Linda Emond Movies

Nora Ephron adapts Julie Powell's autobiographical book Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen with this Columbia Pictures production starring Amy Adams as an amateur chef who decides to cook every recipe in a cookbook from acclaimed celebrity chef Julia Child (played by Meryl Streep) in order to chronicle it in a blog over the course of a year. Streep's Devil Wears Prada co-star Stanley Tucci re-teams with the actress as Child's husband. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

After serving his tour of duty in Iraq, a young American soldier who is ordered to return to the front lines as part of the military's controversial stop-loss policy opts instead to go AWOL in a thought-provoking military drama directed by Kimberly Peirce. Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Philippe) is a decorated Iraq War veteran who once served his country with pride. After his tour of duty comes to an end, King returns to his Texas hometown and attempts to pick up where he once left off with a little help from his family, as well as long-time best friend and war buddy Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum). But just as Brandon, Steve, and the rest of their war buddies begin to settle back into civilian life, Uncle Sam comes calling on them once again. Suddenly ordered back into active duty, the disillusioned war veteran begins to question not just his ties to family and his longtime friendships, but his capacity for love and his sense of honor as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

After his 13-year-old sister is abducted by sex traffickers, a determined Mexican teen travels from the barrios of Mexico City to a run-down stash house in New Jersey in a desperate attempt to rescue the frightened girl before she is swallowed whole by one of the criminal underworld's darkest secrets. Jorge's (Cesar Ramos) adolescent sister, Adriana (Paulina Gaitan), has been kidnapped and thrust into a lucrative underground trade in which young girls are bought and sold to the highest bidder. Now, as the terrified youngster is herded through a complex network of underground tunnels leading into the United States, her only ally is a Polish woman named Veronica (Alicja Bachleda), who has been tricked into the trade by the same nefarious gang. After circumventing immigration officers and eventually working his way across the border, the desperate Jorge comes into contact with a Texas lawman named Ray (Kevin Kline), whose own devastating personal loss to sex traffickers causes him to join the search for Adriana. In the dark days that follow, Jorge and Ray form a close bond as they witness the horrors of a secret Internet sex slave auction and discover just how far the depths of human depravity can plunge while attempting to maintain hope that brother and sister will one day be reunited. In the world of international sex trafficking, however, innocent victims disappear without a trace every day and few who fall prey to these reprehensible predators are ever seen again. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Documentary filmmaker Freida Lee Mock explores the rich life of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner in a film that traces Kushner's career from his 2001 play Homebody/Kabul through his 2004 collaboration with Maurice Sendak on a revised version of Brundibar. A trip to Kushner's hometown of Lake Charles, LA, provides a personal touch as the playwright attends his father's birthday party, with quiet scenes in his Hudson River Valley retreat offering moments of thoughtful meditation that stand in stark contrast to his harried Manhattan business dealings. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A fictionalized account of one of America's most groundbreaking sexual harassment lawsuits comes to the screen in this hard-hitting drama. In the late '80s, Josey Aimes (Charlize Theron) fled her abusive husband, and needed to find a way to support her two children. Aimes returned to her hometown in Minnesota and followed the lead of her old friend Glory (Frances McDormand), who had bucked tradition and found a job in the iron mines that had long provided employment for much of the community. Aimes found honest labor and a living wage working the mines, but she also discovered she was working with men who were uncomfortable working with women (whose right to work in the mines had been mandated by law almost 15 years prior), and didn't care to show them much respect. However, as Aimes found herself the growing target of sexist jokes and abhorrent behavior, she found that many of her female co-workers were reluctant to stand beside her, afraid of losing a good-paying job at a time when they were increasingly hard to find. But as a personal crisis became a public war of words, Aimes became the center of a nationwide controversy when she attempted to file a class action sexual harassment suit against the mine owners, which put her and her family in a position of scrutiny beyond her worst expectations. North Country also stars Sean Bean, Sissy Spacek, and Woody Harrelson. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Discover the important roles that John Adams and his wife Abigail played in the founding the United States as historians David McCullough, Joanne Freeman, and Joseph Ellis offer an intimate portrait of the marriage that helped to shape a nation. They say that behind every great politician is a great woman, and though John Adams (Simon Russell Beale) was a natural born leader, his wife Abigail (Linda Emond) was his greatest political ally. A loyal wife and trusted advisor, she was always present as a supporter and a confidant. By drawing on correspondences between the couple from when John was in Philadelphia working in the Continental Congress and serving as America's first ambassador to England, screenwriter Elizabeth Deane presents a side of their relationship that's often left out of the history books, but still remains a crucial chapter in the history of America. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The remarkable life of the immigrant christened "the most dangerous woman in America" is explored in this documentary focusing on noted birth-control advocate and anti-military conscription activist Emma Goldman. A noted Russian-born woman who became the leader of the anarchist movement upon immigrating into the United States, Goldman subsequently earned such nicknames as "Red Emma" and "Queen of the Anarchists" for her outspoken vocal attacks on the government and her staunch opposition to World War I. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The site of James Dean's legendary, fatal car crash is the setting for this reflective, eccentric drama about idolatry, lost hopes, and aging. Max Harris (John Mahoney) owns and operates a diner/service station in the small, deserted town of Cholame, CA, just down the street from the James Dean Memorial. His placid existence is disrupted by the appearance of a slick movie crew, eager to shoot a quickie flick in the area that references Dean's life. Max is nonplused, although his employees (Ian Gomez and Virginia Madsen) are smitten with the flashy production. Even more aggravating to Max is the emergence of a reporter (Linda Emond) who suspects that he has a long-buried secret regarding the fallen idol. Almost Salinas premiered at the USA Film Festival before making the rounds of the country's second-tier fests. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Timothy Landfield guest stars as Ron Weber, an unemployed ad executive whose drinking has ruined his career. When his wife and son are murdered and his daughter is wounded, Weber claims to know nothing of the tragic event, insisting he was out boozing on the night it occurred. As the D.A.'s office sets about to prove that Weber is an inherent "family annihilator," new evidence suggests that someone else committed the crime. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi