Brad Anderson
When an American couple (Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer) traveling from China to Moscow on the Trans-Siberian Railway meets an outwardly friendly couple (Eduardo Noriega and Kate Mara) traveling the same route, deception soon gives way to murder in The Machinist director Brad Anderson's tense tale of international intrigue. Ben Kingsley and Thomas Kretschmann co-star as a pair of Russian police officers striving to solve the case and stop the rising body count. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer, (more)
A quality-control supervisor and compulsive eavesdropper finds his primary hobby becoming his ultimate curse in director Brad Anderson's (Session 9 and The Machinist) adaptation of a short story by author Mike O'Driscoll. By day, Larry Pearce (Chris Bauer) spends his time listening in on the telephone conversations of his unsuspecting tech support staff. When Larry's son dies unexpectedly, the grieving father suddenly finds his sense of hearing supernaturally heightened to the point where even the smallest sound shakes his whole world. Now, as the raging sounds of the outside world become too overwhelming to bear, all the man who couldn't stop listening wants is a little peace and quiet -- and he's ready to take violent action in order to get it. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Bauer, Laura Margolis, (more)
Brad Anderson directs the psychological thriller The Machinist, a production of Spain's Filmax company. Christian Bale plays Trevor Reznik, a factory lathe operator who has developed a serious case of insomnia. Lack of sleep has already started to wear down on his brain and his body. When he's involved in an accident at work, his co-workers turn against him. He starts to find strange notes in his apartment and see people that apparently aren't there. Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as call girl Stevie. The Machinist premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, (more)
- 2003
Julien (Michael Jace) single-handedly takes down an armed suspect in a department store, but his triumph is short-lived, as Tomas (Brent Roam) returns, and threatens to expose his recent sexual past to his new family. Aceveda's (Benito Martinez) city council campaign is losing steam, and Mackey (Michael Chiklis) suggests they could both use a major bust to boost their public image. He learns that a major gang leader, also wanted by the feds, is in town. Ronnie (David Rees Snell) is out of the hospital, and anxious to get back to work, including hitting the Armenian "money train." Lannie (Lucinda Jenney) is working all the angles trying to nail Mackey, including having him tailed, and trying to get the newest Strike Team member, Tavon (Brian White), to turn on him. Tavon is proving himself in the field, but Shane (Walton Goggins) doesn't trust him. Mackey uses Kern Little (Sticky Fingaz) to help find the gang leader, but Kern wants a lot in return, and Mackey has decided that the Strike Team, at least temporarily, is no longer in the drug trade. Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) try to sort out a promiscuous teenage girl's (Ashley Bashioum) claim that she was raped by her boss (Jeff Kober). This episode was directed by Brad Anderson (Next Stop Wonderland). ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Chiklis, CCH Pounder, (more)
- 2003
Julien (Michael Jace) single-handedly takes down an armed suspect in a department store, but his triumph is short-lived, as Tomas (Brent Roam) returns, and threatens to expose his recent sexual past to his new family. Aceveda's (Benito Martinez) city council campaign is losing steam, and Mackey (Michael Chiklis) suggests they could both use a major bust to boost their public image. He learns that a major gang leader, also wanted by the feds, is in town. Ronnie (David Rees Snell) is out of the hospital, and anxious to get back to work, including hitting the Armenian "money train." Lannie (Lucinda Jenney) is working all the angles trying to nail Mackey, including having him tailed, and trying to get the newest Strike Team member, Tavon (Brian White), to turn on him. Tavon is proving himself in the field, but Shane (Walton Goggins) doesn't trust him. Mackey uses Kern Little (Sticky Fingaz) to help find the gang leader, but Kern wants a lot in return, and Mackey has decided that the Strike Team, at least temporarily, is no longer in the drug trade. Dutch (Jay Karnes) and Claudette (CCH Pounder) try to sort out a promiscuous teenage girl's (Ashley Bashioum) claim that she was raped by her boss (Jeff Kober). This episode was directed by Brad Anderson (Next Stop Wonderland). ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Bubbles (Andre Royo) is trying to stay clean. Waylon (Steve Earle) from NA gives him some advice. Avon (Wood Harris) and his crew want Omar (Michael K. Williams) dead, but Avon tells Stringer (Idris Elba) to get the word out to Omar that they want to call a truce and parlay. Rhonda Pearlman (Deirdre Lovejoy) tells McNulty (Dominic West) that the case is hurting Judge Phelan's (Peter Gerety) political career. D'Angelo's (Larry Gilliard Jr.) baby's mama is moving in, but he's still trying, unsuccessfully, to reconcile with Shardene (Wendy Grantham). The unit finds out the pager number for the stash house, and they stake out a pay phone in Pimlico. Orlando (Clayton LeBouef) gets busted in a sting, trying to buy cocaine from the state police. Avon sends a lawyer, not to bail Orlando out, but to have him sign away ownership of the strip club, because he's not a clean front anymore. McNulty tracks down Wallace (Michael B. Jordan), who's still shaken up by what happened to Brandon. Wallace tells the cops that he pointed out Brandon to Stringer the night of the murder. McNulty's ex-wife, Elena (Callie Thorne), calls him into court to limit his custody rights after she finds out about his using their young sons to follow Stringer. Stringer meets with Omar (who's wearing a wire), and tells him that Avon (whom Stringer doesn't identify by name) will let Omar live if Omar stops stealing from him. Omar doesn't buy it, and leaves town. Shardene tries to get information about Avon's operation for Freamon (Clarke Peters), but the dealers won't let her get close. Greggs (Sonja Sohn) goes on an ill-advised buy-and-bust operation (ordered by the Deputy Commissioner) with Orlando. This episode was directed by Brad Anderson (Next Stop Wonderland). ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Writer/director Brad Anderson, known for whimsical romantic comedies like Next Stop, Wonderland, was inspired by the astonishing, creepy visage of an abandoned mental hospital in Danvers, MA, to make the intense psychological horror film Session 9. The film stars the redoubtable Scottish actor Peter Mullan (from Ken Loach's My Name Is Joe) as Gordon Fleming, a new father struggling to keep his asbestos removal company afloat. Desperate to bring in some money, the normally deliberate and careful Gordon gets the contract by promising that his company can clear out the creepy deserted building in a week's time. Assisted by his right-hand man, Phil (David Caruso), Gordon hires a crew and, pressed by the nearly impossible deadline, gets the hazardous work underway. But each man on the crew harbors a dangerous secret, and it's only a short time before the haunted atmosphere of the asylum -- where cruel and primitive means were used to control unstable patients -- begins to work its dark spell on them. Session 9 was one of the first feature films shot using Sony's 24P HD video, which shoots at 24 frames per second, like film, as opposed to the 30 frames per second of conventional video. The filmmakers used the same camera that George Lucas would later use to film Star Wars: Episode II. Using this technology, Anderson and director of photography Uta Briesewitz were able to produce the uniquely effective, deep-focus images in Session 9 using mostly natural light. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Mullan, David Caruso, (more)
Is Ruby Weaver's Mr. Right really an emissary from the year 2,470, or is he just a complete loon ball? This question is at the heart of Brad Anderson's whimsical romantic comedy. The story opens with Ruby (Marisa Tomei) lamenting over her boyfriend Sam (Vincent D'Onofrio) to her shrink (Holland Taylor). In a series of flashbacks, the film quickly sketches Ruby as a neurotic with an unhappy track record concerning men and Sam as an oddball who is afraid of small dogs and has a barcode tattooed to his arm. But he's nuts over Ruby, and at least initially, that is enough for her. Slowly, Sam begins to reveal his "past." He tells her that he is from the Dubuque of the future and that he hails from a rare "anachronistic" family who believe that reproduction should occur the old-fashioned, fun way as opposed to the more popular cloning method. At first, Ruby is amused, until she realizes that he's not kidding. After a series of arguments, he agrees to visit Ruby's analyst, which yields unexpected results. This film premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marisa Tomei, Vincent D'Onofrio, (more)
- 1999
A case that has remained unsolved for two decades is reopened when the decomposed body of an unidentified woman is found buried at a construction site. Meanwhile, a convalescing Sheppard (Michael Michele) is confined to desk duty until further notice. And the romance between Falsone (Jon Seda) and Ballard (Callie Thorne) heats up considerably, forcing Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) to warn the couple to "cool it" -- or face suspension. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
An independent romantic comedy, Next Stop, Wonderland (1998) made headlines at the Sundance Film Festival when it became the object of a bidding war, ultimately won by Miramax Pictures to the tune of $6 million. Hope Davis stars as Erin Castleton, a night-shift nurse who's cruelly dumped by her boyfriend Sean (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a political activist. When her mother Piper (Holland Taylor) places a wildly inaccurate personals ad in the local paper, Erin is at first enraged, but then becomes curious. After she dates a variety of men who are all wrong for her, she meets Andre (Jose Zuniga), a handsome Brazilian music expert who invites her to Sao Paulo. Although Erin likes Andre, her Mr. Right is actually Alan Monteiro (Alan Gelfant), a plumber she's never met, though the two keep crossing paths. Trying to break out of his working class existence, Alan is studying marine biology but is indebted to a local mob boss, who wants him to kidnap a star blowfish from the local aquarium. Actress Taylor, the real-life aunt of co-writer, editor and director Brad Anderson, also appeared in his next film, Happy Accidents (1999). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hope Davis, Alan Gelfant, (more)
- 1996
- NR
A twenty-something slacker heads south in the hopes of capturing a photograph of his animal counter-part -- the Giant Sloth -- and finally making his fortune in this low-key adventure. Lyn Vaus, a young man who still feels traumatized by his parent's two-decade old divorce, is trying to get to Patagonia. Unable to afford the usual transportation he decides to hitchhike. Unfortunately he gets as far as Panama and then finds himself faced with 80-mile Darien Gap, a gigantic swamp which he must somehow cross. While slowly pondering his plight, Lyn finds solace in the arms of hat-designer Polly Joy who tries to inspire her sluggardly lover to become a more lively fellow. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lyn Vaus, Sandi Carroll, (more)
