Ann Talman Movies
- 1999
Carolyn McCormick returns to Law & Order in the role of Dr. Elizabeth Olivet, a former police psychologist now in private practice. When detective Green (Jesse L. Martin) coaxes a confession from the ten-year-old suspect in a school killing, the D.A.'s office calls in Dr. Olivet to examine the perpetrator. Is the boy indeed the killer -- and if so, is there the likelihood that he will kill again? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1992
For various reasons, some of them legitimate, Frank (Joe Regalbuto) and Jim (Charles Kimbrough) turn down the opportunity to be Murphy's Lamaze class partner, while Murphy (Candice Bergen) herself turns down Corky's offer to help out (the fact Corky [Faith Ford once assisted in a calf's birth does not qualify her as an expert). Thus it is that Eldin (Robert Pastorelli) shows up to assist Murphy in preparation for natural birth. However, the prospect terrifies them both--especially Murphy, who pays next to no attention to the instructor--and to top it off, the rest of the class is fed up with our heroine's imbecilic wisecracks! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the tradition of This Is Spinal Tap, producer/ director/ star Tim Robbins' Bob Roberts is a satire disguised as a documentary. Robbins plays the titular Roberts, a wealthy, well-connected young man running for a senatorial seat in Pennsylvania. On the surface, Roberts is an ingratiating glad-hander, a sincere believer in the restoration of such intangibles as national pride, family values, etc. But the longer Roberts is followed about by documentary filmmaker Brian Murray, the more we become aware that the candidate is a textbook case of cynicism and contempt. Only Giancarlo Esposito, a reporter for an underground newspaper, is willing to dig beneath Roberts' veneer--a habit that leads to the film's ironic conclusion. Several well-known actors make cameo appearances as TV commentators, notably Tim Robbins' longtime partner Susan Sarandon. Bob Roberts started out as a Tim Robbins-directed short subject for the TV series Saturday Night Live, then was expanded into a $4 million feature. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 1990
For reasons that may be obvious to anyone who's seen the film, Suffering Bastards is usually not mentioned on the "official" resume of actor/performance artist Eric Bogosian. The story involves a pair of ne'er-do-well brothers (Bogosian and John C. McGinley). Because of the revenue accrued by their mother's nightclub, the two grown siblings have never done a lick of work in their lives. But when mom is swindled out of her business, the boys are moved to act. The rest is an incoherent swirl of "sting" operations, zaftick females and funny costumes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John C. McGinley, David Warshofsky, (more)
This offbeat police thriller with heavy doses of humor was written by John Patrick Shanley, the former playwright who wrote Cher's hit romantic comedy Moonstruck. Kevin Kline stars as Nick Starkey, a brilliant former New York City police detective who has been exiled to the fire department because of his unorthodox ways. He's called back to service by his police commissioner brother Frank (Harvey Keitel) in the hopes that he can find a bizarre serial killer who's been murdering one woman a month. Nick's condition to agreeing to help is that he gets to cook dinner for Frank and his snooty wife Christine (Susan Sarandon), a former girlfriend of his. Ultimately, Nick uses his Zen-like intuition and some high-tech computer hardware (with prominent product placement plugs) to find the killer, pausing to have an affair with the mayor's beautiful daughter Bernadette (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. In the improbable conclusion, Nick figures out the exact day the killer will strike and the exact apartment! January Man is too tongue-in-cheek to be taken seriously as a thriller. In addition to Keitel and Sarandon the stellar supporting cast includes Rod Steiger as the mayor and Danny Aiello as a tough police captain who rails against Nick's "beatnik" ways. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Kline, Susan Sarandon, (more)
"Greed is Good." This is the credo of the aptly named Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), the antihero of Oliver Stone's Wall Street. Gekko, a high-rolling corporate raider, is idolized by young-and-hungry broker Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen). Inveigling himself into Gekko's inner circle, Fox quickly learns to rape, murder and bury his sense of ethics. Only when Gekko's wheeling and dealing causes a near-tragedy on a personal level does Fox "reform"-though his means of destroying Gekko are every bit as underhanded as his previous activities on the trading floor. Director Stone, who cowrote Wall Street with Stanley Weiser, has claimed that the film was prompted by the callous treatment afforded his stockbroker father after 50 years in the business; this may be why the film's most compelling scenes are those between Bud Fox and his airline mechanic father (played by Charlie Sheen's real-life dad Martin). Ironically, Wall Street was released just before the October, 1987 stock market crash. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, (more)
