Emily Wachtel Movies
This two-part HBO miniseries is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Richard Russo. Having long since sacrificed youthful ideals and values to remain in his New England hometown for the sake of his family, middle-aged Miles Roby (Ed Harris) finds his "secure" little world disintegrating when his wife, Janine (Helen Hunt), divorces him. Equally vexing is the emotional and financial pressure exerted by domineering town matriarch Francine Whiting (Joanne Woodward), who owns (among other things) the Empire Grill, the little diner that Ed has run for several years. As he reflects on what he considers to be a wasted life, Ed flashes back to memories of his curmudgeonly father, Max (Paul Newman, who also executive-produced the miniseries); his long-dead mother, Grace (Robin Wright Penn); his scapegrace brother, David (Aidan Quinn); his blossoming daughter "Tick" (Danielle Panabaker); and Francine's late husband, C.B. Whiting (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Also tied in with Miles's reminiscences is the spectacular saga of the rise and fall of Empire Falls, a once-prosperous mill town that has fallen into disrepair -- as have the town's once-rigid and inviolate social barriers. Despite the initial bleakness of Miles' plight, and the revelation of innumerable family skeletons as the plot progresses, the story is ultimately both heartwarming and life-affirming. Filmed on location in Maine, Empire Falls originally aired on May 28 and 29, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ed Harris, Danielle Panabaker, (more)
- 2001
The 90-minute debut episode of Alias introduces Jennifer Garner as Sydney A. Bristow, who like many other undergraduates is working her way through college. Unlike her friends and fellow students, however, Sydney is not permitted to discuss her "outside job," not even with her roommate, Francie (Merrin Dungey) -- because Syd happens to be an undercover operative for the CIA. Or at least she thought she was working for the CIA until she reveals the nature of her profession to her fiancé, Danny Hecht (Edward Atterton) -- a revelation that results in Danny's murder. That's when Sydney discovers to her horror that the agency which employs her is not the CIA but instead a rival and somewhat sinister organization known as SD-6, under the aegis of the highly untrustworthy Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin). Though she'd sooner give up the spy game outright, Sydney is forced by Sloane into a deadly game of double-agent espionage, where no one -- least of all Sydney -- can tell the good guys from the bad. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
An ailing criminal and his excitement-starved nurse decide to knock over a bank for fun and profit in this comic suspense story. Legendary bank robber Henry Manning (Paul Newman) pushes his luck too far and ends up in prison, where he suffers a massive stroke. He is transferred to a nursing home, in the care of Carol Ann McKay (Linda Fiorentino), a high school prom queen who married her boyfriend Wayne (Dermot Mulroney), the star of her school's football team, and whose glamour days are well behind her. After a few of her personal effects mysteriously disappear, Carol Ann starts to suspect that Henry isn't as sick as he seems, and she and Wayne are soon working with Henry to plan his last and greatest score. The title comes from the remark attributed to the outlaw Willie Sutton, who when asked why he robbed banks, replied, "Because that's where the money is." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Linda Fiorentino, (more)
In this violent thriller, three young men start a joke that quickly becomes more real (and more dangerous) than they'd ever anticipated. It's 1957, and three high school seniors celebrating their graduation think it would be fun to pull a prank; David (David Arquette), Tim (Jason London), and Joe (Jonah Blechman) will fake a robbery by driving up to a bank, "shooting" one of their number with a blank gun, and throwing him in the trunk before speeding away. But just as they're playing their practical joke, Florence (Mickey Rourke) and Leon (Stephen Baldwin) are pulling an actual armed robbery at the same bank. In the confusion, the boys get mixed up with the real criminals, who take the teenagers hostage. Florence, unstable and given to sadistic tendencies, subjects the boys to torture with a clear homoerotic undercurrent; eventually, Florence and Leon tell the boys they'll release them only if they pull an actual bank job. The boys grudgingly agree, but Tim ends up grabbing window teller Patty (Sheryl Lee) instead of the cash. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mickey Rourke, Stephen Baldwin, (more)
Combining elements of A Christmas Carol and Rain Man (1988), this modern-day parable of greed and redemption was crafted with generous helpings of sentimentality by director Mike Nicholas. Harrison Ford stars as Henry Turner, a slick, ruthless corporate attorney willing to spin any falsehood to win a case. A bully to his teenage daughter Rachel (Mikki Allen), Henry also cheats on his wife Sarah (Annette Bening) and treats everyone from the maid to his assistant with cruel selfishness. Stepping out to a local mini-market for a pack of cigarettes late one night, Henry accidentally interrupts a burglary and is shot in the head by a stick-up artist. After a long coma, Henry survives only to find that he has no memory and must re-learn everything from reading to tying his shoes. Reborn as a friendly, childlike innocent, Henry charms his therapist (Bill Nunn) and reconnects with his wife and daughter, only to uncover some secrets about how truly appalling he once was. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Annette Bening, (more)
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