Aimee Mann Movies

March of the Penguins producers National Geographic Films team with An Inconvenient Truth producers Paramount Vantage to take viewers on an epic journey into the arctic wilderness in a documentary that explores what happens when the beautiful frozen world occupied by two majestic creatures gradually begins to melt away. Seela is a mother walrus thriving in the chilly waters of the Great North, and Nanu is a polar bear with curved claws that make it easy to maintain her footing on ice. As director Sarah Robertson follows these two remarkable creatures from birth through adolescence, maturity, and, ultimately, parenthood, viewers will bear witness to the cycle of life as it unfolds in a vast frozen landscape that could pose problems for all of humankind if it continues to thaw at the current rate. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

After being told that Spike (James Marsters) is once again siring vampires (see "Conversations With Dead People"), Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) leads a desperate investigation into the activities of her mad, recently soul-infused ex-lover. She discovers a string of disappearances and enlists the help of Anya (Emma Caulfield) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon) in monitoring Spike's after-dark whereabouts. Spike himself appears to have no knowledge of the slayings, even though Buffy witnesses him leading a pretty, young thing down a dark alley to her probable doom. Eventually, Spike encounters a newborn vamp vixen who claims he sired her; fragmentary images of his killing spree slowly come back to him. Buffy, realizing that Spike is being manipulated by the same shape-shifting demon who recently toyed with Willow (Alyson Hannigan), nonetheless agrees to meet him in a deserted basement. Just as the confused Spike begins to confess to his amnesic killing spree, the shape-shifting demon appears to him (but not to Buffy) and manipulates him into carrying out a carefully orchestrated ambush. Buffy almost becomes the victim of the newborn vamps Spike has been "planting" in the earthen basement floor like so many undead tulip bulbs. But Spike's conscience-stricken abandonment of his tormentor's manipulations and her own fighting prowess save the slayer. Spike tells Buffy to kill him, but instead she resolves to dig into his repressed memories for clues about the identity of the big bad who's been haunting her friends. Meanwhile, in England, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) stumbles onto the scene of a massacre and appears well on his way to becoming the latest casualty from the Watcher's Council. Originally broadcast November 19, 2002, on the UPN network, "Sleeper" marked episode 130 of the cult-favorite series. Pop musician Aimee Mann appears as herself, singing songs from her album Lost in Space on-stage at the Bronze during Spike's battle with the vampire he sired. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson followed his critical and commercial breakthrough Boogie Nights with this wildly ambitious story of lives intertwining on a single day in California's San Fernando Valley. Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), a successful producer of television game shows, left his wife when she contracted cancer to marry the younger and more beautiful Linda (Julianne Moore). Now, Earl has cancer himself, and Linda spends her day fetching medicines and trying to deal with the imminent death of her husband, whom she has only now come to love. Earl asks his nurse Phil (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to arrange a meeting with his estranged son, Frank Mackey (Tom Cruise), known for his self-help program "Seduce and Destroy," in which he preaches the importance of male sexual prowess; he cared for his mother after Earl left her, and he has no desire to see his father again. Earl's best-known show is hosted by Jimmy Gator (Philip Baker Hall), who also learns that he is dying. Jimmy's show pits bright adults against unusually smart kids; one of Jimmy's child contestants, Stanley (Jeremy Blackman), arrives late for a taping after being left stranded by his father Rick (Michael Bowen), who is supported by his more successful son. Meanwhile, Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), who was a champ on Jimmy's show as a child, is not having as much luck as an adult; he's just lost his job and needs to pay for some expensive dental work. Jimmy wants to reconcile with his estranged and emotionally fragile daughter Claudia (Melora Walters), who despises him and who will become involved with well-meaning police officer Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly), who has been desperately lonely since his divorce three years ago. Magnolia reunites much of the cast and crew of Boogie Nights and features eight original songs by singer/songwriter Aimee Mann and a musical score by Jon Brion. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide