D.B. Sweeney Movies

Directed by actor D.B. Sweeney, Two Tickets to Paradise tells the story of three lifelong friends who are each facing problems of their own. Mark has developed a serious gambling problem that is beginning to hamper his marriage, as well as his relationship with his child. McGriff can't shed his dreams of becoming a famous rock star even though he has a loving and supportive wife. Jason refuses to grow up, and still lives with his parents. When the three men escape their various responsibilities to go see a big college football game, their trip teaches them lessons about the maturing they each need to do. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A deadly seductress sets out to avenge her sister, in the process uncovering a dark conspiracy that makes her question everything she's been fighting for in this action thriller featuring Tom Berenger, Tom Sizemore, William Forsythe, and Michael Biehn. Raina (Stana Katic) was deeply in love with powerful crime boss Virgil Vadalos (Berenger) until she discovered that he was involved with her sister's disappearance. After that, their relationship met a violent end. Now Raina is determined to take out Virgil and his entire crew. With nothing more than unbridled fury and a particularly sharp knife, Raina starts at the lower rungs of Virgil's organization and methodically begins moving her way up through the ranks. But Virgil is no sucker, and in order to stop the slaughter he calls on crooked cop Beck (Paul Sloan) to stop Raina no matter what it takes. Now, as the streets of Los Angeles run red with blood, Raina and Beck discover that in this city, there is no escaping the tyranny of the corrupt. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When a San Francisco homicide detective with a keen eye for criminal profiling is fired for botching the arrest of a notorious serial killer, his subsequent effort to reinvent himself as an insurance claims case-investigator leads him to study a series of perplexing wrongful deaths in this comedy starring Joseph Fiennes, Winona Ryder, Tim Blake Nelson, and Wilmer Valderrama. Michael Burrows (Fiennes) isn't your typical detective. Though Detective Burrows is a paranoid obsessive-compulsive who faints at the sight of blood, his remarkable insight into the criminal mindset has nevertheless made him a valuable asset to the San Francisco Police Department. When Detective Burrows' idiosyncrasies allow the feared "North Beach Killer" to elude capture, however, he is fired by his superiors. Upon offering his unique skills to a doubting insurance company, Burrows is given 30 days in which to prove he can sort out the legitimate claims from the false ones. Now, as Burrows makes for the Midwest in the company of hard-nosed field agent Siri Tyler (Ryder), the film student (Valderrama) who has been following the former detective for his thesis follows the pair as they investigate a series of forehead-slapping deaths, including that of a powerful executive who attempts to prove that his high-rise window is unbreakable and a pair of English tourists who fatally misinterpret the "cruise control" function on their rented RV. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The follow-up to his feature debut, director Alfred De Villa's Yellow is drama starring Roselyn Sanchez as Amaryllis, an aspiring dancer trying to make it in New York City. After her father unexpectedly commits suicide, Amaryllis leaves her native Puerto Rico for the Big Apple with dreams of stardom. Naturally, she meets more than a little adversity and soon finds herself working as a stripper to make ends meet. But with a cadre of supportive new friends and ample moxie, she just might beat the odds. Also starring D.B. Sweeney, Yellow screened at the 2006 New York Latino Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Not be confused with the British sitcom of the same name, ABC's Life As We Know It was produced by the same people responsible for the cult favorite Freaks and Geeks, and based on Doing It, a novel by Melvin Burgess. Set in Seattle, the series endeavored to delineate modern high school life as experienced by a trio of hormone-driven teenaged boys. Sean Faris played central character Dino Whitman, outwardly a sports jock and chick magnet, inwardly a kind, sensitive soul (and one easily hurt and offended, especially when he unearthed an unsavory secret about his parents). Chris Lowell played Jonathan Fields, a shy aspiring filmmaker whose view of life was filtered through the lens of his ubiquitous vidcam. And Jon Foster played Ben Conner, an academic overachiever who never could understand why he was always falling short in the eyes of his hyper-judgmental parents. Also in the cast were Missy Peregrym as Dino's girlfriend, Jackie Bradford, to whom abstention from sex was becoming more of a challenge with each passing day; Jessica Lucas as Jackie's sensible best friend, Sue Miller; Kelly Osbourne as Jonathan's eccentric gal pal Deborah Tynan; Marguerite Moreau as Ben's voluptuous (and available!) English teacher Ms. Monica Young; and D.B. Sweeney and Lisa Darr as Dino's parents, Michael and Annie Whitman. Described by the ABC publicity department as "A show about sex, school, and growing up (not necessarily in that order)," and further described by one media reviewer as "Sex, sex, sex!," Life As We Know It debuted October 7, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Award-winning short filmmaker Jessica Sharzer makes her feature debut with the teen drama Speak, based on the young-adult novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. Kristen Stewart stars as high school freshman Melinda, who has lost her ability to speak. Ever since a traumatic event that occurred at a party over the summer, she has chosen to remain silent. She's abandoned by her friends, while her mother Joyce (Elizabeth Perkins) is too wrapped up in her own problems to notice. By recalling the details of the past situation, it becomes clear that a date rape occurred. Yet no one has offered her support in order to deal with the psychological consequences. Eventually her art teacher Mr. Freeman (Steve Zahn) reaches out, helping her develop ways to express herself. Also starring Hallee Hirsh and Eric Lively. Speak premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 as part of the American Spectrum competition. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

When a dangerous extremist is apprehended by the authorities, a series of deadly bombings force a beautiful but deadly ATF agent into an uneasy alliance in this explosive action thriller from director Jonathan Heap. In the aftermath of a deadly chemical processing plan explosion, ATF agent Ashley Pryor (Kelly Rowan) finally apprehends the man responsible for the destruction -- elusive radical Alexander Scott (Stephen Baldwin). Though at first it appears that Scott's deadly reign of terror has drawn to a close, the earth is soon shaking once again and it appears as if one of Scott's own men has finally lost his grip on reality. Now Agent Pryor's only hope to stop the killings is to place her trust in the very man she staked her career on catching. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This independent drama examines the relationship between Mary (Jena Malone), a 15-year-old girl whose been forced into a wisdom beyond her years by dealing with a serious illness, and her older sister Penny (Mary Stuart Masterson). The responsibility of caring for Mary has fallen to Penny, who watches over her sister by day and supports them both at night by turning tricks, using drugs to blot out her depression. While the harsh realities of life have blunted Penny's spirits, Mary has found a way to stay in touch with the beauty and magic of the world around her. Watching over Mary and Penny are Prisoner (D.B. Sweeney), a poet who got his nickname after a stay in jail; Kristjan (Karl Geary), a political refugee who works at the corner store; and Professor (Delroy Lindo), the sisters' gruff but good-hearted neighbor. The Book Of Stars received its world premier as part of the 1999 South By Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Dorothy Dandridge was a singer, nightclub entertainer, and actress who became the first African-American woman to receive an Academy award nomination as Best Actress (for her standout performance in 1954's Carmen Jones; she lost to Grace Kelly). However, despite her striking beauty and obvious talent, Dandridge was a sexy, glamorous black femme fatale at a time when Hollywood pin-up queens were supposed to be giggly blondes. The film industry didn't know what to do with her, and while her nightclub act was a bit too smooth for the Southern roadhouse circuit, as a black performer she wasn't allowed to stay in many of the hotels and resorts where she performed. Dandridge also had a sad personal life, filled with tragedy and romantic disappointment, and she died of an overdose of pills in 1965, at the age of 41. This made-for-cable biographical drama stars Halle Berry as Dorothy Dandridge, supported by Brent Spiner, Obba Babatunde, and Klaus Maria Brandauer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In an exclusive neighborhood in upstate New York, family and friends gather to commemorate the AIDS-related death of Tony (played in flashbacks by D.B. Sweeney), a much-loved young man. The gathering takes place at the country home of Tony's half-brother John (Jared Harris) and John's moody wife Marian (Deborah Kara Unger). John and Marian's marriage has been under some strain, due in large part to Marian's overriding worries about their year-old baby. When Tony's longtime lover and Marian's best friend Lyle (David Conrad) arrives with Robert (James Duval), his new boyfriend, tensions heighten further. Meanwhile, on the other side of the lake, wealthy widow Laura (Gena Rowlands) returns home to a surprise visit from her estranged daughter Nina (Brooke Shields), a B-movie actress whose latest attempt to shock her mother comes courtesy of Thierry (Gary Dourdan), the married, black Parisian she has brought along. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

In the film Happy New Year (1987), actor Peter Falk donned old-age makeup to play a senior citizen. Eight years later, he did it again, twice, in the TV movie remake of The Sunshine Boys (1995) and this film, a comedy-drama. Falk stars as Rocky Holzcek, a cantankerous 76-year-old Polish-American baker who insists, despite relatives' protests, upon adopting his young grandson Michael when the boy's parents pass away. Twenty years later, Michael (D.B. Sweeney) is a medical student who's forced to take in his still-spry grandfather when the old man is evicted from his apartment building. Although the crusty, outspoken Rocky gets along fine with Michael's Chinese college roommates, he is less enthused about his grandson's girlfriend Beth (Julianne Moore). Eventually, Michael and Beth marry, move away and have children, while Rocky continues working as a baker, passing the age of 100. When a tragedy befalls Michael and his kids, the old man once again comes to his grandson's rescue, but even a force of nature like Rocky can't last forever. Roommates was loosely based on the real-life experiences of screenwriter Max Apple and his grandfather. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

One of the most famous real-life UFO abduction cases on record becomes this character-driven drama from sci-fi screenwriter Tracy Torme. D.B. Sweeney stars as Travis Walton, a forestry worker who disappears one night during an encounter with a flying saucer. Authorities treat with skepticism the outrageous story related by the only witnesses to the event, Travis' five co-workers, who include his best friend and future brother-in-law, Mike Rogers (Robert Patrick). A state lawman (James Garner) finds a tabloid newspaper in the crew's pickup truck and quickly ascertains that tensions had arisen between Walton and a surly fellow logger (Craig Sheffer), leading him to conclude that a murder cover-up is underway. However, all of the men pass lie detector tests and the case becomes stalled until the shocking last-minute reappearance of Travis, who tells a literally fantastic story involving his whereabouts for the past week. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide