Sean Patrick Murphy Movies
The directorial debut from Jason Reitman, the media satire Thank You for Smoking stars Aaron Eckhart as Nick, a man who has turned spinning news and information into a successful career for the tobacco lobby. He plots strategies with his colleagues (Maria Bello and David Koechner) on how to make other dangerous products more appealing to the American public. Nick ends up going to Hollywood with his young son (Cameron Bright) in order to get a movie producer to include characters smoking in his newest film. Nick is kidnapped by a vigilante group concerned about the harmful nature of his product. The cast includes William H. Macy as a Senator who runs on a strong anti-tobacco position, Rob Lowe as the Hollywood bigwig, and Robert Duvall as the king of the tobacco industry. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Christopher Buckley. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, (more)
After an unnerving brush with death, a filmmaker finds that his ordeal isn't quite over in this modestly budgeted horror movie. Tom Kempton (Alex McArthur) is a successful animator who wants to get away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood for a while. He joins several friends for a vacation in Northern Michigan, where they rent snowmobiles to make the most of the snowy winter weather. Kempton gets separated from his friends while exploring the slopes and soon finds himself lost; looking for shelter, he takes refuge in a small cabin, only to discover it's inhabited by Vanessa Boulette (Laura Esterman) and her sister Ann (Sage Allen), a pair of elderly siblings with a feeble hold on reality and a taste for human flesh. Captured and tortured by the Boulette sisters, Kempton is saved at the last minute, but the experience makes a deep impression on him and he uses his fearsome experience as the basis for his next project. Even though Kempton has been reassured that the Boulette sisters died in their showdown with the authorities, he's convinced the threat isn't gone, and it turns out he's right -- one of the sisters had a bastard daughter which was put up for adoption, and her son now displays many of the same psychotic tendencies as his grandmother. Suspended Animation marked a return to the horror genre for director John D. Hancock, who in 1971 made the cult favorite Let's Scare Jessica to Death. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 2001
One family's dysfunctional nature begins to rise to the surface in this independent drama. The Sabistan family would appear to have it made; Earl (Robert Pine) and Jane (Janet Carroll) have had a long and seemingly happy marriage, and their three grown daughters -- Beth (Kellie Martin), Missy (Amy Raymond), and Faran (Kayren Ann Butler) -- have found success in their respective careers. But when they all gather together to celebrate Thanksgiving, Earl drops a bombshell on his family; he announces he's no longer happy with Jane and has decided to file for divorce. The surprise announcement forces Jane to reveal a secret of her own -- that she's developed a serious drinking problem. As Beth tries to make sense of all this, she discovers that her sisters have been keeping quiet about problems of their own; Missy's marriage to Todd (Jeff Robert Werner) is falling apart now that he's no longer attracted to her, and Faran has reason to believe that her spouse Roger (Chris Shea) is having an affair. All You Need was the first feature for director Randy Ser. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kellie Martin, Janet Carroll, (more)
- 2001
Four twentysomethings map out a bold but very risky plan to change their lives in this independent drama. Trevor Logan (Ethan Embry), Alec Nichols (Peter Facinelli), Casey Shepard (Scott Foley), and Samantha Parkes (Charlotte Ayanna) are four close friends who met while they were all attending college in Eugene, OR. Trevor is an aspiring musician and actor, Alec aspires to a career in finance and isn't above bending the rules to get what he wants, Casey is the son of bohemian parents who has a fondness for travel and a desire to teach kids, and Samantha has rejected her father's workaholic ways and hopes to make a career out of community service. After graduating, the four friends move to Los Angeles, but they discover that life in the real world is a good bit harder than they ever expected. As all four experience their own frustrations and setbacks as they try to make a place for themselves in the world of work, Alec comes up with a daring but dangerous plan to gain financial independence for life -- robbing a bank. Rennie's Landing was screened in competition at the 2001 Seattle Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Facinelli, Ethan Embry, (more)
