Steve Smith Movies

A young man finds it's not always easy to navigate the rocky waters of love and sex in this teen-themed comedy-drama from Zimbabwe. Tiyane (Leroy Gopal) is a fairly typical teenager; he likes to play soccer, tries to do well in his studies, and has girls on the brain. However, Tiyane hasn't had much luck in finding a girlfriend, and his streetwise friendo), a pretty girl he has known since childhood, and the two start dating; one night Skido (Collin Dube) urges him to take a more aggressive approach. Tiyane decides to turn on the charm to Linda (Ratidzo Mambafter getting caught in a sudden rainstorm, one thing leads to another and the couple have sex for the first time. But it isn't long before Tiyane's eyes begin to wander, and he soon drops Linda for Juliet (Kasamba Mkumba), a pretty girl from a wealthy family. Linda feels awful, but soon finds it's more than just a matter of wounded pride -- she's pregnant. Tiyane is confused and angered by Linda's predicament; he thinks his problems are over when Linda is sent away by her family to have the baby, until he learns that Juliet is far less eager to give in to her impulses than Linda. Yellow Card received its American premiere at the 2000 Mill Valley Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Openly gay and delightfully campy British TV personality Graham Norton was the host of this late-night talk show, which aired over Channel 4 beginning July 3, 1998. In the first half-hour of each episode, Norton went out of his way to embarrass his audience with silly "poll" questions. He then spent the remainder of the show making fools of his guests in such segments as "Celebrity Swearing." Additionally, Norton periodically visited bizarre Internet sites, with time left over for his weekly phone-in harassment of former movie Tarzan Miles O'Keeffe. The winner of two BAFTA awards, So Graham Norton... was brought to U.S. cable television in 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This high-speed action comedy stars Charlie Sheen as Jack Hammond, who has been given a life sentence for a bank robbery that he didn't commit. Hammond manages to escape, and while trying to avoid capture at a gas station, he ends up kidnapping Natalie Voss (Kristy Swanson); he threatens her with what she thinks is a gun, although it turns out to be a candy bar. Jack and Natalie take off in her BMW, with Jack unaware that his "victim" is actually Dalton Voss (Ray Wise), one of California's richest and most powerful land barons. Soon half the state's law enforcement officers and every member of the media is on Jack's tail as he races down the highway; in the meantime, Natalie and Jack get to know each other, and while she doesn't much care for him at first (as you might imagine), before long her attitude has softened quite a bit. Alternative rock fans might want to keep an eye peeled for Henry Rollins, playing a policeman, and Anthony Kiedis and Flea from The Red Hot Chili Peppers as a pair of yahoos with a very large truck. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Writer/director/producer James L. Brooks scores on all counts with this clear-eyed look at the television news business and the dysfunctional types who work in it. Brooks' intelligent script introduces us to Jane Craig (Holly Hunter), an ambitious producer at the network news division's Washington D.C. branch, who is calm under fire yet has a good cry at her desk every morning over her empty personal life. Jane works well with Aaron Altman (Albert Brooks), an excellent reporter who lacks the visual charisma to make him a star. Into their lives comes Tom Grunick (William Hurt), a regional newscaster who admits he can't write news and doesn't understand many of the events he's covering, but has the presence and physical appeal that the increasingly entertainment-oriented network wants for its news programs. Jane is also physically attracted to him, which drives her crazy, because Grunick stands for everything she's fighting against in the news business, while Altman is devastated by her attraction because he secretly yearns for Jane. As Grunick becomes a rising star at the network, and layoffs of the old guard loom, the three leads deal with their feelings for each other, their careers, and their values. Hunter, Hurt, and Brooks are all superb, as is the excellent supporting cast (including an unbilled turn by Jack Nicholson as the network's smarmy national anchor). Brooks' script is funny, poignant, gritty, and brutally honest in its examinations of the television industry and the ways in which professionals interact on and off the job. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

Six sorority sisters are desperate for rent money, so, encouraged and trained by their den mother, they enter a mud-wrestling tournament in Las Vegas. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Writer-director Barry Levinson's autobiographical first feature fondly remembers his Baltimore youth. It's late 1959, and six guys in their early twenties are stumbling into adulthood, alternating responsibility with carefree time at their local diner. The story centers on the return from college of Billy (Tim Daly) to serve as best man at the wedding of his pal Eddie (Steve Guttenberg). Billy is consumed by a confusing relationship with a close female friend, while Eddie still lives at home, preparing a football trivia test for his fiancée and vowing to cancel the wedding if she fails. Other characters woven into the narrative include Boogie (Mickey Rourke), a womanizer with a gambling problem, and Shrevie (Daniel Stern), a music addict with a troubled marriage. Diner became known for its bittersweet comic screenplay and its remarkable cast, which also included Paul Reiser, Kevin Bacon, and Ellen Barkin. In order to capture the loose, laid-back dialogue of the diner scenes, Levinson directed them last, so that the actors would be more comfortable with each other. Diner was the first part of Levinson's "Baltimore Trilogy," followed by Tin Men (1987) and Avalon (1990). ~ Norm Schrager, All Movie Guide