Linda Hunt Movies

Documentary filmmaker Sarah Colt draws on personal accounts of polio survivors to trace the story of the tireless crusader who rallied a nation against a little known virus that spread terror through the town of Wytheville, Virginia back in the summer of 1950. It was an epidemic the likes of which Wytheville had never seen: Parents kept their kids locked safely indoors as movie theaters went dark and baseball fields fell silent for fear that simply walking outdoors would be enough to get infected with polio. Some died from infection, and others were left paralyzed as outsiders raced through town with bandanas over their faces and car windows securely rolled up. Over 33,000 Americans fell ill from polio that year alone, with approximately half of the infected being under the age of ten. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

After enduring WWII-era brutalization by Hitler's Nazi Party and decades of repressive Soviet dictatorship, the tiny Eastern European nation of Estonia began to declare its independence from Communist rule in the late '80s. Over a five-year period, beginning in 1986, hundreds of thousands of Estonians began to systematically and repeatedly gather in public venues to collectively sing illegal patriotic songs, declaring their desire for national independence but never resorting to violence amid their protests. It was no coincidence that Estonia subsequently became one of the first nations to break away from the Soviet Union in the events leading up to the fall of the Iron Curtain. The documentary The Singing Revolution chronicles this extraordinary yet seldom-told chain of events. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A socially isolated IRS agent whose every move is documented by a disembodied female voice discovers that his life is the subject of a book currently being written by a best-selling author, whose creative block has stunted her repeated efforts to kill him off, in a quirky fantasy comedy written by Hollywood hot property Zach Helm and directed by Finding Neverland's Marc Forester. Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) lives a life of solitude. Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson) can't seem to find a way to finish her latest book. Though Harold and Kay have never actually met, their fates are about to become intertwined in a most unusual manner. With her publishers growing increasingly impatient with her apparent inability to put the finishing touches on her latest novel, Kay is assigned a new assistant whose task it is to help provide the creative push needed to get her book finished and into the hands of her many eager fans. The subject of Kay's novel is a lonely and despairing IRS agent named Harold Crick, who believes that his life has lost any real meaning. As Kay continues to weave Harold's woeful tale without realizing that her protagonist is actually a living human being unable to concentrate on his life and career due to the constant interference of the narrator who inexplicably seems to anticipate his every move and read his every thought, her continued efforts to kill her perplexed subject finally provide him with the incentive needed to fully experience life by seeking out the source of the voice that plagues him. Penned by the screenwriter named by Variety magazine as one of the "Top Ten Writers to Watch" and who was also included in Esquire magazine's "Best and Brightest" list of 2004, Stranger Than Fiction features supporting performances by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, and Queen Latifah. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This documentary chronicles millionaire Cyrus Field's quest to run a cable across the Atlantic ocean, enabling wired communication between Britain and America, a task he finally completed in 1866. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Two big families merge into one super-sized brood in this comedy. Frank Beardsley (Dennis Quaid) is a naval officer who has been raising eight children on his own after the death of his wife, and while he loves his kids, he rules his household with military precision. Frank has been alone just long enough that he decides it's time to start dating again, and he agrees to be set up on a blind date for a social function. To his surprise, his date turns out to be Helen North (Rene Russo), a girl he dated years ago when they were both in high school who, like Frank, lost her spouse not long ago. The old chemistry clicks anew for Helen and Frank, and he asks her to marry him. However, there's just a bit of a problem -- Helen is caring for ten children of her own, six of whom were adopted, and her artistic temperament makes for a very different household than Frank and his kids are used to. Frank and Helen decide to give this grand experiment a try, but the 18 siblings don't get along at all well at first, until they decide to set aside their differences and unite against a common foe -- their folks. Yours, Mine & Ours is a remake of a 1968 comedy of the same name, which starred Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball as the newlywed parents. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The Redemption of the World concludes American Experience's biography of Woodrow Wilson. In 1915, Wilson strived to keep the United States out of World War I. Meanwhile, he met and began dating Edith Bolling Galt, a widow who eventually became his second wife. Wilson won a hard-fought presidential race against Charles Evan Hughes in 1916, partially with his appeal as the peace candidate. By April of 1917, however, he asked Congress to declare war against Germany. A new draft sent thousands of American soldiers to Europe, eventually giving the Allies (Britain, France) the advantage. Determined to build a lasting peace, Wilson worked tirelessly on negations in Paris, insisting that all countries join a new League of Nations to assure future stability. U.S. Congressional leaders, however, feared that such a league would threaten national autonomy. Henry Cabot Lodge worked to defeat the league, while Wilson embarked on a campaign-style trip to gain the support of "the people." Wilson's train journey ended prematurely, though, when his health showed signs of rapid deterioration. Back at the White House, it was discovered that a stroke had paralyzed the left side of his body. Unhealthy and bitter, Wilson refused to compromise on the League of Nations and it was defeated. Woodrow Wilson offers a complete portrait of the 28th president, including historical film footage and commentary by historians. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Rovi

In this supernatural thriller, Kevin Costner plays Joe Darrow, a physician mourning the death of his wife Emily (Susannah Thompson) in a bus accident in South America, where she was providing medical outreach. Wracked by grief, Joe works extra shifts at the hospital to take his mind off the tragedy, but the intense workload triggers his short temper and some careless mistakes. His officious boss (Joe Morton) forces Joe to take time off, but Joe feels obligated to check in on his wife's pediatric patients, fulfilling a promise he made before she left. Visiting the ward, Joe starts to believe that Emily is using the near-death experiences of her terminal patients to communicate with him, through images the children report seeing in their dreams, and symbols they are inexplicably compelled to draw. While the children see Joe as a kindred spirit, the hospital staff worries about how these interactions are agitating them. At home, Joe begins finding other ethereal evidence of his wife's attempt to contact him from beyond the grave, some of it featuring the image of a dragonfly, which was the shape of the birthmark on her shoulder. His friends and a caring neighbor (Kathy Bates) worry that Joe is losing his marbles, especially as his quest becomes more frantic, putting his job in jeopardy. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

The second part of Jimmy Carter concentrates on the 39th president's last three years in office and his post-presidential accomplishments. By the time Carter entered the second year of his presidency, his administration had already bogged down in legislative battles and economic difficulties. Carter nonetheless persevered, signing the Panama Canal Treaty and arranging for a peace accord between Israel and Egypt at Camp David in 1978. These accomplishments, however, seemed to mean little once American hostages were taken at the U.S. Embassy in Iran at the end of 1979. The hostages would remain in captivity for 444 days and remain unreleased until Ronald Reagan became president in 1981. Carter returned to the public spotlight in 1984 when he began working with Habitat for Humanity. In 1986, groundwork began on the Carter Center, a facility designed to arrange peaceful solutions to world conflicts. In 2002 Carter became the first president to visit Cuba in over 40 years and he also received the Nobel Peace Prize. Jimmy Carter is a well-balanced portrait that includes rare film footage and a number of interviews with colleagues and historians. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Rovi

Narrated by Linda Hunt, this episode of The American Experience takes an in-depth look at the duel fought between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, the duel that left Hamilton dead and Burr forever after a controversial figure. This video is a careful look into the context each man lived within and tries to explain how two very powerful men could come to settle their differences with gunfire. Beyond that, the video uses the figure of the hardscrabble Hamilton and the patrician Burr to draw some sobering conclusions about social class in the United States. For those with an interest in U.S. history, this tape will be of interest. Its sober tone and wealth of careful research make it appropriate for use in the college classroom. ~ Rob Ferrier, Rovi