Tom Brumberger Movies

A man having trouble with women suddenly finds himself surrounded by them in this independent comedy drama. Carter Webb (Adam Brody) is a successful writer who has fallen into an emotional tailspin after his girlfriend, well-known actress Sophia (Elena Anaya), breaks up with him. When Carter learns that his grandmother (Olympia Dukakis) is in failing health, he decides to leave California and return to his hometown of Detroit to help take care of her and beginning work on his long-planned novel. As Carter spends time with his grandmother, he becomes friendly with her neighbors -- mom Sarah Hardwicke (Meg Ryan) and her two daughters, angst-ridden teen Lucy (Kristen Stewart) and precocious 11-year-old Paige (Makenzie Vega). As Sarah attempts to deal with a pressing personal crisis and Carter begins sorting out his relationship issues, he discovers that sometimes what feels like the end is actually just a new beginning. In the Land of Women was the first directorial project for actor and screenwriter Jon Kasdan, the son of writer and director Lawrence Kasdan. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Spike Lee's 1990 directing effort is a jazz film, the story of a fictional trumpeter named Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington). He leads a quintet at the Beneath the Underground club with a flashy saxophonist named Shadow Henderson (Wesley Snipes). Though Shadow takes a few too many solos, everything seems fine in Bleek's life. Trouble soon arises, however, and he is forced to make decisions regarding both his best friend Giant (Spike Lee), and his relationships with two women. Giant, his manager and old pal, is addicted to gambling and often gets roughed up by thugs looking for pay back. Bleek is the only member of the quintet who wants to keep him as manager. The trumpeter's woman problems concern trying to decide between two girlfriends who both love him: a schoolteacher (Joie Lee) and a singer (Cynda Williams). Spike's father Bill Lee scored the film, with contributions from Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Abbey Lincoln and Ruben Blades (who plays Giant's bookie). ~ John Bush, Rovi

A disturbed man descends into an inferno of madness in this thriller. Donald Kohler (Dan Grimaldi) was raised by an abusive mother who frequently punished him by thrusting his arms into open flame. As an adult, Kohler has developed a malign obsession with fire and works at a garbage incineration plant while still living at his mother's house. One night, Kohler returns home to discover his mother has died, but after a brief moment of freedom he begins hearing her voice commanding him to punish women who might tempt her errant son. Kohler builds a fireproof room in the house and starts luring women he meets at random to his home, where they're burned alive by the disturbed pyromaniac. Bobby (Robert Osth), one of his few friends at work, tries to help bring Kohler out of his shell and even fixes him up with a date, but an evening at a disco takes an ugly turn, revealing Kohler's deadly obsession. Don't Go In The House was the first film role for Dan Grimaldi, who later went on to play Patsy Parisi on the HBO series The Sopranos. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

After being plagued by recurring dreams where three strange creatures play havoc with his mind, a novelist pulls an overnighter during which his mind-spun creatures become a reality and horror happens. ~ Rovi

This adaptation of the popular children's tale will be especially appealing to the very young. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi