Karen Shallo Movies
- 2002
In another episode loosely inspired by actual events, the limo driver for star baseball player Kevin Seleeby (Reynaldo Rosales) is murdered. When it turns out that the victim was regularly supplying steroids to his boss, Seleeby becomes the prime suspect. But, as often happens on this series, the DA's office discovers that nothing is cut and dried, not even what seems to be irrefutable evidence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
The election of State Senator Anne Benton (Deborah Hedwall) may have been the cause of a mistaken-identity murder. The actual target, a reporter (Kate Jennings Grant) who had dug up evidence that the election had been fixed, refuses to reveal her sources. The outcome hinges upon a possible mob connection and a cache of 2,000 stolen ballots. This final episode of Law & Order's 11th season also represents the last series appearance of Angie Harmon as A.D.A. Abbie Carmichael. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
In this drama, a young man lacks the wherewithal to move on with his life after a failed relationship leaves him shattered. Jim (Charlie Hofheimer) grew up in Hastings-on-the-Hudson, a community on the decline in New York State. After graduating from high school, while most of his friends have gone on to college or moved away, Jim has stayed put, taking a low-paying job with the local cab company and obsessing over his brief affair with Cathy (Laurel Holloman), a neighborhood woman who is married and the mother of a young child. As Jim deals with his ambitious father (James Rebhorn) who is pressuring him to go to school, a roommate (Avery Glymph) whose first priority is his studies, and a close friend, Scooter (Leo Fitzpatrick), whose life is stuck even farther in neutral than his own, Jim finds himself falling into yet another self-destructive relationship, with Irma (Karen Shallo), a brassy but aging barmaid who is well aware that life has passed her by. Last Ball is the first feature film from writer and director Peter Callahan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Hofheimer, Laurel Holloman, (more)
- 2000
The real-life legal case that inspired the 1990 film Guilty by Suspicion would seem to be the source material for this episode. The detectives investigate the reasons behind a wealthy woman's comatose condition. Key players in this sordid drama include the woman's husband David Moore (David Dukes), her daughter Debbie (Marin Hinkle), and an "unrelated" third party. "Stiff" originally aired in tandem with another episode, "Vaya Con Dios," on May 24, 2000, bringing the tenth season of Law & Order to a close. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Luke Perry stars in this surprisingly moving adult drama about a devoted husband whose wife (Francie Swift) is dying of cystic fibrosis. Because of her rare blood type, she can't get new lungs, so Perry begins a frantic search to find a donor. Eventually, he becomes so desperate that he starts having an affair with a real-estate agent (Gia Carides) whom he plans to murder because she's a match with Swift and has signed her donor card. Director P.J. Posner shows a surprising amount of sensitivity and character development in what was obviously designed to be no more than a cheap erotic thriller. Perry and Swift are believable and sympathetic, and the portrait of Swift's degenerating condition and Perry's desperation is moving and poignant. Only a cliched scene tacked on at the end gives the film's intentions away despite its frequent sexual situations and nudity. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Perry, Francie Swift, (more)
- 1996
Thirty years after being convicted on a stabbing-and-rape charge, the accused may be able to get a new trial. This is the result of fresh evidence unearthed by diligent detectives Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Logan (Benjamin Bratt). But the good news for the accused rapist is devastatingly bad news for his alleged victim, Cookie Costello (Anita Gillette), who is terrified that she will again be targeted for assault -- and possibly murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
A double murder is at the center of this episode. The principal suspect is Steve Smith (Eddie Malavarca), a young alcoholic whose family once lived in the victims' house. Unfortunately, Smith has already "testified," after a fashion, in front of his local AA group -- and his words may not be admissible evidence in court. Ultimately, the solution hinges upon the fractious relationship between Smith and his biological mother, Anne Bartlett (Fran Brill). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An assemblage of young Hollywood actors poised for stardom marked this tale of anti-Semitism at a 1950s prep school. Brendan Fraser stars as David Greene, a working-class Jewish quarterback from Scranton, Pennsylvania, who is offered a senior year scholarship to a prestigious New England academy. It's David's ticket to an Ivy League education and a way out of his Rust Belt hometown, but there's one condition: the school's elders ask him to be discreet about his religion. At first willing to do so, David struggles with his silence about his faith as his popularity grows. David strikes up a friendship with his roommate Chris Reece (Chris O'Donnell) and a possible romance with Sally Wheeler (Amy Locane), a student at a nearby girls' school. When jealous classmate Charlie Dillon (Matt Damon) learns David's secret at an alumni party, he exposes the school's new gridiron hero, and David faces the full force of religious intolerance from the prejudiced WASP institution. Also featuring early performances from Ben Affleck, Anthony Rapp, and Cole Hauser, School Ties was loosely based on the real-life experiences of producer Dick Wolf, creator of TV's popular series Law & Order. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, (more)
- 1991
Season Two of Law & Order begins on a shockingly tragic note, as Detective Sergeant Max Greevey is shot down and killed in front of his own home (former regular George Dzundza had already departed the series when this scene was filmed). In his grief, Greevey's partner Logan (Chris Noth) vows to track the murderer to the ends of the earth -- a promise complicated by his difficulty in adjusting to new partner Phil Cerreta (Paul Sorvino). Ultimately overstepping his bounds, Logan may ironically prevent the D.A.'s office from successfully prosecuting the killer. In addition to introducing Paul Sorvino to the cast, this episode also represents the first appearance of Catherine McCormack in the recurring role of police psychiatrist Dr. Elizabeth Olivet. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Mortal Thoughts is a low-key thriller revolving around the relationship between two best friends who are involved in the death of one of their husbands. The movie unfolds as the events leading to a confession are shown in flashback. Joyce (Glenne Headly) is married to the abusive, unfaithful James (Bruce Willis). During an outing at a carnival, James is killed, and Joyce and her best friend Cynthia (Demi Moore) try to cover up the murder. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Demi Moore, Glenne Headly, (more)
- 1989
- R
Loosely based on the novel by Alberto Moravia, Me and Him concerns an architect (Griffin Dunne) whose penis begins giving him advice on business and love. It urges him to leave his wife and seduce a series of co-workers and acquaintances. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Griffin Dunne, Ellen Greene, (more)
- 1988
- R
In this comedy drama, Spike Fumo (Sasha Mitchell) is a Brooklyn streetfighter with pugilistic aspirations. With Spike's mafioso father in Sing Sing, mobster and former fighter Baldo Cacetti (Ernest Borgnine) looks out for Spike by getting him some bouts and every once in a while convincing the fighter to throw a match. When Spike meets and falls for Baldo's daughter Angel (Maria Patillo), Baldo suddenly sours on Spike. The father wants Angel to marry the college-bound son of a cocaine-snorting congresswoman (Sylvia Miles), and Baldo only envisions Spikes' future as being a mob enforcer. Eventually, Spike moves away from his embittered lesbian mother (Geraldine Smith) and moves in with the Puerto Rican boxer Bandana (Rick Aviles). He soon has two women pregnant in two different neighborhoods as he contemplates his future. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sasha Mitchell, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
Writer Susan Isaacs and director Frank Perry of Compromising Positions re-team for this unsuccessful resurrection fantasy comedy. Shelley Long plays Lucy Chadman, the accident-prone wife of plastic surgeon Jason Chadman (Corbin Bernsen). When she chokes to death after eating a South Korean chicken ball, a funeral is held and she is mourned, but then everyone goes on with their lives and forgets about her. Everyone, that is, except her sister Zelda (Judith Ivey). Zelda runs an occult bookstore and as she peruses one of her books of incantations, she discovers a magical chant that can raise the dead. Obeying the rules of the incantation -- it has to be performed a year after the person dies and the resurrected person must find love within 30 days or the person will die again -- she brings back Lucy to life. Lucy immediately proceeds to her husband's home and finds that he is married to her best friend Kim (Sela Ward). She now has to deal with the changed circumstances of her husband, along with a burgeoning love affair with Kevin Scanlon (Gabriel Byrne), the emergency-room doctor who had tried to save her life. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shelley Long, Judith Ivey, (more)
A young boy retreats into a world of silence in this made-for-television drama. Kiefer Sutherland stars as Kevin Richter, an adolescent boy who has suffered from years of physical abuse. In an attempt to deal emotionally with the effects of the abuse, Kevin refuses to speak and instead lives in a world of silence. When child psychologist Jennifer Hubbell (Marsha Mason) becomes aware of his situation, she refuses to write him off as a hopeless case and works tirelessly to help him emerge from his protective shell. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1986
This gripping made-for-TV courtroom drama centers on a pair of hard-working lawyers who become obsessed with proving that the tactical division of the Boston Police Force made a fatal mistake when they shot the wrong man following a robbery. The plot is based on a true story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Though some viewers might be put off by its length, graphic violence, and absence of likable characters, Sergio Leone's final film is also a cinematic masterpiece. Spanning four decades, the film tells the story of David "Noodles" Aaronson (Robert De Niro) and his Jewish pals, chronicling their childhoods on New York's Lower East Side in the 1920s, through their gangster careers in the 1930s, and culminating in Noodles' 1968 return to New York from self-imposed exile, at which time he learns the truth about the fate of his friends and again confronts the nightmare of his past. The acting, the re-creation of the time period, the cinematography, and the music are all superb. However, even more important is Leone's ability to make the film work on so many different levels: it's both a criticism of gangster-film mythology and a continuation of the director's exploration of the issues of time and history. Strange as it may seem, the violence and gore in the first half of the film turn into a sad elegy about wasted lives and lost love. The film's strengths emerge only in its full 229-minute version -- the 139-minute and other edited versions don't make nearly the same impact. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, James Woods, (more)
- 1984
- PG13
This bittersweet comedy is, among many other things, a tour de force for the marvelous Anne Bancroft. The star is cast as Estelle Rolfe, an unconventional divorcee who resides in New York, in close proximity to her grown son Gilbert (Ron Silver) and his wife Lisa (Carrie Fisher). Though his wife yearns to move back to her home state of California, Gilbert cannot quite cut the silver cord that binds him to his mother. Upon learning that Estelle is dying, her dutiful son offers to honor her last request to meet the reclusive actress Greta Garbo. The rest of the film plays wonderful variations on this theme, involving such peripheral characters as a gay Garbo fan (Harvey Fierstein), an elderly Shakespearean actress (Hermione Gingold), a "female Joe Papp" director (Denny Dillon), and an ageing papparazzi (Howard Da Silva). Without giving away the ending, it is worth noting that the divine Garbo shows up in the person of playwright/lyricist/ performer Betty Comden. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Bancroft, Ron Silver, (more)
- 1984
- R
A man is torn between true love and the lure of fine dining in this romantic comedy. Alby Sherman (Elliott Gould) was born and raised in Brooklyn, where he runs a coffee shop. Alby has dreams of doing bigger and better things, and he works up the courage to ask his rich Uncle Benjamin (Sid Caesar) if he'd be willing to front him the money to open a gourmet restaurant in Manhattan. Benjamin, however, doesn't care for Alby's girlfriend Elizabeth (Margaux Hemingway), mainly because she's Catholic, and he makes Alby an unexpected offer -- he'll give him the money, but only under the condition that he breaks up with Elizabeth and marries a nice Jewish woman. The supporting cast features Carol Kane and Shelley Winters. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elliott Gould, Margaux Hemingway, (more)
