Josh Zeman Movies

In this independent drama from writer and director Peter Callahan, Joseph Fiennes stars as Paul, a writer and finance expert who approaches his best friend Jeff (Justin Kirk) with an unusual proposal. When they were kids, Paul and Jeff talked about one day swimming the Hudson River from Manhattan to Troy, New York, a stretch of 150 miles. Paul has decided he's going to do it, and wants like Jeff to join him, suggesting he follow along in a boat and provide support when it's needed. Paul is puzzled but agrees, and his friend Liz (Elizabeth Reaser) tags along for the ride. But in time Jeff realizes that the final day of Paul's carefully scheduled big swim coincides with the fifth anniversary of the death of Paul's pregnant wife, and Jeff fears that his friend has more in mind that a challenge to himself. Also starring Mary Tyler Moore and Michelle Trachtenberg, Against The Current received its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Two young men are haunted by similar events from their past, though the effects manifest themselves in very different ways, in this powerful drama from independent filmmaker Gregg Araki. In the summer of 1981, Brian (George Webster) and Neil (Chase Ellison) are both eight years old and playing on the same little league baseball team in a small Kansas town. One day, after a game, Brian blacks out after getting caught in a rainstorm, and five hours later he finds himself sitting in his basement with his nose bleeding and no memory of what happened to him. Over the years, the event -- particularly the missing five hours -- weigh heavily on his mind, and he becomes convinced that he was kidnapped by space aliens. Teenaged Brian (now played by Brady Corbet) becomes friends with Avalyn Friesen (Mary Lynn Rajskub), a woman who claims to have been abducted by aliens on several occasions, and she urges him to look to his dreams for patterns that might suggest what happened to him. Meanwhile, during the same summer, Neil developed a powerful crush on their little league coach (Bill Sage), who appeared to have also taken a shine to Neil. Neil's mother (Elisabeth Shue), seeing nothing wrong with their friendship, lets the coach look after Neil while she's off on one of her many dates, and before long Neil begins sexually experimenting with the older man. Neil's introduction to sex inspires him to become a hustler when he grows into his teens, and after burning his bridges in his hometown, Neil (now played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his close friend Wendy (Michelle Trachtenberg) move to New York, where he continues to cruise for a living but under significantly more risky circumstances. One day, Neil is contacted by Brian, who after seeing one of their team photos from their days in little league suspects he might have some clues as to what happened to him in 1981. Mysterious Skin was based on the novel by Scott Heim, and marked the first time Gregg Araki made a film that did not originate with one of his own screenplays. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Actor and playwright Tom McCarthy makes his feature film debut as a writer/director with the quirky comedy drama The Station Agent. In New Jersey, Finbar McBride (Peter Dinklage) is a four-foot-tall lonely man who chooses to live the life of a hermit in an abandoned train yard following the death of his friend. While he is there, he unexpectedly meets and befriends a couple of fellow loners. Troubled Olivia (Patricia Clarkson) is an artist devastated by the loss of her son and separation from her husband, while carefree and friendly Joe (Bobby Cannavale) runs a hot dog stand. The three unlikely friends each deal with their urge to connect compared with their individual need for isolation. Also starring Raven Goodwin, Paul Benjamin, and Michelle Williams. The Station Agent won the Audience award at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

In this low-budget screwball-mystery, the death of an L.A. woman leads to a surreal murder investigation on the outer fringes of la-la land. When Molly McMannis (Justine Bateman) turns up dead, still impaled with the murder weapon -- a carrot -- the police launch a probe into the colorful world Molly inhabited. The suspects range from her ex-con brother to her roommate to her high-strung friend (Heather Graham). But a more likely culprit lurks among the ranks of a therapy group full of off-the-wall serial killers and the shrinks who coddle them. The fetishistic police detectives -- including sadistic interrogator Angela Pierce (Jill Hennessy) -- prove as disturbing as the people they're investigating. In fact, their unorthodox procedures leave the door open for the killer to strike again. Written, produced, and directed by Jordan Alan, who previously helmed the similarly offbeat Love and Happiness, Kiss and Tell features a who's who of obscure and indie Hollywood talent, including veteran actor Lewis Arquette and his three famous sons. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide