Matthias Emcke Movies
- 2009
This earnest, German-language psychological drama follows the turmoil of a cyclist and womanizer (Til Schweiger), who loses one of his legs in a hit-and-run accident and must adjust, mentally and emotionally, to the presence of the disability. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Til Schweiger, Jana Pallaske, (more)
Singer Anthony "Treach" Criss of the band Naughty by Nature stars in this urban action-crime thriller as Malik "The Ghost" Bishop, a former street gang member turned top assassin. Assigned by his boss to stake out and kill the man's innocent girlfriend (Kent Masters King), Malik falls for his target, forcing him to reflect on his violent past, which began in his childhood when he witnessed the murder-suicide of his parents. He's led to make the fateful choice of turning on his superiors instead of carrying out the slaying, a decision that results in a brutal showdown. Love and a Bullet co-stars Bud Sabatino, Freez Luv, and Walter Jones. The film inspired an animated web series entitled "The Contract." ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Treach
Starla Grady (Jane McGregor), the most popular girl at Splendona High School in Splendona, TX, is on top of the world. That is, at least, until foreign-exchange student Genevieve LePlouff (Piper Perabo) moves in with Starla's family. Starla's parents had hoped that Genevieve's tutoring would help raise Starla's French grade, which had dropped dangerously low. At first, like Starla's other followers, Genevieve seems in awe of her charmed existence. However, when Genevieve's story of misfortune and lost love is featured in the school newspaper, Starla feels the winds begin to change. Before she knows it, Genevieve has stolen all of her best friends, her boyfriend, her position on the cheerleading squad, and her status as the most popular girl in school. Starla, not one to go down without a fight, sets out to expose Genevieve as the lying backstabber she truly is. Slap Her...She's French is directed by veteran thirtysomething actress Melanie Mayron. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Piper Perabo, Jane McGregor, (more)
Young adolescent Sam Franks (Lindley Joyner) spends his summers away from school with his physician father (Peter Curtin), whose schedule barely allows for quality father-son time. Therefore, Sam idles away most of his time with neighbor Maurie Lewis (Frank Gallacher) and Maurie's handicapped daughter Silvy (Brooke Harman), who also happens to be Sam's best friend. One night following a dance, Sam and Silvy kiss for the first time, and go down to the nearby river. As the two are lazily floating in the river and watching the night sky, Silvy disappears underwater and her body is never found. Several years afterwards, an adult Sam (Guy Pearce) -- who has gone on to become a psychiatry instructor -- journeys back to the same town for the funeral of his recently deceased father. While en route, Sam encounters Ruby (Helena Bonham Carter), a mysterious young woman he is forced to rescue from the same river that Silvy had disappeared in. After bringing Ruby to his father's house to calm her down after the incident, Sam begins to feel a strangely familiar comfortableness with her and the two begin to visit all of Sam's and Silvy's old stomping grounds. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guy Pearce, Helena Bonham Carter, (more)
Coming Soon is yet another youth comedy about the sexual misadventures of a group of high school students, but with a difference -- this time, it follows three teenage girls who are in search of sexual and romantic fulfillment. Nell (Tricia Vessey), Jenny (Gaby Hoffmann), and Stream (Bonnie Root) are three friends enrolled at a respected private school, busy finishing up their senior year and trying to get into good colleges. But academia is not the only thing occupying their minds, especially when Stream admits to her friends that she's never had an orgasm. Jenny and Nell quickly decide they must find Stream a boyfriend who can solve this problem once and for all. But neither of them has been doing much better; while both have had their share of significant others, none has been especially concerned their pleasure, leaving both young women unsatisfied. Stream's fling with big man on campus Chad (James Roday) deprives her of her virginity but leaves her no closer to her stated goal; however, she meets Henry (Ryan Reynolds), a guy who is too much the individual to fit in at school but seems interested in her; he is also, for a change, not obsessed with himself. The supporting cast includes Spalding Gray as a guidance counselor and Ryan O'Neal and Mia Farrow (reunited nearly 35 years after appearing together on TV's Peyton Place) as Stream's parents. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tricia Vessey, Gaby Hoffmann, (more)
- 1998
- R
Young lovers and small-time New Orleans scammers Coco Chavez (Carla Gugino) and Junior Armstrong (Simon Baker-Denny) move up a few rungs when they kidnap wealthy computer mogul Ben Dyson (Greg Wise) in Sebastian Gutierrez's neo-noir. During the crime, Coco kills Dyson's girlfriend, Patty (Beverly Penberthy), wife of Senator Rupert Hornbeck (Hal Holbrook). Assigned to the case are FBI Agent Sadie Hawkins (Emma Thompson) and Police Lt. David Friedman (Alan Rickman). When Hornbeck threatens Friedman instead of assisting him, the detective suspects that this is no ordinary kidnapping for ransom, and he does his own investigation. A conscience-stricken Coco realizes that she may have been set up to kill Patty, and she, too, takes matters into her own hands. A fairly complex tale of betrayal and corruption, Judas Kiss also spoofs noir conventions -- for instance, agent Hawkins is reading Jim Thompson's crime novel The Killer Inside Me, and he discusses the writer's works with Friedman during lulls in the action. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Simon Baker-Denny, Gil Bellows, (more)
This comedy pivoting around a Los Angeles home-security business was adapted by director Evan Dunsky from a play by Keith Reddin. Heinrich Grigoris (Stanley Tucci) welcomes new employee Tommy Hudler (David Arquette) to Grigoris Security. During his first day on the job, Tommy sells a system and then goes to bed with his customer, single mother Gale Ancona (Kate Capshaw). When Tommy introduces her to his parents, he finds they don't approve of his seeing an older woman. As he learns more about the home-security business, he discovers Grigoris profits from breaking into houses equipped with his system. Thus, Tommy suspects Heinrich when Gale and her son Howard (Ryan Reynolds) are murdered. Shown at the 1997 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Arquette, Stanley Tucci, (more)
- 1996
Kristy is confused about her sexuality. She wonders: is she a lesbian or is she really a man trapped in a female form? This comedy drama centers upon her search to learn the truth. Her friends, most of whom who live on society's fringe, like herself are little help. Her transvestite roommate, spends most of his time rolling down Santa Monica Boulevard in his wheelchair hustling tricks. While Kristy tries to decide whether or not she undergo a sex-change, she also must cope with her straight boyfriend who refuses to admit that Kristy has a problem. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
