Bovie Movie

Four of the most celebrated directors in the independent film community pooled their talents for this episodic comedy. Ted (Tim Roth) is the new bellboy at a beautiful but decaying luxury hotel; he is not having a good time of it on New Year’s Eve, his first night on the job. In one room, a coven of witches are trying to summon the spirit of the goddess Diana; each of the witches must bring a different bodily fluid for their spell to work, but Eva (Ione Skye), who was supposed to bring semen, managed to lose her supplies, and needs Ted’s help for a last-minute replacement. Another room, where Ted was supposed to deliver some ice, turns out to house an angry husband (David Proval), who is holding his bound-and-gagged wife (Jennifer Beals) at gunpoint. A third room is taken by a tough-talking gangster (Antonio Banderas), his doormat wife (Tamlyn Tomita), and their two children; the gangster demands that Ted watch over the kids, who turn out to be mischievous terrors beyond Ted’s wildest imagination. And room number four is where an arrogant film actor (Quentin Tarantino) is holding a party. One of his guests makes a bet that he can get a Zippo lighter to light ten times in a row, with his finger at stake if he loses. Allison Anders directed the first segment, which also featured Madonna, Valeria Golino, and Lili Taylor. The second segment was directed by Alexandre Rockwell, husband of his frequent leading lady Jennifer Beals. Robert Rodriguez directed the third story, while the finale was directed by its star, Quentin Tarantino; the final segment also features Bruce Willis, who appeared unbilled.

The director of such off-beat independent films as In the Soup, director Alexandre Rockwell once again teams with that film’s star to deliver this Los Angeles-based comedy concerning superstition and intersecting lives. Things aren’t looking so good for television clown Banana’s (Steve Buscemi) career, and the fact that his estranged wife, Suzi (Jennifer Beals), has just been arrested for assaulting his girlfriend, Lily (Karyn Parsons), just serves to compound Banana’s despair. Teaming with sidekick Binky (Peter Dinklage) to enlist the aid of bail-bondsman Mo (David Proval), Banana and Binky discover that Mo is currently negotiating the release of hip-hop mogul Lenny’s (Daryl Mitchell) wife, Sandra (Rose Rollins). The hapless group soon teams to help Mo by finding a suitable kidney donor for the bail-bondsman’s ailing son, and though they quickly happen across a drunk (Peter Stormare) who fits the bill, the trouble comes in keeping the prospect in the hospital. Doing their best to help Mo’s son under increasingly chaotic circumstances, personal tensions flare as each character desperately tries to simultaneously battle their own inner demons.

Japanese horror specialist Takashi Shimizu returns to the mythology that terrified audiences the world over with this terror-inducing sequel to the hit 2004 frightener. When a cursed Tokyo home is burned to the ground, the baneful spirit once confined within its walls is suddenly unleased to terrorize anyone and everyone who crosses its dark path. Original producers Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Taka Ichise return to help Shimizu realize his hair-raising vision with this tale that finds Karen’s (Sarah Michelle Gellar) sister, Aubrey (Amber Tamblyn), teaming with spellbound journalist Eason (Edison Chen) to investigate the spectral mystery. Meanwhile, the ghostly grip of Toshio (Oga Tanaka) and Kayako (Takako Fuji) tightens on a Chicago housewife (Jennifer Beals) halfway across the globe.