Donavon Stinson Movies
- 2008
- PG13
- Add The X-Files: I Want to Believe to QueueAdd The X-Files: I Want to Believe to top of Queue
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprise their roles as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully with this long-delayed big-screen continuation that revives the series six years after it headed off the air in 2002. Creator Chris Carter returns to direct, co-writing the script with series veteran Frank Spotnitz for 20th Century Fox. Billy Connolly, Amanda Peet and rapper Xzibit co-star in the stand-alone sequel. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, (more)
After living his life with clockwork precision, a man throws any and all caution to the wind in this freewheeling comedy-drama. Frank Allen (Ryan Reynolds) is a successful motivational speaker and author whose book "The Five-Minute Efficiency Trainer" advises readers that strict organization and avoiding impulsive behavior is the key to success. Frank is married to Susan (Emily Mortimer), who has been his sweetheart since college, but while he's happy, she's beginning to have second thoughts -- she chose to be with Frank rather than his best friend Buddy (Stuart Townsend) because of his sweet and gentle nature, but his new habit of carefully budgeting every moment of the day has squeezed most of the fun out of their lives. After a quarrel with Susan leaves Frank in a troubled state of mind, he's enthusiastically propositioned by a sexy woman at a self-help seminar (Sarah Chalke), and has to take a pregnant woman (Jocelyne Loewen) to the hospital when he nearly runs her over on the street. Susan learns about Frank's day and comes to the mistaken conclusion that he's been unfaithful to her with both women. Susan leaves him and Frank decides that his hyper-organized life is to blame for the collapse of his marriage. Suddenly, Frank figures its time to give his id full reign -- he buys a motorcycle, starts fist fights in bars, sleeps with strange women, takes up streaking, and does nearly everything the old Frank would warn him against. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer, (more)
- 2007
In an era distinguished by popular TV series in which the heroes are the villains (The Sopranos, The Shield), it should surprise no one that the most charming and likeable character in the CW comedy-drama series Reaper was the Devil Himself. The story got under way when 20-year-old slacker Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison), one of the least stellar employees at his local Work Bench home-improvement store, finally found out why his parents (Allison Hossack, Andrew Arlie) had always allowed him to goof off and drift aimlessly through life while simultaneously demanding so much from his overachieving kid brother Keith (Kyle Switzer). It turned out that Mom and Dad felt guilty about selling Sam's soul to the Devil (Ray Wise), before the boy had even been born. Once Sam turned 21, up popped the Devil again, demanding that our hero immediately go to work for him--or else. Sam's new job was as a Satanic "bounty hunter", tracking down and recapturing souls who'd managed to escape from Hell. Since the people whom Sam hunted down richly deserved eternal damnation, and since the immacuately-dressed Devil was such a warm, personable guy, Sam found his new assignment a lot more stimulating than his customary duties at the Work Bench. He even managed to enlist his best friends and coworkers Sock (Tyler Labine) and Ben (Rick Gonzalez) as his helpers, and to persuade Sock's ex-girlfriend, paralegal Josie (Valarie Rae Miller), to do the necessary research work on each "fallen demon". At the same time, Sam had to keep his "mission" a secret from his earthly boss Ted (Donovan Stinson) and his erstwhile girlfriend Andi (Missy Peregrym). Making its CW debut on September 25, 2007, Reaper played like an unholy alliance between Faust and Clerks--hardly surprising, since the series was coproduced by Clerks creator Kevin Smith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bret Harrison, Tyler Labine, (more)
A handful of heroes become superheroes under unlikely circumstances in this action drama adapted from the long-running Marvel comic book series. Four astronauts are on a mission aboard a new experimental spacecraft when they are unexpectedly exposed to a massive dose of gamma rays. The accident causes strange and unexpected transformations in all four. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), top scientist and leader of the mission, can now stretch his body like elastic and is dubbed Mr. Fantastic. His partner and sweetheart, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), develops the ability to become invisible at will, and becomes known as The Invisible Girl. Her younger brother, Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), is renamed The Human Torch for his new talent of being able to summon up fire from his body when he chooses. And Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), pilot for the journey, mutates into a monstrous creature with super-human strength and muscles like stone, known as The Thing. Together, the travelers become known as the Fantastic Four, and they set out to use their unusual skills to fight crime, quickly gaining a nemesis in another altered hero who uses his talents for evil, Doctor Doom (Julian McMahon). A long-gestating project that had been talked about by a number of filmmakers since the early '90s, Fantastic Four was previously the basis for a pair of animated television serials, and was made into a feature film in 1994 by producer Roger Corman, though that film was never officially released. (Fantastic Four creator Stan Lee has said the 1994 film was made only so that the producers could hold on to the rights to the characters, and that it was never intended to be distributed to the public.) ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, (more)
- 2002
Wounded by a stray bullet, Max (Jessica Alba) -- using the alias Linda Eastman -- is whisked off to Harbor Lights Medical Hospital. Knowing full well that knowledge of her unique DNA could be disastrous for herself and her fellow Manticore refugees, Max refuses to allow any testing of her blood. But unless another figure can intervene, her secret will soon be revealed to the world. And what of Max's nemesis White (Martin Cummins), whose behavior vis-à-vis the present situation is strange indeed? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jensen Ackles
A man trying to save his relationship with the woman he loves finds himself sinking into a quicksand of small lies and half-truths in this comedy. Paul (Jason Lee) is a regular guy who is engaged to marry Karen (Selma Blair); while Paul loves Karen, he's more than a bit nervous around her family, even though her father (James Brolin) has already given him a job in the family business. Shortly before the wedding, Paul's friends throw him a bachelor party, complete with a boatload of liquor and a squadron of grass-skirt-clad tiki dancers. Paul strikes up a conversation with one of the dancers, the cheerful if inept Becky (Julia Stiles), and the next morning, he wakes up bleary-eyed with a massive hangover -- and Becky in bed next to him. Paul soon receives a phone call from Karen saying she's stopping by for a visit, and Paul scrambles to get Becky out of his apartment. Paul attempts to explain some incriminating evidence with a few white lies, but a messy situation gets messier when Paul runs into Becky at a pre-wedding family get-together...and discovers she's Karen's cousin. A Guy Thing also features Shawn Hatosy, Lochlyn Munro, and Julie Hagerty. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julia Stiles, Jason Lee, (more)
