Walter Fasano Movies
- 2008
Following in the footsteps of her father, actor-cum-director Ugo Tognazzi, and her brother, director Ricky Tognazzi, Maria Sole Tognazzi makes her helming debut with the emotionally-amped melodrama L'Uomo che ama (The Man Who Loves). At its core, the film embodies an exploration of gay-influenced heterosexual perspectives and attitudes in the early 21st century. Pierfrancesco Favino stars as Roberto, a straight Turin-based pharmacist emotionally attached to his younger brother, the homosexual Carlo (Michele Alhaique). Roberto witnesses Carlo's delirious happiness with lover Yuri (Glen Blackhall) and feels extremely envious that Carlo has found someone. Though Roberto has proven himself capable of landing successful relationships in the past - his previous lovers include sexy hotel employee Sara (Ksenia Rappoport) and the drop-dead-gorgeous art gallery proprietor Alba (Monica Bellucci) - these relationships invariably ended in heartbreak, with Roberto either being dumped (in the case of Sara) or abandoning his partner (in the case of Alba). As time rolls on, he begins to feel a palpable sense of his own lingering happiness and dissatisfaction, and attempts to reconcile this with his convictions that everyone else in the world is completely satisfied with life. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierfrancesco Favino, Kseniya Rappoport, (more)
After beginning the witchy tale of the malevolent "Three Mothers" at a secretive ballet academy in Freiburg, Germany (Suspiria), and later tracking the supernatural goings-on to a doomed tenement building in New York City (Inferno), Italian horror icon Dario Argento draws his long-running trilogy to a close with this third and final installment, set in the Italian capital. Co-scripted by Toolbox Murders screenwriters Adam Gierasch and Jace Anderson, Mother of Tears stars Asia Argento as an American art student who unknowingly unleashes a demonic plague of witches on Rome by breaking the seal of an ancient urn. Udo Kier, Adam James, Philippe Leroy, and Daria Nicolodi also appear in the eagerly anticipated tale of Mater Lachrymarum -- the third and most powerful witch in the terrifying trilogy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Asia Argento, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, (more)
The Dario Argento-directed Do You Like Hitchcock? pays homage to the man considered by many to be the master of suspense. A voyeuristic film student senses foul play when a murder strikes at the apartment complex across the street, but the plot, which references such Hitchcock classics as Rear Window and Strangers on a Train, is less important than the style. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elio Germano, Chiara Conti, (more)
A serial killer with a knack for video poker and a taste for blood taunts a determined policewoman in director Dario Argento's attempt to bring the traditional giallo into the digital age. Detective Anna Mari (Stefania Rocca) is sitting at her desk when a message from an anonymous online gambler bearing the moniker "The Card Player" invites her to join a game of video poker. When the game screen loads, Mari is horrified to learn that the stakes of the game are higher than she ever could have imagined, as an unidentified female in an over-pixilated web-cam window screams for her life. Though the chief initially refuses to take part in the killer's horrifying game, the death of the innocent victim leads Mari to seek more unconventional means of tracking the murderous gambler. As the killer continues to taunt police, British policeman John Brennan (Liam Cunningham) is brought in to help solve the case. When the killer ups the ante by kidnapping the police chief's daughter, it's only a matter of time before the killer and Mari herself are locked in a pulse-pounding, life-or-death game in which anyone could hold the winning hand. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liam Cunningham
- 2003
Italian filmmaker Lucio Pellegrini directs the romantic comedy drama Now or Never, set against the backdrop of the 2001 anti-globalization protests in Genoa, Italy. David (Jacopo Bonvicini) is a college student who is secretly in love with political activist Viola (Violante Placido). In order to spend time with her, he joins up with the activist collective Mompracem. While he finds himself more devoted to the cause, he learns that Viola is dating the group's leader Luca (Edoardo Gabbriellini). Despite a short fling with fellow activist Vanna (Camilla Filippi), David finds himself more devoted to Viola, as well. He then runs into trouble with his old friend Doveri (Elio Germano), who doesn't appreciate what the group is doing. The conclusion finds him conflicted with an exam falling on the day of the big protest. Now or Never was shown in competition at the 2003 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacopo Bonvicini, Violante Placido, (more)
- 1999
British indie queen Tilda Swinton stars as a detective looking to solve a notoriously senseless thrill killing in 1994. Swinton and her crew piece together the crime in which a couple of upper class lads from Oxford venture into London on a bloodlust binge. Failing to find a pusher or a pimp to kill, they off a passing motorist instead. This film was screened in the 1999 London Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tilda Swinton, Fabrizia Sacchi, (more)
