Alain de la Mata Movies
- 2010
- NR
A young man discovers how hard it can be to live down the reputation your family sets for you in this powerful drama. It's 1972, and John McGill (Gregg Forrest) has just completed grade school in Glasgow. John received excellent marks and has high hopes for middle school. However, his older brother Benny (Joe Szula) is well remembered at the school as a troublemaker and the leader of a youth gang, so John finds his teachers have low expectations of him, and offer him few opportunities to prove them wrong. When John is rejected by one of his new friends, Julian (Martin Bell), because his mother believes John is beneath their station, he finds some much needed respect in the company of Fergie (John Joe Hay), a gang leader who knows of Benny's fearsome reputation. Within two years, John (now played by Conor McCarron) has transformed himself into a "NED" -- "non-educated delinquent" in the school system's lingo -- and has exceeded his teachers' worst expectations of him. John has become enough of a thug to even put fear in the heart of his father, an unstable alcoholic with a propensity for violence. NEDS was written and directed by actor turned filmmaker Peter Mullan, who also plays John's father. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Conor McCarron, Peter Mullan, (more)
Director Gerardo Naranjo transplants the myth of the last romantic couple to upper middle-class Mexico City with this vital and hectic tale of a young couple who throw caution to the wind and set out in search of their true fate. Román is the son of a contemptible, right-leaning congressman. Recently enrolled in a new high school, the rebellious teen clumsily attempts to hang himself on-stage at the big talent show. Maru is the sole member of the audience to applaud, earning both students a day of detention. After bonding during the course of their punishment, Román and Maru grab daddy's gun, steal a Volkswagen, and hit the road bound for nowhere. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maria Deschamps, Juan Pablo De Santiago, (more)
Three friends are reunited as their lives become increasingly desperate and dysfunctional in this independent drama. Bill (Dylan Baker) is a lonely middle-aged man who works as a night janitor in a large office building; he keeps himself company at work by listening to opera, and as he tries to sleep through the day he obsessively listens to a self-help tape that teaches "lucid dreaming." One of the men working Bill's building is Gary (Timothy Hutton), who has a habit of falling asleep at his desk rather than go home to deal with his loveless marriage to Karen (Sharon Stone), who is convinced she's losing her looks and turns to shoplifting for comfort. Even though Gary bullied Bill when they were in high school together, when they meet by chance at the office one night Gary is thrilled to see him, and suggests they get together with another fellow classmate, Travis (Pruitt Taylor Vince). However, as they spend time together, the three men are only reminded of their emotional isolation, and how their lives have not turned out as they dreamed. When A Man Falls In The Forest was produced in part by co-star Sharon Stone; the film received its American premiere at the 2007 South By Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dylan Baker, Stacie Bono, (more)
- 2004
- R
- Add The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things to Queue Add The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things to top of Queue
Actress and filmmaker Asia Argento directed this faithful screen adaptation of the fictional J.T. Leroy's fictional memoir, which documents a boy's truly harrowing road to adulthood. Jeremiah (Jimmy Bennett) is the seven-year-old son of Sarah (Asia Argento), an unstable and unwed mother who abandoned her son and left him to be raised by foster parents. Jeremiah has come to love his guardians, and is devastated when Sarah arrives at their doorstep, demanding her child back. Threatening Jeremiah with torture if he tries to run away, Sarah introduces her young son to drugs and encourages her one-night-stand paramours to help "discipline" her son when she feels his behavior is inappropriate. Sarah marries a man named Emerson (Jeremy Renner), but abandons him shortly afterward; Emerson responds by molesting Jeremiah, and soon the child is left in the care of his grandparents (Peter Fonda and Ornella Muti), members of a fundamentalist Christian sect which emphasizes child discipline that's strict to the point of abuse. After three years, Sarah returns with a new husband, Kenny (Matt Schulze), and takes Jeremiah (now played by Dylan Sprouse and Cole Sprouse) with her; Kenny spends most of his time on the road as a trucker, and Sarah supports the family at home as a stripper and a prostitute. Sarah also begins dressing her son is girl's clothing, which excites the perverse appetites of Sarah's latest boyfriend, Jackson (Marilyn Manson); she soon leaves Jackson and pairs off with Chester (Jeremy Sisto), a biker with a dangerous way of making a living. The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things premiered at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the "Directors Fortnight" series. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Asia Argento, Jimmy Bennett, (more)
Directed by Lou Ye, Zi Hudie revolves around the underground faction of anti-Nipponese fighters in 1930s Shanghai, just prior to the onset of the Sino-Japanese war. It's only the beginning when Cynthia (Zhang Ziyi), a young Chinese woman, learns the news of her lover Itami's (Toru Nakamura) rapidly approaching return to the military. In a second and even more devastating blow, Cynthia's brother, a contributor to an anti-Japanese newspaper, is killed by a Japanese activist. Three years later, switchboard operator Tang Yiling (Li Bingbing) and Situ (Liu Ye), her fiancé, are introduced to Cynthia after inadvertently heading into a protest held by a resistance group code-named Purple Butterfly, of which Cynthia (who has since changed her name to Ding Hui) has become a part. Ultimately, a botched assassination attempt leaves Situ with a mysterious briefcase; now a suspect himself, Situ is arrested by none other than Itami, who, after reuniting with his old flame, has no idea of her role in a complicit plan to have his boss (Kin Ei) assassinated. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- Zhang Ziyi, Liu Ye, (more)
Canadian filmmaker Scott Smith directs the black comedy Falling Angels, based on the novel by Barbara Gowdy and adapted for the screen by poet and author Esta Spalding. Set in the late '60s and filmed on-location in Saskatchewan, this dark family drama focuses on the three teenaged daughters of the Field household. Callum Keith Rennie plays Jim Field, the loud-mouthed, domineering patriarch who has intimidated his wife Mary (Miranda Richardson) into a catatonic state of alcoholism and depression. Norma (Monté Gagné) is the oldest, most responsible daughter; she is overburdened and preoccupied by events from the past. Middle child Lou (Katharine Isabelle) chooses the rebellious path in order to escape her father's unreasonable demands. Youngest daughter Sandy (Kristin Adams) aspires to maximum femininity, engaging in an affair with an older, married man (Mark McKinney) in the process. Falling Angels was shown at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Miranda Richardson, Callum Keith Rennie, (more)
Victor (Victor Rasuk), a horny teenager living on Manhattan's Lower East Side, has an afternoon rendezvous with a girl known as "Fat Donna" (Donna Maldonado). When his sister, Vicki (Krystal Rodriguez), finds out about it, she spreads word throughout the neighborhood, severely damaging what Victor thinks is his reputation. Then he and his best friend, Harold (Kevin Rivera) visit the public pool, where Victor spots the lovely Judy (Judy Marte), known locally as "Juicy Judy," and he decides to salvage his good name by pursuing her. While Judy is standoffish, Harold has better luck with her friend, Melonie (Melonie Diaz of Double Whammy). Judy's shy younger brother, Carlos (Wilfree Vasquez) agrees to help Victor get close to Judy if Victor will introduce him to Vicki. As Victor clumsily, but doggedly pursues her, Judy decides to let Victor think he's her boyfriend, in the hope that his presence will discourage neighborhood boys from harassing her all the time. Victor's strict grandmother (Altagracia Guzman) is furious when she learns that Victor introduced Vicki to a boy, and she also worries about his influence on his goody-two-shoes younger brother, Nino (Rasuk's real-life brother Silvestre). Writer/director Peter Sollett's feature debut is an expansion of his original short, Five Feet High and Rising, which featured many of the same actors. Sollett had his mostly non-professional cast improvise much of their dialogue. Raising Victor Vargas was shot by Tim Orr, who also lensed David Gordon Green's feature debut, George Washington. Raising Victor Vargas was shown at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and at New Directors/New Films. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Victor Rasuk, Judy Marte, (more)
Love Liza is a psychological drama about a man trying to come to terms with his wife's suicide. Wilson Joel (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is searching for answers as to why his wife, Liza, killed herself. He is unable to bring himself to read the suicide note Liza left behind. Instead of facing his demons, Wilson becomes addicted to sniffing gasoline. Kathy Bates co-stars as Liza's mother. This film was written by the star's brother Gordy Hoffman, and directed by newcomer Todd Louiso. Love Liza was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Bates, (more)
A crystal-meth addict struggles to get his next fix as he obsesses over a recent breakup in Spun, a black-comic drug drama from music video director Jonas Akerlund. Rushmore's Jason Schwartzman stars as Ross, a young man who finds his maniacal world crumbling around him over the course of one long weekend. Spun chronicles Ross' travails as he tries to score from his regular dealer, Spider Mike (John Leguizamo), who realizes during Ross' visit that he's misplaced his stash. Indisposed by the frantic drug search, Spider Mike's girlfriend, Cookie (Mena Suvari), enlists Ross to pick up her stripper friend Nikki (Brittany Murphy) from work, and when he grudgingly agrees, he learns that Nikki might have an inside line on some of her own speed, courtesy of The Cook (Mickey Rourke). Meanwhile, two bumbling cops are onto Spider Mike's trail, and in his paranoid-delusional state, he sets out to find out who set him up. Spun premiered at the 2002 CineVegas Film Festival before securing berths at the Sundance, Toronto, and South by Southwest festivals. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jason Schwartzman, John Leguizamo, (more)
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.