David Zayas

A pair of siblings are forced to set aside their discomfort with one another for the sake of their father in this low-key comedy drama from writer/director Tamara Jenkins. Wendy Savage (Laura Linney) is a struggling playwright living in New York City who works a day job to support herself and can't shake the feeling that she's failed as an artist. Wendy isn't especially happy about her love life either, gaining little self-esteem from her on-and-off affair with oversexed, married neighbor Larry (Peter Friedman). Wendy's anxieties about her writing career are intensified by the success of her brother, Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who teaches theater history at a college in Buffalo, NY, and has published a number of books. While Jon's life seems fine on the surface, a case of writer's block has stalled work on his latest project, and he's deeply upset that his girlfriend is soon to leave the United States to return to her native Poland. Wendy and Jon don't get along and prefer not to see one another, but an unfortunate circumstance brings them together -- their father, Lenny Savage (Philip Bosco). Elderly Lenny has began showing signs of dementia, and shortly after he takes to smearing his feces on the walls of his Arizona home, his ailing long-term girlfriend suddenly dies. Wendy and Jon have little choice but to fly to Arizona and see what can be done for Lenny, but their long-simmering animosity makes it hard for them to deal with the realities of Lenny's condition. The Savages received its world premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A hard-drinking, hard-living cop assigned the task of transporting a small-time criminal to the nearby courthouse finds that a simple, 16-block drive can be the longest ride of his life in director Richard Donner's urban action thriller. Hung-over, has-been cop Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) has seen better days, and all that the force expects out of him these days is to stay out of trouble while he's on the clock. Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) is set to testify before a grand jury at 10:00 a.m., and it's up to Mosely to make sure that Bunker makes it to the courthouse in one piece -- a job that Mosely estimates will take a maximum of 15 minutes. A black van has been trailing the pair unnoticed, though, and after stopping off at a nearby liquor store to pick up some breakfast, Mosely emerges from the store just in time to save Eddie from the lethal bullet of a determined assassin. When backup arrives in the form of Detective Frank Nugent (David Morse), Mosely quickly realizes that the detective on Nugent's team is the same cop that Bunker is set to testify against. Now faced with the tough task of dodging bullets and eluding a massive onslaught of corrupt cops, Mosely must keep Bunker alive long enough to get him before the judge and ensure that justice is served. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

With his English-language political thriller The Feast of the Goat, action helmer Luis Llosa cinematizes Mario Vargas Llosa's sweeping, epic novel about the myriad of events leading up to the assassination of a real-life tyrannical despot. The story opens in 1992, when a Dominican émigré attorney, Urania Cabral (Isabella Rossellini) leaves her new home in the U.S. and heads back to her native country, for the first occasion in decades. She intends to confront her father, 80-year-old Augustin (Tomas Milian), about his former employment in the government of the supremely corrupt dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo (Tomas Milian). The film then flashes back to the events surrounding the assassination of Trujillo on a highway in late May of 1961, by delving into the lives and motives of each of the participants - from Amadito (Juan Diego Botto), whom Trujillo forced to execute his future brother-in-law, to that victim's father (Murphy Guyer), to Antonio (David Zayas), the brother of an incriminating witness whom Trujillo's men executed. One by one, as their stories are disinterred, the assassins gather on a nighttime road, brandishing guns, and prepare to shoot Trujillo and throw his body into the trunk of a car. Paul Freeman, Stephanie Leonidas and Richard Bekins co-star; Llosa co-authored the script with Augusto Cabada and Zachary Sklar. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

An overheard conversation leads a woman into a dark world of deadly intrigue in this political thriller. Silvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) is an African émigré who works as an interpreter at the United Nations. One of the languages she understands is Ku, a dialect spoken in her home country of Matobo. One day, as the General Assembly auditorium is being evacuated for a routine security sweep, Broome overhears a man speaking in Ku, who makes a cryptic statement that could be interpreted as a threat against the life of Zuwanie (Earl Cameron), Matobo's controversial ruler. Secret Service agent Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) is brought in to investigate Broome's story, and it isn't long before he's convinced that she knows more than she's willing to tell. As Keller and his partner, Dot Woods (Catherine Keener), dig deeper into Broome's story as well as her past, they discover a shocking tale of violence and corruption tied to Zuwanie's regime. The Interpreter was directed by Sydney Pollack, who also appears in a brief supporting role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Acclaimed playwright Brett C. Leonard makes his feature-film debut as the writer and director of the prison drama, Jailbait, which was inspired, in part, by Leonard's feelings about mandatory sentencing laws. Randy (Michael Pitt of The Dreamers) is a young prisoner, recently sentenced to 25 years. His new cellmate is Jake (Stephen Adly-Guirgis, also a respected New York playwright, and the star of Todd Solondz's Palindromes), a hardened lifer. Randy seems despondent, and is reluctant to speak to Jake at all, but the older con gives him a book to read and is generous with advice. Gradually, Randy opens up. He's been convicted of vandalizing an expensive car. The sentence was severe because it was his third offense. His other two convictions were for possession of large quantities of marijuana. But Jake refuses to feel sorry for Randy, telling him that he was stupid for committing another crime when he knew his situation. Eventually, Jake's friendly cajoling turns to bullying. By the time Randy's mother (Laila Robins) comes to visit him, he has to hide the visible signs of Jake's abuse. When Randy's efforts to regain control of his prison life are thwarted, he considers taking more drastic action. Jailbait had its world premiere at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

This episode was advertised as the 300th installment of Law & Order, although technically it was number 301. (NBC did not count the series' 1990 pilot, which had originally been produced for CBS.) Again drawing its inspiration from recent headlines, the episode opens with an apparent fire in a high-rise apartment, culminating horribly when the baby son of popular comedian Monty Bender (Adam Ferrara) falls from the apartment window to his death. What appears to be a tragic accident leads to the reopening of an old pedophilia charge against Bender, and a startling revelation involving the parents of a young boy who'd been paid off to drop their case against the beleaguered comic. Real-life comedian Larry Miller, who'd played a murderer on two earlier episodes, is here cast as himself. This was the final episode of Law & Order's 13th season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cynthia (Ja Nice Richardson), a teenager growing up fatherless and impoverished in the city, spends her free time reading and writing rhymes. She carries around the tattered copy of The Diary of Anne Frank that her late father (David Zayas) gave her when she was a little girl. Her brother, Juan (Carlos Leon), a drug addict and dealer, steals Cynthia's rhymes, claims them as his own, and sells them to an up-and-coming rapper, Deuce (Eric Smith), who has a decent flow, but no writing skills of his own. When Deuce gets the opportunity to record a demo for a big-time producer, he pressures Juan to get him more material. Meanwhile, Cynthia's best friend, Kitty (Jackie Quinones), and a concerned teacher at her school, Michael (Antonio Macia, who also co-wrote the screenplay), find out about Cynthia's writing talent and try to encourage the introspective girl to share her gift with the world. Michael's efforts are complicated by his former relationship with Cynthia's older sister, who is a struggling single mother. Cynthia is courted, first by a good-natured small-time dealer, Jerome (Ephraim Benton), and then by a middle-class uptown teen, Darius (Geronimo Frias Jr.). She eventually learns that the increasingly desperate Juan has stolen her rhymes, and worse, and she decides to do something about it. Anne B. Real was the feature debut of co-writer and director Lisa France, who had previously worked as a stuntwoman. It was shown at the 2003 Urbanworld Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

A boy learns more than he expects when he tries to improve his golf game in this drama. Timmy Price (Mason Gamble) is a 12-year-old boy who has begun to display a precocious talent for golf. Hoping to hone his son's interest in the game, Timmy's father, Mr. Price (Dylan Baker), arranges for his son to have a summer job as a caddy at a nearby country club. Timmy gets a crash course in the nature of class when he becomes aware of the sharp divide between the wealthy people who patronize the club and the working-class men and women who are there to quietly fulfill their desires. Charlie Logan (Philip Baker Hall) is one of the leading members of the club who is very much impressed when he sees Timmy practicing, and suggests to Mr. Price that Timmy would do well to study with an accomplished player. Mr. Price arranges for Timmy to train with Foster Pearse (Gary Sinise), a local golfer who once displayed tremendous promise, but dropped out of the professional circuit after winning his first tournament. As Timmy gets to know Foster, he learns a lot about golf, but even more about life, and discovers there's a secret behind Foster's decision to leave to pro tour. A Gentleman's Game was the first directorial credit for producer J. Mills Goodloe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

As season four of Oz begins, the experimental unit at Oswald State Correctional Facility known as "Emerald City" is not living up to manager Tim McManus' (Terry Kinney) hopes. Ever since he set up the unit, wherein convicts are given more freedom of movement, extra privileges, and the opportunity for advancement, McManus has been frustrated that his good intentions have not paid off in wholesale rehabilitation. In fact, things seem to have gotten worse, with too many murders and suicides occurring within the unit. Hoping to alleviate the situation, McManus' head guard, Murphy (Robert Clohessy), suggests that all the cons -- including those in solitary -- spend an hour each day indulging in healthy recreation. Again, however, the plan fails when a killing takes place during that special hour. With more episodes this season than in previous years (16, compared to the usual eight), Oz is able to devote extra time to a plethora of subplots. One of these involves convicted murderer Shirley Bellinger (Kathryn Erbe), who after losing her unborn baby under suspicious circumstances is sent back to death row. Also, a group of illegal aliens sequestered in Emerald City is the catalyst for a rash of violence; Warden Glynn (Ernie Hudson) runs for lieutenant governor; an attempt to film a documentary in Oz ends in disaster; Busmalis (aka "The Mole") (Tom Mardirosian), manages to break out of prison, only to be recaptured as he stands outside the home of his favorite TV star; crooked evangelist Rev. Cloutier (Luke Perry) is tossed into the unit; and infirmary doctor Gloria Nathan (Lauren Velez) is raped. Tensions continue to mount as McManus is fired and convict Miguel Alvarez (Kirk Acevedo) escapes (these plot twists were designed to allow Acevedo and his co-star Terry Kinney to take leaves of absence to appear in other projects); new unit manager Martin Querns (Reg E. Cathey) cuts a sinister deal with drug-dealing con Adebisi (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje) to put a lid on the violence; fired guard Clayton Hughes (Seth Gilliam) tries to assassinate Governor Devlin (Zeljko Ivanek); a plot is hatched to frame wheelchair-bound convict Hill (Harold Perrineau Jr.) for a crime he hasn't committed; the children of inmate Beecher (Lee Tergesen) are placed in jeopardy thanks to orders from the "inside"; and incarcerated Muslim leader Said (Eamonn Walker) settles accounts with an old enemy. The season ends with a cliffhanger, sparked -- literally -- by a deadly gas explosion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Frank Todaro scripted and made his directorial debut with this low-budget comedy about NYC flower-shop wholesaler Artie (Mike O'Malley) who swaps one-liners with co-workers at a refrigerated warehouse. Artie can't seem to make a commitment to his live-in girlfriend Jane (Jill Tracy), whose ex (Scott Bryce) is a car salesman with mob connections. A floral customer (J.K. Simmons) becomes a captive audience for talkative Artie when the two get locked in the warehouse freezer. This film was the first runner-up for the most popular film award at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Season Seven of Law & Order begins with the good news that Assistant D.A. Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) was not immediately killed in the car accident which took her out of commission at the end of Season Five (though actress Hennessy would not return to the show, necessitating a later episode which confirmed beyond doubt that Kincaid was never going to come back). New to the D.A.'s office is Jamie Ross (Carey Lowell), an ambitious young woman whose approach to her job does not always meet with the approval of her partner Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston). In the season's first episode, Ross intends to use a gruesomely graphic audiotape to put the noose around the neck of carjacker-murderer Fernando Salva (Victor Sierra). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide