Alan Blumenfeld Movies

Health issues dominate this episode, as Lorelai (Lauren Graham) becomes Emily's (Kelly Bishop) chauffeur after the latter's eye surgery, and Rory (Alexis Bledel) tends to Logan's every need upon his return from the hospital. Though physically on the mend, Logan (Matt Czuchry) suffers emotionally when he reads a scathing newspaper interview granted by his father Mitchum. Elsewhere, Luke (Scott Patterson) finds out that his sister Liz (Kathleen Wilhoite) is pregnant; Jackson (Jackson Douglas) and Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) must quickly dispose of a marijuana crop left behind by his former employees; and a surprise gift from her parents knocks Lorelai for a loop. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A restored church belfry has a curious effect on the citizenry of Stars Hollow, with rapture and tears among the various and sundry reactions. In other developments, Rory (Alexis Bledel) goes after a malicious campus gossip who turns out to be Paris' latest boy-toy. Luke (Scott Patterson) fails to inform Lorelai (Lauren Graham) that he is now living with Nicole. And upon finding out that Lane (Keiko Agena) has been playing with a band -- and staying out until one a.m. to boot -- her mom Mrs. Kim (Emily Kuroda) reacts in exactly the way that you'd expect Mrs. Kim to react. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There's no shortage of suspects when much-hated standup comic Dougie Max (Jeffrey Ross) dies during his act after drinking what appears to be tainted water. The plot thickens for CSI investigators Catherine (Marg Helgenberger) and Grissom (William L. Petersen) when a 15-year-old is poisoned to death by the same water in a convenience store. And Brass (Paul Guilfoyle) orders the re-opening of a case when the husband of Shelley Stark, who ostensibly died accidentally, is seen throwing his money around in the company of a flashy young woman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Much against her better judgment, Lorelai (Lauren Graham) accompanies Rory (Alexis Bledel) to the baby shower being held in Boston for Christopher's insufferable "ex" Sherry (Mädchen Amick). Meanwhile, back in Stars Hollow, everyone is abuzz over Miss Patty's (Liz Torres) new boyfriend, whom she met at a funeral. The Town Loner demands the right to hold a protest demonstration downtown, even though no one knows exactly what he's protesting. And Luke's (Scott Patterson) suspicions are aroused when Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) suddenly comes up with enough money to buy a car. (By the way, the episode's title refers to a highly cathartic experience for both Lorelai and Rory). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

MTV's first made-for-TV movie, 2Gether: The Original Movie, is a hilarious and sometimes touching send-up of the "boy band" phenomenon of the '90s. When rock manager Bob Buss (Alan Blumenfeld) is fired by the studio-created boy group Whoa!, he decides to get even by creating another band from the ground up. After discovering young Jerry O'Keefe (Evan Farmer) singing in the streets, Buss builds his new group around O'Keefe's natural talents. Adhering to the standard music-industry clichés, Buss' pre-fab creation, 2gether, consists of "The Lead Singer" (O'Keefe), "The Bad Boy" Mickey Parke, "The Cute One" Q.T. McKnight, "The Shy One" Chad Linus, and "The Older Brother," who happens to be Chad's older brother Doug Linus. Whipping them into shape in but a few days, Buss prepares 2gether for their big-time debut in Jacksonville -- as the opening act for Whoa! Several MTV personalities, notably the ubiquitous Carson Daly, appear as themselves. In true "life imitates art" fashion, 2gether briefly became an honest-to-goodness pop sensation, turning out several popular tunes, a well-circulated music video, and a weekly TV series. Filmed in Vancouver, 2gether: The Original Movie first aired on February 1, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

During a home invasion, a wife and baby are killed, but the husband is only wounded. Smelling a rat, Simone (Jimmy Smits) and Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) work hand in hand with retired cop Gotelli (Carmine Caridi), now an insurance investigator, to determine if the husband arranged the killings to collect a hefty life-insurance policy. Also, Harvey Boutier (Dick Anthony Williams), a terminally ill friend of Lt. Fancy (James McDaniel), shows up at the precinct with new information on a 15-year-old murder case. And finally, the squad investigates the beating death of a widely despised record-company CEO. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A 14-year-old boy is killed in a shooting. The prime suspect is the boy's classmate (Danny Gerard), who is hiding guns in his school locker. For police detective Briscoe (Jerry Orbach), there is more to the case than the standard investigation and paperwork; one of the parties involved is the son of Briscoe's old friend, former detective Ted Parker (Robert Hogan). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As if losing both her husband and her money isn't enough, a woman in her mid-20s also finds herself married to a 12-year-old boy (who doesn't even like her) in the comedy Holy Matrimony. Havana (Patricia Arquette) is an aspiring showgirl who is working at a sleazy carnival while she dreams of her big break. Short on cash, Havana's boyfriend Peter (Tate Donovan) comes up with a plan; while Havana flirts with her boss, Peter will swipe his keys and lift the day's take from the carnival's safe. After grabbing the cash, Havana and Peter hightail it to Canada, where Peter figures that they can hole up with his family. However, Peter didn't always lead a life of crime; he was raised in a Hutterite community, and while Peter's Uncle Wilhelm (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and younger brother Ezechiel (Joseph Gordon Levitt) are glad to see him, they don't think much of Havana, whose brassy personality convinces them that she was the one who led Peter down the wrong path. To make peace with his family, Peter marries Havana, but not long after, he dies in a car wreck. Hutterite custom demands that when a man dies, his widow is to marry his brother; the catch in this case is that Ezechiel is only 12 years old and understandably not interested in matrimony. However, Havana agrees to the marriage, largely because Ezechiel knows where Peter stashed the earnings from the robbery and Havana does not. Havana's ignorance of Hutterite traditions and lack of enthusiasm for their austere lifestyle is a matter of no small annoyance to her, but Ezechiel shrewdly uses his knowledge about Peter's hidden bankroll to persuade Havana to lead a more righteous life. Holy Matrimony was directed by Leonard Nimoy in one of his periodic breaks from acting. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Don "The Dragon" Wilson from the Bloodfist series is back in another Roger Corman-produced action film. Here, he uses his martial-arts prowess to defend rock-and-roll singer Shanna (Deirdre Imershein) from a vicious serial killer (Mathias Hues). It's filled with stock characters like the "corrupt record producer" (Richard Beymer of Twin Peaks), and the killer is, naturally, a deranged Vietnam veteran. Never one to let a successful idea rest, Corman let director Charles Phillip Moore remake this in the Philippines as Angel of Destruction the same year, as well as funding a sequel, Blackbelt 2: Fatal Force. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

For most of his life, a former cop (Keith Carradine) has been tormented by his inadvertent involvement in the death of his parents. It happened during childhood. How was he to know the box he was asked to deliver contained a bomb? Now, after all these years, he learns the identity of the real perpetrators: gangsters headquartered in a Lake Tahoe resort. Armed with this invaluable knowledge, he meticulously plots his revenge. This thriller is based on a novel by Ronald T. Owen. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This interesting genre-jumping sci-fi/horror film plays much like a low-budget derivative of Alien and The Thing with a clever occult twist. The story takes place in lunar orbit, where a maintenance spaceship becomes marooned after a mysterious accident. Cut off from Earth contact and rapidly losing power, they encounter another derelict craft and its dead, mutilated occupant. They board the other ship to draw on its power plant, taking the corpse aboard for study, and soon discover that the ship was part of the U.S. Discovery program, reported lost after splashdown in the Bermuda Triangle -- at a point in direct line with the moon's dark side. Unfortunately for the crew, the significance of this correlation is discovered too late, as the evil force residing within the dead spaceman's body emerges to take possession of the crew's souls. This leads to a confusing game of "musical souls" as the paranoid survivors turn on each other, never sure which of them is acting under demonic influence. Although not particularly an original concept, this is still a very tense, nightmarish film, with high production values, claustrophobic atmosphere and some nail-biting moments. The filmmakers' attempts to communicate the crew's increasing confusion and paranoia are quite effective, though things go a bit overboard at the climax. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this gory and violent black comedy, a quartet of teenage zombies begin terrifying an employee at the local morgue until he figures out that they would rather party than eat people. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide