Steve Golin Movies

The Station Agent's Tom McCarthy tackles real life controversy with this docudrama covering the journalists who exposed the Catholic Church's connection to child molestation. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman's comedy stars Kristen Wiig as the title character, a quirky, once-promising playwright living in New York who fakes a suicide attempt in order to get the attention of her ex-boyfriend. She winds up in the care of her New Jersey mother (Annette Bening), a widower currently shacked up with an oddball boyfriend (Matt Dillon) who claims to be a CIA agent. Imogene reconnects with her mollusk-obsessed brother, and clashes with a boarder who is living in her old room. However, when she discovers a secret her mother has been keeping from her, she travels back to the Big Apple to confront her past. Girl Most Likely (aka Imogene) screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

When a family of gray whales becomes trapped in the Arctic Circle, a Greenpeace volunteer and a small-town reporter go to extraordinary lengths to save the majestic creatures in this romantic adventure inspired by actual events. Alaskan newsman Adam Carlson (John Krasinski) has grown weary of working in such a small market. He's eager to move on to bigger and better things when the story of a lifetime lands right in his lap. Ice has been forming in the Arctic Circle at a rate so fast that a family of gray whales has become hopelessly stranded. As the eyes of the world turn toward this small, chilly corner of the globe, an oil tycoon, slews of politicians, and countless journalists descend upon Alaska -- each with their own hidden agenda. Meanwhile, the only one Adam notices is Rachel Kramer (Drew Barrymore), a devout environmentalist who also happens to be his ex-girlfriend. As the situation grows dire, the unlikely pair rallies a diverse coalition of allies to work together toward the common goal of saving the endangered marine mammals. The result is a rescue mission that will help to thaw Cold War tensions between America and Russia, and show the entire world just what can be accomplished when we start working together, instead of pulling apart. Dermot Mulroney, Tim Blake Nelson, Ted Danson, and Kristen Bell co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A successful businessman and loving father finds a unique means of coping with his debilitating mental illness in this drama from director Jodie Foster. When Walter Black (Mel Gibson) finds himself stuck in a downward spiral, the chance discovery of a beat-up beaver hand puppet offers him a unique opportunity to pull himself back from the brink. By using The Beaver to speak with others, Walter develops the abilities to express the suppressed feelings that were slowly eating him away from the inside. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A Buenos Aires Elvis impersonator believing himself to be the King reincarnate wrestles with his uncertain future after reaching the age that his idol died, and being confronted with an unforeseen family tragedy. By day, Carlos Gutierrez works a monotonous factory job; by night he entertains audiences as the King of Rock and Roll. He's never been much of a father to his impressionable young daughter Lisa Marie, and lately his ex-wife has noticed his obsession with Elvis spinning out of control. Elvis died at 42, and Carlos as Carlos approaches that momentous birthday, his fatalism grows all consuming. But just as Carlos begins to make a total break from reality, he is faced with a problem he cannot run away from. Now forced to take responsibility for the first time in his life, the absentee father is about to find out where Elvis ends, and Carlos begins. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Ray Winstone, Ian McShane, John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson, Stephen Dillane, and Joanne Whalley star in first-time feature filmmaker Malcolm Venville's darkly comic tale of a man who rallies his friends in order to seek revenge against the French waiter who recently slept with his wife. Sexy Beast scribes Louis Mellis and David Scinto pen the screenplay for a film produced by Richard Brown and Steve Golin. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

After entering into a passionate affair with a much younger woman, an unhappily married man resorts to murder as a means of eliminating his wife in director Ira Sachs' period melodrama. Set in the 1940s, Marriage tells the tale of Harry (Chris Cooper) -- a man whose wife, Pat (Patricia Clarkson), only wants sex. Smitten by the beautiful Kay (Rachel McAdams) but ultra-sensitive to his wife's feelings -- so sensitive that he can't stand the thought of breaking her heart -- Harry opts to poison his wife as a means of allowing the marriage to end with her pride still intact. Harry's scheme soon goes horribly awry, however, when after revealing the plan to his best friend, Richard (Pierce Brosnan), Richard too falls in love with the ethereal young beauty and sets into motion a cunning plan all his own. A serpentine tale of murderous deception, Marriage was co-scripted by director Sachs and screenwriter Oren Moverman. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

When a man who specializes in cleaning crime scenes washes away the evidence of a murder before the crime is reported, he soon becomes drawn into a deadly mystery in this thriller directed by Renny Harlin, and starring Samuel L. Jackson. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

One woman's day goes all to pot in this resinous comedy from independent filmmaker Gregg Araki. Jane (Anna Faris) is a college dropout and aspiring actress who suffers from a certain lack of ambition, doubtless reinforced by her fondness for marijuana. One morning, Jane wakes with a busy day ahead of her -- she has a big audition, she has to pay the electric bill on her apartment to prevent the power from being shut off, and she needs to pick up some pot after paying her debt to her dealer -- and decides to take the edge off her anxieties by getting a little stoned. Under the influence, the cupcakes her roommate Steve (Danny Masterson) has made for his friends to enjoy at the weekend's Sci-Fi convention look too good to resist, and she gobbles them down. What Jane doesn't realize until it's too late is that the baked goods were laced with some especially strong marijuana, and what starts as a pleasant buzz turns into a world-class high that refuses to go away. As Jane struggles to make her way through the day, fate keeps throwing her into strange and surreal situations involving police officers, Steve's lovesick best friend, and a rare original manuscript of The Communist Manifesto. Smiley Face also stars Adam Brody, John Krasinski, Jane Lynch, Michael Hitchcock, John Cho and Roscoe Lee Browne. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The tragic aftermath of human carelessness travels around the world in this multi-narrative drama from filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu. Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are a couple from the United States who have traveled to Morocco in Northern Africa on a vacation after the death of one of their children has sent Susan into a deep depression. Richard and Susan's other two children have been left in the care of Amelia (Adriana Barraza), their housekeeper. Amelia is originally from Mexico, and her oldest son is getting married in Tijuana. Unable to find someone who can watch the kids, or to obtain permission to take the day off, Amelia takes the children with her as she travels across the border for the celebration. Around the same time, in Morocco a poor farmer buys a hunting rifle, and he gives it to his sons to scare off the predatory animals that have been thinning out their goat herd. The boys decide to test the weapon's range by shooting at a bus far away; the shot hits Susan in the shoulder, and soon she's bleeding severely, while police are convinced the attack is the work of terrorists. In Japan, Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi) is a teenage deaf-mute whose mother recently committed suicide. This despairing, confused girl experiences such rage and frustration that she causes her volleyball team to lose a match, and later yanks her underwear off and begins exposing herself to boys in a crowded restaurant. Chieko's father then struggles to reach past the emotional distance which separates him and his daughter. Babel earned Alejandro González Iñárritu the prize for Best Director at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The opening season of American television's first lesbian comedy drama series, The L Word, finds longtime partners Bette (Jennifer Beals) and Tina (Laurel Holloman) deciding to start a family -- and since it is out of the question for the domineering Bette to be weighed down with the burden of pregnancy, it is up to "happy housewife" Tina to be artificially inseminated. Meanwhile, the couple's next-door neighbor, Tim (Eric Mabius), has invited his fiancée, Jenny (Mia Kirshner), an aspiring writer, to live with him. Fascinated by Bette and Tina's circle of gay friends, Jenny begins seriously questioning her own sexual orientation. Elsewhere, the eternally wisecracking Alice (Leisha Hailey) disappoints her friends by entering into yet another dead-end romance. Tennis pro Dana (Erin Daniels) continues to put off telling her parents that she's a lesbian. And promiscuous hairdresser Shane (Katherine Moennig) continues to leave a trail of broken hearts as she woos women everywhere and beds some of her more vulnerable female customers. By the end of the first season, Jenny has had her first lesbian affair with Marina (Karina Lombard), whereupon Tim kicks her out of the house -- and worse, Marina has not informed Jenny that she already has a lover. And, in the emotional aftermath of Tina's miscarriage, Bette succumbs to the temptation of cheating on her with another woman. ~ Rovi

Sometimes described as "Sex and the City meets Queer as Folk," the weekly, 60-minute Showtime comedy drama series The L Word teased its viewers as to what the "L" stood for in its opening credits sequence, in which a long list of "possibles" rolled past the screen: Laughter, Lattes, Luxurious, Lullaby, Libido, etc. Of course, the letter stood for "Lesbian" -- in this case, a tight-knit group of very attractive lesbians, all living and working in Los Angeles. The episodes focused on the relationships between the principal characters, their family members (some accepting their sexual preferences, others looking askance), their friends, and their "outside" lovers. Jennifer Beals topped the cast as Bette Porter, an art museum director and unabashed control freak, who in the first season lived with her longtime partner Tina Kennard (Laurel Holloman), who chose to stay at home and assume the "housewife" role -- and, after being artificially inseminated, was both wife and mother in the relationship. (Ultimately, Bette and Tina broke up over Bette's infidelity.) The series' "audience-identification" character was Jenny Schecter, a talented writer who had moved next door to Bette and Tina to live with her fiancé, and later husband, Tim Haspel (Eric Mabius). Inexorably drawn into her neighbors' circle of lesbian friends, Jenny gradually came out of the closet herself, having a torrid affair with sexy coffee shop owner Marina Ferrer (Karina Lombard), breaking up with Tim, and entering into a series of not-altogether-satisfying affairs -- all the while trying to emerge from the shadow of a spectacularly miserable childhood. The "comedian" of the bunch was Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey), a glib-tongued bisexual journalist who had a habit of speaking first and thinking second. Also in the cast were Katherine Moening as Shane McCutcheon, a troubled promiscuous hairdresser; Erin Daniels as Dana Fairbanks, a professional tennis player who struggled with whether to stay in the closet professionally and whose insecurities made it hard for her to find a girlfriend; and Pam Grier as the only certified "straight" member of the group, Bette's older half sister and formerly successful singer, Kit Porter. Later editions to the cast in season two included sexy deejay Carmen de la Pica Morales (Sarah Shahi), who at one point carried on simultaneous affairs with Jenny and Shane; wealthy Helena Peabody (Rachel Shelley), daughter of an influential female art collector; and documentary and adult filmmaker Mark Wayland (Eric Lively), who became Shane and Jenny's housemate. Amidst a veritable blizzard of media hype, The L Word made its Showtime premiere on January 28, 2004. ~ Rovi

Musician and songwriter Jim White acts as a tour guide for this documentary which explores the strange and soulful heart of the American South. As White shares his own story of dealing with the legacy of his Southern heritage -- where Saturday nights at the juke joint fade into Sunday mornings in the church, and the revelry and violence of the former runs counter to the Holy Ghost visions of the latter -- he meets other musicians and artists who are also fascinated by the emotional and spiritual power of Appalachia's dualistic nature. Artists featured include mercurial singer and songwriter Johnny Dowd, post-modern songsters the Handsome Family, Florida-based novelist Harry Crews, old-timey banjo master Lee Sexton, modern-day blues singer David Johansen, and musical saw player Melissa Swingle. Produced for British television, Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus was the first feature film for Andrew Douglas, who previously distinguished himself making short films and television commercials. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi