Brian Donovan Movies

Heather Graham, Mia Kirshner, and Tom Ellis star in director Eric Styles' romantic comedy concerning a 33-year-old woman who realizes that her longtime partner doesn't want to have children. Determined to reproduce regardless, the woman recruits her reluctant best friend to find her the right man for the job. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Can a stodgy intellectual who regards the 20th century as a waste of time find happiness with an American teen idol who doesn't really know him? That's the question posed in this gentle satiric comedy. Giles De'ath (John Hurt), who takes great pains to remind people that his surname is pronounced "Day-ath," is a well-regarded British author whose wife passed away a decade ago. Since then, Giles has retreated into a world of his own; he is thoroughly disinterested in contemporary culture and lives in the 20th century only to the degree that it is absolutely necessary. However, one night Giles accidentally locks himself out of his apartment just as a rainstorm has begun to open up the sky. Soaked to the skin, he takes refuge in a nearby movie theater, since he's heard that the works of E.M. Forster have lately become popular screen fodder. However, once inside the multiplex, Giles discovers to his disgust that he's accidentally bought a ticket for a low-brow teen flick called Hot Pants College II. Just as he's about to register his repugnance with the management, actor Ronnie Bostock (Jason Priestley) appears on screen, and immediately Giles is entranced. In Ronnie, Giles discovers an unexpected sort of beauty that he's never considered before, and he's eager to learn more about the young actor. However, Giles soon discerns that reading up on his new obsession means buying teen-oriented fanzines (whose covers proclaim him "Snoggable!"), where he learns that Ronnie's own cultural signposts include Axl Rose and Stephen King, whose names could just as well be Sanskrit to Giles. He also discovers that to view the rest of Ronnie's screen work, he must visit a video rental store, which means he must first purchase a VCR, and that he'll also require a (gulp!) television in order for the VCR to work. Eventually, Giles finds out that Ronnie lives in a small town on Long Island, and decides to fly there, hatching a scheme to meet Ronnie by first making the acquaintance of Audrey (Fionna Loewi), Ronnie's fashion model girlfriend. Based on the acclaimed short novel by Gilbert Adair, Love and Death on Long Island was adapted for the screen and directed by Richard Kwietniowski. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Things go from bad to worse for Leon (Johnny Whitworth). First, he gets arrested for drunk driving. Then, his beloved mother (Natassja Kinski) kicks him out of the house to keep him from influencing his younger brothers. She's not putting him out onto the street, however, as they meet at a bank where she is to set up an account for him. When his mother is killed and he is injured in a bank robbery, his despised drunk of a father (Gabriel Byrne) comes back to the home he left years before to look after Leon and his brothers. Then his father manages to accidentally kill himself while stumbling drunk. It's too much for Leon, who buries his father in the backyard, fearfully imagining he will be charged with murder. He goes on the run, tormented by beckoning visions of his dead mother. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Joe (Tim Daly) insists that he does not want the gang to throw him a birthday party. Evidently everyone takes this insistence as gospel, but Joe still suspects that they intend to spring a surprise on him. When Fay (Rebecca Schull) asks him to remain in the terminal after hours to await a crated shipment of airplane seats, Joe convinces himself that everyone intends to jump out of that selfsame crate and shower him with presents. As it turns out, a surprise has indeed been planned -- albeit for the wrong night! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide