Mike Kaplan Movies
This documentary traces a pair of extremely loyal Boston Red Sox fans as they get caught up in the emotion of another season for Beantown's baseball heroes. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2007
When asked by the Edinburgh Film Festival to say a few short words about his late friend and colleague, the director Lindsay Anderson, Malcolm McDowell went a step further, crafting a warm, witty one-man monologue that ran for weeks in the UK. Director Mike Kaplan films McDowell's reminiscences and intercuts them with a wealth of archival, behind-the-scenes footage from such Anderson films as If, O Lucky Man and This Sporting Life. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malcolm McDowell
For I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, director Mike Hodges re-teams with Trevor Preston, the respected British television writer with whom he made a series of documentaries for ITV back in the 1960s. The film also brings the director together again with actor Clive Owen, the star of his previous film, Croupier, which signaled Hodges' resurgence. Owen plays Will Graham, a former London gangster who moved out to the country after suffering a breakdown of some sort. Will works clearing forests, and lives out of his van, until he loses his job over a lack of proper documentation. Meanwhile, Will's younger brother, Davey, is enjoying his life as a womanizing man about town, and dabbling in drug dealing, until one night, when an older man, Boad (Malcolm McDowell), has him followed and brutally assaults him. The traumatized Davey returns home and takes his own life. Will, uncertain as to where to go, finds himself drawn back to London, where he learns of Davey's death from Mrs. Barz (Sylvia Syms), his landlady. Will investigates what happened that night with his old friend, Mickser (Jamie Foreman). As Will tries to piece together what happened, he goes to visit Helen (Charlotte Rampling), his former lover, who is less than thrilled to see him after he abandoned her years earlier and eventually cut off all contact. The current neighborhood crime boss, Turner (Ken Stott), knows what Will is capable of, and sees him as a threat. Eventually, Will uncovers the truth, and is faced with the unpleasant prospect of avenging Davey's death. Screenwriter Preston took the title for the film from a sardonic song by the late Warren Zevon. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clive Owen, Charlotte Rampling, (more)
- 1994
This documentary takes the viewer behind the scenes of the making of the Robert Altman film Shortcuts. Based on a collection of short stories by Raymond Carver, the movie chronicles the triumphs and failures of ordinary people. The documentary presents interviews with the cast, the director, and widow of the author for insights into the film's themes and characterizations. Interspersed are clips from the movie itself, which illustrate the points made by those involved in the making of the movie. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, All Movie Guide
A once-in-a-lifetime cast of veterans performs David Berry's play about Libby Strong (Bette Davis) and Sarah Webber (Lillian Gish), widowed sisters vacationing on a Philadelphia island for their 60th consecutive summer. Libby is blind and embittered, while Sarah is healthy, supportive, and almost annoyingly chipper. Their neighbor Tisha (Ann Sothern) tries to convince Sarah to put Libby in the care of her daughter, but Sarah hasn't forgotten Libby's moral support when her own husband died, and she won't entertain such notions -- until she is swept off her feet by an aging roué (Vincent Price). When Libby spitefully sabotages this romance, an infuriated Sarah decides that gratitude has its limits. But when it actually comes down to selling their summer house and sending Libby packing, Sarah can't do it. In the film's flashback sequences, Libby is played by Margaret Ladd, Sarah by Mary Steenburgen, and Tisha by Ann Sothern's real-life daughter Tisha Sterling. Another film personality of long standing, Harry Carey Jr., is well cast as the sisters' handyman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, (more)
