Tim Ware Movies

One family's dysfunctional nature begins to rise to the surface in this independent drama. The Sabistan family would appear to have it made; Earl (Robert Pine) and Jane (Janet Carroll) have had a long and seemingly happy marriage, and their three grown daughters -- Beth (Kellie Martin), Missy (Amy Raymond), and Faran (Kayren Ann Butler) -- have found success in their respective careers. But when they all gather together to celebrate Thanksgiving, Earl drops a bombshell on his family; he announces he's no longer happy with Jane and has decided to file for divorce. The surprise announcement forces Jane to reveal a secret of her own -- that she's developed a serious drinking problem. As Beth tries to make sense of all this, she discovers that her sisters have been keeping quiet about problems of their own; Missy's marriage to Todd (Jeff Robert Werner) is falling apart now that he's no longer attracted to her, and Faran has reason to believe that her spouse Roger (Chris Shea) is having an affair. All You Need was the first feature for director Randy Ser. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cult director Frank Henenlotter does the seemingly impossible by breathing new life into this horror-comedy series about the twisted escapades of the Bradley Brothers: the deranged but sensitive Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) and his monstrously-deformed former Siamese twin Belial. The previous installment had the siblings settling a nasty dispute in a particularly grisly manner... but appearances can deceive, as the original Basket Case proved with its similar denouement, which the director casually ignored in order to move things along. This time, Duane and Belial are still a bit miffed at each other but eventually make cute when it's learned that Belial is going to be a daddy -- thanks to a stomach-churning tryst with the similarly-shaped mutant Eve in the previous chapter. Things seem to be returning to relative normalcy in their newfound home -- considering that said home is Granny Ruth's sanctuary for "Unique Individuals" whose curator (Annie Ross, reprising her role) offers bed and board to an ensemble of freaks with cartoonishly-large deformities. It is only when the entire group sets out for the Georgia clinic of Uncle Hal -- a specialist who is capable of delivering Eve's plentiful offspring -- that their revels come to an end, thanks to a redneck sheriff and his thick-headed deputies, who don't exactly take a shine to their kind. It's up to Belial to save the day, which he does with bloody gusto thanks to a mechanical exoskeleton built by Uncle Hal's ingenious multi-armed son. Despite falling into some of the same pitfalls as the previous film (namely the slightly-too-outrageous mutant makeup), this is a stylish coda to the series, with strong and very funny performances from the leads and some memorably grotesque moments -- especially a bizarre road-trip sing-along by the freaks and the jarring air of "cuteness" in the disgusting birth scene. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this comedy drama, three women meet each other in a divorce attorney's waiting room and soon become fast friends as they try to help each other through the pain of their crumbling marriages. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

John Lithgow sets aside his patented drooling villainy to play the sympathetic title character in Traveling Man. Beset by business and marital problems, salesman Lithgow feels as though he's at the end of his rope. But it's at this point that he avoids the Willy Loman syndrome by realizing that there's more to life than a smile and a shoeshine. Fade-out salvation arrives in the lovely form of Margaret Colin. Jonathan Silverman co-stars as Lithgow's eager-beaver assistant, while John Glover is slime personified as the sales manager. Written for television by David Taylor, Traveling Man debuted June 24, 1989, over the HBO Cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nicole Beharie, Tim Blake Nelson, Will Patton, and Xzibit headline this fact-based drama about an innocent Texas mother caught up in a high-profile drug raid, and unjustly accused due to the uncorroborated testimony of a single informant. Dee Roberts (Beharie) is a young single mother of four living in a small Texas town. Arrested during a drug raid and accused of a crime she didn't commit, Dee goes against the wishes of her mother, Alma (Alfre Woodard), and rejects the plea-bargain that would free her from jail, but brand her as a felon for life. As word begins to spread that similar incidents are occurring in poor communities all across the country, Dee realizes that there are more mothers out there like her, and decides to take a stand against powerful district attorney Calvin Beckett (Michael O'Keefe). Now, despite being well aware of District Attorney Beckett's fierce reputation, Dee enlists the aid of ACLU attorney David Cohen (Nelson) and former narcotics officer Sam Conroy (Patton) in overcoming the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that, if not navigated with the greatest of caution, now threaten to destroy her life. With the custody of her children on the line, one brave mother wages a valiant battle to strike at the very heart of the corrupt Texas justice system. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Driver and muscle for hire Frank Martin returns in this sequel to the 2002 box-office hit. Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is a former special-forces officer who will transport anything anywhere for a price, and his latest assignment is acting as chauffeur for Jack Billings (Hunter Clary), the young son of politician Jefferson Billings (Matthew Modine), who has garnered no small amount of controversy for his aggressive efforts to stamp out the trade in illegal drugs. One day, Frank is to take Jack to the doctor for a checkup while his mother, Audrey (Amber Valletta), sets up a birthday party for the tyke. However, Jack's doctor is not who he appears to be -- he's actually Dimitri (Jason Flemyng), a Russian agent well versed in viruses who works with criminal kingpin Gianni (Alessandro Gassman). After a long and hard-fought chase with Frank, the bad guys get ahold of little Jack and hold him for ransom. The parents comply with their monetary demands and soon have their son back at home -- but little do they know that the boy has secretly been injected with a deadly and easily spread virus, which the terrorists hope to spread to the boy's powerful father and other politicians whom Jefferson will soon be addressing at a public event. When Frank learns what has happened to young Jack, he sets out to find the culprits -- and the antidote that will save the boy and all others who have been exposed to the virus from dying a painful death -- though his foes have stacked the deck so that it looks as if Frank has been complicit in the crime. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Steve Martin produced, wrote, and starred in this modernized adaptation of the George Eliot novel Silas Marner. Martin is miserly small-town hermit Michael McCann, who hoards his wealth in the form of a rare coin collection. When his coins are stolen, McCann is ruined, but then he discovers an abandoned baby girl on his doorstep. Although he doesn't know it, the girl, whom McCann names Mathilda, is the illegitimate daughter of a prominent local politician, John Newland (Gabriel Byrne). Raising Mathilda has a profound effect on McCann, who emerges from his self-imposed exile and becomes an excellent, creative father. Mathilda grows up to be an intelligent, attractive girl, friendly with Newland and his wife (Laura Linney). When the Newlands learn that they cannot have children, John confesses his secret and embarks on a custody battle with McCann to regain guardianship of his daughter. The location of McCann's long-lost coins has a powerful impact on the proceedings, however. A rather dour and downbeat film, A Simple Twist of Fate lacked the charm and whimsy of Martin's earlier literary adaptation, Roxanne, and did not enjoy that film's box office success. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

A Charlotte lawyer unearths a closely guarded family secret when his father dies and leaves him interest in an obscure entity known as The Covenant List of South Carolina, Ltd. in director Gary Wheeler's adaptation of the novel by author Robert Whitlow. Convinced that the fall of the Confederacy is at hand after the Battle of Gettysburg, a group of South Carolina plantation owners gather at the Rice Planter's Inn in Georgetown, South Carolina and hatch a plan to smuggle their fortunes into Europe. Their cover for the operation: a secret society dubbed The Covenant List of South Carolina, Ltd. But a weathered prophet opposes the group's nefarious plan, and issues a dire warning to his friends and neighbors that one day the descendents of the group will one day face judgment at the mighty hand of God. Decades later, the interests of the families have been passed down through the generations. The profit margin has exploded, and with each passing year the secret grows more sinister. When Charlotte lawyer Renny Jacobson learns that his father has recently passed away, he returns to Charleston to pay his final respects and attend the reading of the family will. Much to Renny's surprise, his father bequeathed a large portion of his estate to charity. Shortly after discovering that his sole inheritance is an interest in the mysterious Covenant List of South Carolina, Ltd., Renny is contacted by The List and approached by a beautiful woman named Jo Johnston. In the following days Renny will become swept up by a whirlwind of deception and greed that will lead him from the picturesque coasts of South Carolina to the closely guarded Swiss bank vaults which house a vast fortune in cursed blood money. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide