HBO Movies

As indicated by its title, this weekly, half-hour documentary series was the handiwork of standup comedian Dane Cook, whose bestselling CD albums poked merciless and highly profane fun at contemporary youth culture. In Tourgasm, Cook joined three young aspiring comics on a 30-day bus tour of America, performing 20 club dates along the way. Cook's official designation was "The Leader"; the others included Robert Kelly, "The Instigator"; Gary Gulman, "The Conflicted"; and Jay Davis, "The Newbie." In between performing to packed houses, the four funmakers were seen bickering, badgering, jockeying for position, and generally behaving in as obnoxious a manner as possible (some found the quartet's offstage shenanigans to be funnier than their on-stage performances). Though supposedly off-the-cuff and improvised, much of what occurred on the series was clearly cannibalized from star Cook's familiar material -- and not surprisingly, he came off as the funniest of the batch. Dane Cook's Tourgasm got under way via the HBO cable network on June 11, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 

The concert film Dane Cook: Vicious Circle captures the popular comic delivering his observational humor to an enthusiastic hometown crowd in Boston, MA. Cook touches on a variety of topics including arguing with a significant other. This special originally aired in September of 2006 on Home Box Office a month before his feature film Employee of the Month hit theaters. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Throughout the 1990s, few television programs did more to elevate the public status of rising comic talents than Russell Simmons's Def Comedy Jam. In addition cracking viewers and audiences up week after week, Def Comedy Jam effectively laid the groundwork for an entire decade of comedy by offering wide exposure to such up and coming comics such as Bernie Mac, Chris Tucker, and D.L. Hughley. In this release, host Martin Lawrence takes the stage to introduce future superstars Arnez J, James Hannah, and Rich Vos. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Take a walk on the fine line between box-office blockbusters and instantly forgettable bombs as Oscar and Emmy-winning producer/director Bill Couturie sets out to explore just what separates such high-profile hits as Jaws from such room-clearing disasters as Howard the Duck. Executive produced by Variety editor Peter Bart, this documentary includes interviews with such movie industry heavies as Steven Spielberg, Danny DeVito, Peter Bogdanovich, Robert Evans, Pierce Brosnan, and Sydney Pollack, exploring precisely how the road to the Razzies is paved with good intentions. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In this made-for-cable docudrama, Anthony Hopkins stars as Joel Filartiga, a Paraguayan doctor battling against human rights abuses and political corruption in his native land. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

HBO split the sixth and final season of its serial mafia drama The Sopranos into two halves, spaced 10 months apart: the first half (episodes 1-12) aired from mid-March through early June of 2006; a hiatus followed between episodes 12 and 13, before the series picked up again for its final nine episodes on April 8, 2007, purportedly thanks to overwhelming audience demand for an extension. As the season begins, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) is plagued by problem after problem at home: though he has made peace with wife Carmela (Edie Falco), and daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) is relatively well-adjusted and happy, attending college and living with fiancée Finn De Trolio (Will Janowitz), Tony's son, A.J. (Robert Iler) is a complete slacker and layabout who has just failed out of college and seems hesitant to accomplish anything of merit. Meanwhile, Tony finds himself saddled with a new captain, Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) who expresses more hesitation over "working" him than his incarcerated predecessor, Johnny Sacks (Vince Curatola). Complicating matters are two employees: Tony's soldier Eugene Pontecorvo (Robert Funaro), who attempts to buy his way out of the syndicate via an inheritance, and the homosexual captain Vito Spatafore (Joe Gannascoli) who comes out of the closet and ends up being spotted in a leather bar - then is knocked off by a member of the family, which leads to the death of a Lieutenant and sparks a tidal wave of mob violence. In another subplot, aspiring screenwriter Christopher (Michael Imperioli), Tony's cousin, devises an idea for a gangster picture which he describes as "The Godfather meets Saw," and heads off to Hollywood to pitch it to Ben Kingsley. The season cliffhanger, however, involves Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese), an elderly man suffering from extreme senility who mistakenly draws a gun and plugs Tony in the stomach, sending him into a coma - leaving consigliere Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt of The E Street Band) to tend to family business. This, in turn, yields several sequences where Tony wanders around in a dream state, and contemplates his own mortality. The second half of the season has Christopher continuing his strenuous efforts to have his epic (which he entitled Cleaver) produced, the absence of Johnny Sack leaving an ongoing void of power in the syndicate, and Tony again coming to terms with aging and mortality, while he struggles (as ever) to balance personal and professional demands. Guest stars in the 2007 episodes include: Sydney Pollack, Tim Daly, Daniel Baldwin and Geraldo Rivera.

Nick Guthe's darkly comic Mini's First Time stars Nikki Reed as the title character, a manipulative, highly sexualized teenager with parents who fail to offer much structure or guidance. Her stepfather (Alec Baldwin) is rich and dim, and her mother (Carrie-Anne Moss) leads a hard-partying lifestyle. As the relationship between Mini and her stepfather grows more twisted, criminal activity occurs. Luke Wilson appears as a detective investigating the situation, and Jeff Goldblum plays their wealthy neighbor. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Acclaimed author Gore Vidal narrates this international exploration of blurring gender roles in a documentary that seeks to open a constructive dialogue regarding the social roadblocks and family problems faced by transgender, intersexual, and bisexual men and women from a variety of cultures. From the United States to Europe, Asia, and South America, filmmakers speak with both the people who have experienced these prejudices firsthand and the scientific and academic experts who seek to take into account the entire spectrum of sexual behavior in hopes of using education to promote tolerance and diversity. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

When Sherri Finkbine (Sissy Spacek), the host of the Sixties children's television program Romper Room, learns that her unborn child has been damaged by her use of the drug thalidomide, she and her husband decide to abort the fetus, setting in motion the media controversy that is the subject of Joan Micklin Silver's made-for-cable drama. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Prepare for a sound skewering of modern convention as actor and comedian Cedric the Entertainer takes the stage of The Wiltern theater in Los Angeles, California to address a variety of pressing issues both pressing and frivolous in his first-ever HBO special. Of course anyone who knows Cedric knows that there's much more to this man than simple comedy, and in addition to commenting on a variety of issues ranging from Osama Bin Laden, plastic surgery, gas prices, and gay marriage, the multi-faceted funnyman also offers series of spicy song and dance numbers featuring his talented troupe of dancers the "Cedibles." ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Celebrated and vilified in equal measure, the pinup goddess Bettie Page inspired a legion of followers -- and an indecency scandal -- by appearing in a series of nude, sado-masochistic, and/or revealing magazine spreads in the 1950s. An era later, writer/director Mary Harron casts a knowing eye upon the woman who indirectly gave birth to modern pornography in the biopic The Notorious Bettie Page. As a teen, Page (Gretchen Mol) is a smart, plucky girl with ambitions beyond her Tennessee roots. Suffering varying degrees of abuse from her father, her first husband, and suitors of dubious virtue, Page makes her way to New York City, where an amateur photographer discovers her lounging on the beach. It isn't long before images of the shapely brunette reach Irving and Paula Klaw (Chris Bauer and Lili Taylor), brother-and-sister entrepreneurs who publish illicit magazines dedicated primarily to men's fetishes. The casual nudist Page eventually finds herself acquiescing to their requests to don thigh-high boots, whips, and chains, which raise the ire of the smut-fearing senator Estes Kefauver (David Strathairn). The Notorious Bettie Page had its North American premiere at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Three victims of botched cosmetic surgery tell their stories in the one-hour made-for-cable documentary Plastic Disasters. Young professional Tony, the least serious case, finds himself in danger of permanent deformity after a faulty rhinoplasty and several increasingly risky corrective surgeries. The once-beautiful Lucille, meanwhile, finds herself looking far older than late middle age after a series of procedures, including two face-lifts and a nose job, leave her with folds of sagging skin all across her face and neck. Lucille also claims that she's unable to breath or swallow properly, though she is unable to obtain medical confirmation of these symptoms. Both patients' problems pale in comparison to those of Mona, a Florida retiree whose cut-rate liposuction indirectly leads to the loss of both legs during a lengthy near-death illness. Between interviews and footage chronicling its subjects' ongoing medical tribulations, Plastic Disasters provides statistical context and a brief history of cosmetic surgery. Spearheaded by producer/directors Kate Davis and David Heilbroner, the film premiered June 5, 2006, on HBO. Davis previously won an Emmy for Jockey, an earlier HBO project. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi