Mitch Pileggi Movies
A solid character actor whose balding head and craggy face are perfect for playing any number of stuffy bureaucrats, Mitch Pileggi gradually came to attention in the television world as FBI Deputy Director Walter S. Skinner, the man directly in charge of Special Agents Mulder and Scully in their investigations into The X-Files. At first played mainly as a brick wall for Mulder to run into periodically, Skinner has gradually taken on depth and nuance, as well as a certain mysterious quality -- he appears to be somehow involved with the mysterious Elders, yet has stood against them, and the Cigarette Smoking Man (William D. Davis) on more than one occasion. Skinner has also been the primary focus of several episodes, and has been tied directly into the mythology of the series. Neither Mulder nor Scully seem to have a firm idea of where Skinner stands and his position was supposed to be revealed in the 1998 X-Files motion picture.Pileggi is the son of a former Department of Defense contractor who took his family all over the world during Pileggi's youth. Pileggi himself also went to work, very briefly, for the Department of Defense, but abandoned that career track in favor of theater when he was 27 years old. He quickly graduated from the theater to parts in television and motion pictures, always playing relatively small, low-key parts. He had a recurring part in Dallas for a while. During his career he had lead billing only in Wes Craven's Shocker, in which he played a serial killer who manages to cheat the electric chair by becoming electrical energy himself.
A couple of Pileggi fan clubs have been created since his first appearance on The X-Files, and his AudioBook readings of the various X-Files novelizations have done very well for HarperCollins. While Skinner's ultimate fate is unknown, he seems likely to survive the 1998 X-Files movie -- though one should be mindful of the ultimate fates of earlier characters Deep Throat and Mister X. ~ Steven E. McDonald, All Movie Guide
This cold, stylish erotic-thriller grossed over $100 million at the box-office despite vigorous protests at its depiction of gays and women. The shocking opening sequence features a graphic sexual encounter involving a rock-star bound with a white Hermes scarf by an unidentified blond woman. Despite the fact that the scene ends with a bloody icepick murder (horrifyingly realized by makeup artist Rob Bottin), Hermes scarves quickly sold out at stores nationwide. This seeming paradox is at the heart of the film's appeal, as it mixes perverse sexuality and erotic bloodshed in a manner common to European thrillers (director Paul Verhoeven had done it himself in 1979's marvelous De Vierde Man) but mostly taboo in America. The plot concerns Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), a successful bisexual mystery writer who may also be a ruthless murderer. Everyone close to Catherine dies, and troubled policeman Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) must find out why. In the process, Nick becomes sexually involved with both Catherine and police psychiatrist Beth Gardner (Jeanne Tripplehorn), while the bodies begin piling up and Catherine turns the cat-and-mouse game around on Nick. Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas -- who was paid $3 million for the script -- keep the tension ratcheted up throughout, even during the frequent sex scenes, which carry a violent edge reminiscent of the Italian thrillers of Dario Argento. The film's most notorious scene, a police interrogation in which Catherine makes drooling idiots out of her captors by revealing that she is not wearing underwear, became a cultural touchstone and was widely imitated and parodied. Sharon Stone, meanwhile, was embarrassed to the point that she claimed Verhoeven had aimed lights on strategic locations without her knowledge. George Dzundza and Dorothy Malone co-star. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, (more)
- 1986
In this action film, David Dalton, a strong willed Vietnam vet, must deal with his C.O., a mental patient who has gotten involved with a radically conservative paramilitary unit. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Radio sex therapist Kate Vernon could use a slice of her own advice in the R-rated Dangerous Touch. Against her better judgement, she falls hard for charismatic Lou Diamond Phillips. As the relationship intensifies (and we see plenty of that intensification), Phillips inveigles Vernon in a hellish world of crime, double-cross and death. Why is it that we would know enough not to get in so deep, but the characters on the screen don't seem to have any sort of built-in early warning system? Why? Because someone has to watch movies like Dangerous Touch, and yell such things as "Look Out!" "Don't Trust Him!" and "What the heck were you thinking of?" at the screen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The surrealistic ABC cop drama Day Break was aptly characterized by most observers as "24 Meets Groundhog Day." Taye Diggs starred as police detective Brett Hopper, whom when first we met him had just endured the worst day of his life, culminating in his arrest for the murder of Assistant District Attorney Alberto Garza. Although he had an airtight alibi, Hopper was unable to convince anyone of his innocence, suggesting that his arrest was part of a conspiratorial frame-up. While being aggressively grilled by homicide detectives Spivak (Mitch Pileggi) and Choi (Ian Anthony Dale), Hopper suddenly lost consciousness, awakening in an other-worldly hideaway presided over by a sinister shadowy figure (Jonathan Banks) -- who "entertained" the protagonist by showing a tape in which Hopper's girlfriend Rita Shelten (Moon Bloodgood) died horribly.
At this point, Hopper was whisked back in time to the morning of his "worst day," only to find that he was condemned to live that same day over and over again until he was able to change its outcome. Alas, no matter how hard he tried to alter events, the day ended inexorably with his being arrested for murder and his witnessing of Rita's demise. Moreover, when the day started over again, Hopper found that the decisions he made during his previous "reliving" had had profound and disturbing consequences. In each episode, Hopper (the only person who knew that he and everyone around was trapped within the same ever-repeating time arc) was armed with knowledge he hadn't previously possessed, along with vital clues as to why all this was happening to him. Other players in this déjà vu nightmare were Hopper's partner, Andrea Battle (Victoria Pratt), who may or may not have been in on the conspiracy; his ex-partner (and Rita's ex-husband) Chad Shelten (Adam Baldwin), head of Internal Affairs and apparently a man with more than his share of dark secrets; Hopper's sister, Jennifer (Meta Golding), whose miserable domestic life weighed heavily on the plotline; and alleged gang leader Damien Ortiz (Ramon Rodriguez), who turned out to be even more a victim of circumstance than the hero. Created by Paul Zbyszewski, Day Break first aired on November 15, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
At this point, Hopper was whisked back in time to the morning of his "worst day," only to find that he was condemned to live that same day over and over again until he was able to change its outcome. Alas, no matter how hard he tried to alter events, the day ended inexorably with his being arrested for murder and his witnessing of Rita's demise. Moreover, when the day started over again, Hopper found that the decisions he made during his previous "reliving" had had profound and disturbing consequences. In each episode, Hopper (the only person who knew that he and everyone around was trapped within the same ever-repeating time arc) was armed with knowledge he hadn't previously possessed, along with vital clues as to why all this was happening to him. Other players in this déjà vu nightmare were Hopper's partner, Andrea Battle (Victoria Pratt), who may or may not have been in on the conspiracy; his ex-partner (and Rita's ex-husband) Chad Shelten (Adam Baldwin), head of Internal Affairs and apparently a man with more than his share of dark secrets; Hopper's sister, Jennifer (Meta Golding), whose miserable domestic life weighed heavily on the plotline; and alleged gang leader Damien Ortiz (Ramon Rodriguez), who turned out to be even more a victim of circumstance than the hero. Created by Paul Zbyszewski, Day Break first aired on November 15, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Taye Diggs, Ramon Rodríguez, (more)
Charles Bronson, weary and comatose, is trotted out again as the cocked crusader Paul Kersey in Death Wish 4: The Crackdown. Director Michael Winner has jumped ship for this installment, replaced by J. Lee Thompson (who has seen better days). Kersey is back in L.A. and dating attractive reporter Karen Sheldon (Kay Lenz). Of course, the clock is ticking, and the gong goes off when Karen's daughter overdoses on crack. Before you can say "kaboom" the drug dealer, along with a large cast of bit players, are blown to bits by the single-minded vigilante. An enterprising publisher whose own daughter has died from a drug overdose hires Kersey to wipe out the city's two rival drug dealers and their legions of flunkies. Kersey has no trouble agreeing, and using the technique limned in Yojimbo, he methodically eliminates gang members, first from one side and then the other, until one gang's paranoia about the other gang causes the two competitors to engage in a major confrontation that impacts both groups. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Kay Lenz, (more)
- 2000
Weaver (Laura Innes) is suspended by Romano (Paul McCrane) for defying his orders not to operate on a severely retarded
girl. Elizabeth Corday's (Alex Kingston) medical treatment of Greene's dad (John Cullum) causes a falling out between herself and Greene (Anthony Edwards). Kovac (Goran Visnjic) is dissatisfied when one of several people is chosen as a kidney recipient. A patient whom Carter (Noah Wyle) was forced to discharge returns in terrible shape. And Cleo (Michael Michele) and Benton (Eriq La Salle) make love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
girl. Elizabeth Corday's (Alex Kingston) medical treatment of Greene's dad (John Cullum) causes a falling out between herself and Greene (Anthony Edwards). Kovac (Goran Visnjic) is dissatisfied when one of several people is chosen as a kidney recipient. A patient whom Carter (Noah Wyle) was forced to discharge returns in terrible shape. And Cleo (Michael Michele) and Benton (Eriq La Salle) make love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The scene is San Francisco, where a diabolically crafty serial killer is preying on newlywed couples, killing the groom before the bride and then removing both wedding rings. Assigned to track down this maniac is homicide inspector Lindsay Boxer (Tracy Pollan), who, despite the usual quota of false clues and red herrings, seems more than prepared for the biggest challenge of her career. But Lindsay is not prepared for facing her own mortality: She has been diagnosed with a blood disease that nearly always proves fatal and may not live long enough to bring the honeymoon killer to justice. Based on a novel by James Patterson (as indicated by the film's "official" title), First to Die debuted February 23, 2003, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tracy Pollan, Gil Bellows, (more)
Greg Kinnear stars in director Marc Abraham's man-against-the-system docudrama Flash of Genius as inventor Robert Kearns, the visionary who developed the modern intermittent windshield wiper. Kearns submitted the invention to each of the big three auto companies, each of which promptly rejected it; the companies then turned around and put the device to use. The enraged inventor spent several decades attempting to collect on his patent, and mounting lawsuits that traveled all the way to the Supreme Court; he eventually collected over 30 million dollars for his obsession. Abraham co-authored the script with Scott Frank and Phillip Railsback, adapting an article by John Seabrook that originally appeared in The New Yorker. Dermot Mulroney plays Kinnear's best friend, with Lauren Graham rounding out the supporting cast. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Kinnear, Lauren Graham, (more)
- 2007
As the interns prepare for the all-important First Year exam, the candidates for the position of surgical chief fall over themselves providing "TLC" to a "VIP" patient. Sloan (Eric Dane) anxiously counts the seconds until the end of his 60-day vow of chastity. Cristina (Sandra Oh) gets sore when Burke (Isaiah Washington) monopolizes their wedding plans. The relationship between Addison (Kate Walsh) and Alex (Justin Chambers) heats up, even as Alex grows ever closer to "Jane Doe" (Elizabeth Reaser)--or is her real name Ava? And a male patient is brought in with a fish stuffed in his. . .well, never mind, but it hurts REAL bad. This episode marks the reteaming, as it were, of former X-Files regulars James Pickens Jr. and Mitch Pileggi. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this action-laced comedy, a cop on the verge of a nervous breakdown finds love at the least convenient time. Charlie Mayo (Liam Neeson) is an undercover agent with the DEA who was nearly killed when a sting set up to nail a gang of drug dealers went horribly wrong. The accident left Charlie shaken, and he's gone into therapy to hold himself together as he struggles through one final case before retiring. Charlie's superior (Mitch Pileggi) has set him up on another undercover assignment as he tries to bring in two Colombian drug kingpins and a low-level Mafiosi with delusions of grandeur (Oliver Platt). As Charlie makes his way through therapy, he's referred to a nurse (Sandra Bullock) interested in New Age healing techniques; now he has love on his mind as he tries to keep himself out of harm's way under increasingly dangerous circumstances. Gun Shy marked the feature directorial debut of television veteran Eric Blakeney. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Oliver Platt, (more)
- 1990
The press, the police and a neighborhood watch group are swept up in a tsunami of controversy thanks to the actions of an unknown vigilante. Twice in the past week, someone has taken the law into his (or her) own hands--and in the second instance, an innocent black teenager was savagely beaten. Hunter (Fred Dryer) is determined to find the truth of the matter and avert a citywide riot (and incidentally, this episode takes place long before the Rodney King debacle!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
After a 21-year absence, the classic speculative documentary series In Search Of returns with more fascinating stories of the strange, the unusual, and the phenomenal. Replacing the original series' host/narrator Leonard Nimoy is actor Mitch Pileggi, who, as a former regular on The X-Files, is no stranger to the paranormal. Unlike the earlier series, which focused on one topic per episode, the new In Search Of features three different topics in each of its eight episodes -- many of which are "animated" with dramatic reenactments rather than with vintage photographs or archival footage. Also, whereas the earlier series was syndicated, this version was seen on cable's Sci-Fi Channel. Among the subjects explored in the 2002 edition of In Search Of are hell, vampires, Nikola Tesla's alleged "death ray," witchcraft, maneaters, ghosts, werewolves, mummies, reincarnation, stigmata, zombies, great lovers, possession, robots, sacred shrouds, aliens, catacombs, bigfoot, the Devil, and Doomsday. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mitch Pileggi
- 1991
Michael returns to the Knight coroporation to help them build a new KITT for the 21st century. Gunrunners and evil cops provide the first crime the new Kitt foils. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Hasselhoff, Susan Norman, (more)
- 2005
When a wealthy married couple is murdered execution style, the SVU team quickly ascertains that the victims had been laundering money for a Colombian drug cartel--the same criminals who had previously ordered the shooting of former Assistant DA Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March), forcing her into the Witness Protection Program. In order to put away the elusive hitman known only as "The Ghost" (Bryan F. O'Byrne, Cabot must emerge from hiding and provide testimony. . .even if it means sacrificing her life in the process. Though this episode marks the final Law & Order: Special Victims Unit appearance of former regular Stephanie March, she would return in the same role in the 2006 spinoff series Conviction. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A young man learns something about making his fantasies into reality from an older man who has already been there in this coming-of-age drama. Cameron (Michael Angarano) is a teenage film buff living in Los Angeles who dreams of making movies himself someday, an ambition that doesn't impress his parents very much. Cameron doesn't have many friends beyond fellow outcast Murphy (Joshua Boyd), and wealthy and popular classmate Brett (Taber Schroeder) takes great pleasure in making Cameron's life miserable. A major film school in L.A. has announced a competition for young filmmakers, but while Cameron has talent and ideas, Brett has the money to buy film stock and rent equipment, and Cameron wonders if he stands any chance at all. One evening, while attending a screening of Orson Welles's Touch of Evil at a revival theater, Cameron sees an elderly man who shouts at the screen about his old pal Orson. Cameron is thus introduced to Flash Madden (Christopher Plummer), who worked as a lighting man during the Golden Age of Hollywood and really did work with some of the most respected names in the business, including Welles. While cranky Flash doesn't much care for Cameron at first, in time he sees a kindred spirit in the movie-mad teenager, and offers his technical know-how and sources of equipment to the would-be director. Flash also introduces Cameron to Mickey Hopkins (M. Emmet Walsh), a former screenwriter who helped script a number of silver screen classics but is now living in a shabby Old Folks home, and in Hopkins Cameron finds the inspiration for just the sort of movie he wants to make. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Plummer, Michael Angarano, (more)
- 1990
Night Visions is a serial-killer-at-large TV movie starring James Remar and Loryn Locklin. Remar portrays the tough LA cop on the case. Ms. Locklin is a psychic, engaged by the police in a desperate effort to ferret out the killer. Unfortunately the psychic borders on the psychotic; her visions seem tinged by her own miserable past experience--and by the fact that she has multiple personalities. This reasonably original premise rapidly dwindles down to predictability; its happy ending was dictated by the fact that the film was the pilot for an unsold series. Night Visions was directed by Wes Craven, who was required by network edicts to tone down the gleeful gore which permeated his Nightmare on Elm Street films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Essentially a tale of romance mixed in with a dash of politics, this engrossing story involves Engracia (Victoria Abril), a young Mexican prostitute working just south of the border with the U.S., and two American border guards who are among her clients: Mitch (Scott Wilson), a tough, go-by-the-book Anglo who has no deep affection for Mexicans, and Chuck (Jeff Delgar), an idealistic new border guard who has yet to learn the ropes. In a few instances, the film exposes the prejudice against Mexicans, but otherwise, politics is secondary to what happens next. Chuck falls in love with Engracia, and the two get married in Mexico -- and then he smuggles her across the border that he himself has been hired to guard. Sure enough, the vile Mitch gets into the act and quite clearly, both Chuck and Engracia are heading for trouble. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Carradine, Scott Wilson, (more)
- 1994
A former Wall Street broker takes on a new career in this made-for-television movie. Jack Scalia stars as Connie Harper, a Wall Street star who gets sent to jail for fraud. While in prison, he becomes known for helping others when all else fails. Upon his release, a friend in the jail asks him to protect his sister who is in danger, and Connie embarks on a new career as a bodyguard. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
- Add Return of the Living Dead Part II to QueueAdd Return of the Living Dead Part II to top of Queue
A virtual remake of its predecessor, Return of the Living Dead (1985), which itself was a tongue-in-cheek rip-off of director George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), this follow-up adheres strictly to a gore and gags formula. Jesse Wilson (Michael Kenworthy), is a young boy being bullied by thugs from the neighborhood when all of them discover a sealed drum containing a zombie corpse. The release of a gas from the container reanimates the dead in a nearby graveyard, thus releasing an army of the undead, which mindlessly crave living human brains. As Jesse tries to contact the military to put a lid on the situation, the zombies are dispatched through a variety of gruesome methods. Two stars of the first film, James Karen and Thom Mathews, return in essentially the same parts, but with different names, as their characters were previously slaughtered. Followed by a third entry in the seires, Return of the Living Dead 3 (1993). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Karen, Thom Matthews, (more)
Wes Craven's Shocker takes media manipulation to a new level in this story of an evil force emitted from television sets that has the power to kill. The film centers on high school athlete Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg). His estranged father is homicide detective Don Parker (Michael Murphy), who has been working on capturing an elusive serial killer plaguing the town. One night, during a particularly vivid nightmare, Jonathan dreams that while Parker is away on an assignment, his family is murdered by the serial killer. In the dream, Jonathan can identify the killer -- local television repairman Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi). Amazingly, it turns out that Jonathan's nightmare was reality. Using Jonathan's dream as evidence, Pinker is brought to trail, found guilty, and sentenced to death in the electric chair. Before his execution, Pinker makes a pact with the devil so when he is electrocuted, the electricity from the chair will give his spirit powers of evil. At first, Pinker's murderous spirit travels in and out of people's bodies, prompting the host to commit murder. But when it seems more effective to communicate with people by television signals, the spirit is willing and soon people suddenly become possessed by Pinker's spirit through TV screens and engage in murderous atrocities. All this is done by Pinker to exact retribution upon Jonathan, who was responsible for sending him to his death. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Berg, Michael Murphy, (more)
The thrilling Stargate: SG-1 spin-off, Stargate: Atlantis, is set in the lost city of Atlantis in the Pegasus Galaxy, built millions of years ago by the most advanced race in the Stargate Universe. Season 3's (2006-7) 20 episodes brim with adventure, throwing wild new challenges weekly at the ensemble cast: Joe Flanigan (Lt. Col John Sheppard); David Hewlett (Dr. Rodney McKay); Torri Higginson (Dr. Elizabeth Weir); Rachel Luttrell (Teyla Emmagan); Jason Momoa (Ronon Dex); Paul McGillion (Dr. Carson Beckett); and Mitch Pileggi (Col. Steven Caldwell). Executive-produced by Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, the five-disc DVD set is flooded with bonus features including audio commentaries for 19 episodes, many behind-the-scenes featurettes, and photo and production design galleries.
- Starring:
- Joe Flanigan, Torri Higginson, (more)
