Bruce Altman Movies

A trio of troubled suburbanites attempts to come to grips with the personal issues that surface following the tragic death of one of their own in this introspective adolescent drama from L.I.E. screenwriter/director (Michael Cuesta). In the months following the death of Jacob's (Conor Donovan) likeable, athletic twin brother, Rudy (also Donovan), Jacob and friends Malee (Zoe Weizenbaum) and Leonard (Jesse Camacho) struggle to make sense of the unfortunate youth's fiery demise at the hands of local bullies. As Jacob quickly loses himself to revenge fantasies and sets into motion a series of destructive plans designed to destroy the kids responsible for his brother's death, Malee focuses her attention on a dejected patient of her psychotherapist mother, and obese Leonard struggles about weight and health issues with his equally obese mother. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director Roger Michell follows up the hit romantic comedy Notting Hill (1999) with this thought-provoking thriller. Ben Affleck and Samuel L. Jackson star, respectively, as Gavin Banek and Doyle Gibson, two New York men whose lives become accidentally intertwined in a Good Friday fender bender on the FDR Drive. Late for a crucial appointment, hotshot lawyer Gavin tosses Doyle a blank check and leaves the scene, while Doyle, whose car is inoperable, is late for a court-appointed custody hearing. A recovering alcoholic, Doyle's tardiness doesn't sit well with the judge, who - sick of waiting for Gipson - grants custody to Doyle's ex-wife in Doyle's absence. The situation worsens when it becomes evident that Doyle has an equally important file belonging to Gavin, which proves that an elderly man gave Banek's firm power-of-attorney over his foundation. So begins an escalating war of words and deeds between the two men. Soon, egged on by an associate (Toni Collette), Gavin hires a "fixer" (Dylan Baker) to destroy Doyle's credit, forcing Doyle to fire back with some cunning moves of his own. Changing Lanes co-stars William Hurt, Sydney Pollack, and Toni Collette. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

David Mamet's award-winning play about a group of desperate real estate agents comes to the big screen from director James Foley. In a role created specifically for the movie, Alec Baldwin appears as a sales motivator, informing the group of hard-luck salesmen that they must compete in a sales contest where the losers will be fired. The agents work their same tired leads, until one hatches a scheme to burglarize the office, steal the leads, and sell them to a rival. Featuring a cast that includes Al Pacino as the office's sales leader, Jack Lemmon as an elderly loser, Alan Arkin and Ed Harris as frustrated salesmen, Kevin Spacey as the harassed office manager, and Jonathan Pryce as a client, Glengarry Glen Ross is, at its core, a character study about a group of men whose time has passed. ~ Matthew Tobey, 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

Law & Order's first two-part episode begins with an assault on the owner of a candy store. Following the trail of clues, Greevey (George Dzundza) and Logan (Chris Noth) end up at the door of prominent gangster boss Frank Masucci (Charles Cioffi). The so-called "Dandy Don" has long eluded prosecution, but attorneys Stone (Michael Moriarty) and Robinette (Richard Brooks) believe that they at last have enough evidence to put Masucci away for life. Alas, the lawyers have placed all their eggs in a single "basket" -- namely, Masucci's mercurial brother-in-law Harv Beigel (Bruce Altman). ~ Hal Erickson, 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 young man (Matt Dillon) is trying to go in with his friends on a bowling-alley investment, but finds that his finances are too strapped to attempt the venture. To curb his outlays, he begins arranging a marriage for his ex-wife (Annabella Sciorra) so he can end the alimony payments which keep him in debt. ~ John Bush, 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

It's 1958, and the producers of the quiz show 21 have a problem. Their current champ, Herbert Stempel (John Turturro), has a phenomenal memory and a broad range of knowledge. He's also a pudgy loudmouth with a grating personality, so Herbert is encouraged to "take a dive" and allow Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), a handsome and charming college professor, to become the show's new champion. Audiences like Van Doren, and he's certainly not averse to the money he's winning, but the ethics of the situation begin to trouble him, especially when the show's producers begin to give him the questions in advance. Director Robert Redford and writer Paul Attanasio paint a telling portrait of how the network heads and advertising men who manipulated the quiz shows were also able to manipulate the responsibility for the scandal away from themselves. While on the surface a story about the scandal itself, Quiz Show is just as importantly about a turning point in the 1950s when TV and advertising began to change American character and culture. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Combining elements of A Christmas Carol and Rain Man (1988), this modern-day parable of greed and redemption was crafted with generous helpings of sentimentality by director Mike Nicholas. Harrison Ford stars as Henry Turner, a slick, ruthless corporate attorney willing to spin any falsehood to win a case. A bully to his teenage daughter Rachel (Mikki Allen), Henry also cheats on his wife Sarah (Annette Bening) and treats everyone from the maid to his assistant with cruel selfishness. Stepping out to a local mini-market for a pack of cigarettes late one night, Henry accidentally interrupts a burglary and is shot in the head by a stick-up artist. After a long coma, Henry survives only to find that he has no memory and must re-learn everything from reading to tying his shoes. Reborn as a friendly, childlike innocent, Henry charms his therapist (Bill Nunn) and reconnects with his wife and daughter, only to uncover some secrets about how truly appalling he once was. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Rookie of the Year is a light-hearted comedy about a 12-year-old baseball fan who, despite his love for the sport, can't play the game at all. During one Little League contest, he breaks his arm. After it heals, it miraculously becomes a super-human arm that can out-pitch any player in the major leagues. The boy joins the Chicago Cubs and helps lead them to the World Series. Though the plot is silly and contrived, it's a pleasant film that is ideal for young sports fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

George Clooney stars in this adaptation of Martin Booth's suspense novel A Very Private Gentleman, with director Anton Corbijn (Control) heading up the production for Focus Features. Rowan Joffe's script details the downtime of an American assassin (Clooney) in Italy after his latest job has gone sour. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide