Brendan Fletcher

Jon Avnet directs Al Pacino in the thriller 88 Minutes. Pacino plays university professor Jack Gramm, who occasionally assists the FBI in matters of forensic psychiatry. His recent testimony against a freshly convicted criminal seems to be the reason he has gotten a scary phone call informing him he will die in 88 minutes. As with the like-minded thriller D.O.A. (both the original and the remake), the protagonist must use his skills in order to track down who has hatched this evil plot and hopefully prevent his own demise. Alicia Witt and Leelee Sobieski co-star as the professor's star students. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Presented in three half-hour "acts" by the MTV cable network on January 10, 2001, the fact-based Anatomy of a Hate Crime was the opening volley of MTV's year-long campaign "Fight For Your Rights: Take a Stand Against Discrimination." In recalling the horrendous torture-murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard near Laramie, WY in 1998, the film focuses as much on the twisted logic and motivations of Matthew's killers Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney as it does on the victim and the crime. Cy Carter stars as the unfortunate Shepard, with Ian Somerhelder and Brendan Fletcher, respectively, cast as Henderson and McKinney. Filmed in Alberta, Anatomy of a Hate Crime was originally bookended by a marathon recital of recent examples of sexual and racial persecution, delivered by an impressive list of unseen celebrities. Curiously, the Shepard Foundation, formed after Matthew's murder, would not endorse the MTV film, preferring instead to put their clout behind the 2002 NBC TV movie The Matthew Shepard Story. (See also separate website entry for The Laramie Project.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this modestly suspenseful backwoods thriller, a hostage situation turns an ordinary mom into a fearsome huntress, thereby bringing her family together. Set in a heavily forested part of the Oregon coast, the tale of terror begins when a quartet of desperate bank robbers botch their escape and end up taking a young boy (Brendan Fletcher) hostage. His mother (Stephanie Zimbalist) and sister (Sarah Chalke) were saved from capture when the mother drove their car into frozen water. The crooks hightail it to the deep forest where they force the boy, who is experienced in wilderness survival and navigation like his mother, to locate a remote airstrip. Meanwhile, the angry mother grabs her trusty bow and sets out to find her endangered son. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A troubled teen on the verge of manhood if forced to fend for himself when, on his 18th birthday, he is estranged from his family and effectively rendered homeless in a soul-searching drama starring Alan Cumming, Ian McKellen, and Brendan Fletcher. Alone on the streets and uncertain what to do with his life, Pip Andrews seeks the guidance of a kindly local priest by day while listening to a tape made by his grandfather Jason (McKellen) at night. Compelled by the tense tales of being trapped behind enemy lines in the heat of battle, Jason finds that his experiences on the streets soon begin to mirror the experiences of his grandfather on the battlefield as his quest for redemption leads him down the uncertain but adventurous road to self-discovery. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Based on novelist Tim Sandlin's Sorrow Floats, this moving drama follows an alcoholic woman and two recovering drinkers as they travel across the nation in search of her son, who was taken away from her by her husband. Along the way, the journey cannot help to inspire the woman to embark upon a quest for her own salvation. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The feminist horror film genre might not have very many prominent entries, but the critically acclaimed 2000 film Ginger Snaps was just that. A darkly humorous chiller that drew parallels between menstruation and a werewolf curse, the John Fawcett picture garnered several Canadian Genie Award nominations and a loyal cult following. Four years later, Brett Sullivan, the film's editor, made his feature directorial debut with this sequel, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed. Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins reprise their roles from the first film as sisters Ginger and Brigitte, respectively. This time around, Brigitte is found by the police after being attacked and taken to rehab when it's assumed that the wolfbane serum that keeps her from turning into a monster is a narcotic. Once inside the facility and denied the substance, Brigitte must strike deals with one of the orderlies to obtain it; meanwhile, she is pursued by another werewolf, and escapes with Ghost, another female patient, to that girl's vacant old house, which sets the stage for a brutal showdown -- made even nastier when the orderly, a hospital doctor, and the elderly Barbara show up and decide to intervene. Also starring Tatiana Maslany, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed was followed only a few months later by Ginger Snaps Back. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

A boy learns to get by on his wits and comes to depend on the kindness of (relative) strangers in this independent drama. Jimmy (Brendan Fletcher), whose abusive foster father (Ike Gingrich) likes to call him "Jimmy Zip" (that is, "Jimmy Nothing"), is fascinated with fire and sees no good reason to stay at home where he's not wanted. So Jimmy hits the road and ends up in Hollywood, where he hooks up with a pair of fellow runaway teens, Sheila (Adrienne Frantz) and Snake (Zia). While Jimmy's new friends show him the finer points of scraping up a living on the streets, Rick (Chris Mulkey), a pimp and dope dealer, gives Jimmy a job dealing drugs. While on his way home from a drug buy, Jimmy makes the mistake of getting in an argument with Horace (Robert Gossett), a homeless man with Tourette's syndrome who lives in his car. Horace accidentally ends up with Jimmy's jacket, which has $20,000 of Rick's money inside; when Jimmy realizes what happened, he tries to warn Horace before Rick can get to him, but Horace and Jimmy soon take it on the lam with Rick's money. Horace has artistic ambitions, and with Rick's drug money as a stake, he hopes to create some metal sculptures that he can sell for bigger money, allowing him and Jimmy to support themselves after paying back Rick. Jimmy Zip was shown at the 1999 Hollywood Film Festival, where it won a special prize for best film with a budget under one million dollars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A weekend of fun turns into a violent spree in this independent thriller. A group of four friends head into the California desert for a two-day rave being held at a remote location. A night of music, dancing and hallucinogens turns sour when one of the party, Josh (Eric Christian Olsen), is laid low by some bad drugs and the foursome crosses paths with a gang of thugs led by Dom (Dash Mihok). Dom and his buddies make short work of the ravers, leaving one dead and another seriously injured, and skinny Dan (Rider Strong) is no match for the hoodlums. Josh, however, is made of stronger stuff and isn't about to go home without giving Dom and his cohorts a taste of their own medicine. The first feature film from directors David Kebo and Rudi Liden, Mojave received its world premiere at the 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Australian screenwriter and filmmaker Brad Hayward makes his directorial debut with this somewhat downbeat, gritty portrait of young adults struggling to get by in Sydney Australia. Min (Sarah Browne) is a plain-looking young woman in her early twenties who has just lost her job, her boyfriend, and her place to live. With nowhere else to go, she follows her best friend Jaz's (Astrid Grant) suggestion and moves into the home of David, a New Age intellectual who has also broken up with his girlfriend. David comforts himself by sleeping with a series of increasingly younger girls, something that bothers poor Min who gets tired of meeting a different young woman each morning. It does not help that she must also listen to Jaz's constant complaints about her boyfriend Stanley (Michael Walker) whom she claims is rather dull in bed. Later Min encounters Stanley herself and is surprised to hear him say the same things about Jaz. When Jaz learns that Stanley confided in Min, she angrily ends their friendship, leaving Min free to take up with Stanley. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Scott Smith directs this grim Canadian drama about a bunch of dead-end teens chillin' out in an abandoned Vancouver amusement park. The quintet smoke weed, drink hootch, and throw up as they try to make sense of their lives. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

In this Australian drama, a department store collapses, trapping an old man (Barry Jenkins) and a young boy (Rowan Whitt) underneath. In hopes of keeping the child calm, the man tells him a series of folk tales which teach a moral lesson while they entertain. Somewhere In The Darkness received its world premier at the 1999 Slamdance Film Festival in the United States; it was later screened at Australia's Sydney Film Festival the same year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

30 Odd Foot of Grunts are a meat-and-potatoes roots rock band from Australia who haven't quite reached the pinnacle of international stardom just yet. As a result, several of the members have day jobs to help pay the rent when they're not busy playing music. The lead singer has done just a bit better than his mates in this department -- his name is Russell Crowe, and he's won an Academy Award and become one of the world's most bankable leading men as the star of such films as Gladiator, The Insider, L.A. Confidential, and A Beautiful Mind. When his schedule permits, Crowe still gigs with TOFOG (as many of their fans call them), and in 2001 he met up with his longtime friend and lead guitarist Billy Dean Cochran (with whom Crowe had been making music since the mid-'80s) and their bandmates Garth Adam, David Kelly, Stewart Kriwin, and Dave Wilkins for an intensive round of rehearsals in London, leading up to recording sessions in Austin, TX, for their fifth album, Bastard Life or Clarity, topped off by three packed-to-the-rafters shows at a local beer-and-BBQ joint. Texas is Crowe's self-described "home movie" of the band's stint in the Lone Star State; it allows all six members of members of the group a chance to talk about their life in music, as well as discussing the mixed blessing of having your lead singer become one of the world's biggest film stars not long after he joined the band. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Five characters serve as metaphors for the five senses in this drama about human relationships from Canadian filmmaker Jeremy Podeswa. Ruth (Gabrielle Rose) works as a massage therapist; one day while giving a rubdown to Anna (Molly Parker), Ruth's teenage daughter Rachel (Nadia Litz) takes Anna's toddler daughter for a stroll in the park. However, Rachel loses track of the child and she's soon lost. While searching for her, Rachel meets Rupert (Brendan Fletcher), a voyeur who teaches her about the pleasures of observing others. Meanwhile, Robert (Daniel MacIvor) is a professional house cleaner with an unusually keen sense of smell. Convinced he can smell love, he starts to set up meetings with all of his former lovers to see if he can sniff out any feelings for him -- and, if not, find out why they stopped caring for him. Robert's friend Rona (Mary-Louise Parker) works as a baker but has no sense of taste, a severe occupational hazard. She also has romantic problems, thanks to the arrival of Roberto (Marco Leonardi), a man she met on a recent vacation in Italy. Finally, Richard (Philippe Volter) is an eye doctor who is losing his hearing. While this situation has left him horribly depressed, he meets a woman who helps him feel better about life. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide