Frank John Hughes Movies
Originally studying to be a jazz musician at the Berklee School of Music, Bronx native Frank John Hughes instead has made a career of playing hitmen and edgy guys. In 1991, he began collaborating with writer/director Robert Celestino for his film debut in True Convictions. He played a hitman in Bad Boys, a man on the run in Layin' Low, and a mobster in The Funeral. He got his first starring role in the black-and-white independent film Mr. Vincent, where he played the title character. He followed that with another low-budget indie, Urban Jungle (aka Blink of an Eye), playing an ex-con trying to start over. On the small screen, Hughes played Wild Bill in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and switched gears (getting rid of the mustache) for the clean-cut role of Charlie in the NBC series Players with Ice-T. Numerous television guest appearances would follow, from Law & Order to Homicide: Life on the Street. After appearing in the thriller Anacardium in 2001, Hughes got a part in Steven Spielberg 's Catch Me If You Can. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Jon Avnet's thriller Righteous Kill stars Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as a pair of Big Apple police officers investigating a series of murders committed by a serial killer. Carla Gugino co-stars as a crime-scene investigator who has romantic ties to De Niro. 50 Cent, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, and John Leguizamo co-star. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, (more)
Director Tim Hunter (The River's Edge) and screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi (Casino) join forces for this fact-based crime thriller detailing the downfall of Miami's hottest nightclub. Chris Troiano (Jason Gedrick) owns the trendiest nightclub in all of South Beach; a place where the line always winds down the block and only the most beautiful people make it past the velvet rope. Andy (Donnie Walhberg) is Troiano's right-hand man, and whatever the boss says, goes. Lately, the local law enforcement has been snooping around the club, an unsettling fact that doesn't set well with the steroid shooting club owner. The cops know that Troiano is crooked, and it's only a matter of time before he slips. When he does, the storm that follows will blow in from a direction Troiano never anticipated. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2006
This five-hour ABC miniseries depicts the events leading up to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, through the scope of a handful of intelligence and counter-terrorism officials in the U.S. government. Harvey Keitel plays John O'Neill, the counter-terrorism chief of the FBI whose belief that Osama bin Laden was planning assaults on U.S. soil fell on deaf ears and failed to gain the traction necessary to stop the events. In a tragic twist, O'Neill later went to work at the World Trade Center and was killed on that fateful day. Also starring Donnie Wahlberg and Stephen Root, The Path to 9/11 garnered controversy for its questionable depiction of the Clinton administration's failings related to the threat. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harvey Keitel, Michael Benyaer, (more)
- 2005
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Twelve men who belong to one of the world's most exclusive fraternities -- people who've walked on the surface of the moon -- are paid homage in this documentary. Using newsreel footage, rare NASA photographs, and digitally animated re-creations, Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon examines the Apollo missions between 1969 and 1972 which put astronauts on the moon. In addition to explaining the technological know-how necessary to take our fliers to the moon, the film shares the thoughts of astronauts about what they saw and experienced in space, taken from their speeches and writings and read by a cast of distinguished actors, including Paul Newman, Morgan Freeman, Scott Glenn, Bill Paxton, and many more. Narrated by Tom Hanks (who also co-produced), Magnificent Desolation was shot and originally exhibited using the IMAX high-definition film format. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2004
When Cheryl (Cheryl Hines) asks Larry (Larry David) to get a present for Betty Dusenberry's (Eliza Coyle) baby shower, Larry wonders if he should also get a present for the surrogate mother (Elizabeth Beckwith). Cheryl is in a frisky mood, but Larry is still healing from being bitten by Oscar. The next day, Larry visits his doctor (Jack Gallagher) to take his required physical for The Producers, but his heart rate spikes when Renee (Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon) comes in, and the doctor won't sign the necessary forms unless Larry agrees to wear a heart holster for a day. Larry's friend Richard Lewis is actually dating Renee, and confides to Larry that because Renee is black, and has presumably dated black men, he feels insecure about the size of his "equipment." The two wonder if it's really a myth. Later, Wanda (Wanda Sykes) catches Larry mistaking a black man for a valet, and attempts to figure out his logic: "Anytime I see a black man in a tie and a suit, I automatically think, 'You must park cars for a living.'" Larry also creates problems at the baby shower, inadvertently convincing the surrogate to keep her baby. He continues to alienate his Producers co-star, David Schwimmer, and he uses his apparent heart problem to his advantage when he encounters a potentially violent case of road rage. Mel Brooks and Muggsy Bogues make guest appearances. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2003
The police are in high-alert mode as San Francisco is terrorized by a series of deadly mail bombings. Monk (Tony Shalhoub) thinks he has pinpointed the most likely suspect, a man named Brian Babbage (Matt Winston). But as so often happens in this series, Brian has the "perfect" alibi: He was in a terrible car accident several months ago--and has been in a coma ever since. And to make Monk's job all the more difficult, Brian's accident was witnessed by both Captain Stottlemeyer (Ted Levine) and Lieutenant Disher (Jason Gray-Stanford)! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A gifted forger and confidence man attempts to stay one step ahead of the lawman determined to bring him to justice in this comedy-drama from Steven Spielberg, based on a true story. Frank W. Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a 16-year-old high school student who finds himself emotionally cut adrift when his mother, Paula (Nathalie Baye), leaves his father, Frank Abagnale Sr. (Christopher Walken), after Frank Sr. falls into arrears with the Internal Revenue Service. One day at school, Frank Jr. attempts to pass himself off as a substitute teacher, and easily makes the subterfuge work. His small-scale success gives Frank some ideas, and he soon discovers bigger and more profitable ways of hoaxing others, passing himself off as an airline pilot, a doctor, and an attorney. Along the way, Frank learns how to become a master forger, and uses his talent and charm to pass over 2.5 million dollars in phony checks. Frank's increasingly audacious work soon attracts the attention of Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), an FBI agent who is determined to put Frank behind bars. Frank seems to enjoy being pursued by Carl, and even goes so far as to call Carl on the phone to chat every once in a while. While posing as a doctor, Frank falls in love with Brenda Strong (Amy Adams), a sweet girl working as a candy striper. When Frank asks Brenda to marry him, he decides to assume a new identity to impress her father, Roger (Martin Sheen) -- who happens to be the District Attorney of New Orleans, LA. Catch Me If You Can was based on the autobiography of the real Frank W. Abagnale Jr., who has a cameo in the film and today works on the side of the law as a top consultant on preventing forgery and designing secure checking systems. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, (more)
Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for HBO, Band of Brothers is a ten-part miniseries based on the book Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose. The series dramatically re-creates the path of Easy Company, an elite paratrooper unit, from their basic training at Camp Toccoa in Georgia in 1942, to D-Day, to their critical involvement in the Battle of the Bulge, through their triumph at the close of the war. The unit was one of the best trained and most productive in American military history, but it also suffered immense casualties. The series is an ensemble piece, involving dozens of characters, and cast with relative unknowns. To the extent that there is a central character, it is Dick Winters (Damian Lewis), who went to Toccoa as a lieutenant and was promoted, over the course of the war, to battalion commander. Each episode includes brief excerpts from present-day interviews with some of the surviving members of the company. While the series is not a hagiography, Winters is depicted as a brave, resourceful, and humane leader. It's clear that the men revered him, and that he genuinely respected and cared about them. There are a few other members of the unit that make a strong impression. Sobel (David Schwimmer of Friends), their C.O. at Toccoa, is depicted as a petty tyrant whose men bond together in their hatred of him. Nixon (Ron Livingston of Office Space) is Winters' fellow officer and best friend, and an alcoholic. Carwood Lipton (Donnie Wahlberg) is a decent, hard-working man, and a tremendous soldier who earns a battlefield commission for his exemplary leadership. Bill Guarnere (Frank John Hughes) fears nothing, and is known for his wise-guy attitude and hot temper. The series dramatizes the courage and fortitude of many others, but it's clear that Winters sets the tone for his men, and plays a pivotal role in the unit's success. The project involved several screenwriters, including Graham Yost (Speed) and E. Max Frye (Something Wild). Eight different directors were called upon for the ten installments, including Hanks, David Frankel (Miami Rhapsody), Mikael Salomon (Hard Rain), and Phil Alden Robinson (Field of Dreams). Still, the tone and style of the series remains fairly consistent. While the story of Easy Company has been condensed and altered in some minor ways for dramatic purposes, and much of the dialogue was, by necessity, invented, the producers placed a strong emphasis on accurately depicting the conditions under which these men lived, fought, and died. Several survivors from the company consulted on the project, and an enormous amount of money was spent on sets, costumes, and special effects in order to re-create their experience. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Damian Lewis, Donnie Wahlberg, (more)
- 1999
- NR
Love blooms for a would-be hired killer in Angel's Dance, which blends elements of a crime thriller with black comedy. Tony (Kyle Chandler) is offered a job with a powerful Mafia family after he saves the life of the capo's nephew, even though Tony isn't sure he's really interested in a life of crime. To give him a crash course in his new line of work, Tony is sent to L.A. to study with Rosellini (James Belushi), a hired killer of no small reputation. After assigning him Nietzsche as required reading and staging a few practice sessions with water pistols, Rosellini gives Tony his final homework project -- pick a name at random from the phone book, find the person, and kill him or her. The name Tony comes up with is Angelica Chase (Sheryl Lee), "Angel" to her friends. Tony finds Angel just in time to interrupt her latest suicide attempt; Angel is beautiful and charming, but an emotional wreck with eccentric tastes, a caffeinated personality, and a job at a mortuary (she even lives next door). Tony is immediately infatuated and can't bring himself to kill her, so Rosellini decides he has to take over the job, but to the surprise of everyone, Angel knows how to handle herself in a time of crisis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Belushi, Sheryl Lee, (more)
Tommy Myzell (Frank John Hughes) takes a post-prison work release job as a cook at a church near the L.A. halfway house he's living in that's run by the stern but understanding Renfro (Joseph Bologna). Tommy befriends a talkative, well-meaning dishwasher, Guillermo (Lombardo Boyar), who draws Tommy out of his shell and restarts his social life. Soon, Tommy falls for teacher Sophia (Seidy Lopez), whose heroin-addicted brother gets into a $10,000 debt to a local street gang. The only way to save her brother's life, as Tommy sees it, is for him to deliver a shipment of drugs for Erlik (Richard C. Sarafian), Tommy's former employer and for whom he went to prison. Little does Tommy know, there's a double-cross in the works. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank John Hughes, Seidy Lopez, (more)
- 1997
A man is shot down and killed while apparently trying to change a tire. In the course of the detectives' investigation, a young man named Mike Bodak (Frank John Hughes) indicates that he'd come to the victim's assistance just before the shooting. Thanks to several holes in Mike's story, the "Good Samaritan" is arrested on suspicion of murder -- leading to yet another startling revelation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A man's new passion for an old love reveals his dark side in this independent drama. Johnny Vincent (Frank John Hughes) was born and raised in Yonkers, where he teaches English at a school he once attended. Johnny doesn't much care for his job, his marriage is on its last legs, and while Johnny thinks that he may have a future in music, his periodic local gigs attract the scant amount of attention they deserve. One night, after his wife finally leaves him, Johnny runs into Lisa (Lisa Lo Cicero), a woman he knew and loved in high school. They hit it off, but while for Lisa it's a casual fling, Johnny is convinced that this is the romance he's been waiting for all his life. Lisa tries to maintain a distance from Johnny, but with each day he becomes more possessive, eventually crossing the line into an obsession that proves dangerous for them both. Mr. Vincent won the Critics Award at the 1997 Verona Love Screens Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank John Hughes, LoCicero, (more)
- 1996
In this crime comedy, a wastrel is helping his girlfriend move into a new apartment and accidentally stumbles into a drug theft gone awry that leaves his girlfriend dead and him literally holding the bag. Within that bag is a fortune in illegal narcotics and Jerry realizes that he has no choice but to take the dope and split. In desperation he goes to his pal Christy who sends him to stay with his con-artist aunt Rose who quickly cheats Jerry at cards. Later Rose's son Angie shows up and tries to convince his ma to toss Jerry out. She refuses. In time, Jerry and Angie become friends. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Piven, Louise Lasser, (more)
- 1995
In the concluding episode of Homicide: Life on the Street's two-part season-four opener, the discovery of a second body at an arson scene suggests that the fire was started to cover up a double homicide. With Bayliss (Kyle Secor) sidelined by illness, his partner, Pembleton (Andre Braugher), is reluctantly teamed with brash arson detective Kellerman (Reed Diamond), who continues to rub the homicide squad the wrong way when he turns down a transfer offer extended by Giardello (Yaphet Kotto). Meanwhile, Munch (Richard Belzer) and Howard (Melissa Leo) compete for a coveted promotion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1995
In the opening episode of Homicide: Life on the Street's fourth season, the viewer is informed that Baltimore homicide detectives Bolander and Felton have been suspended without pay for 22 weeks after their misbehavior at a D.C. police convention -- thereby neatly explaining away the departures of former series regulars Daniel Baldwin and Ned Beatty. The rest of the episode sets up a plot line that will not be resolved until the following week, beginning with the discovery of a charred body at an arson scene. This grisly revelation leads to a clash between homicide cops Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Bayliss (Kyle Secor), and all-too-glib arson detective Mike Kellerman (played by new series regular Reed Diamond). And in other developments, Pembleton discovers that his wife is pregnant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1992
It is no coincidence when a woman disappears shortly before the slaying of two ad-agency employees: All three had been witnesses to a mob execution. Assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) attempts to prove that the kidnapping and murders had been ordered from within prison walls. But to do this, Stone will have to tilt with his longtime adversary, brilliant defense attorney Arthur Gold (George Grizzard). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
