David Povall Movies
A disturbing videotape appears to hold the power of life and death over those who view it in this offbeat thriller. A strange videotape begins making the rounds in a town in the Pacific Northwest; it is full of bizarre and haunting images, and after watching it, many viewers receive a telephone call in which they are warned they will die in seven days. A handful of teenagers who watched the tape while spending a weekend at a cabin in the mountains scoff at the threat, but as predicted, they all die suddenly on the same night. Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts), the aunt of one of the ill-fated teens, is a journalist who has decided to investigate the matter and travels West with her young son, Aidan (David Dorfman), a troubled child who has been drawing pictures of strange and ominous visions. Rachel managed to find the cabin in the woods and watches the video herself; afterward, she receives the same phone call, and realizes she must solve the puzzle of the video and the person or persons behind it within a week. Rachel turns to her ex, Noah (Martin Henderson), an expert in video technology, who at first is convinced the story is a hoax until he digs deeper into the mystery. The Ring was adapted from a 1996 Japanese film by Hideo Nakata, which became a massive box-office success in Asia and spawned two sequels. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, (more)
Duke Togo is Golgo 13, a stone-faced, stone-cold killer for hire. Utterly amoral and usually expressionless, he is known for always getting the job done, even against impossible odds. Which is precisely what he does when he cleanly kills the son of a wealthy industrialist named Lawson on a crowded yacht with a single bullet. Duke takes on another contract against a Sicilian Mafia boss, while Lawson targets Duke to avenge the killing of his son. Thus begins a chain reaction of murder and revenge as Duke fends off the Mafia and corrupt U.S. government agents, all the while having to deal with an increasingly bizarre array of Lawson's assassins. As he battles his way to the top of Lawson's corporate tower, the wife of the slain Lawson has to wonder: Why is her father-in-law obsessed with hunting down Duke, rather than the person who hired him? ~ Emru Townsend, Rovi
