Alison Sealy-Smith
John Dahl's mob comedy You Kill Me stars Ben Kingsley as Frank Falenczyk, an alcoholic mob hitman who is ordered into AA by his boss (Philip Baker Hall). In order to clean up, he goes to San Francisco and successfully starts tw12-stepping with the help of his sponsor (Luke Wilson). Eventually Frank gets a job at a mortuary, where he falls in love with Laurel (Téa Leoni). Soon his new existence is threatened when people from his old life start showing up. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Kingsley, Téa Leoni, (more)
An aspiring medical student whose drug-addicted sister has recently died and who may be forced to relocate from her posh private school to the crime-infested neighborhood in which she was raised enters a step-dancing competition in hope of securing the funds needed to continue her education. Unable to afford the tuition needed to fund her private-school education, ambitious teen Raya returns to her family home in the city and is reluctantly forced to reevaluate her future. Upon learning that the top prize for an upcoming step-dancing competition is 50,000 dollars, Raya uses her impressive moves to earn a coveted slot in her good friend Bishop's predominately male JSJ crew. Isolated from the local females due to jealousy and separated from her fellow dancers by gender, the ambitious dancer is subsequently kicked off the team for showing off during a preliminary competition. Now, if Raya has any hope of realizing her medical-school dreams, she will have to either earn back Bishop's trust or organize her own dance crew and start over from scratch. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rutina Wesley, Tracey 'Tre' Armstrong, (more)
Directed by Walter Salles Jr., this remake of Hideo Nakata's supernatural psychological drama Honogurai Mizuno Soko Kara revolves around the plight of a single mother (Jennifer Connelly) whose messy divorce and subsequent battle for the custody of her five-year-old daughter is taking a heavy toll on her emotional well-being. Ultimately, the mother and daughter are able to relocate to an apartment, which, despite its excessively dilapidated interior, seems to be an adequate location for beginning a new life. Before long, however, what appears to be the spirit of a young girl begins to haunt them. No stranger to mental illness, the wary young woman brushes the visions aside as part of the inherent stress of making the transition from housewife to working, single mom. As time goes by and the apparent haunting does not subside, the apartment's new residents are forced to examine the history of its former tenants. Dark Water also features performances from John C. Reilly, Tim Roth, and Dougray Scott. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, (more)
- 2003
- PG13
- AddHoneyto QueueAddHoneyto top of Queue
Dark Angel-lead Jessica Alba stars in the title role of this film, the feature debut from music-video director Bille Woodruff. Honey is a girl from the streets who works in a record store, teaches the occasional dance class at a community center, and treks downtown every weekend to hit the clubs and try out some new moves. There, she meets a music video producer (David Moscow) who offers her a chance to be a choreographer -- but at a price she eventually learns she's unwilling to pay. Determined to pick herself back up, Honey goes back to the inner-city of her youth with plans of starting a dance school. Lil' Romeo co-stars as Honey's protege; other real-life musicians (including Missy Elliott, Tweet, Jay-Z, and Ginuwine) appear as themselves. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer, (more)
- 2000
This historical drama, based on a true story, is set in Georgia in the mid-1800s. David Dickson (Sam Waterston) owns a large plantation, as well as a number of slaves who do the labor required to run it. Dickson finds himself attracted to one of his new slaves, a bright and willful teenager named Julia (Lisa Gay Hamilton); Dickson rapes Julia, and nine months later she gives birth to a daughter, Amanda. Amanda is fair-skinned and can pass for white, so Dickson raises her as his daughter without acknowledging Julia as the mother, fabricating a story that Amanda's mother died in childbirth. After Amanda (now played by Jennifer Beals) has grown to adulthood, Dickson dies, leaving his entire estate to her. However, Henry (Ron White), Dickson's younger brother, knows the truth about Amanda's heritage and questions the will in court; a high-minded lawyer named Charles Dubose (Tim Daly) agrees to represent Amanda in court as the sordid secrets of the Dickson family air in a public courtroom. Sam Waterston served as co-producer as well as male lead for A House Divided, which was produced for (and first aired by) the Showtime premium cable network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Beals, Lisa Gay Hamilton, (more)
- 1998
A gay man's good friend agrees to bear his child, but once impregnated has second thoughts, due in part to her love affair with a handsome journalist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marcia Gay Harden, David Marshall Grant, (more)
- 1997
In 1974, Cicely Tyson and director John Korty (The Ewok Adventure) worked together on the acclaimed The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (winner of nine Emmys), and they reteamed for this updating of Charles Dickens' 1843 classic, A Christmas Carol. When miserly banker Ebenita Scrooge (Tyson) is visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past (Michael J. Reynolds), visions prompt her to reflect on her life. An earlier female Scrooge was played by Susan Lucci in 1995, and a Mrs. Scrooge with Sally Kellerman is also in development. The TV movie Ms. Scrooge premiered December 10, 1997 on the USA Network. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cicely Tyson, Katherine Helmond, (more)
Yasmine Bleeth stars in this "drawn from the headlines" TV movie as Diane Shepherd, the idealistic producer for the bomb-throwing talkfest "The Howard Grant Show." At present, Howard's most controversial guest is Kelly Reilly (Jenny Lewis), a drugged-out prostitute and single mom. Taking a protective interest in Kelly, Diane endeavors to redeem the girl and put her on the right path--an act of largesse that is coldly vetoed not only by the Springer-esque Howard Grant (Peter Scolari), but also by Diane's ratings-driven boss Sadie (Veronica Hamel), who subscribes to the philosophy that "Everyone in this business is a whore--but we're highly paid whores." Like so many other films which try to "expose" the seamier side of the talk-show industry, Talk to Me exudes an air of smug superiority, but Yasmine Bleeth's surprisingly forceful performance compensates the script's self-righteous shortcomings. The film made its ABC network bow on October 20, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yasmine Bleeth, Veronica Hamel, (more)
- 1995
Pro basketball star Isaiah Thomas) appears as himself in this episode, in which Ray (David Marciano) and Fraser (Paul Gross) try to save a teenaged basketball player named Tyree (Leonard Roberts) from going to jail. Tyree has been persuaded to take an attempted-murder rap for local drug dealer Lou Robbins (Tab Baker). Fed up with Fraser's interference, Lou decides to make sure that there will be one less mountie in Chicago before the week is out. Originally broadcast on Canadian television, this episode made its US debut on April 5, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
