Actor Michael Rispoli (1960)

Empire State (2013) is an American crime drama film that follows the story of two childhood friends who plot to rob an armored car repository, but are met with resistance from an NYPD officer. Chris Potamitis comes from a working-class family in Astoria, Queens, New York during the early 1980s. His immigrant father was recently fired from his job at a questionable Greek social club after ten years of service. Despite his attempts to join the police force, Chris is unable to due to a previous marijuana conviction. He settles for a low-paying job as a security guard at the poorly-run Empire Armored Car Company, where there is little security and morale is low. A tragic ...

Pain & Gain (2013), an American action comedy film directed by Michael Bay, follows the story of ex-con and bodybuilder Daniel Lugo. In 1994, Lugo is hired by Sun Gym owner John Mese to manage the gym. While there, he befriends Adrian Doorbal, a trainer and bodybuilder who has recently been affected by steroid use. Lugo becomes envious of Victor Kershaw, one of the gym’s members whom he also begins to train. After being inspired by motivational speaker Jonny Wu to be more proactive in life, Lugo comes up with a plan to extort Kershaw for his wealth and luxurious lifestyle. With Doorbal’s help and the ...

The film adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s 1998 novel, The Rum Diary (2011), was directed by Bruce Robinson. Paul Kemp is a struggling author who takes a job at a newspaper in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is quickly introduced to the ins and outs of the newspaper world by Sala, a staff photographer who predicts the newspaper’s eventual downfall. After settling into a hotel, Kemp crosses paths with Chenault, an alluring woman he meets while lounging on a boat in the ocean. Despite getting off on the wrong foot with his editor, E.J Lotterman, due to a night of ...

The American action thriller film The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009), directed by Tony Scott and written by Brian Helgeland, revolves around a hijacking scenario. A man known as Ryder, along with his accomplices Bashkin, Emri, and ex-train operator Phil Ramos, take over Pelham 123 – a New York City Subway train at 77th Street. In an attempt to gain control of the situation, Walter Garber – a Metropolitan Transportation Authority employee working as a train dispatcher in the Rail Control Center – receives a call from Ryder demanding $10 million in cash ...

Snake Eyes (1998) is an American mystery thriller film directed and produced by Brian De Palma. On a stormy night in Atlantic City, corrupt police detective Rick Santoro attends a boxing match at the Atlantic City Arena between champion heavyweight Lincoln Tyler and challenger Jose Pacifico Ruiz. He runs into his childhood friend, U.S. Navy Commander Kevin Dunne, who is assisting the Department of Defense in escorting Defense Secretary Charles Kirkland and Arena director Gilbert Powell to the fight after their trip to Norfolk, Virginia. As the first round commences, Kevin becomes captivated by an alluring redhead named ...