the independent crime drama This Thing of Ours (the title is a literal translation of the crime organization La Cosa Nostra). Provenzano plays young mobster Nick Santini, who wishes to impress his Uncle Danny (Frank Vincent) and the other elders of a New Jersey mob. Nick plans a major bank heist with his old pal Robert Biaggio (Christian Maelen) and computer geek Austin Palermo (Louis Vanaria). Using a complicated Internet scam to distort a communications satellite, they plan to steal more than 50 million dollars. Nick is eventually stuck with having to choose between his friends and the mob when high-ranking Patsy DeGrazio (Michael DelGaizo) kidnaps Austin. This Thing of Ours also stars Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos), James Caan (The Godfather), and Pat Cooper (Analyze This). Incidentally, Provenzano was arresting in 1999 under a 44-count felony indictment that included charges of racketeering, kidnapping, and money laundering. He eventually pleaded guilty to racketeering and was scheduled to begin a ten-year prison sentence in August 2003, just weeks after his film is released. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Vincent, Vincent Pastore, (more)
