Samantha Mathis Movies

Emmy Award-winner Michael Imperioli and Academy Award-winner Ellen Burstyn headline this made for television adaptation of author and radio personality Mitch Albom's bestselling book about a suicidal ex-baseball player who finds redemption after being granted one more day with his dearly departed mother. Chick Benetto (Imperioli) is a former star athlete who has fallen on particularly hard times. His glory days are little more than a fading memory, and lately he's fallen into a dangerous alcoholic daze. One night, after returning to his old hometown to commit suicide, something truly remarkable happens to Chick. At the very moment he's about to take his own life, Chick's mother Posey (Burstyn) appears before him to spend one last day with her beloved son. During their brief reunion, Chick's mother illuminates the secrets of their lives, allowing her son one last chance for deliverance and an opportunity to turn his life around. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When a tragic car accident robs a loving father of both his son and his sense of touch, it's up to one sympathetic nurse to show him that the future still holds hope in a poignant and inspirational drama starring Jenna Elfman, Samantha Mathis, and Randall Batinkoff. Awakening from a two-year coma to find his family gone and his life forever changed, Scott (Batinkoff) soon finds his grief compounded when he literally loses his ability to feel his surroundings. As the pain within his soul begins to manifest itself through the weakening of his physical body, Scott grapples with the memories of his deceased son and struggles to find the energy needed to face another day. Only through the help of kindly nurse Angela, the woman who tended to him in his darkest hour, will Scott be able to release the pain of his past and open himself to the possibility of new love and a brighter future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This three-hour miniseries adapts Marion Zimmer Bradley's feminist recasting of the Arthurian mythos into a big-budget cable television event. In ancient England, Christianity is spreading and the Saxons are invading. It's up to Viviane (Anjelica Huston) -- Lady of the Lake and high priestess of the kingdom's ancient pagan religion -- to make sure that the next king will honor both the old and new faiths and thereby banish the barbarian hordes. Viviane manipulates her sister Igraine (Caroline Goodall) into marrying King Uther Pendragon (Mark Lewis Jones) and bearing a son, Arthur (Edward Atterton) -- much to the consternation of Viviane's other sister, the power-hungry Morgause (Joan Allen). Arthur grows up happily with his older half-sister, Morgaine (Julianna Margulies), until Merlin (Michael Byrne) spirits him off for training and Viviane brings Morgaine to the mystical island of Avalon to develop her magical connection to the Goddess. Years later, the siblings reunite in a masked mating ritual, unaware that their union is incestuous -- or that their son, Mordred (Hans Matheson), will fall into Morgause's clutches and destroy the delicate balance that Viviane has sought to maintain. As Arthur gathers the knights of the round table and ushers in a golden age with Queen Gwenhwyfar (Samantha Mathis) at his side, the seeds of his destruction, and Avalon's, have already been planted -- by Arthur himself. Filmed on-location in Prague, The Mists of Avalon premiered on the TNT cable network July 15 and 16, 2001. Director Uli Edel, best known for his feature adaptation of Last Exit to Brooklyn, had previously helmed Purgatory for TNT. The titular mists -- developed by Edel and executive producer Mark Wolper -- utilized custom fluid dynamic software designed specifically for the project. Celtic musician Loreena McKennitt added her theme music to composer Lee Holdridge's score. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

A child's letter to heaven gets an unexpected response in this touching family drama, inspired by actual incidents. Desi is a five-year-old girl who has become inconsolable after the death of her father. Desi's mother, Rhonda, isn't sure what to do for her troubled daughter and when the girl tells her mother she wants to write her father a last letter and attach it to a balloon so it will be carried to heaven, Rhonda agrees it's a good idea. Desi and Rhonda send out the balloon, which is carried by the winds to a small community known as Mermaid. There, a man named Wade MacKinnon finds the balloon, with the letter attached. After reading the message, Wade and his family decide to answer the letter, as if their missive had been written by Desi's late father. Mermaid stars Samantha Mathis, Ellen Burstyn, Jodelle Ferland, and David Kaye. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young woman with multiple sclerosis (Samantha Mathis) is placed in an assisted care facility by her family. While at first she feels abandoned and hopeless, she learns to develop a new confidence, self-respect and independence by bonding with her fellow patients, who learn important lessons from each other about growing as a group and as individuals. Supporting cast includes Natalie Cole as a blues singer who has been severely injured in an accident. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Drug user Jane (Samantha Mathis) lives on the streets, but Jane's addiction puts her in the hospital after she overdoses. A doctor determines she's HIV-positive and plans tests, but she slips away and returns to the streets. She's followed by sick teen Tony (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who sees her as a substitute mother. The two assist each other and use stolen cash to move into a nice hotel. However, Jane is helpless once Tony begins dying of AIDS. Shown at the AFI/Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

83 Hours 'Til Dawn utilizes a plot device originally seen on another fact-based TV movie, The Longest Night (1972). Robert Urich stars as a wealthy business executive whose 20-year-old daughter is abducted by sociopathic Peter Strauss. The kidnapper seals his victim in a small box and buries it deep underground, with an air-tube as her only conduit to the outside world. Strauss threatens to never reveal the girl's whereabouts unless Urich ponies up half a million dollars. The original telecast of 83 Hours 'Til Dawn ran a distant second to a competing network showing of the theatrical feature Three Men and A Baby (87). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set in the early 1900s in a small Southern town, this made-for-cable television romance centers on the "scandalous" love affair that blossoms between a free-thinking, strong-willed Northern widow and the much older owner of a local general store. The plot is based on a novel by Olive Ann Burns. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The challenges of growing up are fused with the discipline of art in this coming-of-age drama from writer and director George Gallo. John (Trevor Morgan) is a shy, introverted teenager from Port Chester, NY, who is fascinated with art and would like to become a painter someday -- an ambition that does not please his father (Ray Liotta), who would prefer his son spend his time playing ball and chasing girls. John is a great admirer of Nicholi Seroff, a little-known but well-respected Russian impressionist, and to his surprise he discovers that the great Seroff (Armin Mueller-Stahl) is living in New York these days. John pays him a visit hoping for some tutoring from the master, only to be told by Seroff that he's no longer interested in painting before slamming the door in John's face. But John is persistent, and after bribing his would-be mentor with some Russian vodka, Seroff grudgingly allows the young student to tag along with him as he heads to Pennsylvania for the summer, where he can pass along some of what he knows in exchange for John handling the household chores. Despite his dad's objections, John eagerly takes the offer, but over the course of the summer he learns as much about himself as he does about painting, especially after meeting Seroff's neighbor Carla (Samantha Mathis). Also starring Charles Durning, Ron Perlman, and Diana Scarwid, Local Color received its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Three families residing on the same suburban street struggle to strengthen their father/son bonds in this tale from filmmakers Rodrigo García, Jared Rappaport, and Robert Spera. As old wounds remain sensitive and alienation keeps generations of fathers and sons from truly bonding, the struggle to make a meaningful connection offers hopes of understanding and a new beginning. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Bret Easton Ellis' dark and violent satire of America in the 1980s is brought to the screen in this unsettling drama with black comic overtones. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale), the son of a wealthy Wall Street financier, is pursuing his own lucrative career with his father's firm. Bateman is the prototypical yuppie, obsessed with success, fashion, and style. He is also a serial killer who murders, rapes, and mutilates both strangers and acquaintances without provocation or reason. Donald Kimble (Willem Dafoe), a police detective, questions Bateman about the disappearance of Paul Allen (Jared Leto), whom Patrick murdered several days earlier. As Kimble stays on Bateman's trail, Bateman's mask of studied, distant cool begins to fall apart. American Psycho also features Reese Witherspoon as Bateman's girlfriend, as well as Samantha Mathis, Chloe Sevigny, and Guinevere Turner; the latter also co-authored the screenplay. Controversy followed the production from the start, when speculation that Leonardo Di Caprio would play Bateman sparked concerns that he would lure preteens to an R-rated movie. Di Caprio soon bowed out of the project, and original leading man Bale was reinstated. Later, a group of Toronto residents attempted to block filming in that city after Canadian serial killer Paul Bernardo claimed that Ellis' novel inspired his murder spree. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A temperamental London lawyer adapts to the challenges of fatherhood when he is left with sole responsibility for his infant daughter in this well-performed British comedy-drama. Richard E. Grant stars as Jack, a high-pressure attorney who believes his life is on the right track: a successful career, a beautiful wife (Imogen Stubbs), and a baby on the way. Tragedy strikes, however, when his wife dies during labor, leaving Jack to raise his daughter Sarah, named in his wife's honor. Shocked and depressed, Jack is forced to deal with his grief for the sake of the new child. At first reluctant to turn to others, he receives help from a local derelict (Ian McKellen) who begins to act as Jack's butler, and a charming young American woman, Amy (Samantha Mathis), who becomes Sarah's nanny. The new challenges of fatherhood provide Jack with his solace and eventually lead him reevaluate his life and behavior. The debut film of writer-director Tim Sullivan, Jack and Sarah follows a well-worn path, but Grant's nuanced central performance and a strong supporting cast elevate the material above its predictable outline. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide