Ellen Kuras Movies

When a bumbling movie lover becomes magnetized while attempting to sabotage a local power plant and accidentally erases all of the videotapes in the small video store where his best friend works, the pair attempt to keep the store's loyal customer base by remaking as many of the top-renting movies as possible. Mike (Mos Def) is an employee at Be Kind Rewind, a modest mom and pop video store that is owned by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover). Mike's best friend Jerry (Jack Black) works in an auto garage/junkyard directly adjacent to a local power plant. Lately Jerry has become increasingly paranoid about the effects that the power plant is having on his health. Convinced that he has developed a brain tumor from working in such close proximity to the power plant, Jerry attempts to sabotage the plant. Unfortunately for Jerry, his brain is magnetized in the process. The next time Jerry goes to visit Mike at Be Kind Rewind, the powerful magnetization emanating from his brain erases every videotape in the store. Now the only way for Mike and Jerry to be sure that Be Kind Rewind stays in business is to remake every film on the shelves before the customers notice. But when word gets out that Mike and Jerry have remade such Hollywood classics as Back to the Future, Robocop, The Lion King, and Rush Hour without permission, the store is threatened with copyright violations and forced to close its doors. In the aftermath of the closing, Mr. Fletcher and his employees discover just how loyal their customers really are when the entire neighborhood pools their resources to transform the junkyard into a legitimate movie studio and produce an entirely original film detailing the incredible adventures of a local jazz legend. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

After exploring the careers of the Band and Bob Dylan in The Last Waltz and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, respectively, acclaimed director Martin Scorsese turns his lens on rock & roll legends the Rolling Stones for this feature focusing on two concerts from the band's 2006 A Bigger Bang tour. In addition to extensive coverage of the band's two-night stand at New York's Beacon Theater (an engagement that was staged as part of President Bill Clinton's lavish birthday bash), the film also features historical footage, interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage from decades past. Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson (JFK and The Aviator) supervised photography for the film, with an impressive array of A-list talents, including Andrew Lesnie, John Toll, Ellen Kuras, Anastas Michos, Stuart Dryburgh, Declan Quinn, Emmanuel Lubezki, Robert Elswit, and Albert Maysles, stepping in to insure that the Beacon performances were covered from every angle possible. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Thirty-three years after his ambitious concept album Berlin was pronounced dead on arrival, Lou Reed reteams with producers Bob Ezrin and Hal Willner to stage live performances of the now-classic release at concert venues all across the globe. The album, which was savaged by critics upon release, was scored with orchestral arrangements and follows several characters as they experience jealousy, rage, and loss. While many turned their backs on the release back in 1973, the tide eventually turned and Berlin was even named by Rolling Stone as one of the top 500 albums ever released. Filmed during a five-night stint at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., this belated, live rendition of Berlin features an impressionistic backdrop filmed by director Julian Schnabel's daughter Lola and haunting backup vocals courtesy of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In the fall of 2005, Neil Young returned to the sound and style of his iconic 1972 album Harvest with Prairie Wind, a set of ten songs which look to America's past and future accompanied by sweet but rough-hewn country-rock. The album was written and recorded after Young was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, and shortly before he went into the hospital for surgery for the condition, Young played a pair of special concerts at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the Grand Ole Opry, where he performed the Prairie Wind album in full along with a set of old favorites. Filmmaker Jonathan Demme was on hand to film the shows, and Neil Young: Heart of Gold was culled from the best moments of those two concerts, as well as interviews in which Young talks about his life and music. Emmylou Harris appears as a guest vocalist, and Young's band includes long time accompanists Ben Keith on pedal steel, pianist Spooner Oldham and Pegi Young (Neil's wife) on acoustic guitar and backing vocals. By the way, Neil Young enjoyed a full recovery after his surgery. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young woman kept at arm's length from the world finds it suddenly appearing on her doorstep in this drama. In the 1960s, Jack (Daniel Day-Lewis) was a political radical and environmental activist who organized a self-sustaining commune on a small island off the East Coast as an alternative to what he saw as an ugly and destructive way of life. In 1986, the commune is down to two members -- Jack and Rose (Camilla Belle), his 16-year-old daughter from a marriage that ended with his wife's death. Educated by her father and isolated from "corrupting" outside influences, Rose is very close to her father, and keeps a close eye on his emotional needs as well as his health, which has been compromised by heart disease. Jack has an on-and-off relationship with Kathleen (Catherine Keener), a divorced mother of two teenage boys who lives on the mainland, and one day to Rose's great surprise, Jack announces that Kathleen and her boys will be moving in with them. Startled and betrayed by Kathleen's arrival, Rose is also disoriented by the sudden presence of outside influences and a sudden rush of adolescent lust. Rose first attempts to seduce sweet but stocky Rodney (Ryan McDonald), who opts instead to cut her long hair; she then takes up with moody Thaddius (Paul Dano), who takes her virginity. Before long, emotional war breaks out in the household with Rose battling Jack on all fronts; Jack, meanwhile, is taking a more direct tack on dealing with a developer (Beau Bridges) putting up buildings on nearby wetlands, attempting to chase him off with a shotgun. The Ballad of Jack & Rose was written and directed by Rebecca Miller, whose husband is leading man Daniel Day-Lewis and whose father was playwright Arthur Miller. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jim Jarmusch's black-and-white feature Coffee and Cigarettes contains three vignettes originally released as short films along with separate yet somewhat related sketches. As the title suggests, most of the vignettes involve famous people smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. The first, "Coffee and Cigarettes," is a six-minute short from 1986 starring Stephen Wright and Roberto Benigni. The 1989 installment, "Memphis Version," stars Steve Buscemi, Joie Lee, and Cinqué Lee. The award-winning 1993 segment, "Somewhere in California," stars musicians Iggy Pop and Tom Waits. The remaining sketches include Cate Blanchett performing a duel role, a conversation with Bill Murray and members of the Wu-Tang Clan, and Alfred Molina and British television actor Steve Coogan as themselves. In its full-length version form, Coffee and Cigarettes was shown at the 2003 Venice Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

A man has one day to put his life in order before a long stretch in prison in this drama directed by Spike Lee. Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) is a man who came from a working class family in New York. Monty's best friends Jacob (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Slaughtery (Barry Pepper) went on to distinguished careers as, respectively, a high school teacher and a bonds trader, but Monty took a different path and began dealing drugs. While Monty's trade has made him plenty of money, it hasn't brought him much respect from his family and friends, and while Jacob and Slaughtery have stayed in touch, Monty's lifestyle has led them to keep their distance. One night, Monty is relaxing at home with his girlfriend Naturelle (Rosario Dawson) when the police show up; Monty is arrested, and after a trial he's sentenced to seven years in prison. On his last day of freedom before he goes to jail, Monty tries to make amends with his father (Brian Cox) and goes out on the town with Jacob and Slaughtery. With both of his friends facing emotional crises of their own, Monty finds himself wondering where his life took a wrong turn and if there's any way left to redeem himself. Along the way, Monty begins to suspect that Naturelle may have turned him in, and he has to deal with Kostya Novotny (Tony Siragusa), an ill-tempered drug supplier who has unfinished business with him. 25th Hour was scripted by David Benioff, who adapted the story from his novel of the same name. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Three women whose lives have followed very different paths ponder their pasts and their futures in this omnibus film from second-time director Rebecca Miller, adapted from her acclaimed short story collection of the same name. Delia (Kyra Sedgwick) grew up in a fractured household; her mother abandoned the family when Delia was a child, and her father (Brian Tarantina) was a drug-addled loser who could barely be prodded off the couch. When she entered adolescence, Delia realized that she could use her body to get men to do as she pleased. While this gained her a feeling of power and self-sufficiency, it also earned her a reputation as the "class slut," and the end product was her marriage to Kurt (David Warshofsky). Greta (Parker Posey) is the daughter of a successful lawyer (Ron Leibman) who left her mother when she was young and offered Greta criticism rather than affection. Plagued with self-doubt, Greta is squandering her literary talents editing cookbooks and is married to Lee (Tim Guinee. When Thavi (Joel de la Fuente), a respected and successful young novelist, asks Greta to edit his next novel, it forces her to reassess herself on a number of levels. Finally, Paula (Fairuza Balk), yet another product of a fractured family, ran away from her mother and was homeless until she met Vincent (Seth Gilliam), who took her in and became her boyfriend. A year later, Paula is uncertain in her feelings about Vincent, unsettled to learn that she's pregnant, and startled after witnessing a murder while out clubbing with a friend; she hits the road again, and soon picks up a fellow alienated teen, Kevin (Lou Taylor Pucci), who bears the scars of a recent -- and very brutal -- beating. Personal Velocity: Three Portraits was honored with the Grand Jury Prize at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Following the life of cocaine-trafficking pioneer George Jung in a way that recalls Martin Scorsese's Casino, Blow recounts the man's days from his 1950s childhood in Boston to his downfall in the 1980s. George (played by Johnny Depp) begins his life as the son of Fred (Ray Liotta), an earnest breadwinner, and Ermine (Rachel Griffiths), who frequently walks out on them in pursuit of a more fulfilling life. When George moves west to California in the late '60s, accompanied by best pal Tuna (Ethan Suplee), he becomes an entrepreneur in the marijuana business, which soon spreads to the East Coast as well, with girlfriend Barbara (Franka Potente) smuggling the product during her stewardess shifts. George is arrested in 1972 -- at which time Barbara dies of cancer -- but George finds a new ally in Diego (Jordi Molla), who proposes the idea that he become the American conduit for Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis). George flourishes in the heyday of the disco era, and falls for Mirtha (Penelope Cruz), a self-serving bombshell who eventually has a daughter with him. Trouble escalates as the FBI threatens to bring George and his crew down, while he desperately tries to be a stable parent to his young offspring. Blow also features Paul Reubens and Max Perlich in featured roles. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

In the summer of 1977, a serial killer who called himself Son of Sam (real name David Berkowitz) held New York City in terror as he went on a killing spree, periodically writing letters to New York's media in which he took full responsibility for the murders and made clear that he intended to kill again. Spike Lee's Summer of Sam deals in part with this crime spree, but it mostly looks back at the fearful impact of his crimes on New York's collective consciousness. Vinny and Dionna (John Leguizamo and Mira Sorvino) are an unhappy young married couple living in the Bronx; Vinny often cheats on Dionna but is wracked with guilt about it, while Dionna fears she lacks the looks or allure to hold onto a man. Ritchie (Adrien Brody) is a neighborhood kid turned punk rocker (complete with a fake British accent); he has a band and a girlfriend (Jennifer Esposito) but also makes money as an exotic dancer at a gay club. And Luigi (Ben Gazzara), a longtime leader of organized crime in the Bronx, is approached by the police, with whom he generally has a less cordial relationship, to help them find the killer, as the citizens of some neighborhoods barricade their streets in fear that he will strike there next. Meanwhile, a tortured psychopath named David Berkowitz (Michael Badalucco) seethes with rage in his gloomy apartment and receives messages from a demonic dog who commands him to kill and kill again. Spike Lee's first film without a primarily African-American cast (though bearing the unmistakable New York stamp that's one of his hallmarks), Summer of Sam was shown as part of the Directors Fortnight series at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Police Capt. Adam Greer (Dennis Farina) needs some new cops who can go where other cops can't. Greer finds three young people on their way to jail: Lincoln Hayes (Omar Epps), the black one, is up for arson; Pete Cochrane (Giovanni Ribisi), the white one, is up for robbery; and Julie Barnes (Claire Danes), the blonde one, is up for assault. The three are given a choice: go to jail, or become a special undercover unit that will infiltrate L.A.'s underbelly and bring down the drug dealers and parasites that are preying on the young. Their only rules: no badges, no guns, and no turning in other kids. This "mod squad" encounters a major problem when a cache of drugs disappears from the police evidence locker. All clues point to dirty cops, while the cops want to close ranks and blame the new kids. With their first big case, the squad realize they'll receive no help from the L.A.P.D. and must solve it their own way. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide

Scratch the Surface is former teen model turned documentary filmmaker Tara Fitzpatrick's examination of experiences in the fashion industry, and those of her friends and family. Fitzpatrick interviews her mother, aunt, and grandmother, and her sister Tracy Fitzpatrick, all of whom were models. She interviews her contemporaries, Phoebe Cates and her sister, Valerie, Whitney Houston, Brooke Shields, Pamela Gidley, and Lisanne Falk. They tell anecdotes about their experiences, offer their impressions of the business, and discuss the impact of growing up in the public eye. Eileen Ford of the Ford Modeling Agency, John Casablancas of Elite Modeling, former Seventeen Magazine editor Midge Richardson, and makeup artist Bonnie Maller also give their perspective, which often differs substantially from that of the former models. Supermodel Bridget Hall, at the height of her career when the film was made, gives a less detached view of that world. Most of these young women decry the powerful influence of beauty magazines and advertisements on American culture, and each seems to have at least one horror story about how she was treated. But almost all of them acknowledge that their exposure to the business at such a young age ended up having some kind of positive impact on their lives. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide