James Russo Movies

Aspiring beauty queen Laura Guerrero (Stephanie Sigman) finds her dreams of becoming Miss Baja California dashed after witnessing a nightclub bloodbath, and becoming hopelessly caught up in a raging drug war. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Based on author Bryan Burrough's ambitious tome Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-43, director Michael Mann's sprawling historical crime drama follows the efforts of top FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale ) in capturing notorious bank robber John Dillinger. A folk hero to the American public thanks to his penchant for robbing the banks that many people believed responsible for the Great Depression, charming bandit Dillinger (Johnny Depp) was virtually unstoppable at the height of his criminal career; no jail could hold him, and his exploits endeared him to the common people while making headlines across the country. J. Edgar Hoover's (Billy Crudup) FBI was just coming into formation, and what better way for the ambitious lawman to transform his fledgling Bureau of Investigation into a national police force than to capture the gang that always gets away? Determined to bust Dillinger and his crew, which also included sociopathic Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) and Alvin Karpis (Giovanni Ribisi), Hoover christened Dillinger the country's very first Public Enemy Number One, and unleashed Purvis to take them down by whatever means necessary. But Purvis underestimated Dillinger's ingenuity as a master criminal, and after embarking on a frantic series of chases and shoot-outs, the dashing agent humbly surmised that he was in over his head. Outwitted and outgunned, Purvis knew that his only hope for busting Dillinger's gang was to baptize a crew of Western ex-lawmen as official agents, and orchestrate a series of betrayals so cunning that even America's criminal mastermind wouldn't know what hit him. Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, and Stephen Dorff co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A deadly seductress sets out to avenge her sister, in the process uncovering a dark conspiracy that makes her question everything she's been fighting for in this action thriller featuring Tom Berenger, Tom Sizemore, William Forsythe, and Michael Biehn. Raina (Stana Katic) was deeply in love with powerful crime boss Virgil Vadalos (Berenger) until she discovered that he was involved with her sister's disappearance. After that, their relationship met a violent end. Now Raina is determined to take out Virgil and his entire crew. With nothing more than unbridled fury and a particularly sharp knife, Raina starts at the lower rungs of Virgil's organization and methodically begins moving her way up through the ranks. But Virgil is no sucker, and in order to stop the slaughter he calls on crooked cop Beck (Paul Sloan) to stop Raina no matter what it takes. Now, as the streets of Los Angeles run red with blood, Raina and Beck discover that in this city, there is no escaping the tyranny of the corrupt. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This independently produced drama from director Andrew P. Jones travels back to the Great Depression of the 1930s. It tells the sad saga of Homer Hobbs (Tyson Beckford), a young African-American man who wraps up a two-year jail sentence and returns home to his dead-end small town with a complete lack of prospects. Instinctively, Homer develops a rapport and begins to stick together with four other people roughly in the same boat as he is: Clarence (Glynn Turman), a zero who longs to be someone significant; Gracie (Lynn Whitfield), a down-and-out boarding-house owner who harbors a shocking secret; Benny (Reginald T. Dorsey), a street hustler who plans to relocate to sunny Florida and start afresh; and Lucy (Linara Washington), a woman whose scandalous past threatens to destroy the lives of those around her. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Sideways star Thomas Hayden Church appears alongside Academy Award-winner Robert Duvall in a dramatic mini-series shot in the classic western tradition. The year is 1897. As Print Ritter (Duvall) and his estranged nephew Tom Harte (Church) travel the slow road to reconciliation, they reluctantly find themselves forced to care for five abused and abandoned Chinese immigrants while simultaneously attempting to deliver a herd of horses across the plains. Soon confronted by a gang of malevolent kidnappers who intend to abduct the girls and use them for the own nefarious purposes, Print and Tom determine to keep their young charges out of harms way while ensuring that their valuable delivery reaches its intended destination. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Beneath the bright lights of Hollywood, the city of Los Angeles is teeming with crime and corruption. Though the majority of people never see the dark side of this city, it still festers just beneath the surface. Michael Madsen, Neal McDonough, and James Russo star in a crime film that isn't afraid to expose the true nature of this simmering, sinful cesspool. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Abruptly cut off from the family fortune by her millionaire tycoon father, a young girl used to the life of luxury sets out on a Bonnie and Clyde style crime spree with her ne'er do well boyfriend in this action film featuring Malcolm McDowell, Anne Archer, and Faye Dunaway. Patricia Barton (Amanda Brooks) was a self-centered heiress used to sailing the sea on her luxury yacht and making $20,000 bank withdrawals when daddy (McDowell) closed her account hoping that she'd learn the true value of a hard-earned dollar. But when even Patricia's sympathetic mother (Dunaway) proves incapable of convincing dad to reconsider, the newly broke debutante and her shiftless boyfriend Pauly (Thomas Ian Nicholas) attempt an ill-conceived bank robbery that quickly spirals out of control. Things only go from bad to worse after the desperate duo hijacks an ambulance carrying notorious drug dealer the Joker (Kurupt), backing the frightened fugitives into a corner and forcing Patricia to stand on her own for the first time in her life. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The powers of darkness converge to claim the soul of a young girl who may have made a deal with the devil in director Dan Golden's frightful tale of infernal fear. After a devastating car crash claims the life of her father, amnesiac Michelle wakes up in a hospital with no recollection of the events leading up to the traumatic tragedy. Subsequently haunted by a fiery series of hellish nightmares and terrified by the Mephistophelean force that commence to take the lives of all who surround her, Michelle desperately attempts to unlock the mystery of her malevolent past before it's too late and the legions of the damned come calling her name. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Chuck Rose's comedy Come as You Are stars Maury Sterling as Craig Dowd, a young man who makes his living by running a pornographic website. Although he has turned his home into his studio, he is ashamed of his profession and is forced to go to great lengths in order to hide what is happening whenever he has guests. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A sharp-eyed American Special Forces sniper struggles to save his family from a maniacal terrorist after thwarting the terrorist's plan to steal missiles and killing three of his most skilled cronies in this edge-of-your-seat thriller from director William Webb. Convinced that his mission was a success, sharpshooter Charlie (Stephen Baldwin) returns from a remote region near Turkey to his family in Los Angeles. Little does he know that the stealthy and vengeful terrorist has tracked him back to his home, and when Charlie's wife is kidnapped, he must enlist the heap of his friend Donovan (James Russo), who is also an ex-CIA agent, to bring her back home alive and take down the vengeful villain once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Richard Pepin's The Box stars James Russo as Frank Miller, an ex-convict attempting to live on the right side of the law. He works at a coffee shop in Los Angeles and is starting a relationship with his co-worker Marie Evans (Theresa Russell), who has attempted to begin life over after making a living as a prostitute. Sadly, there are people from their past that make their new life much more difficult than they would like. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Based on actual events, this crime comedy from Adventures of Pluto Nash director Ron Underwood details the farcical kidnapping of legendary singer Frank Sinatra's eldest son (played by Thomas Ian Nicholas). Desperate to gather the money needed to get their fledgling business off the ground, three bumbling criminals hatch a scheme to abduct the hapless Sinatra offspring and use the ransom money to fund their startup. Though they've rented a house in Los Angeles for the big event and every detail seems to be in place, the plan quickly devolves into an unbelievable fiasco that's too strange for fiction. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi