Richard Habersham Movies
Director/co-writer Mike Cahill (Boxers + Ballerinas) teams with producer/co-writer Brit Marling to challenge our concepts of reality and redemption with this romantic sci-fi drama about a radiant astrophysics student who endeavors to travel to Earth 2, a newly discovered mirror of our own home planet. Rhoda Williams (Marling) was driving in her car and listening to the radio when the DJ announced the discovery of Earth 2, which had just appeared from the other side of the sun. Gazing out her window at the newly discovered planet, Rhoda neglectfully careens into a minivan carrying a small family. Everyone but the father is killed instantly, and Rhoda is sentenced to four years in prison. Upon emerging, the repentant reckless driver finds herself drawn to the lone survivor. Meanwhile, Rhoda learns of an essay contest to win a seat on a civilian space shuttle to Earth 2. Perhaps, on that strangely familiar planet, an alternate version of herself exists -- one that has made different choices, and followed a different life path. The only way she will ever find out is to win the contest and secure her seat on a ride into the great unknown. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brit Marling, Matthew-Lee Erlbach, (more)
- 1991
- R
Flamboyant Broadway renaissance man Peter Sellars was the director of The Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez. This freewheeling musical horror spoof isn't meant to be taken seriously, so don't be fooled by those Karloffian trappings. Ron Vawter plays the title character for all it's worth. He has to, with such formidable competition as Joan Cusack, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Werner Klemperer, the latter cast as "Fat Man Searching for a Tax Break." There's also a "Beaver Gourmet" in the cast of characters, which should clue you in as to the level of subtlety here. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mikhail Baryshnikov, Joan Cusack, (more)
The Long Walk Home is a recreation of a troubled era in American history. The time is 1955; the place, Montgomery, Alabama. When Rosa Parks, an African American woman, is arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man, it is the first volley in the great Bus Boycott, organized by Dr. Martin Luther King in order to desegregate the Birmingham transportation system. The boycott is a decided inconvenience for Miriam Thompson (Sissy Spacek), a well-to-do white woman. Now, Miriam must drive to the black section of town to pick up her maid Odessa Cotter (Whoopi Goldberg) and bring her to work. Outside of her own social circle, Miriam realizes for the first time just how privileged, sheltered and self-centered her life has been. What brings this fact home is the realization that Odessa has literally been raising two families: the Thompsons' and her own. Odessa has also sacrificed her own health and wellbeing to serve her employers without question or complaint. Awakened to the true inequities of "Separate But Equal", and impressed by Dr. King's edict of nonviolent resistance, Miriam joins the boycott. This stirs up the racist feelings harbored by Miriam's husband Norman (Dwight Schultz), who at the behest of his goonish brother Tunker (Dylan Baker) joins the Klanlike White Citizen's Council. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sissy Spacek, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
Director Spike Lee dives head-first into a maelstrom of racial and social ills, using as his springboard the hottest day of the year on one block in Brooklyn, NY. Three businesses dominate the block: a storefront radio station, where a smooth-talkin' deejay (Samuel L. Jackson) spins the platters that matter; a convenience store owned by a Korean couple; and Sal's Famous Pizzeria, the only white-operated business in the neighborhood. Sal (Danny Aiello) serves up slices with his two sons, genial Vito (Richard Edson) and angry, racist Pino (John Turturro). Sal has one black employee, Mookie (Spike Lee), who wants to "get paid" but lacks ambition. His sister Jade (Joie Lee, Spike's sister), who has a greater sense of purpose and a "real" job, wants Mookie to start dealing with his responsibilities, most notably his son with girlfriend Tina (Rosie Perez). Two of Mookie's best friends are Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), a monolith of a man who rarely speaks, preferring to blast Public Enemy's rap song Fight The Power on his massive boom box; and Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito), nicknamed for his coke-bottle glasses and habit of losing his cool. When Buggin' Out notes that Sal's "Wall of Fame," a photo gallery of famous Italian-Americans, includes no people of color, he eventually demands a neighborhood boycott, on a day when tensions are already running high, that incurs tragic consequences. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Danny Aiello, Spike Lee, (more)
- 1988
This independently produced black-and-white feature records the evolution of the central relationship in the protagonist's life. Pat is a white boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1930s, and his best buddy is Jake, who is black. As they grow older, various events of their lives punch holes into Pat's optimism and sense of faith in the future, but the final blow to his hopes is the death of his old friend Jake while on his way to a baseball tryout in the segregated South. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kim Delgado
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.