Beverly D'Angelo

After successfully seeking out the ultimate slider in the 2004 stoner comedy Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, the cannabis-craving twosome returns in this high-flying sequel that finds them labeled terrorists for attempting to sneak a marijuana-smoking implement on a flight to Amsterdam. Harold (John Cho) and Kumar (Kal Penn) have just finished gorging themselves on savory White Castle hamburgers when they return to their apartment and hatch a plan for Harold to win the heart of his crush, Maria (Paula Garcés). Maria is going to Amsterdam, and if Harold can catch up with her overseas perhaps he can strike up a real love connection. After a close call with airport personnel and a chance encounter with Kumar's ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Danneel Harris) -- who hadn't yet told Kumar that she's engaged to be married -- the pot-loving pals finally board their flight for Amsterdam. Unfortunately for Harold, Kumar isn't able to endure the lengthy flight without an innocent puff or two from his smokeless bong. When the plane hits some turbulence and the bong is mistaken for a bomb, the flight is diverted to Guantanamo Bay and our spliff-smoking heroes are detained by overzealous Deputy Chief of Homeland Security Ron Fox (Rob Corddry). Now, if they can just escape from the world's most notorious prison compound, perhaps this hapless duo can succeed in convincing the authorities that they aren't enemy combatants, and that Kumar made the mistake of his life by letting Vanessa go. But before they can prove their innocence and get the girls, Harold and Kumar will have to outsmart the dreaded Ku Klux Klan, contend with a particularly precocious Cyclops baby, and successfully elude everyone's favorite debauched former child star -- Neil Patrick Harris. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A man looking for a new purpose in his life finds one that last place he expected in this comedy. Leo Spivak (Peter Riegert) is a man slowly sinking into the quicksand of a midlife crisis. He's become increasingly unsatisfied with his career in product testing, especially now that his young assistant Ed (Jake Hoffman) has taken to stealing his ideas and passing them on to his boss as his own work. Leo's marriage to Rachel (Isabella Rossellini) is not what it once was, especially now that she's shifted into a constant state of near-hysteria over their daughter, Elena (Ashley Johnson), and her budding romance with an aspiring juvenile delinquent. And Leo is spending every other weekend with his aging father, Sol (Eli Wallach), who has lost his will to live but uncooperatively won't die. As Leo puzzles over his path in life, he finds some very unexpected answers when he makes the acquaintance of Evelyn Fink (Eric Bogosian), a "freelance Rabbi" with some unusual spiritual advice. King of the Corner was directed and co-written by leading man Riegert; the screenplay was adapted from stories in the collection Bad Jews by Gerald Shapiro. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Novelist/filmmaker Bruce Wagner skews the classic George Cukor film The Women in this digital video effort adapted from a section of his novel I'm Losing You (which was also made into a feature film). Using a video diary format, the director focuses on three women desperate to become filmmakers. There is Phyllis (Beverly D'Angelo), an acid-tongued independent producer with a penchant for pharmaceutical drugs, who shops around her highly troubled new film project and decides to keep a journal to record its progress. Sara (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is a casting director stuck in a failing marriage who writes personal letters to her blind baby boy and confides in friend Holly Hunter about her need to get back on her feet. And Gina ($Portia de Rossi}) is a delusional actress/masseuse who steals the energies of her rich celebrity clientele and believes that TV producer Darren Star has stolen her ideas and is determined to seek retribution. Women in Film was shot by Russell Lee Fine, who transferred the video to a standard 35 mm format for release. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

Ten years after Allison Anders and Kurt Voss collaborated on Border Radio, a gritty and evocative look at life along the margins of the L.A. punk rock scene, the two have reunited for another look at the California music biz, this time aiming their sights considerably higher up the ladder. Sugar Town follows the interconnected lives of a handful of power brokers, wanna-bes and has-beens. Gwen (Jade Gordon), a self-centered would-be rock star who will do anything to further her career, is working as an assistant to production designer Liz (Ally Sheedy), but when Gwen discovers Liz has a date with famous producer Burt (Larry Klein), any loyalty she has to her boss immediately goes out the window. Burt's latest project is a comeback attempt from three aging Brit-rockers, Nick (Michael Des Barres), Clive (John Taylor), and Jonesy (Martin Kemp). Clive is married to Eva (Rosanna Arquette), an actress and one-time sex symbol depressed over her latest job offer -- playing Christina Ricci's mom. Nick has a dilemma of his own -- the band is strapped for cash, and Jane (Beverly D'Angelo), a potential investor, will write them a check only in exchange for sex with Nick... who unfortunately is only attracted to teenage girls. On the other side of town, Carl (John Doe) is a session musician with a pregnant wife (Lucinda Jenney), a flock of kids to support and bills to pay. When he's offered a spot in the touring band of a popular Latina singer, Rosio (Lumi Cavazos), Carl is torn -- his wife wants him to take the job, but Carl knows Rosio wants him for sex as much as music. Sugar Town, which premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, is authentically cast with many real-life rock musicians, including Doe (a member of L.A. punk legends X, and co-star of Border Radio), Taylor (from Duran Duran), Kemp (ex-Spandau Ballet), Des Barres (who has sung with Silverhead, Chequered Past and The Power Station) and Klein (a bassist and producer who's worked with Peter Gabriel and Joni Mitchell). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Rhythm & Smoke: Cigar offers cigar aficionados a rare glimpse inside the process which, for centuries, has made Cuban cigars the most admired in the world. Shot entirely in Cuba, the unique method of cigar manufacturing is discussed along with its roots in history. In addition, celebrity cigar connoisseurs Beverly D'Angelo and LeRoy Neiman offer their insights on the art of cigars and their all-time favorite smoking experiences. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

A Russian immigrant arrives in the Unites States to discover that the American dream has dampened somewhat in writer-turned-director Len Richmond's satirical look at America's preoccupation with all things sexual. Despite enthusiastic Alex's (Michael York) best efforts, the only job he can find upon arriving in the United States is a low-paying stint in a sex-toy factory. When elderly factory owner Eppy (Nancy Fish) takes pity on the struggling newcomer and introduces him to has-been adult film star Catherine (Prunella Gee) in hopes of making a match, the romantic bachelor finds that true love doesn't always arrive in the most conventional form. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Tony Kaye made his feature directorial debut with this dramatic exploration into the roots of race hatred in America. In a shocking opening scene, teen Danny Vinyard (Edward Furlong) races to tell his older brother, neo-Nazi Derek (Edward Norton), about the young blacks breaking into his car in front of the house, whereupon Derek gets his gun and with no forethought shoots the youths in their tracks. Tried and convicted, Derek is sent away for three years in prison, where he acquires a different outlook as he contrasts white-power prisoners with black Lamont (Guy Torry), his prison laundry co-worker and eventual pal. Meanwhile, Danny, with a shaved head and a rebellious attitude, seems destined to follow in his big brother's footsteps. After Danny writes a favorable review of Hitler's Mein Kampf, black high-school principal Sweeney (Avery Brooks) puts Danny in his private "American History X" course and assigns him to do a paper about his older brother, who was a former student of Sweeney's. This serves to introduce flashbacks, with the film backtracking to illustrate Danny's account of Derek's life prior to the night of the shooting. Monochrome sequences of Derek leading a Venice, California gang are intercut with color footage of the mature Derek ending his past neo-Nazi associations and attempting to detour Danny away from the group led by white supremacist, Cameron (Stacy Keach), who once influenced Derek. Director Tony Kaye, with a background in TV commercials and music videos, filmed in L.A. beach communities. Rated R "for graphic brutal violence including rape, pervasive language, strong sexuality and nudity." ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Life among insecure, middle-aged character actors, former New Yorkers in L.A., is the main plot focus of this Philip Frank Messina comedy about four friends who want the same role in the next Martin Scorsese gangster flick. Balding Johnny DiMartino (Robert Costanzo) is so excited by the news of a possible part as Al Capone in a Scorsese film that he informs ladies' man Dorian Masstandrea (Jon Tenney), who cheats on his wife Samantha (Elle Macpherson). Dorian immediately makes moves to get his own audition. Johnny goes to Armand (David Strathairn) for coaching in Sicilian characteristics, and he worries that his look-alike, Rudy Ptak (Jon Polito) will get the part. Steve Hersh (Adam Arkin) tries to get through to Scorsese, although his wife Joanne (Laura San Giacomo) is convinced he doesn't have a chance. Cameos by Bill Murray and Scorsese (portraying himself at the audition). Shown at the 1998 Santa Barbara Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

The Hollywood wife of a noted paleontologist finds herself afflicted with an angry shaman's curse after her husband offends the magical man during a desert exploration in this off-beat comedy. As soon as the curse is sent, poor Pixie Chandler finds herself with an insatiable craving for raw fish, a liking for hanging in trees and a propensity for laying eggs. She is also beginning to change physically and if her husband Dick doesn't do something soon, she is going to become the film's title. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide