Akiva Goldsman Movies
Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman was born in Brooklyn, NY, where his mother and father were both child psychologists. Goldsman graduated from Wesleyan University in 1983, where one of his classmates was Paul Schiff; they lived together in a student house where the misadventures of the residents helped to inspire the campus comedy P.C.U., which Schiff produced. After graduating from Wesleyan, Goldsman studied creative writing at New York University, and later took up screenwriting. Goldsman's first screenplay to be produced was for the comedy-drama Indian Summer; his experiences with his parents helped to inform his second produced screenplay, Silent Fall, which concerned a psychologist dealing with an autistic child who witnessed a crime. Goldsman next adapted two John Grisham novels for the screen, The Client and A Time to Kill, and two films in the Batman franchise, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Goldsman took on the duties of producer as well as screenwriter for the first time in 1998 with the screen adaptation of the once-popular TV series Lost in Space; Goldman was also producer on the thriller Deep Blue Sea. In 2001, Goldsman won both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for his screenplay for the film A Beautiful Mind, based on the biography of John Nash written by Sylvia Nasar; Goldsman's script was also nominated for awards by the American Film Institute, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the Chicago Film Critics Association. ~ Rovi- 2013
In a future where the masses are systematically put to death upon reaching a certain age, those who attempt to cheat death are dubbed "runners" and pursued by formidable operatives known as Sandmen. Logan is a Sandman who is fast approaching that fateful age, and when he decides to run, the stage is set for the ultimate chase. Bronson's Nicolas Winding Refn directs from a script by Will Beall. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2013
The next generation of horror emerges as director Neil Jordan collaborates with producer Akiva Goldsman to adapt author Joe Hill's novel about an aging rock star whose macabre obsession leads him down a dangerous supernatural path. Upon taking notice of an eBay auction for a purportedly haunted suit, the curious musician immediately places the top bid. When the suit finally arrives, however, the musician quickly realizes just how dangerous it can be to dabble with forces beyond his comprehension. The son of famed horror fiction specialist Stephen King, Joe Hill began writing under an abbreviated version of his birth name in hopes that the quality of his work -- not the pedigree of his surname -- would set him apart from the pack. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2013
DC Comics' two-fisted, beer-swillin' bounty hunter, Lobo, makes his trip to feature film-land with this Warner Bros. production, spear-headed by director Guy Ritchie. Don Payne provides the scripting duties on a story that sees the heavy metal antihero making his way to Earth to hunt down three intergalactic outlaws. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
The Paranormal Activity franchise continues with this third outing from Paramount Pictures. Oren Peli and Jason Blum return to produce the highly secretive feature, with Catfish's directing duo of Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman taking on the helming duties. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
1970s-era DC antihero Jonah Hex makes his way to the big screen as co-screenwriters Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank, Gamer) team to follow the disfigured gunslinger and part-time bounty hunter on his biggest adventure yet. Supernatural elements combine with Western aesthetics to take viewers on a wild and bloody ride, with Josh Brolin leading the way as Hex and John Malkovich stepping into the villainous role of Turnbull. Jimmy Hayward Horton Hears a Who) directs. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Josh Brolin, John Malkovich, (more)
- 2010
From the filmmakers behind Open Water comes the most harrowing tale of survival at sea ever to be recorded in naval history, the story of the USS Indianapolis. Famously recounted by Robert Shaw's Quint character in Jaws, the World War II tale surrounds a ship's sinking by a Japanese submarine as they were on their way back from a secret mission to deliver parts of the atom bomb. After five days in the water with no distress signal sent, malnourishment and scores of sharks decimated the 900 crewmen in the water before a patrol spotted the survivors and began the rescue. 317 men were pulled out alive, including Captain Charles Butler McVay III, whose controversial court-martialing and subsequent survivor guilt led him to suicide in 1968. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
The sequel to the low-budget blockbuster Paranormal Activity takes place a few months before the events of the first film. Katie (Katie Featherston), the much put-upon leading lady in the original, has a sister living in an upscale Los Angeles suburb named Kristi (Sprague Grayden). Kristi has a new baby son, Hunter; a likable lug of a husband named Daniel (Brian Boland), who owns several fast-food joints; a teenage stepdaughter from her hubby's first marriage, Ali (Molly Ephraim); and a large, friendly dog. As the family gets used to the new arrival, strange noises are heard late at night and when they come home from an outing, they discover the house has been trashed, even though none of their valuables have been stolen. Daniel responds by installing a security system and a network of surveillance cameras, though that doesn't stop the noises or the Latino housekeeper's insistence that spirits lurk in the home. When Katie and her boyfriend, Micah (Micah Sloat), stop by for a visit, they discuss the strange goings-on with Kristi; the women of the house believe supernatural forces are at work, while the men find that notion ridiculous. That doesn't last long, as the spirits get noisier and angrier, especially when Ali begins doing some research on the subject, and before long the safety of the household is being threatened on several fronts, possibly due to some dirty dealings in the family's distant past. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, (more)
Director Sylvain White adapts the Vertigo comic about a team of mercenaries who wage war on the CIA after they're double-crossed in the field and left to die. Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Jensen (Chris Evans), Roque (Idris Elba), Pooch (Columbus Short), and Cougar (Óscar Jaenada) were on a black-ops mission in the Bolivian jungle when rogue CIA agent Max (Jason Patric) hung them out to dry. After beating the odds and surviving their ordeal, the team decides to strike back against Max even if it means sacrificing their own lives to do so. Aiding them on their treacherous suicide mission is sexy operative Aisha (Zoe Saldana), who has her own reasons for wanting to see Max get his just deserts. But getting to Max won't be easy, because in addition to having the CIA on his side, he's about to spark a war that could plunge the entire globe into chaos. Their time quickly running out as Max's plan kicks into overdrive, the Special Forces unit that everyone assumed dead arms themselves to the teeth and prepares to strike back with a vengeance. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, (more)
The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman teams with screenwriters Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth to streamline Joseph Wilson's and Valerie Plame's books detailing the explosive outing of undercover CIA agent Plame into a tense docudrama thriller starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. At the time her cover was blown by the George W. Bush administration, Plame (Watts) was combing Iraq for evidence of weapons of mass destruction as part of the CIA's Counter-Proliferation Division. Her husband, American diplomat Joe Wilson was attempting to verify a claim that the Iraqis had recently purchased enriched uranium from Niger when the White House began beating the war drums before any solid evidence had been gathered. When Joe penned an editorial in The New York Times decrying the hasty call to war, a prolific Washington, D.C. journalist took the opportunity to reveal Plame's identity as a CIA operative, an act that not only put her career in jeopardy, but also left her various contacts overseas in a precarious position. Years later, a jobless and publicly disgraced Plame wages a vicious fight to clear her name, set the record straight, and keep her family from falling apart. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, (more)
- 2009
Friday Night Lights director Peter Berg writes, directs, and produces this true-life tale of survival set in Afghanistan and involving a Navy Seal whose entire squadron was killed in a Taliban ambush. Marcus Luttrell was a Navy Seal who led a team of soldiers into Afghanistan on a dangerous mission to kill a Taliban leader. One day, while preparing for their mission on the side of a mountain, the team was surprised to encounter an Afghan man, a farmer, and a young boy. Subsequently struggling with the decision whether to kill them and violate the military rules of engagement or to let them go and risk blowing their cover, the team took a vote and found themselves deadlocked at an even split. As the leader of the team, it was up to Luttrell to make the final call. Determining that the three were simple civilians, Luttrell made the call to release them. An hour later, his entire team was wiped out by dozens of heavily armed Taliban. When the smoke cleared, Luttrell was clinging to life -- the sole survivor of the brutal ambush. In the following days Luttrell would use his military experience to stay alive in a hostile landscape and avoid detection by the Taliban. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Angels and Demons re-teams director Ron Howard and star Tom Hanks for the sequel to their international blockbuster adaptation of Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code. Although the book Angels and Demons was written before the novel The Da Vinci Code, the movie transpires after the events of the earlier movie. Hanks stars as professor Robert Langdon, the most respected symbologist in the United States, who uses his knowledge in order to decode a symbol on the skin of a murder victim. The clues put him on the trail of an international conspiracy involving the Catholic Church. Ewan McGregor and Ayelet Zurer also star in the Sony Pictures production. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Ayelet Zurer, (more)
A hard-drinking lush finds himself thrust into superhero mode in director Peter Berg's unconventional look at the private life of a crime-fighter. Will Smith stars as the embittered do-gooder whose lifestyle is more akin to a rock star than a role model, and who has grown as disillusioned with his once-admiring public as they have of him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Charlize Theron, (more)
Adapted from acclaimed author Richard Matheson's influential novelette of the same name, Constantine director Francis Lawrence's I Am Legend follows the last man on Earth as he struggles to survive while fending off the infected survivors of a devastating vampiric plague. A brilliant scientist who raced to discover a cure for the man-made virus as humanity came crumbling down all around him, Robert Neville (Will Smith) was inexplicably immune to the highly contagious superbug. Now the entire population of New York City -- and perhaps the world -- has been transformed into carnivorous bloodsuckers that fear the light and live solely to spread their contagion to any remaining living creature that crosses their path. It's been three years since civilization came to an end, and the loneliness has taken a devastating toll on Neville. By day he scours the city for food and supplies while sending out desperate radio messages in hopes that someone might respond, and by night he attempts to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus by experimenting with his own blood. But time is running out for Neville as the legions of infected watch his every move from the safety of the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. They, too, long to learn the secret that lurks in Neville's blood, though they will have to take caution while attempting to procure it because Neville will sooner die attempting to slay every last one of them than willingly giving up a single drop. Previously adapted for the screen in the 1964 Vincent Price frightener The Last Man on Earth and the 1971 Charlton Heston action film The Omega Man, Matheson's novelette also served as the inspiration for George A. Romero's groundbreaking zombie classic Night of the Living Dead. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Alice Braga, (more)
Set adrift in the vast waters of the North Atlantic for a luxury New Year's Eve party staged in the ship's magnificent ballroom, the massive ocean-liner Poseidon receives an unexpected jolt when a rogue, 100-foot wave rolls it completely upside down, forcing the surviving passengers to fight their way to safety in Das Boot director Wolfgang Petersen's waterlogged blockbuster. Trapped beneath the waterline and implored by the captain to remain in place until a rescue team arrives, the panicked survivors struggle to keep their cool as the water begins to rush in, infernos blaze all around, and a loss of electricity plunges the doomed vessel into total darkness. Seasoned gambler Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas) isn't willing to wage his life on the prompt arrival of help, though, and as he attempts to navigate the treacherous, inverted maze of death, he is flanked by desperate band of like-minded seafarers including eight-year-old Conor (Jimmy Bennett) and his mother, Maggie (Jacinda Barrett), reticent stowaway Elena (Mía Maestro), suicidal Richard (Richard Dreyfus), and concerned father Robert (Kurt Russell), whose missing daughter may still be somewhere onboard along with her frightened fiancé. With a little luck and a little help from onboard waiter Marco (Freddy Rodriguez), the desperate team may just live to see the morning after. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, (more)
Reed Fish (Jay Baruchel of Million Dollar Baby and Undeclared) seems to be leading the life he's supposed to. He's followed in the footsteps of his late father, doing an early-morning radio show with the town's mayor, Maureen (Katey Sagal), through which the eccentric locals of Mud Meadows voice their complaints and have them addressed. He produces the show with his old high school buddy, Frank (Victor Rasuk), and he's engaged to be married to another high school chum, the gorgeous Kate Peterson (Alexis Bledel), whose dad (Blake Clark) seems to own every business in town. But Reed's plans are upended when his high school sweetheart, Jill (Schuyler Fisk), comes back to town. She's supposed to be away at law school, but she confides to Reed that she quit school years ago, and has been working as a waitress while she fruitlessly pursues a career in music. Reed encourages her to play on Open Mike Night at the local bar. He inspires her to find her voice, which leads to some complications in his relationship with Kate, forcing Reed to reexamine every aspect of his safe, secure life. I'm Reed Fish also features performances by DJ Qualls, Chris Parnell, and Shiri Appleby. The comedy marks the feature debut of director Zackary Adler, and had its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jay Baruchel, Alexis Bledel, (more)
Dan Brown's controversial best-selling novel about a powerful secret that's been kept under wraps for thousands of years comes to the screen in this suspense thriller from director Ron Howard. The stately silence of Paris' Louvre museum is broken when one of the gallery's leading curators is found dead on the grounds, with strange symbols carved into his body and left around the spot where he died. Hoping to learn the significance of the symbols, police bring in Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), a gifted cryptographer who is also the victim's granddaughter. Needing help, Sophie calls on Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), a leading symbologist from the United States. As Sophie and Robert dig deeper into the case, they discover the victim's involvement in the Priory of Sion, a secret society whose members have been privy to forbidden knowledge dating back to the birth of Christianity. In their search, Sophie and Robert happen upon evidence that could lead to the final resting place of the Holy Grail, while members of the priory and an underground Catholic society known as Opus Dei give chase, determined to prevent them from sharing their greatest secrets with the world. Also starring Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, and Alfred Molina, The Da Vinci Code was shot on location in France and the United Kingdom; the Louvre allowed the producers to film at the famous museum, but scenes taking place at Westminster Abbey had to filmed elsewhere when church officials declined permission. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, (more)
Director Michael Corrente's coming-of-age comedy drama Brooklyn Rules unfurls in 1985, coincident with the early rise of John Gotti. Three young Brooklyn men of Italian-American heritage -- Michael Turner (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Carmine Mancuso (Scott Caan), and Bobby Canzoneri (Jerry Ferrara) -- make the pivotal, potentially irreversible choices that will determine their directions in life. The boys' periodic run-ins with a sadistic mobster type who rules the neighborhood, Caesar Manganaro (Alec Baldwin), suggest the ever-present option of drifting into a career of crime. On the surface, Michael courageously and doggedly bucks this choice, opting instead for the pre-law program at Columbia and a straight-laced romance with blonde-haired, blue-eyed coed Ellen (Mena Suvari), yet this path is not as antiseptic as it may seem, for he actually scammed his way into the law program. Meanwhile, Carmine idolizes Caesar, and his desire to emulate this thug not only compromises his own moral integrity, but threatens to jeopardize the stability of Michael's life as well by drawing him into a sticky web of criminal activity. While the first two men navigate these treacherous paths, the third friend, Bobby, stakes out safer ground with a low-key job at the post office and married life with his intended. Over the course of it all, the boys' bonds of friendship become stressed and strained given the divergence of their paths. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Freddie Prinze, Jr., (more)
Many married couples have secrets, but one pair of lovebirds discover they've both been living dangerous secret lives in this action thriller laced with comedy. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and play Jane Smith and John Smith, a suburban couple whose marriage has started to go a bit stale after five or six years. Both wish for more excitement in their relationship, but as it happens, each of them is finding plenty of thrills elsewhere. Both Jane and John are world-class assassins who will take on perilous missions for the right price, but neither is aware of the other's secret life - Jane thinks her husband runs a successful construction company, and John believes his wife works on Wall Street. However, when John and Jane are both assigned to take out the same target, one Benjamin Danz (Adam Brody), they become aware of each other's secret lives, and suddenly both their careers and their marriage go through some dramatic and potentially deadly changes. Mr. and Mrs. Smith also stars Vince Vaughn as an assassin with John's company who still lives with his mother and Kerry Washington as one of Jane's associates. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, (more)
An ordinary man with an extraordinary gift must save the planet from evil in this action-packed fantasy. Unknown to most people, the world is crowded with spirits both good and evil who walk among us in human guise. One of the few who can see these spirits is John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), but the responsibility of his vision is more than he can stand, and he tries to kill himself. Saved from death, Constantine must now atone for his actions by acting as a guardian in the middle ground between Paradise and Hell. Constantine also makes the acquaintance of Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), a police detective who becomes aware of his unusual gift while looking into the death of her sister; he leads her into the unknown world of the spirits and soon circumstances demand that they join forces in a desperate bid to save humanity from evil. Constantine also features Tilda Swinton, Peter Stormare, and Gavin Rossdale, the latter best known as the lead singer of the rock group Bush. Michelle Monaghan (Made of Honor) was originally in the film (cast as a half-breed demon) but director Francis Lawrence cut her scenes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, (more)
The true story of an athlete who achieved his greatest success against the most daunting odds of his life is brought to the screen in this historical drama. In the 1920s, James Braddock (Russell Crowe) from Bergen, NJ, was a promising contender in professional boxing; he had strength, spirit, and tenacity, but the combination of a serious hand injury and a 1929 defeat in a bout with light heavyweight champ Tommy Loughran sent his career into a serious tailspin. As Braddock's career in the ring dried up, the Great Depression put a stake through the heart of America's economy, and Braddock found himself working at the New York docks for pitiful wages as he tried to support his wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger), and three children. Desperate for money, Braddock turned to his former trainer and manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti), who was unexpectedly able to scare up a bout for him, battling John Griffin at Madison Square Garden. While conventional wisdom had it that Braddock was too old, out of shape, and out of practice to have any chance of winning, he defeated Griffin, and continued beating his opponents with a powerful left hook that had been intensified by years of punishing dock work. In a nation desperate for good news, Braddock's surprising comeback became a tonic to struggling workers and unemployed people, and all eyes were on Braddock when in 1935 he took on powerful heavyweight champion Max Baer (Craig Bierko) in what was both literally and figuratively the fight of his life. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, (more)
Starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in the title roles, this kitschy tongue-in cheek action comedy is based on the popular 1970s cop show of the same name. Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson (Wilson) and Dave Starsky (Stiller) are a tough pair of plain-clothes cops who drive a red and white Ford Torino and solve cases with the assistance of their informant, Huggy Bear (Snoop Dogg). While investigating their latest case, the duo realize that the culprit is none other than Reese Feldman (Vince Vaughn), the criminal involved in their first bust. Starsky & Hutch also features appearance by Juliette Lewis, Will Ferrell, and Matt Walsh, who, along with Snoop Dogg and Vaughn, all had roles in director Todd Phillips' last film, Old School. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, (more)
Director Alex Proyas (Dark City, The Crow) helmed this sci-fi thriller inspired by the stories in Isaac Asimov's nine-story anthology of the same name. In the future presented in the film, humans have become exceedingly dependent on robots in their everyday lives. Robots have become more and more advanced, but each one is preprogrammed to always obey humans and to, under no circumstances, ever harm a human. So, when a scientist turns up dead and a humanoid robot is the main suspect, the world is left to wonder if they are as safe around their electronic servants as previously thought. Will Smith stars as Del Spooner, the robot-hating Chicago cop assigned to the murder investigation. Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, and Chi McBride also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, (more)
Director Ron Howard turns to the Western genre in this tale of a father and daughter who are brought together under difficult circumstances. Samuel Jones (Tommy Lee Jones) is a man living in New Mexico in the 1880s. He had abandoned his family years before to live and travel with a band of Apaches, but his conscience has finally gotten the better of him and he's decided to return home. Jones, however, does not receive a warm welcome upon arrival -- his wife has died and his daughter Maggie Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett), now grown and raising two children with her husband Brake (Aaron Eckhart), has no desire to see the man who left her mother to fend for herself. As Jones prepares to depart on a note of bitterness, a band of ruthless bandits, let by Army deserter Chidin (Eric Schweig), descends upon the homestead, murdering Brake and kidnapping his 15-year-old daughter Lily (Evan Rachel Wood). While Maggie feels no desire to forgive her father, she realizes he's her best hope to track down the criminals who took her child, and Jones and Maggie team up to find the bandits before they can disappear into Mexico. The Missing was based on the novel The Last Ride by Thomas Eidson. Val Kilmer and Jenna Boyd highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, (more)
