Shiri Appleby Movies

Produced by Tom Hanks, written by Aaron Sorkin, and directed by Mike Nichols, this adaptation of George Crile III's incendiary bestseller tells the remarkable story of the Texas congressman whose efforts to prevent the Red Army from overtaking Afghanistan eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union while simultaneously fueling the rise of radical Islam. In the early 1980s, a hastily assembled army of Afghan "freedom fighters" achieved the remarkable feat of fending off Soviet invaders despite the fact that the odds were overwhelmingly stacked against them. At the time, Texas congressman Charlie Wilson (Hanks) was a key member of the hugely powerful House Appropriations Committee. Illuminated to the specifics of this remarkable war by a high-profile Houston socialite, Wilson spearheaded an effort to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons and training to the Mujahideen with more than a little help from brilliant but prickly CIA operative Gust Avrokotos. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A tech-savvy teen schemes to make a mint by making his dysfunctional family internet superstars in this comedy that proves there's always something worth watching online. Colby Bellinger (Matthew Botuchis) has secretly installed nanny-cams throughout his family's suburban home, and when he turns them on, the whole world tunes in. The Bellinger family is about to become the talk of the internet, and when Colby reveals that they'll be taking home a cool $17 grand a week, his parents (Beau Bridges and Rosanna Arquette) become convinced that dysfunction sells. But who cares about the parents; the video stream with the most hits comes from the camera stealthily placed in the bedroom of Colby eighteen year old step-sister Audrey (Baelyn Neff). Audrey may not realize it at the moment, but she's about to become the star attraction on the internet's most popular new show. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A pair of naïve young girls learn that even the most insignificant actions can have lasting consequences in this music-driven take on teen culture starring Anne Hathaway and Bijou Phillips and directed by two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple. Influenced by the hip-hop thug lifestyle and seeking to explore life outside of their insulated, culturally homogenized suburb, pretty young teenagers Allison (Hathaway) and Emily (Phillips) set their sights on East L.A. to experience the "gangsta" lifestyle firsthand. By the time the pair meet some true-life Latino gang-bangers and realize just how far out of their element they really are, it may already be too late to turn back. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An old-fashioned Jewish father vows to bring his stubborn family together after being slipped a dose of ecstasy during the annual Passover celebration in director Salvador Litvak's psychedelic Seder comedy. Family patriarch Ira Stuckman (Michael Lerner) has taken a few tips from his hard-nosed father, Arthur (Jack Klugman), when it comes to matters of the family. A strict disciplinarian with little tolerance for tomfoolery, stubborn Ira is insistent that the whole family come together for the Seder feast despite their lingering disagreements. When Ira's son, Zeke (Ben Feldman), drops a hit of ecstasy into his father's meal in hopes of opening the old man's eyes up to a "new perspective," the once curmudgeonly father turns suddenly touchy-feely before insisting upon on ushering in a new era of forgiveness among the notoriously disagreeable clan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Filmed in Bulgaria, this made-for-cable thriller draws upon both Greek and Herbraic legend for its inspiration. Shiri Appleby stars as Liz Parker, a normal 24-year-old woman living a normal existence. At least, that's the case until Liz is informed that she is actually the immortal demoness Lilith, who in Biblical times had been the first wife of Adam and thus the evil doppelganger of Eve! Having cut a murderous swath through the world for centuries, Lilith had disappeared from view when she was hypnotized into believing she was an orphaned mortal--and thus "Liz Parker" was born. Now, a secret society called Faith is determined to bring Lilith back to life and to rechannel her evil powers for the forces of Good. It is up to Faith's chief agent William Shaw to keep Liz/Lilith on the path of righteousness, a task made doubly difficult by the fact that Lilith had killed Shaw's son years earlier. Naturally, there are those in the world who hope to benefit from the activities of the "bad" Lilith, and there's also a certain demon who must be destroyed in order to save mankind. Evidently intended as the pilot for a weekly series, DarkLight first aired September 18, 2004 on the Sci-Fi Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Battle of Shaker Heights is directed by the team of Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin. Kelly Ernswiler (Shia LaBeouf) is a quirky 17-year-old whose greatest passion is reenacting battles from World War II. After meeting Bart Bowland (Elden Henson), someone who is nothing like him but shares his passion, Kelly ends up putting his battlefield knowledge to work in real life. The script by Erica Beeney was the winner of the second Project Greenlight competition. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Having grown up in Roswell with only a few close friends aware of their alien origins, Max, Isabel, and Michael have finally come of age. Uncertain about what lies ahead of them after graduation, they are suddenly forced into action when it becomes clear that the incidents in which they have used their alien powers to help others have finally caught up with them. As the Air Force and FBI close in, the trio realizes that Roswell is no longer the safe haven it once was. As they prepare to leave their friends and families behind, Liz has a shocking vision which makes everyone realize that it is not only the aliens who are in danger but their human friends as well.

Teenaged warrior wannabe Tara (Shiri Appleby) is in trouble again. This time, Tara has been arrested for the crime of dancing in a town run by a sternly moralistic magistrate (John Givens). In their efforts to rescue the girl, Xena (Lucy Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) may have to kick their heels themselves. It's a Xena spin on the movie Footloose, with a dash of Lord of the Dance thrown in for good measure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in 1969 Los Angeles, this movie aims at nostalgia but really is more a depiction of the tragedy of a dysfunctional family. Young Andrew, a 13-year-old male on the brink of manhood, is saddled with a Father who is a compulsive gambler and a Mother who is immersed in constant battle with him because of it. Often desperate for money, their dependence on Andrew's older sister for money is one more cause of tension and anxiety in an already unhappy household. As Andrew cares for himself and his younger sister, the symbol of his coming of age--his approaching bar-mitzvah--comes to symbolize more than just a rite of passage. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Lawrence Kasdan's black comedy about a wife's ultimate revenge against her womanizing husband is based on a true story about the wife of a pizzeria owner who decided to kill her cheating husband. When her attempt to murder him failed, the husband refused to press charges against her because he felt she had done the right thing. Kevin Kline is the pizzeria owner Joey Boca in I Love You to Death. Joey is a smooth Italian lothario, modeled after Marcello Mastroianni, who cheerfully dons his plumbers overalls to repair his female tenants' plumbing in the rental apartments the family owns. Joey feels he is justified in bedding down countless numbers of women because of all the hours he puts in day after day at the pizzeria. Plus, as he tells one of his women friends, "I'm a man. I got a lotta hormones in my body." His wife Rosalie (Tracey Ullman) sweetly ignores her husband's philandering -- that is until she visits the public library and sees Joey fondling one of tenants in the book stacks. At first Rosalie considers suicide, but finally, egged on by her mother Nadja (Joan Plowright), she determines that Joey must be the one to face the music. But the people Rosalie hires to do Joey in are of the cut-rate variety and are unsuccessful. They then try to knock Joey off by feeding him barbiturate-laced spaghetti, but also to no avail. Rosalie then enlists pizzeria employee Deco Nod (River Phoenix), who has a crush on Rosalie, to do the job. But even then, they have no luck. As a last resort, they try to hire professionals. What they get instead are two drugged-out junkies -- Harlan (William Hurt) and Marlin (Keanu Reeves) -- who arrive at the home and blast at a slumbering figure in the bedroom. Then, while they report on their progress downstairs, Joey ambles into the living room, very much alive. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide