Don Perry Movies

A politically savvy 15-year-old learns the true nature of politics after accepting the position of youth campaign spokesman for a determined congressman in the feature directorial debut of 20-year-old actor-turned-director Luke Eberl. When Congressman Lawrence Connor (Steven Weber) speaks before an assembly of high-school students during his run for the Senate, the enthusiastic and well-informed response that he gets from 15-year-old student Owen (Alex D. Linz) results in an invitation to join the campaign as Connor's youth spokesman. Subsequently exploited in a tireless campaign that includes television commercials, posters, radio advertisements, and speaking engagements, Owen is prompted by his growing distaste for the cut-throat world of politics to reconsider his career or risk losing his innocence. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Artist and filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris grew up with a variety of divergent perspectives on the notion of African-American cultural identity. His grandfather, Albert Sidney Johnson, was an associate of W.E.B. DuBois, who believed that people of color could and should assimilate into the American cultural mainstream, and embraced the teachings of the Episcopalian church. Rudean Leinaeng, Harris' mother, believed that black Americans should celebrate their African cultural heritage, and dabbled in the spiritual teaching of several Third World religions. And Harris himself lived for a time in Tanzania, in the Westernized city of Dar-Es-Salaam, where he gained a deeper perspective on the shared confluence between American and African cultural and spiritual ideals. Using both home movies and newly shot Super-8 footage, Harris assembled E Minha Cara (That's My Face) as a document of his own personal journey into cultural identity, as well as an investigation into the broader issues of race in America, Africa, and South America. E Minha Cara was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Benton (Eriq La Salle) gives British surgeon Corday (Alex Kingston) a crash course in American ER procedures and later helps Carla (Lisa Nicole Carson) choose a name for their baby. Carter (Noah Wyle) and Del Amico (Maria Bello) are assigned to train two new med students, with Carter drawing the "short straw." Greene (Anthony Edwards) is handed a subpoena in the wrongful-death suit filed by the Law family. And Weaver's (Laura Innes) authority -- and imperiousness -- increases while Morganstern (William H. Macy) recovers from his heart attack. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Benton (Eriq La Salle) tries to save the life of a 13-year-old gang member who's already been declared dead, thereby creating even more friction amongst the ER staffers. Meanwhile, "floating" nurse Rhonda (Jill O'Hara) continues to make disastrous mistakes. And on the domestic front, Greene (Anthony Edwards) worries that Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) may be dating Morganstern (William H. Macy), while Carter (Noah Wyle) grows ever closer to Keaton (Glenne Headly). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cabot Cove has been chosen as the location for the pre-Broadway staging of a new play starring David North (Peter Donat), a prominent actor who is emerging from a 10-year retirement. No sooner have rehearsals started than a murder occurs, with North's business manager Eric Benderson (Bradford Dillman) as the victim. Needless to say, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is determined to find out "who done it"--and this time, there are plenty of subtle pop-cultural clues at hand, thanks to the cunning of screenwriter J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-cable TV psychological thriller, a sister must prove that her brother's new girl, a nurse, is a deeply troubled psycho-killer who would rather see her lovers die than fall into another woman's clutches. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This highly rated independent production was written years before Bull Durham, and though it covers much of the same territory, it is considered worth seeing in its own right. In the story, Roy Dean Bream (William Russ) is too old to be part of his minor-league baseball team's cultural mainstream. In short, he's often ignored, derided, or treated to the worst or last of everything, like any other outcast. Tyrone (Glenn Plummer) is so young that it gives the same teammates who shun Roy the willies and reminds them that they too are getting older -- so he's an outcaste, too. What could be more natural than for these two men to seek one another out. It doesn't matter that the older man is white, the younger is black. They both love the game, and Roy has been around the block a few times and has plenty to teach Tyrone. When the time comes for Roy to be sent to retirement, everyone holds their breaths to see how he will react. It's a pity they didn't get to know him better, or they would know that this kind, generous man wishes them all well. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Gross Anatomy is to medical school what Paper Chase was to law school, with perhaps a little less sobriety. Mathew Modine plays a blue-collar kid attending a posh school of medicine, where everyone--teacher and student alike--seems to be well above Modine's social strata. Perhaps as a reaction to the snobbery all around him, Modine behaves as irreverently as possible. Neither teacher Christine Lahti nor lab partner Daphne Zuniga finds Modine's what-the-hell act appealing, but both are fully aware that he is a talented young man with a brilliant future. The climax of the film lays it on pretty thick in defining Modine as an all-around good fellow despite his cheekiness (he even delivers a baby just before taking his finals!), but Gross Anatomy strives successfully to be a "feel good" movie--albeit brought ever so slightly down to earth by the death of one of the principal characters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An adventure tale for movie buffs, Jake Speed deftly lifts scenes from detective films of the '40s through the '70s to bring an added dimension to its spoof of the detective and adventure genres. When a family gets word that their daughter has been kidnapped in Paris, her father comments that they should get "Jake Speed" to find her. However, Jake is a comic strip character, and the reaction is that he might as well ask for Batman. But lo-and-behold, the other daughter Margaret (Karen Kopins) gets a message to meet Speed (Wayne Crawford) and his author, Remo (Dennis Christopher), and the men tell her they must go to Africa, where her sister is being held. After a certain amount of trial and error, they eventually find the nation where she's being held -- which happens to be in the middle of a revolution. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this satirical sci-fi comedy, Samantha (Kelli Maroney) and Regina (Catherine Mary Stewart) are two sisters whose father was a hard-bitten Green Beret, but who've grown into typical Valley Girls. They end up spending the night in a steel-lined room just as a comet passes close to the earth, vaporizing the people in its wake. When Samantha and Regina emerge, they discover that they have the city to themselves, and they begin the shopping spree to end all shopping sprees. En route to the mall, they discover Hector (Robert Beltran), the only survivor they've found so far, and they argue over who gets the last boyfriend on Earth. However, the mall holds an unpleasant surprise -- a small army of zombified stockboys who the gals must battle using an arsenal they shoplifted along the way (while lamenting that "Daddy would have gotten us Uzis!" after a MAC-10 fails to fire). Meanwhile, a cadre of soldiers from a special military experiment have come out of hiding, but it seems that they need fresh blood to survive, and Samantha and Regina look like just the refreshment they need. Cult figure Mary Woronov also appears in a supporting role as a scientist. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide