Pete Antico Movies

When touring Italian opera star Giorgio Fini (Luciano Pavarotti in his screen debut) mysteriously loses his voice before a performance in Boston, he goes to see throat specialist Dr. Pamela Taylor (Kathryn Harrold), and the two fall madly in love. This film features a number of songs, including "If We Were in Love" and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

In yet another ostensible thriller about deadly germs wreaking havoc on human life and psyches, this is a frenetic, uneven story about germs going berserk in a sealed-off lab, giving rise to infected humans more berserk than the germs. The lab is secretly developing weapons of biological warfare, and when an accident occurs that immediately seals off the building, it looks as though some of the workers have died from their exposure to the invisible killers. But, lo and behold, these apparent corpses leap up from death and, rabidly homicidal, they can hardly wait to kill off any human in their vicinity. This makes the potential victims about as vicious as their attackers in their need to escape from room to room, turning the lab into a kind of asylum for the homicidally insane. No wonder that chief cop Cal Morse (Sam Waterston) has a job and a half on his hands -- made worse because his girlfriend (Kathleen Quinlan) is in there with the loonies. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this actioner, young people become a crack team of elite commandos and head for Central America to save the life of a kidnapped American ambassador's daughter who happens to be a friend of theirs. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

After winning the heavyweight boxing championship and single-handedly winning the war in Vietnam for America, Sylvester Stallone moves on to a real challenge -- arm wrestling -- in this action drama with a family undercurrent. Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) is a long-haul truck driver who years ago abandoned his wife Christina (Susan Blakely) and their son Michael (David Mendenhall). Hawk comes to see the error of his ways and wants to reconcile with his loved ones, only to discover that Christina is in the hospital suffering through the last stages of a terminal illness. Her wealthy and powerful father, Jason Cutler (Robert Loggia), has come to hate Hawk for the way he left his daughter to fend for herself, and he wants full custody of the boy upon her death. But Hawk is desperate to mend his relationship with Michael. He kidnaps the boy, and as Jason's hired goons give chase, Hawk points his truck toward the one place where he can win the money and recognition that will earn his son's respect -- a wrist-wrestling championship in Las Vegas. Actor Sylvester Stallone also co-wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A John Carpenter story served as the launching pad for Black Moon Rising. Veteran thief Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) is hired by the FBI to steal some politically volatile computer tapes. The owners of the tapes are displeased, and begin chasing Quint all over the countryside. Just when he's about to surrender his booty, Quint's car -- wherein the tapes are stored -- is stolen by Nina (Linda Hamilton). She delivers the car to her corporate-villain boyfriend Ryland (Robert Vaughn), who runs a hot auto ring. Nina then has second thoughts and decides to throw in with Quint...and round and round we go. The "Black Moon" of the title is the name Quint's high-tech, low-slung vehicle. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A man who simulates death for a living finds himself unwittingly tied into the real thing in this New York-based suspense drama. Special-effects man Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) makes his living simulating gory mayhem and photogenic violence for movies such as "I Dismember Mama." Tyler is given a chance to expand his professional horizons when he's approached by Lipton (Cliff De Young), who introduces himself as an FBI agent and makes an unusual proposal. Mob kingpin Nicholas DeFranco (Jerry Orbach) is willing to testify against his fellow gangsters, but the investigators are worried about his safety. Lipton wants Tyler to help him and his staff fake DeFranco's assassination; if everyone is convinced DeFranco is dead, people will be a lot less likely to look for him. Tyler grudgingly takes the assignment, and while he's able to realistically simulate DeFranco being shot in a crowded restaurant, after the "gag," he discovers that he's been double-crossed, and he's wanted for the murder of the man he just "shot." Tyler hides out with his girlfriend, Ellen (Diane Venora), but he realizes that whoever set him up wants him dead after she's killed by a bullet meant for him. With the help of fellow effects artist Andy (Martha Gehman), Tyler goes underground and tries to unravel the truth behind the Lipton murder. Meanwhile, police detective Leo McCarthy (Brian Dennehy) is convinced that something is not right when he's called to the scene of DeFranco's murder and is certain that the dead body is not the gangster. F/X was followed by a sequel, and later a short-lived TV series. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An ambitious father thinks nothing of using his own son to achieve his political goals in this adolescent comedy. The lonely boy has spent the last seven years tucked away and ignored by his parents, Senator Tom Morgan and his social-climbing wife Nancy, in a distant boarding school. As the story begins, he receives the depressing news that once again they will be too busy to have him home for the holidays. But then, out of the blue, they change their minds and invite him home to stay there for good. The boy is elated, but soon after his arrival, he learns the bitter truth: his father only brought him back because it is an election year and his campaign manager thought he might do better if the public saw him as more of a family man. The boy then decides that it is high time some changes were made around the house and mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This family drama centers on an Irish brood in which the father and his two sons work as prizefighters. Both the boys are quite talented, but each has chosen a dramatically different means of exploiting their talent. With help from his father, the youngest boy is working for the Olympics. The eldest has involved himself with corrupt promoters. This naturally creates considerable conflict within the family ranks. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This lightweight and slightly ribald comedy marks the feature film debut of Elvira (Cassandra Peterson), a buxom seductress best known for hosting a popular syndicated television show that features wonderfully bad old horror movies. After losing her latest job for refusing to sleep with her new boss, Elvira tries to launch a Vegas career. Just before that scheme falls flat, she finds salvation when an aunt dies and leaves her a huge old New England mansion. When the black-clad and sexy Elvira, with her flamboyant make-up and acres of cleavage hit the town, she creates an instant scandal amongst the old folks and inspires lusty dreams in the minds of the young. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Sylvester Stallone tries his luck with his first cop buddy movie in Tango and Cash, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. Stallone is Ray Tango, a Los Angeles narcotics cop who dresses in fancy suits, wears wire-rim glasses, and talks to his stockbroker more than he talks to his mother. Kurt Russell is Gabriel Cash, another Los Angeles narcotics cop who has long, disheveled blonde hair and dresses in worn-out sweatshirts. Together, Tango and Cash are the two best narcs in LA, which causes drug baron Yves Perret (Jack Palance) no end of distress. Since Yves controls a billion-dollar drug empire, Tango and Cash have to be taken out of the picture in some way. So Yves arranges for Tango and Cash to be framed for a crime. But the duo accepts a plea bargain that will give them 18 months in a minimum-security prison. Unfortunately, Yves arranges for their destination to be diverted to a maximum-security hell-hole where Yves's minions proceed to torture Tango and Cash --although they still have time to trade quips with each other. Ultimately, they escape from their torture chamber and seek out Yves and his gang. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Love, treachery, and broken furniture are the hallmarks of this rollicking action drama. Dalton (Patrick Swayze) has a Ph.D., but rather than make a living teaching Socrates at some university, he's opted to become a top-drawer "cooler" -- an expert barroom bouncer who can break up fights without getting himself killed in the process. Dalton is hired to keep the peace at the Double Duce, a rough-and-tumble honky tonk in Jasper, Missouri, where beer-soaked free-for-alls are a nightly event. Dalton is hurt on his first night on the job, and he is patched up by "Doc" Clay (Kelly Lynch), a beautiful woman working as the town's physician. Dalton and Doc immediately hit it off, but Dalton learns that another man, Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara), already has his eye on her. Wesley is a man used to getting his way; he's an extortionist and crime boss who has nearly everyone in Jasper under his thumb, and he sets out to teach Dalton a lesson, while Dalton is determined to clean up the town like he breaks up brawls at the Double Duce. Sam Elliott plays Dalton's mentor Wade, and Red West, a one-time member of Elvis Presley's "Memphis Mafia," appears as Webster; Canadian blues-rock guitarist Jeff Healey leads the Double Duce house band. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Actress Sondra Locke directed this visceral film noir about undercover cop Lottie Mason (Theresa Russell). A narcotics cop with the LAPD, she works a second shift at night as an undercover vice cop. Lottie works the bars and lures johns into the arms of the law. But her life is in a rut, and she would love to act on impulse like the narcotics and vice personas she adopts daily on the job. During the course of her duties, she begins a romantic relationship with district attorney Stan Harris (Jeff Fahey), who gets her involved with a case he is working on against a drug lord. But Stan is too nice to her, and she bolts from his apartment and into the nearest bar. After a few slugs of whiskey, she decides that for this one time, she will play out the role as a hooker, take a john to her apartment, and take the money. A guy saddles up to her and she goes back to his house. But the man happens to be the same drug kingpin Stan is building his case against. He is soon murdered, and she is left with a dead body and a case with $900,000 in drug money. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Four cops make the painful discovery that not everyone on the force is upholding the law in this crime drama. Frank Daly (Brian Dennehy), Wayne Gross (Joe Pantoliano), Ricky Rodriguez (Jeff Fahey), and Howard Jones (Bill Patxon) are four undercover cops with the Los Angeles Police Department who work as a team to solve the cases that their colleagues consider too tough to handle. Under Daly's supervision, the four are trying to get the goods on a drug dealing operation working out of a meat packing plant. However, a raid on the plant uncovers little practical evidence, and Daly, a moody and hard-drinking loose cannon, is sharply criticized by his superiors for planning the bust without the input from the department heads or the FBI. Convinced that there's more to the case than they've been able to find so far, the four men begin looking into the matter on their own time. The deeper they dig, the more shocking the evidence becomes, as they learn that the police, the FBI, and even the Federal Government are involved in the smuggling operation, and the parties involved are perfectly willing to use violence and murder to keep troublemakers out of their way. After Jones is murdered while collecting evidence on a businessman in on the operation, the other three quit the police force, determined to see justice done even if they have to overstep the boundaries of the law to do it. Last of the Finest was also released under the titles Blue Heat and Street Legal. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi