Valerie Dillman Movies
A structural engineer (Anthony Hopkins) and an ambitious young district attorney (Ryan Gosling) become locked in a deadly battle of wits when the former is found innocent in the attempted murder of his wife in director Gregory Hoblit's tense tale of courtroom mind games. Ted Crawford (Hopkins) is an engineer who lives with his wife, Jennifer (Embeth Davidtz), in the couple's lavish Southern California home. One day, after carefully planning out the details to ensure that there is no way he can be convicted of murder, Ted shoots his wife in a blatant attempt to kill the woman. When head hostage negotiator Rob Nunally (Billy Burke) arrives on the scene to speak with Ted, he is shocked to find that the victim of the shooting is in fact his longtime lover. Though Jennifer survives the trauma of being shot in the head at close range, she hovers comatose between life and death as star prosecutor Willy Beachum (Gosling) reluctantly accepts the case while preparing to leave the Los Angeles criminal court system behind for a more promising career at a posh private law firm. Though the DA (David Strathairn) vehemently resents Beachum's lofty plan for departure, the hotshot young lawyer remains convinced that he can expedite the apparently open-and-shut case and be on his way to greener pastures in one week's time at the very most. Beachum's swelling ego betrays him, however, as his future boss Nikki Gardner (Rosamund Pike) begins to turn up the heat and fracture mechanics specialist Ted chooses to represent himself at the trial knowing well that a career spent spotting structural flaws in aeronautical systems has instilled him with just the kind of argumentative skills needed to riddle the swaggering young lawyer's "foolproof" case with doubt. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, (more)
Teenagers stand up for their rights and take on the woman who wants to scuttle their freedoms in this comedy drama inspired by a true story. Principal Weller (Julie Bowen) is the ambitious but hard-headed leader of Booker High School. Weller plans to run for superintendent of her school district, and believes if she wants to win she needs to project the image of a no-nonsense leader, and with that in mind she begins cracking down on what she sees as discipline problems at Booker High. However, in many cases what she sees as kids out of control are seen by others as kids expressing themselves, including a girl who wants to distribute condoms to recognize National Safe Sex Day, and two boys who are caught kissing in the hallway between classes. Mr. Drucker (Malik Yoba) is a teacher at Booker who tries to champion the students' rights of free expression, but his conflicts with Principal Weller end up costing him his job when he's fired for questioning her authority. Holden Donovan (Gregory Smith) is a student at Booker who is alarmed that the students have lost one of their few allies, and decides to do something about it -- along with his classmates, he sets out to establish and defend the right of free expression for high-school students, and launches a campaign against Weller's bid to become superintendent. Kids in America also stars Stephanie Sherrin, Nicole Richie, Adam Arkin, George Wendt, and Elizabeth Perkins. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gregory Smith, Stephanie Sherrin, (more)
- 1998
Patti LuPone guest stars as Zora, bombastic Greek aunt of Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer). Incensed over some given by Frasier to her son Nikos (Joseph Will) -- he'd suggested that the boy give up medicine for a juggling career -- Zora has not spoken to Frasier for a long, long time. But now that Nikos is about to be married, Zora shows up at the Crane apartment, hoping to patch things up with Frasier...or does she have a different Big Fat Greek Agenda in mind? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1993
A much-hated slumlord who has long been victimizing the denizens of his racially mixed neighborhood heads to the local church to seek absolution from the priest--who happens to also be the slumlord's son. The sinner subsequent dies, and it is determined that a poison spray was the murder weapon. As luck would have it, Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) is teaching a course on mystery writing in the selfsame church...and she has just finished discussing the various and sundry uses of poison! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
