Jamie Harrold Movies

Kevin Spacey plays legendary attorney/civil libertarian Clarence Darrow in this made-for-TV biopic. The story begins in 1894, when Darrow gives up his job as a railroad attorney to represent the participants of the Pullman strike. Darrow's "man of the people" reputation grows to mythic proportions over the next thirty years, a growth represented in this film by broad strokes and windy monologues. We last see Darrow in 1924, attempting to rescue young murderers Leopold (Jamie Harold) and Loeb (Barry Sherman) from the gallows. Darrow was first telecast June 7, 1991, on the PBS series American Playhouse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Family Pictures is a two-part TV adaptation of the Sue Miller novel of the same name. Anjelica Huston and Sam Neill are Lainey and David Eberlin, a 1950s married couple with six children, one of whom, Randall (Jamie Harrold), is autistic. The parents' initial decision not to institutionalize the boy results in a terrific strain on the rest of the family, until finally only Lainey is willing to shoulder the responsibility of raising Randall. The second half of Family Pictures, related from the vantage point of the 1980s by the Eberlins' oldest daughter (Kyra Sedgwick), details the effect that Randall's inevitable institutionalization had on the family. This anecdotal four-hour drama first aired on March 21 and 22, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A frenetic, bloody look at mass murder and the mass media, director Oliver Stone's extremely controversial film divided critics and audiences with its mixture of over-the-top violence and bitter cultural satire. At the center of the film, written by Stone and Quentin Tarantino, among others, are Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Juliette Lewis), a young couple united by their desire for each other and their common love of violence. Together, they embark on a record-breaking, exceptionally gory killing spree that captivates the sensation-hungry tabloid media. Their fame is ensured by one newsman, Wayne Gale (Robert Downey, Jr.), who reports on Mickey and Mallory for his show, American Maniacs. Even the duo's eventual capture by the police only increases their notoriety, as Gale develops a plan for a Super Bowl Sunday interview that Mickey and Mallory twist to their own advantage. Visually overwhelming, Robert Richardson's hyperkinetic cinematography switches between documentary-style black-and-white, surveillance video, garishly colored psychedelia, and even animation in a rapid-fire fashion that mirrors the psychosis of the killers and the media-saturated culture that makes them popular heroes. The film's extreme violence -- numerous edits were required to win an R rating -- became a subject of debate, as some critics asserted that the film irresponsibly glorified its murderers and blamed the filmmakers for potentially inciting copy-cat killings. Defenders argued that the film attacks media obsession with violence and satirizes a sensationalistic, celebrity-obsessed society. Certain to provoke discussion, Natural Born Killers will thoroughly alienate many viewers with its shock tactics, chaotic approach, and disturbing subject matter, while others will value the combination of technical virtuosity and dark commentary on the modern American landscape. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

A group of old college friends work through their long-standing sexual tensions when they reunite for a wedding in this comedy-drama. Bob (Alexis Arquette), a student at George Washington University, has a mad crush on his buff, beautiful roommate, Brendan (Christian Maelen). Brendan senses the attraction, but rejects Bob violently during a play wrestling match that goes a little too far. A few years later, the young men's mutual friends -- Matt (Jamie Harrold) and Carol (Lauren Velez) -- decide to tie the knot, and the old gang reassembles. TV writer Bob brings along his conceited soap-star boyfriend, Sterling (Tuc Watkins). Brendan comes dateless, but old flame Sarah (Marianne Hagan) -- now a conservative senator's aide -- puts the moves on him. Meanwhile, their friend Eric (Guillermo Diaz) vacillates between hooking up with long-lost lady friend Beth (Maddie Corman) or with the nubile sister of the bride. During the wedding reception, Brendan corners Bob and confesses that he, too, is now gay -- and that he's in love with Bob. This doesn't sit well with the newly self-sufficient Bob, who's finally found a backbone and doesn't want to relive painful college memories. But with stick-in-the-mud Sterling around to remind him that his new life isn't exactly perfect, Bob soon finds himself alone in a hotel room with the object of his youthful affection. The debut feature from writer/director Brian Sloan, I Think I Do was produced by Lane Janger, a fellow participant in the Boys Life anthology series. Janger would go on to cast Guillermo Diaz in his own debut feature, Just One Time. Actress/singer Marni Nixon has a cameo as Carol's wise old Aunt Alice -- her first screen role since appearing in 1965's The Sound of Music. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Julia Roberts stars in this legal drama based on the true story of a woman who helped win the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit. Erin Brockovich (Roberts) is a single mother of three who, after losing a personal injury lawsuit, asks her lawyer, Ed Masry (Albert Finney), if he can help her find a job. Ed gives her work as a file clerk in his office, and she runs across some information on a little-known case filed against Pacific Gas and Electric. Erin begins digging into the particulars of the case, convinced that the facts simply don't add up, and persuades Ed to allow her to do further research; in time, she discovers a systematic cover-up of the industrial poisoning of a city's water supply, which threatens the health of the entire community. Erin Brockovich was directed by Steven Soderbergh; Julia Roberts earned a $20 million payday for her work on the film, the highest salary paid to a female film star up to that time. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The successful franchise of Paramount motion pictures based on novelist Tom Clancy's techno-thrillers featuring heroic CIA intelligence analyst Jack Ryan stages a much-publicized "do-over" with this action-adventure that recasts the character of Ryan as a rookie to the complex game of geopolitical warfare. Ben Affleck takes the reins from Harrison Ford as Ryan, a greenhorn CIA historian and analyst who finds himself thrust front and center into the spy community's spotlight when Nemerov (Ciaran Hinds), a Russian politician on whom Ryan is an expert, suddenly becomes the leader of the former Soviet Union upon the current president's unexpected demise. Attached to the director of the CIA, Cabot (Morgan Freeman), Ryan insists -- contrary to the opinions of many high-ranking White House officials -- that Nemerov is not a warmonger. Meanwhile, a cadre of neo-fascists, led by Dressler (Alan Bates), plots the detonation at the Super Bowl in Baltimore, MD, of a nuclear device recovered from a long-ago Israeli fighter jet crash, a terrorist incident they intend to spark a war between the super powers, leaving them to conquer the world in the conflict's post-apocalyptic vacuum. The Sum of All Fears co-stars James Cromwell, Bridget Moynahan, and Liev Schreiber as covert operative John Clark, a character central to another series of Clancy's best-selling tomes. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Director Vladimir Vitkin adapts author Michael Blumlein's cult novel about a woman who loses her memory, and subsequently becomes convinced that she is a man. Frankie is a stripper who needs a stiff drink in order to take the stage. One night, a strange man wanders into the club where Frankie dances and a piercing alarm sounds out. In the aftermath, Frankie's fragile world comes crumbling down. Later, Frankie awakens with no sense of identity. Despite not being able to remember her name or anything about her past, there is one thing that Frankie insists on -- she is a man. No matter how hard her boyfriend Terry attempts to convince her that she is delusional, Frankie simply won't back down from her bizarre claim. Now, in order to make it through their bizarre ordeal, both Frankie and Terry will have to take a harrowing journey deep into their most private fears. The task won't be an easy one, and it's likely to leave them forever changed. If they somehow manage to emerge with their sanity intact, however, they may just stand a chance of holding on to their love. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When a blind date arranged by mutual friends results in a whirlwind courtship for an enchanted young couple, the pair soon discover that fate may not ultimately be so kind in director Jeff Lipsky's affecting romance. As the rain poured down on the night that they first met, Stuart and Nicole sat mesmerized in a small diner, wondering if life could truly get any better than it was in those early, magical moments. In the coming weeks they found that indeed life could get better, but as the young couple embarks on a dizzying romance their initial enchantment soon gives way to a painful reversal of fortunes. With human flaws eclipsing the perceived initial perfection and the disparities of their backgrounds prying open an ever deepening chasm filled with selfishness and religious conflict, Stuart and Nicole soon find that the heartbreak of their failing romance is as emotionally devastating as their early moments together were intoxicating. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide