Rustam Branaman Movies

A research trip into the snowy wilderness leaves a handful of young volunteers fighting for their lives when the hapless campers realize they're stranded in the middle of nowhere. It was supposed to be a test of survival instincts, but when one of the subjects goes missing, things get serious. With no cellular reception to call for help and their trusty van gone without a trace, the remaining test subjects prepare to fight for their lives against an unseen assailant. Eric Roberts stars. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director Lee Abbot takes a satirical look at the stereotypes and mythologies of marijuana in this satirical mockumentary following a father who is forced to speak honestly with his daughter about pot, and a pro-pot advocate who hatches an ingenious plan to change the way America views weed. Thirty-seven year old concerned father Dave Berman was hosting a barbecue for his old college debate team when militant medical marijuana activists kicked in the door and seized his home. Later, after discovering that his teenage daughter Gina Marie has taken to reefer, Dave is forced shed his preconceptions about the drug if he holds out any hope of reconnecting with her. Meanwhile, pro-pot advocate Dr. Willa Peterson has grown so frustrated with her grassroots campaign being sabotaged by prohibition-minded corporations that she ultimately decides to take the battle to the next level. After convincing the makers of Fun-Onion snack foods that their profits would soar following legalization, Dr. Peterson enlists the aid of Public Relations genius Arturo Goldman in changing public opinion about pot. If his firm can successfully counter the government's tactics of using terrorism to frighten people away from pot by convincing the masses that pot can prevent homosexuality, Goldman may achieve the elusive goal of finally decriminalizing a substance that has never been proven either addictive or deadly. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This action-packed crime drama features one of the more interesting motives in the genre: the crooks plan a $1million caper to pay for a another young crook's liver transplant. The mayhem begins as Dexter is yet again hauled to jail after the police catch him attempting to snatch a purse. There Dexter shares his latest scheme with his pal Colin. On New Year's Eve, he is going to rob an exclusive nightclub and steal a cool million. Unfortunately, cocky young James Little overhears the plot and tells his big brother Rupert, also a petty crook about it. Later, Collin shoots James, seriously wounding him in the liver. Rupert, figures the only way to save his little brother is to knock-off the nightclub and so begins to assemble assorted crooked characters to assist him. Unfortunately, professional crook Dexter and his boys are also going through with their original plan and when the pros meet the amateurs fists fly, guns blaze and the blood begins to flow. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The lurid title of this black comedy comes from a New York Post headline for the story on which this film is based. It begins in a seedy bar late at night where a small crowd of customers disinterestedly eye the listless gyrations of Candy, a topless dancer. Among the customers are a corporate lawyer, two obnoxious young men, and a wheelchair-bound man. Suddenly a gunman, an ex-con, enters to rob the joint. The bartender resists and is immediately shot in the head. The gunman, alternately charming and totally insane, holds the rest hostage making them do his bidding as he tries to decide whether or not to kill them. The story is shot in real-time, and the minutes tick agonizingly by. At one point he makes them all dance, and at another forces them to play "Truth or Dare" in which they must reveal their dirtiest little secrets. The situation really intensifies when fellow dancer and lover of Candy, Letitia, comes in, and the gunman decides he must extract the damning bullet from the bartender's head. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this lively crime thriller, luckless ex-con Harry Talbot wins several thousand dollars and a luxury car in a poker game. He is delighted, having no idea that the others let him win because the trunk of the Lincoln contains the remains of Gordo. No, Harry is finally feeling lucky and in his shiny convertible sets off across the country in search of more card games. While driving, he picks up a lovely hitchhiker named Kit. She is out on a personal vendetta and is pursued by her grandmother, a crime boss, and her dim-bulbed cousin Danny. Realizing that he is a gambling addict, Kit manipulates him into driving to a certain mob-operated casino where she plans to off her father's killer. Things get more sticky when a gangster informs the card sharps who put Gordo in the trunk, that the deceased is carrying a key to a safe-deposit box containing a vast amount of money. They immediately set out after Harry as he fatefully heads for the gambling house. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Actor Jack Nicholson, writer Carole Eastman, and director Bob Rafelson re-team 22 years after their classic Five Easy Pieces, for this romantic comedy. Nicholson plays Harry Bliss, a small potatoes security expert unhappily married to a Japanese woman (he sarcastically calls her Iwo Jima during therapy sessions). Harry's life is coming apart at the seams -- not only is his marriage on the rocks, but the IRS and assorted creditors are nipping at his heels. Then opera singer Joan Spruance (Ellen Barkin) contacts him. It seems she wants Harry's help in obtaining an attack dog for her apartment, since an unknown person has been burglarizing her home and attacking her with an ax. Needless to say, Harry and Joan fall in love. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

An audacious film about faith, The Rapture is a contemporary fantasy that keeps its feet unnervingly planted in reality even as reality starts to collapse. Mimi Rogers, in a strikingly accomplished performance, stars as Sharon, a telephone operator who spends her off-hours engaging in casual group sex to blot out her boredom. By chance, she becomes aware of a small Christian sect whose members believe that they have found a child with the gift of prophecy who has seen the upcoming end times. Slowly but steadily, Sharon finds herself drawn to this group, and one night she abruptly turns a corner, renounces her old life, and embraces fundamentalism with passion. She marries one of her former lovers, Randy (David Duchovny), who takes up Sharon's evangelical fervor to atone for his past as a hired killer, and they have a daughter. All seems peaceful until Randy is unexpectedly murdered, and Sharon takes her child to the desert to await the rapture that will bring the chosen to heaven. The film neither supports nor scoffs at Sharon's views, and the superb performances add immeasurably to a film that presents the unbelievable (and unthinkable) at face value, making it seem oddly plausible in the process. Michael Tolkin has also written and/or directed such films as The Player (1992), directed by Robert Altman, and The New Age (1994), both of which also skewer contemporary American society as shallow, materialistic, and desperate for something authentic to believe in. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Donna (Dona Sper) and her partner Tanya (Hope Marie Carlton) are two beautiful female secret agents sent to stop the international villain Picasso Trigger (John Aprea) in this action spy thriller. Travis Abilene (Steve Bond) is the agent assigned to gather a group of sometimes questionable abilities to combat the international foes. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi