Danny Nucci Movies
While most recognizable for his portrayal of Leonardo Di Caprio's doomed Italian sidekick in Titanic (1997), actor Danny Nucci had over three dozen film and television credits on his resumé before he even auditioned for the blockbuster.Born in Klagenfurt, Austria, and raised just outside of Venice, Italy, Nucci is the second child of a French Moroccan mother and an Italian father. His family relocated to the States when Nucci was only seven years old. They lived temporarily in Queens, NY, (where Nucci attended P.S. 144 in Forest Hills and P.S. 90 in Kew Gardens) before settling in California's San Fernando Valley. Nucci caught the acting bug as a student at Ulysses S. Grant High School in Van Nuys, CA, when the drama teacher recruited him for a production of West Side Story. Soon afterward, he volunteered to answer phones at a Variety Club charity telethon just for the chance to be on television. In the middle of the broadcast, a stranger approached Nucci and praised his "look," telling the teenager to have his parents call him as soon as possible. The stranger, Bob Villard, has been Nucci's manager ever since.
Forty auditions later, Nucci began his professional acting career at age 14 with a bit part on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. Roles on Richard Pryer's kids show Pryor's Place, Family Ties, and in the teen science fiction film The Explorers (1985) quickly followed. Yet, Nucci suffered a temporary emotional set back when he did not make the cast of Rob Reiner's Stand by Me (1986), after being called back several times. Devastated, he took a five-year hiatus from feature films in order to polish his skills on the small screen. He appeared on Hotel, The Twilight Zone, Growing Pains, Magnum, P.I., and Tour of Duty, and in numerous television films (including a stint as Keanu Reeves' younger brother in 1986's Brotherhood of Justice), as well as garnered three Young Artist Award nominations. Nucci's performance in the 1987 CBS Schoolbreak Special An Enemy Among Us was so powerful that the network showed the telefilm during prime time. He then played Gabriel Ortega on Falcon Crest from 1988 to 1989 -- earning his fourth Young Artist Award nomination for his performance -- before returning to features as Chris Young's sidekick in the teen comedy Book of Love (1991). This led to a small role in Frank Marshall's Alive (1993), the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team that is stranded in the Andes after a plane crash, starring Ethan Hawke, Vincent Spano, and Illeana Douglas. Work in several television films, B-movies, and independent features ensued, including A Matter of Justice (1993), Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice (1994), and Blind Justice (1994).
Nucci's big break arrived when casting directors tapped him to play Petty Officer Rivetti in Tony Scott's box-office smash Crimson Tide (1995). He held his own opposite the film's stars, Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman, impressing producer Jerry Bruckheimer who immediately cast Nucci as a Navy SEAL in Michael Bay's The Rock with Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, and Ed Harris. He then appeared as a doomed deputy in the Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Eraser (1996), before proving his comedic talent as a paparazzo stalking Bette Midler and Dennis Farina in That Old Feeling (1997).
After rapping up his role as Fabrizio De Rossi in 1997's Titanic (which instantly became the world's highest-grossing film), Nucci returned to independent features like the thriller Love Walked In (1998) and the comedy Friends & Lovers (1999). He then joined the supporting cast of producer David E. Kelley's only unsuccessful television series, Snoops. After the show's cancellation, television producer Jonathan Axelrod (who is married to Nucci's Alive co-star, Illeana Douglas) tapped Nucci to star in the CBS sitcom Some of My Best Friends. Based on the independent film Kiss Me, Guido (1997), the show featured Nucci as Frank Zito, a big-hearted wannabe actor from Queens who unknowingly moves in with a gay roommate played by Jason Bateman. Though called "pretty darn funny" by the New York Times, the series was ultimately canceled. Yet, Nucci immediately bounced back with the Sci Fi Channel miniseries Firestarter 2: Rekindled (2002), the sequel to Mark Lester's blockbuster adaptation of the Stephen King novel. The four-part series, which stars Marguerite Moreau, Malcolm McDowell, and Dennis Hopper, gained such a following that the network decided to develop it into a regular series.
In the meantime, Nucci completed filming on Monika Mitchell's Break a Leg (2003) with his girlfriend, actress Paula Marshall, and announced plans to star in a Sylvester Stallone-produced CBS series, tentatively titled Lefty, about a war veteran who becomes a priest in a poor Miami neighborhood. Although appeared to go smoothly with Break a Leg, the fate of Lefty was left hanging after numerous headlines proclaiming sexual abuse by priests left the network worrisome about the protagonist's career. ~ Aubry Anne D'Arminio, Rovi
The true story of notorious mobster John Gotti's rise to power in 1972, when he assembled members of five warring crime families to pull off the heist of a lifetime. In an era where tensions among gangsters was at an all time high, the only place they could gather in peace was the Sinatra Club. For nearly two decades the streets had been bathed in blood. It was the perfect opportunity for a young unknown to make his move. John Gotti (Danny Nucci) was a gangster with true ambition, and a plan to reunite the most dangerous criminals of his time. Carefully selecting a member of each crime family, he plotts to rob an armored truck of a fortune in silver bullion. If they manage to pull it off, they will all be rich and the criminal underworld will be reunited; if they fail, they will most certainly wind up dead. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danny Nucci, Jason Gedrick, (more)
A self-absorbed slugger whose egotistical attitude threatens to bring the whole team down gets a second chance at learning the value of teamwork in the third installment of the kid-friendly Sandlot series. Tommy Santorelli (Luke Perry) is a Major League Baseball star whose impressive stats have gone to his head. One day, while stepping up to the plate for another home run hit, Tommy is beamed by a speeding fastball that knocks him clean unconscious. Awakening to discover that he has been mysteriously transported back to the scrappy sandlot where he first discovered his love of the game, 12-year-old Tommy is forced to work with his fellow players to save their favorite diamond from unscrupulous real-estate developer Earl Needman (Paul Jarrett). If Tommy's ragtag team can beat Needman's formidable group of miniature super-athletes, the sandlot will be theirs fair and square; if Tommy and company lose the game, however, they can kiss their favorite place to run the bases goodbye forever. When Tommy is offered the opportunity to pursue his own interests by joining Needman's team and getting a shot at the big leagues, he struggles to choose between personal advancement and the best interests of the team. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Luke Perry, Danny Nucci, (more)
Director Lee Abbot takes a satirical look at the stereotypes and mythologies of marijuana in this satirical mockumentary following a father who is forced to speak honestly with his daughter about pot, and a pro-pot advocate who hatches an ingenious plan to change the way America views weed. Thirty-seven year old concerned father Dave Berman was hosting a barbecue for his old college debate team when militant medical marijuana activists kicked in the door and seized his home. Later, after discovering that his teenage daughter Gina Marie has taken to reefer, Dave is forced shed his preconceptions about the drug if he holds out any hope of reconnecting with her. Meanwhile, pro-pot advocate Dr. Willa Peterson has grown so frustrated with her grassroots campaign being sabotaged by prohibition-minded corporations that she ultimately decides to take the battle to the next level. After convincing the makers of Fun-Onion snack foods that their profits would soar following legalization, Dr. Peterson enlists the aid of Public Relations genius Arturo Goldman in changing public opinion about pot. If his firm can successfully counter the government's tactics of using terrorism to frighten people away from pot by convincing the masses that pot can prevent homosexuality, Goldman may achieve the elusive goal of finally decriminalizing a substance that has never been proven either addictive or deadly. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2005
A year after his wife's death and nearly a decade since his last visit home, successful New York lawyer Spencer Krane (Michael Houston King) returns home to care for his ailing grandmother in director Reza S. Badiyi's character-driven family drama. Jo McMillan (Julie Harris) has suffered a massive stroke, and now her grandson Spencer has returned home to care for the woman who raised him. As Spencer reconnects with such important people from his childhood as his grandmother's lifelong friend Maude (Ruby Dee) and his childhood sweetheart Sarah Marshall (Tessie Santiago), he gradually begins to realize just how far he has strayed from the values that he had been taught as a young boy. Spencer has experienced a fair share of tragedy over the years, and now as he arrives in the old Florida town of Sanford he may finally find the peace that allows him to come to terms with the past, and look toward the future with a newfound sense of hope. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael H. King, Julie Harris, (more)
- 2005
A typically truculent House (Hugh Laurie) is slapped with a court order instructing him to determine if mobster Joey Arnello (Joseph Lyle Taylor), who is slated to give testimony in Federal Court before entering the Witness Protection Program, is faking a serious illness. Joey's knuckle-busting brother Bill (Danny Nucci) warns House to lay off the case--but not for the (seemingly) obvious reasons. At the same time, Vogler (Chi McBride) puts extra pressure on Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) to fire House, or risk losing a $100 million donation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
A talented character actor with an undeniable presence on the screen but an uncanny track record of losing roles to more marketable "name" actors decides to take matters into his own hands after losing out on one too many roles in director Monika Mitchell's blood-soaked showbiz satire. Max Matteo (John Cassini) knows that he has what it takes to make it as an actor, but it always seems like there's a producer's nephew just waiting in the wings to snatch the role just out from under him. Now, with nothing left to lose but the role that will most certainly be offered to someone else before the cameras start to role, Max decides to take his fate - as well as various blunt objects - in his hands to ensure a long and rewarding career in a business where there's truly no room for the weak. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Cassini, Molly Parker, (more)
As repayment for services rendered by his father, young New Jerseyite Frank Siena (Danny Nucci) is put through medical school in the U.S. and Italy by powerful mafia don Nicola Dellarusso (Paul Sorvino). Upon becoming a doctor, Siena dutifully returns the favor by giving body and soul to the organization, covering up murders, tending to the mob wounded without making police reports, and, in general, relinquishing his soul in the name of gratitude. Although Frank's mafia-princess wife enjoys the perks attending his privileged status, Frank ultimately suffers from pangs of conscience fueled by the pointed words of his envious friend Danny Keegan (Jonathan Scarfe). But when Frank goes to Dellarusso and respectively asks to be let off the hook, he is rather forcibly made to realize that no one retires from the mafia and lives to tell about it. Mafia Doctor first aired March 16, 2003, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danny Nucci, Paul Sorvino, (more)
When a deal in Kiev goes bad for American mobsters Gino (Danny Nucci) and Settimo (Dan Hedaya), they make their way to Glasgow to seek shelter from the fallout in the home of cousin Bobby (Gerald Lepkowski). A kindly stamp collector who runs a small café, Bobby believes Gino and Settimo to be a pair of PR consultants, although when his grateful guests attempt to repay his hospitality by strong-arming a persistent bill collector, he begins to have his doubts regarding their profession. When the Russian mafia contracts a pair of Liverpool heavies to find the fleeing mobsters, Bobby finds his quiet life falling apart at the seams. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danny Nucci, Shirley Henderson, (more)
- 2003
The title of this ABC cop series referred to the patrol-car code used to indicate that said car was "in service." The central character was Rico Amonte (Danny Nucci), a former Brooklyn street punk who after relocating to Los Angeles opted to work on the right side of the law. A deputy trainee with the LAPD robbery-homicide division, Rico was assigned to irascible, South Central-born Senior Deputy John Henry Barnes (Ernie Hudson). It perhaps goes without saying that there was little love lost between the no-nonsense Barnes and the wisecracking Rico, but this odd-couple duo managed to do their job well and get the best results. In the fine tradition of the old series The Rookies, several other trainees were placed under the tender care of Deputy Barnes: would-be Romeo Matt Jablonski (Scott William Winters) and his partner, ghetto-raised Gabriella Lopez (Mercedes Colon); and bookish, politically ambitious Chase Williams (Travis Schuldt) and his partner, tough cookie Anna Li (Christina Vidal). 10-8 premiered on September 28, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danny Nucci, Ernie Hudson, (more)
The child who could start fires with her mind is all grown up and still trying to find out the truth about what happened to her in this made-for-TV sequel to the sci-fi fantasy Firestarter. Nearly 20 years ago, Charlene "Charlie" McGee (Marguerite Moreau) was trained by a mysterious government organization who wanted to exploit her special and very dangerous gift, though Charlie learned the government operatives were not to be trusted when they murdered her parents. Charlie ran away from them as a child, but now in her mid-twenties, she's decided she wants to know more about the people who shaped her strange destiny -- just as Rainbird (Malcolm McDowell), the man who shaped Charlie's pyrotechnic gift years before, finally finds her after years of search. To Charlie's horror, she discovers a number of other children with bizarre talents. Charlie is soon on the run from Rainbird again, and her only allies in flight are a former associate of Rainbird turned enemy of the state (Danny Nucci) and fellow test subject (Dennis Hopper). Firestarter: Rekindled originally aired as a two-part miniseries on the Sci-Fi network on March 10 and 11, 2002. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marguerite Moreau, Malcolm McDowell, (more)
Young professional Stuart Dempsey (Danny Nucci) begins his move from Chicago to New York City with a strange encounter with a pair of mysterious men on a train. Things don't get much more comfortable once he starts his job as an assistant to the demanding editor of a daily newspaper, Max Kaufman (David Carradine. But things begin to look brighter when he lucks into a sublet of a rent-controlled apartment that apparently includes a beautiful woman, Daphne (Victoria Sanchez). As it happens, the apartment's real owner is an international assassin named Jaguar, who has plans to kill the visiting Russian president. The FBI and CIA -- and Daphne -- think Dempsey is Jaguar, and Dempsey can't get Kaufman to believe the dangerous turns his life is taking in the big city. Meanwhile, Jaguar adds Dempsey to his list of future hits. ~ Buzz McClain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danny Nucci, David Carradine, (more)
Novelist Reverge Anselmo makes his directorial debut with this comedy about two inept brothers trying to run the family's ranch. After spending several years in Mexico, P.D. Mitjans (Danny Nucci) returns to the States following the death of his father. He's giving thoughts to the notion of getting the family ranch back on its feet until he sees the mess his brother A.J. (Del Zamora) has made of the place. P.D. decides to give the place a try anyway, and the Mitjans Brothers attempt several schemes to raise cash, all of which prove to be spectacular failures. P.D. still has a reason to stick around, however -- his ex-girlfriend Cat (Dana Delany), who runs the neighborhood watering hole. Unfortunately, Cat has a new boyfriend these days, a cop with a less-than-stable constitution (Paul LeMat). The Outfitters was shown as part of the American Spectrum series at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danny Nucci, Del Zamora, (more)
The Christmas holidays are fast approaching when Los Angeles native Ian (George Newbern) gets an unexpected invitation from his father (David Rasche) to join him for a vacation in Park City, Utah. The two don't get along especially well, but Ian goes partly in hopes of patching up the relationship, and partly because his friends figure it would be a nice vacation. In fact, they're so convinced that several of them end up tagging along. Good looking guy Jon (Stephen Baldwin) is determined to seduce good looking gal Carla (an obviously well-cast Claudia Schiffer), despite heavy competition from German ski instructor Hans (Robert Downey Jr.), while David (Danny Nucci) is equally determined to do something about his pesky virginity. Meanwhile, Keaton (Neill Barry) discovers his sister (Suzanne Cryer) is dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, and she wants Keaton to resolve his issues with their father before it's too late. But Keaton has other emotional issues to deal with when he finds out his longtime friend Lisa (Alison Eastwood) wants them to move past friendship into a deeper relationship. This romantic comedy-drama was the debut feature from writer/director George Haas. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Baldwin, Danny Nucci, (more)
- 1999
This spy show from David E. Kelley centered on an unconventional private-investigation firm with an arsenal of high-tech toys and a general disregard for the Constitution. The agency's newest hire (Gina Gershon) was a straightlaced, former police detective who was wary of her new colleagues' rule-breaking ways. ~ Joe Friedrich, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gina Gershon, Paula Marshall, (more)
- 1998
Bernard Salzmann made his directorial debut with this comedy-drama set in West Hollywood where a wake is held for community center founder Christopher Cavatelli, who leaves behind his lover Doug (Stephen Spinella), his ex-wife Melissa (Lea Thompson), friend Gaetano (Danny Nucci), and his macho heterosexual twin brother Frank Cavatelli (Vincent Spano). After Frank arrives from New York, this offbeat group sets out to distribute Chris' ashes and fulfill his last wish -- a five-day, 450-mile charity trip up the California coast on an AIDS bike-a-thon. Shown at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival and the 1998 San Francisco Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lea Thompson, Vincent Spano, (more)
In this dramatic thriller, a disgruntled postal worker finds himself convicted of a murder he did not commit. He's initially grateful when a security firm arranges for his release, but he's not so happy when he discovers what they have in store for him. His brain is washed, stripping away all memories of his previous life, and he's reprogrammed to become an assassin who will kill anyone at the firm's command. Can the love of a beautiful woman bring back the life he thought he'd lost forever? Shark in a Bottle stars Danny Nucci, Ben Gazzara, Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr., and Heip Thi Le. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ben Gazzara, Danny Nucci, (more)
- 1998
- R
In this throwback to films noir of the 1940s, Jack Morrisey (Denis Leary) is a pianist and songwriter who has been touring the club circuit with his lady love, Vicky (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon). Jack and Vicky have talent, but they haven't gotten the breaks; they're stone broke and at the end of their collective rope when Eddie (Michael Badalucco), a private eye who knows Jack, makes the couple an offer. Fred Moore (Terence Stamp), a very wealthy man who is something of a fan of Jack's music, is attracted to Vicky. Fred's money and property are, for legal reasons, primarily in the name of his wife, who wants a divorce. If Eddie can provide hard evidence that Fred is cheating on his wife, she'll stand to keep most of his money in a divorce, and Eddie will be kicked back a good chunk of change. Eddie, in turn, will be more than happy to share his wealth with Jack and Vicky, if Vicky would be willing to seduce Fred for the purposes of creating blackmail photos. Though she was a major star in Latin America, this was only the second English language film for Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, after her appearance alongside Keanu Reeves in A Walk in the Clouds. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
In this Carl Reiner-directed romantic comedy, Bette Midler stars as a movie star named Lilly, who has had a fairly successful career which is now on the downturn. Years after a terrible divorce, she meets up again with her ex-husband Dan (Dennis Farina) at the wedding of their daughter Molly (Paula Marshall). Molly is marrying a young and promising politician, Keith Marks (Jamie Denton), and the wedding is a formal affair. Lilly and Dan have each remarried, and each despise the other's new spouse. Dan has taken up with the young bombshell who ruined the marriage, Rowena (Gail O'Grady). Lilly is wedded to their former marriage counselor, Alan (David Rasche), a psychobabble-spouting shrink. Lilly and Dan engage in a huge shouting match at the reception, and they are shooed outside, where their argument leads to a passionate reunion in a sports car. Impulsively, they run away together. Keith, seeking damage control to avert a possible political scandal, enlists Molly's help, and she hires a papparazi photographer, Joey (Danny Nucci), who has spent several years stalking Lilly with his camera and selling candid photos to celebrity magazines. Molly and Joey find Molly's parents at a hotel, but Lilly locks them in a room together so that she and Dan can have one old last romantic evening. Molly and Joey find themselves uncomfortably attracted to each other, leading to more romantic trouble. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, Dennis Farina, (more)
This spectacular epic re-creates the ill-fated maiden voyage of the White Star Line's $7.5 million R.M.S Titanic and the tragic sea disaster of April 15, 1912. Running over three hours and made with the combined contributions of two major studios (20th Century-Fox, Paramount) at a cost of more than $200 million, Titanic ranked as the most expensive film in Hollywood history at the time of its release, and became the most successful. Writer-director James Cameron employed state-of-the-art digital special effects for this production, realized on a monumental scale and spanning eight decades. Inspired by the 1985 discovery of the Titanic in the North Atlantic, the contemporary storyline involves American treasure-seeker Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton) retrieving artifacts from the submerged ship. Lovett looks for diamonds but finds a drawing of a young woman, nude except for a necklace. When 102-year-old Rose (Gloria Stuart) reveals she's the person in the portrait, she is summoned to the wreckage site to tell her story of the 56-carat diamond necklace and her experiences of 84 years earlier. The scene then shifts to 1912 Southampton where passengers boarding the Titanic include penniless Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and society girl Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet), returning to Philadelphia with her wealthy fiance Cal Hockley (Billy Zane). After the April 10th launch, Rose develops a passionate interest in Jack, and Cal's reaction is vengeful. At midpoint in the film, the Titanic slides against the iceberg and water rushes into the front compartments. Even engulfed, Cal continues to pursue Jack and Rose as the massive liner begins its descent.
Cameron launched the project after seeing Robert Ballard's 1987 National Geographic documentary on the wreckage. Blueprints of the real Titanic were followed during construction at Fox's custom-built Rosarito, Mexico studio, where a hydraulics system moved an immense model in a 17-million-gallon water tank. During three weeks aboard the Russian ship Academik Keldysh, underwater sequences were filmed with a 35mm camera in a titanium case mounted on the Russian submersible Mir 1. When the submersible neared the wreck, a video camera inside a remote-operated vehicle was sent into the Titanic's 400-foot bow, bringing back footage of staterooms, furniture and chandeliers. On November 1, 1997, the film had its world premiere at the 10th Tokyo International Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
Cameron launched the project after seeing Robert Ballard's 1987 National Geographic documentary on the wreckage. Blueprints of the real Titanic were followed during construction at Fox's custom-built Rosarito, Mexico studio, where a hydraulics system moved an immense model in a 17-million-gallon water tank. During three weeks aboard the Russian ship Academik Keldysh, underwater sequences were filmed with a 35mm camera in a titanium case mounted on the Russian submersible Mir 1. When the submersible neared the wreck, a video camera inside a remote-operated vehicle was sent into the Titanic's 400-foot bow, bringing back footage of staterooms, furniture and chandeliers. On November 1, 1997, the film had its world premiere at the 10th Tokyo International Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, (more)
Top-notch action sequences and exciting stunt work highlight this fast-moving thriller. John Kruger (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a top agent in the U.S. Marshalls' Witness Protection Program; it's his job to "erase" the pasts of Federal witnesses under his watch and deal with anyone who tries to hurt them. Kruger's latest assignment is to protect Lee Cullen (Vanessa Williams), who while working for a major weapons manufacturing firm discovered evidence that the company was selling new, high-tech weapons to intentional terrorists groups with the cooperation of a faction of enemy agents within the United States government. However, when Kruger discovers that the Witness Protection Program has a rat in the house -- and that rat is his boss, U.S. Marshall Robert Deguerin (James Caan) -- Kruger has to guard his own life while trying to protect Lee's. The supporting cast is highlighted by James Coburn, Robert Pastorelli, and James Cromwell. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Caan, (more)
In this crime drama with comic overtones, Tanya (Lara Flynn Boyle) is a barmaid who works at a sleazy tavern, while her husband Henry (Luca Bercovici), a one-time baseball player sidelined by a knee injury, divides his time between praying at home and praying at a Catholic mission. Henry is supposed to receive an insurance settlement for his injury, but at the moment Tanya's low-pay/high-stress job is the household's sole means of support. When she discovers that Henry has already been sent a $130,000 settlement, which is now sitting in his bank account, he claims that the money is cursed, and he doesn't want her to have any. Predictably, Tanya doesn't share this superstition; when he hits her in the ensuing argument, Tanya walks out. Before long, she meets Benny (Benny O'Malley), a would-be card shark and con man who agrees to help Tanya get some of the money away from Henry. Posing as a representative of the mission, Benny intends to ask Henry to help them pay for some repairs that cost, oh, about $130,000; to reinforce his scheme, he and a friend fabricate a miracle on the mission's grounds involving a tree that grows incredibly fast. The theatrical release of The Big Squeeze ran 98 minutes; the version released on home video added another 7 minutes of footage. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lara Flynn Boyle, Peter Dobson, (more)
The sophomore film from former music video and commercial director Michael Bay, this fast-paced action yarn featured rapid-fire editing, a cutting-edge rock soundtrack and liberal use of shots awash in a haze of burnished hues, all trademarks of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. Nicolas Cage stars as Stanley Goodspeed, an FBI chemical weapons expert handed a unique assignment. Francis X. Hummel (Ed Harris), an insane Marine Corps general, has taken 81 tourists hostage on the abandoned island prison of Alcatraz. He and his men are threatening to bomb San Francisco with deadly gas unless $100 million is paid in war reparations to the families of servicemen killed in covert operations. Goodspeed is teamed with former British spy John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery), the only man ever to escape "The Rock," as well as a Navy SEAL team. When their military escorts are ambushed, it's up to odd couple Goodspeed and Mason to break into Alcatraz and stop Hummel. The Rock was the last film produced by Simpson, who died of a drug overdose before the film's release. Solo, his partner Bruckheimer continued making the sort of glossy, frenetic films for which the duo was famed. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery, (more)
Two leaders with different philosophies about battle and leadership wage war with each other in this tense military thriller. Capt. Frank Ramsey (Gene Hackman) is the commanding officer of a nuclear submarine, the U.S.S. Alabama. Ramsey is a distinguished veteran near the end of his career, and he leads his men with an iron hand; as he puts it, "We're here to preserve democracy, not to practice it." Ramsey is assigned a new second-in-command, Lt. Cmmdr. Ron Hunter (Denzel Washington); Hunter is much younger than Ramsey, Harvard educated, and believes the goal of the military in the nuclear age is to prevent war, not fight it. While at sea, word reaches the Alabama that a splinter group of Russian forces have seized missile silos, and the ship is put on red alert. The Alabama has orders to fire, but as it is receiving a new incoming order the radio malfunctions. It's Ramsey's contention that an order is an order and they are to move forward with the attack, while Hunter feels if there is any question at all about their mission, they should wait until they can receive further instruction, with Hunter going so far as to threaten mutiny against Ramsey if the missile strike is carried out. Quentin Tarantino and Robert Towne both contributed to the screenplay without credit. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, (more)
In the opening moments of this drama, we see a man brutally murder a woman, and in the story that follows, we look back at the events that led up to this tragedy as the killer awaits trial. Archie Landrum (Frank Whaley) is a brilliant mathematician who is socially inept and doesn't interact well with others. He takes a job as a caretaker at a ranch in New Mexico owned by Katherine Samuel (Blythe Danner). Archie has a good reason for wanting to work for Katherine; her daughter Lucy (Sheryl Lee) is the star of the TV show "Banyon's Band" and has appeared in a series of R-rated sexploitation films; Archie is obsessed with Lucy, and he hopes that working for her mother will bring him closer to her. Sure enough, Lucy comes to New Mexico to pay her mother an extended visit, but familial warmth is less a factor than Lucy's need to dry out from her periodic bouts with alcohol and drug abuse. Archie tries to ingratiate himself with Lucy, hoping that she might develop a romantic or sexual interest in him, but it soon becomes obvious that this is not to be. This does nothing to ease Archie's fascination with her; he begins spying on her and reading her diary, until the inevitable day when his obsession turns violent. Mark Medoff wrote the screenplay, adapted from his own play "The Homage That Follows;" Bruce Davidson appears as the public defender assigned to represent Archie in court. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Blythe Danner, Frank Whaley, (more)
In this off-beat western, a gunfighter single-handedly takes on a band of ruthless bandits and prevents them from stealing a cache of government silver from a beleaguered little town. The gunslinger (Armand Assante) is not only remarkable for his quick draw and deadly aim, but also for the fact that a Civil War injury left him nearly blind. He carries with him the little baby he vowed to rear and protect after the war. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Armand Assante, Elisabeth Shue, (more)
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