Martin Bregman Movies

Released in the US on cable television, Blue Ice stars Michael Caine as an older, tireder version of his 1960s "Harry Palmer" character (his name, in fact, is Harry Anders). An M16 agent-turned-nightclub owner, Caine is a man of steadfast loyalties. Thus he takes it personally when several friends from his espionage days are mysteriously killed. Caine investigates on his own, which brings him in very close proximity with enigmatic consul's wife Sean Young. Befitting the fact that Caine's character is a jazz fancier, Blue Ice boasts an evocative musical score by Michael Kamen, of Lethal Weapon and Die Hard fame. Watch for jazz great Bobby Short and an unbilled Bob Hoskins. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this belated prequel to director Brian De Palma's 1993 crime drama, gangster Carlito Brigante (Jay Hernandez) rises through the ranks of the New York underworld to establish himself as Spanish Harlem's most powerful kingpin. As the intoxication of ultimate power tightens its firm grip on the rising heroin czar, he soon learns that greed and deception are the unspoken laws of the street. With no one to trust except for his two brothers in crime, Carlito begins building an empire founded on supplying the city's addicts with the one product that is always in demand. His dreams of ruling the city finally becoming a reality, Carlito soon learns that the only way to sustain his power is through loyalty and respect. Adapted from author Edwin Torres' acclaimed novel, Carlito's Way: Rise to Power also stars Mario Van Peebles, Luis Guzmán, and Sean Combs. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The film may be called Eddie Macon's Run, but the title character (John Schneider) takes a back seat during most of the proceedings. Most of the footage is devoted to Eddie's chief nemesis, small-town lawman Marzack (Kirk Douglas). Arrested on a trumped-up charge, Eddie breaks out of prison and takes to the road, with Marzack in hot pursuit. The lion's share of the film is a tire-screeching chase through Mexico. John Goodman makes his film debut in this lively (if pointless) adaptation of James McLendon's novel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A college debate team heads to Washington to argue the abortion issue in front of the Supreme Court. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Two men with nothing in common become unlikely companions in this comedy. Advertising executive Nick Beame (Tim Robbins) is not having a good day when he comes home from work to discover that his wife Ann (Kelly Preston) is having an affair with another man -- who, adding insult to injury, happens to be his boss, Phillip Barrow (Michael McKean). Deeply depressed, Nick hops into his SUV and starts driving aimlessly. He ends up in a rough neighborhood where a carjacker, T. Paul (Martin Lawrence), pulls a gun and jumps in the passenger seat. Nick grumbles "Boy, did you pick the wrong guy on the wrong day," and, thinking he has no reason to live, heads out to the desert over T. Paul's objections. Nick learns that T. Paul is actually a family man who has turned to crime because he can't get a job. Nick offers to help T. Paul, though crime is not one of his strong suits, and things get even more complicated when a pair of crooks, Rig (John C. McGinley) and Charlie (Giancarlo Esposito), start following them. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A CIA agent recruits a meek family man for a secret mission involving interstellar communication and copious violence in this tongue-in-cheek buddy flick from the writer/producer of The Golden Child. Insurance salesman Bob Wilson (John Ritter) is the kind of guy who stands by while suburban punks steal his kid's bike. Nick Pirandello (James Belushi) is the exact opposite -- a brash, womanizing alpha male revered within the CIA for his many successful secret missions. When a fellow agent who looks exactly like Bob gets killed just days before he's due to head up a very delicate mission, Nick recruits the reluctant Bob to help out. As Bob gets drawn deeper into a world of Russian hit men, transsexual beauties, and secret-agent hijinks, he slowly gains the self-confidence that's always escaped him. Meanwhile, he's constantly at the mercy of Nick's tongue-in-cheek humor, so he's a little skeptical when Nick reveals that the big meeting is with a group of aliens who want to share their advanced technology with humans. As it turns out, there may be something to Nick's outrageous story -- if only Bob can survive long enough to find out. The lone directorial credit for screenwriter/producer Dennis Feldman, Real Men features Barney Miller vet Barbara Barrie in a supporting role as Nick's placid, accommodating mother. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

This Iranian docudrama from filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf is a loving tribute to the centennial of international cinema. The film, which frequently criss-crosses the fine wavering line between reality and fiction, is set outside a house where the director is holding auditions for his newest film. Much to his shock, over 5,000 people are queued up outside. Eventually a riot ensues, but when things finally calm down, the auditions begin. Few of the applicants are professionals, and it is difficult to tell whether the interviews were staged by Makhmalbaf or whether they are taken from actual auditions. Still they are as entertaining, funny, and heartbreaking as cinema itself can be. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Sea of Love is a sexy, atmospheric thriller, very much in the style of Alfred Hitchcock, with involving characters, steamy love scenes, and surprising plot twists. Frank Keller (Al Pacino), is a lonely, tired, disillusioned, police detective, who has a problem with alcohol. Frank is investigating a serial killer, whom he believes finds victims by using personal ads in magazines, killing them while playing the old record "Sea of Love." In a scene both amusing and touching, Frank and his partner, Sherman (John Goodman) --aided by Frank's father (William Hickey in a lovely cameo) place a personal ad, hoping to lure the killer. Helen Cruger (Ellen Barkin), a tough, sexy single mother answers the ad and begins an affair with Frank, despite the fact that she is one of the prime suspects in the case. The suspense builds as Frank, though deeply drawn to Helen, becomes more and more suspicious of her. In a splendidly crafted script from Richard Price, the plot is compelling, with plenty of action, terrific authentic dialogue and superb characterization. Ellen Barkin gives a marvelous performance as an independent, sensual and intriguing femme fatale; John Goodman is excellent as Sherman, giving a likable, shrewd, and subtly comic performance; and Pacino, in perhaps his best performance since Dog Day Afternoon, plays Frank as a man on the edge, reckless and self-destructive, lost and alone. Frank falls in love with Helen, in spite of himself, because of his loneliness and need. Pacino's skill in showing the vulnerability and neediness of Frank explains the somewhat implausible actions of his character in continuing their affair despite the mounting evidence against Helen. Harold Becker directs with great flair, bringing the story believability, without lapsing into false sentimentality. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

In this far-out comedy that slams it to academia, television, and the military, Simon (Alan Arkin) is a puffed-up professor who is boondoggled by a group of geniuses in a think tank. Becker (Austin Pendleton) leads the wacked-out thinkers as they invent off-the-wall games to keep themselves amused instead of solving global problems in ecology or whatever. They manage to convince Simon he is really a space alien, but then Simon gets away from them and takes refuge in a strange commune headed up by a former television executive (Adolph Green) whose bible is TV Guide. Simon's life does not get any easier since he is being hunted by the army with orders to shoot on sight. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Eddie Murphy gets way, way out in this futuristic sci-fi comedy. In the year 2087, the Earth's natural resources have been largely depleted, and an increasingly large number of people have taken up residence on the moon, where the pioneering attitude of the new residents has created a culture not unlike the old west. Pluto Nash (Eddie Murphy) is one such lunar exile who formerly made his living outside the law, but has since gone straight and now runs the hippest nightclub in the moon colony known as "Little America." Pluto is approached by Mogan (Joe Pantoliano), a gangster who wants to buy the nightclub; Pluto has no interest in selling, but it seems Mogan isn't about to take no for an answer. Pluto also discovers Mogan is in cahoots with Max Crater, a crime boss whose goal is to take over the entire moon. The Adventures Of Pluto Nash also features Randy Quaid as Pluto's robot bodyguard, Rosario Dawson as a naive singer who has just arrived on the moon, Peter Boyle as Rowland the pool hustler, Jay Mohr as old-school lounge singer Tony Francis, Illeana Douglas as a cloning technician, and Pam Grier as Pluto's mother. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The Four Seasons follows the trials and tribulations of a group of middle-aged friends during a 12-month period. Alan Alda (who also directed) and Carol Burnett play a married couple who consider themselves paragons of sensitivity and sensibility. Alda and Burnett are the instigators of a series of vacations (from New England to the Virgin Islands), which they take in the company of two other couples: Jack Weston and Rita Moreno, and Len Cariou and Sandy Dennis. Everyone's interrelationships are put to the test when Cariou and Dennis divorce, and Cariou subsequently marries the much-younger Bess Armstrong. Not too surprisingly, the comings and goings of The Four Seasons are underscored by the music of Antonio Vivaldi. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Kim Basinger plays a burglar ex-con who's just been released from a 10-year stint and intends to go straight, when a big-time Atlanta crime boss kidnaps her six-year-old son and forces her to pull one last heist. She concocts an elaborate bank job but goes one step further and outwits both the bank and the mobster. ~ Rovi