Franco Nero Movies

This sequel to the 2006 hit follows racing legend Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and his trusty sidekick, Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) as they secure their passports and take part in the biggest race on the planet. As the first-ever World Grand Prix approaches, cars from every continent prepare for the ultimate competition. But who will have what it takes to become the fastest car on the planet? Just as Lightning McQueen edges up to the starting line, however, his old pal Mater gets sidetracked on a top-secret spy mission that takes him from Japan to Europe as the entire world watches. Thankfully Mater's friends are always willing to lend a helping wheel, and as the race gets under way, everyone shifts into high gear to help out an old friend. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A retired Mafioso takes the misstep of a lifetime -- and inadvertently triggers a most inconvenient love affair between two complete strangers -- in this zany German-language farce from Teutonic director Sebastian Niemann. The hermetic (Don Enrico Puzzo) (screen vet Franco Nero) may have put the bulk of his professional life as a godfather behind him, but he mistakenly reasons that this will permit him to publish his tell-all gangster memoirs sans consequence. Instead, it draws both fear and concern from a vast number of people whose lives and safety will be at stake if news of Enrico's exploits hits the presses. One of those concerned, mafia middleman Pepe (Bud Spencer), tries to prevent the publication of the book by having cocky, loudmouthed hit man Toni Ricardelli (Rick Kavanian of Manitou's Shoe) rub Enrico out. Meanwhile, Enrico fails to turn up at a press conference, which prompts the publisher of the book to send his editor-cum-girlfriend, Julia (siren Nora Tschirner) to Enrico's with a $500,000 check meant to pull the mafioso out of hiding. Minutes before Julia turns up at Enrico's place, Toni visits Enrico and ices him -- leading to a comically inconvenient and awkward meeting between hitman and editor. In seemingly no time at all, Toni and Julia fall in love, which creates enormous complications, given the conflicting nature of their ambitions. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The true natures of love, commitment, and reality are called into question in this offbeat drama. One night in bed, Tomas (Tomas Arana), a magician, begins telling a story to his wife Desire (Marit Nissen) about Emma (Iaia Forte) and Sal (Tommaso Ragno), a married couple whose love life has gone stale. In order to fire up their relationship, Emma and Sal begin playing an increasingly elaborate series of role-playing games, in which they assume different personas -- Sal saves Emma as she is tied to railroad tracks, or Emma must seduce another man to pull her husband out of debt. But the question soon arises -- are Emma and Sal real? And who really holds the power in their lives? Chimera also features Franco Nero as one of the participants in Emma and Sal's sexual fantasies. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this combination sequel and prequel to the surprise box-office success The Omega Code, one man becomes the leader of an evil empire that could destroy the world, and his brother must rise against him in the defense of good. Stone Alexander (played as a child by Gavin Fink) is a moody, dark-tempered child whose parents died shortly after he was born. The mother who adopted Stone died several years later while giving birth to another son, David, and Stone is unable to forgive his brother for unwittingly taking his mother from him. Stone goes so far as to attempt to murder David, and their father, prominent businessman Daniel Alexander (David Hedison), responds by shipping Stone off to military school. There, Stone falls under the tutelage of The Guardian (Udo Kier), an instructor at the school who is actually an emissary of Satan. While the enmity between Stone (played as a teenager by Noah Huntley) and David (played by Chad Michael Murray) cools a bit with time, Stone once again finds himself in a bitter rivalry with his brother when they both fall in love with the same woman, Gabriella (played as a teenager by Elisa Scialpi). Stone eventually wins Gabriella's hand and they marry, as Stone (played as an adult by Michael York) rises to power as the ruthless leader of the military arm of the European Union; David (played as an adult by Michael Biehn), meanwhile, becomes a powerful figure in American politics, and is elected to the office of Vice President. What neither David nor Gabriella (played as an adult by Diane Venora) fully understand is that, under the influence of The Guardian, Stone has taken on the role of the Antichrist, and he attempts to curry his brother's favor (and arrange events that will make David president) in a bid for world domination. When it becomes clear to David that the goal of his brother's campaign is to put the world in the power of Satan, David realizes America and its allies must join forces against Stone's troops in a battle in Megiddo, Israel -- predicted in the Book of Revelations as the place of the final battle of good versus evil. Megiddo: Omega Code 2 also features Franco Nero, R. Lee Ermey, and Gil Colon. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Vanessa Redgrave, Eli Wallach, and Franco Nero appear in this courtroom drama about the bloody slaying of a New York businessman, his wife, and their children. Tony Grasso (Kevin Isola), a loner who has a long-running obsession with the mother of the slain family, is arrested based on questionable circumstantial evidence. A cynical, ambitious lawyer (Nero) is uninterested in whether his client actually committed the crime. Instead, he wants to make sure that Tony can construct a convincing narrative to explain his whereabouts, and he therefore has Tony go over the central events of that night. The rest of the film, presented in flashbacks during the courtroom proceedings, explores Tony's sordid past. Uninvited was screened at the 1999 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Helen Mirren played the title character in the two-part British miniseries Painted Lady. In the throes of poverty and drug abuse, Irish folk singer Maggie Sheridan (Mirren) pulled herself together when her wealthy and well-connected landlord was murdered and robbed of several valuable works of art. Posing as an art dealer, Maggie not only wreaked vengeance upon the thieves, but also had time left over for a torrid interracial romance. And, as a bonus, the heroine ended up a Countess, no less. Debuting over British television on December 7, 1997, Painted Lady made its American TV bow on April 26, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In a working-class neighborhood of post-WWII Turin, Italy, 10-year-old Anna (Tresy Taddei) lives with her mother, Lidia (Antonella Ponziani), a secretary in a factory typing pool. As a partisan during the war, Anna's father died a hero. Anna's Catholic teacher (Maria Monti) awards a medal to the best pupil. Anna hopes to earn the medal, but her mother's politics and activities as a union organizer could prove a stumbling block. Shown at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

It is perhaps a little-remembered fact that Attilla the Hun devastated not only the steppes of Asia, but extended his conquests well into the center of Europe including France and Italy in the middle of the fifth century. In this story, his ninth-century Magyar descendants led by Prince Arpad (Franco Nero) leave their highland homeland and fight their way westward to what was later to become the mysterious land of Hungary, in a region that had been in the middle of the famous Attilla's domains. Of all the peoples they encounter, the inhabitants of this region are the only ones who openly welcomed the descendants of the great marauder. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

With a nod to Sergio Leone, this film, bills itself the first "borscht Western," It was photographed in Russia with a cast of Russians, Italians, and Americans. The story follows the past and present life of Jonathan. When he was only six, Jonathan watched while thieves killed his parents. The orphan found a playful friend in a bear-cub. He was then found and adopted by an Indian chief who preferred Jonathon to his own son, Chatow. The rivalry between the boys continued into adulthood. The adult, Jonathan became a legend for his prowess with the bow and arrow and his gallant rescues. He still searches for his parent's killers. Fred Goodwin leads a gang of greedy oil-claim jumpers who terrorize a town. When Goodwin finds oil in the Indian burial ground where the chief lies buried, a vicious war begins. Jonathan comes to town trailing a captured Indian maiden and ends up being crucified by Goodwin. He is saved by a former member of the gang. Jonathan exacts his bloody revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The physical and emotional wounds suffered by tubercular Italian veterans from WW II living in a sanitarium provides the basis of this episodic psychological study. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Martin Sheen stars as an American newsman in Rome who begins to investigate the appearance of several corpses found throughout Europe with their hands cut off. He soon uncovers not only plots of plutonium theft, but also of nuclear arms deals and dark political schemes. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi

The made-for-cable costume drama Young Catherine is the story of Catherine the Great (Julia Ormond). As the film begins, Catherine is a teen-aged German girl who marries into the Russian royal family of the 18th century; by the end of the long production, she has ascended to the throne of Russia. Though the film looks fantastic, it is slightly too long and slowly paced to be consistently compelling. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

"Another basement, another elevator...how can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?" asks John McClane (Bruce Willis), in what is doubtless the key question of this film. A year after foiling the terrorist takeover of a high-rise office building in the first movie, McClane is waiting to pick up his wife, Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), at Dulles International Airport just outside Washington, D.C., on Christmas Eve. Scheduled to arrive the same evening is Ramon Esperanza (Franco Nero), a South American political figure who is being brought to the United States to stand trial for his role in a drug-smuggling ring. However, a group of terrorists, led by renegade American military officer Col. Stuart (William Sadler), take control of the airport, scuttling radio transmissions and placing their own men in the control tower. Stuart and his men ensure that Esperanza's plane lands safely, and then demand that Stuart and his men be given a fully-fueled 747 and free passage wherever they choose to go. Otherwise, they will guide the many circling jets waiting for landing instructions into definite crash landings, killing the many passengers on board. Not willing to stand aside as terrorists once again threaten his wife's life, the wise-cracking McClane once again leaps into action to foil Stuart's plans and bring the passenger jets safely to the ground. William Atherton, John Amos, Dennis Franz, and John Leguizamo highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi