Kate Burton Movies
A lovable loser finds his future looking up after meeting the woman of his dreams, only to find that he will have to work overtime in order to prevent true love from slipping through his fingers. Herman Spooner (Matthew Lillard) is about to turn thirty. He sells used cars for a living, and still lives at home with his parents. As much as they love him, Herman's parents have set a hard deadline for their son to strike out on his own. That line is Herman's thirtieth birthday. Even worse, Herman's boss has threatened to give him the axe should he fail to improve his numbers and move more cars. When Herman wakes up on the morning of his thirtieth birthday, he assumes that it will be one of the worst days of his life. But then he meets Rose, and all of his fears simply fade away. As the pair sets out on the perfect date, Rose drops a bombshell: she's about to leave for the Philippines. Realizing that he's got precious little time to show Rose how much he really cares, Herman casts all of his fears and doubts aside in a last ditch attempt to convince her their love was meant to be. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Lillard, Nora Zehetner, (more)
A man who can't walk meets a woman who envies his condition in this offbeat black comedy. Isaac Knott (Nick Stahl) lost the use of his legs when he was eight years old in an auto accident that also claimed the lives of his parents. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Isaac has enjoyed a successful career as the host of a talk show on a New York City public radio outlet. One day, Isaac is told an odd story about a man who arrived at a local hospital and demanded to have his legs amputated; the man was part of a secret subculture of able-bodied folks who wish to be paraplegics, using wheelchairs when they can and attempting to deaden their legs through artificial means. Isaac becomes fascinated with the idea of these wannabes, and begins studying the phenomenon for a piece on his show. Isaac's research leads him to Fiona (Vera Farmiga), a sexy but mysterious blonde who collects and restores Chinese art. Fiona is also the owner of a wheelchair she doesn't really need, and Isaac, who is increasingly attracted to her, wants to know all about her role in the fake-paraplegic underground. However, Fiona isn't about to give away any of her secrets for free, and Isaac discovers that the exchange of information and trust goes deeper the longer they know one another. The first feature film from writer and director Carlos Brooks, Quid Pro Quo received its premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Stahl, Vera Farmiga, (more)
Rockstar Games' double-gunned action franchise comes to the big screen thanks to director John Moore (The Omen) and Mark Wahlberg, who embodies the title character of Max Payne, a widowed cop hell-bent on delivering justice no matter what the cost as he investigates a string of killings in his city. Mila Kunis and Chris O'Donnell head up the supporting cast, with Beau Thorne adapting the screenplay for the 20th Century Fox production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, (more)
Miraculousy, Meredith's mom Ellis (Kate Burton) becomes lucid for the first time since being stricken with Alzheimers'. Unfortunately, Ellis' first words are not entirely flattering to Meredith (Ellen Pompeo)--in fact, they're downright abusive. Meanwhile, a patient's toxic blood may prove dangerous to three of the surgeons; Izzy (Katherine Heigl) has quite a conversation with the first client at the Denny Duquette memorial clinic; Cristina (Sandra Oh) gives serious consideration to Burke's proposal; and the eminent retirement of Dr. Webber (James Pickens Jr.) results in "competition fever". The episode ends as George (T.R. Knight) and Callie (Sara Ramirez) return from Vegas with a big surprise--as if we couldn't have guessed the nature of that surprise from what took place in the previous episode! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the conclusion of a three-part story arc, the Seattle Grace staffers race against time to save Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), who after nearly drowning at the site of the ferryboat tragedy has been rushed to the hospital showing no signs of life. As she hovers between this world and the next, Meredith undergoes a spectacular near-death experience, "starring" several of her late friends and acquaintances--ranging from bomb-squad detective Dylan Young (Kyle Chandler) to her dear departed dog Doc! Meanwhile, the bond between Alex (Justin Chambers) and the seriously injured "Jane Doe" (Elizabeth Reaser) grows stronger; Izzie (Katherine Heigl) has serious issues with both Callie (Sara Ramirez) and George (T.R. Knight); Cristina (Sandra Oh) has yet another meltdown; and a major recurring character bids a sort-of-fond farewell. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the second episode of a three-part story arc, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) has fallen in the water at the scene of a horrendous ferryboat disaster, and is still among the missing. Izzie (Katherine Heigl) takes medical instructions by phone as she performs emergency cranial surgery on a victim trapped between two cars. George (T.R Knight) tells a mother that her son has been found safe so she would agree to undergo surgery--and now must conduct a frantic search for the boy. And while trying to mollify the victims' families, Alex forms an unusual bond with an unidentified pregnant woman (Elizabeth Reaser) who has sustained mulitple injuries. With all this going on, Cristina and Burke still find time to announce their upcoming wedding--only to start quarrelling the moment the words are out of their mouths. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the first episode of a three-part story arc, the staff at Seattle Grace swings into action when disaster strikes on Coleman Dock. A cargo ship has plowed into a ferryboat, killing several people and seriously injuring many more. Some of the survivors are in such bad shape that Dr. Webber (James Pickens Jr.) must literary play God, deciding on the spot who can be saved and who can't. Cristina (Sandra Oh) takes special interest in a grotesquely disfigured and very pregnant "Jane Doe" (Elizabeth Reaser), while Alex (Justin Chambers) must keep his arrogance in check as he deals with the victims' anguished relatives. The situations worsens when, while providing aid and comfort to an eerily calm child victim (Madison Leisle), Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) loses her footing and falls in the water--and she can't swim! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
With the dust barely settled from the literally explosive climax of the previous episode, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) endures the one-two punch of finding out about her mother's uniquely colorful love life. Also learning a few secrets is Burke (Isaiah Washington), who doesn't entirely like what he now knows about Cristina (Sandra Oh). Meanwhile, Alex (Justin Chambers) and Izzie (Katherine Heigl) wonder what they can do for an encore after their linen-closet rendezvous; a patient (Arlene Tur) suffering from persistent spontaneous orgasms has the staff all a-twitter; and a blast from the past drives yet another wedge between Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and Addison (Kate Walsh) with the unexpected arrival of Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) in his first series appearance). But the best is reserved for last--and it involves the hospital's Least Likely Couple. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
The nurses go on strike, forcing the doctors and interns (with the exception of George [T.R. Knight], who refuses to cross the picket line) to soldier on all by themselves. With Bailey on pregnancy leave, her replacement is Dr. Sydney Aaron (Kali Rocha), the polar opposite of Seattle Grace's infamous "Nazi". Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) makes a mistake while treating a patient, and the error does not go unnoticed by the patient's gossipy friends (played by veteran actresses Betty Garrett, June Lockhart and Rae Allen). And elsewhere, the beleagured doctors must cope with a sullen pregnant teenager and a mysterious skin ailment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Workaholic Cristina (Sandra Oh) feels stiffed when the hospital "celebrates" the New Year by imposing a mandatory work limit. Back at Seattle Grace, patient Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan in his first series appearance) looks forward to receiving a heart transplant--and to express his ardor for Izzie (Katherine Heigl). Other patients include a disgruntled novelist who literally eats his words, and a 14-year-old hemaphrodite girl frustrated over her inability to reach puberty. Meanwhile, Derek (Patrick Dempsey) pays a visit to Meredith's mother Ellis (Kate Burton)--without telling Meredith (Ellen Pompeo). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
As Season Three of Grey's Anatomy gets under way, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) has only a few fleeting moments to ponder her romantic rendezvous with Derek (Patrick Dempsey) at the end of Season Two before Derek and George (T.R. Knight) are quarantined in the same room by a flu epidemic. In another unresolved issue from the previous season, Izzie (Katherine Heigl) is so devastated by the death of heart patient Denny Duquette that she decides to give up her medical career completely. Elsewhere, the wife (Loretta Devine) of surgery chief Webber (James Pickens Jr.) forces him to choose between the hospital and her; and two of the surgeons look after an infant found in a most unexpected place. This episode is highlighted by an extensive flashback to that wonderful night in 2005 just before the series' regulars began their "tour of duty" at Seattle Grace Hospital. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
George (T.R. Knight) has trouble explaining to his somewhat thick-eared siblings that their father Harold (George Dzundza) must have heart surgery. When Burke (Isaiah Washington) is chosen to perform the operation, he wonders if he's up to it--and so, after a while, is George. Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) is profoundly affected by her young patient Mia (Brooke Bryan), who seems to prefer her allegedly abusive nanny to her mother. After calling a truce with Addison (Kate Walsh), Derek (Patrick Dempsey) shares a few words (and a bath!) with Meredith. And two other couples face an uphill climb in search of common ground. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Despite a grim prognosis, Cristina (Sandra Oh) stubbornly insists upon giving extra-special treatment to cancer patient Liz Fallon (Anna Maria Horsford), who happens to have been the longtime scrub nurse for Meredith's surgeon mother Ellis Grey (Kate Burton). In other developments, a constructor worker is brought to the hospital after shooting six nails in his head, a feat that turns out to be something far more than an on-the-job accident; and George (T.R. Knight) rebels at being treated as "one of the girls" by roomies Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Izzie (Katherine Heigl). The episode's high point occurs when Alex (Justin Chambers) comes across a sexy lingerie ad featuring Izzie, which he then pastes all over the interns' locker room--leading to an extremely revealing moment! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
During her first heart surgery, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) makes what she regards as a serious error, but is afraid to say anything for fear of losing her internship. Meanwhle, George (T.R. Knight) is saddled with a cranky emphysema victim (Kathryn Joosten) who insists that she has stopped smoking--but the X-rays tell a different story; and Alex (Justin Chambers) deals with a patient who is addicted to prescription pain killers, and will go to any lengths to keep the supply flowing. Finally, a middle-aged man (Jeff Doucette) with obstructed bowels may prove to be equally obstructive to Izzie (Katherine Heigl), who must take time off from planning a lavish party for her boyfriend Hank (Jonathan Scarfe). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This two-part HBO miniseries is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Richard Russo. Having long since sacrificed youthful ideals and values to remain in his New England hometown for the sake of his family, middle-aged Miles Roby (Ed Harris) finds his "secure" little world disintegrating when his wife, Janine (Helen Hunt), divorces him. Equally vexing is the emotional and financial pressure exerted by domineering town matriarch Francine Whiting (Joanne Woodward), who owns (among other things) the Empire Grill, the little diner that Ed has run for several years. As he reflects on what he considers to be a wasted life, Ed flashes back to memories of his curmudgeonly father, Max (Paul Newman, who also executive-produced the miniseries); his long-dead mother, Grace (Robin Wright Penn); his scapegrace brother, David (Aidan Quinn); his blossoming daughter "Tick" (Danielle Panabaker); and Francine's late husband, C.B. Whiting (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Also tied in with Miles' reminiscences is the spectacular saga of the rise and fall of Empire Falls, a once-prosperous mill town that has fallen into disrepair -- as have the town's once-rigid and inviolate social barriers. Despite the initial bleakness of Miles' plight, and the revelation of innumerable family skeletons as the plot progresses, the story is ultimately both heartwarming and life-affirming. Filmed on location in Maine, Empire Falls originally aired on May 28 and 29, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Harris, Danielle Panabaker, (more)
On the verge of signing their divorce papers, Addison (Kate Walsh) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) have second thoughts--and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) fumes from the sidelines. Recovering from her miscarriage, Cristina (Sandra Oh) proves the old adage that doctors make the worst patients. Kindhearted George (T.R. Knight) is run ragged by Meredith's delusional mother Ellis (Kate Burton), who imagines that she is still a busy surgeon with tons of patients. Bailey (Chandra Wilson), aka "The Nazi", shows her human side when she is reunited with a young cystic fibrosis victim (Thomas Ian Nicholas). And Alex (Justin Chambers) worries that his medical career may end before it even gets properly under way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Cristina (Sandra Oh) open the episode by cryin' the blues over getting romantically involved with their control-freak bosses. Back at Seattle Grace, Meredith's mom Ellis (Kate Burton), a brilliant surgeon struck down by Alzheimer's, is treated for diverticulitis--which unexpectedly becomes the catalyst for several revelations on the part of several secret lovers. Cristina resists the notion of telling Burke (Isaiah Washington) that she is pregnant, but this becomes a moot point when she collapses in the surgery room and Addison (Kate Walsh) is forced to perform an emergency operation. A young female patient (Angela Goethels) who suffers from uncontrollable blushing finds herself in the middle of a few interdepartmental intrigues. And George (T.R. Knight) is finally able to get the best of the insufferable Alex (Justin Chambers) when he is handed an unusally difficult assignment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A power outage at Seattle Grace traps George (T.R. Knight) in an elevator with a seriously wounded police officer (Daniel Bess), forcing him to perform emergency surgery. The outage also causes another patient to lose his "pain medication"--to be exact, his collection of video porn--forcing Cristina (Sandra Oh) to do some clever improvising. Elsewhere, after trying to convince a religious zealot to authorize surgery for his daughter, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) has a showdown with Derek (Patrick Dempsey). And Meredith's delusional mother Ellis (Kate Burton) waxes nostalgic over her long-ago love affair--with Seattle Grace's chief surgeon Webber (James Pickens Jr.) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A man struggling to save the life of another finds himself drawn into a strange netherworld he didn't know existed in this stylish thriller. Sam Foster (Ewan McGregor) is a psychiatrist living in New York City with his girlfriend, Lila Culpepper (Naomi Watts), who was once one of his patients. However, it's another one of his patients who becomes the focus of his obsessions when Henry Letham (Ryan Gosling), a disturbed young man whom Foster took over from a colleague, announces during a session that he intends to commit suicide in three days, on his 21st birthday. Sam takes the threat quite seriously and tries to track down Henry, who seems to have disappeared. Sam speaks to a number of Henry's friends and acquaintances -- his mother (Kate Burton), the man he claimed was his father, Dr. Leon Patterson (Bob Hoskins), a waitress who regularly served Henry at the coffee shop where she works (Elizabeth Reaser), and his former therapist Dr. Beth Levy (Janeane Garofalo). As Sam talks to people in Henry's circle, he finds he's learning more about himself than the man he's supposed to save, and he begins to drift into an emotional netherworld where the supposedly dead and the living cross paths. Stay was directed by Marc Forster, who had previously enjoyed breakthrough hits with two very different films, Monster's Ball and Finding Neverland. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, (more)
It's a grueling and eventful first 48 hours for the new crop of surgical interns at Seattle Grace Hospital in the debut episode of Grey's Anatomy. Among the newcomers are Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), still struggling to emerge from the shadow of her celebrated surgeon mother Ellis Grey (Kate Burton); fiercely competitive Stanford grad Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), who will in time become Meredith's best friend; former fashion model Isobel "Izzie" Stevens (Katherine Heigl), a bit put off that she's no longer the sole center of attention; amiable, naïve George O'Malley (T.R. Knight); and Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), who wastes no time proving himself to be a pompous jerk. After a pep talk from chief surgeon Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), the interns are placed in the not-so-tender care of supervising doctor Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), also known as "The Nazi" for reasons that become instantly obvious. During their two-day shakedown cruise, the rookies come face to face with the harsh realities of hospital life, with Meredith tending to a girl suffering from seizures, George enduring his first appendectomy, and Cristina finds that it's no picnic workiing under veteran surgeon Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington). But the biggest shock of all is reserved for Ellis, when she discovers that her handsome "one-night stand" from the previous evening happens to be her new boss, Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey)! Peter Horton received an Emmy nomination for his direction of this inaugural episode. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Based on the novel by Ridley Pearson, The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer is a prequel to the goose-pimply 2002 TV miniseries Stephen King's Rose Red. In its efforts to "explain" the supernatural events in the earlier project, this made-for-TV chiller is set at the turn of the century, when the stately, sinister Rose Red mansion is constructed by powerful Seattle oil magnate John Rimbauer (Steven Brand) as a wedding present for his timid, submissive young bride, Ellen (Lisa Brenner). At first impressed by her husband's extravagance, Ellen eventually comes to hate and fear John, especially when learning a few unsavory facts about his past. Meanwhile, the mansion seems to be festooned with ghosts, possibly those of the many people close to John Rimbauer who have mysteriously vanished. Can the eerie moanings and manifestations be interpreted as a warning to Ellen that she, too, may some day disappear without a trace? This is the sort of film in which, after someone exclaims "I'll be damned!," someone else replies, "You already are." The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer originally aired May 12, 2003, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Brenner, Steven Brand, (more)
A moment of temptation leads to a high body count and untold regrets for a high-school swimming star in this thriller starring Bring It On's Jesse Bradford and Traffic's Erika Christensen. Despite a shady past involving drugs and the juvenile justice system, Ben Cronin (Bradford) seems to have it all: a loving mother, a devoted girlfriend (Shiri Appleby), and a shot at a college scholarship in California. But the same week that athletic scouts will be deciding his future, Ben finds himself embroiled in a flirtation with Madison Bell (Christensen), a bewitching transfer student who seduces him into supposedly strings-free sex during an impromptu swim lesson after hours in the school pool. When Ben takes Madison at her word and goes about his business as if nothing had happened, she insinuates herself into his life with sinister glee. Showing up at Ben's house, befriending his girlfriend, and sending him naked pictures -- none of her strategies wins his heart. So Madison turns to other, more devious forms of courtship. Soon, Ben finds himself kicked off the swim team for supposed steroid use, suspected of murdering a rival (Clayne Crawford), and rejected by his girlfriend for his sexual indiscretions. Eventually, though, he receives help in uncovering the genesis of Madison's uncanny fixation from an unexpected source. Originally titled "Swimfan85" (after Madison's Internet screen name), the retitled Swimfan hit the top spot at the back-to-school box office when it was released September 6, 2002. Dan Hedaya co-stars as Ben's stern but loving mentor, Coach Simkins. Actor-turned-director John Polson previously helmed Siam Sunset. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen, (more)
Diane Lane is a wayward wife and Richard Gere is her suspicious husband in Adrian Lyne's Unfaithful. Connie (Lane) leaves her suburban home on an errand, venturing into Manhattan during a wicked windstorm. On a trash-strewn Soho street, she literally runs into Paul Martel (Olivier Martinez), a handsome young Frenchman carrying a huge stack of books. Connie has a bad scrape on her knee, and is unable to get a cab, so Paul invites her up to his apartment. Paul is quietly flirtatious as he gives Connie some ice and a bandage for her knee. Connie phones home and explains to her son, Charlie (Erik Per Sullivan), that she's running late. Before she leaves, Paul gives her a book of Persian poetry, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. She mentions the encounter in passing to Edward (Gere), her husband, but it's clear that she's obsessing about Paul, and soon she's back in the city, with a pretext for calling him up. Soon, they are lovers, and they grow bolder and bolder in their passion. Edward begins to suspect, and eventually gets a private investigator (Dominic Chianese of The Sopranos) to follow Connie. His worst fears confirmed, Edward decides to confront Paul, a decision that will come to haunt him. While the screenplay for Unfaithful is credited to Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People) and William Broyles Jr. (Cast Away), the inspiration for Lyne's film came from Claude Chabrol's acclaimed 1969 film La Femme Infidele. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Diane Lane, (more)
Based on a true story, Obsessed begins when Ellena Roberts (Jenna Elfman), a highly successful medical writer, is yanked out of her apartment and arrested on a charge of harrassment. It seems that Roberts has been dogging the trail of famous neurosurgeon Dr. David Stillman (Sam Robards), whom she met during a medical convention. According to Ellena, she and the very married Stillman had a torrid affair, whereupon Stillman promised to divorce his wife and marry her. When Stillman denied these charges, Ellena inaugurated a campaign of psychological warfare to reclaim the doctor for herself, going so far as to break into his house in the dead of night. The subsequent court trial boils down to a matter of he said/she said, with the neurotic but quick-witted Ellena certain that she can sway the jury to her favor -- even though her own attorney (Kate Burton) suspects that Ellena has merely imagined the entire affair. Much of the story is related through the conversations between Ellena and a fiercely feminist journalist (Lisa Edelstein), whose devotion to Ellena borders on the surreal. Something of a cross between Fatal Attraction and A Beautiful Mind, the made-for-cable Obsessed originally aired September 16, 2002, on the Lifetime network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jenna Elfman, Kate Burton, (more)
The detectives' investigation of a stabbing murder reveals that the victim, a derelict, served in Vietnam. Following the trail of clues, the authorities learn that the dead man was one of three soldiers who were involved in the same wartime incident. One of these three, a high-ranking municipal official, is clearly harboring an unpleasant secret. Originally scheduled to air on September 26, 2001, this episode was delayed until October 3. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide





















