William Cote Movies
Estranged from his parents by circumstance and nudged toward a foster family, a young boy seeks out his long-lost folks and discovers prodigious musical talent in this family-oriented drama from Disco Pigs director Kirsten Sheridan. In the aftermath of a passionate night together above New York's Washington Square, a charismatic Irish guitarist named Louis (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) and a reserved cellist named Lyla (Keri Russell) are forced apart by fate. Despite the fact that they do not remain together, however, their fleeting union has created something amazing that neither could have ever anticipated -- a baby. Unfortunately, just after the child's birth, the mother is misinformed that the infant has died. Cut to 11 years later, when the child, Evan, is living in a Gotham-area boys' home and has developed an acute ability to listen to the sounds of the outside world -- hoping against all hope that his biological mother and father will turn up to claim him, while those in charge try to encourage him to open himself up to the possibility of adoption. Unduly rejecting these bids, Evan runs away into the city. Out on the streets, the child falls into the clutches of a manipulative, untrustworthy street person named Wizard (Robin Williams), who renames Evan "August Rush" and opens the boy up to the depth and breadth of his own musical talent even as he smells the opportunity to grow rich off of the foundling. Meanwhile, Evan/August's hope persists that he will be reunited with his folks, and Louis and Lyla, unable to forget their initial night of love, feel themselves being drawn back together by fate. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, (more)
Adapted from acclaimed author Richard Matheson's influential novelette of the same name, Constantine director Francis Lawrence's I Am Legend follows the last man on Earth as he struggles to survive while fending off the infected survivors of a devastating vampiric plague. A brilliant scientist who raced to discover a cure for the man-made virus as humanity came crumbling down all around him, Robert Neville (Will Smith) was inexplicably immune to the highly contagious superbug. Now the entire population of New York City -- and perhaps the world -- has been transformed into carnivorous bloodsuckers that fear the light and live solely to spread their contagion to any remaining living creature that crosses their path. It's been three years since civilization came to an end, and the loneliness has taken a devastating toll on Neville. By day he scours the city for food and supplies while sending out desperate radio messages in hopes that someone might respond, and by night he attempts to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus by experimenting with his own blood. But time is running out for Neville as the legions of infected watch his every move from the safety of the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. They, too, long to learn the secret that lurks in Neville's blood, though they will have to take caution while attempting to procure it because Neville will sooner die attempting to slay every last one of them than willingly giving up a single drop. Previously adapted for the screen in the 1964 Vincent Price frightener The Last Man on Earth and the 1971 Charlton Heston action film The Omega Man, Matheson's novelette also served as the inspiration for George A. Romero's groundbreaking zombie classic Night of the Living Dead. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Alice Braga, (more)
A regular guy finds out just how hard breaking up can truly be when attempting to call it quits with a clingy female crime fighter who doesn't want to let love die in director Ivan Reitman's super-powered romantic comedy. Matt Saunders (Luke Wilson) was looking for love when he first met pretty brunette Jenny Johnson (Uma Thurman), and at the time it seemed as if he may had finally actually found it. Jenny isn't just your typical girl, though, because despite her outwardly normal appearance she is actually a powerful superhero dedicated to ridding the streets of crime. Her outward strength betrays a deep-rooted insecurity, too, and when Jenny begins to become a bit too possessive for Matt's laid-back taste, the troubled boyfriend does his best to end the relationship amicably. They say that breaking up isn't easy to do, however, and when your girlfriend is a superhero, that sentiment holds twice the truth as it does under any normal circumstances. Matt is determined to get on with his life, though, and as his budding romance with beautiful co-worker Hannah (Anna Faris) begins to get serious, jealous Jenny scornfully slips into G-Girl mode to prove that hell hath no fury like a woman superhero scorned. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson, (more)
An inept cop suddenly gets a new partner in the person of a cabbie with attitude in this high-rolling comedy. Washburn (Jimmy Fallon) is a police officer who becomes the laughingstock of the department after a series of traffic accidents cause him to lose his driver's license. One day, Washburn gets an urgent call to head out to the location of a bank robbery; unable to drive himself there, he hails a cab. As it happens, the taxi is being driven by Belle (Queen Latifah), a single mom who, after making a name for herself as the fastest pizza delivery person in New York, has moved up to driving a hack. What begins as a wild ride to the scene of the crime gets even wilder as Washburn and Belle become unexpected allies while following the trail of a team of beautiful but reckless female bank robbers led by Vanessa (Gisele Bundchen). Adapted from a popular French action comedy with the same name, Taxi was Jimmy Fallon's first big-screen vehicle after leaving the cast of the popular sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Queen Latifah, Jimmy Fallon, (more)
- 1999
A ritual murder is played out on the Internet, but the homicide detectives aren't certain whether the killing is real or an elaborate hoax. Whatever the case, the detectives "stake out" the Web when it is announced that another murder will occur at midnight. In the course of the investigation, the squad discovers that Bayliss (Kyle Secor) is running his own website -- much to Bayliss' embarrassment. The climax of this episode will dictate the outcome of Homicide: Life on the Street's series finale. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 1998
After spending the night with Cox (Michelle Forbes), Bayliss (Kyle Secor) returns her earrings -- just as she's arrived at the scene of a murder in which the victim's body was deposited in a restaurant dumpster. This murder may be tied in with a case being worked by Munch (Richard Belzer), wherein several wealthy and prominent gay men have met untimely ends. Meanwhile, Lewis (Clark Johnson) uses the likely existence of an incriminating videotape to chastise his fellow detectives for their handling of the volatile Georgia Rae Mahoney situation, and Falsone (Jon Seda) and his ex-wife clash bitterly over custody of their son. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1997
Munch (Richard Belzer) is convinced that a student has committed suicide. Brodie (Max Perlich), however, thinks that the boy's death was caused by his drug-dealing classmate Alan Schack (a decidedly cast-against-type Neil Patrick Harris) -- and Brodie ends up risking his life to prove this theory. Elsewhere, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Kellerman (Reed Diamond) suspect that two recent bombings are linked to their longtime nemesis, drug kingpin Luther Mahoney. And a marriage counseling session ends disastrously when Frank and Mary Pembleton (Andre Braugher, Ami Brabson) argue over the baptism of their baby daughter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
- 1997
In the conclusion of a three-part story arc, civic leader Felix Wilson (James Earl Jones) goes on TV to offer a reward for information pertaining to the murder of the Wilson family's maid -- never mind that both Felix and his son Hal (Jeffrey Wright) are prime suspects. An embarrassed Col. Barnfather (Clayton LeBouef) demands that the homicide unit solve the murder immediately, forcing a reluctant Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) to amass damaging evidence against their longtime friend Wilson. Meanwhile, Falsone (Jon Seda) still thinks that his fellow detectives are withholding the facts surrounding the death of drug kingpin Luther Mahoney, while a recorded phone message leads Stivers (Toni Lewis) to believe that a crooked cop in the narcotics division is supplying inside information to Mahoney's henchmen. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Belzer, Andre Braugher, (more)
