Scott Ferrall Movies
A parking garage attendant and lifelong New York Giants fan finds his life spinning out of control following an altercation with his favorite football player in this darkly comic drama starring Patton Oswalt. For 35-year-old Staten Island native Paul Aufiero (Oswalt), sports are a religion. Paul still lives with his mother, he's the self-proclaimed "world's biggest New York Giants fan," and he spends most of his spare time calling in to the local sports radio station 760 "The Zone," where he can frequently be heard bickering with his contentious on-air nemesis Philadelphia Phil (Michael Rapaport), a fervent Eagles fan. Berated by his family for his obsessive love of sports, Paul retorts that they simply cannot appreciate the responsibility that goes with being the New York Giants' number one fan. One night, Paul and his best friend, Sal (Kevin Corrigan), spot Giants linebacker Quantrell Bishop (Jonathan Hamm) at a local gas station and impulsively follow his SUV to a Manhattan strip club. Once inside, the two friends bask quietly in the presence of football greatness before cautiously approaching their idol. When things don't go as planned and Paul winds up in the hospital, the resulting media frenzy finds him questioning everything he believes in just as his beloved team begins preparing for a late-season showdown with the Eagles. Former Onion scribe and Wrestler screenwriter Robert D. Siegel makes his feature directorial debut with this film, which he also scripted. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patton Oswalt, Kevin Corrigan, (more)
Tim Allen and Chiwetel Ejiofor co-star in writer/director David Mamet's martial arts drama Redbelt. Ejiofor plays Mike Terry, a jujitsu master who co-runs a very modest martial arts studio in Los Angeles with his bossy wife, Sondra (Alice Braga). Mike demonstrates an unwavering commitment to his craft and draws a cadre of defiantly loyal pupils including Joe (Max Martini), an LAPD cop. All told, it appears that he has chosen a peaceful and conflict-free path in life. The dedicated martial artist's fate takes an unanticipated turn, however, one evening when a young woman named Laura (Emily Mortimer) bursts into the academy in a state of near hysteria, and reaches for a policeman's gun when he tries to restrain her. One thing leads to another, and before long, Laura is regularly receiving martial arts lessons from Mike. As master begins to teach pupil and his martial arts philosophies emerge, his path also crisscrosses with that of a Hollywood movie star, Chet Frank (Tim Allen), when he saves the fellow from a beating at a local club and gets invited (along with Sondra) to Chet's house for dinner. Chet extends gestures of friendship, and Mike's guard breaks down; he speaks openly and candidly of a special martial arts method he employs that requires one of the participants to "assume a handicap." In time, the association with Chet leads to involvement in the motion-picture industry, and relations with a bevy of characters who aren't exactly what they seem -- including a pay-per-view fight mogul (Ricky Jay) and Chet's slimy and manipulative manager (Joe Mantegna). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chiwetel Ejiofor, Emily Mortimer, (more)
