Casey Silver Movies

Good Night, and Good Luck director George Clooney pulls double duty once again in this sports-oriented romantic comedy set against the formation of professional football in the 1920s. Dodge Connelly (Clooney) is a brash and handsome gridiron giant who is equally comfortable leading his team in a barroom brawl or charging for a touchdown in a packed stadium. But when Connelly's team loses their sponsor and the entire league appears set to collapse, the quick-thinking jock attempts a creative late-game comeback. If Connelly can convince former college football star and decorated war hero Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) to join the team, there may be hope for the ill-fated team after all. Back in World War I, Rutherford single-handedly forced the surrender of multiple German soldiers -- a feat that firmly established the dashing young soldier as America's favorite son. Not only that, but Rutherford's unparalleled speed makes him a valuable asset to the team. To cub reporter Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger), Rutherford seems simply too good to be true, and she's determined to prove that her theory is correct. As Littleton digs deep into Rutherford's past, the two teammates enter into a fierce competition for her erratic affections. Now, as Connelly's plan begins to work better than he ever could have anticipated, the rowdy sport he always loved starts to take on a whole new look and feel. In the midst of holding his team together and simultaneously charming the girl of his dreams, Connelly discovers he may be able to use the same strategies he does to win on the field to win in love. Of course, there might be a few fouls as this game enters the fourth quarter, but like every good player, Connelly knows the value of always having a secret play to fall back on before the final score is called. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Actor Viggo Mortensen made his first starring appearance in a film after his breakthrough performance in the Lord of the Rings trilogy with this period adventure. Frank T. Hopkins (Mortensen) is a U.S. Cavalry officer who earned a reputation as one of the fastest and most daring riders in the West; however, after taking part in the bloody massacre at Wounded Knee, Hopkins becomes disenchanted with the Cavalry, and once his hitch is up, he takes a job as a rider with a seedy touring Wild West show. During an engagement in New York, Hopkins meets Aziz (Adam Alexi-Malle), an associate of wealthy Bedouin Sheikh Riyadh (Omar Sharif), who knows of Hopkins' talents and wants him to take part in "The Ocean of Fire," an annual 3,000-mile desert horse race running from Arabia to Iraq. Hopkins accepts the invitation and sails to the Middle East with his trusty mustang Hidalgo without knowing just what he's getting himself into. Once he arrives, Hopkins learns that the punishing race course claims the lives of nearly half its contestants, and that most of his competitors ride pure-bred Arabian stallions and do not regard Hidalgo and his master as worthy adversaries. Temporarily exiled to a land where freedom eludes the multitudes and class and wealth define one's fate, Hopkins finds himself riding for both honor and principle, with the support of Riyadh and his beautiful, headstrong daughter, Jazira (Zuleikha Robinson), though the Sheikh's nephew Katib (Silas Carson) is equally determined to see Hopkins go down in defeat. Hidalgo was directed by Joe Johnston, who previously worked with animals on the run in Jumanji and Jurassic Park III. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Larry Gigli (Ben Affleck) is a low-level Los Angeles mob enforcer. His volatile boss, Louis (Lenny Venito), hires Gigli to kidnap Brian (newcomer Justin Bartha), the mentally handicapped younger brother of a federal prosecutor who's about to bring Louis' boss to trial in New York. Gigli gets the kid home without a hitch. Then a beautiful woman (Jennifer Lopez) shows up at his door. She says her name is Ricki, and Gigli soon learns that the nervous Louis has hired her to keep an eye on him. "In every relationship," Gigli soon finds himself expounding to his unwanted partner, "there's a bull and a cow." His efforts to maintain control of the situation are further hampered by the brief appearance of the insane Detective Stanley Jacobellis (Christopher Walken) and a forced visit to his overbearing mother's (Lainie Kazan) house. To make matters worse, when Gigli expresses his attraction to Ricki, he learns that she's a lesbian. She, meanwhile, proves herself considerably more capable than the lunkheaded Gigli, winning their war of words and even scaring off a rowdy group of high school kids. As Gigli and Ricki continue to look after the young, innocent Brian, they find themselves increasingly attracted to one another. But their potential budding romance is put on hold when Starkman (Al Pacino) arrives from New York, angry about how his affairs are being handled. Director Martin Brest, in his first film since 1998's Meet Joe Black, returns to the crime comedy genre that made his reputation. Brest also wrote the script for Gigli, his first since 1979's Going in Style. Stars Affleck and Lopez began a well-publicized romantic relationship on the set of the film. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide