Zoie Palmer Movies
The third and final season of the adult-oriented anthology Bliss offers eight titillating tales of erotica, crafted for and about women by several of Canada's best and most prolific female writers and directors. The season begins with "Tango," one of several series entries written by the prolific Laurie Finstad-Knizhik, in which an Argentinian woman (Larissa Gomes) moves to Montreal to escape a romantic relationship with a married man -- only to fall for a seductive tango instructor. In "Penelope's Suitors," the title character, played by Stephanie Morganstern, is a single woman living in a suburban neighborhood teeming with handsome and desirable delivery men. Shary Guthrie stars in "Tying Up Gerald" as a conservative businesswoman who tries to understand her husband's obsession with S&M -- especially since he prefers to be the submissive one. "Badness" takes place in a courtroom, where the plaintiff (Zoie Palmer) is attracted to the pertinacious defense lawyer who is determined to win the case by any means. Female hockey goalie (Jessica Greco) ponders a romance with a man who doesn't like forceful women in "Amazon." "The Arrangement" features an independent-minded Indian woman (Pamela Sinha) who is dead set against her parents' choice for her husband. In "Les Petits Mots," a freewheeling nightclub DJ (Patricia McKenzie) is drawn to a bookstore owner who prefers the quiet life. And in the series finale "Steph's Life," a woman trapped in a dull, conventional lifestyle tries to kick over the traces by web-casting her sex life. ~ All Movie Guide
Paul (Greg Kinnear) and Jessie Duncan (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) have barely begun the grieving process when Dr. Richard Wells (Robert De Niro) attends the funeral of the Duncans' eight-year-old son, Adam (Cameron Bright), with a pressing question in tow. Head of the Godsend Fertility Clinic, Dr. Wells claims he can use Adam's rapidly dying cells to clone a replica of the boy, though the necessary DNA will only be viable for another 24 hours. The process in itself is completely illegal; not only must Jessie and Paul be forced to relocate, but they will also be forced to sever all ties with friends and family in order to ensure the secret remains so. Within the space of a day, the Duncans consider the legal and ethical implications of such a procedure, ultimately deciding that their love for Adam is enough to trump the law and any high-minded philosophical questions. After resettling in an idyllic town near Dr. Wells' clinic, Jessie is impregnated with the late Adam's living cells, while Paul is given a beautiful home and a more than suitable job. Shortly afterward, the new Adam -- seemingly identical to the original Adam in every way -- is born and lives a life quite similar to his predecessor until the morning of his eighth birthday. A series of night terrors is the first thing to disturb the Duncans' otherwise serene lifestyle. Adam's violent visions eventually mutate to ill temper, and an aura of menace permeates the aura of a boy who had otherwise been sweetness incarnate from the day of his birth. Eventually, Paul discovers that Dr. Wells is not a pediatrician, but a geneticist, and that their playing God may have been a Faustian bargain of epic proportions. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn, (more)
This powerful, politically charged cable TV movie was based on the memoirs of Hungarian gynecologist and Holocaust survivor Gisella Perl. Having spent the WWII years in charge of the woman's infirmary at Auschwitz, Perl (played by Christine Lahti) hopes to leave her living nightmare behind when the Allies liberate Europe. But when she applies for American citizenship in 1946, she is hauled into military court to explain the extent to which she "collaborated" with the Nazis during the war. The U.S. officials are especially disturbed by the number of illegal abortions Perl performed at Auschwitz without her superiors' knowledge. But as Perl struggles to explain to her relentless interrogators (the explanation taking the form of extended flashbacks), she terminated the lives of the unborn to save thousands of pregnant women from the Nazi gas chambers. Filmed on location in Canada, the U.K., and Lithuania, Out of the Ashes made its Showtime network debut on April 13, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
After being pulled from CBS amid a flurry of controversy, The Reagans was finally aired on Showtime and went on to earn Golden Globe nominations for its stars, James Brolin and Judy Davis. Directed by Robert Allan Ackerman (Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows) and based on a book by Carl Sferrazza Anthony, the film offers an intimate and some may say scathing look at the family behind one of the 20th century's most hotly debated presidencies. Also starring John Stamos and Zeljko Ivanek, the made-for-television biography is unrated. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Davis, James Brolin, (more)
- 2002
Originally titled The Soul Patrol, the made-for-cable The Scream Team was loosely based on a Disney internet game. After the death of their grandfather, young Ian and Claire Carlyle (Mark Rendall, Kat Dennings) discover that the tiny New England home town is something of a halfway house for restless ghosts, who cannot enter Heaven until they have redeemed themselves on Earth. Among the spectral clients of the "Soul Retrieval Center" are Coffin Ed (Eric Idle), a disgraced Revolutionary War soldier, and self-described "beautiful bossy ghost" Maria (Kathy Najimy). Naturally, the Carlyle kids end up as reluctant "case workers" for these and other rueful wraiths. Filmed in Ontario, The Scream Team was first telecast over the Disney Channel on October 4, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Idle, Kathy Najimy, (more)
