Neil Hopkins Movies
A series of blindingly bright lights appear all over Los Angeles, mesmerizing the citizens of the city while luring them to an uncertain fate in this sci-fi thriller from sibling filmmakers Greg and Colin Strause. As speculation regarding the origin of the mysterious lights runs rampant, a Los Angeles entrepreneur (Donald Faison), his best friend, Jarrod (Eric Balfour), and Jarrod's frightened girlfriend (Scottie Thompson) struggle to resist temptation as they seek out the source of the luminous threat. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, (more)
Bay Area digital-effects wizard David Lee Fisher offers an enticing visual remix of the 1920 German expressionist classic with this innovative updating that places contemporary performers against scanned backdrops of the original and offers a detailed new script to create an exciting new vision. As the annual fair descends upon the sleepy burg of Holstenwall, Germany, Francis and his best friend Alan are unwittingly enticed into attending an exhibition by malevolent hypnotist Dr. Caligari that will have a sinister, life-changing effect on the pair. When the dreadful doctor awakens psychic sleepwalker Cesare (Hellboy's Doug Jones) from his profound slumber to predict Alan's future, the resulting prophecy is endlessly more terrifying than the frightened friends could have ever imagined. In the days that follow, the citizens of Holstenwell fall prey to a grisly series of unsolved murders that prompts Francis to launch a thorough investigation. With the killer fast closing in on Francis' unsuspecting fiancée Jane, the brave husband-to-be must uncover the secret of Dr. Caligari's strange powers before his one and only love suffers a particularly grim fate. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Judson Pearce Morgan, Daamen Krall, (more)
An in-name-only, direct-to-video sequel to 1995's blockbuster thriller The Net, The Net 2.0 begins with a new character - a stunning computer tech named Hope Cassidy (North Shore'sNikki DeLoach) - who travels to Istanbul, where she plans to take a new job. Yet Hope soon finds herself pursued by dozens of unsavory characters and underhanded types, who threaten to "erase" her identity by wielding the power of the internet's dark side. Helmed by Charles Winkler (the son of The Net's director, Irwin Winkler), The Net 2.0 co-stars Keegan Connor Tracy and Demet Akbag. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nikki DeLoach, Demet Akbag, (more)
As the first-season finale of Big Love opens, Bill (Bill Paxton) and Joey (Shawn Doyle) are planning to take over Ernest Holloway's seat on the UEB Council. Joey will actually take the seat, because Bill can't be publicly connected to Juniper Creek. Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) is preparing for the Mother of the Year ceremony at the governor's mansion. Nicki (Chloë Sevigny) is annoyed by Barb's primping, and tries to persuade her to withdraw from the competition, for the good of the family. Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) is far more supportive. Wendy's (Jodie Markell) snooping has uncovered evidence of Bill's polygamy, and she struggles with her conscience over what action to take. Alby (Matt Ross) drops by Joey's house uninvited for a visit. Joey's not there, and Alby warns Wanda (Melora Walters) that "brothers can get brothers into trouble," and he hovers threateningly over Wanda's newborn baby. Wanda turns out to be far more dangerous than Alby suspected, which creates further complications for Joey, Lois (Grace Zabriskie), and Bill. Rhonda's (Daveigh Chase) efforts to extend her stay in the outside world come to an end, and she blames Barb when she's taken back to the compound. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
Wills have been drawn up for Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloë Sevigny), and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) determining who will get custody of their children if they die. It's supposed to be relatively simple, according to "wife order," but the wives have other ideas. Margene privately asks Barb if she can leave her children to Barb instead of Nicki, while Nicki secretly makes arrangements to have her kids sent to Juniper Creek in the event of her death. When these maneuvers come to light, it naturally increases the tensions between the sister-wives, tensions that are exacerbated by Barb's being named a finalist in the statewide Mother of the Year contest. Bill (Bill Paxton) gets a public accolade of his own when he's invited to join the Salt Lake Leadership League. He sees it as a great opportunity for his business, but others warn him that being involved in such a public organization will increase his risk of exposure. Ernest Holloway (John Ingle) agrees to sell Bill his shares in the UEB, which will give Bill access to a seat on the council. Roman (Harry Dean Stanton) finds out that the two are meeting, and takes swift and brutal action against Ernest. Rhonda (Daveigh Chase) comes from Juniper Creek to stay with the family while she competes in a local drama competition. Sarah (Amanda Seyfried), whom Rhonda horrifyingly describes as her "step-niece and granddaughter-in-law," and Heather (Tina Majorino) spend some time with Rhonda, and are increasingly horrified by the girl's ignorance of the outside world. Ben (Douglas Smith) is overcome by feelings of remorse after having sex with Brynn (Sarah Jones), and begins trying to avoid her. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
All those movies the snotty clerk at the video store keeps telling you to rent get raked over the coals in this over-the-top satiric comedy. Harvey (Eric Hoffman) and Sam (Neil Barton) are a pair of identically black-suited hitmen who have been assigned to take part in a conceptually disastrous robbery in Las Vegas. Harvey and Sam are supposed to pick the other members of their crew en route; however, by accident they end up with Johnny Vince (Darren Keefe), a would-be jazz musician with chronic woman problems, and try to compensate by taking a hostage, Julianne (Paget Brewster), a discount store drone who tells all within earshot about her a lousy marriage and dreams of a better life. As Harvey, Sam, and their unwilling companions hit the road to Sin City, they cross paths with an aggressively cheerful French girl named Anomalie (Ashley Head), a possible murderer with a really bad memory (Brian Krow), a German redhead who's always running somewhere (Regina Berger), a Mexican gunman with a guitar case and a poor command of English (Manolo Travieso), and an awful lot of sensitive and articulate lesbians. My Big Fat Independent Movie was scripted by Chris Gore, who helped document the rise of the independent movement in the 1980s and '90s as founder of the magazine Film Threat (feel free to read as much irony into that as you wish). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paget Brewster, Neil Barton, (more)
Having scrutinized a recent pattern of dark-magic activity, Agent Brody (Kerr Smith), warns that a man named Quincy (Mark Chadwick), who had been miraculously saved from a fire, is doomed to die before the month is out. Also concerned over Quincy's welfare is a crafty demon named Sarpedon (Neil Hopkins), who intends to capture Quincy's Whitelighter guardian (Tommy Smeltzer). The Charmed Ones must not only protect Quincy and his guardian, but also rescue all the other Whitelighters who are currently under Sarpedon's evil spell. This episode includes a surprise appearance by a former series regular -- not to mention a musical performance by the Donnas. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brian Krause, Dorian Gregory, (more)
The reclusive Locke (Terry O'Quinn) is willing to help Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) wean himself away from his drug habit -- but he won't explain why he has suddenly become so generous with his time. Flashbacks reveal how Charlie's life as a rock star and his troubled relationship with his bandmate brother (Neil Hopkins) led to his drug habit in the first place. In other developments, Michael (Harold Perrineau) sets Hurley (Jorge Garcia) straight as to the ethnic origins of Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) and Sun (Yunjin Kim); and the efforts by Sayid (Naveen Andrews), Kate (Evangeline Lilly), and Boone (Ian Somerhalder) to find out who has been sending radio transmissions in French are thwarted by an unknown antagonist. Worse still is the plight of Jack (Matthew Fox), who is buried alive in a collapsing cave. ~ Rovi
- Starring:
- Christian Bowman, Glenn Cannon, (more)









