Patricia Idlette Movies

After living his life with clockwork precision, a man throws any and all caution to the wind in this freewheeling comedy-drama. Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds) is a successful motivational speaker and author whose book "The Five-Minute Efficiency Trainer" advises readers that strict organization and avoiding impulsive behavior is the key to success. Frank is married to Susan (Emily Mortimer), who has been his sweetheart since college, but while he's happy, she's beginning to have second thoughts -- she chose to be with Frank rather than his best friend Buddy (Stuart Townsend) because of his sweet and gentle nature, but his new habit of carefully budgeting every moment of the day has squeezed most of the fun out of their lives. After a quarrel with Susan leaves Frank in a troubled state of mind, he's enthusiastically propositioned by a sexy woman at a self-help seminar (Sarah Chalke), and has to take a pregnant woman (Jocelyne Loewen) to the hospital when he nearly runs her over on the street. Susan learns about Frank's day and comes to the mistaken conclusion that he's been unfaithful to her with both women. Susan leaves him and Frank decides that his hyper-organized life is to blame for the collapse of his marriage. Suddenly, Frank figures its time to give his id full reign -- he buys a motorcycle, starts fist fights in bars, sleeps with strange women, takes up streaking, and does nearly everything the old Frank would warn him against. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The feminist horror film genre might not have very many prominent entries, but the critically acclaimed 2000 film Ginger Snaps was just that. A darkly humorous chiller that drew parallels between menstruation and a werewolf curse, the John Fawcett picture garnered several Canadian Genie Award nominations and a loyal cult following. Four years later, Brett Sullivan, the film's editor, made his feature directorial debut with this sequel, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed. Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins reprise their roles from the first film as sisters Ginger and Brigitte, respectively. This time around, Brigitte is found by the police after being attacked and taken to rehab when it's assumed that the wolfbane serum that keeps her from turning into a monster is a narcotic. Once inside the facility and denied the substance, Brigitte must strike deals with one of the orderlies to obtain it; meanwhile, she is pursued by another werewolf, and escapes with Ghost, another female patient, to that girl's vacant old house, which sets the stage for a brutal showdown -- made even nastier when the orderly, a hospital doctor, and the elderly Barbara show up and decide to intervene. Also starring Tatiana Maslany, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed was followed only a few months later by Ginger Snaps Back. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a woman attempts to recovering following a bout of schizophrenia. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Len Cariou is back as Michael Hagarty, semi-retired British secret agent and longtime friend of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury). On this occasion, Hagarty is distressed that his estranged daughter (Kim Johnston Ulrich) has become engaged to a young man engaged in questionable business practices with a mob-connected Hong Kong financial house. When the fiancé is murdered, Hagarty is accused of the crime, but Jessica can't believe he did it (nor can the audience!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on an autobiography by Betty Rollin, this is a heart-tugger which finds a woman with cancer seeking the assistance of her daughter in fulfilling her last wish--a wish to die with dignity. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

The eponymous team consists of four residents of a New Jersey psychiatric hospital: ex-postal worker Henry Sikorsky (Christopher Lloyd), who fancies himself a doctor; one-time ad agency exec Jack McDermott (Peter Boyle), suffering from a Messiah/martyr complex; writer Billy Caulfield (Michael Keaton), who cannot abide the "idiots" in the world (namely, everyone but himself); and TV-obsessed Albert Ianuzzi (Stephen Furst). Permitted a field trip to a baseball game, the four unfortunates wander off when psychiatrist Dr. Weitzman (Dennis Boutsikaris) is waylaid by two corrupt police officers after he witnesses them killing a third cop. The innocent inmates are accused of attacking Dr. Weitzman, but it is they who team up to bring the actual culprits to justice. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hands of a Stranger was adapted by playwright Arthur Kopit from the best-selling novel by Robert Daley. Armand Assante plays a New York City narcotics officer who aids DA Blair Brown in her investigation of a rape case in which drugs were involved. In the subsequent days, Assante becomes something of an expert in rape evidence. Thus, when his wife Beverly D'Angelo is sexually assaulted while en route to a rendezvous with her lover, Assante suspects something even though D'Angelo remains mum about the incident. Conducting his own investigation, Assante determines the rapist's identity while wiretapping a phoned-in attempt to blackmail his wife. Will Assante forget everything he's learned about police procedure and attempt to take the law into his own hands? Co-starring in Hands of a Stranger is Arliss Howard as the scummy rapist. Preceded by a warning that the film contained scenes of a violent and graphic nature, Hands of a Stranger was originally broadcast in two parts, on May 10 and 11, 1987. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Made for cable, Reckless Disregard was clearly inspired by the 1983 court trial involving Dan Rather of 60 Minutes and Dr. Carl Galloway, who felt he was wrongly linked to a pill-dispensing clinic. Leslie Nielsen stars as arrogant TV reporter Bob Franklin, who as part of a lengthy investigative piece for the weekly newsmagazine Hourglass, accuses a Queens, NY doctor, Edward Lucas (Frank Adamson) of illegally trafficking prescription drugs. His reputation in tatters, the doctor wants to sue for slander, but hasn't the money or the position to adequately confront his powerful tormentors. Thus it is up to storefront legal-services attorney Meredith Craig (Tess Harper) to take on Franklin and his bosses in court -- a task made all the more difficult by smug, sophisticated defense counsel Jack Coburn (Henry Ramer). Filmed in Canada, Reckless Disregard debuted March 17, 1985, on Showtime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide