Costas Mandylor

Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) might be dead, but his traps live on in this fifth Saw entry, which finds the series' production designer David Hackl at the helm for his debut directing gig. Costas Mandylor reprises his role as Hoffman, the detective whose involvement in the string of grisly murders turns out to be more than meets the eye. Picking up where the fourth entry left off, Hoffman is revealed to be a hidden accomplice in Jigsaw's grisly games of death, which look to be continued by the lawman. The plot bounces back and forth from the beginning of their relationship to the present, as Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) delves farther into the case. Also in the cast are Dexter's Julie Benz and One Missed Call's Meagan Good as victims of another one of Jigsaw's lessons in morality. Saw IV scribes Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan return to pen the screenplay for the Twisted Pictures/Lionsgate co-production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

A worldly vampire falls for the daughter of a high profile scientist who's currently researching immortality for the Illuminati in this independent horror thriller starring Katherine Hawkes, Daniel Goddard, and Costas Mandylor. Who would have thought that the Illuminati would become the vampire kingdom's main competitor in the quest to exploit and rule all of mankind? After exploiting the population through war, poverty, disease, and drugs, the clandestine organization attempts to gain immortality through science to no avail. Perhaps the solution to their problem lies with Alex, a debonair vampire who has fallen deeply in love with Estelle after meeting the ethereal beauty at the opera. But Alex doesn't want to welcome Estelle into his coven; he'd rather sacrifice his immortality to raise a family with her and take one last shot at living a normal life. Later, after an intense round of negotiations, the Illuminati agrees to find a cure for Alex's vampirism in exchange for the bite of immortality. What happens next, neither side could have seen coming. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Inspired by the epic Old English poem of the same name, director Robert Zemeckis's digitally rendered film follows the Scandinavian hero Beowulf (Ray Winstone) as he fights to protect the Danes from a ferocious beast named Grendel (Crispin Glover). Though at first Grendel seems invincible, Beowulf eventually manages to defeat him in a desperate battle to the death. Devastated by her son's violent demise at the hands of Beowulf, Grendel's mother (Angelina Jolie) sets out in search of revenge. Later, Beowulf faces the biggest challenge of his life when he attempts to slay a powerful dragon. Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, Alison Lohman, John Malkovich, and Brendan Gleeson co-star in an epic fantasy adventure penned by Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is back, and this time he's concocted his deadliest set of traps yet in this gore-soaked sequel written by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, and directed by Saw II's Darren Lynn Bousman. Picking up directly where its predecessor left off, Saw III finds Jigsaw near death and fighting to stay alive for one final game. Determined to show his protégé, Amanda (Shawnee Smith), what it truly means to carry out his deadly game, the ailing Jigsaw instructs his apprentice to kidnap unsuspecting doctor Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) in order to ensure that he survives long enough to see how his latest victim Jeff (Angus MacFadyen) fares when faced with the prospect of imminent death. As Lynn and Jeff both struggle to beat the clock and carry out their tasks before Jigsaw draws his final breath, a much larger plan begins to emerge that shows just how cunning the legendary killer can truly be. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In 1950, most Americans had only a passing familiarity with the game of soccer, even though it was the world's most popular sport, and few athletes in the United States played the game with any particular degree of expertise. However, when an invitation was extended to the United States to participate in the World Cup tournament in Brazil -- the international soccer championship held every four years -- Bill Jeffrey was determined that America participate. In less than two weeks, Jeffrey assembled a team comprised mostly of players from St. Louis (where soccer had developed a small but loyal following) and the East Coast (where the game gained a foothold on college campuses), with immigrants from Haiti, Portugal, and Scotland filling out the ranks. Against all odds, the Americans not only made it to the World Cup games, but defeated the British team (favored by many to win the championship) in the greatest upset of the 1950 games. The Game of Their Lives is a sports drama based on the remarkable true story of the 1950 United States team, featuring John Rhys-Davies as Bill Jeffrey, Wes Bentley as team leader Walter Bahr, Gerard Butler as goalie Frank Borghi, Jimmy Jean-Louis as Joe Gaetiens, a dishwasher born in Haiti who found his way onto the team, and Patrick Stewart as a journalist covering the games. David Anspaugh, who made the acclaimed basketball drama Hoosiers, directed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

"It feeds on fear!" read the advertising tagline for this Roger Corman-produced shocker. What could be scarier than a rogue crocodile, except maybe a rogue dinosaur? How about a combination thereof -- a DinoCroc? Hoping to create a cheap alternative to expensive prescription medicines, the greedy Gereco Corporation genetically manipulates a small supply of DNA from a prehistoric creature called the Sarcosuchus. Suddenly revived and very hungry, this ancient "DinoCroc" kills indiscriminately (in some very gory scenes that border on the grotesquely hilarious), but has a special fondness for human flesh. Professional herpetologist and crocodile hunter Dick Sydney (Costas Mandylor) is brought in from Australia to stop the rampaging beast, with the grudging assistance of female scientist Paula Kennedy (Joanna Pacula) and the more willing cooperation of Sheriff Harper (Charles Napier) and his ever-imperiled daughter, Diane (Jane Longnecker). Along the way, the viewer is treated to gratuitous dollops of sex and bad language, which along with the excessive violence earned the film an R rating in its original form. The climax is right out of the movie Them, with a bit of urban legend-spinning thrown in. Filmed under the title PrimeEvil, DinoCroc was given a very, very limited theatrical release before it aired over the Sci-Fi Channel on April 24, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The action thriller Subzero concerns a brave crew of professional climbers and soldiers who are attempting to scale a vast mountain in order to retrieve a powerful weapon before terrorists who plan to use the device for evil purposes can get to it first. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A high-profile magazine editor is framed for murder after refusing the advances of a powerful billionaire's brother in this thriller starring Beverly Hills 90210's Jason Priestley and Showgirls' Elizabeth Berkley. When V Magazine editor Tyler Nobel arrives at work on what seems to be an average morning, the discovery of a detailed sex diary on her desk reveals a young woman involved with a wealthy society man whose underworld connections raise dark implications. Realizing that the man mentioned in the diary is reclusive billionaire J.C. Peck, Nobel's hunger for a high-profile, international cover story finds her making the acquaintance of a J.C.'s younger brother Mark at a party. Though Mark draws Tyler to his remote country estate with the pretense of offering a private meeting with his brother, his advances toward Tyler once they reach the estate turn aggressive and she is forced to knock her assailant unconscious in order to escape. Arrested the following morning for Mark's murder, Tyler must launch her own investigation if she is to reveal the true killer and discover the fate of the sex-diary's mysterious author. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

All loyal Charmed fans are aware that Leo Wyatt (Brian Krause), the Whitelighter (guardian angel) of the Charmed Ones, is the spirit of a man who passed away in 1942. In this episode, Leo's previous life catches up with him, as two soldiers who fought with Leo in WWII return from the dead with revenge in mind. Unless Leo takes drastic quickly, his wife, Piper (Holly Marie Combs), will be the latest "casualty." Meanwhile, the demon-possessed Cole (Julian McMahon) connives to remove his new bride, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), from her sisters' good influence. ~ All Movie Guide

War is brewing between rival crime families and caught in the middle is Tony Civiano (Costas Mandylor). Pulled in one direction by his mob family ties, and in the other by his desire to be a modern day civic leader and business owner, it seems that Tony has a choice between informing for the police and giving up his life for the mob-but Tony isn't on either side, he is on his own. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Sean Penn directed this tense drama of loyalty, honor, and obsession, based on a novel by Friedrich Durrenmatt. Jerry Black (Jack Nicholson) is a veteran police detective who lives and works in a small Nevada town. On the day of his retirement, it falls to Jerry to handle an especially unpleasant assignment -- a seven-year-old girl has been brutally murdered, and Jerry has to check out the crime scene, and then tell the girl's parents the awful news. The girl's mother (Patricia Clarkson), understandably distraught, demands to know if the killer will be brought to justice, and Jerry promises her that he will personally see to it, "on my soul's salvation." A younger detective also on the case, Stan Krolak (Aaron Eckhart), thinks he's traced the crime to Toby Jay Wadeneh (Benicio Del Toro), a mentally retarded man who confesses to the murder shortly before killing himself. Stan considers the case closed, but Jerry can't shake his belief that Toby Jay wasn't actually the murderer, and Jerry begins to investigate the case on his own time, over the objections of his former boss, Eric Pollack (Sam Shepard), who reminds Jerry that he's no longer an official member of the police force. Before long, Jerry's personal investigation has taken over his life, and he uncovers evidence that suggests the girl's murder was just one in a series of killings involving young girls and a mysterious man called "the Wizard." When Jerry becomes close to a young single mother, Lori (Robin Wright-Penn), he feels he has reason to believe the murderer may be targeting her eight-year-old daughter, and finds himself using her as a decoy in order to bring the killer to justice. The Pledge marked Jack Nicholson's second starring role in a film directed by Sean Penn following 1995's The Crossing Guard; The Pledge's stellar supporting cast includes Vanessa Redgrave, Helen Mirren, Harry Dean Stanton, and Mickey Rourke. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV drama is based on the autobiography of one of the most notorious figures in American organized crime, Joseph Bonanno. Bonanno (played by Bruce Ramsay) left Sicily as a young man, eager to escape the tyranny of Benito Mussolini, but when he arrived in America, fate led him to a career on the wrong side of the law with the Castellamarese crime family. After his mentor was killed in a bloody feud with cadres of the Gambino family, Bonanno became the youngest man to lead a major crime syndicate in America. Bonanno's battles with Lucky Luciano (Vince Corazza) and his secret dealings with Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Matt Norklun) helped cement Bonanno's reputation as one of the most powerful criminals in the world. It didn't take long, however, for the gangster kingpin to discover that power breeds treachery, and as the years passed, Bonanno (now played by Tony Nardi) learned that both the FBI and some of his most loyal allies were working to put him out of business. Martin Landau plays the elderly Bonanno, who tells much of his life story in flashback as he visits his hometown in Sicily for the first time in many years. The supporting cast includes Robert Loggia, Costas Mandylor, Patti LuPone, and Edward James Olmos. Bonanno: A Godfather's Story was originally produced as a two-part miniseries for the Showtime premium cable network, but was later edited down to 139 minutes for release on home video. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A group of special Navy officers are assigned to a cruise ship to look out for the daughter of an important man. Their mettle is put to the test once the voyage is underway when a band of terrorists take over the liner and capsize it. The situation is further exacerbated by the presence of a nuclear warhead set loose in the seas around them. The film's eclectic cast includes Costas Mandylor, Finola Hughes, and James Coburn. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide