Amy Hobby Movies

Adrift in Manhattan, the third feature effort of Hispanic writer/director Alfredo de Villa (Washington Heights, Yellow), intercuts three intensely dramatic stories of life during a cold New York winter, each of which revolves around the concept (and thematic motif) of vision. In the first, an eye doctor grieving from a traumatic loss (Heather Graham) must reexamine her life and priorities; in the second, an artist of advanced age must contend with encroaching blindness -- thus losing the one of his five senses that represents his greatest asset; in the third, a photographer grapples with inner turmoil. De Villa brings these stories together for an unanticipated intersection on a Manhattan subway line, and watches as these individuals -- initially, complete strangers to one another -- help to guide each other through their struggles, pain, and angst. William Baldwin and Erika Michaels co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Many historians contend that Norse explorers settled on the North American continent long before it was "discovered" by Columbus, and this adventure blends historical research with the filmmakers' imagination in the tale of two 11th Century Vikings and their struggle to survive in a new land. Orn (Tony Stone) and Volnard (Fiore Tedesco) are the only two survivors of a bloody clash between their Viking clan and a band of Native Americans; aware that their best hope of survival is to move on, they set out to find a new territory to settle. While making their way through the wilderness of what is now the Canadian province of Newfoundland, Orn and Volnard encounter a pair of monks from Ireland who have escaped from a Viking camp. They quickly slay one of the monks, but they allow the other (David Perry) to live, and he joins them in their daily battle to scratch out an existence in the beautiful but forbidding landscapes. Along the way, Orn wins an unlikely companion, a native woman (Noelle Bailey) who first saw him as he was laying waste to her village. Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America was the first feature film from writer and director Tony Stone, who also plays Orn; it received its premiere at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Alicia Goranson, Brendan Sexton III, and David Eigenberg star in director Adrienne Weiss' affectionate tale of sisterly devotion versus romantic yearning. By day, Queens native Myra (Goranson) has a reputation as hard-working firecracker of an office clerk who's not afraid to speak her mind, but by night, the outwardly hardened office worker goes soft as she lovingly caters to the needs of her artistically driven but emotionally unstable brother Ludlow (Sexton III). As Myra's burgeoning relationship with kind-hearted office employee Reggie (Eigenberg) begins to take a turn for the serious, the resulting tug of war waged for Myra's affection finds the emotional Ludlow lashing out and attempting to sabotage his sister's burgeoning romance. Though Myra's devotion to her troubled brother has always thus far resulted in a virtually non-existent social life, the prospect of following her strong feelings for the sweet and sensitive loner finds the encumbered sister struggling to find a comfortable middle ground between her senses of love, responsibility, and freedom. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Sadomasochism provides the backdrop for a very unusual employer/employee relationship in this very offbeat romantic drama from filmmaker Steven Shainberg. Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a shy young woman, who, after a brief spell in a mental institution, is released in the care of her overprotective mother (Lesley Ann Warren) and hard-drinking father (Stephen McHattie). Hoping to make good on her own, Lee begins looking for a job, and in her free time indulges in her odd habit of inflicting pain upon herself in various ways. Lee is hired as a secretary by E. Edward Grey (James Spader), a grim and ruthlessly efficient attorney who warns her that her work will be both dull and demanding. Lee takes to the job with genuine enthusiasm, and while she's recently acquired a new boyfriend, Peter (Jeremy Davies), she's far more intrigued by Grey's coldly patrician demeanor. While Grey often criticizes Lee, she seems to thrive on his abuse, but one day he crosses a line when he insists upon spanking her after some minor mistake. Lee quite enjoys the treatment, and wants it to continue, but Grey can no longer take pleasure humiliating Lee when he knows that she likes it; he fires her, despite her pleas to be allowed to stay. Finally discovering the key to her sexual and emotional needs, Lee tries to persuade Peter to be rough with her, but he simply doesn't have the taste or talent for it, and Lee soon maps out a last-ditch effort to win back her position with Grey, whatever the cost. Secretary won a special award for "Originality" at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Writer-director Jonathan Nossiter's first feature film is a moody exploration of assaults upon, and shifts in, personal identity. The movie's action all takes place on a Sunday in a poor section of the New York City borough of Queens. Oliver (David Suchet) is a newly homeless middle-aged man who was downsized out of his job as a mid-level functionary at a computer corporation and lost his wife and family because of his employment troubles. Out walking in the borough, Oliver collides with Madeleine Vesey (Lisa Harrow), an out-of-work British actress who is in the process of breaking up with her American husband, Ben (Larry Pine). Madeleine mistakes Oliver for Matthew Delacorta, a famous film director, and Oliver goes along with the mistake, hoping that it will help him to escape his misery. Madeleine hopes that she can make an impression that will land her a film role, so she invites her new friend up to her apartment. When Oliver tells her his life story, she mistakes it for an invented movie plot because Madeleine lives her life in a fantasy world, pretending reality is a film. After the two lost souls have sex without emotion, Ben shows up. He tells Oliver that his recent open-heart surgery wounds were caused by a knife attack from Madeleine. Oliver leaves as the estranged couple argues, but he returns to retrieve his precious winter coat, and he becomes further entangled in the fantasy of a new identity. Sunday won the Grand Jury prize at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Ronny (Alex Wolfe) is a rootless young drifter who insists on carrying his ukelele around with him and playing it at odd times. He is traveling with two highly suspicious characters (Madelieine Gavin and Jeffrey Vance), each of whom has just killed someone and brags about it to Ronny. This doesn't seem to bother him, but the fact that the girl is attached to the other guy instead of him does. Eventually, the girl does take an interest in him, and it begins to look as though Ronny could earn a living with his uke, but he is yet another killer, wanted by the police as a cop-killer. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide