David L. Bushell Movies

Ryan Gosling stars as real-life hero Ron Woodroof, an exuberant AIDS patient who, though illegal channels, was able to make available the same alternative treatments to the public that helped him beat an initial grave diagnosis. Lars and the Real Girl's Craig Gillespie directs the Universal Pictures/Strike Entertainment production from a script by Chase Palmer. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Owen, Luke, and Andrew Wilson combine their fraternal filmmaking talents to tell the character-driven tale of a small-time con man who gets a fortuitous shot at redemption while working in a run down retirement community. Wendell Baker (Luke Wilson) is a con man whose large heart betrays his criminal mind. Confident to a fault and consistently cool-headed, Baker is the kind of grifter who's always quick with a comeback and never lets the law get in the way of making a quick buck. When Wendell is busted for selling counterfeit Texas driver's licenses to undocumented Mexican migrant workers, he coasts through his prison sentence with the same unflappable attitude that made him the perfect swindler in the outside world. In order to pass the time behind bars without causing waves, mellow convict Wendell buries his nose in books about hotel management checked out from the prison library. Upon release the optimistic ex-con is distraught to discover his girlfriend Dorren (Eva Mendes) has taken up with a quick-tempered grocer (Will Ferrell) and his former partner Reyes (Jacob Vargas) has been forced into retirement by his law-abiding wife. Looking to put his hotel management know-how to good use and determined to win Doreen back, Wendell soon takes a job at the Shady Grove retirement hotel. Little does Wendell realize that scheming Shady Grove head nurse Neil King (Owen Wilson) has been dabbling in fraudulent Medicare payments and forced labor, and has no qualms about pinning his crimes on the carefree ex-convict. Now, if benevolent knave Wendell has any hope of turning the tables on his unscrupulous nemesis and proving that nice guys don't always finish last, he'll have to enlist the aid of fed-up Shady Grove residents Boyd (Seymour Cassel), Skip (Harry Dean Stanton), and Nasher (Kris Kristofferson), who are all more than willing to strike back at their casually cruel caretaker. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

For some folks, the 1960s never really ended, and one woman still cheerfully stuck in the Summer of Love discovers her one-time best friend has left that decade as far behind as humanly possible in this comedy. In the late '60s and early '70s, Suzette (Goldie Hawn) and Vinnie (Susan Sarandon) were two of Southern California's most celebrated groupies. Affectionately nicknamed "The Banger Sisters" by Frank Zappa, best friends Suzette and Vinnie partied hearty with practically every rock star of the era who mattered, and kept a collection of Polaroid snapshots documenting their randy exploits. In 2001, Suzette is still her free-spirited self, and after losing her job as a barmaid at an L.A. rock club, she decides to look up Vinnie, whom she hasn't seen for 20 years. Suzette hits the road for Phoenix, AZ, to pay Vinnie a surprise visit, and en route picks up Harry (Geoffrey Rush), a novelist with writer's block who can't drive and hasn't had sex for a decade. Upon her arrival, Suzette discovers Vinnie isn't quite the same person who used to chase any man with long hair and an electric guitar. Now going by her given name of Lavinia, she's a straight laced social worker with a lawyer for a husband, Raymond (Robin Thomas), and two teenage daughters, Hannah (Erika Christensen) and Ginger (Eva Amurri), none of whom know a thing about her wild and crazy past, and have a pretty hard time imagining Lavinia even attending a rock concert. Eva Amurri comes by her role as Susan Sarandon's daughter naturally enough -- Amurri is Sarandon's daughter in real life. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Notable as the directorial debut of Blade Runner co-scripter Hampton Fancher, this darkly comic thriller stars affable Owen Wilson as Vann Siegert, a different brand of serial killer: one who actually believes he's doing his deeply depressed victims a service of mercy. Wandering up the West Coast, Vann chooses victims from a parade of colorful social misfits -- including a haggard junkie (singer Sheryl Crow) whose pain he ends with a nip from his flask of poison amaretto -- and expounds on his motives with a pocket tape recorder (a drawling monologue that serves as the film's narrative voice-over). A brief layover in Owensville eventually finds Vann in the company of quarreling middle-aged couple Doug and Jane (Brian Cox and Mercedes Ruehl), who grow fond of the young drifter's amiable demeanor and take him on as a boarder. After landing a job at the local post office, Vann catches the eye of co-worker Ferrin (Janeane Garofalo), and a tentative romance blossoms -- but even love can't distract Vann from his crusade to terminate people's unhappiness: "They come to me like moths, because I shine," he explains. Though not the complex psychological game it purports to be, The Minus Man is an intriguing character study -- imagine a kindler, gentler version of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer -- with some clever twists and fine performances, including a touching portrayal from the usually acerbic Garofalo. Geared more to the art-movie crowd than to fans of Hitchcockian thrills, this film opened to raves at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Dee Snider, of the Twisted Sister heavy metal music group, made his debut as a screenwriter and producer with this horror film, directed by John Pieplow. A psycho on the Internet uses the handle, "Captain Howdy" (Snider), an obvious reference to the unseen Ouija board spirit in The Exorcist (1973). After the abduction of his daughter Genevieve (Linda Cardellini), detective Mike Gage (Kevin Gage) is on the case, joined by detective Christian (Brett Harrelson). Kidnapper Captain Howdy is eventually captured and sent off to the asylum. Released four years later, Howdy is hanged by a vigilante mob led by redneck Jackson Roth (Robert Englund). Reborn as Carleton Hendricks (Snider), Howdy turns against the vigilantes, kidnaps Genevieve a second time, and once again confronts Gage. Snider also contributes an original heavy-metal tune for the closing credits. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This convoluted crime drama offers a haunting view of the violent and ruthless world of three Miami drug dealers: Dante, his lover Micki and Cisco. Though only in their mid-'20s, all three are veterans in the field and have made their fortunes selling heroin to upper-middle-class clients at the city's hottest nightspots via teenage couriers. The operation is overseen by a friendly but crooked-to-the-core policeman. Together the threesome has fashioned a stable, well-ordered world that borders on respectability, but that world is shattered when Dante learns that former partner Gabriel is getting out of prison and has sworn his vengeance upon the three who he believes framed him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Sling Blade marked the directorial debut of country singer turned actor Billy Bob Thornton, who also authored the script (expanding George Hickenlooper's acclaimed short Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade) and stars in the picture. Thornton plays Karl Childers, a mildly retarded man who spent most of his life in a mental institution. When Karl was a boy, he was severely mistreated by his abusive father (Robert Duvall). At age 12, Karl found his mother having intercourse with a man who tormented him endlessly; he snapped, flew into a homicidal rage, and killed both individuals by decapitating them. Years later, as a middle-aged man, Karl is deemed harmless to society and released from the mental institution where he resides. Karl says he has learned his lesson and adds, "I reckon I got no reason to kill no one." He returns to the town of his boyhood, where he's befriended by Frank (Lucas Black), the son of a widowed mother who sees the eccentric but open-hearted Karl as a kindred spirit. Karl also gets a job at a fix-it shop and resides in the backroom, until Frank's mother, Linda (Natalie Canerday), takes a liking to Karl and lets him stay with them. However, Karl also meets Doyle (Dwight Yoakam), Linda's boyfriend, a sadistically cruel, narrow-minded drunk who tosses casual abuse at Frank, treats Linda like dirt, and mocks Karl endlessly. The late John Ritter co-stars as Linda's friend Vaughan, a mild-mannered homosexual who works at the neighborhood dollar store. Musicians Col. Bruce Hampton and Vic Chesnutt are among Doyle's party guests. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide