Tracy Thorne Movies

Produced by documentary filmmaker Thom Powers, Guns & Mothers offers two diametrically opposed positions on the issue of gun control. Frances Davis of Crown Height, Brooklyn, has lost three sons to gun violence and is the founder of the anti-weapons organization Mothers of All Children. Maria Heil of rural Pennsylvania, the mother of four children, staunchly advocates the right to bear arms in her official capacity as spokesperson for the Second Amendment Sisters. Galvanized by the Million Mom March of Mother's Day, 2000, both Davis and Heil embark upon separate crusades to preach their own individual philosophies. Though the women and their causes are different as night and day, they are united by one inescapable truth: The future of Gun Control in America will rest in the hand's of the country's mothers. Producer Powers strives to give both sides equal time onscreen, but this is hardly a fair and balanced view of the subject (not that the filmmaker's point-of-view diminishes the impact of the film in the slightest). Guns & Mothers premiered as an episode of the PBS anthology Independent Lens. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

At first glance, the demise of a baby seems to be a case of crib death. Upon further investigation, it is revealed that the infant was poisoned. There is enough compelling evidence to charge the baby's au pair Lila Crenshaw (Annika Peterson) with murder, even though she hotly protests her innocence. Based upon actual events, this episode concludes with a surprising and disturbing twist that is not to be found in the "true" story. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A temperamental London lawyer adapts to the challenges of fatherhood when he is left with sole responsibility for his infant daughter in this well-performed British comedy-drama. Richard E. Grant stars as Jack, a high-pressure attorney who believes his life is on the right track: a successful career, a beautiful wife (Imogen Stubbs), and a baby on the way. Tragedy strikes, however, when his wife dies during labor, leaving Jack to raise his daughter Sarah, named in his wife's honor. Shocked and depressed, Jack is forced to deal with his grief for the sake of the new child. At first reluctant to turn to others, he receives help from a local derelict (Ian McKellen) who begins to act as Jack's butler, and a charming young American woman, Amy (Samantha Mathis), who becomes Sarah's nanny. The new challenges of fatherhood provide Jack with his solace and eventually lead him reevaluate his life and behavior. The debut film of writer-director Tim Sullivan, Jack and Sarah follows a well-worn path, but Grant's nuanced central performance and a strong supporting cast elevate the material above its predictable outline. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

William Peter Blatty, author of The Exorcist, directed this intriguing, deliberately-paced thriller based on his novel Legion. Ignoring the events of John Boorman's disappointing Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), the film moves ahead 15 years from the end of the original, when Georgetown is being plagued by occult murders bearing signs of the long-dead Gemini Killer, James Venamon (Brad Dourif). Although the killer was executed 15 years earlier, a young boy is horribly mutilated and the ailing Father Dyer (Ed Flanders) is drained of blood in his hospital bed. George C. Scott takes over the role of dedicated police Lt. William Kinderman, who is convinced that the key to the killings lies in an amnesiac mental patient who looks exactly like the dead Father Karras (Jason Miller) at some times, and like Venamon at others. It appears that Venamon was executed at the exact moment that Father Karras became possessed by the killer/devil and hurtled from the window at the end of the first film. Kinderman slowly comes to accept that the patient is Venamon and enlists an exorcist, Father Morning (Nicol Williamson), to free Karras' soul and stop the murders. The Exorcist III is heavy on dialogue, but contains some fine performances and some chilling moments, particularly the haunting opening in a Georgetown church. George DiCenzo, Viveca Lindfors, and Zohra Lampert also appear in this underrated, low-key horror film. Award-winning makeup artist Greg Cannom contributed to the special-effects, Gerry Fisher's cinematography is excellent, and the cast includes some notable bit parts by Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Ewing, and Tyra Ferrell. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide