Billy Burke Movies
Raven-haired screen heartthrob Billy Burke traces his career back to the early '90s, but made his first substantial impression in 1998. The role in question that brought him serious public recognition was, ironically, a truly wacky one: he played Joey Cortino, the "psychotic" son of nutty godfather Vincenzo Cortino (the late Lloyd Bridges) in Mafia!, the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team's gag-filled spoof of American gangster pictures. After a string of smaller parts in features of lesser attention, Burke demonstrated his aptitude for the thriller genre with a small turn as Ben Devine in the Morgan Freeman headliner Along Came a Spider (2001). He made several guest appearances on Gilmore Girls and landed a small role in season two of the massive-hit series 24. Burke also delivered a stellar performances as firefighter Dennis Gauquin in the uneven melodrama Ladder 49 (2004), but he achieved his greatest coup in 2007, with four high-billed roles in Hollywood A-listers. These included -- among others -- the part of David in Robert Benton's ensemble drama Feast of Love and that of a detective in the Anthony Hopkins psychological thriller Fracture. Burke would go on to spend the next several years appearing in a number of films like New Moon, Drive Angry, and Highland Park, as well as TV series like Rizzoli & Isles and My Boys. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi- 1999
Dill Scallion is a mock-documentary that chronicles the fast rise and even faster fall of a country singer whose IQ appears to equal the waist measurement of his jeans. Billy Burke plays a school bus driver in a small Texas town who becomes a Country and Western superstar overnight thanks to songs like "I Found Love At A Family Reunion" and his unique dancing skills; unfortunately, his dance style is the result of an injured foot, and Dill has to keep hurting himself to keep giving his audience what they want. The film includes cameo appearances from actual country stars (including Willie Nelson and LeAnn Rimes) and supporting performances from Jason Priestley and Henry Winkler; rocker Sheryl Crow contributed an original music score. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Billy Burke, Peter Berg, (more)
Michael Lantieri made his reputation in film as a special effects man, helping to create the dinosaurs for Jurassic Park, so for his directorial debut, it's only fitting that he should find himself working with big lizards again. In Komodo, teenager Patrick (Kevin Zegers) is visiting an island off the coast of North Carolina when his parents (and his dog) are attacked and killed by a pack of large Komodo dragons. The reptiles were brought to the island by workers from an oil company, who foolishly allowed them to breed at will and run free. A psychiatrist treating the boy (Jill Hennessy) tells him (in one of the most poorly considered bits of advice in medical history) that he must face his fears by returning to the place where his mom and dad were attacked. With his aunt (Nina Landis) in tow, Patrick returns, only to discover that the dragons are out in force -- and quite hungry. As in Lantieri's previous work, the killer lizards were actually the product of the special effects department -- not real Komodo dragons (who might not be inclined to kill on command). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jill Hennessy, Billy Burke, (more)
One of two filmed biographies of late track star Steve Prefontaine to be produced in the late '90s, Without Limits comes from director Robert Towne, who previously took a stab at the track-star drama with his directorial debut, 1982's Personal Best. Billy Crudup stars as the ill-fated athlete who overcame physical obstacles to win an NCAA championship and compete in the 1972 Munich Olympics. The film follows Prefontaine from his youth in Oregon where, despite one leg being longer than the other, he shows himself to be a talented runner. Later, while attending the University of Oregon, Prefontaine meets and forms a strong bond with his coach, Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland), the man who would later go on to found the Nike shoe corporation. College is also where Prefontaine falls for classmate Mary Marckx (Monica Potter), beginning a romance that lasts until his untimely death in a 1974 automobile accident. The other film about Steve Prefontaine was 1997's Prefontaine which starred Jared Leto in the titular role. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Billy Crudup, Donald Sutherland, (more)
Traumatized by the death of her sister, who smashed through a loose railing and plummetted down a steep cliff, Carla Engel (Megan Ward) has developed a debilitating fear of heights. On the advice of a therapist, Carla joins a support group consisting of others suffering from acrophobia. Then, one by one, the members of the group are killed--each of them falling to his or her death. A bizarre coincidence? Or is someone deliberately, and literally, trying to literally push Carla completely over the edge? With the name Wes Craven in the film's title, that question virtually answers itself. Don't Look Down first aired October 29, 1998, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Satirist Jim Arahams returned with this comedy spoofing the Godfather trilogy, and other films and TV, including Jurassic Park, Lord of the Dance, and Barney. The opening emulates a Saul Bass sequence with Anthony Cortino (Jay Mohr) in a flight amid flames much like Robert De Niro in the Casino credits. After flashbacks go back in time to Sicily, Coppola/Scorsese references abound. Young Vincenzo (Jason Fuchs) travels to America to later become the clumsy chief of organized crime (with the late Lloyd Bridges as the aging Vincenzo) with his sons -- short-fused Joey (Billy Burke) and educated Anthony. Tony's WASP fiancee is Diane (Christina Applegate), recalling Diane Keaton in the Coppola films. During the wedding, assassins try to do away with Don Vincenzo, who's hospitalized, so Tony sets out to gain revenge for the murder attempt. In Vegas, Tony gets involved with showgirl Pepper (Pamela Gidley). When betrayals begin, can violence be far behind? This was Lloyd Bridges' final movie, and the film is dedicated to him. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jay Mohr, Billy Burke, (more)
- 1994
Kidnapped by the Cardassians, Kira is informed that she is really a Cardassian agent. Arguing that she is a Bajoran through and through, Kira is further informed that her appearance was surgically altered and her memory changed for espionage purposes. As the evidence mounts in the Carassian's favor, Kira continues to resist the notion that her entire existence has been a lie, but that resistance is slowly and surely weakening. First broadcast October 29, 1994 (just in time for Halloween, appropriately enough), "Second Skin" was written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1990
- PG13
In this touching drama, Winston (Tim Noah) is a teen whose underachieving ways have resulted in his being "kept back" from graduating for a couple of years. It seems that he has an incredibly active daydream life, and he can't rouse himself to do whatever he needs to do in real life. When his fantasizing tendency spoils what appears to be his last attempt to graduate, he is kicked out of school. However, he is soon taken in hand by a benevolent janitor, and when his daydreams magically get mixed in with those of a daydreaming girl, he is transformed from a "daydreamer" to a "daredreamer." ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tim Noah, Alyce LaTourelle, (more)
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