Roslyn Alexander Movies
An amiable gangster who has been targeted for death sets out for one last plate of veal ossobucco, never realizing that it may be the last meal he ever eats. The colds winds are blowing into Chicago, and no one in town has realized that this will be the biggest snowstorm in the history of the Windy City. Jelly Dinotto is a misfit Mafioso who's earned a reputation as a large and lovable thug. Having just received marching orders to go back to Italy, Jelly takes his cousin Nick to nearby Vesuvios Restaurant in order to enjoy one last plate of veal ossobucco before he departs -- never once suspecting that his departure will be more permanent than he ever suspected, and that Nick himself has been charged with orchestrating the dirty deed. As the two cousins sit down for dinner and the snow begins to fall outside, it quickly becomes apparent that the gangsters will be trapped in the restaurant with a pair of underachieving Chicago detectives and the few employees who have stuck around to close up shop. With the snow piling up fast and the prospects for leaving town long gone, Jelly and earthy waitress Megan (Illeana Douglas) strike up a friendly conversation. Unbeknownst to Megan is the fact that Jelly has been carrying a torch for the pretty waitress for quite some time now. But will the meal that Megan has just delivered to Jelly's table be his last, or is there a chance that love will somehow find the power to overcome death as this desperate group sits snowbound in a Chicago restaurant? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mike Starr, Illeana Douglas, (more)
John Hughes sticks to his seemingly fool-proof formula for success in Baby's Day Out, a cross-pollination of Home Alone and a Swee' Pea cartoon. The plot seems all-too familiar: posing as baby photographers, a group of three would-be kidnappers (led by the usually outstanding character actor Joe Pantoliano) enter an unsuspecting wealthy Chicago couple's home and make off with Baby Bink after leaving a ransom note. However, while waiting for the delivery of the ransom money, Baby Bink manages to escape and subsequently embarks on a series of cutesy-poo adventures in downtown Chicago (including a crawl through a skyscraper construction site), leaving the hapless crooks in hot pursuit. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joe Mantegna, Lara Flynn Boyle, (more)
Tony Church (Burt Reynolds) is a Chicago detective who loses his job when he is blamed for the deaths of his fellow officers gunned down in a botched drug bust. He becomes a bodyguard to hooker Della Roberts (Liza Minnelli), the lone witness who can identify the killer (James Remar). Bernie Casey is Church's ill-fated partner Lamar, and Dionne Warwick appears briefly as the head of a call-girl ring in this unremarkable feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Burt Reynolds, Liza Minnelli, (more)
Child's Play seems to have been concocted by a parent who went berserk after standing in line for hours on end to purchase a Cabbage Patch doll in the early 1980s. The film opens with serial killer Brad Dourif taking refuge in a doll factory. Dourif is killed by the cops, but not before he has invoked a voodoo curse which transfers his soul into one of the dolls. That particular doll, nicknamed Chuckie, is unwittingly purchased by Catherine Hicks for her son Alex Vincent. Several murders occur shortly thereafter; all evidence points to Alex, who insists that his cherub-faced doll is responsible. Detective Chris Sarandon, the man responsible for Dourif's death, doesn't swallow Alex's story, but he agrees to investigate because he's sweet on Alex's mom. The slasher-flick ending of Child's Play would seem to have settled Chuckie's hash for good and all, but guess again--the film spawned numerous sequels. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Catherine Hicks, Chris Sarandon, (more)
