For some, it's all they've got and all they'll ever have. For others, it's where they wind up after failing to stay in the big time. For still others, it's where they get top billing while making do with supporting roles in major movies. Three of these guys are, respectively, Costas Mandylor, C. Thomas Howell (who once worked for Francis Ford Coppola), and Michael Madsen (who must really like staying busy). And their sanctuary is in quick-to-video action pictures that show no signs of letting up their assault on your local video stores.
In Costas Mandylor's latest, Crosscut, the actor (Mobsters, Fatal Past) gives a competent if bland performance as a Mob strongman forced to leave town after killing an obnoxious crony who happens to be the son of, well, take a guess. He hides out in a California logging town where the love of a good woman (Megan Gallagher) helps him quit his low-down ways, at least until his cohorts abandon their calamari and come out for a whiff of fresh mountain air. It's all extremely familiar, although the logging subplot is an interesting touch — who'd have thought to cross GoodFellas with Sometimes a Great Notion? C+
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