Kevin Smith

A young man discovers that friends can quickly become enemies -- and the transformation can have dangerous consequences -- in this independent drama. Teenaged Barret (Robert DiPatri), still coming to terms with the death of his father, moves with his mom to a new community; Barret doesn't get along with the students at his new school and soon finds he's a social outcast. Ryan (Eion Bailey) is another student at the school who doesn't get along with his peers, and soon Barret and Ryan become close friends. But the longer Barret hangs out with his new friend, the more uncomfortable he becomes with Ryan's misanthropic views, and when Barret begins making friends with the students who once rejected him, Ryan's threatening words are translated into violent deeds. A Better Place was the first feature film from writer and director Vincent Pereira; the film was co-produced by Kevin Smith, a longtime friend who cast Pereira in small supporting roles in several of his films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A woman faced with a tragedy discovers the man she loved was not all she imagined him to be in this romantic comedy-drama. Grey (Jennifer Garner) was a beautiful woman who found the man of her dreams in Grady Douglas, and was looking forward to spending the rest of her life with him until he suddenly died only a few days before they were to be married. With her wedding turned into an impromptu funeral, Grey is emotionally devastated but has to deal with the practicalities of her new life alone, including moving out of the house she shared with Grady. Short on cash and in need of emotional support, Grey moves in with two longtime friends, sloppy but philosophical Sam (Kevin Smith) and well-meaning but tightly wound Dennis (Sam Jaeger). Grey also finds herself often chatting with Fritz (Timothy Olyphant), Grady's best friend, through she's always regarded him as a sleazeball. As time passes, Grey discovers that Grady had a secret life he never shared with her -- including a young son from a previous relationship -- and as she tries to come to terms with the past of her former fiancé, she struggles to put her new life on track, and finds herself reevaluating her long-held feelings about Fritz. Catch and Release was the first directorial effort from screenwriter Susannah Grant, whose script credits include Erin Brockovich, 28 Days, and In Her Shoes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) is reluctantly put in charge of the Quick Stop market on his day off, he tries, though half-heartedly, to perform his minimum-wage duties as efficiently as possible. This gets tough amidst the on-going fight with his girlfriend, Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti), and his attempt to get back together with his ex-girlfriend, Caitlyn Bree (Lisa Spoonhauer). Meanwhile, his friend and alter ego Randall (Jeff Anderson) is working behind the counter of the adjacent video store -- at least when he feels like it. Randall's unabashed disdain of his place of employment, a long with his self-admitted hatred towards its customers is a sharp contrast to Dante's feeble attempts at the niceties of customer service. Much of the film consists of Randall and Dante's criticism of their customers, their lives, and the world in general. Clerks, filmed in black-and-white on a budget of only $27,000, began the career of writer director Kevin Smith, who would go on to make Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In 1994, Kevin Smith came out of nowhere with his zippy indie feature Clerks, launching a career that would give us such cinematic gems as Mallrats and Dogma. In 2000, Smith returns to his roots with this animated series about those irreverent slackers in service industry hell. Recalling the ADD-inducing pop-culture references of Family Guy or The Simpsons, this series is chock-full of lightning-fast spoofs of such hallowed institutions as People's Court, ER, and George Lucas. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Would you believe that the last living descendent of Jesus Christ is a woman working at an abortion clinic in Illinois? And that she's been sent on a holy mission with two minor characters from Clerks and Mallrats as her guides? Prepare to suspend any and all disbelief as you watch the religious satire Dogma, the fourth film from writer/director Kevin Smith. Bethany (Linda Fiorentino) has been disappointed in life and has found her faith severely tested after her husband leaves her when she discovers she cannot have children. So Bethany is all the more puzzled when she's approached by Metatron (Alan Rickman), a grumpy angel. Metatron wants her to help him stop Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon), two fallen angels who were ejected from paradise, have escaped from exile and are heading to New Jersey. If they are able to pass through the arc of a certain church, it will prove God is fallible and the world will come to a swift end. Bethany has no idea what to do or why she's been given this project, but she heads out anyway, with her assigned assistants Jay (Jason Mewes), an appallingly rude former dope dealer and self-styled ladies man, and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith). Along the way, Bethany picks up more helpers, including a celestial muse named Serendipity (Salma Hayek) and Rufus (Chris Rock), who claims to have been the 13th apostle and that Jesus owes him 12 dollars. Boasting a huge supporting cast -- including George Carlin, Jason Lee, Janeane Garofalo, Bud Cort, and Alanis Morissette (as God) -- Dogma proved to be highly controversial even before its release. Miramax Pictures, owned by Disney, financed the film, but several weeks before Dogma's world premier at the Cannes Film Festival, they announced they would not release the picture and intended to sell it to another distributor (which would turn out to be Lions Gate Films). Director Smith, however, has always contended that Dogma is a film about the importance of faith, if not organized religion. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Shot entirely in black and white and produced by the team of Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier, the duo behind Clerks (1994) and Mallrats (1995), this low-budget, independent Canadian production failed to stir up much excitement on the festival circuit. Co-writers, editors, and directors Matt Gissing and Malcolm Ingraham created the tale of a group of Generation X "slacker" types from the Great White North. Bored by their existence and running out of funds provided on the public dole, Ethan (Ethan Suplee), Meg (Renee Humphrey), Cassidy (Carmen Lee), Az (Jason Mewes), and Donner (Jason Lee) decide to repair to the forest in search of the legendary cryptozoological specimen known alternately as Bigfoot or Sasquatch. They're equally sure that they'll attain the peace of mind afforded by escaping society, but of course, their sabbatical is not quite what they expected. Joey Lauren Adams and Canadian comedian Bruce McDonald appear, as does Smith, in a cameo appearance as his recurring Silent Bob character. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck co-scripted and star in this drama, set in Boston and Cambridge, about rebellious 20-year-old MIT janitor Will Hunting (Damon), gifted with a photographic memory, who hangs out with his South Boston bar buddies, his best friend Chuckie (Affleck), and his affluent British girlfriend Skylar (Minnie Driver). After MIT professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) stumps students with a challenging math formula on a hallway blackboard, Will anonymously leaves the correct solution, prompting Lambeau to track the elusive young genius. As Will's problems with the police escalate, Lambeau offers an out, but with two conditions -- visits to a therapist and weekly math sessions. Will agrees to the latter but refuses to cooperate with a succession of therapists. Lambeau then contacts his former classmate, therapist Sean McGuire (Robin Williams), an instructor at Bunker Hill Community College. Both are equally stubborn, but Will is finally forced to deal with both his past and his future. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Writer and director Kevin Smith embraces his warm and fuzzy side with this comedy drama about a man who learns a lot about life and love in the wake of a personal tragedy. Ollie Trinke (Ben Affleck) is a guy who seemingly has it made -- he has a great job as a music publicist with a major Manhattan public relations firm, and he's madly in love with his wife, Gertrude (Jennifer Lopez). Ollie is very much excited about the fact he and Gertrude are soon to become parents, but Ollie's joy turns to despair when Gertrude dies in childbirth. Emotionally shattered, Ollie isn't sure what to do next, and he and his newborn daughter, Gertie, soon move to New Jersey to live with his father, Bart (George Carlin), who grows tired of playing babysitter after several months. Juggling his career with single parenthood proves to be more than Ollie can manage, and one day he's fired after he bungles a major press event. Unable to find work, Ollie eventually takes a dead-end job in New Jersey's public works department, and devotes himself to his daughter as he retreats from his own life. But after frequent visits to the local video store, he strikes up a friendship with Maya (Liv Tyler), a pretty girl who works behind the counter. As Ollie finally begins to come out of his shell, he's offered a chance to move back into the music industry, but he realizes that would mean moving back to Manhattan -- and Gertie (Raquel Castro), now seven years old, makes it clear she doesn't want to go. Jersey Girl also features cameo performances from Kevin Smith regulars Jason Lee and Matt Damon, and significantly is Smith's first feature not to include Jason Mewes and Smith himself as stoner archetypes Jay and Silent Bob. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Kevin Smith's follow-up to his unexpected hit Clerks details the pointless story of T.S. (Jeremy London) and Brodie (Jason Lee), two suburban New Jersey slackers who decide to head to the mall in search of solace after being dumped by their girlfriends (Shannon Doherty and Claire Forlani, respectively). There the two young men machinate to appear on a game show being staged and also manage to meet comic-book magnate Stan Lee. However, complications arise when the girls show up. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

In an era distinguished by popular TV series in which the heroes are the villains (The Sopranos, The Shield), it should surprise no one that the most charming and likeable character in the CW comedy-drama series Reaper was the Devil Himself. The story got under way when 20-year-old slacker Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison), one of the least stellar employees at his local Work Bench home-improvement store, finally found out why his parents (Allison Hossack, Andrew Arlie) had always allowed him to goof off and drift aimlessly through life while simultaneously demanding so much from his overachieving kid brother Keith (Kyle Switzer). It turned out that Mom and Dad felt guilty about selling Sam's soul to the Devil (Ray Wise), before the boy had even been born. Once Sam turned 21, up popped the Devil again, demanding that our hero immediately go to work for him--or else. Sam's new job was as a Satanic "bounty hunter", tracking down and recapturing souls who'd managed to escape from Hell. Since the people whom Sam hunted down richly deserved eternal damnation, and since the immacuately-dressed Devil was such a warm, personable guy, Sam found his new assignment a lot more stimulating than his customary duties at the Work Bench. He even managed to enlist his best friends and coworkers Sock (Tyler Labine) and Ben (Rick Gonzalez) as his helpers, and to persuade Sock's ex-girlfriend, paralegal Josie (Valarie Rae Miller), to do the necessary research work on each "fallen demon". At the same time, Sam had to keep his "mission" a secret from his earthly boss Ted (Donovan Stinson) and his erstwhile girlfriend Andi (Missy Peregrym). Making its CW debut on September 25, 2007, Reaper played like an unholy alliance between Faust and Clerks--hardly surprising, since the series was coproduced by Clerks creator Kevin Smith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from a series of novels by science fiction icon Philip Jose Farmer, the made-for-cable Riverworld is set on a distant planet where famous historical characters are reincarnated in a young, attractive,and healthy form. After his death in a space accident, Earth astronaut Hale (Brad Johnson) is reborn on Riverworld, where, much to his amazement, he rubs shoulders with dozens of past celebrities, from Mark Twain to the Emperor Nero. Hale is told that anyone who has ever lived on Earth at any time in history is qualified to start life anew on Riverworld -- even if that person is a space alien who just happened to be Earthbound at the time of his demise. But before he can jump to the conclusion that Riverworld is the intergalactic version of Heaven, Hale quickly learns that all is not well in this faraway land. Greed, mistrust, and tribal warfare are the principal "industries" in Riverworld, with many of Earth's past villains (Nero, in particular) hoping to exploit their new lives in order to resume their wicked ways. Moreover, the residents are constantly monitored by a tribe of sinister, hooded figures who occasionally intervene in the action whenever they feel that things are getting out of control -- their control. Organizing a rebellion, Hale leads several other reincarnated souls on an arduous journey along the river that girdles the planet, hoping to learn the secret of Riverworld and convert its hellish aspects into something resembling paradise. Riverworld made its Sci-Fi Channel debut March 22, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Wes Craven's Scream (1996) was a half-parody/half-tribute to the first wave of slasher films of the 1970s and 1980s, and since most of them spawned a large number of sequels, it's only appropriate that Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson produced a third installment of their Scream franchise. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), traumatized by the brutal murders of her friends, has left her hometown of Woodsboro and is working in California as a crisis intervention counselor. Meanwhile, "Stab," the novel by Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox Arquette), is spawning a series of successful horror films, and as Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro is being filmed in Los Angeles, a lunatic has gotten his hands on a copy of the script, and is murdering the characters in the same order that they die in the movie. But predicting who will die next is not as simple as it might seem, since the producers have circulated three different screenplays, with different endings. In addition to Campbell and Cox-Arquette, David Arquette returns from the first two films as less-than-bright "Dewey" Riley; new members of the cast include Parker Posey, Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, and Jenny McCarthy. Kevin Williamson wrote the original story, but the screenplay was penned by Ehren Kruger. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide