Josh Pais Movies

Inspired by writer/director Greg Mottola's own true-life job-from-hell experience, Adventureland stars The Education of Charlie Banks' Jesse Eisenberg as an uptight recent college graduate who discovers that he'll have to get a degrading minimum-wage job at a local amusement park instead of spending his summer drinking German beer, visiting world-class museums, and flirting with cute French girls. It's the summer of 1987, and James Brennan (Eisenberg) has just graduated college. James is all set to embark on his dream tour of Europe when his parents (Wendie Malick and Jack Gilpin) suddenly announce that they won't be able to subsidize the trip. Now the only things James has to look forward to this summer are sugar-fueled children, belligerent dads, and an endless parade of giant stuffed animals. When James strikes up a relationship with captivating co-worker Em (Kristen Stewart), however, he finally starts to loosen up. Suddenly, the worst summer ever doesn't seem quite so bad. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Lifelines examines an extraordinarily stressful day in the life of the dangerously dysfunctional suburban Bernstein family. Mom Nancy (Jane Adams), a schoolteacher, is unable to handle the constant barrage of hostility from her three children. Husband Ira (Josh Pais) is ineffectual, but tries to convince Nancy that her addiction to coffee isn't helping her anxiety. Older son Mikey (Robbie Sublett) is a stutterer, and barely able to express himself under the best conditions. Middle child Meghan (Dreama Walker of Gossip Girl) flouts whatever restrictions her parents place on her, inviting her boyfriend for overnight visits, while youngest child Spencer (Jacob Kogan of the 2009 Star Trek) suffers from ADHD, and needs to be handcuffed to the car to get him to participate in a family outing. The family visits a therapist, Dr. Livingston (Joe Morton), where Ira reveals that he's leaving Nancy because he's discovered that he's gay. Just when the family appears ready to fracture irreparably, Dr. Livingston calmly takes them into his office, one at a time, and finds a way to get each of them to communicate with him. But the painful confessions he elicits may prove too much for their already fragile family bonds to withstand. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

A teenage take on Roman Polanski's post-noir classic Chinatown, The Sophomore stars Reece Daniel Thompson, Mischa Barton, and Bruce Willis in the tale of a Catholic high-school newspaper reporter who stumbles upon a disturbing conspiracy. Prompted by the most popular girl in school to investigate the theft of the SAT exams, an ambitious young fact-finder discovers that the school's president -- a disillusioned Gulf War veteran -- and the top jock are responsible for the crime. As if this information wasn't unsettling enough, it appears that both have been operation under the direction of an even higher power. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A film freak has his life turned upside down when he starts dating a real-life femme fatale in this comedy. Neil (Cillian Murphy) is a dyed-in-the-wool movie fan who runs a video store, "Gumshoe Video," specializing in classic film noir and offbeat cult items. Neil spends nearly every evening on the couch, soaking up classic movies from the blue glow of his television; Neil's lack of a social life has not been good for his relationships with women, and his latest girlfriend walked out on him after he declared he wanted her to be more like Katharine Ross in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. But then Neil meets Violet (Lucy Liu), a sexy and adventurous woman who is immediately taken with him. However, Neil soon decides Violet may be a bit too adventurous -- while he's content to get his excitement from watching movies, she would rather throw herself into thrilling situations rather than observe them from a distance, and her appetite for danger proves to be far more than he bargained for. Watching the Detectives was the first directorial effort from Paul Soter, who as a member of the Broken Lizard comedy troupe helped write the films Super Troopers and Beerfest. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Filmed on location in New York and Connecticut, the ESPN miniseries The Bronx is Burning was a vivid (if not overly expensive) retelling of the New York Yankees' championship year of 1977. Heading the enormous cast of celebrity lookalikes were Oliver Platt as Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and John Turturro as team manager Billy Martin. The infamously volatile relationship between the two men was the heart of the series, with the prickly Martin curiously emerging as the hero of the piece. Setting the story in motion was the hiring of baseball superstar Reggie Jackson (Daniel Sunjata), the first of several measures taken by the Yanks to reclaim the World Series. To place the action at Yankee Stadium in proper historical context, much was made of the other events which kept the citizens of New YOrk on their collective toes in the summer of 1977, including the frantic search for the serial killer known as the "Son of Sam", the devastating power blackout, the fractious mayoral race, and the ongoing violence in the streets of the Bronx. The title of the series derived from the famous TV-news headline "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx is Burning", which was also the title of the Jonathan Mahler novel upon which the show was based. The Bronx is Burning first roared into flame on July 10, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A disillusioned ex-hacker is branded a terrorist by the government for using his vast knowledge of technology to expose greedy CEOs, corrupt politicians, and power-hungry elitists in this thriller starring Eugene Byrd, Ali Larter, and William Sadler. Terell Lessor (Byrd) used to be one of the world's most notorious hackers, but these days he prefers to use his computer skills for vengeance. In order to get even with those who have slighted him in the past, Terell catches the guilty parties in compromising positions via strategically placed spy cameras, and then broadcasts the incriminating footage over the internet. Upon realizing precisely how much power he truly wields, Terell partners with college student Olivia (Larter) to strike fear into hearts of unethical public officials by giving them the same treatment afforded to his personal enemies. When Terell's exploits become front-page news and he is condemned as a terrorist by the government and law enforcement agencies, his once personal mission gains newfound momentum. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Host Susan Sarandon explores the common sense diet methods of Norris Chumley in this video designed to cut through the fads and get straight to the facts. By eschewing diet pills and starvation methods in favor of a sensible diet, embracing movement, and discovering a transformational self-love by surrendering himself to a higher power, Chumley shed 160 pounds and has kept the weight off for nearly a decade. In this release, Chumley shares his spiritually oriented approach to weight loss and offers a look at five ordinary people who successfully won the battle against obesity through practicing the methods that he prescribes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A family takes on the difficult task of learning how to get along with one another in this emotional comedy drama. Alex Gromberg (Michael Douglas) is a middle-aged man who feels caught in the middle of his familial obligations as he muddles he way through a midlife crisis. While a successful businessman, Alex sometimes still feels as if he's under the shadow of his father, Mitchell Gromberg (Kirk Douglas), a successful attorney whose skills in the courtroom outstripped his gifts as a parent. Elderly Mitchell has recently survived a stroke, and Alex and Mitchell want to mend their relationship while there's still time, but making it so proves difficult, even with Alex getting advice from his wife, psychologist Rebecca (Bernadette Peters), and Mitchell being prodded by his long-suffering wife, Evelyn (Diana Douglas). Alex is also trying to reach out to his two sons, who are as different as night and day; college student Asher (Cameron Douglas) is an aspiring club DJ who seems to be styling himself to bear no resemblance to his father, while 11-year-old Eli (Rory Culkin) is an overly serious lad who is having trouble navigating the first steps of adolescence. It Runs in the Family marked the first time Kirk Douglas acted in a film with his son Michael Douglas; adding to the family atmosphere was Michael's son Cameron Douglas, working with his family for the first time, and Diana Douglas, Kirk's former wife and Michael's mother. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

At first glance, it is assumed that a murdered woman was a professional escort. But a clue found in the corpse's pocket leads the detectives to a "swingers party," where the victim had been in a fight with another woman. It is then revealed that the dead woman was a doctor who had been writing fraudulent prescriptions for the illegal painkiller Oxycodone. The outcome of the case is determined by an apparent betrayal within the ranks of a mob family. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A rock singer dies of an apparent drug overdose. The detectives and lawyers determined that what appears to be an accident is actually murder, possibly perpetrated by a disenchanted cohort of the deceased. Further complicating the case is the omnipresence of detective-turned-bestselling novelist Mike Foster (Tony Lo Bianco), who is hard at work on a tell-all book about the dead woman's former husband. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This casual, personal documentary charts one man's dedication to the New York neighborhood he grew up in, as he watches it go from a bohemian paradise in the '60s, to a haven for drug dealers in the '80s, to the gentrified, high-rent slice of Manhattan it has become. Born to a free-spirited single mother in a former tenement house, the fortysomething Josh Pais remembers a childhood filled with colorful characters, from the scenesters and hangers-on to the famous, luminary East Village artists of the era. Though he left the neighborhood to pursue a career as a Hollywood actor, Pais returned, only to find drug dealers and crack dens where his home once was; many of his mother's friends had fallen on hard times. Through it all, Pais remains committed to the area between Avenues C and D, and we watch as he attempts to create a safe haven for his wife and child -- a process made easier when the city decides to crack down on crime in the area. From Pais' point of view, 7th Street becomes safer, but also loses its character as its rents skyrocket. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

It is extremely likely that this episode was inspired by the real-life romance between a prominent rap singer and a famous Hollywood film star. A fatal shooting at an exclusive Manhattan nightclub involves a number of celebrities, including popular hip-hop artist G-Train (Cyrus Farmer). The subsequent investigation is complicated by a distinct lack of cooperation amongst the parties involved. Once the case gets to court, it is clear that G-Train is more concerned with shielding a very special person in his life -- and his carefully cultivated "gangsta" public image -- than in preserving his own freedom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide