Tom Mason Movies

Oscar-winning director Curtis Hanson (8 Mile, L.A. Confidential) adapts author Andrew Ross Sorkin's penetrating expose of the 2008 Wall Street financial crisis in this made-for-HBO docudrama featuring an all-star cast. As the U.S. economy hits the skids, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (William Hurt) finds himself caught up in a critical battle of wills between the key players on Wall Street, and the powers that be in Washington, D.C. With just weeks to go before the country plunges into the most devastating financial crash since the Great Depression, the powerbrokers on both sides scramble to pull the failing economy back from the brink of disaster. Ed Asner, Billy Crudup, Paul Giamatti, Cynthia Nixon, James Woods, Tony Shalhoub, and Topher Grace co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A family struggles to keep their business afloat as they're dogged by personal crises in this drama from writer and director Kevin Jordan. Frank Giorgio (Danny Aiello) is the owner of Giorgio's Lobster Farm, a seafood shop in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn. The store has been in the Giorgio family for generations, and Frank, who takes enormous pride in Giorgio's, has had ambitions of expanding the business by adding on a restaurant. However, the bank has called in the loan Frank took out to build the dining room during a business downturn, and he goes through a series of both funny and desperate efforts to keep the wolf from the door. Meanwhile, Frank's grown children -- son Michael (Daniel Sauli) and daughter Lauren (Marisa Ryan) -- are torn between their desire to help their father, their mixed feelings about the man who put his business ahead of his family while they were growing up, and the knowledge that he's too proud to accept their assistance. As the familial tensions mount, Frank's marriage to Maureen (Jane Curtin) has begun to collapse, as her love for her husband is outweighed by her desire to move on. Produced in part by Martin Scorsese, Brooklyn Lobster was a personal project for Kevin Jordan, whose own father owned a lobster business which was suffering severe financial problems when he began the film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In August, 2001, the Summer X Games came to the city of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and some of the world's greatest extreme athletes arrived to show off their skills in motocross, BMX, skateboarding, street luge, and many other events. Ultimate X is a documentary (produced by the ESPN cable network) which collects exciting highlights from the X Games competition, with Buckey Laskek, Bob Burnquist, Dave Mirra, T.J. Lavin, Brian Deegan, and many others giving their all to prove who's the best. The film also includes a cutting edge soundtrack, featuring music from Pennywise, P.O.D., and much more. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The unusually stark and somber opening credits indicate that this is going to be a particularly powerful and hard-hitting episode. Finally coming to the realization that Bailey's drinking is completely out of control, the rest of the Salinger family, backed up by Grace (Tamara Taylor) and Sarah (Jennifer Love Hewitt), decide that it is time for showdown. Despite their combined efforts, Bailey (Scott Wolf) not only refuses to join Alcoholics Anonymous, but he also insists that he doesn't have a problem--and when they press the issue, he lets loose a devastating barrage of cruel and hateful counter-accusations. With no other option, the family gives Bailey an ultimatum: either shape up, or ship out...permanently. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While out of town to watch Claudia (Lacey Chabert) rehearse for a concert, Bailey (Scott Wolf) is seized with the overwhelming urge to start drinking again. Back at home, Grace (Tamara Taylor) thinks that she's prengant--and Charlie (Matthew Fox) is disappointed when it turns out that she isn't, nor does she ever want to be. And while driving to Nevada with Julia (Neve Campbell), Griffin (Jeremy London) makes a snap decision that will profoundly change both their lives. This episode marks the final appearance of Alexondra Lee as Callie. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jessica (Angela Lansbury) and Seth (William Windom) are invited to the South Carolina plantation owned by Seth's cousin, a wealthy botanist. The visit becomes somewhat less than pleasant when the cousin turns up murdered. Evidently there are several people who would have benefited from this death, but the clues aren't quite so plentiful--but as always, Jessica needs only one or two clues to tighten the noose around the guilty party's neck. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi