Merwin Goldsmith Movies

Daryl Goldberg's Unholy stars Adrienne Barbeau and Nicholas Brendon as a mother and son who must save their family from a complicated conspiracy involving elements as disparate as a witch, the United States government, and Nazi occultists. The script, by Samuel Stephen Freeman, is based loosely on actual events described in Nazi papers seized by the Allied forces. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A mentally challenged man named Robbie Delgado (Chandler Adrian Parker) is arrested for the murder of a luxury-car dealer. It turns out that Delgado may have killed at the behest of Tina Montoya (Vanessa Ferlito), a beautiful and manipulative young woman with very expensive tastes. The problem: Although a case can be mounted against Delgado, the mercenary Montoya may very well get off scot-free. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A certain high-profile murder which peripherally involved a well-connected political family was the obvious inspiration for this episode. Under orders from their higher-ups, Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Green (Jesse L. Martin) reopen a 20-year-old murder investigation. The principal suspect at the time was the spoiled teenaged son of a powerful U.S. ambassador (Remak Ramsay). The question: Considering the age of the suspect when the killing occurred, should he be tried in juvenile court even though he is now well into adulthood? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

An embittered HIV-positive male goes on a sexual rampage, infecting as many women as he can. After one of the perpetrator's partners dies, Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston) charges the man with murder. The subsequent prosecution is endangered by a tricky ethical issue involving "right to privacy" -- and this time, McCoy may not be able to implement damage control. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Loosely based on a true story, this uneven romantic comedy depicts the unexpected way in which a winning lottery ticket unites a pair of strangers. Waitress Yvonne (Bridget Fonda) first meets police officer Charlie (Nicolas Cage) when he eats in her restaurant. Realizing that he doesn't have enough money to give her a tip, Charlie promises Yvonne to split any winnings from the lottery ticket he just bought. The skeptical Yvonne dismisses Charlie as just another cheapskate until he wins four million dollars and, much to Yvonne's surprise, decides to honor the agreement. His action becomes front page news and wins public acclaim, but it doesn't go over nearly so well with Charlie's wife Muriel (Rosie Perez), who has her own plans for the money. Muriel's shallow, greedy behavior disgusts Charlie, who finds himself spending more and more time with Yvonne, developing a friendship that threatens to blossom into something more. Jane Anderson's screenplay stresses the relationship between Charlie and Yvonne's characters over the situation's comic potential; this earnest tone will please romance fans but may disappoint viewers expecting the farcical comedy of writer/director Andrew Bergman's and Cage's previous effort, Honeymoon in Vegas. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

There is no shortage of suspects when a high-profile lawyer is murdered. Among the likeliest "candidates" are Willard Tappan (Michael Zaslow), a crooked financier who specializes in fleecing wealthy women, and John Curren (Jonathan Hogan), the now-impoverished son of Tappan's most recent victim. Edie Falco of The Sopranos fame appears as defense attorney Sally Bell, who'd once been "serious" with Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In another headline-inspired episode of Law & Order, a baby is accidentally murdered by a teenaged hired killer (Justin Crozier). Though assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) is understandably outraged by the concept of kids killing kids, he is more interested in nailing the person who hired the youthful assassin. The trail of evidence ultimately leads to a low-life drug dealer and a supposedly respectable real estate agent. S. Epatha Merkerson, who later became a Law & Order regular in the role of Lt. Anita Van Buren, is here cast as Mrs. Denise Winters. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This sci-fi comedy from Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) director Susan Seidelman stars John Malkovich along with several other actors from his Steppenwolf Theatre troupe in Chicago. Malkovich stars as Dr. Jeff Peters, a scientist for the Chemtech Corporation who has invented an affable robotic clone of himself named Ulysses (also played by Malkovich). Unfortunately, Jeff is long on brains but short on personality or warmth, leaving his double an empty vessel, emotionally speaking. Believing that if Ulysses only had a bit more spark he could be utilized as a publicity gimmick and fundraising tool, Chemtech sends public relations executive Frankie Stone (Ann Magnuson) to train him in the ways of the heart and human interaction. What Frankie ends up with, however, is her own personal version of the perfect mate. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

In this misfired drama on the inflammable topic of spousal abuse, Carol Sabella's (Leslie Denniston) husband Tony (James Eckhouse) becomes increasingly more violent, yet nothing is done to stop his behavior. At first there is a "spanking" when Carol "misbehaves" -- that is weird enough, and in a sexploitation film something that would introduce a few whips and leather. In this yuppie setting, the husband's abuse gets steadily worse, but Carol keeps hanging in there -- even when she looks death in the face -- until finally she finds a safe house. For some viewers, the story may hew much too close to everyone's stereotype of the battered woman, rather than providing some insight into the "whys" of her responses -- seemingly inane here. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

When a young, single, neurotic New Yorker finds the perfect woman, he tries desperately to get her to fall for him. Young director Jonathan Kaufer has been compared to Woody Allen with this, his first feature. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

In this drama, David Rosen (Lee Strasberg) and his wife Becky (Ruth Gordon) have lived in the same Coney Island neighborhood for nearly all their married life. But the area is not what it used to be, and a gang leader named Strut (Kim Delgado) has decided to make Coney Island his new turf. Strut begins shaking down the merchants in the area, demanding payment for "protection" and using violence to deal with anyone who gets in his way. David refuses to give Strut protection money for the restaurant he owns, and as a result his diner is soon firebombed, while many of his neighbors are attacked and his synagogue is desecrated. When Becky dies, David decides that he can stand no more, and he plots his revenge against Strut and his underlings. Director Stephen F. Verona manages to combine a Death Wish-style revenge scenario with a mood piece that generates a very real nostalgia for what Coney Island once was -- and still is for many of the characters in this story. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Every movie star has to start somewhere, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, then little-known outside of body building circles, made his screen debut in this comic variation on the "sword and sandal" epics popular in the 1950's and '60's. Hercules (Schwarzenegger) has grown tired of his life on Mount Olympus, and wishes to visit Earth. His father Zeus (Ernest Graves) forbids such a voyage, but a misdirected thunderbolt sends Hercules tumbling down the mountain and into New York City, where he's befriended by Pretzie (Arnold Stang), who runs a pretzel cart in the park. As Hercules tries to make his way in the big city with Pretzie's help, he runs afoul of a crooked wresling promoter, gets mixed up with gangsters, rides his chariot through Times Square, descends into Hell, and dines at the Automat (which some contend is not unlike descending into Hell). Just as Hercules is getting used to life on Earth, his angry father decides it's time the boy came home, and Zeus sends Nemesis (Taina Elg) and a handful of other gods to retrieve him. For the original American release of Hercules In New York, Arnold Schwarzenegger was billed as Arnold Strong, and his voice was dubbed by another actor to remove his accent; when the film was re-released on video in 2000, Schwarzenegger's original vocal tracks were restored, though the dubbed version appears on several previous video releases. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi