Peter Coyote Movies

Back in 2002, the naval base Guantanamo Bay became a historical flashpoint as the first wave of detainees arrived for incarceration. Dubbed "the worst of the worst," the offenders likely had no idea they would be entering the most infamous prison on the planet, and were frequently held for years without so much as a single charge being leveled against them. Some viewed the prison as a symbol of freedom protected; others viewed it as proof of freedom betrayed. Americans were fighting a new kind of enemy, and the government was playing their cards close to their chest. Nobody really know what was happening inside those heavily fortified barbwire fences, and at times, the inexperienced guard force and the frightened detainees threatened to turn volatile. Now, for the first time ever on camera, the day-to-day life at Guantanamo Bay is finally revealed. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Discover the impact of the beef industry on Nebraska through the settlement and homesteading eras as filmmakers explore the first cattle drives into the Great Plains. After witnessing the rise of the cattle barons, viewers learn about the evolution of the modern ranch and the growing beef industry through two world wars, the devastating 1949 blizzard, and the tumultuous history of the Omaha Stockyards. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The 2000 presidential election -- marked by an extremely narrow margin of victory, troubles with ballots going missing, and mechanical problems with poorly designed paper ballots in the state of Florida -- led many pundits to debate how effective the mechanics of voting had become in America. However, many who have set out to "solve" these problems have in fact only made them worse; many commonly used electronic voting systems are significantly less accurate than their mechanical counterparts, a number of them offer no hard-copy backup of the votes cast, and one of the largest manufacturers of electronic voting machines, Diebold, is headed by Walden O'Dell, a man who told attendees at a Republican fund raiser in 2003 that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president (George W. Bush) next year," leading many to question his objectivity and if certain problems with his machines occurred entirely by accident. A growing number of political activists are looking to the 2008 presidential race as a test of whether fair elections are still possible in the United States, and the battle to see that all votes are accurately counted and election laws are properly observed is explored in the documentary Stealing America: Vote by Vote. Filmmaker Dorothy Fadiman weighs the evidence that political influence may have been used to leverage presidential election results in certain states, that a significant number of voters may have been illegally prevented from casting a ballot, and that the latest generation of electronic voting machines could be easily susceptible to tampering. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Inspired by a true story, director Dennis Fallon's emotional family drama tells the tale of a family attempting to cope with a tragic loss, and a young girl who finds the strength in the last place she ever expected. Twelve year old Belle (Vivien Cardone) has just lost her mother in a horrible auto accident, and she places the blame for that loss squarely on the shoulders of her grieving father Cody (Jason London). Unable to deal with his daughter's newfound rebellious streak and contend with his own sorrow at the same time, Cody sends Belle away to live with her grandfather Hock (Peter Coyote), a genuine cowboy who lives by a strong code of ethics. But Hock is unable to look at Belle without thinking about his deceased daughter, a sad fact that only deepens the young girl's intense feelings of alienation. Just as Belle begins to feel as if there's no one in the world with whom to share her sadness, along comes a loyal pup named Atticus that helps her to focus on the positive things in life. Perhaps with a little help from a kindly veterinarian, an empathetic farm manager, and a good-humored motel owner, this family will finally find the strength needed to move past their pain while building a joyous new life together. Patton Oswalt co-stars in a drama also featuring the final onscreen appearance of legendary actor Peter Boyle. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This 100 minute program takes a look at the brain and its ability to change and adapt itself based on what it's presented with. Dr. Michael Merzenich of the University of California and his team of scientists present a series of computer stimuli developed to encourage this growth and adaptation within the brain so that viewers can improve their own brain function. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

Filmmakers Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan take an extensive look at the conscientious objector experience as related to the war in Iraq in this documentary that gives American soldiers from all walks of life the opportunity to speak openly and honestly about their moral concerns regarding their military duties. In the United States, every citizen has the right to abstain from armed combat on the grounds by citing religious or ethical conflict. But these aren't the only people who wrestle with their conscience over killing, because as Weimberg and Ryan reveal, even the soldiers sent to fight on the battlefield often fail to follow through on their orders when the time comes to pull the trigger. By examining extensive footage of military boot camp training techniques and listening to conversations with military personnel, the viewer becomes aware of the methods implemented by the armed forces to strip soldiers of their confidence in favor of building a more effective military. West Point graduates, experienced drill sergeants, Abu Ghraib interrogators, and low-ranking reservists alike all weight in with their deepest moral concerns regarding the duties that the military expects them to perform when deployed to the front lines. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker Lynn Hershman Leeson examines a strange miscarriage of justice amplified by post-9/11 hysteria in this imaginative fusion of documentary and docu-drama. Steve Kurtz is an artist and political activist who was an associate professor at State University of New York's Buffalo campus and a member of a politically oriented creative collective known as the Critical Art Ensemble. In the spring of 2004, Kurtz was preparing an installation of pieces commenting on the potential dangers of genetically modified foods for the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art when his wife Hope Kurtz unexpectedly suffered heart failure. Kurtz called 911 to report the emergency, but by the time the police arrived she was dead. While looking through Kurtz's home, authorities found Petri dishes used to grow bacteria and genetically modified flies the artist had obtained for his exhibit; soon a Hazmat crew had sealed off the house, and Kurtz was behind bars under laws designed to combat bio-terrorism. While Kurtz purchased his materials legally through the internet and the case against him is flimsy at best, the FBI has refused to drop charges against him, in part because the federal government is eager to strengthen bio-terrorism laws rather than call attention to their flaws, and in part because the Food and Drug Administration would prefer to keep critics of bio-engineered food (which the FDA has embraced over the objection of many in the scientific community) as quiet as possible. Since Kurtz is not able to tell his own story on camera, for the film Strange Culture Leeson has combined interviews and newsreel footage with cinema verite-style recreations, featuring actors Thomas Jay Ryan as Steve Kurtz, Tilda Swinton as Hope Kurtz, and Peter Coyote as Steve's associate Robert Ferrell. Strange Culture also features an original score by pioneering experimental rock group the Residents. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

North Korea is threatening to flex its nuclear muscle, and it's up to a team of US Navy SEALs to prevent a catastrophe in this action-packed sequel to Behind Enemy Lines starring Bruce McGill, Keith David, and Peter Coyote. Everything was going as planned, but when the mission is aborted after the troops have already deployed, four American soldiers are forced to fight for their lives deep in enemy territory. As the rebel forces close in on the stranded men, the battle heats up and the fate of the free world hangs in the balance. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In 1968 members of San Francisco's Mime Troupe and Digger Movement decided to separate from society and form their own community, known as the Black Bear Ranch, to reconnect with nature and experience a different way of life. At the turn of the new century the resilient counterculture settlement was still active at the base of majestic Mount Shasta, and filmmaker Jonathan Berman traveled to the eighty-acre tract to explore just how the Black Bear Ranch continues to thrive despite the concerns of their suspicious neighbors and the ever-present eyes of the F.B.I. Life is lived at a different pace at the Black Bear Ranch, and now, as nostalgic members of the commune openly discuss just how life in the community has changed over the years, outsiders can finally see precisely how the bold social experiment has continued to defy all predictions regarding its longevity. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Three stories of human treachery are given an unexpected link in this dry comedy drama from Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur. Holt (Forest Whitaker) is an insurance investigator who is sent to Minnesota to look into a bus accident; the bus seems to have had significantly more passengers after it crashed than it had when it left the station, and Holt, posing as a police detective, needs to know who is telling the truth and who is attempting to cash in on the tragedy. Later, Holt is back on the job, when a badly burned body is found in a wrecked car, and the ID on the corpse indicates the victim was a small-time con artist with a police record. The victim's sister, Isold (Julia Stiles), claims that her brother's accident happened after his gas tank was drained and he was struggling to make his way home on a stormy night, but Holt isn't buying it; and Isold's husband, Fred (Jeremy Renner), and son, Thor (Alfred Harmsworth), don't seem especially trustworthy. Finally, a man and a woman struggle to make their way to shore after their car sails off a cliff into a body of water. While they seem grateful to make it back to dry land, it seems the woman has reason to be unhappy with her mate when she viciously attacks him. Who are these people, and what is their story? A Little Trip to Heaven received its North American premier at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This deeply critical and often humorous documentary opens with President George W. Bush's acceptance of the 2000 Republican nomination and Bush's assertion that each U.S. president must be fully responsible for his actions. It then moves forward in time to examine the extent to which Bush failed to live up to this oath, via eviscerating commentary from numerous left-wing spokespeople including Arianna Huffington, Michael Moore, Bill Maher, Al Franken, and others. Peter Coyote narrates. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide