John C. Pattison Movies

The Fast and the Furious (2001) screenwriter David Ayer follows up that fast-paced action hit with this gritty cop drama from director Antoine Fuqua. Ethan Hawke stars as Jake Hoyt, a fresh-faced Los Angeles Police Department rookie anxious to join the elite narcotics squad headed up by 13-year veteran Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington). Harris has agreed to give Hoyt a shot at joining his team with a one-day ride-along during which Hoyt must prove his mettle. As the day wears on, however, it becomes increasingly clear to the greenhorn that his experienced mentor has blurred the line between right and wrong to an alarming degree, enforcing his own morally compromised code of ethics and street justice. As he struggles with his conscience, an increasingly alarmed Hoyt begins to suspect that he's not really being given an audition at all; he's being set up as the fall guy in an elaborate scheme. Training Day co-stars Tom Berenger, Scott Glenn, and recording artists Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Macy Gray. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

An aspiring musician becomes one of the most famous bartenders in New York in this high-spirited comedy-drama. Small-town girl Violet Sanford (Piper Perabo) dreams of making a name for herself as a singer and songwriter, so she moves to New York City in hopes of landing her big break. Needing to support herself until stardom rolls around, she takes a job as a barmaid at a new nightspot called Coyote Ugly, where the owner Lil (Maria Bello) and the staff of attractive young women dance on the bar, flirt with the mostly male clientele, sing along with the jukebox, and goad the customers into matching them shot for shot. Soon, local media pick up on the bar's success, turning the staff into unexpected celebrities, a situation that presents its own set of problems. Coyote Ugly also stars John Goodman as Violet's straight-laced father, Adam Garcia as a customer Violet becomes involved with, and Tyra Banks, Melanie Lynskey, Bridget Moynahan, and Izabella Miko as the barmaids; action-film titan Jerry Bruckheimer produced. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News) directed this $50 million-plus romantic comedy, set in Manhattan. Dysfunctional, acid-tongued romance novelist Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson), who suffers from an obsessive-compulsive disorder, takes pride in his ability to offend. At a nearby cafe, the only waitress willing to stand up to his sarcastic tirades is Carol Connelly (Helen Hunt), a single mother struggling to raise her chronically asthmatic son. In Melvin's West Village apartment building, talented contemporary artist Simon Nye (Greg Kinnear) lives across the hall from Melvin. Simon is the current darling of the New York art world, reason enough to draw Melvin's verbal fire, but Simon's gay lifestyle is further grist for the novelist's malicious mill. These three New Yorkers, none of whom appears to have a chance in hell at finding true happiness, discover their fates intertwined because of the fourth complicated character in the piece, Verdell, a tiny Brussels Griffon dog (played by newcomer Jill, after a 15-week training program). Melvin seems to have no friends or family, and he lives alone, working on his 62nd book.

When Simon goes into the hospital after a brutal mugging, Melvin has to take care of Verdell, and the dog actually warms Melvin's cold heart -- to the degree that he sets up unsolicited medical care for Carol's son. Eventually, Melvin is cornered into driving Simon and Carol to Baltimore, and during a hotel stopover, Melvin confesses to Carol, "You make me want to be a better man." The trip becomes an odyssey of self-realization for all three. Locations included Brooklyn's Prospect Park (Carol's neighborhood) and Greenwich Village (where Melvin's building is on 12th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues). Other exteriors were shot in downtown Los Angeles, where a dilapidated transient hotel at the corner of 4th Street and Main was transformed into the chic cafe where Carol works. Sets for the Simon/Melvin apartment interiors were erected on a soundstage at the Sony Pictures lot. Simon's paintings were created for the film by New York artist Billy Sullivan, whose work is part of the modern art collection at NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

In this humorous Western, Aussie Paul Hogan plays a cowboy running from the law. Lightning Jack Kane is a member of the notorious Younger Brother gang. He is the only member to survive their last shoot-out. Fortunately, he was only a minor member of the gang and escapes notice. Jack decides to rob a bank. He gets away with a small amount of cash and a mute, Ben, as a hostage. Unfortunately for Jack, Ben wants to be an outlaw so Jack is stuck with him. Eventually the two become grudging friends. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide