John Penotti Movies

Paul Rudd and Paul Giamatti star as a pair of shady French Canadians who scheme to make some quick cash by selling Christmas trees in New York City. Cynical con-artist Dennis (Giamatti) has just been released from a Montreal prison when he learns that local ladies man Rene (Rudd) has been romancing his ex-wife. Though the pair trades blows in a bar fight, remorseful Rene extends an invitation for Dennis to join him in traveling to New York City, and selling Christmas trees to the high-rolling locals. Just as the pair arrives in the city and stakes their claim on a busy street corner, however, a chance encounter between Dennis and the wife of a wealthy dentist leads to a whiole new get-rich-quick scheme. Sally Hawkins co-stars in a comedy written by Melissa James Gibson, and directed by Phil Morrison (Junebug). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director Adam Green (Hatchet, Spiral) takes the helm for this relentlessly tense tale of three snowboarders who must fight for their lives in the freezing cold after getting stranded on a ski lift. As the trio rides up the mountain in preparation for their final run of the day, the night lights suddenly go dark, and the lift chairs grind to a sudden halt. Realizing that the resort will be closed until the following weekend, the three friends decide to take their fate into their own hands, and find their way down to terra firma. Once they do, they realize that hypothermia isn't the only thing they have to fear. Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers, and Emma Bell star in the film. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Guess Who director Kevin Sullivan teams with screenwriter Patrick Aison for this sports drama concerning a deaf grappler raised on the mean streets of the Bronx who is determined to make it to the Olympics. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An overenthusiastic high-school maintenance man attempts to lead an unlikely group of misfits to the Nebraska state tennis championship in Dude, Where's My Car? director Danny Leiner's underdog sports comedy. American Pie star Seann William Scott stars as the ambitious janitor who believes he has what it takes to coach the winning team. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Jessica Alba, Hayden Christensen, and Terrence Howard star in first-time director/screenwriter Joby Harold's nerve-jangling psychological thriller about a man who experiences the frighteningly common surgical phenomenon known as "anesthetic awareness," in which those laid out on the operating table remain acutely aware of what is going on around them despite remaining completely paralyzed and unable to cry out for help. When a successful young man (Christensen) goes under the knife and realizes that the anesthesia hasn't quite done its job, the horror quickly sets in as his worried wife (Alba) waits anxiously and a terrifying drama unfolds in the operating room. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Adapted from the novel by Robert Cormier, this psychological crime drama tells the tense story of an obsessed police lieutenant who's on the hunt for a dangerous young killer. The first thing most people notice about handsome high school student Eric Komenko (Jon Foster) is his easy charm. But that charm doesn't run deep, because a closer look reveals a cold-blooded killer. When Eric's devoutly religious mother discovers that her son has been sleeping around, the teen responds to her maternal scolding by viciously slaughtering both she and his father. The man assigned to Eric's case, Lt. Cristofuoro (Russell Crowe), believes that the young psychopath will kill again if given the opportunity. Lt. Cristofuoro knows that Eric has had a rough life, but he's determined to catch him before his murderous impulses once again take over. As Eric hits the road to Syracuse in search of a girl he met in juvenile detention, he is surprised to find Lori Cranston hiding in his truck. A tragic victim of sexual abuse, Lori knows what Eric is capable of, yet remains steadfast in her devotion to him. The crueler Eric is to Lori, the more she desires him. Later, as Lt. Cristofuoro closes in on the pair, Lori embraces her fate as Eric's next victim, and gives herself to him without struggle. But Eric is more interested in the girl from juvenile detention than he is with Lori. Little does the young killer realize that he's walking straight into a carefully set trap. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

While professional soccer is still struggling to find a firm foothold in the United States, in the 1970s the North American Soccer League marked the brave first attempt to introduce the game to American sports fans. While most teams had only limited success at best, one did manage to break through to genuine mainstream popularity -- the New York Cosmos. The brainchild of Steve Ross (a passionate soccer fan who was also a major executive at Warner Communications) and Ahmet Ertegun and Nesuhi Ertegun (the founders of Atlantic Records), the Cosmos got off to a rocky start in 1971 (no one was especially happy with the playing field at Randall's Island, and some rowdy fans were known to throw broken glass onto the grass), but things changed in 1975 when the world's most celebrated soccer star, the Brazilian champion Pele, signed with the Cosmos for a five-million-dollar payday. With the arrival of Pele, the Cosmos became a hit with both fans and the media, and the players became the toast of the town, earning their own private table at Studio 54. A number of other international soccer stars were soon lured to the Cosmos, including Franz Beckenbauer, Rodney Marsh, and Carlos Alberto, but with the turn of the decade, the team began losing favor with fans and folded in 1985. Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos is a documentary by Paul Crowder and John Dower that looks at the team's remarkable history and includes interviews with many of the Cosmos' star players (with the notable exception of Pele, who declined to participate). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The romantic comedy Wedding Daze stars Jason Biggs as Anderson, a young man all set to ask his girlfriend to marry him when, during the actual proposal, she dies. After spending a year in a depression, Anderson impulsively asks a waitress named Katie (Ilsa Fisher) to marry him even though they have never met. When she surprisingly agrees, the two must deal with the reactions of their respective friends and families. The supporting cast includes Joe Pantoliano as Katie's convict father. Michael Ian Black, formerly of The State and Ed, made his directorial debut with this film. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A cop trying to clear the name of a woman he loves falls deep into a morass of corruption in this crime thriller. Ford Cole (Ray Liotta) is the district attorney in a crime-ridden town where he's contemplating a run for mayor in a bid for greater power. Cole is also having an affair with one of his assistants, Nora Timmer (Jolene Blalock), though he tries to keep that a secret. One evening, while Cole is chatting with journalist Trippin (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Timmer arrives with startling news -- she claims to have been sexually assaulted by Isaac Duparde (Mekhi Phifer), a clerk at a nearby music store who broke into her apartment. Making matters more complicated is the fact that Duparde is currently dead in her flat, leaving Cole to find a way to protect Timmer while not staining his own reputation. Cole realizes this may be harder than he imagined when Luther Pinks (LL Cool J) arrives on the scene to tell him that Timmer actually lured Duparde back to her apartment on purpose, in an effort to get information on a well-connected organized crime figure. Slow Burn was the first directorial effort from screenwriter Wayne Beach. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker Sally Potter directed this artful meditation on the dynamics of the romantic and sexual relationship. She (Joan Allen) is an intelligent and gifted genetic scientist of Irish-American heritage who feels smothered in her marriage to a British politician (Sam Neill). While dining at a friend's house, She meets He (Simon Abkarian), a handsome Lebanese exile who was a respected surgeon in his homeland but now supports himself in London as a cook. He flirts with her, and She is pleased with his advances; weeks later, she contacts him, and an affair begins. However, despite their mutual attraction, He and She find it difficult to set aside their political and national differences for very long, as love and lust wage a quiet war against the conscience and the intellect. Yes also features supporting performances from Shirley Henderson and Sheila Hancock. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A moment of temptation leads to a high body count and untold regrets for a high-school swimming star in this thriller starring Bring It On's Jesse Bradford and Traffic's Erika Christensen. Despite a shady past involving drugs and the juvenile justice system, Ben Cronin (Bradford) seems to have it all: a loving mother, a devoted girlfriend (Shiri Appleby), and a shot at a college scholarship in California. But the same week that athletic scouts will be deciding his future, Ben finds himself embroiled in a flirtation with Madison Bell (Christensen), a bewitching transfer student who seduces him into supposedly strings-free sex during an impromptu swim lesson after hours in the school pool. When Ben takes Madison at her word and goes about his business as if nothing had happened, she insinuates herself into his life with sinister glee. Showing up at Ben's house, befriending his girlfriend, and sending him naked pictures -- none of her strategies wins his heart. So Madison turns to other, more devious forms of courtship. Soon, Ben finds himself kicked off the swim team for supposed steroid use, suspected of murdering a rival (Clayne Crawford), and rejected by his girlfriend for his sexual indiscretions. Eventually, though, he receives help in uncovering the genesis of Madison's uncanny fixation from an unexpected source. Originally titled "Swimfan85" (after Madison's Internet screen name), the retitled Swimfan hit the top spot at the back-to-school box office when it was released September 6, 2002. Dan Hedaya co-stars as Ben's stern but loving mentor, Coach Simkins. Actor-turned-director John Polson previously helmed Siam Sunset. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Miguel Pinero became a leading figure in New York's art scene during the 1970s as a poet, actor, and playwright whose vibrant, often pointed, work spoke directly to the lower classes and to disenfranchised minorities. As a founder of the influential Nuyorican Poets Cafe, his poetry soon became recognized as a forerunner to rap and hip-hop music. TV screenwriter turned director Leon Ichaso spins this impressionistic biographical look at this artist. Raised in an abusive family, Pinero (Benjamin Bratt) turns to streets for solace. Soon he is engaging in petty crime, drug dealing, and addiction. When he finds himself in Sing-Sing, he turns his experiences in prison into the play Short Eyes, which eventually garners him seven Tony awards in 1974. Uncomfortable with his new fame, he clings to his girlfriend, Sugar (Talisa Soto), and his childhood buddy, Miguel Algarin (Giancarlo Esposito), who is a literature professor and who co-founded the Nuyorican Cafe. Though Pinero makes cameos on such shows as Kojak, his art begins to suffer as he starts to succumb to his drug addictions. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi