Oscar Luis Costo Movies

Another of the many "tough but troubled heroine" cable-TV dramatic series of the early 21st Century, In Plain Sight starred Mary McCormick as Mary Shannon, a no-nonsense US Marshal connected with a Federal Witness Relocation service known as WITSEC. It was Mary's job to "baby-sit" criminals and innocent bystanders who'd been given new identities and homes in exchange for courtroom testimony, and to keep her charges' whereabouts a secret from potential assassins. The pressures brought to bear on Mary during her working hours were exacerbated by the fact that she could not reveal the nature of her work to her friends or family members. Worse still, our heroine was saddled with an overgrown-delinquent sister named Brandi (Nichole Hilz) and a boozy, overbearing mom named Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren). Helping to get Molly over the rough spots were her boss Stan McQueen (Paul Ben-Victor), her partner and best friend Marshall Mann (Frederick Weller), and her lover Raphael (Cristian De La Fuente). Debuting with a special 76-minute episode on June 1, 2008, the sixty-minute In Plain Sight was seen by some 5 million viewers, a near-record for the USA network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the year 2068, the Earth's surface is in a cataclysmic upheaval, much of it transformed into wasteland by unstoppable storms (the byproduct, of course, of the destruction of the Ozone Layer). A few hardy souls have dedicated themselves to preserving and protecting what is left of mankind; among these is former Army Captain John Thomas Garth (Grant Show). Approached by Lapierre (Steve Bacic), a former comrade in arms and now in the employ of grasping eco-profiteer Anton Reich (Art Hindle), Garth is made an offer he can't refuse. In exchange for the opportunity to save his father and several other apocalypse survivors, Reich agrees to lead a small team of mercenaries into the near-impenetrable Vincent estate to "liberate" the priceless works of art that had been stored there before civilization collapsed. Accompanied by reconnaissance specialist Fernandez (Naomi Gaskin), sniper King (Matthew G. Taylor), and tech genius Ebershaw (Wayne Ward), Garth must find some way to circumvent Encrypt, the deadly computerized security system surrounding the estate. Other obstacles include the Rook, a human-destroying robot, and Diana (Vivian Wu), the holographic security chief at the estate -- and a double danger because she possesses not only the means of mass destruction, but also a conscience. A two-hour cable movie that has "series pilot" written all over it, Encrypt premiered June 14, 2003, on the Sci-Fi Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV movie was based on the true story of the men who created a gold mine by creating the first exotic dance club for women, and the bitter rivalry that tore them apart. Steve Banerjee (Naveen Andrews) was an Indian immigrant running a failing nightclub in Los Angeles when he met Nick Denoia (Paul Hipp), a choreographer scouting locations for a television show. Hoping to bring in business, Banerjee had been experimenting with presenting male strippers; Denoia suggested that the idea wasn't bad, but the presentation was all wrong, and he suggested they pool their resources to open a classy night spot featuring good looking and well-choreographed male dancers who would attract an upscale female clientele. Banerjee and Denoia named the club Chippendales, and it was soon a major success, but Denoia began angering Banerjee by telling the press he alone hatched the idea for the club, while Denoia was angry with his partner for overcrowding the club, trying to take full control the business, and using violence to discourage other clubs from featuring male dancers. Denoia began making plans to open a Chippendales franchise in New York behind Banerjee's back, and when Banerjee discovered this, the increasingly paranoid club owner decided it was time to take his partner out of the business once and for all. The Chippendales Murder also stars Alex DeBoe, Victor Webster, and Dan Horton as three of the club's star dancers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A radio dee-jay gets targeted by a crazed killer in this made-for-television thriller. Gregory Hines stars as Mark Jannek, a late-night disc-jockey who is being harassed by an anonymous killer on the telephone. The killer thinks that Shepard knows too much and decides to threaten both the dee-jay and an innocent college student (Debrah Farentino) into silence. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

Archbishop Mosley (Hal Holbrook) assigns Father Michael (Ben Cross) to a church in New Orleans in this supernatural horror film. The parish church was the site of the throat-slashing murders of two priests two years earlier. While Father Michael tends to the mostly impoverished flock of parishioners and their needs, he launches his own investigation into the mysterious unsolved deaths. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Filmed in Spanish, Amigos is a fairly realistic look at the plight of the Mariel Boat People, the so-called "undesirables" who were shipped off to America by Cuba's Fidel Castro in 1980. Ruben Rabasa plays a Cuban who comes to Miami after nearly 20 years in prison. He is given shelter by his old friend Reynaldo Medina, who'd escaped from Cuba during the Castro revolution. In seeking work, Rabasa suffers from the resentment of longtime Cuban residents of Miami, who disdainfully regard the incoming Boat People as the dregs of the earth. Desperate for a job, Rabasa is tricked into joining a smuggling ring, but is rescued by his friends before any real damage can be done. Amigos writer/director Ivan Acosta is best known for his off-Broadway play El Super. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide