Adam Kaufman Movies
- 2009
A handsome cardiologist and his late brother's wife enter into a marriage of convenience while realizing that the harder they work to maintain their "pretend" union, the deeper their love for one another grows. When successful, 30-year-old Washington, D.C. surgeon Jake Lever (Adam Kaufman) learns that his estranged older brother Benjamin has died, the news comes as a startling surprise. Jake and his mother Janice (Mercedes Ruehl) hadn't spoken to Benjamin since he moved away to become a rabbi and began devoting all of his time to his faith and his rabbinical duties. They aren't religious, so when they arrive in Benjamin's Hasidic, Brooklyn, New York community and meet his young widow Leah (Lauren Ambrose), Jake and Janice are virtual strangers to the people Benjamin devoted his entire life to. When the still-single Jake is asked to honor an ancient Levirate marriage law stating that he marry the childless Leah in order to carry on his brother's name or reject Benjamin's existence entirely, he finds latter prospect unthinkable despite being seriously involved with beautiful surgeon Carol (Christy Pusz). On a whim, Jake suggests to Leah that they marry under accordance with Levirate law and secretly maintain a plutonic relationship. Realizing that this may be her one opportunity to follow her own dreams without disappointing her domineering mother Malka (Susie Essman), Leah accepts. But love works in mysterious ways, and over time, Jake and Leah's affections for one another blossom into true love. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lauren Ambrose, Adam Kaufman, (more)
The Blair Witch Project co-creator Eduardo Sanchez returns to direct his first feature film since that 1999 forest-bound frightener that took the world of horror by storm with this shocker concerning a group of former alien abductees who seek vengeance against the malevolent extraterrestrials who kidnapped them fifteen years prior. It's been more than a decade since five hunters were swept out of the forest and into the night skies by a powerful otherworldly force, but only four of the lifelong friends ever found their way back to terra firma. In the wake of that inexplicable tragedy the remaining friends found their bond growing stronger than ever before. None of the men have ever forgotten about their long lost friend, or the trauma that they endured on that fateful night. Years later, upon capturing one of the very same creatures that caused all of their suffering, the four friends retreat into a remote forest compound to execute their long awaited revenge. To set the creature free would be to sign their own death warrants, and to kill it would almost certainly spell their doom as well. As the long night wears on and an impenetrable blackness once again washes over the darkened woods, the hunters realize that they only have a few hours left to decide the fate of the strange and menacing creature. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Informed by a Chicago police detective that her sister Diane has recently gone missing in Tijuana, Mexico, successful lawyer Nadine Roberts (Poppy Montgomery) travels south of the border on a desperate mission to locate her lost sibling, and instead finds her sanity slipping amidst an unsetting series of strange circumstances. Immediately after learning that her sister has disappeared, Nadine informs her husband James (Adam Kaufman) that she will be leaving for Mexico, and will not return until she discovers what fate befell Diane. While Tijuana Detective Campos (Jose Yenque) is adamant that Nadine return home immediately and leave the search to the authorities, she outwardly rejects his advice -- instead choosing to navigate the labyrinthine streets with instinct as her only guide. Later, after waking in a strange hotel room, Nadine has a series of bizarre run-ins with such mysterious figures as idiosyncratic hotel clerk Victor (Danny Pino) and enigmatic Old Tijuana matriarch Mrs. Gonzalez (Patricia Reyes Spindola). Driven near the point of insanity due to the indecipherable language spoken by Victor and Mrs. Gonzalez, Nadine is momentarily snapped back to reality due to the surprise appearance of her husband James. But no one can be trusted when the only thing dividing dreams from reality is a single, spare thread, and now Nadine is about to discover what really lies in that mysterious zone between life and death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Poppy Montgomery, Adam Kaufman, (more)
Executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, the ten-episode, 20-hour miniseries Taken was one of the most ambitious projects undertaken by cable TV's Sci-Fi Network, ultimately costing 40 million dollars -- a price that proved well worth it, inasmuch as the series posted the network's highest-ever ratings. Covering a period from 1947 to the present, the story focused on three different families, each of whom was profoundly affected by extraterrestrial visitation. The Keys family was headed by WWII bomber pilot Russell Keys (Steve Burton), who spent virtually his entire adult life haunted by his "close encounter" with aliens. The Clarkes were originally represented by lonely Texas waitress Sally Clarke (Catherine Dent), who was impregnated by a charming stranger (Eric Close) who turned out to be an alien survivor of the Roswell crash. And the lives of the Crawfords were dictated by ruthless Army officer Owen Crawford (Joel Gretsch), who was determined to prove that the government had covered up the truth about Roswell by dedicating his life to tracking down all space aliens and their half-human descendants. The story was narrated by Allie Keys (Dakota Fanning), a "hybrid" child of the present day, whose story determined the outcome of the final episodes. Boasting impressive computer-generated special effects and eye-popping facial makeup, Taken was seen over a two-week period, beginning December 2, 2002, and ending on December 13. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dakota Fanning, Alonso Oyarzun, (more)
- 1999
Buffy's (Sarah Michelle Gellar) got a real demon of a roommate at college. Not only is Kathy (Dagney Kerr) a neat freak who dates her milk in the fridge, but she also insists on following Buffy on her nightly slayer patrols. Things look better when Buffy meets-cute with Parker (Adam Kaufman), a seemingly nice upperclassman. Then, Kathy shows up wearing Buffy's sweater and proceeds to get ketchup all over it. Later, Buffy complains of having nightmares in which a demon forces her to eat blood and a scorpion. Her friends don't know what to think, especially after she shows them Kathy's toenail clippings that have kept growing -- proving that her roomate truly is a demon. Meanwhile, Oz (Seth Green) has his first whiff of Veruca (Paige Moss), a meeting that will lead to some hairy entanglements for everyone's favorite boy werewolf. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1999
Riley (Marc Blucas) likes Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar). He even punches Parker (Adam Kaufman) for making disparaging remarks about her. Despite his masculine confidence as an Initiative Commando -- an elite sect of the military that hunts and studies monsters -- he is nervous about asking Buffy out. He even goes to Willow (Alyson Hannigan) for advice. This leads to Riley proffering some cheese squares for Buffy at a party. Needless to say, they are both unaware of each other's secret night life. Meanwhile, Spike (James Marsters) -- or "Hostile 17," as he is now called -- is languishing in a holding cell in the Initiative's underground compound below Riley's fraternity house. Spike soon breaks out and attacks Willow in her dorm room. Mysteriously, he is unable to bite her. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1999
Oz's (Seth Green) band, Dingoes Ate My Baby, is playing at the Bronze when Harmony (Mercedes McNab) comes over to Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and shows her what she's been up to over the summer: vamping. Oz and Willow fend her off, but not before she threatens that her boyfriend is going to get them. The next night, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is hanging out at a party with her new crush, Parker (Adam Kaufman), when she catches Harmony and her boyfriend, Spike (James Marstens), with a victim. She chases them and fights with Harmony, who lets it slip that Spike is back in Sunnydale looking for the Gem of Amarra -- a charm that makes vampires immune to sunlight and death. Later, Buffy returns to the party where she and Parker make passionate love. The next morning, Parker promises to call her and leaves. After waiting all day for a call, it becomes clear to Buffy that Parker used her -- causing future depression and self-doubt. In a crossover plot line with the spin-off series Angel ("In the Dark") Buffy takes the Gem of Amara from Spike and tells Oz, whose band is going to tour in Los Angeles, to deliver the stone to Angel (David Boreanaz) -- for obvious reasons. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1999
On the night before Halloween, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and friends attend a costume party at the Alpha Delta house. Oz (Seth Green) helps prepare the sound system, subsequently cutting himself and dripping blood onto an occult symbol a frat brother is painting on the floor. Unbeknownst to everyone, the symbol summons the fear demon Gachnar, who forces everyone to face their fears. As Buffy, still hung up on Parker (Adam Kaufman), fears being alone, Oz fears the monster within himself. Meanwhile, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) fears she cannot control her magic, and Xander (Nicholas Brendon) fears his friends will forget about him. His may be the most well-founded worry, as no one tells him about the party and he (almost) stays home alone to watch Phantasm instead. This is also the first time that Buffy actually notices the Initiative Commandos -- see "The Initiative" -- but mistakes them for costumed students. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1999
Having opted out of college, Xander (Nicholas Brendon) takes a job at the local student pub as a bartender. His first night is a humiliating one with snobby student Colm (Eric Matheny) antagonizing him "like a Bad Will Hunting." Colm and his buddies then proceed to guzzle case after case of Black Frost beer. Meanwhile, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), still pining over Parker (Adam Kaufman), decides to come to the pub. She bumps into Riley (Marc Blucas), who disparages Parker's slimey behavior toward women. Feeling even worse, Buffy joins Colm and his friends in downing the Black Forest beer. Soon the group has reverted to their baser instincts, literally, as the beer was prepared by the pub owner using warlock magic. Soon, they've all gone Cro-Magnon, dragging girls into the Grotto -- the local student coffee bar -- with Buffy hunching away, grunting, "Parker, bad." ~ All Movie Guide
- 1997
Bloodstains reveal that a model was murdered by one of her closest relatives. The detectives nail a suspect, the model's illegitimate daughter -- who promptly reveals that the chief witness to the crime is her own lawyer. This opens a legal can of worms when the lawyer argues that any communication between himself and the suspect is privileged, and cannot be used in court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
