William Wise Movies

Inspired by the true story of the United States Marine who volunteered to escort the remains of a nineteen year old soldier who was killed in Iraq to his small hometown in remote Wyoming, Taking Chance stars Kevin Bacon in the feature directorial debut of Oscar-nominated producer Ross Katz. Lance Corporal Chance Phelps (USMC) was just nineteen years old when he was killed during active duty. Now, as Lance Corporal Phelps is prepared for his final journey back home, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl (USMC) (Bacon) makes it his personal mission to ensure that his fallen brother is laid to rest with the proper respect. As the journey begins, Lieutenant Colonel Strobl gains a greater appreciation of the sacrifices made in war than ever before. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Based upon the critically acclaimed Lars von Trier miniseries Riget (The Kingdom), this American remake from fright master Stephen King unfolds over 15 hours and centers on the creepy goings-on at a hospital known as The Kingdom. Andrew McCarthy leads the cast as Dr. Hook, one of the physicians at the hospital which was built atop the scene of a fire that killed several children more than a century ago. As the inhabitants of the hospital are confronted with disturbing and unexplained phenomena that suggest the hospital is haunted, the doctors find themselves increasingly unable to come up with logical scientific explanations. Bruce Davison and Diane Ladd also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Character actor and noted photographer Todd Field made his directorial debut with this emotionally powerful drama, which earned enthusiastic reviews at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Frank Fowler (Nick Stahl) is a handsome and amiable young man who has recently graduated from high school and is spending the summer working as a lobster fisherman before heading off to college in the fall. Frank is also involved with Natalie (Marisa Tomei), an attractive woman ten years his senior who is separated from her husband Richard (William Mapother), though their divorce has not yet been finalized. Frank's parents, Matt (Tom Wilkinson) and Ruth (Sissy Spacek) wonder if it's wise for their son to be pursuing a romance that he won't be able to continue in a few months; Matt trusts Frank and leaves him to make his own decisions, while Ruth quietly but firmly registers her objections. One day, Richard snaps, and breaks into Natalie's home; when he discovers Frank is there, he viciously kills him. The wheels of justice turn in an unexpected direction, and Richard is released on bail, free to go his own way as he awaits his trial. Matt and Ruth are both deeply traumatized by the event; while Matt tries to deal with his hurt by retreating into his work and avoiding his feelings, Ruth instead becomes increasingly withdrawn, losing interest in her job as a music teacher and spending her nights chain smoking in front of the television. In the Bedroom was adapted from the short story Killings by Andre Dubus. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The detectives spring into action when a 12-year-old is killed in a bombing at a renovation site. As usual, there is a plethora of suspects, but Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Logan (Chris Noth) pay special attention to antagonistic contractor Arthur "Buzz" Palley (Robert John Burke). Either Palley is the guilty party, or someone hated the man so much that they were willing to commit murder. The key to the solution is a taped telephone conversation, which Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston) brings into play even though it has already been ruled as inadmissible evidence. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a rookie cop who witnesses a robbery in progress on her first night on the job. With her more experienced partner using the men's room, Megan decides to take action on her own. She creeps into the supermarket where a man (Tom Sizemore in a small role) is holding the clerk at gunpoint. Megan gets close enough to shoot the gunman, and calls out for him to drop his weapon. He spins the gun toward her, and she unloads her service revolver into his chest. His gun goes flying, and a bystander, Eugene Hunt (Ron Silver), surreptitiously picks it up and takes it home. Megan's superiors, unable to confirm that the man she shot was armed, suspend her. Eugene, a wealthy commodities broker, becomes obsessed with Megan. He sets up an "accidental" meeting between them and begins dating her, romancing her with fancy restaurants and helicopter rides over Manhattan. He also carves her name into the bullets he uses to gun down strangers in the street. A tough homicide detective, Nick Mann (Clancy Brown of The Shawshank Redemption), gets Megan's gun and badge back so she can help him track down the psycho killer. Eventually, Megan realizes that Eugene is the killer, but he uses his money and influence to elude the law, and he starts coming after Megan's friends and family. Megan's determination to bring Eugene to justice quickly becomes a very personal obsession. This intense cop drama, Blue Steel, was director Kathryn Bigelow's major studio follow-up to her well-received indie vampire flick, Near Dark. Bigelow co-wrote both films with Eric Red (The Hitcher). ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Candice Bergen plays the title character, a naïve young woman from the countryside who ventures to the bright lights of Chicago in search of an interesting career, true love, and happiness. She ends up working a meaningless job and living in a drab apartment, and she remains lonely as her romantic entanglements also misfire. She has an affair with businessman Jack Mitchell (Peter Boyle), which ends terribly. Next she takes up with Larry Moore (James Caan), but that romance also goes nowhere. Peter Hyams wrote the script and produced the film, which was released in England under the title Date with a Lonely Girl. Director Herbert Ross had much better success with romantic-comedy material in later years when he filmed Neil Simon material such as The Goodbye Girl. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide