Jessica Lynn Cohen Movies
- 2003
- Add Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind to QueueAdd Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind to top of Queue
Assembled by filmmaker Susan Lacy, this 90-minute TV documentary charts the life and career of Canadian singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell. In a starring career that spans nearly four decades, Mitchell embraced an infinite variety of musical styles, with folk and jazz in the forefront. Linking the narrative together with Mitchell's most famous lyrics (35 of her songs are represented in all), the film overflows with precious concert clips, some familiar (Mitchell's appearance at Woodstock) and some shown on American TV for the first time (a rare glimpse of Mitchell performing "Blue" at a 1974 concert). Also seen are home movies of Mitchell with such co-workers and intimates as David Crosby, James Taylor, Graham Nash, and David Geffen. Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind originally aired as part of the PBS documentary series American Masters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
The life and career of Ricky Nelson--from awkward kiddie TV star to teenaged singing idol to "young hasbeen"--is adequately encapsulated in this made-for-cable movie, one of several celebrity biopics produced for VH-1. Told in flashback as Ricky Nelson (Gregory Calpakis) recounts his experiences to a worshiping fan in the last hours before the 1985 air crash that would take his life, the story begins around 1952, as the adolescent Ricky is recruited by his bandleader-producer father Ozzie Nelson (Jamey Sheridan) to play "himself" on the movie and TV version of the popular radio series The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. Anxious to crawl out from under the shadow of his dictatorial father Ozzie, his vocalist mom Harriet (Sara Botsford) and his marginally more talented older brother David (Anthony Lemke), the 16-year-old Ricky begs for a chance to sing on the family's series. The wildly enthusiastic audience response to Ricky's warblings prompt Ozzie to aggressive promote Ricky's musical career, but ultimately Ricky breaks loose from the family's influence to strike out on his own. Alas, after several years at the top, Ricky's career and fan following plummets, before he has reached his 30th birthday he is grasping at straws by performing at county fairs and trade shows. Making matters worse is his unhappy marriage to Kris Harmon (depicted as something of a conniving opportunist by Anne Openshaw) and his ever-increasing dependence upon drugs. Astonishingly, the film never allows us to hear Ricky perform "Garden Party", the song that enabled him to make a spectacular comeback. Ricky Nelson: Original Teen Idol first aired on August 22, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1993
- G
- Add George Balanchine's The Nutcracker to QueueAdd George Balanchine's The Nutcracker to top of Queue
Director Emile Ardolino's final film brings to the screen George Balanchine's famed ballet of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. Balanchine's choreography has been restaged by the New York City Ballet under the direction of Peter Martins and features dancers Darci Kistler and Damian Woetzel as the Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier. Unfortunately, it also features a smirking and incongruous Macauley Culkin as The Nutcracker. The familiar tale concerns Marie (Jessica Lynn Cohen), a young girl who, at Christmas time, is given a gift of a nutcracker by her godfather, a magician. She also meets his nephew (played by Culkin). When she falls asleep, in her peaceful Christmas Eve dreams, the Nutcracker is transformed into a prince who rescues Marie from a multi-headed Mouse King and takes her on a trip to the Land of Sweets. The film is narrated in hushed tones by Kevin Kline. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Darci Kistler, Damian Woetzel, (more)
