Bruce Altman Movies

An aged, divorced mother becomes "the other woman" in her ex-husband's life when the pair enters into an unexpected affair during an out-of-town trip. Jane (Meryl Streep) has been divorced from Jake (Alec Baldwin) for a decade. The mother of three grown children, she owns a successful Santa Barbara bakery/restaurant and maintains a friendly relationship with Jake, who has since been remarried to the much younger Agness (Lake Bell). Jane and Jake are attending their son's college graduation when they agree to an innocent meal together. Before long a simple dinner date has erupted into an all-out affair, and when architect Adam (Steve Martin) falls for Jane, he realizes he's been drawn into a most peculiar love triangle. Is love sweeter the second time around, or should Jane and Jake just be happy with what they had, and finally move on with their lives? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A skeptical attorney moves into a beautiful house with an ominous history, only to experience a series of bizarre and frightening occurrences beyond his comprehension. Bryan Becket (Tim Daly) never believed in the supernatural. When Bryan's aunt dies under mysterious circumstances, he dismisses reports that her house is haunted and decides to move in. Almost immediately, Bryan begins to suspect that there is something terribly wrong with the house; voices begin calling out to him from the darkness, seemingly providing clues to some deep mystery. Though he senses that he is somehow connected to the house, he can't figure out how and begins questioning his own sanity. In his search for medical help, Bryan comes into contact with a young psychic (Zoe Saldana) who claims the house harbors a dreadful secret. Together, Bryan and the psychic prepare to unlock a mystery that leads them both into the darkest corners of the skeptic's own disturbed mind. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Kevin Spacey and Bob Balaban headline Austin Powers director Jay Roach's all-star docudrama examining the events surrounding the most controversial presidential election in United States history. The highest office in the country is up for grabs, and the fate of the free world may hang in the balance. When the initial tallies from Florida voting polls prove inconclusive, the decision is made to hold a recount. But it's a controversial decision to say the least, and one that caused many skeptical voters to suspect foul play. Eventually the case would go all the way to the Supreme Court, and as the trial gets under way charismatic Texas republican James Baker (Tom Wilkinson) attempts to rally public support for the recount. But the Democrats aren't about to lie down and die just yet, because Al Gore's former chief of staff Ron Klain (Spacey) can play hardball with the best of the old elephants. Now, as these two opposing giants come to blows over the fate of the presidency, they gradually begin to develop a grudging respect for one another. Laura Dern, John Hurt, Dennis Leary, and Ed Begley, Jr. round out the cast for the film that blends actual news footage and verbatim dialogue into fictionalized recreations that are both highly entertaining and deeply dramatic. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A meager grocery clerk embarks on an epic mission to win the international competitive bagging championships and bag the heart of his dream girl in the first National Lampoon comedy produced in house in nearly twenty years. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A cruiserweight boxing champion in the process of training to become pro finds his interracial romance fanning the flames of hate and offering a newfound sense of clarity in a semi-autobiographical drama directed by Attika Torrence and starring real-life boxing sensation Punchin' Pat Nwamu. In the wake of his father's death, Pat begins to align himself with a local group of Italian-American gangsters while attempting to establish a concrete sense of community. Though Pat shows great promise in the boxing ring, his future career is suddenly thrown into question when he enters into an ill-advised relationship with neighborhood girl Gina (Rue Debona). The Guido Boys are a racist, Howard Beach neighborhood street gang who don't take kindly to interracial relationships, and before long Pat is locked up in the local jail. Though he may have taken a beating or two during the course of his career, Pat definitely has the brains to match his brawn, and after getting a second chance at life on the outside thanks to his physical talents and connections with local Lodge member and sympathetic father figure Frank Gibbs (Bruce Altman), this determined athlete is finally prepared to re-evaluate his questionable friendships and start from scratch no matter how bumpy the road that lies ahead. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Ridley Scott directs the crime comedy Matchstick Men, based on the novel of the same name by Eric Garcia. Neurotic con man Roy (Nicolas Cage) suffers from several emotional problems, including obsessive-compulsive disorder. He and his partner Frank (Sam Rockwell) swindle people out of money by posing as money collectors who promise things like tax refunds, package vacations, and other fabulous prizes (which they never get). Frank wants to pull a really big job, but Roy is too consumed with fear and panic attacks to join him. Only cigarettes and his trusty illegal prescription drugs seem to keep him going. When Roy finds himself in desperate need of more pills, he is forced to see legitimate psychotherapist Dr. Klein (Bruce Altman). Roy ends up talking about his emotional damage from a troubled marriage and divorce, which results in the discovery of a child whom he has never met. Dr. Klein suggests that he spend a weekend with the kid, so in walks teenaged Angela (played by twentysomething Alison Lohman). Reluctant to develop his role as a father, Roy also gets heavily involved in Frank's ambitious swindle. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

A teenaged boy in desperate need of a father figure finds one in a place no one should ever have to look in this controversial drama. Howie (Paul Franklin Dano) is a 15-year-old who has been emotionally at sea ever since the death of his mother in an auto accident several years before. Howie's father Marty (Bruce Altman) is also having trouble dealing with the loss, and distracts himself with empty sex while avoiding authorities attempting to prosecute him for using unsafe materials in his building contracting business. Howie falls in with a group of homeless delinquents his own age, becoming especially close to streetwise Gary (Billy Kay). In time, Howie begins to wonder if his feelings for Gary go past ordinary friendship, but the issue of his sexuality is forced into a very different light after Gary persuades Howie to join him in robbing the home of middle-aged former Marine Big John Harrigan (Brian Cox). It doesn't take long for Big John to track down the culprits after Howie and Gary steal several guns from his house, but Howie learns that Big John and Gary have met before -- Gary sometimes works as a male prostitute, and Big John, whose tastes run to boys in their early teens, is a regular customer. When Gary runs away to California, Big John proposes that Howie work off their debt by having sex with him; while Howie is hardly comfortable with this arrangement, he has nowhere else to go after his father ends up in jail, and he finds an unexpected degree of emotional support in his relationship with the curiously compassionate pedophile, who comes to understand just how badly Howie needs help. L.I.E. (the title stands for "Long Island Expressway") premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The detectives investigate when the co-owner of a clothing store is murdered. The chief suspect heads to Israel; to avoid extradition, he invokes the "Law of Return," which decrees that every Jew on earth is automatically a citizen of Israel. To crack this case, the DA's office must enter into a tense series of conferences with an impartial group of New York rabbis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A mother mourning her son's suicide finds herself thrown into a sexual tailspin when she finds herself attracted to women in this romantic comedy. The comedy comes in as she tries to court a stripper in a local gay bar. Unfortunately the stripper has other things in mind for the bereaved mother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Monica (Roma Downey) is now employed at station KQIS as producer for hotshot TV reporter Debra Willis (Vanessa Bell Calloway), who has gained fame with her catchphrase "As my mother always says..." When star high-school athlete Bobby Garcia is seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident, Bobby's mother, impressed by Debra's avowed respect for her own mom, insists that Debra cover the investigation of the accident exclusively. What no one realizes is that Debra actually harbors a deep resentment toward her cold, ultra-perfectionist mother Grace (Diahann Carroll)--and worse, that Debra herself was the driver of the car that knocked Bobby down! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A talented young rock keyboardist allows his life to fall into the gutter after he loses both hands during a mugging. He is later fitted with special hand extensions, but these neither allow him to play music nor much of anything else. Despondent, he starts drinking heavily and soon finds himself a self-pitying homeless street bum in New York. His life starts improving after he encounters Anamika, a New Age girl who befriends him and introduces him to special friends, one a computer genius and the other, her landlady, a metal sculptor. Together with some assistance from his roommate, the three devise a marvelous set of hands for the boy, ones endowed with special qualities that allow to play music even better than before. Billing himself as Cyberstorm, the lad becomes a star. A hometown concert gives him a chance at revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When a company-sponsored white-water rafting expedition turns into a nightmare, an advertising executive finds himself faced with a moral dilemma and an extremely guilty conscience. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide