Lori Beth Edgeman Movies
Barry Pepper stars as stock-car racing legend Dale Earnhardt in this made-for-cable drama. Dale was raised by Ralph Earnhardt (J.K. Simmons), a proud man who worked at a mill to feed and clothe his family but found true satisfaction rebuilding jalopies in his garage and racing them at local events on the weekends. Ralph was a minor legend in Southern stock-car racing, and when Dale dropped out of high school to follow his own passion for racing, he started out in his father's shadow -- and with no illusions about the odds stacked against him. But after more than a decade of struggle, Dale finally began to break into the big leagues in the late '70s, and in time he became the biggest money maker in NASCAR history, tying with the great Richard Petty as the winner of the Winston Cup trophies. But the lessons Dale learned from his father took on a deeper meaning when his own teenage son, Dale Jr. (Chad McCumbee), also decided to take up racing at the age of 16 -- and Dale tried to keep his hot-headed son away from the track. Named for Earnhardt's racing number, 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story debuted on the ESPN cable network on December 11, 2004, and was released on home video shortly afterward. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Pepper, Elizabeth Mitchell, (more)
- 2007
- PG13
An idealistic investigate reporter who is determined to start a family risks everything she has in order to help a twelve-year-old victim of the sex trade in director Brian Gurley's affecting drama. Abbey Fisher is a top tier reporter whose marriage to a driven Civil Rights attorney has failed to yield a family. When Abbey decides to heed the advice of a fertility specialist and takes a leave of absence that will allow her to start the family she has always wanted, the discovery that a rapidly growing sex trade has claimed the innocence of countless children causes her to take pause and re-evaluate her reasoning for bringing another child into such a callous world. Now, with the assistance of a kindly dance instructor named Eric Vandevere, Abbey is about to put aside her own needs to help a hardened, twelve-year-old former sex slave learn what it means to overcome her fears, trust, and be loved in a world where exploitation truly knows no boundaries. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robyn Lively, William McNamara, (more)
A young man returns from a brush with death to discover some very powerful forces don't want him to survive in this independent horror film from writer and director Gregg Bishop. Sam North (Nathan Mobley) is a college student who is home on break and looking forward to seeing his girlfriend Hanna (Jaimie Alexander). When Hannah mysteriously disappears, Sam sets out to find her, but his search is cut short when he's run down by a van. After dreaming he's trapped in the pits of Hell, Sam awakes from the accident in a hospital, but he soon learns he wasn't dreaming. Sam died, but escaped from Hades with the help of Oz (Poncho Hodges) and Mally (Cory Rouse), supernatural beings with a history of helping those who have become trapped in Satan's lair. However, the Devil isn't about to give up a soul without a fight, and soon three "Reapers" -- Satan's musclemen, who round up escapees from the pit -- come after Sam, determined to bring him back to the Lake of Fire. The Other Side received its world premiere at the 2006 Slamdance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nathan Mobley, Jaimie Alexander, (more)
Director Steve Stockman takes the helm for this semi-autobiographical comedy drama about an estranged family that comes together for one last goodbye, and finds their assumedly brief farewell inexorably dragged out for two excruciating weeks. Aging matriarch Anita (Sally Field) is dying, but before she goes, she has requested that her four grown children travel back home to visit their ailing mother on her deathbed. Eager to gain a better understanding of the dying process, daughter Emily purchases a variety of self-help books on the subject. Though brother Keith (Ben Chaplin) soon arrives determined to float through the process in typical L.A. Zen mode, Emily contends that the only way to be prepared for the future is to consider every detail that can go awry. When PR executive Barry arrives intent on getting some work done before death comes knocking, it appears as if he is more concerned with getting broadband Internet in the house than actually tending to his mother. Meanwhile, youngest brother Matthew sets at the sidelines biding his time as his unlikable wife, Katrina, callously speculates on which of the dying woman's luxurious jewels she will be inheriting. Now, as Anita begins to look back at her life while reflecting on the time spent with her family, the question of who will hold this family together once she is gone casts a melancholy shadow over her fond memories. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Field, Ben Chaplin, (more)
