David Marshall Grant

Lauren Weisberger's best-selling novel about a young woman who stumbles into the hectic worlds of high fashion and publishing comes to the big screen in this comedy. Andrea "Andy" Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is a bright young woman from the Midwest who has just graduated from college and wants to work as a magazine writer. Andy has applied for a job at "Runway," America's most prestigious fashion journal; though Andy has little to no interest in the garment trade, they are one of the only magazines in New York with a job opening -- second assistant to editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). As Andy quickly learns, Miranda is a diva with plenty of power within the magazine business and she isn't afraid to use it, and though Andy lands the job (primarily by being in the right place at the right time), she soon learns that working for Miranda could test the patience of a saint thanks to her endless demands and refusal to acknowledge the end of a work day. Andy struggles to hold on to the job and her sanity, knowing that a recommendation from Miranda can open nearly any door at any magazine, but can she handle the pressure without losing her mind along the way? The Devil Wears Prada also stars Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, and Adrian Grenier. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A powerful behind-the-scenes man in politics and show business finds himself skidding into a very public scandal in this taut drama. Eli Wurman (Al Pacino) was raised in the deep South, attended Harvard Law School, and has devoted his spare time to progressive political causes since working alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s. However, Wurman now makes his living as a press agent and PR man, and while he's near the top of his profession, years of overwork, constant smoking and drinking, and ceaseless tension are taking their toll, leaving him on the verge of collapse, with only the prescriptions of his friend Dr. Napier (Robert Klein) keeping him on his feet. One of Wurman's biggest clients is Cary Launer (Ryan O'Neal), a fading film star with political aspirations who, after attending a disastrous Broadway opening, asks Wurman to do him a big favor -- bail Launer's girlfriend, Jilli (Téa Leoni), out of jail and keep an eye on her. Wurman manages to get Jilli out of the stir, but she insists upon being escorted to an exclusive sex and opium den for a night of heavy drinking and drugging, and then reveals to Wurman that she owns a device which she's used to record footage of the most public figures who attend the club, including Elliott Sharansky, a billionaire Jewish civic leader (Richard Schiff). That night, a half out-of-it Eli accompanies Jilli back to her hotel room when an intruder barges in and forces an overdose on her, killing her instantly. The next morning, Wurman has only fuzzy memories of what transpired. He decides to focus on his attempts to set up a political fundraiser, but has a hard time getting the right A-list celebs to appear, just as many of New York's power brokers aren't especially interesting in working with Wurman or Launer. In the midst of this chaos, Victoria (Kim Basinger), who was married to Wurman's late brother, arrives in New York and urges him to leave the city and his career behind while he still can. People I Know was screened in competition at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Bob Hoskins stars as Manuel "Tony" Noriega, former leader of Panama, in this biographical comedy-drama about his improbable rise to power and inglorious fall. Abandoned by his parents at an early age, Noriega grew up fending for himself among the desperate poverty of Panama's slums. In search of a career, he joined the Panamanian Army, and rose through the ranks to become a powerful military leader. In time, Noriega became Panama's dictator, but the widespread corruption of his administration, his inability to tell the truth, and over-reliance on political assassination caused him to lose the support of the people, especially after the mutilated corpse Hugo Spadafora (Ivo Cutzardia), his chief political rival, is discovered in the jungle. Noriega also loses the support of Cuban leader Fidel Castro (Michael Sorich) when he enters into an agreement with a drug ring to refine cocaine in Panama, but then buckles under pressure from the U.S. government and destroys the processing plant. The CIA, who once regarded Noriega as a friendly ally in Latin America, have turned their back on him, and Vice President George Bush starts acting as though they never met. Even Noriega's wife Felicidad (Denise Blasor) and mistress Vicki (Rosa Blasi) seem to have given up on him. In a bid to save face, Noriega hires a public relations man (Richard Masur), who suggests that holding open elections might be a good idea. Noriega agrees, but then changes his mind when it becomes obvious that his candidates will loose. Beset by enemies on all sides and trying to flee American troops, Noriega hides out in the Vatican Embassy, where he confesses his sins as U.S. soldiers try to drive him out with loud music. Noriega: God's Favorite was produced for the Showtime premium cable network and directed by Roger Spottiswoode, who also helmed the James Bond adventure Tomorrow Never Dies. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Julie A. Lynch made her directorial debut with this low-budget indie, an AIDS drama set in 1992 NYC, where three women -- promiscuous artist Josie Ray (Christine Harnos), stand-up comic Jennifer Sharp (Brooke Smith), and MBA student Elaine Devlin (Amy Ryan) -- learn their old college chum Chris Goodman (Garret Dillahunt) is hospitalized with complications from HIV. Awaiting word, they drink, talk, and compare past sexual histories. As sexual secrets surface, Josie attempts to get together with her ex, Matt Devlin (Bill Sage), Elaine's brother. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

A bail bondsman is murdered, and the detectives subsequently haul in a likely perpetrator. Then, an offhand comment made by the suspect leads to irrefutable evidence that a disreputable attorney has been fixing cases for a price. Even more disturbing is the possibility that the attorney's accomplice is a "mole" working within the New York City legal system -- and maybe in the offices of the DA himself. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1966, University of Texas student Charles Whitman climbed to the top of the highest tower on campus armed with a high-powered rifle and proceeded to randomly shoot passerby below. A dozen innocent people died and twice that many were injured. As a black, scathing and at times hilarious political satire, The Delicate Art of the Rifle takes this event and twists it into something fresh and experimental, a narrative that criticizes the current notion of narrative by stripping facts of their historical context and placing them into an absurd realm punctuated by paranoia and arbitrary violence. Hailed by the filmmakers, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based film production company/ artist group the Cambrai Liberation Collection, as a "brazen art-house action-adventure," The Delicate Art of the Rifle is not an easy film, nor is it a perfect film, but those who stick with it will be rewarded with the rare opportunity to see a refreshingly intelligent bit of modern American cinema. The tale unfolds from the viewpoint of Jay, roommate of the sniper Walt Whitman. Jay is first seen after having spent a night on the catwalk of the campus theater. Below him, a group rehearses a "a post modernist fashion show version of Hamlet. Later that day, Jay and one of his professors, Dr. Boaz head out for coffee at Foucault Tower, a 27-story super dorm that contains everything a student might ever need or want. Unfortunately, before they arrive shots ring out and Boaz is killed along with many others. For some reason Jay remains unscathed. Suddenly he hears a disembodied voice from above. It is his best friend Walt. Not realizing that he is the killer, and thinking his friend is endangering himself, Jay rushes up the tower to save him. En route he meets a number of strange characters including a girl with a thing for frosting cup cakes, a psych major in dire need of sleep, and a band of computer dweebs lead by a demented hacker. Once atop Foucault, Jay listens while Walt spins an incredible tale of delusion, paranoia and despair involving a metaphysical virus that erases people from history. Believing it has already taken his girl friend, and realizing that he too has it, Walt makes one final request of Jay before the student swat team moves in for the final confrontation. The story itself ends on a mysterious, even cosmic note. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When a district attorney starts an investigation into corruption that leads her back to her own family--rife with police officers--she finds some decisions hard to make. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

A man undergoes a scientific experiment that causes him to wake up after 50 years without aging a day in this romantic science-fiction tale. In 1939, Daniel (Mel Gibson) is a test pilot who is brave in the air but lacks the nerve to ask his girlfriend Helen (Isabel Glasser) to marry him, even though he loves her deeply. When Helen is hit by a truck and is taken to the hospital in a coma, Daniel is despondent, and he approaches his best friend Harry (George Wendt). Harry is a scientific researcher working with the military who has been experimenting with cryogenic suspension; Daniel asks Harry to have him frozen for a year rather than go through the hell of waiting to see if Helen lives or dies. Harry reluctantly agrees, but after the pilot is put on ice, Harry's experiments are shut down, and Daniel is forgotten. In 1992, two young boys, Nat (Elijah Wood) and Felix (Robert Hy Gorman) are playing in an abandoned military warehouse and find a freezing unit. They open it and find Daniel, who before long is all thawed out and physically not much worse for wear. However, the world is a very different place than it was in 1939; the boys bring their discovery home, where their single mother Claire (Jamie Lee Curtis) looks after Daniel and helps him adjust to his new world. A friendship between them begins to grow into something deeper, until Daniel discovers that his beloved Helen is still alive. Forever Young also features Joe Morton, Rob Morrow, and Vanessa Williams. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this lively comedy, an African American yuppie rethinks life on the corporate fast-track after he falls in love with an ultra hip club promoter. Knowing that she finds him a total square, he seeks the advice of a swinging young mail boy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Breaking Point is a TV remake of the 1965 theatrical feature 36 Hours. Corbin Bernsen plays a wartime US intelligence officer, who carries within him secrets of the upcoming D-Day invasion. Captured by the Germans, Bernsen refuses to buckle under torture, and passes out. He wakes up in an American Army Hospital, where he is told that he's been in a coma for seven years; it's 1951, and the Allies have won the war. So why not reveal those D-Day secrets he so fiercely protected back in 1944? Bernsen suspects that something is amiss, as indeed there is: It is still June of 1944, and this "American Army hospital" is smack-dab in the middle of Nazi Germany. Polish actress Joanna Pacula co-stars as an enigmatic nurse, who may turn out to be Bernsen's staunchest ally--or his executioner. Breaking Point first aired over the TNT cable service on August 18, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Big Town is Chicago, circa 1957. Matt Dillon stars as a small-town crapshooter who heads to the Windy City to seek his fortune. There he becomes the pawn of two high-rolling professional gamblers, played by Lee Grant and Bruce Dern. He later gets mixed up in a revenge scheme cooked up by Diane Lane, the embittered wife of strip-joint owner Tommy Lee Jones. Before he knows what's happened, Dillon is embroiled in two torrid romances, one with Lane and the other with "nice" girl Suzy Amis; he also nearly loses his life by ending up in the middle of a deadly feud between Dern and Jones. Based on The Arm, a novel by Clark Howard, Big Town tends towards uneveness, a result perhaps of the defection of its first director, Harold Becker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide