Gigi Angelillo Movies
- 2009
The title translates literally as "Faceboom." An omnibus film helmed by seven top-tiered Italian directors, this comedy explores the worldwide Facebook craze of the early 21st century by recounting the adventures of numerous Europeans whose lives are altered by that social networking site. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2006
In writer/director Paolo Sorrentino's second feature, The Family Friend (L'Amico di Famiglia), Giacomo Rizzo stars as Geremia de Geremei, a sixtysomething tailor who lives with his mother in a disgusting and decrepit flat. Though wealthy from the money that he has culled via loan-sharking, Geremia is a thoroughly miserable wretch, driven into the throes of destruction by his own incredible selfishness and his obsessive infatuation with a beautiful local girl, Rosalba (Laura Chiatta), whom he meets when asked to assist with her wedding. Geremia agrees, but takes the bride off alone and pressures her into sex, little realizing that he's sowing the seeds of his own downfall. Meanwhile, a bidet supplier attempts to goad Geremia into giving him a massive loan -- an amount that Geremia could never possibly fork over. Throughout the film, Sorrentino packs in numerous surrealistic touches, from the sight of a nun buried up to her neck in sand (accompanied by an aural assault on the soundtrack) to a grotesque glimpse of Rizzo with a potato poultice around his head to the jarring sight of Geremia's village, built by Mussolini on an Italian swampland. In the process, Sorrentino manages to create his own distinct world and thoroughly unforgettable characters. He also pulls off an incredibly difficult feat, by enabling the audience to care about a markedly unpleasant central figure. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Giacomo Rizzo, Fabrizio Bentivoglio, (more)
- 2005
Giancarlo De Cataldo's best-selling tale about three lifelong friends effectively take control of organized crime in modern-day Rome comes to the screen in this sweeping crime drama from director Michele Placido. Libanese (Pierfrancesco Favino) is the cold-hearted leader of a juvenile delinquent trio that also includes undyingly loyal Freddo (Kim Rossi Stuart) and power-hungry Dandi (Claudio Santamaria). After kidnapping and casually murdering a baron (Franco Interlenghi), the scheming friends soon form the shady alliances with the local gangsters, corrupt cops, and secret service members that will allow them the opportunity to effectively corner the market on heroin sales. Meanwhile, determined Inspector Sciloja (Stefano Accorsi), who has made it his goal to bring Libanese and his cronies to justice, stealthily manages to trace back the marked ransom money from the baron's kidnapping to Dandi's girlfriend Patrizia (Anna Mouglalis) - an alluring call girl whom the inspector soon finds himself falling for. But Inspector Sciloja isn't the only one to fall under the spell of a female who seems strangely out of his reach. On the other side of the law, Freddo becomes enamored by the decidedly pure Roberta (Jasmine Trinca), whose attempts to educate the smitten thug in the beauty of the Italian Masters seem to be made in vain. In projecting a fictionalized tale of murderous criminality against the larger backdrop of Italy's turbulent social history during the waning decades of the 20th Century, director Placido strives to craft a film that is not only entertaining, but historically relevant as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Rossi Stuart, Anna Mouglalis, (more)
- 2003
Italian filmmaker Alessandro Piva reunites much of his cast and crew from his 2000 film LaCapaGira for the crime comedy My Brother-in-Law. The film follows an odd couple of brothers-in-law wandering through the coastal city of Bari, Italy, and getting into trouble. While in town from the suburbs to attend a christening, Vito (Luigi Lo Cascio) gets his new car stolen. His wife Anna (Mariangela Arcieri) suggests that her gangster brother Toni (Sergio Rubini) help him find it. As they scour the city in search of the vehicle, Vito comes to realize that Toni has made tense relations with some local gangsters. Although Vito can't understand the Bari dialect, he's sure that Toni has done something to upset crime boss Nicola (Rino Diana). My Brother-in-Law was shown at the Locarno Film Festival as part of the Piazza Grande program. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sergio Rubini, Luigi Lo Cascio, (more)
