Paul Butler Movies

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, and Marisa Tomei star in director Sidney Lumet's thriller concerning two brothers who hatch a plan to rob their parent's jewelry store. When the job goes awry, the entire family is set on a collision course with tragedy. Andy (Hoffman) is an overextended broker in desperate need of some cash. His brother, Hank (Hawke), isn't much better off, so when Andy hatches a plan to rob their parent's modest jewelry store, it seems like a foolproof way to make a quick buck. But Andy's trophy wife, Gina (Tomei), is secretly sleeping with libidinous younger brother Hank, and when the robbery proves a complete disaster it isn't long before loyalties start to shift. Now Andy and Hank's father, Charles (Finney), is determined to make the unidentified robbers pay for their crime. What's a father to do when he discovers that the ones he loves have become his worst enemies? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director Frank Perry brings Susan Issacs' comedic whodunit novel to the screen with Susan Sarandon as a Long Island housewife who tries to escape her deadening suburban life by trying to solve the murder of a philandering local dentist. The dentist, Bruce Fleckstein (Joe Mantegna), is the kind of swinging ladies' man who wears gold chains and jazzy clothing. He also arranges to meet his lonely housewife patients in hotel rooms for afternoon quickies. When he is found murdered in his office, the suspects are as numerous as the names in the Nyack telephone directory, especially since Fleckstein had the habit of taking incriminating Polaroid snapshots during his one-on-one sessions. Judith Singer (Sarandon) is an ex-Newsday reporter and bored wife of Bob Singer (Edward Herrmann), a stuffy business executive, and she was one of the last people to see Fleckstein alive. Considered a suspect by police detective David Suarez (Raul Julia), she determines to solve the case herself, interviewing suspects and searching for evidence. If she solves the crime, Judith hopes to write an article about it and get her old job back at the newspaper. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Crime Story was a valiant attempt by Miami Vice producer Michael Mann to present a compelling police drama series in a serialized fashion. Introduced as a two-hour TV movie on September 18, 1986, the weekly, hour-long series was initially set in Chicago in 1963. Dennis Farina, a former cop in real life, starred as Lt. Mike Torello, head of the windy city's Major Crime Unit (MCU), who carried on a blood feud with young, ambitious gangster Ray Luca (Anthony John Denison). Assisting Torello in his efforts was prosecuting attorney David Abrams (Stephen Lang), a mobster's son who had "seen the light" and switched sides. Others on Torello's team included Sgt. Danny Krychek (Bill Smitrovich), and detectives Nate Grossman (Steve Ryan), Joey Indelli (Bill Campbell), and Walter Clemmons (Paul Butler), while Luca was backed up by his faithful but dangerously stupid henchman Paulie Taglia (played by John Santucci, who, in a perverse spin of the Dennis Farina situation, had been a genuine criminal before turning to acting).

Halfway through season one, Luca and Paulie moved to Las Vegas, only to be closely followed by Torello and his men, who had become federal agents. The season ended with literal bang, as Luca and Paulie took refuge in a small house in the Nevada desert that turned out to be smack-dab in the middle of a nuclear testing site. Miraculously, the two gangsters managed to survive an atomic explosion with nary a scratch, and spent the series' second and final season playing a game of hide and seek with the Torello forces. Ultimately, the "good guys" bearded their prey in Mexico. In the course of events, Torello's marriage to his wife, Julie (Darlanne Fluegel, broke up, whereupon he entered into a relationship with Inga Thorson (Patricia Charbonneau). Also, both the cops and the robbers had brief encounters with the mob's "big boys," portrayed by such diverse actors as Joseph Wiseman and Andrew Dice Clay. Although the ratings for Crime Story were mediocre, NBC had faith in the series and kept it alive for two years. Like many other Michael Mann productions, the series was rich with authentic period detail, and came equipped with wall-to-wall vintage music, including the theme tune "Runaway", re-recorded (and recreated) by its original artist, Del Shannon. But for all of NBC's promotional skills and Michael Mann's production expertise, the series never caught on (more's the pity), and last aired on May 10, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Astonishingly, gangster Ray Luca (Anthony John Denison) and his doltish henchman Paulie (John Santucci) have managed to survive the atom bomb explosion that ended season one of the serialized cop drama Crime Story. This allows the duo to resume their criminal activities, ever keeping one step ahead from relentless federal agent Mike Torello (Dennis Farina) and his men. Since the series is still taking place in the 1960s, chasing mobsters remains far easier than catching them, even when an overambitious Kefauver-like senator begins hauling in Luca's cronies to appear before the Organized Crime Commission. Meanwhile, Torello's private life is still in tatters, as proven when his ex-wife, Julie (Darlanne Fluegel), marries another man, played by David Soul -- then prevails upon Torello to rescue her husband from kidnappers merely for "old time's sake." Adding insult to injury so far as Torello is concerned, Luca is given immunity in exchange for his cooperation with the Crime Commission, and soon is back in Vegas pulling his old underhanded tricks. This compels one of Torello's strongest allies, liberal prosecutor David Abrams (Stephen Lang), to resign in disgust, leaving the "good guys" still another man short. Eventually, Luca overplays his hand and is hauled in on racketeering charges -- but manages to slip through Torello's fingers one more time, thanks to an unexpected incident in faraway Vietnam! It is not until the series' three-episode finale that Torello finally corners the fugitive Lucas in Mexico -- but though this is the end of the series, is it really the end of the Torello-Luca blood feud? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, Dummy stars LeVar Burton as Donald Lang, a deaf-mute teenager accused of killing a prostitute. Paul Sorvino co-stars as Lowell Myers, the hearing-impaired public defender who takes Burton's case. The court, deciding that Lang is incompetent to stand trial, orders the boy to be shunted away to a mental institution. Doggedly following the evidence trail, Myers argues for "due process" in the treatment of his client. While the film's ending is upbeat, real life does not always turn out so well, as the ironic closing title (which details what has happened to Burton's character since this case was resolved) demonstrates. Initially telecast May 27, 1979, Dummy was adapted by Ernest Tidyman from his own book. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Real-life sweethearts and film directors Ken Kwapis and Marisa Silver co-directed this throwback to the silver-screen romantic comedies of the 1940s, examining the different ways men and women view reality. Kwapis takes the male character's point of view, recalling a burgeoning relationship. Silver then takes a crack at the same story, recalling the same events from the woman character's point of view. Unfortunately, both perspectives are not that much different. Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Perkins star as Dan Hanson and Lorie Bryer, two reporters from the Baltimore Sun who are assigned to share space on the editorial page debating opposing viewpoints. Dan is the conservative philanderer. Lorie is the sensitive liberal. The new column becomes a big hit -- a shop owner exclaims, "Hey, it's the people who argue!" Although originally antagonists, Dan and Lorie become lovers. As their relationship grows, so does their popularity, and they end up hosting a popular television program. But Lorie wants commitment, and Dan doesn't. Frustrated, Lorie shies a coffee cup off Dan's noggin live on the air. Their ratings soar. And then the whole routine is played out again. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) is fed up with the liberties taken by the homicide squad's FBI liaison -- never mind that his own son Mike (Giancarlo Esposito) is himself an FBI agent. Elsewhere, the detectives resent the preferential treatment afforded ADA Eleanor Burke (Haviland Morris), who intends to use Battered Spouse Syndrome to defend herself against charges of murdering her husband. Ballard (Callie Thorne) shames Lewis (Clark Johnson) into teaming with her to solve a barroom stabbing. And waitress Billie Lou (Ellen McElduff) receives an unexpected -- and very inebriated -- wedding proposal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adam Arkin guest stars as George Costas, the Greek-immigrant owner of a New York jewelry business. After killing two intruders in his store, both of whom had long police records, Costas pleads self-defense: "They shoot at me, I shoot back, I killed them." But as all the facts come to light, the D.A.'s office arrives at the conclusion that Costas had appointed himself judge, jury, and executioner long before anyone pulled the trigger. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director and writer Marissa Silver debuted with this captivating film on the friendship of two young girls from opposite sides of the economic tracks but same side of town. Twelve-year-old Lonnie Sloan (Sarah Boyd) is a well-to-do New York rich kid and Karen Bruckner (Rainbow Harvest) is the more ordinary, impoverished New York kid. They happen to meet one day on the street in their neighborhood and hit it off just because each is fascinated with unknown quantities. As they learn that they were taught to perceive and react to the world differently, their relationship becomes one of unfolding adventure -- even for the grown-up viewers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Director Jack Sholder followed his surprise sleeper hit The Hidden (1987) with this action drama that re-teamed Young Guns (1988) co-stars Kiefer Sutherland and Lou Diamond Phillips. Sutherland stars as Buster McHenry, a Philadelphia cop working undercover as a thief in the gang of wealthy, sadistic Marino (Rob Knepper). When the gang's heist of some diamonds goes awry, a few innocents are shot, and a valuable Native American spear is stolen landing Buster in bureaucratic hot water. Along comes Hank Storm (Phillips), intent upon retrieving the relic of his Sioux tribesmen and avenge the death of his brother. Hank and Buster team up to take Marino down and expose police corruption in the process. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In this undistinguished Stephen King horror adaptation, the good residents of Tarker's Mill are dense enough to ignore or explain away a series of violent deaths until a little boy is torn to pieces while flying his kite after dark. At that point, the men gang up and go into the fog-shrouded woods to hunt down whatever slasher is out there. The most they achieve is the sighting of one hairy arm and a few more sacrificial victims. But life goes on, and when the summer fireworks show is cancelled because people have deduced it might be fatal to stay out after dark, the Coslaw family's invalid, wheelchair-bound son Marty goes coasting off to the bridge to shoot his own fireworks. Needless to say, the hairy killer beast that is certain to be lurking there gets shot in the eyeball by one of Marty's rockets and is now an unhappy hairy killer beast. Even when a respected town biggie starts wearing an eyepatch, no one really takes notice. They must not watch many horror films. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide