Rocky Collins Movies

Ray Johnson was an artist who followed a creative path so individual than even his closest friends were often hard put to explain just what he was up to. Once described as "the most famous unknown artist in America," Johnson was a legend partly for his work (in which he incorporated pop art images, collage, rubber stamps, and any number of other elements in a unique and groundbreaking manner), partly for his striking sense of humor (he once accepted an offer of 1,500 dollars for a piece after someone had offered to pay 2,000 dollars -- but cut 25 percent of the painting away before sending it to its new owner), and partly for his unique behavior (which many saw as a variety of performance art, including his suicide, after which he was found drowned in Sag Harbor -- with a treasure trove of unseen artwork carefully arranged in his home). How to Draw a Bunny (a title which refers to the cartoon rabbit that was Johnson's signature) is a documentary about Ray Johnson's always memorable life and death, and features video footage of the artist's performance pieces, as well as interviews with friends and contemporaries Roy Lichenstein, Christo, Chuck Close, and Billy Name; jazz great Max Roach composed the film's musical score. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A rich but bigoted man is forced to confront his ugliest prejudices face to face in this thriller. Frank Kramer (John Rubinstein) is a successful but narrow-minded attorney who comes home one day to discover that his daughter Nicole (Rhea Silver-Smith) is missing. Kramer shortly receives a telephone call from someone who claims to be holding his daughter hostage and gives him instructions to visit a pay phone in one of the most crime-ridden ghettos in New York City. Furious, but too worried not to follow orders, Kramer does as he's told and takes a call at the public phone -- only to be told to go to another phone booth in another, equally dangerous part of town. As Kramer dashes from telephone to telephone while being confronted by muggers, drug dealers, prostitutes, and angry people who simply don't want him in their neighborhood, it becomes evident that the kidnappers aren't just interested in money -- they have a personal grudge against Kramer, and they want their revenge to be psychological as much as financial. In time, Kramer discovers that he does indeed know one of the kidnappers -- Ruby (Amber Kain), the daughter of Kramer's maid, who has pulled the job with the help of her boyfriend -- and he discovers that his ex-wife is no more sympathetic to him than Ruby and her partner. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi