Peter Newman Movies

Nicole Beharie, Tim Blake Nelson, Will Patton, and Xzibit headline this fact-based drama about an innocent Texas mother caught up in a high-profile drug raid, and unjustly accused due to the uncorroborated testimony of a single informant. Dee Roberts (Beharie) is a young single mother of four living in a small Texas town. Arrested during a drug raid and accused of a crime she didn't commit, Dee goes against the wishes of her mother, Alma (Alfre Woodard), and rejects the plea-bargain that would free her from jail, but brand her as a felon for life. As word begins to spread that similar incidents are occurring in poor communities all across the country, Dee realizes that there are more mothers out there like her, and decides to take a stand against powerful district attorney Calvin Beckett (Michael O'Keefe). Now, despite being well aware of District Attorney Beckett's fierce reputation, Dee enlists the aid of ACLU attorney David Cohen (Nelson) and former narcotics officer Sam Conroy (Patton) in overcoming the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that, if not navigated with the greatest of caution, now threaten to destroy her life. With the custody of her children on the line, one brave mother wages a valiant battle to strike at the very heart of the corrupt Texas justice system. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A successful American novelist who has retreated into the country following the publication of his most recent book meets a most mysterious muse in director/screenwriter Paul Auster's elliptic psychological drama. His latest novel an instant success, famous author Martin Frost (David Thewlis) decides to celebrate by spending some quality down time in a remote country home. Awakening his first morning in the house, Martin is shocked to find that he is sharing his bed with a stunningly beautiful woman. Over the course of the next few days, Martin becomes increasingly fascinated with the mysterious visitor's radiating beauty and acute intelligence - eventually falling deeply in love with her. Could this woman who possesses an uncanny knowledge of Martin's life and work perhaps be the muse who will inspire his greatest work? The closer Martin tries to get to the woman the further she seems to drift away, a disturbing development that eventually leads the author to suspect that she is a figment of his imagination or a ghost that has somehow gained access to his most intimate thoughts. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Two boys learn the hard way about how a marriage falls apart in this independent comedy drama. Bernard (Jeff Daniels) is a novelist whose career has gone into a slow decline as he spends more time teaching and less time writing. His wife, Joan (Laura Linney), meanwhile, has recently begun publishing her own work to widespread acclaim, which only increases the growing tension between them. One day, Bernard and Joan's two sons -- 16-year-old Walt (Jesse Eisenberg) and 12-year-old Frank (Owen Kline) -- are told that their parents are separating, with Bernard renting a house on the other side of their Park Slope, Brooklyn, neighborhood. As the parents set up a schedule for spending time with their children, Walt and Jesse can hardly imagine that things could get more combative between their folks, but they do, as Joan begins dating Ivan (William Baldwin), Frank's tennis instructor, and Bernard starts sharing the house with Lili (Anna Paquin), one of his students. Meanwhile, the two boys begin taking sides in the battle between their parents, with Walt taking after his father and Frank siding with his mom. Based on writer/director Noah Baumbach's own childhood experiences with his parents' divorce, The Squid and the Whale won prizes for writing and direction at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Carlos (Manny Perez) is a talented artist who draws comics for a living. He's desperate to move out of his Washington Heights neighborhood. His girlfriend, Maggie (Andrea Navedo) feels more connected to the neighborhood. She's not so eager to leave. Carlos's best friend, Mickey (Danny Hoch), works as a super in the building his father owns, but he dreams of being a professional bowler. He's scheming to raise three grand to enter an open tournament in Las Vegas. Carlos's father, Eddie (accomplished Cuban-born actor Tomas Milian, who starred in Michelangelo Antonioni's Indentificazione di una donna), owns a neighborhood grocery store, and is well-liked in the neighborhood for his friendly way of doing business. Despite his advanced age, he's also a ladies' man, and was so even before Carlos's mother passed away. His philandering ways account for a lot of the tension between father and son. Carlos wants to draw his own comic book, but his boss, David (David Zayas) tells him that while he's got technical ability, his work is soulless. But Carlos's plans for the future are disrupted when Eddie is shot and critically wounded during a robbery at the store. Carlos resentfully takes care of his ailing father, and runs the store until Eddie can go back to work. Carlos's growing understanding of his community, and his father's importance to it, is reflected in his work, and he has a creative breakthrough. Meanwhile, Mickey's moneymaking schemes get him into trouble with Angel (Bobby Cannavale), Maggie's gangster brother. Washington Heights was directed by Alfredo De Villa, who wrote the script with Nat Moss. Novelist Junot Diaz (Drown) wrote additional dialogue. The film was shown at the 2002 Urbanworld Film Festival, and at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival, where it received a Special Mention. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

In this digitally shot feature from acclaimed director Wayne Wang) (The Joy Luck Club), the boundaries of sexual relations are put to the test by two individuals. Richard (Peter Sarsgaard) is a dot-com entrepreneur who, despite earning millions of dollars, feels little connection to the outside world. After frequenting a strip club, he offers Florence (Molly Parker), a sometime-stripper who also works as a drummer, $10,000 dollars to accompany him to Las Vegas for a short stay. She makes him a list of rules that must be followed: no kissing on the mouth, no penetration, and each will stay in separate bedrooms and only convene during the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Staying in adjoining rooms, they stick to the plan as laid out until they develop a fondness for each other -- still, Florence tries to maintain the order of their agreement. Despite Richard's declarations that he is in love with her, she is forced not to let herself get too involved, even when their sexual relationship begins to increase after the arrival of Florence's hooker friend Jerri (Carla Gugino), who after a brutal fight with a man, immerses herself in the sexual lives of Richard and Florence. The film also features Balthazar Getty and Shirley Knight in small supporting roles. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

Writer/director Nancy Savoca, who wrote and directed Household Saints and True Love, handles the same duties in this tale of Grace Santos (Rosie Perez). The producer of a New York City local morning show targeted at women, Grace has an active professional life under the watch of her executive producer, Joan Marshall (Patti LuPone), that already intersects her personal life as she is married to co-host Eddie Diaz (Diego Serrano). When the other co-host, Margo (Karen Duffy), reveals Grace's pregnancy on- air, Joan seizes the opportunity to monitor Grace's development on the show. The ratings grow along with Grace, as the show pursues such topics as "The ABC's of C-Sections" and "You & Your Epidural." While Grace takes comfort in her marriage and her new assistant Madeline (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), who has just returned from six years of raising her young children, Grace worries about the needs of her unborn child versus her much-loved career and Eddie's beckoning film career. Her fears realized through her daughter's first year, Grace must determine what it means to be a "24-Hour Woman." ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide

Writer Paul Auster made his solo directorial debut with this romantic drama about an affair between a middle-aged musician and an aspiring actress. Hit by a stray bullet during a nightclub shooting, jazz saxophonist Izzy Maurer (Harvey Keitel) can no longer play, and he falls into a depression. His ex-wife Hannah (Gina Gershon), now attached to producer Philip Kleinman (Mandy Patinkin), turns up unexpectedly to take care of Izzy. Izzy meets Kleinman, and he also has an encounter with actress-director Catherine Moore (Vanessa Redgrave), who's planning a production of Pandora's Box. Walking around Lower Manhattan, Izzy finds a man's body with a phone number and a stone that emits a blue light with healing properties. When he phones the number, he speaks with actress Celia (Mira Sorvino), who just happens to be listening to his music. They fall in love, and Celia gets Izzy a job as a busboy at the restaurant where she works. Both are fired when he goes into a jealous rage over the attention she receives from one of her customers. After Celia leaves to act in a film in Ireland, anthropologist Dr. Van Hom (Willem Dafoe) turns up, searching for the healing stone. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Director Wayne Wang and screenwriter Paul Auster had enough storylines and characters left over from their charming comedy Smoke to make another film, so they shot Blue In The Face immediately after Smoke was completed. The film once again centers on the Brooklyn Cigar Store and manager Auggie (Harvey Keitel), although most of the other characters are different. The store owner's frustrated wife Dot (Roseanne) is one of them, and one of the plotlines follows her attempts to seduce Auggie. Madonna, Michael J. Fox, Lily Tomlin, and Lou Reed (as himself) also put in appearances. Blue In The Face was shot without a complete script and presents a unique combination of distinctive performances, oddball characters, improvisations, and raffish scenes. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

The magic of folklore forms the basis of this Irish tale by writer-director John Sayles. Adapted from the book Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry, the 1940s story is told from the point-of-view of Fiona (Jeni Courtney), a young girl sent to live with her grandparents in an Irish fishing town. Her grandfather weaves grand stories about the family's evacuation from their home on the tiny island of Roan Inish and about his great-great grandfather, who once cheated death at the hands of the unforgiving sea. As she meets other villagers, Fiona hears even more personal stories about an uncle who married a beautiful, part-human/ part-seal and about how the sea stole her baby brother during the departure from Roan Inish. Later, Fiona believes that she has found Jamie romping in the grass on Roan Inish, and she must convince the family of her vision. While Roan Inish has the feel of a family film, it shares with other Sayles works a character who learns history through storytelling, such as Sam Deeds in Lone Star (1996) and Dr. Fuentes in Men with Guns (1997). Sayles builds cohesive stories from multiple voices, showing the importance of oral history and indicating that learning the past can alter the future. ~ Norm Schrager, All Movie Guide

An interracial romance sparks social upheaval in this indie drama from first-time writer/director Anthony Drazan. Jewish high school student Zack Glass (Michael Rapaport) lives with his widowed, womanizing father (Ray Sharkey) in one of the nicer areas of Detroit. His pop and grandfather own a pair of vintage record stores full of everything from swing and jazz to soul and disco; Zack carries on the vinyl-centric family tradition by selling hip-hop mix tapes out of his locker and mixing fiddles and Puccini into his DJ sets at local parties. One day at school, beautiful New Jersey transfer student Nikki (N'Bushe Wright) witnesses Zack's girlfriend unceremoniously dumping him; when it turns out that Zack's best friend, Dee Wimms (DeShonn Castle), is Nikki's cousin, the stage is set for romance -- the first interracial pairing for each teen. Dee is happy to play matchmaker, but members of the Wimms clan aren't as pleased with the romance. Nikki's mother, Marlene (Candy Ann Brown), asks Zack point-blank if he's curious about black women -- or just slumming it. Such mild disapproval is nothing compared to the rage felt by Nut (Ron Johnson), a young troublemaker who wants to romance Nikki himself. When Nikki overhears Zack making a racially insensitive comment about her to his pals at a party, she questions the viability of their relationship; the next day, she finds herself making time with Nut, who displays an unexpected tender streak. When Zack shows up at the local skating rink to talk to Nikki and sees Nut pestering her, things spiral out of control. Soon, the lines are drawn in a community-wide debate about interracial dating and urban violence. Zebrahead earned a Filmmaker's Trophy for Drazan at Sundance in 1992 and launched the successful careers of Rapaport and Wright. Indie fans will notice Kevin Corrigan in an elliptical subplot involving the industrial disintegration of the Motor City. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Harry Hook directed this second screen adaptation of William Golding's cult novel about a group of British schoolchildren who revert to savagery when marooned on a deserted island. The new adaptation replaces British school children with a group of American military cadets and instead of a shipwreck, their plane crashes into the sea. The children swim ashore onto an island and try to fend for themselves, with the only surviving adult wracked with fever and crazed with pain. As the children get the feel of the island, the group separates into two different camps: Ralph (Balthazar Getty) and his followers prefer to act civilized and want to expand their efforts toward finding a way off the island; on the other hand, Jack (Chris Furrh) and his band revert to painting their faces, carrying spears and exploiting the island for survival. When the chances for rescue become less and less likely, the two factions go to war with each other, with tragic results. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

By rights, an 87-minute filmed monologue should be as stimulating as watching paint dry. Ah, but when the monologist is the brilliant Spalding Gray, then the audience is in for a cerebral feast. Based on his one-man Broadway presentation, Swimming to Cambodia is a mesmerizing account of Gray's experiences while playing a small role in the 1984 film The Killing Fields. Gray's ramblings encompass such subject as Southeast Asian politics, the availability of sex and drugs in the Third World, and even a few choice observations about New York City. The monologist sits at a desk throughout, while director Jonathan Demme makes no effort to "cinematize" the material. Still, the film is a fascinating hour and a half, and few viewers will feel the impulse to walk out of the theatre or fast-forward the VCR. Swimming to Cambodia was followed by another Spalding Gray "talking theatre" piece, Monster in a Box. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted by Horton Foote from his own play, 1918 focuses on a small Texas town beset by a major flue epidemic during World War I. In this slow-paced, melancholy story of internecine family strife, Horace Robedaux (William Converse-Roberts) comes from the poor side of the town's citizenry, but he married into the landed gentry when he wed Elizabeth (Hallie Foote), a change that bothers him constantly. His father-in-law is a rigid though well-intentioned patriarch, and his mother-in-law is often at odds with Elizabeth -- the seeds of that friction undoubtedly lie in the family's opposition to Elizabeth marrying Horace. Besides, these wealthy parents treat Elizabeth and Horace as though they were still children -- and they are now the proud parents of a baby boy. Changes occur when Horace makes a sudden decision to go off to war, after assurances from his father-in-law that he will care for Elizabeth in the meantime -- and the flu epidemic strikes much closer to the family than anyone would have imagined. The film was later telecast as part of a Horton Foote trilogy on PBS' American Playhouse. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide