Empire

Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo) is a drug-dealing gangsta straight out of the Bronx who wonders what he can do to make it big for his baby’s mama. He meets up with polished investment banker Jack (Peter Sarsgaard) at a party and hitches onto a can’t-miss, get-rich-quick scheme. All of the sudden the can’t-miss plan is missing badly and Jack and his scrumptious girlfriend (Denise Richards) aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Chalk this one up as another troubled-guy-in-the-ghetto-trying-to-work-his-way-out drama, as Empire squeezes every last influence dry—from classics like The Godfather to even more classics like New Jack City—with none of the results.