John Kapelos Movies
Supporting actor, onscreen from the '80s. ~ All Movie Guide
Based on the non-fiction best-seller, The Late Shift is an irreverent, behind-the-scenes look at the conflict over who would succeed Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show, Jay Leno or David Letterman. Beginning with Carson's retirement, the made-for-cable film follows the backstage manueverings of both camps. When NBC chooses, Letterman refuses to lose quietly. Hosting The Tonight Show has been his life-long dream, and he is willing to do whatever it takes, even hiring an agent, to get what he wants. Indeed, Letterman soon finds himself working with ultra-powerful Hollywood agent Mike Ovitz and receiving huge offers from competing networks. Meanwhile, NBC has more trouble with the Leno Tonight Show than expected, thanks to Leno's manager Helen Kushnick (Kathy Bates). Kushnick's acerbic, foul-mouthed manner and increasingly petty behavior infuriates the higher-ups at NBC -- so much so that some suggest they give the show to Letterman after all. A series of intense negotiations follows, under the shadow of ludicrously frenzied media attention. While the presentation of both Leno and Letterman (played by unknowns Daniel Roebuck and John Michael Higgins, respectively) is fairly sympathetic, the film is far-less charitable to Kushnick and NBC executives. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathy Bates, John Michael Higgins, (more)
After killing her mother in childbirth, growing up in San Francisco with her father and stepmother, attempting suicide, and moving to Los Angeles, Sarah (Robin Tunney) makes a brief stab at popularity at her new Catholic high school. Ostracized due to the untrue kiss-and-tell tales of football player Chris (Skeet Ulrich), Sarah reluctantly befriends a trio of self-styled outsiders: the horribly scarred Bonnie (Neve Campbell), the trailer-trash Nancy (Fairuza Balk), and Rochelle (Rachel True), a frequent victim of anti-black prejudice at the hands of Laura Lizzie (former Marcia Brady and future Mrs. Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor). After exhibiting latent telekenitic powers in front of Bonnie, Sarah learns that her three new friends have chosen her as their "fourth corner," the final member of their supernatural coven. Using tools stolen from a local incense-and-candle-filled boutique for practitioners of magic, the quartet summons the power of Manon, a primitive deity, to exact revenge on their tormentors and transform their lives. Drunk with power, they watch their spells get out of control, and the new coven soon realizes that with magic, "whatever you give comes back three-fold." This mid-'90s horror flick scored first place at the box office its opening weekend despite its then-unknown cast and modest budget. TV star Neve Campbell, who didn't even receive top billing, would go on to become the '90s answer to '70s horror queen Jamie Lee Curtis in the Scream franchise. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, (more)
A young, married mother gets in over her head when she has an affair in this made-for-TV movie. Alicia Silverstone stars as Roslyn, a young mother who married her high school sweetheart (Jared Leto). She gets more than just excitement though when she accepts the nudging from a friend and has a fling with tough guy Matthew Flint. The film is a remake of the 1958 film of the same name. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
A crime fighter created in the 1930s and popularized in movies, pulp novels, and a radio show starring a young Orson Welles, The Shadow came back to life in 1994 in this slick, well-cast production. Alec Baldwin stars as Lamont Cranston, a murderous opium dealer reformed by a Tibetan mystic, who teaches him how to use his keen mental powers to manipulate others. As penance for his past misdeeds, Cranston masquerades as a degenerate New York City playboy by day and secretly plays the heroic Shadow by night, staving off evildoers with a network of agents and a cab-driving sidekick (Peter Boyle). A greater challenge arrives when Cranston must fight Shiwan Khan (John Lone), the final descendent of Genghis Khan, who has received training from the same Tibetan master who instructed Cranston. Shiwan plans to use atomic weapons to take over New York and then the world. At the same time, Cranston meets socialite Margo Lane (Penelope Ann Miller), and, although he's instantly enamored of her, he discovers that her psychic abilities render his secret identity vulnerable. The Shadow was directed by former music video creator Russell Mulcahy, whose feature film debut Highlander (1986) was a cult classic. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, John Lone, (more)
- 1994
The direct-to-video Deep Red combines science fiction with domestic melodrama. Lindsay Haun plays Gracie, a youngster whose bloodstream is infected by a strange, extraterrestrial element. Known as "Deep Red," this element increases Gracie's protein count, rendering her invulnerable and possibly immortal. Ruthless researcher Thomas Newmeyer (John DeLancie) plans to exploit the girl for his own purposes, even if he has to drain every ounce of blood from her body. Hero Joy Keys (Michael Biehn), an honest scientist, tries to stop Newmeyer's skullduggery -- and in the process, Keys patches up his tattered relationship with his estranged wife. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Biehn, Joanna Pacula, (more)
- 1993
Dick Van Dyke stars as a doctor-turned-detective in this made-for-television medical thriller. Van Dyke stars as Dr. Mark Sloan, the ring leader of a small group of doctors who investigate the death of a U.S. Senator (David Richards) during surgery. Sloan has his own interest in finding out the cause of death -- his ex-lover (Suzanne Pleshette) is the prominent heart surgeon who was at the helm. Unfortunately though, Dr. Sloan gets more than he bargained for and stumbles onto a plot of revenge and murder. This two-hour movie was one of several which introduced viewers to Van Dyke's character and led to the popular TV-series Diagnosis Murder. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dick Van Dyke, Suzanne Pleshette, (more)
Sidney Lumet directed this Larry Cohen-scripted courtroom procedural that owes more than it should to Jagged Edge. Jennifer Haines (Rebecca De Mornay), one of the top female lawyers in the country and flush from the success of defending a gangster, has a new client to defend. A suave ladies man in an Armani suit, David Greenhill (Don Johnson) has come to solicit Jennifer's services. It seems that his rich socialite wife has been pushed to her death through an open window, and David stands to inherit a very large fortune. Needless to say, David is a prime suspect in his wife's murder. David admits to Jennifer the he is a womanizer and an oily manipulator, but nevertheless Jennifer decides to take his case as a challenge -- as she puts it: "People who are guilty are rarely this blunt." The result is an intricate chess game between Jennifer and David as they manipulate events, other people, and each other in order to determine the guilt or innocence of the playboy widower. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rebecca De Mornay, Don Johnson, (more)
- 1993
When Jerry, Kramer, and Newman run into their mutual accountant at Monks, they take note of the fact that he has a habit of sniffling an awful lot and become convinced that he is spending their money on a drug habit. Meanwhile, George interviews for a job as a brassiere salesman and Elaine can't stand her new boyfriend's overuse of exclamation points. Guest starring John Kapelos, Christa Miller, and Patrick Cronin, "The Sniffing Accountant" originally aired October 7, 1993,and was the fourth episode of the show's fifth season. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1992
- PG
When Sal (Dennis Farina) and his friend Charlie (Leo Rossi) are cheated out of $10,000 of borrowed money in an implausible money-making scheme, the two must flee to Los Angeles to avoid the wrath of the gangster debt collectors. Once there, they become embroiled in an underhanded scheme that leaves them running from the FBI and the mob. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Farina, Leo Rossi, (more)
- 1992
Based on a true story, this is the tale of three women who join forces to get revenge on the handsome con man whose investment scheme cost them thousands of dollars. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
Actor Jack Nicholson, writer Carole Eastman, and director Bob Rafelson re-team 22 years after their classic Five Easy Pieces, for this romantic comedy. Nicholson plays Harry Bliss, a small potatoes security expert unhappily married to a Japanese woman (he sarcastically calls her Iwo Jima during therapy sessions). Harry's life is coming apart at the seams -- not only is his marriage on the rocks, but the IRS and assorted creditors are nipping at his heels. Then opera singer Joan Spruance (Ellen Barkin) contacts him. It seems she wants Harry's help in obtaining an attack dog for her apartment, since an unknown person has been burglarizing her home and attacking her with an ax. Needless to say, Harry and Joan fall in love. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Nicholson, Ellen Barkin, (more)
- 1991
This made-for-TV movie was first seen in the United States on February 2, 1992. Simon Reynolds plays Bruce Curtis, teenaged product of a troubled Canadian home. When Bruce's parents turn up murdered, the evidence trail leads to the boy's closest friend, Scott Franz (Jaimz Woolvett). The question: did Scott act alone, or did Bruce participate? Question two: was this an "In Cold Blood" or Leopold/Loeb situation, wherein two seriously disturbed young men teamed up to become one unstoppable killing machine? Kenneth Welsh costars as the boys' defense attorney. Based on an explosive real-life case, Deadly Betrayal was originally produced for Canadian television, where it ran under the title Journey Into Darkness: The Bruce Curtis Story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Partially filmed in Hawaii and Tahiti, And the Sea Will Tell was a two-part TV movie based on a real murder case. A wealthy couple (James Brolin and Deidre Hall) are killed on their yacht off the coast of a secluded South American island called Palmyra. The suspects are a hippyish pair (Hart Bochner and Rachel Ward) whom the rich folks had befriended. It's fairly clear that the hippies were involved in the crime: The question is, did the man do it while the girl looked on helplessly, or was she a willing accomplice? Richard Crenna plays real-life defense attorney Vincent Bugliosi, upon whose book And the Sea Will Tell was based. The first part of this teledrama premiered on February 24, 1991; part two, in which the girl's testimony consumes most of the screen time, was shown on February 26. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this suspense drama, a lawyer finds out more than she wanted to know about her friends and lovers. T.K. Katwuller (Barbara Hershey) is a lawyer with a firm command of her career but an unstable hold on her private life; she's more single than she'd like to be, and she's become romantically involved with one of her clients, Steven Seldes (J.T. Walsh), a real estate agent. When T.K. bumps into her college roommate Ellie (Mary Beth Hurt), she discovers that Ellie is Steven's wife, which T.K. hardly regards as welcome news. T.K. then learns that Steven has been accused of financing porn movies dominated by underage actors; after an angry confrontation, she bitterly breaks off the affair. The next day, Steven turns up murdered, and T.K. discovers that Ellie is the prime suspect. She agrees to handle Ellie's case, and Ellie is acquitted. However, T.K.'s conversations with police detective George Beutel (Sam Shepard) begin to plant a seed of doubt in her mind about Ellie's innocence. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Hershey, Sam Shepard, (more)
- 1991
Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is invited to speak at an exclusive club where only men are permitted as members. Despite her gender, Jessica is asks by the club's governing committee to help them solve a mystery involving the murder of a "rogue" member. This proves difficult when it becomes apparent that the killer may himself be on the committee. This episode is chock full of sly science-fiction and fantasy references--no surprise, inasmuch as it was written by J. Michael Straczynski, a guiding force behind the popular series Babylon 5. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this glossy L.A. crime drama by Mike Figgis, Andy Garcia stars as Sgt. Raymond Avila, a cop who just joined the Internal Affairs division of the L.A.P.D. An investigation into police corruption has led Avila and his partner, Sgt. Amy Wallace (Laurie Metcalf), to Officer Dennis Peck (Richard Gere). Avila suspects something about Peck from the beginning; his influence and dominance over others seems to extend further than the reach of his badge. When officers who wish to testify against Peck start dying, the depth of his corruption becomes increasingly clear; at his disposal, he has an army of cops and criminals alike. He even agrees to assassinate a sleazy businessman's own parents, and humiliates the businessman while they make the deal. In his drive to dominate others, Peck attempts to seduce almost every woman around him and is obsessed with children and fatherhood. Peck is most dangerous when the investigation threatens his territory and his extended family; he stalks Avila and turns him against his wife (Nancy Travis). ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Andy Garcia, (more)
- 1989
Veteran comic actor George Segal plays a wealthy industrialist whose real passion in life is paint-gun war games. In fact, he's so addicted to these quasi-military games that he insists on being addressed as "Colonel." The way to promotion in his company is through these games, rather than through doing a good job. Hard working Ann (Jennifer Edwards) is tired of seeing less competent males promoted because of their war game skills. She joins forces with the Colonel's wife Florence (Sally Kellerman), with whom he's in the midst of a divorce, and the other company wives to form their own war games team. They hire a mercenary (Lou Ferrigno) to train them, leading to a climactic showdown with the men. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Segal, Sally Kellerman, (more)
A night beat cop, a good vampire who only drinks cows' blood, is after a bad vampire, who is sucking the blood of the city's human inhabitants. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rick Springfield
Part One of this four-hour TV movie adaptation of Peter Evans' biography suggested that Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis spent every waking hour commiserating in bed with lovers of all sexes. Part Two of Onassis: The Richest Man in the World hunkers down to the Main Event: The showdown between Onassis' longtime lover Maria Callas (Jane Seymour, who screamed and tantrummed her way to an Emmy) and his future spouse Jackie Kennedy. We then move onward (but not upward) to the tragic death of Onassis' daughter; our tepid journey through the cesspools of the Rich and Famous ends with the public bickering over the tycoon's will after his own 1975 demise. As ill-suited as Raul Julia is for the starring role of Aristotle Onassis, Francesca Annis' portrayal of Jackie Kennedy is even worse. Onassis: The Richest Man in the World was originally foisted upon the TV viewing public on May 1 and 2, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Two hapless psychics unwittingly aid a criminal in his quest to obtain a mystic relic in this farcical adventure. Street smart beauty-school dropout Sylvia Pickel (Cyndi Lauper) navigates life with the counsel of a spirit named Louise, while genteel Nick Deezy (Jeff Goldblum) has the ability to "read" an object's past just by holding it. Harry Buscafusco (Peter Falk) is the treasure hunter who brings them together for a trip to Ecuador to find his missing son. Nick and Sylvia don't get on at first, their animosity only amplified by various slapstick escapades that find them posing as siblings and hobnobbing with monied jet-setters. Eventually, Buscafusco's missing-child premise turns out to be a ruse; his true intentions envelop Nick and Sylvia in serious peril just as they're beginning to let down their guard and fall for one another. The action climaxes in a special effects-laden jungle sequence. Vibes marked the screen debut of pop singer Cyndi Lauper, whose single "Hole in My Heart (All the Way to China)" graces the closing credits. Despite the poor box-office results of Vibes and the generally poor reviews for her performance, Lauper would go on to earn an Emmy award for a guest stint on TV's Mad About You and appear with Christopher Walken in the indie drama The Opportunists. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Goldblum, (more)
James Woods and Sean Young were still "an item" when they costarred in The Boost. The stars play an investment broker and his girlfriend, who begin snorting cocaine on a recreational basis. Inevitably, the drug takes its toll, and soon Woods and Young have thrown away their lives in their desperate pursuit of their next fix. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Woods, Sean Young, (more)
This modernization of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac casts Steve Martin as C. D. Bates, the fearless, quick-witted fire chief of a Washington State resort town. Bates' most trusted fireman is the handsome but tongue-tied Chris McDonell (Rick Rossovich). Both men are in love with the beautiful Roxanne Kowalski (Darryl Hannah), but Bates, adorned with a huge nose that makes Bob Hope look like Nanette Fabray, is convinced that he's too homely to win Roxanne's heart. Thus, in the self-sacrificing tradition of Cyrano de Bergerac, Bates courts Roxanne vicariously by feeding his rival Chris the proper romantic words and phrases. The inherent pathos in Roxanne is offset by moments of slapstick, notably the scene wherein C. D. Bates vanquishes a pair of hooligans with a tennis racket. Steve Martin himself is credited with the screenplay for Roxanne, though he generously cites Edmond Rostand as his inspiration. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah, (more)
With a script that is too anemic for the red-blooded actors featured here, this anorexic comedy moves slowly up and down the corporate ladder with the fortunes and misfortunes of several company men. Jack Issel (Judge Reinhold) gets a VIP position at INC in the PR department (business-speak). Suddenly the corporation's shady activities come to the fore -- especially when a U.S. plant is set to close for a move south of the border where labor is almost free. Enmeshed in these tangles, Jack is hardly prepared to fall in love with the leading activist against the plant closing -- but he does. Meanwhile, a lot of other subplots quickly dispose of potentially budding villains like Stedman (Danny DeVito) the inside trader -- too bad. DeVito and Don King (appearing as himself) would have made a great team. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judge Reinhold, Eddie Albert, (more)
