Lee Daniels Movies

Amy Adams stars as iconic singer Janis Joplin in this Lee Daniels biopic, written by Ron and Theresa Kounin-Terry. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

A man (John Cusack) convicted of killing a seedy sheriff is given a new life when a female pen pal (Nicole Kidman) enlists the aid of two journalists to try and get him off death row. Precious' Lee Daniels adapts Pete Dexter's novel. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Two brothers set out in search of their estranged father in this road-bound family drama produced by Lee Daniels (Monster's Ball) and starring singer Mariah Carey. As siblings, Carter (Adam Rothenberg) and Ellis (Ethan Peck) never saw eye to eye. Now Ellis has been diagnosed with leukemia, and his only hope for survival is to track down their estranged father, who lives in Tennessee. Putting their differences aside for the time being, Carter agrees to join Ellis, and together the two siblings decide to hitchhike their way across the country. Along the way, Carter and Ellis cross paths with a waitress named Krystal (Carey), who has put her lifelong dream of becoming a singer on hold for far too long. Somewhere on the road to Tennessee, all three will discover the true power of hope, and the importance of family in times of need. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The Tschirn brothers have their share of problems. Middle brother Hans-Jörg (Moritz Bleibtreu of Run Lola Run) is a librarian who neglects his duties in order to ogle every attractive woman that enters his workplace. His clumsy efforts to make conversation with them go nowhere. He takes his fetishistic peeping a step further, following women into the ladies room so he can sit in the next stall and pleasure himself while he spies on them. Older brother Werner (Herbert Knaup), a successful Green Party politico, would seem to be a bit more together, but his home life is in shambles. His wife, Signe (Katja Riemann of Rosenstrasse), no longer responds to his marital advances, and seems to have an unhealthily intimate relationship with their rebellious teenage son, Ralf (Tom Schilling), who spends much of his time trying to videotape his father's every embarrassment. Younger brother Martin has had a sex change and become Agnes (Martin Weiss). Agnes is a good-natured person, but profoundly unhappy, perhaps stemming from his unfulfilled relationship with an American fashion designer (played by Monster's Ball producer Lee Daniels in a cameo). But Hans-Jörg blames all of their problems on their father, Günther (Vadim Glowna), and can't even bring himself to visit the old man. Agnes and His Brothers, written and directed by Oskar Roehler, was selected by the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center for inclusion in the 2005 edition of New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Director Marc Forster, winner of Best Feature at Slamdance for his debut film Loungers (1996) and the "Someone to Watch" Independent Spirit Award for his indie drama Everything Put Together (2000), follows up those acclaimed projects with this intense, racially charged romance. Billy Bob Thornton stars as Georgia prison guard Hank Grotowski, a hard-drinking racist ex-cop whose father, Buck (Peter Boyle), is dying of emphysema and whose son, Sonny (Heath Ledger), works the execution detail at the prison's death row. When Sonny commits suicide, Hank is devastated and quits his job, spiraling into a deep depression until, one night, he comes to the aid of Leticia (Halle Berry), a beautiful African-American woman whose son, Tyrell (Coronji Calhoun), has been hit by a car. When Tyrell dies, Leticia and Hank find themselves to be unexpected soul mates linked together by tragic grief. It's not long before Hank discovers that Leticia is the widow of Lawrence Musgrove (Sean Combs), the man whose execution by electric chair he and his late son helped to orchestrate. Monster's Ball (2001) is based on a screenplay by actors Milo Addica and Will Rokos, who spent five years developing their script into a feature. Their title refers to the name of an English tradition requiring jailers to throw a party for a condemned man on the night before his death. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi