Maurice Compte Movies
David Gordon Green, who in 2000 made a splash on the festival circuit with his independent debut feature, George Washington, directed this drama about two people entering into a mature romantic relationship -- the sort that neither has been accustomed to. Paul (Paul Schneider) is a guy in his mid-'20s who lives in a small Southern town, where he earn a living fixing cars for his uncle. A man with little in the way of ambition, Paul still lives with his mother, Elvira (Patricia Clarkson), and still hangs out with his best friend from high school, rowdy Tip (Shea Whigham), and their buddies Bo (Maurice Compte) and Bust-Ass (Danny McBride). Among his friends, Paul has a reputation as a ladies' man, but he's not at all good with long-term relationships; most of Paul's romances last only a few weeks, and he's slept with nearly every girl in town who's worth having. Deep down inside, Paul senses that he would like to lead a different life, and that feeling becomes all the more clear when he meets Noel (Zooey Deschanel), Tip's teenage sister who has come back home after attending a boarding school. Noel is smarter and deeper than the girls Paul is used to, while Noel is taken with his charm, wit, and down-to-earth nature. Paul and Noel soon fall in love, but for Paul this is a different sort of relationship than he's accustomed to -- Noel is still a virgin, and her contemplative nature gives him a desire to be a better, stronger person. However, Tip doesn't approve of Paul dating his younger sister, which leads to a rift between these longtime friends. All the Real Girls was awarded a Special Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival; Patricia Clarkson's performance was also cited by the jury. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Schneider, Zooey Deschanel, (more)
Robert DeNiro continues to lampoon his tough-guy persona with this spoof of buddy cop movies that teams him with comic co-star Eddie Murphy. DeNiro is L.A.P.D. detective Mitch Preston, a gruff, no-nonsense 28-year veteran whose bust of a drug gang is botched one night by Trey Sellars (Murphy), a bumbling patrolman who's really a frustrated actor at heart. When Mitch's aggravation is captured by a television news crew, he fires his gun in their direction and becomes an instant media celebrity, while earning himself a temporary suspension at work. After his fame draws the attention of network TV producer Chase Renzi (Rene Russo), Mitch is soon informed that the only way he can get back to work is to allow a production crew to trail him on the job for a new cop reality series called "Showtime". In order to make the taciturn lawman more palatable to the viewing public, he's paired with the camera-friendly, fast-talking Trey. The new partners drive each other crazy, but their mismatched sensibilities make for great TV, while their newfound fame has its advantages in getting them back on the trail of those escaped drug dealers, who possess a powerful new weapon. Showtime co-stars Frankie Faison and William Shatner, who sends up his own TV cop role in T.J. Hooker. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Eddie Murphy, (more)
Filmed in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, this massive biography of Cuban leader Fidel Castro begins in the 1950s, when the title character, then a young and hungry lawyer, bristles at the iniquities and corruption of the Batista political regime. Inspired by the words by left-wing radio commentor Eddie Chibas (Hector Elizondo), Fidel becomes active in a revolutionary movement aimed at toppling Fulgencio Batista (Tony Plana). In 1959, Castro and his followers stage a spectacularly successful coup, one that is staunchly supported by thousands of idealists and Cuban expatriates in the United States. Unfortunately, to paraphrase cartoonist Bill Mauldin, no sooner has Fidel come down from the hills like Robin Hood than he begins behaving like the Sheriff of Nottingham, killing scores of his political enemies in round-the-clock executions, routinely snatching away the basic human rights that he had promised his followers, and embracing Communism with a fervent passion. Although the film does not shy away from showing the darker side of Castro, it is essentially sympathetic to its subject, balancing the Cuban dictator's political outrages with his many acts of benevolence, and attempting to provide "motivation" for what seem to be appalling contradictions. Victor Huggo Martin and Honorato Magaloni are cast respectively as the younger and older Castro, with Maurice Compte as his brother Raul and Gael Garcia Bernal as the ill-fated Che Guevara.Fidel was originally telecast in two parts over the Showtime cable network on January 27 and 28, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Huggo Martin, Gael García Bernal, (more)
- 2000
When a rich software mogul (David Herman) hires Angel (David Boreanaz) to find out who's blackmailing him with pictures of his visit to a demon brothel, Angel's investigation takes him to the vampire-infested inner city. There, he comes into contact with a group of homeless vampire hunters who refuse to believe that a creature like Angel could be anything but evil. He escapes their clutches only by momentarily kidnapping Alonna (Michelle Kelly), the sister of the hunters' leader, Charles Gunn (J. August Richards). When war erupts between the hunters and a particularly nasty vampire nest, Alonna is turned into a vampire -- and she almost turns her brother, too. Angel, Wesley (Alexis Denisof), and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) help defeat the vampires, but Gunn and his gang remain squatting in their digs, vowing to continue their fight. Originally broadcast May 9, 2000, on the WB network, "War Zone" marked season one, episode 20 of the supernatural comedy drama. This episode includes the first appearance of J. August Richards as Gunn, who would become a regular character in season two. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Released from prison on his 21st birthday, Antonio (Saved by the Bell's Mario Lopez) pays a visit to his older brother, Horatio (Mark Espinoza), an uptight attorney embarrassed by his Latino heritage. The brothers are connected by their work for crime boss Armando De La Rosa (Efrain Figueroa), for whom Horatio provides "consulting" services and Antonio collects debts. When De la Rosa enlists Antonio to bully the proprietor of a youth shelter off his property to make way for a casino, the young man changes his priorities, thanks in no small part to his friendship with the proprietor (Richard Lynch) and his burgeoning relationship with the old man's granddaughter (Elizabeth Bogush). Together, Antonio and Horatio try to bring an end to De La Rosa's megalomaniacal reign over the neighborhood. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mario Lopez
The personal lives of five exotic dancers go under the microscope in this drama, the first American feature from director Michael Radford. Eddie (Robert Wisdom) is the manager of a strip club in suburban California known as the Blue Iguana, where he keeps an eye on the women who make their living dancing for his customers. Stormy (Sheila Kelley) is an attractive, thick-skinned woman who is getting old enough to realize her days as a dancer may be numbered. Jo (Jennifer Tilly) likes to think of herself as the Blue Iguana's star attraction, though her career may hit a detour now that she's learned she's pregnant. Angel (Daryl Hannah) is a sweet, but immature woman, who tries to deal with her fear of being unloved by adopting a child. Jasmine (Sandra Oh), an aspiring poet, tries not to get settled into a career as a stripper, while being encouraged in her writing by coffeehouse owner Dennis (Chris Hogan), who features spoken word performers. And Jesse (Charlotte Ayanna), the youngest of the performers, expresses her desperate need for approval in her desire to please the customers. Dancing at the Blue Iguana received its world premiere at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlotte Ayanna, Daryl Hannah, (more)
- 1999
A woman is killed and her rare coin collection is stolen; could her drugged-out son have had anything to do with it? In other cases, ex-cop turned private detective Mike Roberts (Michael Harney) tips off the squad to the upcoming robbery of a truck from the company which currently employs Mike. Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) makes no secret of his disdain for Roberts, who seems on the verge of telling him something important. It is up to John Irvin (Bill Brochtrup), still recovering from the death of Dolores Mayo, to figure out what Mike was trying to say -- and it may have some bearing on Dolores' demise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Low-budget filmmaker Ed Radtke's second feature is a male-oriented road movie about two unlikely characters thrown together by a strange fate. Freddy (Maurice Compte), who has a pregnant girlfriend back home and no prospects for the future, tries to board a moving train but only ends up losing his bag and cap. He meets a delinquent- looking adolescent named Albert (Paddy Connor) at a service station. Despite protests from Freddy, Albert sticks to him like glue and proves to be a useful companion. The reasons each character has for taking the long journey are revealed gradually. Freddy is looking for his uncle to get some news of his long-lost father, while Albert, who has escaped from reform school, is trying to find his mother with nothing more than a postcard she has written as a clue to her whereabouts. As the characters slowly get to know one another, they also discover rural America through chance encounters with a gallery of diverse characters from soldiers to Indians. Director Ed Radtke, who was once convicted of felony himself, displays his first-hand knowledge of adolescent delinquency. He also draws a remarkable portrait of troubled youth, looking for roots and a sense of identity, but always on guard, knowing only too well that there are no miracles in a cruel and harsh world. Although the film is character-driven, the landscape (shot beautifully by Terry Stacey) plays a very important part in setting the mood. Despite its low budget, The Dream Catcher was shot in eight states across the U.S. in more than hundred locations involving several night shoots. There are more than forty speaking roles. Producer Julia Reichert brought students on the set and also involved young offenders from detention centers in the writing and acting process. The Dream Catcher was shown in competition at the 1999 Locarno International Film Festival, where it received the second prize of the Young Jury (UBS). ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maurice Compte, Paddy Connor, (more)
- 1997
Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) and Simone (Jimmy Smits) investigate the murder of a Russian mail-order bride who wanted to divorce her husband. After losing his cool while investigating an unusual drive-by shooting, Medavoy (Gordon Clapp) wonders if he should go through with his dinner date with Abby (Paige Turco). And while moonlighting with the U.S. Marshal's office, Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) is assigned to supervise captured drug couriers at airport customs -- a duty otherwise known as "dump detail." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An ex-mercenary (Tom Berenger) becomes a take-no-prisoners teacher in a drug-ridden, gang-infested Miami high school in this campy morality tale about restoring lost American virtues to the inner city. Berenger's character, Shale, has no first name, a shadowy past as a patriotic gun-for-hire, and is temporarily unemployed and living with an idealistic teacher, Jane Hetzko (Diane Verona). Jane has angered a school gang leader, Juan Lucas (Marc Anthony), by asking the principal to get him transferred after he has threatened her in the schoolyard. After Jane is kneecapped by a gang member, Shale fakes a resume and becomes a substitute teacher, Mr. Smith. He lectures his class on the lessons of Vietnam ("We were fighting Communism") while looking for a way to get revenge on Juan. When he challenges the school's tolerance for student misbehavior, Smith is fired by the slimy principal, Claude Rolle (Ernie Hudson), an ex-cop who is running for City Council and doesn't want to rock the boat. Shale stays because he cites a union rule requiring two weeks' notice. During that period, tensions escalate and eventually Shale intervenes in a gang war that degenerates into a school-destroying inferno of violence. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Berenger, Ernie Hudson, (more)
