Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the “Midnight Express“. Written by Murray Chapman {muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au}

I bet the filmmakers would love to have a dollar for every time someone compares this movie to “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” Their coffers would be greatly enriched, as comparisons to Nia Vardalos‘ “Greek Wedding” are inevitable. As I left the screening, the majority of the audience rumblings had to do with renaming the film. I heard “My Big Fat Indian Wedding” and “My Big Fat Soccer Movie” kicked around the most frequently, proving that comparisons to last year’s indie-film-that-could will undoubtedly be made.

(more…)

Cookie’s Fortune unfolds over an eventful Easter weekend in the small town of Holly Springs, Mississippi. The town residents are peaceful, kind folk–with the exception of Camille Dixon (Glenn Close)–a pushy theatre director with an incredibly shy younger sister, Cora (Julianne Moore), whose estranged daughter Emma (Liv Tyler) has just returned to town. On the heels of her latest play, Camille is shocked to discover that her Aunt Jewel Mae “Cookie” Orcutt (Patricia Neal) has committed suicide. Terrified at the thought of how this will tarnish the family name, she eats the suicide note to make it look like a burglary. This set-up leads the police to one main suspect, Willis Richland (Charles S. Dutton), who also happens to be Cookie’s best friend. Although the rest of the town is convinced Willis didn’t commit the crime, an outside investigator (Courtney B. Vance) isn’t so sure. As Easter Sunday and opening night of the play arrive, the truth comes out, revealing more secrets than anyone could have possibly imagined. Director Altman tells his story at a leisurely pace, beautifully recreating the eccentricities of small town life in this sweet-natured tale. Written by Anonymous

This true story follows FBI agent Joe Pistone as he infiltrates the mafia of New York. Befriending Lefty Ruggiero, Pistone (under the name Donnie Brasco) is able to embed himself in a mafia faction lead by Sonny Black. Ruggiero and Pistone become tight as the group goes about collecting money for ‘the bosses’. Eventually, the group become big time when Black himself becomes a boss, all the while Pistone collects evidence. However, the trials and tribulations of the undercover work become more than Pistone can bear. His marriage falls apart and to top it off, the mafia suspect a mole in the organization. The real dilemma is afforded to Pistone, who knows if he walks away from the mafia, Ruggiero will be the one punished. Written by P. Wong {pwong@nt.net}

Heavy sigh as I ponder where to start. Okay, this is it: taken separately, Chris Rock and Bernie Mac are two terrifically funny actors. But put them together and there’s not much funny going on. They seem to have stepped through some comedy-sucking portal, leaving the resulting product of their collaboration - “Head of State” - empty, lifeless and flat.

(more…)

While looking for an apartment, Jeanne, a beautiful young Parisienne, encounters Paul, a mysterious American expatriate mourning his wife’s recent suicide. Instantly drawn to each other, they have a stormy, passionate affair, in which they do not reveal their names to each other. Their relationship deeply affects their lives, as Paul struggles with his wife’s death and Jeanne prepares to marry her fiance, Tom, a film director making a cinema-verite documentary about her. Written by Erich Schneider {erich@bush.cs.tamu.edu}

(more…)

Dead Man is the story of a young man’s journey, both physically and spiritually, into very unfamiliar terrain. William Blake travels to the extreme western frontiers of America sometime in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Lost and badly wounded, he encounters a very odd, outcast Native American, named “Nobody,” who believes Blake is actually the dead English poet of the same name. The story, with Nobody’s help, leads William Blake through situations that are in turn comical and violent. Contrary to his nature, circumstances transform Blake into a hunted outlaw, a killer, and a man whose physical existence is slowly slipping away. Thrown into a world that is cruel and chaotic, his eyes are opened to the fragility that defines the realm of the living. It is as though he passes through the surface of a mirror, and emerges into a previously-unknown world that exists on the other side. Written by Anonymous

(more…)

Narcotics cops Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Bennett (Lawrence) head up a task force investigating the flow of ecstasy into Miami. Their search leads to a dangerous kingpin, whose plan to control the city’s drug traffic has touched off an underground war. Meanwhile, things get sexy between Mike and Syd (Union), Marcus’s sister. Written by Anonymous

(more…)

Two fine actors – Nicole Kidman and Anthony Hopkins – try to generate a little sexual chemistry in “The Human Stain,” directed by Robert Benton and based on the Philip Roth novel.

(more…)

Kathryn makes a bet that her step-brother, Sebastian, won’t be able to bed Annette (a virgin, who wants to wait until marriage) before the start of the school year. If he loses, Kathryn gets his Roadster, if he wins, he gets Kathryn Written by Scott Stoecker {mrgastruck@yahoo.com}

(more…)