Max Raven Movies
- 1997
It looks like a clear-cut case of suicide when a young woman plunges off a bridge. However, disturbing questions are raised during the ensuing investigation thanks to the evasive behavior of the witnesses. The subsequent prosecution boils down to a case of arson, a probable instance of blackmail, and a grown-up version of the traditional "big bully." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
- NR
In this satiric allegory about life on the margins of the entertainment industry, Charlie (Charlie Mattera) is a guy who just wants to find steady work honestly honing on his craft, while his agent thinks that he should lower his sights a bit and take some work he might otherwise think was beneath him. However, Charlie isn't an actor, he's a hit man, and while he's good at his job, he has very strict rules about what sort of assignments he'll take -- he'll only kill women, preferably wives who are unfaithful and an economic burden to their husbands. His agent, on the other hand, thinks that if he's willing to murder the occasional husband for money, they'd both be in better shape. Charlie doesn't care for Los Angeles and is looking for new representation, but in the meantime, he's trying to keep a few steps ahead of the law, hoping that his business partners Johnny (Keith Bogart) and Todd (Todd Newman) will keep their mouths shut, and trying to keep his wife Nina (Nina Siemaszko) happy. Director Jordan Alan and leading man Charlie Mattera created the basic storyline and provided "improvisational guidelines" for the cast; from that point on, the dialogue and other material was generated spontaneously by the cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie Mattera, Keith Bogart, (more)
The inner-workings of a corrupt Las Vegas casino are exposed in Martin Scorsese's story of crime and punishment. The film chronicles the lives and times of three characters: "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro), a bookmaking wizard; Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), a Mafia underboss and longtime best friend to Ace; and Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone, in a role she was born to play), a leggy ex-prostitute with a fondness for jewelry and a penchant for playing the field. Ace plays by the rules (albeit Vegas rules, which, as he reminds the audience in voiceover, would make him a criminal in any other state), while Nicky and Ginger lie, cheat, and steal their respective ways to the top. The film's first hour and a half details their rise to power, while the second half follows their downfall as the FBI, corrupt government officials, and angry mob bosses pick apart their Camelot piece by piece. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, (more)
The ruthless leader of a New York City drug syndicate battles to maintain his power and avoid imprisonment in this fast-moving action drama. While the film's heroes are Scotty (Ice-T) and Nick (Judd Nelson), a pair of tough, streetwise cops, the main focus is their target, drug lord Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes). A criminal businessman with no room for pity or emotion, the flashy but severe Brown has built an empire and transformed an abandoned Harlem apartment building into a well-defended fortress. He begins to consider himself invincible, but his lust for power and the unpredictable actions of a former client turned police informer threaten to bring about his potential downfall. First-time director Mario Van Peebles keeps the traditional plot moving at an appropriately rapid pace, with stylish action sequences and energetic performances. The film's violence was somewhat controversial on its initial release, especially after shooting incidents marred showings in several theaters. However, the film's moral message is clearly anti-drug and anti-crime, its main intent to provide a high-powered, modern take on the gangster movie. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wesley Snipes, Ice-T, (more)
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
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, (more)
Robin Williams stars in this oddball comedy about a fast-talking car salesman who is down on his luck and in over his head until an extreme situation forces him to use his sales skills to save lives. Joey O'Brien (Williams) is the stereotypical car salesman: enterprising, aggressive, and desperate to make enough money to spend on his high-maintenance girlfriends. But suddenly the pressure is really on: he owes money to the mob, his ex-wife is nagging him about not spending enough time with their teenage daughter, and if he doesn't sell at least a dozen cars by the time the big sale is over on Saturday, he's going to lose his job. As Joey attempts to placate several potential buyers, his day is interrupted by Larry (Tim Robbins), the insanely jealous husband of dimwitted showroom receptionist Donna (Annabella Sciorra), who's been having an affair with someone who works at the dealership. With the police surrounding the place, his job (and life) on the line, Joey realizes that it's up to him to use his wits to persuade Larry -- who's not even sure what he wants out of the situation -- not to kill anyone. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Tim Robbins, (more)
Based on a true story as related by neurologist Oliver Sacks, Awakenings stars Robin Williams as the Sacks counterpart, here named Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Something of a klutz and naif, Dr. Sayer takes a job at a Bronx psychiatric hospital in 1969. Here he's put in charge of several seemingly catatonic patients who, under Sayer's painstaking guidance, begin responding to certain stimulati. Apprised of the efficacy of a new drug called L-DOPA in treating degenerative-disease victims, Sayer is given permission to test the drug on one of his patients: Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro), who has not communicated with anyone since lapsing into catatonia as a child. Gradually, Lowe comes out of his shell, encouraging Sayers to administer L-DOPA to the other patients under his care. Julie Kavner and John Heard also star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Robert De Niro, (more)
- 1990
This paranoid thriller begins as Eric Roberts' girlfriend (Janine Turner) is taken away in an ambulance and he can't find her. She's been taken prisoner by Eric Braeden, a crazed doctor who kidnaps people and sells their bodies for spare parts. Roberts hooks up with pretty cop Megan Gallagher to solve the mystery. A campy, action-packed thriller from cult director Larry Cohen (It's Alive), The Ambulance features a cameo by Marvel Comics prez Stan Lee and lots of tongue-in-cheek humor. It's as quirky as Cohen's other genre forays, and is entertaining enough for a rainy day rental, with clever photography by Jacques Haitkin and a tense score by Jay Chattaway. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, (more)
This offbeat police thriller with heavy doses of humor was written by John Patrick Shanley, the former playwright who wrote Cher's hit romantic comedy Moonstruck. Kevin Kline stars as Nick Starkey, a brilliant former New York City police detective who has been exiled to the fire department because of his unorthodox ways. He's called back to service by his police commissioner brother Frank (Harvey Keitel) in the hopes that he can find a bizarre serial killer who's been murdering one woman a month. Nick's condition to agreeing to help is that he gets to cook dinner for Frank and his snooty wife Christine (Susan Sarandon), a former girlfriend of his. Ultimately, Nick uses his Zen-like intuition and some high-tech computer hardware (with prominent product placement plugs) to find the killer, pausing to have an affair with the mayor's beautiful daughter Bernadette (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. In the improbable conclusion, Nick figures out the exact day the killer will strike and the exact apartment! January Man is too tongue-in-cheek to be taken seriously as a thriller. In addition to Keitel and Sarandon the stellar supporting cast includes Rod Steiger as the mayor and Danny Aiello as a tough police captain who rails against Nick's "beatnik" ways. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon, (more)
Thanks to a mix-up at birth, two sets of twins are separated and grow up in radically different social circles. The four baby girls grow up to be Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin-and Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. One of the Midlers is a ruthless New York CEO, while one of the Tomlins is her air-headed "save the whales" business partner. Thousands of miles away in a Southern industrial town, a blue-collar Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin work for a company that the white-collar Midler plans to devour in a hostile takeover. The "poor" Midler and Tomlin head to New York to argue against the takeover, inevitably getting mixed up with the "rich" Midler and Tomlin. Three of the four twins team up to save the small-town company, while CEO Midler remains as nastily greedy as ever. Clear enough? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, (more)
More than anything else, 13-year old New Jerseyite Josh (David Moscow) wants to be "big". That's the wish he makes at an odd-looking amusement pier fortunetelling machine. The next morning, Josh wakes up-only to discover that he's grown to manhood overnight! (At this point, the part is taken over by Tom Hanks). Still a 13-year-old mentally and emotionally, Josh decides to hide out in New York City until he can figure out what to do next. He lucks into a job with a major toy company run by kid-at-heart McMillan (Robert Loggia). By cannily bringing a child's eye view to McMillan's business, Josh rises to the top-and in process, he falls in love with fellow employee Susan (Elizabeth Perkins). But he's still a kid, and he'd like to go back to his own world and own body. Written by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg, Big proved a crucial success for budding director Penny Marshall, who'd work harmoniously with Hanks again on the radically different A League of Their Own. The cinematography was by Barry Sonenfeld, who went on to become a director himself with The Addams Family. That Big was heavily reliant upon the input of Tom Hanks and Penny Marshall was proven by the failed attempt to turn the property into a Broadway musical. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, (more)
When there's a full moon over Brooklyn, anything can happen, and everything happens in the neighborhood where widowed bookkeeper Loretta Castorini (Cher) lives. First, Loretta agrees to marry a man she does not love, Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello), simply because he knows how to propose properly. Before the wedding can take place, Cammareri must visit his dying mother in Sicily. In his absence, Loretta is supposed to try to patch up the differences between Johnny and his brother, bakery operator Ronny Cammareri (Nicolas Cage). Having never forgiven Johnny for indirectly causing the accident that crippled him, Ronny flies into a rage whenever his brother's name is mentioned. He does, however, fall for Loretta like a ton of bricks. After a torrid affair, Loretta tries to avoid Ronny out of respect to Johnny, but he's just too fascinating to resist. Meanwhile, Loretta's father (Vincent Gardenia) is fooling around with his mistress Mona (Anita Gillette), while Loretta's mother (Olympia Dukakis) is wooed by a college professor (John Mahoney). These brief flings are forgiven and forgotten, but there's still the delicate situation of Loretta being in love with her future brother-in-law. A now-classic romantic comedy, Moonstruck won Oscars for Cher, Olympia Dukakis, and screenwriter John Patrick Shanley. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cher, Nicolas Cage, (more)
- 1987
- R
A gumshoe gets in deep kim-chi when he agrees to murder a fellow's wife in exchange for $25,000 up front. No sooner does he accept the money than he is running off to his intended victim to first warn her and then sleep with her. As soon as they finish making love, he learns that she was not the wife and that the real one has been killed. Now the detective finds himself framed for murder and must somehow avoid the determined police detective who constantly dogs him while continuing his own investigation of the circumstances. His search leads him into the fashion-model world where he encounters more deception, double-crossing and danger. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Dee Williams, Vanity, (more)
With this rote but well-cast romantic comedy, writer-director James Toback began his long association with actor Robert Downey, Jr. The latter stars as Jack Jericho, a grade school teacher and smooth operator who zealously polishes his cliched pick-up lines in front of a mirror. Jack's come-ons even work on Randy Jensen (Molly Ringwald), a redheaded museum tour guide who dishes up a stream of retorts, matching Jack's verbal banter. After quickly trysting in the back of Jack's car, Randy flatly thanks him and walks off. Realizing that Randy is his soul mate, Jack gets his pal Phil (Danny Aiello) to find her. She's in Atlantic City, desperately trying to win $25,000 with her paycheck. Her father, Flash (Dennis Hopper), is an inveterate alcoholic who owes the money to a mobster, Alonzo (Harvey Keitel). Alonzo is willing to erase the debt if Randy will sleep with a South American kingpin, so she's trying to hit a jackpot that will get her and Flash off the hook. With a deadline of tomorrow, Jack sets out to get Randy's money and convince her that he's Mr. Right. The Pick-Up Artist was the final film appearance of actress Mildred Dunnock, who played Jack's grandmother. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Molly Ringwald, Robert Downey, Jr., (more)
