Ron Karabatsos Movies
Directed by Mike Mitchell, Surviving Christmas finds Drew Latham (Ben Affleck) uneager to spend another lonely Christmas in his own home. Longing for holidays past, Drew travels to his childhood home intending to relive the experience of a family Christmas -- unfortunately, his family no longer lives there. This represents only a small snafu to Drew, who offers the Valco patriarch and his wife (Sopranos star James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara) a huge amount of money if they consent to pretend they are his parents and that he is a cherished member of the family. This entails participating in Latham family traditions, such as Christmas tree selection and crowded holiday shopping excursions. Though the Valcos reluctantly go along with Drew's requests, Alicia, their eldest daughter, arrives at home and refuses to comply with her "brother's" wishes. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini, (more)
A gangster is looking to get away from crooked deals and double-crossing people but ends up in the movie business anyway in this comic crime story. Chili Palmer (John Travolta) is a Miami-based loan collector for the mob trying to collect a gambling debt. His assignment takes him to Hollywood to collect money from Harry Zimm (Gene Hackman), a mildly sleazy producer of low-budget horror movies. Although Chili intends to hurt Harry if necessary, he takes a certain liking to him and an even keener interest in Karen (Rene Russo), Harry's girlfriend, whom Chili recognizes from Harry's grade-B monster epics. It seems Harry has a script that he feels is Academy Award material, and he could get the project off the ground if he could get the right actor for the lead -- say, the well-respected but egocentric (and diminutive) Martin Weir (Danny DeVito). Chili thinks he has a feel for the movie business and decides to see what he can do to persuade Weir to get behind the project. Chili soon finds himself hip deep in the film industry, which at least puts him in contact with a higher grade of scumbags than he's used to. But Chili isn't the only criminal Harry's been dealing with; he's been obtaining financing from Bo Catlett (Delroy Lindo), a drug dealer with a highly uncertain temperament. An intelligently constructed crime story and a hilarious look at the absurdities of the film business, Get Shorty was based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard; Leonard based Chili on a real-life former gangster of his acquaintance, though Chili's model never worked in Hollywood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Gene Hackman, (more)
- 1993
- R
B-movie director Rafal Zielinski adds another sordid tale to his CV with this C. Thomas Howell vehicle. In the film, Howell plays a cop who gets involved with a murder witness, only to find out that she's part of an international ring of sex-for-hire beauties. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- C. Thomas Howell
A hybrid cross-pollination of a Martin Scorsese and Frank Capra film, this feel-good comic fantasy is loosely based on the real-life story of a New York lottery winner. Anthony LaPaglia stars as Frank Pesce Jr., a New Yorker with a good-luck streak that is unmatched in his Little Italy neighborhood. When Frank throws a pair of dice in a game of chance, he doesn't just toss a winning hand, the dice land on top of each other. When he's stabbed in the chest by a girlfriend's brother, his doctors find a pre-cancerous tumor. Although he tries again and again to get rid of a vehicle he no longer wants, it is retrieved every single time by the authorities. So when New York announces its first statewide lottery in 1976, Frank buys one ticket and immediately becomes everybody's best friend. Unfortunately, Frank's good luck is matched by the equally bad luck of his hard-working father, Frank Sr. (Danny Aiello), who has run up a gambling debt to a local mobster. The wise guy is willing to forgive the note if Frank Jr. will just hand over his sure-to-be lucky ticket, leaving the city's luckiest Italian-American in a bit of a moral quandary. The real Frank Pesce Jr. executive produces and co-stars in 29th Street as his own police officer brother, Vito. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny Aiello, Anthony LaPaglia, (more)
- 1991
- R
A spoiled rich girl leaves her pop's protection and gets a job in an L.A. bar where she meets and falls for an unknown musician. She's out to prove to daddy, that she can cut it on her own. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jill Schoelen, Don Michael Paul, (more)
- 1991
Made for cable TV, this thriller finds a lawyer (Bryan Brown) plotting the murder of his wealthy wife so he can make off with his secretary. The wrong person ends up dead, however, and he finds himself accused of the crime. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bryan Brown, Teri Hatcher, (more)
- 1991
Don Rickles guest stars as Harold Schwan, a successful dry cleaner with more than his share of dirty laundry. Unbeknownst to Schwan, the gang of thieves who've been robbing his stores consists of his "three ex-es": his former wife, his former mistress and his former secretary. As for the ladies, they are blissfully unaware that they have stolen money that Schwan was laundering (no pun intended) for a mobster named Munks (Ron Karabatsos)--and that's how Hunter (Fred Dryer) gets involved in the intrigue. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When unsuccessful writer Bruce Simmons (Dylan McDermott) is kicked out of his apartment, he takes up residence in an old abandoned mansion. When he discovers the gruesome history of the house, he is inspired to begin a novel based on the grisly murders that took place there. However, when a strange border moves in, his input on the novel might be a little too informed for Bruce's taste. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dylan McDermott, Tom Sizemore, (more)
- 1989
- R
In this comedy, the members of the Shakers, an aspiring rock band, perform at a series of weird and wacky weddings. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Katt, Joyce Hyser, (more)
- 1989
In this drama, a young man dreams of being a Hollywood screenwriter and so heads for Tinseltown where he encounters many twists and turns on the road to success.. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1989
This slick and stylish episode is something of a variation of the classic film noir DOA, with overtones of Raymond Chandler. Travelling to Hollywood in the company of elderly writer Walter Murray (Mike Connors), with whom she is slated to collaborate on a movie script, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) makes a brief stop at a seedy motel-diner. Later that evening, Walter is found dead in his motel room, leaving behind a tape recording detailing the events leading up to his demise. In a series of stunningly photographed black-and-white flashbacks, Jessica learns that on the previous evening, Walter had been reunited with a woman (Elizabeth Ashley) whom he hadn't seen in 19 years--not since he killed her abusive husband! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A cop is determined to avenge his father's death in this action-drama. Brad Davis stars as Johnny Modine, a Los Angeles cop whose father is murdered on Christmas Eve. The investigation leads to a bitter and disfigured killer known as Iceman (Jonathan Banks), who has links to Johnny's past as a police cadet. Rocker Adam Ant co-stars and Dorothy Ann Puzo, daughter of famed author Mario Puzo, directed. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brad Davis, Sharon Stone, (more)
- 1987
A blushing bride (Melissa Gilbert) doesn't catch on that something's fishy when her new husband (Joe Penny), last name "Moran", introduces her to his distinctly Italian family, who kiss each other's hands a lot. In fact, she doesn't tumble to the fact that her "perfect" spouse is a Mafiosa until it's Too Late. Before she knows what's happening, the wide-eyed (and soft-headed) girl is swept up in drug trafficking. To keep the Italian anti-defamation league at arm's length, the producers of this film contrive to have Tony Franciosa portray an Italian-American FBI agent who comes to the heroine's rescue. Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife was originally telecast January 18, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
Underworld fence Lucky Lacy (Ron Karabatsos) is robbed of $12 million in gems by a gang of young hoodlums. Hiring a huge, psychotic punker named Lincoln--played by John Matuszak, former gridiron rival of Hunter star Fred Dryer--to kill the thieves and retrieve the merchandise, Lacy launches a bloodbath that leaves many innocent victims in its wake. Inevitably, Hunter is forced to go "mano y mano" with the brutish Lincoln--and the odds are definitely not in his favor! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
The "brothers" in Brotherly Love are twin siblings Ben and Harry Ryder. Both are played by Judd Hirsch, in a change of pace from his Taxi duties. One of the twins is a solid citizen and family man; the other is evil incarnate. The story was adapted from a William D. Blankenship novel by the later Ernest Tidyman, whose next-to-last project this was. Filmed in Canada, Brotherly Love first aired May 28, 1985. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Hirsch, Karen Carlson, (more)
- 1984
McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) takes a sudden leave of absence to prevent her former partner, embittered renegade cop Gus Trancus (David Ackroyd), from fulfilling a contract as a professional hit man. Owing her life to Trancus, McCall hopes that she can stop him before he completely ruins his life--but she may be fighting a losing battle. Meanwhile, Hunter (Fred Dryer) is not only saddled with wimpy Sgt. Terwilliger (James Whitmore Jr.) as temporary partner, but he's also having a great deal of trouble getting the higher-ups off his back long enough to locate Dee Dee and keep her from harm. Arthur Rosenberg makes his first series appearance as Captain Lester Cain. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Combining electric song and dance performances with drama (both on and off screen), Francis Ford Coppola's The Cotton Club (1984) looks back to the 1920s-1930s peak of the legendary Harlem nightclub where only blacks performed and only whites could sit in the audience. Mixing historical figures with characters loosely based on actual people, Coppola and co-writers William Kennedy and The Godfather's Mario Puzo create a panorama of love, crime, and entertainment centered on the Club. Among them are cornet player Dixie Dwyer (Richard Gere, playing his own solos), who escapes psycho gangster "benefactor" Dutch Schultz (James Remar) for a George Raft-type Hollywood career as a gangster film star; Schultz's nubile mistress Vera Cicero (Diane Lane), who loves Dixie against her mercenary instincts; Cotton Club Mob owner Owney Madden (Bob Hoskins) and close associate Frenchy Demarge (Fred Gwynne); Vincent (Nicolas Cage), Dixie's no-good Mad Dog Coll-esque brother; Club tap star Sandman Williams (Gregory Hines), who woos ambitious light-skinned Club singer Lila Rose Oliver (Lonette McKee); and cameos by Charles "Honi" Coles and Cab Calloway impersonator Larry Marshall. Complementing the period story, Coppola evokes the style of '30s gangster movies and musicals through an array of old-fashioned devices like montages of headlines, songs and shoot-outs. Conceived by producer Robert Evans as his crowning achievement and directorial debut, Evans had to hand over the troubled production to Coppola, but the budget spiraled out of control as the script was repeatedly re-written throughout the chaotic shoot. By the time it was released, The Cotton Club's epic production story of power struggles, financial bloat, and even a murder overshadowed the "reunion" of The Godfather's creative team. Neither a Heaven's Gate-sized failure nor a wallet-saving hit like Coppola's Apocalypse Now, The Cotton Club got some favorable critical notices (although it drew fire for subordinating the African American stories). It did not, however, find a large enough audience to justify its expense and controversy, becoming another mark against 1970s "auteur" cinema in increasingly blockbuster-driven 1980s Hollywood. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, (more)
Jennifer Beals stars as Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel-mill welder by day, and bar dancer by night. Harboring dreams of a career in ballet, she is given financial support in this endeavor by her boss Nick Hurley (Michael Nouri) and moral support by demanding but big-hearted instructor Hanna Long (Lilia Skala). The film's signature scene is, of course, Alex's water-drenched dance audition, largely performed in long shot by her dance double Marine Jahan. Essentially an old-fashioned backstage yarn, Flashdance was given a contemporary spin by its pulsating, musical score featuring the Oscar-winning Best Song, Flashdance...What a Feeling, (music by Giorgio Moroder, lyrics by Keith Forsey and Irene Cara). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Beals, Michael Nouri, (more)
- 1983
Blood Feud was a two-part TV drama, originally presented as an "Operation Prime Time" special. Robert Blake is disturbingly convincing as labor leader Jimmy Hoffa, engaged in a decade-long war of words with attorney (and later attorney general) Robert F. Kennedy. Cotter Smith makes his TV debut as Kennedy, a role he'd repeat on future occasions. Thoroughly compelling when sticking to the facts, the drama falls apart whenever indulging in flight of fanciful speculation (Sample: two of Hoffa's lieutenants watch the live telecast of Lee Harvey Oswald's murder, then celebrate the fact that Oswald will never be able to reveal their complicity in the JFK assassination!) Blood Feud was syndicated to local TV stations beginning April 24, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Blake, Cotter Smith, (more)
- 1983
Legs is a made-for-television backstage saga of the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. As in musical films of old, the plot concentrates on three young hopefuls who aspire to fill one vacancy in the famous 36-member precision dancing troupe. The heroines are played by Shanna Reed, Deborah Geffner and Maureen Teefy, none of them star names but all of them excellent dancers. Gwen Verdon is right in element as the Rockettes' choreographer (and so far as we're concerned, it's her fabulous legs that are alluded to in the title). Filmed on location in and around the Music Hall, Legs first tapped its way into our hearts on May 2, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Elizabeth Montgomery, the queen of the TV-movie "victims," plays a more take-charge role in Missing Pieces. Cast as a private detective, Montgomery has to deal with an unpleasant memory, a near-insoluble mystery, and a pursuing murderer. Drugs and political corruption are also part and parcel of this Chandleresque puzzler. In true noir fashioned, the story is narrated by Montgomery throughout. Based on a novel by Karl Alexander, Missing Pieces originally came together on May 14, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Montgomery, Ron Karabatsos, (more)
- 1982
A drug-running biker gang is the target of a San Francisco police detective who was rendered deaf by the gang. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1982
Rabid Red Sox booster Carla Tortelli (Rhea Perlman) gets steamed when boorish Yankees fan Ed Kellner (Ron Karabatsos) drops in at Cheers. So inflammatory are Ed's abrasive anti-Boston insults that Carla ends up slugging the guy. As a result, Ed threatens to slap an enormous lawsuit on Sam (Ted Danson) unless Carla is immediately fired. But never fear, there's a "sweet revenge" finale in this classic episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Inspired by a true story, Prince of the City stars Treat Williams as a Manhattan detective who agrees to help the US Department of Justice weed out corruption in the NYPD. Williams agrees on the assurance that he'll never have to turn in a close friend. Wired for sound, Williams almost immediately stumbles upon a police conspiracy to smuggle narcotics to street informants in order to insure cooperation. While this might be condonable in a stretch, the fact is that the many cops are using the drugs on their own, and are also highly susceptible to bribes. Williams gets the goods on the miscreants, but in so doing he breaks the "code" and becomes a pariah to his fellow officers. As we learn in the unsettling final scene, Williams will always be considered a "fink," even by honest cops. Prince of the City is too long for its own good, but its opening expository sequences and its final twenty minutes more than compensate for the duller stretches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Treat Williams, Jerry Orbach, (more)
