Kerry Barden Movies

In the days before Yom Kippur (aka the Day of Atonement), Zak Pikler takes his pregnant girlfriend, Delphina, to find his estranged father in the family drama Tickling Leo, written and directed by Jeremy Davidson. When they reach the man's home in the Catskills, Zak finds that his father has turned into a hermit and is suffering from dementia. But the problems in the present only mask those in the past, causing his father to revisit the Holocaust and his escape from Hungary. Produced by actress and director Mary Stuart Masterson, Tickling Leo stars Daniel Sauli, Annie Parisse, Lawrence Pressman, and Eli Wallach. ~ All Movie Guide

Adapted from the book by David Foster Wallace, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men tells the story of Sara Quinn, a graduate student in anthropology who's left feeling lost after her boyfriend breaks up with her and offers little explanation as to why. With her dissertation looming, Sara begins a project to interview men, all sorts of men, trying to unearth the mystery of their bizarre behavior. As her personal life and her academic life continue to mingle, Sara uncovers some strange and disturbing things about the male perspective, but nothing could be quite as strange as what she learns about herself. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

An elite former cop with a serious drinking problem and a sizable gambling debt is offered an opportunity for a fresh start when a wealthy stranger buys up his debts and proposes a deadly partnership. There was a time when Matt (Steven Seagal) was a happily married husband and father, but these days his only companions are an empty bottle and a handful of casino chips. His luck has run out, and now his wife is married to another man and his daughter has a new father. Just when it seems as if things couldn't get any worse for Matt, a mysterious old man appears to offer him the opportunity of a lifetime: Should Matt agree to assassinate one of the city's most feared gangsters, his astronomical debt will be paid in full. But Matt isn't used to being a hired gun, and in order to successfully execute his dangerous mission he will first have to familiarize himself with the complicated system of underworld politics. As clarity takes hold and the prospect of redemption comes within his grasp, this once honest cop realizes there is much more to his assignment than meets the eye as he prepares to make the decision that will change his life forever. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Critically acclaimed director David Gordon Green takes a break from the brooding drama that defined such early efforts as George Washington and Undertow for this action-flavored buddy comedy concerning two pot-smoking friends (Seth Rogen and James Franco) who unwittingly become involved with a vicious gang of drug dealers. Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson produce a script co-penned by star Rogen and Evan Goldberg. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A haunted New York City detective must delve into his dark past in order to stop a serial killer whose highly artistic modus operandi seems uncannily similar to that of a madman who stalked the city streets five years prior. When reclusive detective Stan Aubray (Willem Dafoe) gunned down the man suspected of being the "Uncle Eddie" murderer, he thought his nightmare had come to an end. But now a new crop of victims has begun to turn up, each bearing the distinctive mark of the maniac whom everyone had presumed to be dead. Much like the unfortunate victims of "Uncle Eddie," the bodies in this latest batch have been carefully arranged in a manner that reflects the artistic style known as anamorphosis -- where hidden meanings can be revealed by viewing the crime scenes from different perspectives. Could this be the work of a copycat killer, or is it possible that Detective Aubray and his men killed the wrong man on that fateful day five years ago? All signs indicate that the latest killings were carried out with Detective Aubray specifically in mind, prompting him to reexamine the painful questions that he had struggled all these years to suppress. On one side, Detective Aubray faces the scrutiny of a bright young detective (Scott Speedman) who has his own unique ideas about the killings, and on the other, a disturbed young woman (Clea Duvall) who proves a dangerous link to Detective Aubray's mystery-shrouded past. Only by confronting the possibility that he fears most will Detective Aubray finally be able to overcome his own stifling sense of guilt and finally uncover the truth about the most gruesome crimes ever committed in New York City. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A high-school student struggling to suppress her budding sexuality makes a startling discovery about her womanhood after becoming the victim of sexual violence in director Michael Lichtenstein's semi-surreal exploration of the vagina dentata myth. Dawn (Jess Weixler) is a proud virgin and the most active member of her local chastity group. Though she struggles with every ounce of her willpower to resist the pleasures of the flesh, Dawn finds her noble efforts to remain chaste repeatedly challenged by her disturbed stepbrother, Brad -- whose provocative advances are becoming increasingly difficult to resist. When Dawn is sexually assaulted and discovers that her vagina actually has teeth, she struggles to comprehend her anatomical anomaly while experiencing both the benefits and drawbacks of this strange new revelation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A devoted family man with a successful career in software unwittingly falls into a hopeless pattern of corporate slacking, lavish business trips, and beautiful prostitutes after being promoted to middle-management in this humorous tale of ambition and redemption starring Breckin Meyer. Ted (Meyer) was the kind of guy who always put his family first, but now that he's been promoted his priorities are beginning to shift. His new manager (Adam Scott) seems more interested in cutting corners and taking advantage of the high life than getting any real work done, and it isn't long before Ted becomes wrapped up in the perks of his new position as well. As much fun as he may be having at the moment, however, Ted will eventually have to return home and answer to his increasingly lonely wife. It's only a matter of time before Ted's corporate affairs come back to haunt him, and when they do will they really have been worth it? Laura Harris, Monica Keena, and Bess Armstrong co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director/screenwriter David Gordon Green adapts Stewart O'Nan's popular novel to the screen in this feature, which tells the parallel tales of a teenager named Arthur (Michael Angarano) and his onetime babysitter Annie (Kate Beckinsale) -- whose turbulent relationship with her estranged husband, Glenn (Sam Rockwell), leads the small-town waitress down a troubled path. Arthur is a high-school student from a dysfunctional family, and does everything in his power to avoid hanging around the house while mom and dad quarrel. When he's not practicing his trombone and performing with the high-school marching band, Arthur can usually be found bussing tables at the local Chinese restaurant and flirting with older waitress Annie. Annie used to be Arthur's babysitter, and is currently struggling to separate from her former high-school sweetheart, Glenn. But being a single mother isn't easy, especially since the troubled Glenn wants nothing more than to clean up his act and reunite his family.

Back at school, Arthur and pretty classmate Lila (Olivia Thirlby) have been bonding over their mutual love for all things geeky. Though the casual friendship shows promise of evolving into something more when Lila expresses her true feelings for Arthur, he can't help but becoming distracted by his chaotic family life: his father is moving out of the family home, and his mother is doing everything in her power to maintain some semblance of normalcy. Realizing that happiness is fleeting as his family becomes shattered and Annie experiences a series of distressing encounters with Glenn, Arthur gradually begins to fall for Lisa despite his growing cynicism concerning long-term relationships. Later, on a cold winter morning, Glenn and Annie's past catches up with them in a blinding flash, and the lives of everyone they know are suddenly and irrevocably changed. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

As Constance (Natasha Richardson) and Nina (Toni Collette) gather at the deathbed of their mother, Ann (Vanessa Redgrave), they learn for the first time that their mother lived an entire other lifetime during one evening 50 years ago, one she kept secret all their lives. In vivid flashbacks, the young Ann (played by Claire Daines) spends one night with a man named Harris (Patrick Wilson), whom she'd remember so many years later as the love of her life. As her daughters try to face the loss of their mother and the struggle to be happy in their own lives, they piece together an idea of love, happiness, and the woman they called their mother. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Director Brian De Palma turns his lens on the Iraq War with this "fictional documentary" about the experience of U.S. soldiers involved in the conflict. Based on a news item about the rape of an Iraqi schoolgirl by wayward grunts assigned to patrol a checkpoint, the film depicts a scenario not unlike the one De Palma covered in Casualties of War. Shot on high-definition video, Redacted also addresses the ever-evolving manner in which war is covered by the media by focusing on such journalistic innovations as blog coverage and web reporting. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director Oliver Stone once again offers a powerful and provocative story based on real-life events in this drama. Sargeant John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) and William J. Jimeno (Michael Pena) were two officers assigned to New York City's Port Authority who were working their beats on a quiet day in early fall when they received an emergency call. The day was September 11, 2001, and McLoughlin and Jimeno were among the policemen who attempted to evacuate the World Trade Center towers after they were struck by airliners piloted by terrorists. Both McLoughlin and Jimeno were inside the fifth building of the World Trade Center when the towers fell, and were two of the last people found alive amidst the wreckage. As McLoughlin and Jimeno struggled to hold on to their lives as rescuers sifted through the rubble, their spouses -- Donna McLoughlin (Maria Bello) and Allison Jimeno (Maggie Gyllenhaal) -- clung to the desperate hope that their husbands would survive and be found. As the McLoughlin and Jimeno families waited for word on the fate of the two men, they watched as a city and a nation came together with strength and compassion in the face of a tragedy. World Trade Center was based on the true story of John McLoughlin and William J. Jimeno, both of whom cooperated with producers in the making of this film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Inspired by the Japanese drama Himitsu (which was in turn based on the novel by author Keigo Higashino), director Vincent Perez's supernatural drama tells the tale of a mother who discovers some shocking secrets about her teenage daughter after being killed in a tragic car accident and seeing her soul inexplicably transplanted into the body of the troubled young girl. Benjamin (David Duchovny) and Hannah (Lili Taylor) are happily married soul mates, yet neither parent realizes that their adolescent daughter Sam (Olivia Thirlby) is leading a desperate double life. One day, seemingly out of the blue, Benjamin and Sam find their lives changed forever when Hannah is killed in a violent car accident. But at the moment of death, Hannah's soul is somehow propelled into Sam's body, giving the mother a chance to know her beautiful daughter more intimately than she ever did in life. Unfortunately the things that Hannah discovers about Sam are deeply disturbing; Sam has been leading a secret life - a life that neither Hannah nor Benjamin ever knew anything about. Meanwhile, back at home, Hannah and her grieving husband receive one last chance to rekindle their romance and say their last goodbyes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide