Lee Caplin Movies
- 2006
- R
The American dream of a Mexican citizen who joined the U.S. military in order to gain citizenship fade into a waking nightmare when he returns from active duty in Iraq to discover just how drastically American culture has changed his wife and daughter. All Jesus wanted was to build a better life for his family. In order to do so, he signed up with Uncle Sam and went to defend the American flag on the front lines of Iraq. Now lamenting the fact that rampant consumerism and ravenous consumption have corrupted his wife and daughter and threatened the very foundation of his family, Jesus determines to reclaim his Mexican heritage by doing whatever it takes to cross the border back into Mexico. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joe Arquette, Patricia Mota, (more)
A family goes through some changes when an unusual sort of drifter crosses their path in this independent coming-of-age drama. Jake (Danny Alexander) is a homeless 15-year-old kid with a fondness for stealing things and a precocious appetite for older women. Jake is passing through a small Montana town as he continues his search for the mother who abandoned him years before when he meets Tucker (Hunter Parrish) while stealing the radio out of his truck. Though Tucker is a bit older than Jake, Jake's rough-and-tumble existence has added a few years to his life experience, and after a scuffle over the radio, the boys become fast friends. Tucker brings Jake home for a square meal, and while Tucker's father (John Terry) is wary of the young drifter, he agrees to let him stay for a few days in the family's barn. However, it turns out Dad was right not to trust Jake; not only does he get caught stealing trinkets from Tucker's younger sister, he becomes amorously involved with a married middle-aged woman who lives nearby. While Jake tends to this affair and toys with the trust of the family who has taken him in, he also offers some advice to Tucker on how to win the attentions of Lily Rose (Paz de la Huerta), a neighborhood girl he has a crush on. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cara Seymour, Danny Alexander, (more)
An elderly widow and a young would-be author strike up an unlikely friendship in this comedy drama. Mrs. Palfrey (Joan Plowright) has been uneasy since the death of her husband, and she decides to move from her long-time home in Scotland to London so she can be closer to her grandson Desmond (Lorcan O'Toole). Mrs. Palfrey settles into the Claremont Hotel, a shabby residential inn for senior citizens that has seen better days. She tries to contact Desmond, but isn't able to get in touch with him, and at first she has a hard time relating to the other folks at the Claremont, especially friendly busybody Mrs. Arbuthnot (Anna Massey). Lonely and out of sorts, Mrs. Palfrey goes out for a walk one day and takes a nasty spill after losing her balance. Ludovic Meyer (Rupert Friend), a struggling writer in his mid-twenties, finds Mrs. Palfrey on the pavement and helps her, taking her back to her room and making sure she's OK. The two strike up a conversation and discover they have a surprisingly amount in common. A friendship grows between them, even though Mrs. Palfrey asks Ludovic to pose as her absent grandson so her neighbors will stop asking questions about him. Mrs. Palfrey even gives her new friend romantic advice, encouraging Ludovic to ask a pretty girl he meets at the video store out on a date. Based on a novel by the British author Elizabeth Taylor, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont was directed by Dan Ireland. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joan Plowright, Rupert Friend, (more)
A reality show contestant who lost 150 pounds and gained a cool one million dollars falls prey to the capitalistic excess of the jet set as Dummy director Greg Pritikin sets his satirical sights on the Hollywood hangers-on who linger for far too long after their 15 minutes are up. Dennis Flotchky (Michael Panes) was an overweight loser with no money and few friends when he first applied for a role on television's top reality game show. All of that quickly changes, however, when Dennis endures to outwit, outlast, and outplay his fellow contestants while simultaneously dropping the majority of his excess weight and becoming a millionaire in the process. Now a celebrity wannabe whose face fills the tabloids and whose fortune is fast being depleted, Dennis must make a quick recovery before the vultures circling overhead swoop down to pick him clean of every last penny and tear away every remaining ounce of his self-respect. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Panes, Cheri Oteri, (more)
Notoriously obsessive director Michael Mann and star Will Smith devoted nearly two years and over 100 million dollars from the coffers of Columbia Pictures and other financiers to creating this biography of boxing great Muhammad Ali, which focuses on the ten-year period of 1964-1974. In that time, the brash, motor-mouthed athlete quickly dominates his sport, meets and marries his first wife (Jada Pinkett-Smith), converts to Islam (changing his name from Cassius Clay), and defies the United States government by refusing to submit to military conscription for duty in Vietnam. His world heavyweight champion title thus stripped from him entirely for political reasons, the champ sets about to win back his crown, culminating in a legendary unification bout against George Foreman (Charles Shufford) in Zaire, dubbed the "Rumble in the Jungle." In his travels, Ali becomes a symbol of power to disenfranchised African-Americans everywhere and meets such luminaries as Malcolm X (Mario Van Peebles), Martin Luther King Jr. (LeVar Burton) and Maya Angelou (Martha Edgerton). Ali features an all-star supporting cast that includes Jon Voight, Giancarlo Esposito, Jamie Foxx, Nona Gaye, Michael Michele, Joe Morton, Paul Rodriguez, Ron Silver, Mykelti Williamson, and Jeffrey Wright. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, (more)
Based on one of Shirley Jackson's spookier stories, this made-for-TV thriller recounts a small New England town's chilling annual ritual, a quasi-pagan affair involving human sacrifice performed in a particularly horrific manner. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
A substantial improvement on its predecessor, this in-name-only sequel retains only a few characters from the original To Die For, standing alone as an effective vampire tale in its own right. The complex plot revolves around the facilities of vampire Doctor Max (Michael Praed), whose stores of whole blood provide temporary food supplies for wayward bloodsuckers in need of a fix. Into Max's clinic arrives young Danny (Jay Underwood) and his sister Nina (Rosalind Allen), whose adopted baby is suffering from an unknown affliction. While Danny eventually falls under the seductive spell of the translucent-looking Celia (Amanda Wyss), Max's predatory brother Tom (Steve Bond) sets his sights on Nina's unprotected neck, leading to a confrontation with Max over the fate of Nina and her child, revealed to be a human/vampire half-breed, of whom Max is the father. Events are further stirred by the arrival of manic vampire hunter Martin (Scott Jakoby), who is obsessed with destroying them all. This slick and stylish production belies its low budget with technical panache (aside from occasional cost-cutting measures in the special effects department), which includes superb photography, razor-sharp editing, and a script that provides dimension and believable motivations for its characters without skimping on scares. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rosalind Allen, Steve Bond, (more)
The never ending battle between good and evil continues as history's most notorious bloodsucker turns up in modern day Los Angeles in director Deran Sarafian's updating of Bram Stoker's timeless tale of terror. He may have a new look and a new life, but when Vlad Tepish arrives on Los Angeles in search of his one true love, an old nemesis vows to put an end to his horrific reign of terror once and for all. With love and death on a collision course that could signal the end of history's greatest villain, the stage is set for a battle that will pit the eternal devotion of a monster against the determination of the man sworn to destroy him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brendan Hughes, Sydney Walsh, (more)
