Mario Opinato Movies

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

Bear witness to the rise of the most corrupt and ruthless ruler ever to preside over the Roman Empire as filmmaker Paul Marcus tells the tale of Nero's unlikely ascent to the throne, and his historical fall at the hands of his own vengeful kingdom. After murdering his sister's husband on grounds of conspiracy, the increasingly incoherent Caligula exiles his grieving sibling and sets into motion a devious plan that will one-day find her son Lucius presiding over all of Rome. Beset on all sides by tyranny and bloodlust, Lucius rises to power as Nero while facing the constant wrath of all who oppose his legacy. His paranoia soon reaching a fever pitch, Nero struggles to maintain power as his army, his people, and his own mother, ultimately turn against him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide