Joanne Boland Movies
Charlie Kate Birch (Gena Rowlands) is a peculiarly powerful Southern matriarch, an anachronism in the early 20th century. She's a self-educated woman who makes a good living as a midwife and holistic healer. One day, she saves a black man who's been lynched, and he thanks her by giving her a rabbit's foot, which supposedly "brings an easy life" to the person who carries it. Charlie's husband leaves her soon thereafter, but she had begun to think he was an idiot anyway. Charlie's only character flaw seems to be her attraction to unworthy men, and she passes that trait on to her daughter, Sophia (Mimi Rogers). Sophia's husband is an unfaithful lout, and he dies an early death, leaving Charlie, Sophia, and her daughter, Margaret (Susan May Pratt of 10 Things I Hate About You) to fend for themselves, which they do admirably. Soon, Sophia has another suitor, a divorced lawyer named Richard Baines (Geordie Johnson). Unlike her mother, Sophia has remained a romantic soul, and she loves Richard, and waits patiently for him to propose to her. Charlie, meanwhile, has an ongoing feud with the alcoholic town doctor, and tries to be a more cerebral influence on Margaret. But when, during World War II, Margaret falls in love with Tom Hawkings (Ken Mitchell), a wounded soldier, Charlie realizes that they're a perfect match. Charms for the Easy Life was adapted by screenwriter Angela Shelton (Tumbleweeds) from a novel by Kaye Gibbons. The film was directed by Joan Micklin Silver (Crossing Delancey) and premiered on Showtime on August 18, 2002. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gena Rowlands, Mimi Rogers, (more)
George A. Romero, who revolutionized the American horror film in 1968 with the instant classic Night of the Living Dead, returns to his dystopian zombie cycle with this horror thriller. In Land of the Dead, the zombies whose numbers had been slowly but steadily growing through Dawn of the Dead and Day of the Dead now dominate the streets of most American cities, while urban skyscrapers have been taken over by surviving humans, usually greed-addled opportunists who allow the living to stay in their fortified compounds for a price. Guarding the buildings are rough-and-tumble mercenaries who have learned to do battle with the zombies, making use of powerful weapons to gain advantage. But as the zombie civilization grows, the creatures have begun to slowly evolve, with their dormant thought processes beginning to awaken, and as unrest begins to ferment among the mercenaries and the entrepreneurs who pay them, the ghouls may have found a way to defeat the last stronghold of humanity. Land of the Dead stars Dennis Hopper as arch capitalist Kaufman, and Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Robert Joy, and Asia Argento as some of the mercenaries; Asia Argento's father, Dario Argento, served as a producer on one of the earlier films in the series, Dawn of the Dead. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, (more)
Just when audiences thought they'd heard the last of the demented killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell), here comes Saw IV, continuing his trap-filled legacy -- this time, targeting the last remaining officer who has touched the case, SWAT Commander Rigg (Lyriq Bent). As FBI agents Strahm (Scott Patterson) and Perez (Athena Karkanis) begin to dig through the remains of Jigsaw's crime-scene hideout, a new puzzle presents itself, with Rigg as the pawn in another deadly game filled with moral quandaries and torture-filled traps. At stake is the life of his superior officer Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) as well as his friend and fellow cop Eric Matthews (Donnie Wahlberg), whose abduction by a now-dead Jigsaw triggers an obsession in Rigg that will haunt him til the grisly end. Director Darren Lynn Bousman returns to the series after helming both Saw II and III, with a script penned by Feast writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, (more)
Evidently inspired by the 1958 theatrical feature It! The Terror From Beyond Space (which, of course, was also the basis for the 1979 thriller Alien), this made-for-cable melodrama begins as the crew of the space shuttle Oklahoma returns to earth after a routine mission. Unbeknownst to them, they have also brought back an alien "guest" in the form of seeds which blossom into insectoid life-forms, infiltrating human bodies to complete their evolution. At first, the victims of these aliens think they've merely broken out in blisters, but they soon learn differently -- to their unutterable horror. Racing against the clock, the Oklahoma's chief medical officer "Geronimo" Horne (Nicholas Lea) works in concert with his colleague Thaddeus Owens (Anthony Sherwood) and entimologist Savannah Bailey (Jamie Luner) to stem the alien invasion before the rapidly proliferating creatures reach the "threshold" amount -- at which point they will be impossible to control. Threshold debuted April 19, 2003, on the Sci-Fi Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicholas Lea, Jamie Luner, (more)
Everyone who grew up watching the original Saturday Night Live remembers the fateful night in 1976 when Lorne Michaels, with mock gravity, announced that NBC would pay the munificent sum of 3,000 dollars if the Beatles would agree to come on the show and perform three Beatles songs. But everyone may not know that ex-Beatles John Lennon and Paul McCartney happened to be in New York, watching that particular episode of SNL -- and for a few moments, they were tempted to play along with the gag and accept the offer. How did this come about? Well, it seems that McCartney, riding high with his hit single "Silly Love Songs," was in Manhattan to promote an upcoming concert. For old time's sake, and (probably) to heal a few long-standing wounds, McCartney called upon Lennon at the latter's apartment in the Dakota. First telecast February 1, 2000, Two of Us dramatizes this bittersweet reunion, of which "L'Affair SNL" was but one of many extra added ingredients. Directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who'd also helmed the Beatles' swan song movie, Let It Be, Two of Us was seen over the VH1 cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
