John Dolan Movies
A hard-drinking, hard-living cop assigned the task of transporting a small-time criminal to the nearby courthouse finds that a simple, 16-block drive can be the longest ride of his life in director Richard Donner's urban action thriller. Hung-over, has-been cop Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) has seen better days, and all that the force expects out of him these days is to stay out of trouble while he's on the clock. Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) is set to testify before a grand jury at 10:00 a.m., and it's up to Mosely to make sure that Bunker makes it to the courthouse in one piece -- a job that Mosely estimates will take a maximum of 15 minutes. A black van has been trailing the pair unnoticed, though, and after stopping off at a nearby liquor store to pick up some breakfast, Mosely emerges from the store just in time to save Eddie from the lethal bullet of a determined assassin. When backup arrives in the form of Detective Frank Nugent (David Morse), Mosely quickly realizes that the detective on Nugent's team is the same cop that Bunker is set to testify against. Now faced with the tough task of dodging bullets and eluding a massive onslaught of corrupt cops, Mosely must keep Bunker alive long enough to get him before the judge and ensure that justice is served. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Mos Def, (more)
- 1995
This intellectually demanding drama is based on a theatrical monologue by actor/writer Daniel MacIvor. Victor and 10 others sit in a church. He, who has just come out of group therapy, is sharing his odd life experiences with the people and as he rambles on, little reenactments of the strange tales are depicted. He tells one story of a boy friend who is driven insane by his girl friend's dog. It seems the pooch can laugh like a person and the longer the man is around it, the more convinced he is that the dog's laughter is directed at him. In another, even stranger, tale of a reporter and a librarian who spend their entire lives almost meeting. When they finally do run into each other, each suddenly realizes that they are soulmates and are deeply in love. So joyful are they that they physically explode. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
- NR
The highly acclaimed and famously eccentric classical pianist Glenn Gould is the subject of this idiosyncratic film portrait. As the title suggests, Gould's life is explored through a series of thirty-two self-contained but interrelated vignettes, a structure inspired by Bach's "Goldberg Variations," the compositions that were the basis for one of Gould's most famous recordings. Fictional recreations, many starring an excellent Colm Feore as Gould, follow the musician from his precocious childhood to his early death at the age of fifty. Juicy biographical details like a surprising early retirement from public performance and an addiction to prescription drugs are featured prominently, but equal attention is paid to Gould's challenging theoretical ideas. Director Francois Girard refuses to provide easy explanations for the pianist's quirks, instead using his unconventional structure to provide great insight while suggesting the real Gould remains essentially unknowable. Especially interesting is the film's mix of dramatization and documentary, as it juxtaposes its fictional recreations with actual interviews with Gould's friends and associates. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colm Feore, Gale Garnett, (more)
A new '90s expressiveness regarding homosexuality in movies is gently mined for laughs in this 1993 comedy that predates the similar but much more raw Chasing Amy and slightly more humorous Threesome. With her straight greasy hair, semi-paranoid outlook, and leather jacket she wears like a shield, Connie (Kelly Lynch) already seems a bit unhinged. Then her girlfriend, Ellen (Sherilyn Fenn), breaks up their relationship and Connie loses it. In her grief, she hits upon a bizarre plan: Why not hire male prostitute Joe (William Baldwin) to seduce Ellen, then break her heart? Wouldn't that make Ellen rush back into Connie's arms? Of course not. For one thing, Joe's life is complicated by his protective yet sinister pimp (Joe Pantoliano) and a thug who mistakenly believes Joe set him up for a prison sentence. And Joe and Ellen fall in love. Yet an odd, sibling-like friendship develops between Joe and Connie that steers them through the repercussions of Ellen's discovery of their deceit, the thug's attack on Joe, and Joe's desire to give up prostitution. By the story's end, they've lost Ellen, but they have one another, and have learned to step beyond the protective relationships they have lost. Three of Hearts solidified William Baldwin's ascent to leading-man status (along with brothers Stephen and Alec) after 1991's Backdraft. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, (more)
- 1992
In this drama, based on a true story, an unconventional New England principal tries some radical new techniques to reform his high school and ends up unemployed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Tucker, Jill Eikenberry, (more)
- 1989
- R
Colleen Dewhurst plays Molly Dushane, the widowed matriarch of a small-town family. A tragedy occurred years earlier when her late husband committed suicide after threatening their daughter with a gun, and the family has fumbled with their difficult lives since. Though she often escapes reality by drinking, it doesn't seem escape enough as she finds out her ex-lover has died. In addition to being an alcoholic, she is also suffering from a terminal illness and longs to go to Italy once before she dies. Daughter Micheline (Megan Follows), finally confronting her own life, decides to take her mother to Italy where they find the different perspective they have needed. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colleen Dewhurst, Megan Follows, (more)
Over the course of one night and many miles, the lives of three passengers aboard a trans-European train are changed forever. English businessman Peter (Michael Kitchen) finds to his amazement that the friendship he's struck up with a carefree American woman called Lorraine (Wendy Raebeck) is quickly turning into something far more involved. Meanwhile, an older and demanding Viennese woman named Frau Messner (Dame Peggy Ashcroft) seems to have every intention of trying Peter's patience until they all witness its end. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
