Chris Moore Movies

The writers and director of the original Feast follow the horror from the dive bar of the first film to a nearby town as the flesh-eating beasts prepare to dine on the unsuspecting locals before dashing off to the next well-populated desert buffet. The survivors of the initial attack have lived to see another day, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they'll make it through another night. Upon joining-up a desperate band of locals that include an all-girl biker gang and a tag team of fearless luchadors, the battle-weary survivors brace themselves for another bloody round of flesh-ripping, limb-hacking mayhem. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Feast producer Chris Moore makes his feature directorial debut with this shocker concerning a group of vacationing college graduates who become the unwilling participants in a sadistic game of kill or be killed. Having just completed their finals and received their diplomas, a small group of recent college graduates decide to celebrate their accomplishment by taking a trip to a secluded cabin in the woods. Just as they're settling in for the time of their lives, however, a violent psychopath arrives to inform them that they are now all contestants on a vicious game of survival. The rules are simple: kill all of your friends, and the last person left standing is the winner. As the reality of their grim situation slowly sinks in, the tensions ramps up and relationships between old friends start to buckle under the weight of fear. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When an amateur porn film crew takes a wrong turn while driving through Mexico, they quickly discover that the local legends concerning a murderous luchadore may have some element of truth in this bloody horror film. They were driving down a dusty road when they decided to make a wrong turn in the middle of nowhere, and now it's beginning to look like they may never find their way back to civilization. Upon pulling into the windswept ghost town of "La Sangre De Dios," the crew begins hearing whispers of a psychotic luchadore named "El Mascarado" who tears the faces off of his victims and leaves them to bleed to death. As the darkness falls and the crew gets frisky, no one notices that they're all about to become pawns in the most brutal death match ever staged. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When snowboarding first rose to popularity in the 1980s, many people didn't know what to make of it -- taking the thrashed-out style of skateboarding and moving it to the ski slopes, snowboarding was hardly welcomed by the old-school winter sports establishment who regarded 'boarders as punks and misfits. But as more people took up the sport and the extreme sports community developed a following that couldn't be ignored, a grudging acceptance of the sport (and the skills of the best board riders) followed, and now snowboarding is one of the world's leading winter sports. First Descent is a documentary in which some of the pioneers of the snowboarding movement (among them Nick Perata, Shawn Farmer, and Terje Haakonsen) talk about the past, present, and future of the sport with some of the top new riders on the slopes (including Hannah Teter and Shaun White). But along with sharing some friendly conversation, these snowboarding legends get together for the trip of a lifetime -- a journey to a beautiful Alaskan mountain range that has never been skied or 'boarded before, giving the veteran riders a chance to show that they still have what it takes, and the new stars a challenge no one has ever faced before. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A lost piece of history merges with the marvel of modern marine expeditions, intense archeological arguments, and the issue of race relations in contemporary America as an expedition is launched to recover a pirate Spanish slave ship that was sunken off the coast of Florida in 1827. Pursued by a British warship and sunken just off the coast of Florida, the Guerrero served as the catalyst for an intense three year saga involving five nations when it drifted beneath the ocean surface. Now, nearly two centuries later, the search for a obscure and forgotten historical relic prompts modern-day explorers to ponder what implications this ship's history has for a country that has always struggled with the issue of race. Coinciding with both America's 200th anniversary of Abolitionism and the United Nation's 2004 International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition, this discovery of the Guerrero raises numerous questions that may just be the key to understanding the mistakes of the past and ensuring that those mistakes will never be committed again. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Jesse Dylan's American Wedding rounds up the characters from the American Pie films for a trip to the altar. Jim (Jason Biggs) proposes to Michelle (Alyson Hannigan). Hoping to make the wedding day as special as possible for his bride, Jim enlists the help of his friends Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), and the always obnoxious Stifler (Seann William Scott) to help him convince a dressmaker to create the perfect gown, make a good impression on his future in-laws, and assist him in getting out of the embarrassing situations in which he so often seems to find himself. Stifler and Finch battle for the attention of Michelle's younger sister Cadence (January Jones), Jim's Grandmother objects to the wedding because Michelle is not Jewish, and Stiffler's poorly timed surprise bachelor party are just some of the obstacles that must be overcome before the happy event can transpire. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

An unlucky-in-love bachelor lands his dream date, but finds that getting through the evening will be a difficult challenge indeed in this romantic comedy. The Third Wheel stars Luke Wilson as Stanley, a woefully inept young man who -- with the aid of his roommate Mike (Ben Affleck) -- works up the nerve to ask out his alluring co-worker Diana (Denise Richards). Diana agrees, but before the two can even be seated at a restaurant, they literally run into a homeless con man named Phil (Jay Lacopo). Currying pity from the hapless Stanley, Phil proceeds to disrupt the evening in every way imaginable. One of the first films from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's production company, The Third Wheel languished on the shelf for more than three years; a similar, if less-severe, fate befell Wakin' Up in Reno, another Miramax-distributed comedy also directed by Jordan Brady. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Pete (Adi Stein) is an eight-year-old Catholic boy growing up in the suburbs of Chicago in the mid-'70s. Pete attends Catholic school, where as classes let out for the summer, he's admonished by a nun to follow the path of Lord, and not that of the Devil. Perhaps taking this message a bit too seriously, Pete decides it's his goal for the summer to help someone get into heaven; having been told that Catholicism is the only sure path to the kingdom of the Lord, Pete decides to convert a Jew to Catholicism in order to improve their standing in the afterlife. Hoping to find a likely candidate, Pete begins visiting a nearby synagogue, where he gets to know Rabbi Jacobson (Kevin Pollack), who responds to Pete's barrage of questions with good humor. Pete also makes friends with the Rabbi's son, Danny (Michael Weinberg), who is about the same age; when he learns that Danny is seriously ill, he decides Danny would be an excellent choice for conversion. When the priest at Pete's church (Brian Dennehy) informs Pete that all will be tested before they pass the Pearly Gates, he sets up a mini-decathlon and puts Danny in training as he attempts to reshape his spiritual thinking. Pete's parents (Bonnie Hunt and Aidan Quinn) aren't sure just what to make of Pete's new summer project, and as they become aquatinted with Rabbi Jacobson, they share their perspectives on the unexpected trials of parenting. Stolen Summer received more than its share of pre-release publicity; writer/director Pete Jones' script was the winner in a nationwide screenwriting competition sponsored by producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, with Miramax Pictures pledging a one-million-dollar budget and a theatrical release to the winning story. As part of the deal, the production of Stolen Summer was documented by a film crew from the premium cable network HBO, who aired a documentary miniseries about the making of the film, Project Greenlight. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Project Greenlight is an ambitious and unique reality program. The series was a joint venture of Miramax, HBO, Sam Adams, and LivePlanet. The executive producers of the series and the subsequent feature film, Stolen Summer, were actor/screenwriters Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and producer Chris Moore (American Pie), who are co-founders of LivePlanet. The first season aired on HBO beginning in December of 2001, but it all began with a screenwriting contest announced in September of 2000. The winner of the contest would be able to direct their film, with a one-million-dollar budget and theatrical distribution supplied by Miramax. Over 7,000 entries were received through the Project Greenlight website. Using a peer review process, the entries were narrowed down to 250. These 250 contestants were each asked to make a three-minute personal video to pitch their project and themselves. These tapes were reviewed by Damon, Affleck, Moore, and executives from Miramax, who narrowed the field down to the top 30. The 30 screenplays were read and evaluated, and ten were selected to move on to the next stage. Each of these ten contestants was given digital equipment to shoot and edit a three-minute scene from their screenplay. They were then flown to Los Angeles, where their scenes were publicly screened, and then Damon and Affleck announced the three finalists. After interviewing the finalists about their scripts, and debating amongst themselves about the relative merits of each project, Pete Jones was selected as the contest winner for his script, Stolen Summer. All of this was shown in the first episode of Project Greenlight. The television series then went on to follow Jones through the preproduction process. The novice director immediately runs into trouble because he's written a period film, set in Chicago, with two young boys in the lead. Producer Chris Moore repeatedly runs down the problems with doing such a complicated shoot on such a small budget, while fighting alongside Jones to get more money from Miramax. Eventually, they get enough money to shoot a period film on location in Chicago, but they're on a very tight schedule. Jones offers key roles in the film to Sean Penn and Emma Thompson, who turn it down. Eventually, Aidan Quinn and Bonnie Hunt are cast instead, with Kevin Pollak in an important supporting role. The series captures the grind of low-budget filmmaking as the production begins. Jones' inexperience, combined with the reluctance of co-producer Jeff Balis and line producer Pat Peach to interfere with the director's vision, leads to a lot of stress on the set, as poorly conceived and elaborate shots lead to several long, disastrous days. There's a tremendous amount of pressure on the production team to "make the day" -- shoot every shot scheduled for every given day -- because the production is on such a tight budget and can't afford overruns. Jones is often forced to cut dialogue and simplify scenes, not just to save time, but to get the performances he wants from his two young actors, Adi Stein and Mike Weinberg. Several mistakes are made early on, and Moore begins to worry about where the shoot is headed. Peach, meanwhile, in what seems like a power play, complains both to Moore and to people at Miramax about Balis' inexperience. Moore considers firing Balis, over the objections of Jones, but is dissuaded by a vote of confidence from Miramax exec Michelle Sy. More conflicts arise as the production team feels that Jones is giving too much power to director of photography Pete Biagi, who seems to be more concerned about "making his reel" than telling Jones' story. Eventually, the strenuous production wraps. A couple of episodes are devoted to the sometimes painful editing decisions that Jones has to make during postproduction. On the last episode of the first season, Stolen Summer premieres at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. The crowd at Sundance, having seen the earlier episodes of the show, is surprised to see how well the finished film turned out. While Stolen Summer garnered its share of positive reviews, it failed to do much business at the box office. In addition, several of the people involved in the production complained about how the television series portrayed the shoot, claiming that the show's producers went out of their way to make minor problems and conflicts look more dramatic than they actually were. Kevin Pollak wrote disparagingly of the program (though he did admit it was entertaining) on the Project Greenlight website. Nevertheless, when it was all said and done, plans were in the air to hold another contest and produce a second season of the television program. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

After forays into film noir, thrillers, dramas, and even documentaries, director John Dahl tries the teen horror genre on for size. Paul Walker stars as Lewis Thomas, a college freshman embarking on a cross-country road trip during summer break to pick up his girlfriend Venna (Leelee Sobieski). Along for the ride is Lewis' brother Fuller (Steve Zahn), a practical joker who uses the car's CB radio to play a cruel prank on a lonely trucker known only by the handle Rusty Nail. The victim of Fuller's gag turns out to be a psychotic murderer and soon the brothers are being pursued by the relentless stalker, who gets his revenge in gruesome fashion. Joy Ride, which co-stars Matthew Kimbrough, was produced under the working title "Squelch." ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

A burglar looking to make time with a beautiful woman after five years in prison falls into a dangerous trap in this action drama. Rudy (Ben Affleck) is serving time in prison for auto theft, where he becomes friendly with his cellmate Nick (James Frain). Nick has been enjoying a spicy courtship by mail with a woman named Ashley (Charlize Theron), who has sent him several enticing photos, even though he has been unable to send her any of himself. Rudy and Nick are to be released the same day, but Nick is killed in an altercation with only three days left to serve. Rudy is let out on schedule, and discovers Ashley, unaware that Nick is dead, is waiting for him. Swayed by her beauty, Rudy claims to be Nick, which turn out to be fun until Rudy meets Ashley's brother Gabriel (Gary Sinise). Gabriel runs with a group of outlaws planning on using Nick's knowledge of an Indian gambling casino in Michigan where he once worked in order to stage a massive robbery on Christmas Eve. Rudy soon realizes if keeps on being Nick, he gets to stay with Ashley, but he'll also have to go along with Gabriel's robbery, which could easily land him back in prison -- or get him killed. Clarence Williams III, Danny Trejo and Donal Logue play Gabriel's henchmen; Dennis Farina, Isaac Hayes, and Ashton Kutcher also highlight the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Absolutely nobody is who he or she seems in this stylish thriller about a guy who wants to get out of his fly-speck hometown, the girlfriend who wants to help him, and the successful friend who just might make it possible. When Bryce (Josh Brolin) returns to his tiny hometown of Tropico, NV, he finds pal Nick (Alessandro Nivola) still living there unhappily. One night the pair meets a beautiful blonde at the bar and eventually Bryce takes her back to the house where he's staying. When the girl, Lissa (Reese Witherspoon), reveals that she's under age and threatens to turn Bryce in for statutory rape, he panics, ties her up in the basement, and puts in an anguished call to Nick. Little does Bryce realize, however, that Lissa is actually Nick's very grown-up girlfriend, and that the two lovers have decided Bryce and the ritzy house where he's staying will play a major role in their bid to leave behind dead-end Tropico forever. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide