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Title: Cook County Director: David Pomes Starring: Anson Mount, Xander Berkeley, Ryan Donowho, Polly Cole, Makenna Fitzsimmons On the small screen, AMC’s “Breaking Bad” has shined a light on the production of methamphetamine, and wrung much drama from the heightened stakes of a seemingly regular family man’s descent into moral and criminal contravention. Writer-director David Pomes’ effectively grimy “Cook County” takes a look at the ravaging effects of the same drug from a user’s point-of-view, detailing the familial chaos surrounding three generations of addicts living in rural East Texas. A gritty, pungent drama with some nicely attuned performances, the film is well worth seeking out for fans of off-the-beaten-path independent...

Directed by: David Pomes

Written by: David Pomes

Cast: Anson Mount, Xander Berkeley, Ryan Donowho, Polly Cole, Tommy Townsend, Makenna Fitzsimmons

After wowing festival audiences in 2008, Cook County finally gets a theatrical release. This dark morality tale of backwoods meth-heads explores how cooking and smoking crack destroys entire communities. Don't let the release date fool you - festive family fare this ain't.

Debut writer/director David Pomes doesn't pull any punches when it comes to depicting the grim reality of his characters' existence. Three generations live crammed into a dilapidated cabin, and everyone is exposed to the harmful effects of the meth that's the only substance ever cooked in the broken kitchen. Bump (Anson Mount) rules this ramshackle roost, dictating every aspect of the ebb and flow of crystals through the house, from ordering supply runs to the local general store (where the owner sells cold-remedies and drain cleaner to...

Even though its tagline reads like a female version of 'Weekend at Bernie's', 'Three sisters. Two days. One dead father.', the Joe Robert Cole helmed thriller 'Amber Lake' is anything but comical. The new thriller stars the delightfully beautiful Mekenna Melvin, the superbly stunning Natalie Smyka, the terrifically hot Polly Cole, oh and Carmen Argenziano and Timothy V. Murphy. And this bad boy is now a available on both VOD and iTunes! Check out the plot details and the full trailer below....

Joe Robert Cole's indie thriller Amber Lake has hit VOD and iTunes. The film stars Chuck 's Mekenna Melvin, Polly Cole and Natalie Smyka. You can watch the trailer below. Synopsis: Three half-sisters, after being invited to their father's lake house to meet him and each other for the first time, are each questioned by a local sheriff to explain the events that took place leading up to the discovery of their father floating dead in the lake. Using a Rashomon effect, each sister gives a slightly different account of the events, with each version pointing a finger at a different sister, while the sheriff must sort through the details to find out what really happened. What he discovers in the end is not what he expected.

Most actor-audition stories are pretty similar: You go in, you read for the role several times, you maybe test with other actors, you get the part.

That wasn't quite how it worked for Mekenna Melvin, who returns to "Chuck" Monday (Oct. 11) as Casey's (Adam Baldwin) daughter, Alex.

"When I first got the audition, the title was '20-year-old girl.' It was one line, one scene. It wasn't even one line, it was one word, which was 'Mom,'" Melvin tells Zap2it. "I basically had no information going into the audition; I just knew I had to say 'Mom.'"

She got the part, and then her manager called to say her character now had a name: Alex. Oh, and by the way, she was Casey's long-lost daughter. "I was like, 'What?!? This is so awesome!"

A while after her first appearance, "Chuck" decided to bring Alex back --...