Mimi Lieber Movies
- 2008
- PG13
Writer/director Sophie Barthes crafts this metaphysical tragicomedy, which straddles the line between reality and fantasy, set in a world where souls are extracted from humans and traded as commodites. Paul Giamatti is an anxious New Yorker who finds the answer to his deep-rooted malaise after stumbling upon an article about a high-tech company that claims to have found a solution to human suffering. By deep-freezing souls, claims the company, they can give their customers a life free from fear, doubt, and worry. Eager to free himself from the emotional burden of angst, Giamatti eagerly enlists their services. Trouble arises, however, when Giamatti's soul is swiped by a soul-trafficking "mule" who in turn gives it to a no-talent Russian soap opera actress. Now, in order to get back the soul that is rightfully his, Giamatti must make the arduous trip to St. Petersburg, along the way discovering that the true key to happiness isn't the absence of pain, but the ability to experience the entire spectrum of emotion and cherish the things that really matter. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn, (more)
Two women whose peoples are often at odds find they're more alike than anyone expects in this drama from directors Stefan C. Schaefer and Diane Crespo. Rochel (Zoe Lister-Jones) and Nasira (Francis Benhamou) are two young women who have begun teaching at a public grade school in Brooklyn, NY. Rochel is an Orthodox Jew and Nasira is a Muslim of Pakistani descent, and the students and the administrators at the school are concerned there might be friction between the two teachers. However, over the course of their first year of teaching, Rochel and Nasira discover they have far more in common than they imagined -- both sometimes find themselves culturally out of place in 21st century New York, and both are trying to live within the traditions of their faith while struggling with their own feelings. In particular, Rochel and Nasira bond over the fact both are expected to enter into arranged marriages, Nasira with a wary optimism and Rochel with a great deal of trepidation. Arranged was screened in competition at the 2007 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zoe Lister-Jones, Francis Benhamou, (more)
A middle-aged man finds himself dealing with the divorce of his elderly parents as well as many years of emotional baggage in this poignant comedy drama. Ben (Paul Reiser) is a writer who is enjoying a quiet evening at home with his wife, Rachel (Elizabeth Perkins), when they receive an unexpected visitor, Ben's father, Sam (Peter Falk). As it happens, Sam has some surprising news -- his wife, Muriel (Olympia Dukakis), has left him, leaving behind a note saying she wants some time alone. While Ben gets in touch with his sisters, who immediately set out to track down Muriel, he is left to deal with Sam while he tries to figure out what has gone wrong. Eager to spend some time with his dad to talk things out, Ben invites Sam along for a trip upstate to look at some property he's interested in buying, and as the two men hit the road, they get a chance to get to know one another in a way Sam, a busy salesman, was unable to do when Ben was a boy. The Thing About My Folks was a pet project for Paul Reiser, who wrote the screenplay as well as playing the lead; he'd had the script in the works for 20 years, and always intended for Peter Falk to play the role of Sam. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Falk, Paul Reiser, (more)
An aspiring rapper learns that it takes more than pure talent to succeed in the cutthroat recording industry in this hip-hop drama from writer/director/star GQ. There's no question that Stix (GQ) has the rhyming abilities to make it as a star, but when it comes to life choices he seems to be torn. Will Stix be able to sacrifice the party lifestyle that he and his friends have enjoyed in his quest to the top -- or will the temptations of the industry be too much to bear for the wannabe superstar? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- GQ, Omar Scroggins, (more)
- 2001
In the first episode of a momentous three-part story, wicked Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson) is still trying to scam the INS by posing as the gay "husband" of employee Drew (Drew Carey). Staying over at the Carey house, Wick borrows Drew's underwater, and is instantly transformed into a nice guy! Unfortunately, Drew doesn't like the fact that all of his friends have gravitated to the "reformed" Wick, and thus boots the man out of his house--with disastrous results. But all this pales in comparison to the stunning episode finale, in which Drew is left hovering between life and death! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
New Year's Eve brings its share of crises for everyone on the ER staff. In New York, Dr. Burke (Chris Sarandon) performs a risky experimental operation on Greene's (Anthony Edwards) brain tumor. And back in Chicago, the staffers must deal with Dan Harris (Jim Belushi) and his son Paul (Jared Padalecki), both injured in the same car accident -- and they must also deal with the elder Harris' unusual request. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
In order to convince a skeptical cabbie that a tragedy will occur if she doesn't reach the Queensborough Bridge by 10 PM, Monica recalls the chain of disastrous events that led up to this crticial and anxious moment. It all started when a total stranger (Howard Hesseman) made a rude gesture to Monica because of her inept parallel-parking skills. Outraged by this breach of etiquette, Monica transmitted her anger and bitterness to several other people in the course of the day. One of the second-hand recipients of Monica's wrath is a woman named Wendy (Kathie Lee Gifford)--who becomes so disheartened that she intends to commit suicide! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Bobby (Jimmy Smits) and Diane (Kim Delaney) are definitely in love, but are they ready to make their commitment permanent? As for Andy (Dennis Franz), though his surgery was successful, he still isn't quite 100 percent -- but try getting him to tell that to Sylvia (Sharon Lawrence). Back on the job, when the semen-drenched bodies of a used car salesman and prostitute are found, the detectives split up to investigate each individual homicide. One of the suspects seems to be guilty, but Bobby and Andy think that there's a flaw in this theory, so they help the suspect prepare for his grand-jury appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
While drunk, Chandler (Matthew Perry) has a fling with one of Joey's (Matt LeBlanc) sisters. Once his head clears up, he can't remember which sister was the lucky one (Gina or Dina?). On other fronts, Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) new date is both very charming and very loud. And Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) is offered a job at Bloomingdale's by a handsome stranger, arousing Ross' (David Schwimmer) suspicious nature. Steven Eckholdt makes his first series appearance as Mark. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A serial killer is transformed into a computer virus out to destroy more than your hard drive in this sci-fi thriller. Terry Munroe (Karen Allen), a single mother, is looking for a gift for her boss and visits a computer store, where one of the employees demonstrates a hand-held scanner than can transfer the information from her address book into a software program that will store the information on her PC. Unknown to Terry, one of the employees of the store is Karl Hochman (Ted Marcoux), known in the press as "The Address Book Killer," who likes to steal other people's address books and murder all the people listed within, including the book's owner. Terry accidentally leaves her book behind at the store, and Karl lifts it, but as he drives to her house to strike her off the list first, he is injured in a serious accident and taken to a hospital. While Karl is being given a CAT scan, lightning strikes the building and Karl is transformed into a series of electrical impulses that can travel as computer code from one system to another, or as current through power lines. Soon Terry begins to suspect something is wrong as her friends succumb to attacks by microwave ovens, hot-air blowers, and other household objects. Terry and her computer-savvy son, Josh (Wil Horneff), realize that they're at risk after Karl appears in Josh's virtual reality games; it's up to Bram Walker (Chris Mulkey), a brilliant hacker-turned-computer maintenance technician, to isolate and destroy the Karl virus before it can kill again. The film's soundtrack features such hip-hop stars as D-Nice and Too Short, Schoolly-D, Grandmaster Slice, and Kool Moe Dee. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Allen, Chris Mulkey, (more)
In this comedy-drama set in the late 1950s, Manny Singer (Ray Liotta) is a songwriter who makes his living penning jingles for radio and television commercials. Manny's wife has recently died, leaving him an emotionally broken man; Manny buries himself in his work rather than deal with his grief. His young daughter Molly (Tina Majorino) is taking it even harder; since her mother's passing, Molly has refused to speak. Manny realizes that he needs help taking care of the house and looking after Molly, so he places an ad looking for a maid who can double as a nanny. After a long series of unsuitable applicants, Manny meets Corrina Washington (Whoopi Goldberg), who isn't much on cooking, cleaning, or domestic chores -- but who strikes an immediate chord with Molly. Corrina gets the job, and her vivacious, unconventional personality brings the joy of living back to the Singer home. A romance also begins to bloom between Manny and Corrina, though Manny quickly discovers that being in an interracial relationship in 1959 is not always easy or pleasant. Joan Cusack and Don Ameche highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Whoopi Goldberg, Ray Liotta, (more)
After a childhood spat drove brothers Wilder (Arliss Howard) and Wallace (Dennis Quaid) apart, they went their separate ways, until a chance meeting brought them back together again. Gifted with a psychic ability to spark fires, Wilder supresses his gift, marries the lovely Vida (Debra Winger), and attempts to lead a normal life. However, he runs into his brother, who is using his powers to work as a carnival attraction, and their reunion leads to disaster when the brothers begin to compete for Vida's attention. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debra Winger, Dennis Quaid, (more)
- 1989
Producer/director Michael Mann, kappelmeister of the trendy TV series Miami Vice, tried to impose his MTV mentality on Tinseltown with L.A. Takedown. Los Angeles cop Scott Plank is on the trail of master thief Alex McArthur. After McArthur pulls off "the score of a lifetime," the crook and the cop spend the rest of their screen time in a deadly game of one-upsmanship. The usual Michael Mann trademark of style over substance prevails throughout L.A. Takedown. But the vogue had passed, and this TV pilot film failed to graduate into a series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Christine (Markie Post) is miffed to learn that the Night Court staff has agreed to attend her anniversary party for Prince Charles and Princess Diana only because Harry (Harry Anderson) ordered them to. She much prefers the company of Bob (George DelHoyo), an affable fellow who is at the party on his own volition. Unfortunately, Bob turns out to be in the Federal Witness Protection Program--and the Mob has just caught up with him! The "best", however, is reserved for last, when a certain Prominent Person makes an unbilled--and unseen and unheard--cameo appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Hoping to motivate his underachieving son Mike (Kirk Cameron), Jason (Alan Thicke) takes the boy along on a plane trip to Jason's alma mater in Boston. En route, a pregnant passenger (Mimi Lieber) goes into labor, forcing Jason to deliver the baby miles above the earth--with Jason as his nervous assistant. During the ordeal, Mike experiences an epiphany via a long conversation with the woman's husband (Dan Lauria). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
- R
A stylish take on the woman in jeopardy and mad killer genres, White of the Eye poses the question, What would you do if you suspected your loving husband to be a serial killer? Arizonan Paul White (David Keith) is an expert at installing high-end stereo systems in the homes of wealthy citizens. He has been married to Joan (Cathy Moriarty) for ten years, having seduced her away from a violent criminal, Mike DeSantos (Alan Rosenberg). A series of brutal murders of well-to-do women has citizens of Paul and Joan's town on edge. When evidence at the scene of the second murder points to Paul, Joan tries to fend off the suspicions of police detective Charles Mendoza (Art J. Evans), even as she begins to see signs of violence in her husband that confirm the accusation. Director Donald Cammell, who co-wrote the script with his wife China, offers a fragmented narrative characterized by quick cutting; subjective, handheld camera work; and optical tricks that suggest the unraveling of Paul's mind. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Keith, Cathy Moriarty, (more)
George Lollar (Charles Grodin) overrides his wife's judgment and takes his family for a vacation on a sunny Caribbean island that just happens to be on the verge of a revolution. Their hotel is not the usual Hilton on the beach but a pick-up joint for singles where the main activities are sex, sex, and sex. In that order. As the horrified father watches almost helplessly, his wife becomes liberated, his daughter falls for a Frenchman who is actually a guerrilla, one of his sons loses his virginity to a buxom, worldly-wise woman, and his other son burns down the mini-camp he was forced to attend. But that's hardly the worst of it -- there is that small matter of a political overthrow about to explode on the scene. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Grodin, Robin Pearson Rose, (more)
Straight-laced Henry Winkler takes a night-shift job as a morgue attendant. Winkler falls under the spell of wheeler-dealer coworker Michael Keaton, whose catchphrase "Is this a great country or what?" is the clarion call for his many get-rich-quick schemes. His latest plan is to turn the morgue into a nocturnal brothel, for the benefit of anything-goes hooker Shelley Long-and incidentally, to line their own pockets. Director Ron Howard and his frequent scripters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel turn the potentially lurid story material of Night Shift into an endearing comedy, with winning performances from its three often miscast stars. Keep an eye out during one of the party sequences for Kevin Costner as a carousing college boy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton, (more)
"Grease," said the poster and the Barry Gibb song, "is the word." Transferring its setting from Chicago to sunny California, and adding a dash of disco to the ersatz '50s score, producer Allan Carr and director Randal Kleiser turned this long-running Jim Jacobs - Warren Casey Broadway smash into the biggest blockbuster of 1978. 1950s teens Danny (John Travolta) and Australian transfer Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) spend their "Summer Nights" falling in love, but once fall comes, it's back to Rydell High and its cliques. As one of the bad boy T-Birds, Danny has to act cool for best pal Kenickie (Jeff Conaway) and their leather-clad mates Sonny (Michael Tucci) and Doody (Barry Pearl, in the role Travolta played on stage). Despite befriending Frenchy (Didi Conn), one of the rebel Pink Ladies, virginal Sandy is "too pure to be Pink," as the Ladies' leader Rizzo (Stockard Channing) acidly observes. Declaring their devotion in such ballads as "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Sandy," Sandy and Danny split, reconcile, and split again amidst a pep rally, dances, drive-ins, and a drag race, before deciding "You're the One That I Want" at the climactic carnival. With Travolta white-hot from Saturday Night Fever (1977), Grease soundtrack singles climbed the charts and summer movie crowds poured in. With the presence of Joan Blondell, Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, Edd "Kookie" Byrnes and Frankie Avalon appealing to grown-up memories, Grease became the highest grossing film of 1978, the highest grossing movie musical ever, and the third most popular film of the new blockbuster '70s after Star Wars (1977) and Jaws (1975). Its sequel, Grease 2, did not exactly set the world on fire in 1982. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, (more)
