Michael Gilio Movies

An amiable gangster who has been targeted for death sets out for one last plate of veal ossobucco, never realizing that it may be the last meal he ever eats. The colds winds are blowing into Chicago, and no one in town has realized that this will be the biggest snowstorm in the history of the Windy City. Jelly Dinotto is a misfit Mafioso who's earned a reputation as a large and lovable thug. Having just received marching orders to go back to Italy, Jelly takes his cousin Nick to nearby Vesuvios Restaurant in order to enjoy one last plate of veal ossobucco before he departs -- never once suspecting that his departure will be more permanent than he ever suspected, and that Nick himself has been charged with orchestrating the dirty deed. As the two cousins sit down for dinner and the snow begins to fall outside, it quickly becomes apparent that the gangsters will be trapped in the restaurant with a pair of underachieving Chicago detectives and the few employees who have stuck around to close up shop. With the snow piling up fast and the prospects for leaving town long gone, Jelly and earthy waitress Megan (Illeana Douglas) strike up a friendly conversation. Unbeknownst to Megan is the fact that Jelly has been carrying a torch for the pretty waitress for quite some time now. But will the meal that Megan has just delivered to Jelly's table be his last, or is there a chance that love will somehow find the power to overcome death as this desperate group sits snowbound in a Chicago restaurant? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Two strangers discover you really can find anything at a convenience store -- even love -- in this engaging independent romantic comedy. Mike (Michael Gilio) is an aspiring actor stuck in a small town who has big plans of moving to Hollywood so he can strike it rich. One night, while on his way into a corner store, he meets Didi (Lara Phillips), a pretty but aimless girl hanging out in the parking lot. Mike and Didi strike up a conversation, and she discovers there's a big dose of self-doubt lurking beneath his confident exterior. Mike, on the other hand, finds that the longer he talks to Didi, the more he finds himself thinking she might be a good reason to stick around. Kwik Stop was the debut feature from writer and director Michael Gilio, who also co-stars as Mike; the film premiered at the 2001 Los Angeles Film Festival.



~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV sequel to the 1968 theatrical feature To Sir With Love stars Sidney Poitier, recreating his role as Mark Thackery, an American-born schoolteacher who in the original film had taken a post in a tough East Side London neighborhood. Thirty years have passed, and Thackery has been forcibly retired, much to the dismay of the thousands of underprivileged students both past and present who have grown to love him. Although he has received several offers to teach in America's most prestigious universities, Thackeray chooses instead to start his career all over again, teaching so-called "incorrigible" students at an inner-city Chicago school presided over by cynical, weak-willed principal Horace Weaver (Daniel J. Travanti). Anyone who has seen the original To Sir With Love can pretty much guess the outcome of the sequel, though a subplot involving Thackeray's search for a lost love is less easy to second-guess. In addition to Sidney Poitier, actresses Lulu and Judy Geeson appear in brief cameos as the now grown-up characters they played in the 1968 film. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, To Sir, With Love II first aired April 7, 1996 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide