James Gandolfini Movies
Born and raised in New Jersey, press-shy James Gandolfini forged a film career as a prolific character actor before finally emerging as a bona fide star in the critically-lauded HBO series The Sopranos. After earning his college degree in 1983, Gandolfini headed to New York to study at the Actors Studio. Supporting himself for almost ten years as a bartender and nightclub manager, Gandolfini's major break came in 1992 with a role in a Broadway version of A Streetcar Named Desire starring Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange, and his film debut in Sidney Lumet's A Stranger Among Us. Following small parts in several 1993 films, including the Quentin Tarantino-scripted True Romance, Gandolfini played more substantial roles as one of the heavies in Terminal Velocity (1994), Geena Davis' neighborhood boyfriend in Angie (1994), one of the submarine crew in Crimson Tide (1995), and a stuntman-turned-Mob enforcer in Get Shorty (1995). Equally gifted at playing characters on either side of the law, Gandolfini appeared as the violent neighbor who assaults Robin Wright Penn in She's So Lovely (1997) and a cop in Lumet's legal drama Night Falls on Manhattan (1997).Gandolfini played supporting roles in several more films, including Fallen (1998) and A Civil Action (1998), before he was cast as the head of a dysfunctional Mafia family in The Sopranos. Anchored by Gandolfini's superbly-nuanced performance as Prozac-popping, mother-bedeviled capo Tony Soprano, The Sopranos was hailed as a TV masterpiece for its alternately funny, surreal and deadly-serious look at New Jersey Mob life. Though he was passed over for the Emmy, Gandolfini won the SAG and Golden Globe Awards for Lead Actor in a TV drama for The Sopranos' 1999 season. During the series break, Gandolfini appeared as a slimy pornographer in 8MM (1999).
Gandolfini finally added the Emmy to his trophies in 2000 for the second season of The Sopranos. Despite the inevitable criticism about the series' sophomore slump, there was no question as to Gandolfini's continuing excellence as the New Jersey Mob paterfamilias. Gandolfini followed his Emmy triumph with a supporting role as a gay hit man in The Mexican (2001), easily stealing the film from co-stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt. Even as he was earning The Mexican's few good notices in theaters, Gandolfini was garnering still more plaudits for The Sopranos' controversial third season, as Tony's increasingly delinquent son elicited anguished soul-searching from Tony about his legacy. Though his third Emmy nomination spoke to his formidable TV presence as Tony, Gandolfini also further burnished his movie credits with a small part in Joel Coen and Ethan Coen's Cannes Film Festival award winner The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), and a major starring role as a corrupt Army colonel who goes head-to-head with Robert Redford's incarcerated general in The Last Castle (2001).
Gandolfini continued to impress on The Sopranos for the show's run, which finally ended in 2007. He would also find success on screen, appearing in films like All the King's Men, The Taking of Pelham 123, and Violet & Daisy. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
A 1936 meeting between novelist Ernest Hemingway and war correspondent Martha Gellhorn sparks a nine-year relationship dominated by a volatile romance that nearly rivaled the combat zones into which they threw themselves in Spain, China, and World War II. ~ Joe Friedrich, Rovi
A dramatization of the making of the controversial 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, the brainchild of filmmaker Craig Gilbert (James Gandolfini) that followed the everyday lives of Pat and Bill Loud (Diane Lane, Tim Robbins) and their children as the parents' marriage disintegrated and the entire family struggled under an unforgiving spotlight. ~ Joe Friedrich, Rovi
- Starring:
- Diane Lane, Tim Robbins, (more)
Interviews with veterans, active-duty personnel and their families, and letters from soldiers chronicle cases of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder from the U.S. Civil War to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. ~ Joe Friedrich, Rovi
- 2008
Friday Night Lights screenwriter David Aaron Cohen pens this made for cable sports drama exploring the career of sneaker magnate Sonny Vaccaro (played in the film by Sopranos star James Gandolfini), who rose to infamy in the sports world after signing Michael Jordan to a million-dollar Nike endorsement deal. Vaccaro, who was widely regarded as a thorn in the side of the NCAA as a result of his efforts to outfit college teams in brand name shoes, would also play a pivotal role in launching the careers of such NBA stars as Tracy McGrady and LeBron James. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Gandolfini
- 2007
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HBO split the sixth and final season of its serial mafia drama The Sopranos into two halves, spaced 10 months apart: the first half (episodes 1-12) aired from mid-March through early June of 2006; a hiatus followed between episodes 12 and 13, before the series picked up again for its final nine episodes on April 8, 2007, purportedly thanks to overwhelming audience demand for an extension. As the season begins, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) is plagued by problem after problem at home: though he has made peace with wife Carmela (Edie Falco), and daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) is relatively well-adjusted and happy, attending college and living with fiancée Finn De Trolio (Will Janowitz), Tony's son, A.J. (Robert Iler) is a complete slacker and layabout who has just failed out of college and seems hesitant to accomplish anything of merit. Meanwhile, Tony finds himself saddled with a new captain, Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) who expresses more hesitation over "working" him than his incarcerated predecessor, Johnny Sacks (Vince Curatola). Complicating matters are two employees: Tony's soldier Eugene Pontecorvo (Robert Funaro), who attempts to buy his way out of the syndicate via an inheritance, and the homosexual captain Vito Spatafore (Joe Gannascoli) who comes out of the closet and ends up being spotted in a leather bar - then is knocked off by a member of the family, which leads to the death of a Lieutenant and sparks a tidal wave of mob violence. In another subplot, aspiring screenwriter Christopher (Michael Imperioli), Tony's cousin, devises an idea for a gangster picture which he describes as "The Godfather meets Saw," and heads off to Hollywood to pitch it to Ben Kingsley. The season cliffhanger, however, involves Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese), an elderly man suffering from extreme senility who mistakenly draws a gun and plugs Tony in the stomach, sending him into a coma - leaving consigliere Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt of The E Street Band) to tend to family business. This, in turn, yields several sequences where Tony wanders around in a dream state, and contemplates his own mortality. The second half of the season has Christopher continuing his strenuous efforts to have his epic (which he entitled Cleaver) produced, the absence of Johnny Sack leaving an ongoing void of power in the syndicate, and Tony again coming to terms with aging and mortality, while he struggles (as ever) to balance personal and professional demands. Guest stars in the 2007 episodes include: Sydney Pollack, Tim Daly, Daniel Baldwin and Geraldo Rivera. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, (more)
- 2007
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Sopranos star James Gandolfini pulls double duty as executive producer and host of a documentary concerning wounded U.S. veterans of the Iraq War. Originally aired on HBO, Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq finds ten American GIs detailing their narrow brushes with death on the desert battlefield. The title of the program is derived from a phrase used by the soldiers to indicate the day that they cheated death during combat -- often with horrific, life-altering wounds that left them permanently disabled. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Gandolfini
- 2006
HBO split the sixth and final season of its serial mafia drama The Sopranos into two halves, spaced 10 months apart: the first half (episodes 1-12) aired from mid-March through early June of 2006; a hiatus followed between episodes 12 and 13, before the series picked up again for its final nine episodes on April 8, 2007, purportedly thanks to overwhelming audience demand for an extension. As the season begins, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) is plagued by problem after problem at home: though he has made peace with wife Carmela (Edie Falco), and daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) is relatively well-adjusted and happy, attending college and living with fiancée Finn De Trolio (Will Janowitz), Tony's son, A.J. (Robert Iler) is a complete slacker and layabout who has just failed out of college and seems hesitant to accomplish anything of merit. Meanwhile, Tony finds himself saddled with a new captain, Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) who expresses more hesitation over "working" him than his incarcerated predecessor, Johnny Sacks (Vince Curatola). Complicating matters are two employees: Tony's soldier Eugene Pontecorvo (Robert Funaro), who attempts to buy his way out of the syndicate via an inheritance, and the homosexual captain Vito Spatafore (Joe Gannascoli) who comes out of the closet and ends up being spotted in a leather bar - then is knocked off by a member of the family, which leads to the death of a Lieutenant and sparks a tidal wave of mob violence. In another subplot, aspiring screenwriter Christopher (Michael Imperioli), Tony's cousin, devises an idea for a gangster picture which he describes as "The Godfather meets Saw," and heads off to Hollywood to pitch it to Ben Kingsley. The season cliffhanger, however, involves Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese), an elderly man suffering from extreme senility who mistakenly draws a gun and plugs Tony in the stomach, sending him into a coma - leaving consigliere Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt of The E Street Band) to tend to family business. This, in turn, yields several sequences where Tony wanders around in a dream state, and contemplates his own mortality. The second half of the season has Christopher continuing his strenuous efforts to have his epic (which he entitled Cleaver) produced, the absence of Johnny Sack leaving an ongoing void of power in the syndicate, and Tony again coming to terms with aging and mortality, while he struggles (as ever) to balance personal and professional demands. Guest stars in the 2007 episodes include: Sydney Pollack, Tim Daly, Daniel Baldwin and Geraldo Rivera. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, (more)
To those viewers who thought that the surfeit of violence during the fourth season of HBO's The Sopranos would have expunged all mayhem from season five, we have but one thing to say: "Fuggetabouddit!" As usual, much of the trouble is sparked by the sort of domestic issues that in any other family but the Sopranos would be handled with calm and decorum. Now separated from wife Carmela (Edie Falco), suburbanite mob boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) has begun to warm up to Adriana La Cerva (Drea de Matteo), little suspecting that she may soon become a stoolie for the Feds. Meanwhile, Carmela becomes involved with the guidance counselor for her son A.J. (Robert Iler), who seems poised to challenge his dad for family supremacy (though it may take a few years). As for Tony's extended family, his newly paroled cousin, Tony Blundetto (Steve Buscemi), proves to be yet another thorn in the side for Tony's nephew Christopher (Michael Imperioli), who already has enough problems trying to wean himself off a dangerous drug habit. Another of Tony's cousins, Johnny Sack (Vincent Curatola), hopes to take advantage of the death of Mafia don Carmine Lupertazzi to increase his own power base -- an attempt that Lupertazzi's son Little Carmine (Ray Abruzzo) fully intends to torpedo (in every sense of the word!), leading to a bloody turf war. And Tony's chief henchman Paulie Walnuts (Tony Sirico) is plagued by a mob functionary who has a bad habit of overstepping his bounds. This season's crop of 13 episodes comes to an end -- bada bing! -- with an unpleasant surprise for Tony Soprano, one that may force him into permanent exile. And as for the hapless Adriana La Cerva...is there any viewer in the U.S. who has not seen her (literally) terminal Sopranos appearance? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, (more)
- 2002
John Fiore is your host for this behind-the-scenes look at one of the most acclaimed and ground-breaking television shows of the new millennium, The Sopranos. Sopranos Unauthorized: Shooting Sites Uncovered takes viewers on a guided tour of the real-life New Jersey locations where some of the series' most memorable scenes were shot. The documentary also includes home movies of the show in production, bloopers, outtakes, and an in-depth interview with Vincent Pastore (who played "Big Pussy"), and interview highlights with James Gandolfini, David Proval, Vincent Curatola, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, and Dan Grimaldi, as well as a visit with the women who play the Bada-Bing Girls. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Sixteen months after the end of The Sopranos' third season, Season Four gets under way. And if you think THIS is a long hiatus, "Fuggeddabouddit"--wait until we get to Season Six! New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano finally has an excuse to whack the troublesome Ralphie Cifaretto (Joe Pantoliano, who will win Emmy for his abbreviated recurring role), thereby allowing Ralphie's troubled lieutenant Vito (Joseph R. Gannascoli) to become Capo of the Aprile branch of the DiMeo crime organization. But though Ralphie is gone, he's far from forgotten, and will continue to haunt Tony in more ways than one. Adding to Tony's burdens, his marriage with Carmela (Edie Falco) completely disintegrates, due in no small part to his endless parade of mistresses, notably Adriana (Drea de Matteo), now the lover of Tony's protégé Christopher (Michael Imperioli). Elsewhere, Tony's unstable sister Janice (Aida Turturro) goes to great and gory lengths to gain control of her late mother's valuable record collection--which gets her in big trouble with, of all people, the Russian Mafia. And Tony's treacherous Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) is back in circulation thanks to a rigged jury, still plotting and planning to oust his nephew and take charge of the operation himself (if senility doesn't take charge of him first). In another development, Johnny Sack (Vincent Curatola) of the Lupertazzi crime family approaches Tony (by way of Paulie Walnuts [Tony Sirico]) with an offer he can't refuse: Bump off Johnny's boss Carmine Lupertazzi (Tony Lip), and Tony can write his own ticket. But the offer is refused, and the stage is set for the bloody turf war to follow in Season Five. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, (more)
Being head of the Northern New Jersey branch of the DiMeo crime family is no bed of roses for Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) in Season Three of HBO's The Sopranos. Tony's headaches begin early on with the dangerously unstable, sexually deviant and recklessly profane Ralph Cifaretto (Joe Pantoliano) returns to the organization after a lengthy absence. Though there's no love lost between the two men, Tony arranges for Ralph to take over the illicit business operations of the late Richie Aprile, who'd been bumped off in a fit of rage by Tony's treacherous sister Janice (Aida Turturro) the previous season. Also causing trouble is another new arrival on the scene: Richie's nephew Jackie Aprile Jr. (Jason Carbone), nicknamed "Little Lord F**kpants" because of his pathetic inability to live up to the standards and expectations of his celebrated criminal family. Though Tony tolerates Jackie Jr. and somewhat admires the boy's efforts to live a clean life away from Uncle Richie's influence, things quickly go south when Jackie becomes involved with Tony's daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lyn Sigler)--and also tries to emulate his no-good uncle, turning into a pariah by planning--and bungling--a robbery on his own. Blood kin or no blood kin, Ralph has to "deal" with Jackie Jr., arranging with all-purpose henchman Vito Spatafore (Joseph R. Gannascoli) to handle the dirty details. Elsewhere, Tony's protégé Christopher (Michael Imperioli) has been fully embraced by the Family, despite his ongoing war of wills with veteran capo Paulie Walnuts (Tony Sirico); Tony's analyst Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) the identity of her rapist a secret from Tony, so that she won't have anyone's murder on her conscience; and the FBI comes a-cropper planting an electronic bug in the Soprano mansion. One of the Season Three story arcs was to involve Tony's spiteful mother Livia, who was to have testified against her son in a federal trial. The death of actress Nancy Marchand (Livia Soprano) put an end to these plans, but through the magic of CGI Livia makes one final "appearance" to make her son's life even more miserable than usual. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, (more)
New Jersey Mafia boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) continues maintaining the facade of being a respectable suburban husband and father while operating a vast criminal organization from the confines of the Bada-Bing Club during Season Two of The Sopranos. Now that the treacherous Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) has been placed under arrest by the feds, and with his far-from-supportive mother Livia (Nancy Marchand, who died during this season) has been exiled to a nursing home, Tony thinks that his family problems are over. No such luck: Breezing in from Seattle is Tony's seriously disturbed, sexually promiscuous and thoroughly untrustworthy sister Janice (Aida Turturro), the closest thing that any mob family has had to a "black sheep". There's more trouble from the dangerously impulsive Richie Aprile (David Proval), older brother of Tony's predecessor Jackie Aprile Sr., who is resentful that a younger man has taken over the Aprile branch of the DeMeo crime organization. Richie also has a mad-on for Tony's trusted protégé Christopher (Michael Imperioli), whose own prestige within the mob continues to grow by leaps and bounds, especially after he engineers the family's elaborate "pump-and-dump" stock scam. Christopher himself has developed a close relationship with Adriana La Cerva (Drea de Matteo), and never mind that she is one of "Uncle" Tony's mistresses. Though the FBI agent within the family's ranks has been whacked, there is still someone feeding information to the feds. It breaks Tony's heart to discover that his trusted torpedo Big Pussy (Vincent Pastore) is the turncoat, but business is business, and Tony is obliged to stage-manage Big Pussy's demise during a now-famous boat trip. Nor is this the end of the intramural carnage: despite having become engaged to her former flame Richie Aprile, Tony's sister Janice settles a bitter argument with Richie in typical Soprano fashion. Result: No wedding, and no Richie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, (more)
The first season of The Sopranos finds lifelong "organization man" Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) taking over from Jackie Aprile Sr., terminally ill boss of the northern New Jersey branch of the DiMeo crime family. Tony's promotion is met with mixed reactions from his wife Carmela (Edie Falco), daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lyn DiScala) and son AJ (Robert Iler), but his loyal lieutenants Paulie Walnuts (Tony Sirico), Sil (Steve Van Zandt) and Big Pussy (Vincent Pastore) are effusive in their congratulations. Also pleased by Tony's ascent is his protégé and surrogate nephew Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli), who will soon come to enjoy the perks and publicity attending Mob "royalty" (if his growing dependence on crystal meth doesn't kill him first).
But uneasy lies the head that wears the crown, and soon Tony is suffering more than usual from anxiety attacks and weird nightmares. Thus he seeks out the counsel of analyst Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine DiBracco), who despite her fears that she'll be "whacked" once her usefulness comes to an end is fascinated by Tony and won't let him go. One of Tony's biggest headaches is his Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese),who is p.o.'d that he was denied Jackie Aprile's job in favor of his nephew. Junior spends most of the season conspiring against Tony--and ironically, his chief co-conspirator is Tony's own mother Livia (Nancy Marchand). Also vexing Tony is the revelation that there's an FBI "mole" in his midst--and when that mole is revealed in Season Two, it's a real heartbreaker for the troubled Mr. Soprano. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, (more)
- 1997
A jury argues a case in a stuffy room on a hot summer's day. Eleven say "guilty!" But one holdout (Jack Lemmon) is convinced of the defendant's innocence and stubbornly argues "reasonable doubt." This tense courtroom drama is a remake of Sidney Lumet's 1957 favorite and was produced for the Showtime cable network. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Courtney B. Vance, (more)
The title character of this Alex de la Iglesia film made her first appearance in David Lynch's Wild at Heart (1990) and was originally played by Isabella Rossellini. Rosie Perez takes over the role in this blend of black comedy, graphic sex and violence, voodoo, and weirdness. Perdita Durango is pure trash, a fact she establishes at the film's beginning. Her adventures begin when she hooks up with Romeo Dolorosa (Javier Bardem), a sleek, black-clad, sexually adventurous practitioner of Santeria who routinely kills, robs banks, and steals corpses from graves for his cannibalistic blood-soaked rituals. Santos (Don Stroud) is a pedophile and a crime boss. He hires Romeo to steal a truck filled with human fetuses that are slated to be used for cosmetic experiments. Romeo accepts but feels he must make a human sacrifice before he goes. This bothers Perdita not a bit and she even picks out a pair of blonde teens for the ritual killing. The two crooks kidnap the kids, ritually feather them, sexually abuse them, and are preparing to kill them when Romeo's cheated partner shows up with policemen. The crooks and their prey manage to escape, but the scheme to commandeer the truck gets botched and an ensuing shootout between Santos' men and DEA agents goes wrong. Santos loses many men and swears revenge upon Romeo and Perdita, who continue on their journey with their two doomed victims. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rosie Perez, Javier Bardem, (more)
- 1997
This is the first episode in the anthology drama series that deals with the unexpected effects a gun can have on people's lives. Walter (James Gandolfini) buys a gun to protect his family, unaware that his wife (Rosanna Arquette) is having an affair -- or that the former owner of the gun wants it back...and will do anything to get it. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rosanna Arquette, James Gandolfini, (more)
- TVMA
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HBO split the sixth and final season of its serial mafia drama The Sopranos into two halves, spaced 10 months apart: the first half (episodes 1-12) aired from mid-March through early June of 2006; a hiatus followed between episodes 12 and 13, before the series picked up again for its final nine episodes on April 8, 2007, purportedly thanks to overwhelming audience demand for an extension. As the season begins, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) is plagued by problem after problem at home: though he has made peace with wife Carmela (Edie Falco), and daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) is relatively well-adjusted and happy, attending college and living with fiancée Finn De Trolio (Will Janowitz), Tony's son, A.J. (Robert Iler) is a complete slacker and layabout who has just failed out of college and seems hesitant to accomplish anything of merit. Meanwhile, Tony finds himself saddled with a new captain, Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) who expresses more hesitation over "working" him than his incarcerated predecessor, Johnny Sacks (Vince Curatola). Complicating matters are two employees: Tony's soldier Eugene Pontecorvo (Robert Funaro), who attempts to buy his way out of the syndicate via an inheritance, and the homosexual captain Vito Spatafore (Joe Gannascoli) who comes out of the closet and ends up being spotted in a leather bar - then is knocked off by a member of the family, which leads to the death of a Lieutenant and sparks a tidal wave of mob violence. In another subplot, aspiring screenwriter Christopher (Michael Imperioli), Tony's cousin, devises an idea for a gangster picture which he describes as "The Godfather meets Saw," and heads off to Hollywood to pitch it to Ben Kingsley. The season cliffhanger, however, involves Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese), an elderly man suffering from extreme senility who mistakenly draws a gun and plugs Tony in the stomach, sending him into a coma - leaving consigliere Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt of The E Street Band) to tend to family business. This, in turn, yields several sequences where Tony wanders around in a dream state, and contemplates his own mortality. The second half of the season has Christopher continuing his strenuous efforts to have his epic (which he entitled Cleaver) produced, the absence of Johnny Sack leaving an ongoing void of power in the syndicate, and Tony again coming to terms with aging and mortality, while he struggles (as ever) to balance personal and professional demands. Guest stars in the 2007 episodes include: Sydney Pollack, Tim Daly, Daniel Baldwin and Geraldo Rivera.
Their relationship steadily deteriorating in the eight years following their daughter's untimely death, a married couple unable to break the cycle of grief gets a second shot at love thanks to a scrappy, underage prostitute in this family drama starring James Gandolfini, Melissa Leo, and Kristen Stewart. Ever since the death of their daughter Emily, Doug (Gandolfini) and Lois Riley (Leo) have been drifting apart. As Lois wrestles with a suffocating sense of guilt over her daughter's death, Doug copes by entering into an affair with Vivian, a local waitress. Lately, Lois hasn't even been able to muster the courage to venture outside, summoning hairdressers to her home in order to maintain appearances and communicating with few people other than her sister Harriet and the local pastor. When Vivian dies and Doug finds himself in a Baton Rouge strip club during a business trip, he realizes he's come to a dangerous crossroads in life. Turning down an offer for a private dance by 16-year-old stripper Mallory, Doug instead accompanies the girl home and makes a most unusual proposition: if Mallory will allow him to stay in her run-down apartment long enough to straighten himself out, he will pay her $100 a day for her trouble. For Mallory, who isn't used to getting money for nothing, it seems like a great deal. She accepts, and Doug phones Lois to tell her he won't be coming home. As time passes, Doug and Mallory settle into an unconventional kind of domesticity. Meanwhile, back home, Lois realizes that she'll have to act fast in order to save her marriage, even if that means venturing well outside her comfort zone for the first time in nearly a decade. Most days she can't even make it to the mailbox, but after a couple attempts, Lois manages to start up her car and get on the freeway heading south. When Lois arrives in Louisiana and discovers that her husband is living with a foul-mouthed, underage hooker, she is at first horrified. Like Doug before her, however, Lois quickly warms to Mallory, due in part to her striking similarities to Emily. Before long, Lois, too, has moved in, and the three form something of an unconventional family. But when Lois attempts to steer Mallory from the path of self-destruction, the young girl bristles. Later, Mallory is hospitalized after being badly beaten by a client, and Doug and Lois rush to be by her side. Could this be the thing that pulls them back together? When Lois admits to Doug how their daughter really died, his kind understanding gives hope for a new beginning. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Melissa Leo, James Gandolfini, (more)
A New York City subway dispatcher draws on his extensive knowledge of the subway system in order to outsmart a dangerous criminal mastermind who's hijacked a subway train in this remake of the 1974 thriller inspired by John Godey's best-selling book. Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) is drifting through his daily routine when he receives word that a heavily armed gang of four has hijacked a subway train and is holding all of the passengers hostage. Led by cunning master thief Ryder (John Travolta), the gunmen will begin executing everyone aboard should the authorities fail in delivering ten million dollars in the space of just one hour. With the tension in the tunnels rising, Walter races to save the hostages before the shootings start. But through it all, there's one part of Ryder's plan that Walter can't quite comprehend: even if the thieves do succeed in getting their money, how could they possibly get out of the tunnels undetected? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, John Travolta, (more)
Todd Robinson's Lonely Hearts features John Travolta and James Gandolfini as Elmer C. Robinson and Charles Hildebrandt, a pair of homicide detectives who are on the trail of lovers on a crime spree. The evil duo of Ray Fernandez (Jared Leto) and Martha Beck (Salma Hayek) take advantage of elderly widows, stealing as much money as they can after gaining the victim's confidence, and then murdering their mark. Robinson becomes drawn into the case too deeply in order to help him confront his feelings, as his wife has recently killed herself. The story is based on the real life "Lonely Hearts" killers of the late '40s, the infamous couple whom the director's grandfather played a large part in bringing to justice. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Travolta, James Gandolfini, (more)
Actor and filmmaker John Turturro wrote and directed this emotionally resonant blend of music and drama. Nick Murder (James Gandolfini) is an ironworker who has been married for years to Kitty (Susan Sarandon), who works as a seamstress and is the mother of Nick's three daughters. While Nick loves his wife, his head is turned by Tula (Kate Winslet), a sexy salesgirl at a lingerie shop, and soon they're having a passionate affair. When Kitty finds out about Nick's infidelity, she becomes enraged and kicks him out of the house, forcing him to decide what he really wants out of life and what is most important to him. Along the way, many of the characters in the film periodically turn to their favorite songs to explain and amplify their emotions, lip-synching along with the original recordings. Romance & Cigarettes also stars Steve Buscemi, Mandy Moore, Christopher Walken, Eddie Izzard, and Elaine Stritch. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Gandolfini, Susan Sarandon, (more)
A clumsy criminal is put in a position where he not only has to save his own skin, but that of his girlfriend in this comedy with strong undercurrents of romance. Jerry Welbach (Brad Pitt) is a low-level Mafia "mechanic" whose ineptitude is countered by frequent (but unpredictable) bursts of dumb luck. Jerry's girlfriend Samantha (Julia Roberts) wants him to get out of the business, and after his latest blunder lands capo Arnold Margolese (Gene Hackman) in jail, so does mid-level crime kingpin Bernie Nayman (Bob Balaban). But Bernie insists that Jerry do one last errand for the mob before they let him find employment elsewhere -- he has to go to Mexico and recover a rare and very valuable pistol, which is said to be cursed. While Samantha objects to Jerry taking the assignment, he isn't in much of a position to argue; Jerry heads south of the border, while Samantha, in a huff, sets out for Las Vegas. Once in Mexico, Jerry finds the pistol easily enough, but making his way back to the States proves to be an unexpected challenge. Meanwhile, Jerry's superiors want insurance that he'll return with the goods, so they hire Leroy (James Gandolfini), a hitman, to kidnap Samantha and hold her hostage until Jerry comes back. However, Samantha and Leroy quickly strike up a friendship, and she soon learns the gunman has a sensitive side he doesn't show to the world -- along with a few other secrets. The Mexican marked the first screen pairing for mega-stars Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt -- though, given the film's narrative arc, they play only a handful of scenes together. The film was directed by Gore Verbinski, who won awards for his work in commercials before breaking through with the quirky family comedy Mouse Hunt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, (more)
Robert Redford stars in this action drama as General Irwin, a respected three-star tactician whose career ends in disgrace when he's court-martialed and sent to The Castle, a maximum security military prison. Irwin quickly butts heads with the facility's autocratic warden, Colonel Winter (James Gandolfini), who runs his command with an iron fist, even killing prisoners when he deems it necessary. Irwin rallies his fellow convicts into a rag-tag army and leads them in a revolt against Winter, an action that the warden is ready to repel by violent means. Mark Ruffalo, Robin Wright Penn, and Delroy Lindo co-star in this Dreamworks production, the third feature film from one-time film critic Rod Lurie. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, (more)
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
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