Omid Abtahi Movies
A recent college graduate desperate to have one last fling before launching himself into the real world falls into a strange love triangle with a charismatic couple in director Rawson Thurber's feature adaptation of Michael Chabon's freshman novel. Peter Sarsgaard, Mena Suvari, Nick Nolte, Sienna Miller, and Jon Foster star in a film that was adapted for the screen by director Thurber. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jon Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, (more)
Jeff Daniels, Stanley Tucci, Cheryl Hines, and Andy Samberg lend their voices to this computer-animated comedy following the descendants of the first chimps in space as they blast off for fun and adventure on a far-away planet. Ham III (Samberg) is the grandson of Ham, the first-ever chimp astronaut. This ne'er-do-well chimp may not be the most qualified ape for the job, but a scheming senator (Tucci) has recruited him for a most dangerous mission. It seems that a powerful tyrant (Daniels) has overtaken an alien world, and now it's up to Ham III and his trusty simian crew (Hines and Patrick Warburton) to help overthrow the deep-space despot. Perhaps with some training from Ham III's mentor (Kenan Thompson) and the help of a friendly alien (Kristin Chenoweth) this fearless group of anthropoids can make the universe a safer place for aliens and humans alike. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, (more)
- 2007
A man who moves between two worlds but belongs to nether discovers that in order to find peace he will first have to achieve his own singular identity in this introspective drama from director Sarab S. Neelam. Amrit Singh is a turban-wearing Sikh who lives in North America. Lately Amrit has begun to feel as if his religion and his surroundings are completely at odds. But while this ambitious misfit knows that he possesses the drive to be a success, he much first strike a peaceful balance between eastern philosophy and western lifestyle. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Omid Abtahi
Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt) communicates with earthbound spirits, ghosts who cling to the living because they have unfinished business that prevents them from moving beyond the familiar plane of existence that we call life. Ghost Whisperer explores the spiritual side of life and death as Melinda navigates among the dead and the living in her sometimes chilling, sometimes heart-rending, and sometimes amusing attempts to act as an intermediary between the ghosts and those they haunt. Jim (David Conrad), her husband, worries about the emotional toll this work takes on his wife as they embark on a new life together. Melinda recently has revealed her gift to her new friend, Delia Banks (Camryn Manheim), a single mom who works in Melinda's antique shop. However, Melinda fears the consequences of drawing Delia into this unconventional world. Melinda also shared her secret with quirky Professor Rick Payne (Jay Mohr), an expert in occult beliefs and history who thrives on helping her gain insights into the more baffling paranormal phenomena she encounters. For her part, Melinda accepts her unique abilities as a blessing and sometime curse, but always helps her clients, alive or dead, find emotional closure. The 18 episodes of Season 3 aired in 2007 on CBS.
- Starring:
- Jennifer Love Hewitt, David Conrad, (more)
Screen newcomer Joseph Cross portrays Augusten Burroughs in director Ryan Murphy's film adaptation of author Burroughs' best-selling personal memoir of the same name. A child of the 1970s whose alcoholic father Norman (Alec Baldwin) and delusional, unpublished poet mother Deidre (Annette Benning) serve as the dictionary definition of the word "dysfunctional," Augusten is sent by his mother to live with her eccentric psychiatrist Dr. Finch (Brian Cox) when his disagreeable parents ultimately decide terminate their turbulent marriage. Suddenly thrust into an environment that is as unfamiliar as it is unpredictable, young Augusten forms a curious relationship with the doctor's two whimsical daughters while learning to adapt and survive under even the most unusual of circumstances. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annette Bening, Brian Cox, (more)
- 2005
Veteran U.S. Army campaigner Sgt. "Scream" Silas (Keith Robinson) more than lives up to his name when he finds out he's been assigned an additional 90-day stint in the Iraq war as the TV drama series Over There begins its 13-week run. Not only is Scream sick of being stuck in "the middle of downtown Sh*tville," but he must also wet nurse a platoon comprised entirely of combat "virgins." The horror of war hits home immediately when former football star Pvt. Bo Rider (Josh Henderson) loses a leg in a roadside bombing. Later episodes show the soldiers facing moral dilemmas regarding the treatment of prisoners and the handling of civilians, the latter problem particularly affecting the street-smart Pvt. "Smoke" Williams (Kirk Jones) when he's suspected of the wrongful death of an innocent Iraqi, whereupon the insurgents put a price on his head. In another all-too-common crisis, a journalist imbedded with the platoon is taken hostage by terrorists. And in less common but no less vexing predicament, the soldiers mull over the possibility of petty larceny when they stumble upon a million dollars squirreled away by Saddam's minions. Elsewhere, preppy private "Dim" Dumphy (Luke MacFarlane) must deal with the fact that his wife, Vanessa (Brigid Brannagh), is not only cheating on him but is hitting the bottle big-time; the invalid Bo has trouble making ends meet when his military pay is cut off; PFC "Doublewide" Del Rio (Lizette Carrion) ends up going AWOL out of concern for her autistic son; abrasive and resentful Pvt. "Mrs. B" Mitchell (Nicki Lynn Aycox) makes a public spectacle of herself cavorting around with anti-war movie actors; and in the waning days of the tour, the lives of the platoon members are placed in serious jeopardy by the miscalculations of new CO Alexander Hunter, aka "Captain Underpants" (Josh Stamberg). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keith Robinson, Erik Palladino, (more)
