Gene Canfield Movies

In this concluding episode of a two-part "crossover" story which began on Law & Order's sister series Law & Order: SVU, the D.A.'s office endeavors to connect the murder of a salesman with the politically influential Mulroney family. Despite pressure brought to bear by powerful matriarch Regina Mulroney (Jane Alexander), A.D.A. Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) refuses to drop the prosecution. Featured in the cast are SVU regulars Richard Belzer (as Detective John Munch), Christopher Meloni (Detective Elliot Stabler), Mariska Hargitay (Detective Olivia Bensen), and Dann Florek (Captain Don Cragen). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this throwback to films noir of the 1940s, Jack Morrisey (Denis Leary) is a pianist and songwriter who has been touring the club circuit with his lady love, Vicky (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon). Jack and Vicky have talent, but they haven't gotten the breaks; they're stone broke and at the end of their collective rope when Eddie (Michael Badalucco), a private eye who knows Jack, makes the couple an offer. Fred Moore (Terence Stamp), a very wealthy man who is something of a fan of Jack's music, is attracted to Vicky. Fred's money and property are, for legal reasons, primarily in the name of his wife, who wants a divorce. If Eddie can provide hard evidence that Fred is cheating on his wife, she'll stand to keep most of his money in a divorce, and Eddie will be kicked back a good chunk of change. Eddie, in turn, will be more than happy to share his wealth with Jack and Vicky, if Vicky would be willing to seduce Fred for the purposes of creating blackmail photos. Though she was a major star in Latin America, this was only the second English language film for Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, after her appearance alongside Keanu Reeves in A Walk in the Clouds. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A janitor is found murdered in a college science laboratory. The prime suspect is a student employee (Mark Bateman) with a troubled past. In a spectacular, suspenseful, and emotional climax, the D.A.'s office goes after a college scientist (John Bedford Lloyd) indulging in experimental drug research -- a prosecution which hinges upon a suppressed medical report. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bigotry and values are questioned when a Black West Point cadet is singled out and harassed by fellow cadets and senior officers. ~ All Movie Guide

Bullets Over Broadway is a Woody Allen romp that, as the title suggests, combines gangsters with show business at the height of the Roaring Twenties. David Shayne (John Cusack) is a straight-arrow playwright who plans to stand firm against compromising his work, but quickly abandons that stance when his producer (Jack Warden) finds a backer to mount his show on Broadway. There's just one catch, however: the backer is a mobster (Joe Viterelli) who sees Shayne's play as a vehicle for his dizzy, talent-free girlfriend, Olive (Jennifer Tilly). Shayne also has to deal with the demands of veteran theatre diva Helen Sinclair (Dianne Wiest) and is shocked to discover that Olive's hitman bodyguard, Cheech (Chazz Palminteri), is probably a better playwright than he is, as he secretly revises Shayne's work when he sits in on rehearsals. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Stacy Cochran's debut film is a black comedy about a yuppie couple (Diane Lane and Stephen Collins) whose lives are turned upside down by the purchase of a .38 revolver. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Driven by an extravagant, tour-de-force performance by Al Pacino, Scent of a Woman is the story of Frank Slade (Pacino), a blind, retired army colonel who hires Charlie Simms (Chris O'Donnell), a poor college student on the verge of expulsion, to take care of him over Thanksgiving weekend. At the beginning of the weekend, Frank takes Charlie to New York, where he reveals to the student that he intends to visit his family, have a few terrific meals, sleep with a beautiful woman and, finally, commit suicide. The film follows the mis-matched pair over the course of the weekend, as they learn about life through their series of adventures. Though the story is a little contrived and predictable, it pulls all the right strings, thanks to O'Donnell's sympathetic supporting role and Pacino's powerful lead performance, for which he won his first Academy Award. Scent of a Woman is based on the 1975 Italian film Profumo Di Donna. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

A 17-year-old suffers a fatal heart attack which results in a major traffic accident. This tragedy leads to a morass of legal complications involving the sale of faulty pacemakers. Assistant D.A.'s Stone (Michael Moriarty) and Robinette (Richard Brooks) must determine who, at the end of the day, is truly to blame: the dead youth's doctor, the pacemaker salesman, or the manufacturer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this concluding episode of the first two-part Law & Order, the case against mob boss Frank Masucci (Charles Cioffi), aka "the Dandy Don," ignominiously collapses in a heap. Frustrated, assistant D.A. Stone (Michael Moriarty) vows to put Masucci in prison by whatever means necessary. Unfortunately, this may require the D.A.'s office to place their confidence in Masucci's brother-in-law Harv Beigel (Bruce Altman), whose "cooperation" has already resulted in disaster. Meanwhile, detectives Greevey (George Dzundza) and Logan (Chris Noth), likewise anxious to get rid of Masucci, turn up the heat on a "small fish" named Joe Pilefsky (Stephen McHattie). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Martin Scorsese explores the life of organized crime with his gritty, kinetic adaptation of Nicolas Pileggi's best-selling Wiseguy, the true-life account of mobster and FBI informant Henry Hill. Set to a true-to-period rock soundtrack, the story details the rise and fall of Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian New York kid who grows up idolizing the "wise guys" in his impoverished Brooklyn neighborhood. He begins hanging around the mobsters, running errands and doing odd jobs until he gains the notice of local chieftain Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino), who takes him in as a surrogate son. As he reaches his teens, Hill (Ray Liotta) is inducted into the world of petty crime, where he distinguishes himself as a "stand-up guy" by choosing jail time over ratting on his accomplices. From that moment on, he is a part of the family. Along with his psychotic partner Tommy (Joe Pesci), he rises through the ranks to become Paulie's lieutenant; however, he quickly learns that, like his mentor Jimmy (Robert DeNiro), his ethnicity prevents him from ever becoming a "made guy," an actual member of the crime family. Soon he finds himself the target of both the feds and the mobsters, who feel that he has become a threat to their security with his reckless dealings. Goodfellas was rewarded with six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture; Pesci would walk away with Best Supporting Actor for his work. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

Sea of Love is a sexy, atmospheric thriller, very much in the style of Alfred Hitchcock, with involving characters, steamy love scenes, and surprising plot twists. Frank Keller (Al Pacino), is a lonely, tired, disillusioned, police detective, who has a problem with alcohol. Frank is investigating a serial killer, whom he believes finds victims by using personal ads in magazines, killing them while playing the old record "Sea of Love." In a scene both amusing and touching, Frank and his partner, Sherman (John Goodman) --aided by Frank's father (William Hickey in a lovely cameo) place a personal ad, hoping to lure the killer. Helen Cruger (Ellen Barkin), a tough, sexy single mother answers the ad and begins an affair with Frank, despite the fact that she is one of the prime suspects in the case. The suspense builds as Frank, though deeply drawn to Helen, becomes more and more suspicious of her. In a splendidly crafted script from Richard Price, the plot is compelling, with plenty of action, terrific authentic dialogue and superb characterization. Ellen Barkin gives a marvelous performance as an independent, sensual and intriguing femme fatale; John Goodman is excellent as Sherman, giving a likable, shrewd, and subtly comic performance; and Pacino, in perhaps his best performance since Dog Day Afternoon, plays Frank as a man on the edge, reckless and self-destructive, lost and alone. Frank falls in love with Helen, in spite of himself, because of his loneliness and need. Pacino's skill in showing the vulnerability and neediness of Frank explains the somewhat implausible actions of his character in continuing their affair despite the mounting evidence against Helen. Harold Becker directs with great flair, bringing the story believability, without lapsing into false sentimentality. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide