Michael Tucci Movies
Following the life of cocaine-trafficking pioneer George Jung in a way that recalls Martin Scorsese's Casino, Blow recounts the man's days from his 1950s childhood in Boston to his downfall in the 1980s. George (played by Johnny Depp) begins his life as the son of Fred (Ray Liotta), an earnest breadwinner, and Ermine (Rachel Griffiths), who frequently walks out on them in pursuit of a more fulfilling life. When George moves west to California in the late '60s, accompanied by best pal Tuna (Ethan Suplee), he becomes an entrepreneur in the marijuana business, which soon spreads to the East Coast as well, with girlfriend Barbara (Franka Potente) smuggling the product during her stewardess shifts. George is arrested in 1972 -- at which time Barbara dies of cancer -- but George finds a new ally in Diego (Jordi Molla), who proposes the idea that he become the American conduit for Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis). George flourishes in the heyday of the disco era, and falls for Mirtha (Penelope Cruz), a self-serving bombshell who eventually has a daughter with him. Trouble escalates as the FBI threatens to bring George and his crew down, while he desperately tries to be a stable parent to his young offspring. Blow also features Paul Reubens and Max Perlich in featured roles. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, (more)
- 1996
In the spirit of such earlier efforts as Operation Eichmann and House on Garibaldi Street, this meticulously crafted cable movie recounts the 1960 mission by the Israeli secret service to kidnap Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann from his hiding place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although Israel will ultimately subject Eichmann to a scrupulously fair trial, it is first necessary to break the law and violate Argentina's strict "no extradition" policy regarding renegade Nazis. Once the abduction has been accomplished, the task remains to smuggle Eichmann out of the country without detection -- and at this point, the film boils down to a battle of wits and wills between evil genius Eichmann (played by Robert Duvall, who also co-produced) and the mission's leader, Israeli Mossad agent Peter Malkin (Arliss Howard). Based on Malkin's memoir Eichmann in My Hands, The Man Who Captured Eichmann was first seen over the TNT cable service on November 10, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Duvall, Arliss Howard, (more)
- 1994
In this feature-length episode, Mac Shayne is busily trying to prove a pop star innocent of murder charges when he stumbles across a conspiracy to kill an up-and-coming politician. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kenny Rogers, Maria Conchita Alonso, (more)
- 1991
In this romance, a widowed businesswoman, believing she has an incurable disease begins a series of romantic encounters only to discover that she has been misdiagnosed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Night Court begins its second season as eccentric Judge Harry T. Stone (Harry Anderson) faces a problem that he can't joke his way out of. It seems that a young novice nun, Sister Sara Williams (Dinah Manoff), has fallen in love with Harry and renounced her vows. The scene in a Japanese restaurant is a riot (and not a quiet riot!) With this episode, Charlie Robinson joins the cast as (seemingly) level-headed court clerk Mac Robinson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
- R
A trio of unemployed beauties inherit a lunch wagon, only to run afoul of bank robbers in this sex comedy also known as Lunch Wagon Girls and Come 'N' Get It. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pamela Jean Bryant, Rosanne Katon, (more)
- 1980
This made-for-TV historical drama chronicles the personal and professional lives of Colonel Tibbets and the airmen who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The story is based on a book by Gordon Thomas and Max Gordon Witts and also looks at the ways in which the aftermath of the bombing affected their lives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1980
In the first episode of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single hour-long special), Vera (Beth Howland) wins a free trip to Las Vegas. Naturally, Alice (Linda Lavin), Mel (Vic Tayback) and Belle (Diane Ladd) insist upon tagging along. And just as naturally, Mel tries his luck at the gaming tables--promptly losing his diner in a crap game. The presence of guest star Robert Goulet is a portent of the musical madness still to come. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
In the conclusion of a two-part story (originally telecast as a single hour-log special), Mel (Vic Tayback) loses the diner in a Las Vegas crap game. His only chance to regain his property is to arrange for Robert Goulet to sing at a rundown hotel owned by cagey casino manager Joe Capri (Lou Criscuolo). Not surprisingly, Mel doesn't deliver, obliging Alice (Linda Lavin)--disguised in male drag as Mr. Goulet--to appear in his place. The episode's highlight finds "the Two Bobs" singing a duet! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- R
In this drama, a good-hearted, courageous boy from a poor New York neighborhood tries to rally his neighborhood together to stop the terrifying reign of the neighborhood street gang, the Savage Warlocks. He succeeds and begins planning to move uptown to live with his lady love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joey Travolta, John Lansing, (more)
"Grease," said the poster and the Barry Gibb song, "is the word." Transferring its setting from Chicago to sunny California, and adding a dash of disco to the ersatz '50s score, producer Allan Carr and director Randal Kleiser turned this long-running Jim Jacobs - Warren Casey Broadway smash into the biggest blockbuster of 1978. 1950s teens Danny (John Travolta) and Australian transfer Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) spend their "Summer Nights" falling in love, but once fall comes, it's back to Rydell High and its cliques. As one of the bad boy T-Birds, Danny has to act cool for best pal Kenickie (Jeff Conaway) and their leather-clad mates Sonny (Michael Tucci) and Doody (Barry Pearl, in the role Travolta played on stage). Despite befriending Frenchy (Didi Conn), one of the rebel Pink Ladies, virginal Sandy is "too pure to be Pink," as the Ladies' leader Rizzo (Stockard Channing) acidly observes. Declaring their devotion in such ballads as "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Sandy," Sandy and Danny split, reconcile, and split again amidst a pep rally, dances, drive-ins, and a drag race, before deciding "You're the One That I Want" at the climactic carnival. With Travolta white-hot from Saturday Night Fever (1977), Grease soundtrack singles climbed the charts and summer movie crowds poured in. With the presence of Joan Blondell, Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, Edd "Kookie" Byrnes and Frankie Avalon appealing to grown-up memories, Grease became the highest grossing film of 1978, the highest grossing movie musical ever, and the third most popular film of the new blockbuster '70s after Star Wars (1977) and Jaws (1975). Its sequel, Grease 2, did not exactly set the world on fire in 1982. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, (more)
- 1975
- R
In this sophomoric comedy, a burglar wreaks havoc on a massage parlor. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
