Jim True Movies
Nick Nolte and James Coburn deliver some of the finest work of their respective careers in this powerful but troubling adaptation of Russell Banks's novel. Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte) is the sheriff in a small New England town; it's a part-time job with few taxing responsibilities, and Wade fills his many free hours by swilling booze, smoking pot, and thinking back on his nightmarish childhood. Wade's father Glen (James Coburn) was by turns callous, distant, and abusive, and Wade has inherited his addiction to alcohol and inability to deal with others. Consequently, Wade's ex-wife (Mary Beth Hurt) despises him, his daughter is uncomfortable and frightened in his presence, and the only person who can reach him is his loving but long-suffering girlfriend Margie (Sissy Spacek). When a wealthy businessman is killed in a hunting accident, Wade suspects foul play and pursues the case with an obsession that puzzles all around him; meanwhile, Wade's mother dies and his brother Rolfe (Willem Dafoe), the only one in the family to escape Glen's abuse without crippling emotional scars, returns to pay his respects and is caught up once again in the damaged lives of his father and brother. James Coburn) won an Academy award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Affliction, while Nick Nolte was nominated for Best Actor (he lost to Roberto Benigni). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, James Coburn, (more)
In this emotional drama, a group of young professionals tries to get away from their problems, only to find that their friends create new annoyances. The marriage of Ellie (Jennifer Connelly) and Ryland (Jim True) has been strained by the recent death of their infant daughter. Hoping that some time away will ease Ellie's mind, Ryland organizes a weekend getaway in the nearby resort of Far Harbor, where they'll stay at a beach house with several friends, including Arabella (Marcia Gay Harden), Ellie's sister, and Frick (Edward Atterton), Ellie's ex-husband. Frick, a struggling filmmaker, hears a rumor that a yacht anchored off the beach belongs to David Speckman, a successful movie director; and the soothing weekend soon turns maddening, as he devises scheme after scheme to meet Speckman, oblivious that those around him have serious problems to deal with. Far Harbor marked the feature debut of writer/director John Huddles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Connelly, Edward Atterton, (more)
A seemingly ordinary couple jump the tracks into disaster in this drama based on a true story. Chris Anderson (Luke Perry) is a straight-arrow cop who meets Pam (Ashley Judd) after she's hurt in a barroom fight. He asks her to dance after helping to stop her bleeding, and it's love at first sight. While Chris plays by the rules, Pam likes to drink, smoke dope, spend money, and cause trouble, and while he wants to make her happy, her emotional instability makes this no easy task. After Chris is fired and takes a job as a security guard, he can no longer pay the bills that Pam is ringing up. He uses his knowledge of security systems to rob banks, and he discovers that he's good at it. Pam eventually finds out about Chris' sideline; the prospect of danger excites her sexually, and she insists on joining in for future robberies, goading him into a crime spree that leads to tragedy. While Normal Life was planned as a theatrical release, the film debuted on premium cable after disputes between the studio and director John McNaughton; despite this, the film earned positive reviews and a cult following. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ashley Judd, Luke Perry, (more)
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen concocted this stylish screwball comedic amalgam of Frank Capra and Howard Hawks. Tim Robbins stars as Norville Barnes, a dull-wit from Muncie, Indiana who wrangles a job with the big Hudsucker Industries. He has a singular idea for a new children's toy that he wants to present to corporate executive Sidney J. Mussberger (Paul Newman). As he makes his way up to Mussberger's office, the company president Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning) is on his way down -- through the window of the forty-fourth floor boardroom! Hudsucker's death sets off a panic that Mussberger sees as an opportunity for taking over the company -- by installing a total incompetent in Hudsucker's place and devaluing the stock. When Barnes stumbles into Mussberger's office, Mussberger sees his pigeon and appoints Barnes as the new company president. The only problem is that the new product Barnes proposes for the company, the Hula Hoop, turns out to be a tremendous success, and Mussberger has difficulty manipulating his new corporate president. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, (more)
Set amidst the burgeoning Seattle alternative music scene of the early '90s, Singles follows a group of twentysomethings as they try to find love and try to come to terms with their passage into adulthood. Arranged as an episodic comedy, the film follows a group of friends who live in the same apartment building and hang out at the same coffee shop. The central couple is Steve Dunne (Campbell Scott) and Linda Powell (Kyra Sedgwick), a pair who meet at an Alice In Chains concert and eventually fall in love. Singles follows the tumultuous relationship between Steve and Linda and their friendship with Janet Livermore (Bridget Fonda), who is trying to win the affection of grunge-rocker Cliff Poncier (Matt Dillon). The film also has a number of cameos, including actors Eric Stoltz, Tom Skerritt, Peter Horton, director Tim Burton and the film's author/director, Cameron Crowe. From the musical side of the fence, Singles features appearances by Sub Pop executive Bruce Pavitt, musicians Chris Cornell (Soundgarden), Pat DiNizio (Smithereens), Tad (Tad), and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, and Stone Gossard, who play Dillon's backing band, Citizen Dick. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, (more)
"Fat Man" and "Little Boy" were the nicknames given the atomic bombs that were dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the waning days of World War II. This elaborately assembled film is the story of the events leading up to the dawn of the atomic age. Paul Newman plays General Leslie Groves, a hard-nosed career soldier who in 1942 finds himself the reluctant "nursemaid" to a group of idealistic scientists in Los Alamos, New Mexico. As the military head of the top-secret Manhattan Project, Groves intends to have the operation run by the book--and failing that, to have things his way at all costs. The film's storyline narrows down to a battle of egos between Groves and atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer (Dwight Schultz), in his own way as contentious and childishly single-purposed as the general. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Dwight Schultz, (more)
