Cindy Cowan Movies
Loosely based on the remarkable true story of the British undercover agent who successfully infiltrated the IRA, writer/director Kari Skogland's thriller takes its title from author Martin McGartland's best-selling book of the same name. Set at the absolute height of the Irish civil conflict, Fifty Dead Men Walking begins as 22-year-old Martin McGartland is recruited by the British police to infiltrate the IRA and report back with intelligence. It's an extremely dangerous job that could result in death or worse should his true identity be revealed, yet McGartland realizes that the information he's gathering will save countless lives. At first, the prospect of being discovered provides something of a rush for McGartland, though that initial buzz quickly wears off when his true identity is revealed and he's forced to attempt an impossible escape. Two decades later, McGartland is still on the run. Sir Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess, and Rose McGowan star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley, (more)
A handful of disgruntled bank employees decide to stage a robbery, but with no plans of doing it together, in this comedy. Sheila (Alicia Silverstone) is a teller at a small town bank who reaches her breaking point when her boyfriend, Rick Becker (Joshua Leonard), who also happens to be her boss, breaks up with her after three years of stringing her along, both emotionally and professionally. In order to get revenge against Rick, Sheila decides to rob the bank, but come the night of the heist, she discovers she wasn't the only person with similar plans that evening. Stuart (Paulo Costanzo) wants some adventure in his life, and plans to loot the bank vault to finance a gambling vacation in Las Vegas with his brother Max (David Krumholtz). And put-upon teller Jason (Woody Harrelson) wants to clear out the safety deposit box of foul-tempered local tycoon Charles Merchant (John Cleese), not knowing that Shmally (Rachael Leigh Cook), a clerk at a clothing store with a score to settle against Merchant, already has her own plans for dealing with him. Scorched was shot in 2001, but didn't play in American theaters until 2003, though it did enjoy a run in Europe during the interim. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rachael Leigh Cook
Director Robert Altman reteams with Cookie's Fortune scribe Anne Rapp for this tale of a Dallas gynecologist and the parade of anxious patients, haggard family members, and potential love interests who come his way. Richard Gere plays the titular role of Dr. Sullivan Travis, a calm, successful, and much sought-after ob-gyn who witnesses his normally stable life come apart over the course of one rainy autumn. As the film opens, Dr. T and his wife Kate (Farrah Fawcett) are preparing for the wedding of their Dallas Cowboys cheerleader daughter Dee Dee (Kate Hudson). Their other daughter -- the Kennedy-assassination conspiracy theorist Connie (Tara Reid) -- has her doubts about the impending nuptials, but Dr. T chalks them up to routine sibling jealousy. Meanwhile, escaping a messy divorce, boozy sister-in-law Peggy (Laura Dern) moves into the Travis household with her three toddler daughters in tow. For release, Dr. T finds solace target shooting and golfing (occasionally at the same time) with his buddies, and at his country club, he meets a beguiling golf pro, Bree (Helen Hunt). When the childlike Kate loses her grip on reality during a flatware shopping spree, Bree offers to give the kindly doctor some lessons in his swing -- both on and off the fairways. Dr. T had its North American Premiere at the 2000 Toronto International Film Fest. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Helen Hunt, (more)
The regulars at a shot-and-a-beer bar in a decaying working-class town are the focus of Nick Stagliano's drama The Florentine. Michael Madsen plays Whitey, who owns a bar called The Florentine where most of the guys he knows hang out. His sister Molly (Virginia Madsen, Michael's real life sister) is soon to be married, and Whitey has been saving up for a nice reception. But when her old boyfriend Teddy (Tom Sizemore) comes back into town, bets for the wedding would seem to be off, which may be just as well -- Whitey's buddy Frankie (Luke Perry) got hold of the wedding cash and lost it to Billy Munucci (James Belushi), a con artist with a far quicker turn of mind. Whitey has other money problems; the bar has been mortgaged to a low-level gangster named Joe (Burt Young), who has been leaning on Whitey's friend Bobbie (Chris Penn) to pay off his mounting gambling debts. Bobbie is trying to stay one step ahead of Joe, which doesn't leave him much time to patch up his ailing marriage to Vicki (Mary Stuart Masterson). The screenplay by Damien Gray and Tom Benson was adapted from the Off-Broadway drama penned by Gray. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, (more)
Jennifer Leitzes made her directorial debut with this gangster comedy. Claire (Kyra Sedgwick) and terminally ill Nick (Stanley Tucci) kidnap an Asian man, put him in the trunk, and drive away. Realizing they've got the wrong person, they pull off a second kidnapping and then dump their first victim. At headquarters, the Boss (Robbie Coltrane) rules over an eccentric group. When the Boss' mistress Kitty (Robin Tunney) checks out, Claire and Nick are dispatched to find her. A few double-crosses later, Kitty, Claire, and Nick are all on the run from the Boss' hitmen. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyra Sedgwick, Stanley Tucci, (more)
After producer Oliver Stone saw Serbian director Peter Antonijevic's political drama The Little One (1992), he sent him Robert Orr's screenplay, which Orr based on the true story of an American mercenary in Bosnia. Orr had been a photographer's assistant during the war. Thus, Antonijevic directed the first 100% American-funded film about the Yugoslav conflict, beginning with a Paris prologue: Former U.S. military official Joshua (Dennis Quaid) entered the Foreign Legion after his wife (Nastassja Kinski) was killed in Paris by Muslim fundamentalists. Six years later, in Bosnia during 1993, Joshua and his pal Peter (Stellan Skarsgard), fight together on the Serbian side. After Peter dies from a grenade tossed by a young girl, Joshua shoots another youth on the side of the enemy. In a prisoner exchange, psycho Serb Goran (Sergej Trifunovic), a Muslim-hater, and Joshua wind up with pregnant Vera (Natasa Ninkovic), victim of a Muslim rape. When Goran threatens to shoot her baby, Joshua kills Goran. After Vera rejects the child, her family turns against her, and Joshua drives mother and child to a refugee center. Eventually, Joshua attempts to get Vera and her baby out of the country, but they encounter death-dealing Croatian marauders. Filmed in Montenegro, Savior was shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival and the 1998 Sochi Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Quaid, Nastassja Kinski, (more)
Peter Berg made his directorial debut with this black comedy about suburbanite Kyle Fisher (Jon Favreau), his future bride Laura (Cameron Diaz) and his four pals -- brothers Adam (Daniel Stern) and Michael (Jeremy Piven), mechanic Charles (Leland Orser), and real estate agent Robert (Christian Slater). Kyle and gang head off to a stag-party fling in Vegas. The fun features hired stripper Tina (Carla Scott), killed accidentally during a bathroom make-out session with Michael. When a hotel security man investigates, Robert kills him. The group buries the bodies in the desert and head home. Back in L.A., guilt trips surface along with bouts of paranoia, Laura intends that nothing stand in the way of her wedding plans. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival and the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Slater, Cameron Diaz, (more)
In this comedy with dramatic overtones, Susan "Soosh" Teagarden (Moira Kelly) is an aspiring artist with plenty of emotional baggage. Her father Theo (Christopher Lloyd) is a famous painter; he's also an alcoholic who has never been able to express his affection for his daughter. Soosh's mother died when she was young, and she still cherishes her memory but also feels deep loss. These days, Soosh has trouble with men, her job at a clothing store, her art, and her landlord, after she's caught shoplifting. Looking for somewhere to stay, she goes to a nearby convent and tells them a sob story that moves the Mother Superior (Eileen Brennan) to take her in. Soosh discovers that Christian charity isn't the easy street she expected; she has to work alongside the sisters at the convent and follow their schedule, and Soosh isn't accustomed to rising at 5 a.m. and having to be in by 11 p.m. But the Mother Superior sees Soosh's paintings and realizes that she has a true gift; she encourages her in her art and tries to help her put the broken pieces of her life together. Along the way, Soosh also falls in love with Felix (Dylan Walsh), who happens to run the art supply store where she steals most of her supplies. Changing Habits also stars Shelley Duvall as a speechless nun and Teri Garr as one of Soosh's co-workers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moira Kelly, Christopher Lloyd, (more)
A handful of friends find their love lives criss-crossing unexpectedly in this comedy set in San Francisco. Adam (Josh Charles) is a struggling artist who makes ends meet by driving a cab. Adam can't stop thinking about his ex-girlfriend Kate (Joanna Going) ever since she left him for Anne (JoBeth Williams), a lesbian art instructor with a knack for seducing other women. Meanwhile, Adam's current flame, Nina (Annabella Sciorra), is fooling around on the side with Kevin (Jon Bon Jovi), a bartender who is also Adam's best friend. Not wanting to limit his options, Kevin also takes an interest in Rebecca (Penelope Ann Miller), a new barmaid he's working with. Rebecca, on the other hand, has been approached by Anne, but while Rebecca is interested, she's new to lesbian love and isn't very comfortable yet with other women (or her own body). Little City was the debut feature film for former TV writer Roberto Benabib. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
An average middle-aged guy finds himself in an extraordinarily weird situation in this off-beat romantic adventure that begins when 53-year-old car salesman Al goes to a local coffee shop with his friends and ends up escorting voluptuous oversexed jailbait Ellie back to the desert trailer she shares with her mom Julie and her brutal psycho boyfriend Boyd. While Boyd and Ellie take off for a while, Al ends up dancing in the moonlight with sweetly seductive Julie. The moon that night is extraordinarily large and the two end up falling asleep. Eventually Al awakens and tries to go home, but unfortunately, his car will not start. Julie then informs him that most cars have trouble starting there. Still he manages to leave. Stopping at a filling station, he is appalled to discover that someone has stuffed a corpse in his trunk. That turns out to be only the least of his troubles. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
