Fred Ward Movies
Tall, outdoorsy, easygoing, and known for giving consistently well-wrought, naturalistic performances, Fred Ward seems to have all the makings of a leading man, but for some reason he has had more success in supporting and character roles. He became an actor after a three-year Air Force stint and time spent studying at New York's Herbert Berghof Studio and in Rome. While in Italy he dubbed Italian movies and worked as a mime until he made his debut in two Roberto Rossellini films. Upon returning stateside in the early '70s, Ward spent time working in experimental theater and doing some television work. He made his first American film appearance playing a truck driver in Ginger in the Morning (1973). His first major role came in the Clint Eastwood vehicle Escape From Alcatraz (1979) as fellow escapee John Anglin. For Ward, 1983 was a very good year as he played key roles in three major films, Uncommon Valor, as an anguished Vietnam vet-turned-sculptor, Silkwood, as a brave union activist, and in a scene-stealing performance as Virgil "Gus" Grissom in Philip Kaufman's The Right Stuff. In 1985, Ward starred in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, a James Bond-ian spy thriller; this was to be the film that made Ward a leading man. Unfortunately, it fizzled at the box office. This led to more leading roles, but again, none were particularly successful and he returned to major supporting roles. Notable performances from the '90s include that of a beaten-down, humiliated cop in Miami Blues, (Ward also co-produced it), a fascinating portrayal of author Henry Miller in Henry & June (both 1990), and as the studio security chief in The Player (1992). His role alongside Kevin Bacon in 1990's Tremors found Ward's comic abilities sharp and in tact, and after again appearing alongside Tim Robbins in the 1992 satire Bob Roberts, the talented actor would continue through the 1990s with role in The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), and the Keanu Reeves thriller Chain Reaction (1996). Increasingly busy into the new millennium, Ward continued to move effortlessly between television and film roles, displaying his sense of humor in Joe Dirt and Corky Romano (both 2001), and his penchant for action in The Chaos Factor (2000) and Full Disclosure the following year. Appearances in such large scale releases as Enough and Sweet Home Alabama (both 2002), ensured Ward a place in the minds of filmgoers for years to come. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Originally produced as a miniseries for NBC, 10.5 is a disaster film that wonders what might happen if the Western United States is ever ravaged by unprecedented earthquakes. After one quake wreaks havoc on Seattle, another strikes California, this one worse than the first. With scientists speculating that an earthquake registering 10.5 on the Richter scale could be next, the U.S. president (Beau Bridges) enlists the help of a seismologist (Kim Delaney) to somehow formulate a plan to prevent the deaths of millions of people. This film aired under the title Earthquake: 10.5 in the U.K. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Delaney, Beau Bridges, (more)
- 2002
A world famous thief's disappearance and assumed murder set the scene for co-directors Stephen Beckner and Michael Huber's feature film debut in the detective film/media satire A.K.A. Birdseye. Two hapless residents of Colorado, Heidi Logan (Amy Hathaway) and Trent Doone (Johnny Whitworth), somehow manage to track down and kidnap Urs Vogelaug (Stefan Kurt), a bizarre performance artist who uses the name Birdseye when committing his fabulously extravagant robberies. Hot on their trail is Sheriff Nolan Sharpless (Fred Ward), who eventually traps the kidnappers at the Denver Airport, but loses Birdseye, who was apparently locked in a suitcase. The thief is initially presumed dead, but is later identified as the chief suspect in a string of robberies throughout Colorado. Meanwhile, the news media seizes upon the story and make a spectacle out of it, much to the chagrin of Sharpless, who has begun tracking Birdseye with the assistance of his son, Ben (Fred Koehler). As the media stretches and distorts the truth, Sharpless starts to lose sight of his investigation, as well as his own sense of reality. A.K.A. Birdseye was chosen as an official selection to the 2002 Locarno International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Ward, Frederick Koehler, (more)
A young woman is faced with the disturbing reemergence of a man she once loved in this psychological thriller. Embry Langan (Charlie Hunnam) was a wealthy but reckless student at an exclusive private college until he mysteriously vanished, with airline tickets to Europe left unused and plenty of money still in the bank. Two years later, Katie Burke (Katie Holmes), Embry's girlfriend, is still dealing with his disappearance as she goes into the home stretch of her college career. With exams, a thesis, and job interviews to think about, Katie is already walking an emotional tightrope when Wade Handler (Benjamin Bratt), a police detective, enters the picture. Handler, a recovering alcoholic, has been ordered to reopen the Langan case, and as he questions Katie about the missing man, she finds her obsession with her former beau taking over her life, which leaves her all the more unnerved when she begins seeing Embry around the campus. Meanwhile, Handler's investigation begins to suggest Langan's disappearance may have been more sinister than imagined, and could be connected with other cases of missing students. Abandon marked the directorial debut for screenwriter Stephen Gaghan, who won an Oscar for his script for Traffic. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katie Holmes, Benjamin Bratt, (more)
- 2009
- PG13
- Add Armored to Queue
Vacancy director Nimród Antal helms the crime thriller Armored, starring Columbus Short as Ty, an armored truck guard who gets wrapped up in a heist scheme hatched by his godfather and mentor on the job, Mike (Matt Dillon). Along with a team that includes Laurence Fishburne, Jean Reno, and Skeet Ulrich, the group makes off with a shipment of 40 million dollars, but things start to unravel when one of them kills a homeless man as they stash the cash. Ty, who almost didn't sign on to the job but caved when his house was on the verge of foreclosure and his brother nearly taken out of his custody by Child Welfare, breaks from the plan and locks himself in one of the armored trucks until he figures out a way out of the deadly scenario. While Ty is trapped inside the truck with half of the loot, the rest of the crew has only so much time before they're reported missing, bringing life-or-death decisions to a heist where no blood was to be spilled. Things get further complicated when a patrol officer (Milo Ventimiglia) comes snooping around the warehouse district where the crew has been hiding. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Dillon, Jean Reno, (more)
Originally prepared for European release under the title Catchfire, Backtrack wasn't given a wide distribution until 1991, and then only to capitalize on the Oscar win of Silence of the Lambs star Jodie Foster. In Backtrack, Foster plays a youngish innocent who witnesses a mob hit. Professional assassin Dennis Hopper is contracted to silence Foster for keeps. Instead, he falls in love with her. Directed by star Hopper, Backtrack has some of the feel of his earlier, better Easy Rider: the cast is populated by such old Hopper chums as Dean Stockwell, Charlie Sheen, Joe Pesci, Bob Dylan, Vincent Price and Julie Adams; and, like Easy Rider, it looks as though the story was improvised during filming. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Jodie Foster, (more)
- 1980
The real Belle Starr was a homely, ill-tempered woman whose career as a western bandit was blown out of proportion by the "dime novels" of the era. Previous media Belle Starrs have included such attractive performers as Gene Tierney, Isabel Jewell and Abby Dalton, all of whom appeared to have included a cosmetician amongst their bandit cohorts. To her credit, Elizabeth Montgomery tries hard to deglamorize Belle in this 1980 TV movie, but she's still Elizabeth Montgomery. The script, by James Lee Barrett, attempts to stick closer to the facts than the earlier versions of Belle's exploits. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Former music-video director Tamra Davis (Guncrazy) created strong characters in this bank-robbery tale, a crime/comedy/drama somewhat reminiscent of the anti-establishment attitudes seen in early '70s films. After three years in a California prison, Jesse (Luke Wilson) is ready to marry his girlfriend Hope (Drew Barrymore) in the town of Independence (the original working title of this film). Joining Jesse is a odd assortment -- the buzzcut ex-Green-Beret Buzz (Dean Cain); ex-lawyer Sol (Mitchell Whitfield); geeky Teddy (Andy Dick); and Shakespeare-quoting Billy (Sean Patrick Flanery), aka Hamlet on the FBI's most-wanted list. Then they're off to the wedding. Billy, however, asks to be dropped off at a nearby bank, and after it's evident that Billy is pulling off another Hamlet heist, the others join him inside. Billy's father, Sheriff Phillips (Fred Ward), up for re-election, begins hostage negotiations, but the media arrives, along with psycho FBI agent Hoover (Raymond J. Barry) and his partner Carter (Art Edler Brown). Wearing her wedding dress, Hope goes inside the bank. Soon various friends and locals gather outside to offer support as the hostages take the side of their captors. In addition to portraying agent Carter, Art Edler Brown is the film's co-producer and co-scripter. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Thanks to a mix-up at birth, two sets of twins are separated and grow up in radically different social circles. The four baby girls grow up to be Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin-and Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. One of the Midlers is a ruthless New York CEO, while one of the Tomlins is her air-headed "save the whales" business partner. Thousands of miles away in a Southern industrial town, a blue-collar Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin work for a company that the white-collar Midler plans to devour in a hostile takeover. The "poor" Midler and Tomlin head to New York to argue against the takeover, inevitably getting mixed up with the "rich" Midler and Tomlin. Three of the four twins team up to save the small-town company, while CEO Midler remains as nastily greedy as ever. Clear enough? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, (more)
In the tradition of This Is Spinal Tap, producer/ director/ star Tim Robbins' Bob Roberts is a satire disguised as a documentary. Robbins plays the titular Roberts, a wealthy, well-connected young man running for a senatorial seat in Pennsylvania. On the surface, Roberts is an ingratiating glad-hander, a sincere believer in the restoration of such intangibles as national pride, family values, etc. But the longer Roberts is followed about by documentary filmmaker Brian Murray, the more we become aware that the candidate is a textbook case of cynicism and contempt. Only Giancarlo Esposito, a reporter for an underground newspaper, is willing to dig beneath Roberts' veneer--a habit that leads to the film's ironic conclusion. Several well-known actors make cameo appearances as TV commentators, notably Tim Robbins' longtime partner Susan Sarandon. Bob Roberts started out as a Tim Robbins-directed short subject for the TV series Saturday Night Live, then was expanded into a $4 million feature. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, (more)
- 1980
- R
In Robert Kaylor's Carny, the world of the carnival is an illusion manipulated by the carnies to fleece the suckers. The marks generally deserve what they get, because of their greed, corruption, or just plain stupidity. It's share and share alike for Frankie (Gary Busey) and Patch (Robbie Robertson), partners in a dunk-the-bozo act in a carnival travelling through the American South. At one of the small-town stops, Donna (Jodie Foster), an alienated teenager, dumps her obnoxious boyfriend and, with Frankie's encouragement, joins up and moves into their trailer (and Frankie's bed). Feeling displaced, Patch schemes to get Donna out of the carnival. However, the carnival's owner needs Donna to foil a loathsome pair of local officials who demand payoffs. She plays her part perfectly and is accepted by all, although she moves into another trailer. ~ Steve Press, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Busey, Jodie Foster, (more)
- 1991
- R
This clever and well-crafted production (produced for Home Box Office) goes the distance with its innovative concept, which is equal parts Raymond Chandler and H.P. Lovecraft. Taking place in 1948 Hollywood -- in an alternate reality where magic spells, curses and demons are commonly used and accepted -- the story revolves around hard-boiled gumshoe Harry P. Lovecraft (Fred Ward, looking nothing like his character's namesake and everything like Mike Hammer), the only detective in the business who relies on brains and instinct instead of gazing into a crystal ball or casting runes. This pure perspective is sought out by wealthy eccentric Amos Hackshaw (David Warner), who is trying to retrieve the legendary "Necronomicon" (a key component in the works of the real H.P. Lovecraft). The book is reputed to have the power to release the "Elder Gods" from their cosmic confines and return them to Earth, whereupon Hackshaw believes they will appoint him ruler of all mankind. The chief rival for possession of the book is a seedy gangster (Raymond O'Connor) whose favorite nightclub singer (Julianne Moore) takes a shine to Harry. Followed by a sequel, Witch Hunt, which applies a more sublime (if unnecessary) re-interpretation of the material, and features Dennis Hopper in the Lovecraft Role. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred Ward, David Warner, (more)
Just as the university research team is about to prove that their new technique will permit water to be used as a fuel, their laboratory is sabotaged and the lab manager is killed. Eddie Kasalivich (Keanu Reeves) stumbles onto the scene and manages not only to witness the sabotage, but to escape from it. When he tries to talk about it to authorities, he discovers that they think he and the other project survivors committed the crime. In reality, a group of energy companies have conspired with interested parties in the government to completely erase all notion of the existence of a way to use water as fuel. The project sponsor (Morgan Freeman) wants Eddie to turn himself in, but before he can do that, he must find enough evidence to clear himself and his friends. But in order to succeed, Eddie must avoid assassination attempts by the real perpetrators. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, (more)
In this tense military thriller, intelligence officer Jack Poynt (Antonio Sabato Jr.) discovers evidence of a CIA-backed raid on a medical facility in Cambodia in 1972, which led to the torture and slaughter of a number of innocent civilians. Poynt decides it's high time that the men responsible were exposed and brought to justice, but the deeper he digs in search of the truth, the more he finds himself in danger. The Chaos Factor also stars Fred Ward, R. Lee Ermey, and Kelly Rutherford. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Sabato, Jr., Fred Ward, (more)
A confidence man discovers too late that he's on the other end of a dangerous scam in this tense thriller from England. Leo Garfield (John Hannah) is a small-time gambler and con artist who is eager to get out of the business. Bruno (Brian Conley), a brutal underworld leader, wants Leo to manage his gaming operations. While he's in no position to say no, Leo doesn't want to work for the unstable gangster. Hoping to raise enough money so that he and his wife Lily (Famke Janssen) can leave the country, Leo agrees to murder Gloria (Amanda Donohoe), the wife of a mobster named Julius (Peter Stormare). However, Bruno's brother Caspar (Ian Burfield) is convinced that Leo is up to no good, and he hopes to get some information from Lily by passing on unwelcome news -- Elmo (Fred Ward), Lily's former partner in crime, has just been released from prison, and he wants revenge for her betrayal of him after a bungled robbery. Leo goes through with his assignment to kill Gloria, only to discover that he's been set up -- the woman in question was a prostitute hired by Julius, who videotaped her death and is now demanding $500,000 in blackmail from Leo. Circus was the feature film debut for director Rob Walker, who had previously worked in British television. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucy Akhurst, Christopher Biggins, (more)
Paul Mazursky's Coast to Coast features a couple whose marriage is on the rocks. Barnaby (Richard Dreyfuss) and Maxine (Judy Davis) are attempting to salvage what might be left of their broken marriage by taking a road trip together. As they stop at various places and interact with a variety of people, they begin to bridge the wide gap that had taken its toll on their relationship. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Judy Davis, (more)
Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Kattan stars in this mob comedy as Corky Romano, a veterinarian with a penchant for pop music from the '80s. As a youth, Corky was kicked out of his Mafia-connected family for being an oddball. Now his long-lost father (Peter Falk) has been indicted and needs Corky to infiltrate the FBI and steal the government's evidence against him. Corky is willing to aid the relatives who so long ago turned their backs on him, but his brothers go overboard when intimidating the computer hacker who gets Corky's bogus application into the FBI academy, presenting him as a super agent named Pissant. Now Corky must live up to his reputation for an eminently qualified top cop while simultaneously trying to get the goods on his dad. Corky Romano co-stars Peter Berg, Chris Penn, Vincent Pastore, Vinessa Shaw, Fred Ward, and Richard Roundtree. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Kattan, Vinessa Shaw, (more)
In this crime thriller, Jason Chandler (Patrick Muldoon) is an FBI agent who is trying to hunt down a serial killer nicknamed "The Silencer" for his habit of cutting out the tongues of his victims. As Chandler tries to uncover the trail of "The Silencer," he is recruited for an elite FBI unit called the "Red Team," which is devoted solely to hunting down serial killers; however, the more Chandler studies their methods, the more he finds himself thinking the Red Team may be doing more harm than good. Chandler also finds himself developing a very non-professional relationship with his new partner, Stephanie Dobson (Cathy Moriarty). As Jason and Stephanie do research on The Silencer, they discover evidence that there's another unusual killer on the loose -- a multiple murderer who is targeting serial killers. Red Team was also released under the title The Crimson Code. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cathy Moriarty, Patrick Muldoon, (more)
Marshall Herskovitz directed this look at life in 16th-century Venice, based on Margaret Rosenthal's 1994 book The Honest Courtesan. Positioned outside of the Venetian court, Veronica Franco (Catherine McCormack) hopes to rise above her station, but her interest in nobleman's son Marco Venier (Rufus Sewell) is blocked since his parents forbid their marriage. Following the path taken by her mother, Paola (Jacqueline Bisset), Veronica becomes a courtesan, finding this gives her a niche in the male-dominated society. When Vatican emissaries accuse her of witchcraft, she lashes back, using the trial as a feminist forum to expose the hypocrisies of the period. Filmed in 1996 in Venice and Rome with a variety of working titles (Courtesan, Venice, and The Honest Courtesan). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, (more)
A Cinderella story turns into a nightmare when a former waitress' perfect marriage gives way to adultery and physical abuse in this combination of domestic drama and revenge thriller. Motherless young woman Slim (Jennifer Lopez) works in a San Francisco diner with her best friend, Ginny (Juliette Lewis). After almost succumbing to the slick flirtation of an insincere customer (Noah Wyle), she is rescued by another dashing diner named Mitch (Bill Campbell). A few years later, the now happily married couple seem to have it all -- a perfect house, a precocious daughter (Tessa Allen), and a comfortable life. Then, Slim discovers that Mitch is actually a lothario who has been sleeping with other women behind her back. When she protests, he slaps her around and uses daughter Gracie as leverage to keep her in line. Slim enlists the help of her friends to escape with her child, though Mitch attacks and very nearly kills her in the process. Going on the lam, Slim adopts a series of new identities, wigs, and residences to avoid the goons Mitch has sent to retrieve her. Along the way, she receives help from Joe (Dan Futterman), a friend and old flame from college. Ultimately, Mitch and his unexpected allies so terrify Slim that she must turn the tables and transform herself from hunted to hunter. In doing so, she receives some surprise assistance of her own -- from Jupiter (Fred Ward), the rich father who abandoned her mother years ago. Although the soundtrack to Enough features the music of star J. Lo, the title song was written especially for the film by Magnolia tunesmith Aimee Mann. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Lopez, Bill Campbell, (more)
- 1993
- R
Alan Rudolph wrote and directed this typically off-beat drama. A brief romantic liaison between a wealthy European and an American ballet dancer results in a pair of identical twins, who are separated and raised by others shortly after birth. Henry (Matthew Modine) was adopted by Pete (M. Emmet Walsh), an auto mechanic, and Henry grows up to follow in his Pete's footsteps. Emotionally fragile, Henry is in a relationship with Beverly (Lara Flynn Boyle), a rich but painfully shy woman who is terrified by sex. Henry, however, finds his own sexual appetite increasing, and he becomes involved with Rosie (Marisa Tomei), a prostitute living in his neighborhood. Meanwhile, Henry's brother, Freddy (also played by Matthew Modine), lives in the same city, though they've never met. Freddy is a gangster and hired killer working for crime kingpin Mr. Paris (Fred Ward). While Freddy is cool and confident on the surface, deep down he hates his job and tells his wife, Sharon (Lori Singer), that he wishes he had enough money to quit and move away. As fate would have it, Freddy and Henry's mother, who sank into a severe depression after losing her children and her lover, has died, leaving a substantial fortune to her two sons, who must now meet in order to collect their inheritance. Equinox premiered at the 1992 Seattle Film Festival, though it would not open theatrically until a year later. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Modine, Lara Flynn Boyle, (more)
No one can escape from Alcatraz, right? Try telling that to lifer Frank Morris (Clint Eastwood). This Donald Siegel-directed nailbiter is a reenactment of Frank Morris' 1962 attempt to bust himself and two other cons out of The Rock. Eastwood, as Morris, tilts with nasty warden Patrick McGoohan for a while, befriends several fellow prisoners, and picks the guys with whom he'll make his escape. Among his break-out buddies are the Anglin Brothers (Fred Ward and Jack Thibeau), with whom he'd served in other lockups, and several others who've got their own special reasons to despise the sadistic McGoohan. Filmed on location at the newly renovated Alcatraz, Escape From Alcatraz was another box-office winner for the Eastwood/Siegel combo. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Patrick McGoohan, (more)
An act of kindness gets a busload of travelers into a world of trouble when they stop to check on an injured biker and incur the wrath of his psychotic fellow gang members. It's Christmas Eve in Texas: ten passengers board a bus in hopes of getting home for the holiday, but find their journey delayed after their bus strikes a biker and the driver pulls over to ensure he's alright. But this isn't your average biker; he's all hopped up on crystal meth and armed to the teeth as well. Upon regaining consciousness, the drug-frenzied biker opens fire on the bus. Terrified, the passengers somehow manage to gain the upper hand and kill their trigger-happy assailant. Unfortunately for the passengers, this is only the beginning of their Christmas nightmare. The rest of the gang has witnessed the lynching, and now they're determined to avenge the death of their brother by killing everyone responsible. After forcing the boss off of the road and into an abandoned wrecking yard, the gang surrounds the stranded passengers and prepares to move in. But while this gang of renegade bikers may excel in the area of brutality, their intended victims are even more cunning when it comes to utilizing every resource at their disposal to wage a life or death struggle for survival. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lea Thompson, Desmond Harrington, (more)
- 2009
An espionage agent begins working against his own country for the good of the world in this drama based on a true story. Sergei Grigoriev (Emir Kusturica) is a Soviet intelligence operative who has become deeply disillusioned with life under Communism -- while he believes in the ideals the U.S.S.R was founded upon, he feels they have been become hopelessly compromised by their current leadership, and that the old government must be brought down for the sake of future generations. With this in mind, Grigoriev strikes up a friendship with Pierre Froment (Guillaume Canet), a French engineer who is living and working in Moscow and has no idea his new pal is a spy. Once Grigoriev has gained Froment's confidence, he begins passing classified documents along to Froment with the understanding that they will then be forwarded to French intelligence. It soon becomes clear that what Grigoriev has to share are American state secrets and classified scientific documents confirming the KGB has been digging deep into U.S. security; when the CIA finds out just how much the Russians know, it sparks an international incident and fierce reprisals against the U.S.S.R. Directed by Christian Carion, L'Affaire Farewell (aka Farewell) was based on the true story of KGB agent Vladimir Vetrov; the film also stars Fred Ward, Willem Dafoe and David Soul. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guillaume Canet, Emir Kusturica, (more)
A group of friends living in suburban Oregon come into contact with a sensual free spirit named Chloe (Alexa Davalos), who changes their outlook on life in the most unexpected of ways in this ensemble drama adapted from the acclaimed novel by author Charles Baxter. As college professor and writer Harry Stevenson (Morgan Freeman) sits quietly in the coffee shop of his tight-knit Oregon community, the local residents all around him all become swept up in the magical mischief of love. Coffee shop owner Bradley (Greg Kinnear) has a bad habit of looking for love in all the wrong places, and his relationship with wife Kathryn (Selma Blair) is a prime example of that penchant. Meanwhile, frazzled real estate agent Diana (Radha Mitchell) becomes ensnared in a taboo affair with a married man (Billy Burke), lovely newcomer Chloe attempts the formidable task of romancing troubled soul Oscar (Toby Hemingway), and Harry's own wife, Esther (Jane Alexander), affectionately tries to get through to her husband as he wrestles with the pain of losing a loved one. Fred Ward, Alexa Davalos, Stana Katic, Toby Hemingway, and Erika Maroszán star in a whimsical tale of intersecting lives inspired by Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, and directed by Robert Benton (Nobody's Fool, The Human Stain). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, (more)
When the youngest son of a rural Midwestern family is diagnosed with epilepsy just as their insurance is set to run out, his mother dedicates her life to the illness and all of its potential treatments. Eventually she comes across the ketogenic diet, a method of limiting carbohydrates and protein in a way that some believe decreases the chance of seizures. The diet is controversial, however, and their local doctor strongly advises against employing it. Despite this advice, the child is taken to a Baltimore facility in order to proceed with the experimental treatment. First Do No Harm is based on a true story, and stars Meryl Streep, Fred Ward, Seth Adkins, Tom Butler, and Allison Janney.
~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Fred Ward, (more)
