Joe Napolitano Movies
- 1997
The country is thrown into a panic when passengers aboard a routine flight from South American are discovered to have been exposed to cholera during the flight. Following the autopsy of the dread disease's first victim, officials launch a desperate all-out search for the remaining passengers and crew. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Wagner, Tom Wopat, (more)
- 1994
"Darkness Falls" is set in a Washington State logging camp, where 30 loggers have mysteriously vanished. Investigating, Mulder and Scully are teamed with local forest ranger Larry Moore (Jason Beghe), who is convinced that the disappearances are the handiwork of a militant band of ecological terrorists. But the two agents learn that a different group of culprits are responsible: a swarm of ancient insects who are hypersensitive to sunlight. Originally telecast April 15, 1994, this X-Files entry was written by series creator Chris Carter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Mulder and Scully are assigned to investigate a savage murder in the outskirts of Atlantic City. All evidence suggests that the killer is the Jersey Devil, a legendary "Sasquatch" who has supposedly roamed the New Jersey countryside for four decades. Naturally, Scully is convinced that a human killer is responsible, but Mulder will not be dissuaded -- after all, the victim was not only killed, but nearly devoured. First telecast October 8, 1993, "The Jersey Devil" was written by X-Files creator Chris Carter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
In this third-season episode of the TV sci-fi series Quantum Leap, time-and-space traveller Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) "leaps" into the body of one Samuel Beederman. It isn't long before Beckett discovers that Beederman is (a) a manic-depressive, (b) trapped in a dismal mental institution, and ( c ) slated for shock therapy. While undergoing this horrendous experience, Beckett flashes back to the various other personalities he's assumed in previous Quantum Leap episodes. The final episode of the series' 1990-91 season, "Shock Theater", originally telecast May 22, 1991, was designed as a "cliffhanger" to entice viewers to tune in for the fourth-season opener in September. In that episode, we would learn that Beckett's sojourn in Beederman's body would have profound and severe after-effects, not only on Beckett himself, but on his holographic observer Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The made-for-TV Earth Angel stars Cathy Bodewell as Angela, a prom queen who dies in 1962. Unfortunately, Angela has not always lived up to her name, and her entry into Heaven is held up indefinitely. She is given a chance to redeem herself by returning to earth in 1990, where she is to successfully complete an important mission. Thing of it is, she has no idea what her mission is-though she suspects it has something to do with romance. Clearly intended as a hybrid of Ghost and Peggy Sue Got Married, Earth Angel was first telecast March 4, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cathy Podewell, Cindy Williams, (more)
- 1991
Quantum Leap, a TV sci-fi series with a humanistic touch, starred Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, who thanks to a mistimed experiment finds himself travelling through time, "leaping" into the bodies of others. In "Dreams", Beckett assumes the identity of homicide detective Lt. Jack Stone. While investigating a particularly nasty murder, Beckett cannot shake Lt. Stone's own horrible memories. But, as Beckett's holographic observer Al (Dean Stockwell) points out, these memories may help Sam prevent Stone's own murder. "Dreams" was originally telecast November 13, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
The standard operating procedure of the TV sci-fi series Quantum Leap was to show physicist Samuel Beckett travelling backward and forward in time, "leaping" into the personalities of others, in the hopes of altering the fate of those others. In the series' 1990-91 season opener, "The Leap Home", Dr. Beckett assumes his own personality-that is, he becomes 16-year-old Indiana farm boy Sam Beckett in the year 1969. Armed with foreknowledge, Sam endeavors to keep his sister (Carolina Kava) from marrying a number-one jerk, to prevent his the death of his brother (David Newsom) in Vietnam, and to try to save his father from succumbing to a heart attack. Series star Scott Bakula plays both Sam Beckett and Sam's dad. "The Leap Home" originally aired September 28, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This feel-good ensemble comedy tracks a quartet of suburban siblings and their families over the course of a single summer. Hardworking Gil Buckman (Steve Martin) and his stay-at-home wife, Karen (Mary Steeenburgen), have just a few months to help their oldest son, Kevin (Jasen Fisher), overcome his high-strung behavior problems before he'll be relegated to special-education classes. Gil's difficult relationship with his own father, Frank (Jason Robards), has led him to become a would-be super-dad for his three kids, so he takes his son's difficulties more than a little personally. Gil's sister, Helen (Dianne Wiest), is trying to raise a moody, adolescent son (Leaf Phoenix) and an independent-minded daughter (Martha Plimpton) with no help from her well-off ex-husband, who's more interested in his new wife and family. Gil and Helen's sister, Susan (Harley Jane Kozak), meanwhile, must participate in the too-scripted Big Life Plans of her anal-retentive husband, Nathan (Rick Moranis), whose overachiever zeal infects even their toddler daughter. When long-lost brother Larry (Tom Hulce) show up with yet another get-rich-quick scheme, he brings with him a surprise addition to the family. Screenwriters Babaloo Mandel, Lowell Ganz, and Ron Howard negotiate their varied subplots with a deftness and comedic touch that transforms this conflicted clan into a suburban everyfamily. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, (more)
In Last Rites a serious thriller on a sensational topic, a priest falls in love with a woman he is protecting. Father Michael (Tom Berenger), a priest with family ties to the mob, helps a woman on the run. Angela (Daphne Zuniga) is the mistress of a murdered Mafia Don, now being hunted by hitmen hired by the Don's infuriated wife. As Father Michael realizes he is falling in love, both his faith and his vows are severely tested. Directed with restraint and respect for the subject matter by Donald Bellisario, the film still caused controversy and was criticized because of love scenes between the priest and the woman. Despite this criticism and despite the fact that the film is somewhat slow and predictable, Last Rites has fine performances by its cast and is an entertaining thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Berenger, Daphne Zuniga, (more)
The "exchange murders" plot gambit, played with utter solemnity in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, is used as the launching pad for raucous laughter in Throw Momma From the Train. Director/star Danny DeVito plays Owen Lift, a middle-aged bachelor, totally dominated by his gorgon mother, played with hilarious ferocity by Anne Ramsey. Billy Crystal co-stars as Larry Donner, a creative-writing professor, saddled with a vituperative, thoroughly despicable ex-wife, Margaret (Kate Mulgrew). Signing up for Larry's writing course, Owen has trouble at first with character development and construction in his stories. Larry recommends that Owen watch a screening of Strangers on a Train, which he considered a model of tight, concise storytelling. Owen is so entranced by the film that he decides to emulate Strangers star Robert Walker. That is, Owen wants Larry to bump off his mother, in exchange for Owen's murder of Margaret. Without being asked, Owen does away with Margaret (or so it seems), then hounds Larry to the point of killing "Momma." This being a comedy, the actual consequences of the swap-murder plot aren't nearly as calamitous as in the Hitchcock film. Cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld would apply the "black humor" lessons learned in Throw Momma From the Train for his own directorial debut, The Addams Family (1991). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Danny DeVito, Billy Crystal, (more)
Like the TV series that shared the same title, The Untouchables (1987) was an account of the battle between gangster Al Capone and lawman Eliot Ness, this time in the form of a feature film boasting big stars, a big budget, and a script from respected playwright David Mamet. Kevin Costner stars as Ness, a federal agent who has come to Chicago during the Prohibition Era, when corruption in the local police department is rampant. His mission is to put crime lord Capone (Robert De Niro) out of business, but Capone is so powerful and popular that Ness is not taken seriously by the law or the press. One night, discouraged, he meets a veteran patrolman, Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery), and discovers that the acerbic Irishman is the one honest man he's been seeking. Malone has soon helped Ness recruit a gunslinger rookie, George Stone (Andy Garcia), and, joined by nebbish accountant Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith), the men doggedly pursue Capone and his illegal interests. At first a laughingstock, Ness soon has Capone outraged over his and Malone's sometimes law-bending tactics, and the vain mobster strikes back in vicious style. Ultimately, it is the most unexpected and minor of crimes, tax evasion, which proves Capone's undoing. All of the credits for The Untouchables boasted big names, including music from Ennio Morricone and costumes by Giorgio Armani. Director Brian De Palma continued his tradition of including a homage to past masters of the cinema with a taut stairway shoot-out reminiscent of a similar sequence in Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin (1925). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, (more)
In Body Double, director Brian DePalma pays homage to the Alfred Hitchcock movies Vertigo and Rear Window, adding a few grotesque touches all his own. Craig Wasson plays Jake, a struggling actor who keeps losing jobs because of his claustrophobia. To make matters worse, his girlfriend has walked out on him, so he has no place to sleep. His pal offers him the use of his apartment for the evening. The apartment happens to be equipped with a huge picture window and telescope, enabling him to spy on his beautiful neighbor Gloria (Deborah Shelton) while she undresses. He also bears witness to her brutal murder. And then he meets a porn star (Melanie Griffith), who has just taken a job posing as the late Gloria. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Wasson, Gregg Henry, (more)
Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, an exiled Cuban criminal who goes to work for Miami drug lord Robert Loggia. Montana rises to the top of Florida's crime chain, appropriating Loggia's cokehead mistress (Michelle Pfeiffer) in the process. Howard Hawks' "X Marks the Spot" motif in depicting the story line's many murders is dispensed with in the 1983 Scarface; instead, we are inundated with blood by the bucketful, especially in the now-infamous buzz saw scene. One carry-over from the original Scarface is Tony Montana's incestuous yearnings for his sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). The screenplay for the 1983 Scarface was written by Oliver Stone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, (more)
Brian De Palma's homage to Michelangelo Antonioni's classic art movie Blow-Up (1966) blends suspense and political paranoia when a Philadelphia soundman inadvertently records a murder. Former police technician Jack Terri (John Travolta) makes his living doing sound for slasher flicks. While recording new outdoor effects one night, Jack witnesses a couple's car careen off a bridge into a river, but he can save only the female occupant, Sally (Nancy Allen). Jack begins to suspect something when he learns that her dead companion was a Presidential hopeful. Re-playing his tape over and over, Jack thinks that he hears a gun shot before the crash-causing tire blow-out. When sleazy photographer Manny Karp (Dennis Franz) comes forward with photos of the accident, Jack discovers the real reason that the naïve Sally was in the car -- and also a way to prove his auditory suspicions through motion pictures. Even with all his surveillance talent, however, Jack cannot see (or hear) how dangerous the big picture really is until it's too late. Taking a break from horror films, De Palma turned his interests in technology and voyeurism toward more politically loaded subject matter at the dawn of the Reagan era; the film's red, white and blue mise-en-scène, "Liberty Day" celebration climax, and conspiracy surrounding political "dirty tricks" suggest that American politics are still rotten, seven years after Watergate, . Although Blow Out earned some favorable notice, particularly for Travolta's first "adult" performance, De Palma's downbeat film did not go over well with 1981 summer audiences. Rather than blockbuster escapism, Blow Out instead harks back to 1970s political thrillers like The Parallax View (1974), using cinematic fireworks to tell an unsettling story about one man's struggle against unstoppable corruption. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Nancy Allen, (more)
The First Deadly Sin was Frank Sinatra's final starring movie vehicle. Based on a novel by Lawrence Sanders, it casts Sinatra as Edward Delaney, a big-city detective on the verge of retirement. Beset with profound personal problems--including a gravely ill wife (Faye Dunaway)--Delaney nonetheless tackles the case of an axe murderer who seemingly strikes at random. Be on the lookout for an unbilled Bruce Willis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frank Sinatra, Faye Dunaway, (more)
