Patrick St. Esprit Movies
When a shifty magician turns state's evidence against a Las Vegas underworld heavy, the high price placed on his head sparks a fevered race to rub the snitch out and collect a tidy paycheck in Narc director Joe Carnahan's dark action comedy. Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) is a small-time scammer who has somehow managed to get the goods on big-time mobster Primo Sparazza. Upon discovering that Buddy is about to deliver the evidence needed to get him thrown in jail for life, Primo takes out a sizable contract on Buddy that entices every two-bit thug, grizzled bounty hunter, deadly vixen, skilled assassin, and ladder-climbing Mafioso within a hundred-mile radius into taking a shot at the prize. Now holed up in his luxurious Lake Tahoe hideout with only two FBI agents (Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta) standing between him from a virtual army of money-hungry rogues, Buddy is about to find out just how far this motley crew of killers is willing to go in order to take him out and hit the jackpot. Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys, and Martin Henderson co-star in a bullet-strewn, ensemble crime comedy that never stops to reload. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, (more)
A woman finds herself drafted into the battle of finding the perfect man in this romantic comedy. Sarah Nolan (Diane Lane) is a kindergarten teacher in her mid-thirties who is still dealing with the emotional aftermath of her divorce eight months ago. While her sisters, Christine (Ali Hillis) and Carol (Elizabeth Perkins), both think Sarah needs to start dating again, Sarah herself isn't so sure. Carol decides to force the issue by posting Sarah's photo and profile on an Internet dating site, and soon a number of seemingly eligible bachelors are sending her e-mails in hopes of a date. However, nearly every man she meets turns out to be a loser, with the exception of Jake (John Cusack), who is smart, good looking, and even brings along a dog for their walk in the park (though he doesn't tell her the pooch was borrowed for the occasion). However, Sarah also makes the acquaintance of Bob (Dermot Mulroney), the divorced father of one of her students, and she finds herself having to choose between two potentially worthwhile men. Meanwhile, Sarah's widowed father, Bill (Christopher Plummer), decides to give Internet dating a try, and lands himself a new steady in Dolly (Stockard Channing). Must Love Dogs is based on the best-selling novel of the same title by Claire Cook. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Lane, John Cusack, (more)
- 2004
Death Row inmate Ray Kaspo (David Meunier) is poisoned to death--45 minutes before his execution. While investigating this curious turn of events, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) is approached by another inmate, former billionaire Dale "The Whale" Biederbeck, whom Monk sent away for murder in the series' fourth episode (formerly played by Adam Arkin, Dale the Whale is now portrayed by Tim Curry). This time out, Dale is suspected of killing Ray, but insists that he's innocent and wants Monk to prove it. This requires our hero to suppress his million-and-one phobias and go undercover as a convict--whereupon he is immediately befriended by the dangerously sociopathic Spyder Rudner (Danny Trejo). This final episode of Monk's second season ends on a cliffhanger, with Monk seemingly poised to solve the long-ago murder of his beloved wife Trudy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Michael grew up in a college town with daydreams of being a member of the football team that he would watch doing drills -- an accomplishment that would make his military family proud. When the day comes that Michael actually enters college, however, he finds that living up to his father's expectations is not so easy; he rarely makes it off the bench and is hardly the football player he'd once dreamed of being. Then me meets Brenda, a girl that appreciates him for who he is, whether or not he's a star athlete. Now, for the first time, Michael is pondering whose dream it is that he's been chasing. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tedd Taskey, Patrick St. Esprit, (more)
- 1991
Coin thief Jack Colefax (Patrick St. Esprit) is himself robbed of a rare coin by a pair of hookers. In his efforts to prevent Colefax from committing murder to retrieve the coin, Hunter (Fred Dryer) finds himself in a potentially explosive situation: one of the hookers turns out to be Jodi Prescott (Kimberley Neville)--the daughter of Hunter's longtime enemy, Councilman Henry Prescott (Alan Fudge). Meanwhile, Novak (Lauren Lane) tries to prevent her friend Pam Sutton (Denise Crosby) from exacting vengeance against the petty crook who robbed and mugged her. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Sammy Davis Jr. guest stars as Benny Shaffer, veteran trainer of up-and-coming boxer Sonny Ruiz (Scott Colomby). When Ruiz's manager and doctor are murdered, both Shaffer and the boxer fall under suspicion. With the help of police detective Hunter (Fred Dryer), Shaffer hopes to prove that the real culprit is a big-time promoter. Famed restauranteur Nicky Blair) appears as himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
