Donald Martin Movies

Death brings a contentious family together (though that doesn't mean they get along) in this comedy-drama from director Anna Chi. When elderly Mrs. Xiao (Lisa Lu) dies in her sleep at home, her housekeeper and close friend Viola (Talia Shire) contacts her four adult children in hopes they'll come home to help with the funeral. Unfortunately, Mrs. Xiao didn't have many friends besides Viola, her children all have issues with her, and given her zeal to assimilate into American culture, the siblings are more than puzzled that she insisted upon a traditional Chinese funeral lasting a full seven days. Alexander (Russell Wong), a successful doctor, is still coming to terms with his overly strict mother and philandering father, and is unexpectedly reunited with his ex-wife (Kelly Hu), who he lost through his own infidelity. Elizabeth (Julia Nickson), a writer, also crosses paths with her former spouse (Adrian Hough) while she mourns both her mother and her young son. Victoria (Francoise Yip) has never been able to forgive her mom after she rejected her for marrying an African-American. And MeiMei (Steph Song), an actress, is a lesbian who wants to have children with her significant other Deedee (Bai Ling); they've been having trouble finding a suitable sperm donor, though they think one of the monks at the funeral may be just what they're looking for. Dim Sum Funeral received its world premiere at the 2008 AFI Fest. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The life story of French-Canadian pop diva Céline Dion is familiar enough to render itself almost iconic. The child of an economically strained family in Québec (with 13 brothers and sisters), Dion began to evince vocal artistry at age five, singing in the piano bar owned by her parents. At the age of 12, Dion both authored and sang her own original tune, "Ce N'était qu'un Rêve", which she recorded in a studio with assist from her parents; they promptly shipped the demo tape off to Euro music producer René Angelil, who - as soon as he heard it - reportedly mortgaged his house to finance Dion's first two albums, then aggressively helped Dion remake her physical image to turn her into an international pop star á la Michael Jackson. When followed by a win in the 1988 Eurovision song contest and a series of blockbuster recordings (including the title track to Disney's Beauty and the Beast), the efforts indeed paid off by rocketing her to the status of one of the most popular - and obscenely lucrative - music acts in the history of the recording industry. In the mean time, she also fell in love with, then married, Angelil. As directed by Jeff Woolnough, the Canadian telemovie Céline presents a dramatization of the chanteuse's rise to glory; it was created without the participation, authorization or endorsement of Dion. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Max Havoc: Ring of Fire stars Mickey Hardt as the title character, a former professional kickboxer now working as a photographer. While at a stylish resort in order to snap pictures of a sporting event, Max discovers that the owner of the resort has connections to some very bad men. Soon he must fall back on his lethal skills in order to survive. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

This hastily assembled rehash of the infamous Laci Peterson murder case is based on Amber Frey's book Witness: For the Proseuction of Scott Peterson, which may explain why she comes off as the most sympathetic person in the film. Basically, the script adheres to the facts: The mistress of Scott Peterson (Nathan Anderson), Amber Frey (Janel Moloney) begins to suspect that something is amiss with her sweetheart when, during what is supposed to his trip to Europe, he is suddenly popping up on every TV station and cable service in the country, swearing up and down that he had nothing to do with the disappearance of his wife Laci and their unborn son Connor. Eventually, Amber decides to cooperate with the Modesto Police Department in their efforts to pin a murder rap on Scott, agreeing to wear a wire while conversing with Scott over his domestic travails. In his frenzied efforts to counteract previous lies by cooking up new ones, Peterson effectively puts the noose around his own neck--and Amber rightfully emerges as the heroine of the piece (though not, it is hinted, without putting her own life in jeopardy in process). Somehow, the film manages to work in several plugs for the self-help book "du jour", The Purpose-Driven Life. Produced for CBS, the made-for-TV Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution premiered May 25, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Burned-out, boozing crime novelist Bruce Simon Barker (John Ritter) emerges from his doldrums long enough to involve himself in a bizarre missing-persons case. At the urging of his police inspector sister (Samantha Eggar), Bruce investigates the disappearance of a baby. There have been no ransom demands, the baby's parents are (to put it mildly) dysfunctional, and the father of the child is cheating on his wife with her sister. At first, Barker figures that these sordid real-life intrigues might serve as inspiration for another of his crime novels, but the deeper he becomes enmeshed in the situation, the more he realizes that there is much, much more to the case than meets the eye. Meanwhuile, Barker must wrestle with the disintegration of his own marriage and the alienation of his daughter. Daphne Zuniga, Michelle Scarabelli and Roddy McDowell deliver standout performances as the sister-in-law, the baby's mother, and the family's shady attorney. Produced for Canadian TV under the title Loss of Faith, this film has since been shown on America's Lifetime network as The Truth About Lying. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After being saved from execution at the hands of a vengeful Native American tribe by Powhatan princess Pocahontas, an explorer in the New World finds his relationship with the beautiful Pocahontas fueling the rage from both sides in this take on the classic tale starring Tony Goldwyn, Miles O'Keeffe, and Sandrine Holt. John Smith (O'Keeffe) was an explorer seeking adventure in a new land, but soon after being captured by the Powhatan Confederacy, the brave adventurer is sentenced to death by his captors. As the moment of Smith's execution draws near, a young Powhatan princess named Pocahontas (Holt) saves his life by adopting him under tribal tradition. Though the act of compassion saves Smith's life, it also draws the wrath of both Pocahontas' tribe and Smith's mortal enemy Sir Edwin Wingfield (Goldwyn) -- who views his old nemesis' alignment with the tribe as an act of treason. As the simmering tension between the settlers and the Native Americans breaks into a boil, blood will be spilled and history will be made. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In this thriller, a businessman's private habit of calling a phone sex service nearly costs him his life and that of his family when the dream girl at the end of the line turns out to be a psychotic killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide