Sam Waterston

The journey that August King takes is one of faith. He is conflicted with what the world tells him in the here and now and resists any idea that he is connected to the plight of this young woman. His journey is a metamorphosis. During this journey he changes and grows in his faith without ever realizing it -- at each turn he is making the critical decision to not only help someone, but to take a leap of faith -- a faith that his wife tried to persuade him exists but one in which he does not immediately believe. He is called upon by a higher power and sees this only at the moment he loses everything. The beauty of it is that he gains everything in the interim. This film is full of symbolism and Biblical references that integral to the plot and affords the viewer an opportunity to experience what it means to chose between right and wrong, good and evil in an almost alcoholic way -- day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second. We cannot know in advance, what our mission is in life we can only make critical decision one at a time until the entire mission is revealed. Jason Patric's performance is excellent as well as a performance by Thandie Newton -- before she becomes well known through other films yet to come. As a person involved in the slavery film 12 Years a Slave, I must say that this film in many ways is just as riveting and important in the telling of American History and the nation in which we live past and present. There are some strong images but this film is well worth watching. Renee Moore, themoor78@yahoo.com

She's the perfect all-American parent: a great cook and homemaker, a devoted recycler, and a woman who'll literally kill to keep her children happy. A picture perfect middle class family is shocked when they find out that one of their neighbors is receiving obscene phone calls. The mom takes slights against her family very personally, and it turns out she is indeed the one harassing the neighbor. As other slights befall her beloved family, the body count begins to increase, and the police get closer to the truth, threatening the family's picture perfect world. —Ed Sutton <esutton@mindspring.com> The Sutphins - dentist father Eugene, housewife mother Beverly, and late teen children, boy-crazy and flea market aficionado Misty, and horror movie fan Chip - are a stereotypical suburban family living in Baltimore. Beverly in particular is seen as being "perfect" in her quest to be just like the television mothers of the late 1950s. In that perfection, Beverly does and will not tolerate anything against her sensibilities, especially if it affects her or her family, and will take whatever measure to ensure people adhere to that sensibility... or else. Slowly, evidence mounts that Beverly is the perpetrator of obscene telephone calls to neighbor Dottie Hinkle, and the murders of several people in their neighborhood who have crossed their family in some form or another. Beverly laughs off such suggestions, but even her family members end up believing she is guilty of all the murders, with possibly more to come. Those accusations end up being not an issue to most in the Sutphin family, who use their fifteen minutes of fame to their advantage. Even Beverly believes that she can clear herself of all charges despite the overwhelming evidence against her. —Huggo She's the perfect all-American parent: a great cook and homemaker, a devoted recycler, and a woman who'll literally kill to keep her children happy. Beverly Sutphin's murderous habits turn her into a media celebrity in John Waters' sharp-edged satire on family life, tabloid TV, video store customers who don't rewind, and other topics. —Anonymous

A coming of age story set in the south of the U.S. when Elvis was King. Rural Louisiana, summer of 1957, Elvis is King. At 14, Dani is coming of age. Her older sister is beautiful, smart, and off to Duke in the fall; her mom's pregnant with number four (Dad wants a son), and Dad's pretty strict. Life gets sweeter when 17-year-old Court Foster, his widowed mom, and two little brothers move into the vacant farm next door. Court likes Dani's high spirits and direct way, and though he has a man's responsibilities on the farm, they go off swimming sometimes. The waters of adolescence are deeper than Dani realizes as hers and Court's feelings get jumbled. Then Mother Nature throws wrenching surprises at Dani, and she must come to terms with new emotions.

At a summer house in Vermont, neighbor Howard falls in love with Lane, who's in a relationship with Peter, who's falling for Stephanie, who's married with children. Everyone is gathering at Lane's place for the weekend, and everyone's in love. Unfortunately, each beloved loves somebody else, and no one seems to realize it. —Cleo <frede005@maroon.tc.umn.edu> For the past couple of years, Lane has been living at the acreage located in rural Vermont given to her by her larger than life boozing ex-actress mother, Diane, the property which Diane and Lane's now deceased father Richard bought before Lane was born. Lane moved there in an attempt to get well following her latest suicide attempt, her depression which in large part is the result of not being able to get over shooting Diane's abusive lover, the man Diane left Richard for, dead when Lane was fourteen. Lane spends much time with two of her neighbors: Howard, a French teacher, who is in love with her, and Peter, an ex-Madison Avenuer and aspiring writer, with who in turn Lane is in love. It's nearing the end of the summer, and Lane's best friend, married Stephanie from Philadelphia, has been staying there for much of the summer both to support Lane and to get away from her unsatisfying marriage for a while. During Stephanie's time there, Peter in turn has fallen in love with her, of which Lane is unaware and which Stephanie plans not to act upon in light of Lane's feelings for Peter. As Lane feels she is ready to move on with her life, she plans on selling the acreage to pay off her medical debts, using the remaining moneys to move back to New York City to start a photography business. Lane's plans could be thrown for a loop with the arrival back for a few days of Diane and Lloyd, Diane's supportive physicist husband. Diane's plan for Peter to write her memoirs and a pronouncement by Diane end up dredging up that painful part of Lane's past that she thought she had placed behind her. —Huggo Lane is selling the family home in Vermont and moving to New York. At the moment she has her mother (and famed entertainer) Diane and step-father Lloyd living with her, as well as her sister Stephanie. Lane has been through a lot but now things seem to be getting back on track. She is in a relationship with Peter, an author. However, Peter is in love with Stephanie, who's married. Meanwhile, Howard, a neighbour, is smitten with Lane. How will things work out? —grantss

A Midwesterner becomes fascinated with his nouveau riche neighbor, who obsesses over his lost love. Nick Carraway, a young Midwesterner now living on Long Island, finds himself fascinated by the mysterious past and lavish lifestyle of his neighbor, the nouveau riche Jay Gatsby. He is drawn into Gatsby's circle, becoming a witness to obsession and tragedy. —Cleo <frede005@maroon.tc.umn.edu>