Stefan Jonas Movies
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
A vicious serial killer is broadcasting his brutal slayings live on the Internet for all to see, and the only hope to put an end to his voyeuristic killing spree is a morphine-addicted detective in this thriller from Ghost Story director John Irvin. The technologically savvy madman has struck once again, and with each killing, drug-addicted detective Charlie Daines (Armand Assante) is coming one step closer to discovering the killer's true identity. As the clock on the next murder counts down, Detective Daines realizes that the killer has begun to take his investigation personally. Upon realizing that the hunter has become the hunted, Detective Daines sets out on a desperate mission to find the killer before he himself is slaughtered live on camera for all the world to see. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Armand Assante
Writer/director Michael Clancy makes his feature film debut with the black comedy Eulogy. Zooey Deschanel plays Kate Collins, an unhappy college student who is made even more unhappy when her grandfather (Rip Torn) dies. Even though the entire family hates each other, they reunite at the home of Grandma Collins (Piper Laurie). Among other family members, Kate observes a war between her washed-up actor dad, Daniel (Hank Azaria); her lesbian Aunt Lucy (Kelly Preston); her wound-up Uncle Skip (Ray Romano); and her strict Aunt Alice (Debra Winger). Tensions escalate and family secrets are ultimately revealed. Kate is also inundated with the eulogy-writing duties, as she's the only one capable of such a task. Meanwhile, she reunites with old flame Ryan Carmichael (Jesse Bradford). Eulogy premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hank Azaria, Jesse Bradford, (more)
A gifted artist wages a personal war against his demons as well as a world that refuses to accept his creative vision in this biographical drama based on the true story of Amedeo Modigliani. Modigliani (Andy Garcia) was an Italian Jew who was living in Paris in the 1910s, when the city's bohemian community was in full flower. While Modigliani was a uniquely gifted painter and sculptor, his friend and rival Pablo Picasso (Omid Djalili) had already found fame and fortune; Modigliani's work had yet to reach a significant audience beyond the city's creative inner circle. Though Modigliani stubbornly refused to compromise his vision for the sake of sales, he was alternately troubled and enraged by the lack of acceptance for his art, and was known to buffer his bruised ego with alcohol and opium, which made his often unpredictable and sometimes violent behavior all the more volatile. Modigliani also had a mistress, Jeanne Hebuterne (Elsa Zylberstein), who had been disowned by her wealthy family for falling in love with a Jew and having his child out of wedlock. When Hebuterne discovered she was pregnant again, Modigliani faced pressure to marry her, and had to face the practical question of how to support his offspring. Modigliani's fate rested upon winning an annual art competition in Paris, which would have given him a needed influx of cash, leaving him understandably enraged when Picasso also chose to enter a work in the contest. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Garcia, Elsa Zylberstein, (more)
When a drifter named Simeon arrives in a small seaside town, it takes the locals some time to warm up to him. Eventually they do, but he carries a secret that could threaten everyone who comes into his path-including his new companions. Out of Season features Dennis Hopper and Gina Gershon. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Gina Gershon, (more)
Robert Altman directs the musical drama The Company from an original story by actress Neve Campbell, based on her own experiences with The National Ballet of Canada. At the center of the ensemble cast is the young dancer Ry (Campbell), a rising star with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. She struggles with the demands of being a dancer while supporting herself as a waitress and starting up a romance with Josh (James Franco). Meanwhile, the ballet company director, Alberto Antonelli (Malcolm McDowell), manages to balance his own administrative and artistic duties. Campbell does her own dancing in the film and the rest of the company is played by the actual members of the Joffrey Ballet. The Company was shown at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Neve Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, (more)
Produced in Canada, but first broadcast on French television in 2001, the weekly, 60-minute sci-fi series Starhunter top-billed Michael Paré as interplanetary bounty hunter Dante Montana. In addition to hopping from one planet to another in pursuit of his profession, Dante was also dedicated to finding his son, who'd been kidnapped a decade earlier. Along the way, the hero was alternately impressed and depressed by the way in which Humanity and the Universe were constantly changing and re-inventing themselves. Premiering in Canada over The Movie Network on May 8, 2002, Starhunter was syndicated to the United States on September 9 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
A very strange dream about a wealthy man preparing for death inspired director Daryush Shokof to make this off-beat and highly esoteric art film. Archie (Anthony Quinn) receives inner peace by being touched by people of four different racial groups. The film shows the five of them conducting daily activities as Quinn endures having their fingers in his nose and ears constantly for 10 days. Archie invites two old friends of his to be present at his death and reveals his secret for inner peace to them. The man goes off in a huff, but the woman stays around and finds her own enjoyment in the situation. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
