Austin Pendleton Movies

Ambitious young investment banker Jacob Moore (Shia LaBeouf) discovers that greed is still the name of the game when he forges a fragile alliance with onetime Wall Street hotshot Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) shortly after Gekko is released from prison. Having served eight years for securities fraud, money laundering, and racketeering, Gekko emerges from prison to find that his daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan), prefers to remain estranged, and that his former Wall Street cohorts are still raking in the cash. Flash-forward to 2008, and Winnie is dating a proprietary trader named Jake Moore (LaBeouf), who expresses a passion for green energy while working for his mentor Louis Zabel (Frank Langella), of Keller Zabel Investments. Despite heading up one of the most prominent investment firms in the country, Louis Zabel is forced to personally fight for the future of Keller Zabel before the Federal Reserve after the company's stock takes a hit due to persistent rumors that it's being dragged down by debt. Denied a bailout from the government, Keller Zabel soon falls victim to a hostile takeover lead by powerful investment bank partner Bretton James (Josh Brolin), of Churchill Schwartz. His job on the line and his mentor out of the picture, Jake discovers that Gordon Gekko is out promoting his new book "Is Greed Good?" and decides to attend a lecture being given by the author at Fordham University. According to Gekko, greed is now sanctioned by the government, and the U.S. economy is on the verge of collapse as a direct result of leveraged debt and wild conjecture. When Jake goes behind Winnie's back to try and repair her relationship with her father, Gekko reveals his compelling theories on the likely reasons for Zabel's downfall. Later, as Jake begins plotting to avenge his mentor, Gekko starts to reveal his true colors. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Inspired by the remarkable real life story of one boy's cinematic awakening, writer/director Patrick Read Johnson's semi-autobiographical drama 77 follows the story of an enthusiastic young film fanatic from Wadsworth, Illinois who sets out to produce home-brewed sequels to his favorite sci-fi films, and eventually finds himself at an advance screening of the film that will virtually define the entire genre for generations of movie lovers. Ever since his first viewing of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Patrick Read Johnson (John Frances Daley) has been a die-hard science fiction fan. But life for a movie geek isn't easy in the Midwest, so in order to pass the time, Patrick and his friends begin crafting cheaply budgeted sequels to the sci-fi classic that inspired them. Later, while visiting Hollywood, Patrick meets American Cinematographer editor Herb Lightman (Austin Pendleton), and talking special effects with an ambitious young director named Steven Spielberg. Upon receiving an invitation to an advance screening of a small science fiction film entitled Star Wars, the young film enthusiast from Illinois finds himself at the creative epicenter of a true big screen phenomenon. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Celebrated and vilified in equal measure, the pinup goddess Bettie Page inspired a legion of followers -- and an indecency scandal -- by appearing in a series of nude, sado-masochistic, and/or revealing magazine spreads in the 1950s. An era later, writer/director Mary Harron casts a knowing eye upon the woman who indirectly gave birth to modern pornography in the biopic The Notorious Bettie Page. As a teen, Page (Gretchen Mol) is a smart, plucky girl with ambitions beyond her Tennessee roots. Suffering varying degrees of abuse from her father, her first husband, and suitors of dubious virtue, Page makes her way to New York City, where an amateur photographer discovers her lounging on the beach. It isn't long before images of the shapely brunette reach Irving and Paula Klaw (Chris Bauer and Lili Taylor), brother-and-sister entrepreneurs who publish illicit magazines dedicated primarily to men's fetishes. The casual nudist Page eventually finds herself acquiescing to their requests to don thigh-high boots, whips, and chains, which raise the ire of the smut-fearing senator Estes Kefauver (David Strathairn). The Notorious Bettie Page had its North American premiere at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Based on John Grisham's novel Skipping Christmas, Christmas With the Kranks revolves around Nora (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Luther Krank's (Tim Allen) decision to put their normally fanatical enthusiasm for the holidays aside for a tropical cruise. With their daughter in Peru with the Peace Corps, the Kranks believe it just isn't worth it; thus, no presents, Christmas trees, or decorations of any kind will adorn their house to the great consternation of their neighbor Vic (Dan Aykroyd). Just as it looks like Christmas will be successfully skipped, Blair (Julie Gonzalo) throws a major kink into her plans when she suddenly has a change of heart and announces she'll be coming home for Christmas after all. The film ran into troubles early on in production when Ben Affleck's similar sounding bomb Surviving Christmas won the race to the theaters, forcing the filmmakers to depart from the book title in favor of the catchy Kranks one. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Andrew Stanton, who helped write Toy Story and Monsters, Inc., co-wrote and directed this computer-animated comedy-adventure about finding a very small fish in a very large ocean. Marlin (voice of Albert Brooks) is a more-than-slightly paranoid Clown Fish who is extremely devoted to his young son, Nemo (voice of Alexander Gould), the only survivor after an undersea predator swallowed up Nemo's mother and her other offspring. It's not Marlin's nature to explore unfamiliar waters, but when he and Nemo are accidentally separated near the Great Barrier Reef en route to Nemo's first day of fish school, Marlin gathers his courage and sets out to find his son. What Marlin doesn't know, however, is that while Nemo was looking at a boat passing on the surface, he was caught in a net and given a new home in a dentist's aquarium. As Marlin searches for his son, he makes friends with a friendly but absent-minded Regal Blue Tang named Dory (voice of Ellen DeGeneres), a Great White Shark named Bruce (voice of Barry Humphries) who is trying to cut fish out of his diet, a beach-rat Sea Tortoise named Crush (voice of Andrew Stanton), and Nigel (voice of Geoffrey Rush), a Pelican who can take Marlin's search from the ocean to dry land. Finding Nemo's impressive voice cast also includes Willem Dafoe, Allison Janney, Eric Bana, Stephen Root, and Brad Garrett. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In the series' 200th episode, the employees of Piltdown and Sons, a small Manhattan watchmakers shop, are informed on Christmas Eve that the shop is closing and they will all be out of work. Their last assignment is to repair a pocket watch found in the rubble of the Twin Towers after 9/11, and return the timepiece to the owners' widow before Christmas. Appearing on the scene as the shop's financial adviser, Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli) is quick to see that the story's ending will be an unhappy one unless the disgruntled employees can set aside their own anger and bitterness in order to bring a small ray of hope to someone even worse off than themselves. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The true story of prominent mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. is the subject of this biographical drama from director Ron Howard. Russell Crowe stars as the brilliant but arrogant and conceited professor Nash. The prof seems guaranteed a rosy future in the early '50s after he marries beautiful student Alicia (Jennifer Connelly) and makes a remarkable advancement in the foundations of "game theory," which carries him to the brink of international acclaim. Soon after, John is visited by Agent William Parcher (Ed Harris), from the CIA, who wants to recruit him for code-breaking activities. But evidence suggests that Nash's perceptions of reality are cloudy at best; he is struggling to maintain his tenuous hold on sanity, and Alicia suspects a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Battling decades of illness with the loyal Alicia by his side, Nash is ultimately able to gain some control over his mental state, and eventually goes on to triumphantly win the Nobel Prize. Based loosely on the book of the same name by Sylvia Nasar, A Beautiful Mind (2001) co-stars Paul Bettany, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Christopher Plummer, and Judd Hirsch. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Some six months after the cancellation of the popular, hard-hitting TV cop series Homicide, most of the cast members were reunited for a two-hour TV movie, which deftly (and somewhat surprisingly) combines stark, raw realism with Sartre-esque flights of fantasy. Several members past and present of the Baltimore Police Department's homicide squad are brought back together when their former skipper and current mayoral candidate, Al "G" Giardelli (Yaphet Kotto), is gunned down by a would-be assassin. As former partners Frank Pembleton (Andre Braugher) and Tim Bayliss (Kyle Secor) conduct their own personal search for the perpetrator, the comatose "G" discovers that not all police review boards are conducted by the living. Like its weekly predecessor, Homicide: The Movie was co-produced by Baltimore native Barry Levinson. The film made its first NBC network TV appearance on February 13, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Recalling the work of John Cassavetes, this film focuses on a trio of down-and-out gambling slackers. Dot (Kevin Corrigan), Lem (Mick Cunningham), and Curry (Michael Lowry) spend much of their time sucking down beer and making back bets on Yankees games, until they stumble upon the investment opportunity of a lifetime -- or so they think. As their luck seems to turn, Dot tries to go straight and pursue a free-spirited young woman named Leslie (Elizabeth Berridge). Yet, when the three's investment proves to be not what it seems, Dot is forced to choose between his buddies and the girl he loves. This film was screened at the 2000 L.A. Independent Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto) is fed up with the liberties taken by the homicide squad's FBI liaison -- never mind that his own son Mike (Giancarlo Esposito) is himself an FBI agent. Elsewhere, the detectives resent the preferential treatment afforded ADA Eleanor Burke (Haviland Morris), who intends to use Battered Spouse Syndrome to defend herself against charges of murdering her husband. Ballard (Callie Thorne) shames Lewis (Clark Johnson) into teaming with her to solve a barroom stabbing. And waitress Billie Lou (Ellen McElduff) receives an unexpected -- and very inebriated -- wedding proposal. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

All her life, Josephine Pitt (Brooke Smith) has been told that she was responsible for the death of her brother in 1972, when she was only three years old. Now she wants to know for certain -- and to do that, she appeals to Al Giardello (Yaphet Kotto), who handled the original case. Meanwhile, Bayliss (Kyle Secor) and Ballard (Callie Thorne) investigate the case of a junkie who was shot after dying of a drug overdose. Both detectives are weighed down by their personal travails -- especially Bayliss, who is tired of being ridiculed for his sexual preferences. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Actor Frank Whaley makes his directorial debut with Joe the King, a downbeat drama about a 14-year-old boy coming of age in an abusive and uncaring environment. When he was nine, Joe Henry (Noah Fleiss) lied to his friends about his father's job because he was ashamed that his father was the school janitor; in turn, he was humiliated in front of his class. Five years later, things are much worse; his father (Val Kilmer) has become a violent alcoholic who can't hold a job, while his mother (Karen Young) is harsh and unloving. Joe works illegally as a dishwasher to help support the family, but resorts to petty theft when it's clear his salary alone won't pay his father's debts. Eventually Joe attempts to steal the restaurant's cash box to get his father out of the red -- with tragic results. Whaley, who claims this story is "loosely autobiographical," assembled a strong cast for his first turn behind the camera, including Ethan Hawke, John Leguizamo, and Austin Pendleton. Joe The King premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi