http://www.ratinghq.comRatinghq Category Comments Feed for DramaRatingHQ (http://www.ratinghq.com)enA 36-hour period in the diverse metropolis of post-Sept. 11 Los Angeles is the theme of this unflinching drama that challenges viewers to confront their prejudices. Lives combust when a Brentwood housewife and her D.A. husband, a Persian shopkeeper, two cops, a pair of carjackers and a Korean couple all converge. Director Paul Haggis's Best Picture Oscar winner stars Sandra Bullock, Brendan Fraser, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon and Jennifer Esposito.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-53/crash.html2008-05-10 20:26:30o take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise in Martin Scorsese's multiple Oscar-winning crime thriller, including Best Director and Best Picture. While an undercover cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) curries favor with the mob kingpin (Jack Nicholson), a career criminal (Matt Damon) rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there's a mole among them.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-54/the-departed.html2008-05-10 20:31:03Described by director Steven Soderbergh as "Nashville meets The French Connection," this multi-character drama explores the effects of international drug trafficking on all fronts: from their source, to the U.S. border, to the federal government, to the private lives of users. Based upon a miniseries originally aired on Britain's Channel 4, Traffic divides its time among three main storylines and almost a dozen locales. The first and primary plot thread, set in Ohio and Washington, D.C., concerns freshly-appointed drug czar Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), whose enthusiasm for his new prestige position is quickly offset when he realizes his 16-year-old daughter Caroline (Erika Christensen) is graduating from recreational drug use to habitual abuse -- a secret that his wife, Barbara (Amy Irving), has kept from him. South of the border, Mexican cop Javier Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro) attempts to wage his own war on drugs, heading off a cocaine shipment in the middle of the desert with his less-than-virtuous partner Manolo Sanchez (Jacob Vargas). Surrounded by corruption, Javier approaches the drug war with an attitude of patience and compromise, which opens him up to investigation from General Arturo Salazar (Tomas Milian), the country's dubious drug-enforcement liaison to the U.S. Meanwhile, San Diego drug kingpin Carlos Alaya (Steven Bauer) is caught in a sting operation spearheaded by DEA agents Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzman), leaving behind his very pregnant and very oblivious wife, Helena (Catharine Zeta-Jones). At the behest of Carlos' lawyer and shady confidante, Arnie Metzger (Dennis Quaid), Helena decides to carry on the family business -- with tragic consequences. Adapted by Rules of Engagement scribe Stephen Gaghan, Traffic marked Soderbergh's second major release in 2000 after the critical and box-office success of Erin Brockovich, as well as his second feature as cinematographer (credited under the pseudonym Peter Andrews). A favorite with various guild and critics' awards, Traffic won four Academy Awards in 2001, including statues for Best Supporting Actor (Del Toro) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Gaghan), and surprise wins for Steven Mirrone's editing and Soderbergh's direction. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guidehttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-164/traffic.html2008-05-11 12:38:16Forest Whitaker, Kim Basinger, Jay Mohr, Danny DeVito, Nick Cannon, and Carla Gugino star in director Mark Rydell's ensemble addiction drama detailing the manner in which gambling and drugs affect a variety of people's lives during the weeks leading up to a championship college basketball game. Carolyn (Basinger) is a struggling novelist whose addiction to the slots drives her to deceive her husband Tom (Liotta). Though Carloyn claims to be working on her latest manuscript at a nearby coffee shop, the reality of her situation is decidedly more desperate. Meanwhile, local maintenance worker Clyde (Whitaker) stands at the sidelines of the basketball court cheering for his little brother Godfrey (Cannon) while keeping his lingering gambling debts a well-guarded secret. In another part of town, the ageing Detective Bruner (Kelsey Grammer) methodically trails malevolent bookie Victor (Tim Roth) as Victor's small-time counterpart Augie (Mohr) patiently waits for his ship to come in. As the big game draws near and casino magician Walter (DeVito) befriends gambling-addicted novelist Carolyn, all of these disparate characters slowly come together on a tragic collision course. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guidehttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-165/even-money.html2008-05-11 12:41:22Lisa Cholodenko wrote and directed this lesbian-themed drama, winner of the 1998 Sundance Film Festival's Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. Ambitious photography magazine associate editor Syd (Radha Mitchell) has a ho-hum relationship with James (Gabriel Mann). Investigating a ceiling leak, she enters the apartment of her neighbor, retired photographer Lucy Berliner (Ally Sheedy), who lives with former Fassbinder actress Greta (Patricia Clarkson), a heroin addict. The friendship between the worldly Lucy and the naive, insecure Syd ripens into an affair, one destined to change the lives of both women. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guidehttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-166/high-art.html2008-05-11 12:45:40Nick Nolte and James Coburn deliver some of the finest work of their respective careers in this powerful but troubling adaptation of Russell Banks' novel. Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte) is the sheriff in a small New England town; it's a part-time job with few taxing responsibilities, and Wade fills his many free hours by swilling booze, smoking pot, and thinking back on his nightmarish childhood. Wade's father Glen (James Coburn) was by turns callous, distant, and abusive, and Wade has inherited his addiction to alcohol and inability to deal with others. Consequently, Wade's ex-wife (Mary Beth Hurt) despises him, his daughter is uncomfortable and frightened in his presence, and the only person who can reach him is his loving but long-suffering girlfriend Margie (Sissy Spacek). When a wealthy businessman is killed in a hunting accident, Wade suspects foul play and pursues the case with an obsession that puzzles all around him; meanwhile, Wade's mother dies and his brother Rolfe (Willem Dafoe), the only one in the family to escape Glen's abuse without crippling emotional scars, returns to pay his respects and is caught up once again in the damaged lives of his father and brother. James Coburn) won an Academy award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Affliction, while Nick Nolte was nominated for Best Actor (he lost to Roberto Benigni). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guidehttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-167/affliction.html2008-05-11 12:50:10Cult figure Abel Ferrara directed this typically edgy look at an actor whose abuse of alcohol and drugs takes an unexpected toll. Matty (Matthew Modine) is an actor whose career is on the fast track; however, he's not able to handle the pressures of life in Hollywood, so he heads to Miami to recharge his emotional batteries. Given Miami's night life, this might not have been the wisest choice he could have made, as he's soon sunk deep in a sea of drink and drugs. Matty asks his girlfriend Annie (Beatrice Dalle) to marry him, but she turns him down, as she's still bitter about having to have an abortion when he got her pregnant some time back. Matty, however, can barely remember this event. Matty's friend Mickey (Dennis Hopper), a night club owner and video artist, decides that Matty needs to get away from his problems, and they set out for a long night of heavy partying, during which Matty picks up a waitress, also named Annie (Sarah Lassez). Somewhere along the line, Matty drinks so much that he blacks out, and he awakes with no memory of the evening. 18 months later, Matty is clean and sober, living in New York with his new girlfriend Susan (Claudia Schiffer). He can't get Annie out of his mind, and he flies to Miami to visit her, hoping to close some old wounds. But Annie the waitress turns out to have some bad news for him when he arrives in Florida. The Blackout marked the acting debut of model Claudia Schiffer, and, as in several of Ferrara's previous films, seminal hardcore rapper Schooly D contributed several songs to the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guidehttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-168/the-blackout.html2008-05-11 13:01:54In NYC's Spanish Harlem, Puerto Rican emigrant Juan Jose (Bryan Burke) enters a new school where he becomes friendly with Joey (Kyle Gibson) and Louie (Mario Renden), who call their new pal J.J. The three unite as a tight trio of close friends, hoping to someday open a bar together. The story leaps 15 years into the future, revealing they never opened the bar. J.J.'s life is beginning to unravel as he moves from cocaine to heroin, and his two buddies take steps to help him. The story features a voiceover narration by J.J., and the soundtrack songs include performances by Otis Rush, Jerry Vale, and Jamie Rollins. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guidehttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-169/true-friends.html2008-05-11 13:03:49Neil Patrick Harris and Matthew Lillard star in writer/director Craig Singer's violent tale of rehabilitation gone horribly awry. When high school student Arnold Mosk (Neil Patrick Harris) is busted for using drugs, he's immediately placed in an experimental isolation program known as "The Animal Room." "The Animal Room" is a rehabilitation center where the rules of normal society don't apply, a kind-of lawless clubhouse inhabited by the most dangerous and disturbed youth imaginable. When Arnold shows up in "The Animal Room," sadistic gang leader Doug Van Housen (Lillard) immediately targets the frightened newcomer for torment. Doug is the kind of kid who's just too far gone to care what society thinks of him, and he places precious little value on human life. Should Arnold remain in "The Animal Room" he will almost certainly die. Now, it's up to Arnold's childhood friend Gary - a popular student and talented athlete - to break his old pal out of the controversial treatment program before the situation turns deadly. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guidehttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-170/animal-room.html2008-05-11 13:07:15A teenager rebelling against his father falls in with a bunch of hippies in this coming-of-age drama. Simon (Devon Sawa) is a high school student who isn't sure what he wants to do with his life. After the death of his mother, Simon's problems with his father Matt (Bill Smitrovich) escalate, especially after Matt marries a woman he suspects was involved with his father before his mother's death. Matt sends Simon away to an upscale boarding school, where he doesn't fit in with the sports-obsessed and career-minded students. Simon does make friends with a fellow campus misfit, Andrew (Eric Mabius), who one weekend invites Simon to see a concert by a popular neo-hippie jam band. Simon is fascinated by the nomadic fans who follow the band on the road, and he meets Jennifer (Tara Reid), a beautiful girl who sells veggie stir-fry in the parking lot before shows. Soon Simon has dropped out of school to hit the road with Jennifer; however, while Andrew, Jennifer, and most of their friends are able to handle casual drug use, Simon's discovery of marijuana and LSD sends him down a path into dangerous abuse, and before long, Matt puts Simon into rehab against his will. Around the Fire features an original score by B.C. Smith, performed by jazz guitarist Bill Frisell; songs by The Grateful Dead, The Meters, Phish, and Bob Marley and the Wailers also appear on the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guidehttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-171/around-the-fire.html2008-05-11 13:12:33A free-spirited art student and a roguish poet find their addiction to each other taking a back seat to their taste for heroin in director Neil Armfield's intensely personal tale of recreational drug use gone bad. When Candy (Abbie Cornish) and Dan (Heath Ledger) first fell in love, they both thought they had found all they ever needed in life. Despite financial hardships, the pair sustained themselves on the vibrant life force that burned blindingly bright as it promised an invincible future. Their intoxicating romance a blissful altered state of which heroin played only a minor role in the beginning, Candy and Dan soon decide to strengthen their bond by marrying and starting a family. Their manufactured Eden gradually becomes an uncontrollable inferno, however, as Candy's parents slowly pull away due to the pain of witnessing their daughter's slow slide into oblivion, and even chemistry professor Casper (Geoffrey Rush), who was at first complicit in their experimentation, admits that Candy and Dan's blind devotion to the drug is now forever ingrained into their commitment to one and other. As the marriage deteriorates right along with Candy's increasingly fragile mental state, Dan must make the difficult decision to either rescue her or pull away in hopes that the clarity of separation will finally empower her to break free of the addiction that binds her. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guidehttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-172/candy.html2008-05-11 13:13:45The directorial debut of Glenn Gordon Caron, the creator of the television series Moonlighting (1985-89), this intense, gritty drama was received as one of the best-ever cinematic treatments of substance abuse. Michael Keaton stars as Daryl Poynter, a hustling, successful Philadelphia real estate agent who has become addicted to cocaine. He's already got problems, including nearly a $100,000 embezzled from his employer and lost on the stock market, when he wakes up one morning with a young woman dead in his bed from a coke overdose. His company is asking questions about the missing funds, and the dead girl's father is plastering his neighborhood with posters accusing Daryl of being a murderer, so he decides to hide out in an anonymous drug treatment program. There, however, Daryl runs into tough-minded counselor and former addict Craig (Morgan Freeman), who has heard all of Daryl's lies and tricks before. Daryl also finds romance with an abused fellow addict, Charlie Standers (Kathy Baker), and understanding with his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor (M. Emmet Walsh).http://www.ratinghq.com/5-390/clean-and-sober.html2008-05-17 12:55:15Based on a true story, this made-for-television drama chronicles a couple's downward spiral into drug addiction. Meredith Baxter stars as Mary Ann Guard, a nurse who gets romantically involved with heroin abuser Guy Grand (Stephen Lang). Guy turns Mary Ann onto drugs and her once-stable life is suddenly out of control, with Mary Ann stealing from her hospital in order to support their habit. Her family decides to get her clean and get Guy out of her life by checking her into rehab. Mary Ann's rough road isn't over though, and she has to decide for herself which life she wants to lead.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-391/darkness-before-dawn.html2008-05-17 12:56:46A beautiful woman named Buttercup (Robin Wright) lives on a farm in the fictional country of Florin. She delights in ordering the farm hand Westley (Cary Elwes) to perform chores for her. Westley's only answer is "As you wish." Eventually Buttercup realizes his true affection for her, and she returns his love. Westley leaves to seek his fortune so that they can marry, but Buttercup later receives word that his ship was attacked by the Dread Pirate Roberts, who is notorious for taking no prisoners. Five years later, believing Westley to be dead, Buttercup is reluctantly engaged to Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), heir to the throne of Florin.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-642/the-princess-bride.html2008-07-18 09:35:16A lonely singer/songwriter and the man of her dreams take a second shot at love after fate intervenes into their romance in a tearful tale of destiny starring Jennifer Love Hewitt and Paul Nicholls. Samantha Andrews (Hewitt) was studying classical music in London when she first met Ian Wyndham (Nicholls), and the moment they locked eyes both new that it was love at first sight. Their storybook romance takes a turn for the tragic, however, when Samantha dies in a horrific accident shortly after the pair have their first major argument. Stricken by inconsolable grief and touched by the forgiving hand of merciful fate, Ian now has one chance to take it all back and relive that fateful days before he truly loses the love of his life once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide (blockbuster.com)http://www.ratinghq.com/5-645/if-only.html2008-07-21 06:29:02When Sarah Cain, a self-involved big-city newspaper columnist, travels to Pennsylvania for the funeral of her Amish sister, she soon discovers that she is the legal guardian of her five Amish nieces and nephews. Rather than choose to move to Lancaster County to finish raising them there herself, or let them be separated by the foster care system, Sarah decides to take them with her back to Portland where she believes she can make a new life for them. However, she soon realizes that the modern world has forced them to compromise who they are, and that she has moved them there for all the wrong reasons - a motive which is soon exposed - because secrets can really never be kept secret. In order to find her own redemption, she knows she must make a choice to give them back their lives in Amish Country. And whether she remains part of their lives will have a lot to do with how much she has grown to love them. Written by Redemption Films imdb.comhttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-653/saving-sarah-cain-2007-.html2008-07-21 07:41:49Montana Sky - Willa, Tess, and Lily three half sisters who did not know about each other until after their rich father's death. They inherit 8 million dollars a piece but the condition is they have to live together on their fathers cattle ranch. Each of the sisters have their secrets one of them involves a dangerous past. (DeAnne Thakkar)http://www.ratinghq.com/5-655/montana-sky.html2008-07-21 07:56:29In 1973, William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is a teenager aspiring to be a rock-and-roll journalist, despite the desires of his eccentric, overprotective mother, Elaine (Frances McDormand), who wants him to go into law. Shunned by his classmates (most of whom are two or three years older than he is), he writes for underground papers in his hometown, San Diego. He goes one morning to watch as a local radio station interviews pioneering rock journalist Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman). The two hit it off, and Bangs gives William a $35 assignment to write up a Black Sabbath concert. William, without credentials or a ticket, cannot get into the arena. He meets up with some "Band-Aides," semi-groupies (Bijou Phillips, Anna Paquin, Fairuza Balk) who draw the line at intercourse with rock stars (everything else is fair game) and their leader, Penny Lane (Kate Hudson). Then he runs into the opening band on the card, Stillwater, who first dismiss him as a journalist, but then take him to their hearts (and backstage) when he calls them all by their names, praises (in detail) their most recent work, and they realize he's a genuine fan.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-666/almost-famous-2000-.html2008-07-21 09:04:48The story centers on a rising Hollywood starlet (Hudson) who becomes "marooned" in a small desert town while on a roadtrip with her father. There, she gets to know the town's rather eccentric residents, including one (Ricci) whose hobby is pipe bombs and another (Sexton) who is trying to carry out his father's dream of building a waterpark in the desert.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-667/desert-blue-1998-.html2008-07-21 09:06:42Based on Puccini's 'La Boheme', 'Rent' tells the story of one year in the life of friends living the Bohemian life in modern day East Village, New York City, 1989-1990. Among the group are our narrator, nerdy love-struck filmmaker Mark Cohen; the object of Mark's affection, his former girlfriend, Maureen Johnson; Maureen's Harvard-educated public interest lawyer and lesbian lover Joanne Jefferson; Mark's roommate, HIV-positive musician and former junkie, Roger Davis; Roger's new girlfriend, the HIV-positive drug addicted S&M dancer, Mimi Marquez; their former roommate, HIV-positive computer genius Tom Collins; Collins' HIV-positive drag queen street musician/lover Angel; and Benjamin Coffin III, a former member of the group who married for money and has since become their landlord and the opposite of everything they stand for. Shows how much changes or doesn't change in the 525,600 minutes that make up a year.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-856/rent-2005.html2008-09-03 08:46:09A hit man gives an old acquaintance, a compulsive gambler, one hour to live. (film.com)http://www.ratinghq.com/5-858/real-time.html2008-09-03 09:02:59A man who has avoided his wife and child at home has a change of heart after an imposed stay in his own parents' lofthttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-859/momma-s-man-2008.html2008-09-03 09:07:03A successful artist looks back with loving memories on the summer of his defining year, 1974. A talented, but troubled eighteen year old art student befriends an elderly alcoholic genius painter who has turned his back on not only art, but life. The two form, what appears to be at first a tenuous relationship. The kid wants to learn all the secrets the master has locked away inside his head and heart. Time has not been kind to the old master. His life appears pointless to him until the kid rekindles his interest in his work and ultimately gives him the will to live. Together, they give one another a priceless gift. The kid learns to see the world through the master's eyes. And the master learns to see life through the eyes of innocence again. This story is based on a real life experience. Written by George Gallohttp://www.ratinghq.com/5-863/local-color-2008.html2008-09-03 10:39:15Peter is a medical student about to graduate and begin his residency. When his professor fails him, he winds up in bed with an actress and singer named Bogart rolling through Los Angeles. He accompanies her to the northern most tip of California, where he encounters her eccentric family of pot farmers. But when Bogart runs away without a word, Peter is thrust into the picturesque and bizarre world that is Humboldt County (imdb.com)http://www.ratinghq.com/5-864/humboldt-county-2008.html2008-09-03 10:40:18Set in South Carolina in 1964, the film is the moving tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters, Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping, honey and the Black Madonna. Written by Fox Searchlight (IMDB.com)http://www.ratinghq.com/5-865/the-secret-life-of-bees.html2008-09-03 10:42:45Forever Strong is a sport-drama film directed by Ryan Little and written by David Pliler to be released in the fall of 2008. The film stars Gary Cole, Sean Faris, Neal McDonough, Sean Astin, Penn Badgley and Arielle Kebbel. The film is about a troubled rugby union player who must play against the team his father coaches at the national championships. Forever Strong is based on a true story.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-868/forever-strong.html2008-09-03 10:51:26A teacher (Cage) opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.(imdb.com)http://www.ratinghq.com/5-869/knowing-2009.html2008-09-03 11:01:34Set during World War II, a story seen through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a concentration camp, whose forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.(imdb.com)http://www.ratinghq.com/5-871/the-boy-in-the-striped-pajamas.html2008-09-03 11:17:35Year of the Fish is a rotoscoped/animated independent feature film written and directed by David Kaplan, based on a ninth century Chinese variant of the fairy tale Cinderella, set in a massage parlor in modern-day New York’s Chinatown.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-874/year-of-the-fish.html2008-09-03 11:29:50Samir Horn (Don Cheadle), a devout American Muslim, and a former U.S. Army Special Forces expert in explosives, has been mysteriously showing up on the FBI's radar for being in the area of terrorist bombings. FBI agent Roy Clayton (Guy Pearce) heads up a task force investigation to link Horn to these bombings. Clayton is able to question Horn after he was arrested in Yemen for attempting to sell explosives to an Islamic terrorist group. The terrorists break out of prison and take Horn with them. With the help of Max Archer (Neal McDonough), Clayton is able to link Horn to a bombing of an American Consulate in Nice, and a failed police raid to capture his top terrorist contact in London. Clayton has been pursuing Horn around the world and has tracked him to the United States. Clayton must capture Horn before he strikes his next target. Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)http://www.ratinghq.com/5-887/traitor-2008-.html2008-09-10 05:52:41Nights in Rodanthe is a 2008 film from Warner Bros., based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. As of November 21, 2007, the film has received, by the MPAA, a PG-13 for some sensuality and set to be released on September 26, 2008. It was filmed in the small seaside village of Rodanthe, the most northern village of the inhabited areas of Hatteras Island.http://www.ratinghq.com/5-910/nights-in-rodanthe.html2008-09-22 12:11:37