Rick Azulay Movies
A high-school-aged Eastern European immigrant finds that life in a new land can have its fair share of difficulties in writer/director Mari Marchbanks's inspiring tale of interconnecting lives. Alexei is a Georgian who moves to the U.S., with his family in tow and the intention of building a new life. Unfortunately, he is only able to land a job as a day laborer. Kristofer hopes to make it as a basketball star and is just looking to find his footing on the court and in the classroom, a task made ever more difficult due to the family's dire financial situation. He develops an enduring crush on the girl next door, Sarah, and though her life is fraught with complications, it seems that Kristofer may be able to turn her around. As the troubled lives in the story crisscross, the characters' intersections and interactions ironically generate hope and shared compassion for one another. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kira Pozehl, Gabriel Luna, (more)
Poltergeist-purger Zelda Rubinstein toplines this interesting, twisty psycho-thriller from Spain, which makes clever (though repetitive) use of its movie-within-a-movie premise. As the star of the horror film "The Mommy," Rubinstein plays a mother who hypnotizes her son (Michael Lerner) into seeking more victims to supply her growing collection of human eyeballs. "The Mommy" seems also to exert a weird hypnotic effect on the audience watching it, particularly one impressionable fellow who mirrors Lerner's actions by stalking fellow movie patrons... just as the onscreen murderer is entering a movie theater to do the same thing. If this sounds confusing, that's probably because it is. The interesting premise wears thin about halfway through, with the relentless attempts at viewer disorientation becoming more tiresome than frightening. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zelda Rubinstein, Michael Lerner, (more)
- 1986
- R
A successful architect (Jenny Agutter) is in the middle of a large building project, but a series of murders among the construction crew disrupts her plans. She gradually realizes that the unseen force is actually the ghost of her long-dead husband. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Moriarty, Jenny Agutter, (more)
Based on the best-selling novel by George V. Higgins, The Friends of Eddie Coyle chronicles the last days of a weary Boston-based weapons dealer. Eddie Coyle (Robert Mitchum) doesn't want to serve a life sentence in prison, so he becomes an informant for both the police and the treasury department. Coyle is likewise unwilling to give up his lifestyle, thus he continues his illegal gun-running operation for the underworld. The mob becomes aware that Eddie is squealing to the cops, so they send his best friend, Dillon (Peter Boyle), to rub him out. Dillon compassionately takes Eddie out on the town, treating him to dinner and a hockey game...then drives to a deserted field to carry out his orders. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, (more)
