Peter Appel Movies

Lady in the Water director M. Night Shyamalan puts PG-13 suspense on pause to tell this grim apocalyptic tale about a family fleeing a natural disaster that poses a grave threat to the whole of humanity. Philadelphia high-school science teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) is discussing the disappearance of the bees with his students when the staff is summoned to the theater and briefed about a mysterious event that is currently unfolding in New York City. According to reports, citizens in the vicinity of Central Park have suddenly and inexplicably begun seizing up just before killing themselves by whatever means are at their disposal. As the phenomena begins to spread and talk of terrorism fills the airwaves, Elliot, his wife, Alma (Zooey Deschanel), their friend Julian (John Leguizamo), and his daughter, Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez), board a train bound for the presumed safety of the country. When the train screeches to a halt before arriving at its final destination, however, the frightened passengers are forced to fend for themselves as each consecutive news report paints an increasingly grim picture of the situation in more urbanized areas. Theories abound on what could be causing the unexplainable rash of suicides, but the only thing that everyone seems to agree on is that it's some kind of airborne contagion that is carried in the wind. It would appear that humankind's reign on planet Earth has come to an end, but perhaps if this small band of survivors can find a safe place to lie low until this all blows over, all hope for survival of the species might not be lost just yet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

It's the fourth-season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and in addition to being nervous about his Broadway debut in The Producers, Larry (Larry David) only has a few days left in which to take advantage of Cheryl's (Cheryl Hines) anniversary gift. There are a couple of likely prospects, including his co-star in the show, Cady Huffman. Jeff (Jeff Garlin) helps Larry's cause with her by telling her that Larry suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, just like she does. Once the gang arrives in New York for the show, Jeff (Jeff Garlin) introduces him to Christina (Cynthia Ettinger) who describes herself as a "fellatio teacher." Larry continues his petty squabbles with David Schwimmer and gets into trouble with the hotel staff due to some confusion over gratuities. He also has to deal with his obnoxious cousin Andy (Richard Kind, who actually starred in The Producers on Broadway) and his special needs, and has a run-in with a hostile tourist (Stephen Colbert). The episode features many guest cameos including Mel Brooks, Susan Stroman (director of the Broadway show and the feature-film musical version of The Producers), Paul Mazursky, Nathan Lane, Jerry Seinfeld, and, in her last filmed appearance, Anne Bancroft. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

The recent, highly publicized arrest of a longtime fugitive from American justice was the evident source of this 2003 Law & Order episode. It all begins with a jewelry-store robbery in which the owner is killed and a customer (Mandy Patinkin) is wounded. A suspect is brought into court, only to be dismissed when the surviving victim fails to show up to testify -- and with good reason: The missing witness is none other than a notorious political activist, who had fled the U.S. years earlier to avoid a murder rap of his own. The question: Can a man who was tried and convicted in absentia still be sent to prison on the basis of the original trial -- or do the detectives and the lawyers have to reopen a case in which most of the evidence is cold and many of the original participants are dead? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A woman is forced to decide which of her dreams she'd like to come true in this musical-comedy drama. Billie Golden (Isabel Rose) is a young woman who dreams of being a successful cabaret singer and often imagines herself performing in a swank lounge or starring in a classic movie musical of the 1940s. At the moment, however, Billie is singing in a dingy cocktail lounge near an airport and lives in a ramshackle row house in Queens with her hard-drinking mother (Alix Korey). One day, Billie bumps into an old friend from high school, Greg Ellenbogen (Cameron Bancroft); as it happens, Greg is now a very successful lawyer, and he still carries a torch for Billie. While Greg loves Billie and can easily give her all the creature comforts of life, she's also infatuated with Elliot (Andrew McCarthy), a hipster piano player who believes in her abilities as a singer. When Greg asks Billie for her hand in marriage, she's forced to decide between love and security or the career in music for which she's always longed. Also screened under the title Standard Time, Anything but Love includes an appearance by legendary entertainer Eartha Kitt; leading lady Rose also wrote the film's screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

David (Mark Rosenthal) is standing on the roof ledge of a building in lower Manhattan, threatening to jump. Several of his friends try to convince him to safely get down from the ledge, that suicide is not the answer. But as they speak to him, the audience sees moments from the friends' lives in flashback. It becomes obvious that David's friends have lives every bit as sad and desperate as David's; with people like this as your support group, why shouldn't a man jump? Jump features a strong supporting cast, including James LeGros, Richard Belzer, Harvey Fierstein, and Hal Linden, and was shown at the 1999 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Frank Todaro scripted and made his directorial debut with this low-budget comedy about NYC flower-shop wholesaler Artie (Mike O'Malley) who swaps one-liners with co-workers at a refrigerated warehouse. Artie can't seem to make a commitment to his live-in girlfriend Jane (Jill Tracy), whose ex (Scott Bryce) is a car salesman with mob connections. A floral customer (J.K. Simmons) becomes a captive audience for talkative Artie when the two get locked in the warehouse freezer. This film was the first runner-up for the most popular film award at the 1998 Seattle Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Barry Levinson directed this crime drama based on a controversial bestseller. Jason Patrick stars as Lorenzo, a New York reporter more commonly called "Shakes," a nickname courtesy of his three childhood pals from Hell's Kitchen -- Michael (Brad Pitt), John (Ron Eldard), and Tommy (Billy Crudup). As kids, all four were sent to reform school after accidentally killing someone during a cruel prank. There, the boys were raped and beaten by several guards, including Sean Nokes (Kevin Bacon), a fact that they've kept secret into adulthood. Michael is now a rising star in the district attorney's office, while John and Tommy are founders of the Irish gang the Westies. When Nokes walks into John and Tommy's hangout, they kill him in cold blood and go on trial, defended by a drug-addicted lawyer (Dustin Hoffman). Michael and Shakes conspire with childhood friend Carol (Minnie Driver) and local priest Father Bobby (Robert DeNiro) to free their friends and get even with the surviving guards. Based on a true story chronicled by Lorenzo Carcaterra in his novel of the same name, Sleepers stirred controversy when the veracity of the book was challenged by reporters who could find no documentation of the events described. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Two guys from Queens wind up in trouble with the mob because of their fondness for prank phone calls in this quickie comedy. Stars Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed first found fame as "The Jerky Boys" thanks to a series of comedy albums featuring real prank calls in which the duo assumed a variety of abrasive and often extremely foul-mouthed characters. Playing characters based on themselves, they reprise many of these same routines in this debut film, linking the comic bits together through a loose plot concerning local organized crime. It seems the boys have used their phone skills to trick a local mobster (Alan Arkin) into thinking that they are notorious Chicago hoods, only to have to go on the run when their scheme is discovered. Made to capitalize on a Jerky Boys fad, the film failed to attract much of an audience beyond their existing fans. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

As visually stylish as it is graphically violent, this thriller directed by Luc Besson concerns Mathilda (Natalie Portman), a 12-year-old girl living in New York City who has been exposed to the sordid side of life from an early age: her family lives in a slum and her abusive father works for drug dealers, cutting and storing dope. Mathilda doesn't much care for her parents, but she has a close bond with her four-year-old brother. One day, she returns from running an errand to discover that most of her family, including her brother, have been killed in a raid by corrupt DEA agents, led by the psychotic Stansfield (Gary Oldman). Mathilda takes refuge in the apartment of her secretive neighbor, Leon (Jean Reno), who takes her in with a certain reluctance. She discovers that Leon is a professional assassin, working for Tony (Danny Aiello), a mob kingpin based in Little Italy. Wanting to avenge the death of her brother, Mathilda makes a deal with Leon to become his protégée in exchange for work as a domestic servant, hoping to learn the hitman's trade and take out the men who took her brother's life. However, an affection develops between Leon and Mathilda that changes his outlook on his life and career. Besson's first American film boasted a strong performance from Jean Reno, a striking debut by Natalie Portman, and a love-it-or-hate-it, over-the-top turn by Gary Oldman. Léon was originally released in the U.S. in 1994 as The Professional, with 26 minutes cut in response to audience preview tests. Those 26 minutes were restored in the director's preferred cut, released in 1996 in France as Léon: Version Intégrale and in the U.S. on DVD as Léon: The Professional in 2000. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Kelly (David Caruso) investigates when one of his friends is killed and another arrested after a fracas during a pickup basketball game. Still prosecuting the Giardella case, Laura (Sherry Stringfield) senses that she is somehow being set up. Sipowicz suspects that a man whose wife was murdered is withholding evidence. And Janice (Amy Brenneman) saves Kelly's life during a drug bust. This was the first NYPD Blue episode directed by Bradley Silberling, who subsequently married series regular Amy Brenneman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This cold, stylish erotic-thriller grossed over $100 million at the box-office despite vigorous protests at its depiction of gays and women. The shocking opening sequence features a graphic sexual encounter involving a rock-star bound with a white Hermes scarf by an unidentified blond woman. Despite the fact that the scene ends with a bloody icepick murder (horrifyingly realized by makeup artist Rob Bottin), Hermes scarves quickly sold out at stores nationwide. This seeming paradox is at the heart of the film's appeal, as it mixes perverse sexuality and erotic bloodshed in a manner common to European thrillers (director Paul Verhoeven had done it himself in 1979's marvelous De Vierde Man) but mostly taboo in America. The plot concerns Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), a successful bisexual mystery writer who may also be a ruthless murderer. Everyone close to Catherine dies, and troubled policeman Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) must find out why. In the process, Nick becomes sexually involved with both Catherine and police psychiatrist Beth Gardner (Jeanne Tripplehorn), while the bodies begin piling up and Catherine turns the cat-and-mouse game around on Nick. Verhoeven and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas -- who was paid $3 million for the script -- keep the tension ratcheted up throughout, even during the frequent sex scenes, which carry a violent edge reminiscent of the Italian thrillers of Dario Argento. The film's most notorious scene, a police interrogation in which Catherine makes drooling idiots out of her captors by revealing that she is not wearing underwear, became a cultural touchstone and was widely imitated and parodied. Sharon Stone, meanwhile, was embarrassed to the point that she claimed Verhoeven had aimed lights on strategic locations without her knowledge. George Dzundza and Dorothy Malone co-star. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

The ongoing debate over parental rights in medical procedures comes to the forefront when a five-year-old girl dies from a relatively minor throat infection. The child's parents, Ted and Nancy Driscoll (Byron Jennings, Kaiulani Lee) are arrested, whereupon they argue that their religious beliefs compelled them to deny medical treatment for their daughter. Incidentally, the unfortunate youngster is played by an uncredited Michelle Trachtenberg, who later co-starred on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Top Gun team of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, director Tony Scott, and superstar Tom Cruise reunite for this excursion into stock-car racing that incorporates the vroom and rumble of deafening car engines with a rehash of the same elements that worked so effectively in Cruise's Top Gun, The Color of Money, and Cocktail. Cruise plays stock-car driver Cole Trickle, a young fireball on the Southern stock-car circuit who has loads of talent but no conception of how to channel that talent in to racing success. When Tim Daland (Randy Quaid) commissions veteran stock-car racer Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) to built a car and hires Cole to drive it, Harry must instill in Cole his philosophy of winning and teach him how to channel his raw talent into success -- or, as Harry puts it, "controlling something that's out of control." Cole immediately comes into conflict with the circuit's star driver, Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker), and their hijinks on the track causes them to smash up their cars and lands them both in the hospital. Because of his injuries, Rowdy is forced to withdraw from the circuit competition. With no rival to torment, Rowdy becomes Cole's supporter and friend, while Cole revs up his motors for Dr. Claire Lewicki (Nicole Kidman), the attractive brain specialist who supervises Cole's recovery from the crackup. Cole's health is restored, and he begins to race again, chastened and hanging onto Harry's every word. Cole appears to have centered himself for success, but in an orgasmic grand finale, Cole must compete against Russ Wheeler (Cary Elwes), a dastardly driver who not only wants to see Cole defeated but permanently disabled. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide