Richard Portnow Movies

Jamie Foxx stars as an assistant DA who finds himself at the mercy of a spiteful vigilante (Gerard Butler) hell-bent on avenging the death of his wife and daughter, whose murderers are set free due to legal loopholes. F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job) directs from a script by Frank Darabont and Kurt Wimmer. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Determined to win a local basketball tournament so that one of their own can afford to send his son to college, a group of hoop-shooting little people recruit former NBA star Dennis Rodman to help them play the biggest game of their lives. A loving father, Roger simply doesn't have the money to fund his son's college education. Noting that a local basketball tournament boasts a $50,000 award for the winning team, Roger recruits all of his vertically challenged friends to go for the gusto. But in order to win they'll need the "right man for the middle," and what better candidate than Rodman? With a little persuasion from Jack the Agent (Richard Portnow), Rodman realizes that this may be the perfect opportunity for an image makeover, and prepares for his big comeback. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An ex-con who once traded his soul for his freedom is forced to carry out a kidnapping in order to summon the cleansing winds of redemption in director Adam Golomb's fact-based look at the criminal underworld in the Windy City. Nate Maycott (Dean Rabaiov) has just finished serving a four-year prison sentence, and now he's determined to start life anew with his young daughter. Had he paid off the police like most others, Nate may have been able to avoid his stint behind bars altogether, but sometimes the "tax" is too steep even for those who can afford to pay. Now that Nate is back on the outside, the police step up their plans to ensure that he never forgets the past. Instructed to keep tabs on the prostitution practices at the Chicago Uptown Hotel, Nate gradually finds himself backed into a dangerous corner. The streets of Chicago can be an unforgiving place even for the innocent, but for a man with a murder to hide and daughter to protect, they can be downright infernal. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A couple from the less fashionable side of New York learns the hard way about the nuts and bolts of staging a wedding in this broad comedy based on the long-running off-Broadway play. Tony (Joey McIntyre) and Tina (Mila Kunis) are a couple from Queens who have decided to take the big step and get married. However, while they have no qualms about matrimony, they're not so sure about their wedding -- Tina's mother (Priscilla Lopez), a widow, and Tony's dad (John Fiore), who split up with Tony's mother some time ago, used to be an item, and they've never gotten over their bitter breakup. As the two families try to put together a social event worthy of their children, the parents are constantly at one another's throat, and as the bride and groom deal with a priest who prefers to do the wedding his own way, a wedding singer who feels requests are beneath his dignity, a wildly eccentric photographer, a pack of brutally hung-over groomsmen, and some unhappy bridesmaids, Tony and Tina begin to wonder if their relationship can survive the wedding -- or if the antagonism of their parents is a sign of things to come. Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding premiered at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Is Ruby Weaver's Mr. Right really an emissary from the year 2,470, or is he just a complete loon ball? This question is at the heart of Brad Anderson's whimsical romantic comedy. The story opens with Ruby (Marisa Tomei) lamenting over her boyfriend Sam (Vincent D'Onofrio) to her shrink (Holland Taylor). In a series of flashbacks, the film quickly sketches Ruby as a neurotic with an unhappy track record concerning men and Sam as an oddball who is afraid of small dogs and has a barcode tattooed to his arm. But he's nuts over Ruby, and at least initially, that is enough for her. Slowly, Sam begins to reveal his "past." He tells her that he is from the Dubuque of the future and that he hails from a rare "anachronistic" family who believe that reproduction should occur the old-fashioned, fun way as opposed to the more popular cloning method. At first, Ruby is amused, until she realizes that he's not kidding. After a series of arguments, he agrees to visit Ruby's analyst, which yields unexpected results. This film premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Treat Williams and Claudia Christian star in this action movie about a mercenary who pays a visit to an old Army buddy who is now a college professor. When the professor's daughter is brutally assaulted by a pack of amoral jocks from the school football team, the mercenary disguises himself as an instructor at the college to deal out justice against the thugs who ruined the young girl's life. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A film student discovers the action movie project of his dreams is happening around him in real life in this offbeat independent drama. Alex (Erik Palladino) is a nerdy student studying film production and not doing especially well with it. One day, Erik and his roommate Lars (Billy Jayne) discover they have a new neighbor, an attractive and self-confident woman named Blue (Jennifer Rubin). After they share a few beers and discover a mutual fondness for the films of Sam Peckinpah, Alex makes a startling discovery about Blue -- she's a hired killer, who has a hit scheduled the following week in Miami. After that, Blue plans to get out of the business and leave the United States for good. Alex has a brainstorm: he'll tag along for Blue's last "project" with a camera and make a documentary about her. Blue agrees to cooperate, but en route Alex finds out more about Blue than he was planning on, and when the killing doesn't go smoothly, he finds himself suddenly aiding Blue and not just recording her actions. Jennifer Rubin gives a standout performance in this film, which also features Brian Vander Ark from the rock band The Verve Pipe in a supporting role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A surreal crime drama told as only Jim Jarmusch could, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai stars Forest Whitaker as Ghost Dog, a hit man living in an unidentified but run-down city in what license plates call "The Industrialized State." Known for his gift of being able to come and go without people noticing him, Ghost Dog is a self-taught samurai who is obsessed with order and his strict personal moral code, drawn from the philosophies of the Japanese warriors. As every samurai needs a leader to whom he swears loyalty, Ghost Dog has devoted himself the service of Louie (John Tormey), a low-level crime boss who once saved his life. When Louie's superiors decide he must be executed, Ghost Dog leaps into action, methodically wiping out his many enemies. Along with a dizzying series of stylized shoot-outs, Ghost Dog also features carrier pigeons, characters who read Rashomon, a French-speaking ice cream man, and a score by RZA from the top-selling hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, who have their own well-documented obsession with Asian culture. Ghost Dog was screened in competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Ron Cosentino writes and directs this gangland screwball tragedy about a young street smart kid trying to protect his family. Though his mother (Karen Black) is an alcoholic, Duke Romano (Carmine D. Giovinazzo) is primarily concerned with his loser brother Frankie, who makes the monumentally stupid decision to rob a truck full of designer shoes from trigger-happy local mobster Nicky Kaplan. When Nicky puts a hit out on Frankie, Duke does everything in his power to keep the mafia from killing his sibling. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Based on a best-selling autobiography, this comedy drama is the surprisingly sweet-natured life story of a controversial radio personality. Howard Stern, who stars as himself, is a nerdy New York kid who dreams of a disc jockey career despite being a self-loathing klutz who lacks a traditional broadcaster's voice. A strikeout artist in college, Stern's romantic travails end when he meets and marries Alison (Mary McCormack), a beautiful social worker. Stern's early career at several radio stations is undistinguished. Bored, he makes his life the centerpiece of his show, including his obsessions with sex and bathroom humor, and he finds willing cohorts in news reporter Robin Quivers and producer Fred Norris. After an abortive tenure at a Washington D.C. station that loathes his high-rated antics, he lands at NBC in New York. Again, Stern clashes regularly with executives, especially Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton (Paul Giamatti), who runs roughshod over Stern's team. At home, Stern's tendency to discuss the intimate details of his marriage takes a toll, reaching a meltdown when he jokes about Alison's recent miscarriage on-air. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Simply switch on the nightly news and you will see that the media has become increasingly intrusive into the lives of people involved in extraordinary circumstances. What is the true impact of the omnipresent camera upon those circumstances? How does it change the existence of those living beneath a publicly broadcast microscope? This provocative drama takes the notion of the intruding camera a step further to follow the machinations of a determined documentary filmmaker who chooses an ordinary man on the street for the subject of her latest probing film. In following her attempts to chronicle even the most intimate details of his mundane existence the film offers a double character portrait, not only of the victim himself, but also of the disaffected (and but for her hands, unseen) filmmaker who is unable to relate to life without the barrier of a hand-held camera to protect her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

One "personal favor" leads to another when Sophie (Tiffany Taubman), the daughter of Ira's (John Pankow) new girlfriend Iris (Kathleen Wilhoite), requests an autographed photo of the mayor. This innocent request places Lance Brockwell (Alan Ruck), the boss of Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt), in a ticklish position. Bradley White makes his first appearance as Lance's deputy, Doug Berkus. ~ All Movie Guide

Director David Fincher's dark, stylish thriller ranks as one of the decade's most influential box-office successes. Set in a hellish vision of a New York-like city, where it is always raining and the air crackles with impending death, the film concerns Det. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), a homicide specialist just one week from a well-deserved retirement. Every minute of his 32 years on the job is evident in Somerset's worn, exhausted face, and his soul aches with the pain that can only come from having seen and felt far too much. But Somerset's retirement must wait for one last case, for which he is teamed with young hotshot David Mills (Brad Pitt), the fiery detective set to replace him at the end of the week. Mills has talked his reluctant wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), into moving to the big city so that he can tackle important cases, but his first and Somerset's last are more than either man has bargained for. A diabolical serial killer is staging grisly murders, choosing victims representing the seven deadly sins. First, an obese man is forced to eat until his stomach ruptures to represent gluttony, then a wealthy defense lawyer is made to cut off a pound of his own flesh as penance for greed. Somerset initially refuses to take the case, realizing that there will be five more murders, ghastly sermons about lust, sloth, pride, wrath, and envy presented by a madman to a sinful world. Somerset is correct, and something within him cannot let the case go, forcing the weary detective to team with Mills and see the case to its almost unspeakably horrible conclusion. The moody photography is by Darius Khondji; the nauseatingly vivid special effects are by makeup artist Rob Bottin, best known for more fantasy-oriented work in films like The Howling (1981). ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide