Joel David Moore Movies
The lanky and slightly gaunt character actor Joel David Moore (occasionally also credited as Joel Moore) specialized in portrayals of slightly goofy eccentrics when he debuted onscreen in the late 2000s, but also demonstrated the ability to play it straight when necessary, per his lead in the slasher outing Hatchet (2006). Moore specialized in comedies, with a particularly off-the-wall performance as team player Owen in the Ben Stiller/Vince Vaughn comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004). He was equally memorable in the frat-boy laughers Grandma's Boy (2006) and the 2007 Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (as backwoodsman Cooter). In 2007, Moore joined the cast of James Cameron's massively budgeted, elephantine sci-fi opus Avatar (2009). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie GuideA portly college dropout with an ironic hipster mustache takes his dying hamster on a road trip up the California coastline. Richard (Richard Vallejos) cleans hotel bathrooms for a living, and his best friend is a tiny gray hamster named Etienne. When Etienne is diagnosed with cancer, the veterinarian recommends that the animal be put to sleep before it starts to suffer. Instead, Richard packs up his bike, grabs the hamster ball, and hits the road, determined to show his diminutive pal the world before it dies. Along their way, Richard and Etienne befriend a bereft dog lover (Vittorio E. Razi), two traveling musicians (Rachel Stolte and Solon Bixler), and a solitary soul named Elodie (Megan Harvey) who's still reeling following a recent break-up with her long-term boyfriend. Sometimes it's the smallest creatures that have the greatest impact on our lives, and in time, Richard and Elodie establish a bond that may not have been possible without a little help from Etienne. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Vallejos, Megan Harvey, (more)
A high-profile criminal lawyer finds his bid for the governorship in jeopardy when an ambitious rookie journalist begins suspecting him of tampering with evidence in order to secure his many convictions in director Peter Hyams' remake of the 1956 Fritz Lang classic. Mark Hunter (Michael Douglas) has a reputation for putting criminals behind bars, and with elections approaching he seems a shoo-in for governor. But just how clean is the district attorney's record when held up to scrutiny? When hungry reporter C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe) frames himself as a murder suspect in hopes of catching Hunter in the act, the two fierce rivals become caught up in a treacherous game of cat and mouse. But Assistant DA Ella Crystal (Amber Tamblyn) has no idea about her boyfriend C.J.'s latest assignment, and as the evidence against both men begins to pile up she starts to suspect that she's in mortal danger -- and she's right. Now, as Ella discovers irrefutable proof of both C.J.'s innocence and her boss' shady dealings, the fate of two men rests in the hands of one woman whose life could be taken at any second. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Amber Tamblyn, (more)
Bounty hunter James Conners (Justin Ament) has his sights set on the evil rancher (Angus Macfadyen) who ruined his life. But when Conners's plan for vengeance goes horribly wrong, he discovers a different way to settle the scores of the past with the help of a Navajo mystic. ~ Jonathan Frey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Justin Ament

- 2009
- PG13
- Add Avatar to Queue
A paraplegic ex-marine finds a new life on the distant planet of Pandora, only to find himself battling humankind alongside the planet's indigenous Na'vi race in this ambitious digital 3-D sci-fi epic from Academy Award-winning Titanic director James Cameron. The film, which marks Cameron's first dramatic feature since 1997's Titanic, follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a war veteran who gets called to the depths of space to pick up the job of his slain twin brother for the scientific arm of a mega corporation looking to mine the planet of Pandora for a valued ore. Unfortunately the biggest deposit of the prized substance lies underneath the home of the Na'vi, a 10-foot tall, blue-skinned native tribe who have been at war with the security arm of the company, lead by Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Because of the planet's hostile atmosphere, humans have genetically grown half alien/half human bodies which they can jack their consciousness into and explore the world in. Since Jake's brother already had an incredibly expensive Avatar grown for him, he's able to connect with it using the same DNA code and experience first-hand the joys of Pandora while giving the Scientific team, lead by Grace (Sigourney Weaver) and Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore), some well-needed protection against the planet's more hostile forces.
On a chance meeting after getting separated from his team, Jake's Avatar is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a Na'vi princess, who brings him into her tribe in order to give the humans a second chance at relating to this new environment. When word gets out of his increasing time with the alien species, Quaritch enlists Jake to do some reconnaissance for the company, as they'd like to persuade the tribe to move their home before taking more drastic measures to harness the treasure hidden below. Yet as Jake becomes one with the tribe and begins to understand the secrets of Pandora, his conscience is torn between his new adopted world and the wheelchair-bound one awaiting him when the psychic connection to his Avatar is broken. Soon battle lines are drawn and Jake needs to decide which side he will fight on when the time comes. The film was shot proprietary FUSION digital 3-D cameras developed by Cameron in collaboration with Vince Pace, and offers a groundbreaking mix of live-action dramatic performances and computer-generated effects. The revolutionary motion-capture system created for the film allows the facial expressions of actors to be captured as a virtual camera system enables them to see what their computer-generated counterparts will be seeing in the film, and Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning Weta Digital visual-effects house supervises Avatar's complex visual effects. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
On a chance meeting after getting separated from his team, Jake's Avatar is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a Na'vi princess, who brings him into her tribe in order to give the humans a second chance at relating to this new environment. When word gets out of his increasing time with the alien species, Quaritch enlists Jake to do some reconnaissance for the company, as they'd like to persuade the tribe to move their home before taking more drastic measures to harness the treasure hidden below. Yet as Jake becomes one with the tribe and begins to understand the secrets of Pandora, his conscience is torn between his new adopted world and the wheelchair-bound one awaiting him when the psychic connection to his Avatar is broken. Soon battle lines are drawn and Jake needs to decide which side he will fight on when the time comes. The film was shot proprietary FUSION digital 3-D cameras developed by Cameron in collaboration with Vince Pace, and offers a groundbreaking mix of live-action dramatic performances and computer-generated effects. The revolutionary motion-capture system created for the film allows the facial expressions of actors to be captured as a virtual camera system enables them to see what their computer-generated counterparts will be seeing in the film, and Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning Weta Digital visual-effects house supervises Avatar's complex visual effects. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, (more)
An attractive bachelorette (Paris Hilton) finds that her chances of landing a man hinge far too much on her unattractive best friend (Christine Lakin), whom she goes out of her way to find a mate for by denying a childhood friend's romantic advances until he finds this hottie's pal a mate in this Regent Releasing comedy. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paris Hilton, Joel David Moore, (more)
Hatchet director Adam Green teams with that film's star Joel David Moore to craft this simmering psychological thriller about a reclusive telemarketer and artist who finds the many layers of his complex psyche gradually peeled away by a vivacious co-worker. Asthmatic cubicle dweller Mason (Moore) doesn't have many friends, and the closest thing he has to an actual relationship is his awkward interaction with his swaggering boss. All of that begins to change, however, when soul-searching newcomer Amber (Amber Tamblyn) lands a job at the office where Mason works. Amber is friendly but lonely, and on her quest to find herself she begins to open up to Mason, and the two become fast friends. When Amber discovers that Mason is a gifted painter, she agrees to pose for a series of portraits. Recognizing the similarity between the portraits of herself and the portraits of a blonde waitress that Mason recently removed from his studio walls, Amber becomes curious about Mason's past and begins to look deeper into his personality. But Mason has his fair share of dark secrets, and as Amber begins to probe deeper, the familiar cycle of torment and destruction that Mason has kept from her begins spinning once again and soon threatens to consume them both. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel David Moore, Zachary Levi, (more)
It's another medical mystery for House (Hugh Laurie) when 6-year-old Lucy (Bailee Madison) suffers a stroke and exhibits symptoms normally found in much older patients. Equally disturbing is the behavior of Lucy's 8-year-old brother Jasper (Slade Pearce{), who has apparently developed an adult-level sex drive. The youngster now has a burning desire for Cameron (Jennifer Morrison--who is already having enough trouble vis-à-vis her disintegrating relationship with Chase (Jesse Spencer). Elsewhere, a jealous House plans to crash a theater party when Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) escorts Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) to a show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In exchange for her getting him off the hook with Detective Tritter, Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) forces House (Hugh Laurie) to take full-time clinic duty, resulting in some truly childish behavior from both of them. The main plot involves rape victim Eve (Katheryn Winnick), who bypasses psychiatric counseling in order to tell all her problems to House--who, in a pivotal moment, opens up to Eve in a way that he has never opened up to anyone else before. Meanwhile, a homeless patient (Geoffrey Lewis) suffering from terminal lung cancer insists upon playing mind games with Cameron (Jennifer Morrison), ultimately forcing her to confront her own past. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A struggling Los Angeles actor who has never fully grasped his Chinese roots takes an eye-opening journey to Shanghai after inheriting his grandmother's home in this romantic comedy starring X-Men: The Last Stand's Ken Leung and Heroes's cheerleader Hayden Panettiere. Liam (Leung) is an aspiring Hollywood star who spends the majority of time picking up bar girls with his best friend Joe -- a starving writer who has yet to pen a proper screenplay. While Liam does share an innocent relationship with precocious 16-year-old Adelaide (Panettiere), she often comes off as more mature than he and the age difference between the pair is far too glaring to ignore. Upon receiving notice that he has inherited his grandmother's home in Shanghai, Liam throws caution to the wind and purchases an airplane ticket. Shortly after landing in China, Liam becomes smitten with beautiful local Micky (Kelly Hu) and gradually learns to embrace his Eastern roots. But it's difficult to exist comfortably between two cultures -- much less two women -- and before long Liam finds that in connecting with the past, he is simultaneously laying the groundwork for his future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hayden Panettiere, Ken Leung, (more)

- 2007
- R
- Add The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning to QueueAdd The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning to top of Queue
Hazzard County's two rowdiest siblings are back and stirring up more mischief than ever in this prequel to the 2005 comedy adventure that explores the origins of the General Lee while finding out just how Bo (Jonathan Bennett) and Luke Duke (Randy Wayne) first incurred the wrath of bumbling greedy businessman Boss Hogg (Christopher McDonald). Hogg is set to foreclose on Uncle Jesse's (Willie Nelson) farm, and in order to save their crusty kin from financial ruin Bo and Luke agree to deliver his potent brand of moonshine to Hazzard County's thirstiest residents. Unfortunately for Bo and Luke, the nefarious Boss Hogg doesn't take kindly to the newly arrived competition. Subsequently thrown in jail and sentenced to sweat out the remainder of the summer on work detail, the crafty Duke boys enlist the aid of sexy cousin Daisy (April Scott) in outrunning the car with the star and making Boss Hogg's life unbearable through a series of outrageous schemes. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan Bennett, Randy Wayne, (more)
Superstar stand-up and comedic leading man Dane Cook stars in a pair of never-aired sitcom pilots in this collection from Sony Television. The first one finds Cook treading familiar ground, playing a stand-up comic who lands on hard times. Justine Bateman also stars. Then, in the second show, Cook stars as a fun-loving guy with a penchant for the absurd. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dane Cook, Justine Bateman, (more)
Wilmer Valderrama, Angie Cepeda, Joel David Moore, and Michael Parks star in director Brian Cox's adaptation of Javier Hernandez's gothic-flavored comic book about a young man gifted with a strange supernatural power, and determined to save the soul of the woman he loves. As a young orphan, Diego (Valderrama) met a mysterious Indian man who spoke Aztec and marked the boy with the sign of Tezcatlipoca before dropping dead and leaving the child to fend for himself in the desert. A decade later, Diego has settled in a Latino community in the southwestern United States. The love of Diego's life is a beautiful girl named Maria (Cepeda), the niece of a padre who resides at a local mission. To this day Diego holds a strange fascination with the Aztec gods, and on the Day of the Dead he paints himself up as a zombie mariachi before setting out to celebrate. On the way to the party, however, the mark on Diego's hand reappears and he is suddenly killed in a violent automobile accident. Upon awakening in the Aztec afterlife, Diego's heart is ripped out by Mictlantecuhtli and offered up to Tezcatlipoca. Now Tezcatlipoca retains full power over Diego's soul, and the apocalyptic prophecies of the Aztecs begin to come true as a cycle of sun showers commence. But with each sun shower a sacrifice must be made - a sacrifice of significant symbolic value. Unfortunately for Maria, her family is of the same Christian bloodline that once brought about the demise of the Aztecs, making them an ideal candidate for sacrifice as the sun showers commence. The one thing that Diego doesn't realize is that the mark left on him by that strange Indian so many years ago singled him out as the sacrificial priest charged with carrying out the sacrifices, and that his supernatural mission won't be completed until the last of Maria's bloodline has been offered up to the ancient gods. Now, in order to protect his love and prevent the apocalypse, Diego must turn against an ancient deity whose power and wisdom is beyond that of anything than the newly transformed sacrificial priest can even comprehend - much less hope to defeat. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wilmer Valderrama, Angie Cepeda, (more)
Filmmaker Terry Zwigoff and comic artist and screenwriter Daniel Clowes, who collaborated for the acclaimed 2001 comedy-drama Ghost World, team up once again for this offbeat satire. Jerome (Max Minghella) is an aspiring artist who arrives at a prestigious East Coast art institute to study. While Jerome enjoys daydreams of becoming the best-respected painter on Earth and winning the hearts of his female classmates, he soon learns the sad truth -- his "cool artist" act is old hat in the big city, and as he's surrounded by every art school cliché on Earth, practically nothing about him stands out. Determined to be recognized whatever the consequences, Jerome maps out a bizarre plan to become famous that has some unexpected consequences. Loosely adapted from a story in Clowes' comic book Eightball, Art School Confidential also stars John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Anjelica Huston, and Sophia Myles. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, (more)
Can the world's oldest adolescent maintain his cool while living with his grandmother? Alex (Allen Covert) is a 35-year-old video-game fanatic who gave up a career in accounting to take a job testing games for Brainasium, the company behind the wildly popular game "Eternal Death Slayer." While Alex took a big pay cut to land his dream job, he's happy with his work and is making ends meet -- until he discovers that his roommate hasn't paid the rent for the last six months, using the money to finance repeated visits to a local massage parlor. After running out of friends who will let him sleep on their couch, Alex swallows his pride and moves in with his grandma Lily (Doris Roberts), who loves Alex and is happy to give him a place to stay in exchange for doing chores around the house. Lily shares her home with two friends, perpetually confused Bea (Shirley Knight) and sexually adventurous Grace (Shirley Jones), and between the three of them, there's always work to be done, keeping Alex busy nearly every night. While Alex tells his co-workers he's living with three attractive women who are running him ragged, they don't know the real story; in the meantime, Alex is trying to charm Brainasium's beautiful new executive, Samantha (Linda Cardellini), while butting heads with the firm's space-case CEO Cheezle (Kevin Nealon) and J.P. (Joel David Moore), a teenage game designer who is no longer in touch with reality. Grandma's Boy was the first feature film from director Nicholaus Goossen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Cardellini, Allen Covert, (more)
A handful of college students looking for a good time are thrown into a world of danger in this homage to the slasher film cycle of the 1970s and '80s. Ben (Joel David Moore) has just been given his walking papers by his girlfriend and is deeply depressed. Needing a pick-me-up, Ben and his friend Marcus (Deon Richmond) head to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, and take in a "Haunted Swamp Tour," with master of ceremonies Shawn (Parry Shen) guiding guests through a spooky patch of bayou country. Along the way, Ben and Marcus meet a pair of half-bright exotic dancers, Misty (Mercedes McNab) and Jenna (Joleigh Fioreavanti), as well as Marybeth (Tamara Feldman), a pretty girl who is secretive about her past. As they tour the swamp, Shawn tells his customers about the local legend of Victor Crowley, a deformed man who was taunted by the other children living near the swamp until he was nearly bludgeoned with an axe by his father while trying to open the door of their burning shack. While Ben and Marcus don't think much of the story at first, it doesn't take long before they have serious reason to believe Victor Crowley is still at large -- and is looking to settle some old scores. Hatchet received its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, (more)





















