Robert Joy Movies

Noted baseball fan Billy Crystal directed this made-for-cable drama set in the summer of 1961, as two of the strongest hitters in the major leagues, Mickey Mantle (Thomas Jane) and Roger Maris (Barry Pepper), find themselves neck and neck in a battle to break Babe Ruth's long-standing record for most home runs in a season. Both men were playing for the New York Yankees at the time, and as the two men came within grasping distance of Ruth's record, their loyalty as friends and teammates was put to the ultimate test. 61 also features Richard Masur, Bruce McGill, Anthony Michael Hall, and Renee Taylor; the scenes set in Yankee Stadium were filmed at Michigan's Tiger Stadium, shortly after the Detroit Tigers shuttered the venerable playing field and relocated to a newer facility. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the first episode of a two-part story, Francie's evil double (Merrin Dungey) implants Will (Bradley Cooper) with phony retinal DNA, thereby framing him as a traitor. Worried about the fugitive Will's fate, Sydney (Jennifer Garner) blows her cover in the presence of the phony Francie -- meaning that now she, too, will have to be eliminated. And a "new" Sloane (Ron Rifkin) tries to strike a deal with Jack (Victor Garber). This is the one in which star Jennifer Garner dons a skimpy dominatrix outfit -- all in the line of duty, of course. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Visual effects specialists Greg and Colin Strause both make their feature directorial debut with this no-holds-barred monster mash that attempts to set itself apart from the 2004 Paul W.S. Anderson original by serving as a straight-up sci-fi horror scarefest. The aliens (and a predator) have landed on planet Earth, and small-town America is about to become the scene of an epic interstellar showdown. As these two breeds of cosmic killers clash in the small-town streets Gunnison, CO, the locals are sent running for their lives. From the murky sewers to the rain-soaked streets, Gunnison has become a total bloodbath. Nowhere is safe, especially from the unstoppable new hybrid known as the "predalien." Now, as the once-quiet community of Gunnison is overrun by Aliens, the only hope for humankind is a fierce hunter from the deepest reaches of space. But this predator is far from a benevolent savior of the human race, because he'll kill any man, woman, or child who gets in the way of his mission to destroy every last alien under these stormy Colorado skies. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Burt Lancaster stars as Lou, an aging mob flunkey, barely making a living in Atlantic City. Susan Sarandon plays Sally, a casino croupier whose husband Dave (Robert Joy) steals a large supply of drugs from the mob. When he is killed, the narcotics pass to the unwilling Sally. Lou, in the midst of longtime affair with middle-aged gangster's widow Grace (Kate Reid), falls for the much younger Sally, becoming her savior by killing the mob thugs sent to shut her up. The killings serve a therapeutic value for Lou, proving that he hasn't lost his old panache. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This video provides an in-depth look at the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Christian who felt compelled to take part in the little-known efforts of the German resistance movement. Bonhoeffer worked with others to try and put a stop to Hitler's cruel regime. He was a highly respected Lutheran minister and author who could have easily saved his own life had he not felt a duty to help those Hitler was determined to destroy. Actor Ulrich Tukur stars as Bonhoeffer in this program that won the top honor at the February 2000 Monte Carlo TV Festival. Director Eric Till filmed in the Czech Republic, Berlin, and Canada. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide

CSI: NY, the third incarnation of the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation franchise and the spin-off of CSI: Miami, is a crime drama about forensic investigators who use high-tech science to follow the evidence and solve crimes in The Big Apple.

Moral hypocrisy and the woes of America's public schools and educational system are the focus of Cheaters, which is based on a real-life 1995 cheating scandal at a Chicago high school. In a working class area of the city, teacher Dr. Gerald Plecki (Jeff Daniels) is desperate for his students to triumph at an upcoming academic decathlon against students of a more affluent high school across town. His desperation causes him to cast a blind eye when one of his students gets hold of a copy of the decathlon test -- and, thanks to their combined dedication to cheating -- the team wins the competition with the highest total score in state history. Of course, the score leads to suspicion on the part of Illinois officials, and the resulting scandal is accompanied by a media frenzy of monolithic proportions. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

In this final film in the Death Wish series, Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) returns to New York City, where he attempts to resume a normal life by proposing to his girlfriend Olivia (Lesley-Anne Down), a fashion designer. However, Olivia runs afoul of her ex-husband Tommy O'Shea (Michael Thomas Parks), a ruthless gangster, and she's killed by his henchmen. If history has taught us anything, it's that Paul Kersey does not take the death of his loved ones lying down, and soon Paul is heavily armed and ready to take out O'Shea and his goons, while the police politely ask Kersey if he has revenge on his mind (a question not unlike asking if there was a Tuesday last week). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A petite New Jersey housewife finds self-fulfillment through amnesia in this new wave comedy of errors set in New York's hip '80s downtown scene. Rosanna Arquette stars as Roberta, who turns to the personals for vicarious thrills after her four-year marriage to staid hot tub salesman Gary (Mark Blum) grows stale. Her favorite classified ads trace the romance of Jim (Robert Joy), a struggling musician, and Susan (Madonna), a SoHo vamp who's just narrowly escaped being murdered alongside one of her other boyfriends -- a gangster who recently stole some Egyptian jewelry. Through a series of complicated missteps, Roberta ends up losing her memory and convincing both herself and a broodingly handsome young man named Dez (Aiden Quinn) that she's the elusive, adventurous Susan. Soon, Roberta finds herself being romanced by Dez and pursued separately by her husband, Jim, Susan, and by a murderous mobster who's looking for the stolen jewels. For her second feature outing, which was partially inspired by Jacques Rivette's Celine and Julie Go Boating, director Susan Seidelman filled her cast with hipster extras, downtown personalities, and New York thespians. Notable faces include comedian Steven Wright; future indie mainstay John Turturro; future TV stars Michael Badalucco and Laurie Metcalf; punk singer Richard Hell, who also starred in Seidelman's Smithereens; and performance artist Ann Magnunson, who would star in the director's Making Mr. Right. The big dance-club sequence was filmed at Danceteria, the disco that helped launch Madonna's career. The scene, and the film, helped propel "Into the Groove," one of the singer's all-time club classics, into the charts even though it was actually a b-side to the single "Angel." ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Joel Thomas Hyne's acclaimed novel about a Newfoundland drug addict's attempts to make sense of his own warped existence serves as the foundation for this poetic yet visceral addiction drama that stars the author himself as the damaged protagonist. Keith Kavanagh (Hyne) is a collection of contradictions; he's a coward, a bully, and a clown all at once, and his life is a mess of complicated relationships. Though he longs to start life anew somewhere else, he lacks the motivation to put any genuine effort into doing so. The only thing that Keith knows is that he wants off of the Rock, and he loves his girlfriend Natasha (Mylène Savoie). The first time we see Keith he is lying motionless and bloodied, quite possibly dead. Though it appears to be the end, this is actually the starting point as the viewer travels back in time to see how Keith began his descent into a life of drug pushing, unfaithfulness, and torture. It's not always a pleasant ride, because despite the fact that Keith can at times be a sympathetic figure, a closer look reveals an impulsive, amoral degenerate who seems hell bent on self-destruction. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Directed by Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear), Fallen is a blend of the police drama and supernatural thriller genres. Homicide detective John Hobbes (Denzel Washington) narrates, taking the audience back to "the time I almost died." This sets a flashback in motion, beginning at the prison cell of serial killer Edgar Reese (Elias Koteas), who grabs Hobbes' hand and sings the Rolling Stones' "Time Is on My Side." After Reese is executed, Hobbes and his partner, Jonesy (John Goodman), find a seeming copycat killer, committing murders in a manner not unlike Reese. Hobbes is drawn into the occult after he meets theology professor Gretta Milano (Embeth Davidtz), the daughter of a dead police officer. Hobbes becomes a suspect himself, but he continues his search for the truth. Co-producer Dawn Steel died just as this film was due for release. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Originally produced for Canadian television by the CBC, the Stephen Surjik-directed costume thriller Grand Larceny features Jennifer Dale (Separate Vacations) as the Becky Sharp-like Betsy Bigley, a conniving young prima donna who will cross any boundaries to claw her way to the top. The story begins in 1901, with Bigley scraping the bottom of the barrel. Arrested for the titular crime and wheeled away in a paddy wagon, Bigley swears vengeance against the lowlifes whose two-timing led to her incarceration, and devises a complex scheme to deliver herself involving a faux gold mine and a smitten detective. If it works, Betsy's plan will free her from confinement and enable her to reclaim her place among the cream of society. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

An American journalist takes on the dangerous responsibility of rescuing nearly a thousand refugees from a Nazi concentration camp in this two-part made-for-TV movie based on a true story. In the early days of America's involvement in World War II, Ruth Gruber (Natasha Richardson) is a reporter who has been giving particular attention to a recent story: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in violation of United States policies of the day, has announced he will grant asylum in America to 982 European refugees from Nazi labor camps. But someone needs to escort the prisoners to the U.S.; Gruber, of European ancestry and Jewish faith, volunteers for the assignment over the objections of her parents (Anne Bancroft and Martin Landau). Gruber travels to Italy on behalf of Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes (Hal Holbrook), where she helps the refugees board the U.S.S. Henry Gibbins. But Gruber discovers that the American sailors manning the ship regard their passengers as little better than their Nazi jailers, and the State Department declares, upon their arrival in the United States, that all the refugees are to be housed in a camp in Oswego, NY -- even those who have families willing to sponsor them in America. Gruber realizes her work with the refugees is far from done, and she bravely battles against both bureaucracy and prejudice to win both dignity and fair treatment for the new settlers. Haven was originally broadcast on the CBS television network on February 11 and 14, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide