Peter Pastorelli Movies
Bart got a room -- a hotel room -- and he's booked it for senior prom night. Though the title character of Bart Got a Room only appears in one brief scene towards the end of the film, it's his uber-geek specter that hangs over writer-director Brian Hecker's comedy, a semi-autobiographical ode to teenage angst. The plot is centered on the hopelessly dateless Danny (Steven Kaplan), a gawky band nerd who must decide between taking his best friend, Camille (Alia Shawkat), to the prom, and attempting to woo the date of his dreams, a pretty blonde cheerleader. Along the way he endures derision and peer pressure from friends, as well as uncomfortably frank advice from his divorced parents, played by Cheryl Hines and William H. Macy. Set in the geriatric environs of terminally sunny south Florida, Danny's world offers constant reminders of the road he's headed down should he not solidify this one life-defining event: Macy's Ernie grapples with loneliness by seeking women in chat rooms, while Hines's Beth sees relationships as a shortcut to financial security. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William H. Macy, Cheryl Hines, (more)
- 2008
- R
Some of the world's most-respected directors align forces to pay tribute to the city of the New York in this unconventional omnibus sister film to 2006's Paris, Je T'Aime. Broken into short segments, New York, I Love You is comprised of ten films, most choosing to take a down-to-earth approach to the stories of the countless lives lived in the city on a given day. The segments are as follows, chronologically:
Segment 1 -- Directed by Jiang Wen; written by Hu Hong and Meng Yao; starring Hayden Christensen, Andy Garcia, and Rachel Bilson.
Segment 2 -- Directed by Mira Nair; written by Suketu Mehta; starring Natalie Portman and Irfan Khan.
Segment 3 -- Written and directed by Shunji Iwai; adaptation by Israel Horovitz. Starring Orlando Bloom and Christina Ricci.
Segment 4 -- Directed by Yvan Attal; written by Olivier Lécot and Yvan Attal; starring Robin Wright Penn, Ethan Hawke, Maggie Q, and Chris Cooper.
Segment 5 -- Directed by Brett Ratner; written by Jeff Nathanson; starring Anton Yelchin, James Caan, Olivia Thirlby, and Blake Lively
Segment 6 -- Directed by Allen Hughes; written by Xan Cassavetes and Stephen Winter; starring Drea de Matteo and Bradley Cooper.
Segment 7 -- Directed by Shekhar Kapur; written by Anthony Minghella; starring Julie Christie, John Hurt, and Shia LaBeouf.
Segment 8 -- Written and directed by Natalie Portman; starring Taylor Geare, Carlos Acosta, and Jacinda Barrett.
Segment 9 -- Written and directed by Fatih Akin; starring Burt Young, Ugur Yucel, and Shu Qi.
Segment 10 -- Written and directed by Joshua Marston; starring Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman.
Transitions in between segments -- Directed by Randall Balsmeyer; written by Israel Horovitz, James Strouse, and Hall Powell; starring Emilie Ohana, Eva Amurri, and Justin Bartha. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Segment 1 -- Directed by Jiang Wen; written by Hu Hong and Meng Yao; starring Hayden Christensen, Andy Garcia, and Rachel Bilson.
Segment 2 -- Directed by Mira Nair; written by Suketu Mehta; starring Natalie Portman and Irfan Khan.
Segment 3 -- Written and directed by Shunji Iwai; adaptation by Israel Horovitz. Starring Orlando Bloom and Christina Ricci.
Segment 4 -- Directed by Yvan Attal; written by Olivier Lécot and Yvan Attal; starring Robin Wright Penn, Ethan Hawke, Maggie Q, and Chris Cooper.
Segment 5 -- Directed by Brett Ratner; written by Jeff Nathanson; starring Anton Yelchin, James Caan, Olivia Thirlby, and Blake Lively
Segment 6 -- Directed by Allen Hughes; written by Xan Cassavetes and Stephen Winter; starring Drea de Matteo and Bradley Cooper.
Segment 7 -- Directed by Shekhar Kapur; written by Anthony Minghella; starring Julie Christie, John Hurt, and Shia LaBeouf.
Segment 8 -- Written and directed by Natalie Portman; starring Taylor Geare, Carlos Acosta, and Jacinda Barrett.
Segment 9 -- Written and directed by Fatih Akin; starring Burt Young, Ugur Yucel, and Shu Qi.
Segment 10 -- Written and directed by Joshua Marston; starring Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman.
Transitions in between segments -- Directed by Randall Balsmeyer; written by Israel Horovitz, James Strouse, and Hall Powell; starring Emilie Ohana, Eva Amurri, and Justin Bartha. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayden Christensen, Andy Garcia, (more)
Two friends who've convinced themselves they would never make a good couple discover they might just be wrong in this romantic comedy. Oliver (Ashton Kutcher) and Emily (Amanda Peet) first met when they were college students sharing a flight from California to New York; Emily spontaneously seduced Oliver on the plane, and they spent the next few days together in the city. When they parted, however, Emily decided not to pursue a relationship with Oliver, even though he was obviously interested. Over the next several years, circumstances kept putting them in one another's paths, and over the years Oliver and Emily became close friends and confidantes. Both are still certain, though, that they're entirely wrong for each other on a romantic level. However, after nearly a decade, with both Oliver and Emily edging into their thirties, they begin to wonder if they've allowed a great opportunity to pass them by. A Lot Like Love also stars Kathryn Hahn, Ali Larter, and Kal Penn. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ashton Kutcher, Amanda Peet, (more)
Actor David Duchovny made his debut as a director and screenwriter with this coming-of-age drama, in which a grown man looks back at his adolescence. It's 1973, and Tommy (Anton Yelchin) is a 13-year-old boy living in New York's Greenwich Village with his mother (Téa Leoni), who is still coming to terms with the death of her husband. Tommy's best friend is Pappass (Robin Williams), a mentally challenged man who is in his thirties, but is at the same emotional age as Tommy; Pappass delivers meat for a local butcher, and Tommy helps him out. Tommy has discovered women, and has a crush on Melissa (Zelda Williams), a cute girl in his class, but Pappass isn't much interested in the opposite sex, and can offer little advice on the subject. Tommy's lone confidante on this issue is Lady Bernadette (Erykah Badu), a woman locked up in the nearby Women's House of Detention who offers advice shouted from her window. When Pappass begins to realize that Tommy is falling for Melissa, he's convinced he's losing his best friend, and in a moment of anger he steals a bicycle. Tommy tries to protect Pappas by claiming he was the thief, leading to a series of serious repercussions. Years later, Tommy (now played by Duchovny) is a grown man who leaves his home in Paris, France, to pay a visit to the old neighborhood and come to terms with the life he left behind. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anton Yelchin, Téa Leoni, (more)
This powerful, politically charged cable TV movie was based on the memoirs of Hungarian gynecologist and Holocaust survivor Gisella Perl. Having spent the WWII years in charge of the woman's infirmary at Auschwitz, Perl (played by Christine Lahti) hopes to leave her living nightmare behind when the Allies liberate Europe. But when she applies for American citizenship in 1946, she is hauled into military court to explain the extent to which she "collaborated" with the Nazis during the war. The U.S. officials are especially disturbed by the number of illegal abortions Perl performed at Auschwitz without her superiors' knowledge. But as Perl struggles to explain to her relentless interrogators (the explanation taking the form of extended flashbacks), she terminated the lives of the unborn to save thousands of pregnant women from the Nazi gas chambers. Filmed on location in Canada, the U.K., and Lithuania, Out of the Ashes made its Showtime network debut on April 13, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Charlie Kate Birch (Gena Rowlands) is a peculiarly powerful Southern matriarch, an anachronism in the early 20th century. She's a self-educated woman who makes a good living as a midwife and holistic healer. One day, she saves a black man who's been lynched, and he thanks her by giving her a rabbit's foot, which supposedly "brings an easy life" to the person who carries it. Charlie's husband leaves her soon thereafter, but she had begun to think he was an idiot anyway. Charlie's only character flaw seems to be her attraction to unworthy men, and she passes that trait on to her daughter, Sophia (Mimi Rogers). Sophia's husband is an unfaithful lout, and he dies an early death, leaving Charlie, Sophia, and her daughter, Margaret (Susan May Pratt of 10 Things I Hate About You) to fend for themselves, which they do admirably. Soon, Sophia has another suitor, a divorced lawyer named Richard Baines (Geordie Johnson). Unlike her mother, Sophia has remained a romantic soul, and she loves Richard, and waits patiently for him to propose to her. Charlie, meanwhile, has an ongoing feud with the alcoholic town doctor, and tries to be a more cerebral influence on Margaret. But when, during World War II, Margaret falls in love with Tom Hawkings (Ken Mitchell), a wounded soldier, Charlie realizes that they're a perfect match. Charms for the Easy Life was adapted by screenwriter Angela Shelton (Tumbleweeds) from a novel by Kaye Gibbons. The film was directed by Joan Micklin Silver (Crossing Delancey) and premiered on Showtime on August 18, 2002. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gena Rowlands, Mimi Rogers, (more)
