Melora Walters Movies

A one-time movie star struggles to find meaning as her days as an actress are behind her in this arty independent drama. Colleen West (Ellen Barkin) is an actress whose career has gone into a slump after a long run of success. Convinced time is passing her by, the beautiful but damaged Colleen has decided to retire, and chooses to end her career with a role in a stage production. Colleen falls into an affair with Harvey West (Luke Grimes), her handsome and significantly younger co-star, but the two have practically nothing in common, and before long Colleen finds herself isolated, living in a small cottage where she has to deal with her chatty neighbor Shelly (Melora Walters) and disinterested brother Rick (Bob Einstein). Meanwhile, Colleen periodically finds herself trying to explain herself and her life to a mysterious woman named Marion (Theresa Randle) as she looks back on the shambles fate has made of her existence. Strikingly photographed in black and white, Shit Year was the second feature from writer and director Cam Archer, and received its world premiere at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Lies told, secrets kept and truths revealed make for a riveting third season of Big Love, the critically acclaimed HBO drama about your average American polygamous family. As the season opens, the Henricksons are still reeling from publicity generated by the U.S. government's raid on the Juniper Creek compound, and worrying that Nikki's association with the now imprisoned Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton) will reveal their closely guarded secret. Their exclusion from a neighborhood block party seems to confirm their fears, and only the quick thinking of Nikki (Chloë Sevigny) at the event saves them from disaster. However, Nikki has secrets of her own. She's working at the DA's office under Margene's name to find out information about Roman's upcoming trial. And she's letting the family think she's having fertility issues while secretly taking the pill. Both deceptions place her marriage to Bill (Bill Paxton) in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Sarah (Amanda Seyfried) hides her pregnancy and makes plans to get away from her family after learning they're considering taking on Ana (Branka Katic) as a fourth wife. But Sarah's condition is not something she's able to hide for long. Meanwhile, "boss lady" Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) has troubles of her own. After enduring a cancer scare, she must defend herself in front of a Mormon disciplinary council for her polygamous lifestyle-but not before undergoing a sacred Mormon ceremony shown in a controversial episode. Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) shows her independent side and begins a new business venture. Tragedy strikes for Bill's brother Joey (Shawn Doyle) and his already troubled family. As for the Henrickson patriarch, Bill finds his efforts to launch the casino continually thwarted. But soon a new opportunity shows itself. Season 3 guest stars include Ellen Burstyn as Barb's loving but disapproving mother. ~ Dianne Zoccola, Rovi

The critically acclaimed hit series, Big Love, returns for its second break-out season. Bill Henrickson works hard and plays by the rules. All he wants in return is a happy, secure, normal life for his family. Is that too much to ask? Maybe so. For a polygamist like Bill, the American Dream comes with strings attached. Season 2 opens with even more drama, as Bill's mission to learn who tipped off the authorities and exposed first wife, Barb, as a polygamist escalates. Not surprisingly, his search will lead him to the polygamist compound of Juniper Creek where his primary suspect is Roman Grant. Bill contemplates changes in his personal and professional life that promise to impact every member of his family.

A man seeking to escape his turbulent family life is dragged kicking and screaming back into his dysfunctional past when his two siblings summon him to a remote cabin to discuss their late father's true fate, and finally call the lies of the past out into the open. When Peter (Patrick Wilson) took a wife and entered into a new career, he assumed his painful past would simply fade away. But old ghosts have a habit of lingering around even when they can't be seen, and as Peter arrives at a run down cabin at the request of his siblings Rick (Neal McDonough) and Norman (Scott Michael Campbell), it quickly becomes apparent that the specters of Peter's past are still very real in his former reality. As Peter's brothers relay the details of their final moments with their recently deceased father, those old familiar mind games come into play once again. Something about their story just doesn't seem right, because the presence of their father still looms heavy in the air around the brothers - stirring up the lingering lies that once protected them from the bitter truth of their lives. The joyful memories are fleeting, gradually giving way to revelations that will serve as the only honest moments these brothers ever shared. No one will leave this cabin until this volatile situation has reached its logical conclusion, and each man has finally ventured into the dark place they have spent their entire lives trying to avoid. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Three people attempt to bend justice for their own purposes in this drama based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham. After a man dies in a shooting incident, his wife files a lawsuit against the company that manufactured the gun, with her lawyer, Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman), arguing that the firm in question knew the shop which sold the weapon was not following federal regulations pertaining to the sale of firearms. As the case goes to trial, the firearm manufacturer is taking no chances on the outcome of a potentially devastating case, and they hire as part of their legal team Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman), a "jury consultant" who makes it his business to see that he knows enough about the jurors to be able to guarantee the result of the trial. Fitch and his team have learned incriminating secrets about nearly everyone hearing the evidence, but Fitch discovers two factors he wasn't counting upon -- Nick Easter (John Cusack), the jury member who appears to have an agenda all his own, and Marlee (Rachel Weisz), a mysterious woman who has her own plans regarding bending the jury to her will. Bruce Davison, Jeremy Piven, and Bruce McGill round out the supporting cast. Incidentally, in John Grisham's original book, the case was filed against a cigarette manufacturer, but the producers opted to adjust the story after several real-life trials against tobacco companies. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Definitely a series for the post-9/11 generation, ABC's Threat Matrix detailed the exploits of an elite task-force unit of the Homeland Security division. Headed by John Kilmer (Jamie Denton), the unit, comprised of the cream of the FBI, CIA, and NSA, was dedicated to stopping terrorism before it started, using the multitude of threats and warnings received on a 24/7 basis by the White House as their guide. Kilmer's multicultural, multiethnic team included his ex-wife Frankie Ellroy Killmer (Kelly Rutherford), as well as Tim Serrano (Kurt Caceres), Lia Larkins (Melora Walters), Jelani (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), Mo (Anthony Azizi), and Holly (Shoshannah Stern). Created by Daniel Voll, Threat Matrix debuted September 18, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Wild Things director James McNaughton explores the doomed efforts of young couple to salvage their failing marriage in a dark romantic comedy starring Bill Murray, James Spader, Jay Mohr, Melora Walters, and Catherine O'Hara. In the grand scheme of things their relationship has only just begun, yet everything seems to be falling apart for a once-loving couple whose marriage has hit the skids. Despite the best efforts of an insightful marriage counselor, a depression expert, and two well-heeled attorneys, what was once an attempt at preserving their relationship soon devolves into a heated series of random affairs. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

David Anspaugh's mix of female bonding and mob drama, Wisegirls concerns a trio of waitresses. Meg (Oscar winner Mira Sorvino), wise-talking Raychel (Mariah Carey), and wannabe dancer Kate (Paul Thomas Anderson regular Melora Walters) grow close while working at an Italian restaurant. After saving a man's life at the eatery thanks to her time in medical school, Meg begins to realize that the establishment is mob-controlled. Soon she must hide the dead body of her boss (whose "whacking" she indirectly caused). Eventually, Meg discovers secrets about her two friends and is forced to risk her life in order to gain information on the mobsters. This mix of gangster film and female bonding screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

In this offbeat thriller, a refined and well-educated hired killer has an unusual way of doing business: He finds women, forces them to help him with his murders, and then kills them before they can tell anyone about his work. With police detectives on his trail, the killer picks up a woman hitchhiking in the desert, planning to use her in his latest assignment, the murder of a drug kingpin in Mexico. But the killer discovers that his latest "accomplice" is not so eager to cooperate and knows more than he imagines about his life of crime. Desert Saints stars Kiefer Sutherland, Melora Walters, Jamey Sheridan, and Leslie Stefanson. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Dissatisfied with the way her life has turned out, Beth Sager (Molly Ringwald) would give anything for the proverbial Second Chance. Upon breaking a wishbone during Thanksgiving dinner, Beth finds her dreams coming true; she is whisked to a parallel world where the people are familiar but the circumstances aren't. Among other things, Beth's dull boyfriend Joe (George Newbern) is now in love with her office rival Alannah (Melora Walters), leaving our heroine free to renew her relationship with her former beau, a handsome international celebrity. Need it be added that Beth begins having second thoughts about her sudden rush of Good Fortune--and that maybe, just maybe, things weren't all that bad in her "real" world? Produced for the Lifetime cable network, Twice Upon a Time first aired on November 9, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

While set within the milieu of the Los Angeles adult film industry, Boogie Nights is less a film about pornography than the serio-comic story of a group of misfits, losers, and lost souls who are embraced by Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), a director who makes "adult films, exotic motion pictures." In 1977, while hanging out at a disco, Jack spots Eddie (Mark Wahlberg), the new busboy at the club, and tells him he's convinced "there's something wonderful inside those jeans waiting to get out." Jack knows his business well and his expert eye has not betrayed him; Eddie is a pornographer's dream -- good looking, remarkably endowed, and willing and able to do as many takes as might be needed. The product of a woefully dysfunctional upbringing, Eddie is not terribly bright but is very ambitious and eager to prove he has a "special something" to share with the world. Eddie changes his name to Dirk Diggler and quickly becomes the biggest star in hardcore. Working alongside "Dirk" in Jack's films are Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), a porn actress who applies her misplaced maternal instincts to anyone who needs nurturing; Rollergirl (Heather Graham), a cheerful but blank-faced high school drop-out who never removes her roller skates; Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), a none-too-bright actor, aspiring magician, and failing songwriter; Buck (Don Cheadle), a black actor fascinated with cowboy iconography who wants to open a stereo shop; Scotty J (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a stocky and awkward soundman infatuated with Dirk; Little Bill (William H. Macy), Jack's assistant director, who has trouble dealing with his wife's brazen infidelity; and Colonel James (Robert Ridgely), Jack's backer, who has a weakness for young girls. In the brief, late-'70s moment when porn was chic and sex films seemed poised to break into the mainstream, Dirk becomes a star and Jack a respected name. But a few years later, drugs and pride have taken their toll on Dirk and many of his friends, while the advent of the VCR radically changes the adult movie business; Jack goes from being a "filmmaker" to manufacturing and wholesaling videocassettes, a wealthy but emotionally broken man. In his second film, wunderkind director Paul Thomas Anderson juggled a broad range of characters in a manner reminiscent of Robert Altman's ensemble films, making Boogie Nights a sad but funny story of a makeshift family of damaged people and what happens before and after their brief moment in the sun. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Before his commercial breakthrough with Boogie Nights (1997), writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson made this low-key drama. John (John C. Reilly), a half-bright loser stranded in Reno, is down to his last few bucks when Sydney (Phillip Baker Hall), taking pity on him, buys him breakfast and offers him a few tips on making money in the casinos. Two years later, John has become Sydney's partner, but his lack of common sense goes from problematic to dangerous when he falls in love with Clementine (Gwyneth Paltrow), a cocktail waitress who isn't above turning a few tricks when she needs to make money -- and isn't any brighter than John. Hall and Reilly, both first-rate character actors, are cast in rare leading roles, and Paltrow is cast strongly against type as a part-time prostitute with a serious lack of street smarts. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi