David Bergstein Movies

Director Taylor Hackford explores the rift that opens between Grace and Charlie Bontempo -- the husband-and-wife owners of Nevada's first legal brothel -- after ambitious entrepreneur Charlie attempts to expand his dominion by inviting South American heavyweight boxer Armando Bruza to train at the ranch. When passions ignite between Grace (Helen Mirren) and Armando (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), Charlie's jealousy threatens to be the wrecking ball that brings his entire empire crumbling to the ground. Mark Jacobson adapts the screenplay based on a true story that ended with the death of boxer Oscar Bonavena at the Mustang Ranch in 1976. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A terminally-ill con man and his estranged son endeavor to live on $5 a day during a cross country drive in this road trip comedy from director Nigel Cole (Saving Grace, Calendar Girls). Nat (Christopher Walken) may be a great con man, but as a father to Flynn (Alessandro Nivola) he always came up short. Informed by his doctor that he's suffering from a terminal illness, Nat learns of an experimental treatment that could offer him a second chance at life. But that's all the way on the other side of the country, and in order to make the drive he'll need a wheelman. Enter Flynn: the son Nat never really knew. Despite the bitterness Flynn feels toward his ailing father, he eventually agrees to take the trip. Unfortunately money is tight these days, and if Nat and Flynn hope to reach their destination without coming up short, they'll have to meet the sizable challenge of living on just $5 a day. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, and Marisa Tomei star in director Sidney Lumet's thriller concerning two brothers who hatch a plan to rob their parent's jewelry store. When the job goes awry, the entire family is set on a collision course with tragedy. Andy (Hoffman) is an overextended broker in desperate need of some cash. His brother, Hank (Hawke), isn't much better off, so when Andy hatches a plan to rob their parent's modest jewelry store, it seems like a foolproof way to make a quick buck. But Andy's trophy wife, Gina (Tomei), is secretly sleeping with libidinous younger brother Hank, and when the robbery proves a complete disaster it isn't long before loyalties start to shift. Now Andy and Hank's father, Charles (Finney), is determined to make the unidentified robbers pay for their crime. What's a father to do when he discovers that the ones he loves have become his worst enemies? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

KM 31 director Rigoberto Castaneda takes the helm for this independent thriller concerning three people who become trapped in a hospital elevator for twenty-four hours. Her grandmother mere moments away from death, a young woman (Amber Tamblyn) races the ailing woman to the nearest hospital. Little does the concerned granddaughter realize that what first appeared to be a minor inconvenience is about to turn into something much more malevolent. Later, as the trapped trio grows increasingly frantic, a psychotic doctor (Aidan Gillen) reveals that he's more inclined to take lives than save them. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Wes Bentley and Winona Ryder star in director/screenwriter Geoff Haley's darkly comic romance centering on the relationship between a writer specializing in suicide notes and the unsuspecting sister of his most recent client. Evan Merck (Bentley) is a reclusive, Los Angeles-based writer whose unique way with words has earned him an unusual career as a professional suicide note scribe. One day, while attending the funeral of a dearly departed client, Evan forms a close connection with the deceased's sister Charlotte (Ryder). A free spirit who remains blissfully unaware of Evan's true connection to her late brother, Charlotte becomes fascinated by the introverted writer and the pair soon enter into a tenuous relationship. But Evan can't keep his secret from Charlotte forever, and as love continues to blossom between the unlikely pair, the writer quickly finds his snowballing deceptions growing into a rampaging avalanche that threatens to destroy not only his career, but his one true human connection as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The feature debut from writer/director Dan Wilde this British drama centers on a family split apart in the wake of its patriarch's death. Jennifer Ehle stars as widowed Alice, who eventually moves on and remarries, a move that has a devastating effect on her son Jack, played by Mark Wells. Years later, the family reunites and long-supressed feelings are finally revealed. Alpha Male also stars Danny Huston. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Owen, Luke, and Andrew Wilson combine their fraternal filmmaking talents to tell the character-driven tale of a small-time con man who gets a fortuitous shot at redemption while working in a run down retirement community. Wendell Baker (Luke Wilson) is a con man whose large heart betrays his criminal mind. Confident to a fault and consistently cool-headed, Baker is the kind of grifter who's always quick with a comeback and never lets the law get in the way of making a quick buck. When Wendell is busted for selling counterfeit Texas driver's licenses to undocumented Mexican migrant workers, he coasts through his prison sentence with the same unflappable attitude that made him the perfect swindler in the outside world. In order to pass the time behind bars without causing waves, mellow convict Wendell buries his nose in books about hotel management checked out from the prison library. Upon release the optimistic ex-con is distraught to discover his girlfriend Dorren (Eva Mendes) has taken up with a quick-tempered grocer (Will Ferrell) and his former partner Reyes (Jacob Vargas) has been forced into retirement by his law-abiding wife. Looking to put his hotel management know-how to good use and determined to win Doreen back, Wendell soon takes a job at the Shady Grove retirement hotel. Little does Wendell realize that scheming Shady Grove head nurse Neil King (Owen Wilson) has been dabbling in fraudulent Medicare payments and forced labor, and has no qualms about pinning his crimes on the carefree ex-convict. Now, if benevolent knave Wendell has any hope of turning the tables on his unscrupulous nemesis and proving that nice guys don't always finish last, he'll have to enlist the aid of fed-up Shady Grove residents Boyd (Seymour Cassel), Skip (Harry Dean Stanton), and Nasher (Kris Kristofferson), who are all more than willing to strike back at their casually cruel caretaker. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

David Mamet writes and directs the political thriller Spartan. Respected Secret Service agent Robert Scott (Val Kilmer) is assigned to the kidnapping case of Laura Newton (Kristen Bell), the missing daughter of a high-ranking political figure. Scott is teamed up with rookie Curtis (Derek Luke). Aided by the FBI and the CIA, the team discovers a human trafficking operation that may lead to Laura's kidnappers. Meanwhile, political operative Stoddard (William H. Macy) refuses to cooperate with the rescue mission. Scott and Curtis are forced to quit the investigation when the media reports Laura's death. Believing her to be alive, Curtis is motivated to start up a dangerous unofficial investigation of his own. Spartan premiered at the Bangkok International Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi