Eric Weinstein Movies
- 2012
- R
- Add Contraband to Queue
A former smuggler from New Orleans faces ruthless drug lords, vicious criminals, corrupt officials, and trigger-happy hit men after getting back into the business to help his brother-in-law settle a deadly debt. When it came to transporting illicit goods under treacherous circumstances, Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) used to be the best in the business. But all of that changed when he chose to give up his life of crime to start a family with Kate (Kate Beckinsale). Chris learns that leaving his past behind is easier said than done, however, after Kate's brother Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) goes to work for ferocious drug lord Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), and drops the ball on a major deal. Now, in order to set things right, Chris must smuggle millions of dollars in counterfeit bills from Panama into the United States. And if anything goes wrong, Tim will target his entire family for death. With his best friend Sebastian (Ben Foster) by his side and a crackerjack crew along for the ride, Chris heads to Panama for one last job. Later, with time running out and a treacherous maze of desperate criminals to navigate, the job gets complicated, and Chris must race to reach his family before Tim gets to them first. Lukas Haas, Diego Luna, and J.K. Simmons co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, (more)
Mark Wahlberg stars in Paramount Pictures' inspirational docudrama exploring the remarkable rise of Massachusetts-born, junior welterweight title winner "Irish" Micky Ward. A determined pugilist whose career in the ring was shepherded by his loyal half-brother, Dicky (Christian Bale) -- a hard-living boxer-turned-trainer whose own career in the ring was nearly sent down for the count due to drugs and crime -- perennial underdog Irish Micky rebounded from a disheartening series of defeats to win both the WBU Intercontinental Lightweight title and the WBU Light Welterweight title thanks to a fierce combination of determination and hard work. David O. Russell directs from a script by 8 Mile's Scott Silver and Paul Attanasio (The Bourne Ultimatum). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, (more)
From the producers of The Rookie and Remember the Titans comes an inspirational sports drama detailing the true story of a down-on-his-luck football fan whose dreams of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the best of the gridiron became a once-in-a-lifetime reality when he took part in an open tryout organized by Philadelphia Eagles coach Dick Vermeil. Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg) was a 30-year-old substitute teacher and part-time bartender who had never even played college football. When Coach Vermeil (Greg Kinnear) made the unprecedented announcement that he would be holding open tryouts for the Philadelphia Eagles, Papale would go against incredible odds to live the dream and experience every fan's biggest fantasy. With a position on the Eagles secured and a new life path forged out of little more than determination and persistence, Papale takes to the field to experience the life-altering rush of running yards as a stadium full of cheering fans burst from their seats to support the hometown hero who proved it's never too late to take control of your own destiny. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear, (more)
- 2004
Like Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm, the HBO series Entourage offers a knowing and quasi-satirical inside look at the world of show business within a faux "documentary" format. Premiering July 18, 2004, the series (initially titled "Sundance Kids") top-billed Adrian Grenier as Vincent Chase, a young, wealthy, and very "hot" movie star. As Vincent's hard-working agent, Ari Gold (a character based on real-life agent Ari Emmanuel and here played by Jeremy Piven), tried to keep both his client and his client's career on the right track, Vincent tended to ignore Ari and pay more attention to three buddies from his old Queens neighborhood, who formed the "entourage" of the title. Vincent's stepbrother Johnny (Kevin Dillon), aka "Drama," made no secret of his intention to use Vincent's success to further his own acting career, while his pal Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) was content to parasitically luxuriate in Vincent's lavish lifestyle. Only his friend Eric (Kevin Connolly) seemed to like Vince for himself and not for what he could mooch off him -- and not surprisingly, Eric's advice and remonstrations were frequently ignored in favor of the sycophancy of Vince's other pals. Entourage was co-created and executive-produced by actor Mark Wahlberg, who was one of several A-list celebrities appearing as themselves in the course of the series. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, (more)
Five years after achieving commercial and critical success with his film Three Kings, director and screenwriter David O. Russell returns to the more idiosyncratic territory of his earlier work with this intelligent and offbeat comedy. Bernard and Vivian Jaffe (Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin) are a married couple who run an existential detective agency where they sift through the lives of their clients in order to discover the source of their angst. The Jaffes' latest client is Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman), an environmental activist who has a very large rock and a great deal on his mind; their study of Albert's problems lead Bernard and Vivian to Brad Stand (Jude Law), a public relations executive with a chain of successful variety stores, Huckabees. While publicly allying himself with Albert's environmental initiatives, behind the scenes Brad is running roughshod over responsible land management with little care for the consequences. When Brad learns he's being watched by the Jaffes, he hopes to co-opt them by hiring them himself; however, the plan has unexpected consequences when their questioning leads Brad's girlfriend, well-scrubbed model Dawn (Naomi Watts), into reassessing her life and relationships. Meanwhile, Albert finds himself joining forces with Tommy (Mark Wahlberg), a firefighter and fellow environmentalist who has been having second thoughts about Bernard and Vivian's ideas and methods after a long-term investigation and has since fallen under the spell of nihilist poet and philosopher Caterine Vauban (Isabelle Huppert). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jason Schwartzman, Isabelle Huppert, (more)
Would you pay money to journey into the mind of the star of Con Air, The Killing Fields, and In The Line of Fire? Puppeteer Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) is having money problems, so he takes a temporary job as a file clerk on the seventh-and-a-half floor of a large office building. One day, while rummaging behind a cabinet, he finds a small door that leads to the center of the mind of actor John Malkovich (played by, you guessed it, John Malkovich). Craig discovers that entering the portal allows him to become John Malkovich for a brief spell, and in time he and his beautiful but aloof co-worker Maxine (Catherine Keener) get the bright idea to charge admission for the privilege of spending 15 minutes inside the head of a well-known actor. Malkovich realizes that something strange is happening to him, but can do little to stop it, as strangers take over his mind for a quarter-hour at a time. Craig's wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), eventually takes a trip into Malkovich's psyche, and she soon finds herself in love with Maxine, with whom Malkovich has an affair; meanwhile, Maxine in time becomes infatuated with both Craig and Lotte, but only when they're inside Malkovich. Being John Malkovich marked the feature-length debut of director Spike Jonze, who previously made acclaimed music videos for Weezer, the Beastie Boys, and the Breeders, among others. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, (more)
