Ross Partridge Movies

From Jay and Mark Duplass, the writer/directors of the Sundance hits "The Puffy Chair," "Cyrus" and the upcoming "Jeff Who Lives at Home" comes "The Do-Deca-Pentathalon" - the story of two grown brothers who secretly compete in a homemade Olympics during a family reunion. When their fierce and disruptive competition is uncovered, the brothers must choose between their passion for beating the hell out of each other and the greater good of the family.

A couple hatches a highly dubious scheme to put the spark back in their marriage in this independent comedy drama. Annie (Katie Aselton) and Darren (Dax Shepard) have been married for seven years, and they love each other as much as the day they were wed; they're affectionate, have fun together, and enjoy games such as crossword puzzle races. They would seem to have a perfect relationship, except for one thing -- they haven't had sex in ages, and seem to have lost all interest in making love with one another, no matter how they try to put each other in the mood. Hoping to put some adventure back into their lives, Annie and Darren come up with an unusual idea -- they each get one night in which they're free to find someone and have sex with them, scot-free. But is this going to help their relationship, or is it just going to turn a small problem into a big problem? The Freebie was the first directorial assignment for actress Katie Aselton, who also plays Annie (and is married to another actor and filmmaker, Mark Duplass); the film was an official selection at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Successful children's book author Joe Peterson (Ross Partridge) attempts to beat a bad case of writer's block by spending Christmas in Wisconsin, and discovers that a little winter chill might be just the ticket to recapturing his creativity. Most Christmases, you might find Joe soaking up the sun on Venice Beach. But this year, the best-selling scribe just isn't feeling like himself. When Joe confesses to his best pal JP (Michael Chernus) that his imagination has simply stalled out, JP suggests that a few weeks in the Midwest may be just the thing to reawaken his muse. Upon arriving in the wintery Wisconsin town, Joe finds the cheerfulness of the quirky locals slightly grating. Later, when Joe strikes up a friendship with amiable Axel Anderson (Barry Corbin), things quickly start to look up. And though Axel's granddaughter Sif (Katie Aselton) quickly takes a shine to Joe as well, her father (Tony Shalhoub), the local sheriff, makes it crystal clear that he doesn't very much care for the newcomer. In an effort to recharge his creative batteries and ingratiate himself to the standoffish sheriff, Joe begins taking part in such small town traditions as singing with the church choir and taking a chilly Christmas Day dip in Lake Michigan. Inspired by his invigorating new adventures, the author quickly learns that the best way to beat the blues and live life to the fullest is to simply get out of his comfort zone and embrace the thrill of new experiences. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The Puffy Chair filmmaking duo Jay and Mark Duplass return to the realm of cinema with this tale of a man, a bag, and the strangeness that occurs when the two independently inconsequential factors come together. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Narrated by actor Kevin Spacey, this PBS documentary -- billed as an "intimate diary" -- chronicles the long and painstaking recovery, demolition, and stabilization activities on the site where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood. In the nine months following the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, 2,300 workers labored night and day to clean and clear the area in the safest and most efficient manner possible. At the end of it all, the personnel pondered aloud what the next steps would be in restoring normalcy to the area. With more and greater access to Ground Zero than any other filmmakers, the producers of the special were able to come up with a story that was at once compelling, honest, utterly bereft of false sentiment, and chock full of basic, no-frills courage. America Rebuilds: A Year at Ground Zero was originally telecast during PBS's coverage of the first anniversary of 9/11. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Ross Partridge directed this unconventional American indie flick that starts as a mystery but soon unfolds into an existential tale of life and faith. Joe Weldon (Jon Littlefield) is a hard-drinking cop working the beat in a small town in upstate New York. His life is in utter shambles: his wife dumped him, his kids are afraid of him, and he regularly blacks out from drinking too much. Yet when he learns of an unknown dead man recently dragged out of the Hudson River, Joe tries to find redemption by finding out more about the case. Carrying only a Bible, a telephone number, and a toothbrush, the corpse possessed few clues as to his life. Later, the dead man's past is uncovered; his name was Hap (Joel Garland), a corpulent idiot savant who lived in the backwoods and had the mysterious habit of waiting on a bridge that spans Interstate 84. But for whom? The search leads to a pair of shady characters: Vinny (Kevin Dillon) is a feckless family man and a sleazy hustler who befriends the hulking giant and then coerces him into working for his low-rent wrestling outfit; Freddy (Harley Cross) is a young punk who harassed Hap. As the film unfolds, all three of these desperate souls are changed, and in some sense redeemed, by Hap's death. This film was screened in the new filmmakers' section of the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

This tired, pointless sequel (the sixth in the creatively bankrupt series) continues the premise explored in both Amityville: The Evil Escapes and later used in Amityville 1992: It's About Time, in which the demonic forces occupying the infamous haunted Long Island spook-house reside within various household items that subsequently haunt their unsuspecting new owners. This time the curse inhabits an antique mirror from the house -- passed on to a photographer (Ross Partridge) by one of his subjects -- whose reflection presages the violent death of nearly everyone who gazes into it. Inane plot twists abound, leading Partridge to discover his own connection to Amityville's dark heritage, while his pretentious friends die in messy and uninteresting ways. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi