Vince Melocchi Movies
- 2003
CEO Lawrence Hammond (John Sanderford) and his trophy wife Erin (Darby Stanchfield) are murdered after being lured to a vacant lot. With only the CEO's bizarre last words as a clue, Monk (Tony Shalhoub) figures out that Erin, and not Lawrence, was the murderer's target. And there's more: Erin's death may be linked to baseball star Scott Gregorio (Christopher Wiehl), who is currently poised to break the single-season homerun record. Finding a kindred spirit in Gregorio, Monk races to reveal the killer so that the ballplayer will pull himself out of a potentially devastating slump. The detective hits upon the solution under the unlikeliest of circumstances--while he is (ineptly!) umpiring a Little League game. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
Kindhearted technology-firm executive Liam Cadegan (Harry Hamlin) is worried about his professional future--to say nothing about the welfare of his family--when his company is taken over by a conglomerate known for its ruthless weeding out of "weaklings." As the company's new vice-president of community relations, Monica advises head man Harlow (Grant Albrecht) that it would be good P.R. if he were to sponsor the Special Olympics, in which Liam's own handicapped son is a contestant. Instead, the selfish and manipulative Harlow orders his executives to attend a fiercely competitive weekend retreat, in which "survival of the fittest" is the order of the day. Fortunately for Liam, the retreat is being stage-managed by Monica's fellow angel Tess (Della Reese), who has a few fascinating "survival" ideas of her own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
In this sequel to the second-season Touched by an Angel episode "Flesh and Blood", the prayers of Monica's former "client" Kate Prescott (Valerie Harper) have been answered, and her wayward son Tom (Anthony Michael Hall) has returned home after seven years. But though innocent of the murder charges that had compelled him to run away from home so long ago, the troublesome Tom has still not completely reformed, and continues to abuse drugs. Even worse, Tom's bad habits are imperiling the future of his own son Dylan (Justin Cooper). With Monica's help, Kate hopes to atone for past wrongs done to Dylan by trying to do put Dylan on the right track--but it takes a serious medical crisis to bring closure to the situation, for better or worse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
At a bachelor auction to benefit a Biotech institute, likable "Angel of Death" Andrew (John Dye) is entered as one of the prizes. The winning bid is registered by Dr. Kate Calder (Stephanie Zimbalist), who has only entered the auction to spite her rival Beth Popik (Lisa Eichhorn)--and as such, Kate flatly refuses to go out on a date with Andrew. Under normal circumstances, Kate's turndown would be the end of the story. Instead, Andrew is ordered by his Heavenly predecessor Adam (played by former series regular Charles Rocket in a return appearance) to take Kate out no matter how much she protests--and to make certain that Adam fulfills his assignment (the purpose of which is not revealed until late in the proceedings), Monica (Roma Downey) and Tess (Della Reese) set up an "instant" restaurant! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Diane Keaton made her directorial debut with this drama, adapted from the autobiographical novel of sportswriter Franz Lidz. Lidz's story was set in his New York childhood and told of how living with his four eccentric uncles helped him overcome his grief at the death of his beloved mother. The movie is set in southern California and the four uncles from the novel have been whittled down to two. Lidz was christened Steven (Nathan Watt) and he is raised by the luminous Selma (Andie McDowell) and Sid (John Turturro), his father. When Selma is taken ill, Sid keeps Steven and his sister out of her bedroom, fearing they will upset her. Sid is an ingenious but cool-hearted inventor whose head is more developed than his heart. He sends Steven off to live with his two brothers. Danny (Michael Richards) is a high-spirited, paranoid man who suffers from delusions. Arthur (Maury Chaykin) is a big-hearted guy who likes to collect other people's junk. Together they rename the child Franz and teach him to value his own uniqueness. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andie MacDowell, John Turturro, (more)
The title Article 99 refers to a fictional legal loophole which states that American veterans cannot be treated in VA hospitals unless their illnesses are related to their military service. The pinchpenny administrator of a Kansas City hospital intends to follow this proviso to the letter, while his irreverent staff does everything it can to circumvent rules and red tape. When freewheeling surgeon Ray Liotta is fired for exhibiting traces of humanity, the patients stage a revolt. Playing a new medico, Kiefer Sutherland also stars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Liotta, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
In this suspense drama, a lawyer finds out more than she wanted to know about her friends and lovers. T.K. Katwuller (Barbara Hershey) is a lawyer with a firm command of her career but an unstable hold on her private life; she's more single than she'd like to be, and she's become romantically involved with one of her clients, Steven Seldes (J.T. Walsh), a real estate agent. When T.K. bumps into her college roommate Ellie (Mary Beth Hurt), she discovers that Ellie is Steven's wife, which T.K. hardly regards as welcome news. T.K. then learns that Steven has been accused of financing porn movies dominated by underage actors; after an angry confrontation, she bitterly breaks off the affair. The next day, Steven turns up murdered, and T.K. discovers that Ellie is the prime suspect. She agrees to handle Ellie's case, and Ellie is acquitted. However, T.K.'s conversations with police detective George Beutel (Sam Shepard) begin to plant a seed of doubt in her mind about Ellie's innocence. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Hershey, Sam Shepard, (more)
In the comedic farce Soapdish, the behind-the-scenes lives of several soap opera actors are just as melodramatic as those of their television counterparts. Sally Field stars as Celeste Talbert, the star of a declining TV show. To make matters worse, Talbert's career is thrown into turmoil when her rival, Montana Moorehead (Cathy Moriarty), tries to persuade producer David Barnes (Robert Downey Jr.) to write Talbert off the show. Smitten by Moorehead, Barnes comes up with a scheme to get Talbert off the show by hiring her niece Lori (Elisabeth Shue) and then Jeffrey (Kevin Kline), an old flame and cast member who was written out of the show 20 years prior. Soon, mayhem rules on the set as the cast and crew tangle, culminating in a special episode, broadcast live. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Field, Kevin Kline, (more)
A derivative rehashing of its predecessor (which itself owes a heavy debt to Trilogy of Terror), this sequel details the plight of young Andy (Alex Vincent), who in the previous film narrowly escaped losing his soul to make room for devil-doll Chucky (voice of Brad Dourif). Possessed by the spirit of serial killer Charles Lee Ray, Chucky had coveted Andy's body as a replacement for his own plastic shell... which ended up beaten and burned beyond recognition. At this film's outset, Andy's mom has suffered a nervous breakdown as a result of the prior human-vs.-doll battle, and Andy has been taken to a foster home. In the meantime, the makers of Good Guys dolls decide to reconstruct the scrappy little toy, hoping to prove the doll's harmlessness and sway public opinion. Alas, this is a major horror-movie no-no, and Chucky staggers obnoxiously back to life, with a renewed interest in body-swapping with Andy. Not awful as horror sequels go, this follows the standard horror-franchise formula (such as upping the gore quotient with each sequel) but manages to throw in a few appreciable scares, particularly at the climax (which echoes that of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining). ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alex Vincent, Jenny Agutter, (more)
