Paul Lombardi Movies

A housewife with little knowledge of horse-racing fosters one of the greatest race horses of all time as the story of the 1973 Triple Crown winner comes to the screen in this inspirational underdog drama based on the novel Secretariat: The Making of a Champion by William Nack and starring Diane Lane and John Malkovich. Penny Chenery (Lane) is a devoted mother and housewife whose ailing father is the proprietor of Meadow Stables in Virginia. When her father becomes too ill to tend to his horses, Penny agrees to take over the stables despite her inexperience. Desperate, she turns to veteran horse trainer Lucien Laurin (Malkovich) to help show her the ropes. Up to this point, horse racing has been a decidedly male-dominated sport. But with Lucien's help, Penny prepares to prove that gender has no bearing on one's ability to breed a fast race horse. As Secretariat blasts out of the gates to leave his competition in the dust, the whole world watches in amazement, and a legend is born. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Pint-size rap music star Lil Bow Wow shows that he can play ball as well as he raps in this youth-oriented comedy about a young boy whose dream comes true in an unexpected way. Calvin Cambridge (Lil Bow Wow) is a 14-year-old boy, who, since the death of his parents, has been living in an orphanage run by the unpleasantly eccentric Stan Bittleman (Crispin Glover). While the tough but caring Sister Theresa (Anne Meara) tries to encourage the kids, Calvin knows that he and most of the other kids his age are poor prospects for adoption. Calvin loves basketball and idolizes Michael Jordan, but he's too short to be much of a challenge to the older kids when shooting hoop at the playground. One day, Calvin discovers a pair of old basketball sneakers with the initials "MJ" written on the inside. Calvin is convinced they once belonged to Michael Jordan, but he can hardly believe what happens when he puts them on -- suddenly he's able to make superhuman jump shots and dunks just like a miniature version of Air Jordan himself. Calvin's newly developed talent on the court comes to the attention of Frank Bernard (Eugene Levy), the manager of the Los Angeles Knights, an NBA team having a humiliating season. Bernard brings Calvin to the team as a novelty item, but with the help of Coach Wagner (Robert Forster) and the new kid's can-do attitude, the Knights start to climb out of the cellar and look like possible season champs. However, Tracey Reynolds (Morris Chestnut), who used to be the team's star player, isn't happy to have his thunder stolen by a 14-year-old boy -- especially when he's made Calvin's roommate and de-facto guardian on the road. Like Mike also features cameo appearances by a number of pro basketball stars, including Allen Iverson, Chris Webber, and Jason Kidd. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A shy radio telescope operator named Zane Ziminski (Charlie Sheen) picks up a series of regular signals coming from space -- and deliberately pointed toward Earth. Convinced that he has discovered alien transmissions, Ziminski is first chastised and then fired by his boss (Ron Silver). Obsessed, he builds a makeshift radio telescope in his house to find out where the signals were sent. Convinced that they're intended for aliens already hidden on Earth, he tracks them to a bleak, isolated Mexican village, where he joins forces with a female scientist (Lindsay Crouse), who has suspicions of her own after witnessing an acceleration of global warming. The villagers turn out to be aliens, and the village a front for an underground alien complex. The aliens are here to "terraform" Earth and prepare it for the arrival of the rest of their race, who will die unless they leave their homeworld and colonize elsewhere. Only Ziminski can stop them. Written and directed by David N. Twohy, The Arrival is a throwback to the genre chillers of the '50s. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

In this futuristic martial arts drama based on a popular video game, Los Angeles has been transformed into a watery New Angeles after a long-threatened earthquake devastates the West Coast. Billy Lee (Scott Wolf) and his brother Jimmy (Mark Dacascos) are two martial arts experts who were raised by a woman named Satori (Julia Nickson) after the death of their parents. Satori has come into possession of one half of a magic amulet; if joined with the other half, it gives whomever possesses it remarkable powers. However, the other half of the charm is now held by Koga Shuko (Robert Patrick), a martial arts master and business tycoon who is obsessed with ruling New Angeles. Satori gives her half of the amulet to Billy and Jimmy, hoping they can keep it safe while trying to win the other half away from the unscrupulous Koga Shuko. In their adventures, the brothers encounter Marian (Alyssa Milano), the leader of a gang called "The Power Corps," and Linda Lash (Kristina Malandro Wagner), Koga Shuko's beautiful but deadly female bodyguard. George Hamilton and Vanna White appear in cameos as themselves, and Andy Dick has a small role as the Smogcaster. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Terry Gilliam directed this adaptation of Richard LaGravenese's mystical (and mythical) tale of redemption in the hard-time town of New York City. Jeff Bridges is shock radio DJ Jack Lucas, whose low opinion of humanity lends itself well to his radio talk show, where the enmity rubs off on his listeners. One fan in particular takes Jack's rants to heart and goes to a fancy restaurant with a gun, murdering innocent diners. Jack is so distraught at what his on-air suggestion wrought that he sinks into a three-year depression, drinking himself to sleep and mooching off of his girlfriend Anne Napolitano (Mercedes Ruehl, in an Oscar-winning performance), an attractive owner of a video store. Hitting bottom, Jack slumps to the river, prepared to commit suicide. To his rescue comes a crazed but witty homeless man named Parry (Robin Williams), who tells Jack he's destined for great things -- all his has to do is find the Holy Grail (conveniently located in mid-town Manhattan) and save Parry's soul. He also wants Jack to help him out with the woman of his dreams, Lydia Sinclair (Amanda Plummer), a shy type who works at a publishing company. Parry was once a university professor became unglued by a tragic event in his past; Jack soon realizes that to save himself, he first must save Parry. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

The second of actor George C. Scott's rare directorial efforts (his first being the 1970 television film The Andersonville Trial), this drama, produced at the height of the Vietnam War, was critical of the military's weapons testing. Scott stars as Dan Logan, a single father living with his teenage son Chris (Nicolas Beauvy) in Wyoming. On a camping trip, the Logans are sprayed with an experimental chemical by an Army helicopter. The biological weapon kills every animal in sight and puts Chris into a coma. Seeking medical attention, Dan is instead used as a guinea pig by an Army doctor, Major Holliford (Martin Sheen), who wants to observe the effects of the chemical agent on him. Separated from Chris, Dan realizes that his son has died and escapes from the facility where he's been held. Purchasing some dynamite, the dying father goes on a campaign of bitter, bloody revenge against the Army and lab that made the dangerous substance. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi