Derek Kavanagh Movies

Nine-year-old Ociee Nash (Skyler Day) is living a carefree life in rural Mississippi, spending her days playing with her brother, Ben (Bill Butler), and her dog, Woofer. After she befriends a mysterious Gypsy, however, her single father (Ociee's mother has died) decides this tomboy existence is not the one she should be leading, and decides to send Ociee to live with her straight-laced Aunt Mamie (Mare Winningham) in Ashville, NC, in hopes that she can teach Ociee to become a proper young lady. While Ociee is not pleased with the situation, she soon finds interesting people and adventures in her new home. She befriends well-bred Elizabeth Murphy (Jasmine Sky) and meets colorful characters such as Nellie Bly (Donna Wright), Orville and Wilbur Wright (Sean Daniels and Ty Pennington), and even President McKinley (Daniel Burnley). She also manages to get herself into plenty of scrapes and misadventures, much to the displeasure of Aunt Mamie. Over time, however, Ociee and Aunt Mamie come to understand and appreciate each others' differences, allowing Ociee's true sprit and character to shine through. The Adventures of Ociee Nash is based on the novel A Flower Blooms on Charlotte Street by Milam McGraw Propst and adapted for the screen by sisters Amy and Kristen McGary (who also directs). ~ Sarah Block, Rovi

Directed by Gregg Champion, The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn follows the story of small town carpenter and farmer Noah Dearborn (Sidney Poitier), whose family land comes under the scrutiny of greedy land developer (George Newbern. Though his humble character holds the respect of the tiny community in which he resides, the unscrupulous developer does his best to have Noah declared mentally incompetent, going as far as to hire a psychiatrist (Diane Weist) for the specific purpose of deeming Noah insane. However, he didn't figure that Noah and the psychiatrist would formulate a strong, unique friendship. The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn also features actress Mary-Louise Parker. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Produced for the HBO cable network, this docudrama explores the social and ethical issues at the heart of the infamous Tuskegee Study of Untreated Blacks With Syphilis. From 1932 through 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service studied 600 poor African-American sharecroppers in Macon County, AL -- 399 chronic syphilitics and a 201-man healthy control group. Doctors treated the men with placebos, hid the true nature of their research, and withheld penicillin even after it became the standard and highly effective treatment for the disease in the mid-'40s. Although the experiment was hardly a secret, it was not until the early '70s that a public outcry developed; by then, all but 127 of the original study group had died. A class-action lawsuit obtained modest financial reparations for the participants and their descendants, but it was not until 1997 that President Bill Clinton offered an official government apology for the study. Framed as a series of flashbacks during the 1971 congressional hearings about the experiment, the film employs the viewpoint of Eunice Evers (Alfre Woodard), a local nurse who knew of the study's true nature, but devoted her life to caring for the men as they suffered horrifying physical and mental debilities and eventually died. The film charts her warm personal relationships with many of the participants -- the title refers to a singing and dancing troupe named in her honor -- and her failed romance with Caleb Humphries (Laurence Fishburne), an experimental subject who obtained penicillin from a military doctor and left the study to fight in World War II. Miss Evers' Boys was adapted from the play by David Feldshuh, which was itself based on the book Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment by James H. Jones. Although fictionalized, the title character is based on the real-life Eunice Rivers. The film won three Emmy Awards, including top acting honors for Woodard. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

After getting his big break, an aspiring TV reporter (Terrence 'T.C.' Carson) finds that showbiz ain't all it's cracked up to be. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

A historical drama about the relationship between a Civil War soldier and a band of Sioux Indians, Kevin Costner's directorial debut was also a surprisingly popular hit, considering its length, period setting, and often somber tone. The film opens on a particularly dark note, as melancholy Union lieutenant John W. Dunbar attempts to kill himself on a suicide mission, but instead becomes an unintentional hero. His actions lead to his reassignment to a remote post in remote South Dakota, where he encounters the Sioux. Attracted by the natural simplicity of their lifestyle, he chooses to leave his former life behind to join them, taking on the name Dances with Wolves. Soon, Dances with Wolves has become a welcome member of the tribe and fallen in love with a white woman who has been raised amongst the tribe. His peaceful existence is threatened, however, when Union soldiers arrive with designs on the Sioux land. Some detractors have criticized the film's depiction of the tribes as simplistic; such objections did not dissuade audiences or the Hollywood establishment, however, which awarded the film seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi