 American Splendor 2003  R, 100 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Cast: Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Judah Friedlander, James Urbaniak, Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, Earl Billings, Madylin Sweeten, Toby Radloff, Danielle Batone, Danny Hoch, Shari Springer Berman
By day, Harvey (Paul Giamatti) works as a file clerk at a V.A. hospital in Cleveland. By night, he drudges up stories about his experiences and turns them into the comic book, "American Splendor." The mix of reality and fiction works very well in this film–so well, in fact, that "American Splendor" won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
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Death of a President 2006  R, 93 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Gabriel Range
Cast: Hend Ayoub, Brian Boland, Becky Ann Baker, Robert Mangiardi, Jay Patterson, Jay Whittaker, Michael Reilly Burke, James Urbaniak, Neko Parham, Seena Jon, Christian Stolte, Chavez Ravine
What happens after a President of the United States is assassinated? That is the focus of this faux documentary that examines a make-believe assassination of President George W. Bush on October 19, 2007. The premise for this film is controversial to say the least, and some national theater chains refused to allow the film to be shown in their theaters.
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Fay Grim 2007  R, 118 min.
Genre: Action / Comedy / Thriller
Director: Hal Hartley
Cast: Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, James Urbaniak, Saffron Burrows, Liam Aiken, Elina Lowensohn, Leo Fitzpatrick, Chuck Montgomery, Thomas Jay Ryan, D.J. Mendel, John Keogh, Claudia Michelsen, Nikolai Kinski
In this sequel to 1998's "Henry Fool," Henry (Thomas Jay Ryan) has been missing for seven years, and his wife Fay (Parker Posey) is having problems with their son, 14-year-old Ned (Liam Aiken). Meanwhile, Fay's brother Simon (James Urbaniak) has been serving time in prison for helping Henry escape the law, and Fay negotiates with CIA agent Fulbright (Jeff Goldblum) for Simon's release. She is given a mission in undercover work involving a trip to Paris to retrieve Henry's notebooks containing his autobiographical confessions. Fay leaves for Europe, joins forces with Bebe (Elina Lowensohn) while running into spies and assassins, and ends up in Turkey tracking down political terrorists. Now, Fay must sort out how much of this Henry has been involved in.
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The Girl from Monday 2005 N/R, 84 min.
Genre: Comedy / Sci-Fi
Director: Hal Hartley
Cast: Bill Sage, Sabrina Lloyd, Tatiana Abracos, Leo Fitzpatrick, D.J. Mendel, James Urbaniak, Juliana Francis, David Neumann, Michael Cassidy, Ryan Bronz, Edie Falco
This sci-fi tale is set in the future, and the United States has come under the rule of the Multi-Media Monopoly under which consumers are bar-coded and have sex to raise their credit ratings and buying power. But, there are rebels (Bill Sage and Sabrina Lloyd) in the midst, and they find an ally in The Girl From Monday (Tatiana Abracos), an alien from a distant planet.
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Henry Fool 1998  R, 140 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Hal Hartley
Cast: Thomas Jay Ryan, James Urbaniak, Parker Posey, Maria Porter, James Saito, Kevin Corrigan, Liam Aiken, Miho Nikaido, Gene Ruffini, Nicholas Hope
Henry Fool (Thomas Jay Ryan) is a novelist who befriends a garbage man, Simon (James Urbaniak). After being influenced by Henry, Simon writes poetry and wins the Nobel Prize for his work. As Simon rises to great heights, his benefactor falls so far from grace that, finally, Simon aids Henry in his escape from the law.
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The Intern 2000 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Comedy
Director: Michael Lange
Cast: Dominique Swain, Kathy Griffin, Peggy Lipton, Billy Porter, Joan Rivers, Paulina Porizkova, Ben Pullen, James Urbaniak, Rocco Sisto, Gwyneth Paltrow
During a summer internship at "Skirt" magazine, Jocelyn (Dominique Swain), learns there are bad things going on behind the fashion scene. A leak is discovered: "Skirt" magazine's fashion information is in the hands of "Vogue" magazine. The tongue-in-cheek intrigue provides good fun.
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The Life Before Her Eyes 2008 R, 90 min.
Genre: Drama / Thriller
Director: Vadim Perelman
Cast: Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood, Eva Amurri, Gabrielle Brennan, Brett Cullen, Oscar Isaac, Jack Gilpin, Maggie Lacy, John Magaro, Lynn Cohen, Nathalie Paulding, Molly Price, James Urbaniak
Seventeen-year-old Diana (Evan Rachel Wood) and her friend Maureen (Eva Amurri) have direct opposite personalities. Maureen is a devout church goer, while Diana lives on the wild side. One day, a classmate holds them at gun point in a bathroom at school and demands that they tell him which one he should shoot. Skip ahead 15 years, and Diana (now played by Uma Thurman) is married to Paul (Brett Cullen), and they have a young daughter, Emma (Gabrielle Brennan). But Diana is haunted by survivor's guilt and has never gotten over the tragedy. Matters grow worse as the anniversary of that fateful day draws near, and another problem from Diana's past enters the picture.
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The Nanny Diaries 2007 PG-13, 105 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Alicia Keyes, Chris Evans, Donna Murphy, Nicholas Art, Judith Roberts, John Henry Cox, Paul Giamatti, Sakina Jaffrey, Sonnie Brown, Lewis Payton Jr., James Urbaniak
Annie Braddock (Scarlett Johansson) has recently graduated from college with a degree in economics when she finds her life taking a sharp turn after she fails in the business world and, while commiserating in Central Park, is offered the job of Nanny to preschooler Grayer (Nicholas Art). Annie lies to her mother Judy (Donna Murphy), takes the job, and moves to New York City's Upper East Side where she discovers a lifestyle she has never known before. Grayer's mother, Mrs. X (Laura Linney), spends her time shopping and is too busy for Grayer but has definite ideas of how he should be raised. Then there's workaholic Mr. X (Paul Giamatti) who ignores Grayer, yells at Mrs. X., and treats her with contempt. Mischievous Grayer, himself, is a problem, but Annie learns to deal with his shrieking fits and other behavior problems. Annie's friend Lynette (Alicia Keyes) counsels her and recommends quitting the job, but Annie just cannot leave Grayer and, despite all the problems, for the time being continues on with the job.
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The Sticky Fingers of Time 1997 N/R, 90 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Hilary Brougher
Cast: Terumi Matthews, Nicole Zaray, Belinda Becker, James Urbaniak, Leo Marks, Thomas Pasley, Samantha Buck, Julie Anderson, Amanda Vogel, Justin X. McAvoy
A 1950s science fiction writer, Tucker (Terumi Matthews), is propelled 40 years into the future where she meets another time traveler, Drew (Nicole Zaray). This is one sci-fi flick that does not come with a myriad of special effects. It doesn't need them: its script presents time travel as a casual matter of everyday life.
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Sweet and Lowdown 1999 PG-13, 95 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Woody Allen
Cast: Sean Penn, Samantha Morton, Uma Thurman, Brian Markinson, Anthony LaPaglia, Gretchen Mol, Woody Allen, John Waters, James Urbaniak, Vincent Guastaferro
Based on the true story of an obscure jazz musician, Emmett Ray (Sean Penn), who disappeared after the breakup of his marriage to Hattie (Samantha Morton), Woody Allen offers a profile of Ray's life in the form of a mockumentary. Academy Award nominations included Actor (Penn) and Supporting Actress (Morton).
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Teknolust 2002 R, 85 min.
Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Lynn Hershman-Leeson
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Jeremy Davies, James Urbaniak, Karen Black, Josh Kornbluth, John O'Keefe, Al Nazemian, Thomas Jay Ryan, Abigail Van Alyn, Paule West, John Pirruccello, Dick Bright
Rosetta (Tilda Swinton) believes that the world would be a better place if artificial life was in the mix. Thus, using her DNA, she creates three clones–Self Replicating Automatons (SRA)–that are part computer and part living organism. But the SRAs require male semen to survive, so one of the SRAs, Ruby, takes care of that need by having sex with men and bringing back the semen for sharing. The men who had the encounters with Ruby break out with a skin rash and a bar code appearing on their foreheads. But, fear not; two investigators (James Urbaniak and Karen Black) are on the case.
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| 1. American Splendor (2003)
2. Death of a President (2006)
3. Fay Grim (2007)
4. The Girl from Monday (2005)
5. Henry Fool (1998)
6. The Intern (2000)
7. The Life Before Her Eyes (2008)
8. The Nanny Diaries (2007)
9. The Sticky Fingers of Time (1997)
10. Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
11. Teknolust (2002)
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