Connection To CON AIR - Both Nicolas Cage and Ving Rhames appear in both, but I'm going with Ving Rhames just so I can use Cage at a later date.
NYPD Blue - it's first season, in my humble opinion is among the best first seasons in American TV history, I know there is a lot of competitors but if I was drawing up a list it would be on there without a doubt and for me David Caruso was absolutely brilliant in that show - but after failing to gain a raise he left only a few episodes in to the second season with the hope of being a leading man, and that worked out... well he became a punchline for a while there and is career really didn't get back on track, when he ironically went back to TV with CSI: Miami (which he ended up lasting way longer for him - 10 years), but films like Kiss Of Death and Jade are considered the failed Caruso movies.
Kiss Of Death to me is a good thriller - not great but it's better then adequate - but Caruso is outshine by his co-star... you guessed it Nicolas Cage, this really is Cage's show, he really is the best thing about this movie which also features great talent such as Stanley Tucci, Ving Rhames and Samuel L. Jackson (more subdued then the Jackson we usually know), there's also future Oscar Winner Helen Hunt - but I didn't include because honestly I'm not a fan of hers, she's been in some good movies for sure but I've just never liked her performance, I just can't put my finger on it (I still prefer her to Meg Ryan though)
Kiss of Death is loosely based on the 1947 film noir of the same name - which I've never seen so can't comment on differences etc. - Caruso plays Jimmy whose an ex-con living with wife (Hunt), both of which are ex-alcoholics and daughter. Jimmy gets woken by his cousin Ronnie (Michael Rapaport) who desperately needs his help, his finger his broken and that if he doesn't help Little Junior Brown (Cage) will kill him.
Little Junior angry they are so behind schedule, insists they move four trucks full of stolen cars in a caravan instead of staggering them to avoid detection, which ends up drawing the attention of the police, when they arrive at their destination to unload the cars the police arrive to arrest but during this Jimmy's passenger shoots at the police the bullet of which goes through Jimmy and below the right of Detective Hart (Samuel L. Jackson) who survives it. The Brown family lawyer promises Jimmy that his wife will be taken care of if he takes the tap and not name the other criminals. Ronnie ends up shortening on her allowance (giving her $150 instead of the $400 the Brown's intended). She agrees to work for Ronnie at his chop shop where she goes to the Brown's club and ends up drinking vodka and wakes up in Ronnie's bed and horrified or relapse she rushes to leave but drives head on into a truck and dies. I'll stop here because I feel like I'm doing the plot bit by bit but I'll just say Ronnie gives a crappy reason to Jimmy about the death so Jimmy agrees to turn states witness...
Like I have already said it's a good thriller, while it's not the best of it's genre it does it's job well and I was actually interested in where the story was going but like I said Cage is just awesome every time he's on screen as the asthmatic psychopath (I'm one of them things see if you can guess which one), SPOILER his killing of Ronnie is one of the films most memorable END OF SPOILER
Overall a shame for Caruso it did nothing at the box-office but Jade would have destroyed any clout he had from this but it's enjoyable and comes recommended.
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