Annabella Sciorra Movies

A woman discovers she has miraculous powers that make her unhappy life all the more complicated in this independent satiric comedy. Gwen (Martha Plimpton) is a woman in her mid-thirties who has been in a deep funk ever since her marriage fell apart. With nowhere to go, Gwen is living with her sister, Queenie (Amy Ryan), and brother-in-law, Lars (Ewen Bremner), and Queenie tries to lift her sister's sagging spirits by setting her up on a blind date. The date doesn't go well, but when her would-be suitor is unable to get his car started, Gwen discovers to her surprise that she can repair the auto with her psychic powers. Word gets around about Gwen's unusual talent, and soon neighbors are lining up to let Gwen fix old appliances with her mind, while Lars makes a fast buck charging folks for the privilege. But when it's discovered Gwen's talents don't stop at repairing toasters, Queenie and Lars launch her on a career as a faith healer. Queenie soon installs herself as Gwen's public sidekick and mouthpiece, while they hire Laura (Annabella Sciorra) to manage Gwen's growing public profile. But Gwen is no happier as a famous psychic and faith healer that she was immediately after her divorce, and she increasingly seeks solace in alcohol. "Marvelous" was screened in competition at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Less lurid than its title suggests, this made-for-TV movie was based on the true story of the trials and tribulations of three generations of New Orleans prostitutes. Ellen Burstyn stars as Tommie, matriarch of the "working girl" family which operates out of a brothel in an otherwise quiet, respectable neighborhood. Tommie is the domineering boss of her daughter Jeanette (Annabella Sciorra), who had followed in mom's footsteps (so to speak) because she had no alternative. Conversely, Jeannette's daughter Monica (Dominique Swain) is showing signs of rebellion, hoping to break free from her grandmother's grasp for the sake of her own daughter Navaeh. The family's internal squabbles are played against a backdrop of federal intrigue, as the FBI works overtime to nail Tommie and her family on charges of racketeering and drug trafficking. But just when it looks like the jig is up thanks to the testimony of a local doctor, Tommie saves herself by threatening to reveal a few unsavory secrets about a few highly placed male individuals. The real-life Jeannette Maier acted as the film's technical advisor, insisting in press releases that she and her mother ran a "clean, tight, business" and that the FBI's charges were so much applesauce (it is clear where the filmmakers' sympathies lie in those scenes wherein the Feds are shown wiretapping the ladies' business when they should be concentrating on capturing the terrorist perpetrators of 9/11). The Madam's Family debuted October 31, 2004 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Television director Andy Cadiff turns toward feature films to direct the romantic comedy Chasing Liberty, which appears to be loosely based on the 1953 Audrey Hepburn classic Roman Holiday. Mandy Moore stars as Anna Foster, the 18-year-old daughter of President of the United States James Foster (Mark Harmon). Anna has led quite a privileged life, but she has grown to resist the constant presence of Secret Service agents getting in the way of her independence. While on a family trip to Europe, Anna manages to get away from security for a brief time. She inevitably falls into the romantic arms of British boy Ben Calder (Matthew Goode), with whom she enjoys a fresh and clean European vacation. Not wanting to ruin her fun, she doesn't tell him about her upper-class social status. But, alas, Ben surprises her with a secret identity of his own. Jeremy Piven and Annabella Sciorra play two Secret Service agents. Caroline Goodall plays the wise, conventional First Lady. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

A reporter might have to pay with her life for a big story in this independent crime drama. A small town is gripped with fear when a serial killer with an unusual way of doing his dirty work arrives on the scene. The killer stalks his victims for several days with a video camera before moving in for the kill -- and then sends a copy of the tape to his next victim. Jessie St. Clair (Rachael Leigh Cook) is an ambitious but inexperienced reporter working for a local television station who thinks covering this story could be a stepping stone to bigger things, and Jessie cynically milks the town's fear for all it's worth with the help of producer Jane Berger (Annabella Sciorra) and cameraman Rob (Kip Pardue). Jessie is upset to discover she has competition from Albert Bodine (Cary Elwes), who is covering the murders for a popular tabloid television series, but she soon has bigger things to worry about when she receives a video in the mail which indicates she's the killer's next intended target. American Crime was directed by Dan Mintz, who also served as cinematographer. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Being head of the Northern New Jersey branch of the DiMeo crime family is no bed of roses for Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) in Season Three of HBO's The Sopranos. Tony's headaches begin early on with the dangerously unstable, sexually deviant and recklessly profane Ralph Cifaretto (Joe Pantoliano) returns to the organization after a lengthy absence. Though there's no love lost between the two men, Tony arranges for Ralph to take over the illicit business operations of the late Richie Aprile, who'd been bumped off in a fit of rage by Tony's treacherous sister Janice (Aida Turturro) the previous season. Also causing trouble is another new arrival on the scene: Richie's nephew Jackie Aprile Jr. (Jason Carbone), nicknamed "Little Lord F**kpants" because of his pathetic inability to live up to the standards and expectations of his celebrated criminal family. Though Tony tolerates Jackie Jr. and somewhat admires the boy's efforts to live a clean life away from Uncle Richie's influence, things quickly go south when Jackie becomes involved with Tony's daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lyn Sigler)--and also tries to emulate his no-good uncle, turning into a pariah by planning--and bungling--a robbery on his own. Blood kin or no blood kin, Ralph has to "deal" with Jackie Jr., arranging with all-purpose henchman Vito Spatafore (Joseph R. Gannascoli) to handle the dirty details. Elsewhere, Tony's protégé Christopher (Michael Imperioli) has been fully embraced by the Family, despite his ongoing war of wills with veteran capo Paulie Walnuts (Tony Sirico); Tony's analyst Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) the identity of her rapist a secret from Tony, so that she won't have anyone's murder on her conscience; and the FBI comes a-cropper planting an electronic bug in the Soprano mansion. One of the Season Three story arcs was to involve Tony's spiteful mother Livia, who was to have testified against her son in a federal trial. The death of actress Nancy Marchand (Livia Soprano) put an end to these plans, but through the magic of CGI Livia makes one final "appearance" to make her son's life even more miserable than usual. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

One man lives two very different lives in this suspense thriller. Lisa (Annabella Sciorra) is a computer science instructor who is happily married to James Stockton (Scott Bakula), a businessman who has enjoyed considerable success as a land developer. Lisa and James are the proud parents of a daughter, Stacy (Cait Gentile), and James would seem to be the ideal father, eagerly volunteering for community activities and coaching Stacy's Little League team. But James is not really the man he seems to be -- James Stockton is actually a new identity fabricated 14 years ago by Tony Mancini, a mobster on the run from the law after killing his girlfriend. Shortly before Mancini disappeared, he was given a set of books with enough information on the Mafia's financial dealings to bring down the organized crime syndicate once and for all. One detective has refused to give up on his search for Mancini, and as he begins to zero in on James Stockton, Lisa finds herself wondering what the truth is about the man she thought she knew. Above Suspicion also stars Edward Asner, George Dzundza, and Red West. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Actor Laurence Fishburne makes his debut as a director in this urban drama adapted from his one-act stage play Riff Raff. 20/20 Mike (Fishburne) and his half-brother Torch (Titus Welliver) bump into each other under less than ideal circumstances -- both are in jail, Mike on parole violation and Torch for theft. Torch is a heroin addict who has trouble financing his habit, so when Mike says he has a plan to make some quick money, Torch is more than eager to help. Mike and Torch try to swindle Hector (Andres "Dres" Titus), who works with his uncle Freddie Nine Lives (Dominic Chianese Jr.) as a bagman for drug kingpin Manny Rivera (Paul Calderon). While Mike and Torch are able to grab a large cache of heroin that Hector is carrying for Manny, the plan soon goes haywire and Hector and his men suffer heavy casualties. Mike and Torch go on the lam, while Manny's henchmen find Freddie and beat a confession out of him -- in which he names Mike and Torch as the thieves. Manny wants his money back and hires an enforcer named Tony (Eamonn Walker) to find Mike and Torch and get the cash. To insure that Tony doesn't waste time, Manny holds Tony's wife (Annabella Sciorra) captive until the money is returned. Noted jazz artist Branford Marsalis composed the film's original music score. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Abel Ferrara directed this erotic thriller adapted by Ferrara and Christ Zois from a short story by science fiction author William Gibson (in his Burning Chrome collection). Global corporations rule the world, and corporate raider Fox (Christopher Walken) and his deputy X (Willem Dafoe) could pocket $100 million if they can get top scientist Hiroshi (Yoshitaka Amano) to defect from one corporation to another. Fox offers singer Sandii (Asia Argento) $1 million to seduce Hiroshi away from his wife, family, and employer. An affair develops between Sandii and X, while she studies facts about Hiroshi's life. She departs on her assignment, but betrayals ensue, with Fox and X soon becoming targets themselves. With opening credits in three languages (English, German, Japanese), the soundtrack features the score-composition debut of hip-hopper Schoolly D, music which plays over a blank screen at the wrap-up (since the film has no closing credits). This Gibson short story was a property once in development by director Kathryn Bigelow. The title story of Gibson's Burning Chrome collection was planned as the second Heavy Metal movie, intended for live-action and scripted but never filmed. Shown in competition at the 1998 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

The second film from writer/director James Mangold, the corruption drama Cop Land stars Sylvester Stallone as Freddy Heflin, the much-denigrated sheriff of tiny Garrison, NJ, a community which -- thanks to a technicality -- is populated almost entirely by members of the New York City Police Department. When young cop Murray "Superboy" Babitch (Michael Rapaport) becomes embroiled in a controversial shoot-out which leaves two black youths dead, he apparently commits suicide rather than face the wrath of an official investigation. In reality, however, he flees to safety back home in Garrison. In the wake of the controversial events, NYPD Internal Affairs lieutenant Moe Tilden (Robert De Niro) arrives in Garrison to uncover the truth, attempting to enlist Freddy to help watch the watchmen, including Superboy's uncle, veteran cop Ray Donlan (Harvey Keitel); coked-out Gary Figgis (Ray Liotta); and Joey Randone (Peter Berg), the husband of the woman (Annabella Sciorra) Freddy loved and lost. A rich, complex film about redemption, Cop Land's portrayal of Freddy's struggles to prove his worth mirrors Stallone's own return to thoughtful, character-driven drama after years of vacuous action roles. Like Freddy, he faces an uphill battle, fighting for respectability in the face of a superb cast including Janeane Garofalo, Cathy Moriarty, and Paul Calderon. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Michael Biehn and Annabella Sciorra star in this drama about how the lives of a group of people in Dallas, TX -- doctors, firefighters, astronomers, and their families -- are affected when it is discovered that a huge asteroid is heading for the earth, with Dallas as the target. First aired as a miniseries for television. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cult figure Abel Ferrara directed this dark, emotional tale of life among the criminal underworld, set in the late 1930s. The Tempio Brothers -- Ray (Christopher Walken), Chez (Chris Penn), and Johnny (Vincent Gallo) -- work with the mob; Ray is the cool and methodical type, Chez is an angry man who tends to fly off the handle, and Johnny is the odd man out, whose work with labor unions has given him a strong interest in socialism. When Johnny is murdered by rival mobster Gaspare (Benicio del Toro), it has a profound effect on his brothers. Ray is determined to seek revenge, even though his wife Jeanette (Anabella Sciorra), realizing a reprisal will only lead to more violence, begs him to reconsider, while Chez begins losing his tenuous grip on reality, causing no small discomfort for his wife Clara (Isabella Rossellini). In time, both brothers are forced to deal with the ugly repercussions of their family's long-standing criminal lifestyle. Chris Penn's performance as Chez earned him the "Best Actor" trophy at the 1996 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi