Tony Lo Bianco Movies

Actor/director Carl T. Evans pulls double duty on both sides of the camera to weave this paranoid tale of a New Jersey police detective who stumbles into a far-reaching government conspiracy. Evans teams with screenwriter/producer Charles Kipps to pen an original screenplay, and Chris Noth co-stars as a college professor who remains skeptical of the detective's outrageous claims. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Originally titled Echoes, this made-for-cable drama is set in Napa Valley wine country, sometime in the 1980s. Patricia Heaton (who also produced the film) stars as Sara, the daughter of strong-willed vineyard owner Alicia Anselmi (Lainie Kazan). Hoping to arrange a merger between Alicia and rival vintner Nick Di Cenzo (Tony Lo Bianco), Sara must first overcome the bitter 40-year-feud between ex-sweethearts Alicia and Nick, which began when each seemingly jilted the other during WW2. The delivery of a long-lost engagement ring proves beyond doubt that Nick had intended to marry Alicia, but evidently this does little to alleviate their mutual animosity. And when it appears that Sara intends to dump her fiancé Brian (David Hunt) in favor of Nick's nephew Tony (Vincent Spano), Alicia and Nick are all the more convinced that any merger between the Anselmi and DiCenzo families--even a merger that never comes to fruition--will result only in heartache for all concerned. The Engagement Ring originally aired over the TNT cable network on November 28, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While pursuing a story in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1994, Italian investigative reporter Ilaria Alpi and her cameraman Miran Hrovatin were brutally murdered for uncovering what was later discovered to be one of the largest governmental corruption scandals in European history. Director Ferdinando Vincentini Orgnani retells the journalists' final month prior to their murder in his 2003 drama Ilaria Alpi: Il Più Crudele Dei Giorni (The Cruelest Day). The younger and more career-driven Alpi (portrayed by Giovanna Mezzogiorno) has been incessantly investigating the money that Italian humanitarian organizations have been donating to Third World countries under the auspices of building roads and generally improving the beneficiary countries' infrastructure. Meeting Hrovatin (Rade Sherbedgia) after beginning her investigation, the two uncover the shocking truth: These "humanitarian organizations" are actually fronts for secret Italian governmental agencies who are shipping tons of toxic waste to these countries for surreptitious disposal. Just as Alpi and Hrovatin begin to dig deeper into their story, they are ambushed and killed -- but not before the truth had been revealed to an unsuspecting European populace. Ilaria Alpi: Il Più Crudele Dei Giorni was selected for inclusion into the 2003 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

A rock singer dies of an apparent drug overdose. The detectives and lawyers determined that what appears to be an accident is actually murder, possibly perpetrated by a disenchanted cohort of the deceased. Further complicating the case is the omnipresence of detective-turned-bestselling novelist Mike Foster (Tony Lo Bianco), who is hard at work on a tell-all book about the dead woman's former husband. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Two Mafia gunmen give new meaning to the phrase "keeping it in the family" in this offbeat comedy. Danny (Christopher Gartin) and Stephen (Greg Lauren) are a pair of mob enforcers who see to it that no one crosses the Family and lives to tell about it. However, Danny and Stephen are hit men with a difference -- they're also lovers; and while they know how to get rid of troublemakers, little things like cooking and sewing are not their strong suits. They find themselves thrown for a loop when Stephen's parents (Frank Pellegrino and Beth Fowler) stop by for an unexpected visit, which leaves them with a bit of explaining to do, about their occupations and their lifestyle. Friends and Family also features Tony Lo Bianco, Tovah Feldshuh, and Anna Maria Alberghetti. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A young Frenchman's search for his American father provides the thematic center of this drama by septuagenarian director Jerry Schatzberg. Daniel (Guillaume Canet) repairs brass instruments for a living, and when he journeys to New York to work on some French horns for Paul (Tony Lo Bianco), a business friend, he brings with him a scrap of paper bearing the identity of his father, whom he has never met. Upon his arrival in New York, Daniel is introduced to Paul's family, which includes his daughter Tilly (Monica Trombetta) and Joey (Nick Sandow), her abusive lout of a husband. Daniel receives a tough introduction to the South Bronx neighborhood where he looks for his father, getting robbed and witnessing a drive-by shooting in the space of a few minutes. Fortunately, he's befriended by William (Jay Rivera), a streetwise kid, and his grandfather, Cecil (Norman Matlock). The two help Daniel navigate life in the 'hood, and he is gradually led to a disreputable landlord (Burt Young) who may have vital information about Daniel's father. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Jon Favreau, George C. Scott, and Judd Hirsch star in this biography (produced for the Showtime premium cable network) about the life and career of Rocky Marciano, who rose from a childhood of poverty through the often corrupt ranks of professional boxing to become the only undefeated heavyweight champion of the world. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on a Mary Higgins Clark novel, this made-for-TV mystery centers on a prosecutor who endangers her own life when she becomes overly curious about a 10-year-old unsolved murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A woman serving on the jury of an anti-Mafia trial must protect herself and her young son from a psychopathic gangster in this thriller. Demi Moore stars as Annie Laird, a single mother and artist who readily agrees to do her civic duty on the jury in the trial of a major organized crime figure. She quickly comes to regret this decision when a mysterious and eccentric Mafia associate known as The Teacher (Alec Baldwin) threatens to kidnap her son and harm her friends unless she promises to vote not guilty. Fearing for their lives, she plays along, but unfortunately the Teacher shows no sign of backing away from his plans, having become personally obsessed with Annie. Unwilling to trust the authorities, Annie instead develops a plan to save her child by taking on the Teacher and the mob. Adapting a novel by George Dawes Green, the screenplay was written by Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs). ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

In the first episode of a three-part story arc, Bolander (Ned Beatty), Howard (Melissa Leo), and Felton (Daniel Baldwin) are ambushed and shot down when attempting to serve a warrant. In his efforts to track down the suspect, Pembleton (Andre Braugher) is partnered with a detective who prefers to use a bizarre psychological approach to crime-solving, and is also given a helping hand by Bolander's former partner Mitch (Tony Lo Bianco). Complicating matters is the realization that the shooting might have been averted had it not been for a disastrous clerical error. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the second episode of a three-part story arc, the detectives continue tracking down the pedophile who may or may not have seriously wounded Bolander (Ned Beatty), Howard (Melissa Leo), and Felton (Daniel Baldwin) in a bloody ambush. Meanwhile, Felton begins to recover from his wounds, but his colleagues may not be so lucky. And it looks as though Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) will be forced to take the rap for the clerical error that led to the shooting -- and that Russert (Isabella Hoffman) will be the one who hangs Giardello out to dry. Real-life Baltimore homicide cop (Gary D'Addario), the series' technical advisor and the prototype for the Giardello character, appears as Col. Granger. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Oliver Stone, the most outspokenly political American filmmaker of the 1980s and '90s, directs this epic-length biography of Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the U.S., who was re-elected by a landslide in 1972, only to resign in disgrace two years later. Taking a non-linear approach, Nixon jumps back and forth between many different periods and events, from Nixon's strict upbringing at the hands of his Quaker mother, through the many peaks and valleys of his political career, to his downfall in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The facts of his life are blended with supposition and speculation to create a portrait that is often critical of the man's policies but displays an unexpected compassion toward his failings as a human being. Anthony Hopkins stars as Nixon, Joan Allen plays his long-suffering wife Pat, Mary Steenburgen portrays his mother Hannah, Bob Hoskins is cast as J. Edgar Hoover, Powers Boothe plays Alexander Haig, Paul Sorvino portrays Henry Kisinger, and Ed Harris plays E. Howard Hunt. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi