Rene Bastian Movies

Fresh off the success of his award-winning senior thesis film The Underdogs, Tisch School of the Arts graduate Jim Mickle returns with this tale of a mysterious virus that causes mass chaos as it sweeps through a terrified Manhattan neighborhood. It's another sweltering summer day in downtown New York City, and as the residents of 51 Mulberry Street lament their crumbling building, higher rent prices, the rising cost of gas, and the ongoing war in Iraq the heat continues to climb as tempers begin to flare. The city is changing, but it's an unseen transformation that won't be noticed until it has evolved into an unstoppable force. A rat has attacked a passenger on the city subway, and just downtown another unsuspecting victim is bitten by a ravenous rodent. As darkness falls over the city, emergency response teams struggle to contain what appears to be a rapidly-spreading virus that is metamorphosing the helpless denizens into a bizarre new species. The streets are quickly filling with these malevolent new creatures, and as a retired boxer named Clutch awaits the return of his daughter from the battlefields of Iraq, the fearless fighter and seven other evicted tenants from 51 Mulberry Street will be forced to bolt the doors, secure the windows, and take one last stand against the mindless, frenzied masses who will stop at nothing to ensure total assimilation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The harsh realities of life on the street merge with the universal themes of youthful pain and exhilaration in director Dito Montiel's telling tale of one boy's struggle to escape the grim fate that awaits his aimless, trouble-minded peers. For most of Montiel's friends, the only means of escaping their bleak surroundings were drugs, prison, or death. In breaking the cycle and making a name for himself as a filmmaker, Montiel showed that there are ways to overcome the urban malaise that consumed the majority of his friends. He couldn't have done it alone, though, and with this film Montiel pays tribute to those he left behind by bringing their story to the screen so that their struggles may give others in similar situations the courage to pursue a more positive, creative means of overcoming their anger. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Acclaimed playwright Brett C. Leonard makes his feature-film debut as the writer and director of the prison drama, Jailbait, which was inspired, in part, by Leonard's feelings about mandatory sentencing laws. Randy (Michael Pitt of The Dreamers) is a young prisoner, recently sentenced to 25 years. His new cellmate is Jake (Stephen Adly-Guirgis, also a respected New York playwright, and the star of Todd Solondz's Palindromes), a hardened lifer. Randy seems despondent, and is reluctant to speak to Jake at all, but the older con gives him a book to read and is generous with advice. Gradually, Randy opens up. He's been convicted of vandalizing an expensive car. The sentence was severe because it was his third offense. His other two convictions were for possession of large quantities of marijuana. But Jake refuses to feel sorry for Randy, telling him that he was stupid for committing another crime when he knew his situation. Eventually, Jake's friendly cajoling turns to bullying. By the time Randy's mother (Laila Robins) comes to visit him, he has to hide the visible signs of Jake's abuse. When Randy's efforts to regain control of his prison life are thwarted, he considers taking more drastic action. Jailbait had its world premiere at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

A teenaged boy in desperate need of a father figure finds one in a place no one should ever have to look in this controversial drama. Howie (Paul Franklin Dano) is a 15-year-old who has been emotionally at sea ever since the death of his mother in an auto accident several years before. Howie's father Marty (Bruce Altman) is also having trouble dealing with the loss, and distracts himself with empty sex while avoiding authorities attempting to prosecute him for using unsafe materials in his building contracting business. Howie falls in with a group of homeless delinquents his own age, becoming especially close to streetwise Gary (Billy Kay). In time, Howie begins to wonder if his feelings for Gary go past ordinary friendship, but the issue of his sexuality is forced into a very different light after Gary persuades Howie to join him in robbing the home of middle-aged former Marine Big John Harrigan (Brian Cox). It doesn't take long for Big John to track down the culprits after Howie and Gary steal several guns from his house, but Howie learns that Big John and Gary have met before -- Gary sometimes works as a male prostitute, and Big John, whose tastes run to boys in their early teens, is a regular customer. When Gary runs away to California, Big John proposes that Howie work off their debt by having sex with him; while Howie is hardly comfortable with this arrangement, he has nowhere else to go after his father ends up in jail, and he finds an unexpected degree of emotional support in his relationship with the curiously compassionate pedophile, who comes to understand just how badly Howie needs help. L.I.E. (the title stands for "Long Island Expressway") premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In Brooklyn of the '50s, small-time mobster George (David Proval) and his sidekick Dip (Dan Moran) realize they've forgotten the birthday of mob boss Joey (Tony Sirico), so they engage the services of prostitute Glorice (Candis Cayne). Joey's reaction to Glorice gives George a promotion, and he's installed as Joey's assistant. George makes the discovery that gender-bent Glorice is not exactly a woman after all. The problem gets worse: Joey intends to marry Glorice, who plans to blackmail Joey after the wedding. Shown at the 1998 Cinequest San Jose Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide