Bovie Movie

Charles S. Dutton’s feature-length directorial debut Against the Ropes is based on the real-life story of Jackie Kallen, a Jewish woman from Detroit who became a successful boxing manager. Played by Meg Ryan, Kallen works her way up in the world of boxing by believing in the fighting skills of Luther Shaw (Omar Epps). Director Dutton appears as veteran trainer Felix Reynolds, whom Kallen encourages to come out of retirement.

In this belated prequel to director Brian De Palma’s 1993 crime drama, gangster Carlito Brigante (Jay Hernandez) rises through the ranks of the New York underworld to establish himself as Spanish Harlem’s most powerful kingpin. As the intoxication of ultimate power tightens its firm grip on the rising heroin czar, he soon learns that greed and deception are the unspoken laws of the street. With no one to trust except for his two brothers in crime, Carlito begins building an empire founded on supplying the city’s addicts with the one product that is always in demand. His dreams of ruling the city finally becoming a reality, Carlito soon learns that the only way to sustain his power is through loyalty and respect. Adapted from author Edwin Torres’ acclaimed novel, Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power also stars Mario Van Peebles, Luis Guzm?n, and Sean Combs.

Defense attorney Claire Kubik (Ashley Judd) seems to have the perfect life. She has a high profile job at a big firm, a beautiful home outside San Francisco, and a husband, Tom (James Caviezel of The Thin Red Line), who loves her. Claire’s biggest problem appears to be that she wants to have a baby, and she’s having trouble getting pregnant. But when the police investigate a routine break-in at her home, they uncover the truth about her husband’s identity, and her life is thrown into turmoil. Claire finds out that her husband’s name is actually Ron Chapman, and that he’s an ex-marine accused of murdering seven innocent civilians in El Salvador during a raid in the late ’80s. He admits that he was there, and that he changed his identity to escape prosecution for the crimes, but he insists that he’s innocent, and that the massacre was committed by another soldier under the orders of a powerful general (Bruce Davison), who is using Ron as a patsy to cover it up. Claire is eventually convinced that Ron’s telling the truth. Faced with defending her husband in an unfamiliar military courtroom, Claire enlists the aid of Charles Grimes (Morgan Freeman), an ex-Army judge advocate with an axe to grind. Stonewalled by the military bureaucracy at every turn, they uncover a web of deception and disappearing witnesses, and they soon find their own lives in danger. High Crimes was adapted from Joseph Finder’s novel by the husband and wife screenwriting team of Yuri Zeltser and Cary Bickley. The film was directed by Carl Franklin (One False Move), and co-stars Amanda Peet and Adam Scott.