Bill Haney Movies
Nicole Beharie, Tim Blake Nelson, Will Patton, and Xzibit headline this fact-based drama about an innocent Texas mother caught up in a high-profile drug raid, and unjustly accused due to the uncorroborated testimony of a single informant. Dee Roberts (Beharie) is a young single mother of four living in a small Texas town. Arrested during a drug raid and accused of a crime she didn't commit, Dee goes against the wishes of her mother, Alma (Alfre Woodard), and rejects the plea-bargain that would free her from jail, but brand her as a felon for life. As word begins to spread that similar incidents are occurring in poor communities all across the country, Dee realizes that there are more mothers out there like her, and decides to take a stand against powerful district attorney Calvin Beckett (Michael O'Keefe). Now, despite being well aware of District Attorney Beckett's fierce reputation, Dee enlists the aid of ACLU attorney David Cohen (Nelson) and former narcotics officer Sam Conroy (Patton) in overcoming the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that, if not navigated with the greatest of caution, now threaten to destroy her life. With the custody of her children on the line, one brave mother wages a valiant battle to strike at the very heart of the corrupt Texas justice system. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole Beharie, Tim Blake Nelson, (more)
A disgraced European football (read: soccer) player inadvertently winds up in the 13th Century after breaking into his mother's advanced physicals laboratory and using her experimental time machine to try and correct the mistake that got his team knocked clean out of the competition. It was the final minutes of a decisive game, and had Dolf (Joe Flynn) nailed the crucial goal, his team would have had a shot at the title. He only wanted to go back in time a couple of hours, but somehow he overshot his intended time by about eight centuries. Once there, Dolf comes into contact with the plucky Jenne, who's about to lead 8000 youngsters in the Children's Crusade. But while Dolf's 21st Century smarts quickly earn him the role of group leader, he will have to summon both strength and bravery in order to prevent the children from being enslaved by the 13th Century's most notorious tyrant. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephanie Leonidas, Joe Flynn, (more)
- 2007
Timothy Hotchner's documentary Accelerating America follows two at-risk students, America and Jasmine, as they attempt to graduate high-school with the help of a principal that takes his work very personally. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2007
Bill Haney's muckraking documentary The Price of Sugar follows the courageous Father Christopher Hartley, a social activist Spanish priest who makes the inaugural trip to his parish in the Dominican Republic. Upon arrival, he is cautioned by his superiors to avoid traversing the sugar plantations that his parishioners call home -- even as a part of regular parish visits. Hartley ignores this admonition, and is then shocked out of his mind to discover the subhuman living conditions and environment endured by the majority of plantation residents -- the environments unsanitary, subhuman and disgusting, the working demands enough to kill any man. Hartley discovers that the residents suffer from their lack of both Dominican and Haitian citizenship -- thus, the government views it as entirely unnecessary to endow these individuals with basic human rights and to treat them with restraint, respect, and dignity. Despite the virulent protests of those in "authority," Hartley bucks governmental and corporate injunctions and begins to fight for improved living conditions for the locals. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Father Christopher Hartley, Paul Newman, (more)
- 2006
A man who appraises art for a living investigates a band of talented but ruthless criminals in this international thriller. Patrick Donovan (Scot Williams) is an American art historian who travels to Venice at the request of Allart Van Beunigen (Rutger Hauer), the curator of one of the city's most prestigious museums, Galleria dell'Accademia. Van Beunigen wants Donovan to verify that several of his prize works are authentic and not forgeries, but one of them, Giorgione's "The Tempest," is stolen before he can give it an examination. With the city on a flood watch that could destroy the museum's priceless collection, Donovan is forced to play private eye in order to find the lost painting, and finds himself caught in a web of intrigue involving expert art forgers and privileged collectors. Among the characters who cross Donovan's path during his search are Van Beunigen's beautiful daughter Chiara (Natalia Verbeke), her elderly paramour Paul Valenzin (Malcolm McDowell), Paul's sinister personal assistant Tedeschi (Gaetano Carotenuto), sexy hotel manager Dina (Valentina Cervi), multi-millionaire art enthusiast Taddeo Rossi (Paul Guilfoyle), and a police detective (Yura Marin) whose recent investigation ties Donovan to the work of a serial killer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scot Williams, Natalia Verbeke, (more)
One family comes face-to-face with the forces of the unknown in this supernatural thriller based on actual events. On April 14, 1755, something terrible happened to Lucy Keyes in the forest surrounding Wachusett Mountain. 250 years later, Guy (Justin Theroux) and Joanne Cooley (Julie Delpy) move their family into an 18th century farmhouse at the foot of the mountain to escape the city, and recover from the death of their youngest child to SIDS. It seemed like the perfect place to get a fresh start and raise their two young daughters Molly and Lucy. Upon discovering that the Keyes family had occupied the farmhouse at the time of their daughter's death, Joanne begins having strange dreams, and hearing haunting cries coming from the woods. After finding a letter admitting to the murder of Lucy Keyes, Joanne becomes convinced that Martha and Lucy Keyes' spirits are attempting to contact her in hopes that she can set them free from their earthly limbo, and begins to fear that their grieving mother plans to claim Lucy Cooley as a substitute for her own missing daughter. As Guy attempts to convince the townspeople to approve construction of a wind farm project that he's currently working on, his wife's sanity begins to slip and their marriage starts to falter. Joanne's attempt to expose the truth about Lucy Keyes' disappearance only leads to greater terror, however, when the townspeople turn on the family, and young Lucy Cooley vanishes into the woods one cold and windy night. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Delpy, Justin Theroux, (more)
Marine biologist Dr. Roger Payne has dedicated four decades to studying whales and campaigning for their protection; his groundbreaking studies of whale songs and habitat pollution helped lay the foundation for the ocean conservation movement. This evocative documentary combines the natural history of whales with the story of Payne's life and career, and raises important questions about man's responsibility to the Earth and its creatures. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Payne
- 2002
Filmmaker Bill Hanley follows former Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill "Spaceman" Lee, former Detroit Tigers pitcher Jon Warden, and a jovial group of baseball-loving fifty-somethings as they travel to Cuba with writer Randy Wayne White in hopes of documenting a missing chapter in the life of famed writer Ernest Hemmingway. When the Ernest and his son Gregory were living in Cuba, the literary icon founded a little league team and dubbed them the Gigi Stars so that his boy would have the opportunity to learn sportsmanship firsthand on the diamond. Years later, Ernest's grandson Lorian penned a letter to Florida novelist White detailing the story of the Gigi Stars. Now, with little more the address of Ernest's Finca to guide them, White, White and his baseball-loving pals load up with cartons full of baseball gear and set their sights on Cuba in hopes of meeting the men once coached by the author of such classics as The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Lee, Jon Warden, (more)
A comic fable centered around the lives of contemporary Catholic monks, A Question of Faith (once called Blessed Art Thou) follows Brother Anselm (M.E. Hackett), who suddenly finds himself pregnant. Living in a rural California monastery, Anselm believes the miracle was created out of a visit from Gabriel. The decades-old wisdom and beliefs of the order are tested as reactions to the events are a mix of sympathetic and hostile and the brothers find themselves at odds. The monks, both young and old, find that the line between reason and faith becomes blurred and their ancient traditions begin to crumble as the unexplainable miracle begins to change their perception of reality and themselves. Adapted from a short story by Tim Disney, great-nephew of Walt, the film also features Paul Guilfoyle, Naveen Andrews, and Daniel von Bargen. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Naveen Andrews, Jorge Cervera, Jr., (more)
