Grace Zabriskie Movies

This melodrama explores class differences, bigotry, and alternative lifestyles aboard a pleasure cruise that is anything but. The five main characters all eagerly anticipate their upcoming cruise through the Bahamas on a small yacht. The hero, Bill, still devastated by his alcoholic mother's suicide, is accompanying his wife Jennifer. Her brother Phillip, an anal-retentive and bigoted lawyer, owns the yacht. Included on the trip are Alex, a rock musician and his date Catherine who possesses a secret. Their smooth sailing is disrupted when they are boarded by two passengers whose boat met with disaster. The first, Tim, is a man who recently had a sex-change. The second is Camilla, a South American whom he is sneaking into the U.S. so he can pay for his operation. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Friendship and racism in 1880s America is explored in this made-for-television drama. Sidney Poitier stars as Gypsy Smith, a bounty hunter who, much to the chagrin of the local white population, leads a group of black settlers to Oklahoma to form their own free community. The film shows how racial tensions erupt between the black and white homesteaders. The Native American experience of racism is intertwined into the plot as well, with the story of a young Cheyenne boy who has lost his roots. Sidney Poitier and Regina Taylor were nominated for Image awards for their performances. Based on the novel by Clancy Carlile, the film originally aired in two parts. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi

In this made-for-television drama a mother tires to learn the truth about her college-age son following the murder of a neighborhood girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this family drama, a white Southerner discovers that his family history isn't what he thought it was -- with the fact that he's half-black only one of his many surprises. Earl Pilcher, Jr. (Robert Duvall) runs a gas station in Arkansas; he's a typical middle-aged Southern man who likes his pickup truck and loves his momma. Shortly after his mother's death, he receives some very unexpected news; she wasn't really his mother after all. It seems that years ago, Earl Sr. (James N. Harrell) raped the family's African-American maid, Willie Mae, who nine months later died while giving birth to Earl Jr. To avoid further scandal, Mrs. Pilcher simply raised Earl Jr. as her own. While the family has kept the matter a secret all these years, Earl Jr. has a half-brother living in Chicago, and it was his mother's wish that the two should some day meet and become friends. Earl travels to Chicago and tracks down Ray Murdock (James Earl Jones), a veteran police officer and Willie Mae's other son. Earl Jr. quickly learns that Ray has little interest in getting to know him better; he knows all the facts behind the matter, and he's always blamed Earl for the death of his mother. However, Earl Jr. isn't used to life in a big city up north, and after he's mugged and carjacked, Ray grudgingly takes in his half-brother, letting him stay in the home he shares with his son Virgil (Michael Beach) and Aunt T. (Irma P. Hall), who raised Ray as a boy. A Family Thing was written by Billy Bob Thornton shortly before his breakthrough as writer, director, and star of Sling Blade. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this exciting action-adventure a crack team of military commandos infiltrate North Korea and then set about the dangerous task of trying to destroy a nuclear power plant to curtail the country's plans to build nuclear weapons. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

"Death by typewriter" is the coroner's verdict when the body of a man is found. Elsewhere, a naked female corpse, dumped in a junkyard, leads Simone (Jimmy Smits) and Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) on another far-from-merry chase, and still-wobbly Gina (Lourdes Benedicto) returns to work. Outside the precinct, Simone hires the mercurial Henry (Willie Garson) to paint the apartment building, leading to a confrontation with an angry tenant (Maxine Stuart); and Diane (Kim Delaney) begins her counselling sessions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the concluding half of Seinfeld's controversial series finale, Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld), George (Jason Alexander), Kramer (Michael Richards), and Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) find themselves stranded in Latham, MA -- and even worse, they are facing arrest for violating the town's new Good Samaritan law (it seems there was this mugging...). Hoping to beat the rap -- and make it to California in time for Jerry to sell his proposed sitcom "about nothing" -- the gang engages the services of flamboyant lawyer Jackie Chiles (Phil Morris). Alas, the prosecution has managed to round up a daunting array of witnesses to bolster their case against the foursome, including Sidra (Teri Hatcher) of "they're real and they're spectacular" fame, the Soup Nazi (Larry Thomas), Marla the Virgin (Jane Leeves), and the Bubble Boy (Jon Hayman) -- while the sour-faced judge (Stanley Anderson) with the familiar-sounding name fumes, and a vengeful Newman (Wayne Knight) chuckles from the sidelines. As for the now-legendary final scene...haven't we had this conversation before? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A cold-blooded jewel thief seduces an innocent Death Valley girl longing to escape her bleak surroundings in this thriller, which proves temptation can come in all forms. In the aftermath of a jewel heist gone awry, Samantha leaves her dying boyfriend at the scene of the crime. Later, when Samantha's truck breaks down in the scorching heart of Death Valley, young, innocent June approaches her and the pair strikes up a fast friendship. Though June is immediately drawn to Samantha's free spirit, it doesn't take long for the murderous thief's dark side to emerge and plunge the pair into a harrowing journey from which there may be no return. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Filmmaker Mark Anthony Galluzzo debuts with this gritty account of two poor boys in rural Florida whose lives are irreparably changed after witnessing a friend's thoughtless hunting death. For Sunny (Jeremy Sisto), life becomes meaningless, and he decides to take as much as he can from the world. The trauma causes Anthony (Eric Michael Cole), who has won a couple of high school writing awards, to re-evaluate his life and his future. Though his grades and his relationship with the middle class C.J. (Jaime Pressly) indicate that the future is bright, Anthony is painfully aware that he does not deserve his good fortune. Trash was screened at the 1999 Boston Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

In this action thriller, a master car thief has his skills pushed to the limit. Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage) can steal practically any car that crosses his path. While he has done well in his life of crime, he knows that there's a short future in theft, and he wants to get out of the business. But his retirement plans are interrupted when his younger brother Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) gets in trouble with a dangerous crime boss. To get his brother out of harm's way, Randall agrees to a profitable but risky scheme to steal 50 luxury cars in one night, with the help of several other car thieves, including Sara "Sway" Wayland (Angelina Jolie). A rival group of thieves is trying to pull the same stunt at the same time, and detectives Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and Drycoff (Timothy Olyphant) are trying to shut down both operations. Also starring Robert Duvall as Otto Halliwell, and Scott Caan as Tumbler, Gone in Sixty Seconds is a remake of the 1974 low-budget action hit of the same name, best remembered for a 40-minute chase scene in which 90 cars were destroyed. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on the novel by Brooks Stanwood, The Glow stars Dean Cain and Portia de Rossi as Matt and Jackie Lawrence, an affluent yuppie couple with two beautiful children. Rounding out their success story, the Lawrences move into a gorgeous New York apartment, where they soon discover that their neighbors are all elderly -- and all incredibly healthy. It is only after the neighbors make the couple an offer they can't refuse that Jackie realizes the grisly horror awaiting her family in their "dream" home. Not dissimilar to Rosemary's Baby, the made-for-TV The Glow was supposed to have aired during the fall of 2001, but for various reasons (including an unofficial post-9/11 moratorium on suspense films set in New York) the film did not make its Fox Network bow until August 30, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Piper and Leo's baby has been born, and has been brought back to the manor. Although Piper (Holly Marie Combs) is the mother, the maternal bug has bitten her sisters, Phoebe (Holly Marie Combs), who talks about nothing other than the baby, and Paige (Rose McGowan), who has become fiercely overprotective. It is in fact Paige who pursues two demons bent upon stealing the baby's powers to an unholy marketplace -- where she becomes a new "magic source" which all the demons hope to bleed dry. Elsewhere, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) is both frightened and terrified by her new boss, Jason Dean (Eric Dane); and while the Charmed Ones bicker over a choice of names for the baby, the infant himself proves to be a constant source of amazement. ~ Rovi