Rosalyn Coleman Movies

Adapted from Ned Vizzini's 2006 novel, It's Kind of a Funny Story tells the story of burnt-out teenager Craig (Keir Gilchrist), who checks himself into a mental health clinic citing exhaustion, and finds himself placed in the adult ward due to the fact that the youth ward has been shut down. Taken under the wing of fellow patient Bobby (Zach Galifianakis), the stressed-out 16-year-old attempts to endure his mandatory five days' stay without completely losing his mind. His predicament is made somewhat more tolerable by the presence of Noelle (Emma Roberts), another teenage patient who's struggling to sort out her thoughts. Academy Award nominee Viola Davis, Lauren Graham, and Jim Gaffigan co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Training Day director Antoine Fuqua takes viewers on a dark ride through the streets of Brooklyn, following three New York Police officers as they wrestle with temptation, loyalty, and duty while attempting to uphold the law and deal with the pressures of the job. Eddie Dugan (Richard Gere) is days away from retirement, but he's been burnt-out for years. Unable to remember why he signed up for the job in the first place, all Eddie can think about is retreating to his fishing cabin in Connecticut, and forgetting the horrors that he's seen during his decades on the job. At the same time, undercover narcotics cop Clarence "Tango" Butler (Don Cheadle) is right in the thick of it. As hard as he tries to quit, however, his superiors always find a way of keeping him on the job. Much like Dugan, he's lost sight of his priorities, and these days Tango's loyalties seem to lie more with notorious inner-city drug dealer Caz (Wesley Snipes) than with the boys in blue. And Tango isn't the only cop who's being drawn to the dark side of the law; narcotics officer Sal Procida's (Ethan Hawke) wife is currently pregnant with twins, and he's barely making enough to keep his family afloat. When Sal learns that his wife is at risk of losing their unborn children, desperation drives him to consider unethical means of ensuring financial stability. In seven days, the lives of all three officers will converge at one crime scene as the NYPD attempts to clean up the BK projects, the epicenter of lawlessness in the highest-crime precinct. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Jim McKay follows up on the critical success of his Girls Town (1996) with this sensitively-wrought, finely-etched character study of three teenaged girls living in the Crown Heights section of New York City. Though it is summer, the trio find themselves locked in a demanding rehearsal schedule for their prize-winning marching band. Yet this is one of a sundry responsibilities these girls must shoulder. With their parents over-worked, absent, or in jail, they must take care of all household chores and hold down dreary soul-deadening jobs. To make matters worse, their school is closing down for asbestos removal. Yet the most pressing concern for Maria (Melissa Martinez) is her discovery that she is pregnant, for a second time, after a latex-free tryst with a classmate. She is reluctant to consider an abortion, though the prospect of telling her harried mother seems no less daunting. Her best friend Lanisha (Kerry Washington) is supportive, but Joy (Anna Simpson), the third in the trio, cools to Maria, preferring to retreat into a world of fantasy. This film was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Bermuda-born Alison Swan, a NY documentary filmmaker, made her dramatic feature directorial debut with this comedy-drama, a low-budget look at racial identities. With divorced parents (white attorney father and black mother), Nia (Karyn Parsons) grew up in Westchester Country. Employed as an upwardly mobile advertising copywriter, she hangs out with both black and white friends. Irritated by an ad campaign to spur ghetto blacks to consume alcohol, she quits her job with plans to write a book. Stirring the racial mix, she sets out to find her own identity. Shown at the 1998 New York Women's Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi