Stanley Tucci Movies
Like many another contemporary movie and TV favorite, Stanley Tucci is a graduate of the drama department at SUNY-Purchase. Tucci made his film bow in 1985's Prizzi's Honor, after which he specialized in playing lowlifes and scuzzbags, despite his offscreen credentials as a loyal friend and loving family man. Some of his more memorable appearances were as Rick Pinzolo in TV's Wiseguy (1987-1989), a minor-league thug named Vernon in Beethoven (1992), and a Middle-Eastern assassin in The Pelican Brief (1993). Tucci acquired a fan following of sorts for his slimy year-long role of Richard Cross on the weekly TV series Murder One (1995).In 1996, Tucci broke loose from his established screen persona by playing an ambitious Italian-American restaurateur in Big Night, the most delightfully "gastronomic" film since Like Water for Chocolate. The art-house favorite was a sheer labor of love for Tucci, who served as its producer, co-wrote its script with his cousin Joe Tropiano, and shared directorial duties with his friend Campbell Scott. Tucci again directed two years later with The Impostors, a farcical comedy that cast him and longtime friend Oliver Platt as two stowaways on an ocean liner. Unlike Big Night, however, the film did not do well with audiences or critics. After starring in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1998) as Puck and In Too Deep (1999) as a police supervisor, Tucci again stepped behind the camera, this time to direct Joe Gould's Secret (2000). A historical drama about an eccentric man (Ian Holm) living on the streets of Greenwich Village, it received a very enthusiastic reception at the 2000 Sundance Festival, where it premiered. The early 2000s seemed to be a winning period for the versatile actor, with Tucci also taking home the Best Supporting Actor in a television movie award for his role in Conspiracy (2001). That same year he appeared in America's Sweethearts as an intense movie mogul. He continued doing solid work even when the finished films were sometimes lacking. He played in the Jennifer Lopez hit Maid in Manhattan, Sam Mendes' Road to Perdition, the American remake of Shall We Dance?, and landed his largest role in a major Hollywood production when Steven Spielberg cast him as the ambitious, officious manager of The Terminal. Tucci lent his voice to the animated film The Robots in 2005, and the next year earned solid notices for his work opposite as a fashion magazine editor loyal to the diva editor in chief Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Nora Ephron adapts Julie Powell's autobiographical book Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen with this Columbia Pictures production starring Amy Adams as an amateur chef who decides to cook every recipe in a cookbook from acclaimed celebrity chef Julia Child (played by Meryl Streep) in order to chronicle it in a blog over the course of a year. Streep's Devil Wears Prada co-star Stanley Tucci re-teams with the actress as Child's husband. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, (more)
- 2009
- PG13
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Visionary Heavenly Creatures director Peter Jackson teams with longtime collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens to adapt author Alice Sebold's best-selling novel concerning a murdered young girl who watches from heaven as her family attempts to cope with their devastating loss, and tracks her killer as he stealthily covers his tracks and prepares to claim his next victim. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, (more)
- 2009
- R
A compulsive gambler attempts to cure his addiction by moving from Las Vegas to Albuquerque and working at an auto insurance company, only to find old temptations cropping up once again when he's sent out to investigate a dubious car accident just outside of Sin City. After a string of bad luck at the tables, John (Steve Buscemi) decides to give up gambling and take a shot at a "normal" life. Arriving in Albuquerque and landing a job at an auto insurance company, John goes to work for Mr. Townsend (Peter Dinklage), who pairs him with the company's top fraud debunker, Virgil (Romany Malco), and sends them out on an investigation together. While John is eager to get a promotion, he's reluctant to go anywhere near Las Vegas, and before he leaves he strikes up a tenuous romance with his eccentric co-worker Jill (Sarah Silverman). On the road, Virgil and John encounter a series of offbeat characters including a nude militant (Tim Blake Nelson), a wheelchair-bound stripper (Emmanuelle Chriqui), and a carnival human torch (John Cho). But while Virgil is the one with the experience, John gradually begins to assert himself and soon his efforts begin to pay off as the case moves closer to conclusion. As John's confidence grows, he becomes increasingly aware of the fact that running away from his gambling problem is not the solution, and that he'll only be able to move forward by returning to Las Vegas to face his demons head on. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Buscemi, Romany Malco, (more)
A married couple deal with a crushing loss in a way that's both funny and deeply sad in this comedy-drama from director, screenwriter and star Stanley Tucci. Don (Tucci) and his wife Janna (Patricia Clarkson) meet every night in the same shabby nightclub where Don performs a humorously shambolic magic act. Don and Janna's relationship has been on the verge of collapse since the death of their daughter, and they're trying to reconnect with each other through role playing, so each evening they pretend they're meeting for the first time on a blind date after discovering one another through personal ads. Sometimes they assume characters that are openly confrontational, while other times they try to bring a sweetness and intimacy back into their lives, but more often than not their struggle to reclaim the love they knew ends in confusion and frustration. Blind Date was adapted by Tucci and screenwriter David Schechter from Theo Van Gogh's 1996 film of the same name; it was the second in a series of remakes of Van Gogh's films (following Steve Buscemi's Interview) created in response to Van Gogh's assassination by political extremists in 2004. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, (more)
Inspired by the personal memoirs of Hollywood producer Art Linson, Barry Levinson's fictional showbiz comedy stars Robert De Niro as a struggling movie producer who has just suffered through his second divorce, and slowly finds his soul being ground up in the machinations of the Hollywood machine. Ben (De Niro) is an aging producer whose career was already on a downward turn when his personal life went straight into the toilet. Not only is Ben juggling two ex-wives and a daughter who seems to have grown up overnight, but his colleagues seem to take pleasure in watching him suffer while he attempts to complete his latest film on an impossible schedule.
"Fiercely" was supposed to be the visionary movie that revived Ben's career, but drug-addicted director Jeremy (Michael Wincott) has clashed with uncompromising studio chief Lou (Catherine Keener) following a disastrous test screening, and now it appears as if not even Sean Penn's presence in the film will be enough to make it a box-office hit. Meanwhile, Ben's ex-wife Kelly (Robin Wright Penn) can't seem to decide if she loves him or hates him, and his teenage daughter, Zoe (Kristen Stewart), has gone from playing with Barbie dolls to flirting with boys in the blink of a heavily mascaraed eye. As if that wasn't enough for one man to take in, screenwriter Scott (Stanley Tucci) is trying to broker a deal with Ben while simultaneously making a play for his former wife, and nebbish agent Dick (John Turturro) is so terrified of his own clients that he can't even ask Bruce Willis to shave his scraggly new beard for an upcoming role. It's all just another day in the world of runaway egos, treachery, betrayal, and deceit that is Hollywood, and if Ben can just make it to Cannes with a finished film under his arm and his sanity in tact, everything might just work out after all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
"Fiercely" was supposed to be the visionary movie that revived Ben's career, but drug-addicted director Jeremy (Michael Wincott) has clashed with uncompromising studio chief Lou (Catherine Keener) following a disastrous test screening, and now it appears as if not even Sean Penn's presence in the film will be enough to make it a box-office hit. Meanwhile, Ben's ex-wife Kelly (Robin Wright Penn) can't seem to decide if she loves him or hates him, and his teenage daughter, Zoe (Kristen Stewart), has gone from playing with Barbie dolls to flirting with boys in the blink of a heavily mascaraed eye. As if that wasn't enough for one man to take in, screenwriter Scott (Stanley Tucci) is trying to broker a deal with Ben while simultaneously making a play for his former wife, and nebbish agent Dick (John Turturro) is so terrified of his own clients that he can't even ask Bruce Willis to shave his scraggly new beard for an upcoming role. It's all just another day in the world of runaway egos, treachery, betrayal, and deceit that is Hollywood, and if Ben can just make it to Cannes with a finished film under his arm and his sanity in tact, everything might just work out after all. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, Catherine Keener, (more)
- 2008
- G
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Producer Julia Roberts brings the American Girl brand to the big screen for the very first time with this inspirational tale concerning a nine-year-old girl named Kit Kittredge (Academy Award nominee Abigail Breslin) growing up during the Great Depression. Though the American Girls have previously appeared on the small screen in Samantha: An American Girl Holiday, Felicity: An American Girl Adventure, and Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front, Kit's adventure marks the very first major theatrical endeavor for the characters created by author Valerie Tripp. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Abigail Breslin, Julia Ormond, (more)
Jeff Daniels, Stanley Tucci, Cheryl Hines, and Andy Samberg lend their voices to this computer-animated comedy following the descendants of the first chimps in space as they blast off for fun and adventure on a far-away planet. Ham III (Samberg) is the grandson of Ham, the first-ever chimp astronaut. This ne'er-do-well chimp may not be the most qualified ape for the job, but a scheming senator (Tucci) has recruited him for a most dangerous mission. It seems that a powerful tyrant (Daniels) has overtaken an alien world, and now it's up to Ham III and his trusty simian crew (Hines and Patrick Warburton) to help overthrow the deep-space despot. Perhaps with some training from Ham III's mentor (Kenan Thompson) and the help of a friendly alien (Kristin Chenoweth) this fearless group of anthropoids can make the universe a safer place for aliens and humans alike. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, (more)
When the mischievous antics of a precocious 12-year-old girl result in the outcome of the United States presidential election hinging on the vote of her apathetic, likable loser of a father, the man who thought that life had long since passed him by is reluctantly thrust into the national spotlight in this political-themed comedy starring Kevin Costner. Bud Johnson (Costner) is your typical American -- a simple man and loving father who never would have thought he had the power to change the world. Though when election day finally arrives and Bud prepares to cast his ballot, his overachieving daughter Molly proves to be the catalyst for a stunning series of events that place the fate of the free world in the hands of a man more comfortable slinging cases of beer -- her father. The two candidates are portrayed by Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer, with Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci as their campaign managers. George Lopez also stars as a local TV-station manager who has to deal with the political factions as they set up camp in the small town. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Costner, Madeline Carroll, (more)
A diminutive mouse strives to make a mammoth change in his troubled kingdom in this adaptation of author Kate DiCamillo's Newbery Medal-winning children's book. A long time ago, in the distant kingdom of Dor, a horrible accident broke the heart of the king, left a beautiful princess crestfallen, and filled the townspeople with despair. As the sun disappeared from the sky and the flowers were drained of color, the laughter slowly ceased in this once-magical land. It was into this darkened world that a tiny mouse named Despereaux Tilling was born, and while this virtuous little rodent may have been short in stature, his bravery was ultimately too big for such a small world to contain. An unlikely hero with oversized ears and a discernible wheeze, Despereaux was taken with tales of chivalry, and longed to one day become a noble figure among his people. Sometimes in order to realize their true destiny, heroes must first experience great hardship, however, and when Despereaux fails to adhere to the rigid rules of his society, he is banished from Dor.
Later, while exploring the outer realms, the lonely Despereaux is joined by a kindhearted rat named Roscuro. Roscuro, too, has been excommunicated from his homeland, and still cannot stand to look into a mirror lest he be reminded of his painful past. Later, as Despereaux embarks on a treacherous quest to rescue the endangered Princess Pea, Roscuro is set down the path of self-destruction after receiving a painful rejection from his highness. Now, on their way to realizing their extraordinary destinies, these two unlikely heroes will face off against the malevolent leader of the sewer rats, who is plotting revenge on humans from his subterranean kingdom; befriend a common serving girl who longs to become princess; and meet a whole host of colorful characters that they will never forget. Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, and Tracey Ullman lead a powerhouse cast in this animated feature produced by Gary Ross and Allison Thomas. Also lending voices to the project are Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, William H. Macy, and Christopher Lloyd. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Later, while exploring the outer realms, the lonely Despereaux is joined by a kindhearted rat named Roscuro. Roscuro, too, has been excommunicated from his homeland, and still cannot stand to look into a mirror lest he be reminded of his painful past. Later, as Despereaux embarks on a treacherous quest to rescue the endangered Princess Pea, Roscuro is set down the path of self-destruction after receiving a painful rejection from his highness. Now, on their way to realizing their extraordinary destinies, these two unlikely heroes will face off against the malevolent leader of the sewer rats, who is plotting revenge on humans from his subterranean kingdom; befriend a common serving girl who longs to become princess; and meet a whole host of colorful characters that they will never forget. Matthew Broderick, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Watson, and Tracey Ullman lead a powerhouse cast in this animated feature produced by Gary Ross and Allison Thomas. Also lending voices to the project are Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, William H. Macy, and Christopher Lloyd. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Broderick, Robbie Coltrane, (more)
Director Lasse Hallström offers a brisk account of the scam that shook the literary community with this semi-comic biographical drama starring Richard Gere as the man who sold a fraudulent biography of Howard Hughes to publishing giant McGraw Hill. The year was 1971; the Vietnam War was raging and protestors filled the streets. Clifford Irving (Gere) was a struggling author with bold ambitions, and the determination needed to see them through. When Irving's attempt to sell his latest novel to McGraw Hill via his in-house publisher, Andrea Tate (Hope Davis), falls through at the last minute, the frustrated author loudly proclaims that his next novel will be "the book of the century." Upon returning to his wife Edith's (Marcia Gay Harden) makeshift studio, the humiliated author catches a glimpse of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes on a magazine cover. Later, almost jokingly, Irving and his best friend Dick Suskind (Alfred Molina) begin to fantasize about a scenario in which the author convinces his publishers that he has been personally selected by Hughes to pen the billionaire's memoirs. The revenge fantasy becomes a complicated reality, however, when Irving and Suskind approach skeptical McGraw Hill heavy Shelton Fisher (Stanley Tucci) with a series of forged letters presumably written by Hughes himself and offering unwavering support for the project. His credibility continually questioned as the ante is upped at every turn, Irving is forced to maintain the increasingly difficult charade as he strong-arms McGraw Hill to pay "Hughes" an unheard-of one million dollars for the rights to his life story, acquires a the illegally procured documents that will provide the foundation for the book, and works around the clock to meet his publisher's deadline. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, (more)
- 2006
Season Five of Monk begins as San Francisco's most efficient--and most obsessive-compulsive--private detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub) finds himself the central character of an upcoming movie. Much to Monk's relief, he won't be forced to play himself: Instead, the role of Monk has gone to Hollywood superstar David Ruskin (Stanley Tucci). Unfortunately, Ruskin is one of those method actors who insists upon meticulous pre-film research, and soon he is relentlessly dogging Monk's trail during a murder investigation. At first, Monk doesn't seem to mind, and actually enjoys showing off for Ruskin's benefit--but things take a sinister turn when Ruskin so loses himself in the role of "Adrian Monk" that he tries to exact his own personal vengeance against a suspect in the long-ago murder of Monk's wife Trudy! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2006
The title of this CBS medical drama referred to the average weight of the human brain. Clearly inspired by the success of Fox's House, 3 lbs, like the Fox series, was built around the exploits of a brilliant but arrogant and witheringly sarcastic medico, in this case waspish neurosurgeon Doug Hanson (Stanley Tucci), who headed his own foundation. Wasting no time suffering fools (or at least, people whom he regarded as fools) and periodically plagued by mysterious visions which suggested that he suffered from more than his share of personal demons, Dr. Hanson was both mentor and tormentor of his idealistic new partner Jonathan Seger (Mark Feuerstein), better known to the Hanson Foundation staff as "The Sorceror's Apprentice." Also in the cast were Indira Varma as Hanson's gorgeous associate surgeon Dr. Adrienne Holland and Griffin Dunne as Hanson's equally prickly rival Dr. Cole. The cases at hand were generally "illustrated" with animated sequences, in which the protagonist's description of the brain as "wires in a box" was literalized. Debuting November 14, 2006, 3 lbs was made available to certain markets in both English- and Spanish-language versions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Tucci, Mark Feuerstein, (more)
Lauren Weisberger's best-selling novel about a young woman who stumbles into the hectic worlds of high fashion and publishing comes to the big screen in this comedy. Andrea "Andy" Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is a bright young woman from the Midwest who has just graduated from college and wants to work as a magazine writer. Andy has applied for a job at "Runway," America's most prestigious fashion journal; though Andy has little to no interest in the garment trade, they are one of the only magazines in New York with a job opening -- second assistant to editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). As Andy quickly learns, Miranda is a diva with plenty of power within the magazine business and she isn't afraid to use it, and though Andy lands the job (primarily by being in the right place at the right time), she soon learns that working for Miranda could test the patience of a saint thanks to her endless demands and refusal to acknowledge the end of a work day. Andy struggles to hold on to the job and her sanity, knowing that a recommendation from Miranda can open nearly any door at any magazine, but can she handle the pressure without losing her mind along the way? The Devil Wears Prada also stars Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt, and Adrian Grenier. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, (more)
The efforts of an American ex-patriot living on a remote Mediterranean to establish himself as a serious musician are constantly thwarted by every inhabitant of his small village in director Francesca Joseph's ensemble comedy drama. Larry (Stanley Tucci) thought that by moving to the village that was once home to a celebrated European composer he would find inspiration, but instead he just spends his nights playing for peanuts in the local pubs. Eventually Larry becomes convinced that if he stages a gala tribute to the late composer the locals will finally take note of his talent. But organizing such a lavish event and convincing the late composer's widow (Marisa Paredes) to allow her esteemed late-husband's works to be played publicly by a famed pianist (Virgile Bramley) isn't going to be easy, especially when it begins to seem like everyone wants their say in the event. Now, with everyone from Larry's neurotic partner Miranda (Jessica Stevenson) to the late musician's lovely muse Helena (Emmanuelle Seigner), opportunistic Englishman Sebastian (Hugh Bonneville) and his capricious brother Dickie (Rhys Ifans), and even Larry's long lost daughter Frankie (Jena Malone) crawling out of the woodwork, the put upon pianist will have to balance out the chaos that swirls around him if he holds out any hope of delivering his true masterwork. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stanley Tucci, Rhys Ifans, (more)
An innocent man visiting a friend in New York City becomes embroiled in a dangerous series of events after being mistaken for the very man he has come to the city to see in director Paul McGuigan's labyrinthine murder mystery. Upon arriving at the empty apartment of his old friend Nick, the unassuming Slevin (Josh Hartnett) is troubled to hear the voice of his missing friend's next door neighbor Lindsay (Lucy Liu) expressing concern as to Nick's safety and whereabouts. When Slevin ventures into Lindsay's apartment only to be greeted by the uninviting fist of a thuggish mob henchman, he quickly realizes that Nick is indeed in grave danger. Soon summoned by the big boss and accused of being the deeply indebted Nick, Slevin's attempts to prove his identity are foiled by the fact that his wallet had been stolen upon arrival in the city. With time running out and a complex plot to assassinate one of the city's most powerful crime bosses slowly coming into focus, the arrival of a notorious hit-man named Mr. Goodkat (Bruce Willis) forces Slevin to step up his desperate search and reclaim his identity before he's forced to pay a debt that could cost him his life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, (more)
For this follow-up to their mega-hit Ice Age, directors Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge team with the screenwriting duo behind Parenthood and City Slickers, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. Robots stars Ewan McGregor as the voice of Rodney Copperbottom, an idealistic robot who wants to convince his electronic brethren to come together and work toward making the world a better place. As the story unfolds, Rodney faces opposition from an evil corporation headed by Big Weld (Mel Brooks) and finds some unlikely allies in the form of a ragtag group of misfit robots called the Rusties and voiced by the likes of Drew Carey and Amanda Bynes. Stanley Tucci and Dianne Wiest provide the voices of Rodney's parents, and Halle Berry portrays his love interest, Cappy. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, (more)
Directed by Peter Chelsom, this film is the English-language remake of Masayuki Suo's 1995 romantic comedy of the same name; the Japanese version earned a record-breaking 9.5 million dollars in United States box offices. Shall We Dance? revolves around John Clark (Richard Gere), a workaholic Chicago lawyer who, despite a respectable paycheck and loving family, is unable to shake the feeling that something in his life is missing. On a whim, John disrupts his normal evening commute to attend a dance class in hopes of meeting Paulina (Jennifer Lopez), a beautiful dance teacher he would occasionally spot gazing out of the studio windows. Though Paulina quickly lays to rest any preconceived romantic notions John may have had about her, she nonetheless forms a bond with him that goes beyond those normally held by a teacher and student. Invigorated with his new hobby, John focuses his newfound enthusiasm into training for an upcoming dance competition; however, he chooses not to let his wife (Susan Sarandon) in on his plans. Unaware that dance may be, in fact, saving her marriage, John's wife becomes suspicious of all the time he spends away from home and hires a private investigator to find out whether or not her husband is having an affair. Ultimately, John is forced to examine how his old dreams fit in to his new life. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, (more)
- 2004
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The often-troubled life of one of the greatest comic actors in the history of the British cinema provides the basis for this biopic. Peter Sellers (Geoffrey Rush) was raised by a domineering mother (Miriam Margolyes) and meek father (Peter Vaughan), and at an early age discovered he liked to hide behind the emotional curtain of playing a character. In time, Sellers put this skill to use as an actor, and discovered he had a great gift for comedy. In the late '50s, Sellers rose to fame on the wildly popular radio series The Goon Show alongside Spike Milligan (Edward Tudor Pole) and Harry Secombe (Steve Pemberton), but as his success on radio gave way to stardom on the big screen, Sellers' ego began to get the better of him. While working on a film with Sophia Loren (Sonia Aquino), Sellers fell in love with the great Italian beauty, and eventually left his wife Anne (Emily Watson) to pursue her; when it became clear that Loren wanted nothing to do with him, Sellers fell into an affair with her stand-in instead. Professionally, Sellers career hits a new high when he agrees to take a role in a picture being directed by American filmmaker Blake Edwards (John Lithgow) called The Pink Panther, and personally he finds a new love with the beautiful Britt Ekland (Charlize Theron). But Sellers' mood swings eventually put paid to their marriage, and while he finds commercial success as a funnyman onscreen, he achieves little in the way of happiness or respect. Produced for the American premium cable service HBO, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers was screened in competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Geoffrey Rush, Charlize Theron, (more)
Shot almost entirely on a two-and-a-half-story recreation of a full-size operating airport terminal, this romantic comedy from director Steven Spielberg revolves around an Eastern European man by the name of Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), whose plans of immigrating to New York were hastened by a violent coup in his home country. Unfortunately, Viktor finds himself on the wrong end of a nasty technicality while en route to America: His passport was issued from a country, which, during its upheaval, ceased to exist in an official capacity. Unauthorized to leave Kennedy Airport upon his arrival and unable to return home, Viktor finds himself exiled inside the terminal's international transit lounge. Though airport official Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) views Viktor as an annoying bureaucratic glitch, other airport employees -- including a beautiful flight attendant by the name of Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) -- come to see him as a welcome, if unofficial, addition to their numbers. As the days stretch on into months, the terminal transforms from an intimidating atmosphere of forced assimilation into a country within itself, complete with culture, ambition, status, complex diversity, and the need for love. The supporting cast includes Diego Luna, Chi McBride, Kumar Pallana, Zoe Saldana, Eddie Jones, and Jude Ciccolella. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, (more)
James Redford, the son of actor and filmmaker Robert Redford, made his directorial debut with this independent coming-of-age drama set in the 1950s. After his parents are killed in the wreck of a light plane, young Eddie Haley (Max Madore) is left in the care of his uncle Frank (Stanley Tucci), an emotionally removed man who was once a major in the air force. When Frank decides to take an extended leave of his ranch in Arizona, Eddie is left behind with caretaker Ernesto (Rubén Blades) and his wife, Margaret (Dana Delany), a schoolteacher. Ernesto and Margaret are caring and capable surrogate parents to Eddie, but the boy has grown into a troubled and hot-headed teenager (now played by Ryan Merriman) by the time Frank comes back. As both Ernesto and Frank try to put Eddie back on the right track, the young man struggles with his decisions about his future, his love for his classmate Francesca (Paula Garcés), and some unanswered questions about the death of his parents. Spin was adapted from a novel by Donald Everett Axinn. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Merriman, Stanley Tucci, (more)
Writer/director Michael Burke makes his feature-length debut with the coming-of-age drama The Mudge Boy. Known as a weird kid, Duncan Mudge (Emile Hirsch) is a naïve 14-year-old farm boy with an aging father, Edgar (Richard Jenkins), and very little social life. When Duncan's mother suddenly dies, he develops a strange fascination with her clothes, speaks in her voice, and spends his time with his pet chicken. His father and the other people in the town just don't understand his behavior, while the other kids make fun of him. A drunken group of older boys call him names, but they eventually allow him to hang out with them if he provides beer money. Duncan admires one of the boys, Perry (Tom Guiry), who reveals some hidden truths about himself. As the relationship between the two deepens, it begins to take on darker, more ominous shadings. The Mudge Boy premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emile Hirsch, Tom Guiry, (more)
An unlikely band of scientists and soldiers join forces to save the world from certain destruction in this action-drama. As the world is struck with a variety of inexplicable phenomena -- attacks by enormous swarms of birds in London, the explosion of the Colosseum in Rome, a potentially deadly malfunction which forces the Space Shuttle into a Los Angeles riverbed, and the simultaneous deaths of 32 people with pacemakers in Boston -- a team of top scientific minds from around the globe is assembled to determine what has thrown the world into such a frenzy. Dr. John Keyes (Aaron Eckhart) makes the startling discovery that the Earth's electromagnetic forces have begun to collapse, thanks to a sudden lack of movement of the molten ore at the center of the Earth. If the planet is to be saved, the core of the Earth needs a jump start, and Keyes assembles a team to burrow to the center of the planet and bomb the insides back into action. Joining Keyes on this dangerous, last-chance mission are the brilliant but arrogant Conrad Zimsky (Stanley Tucci), French arms expert Dr. Serge Levesque (Tchéky Karyo, maverick researcher "Brazz" Brazzleton (Delroy Lindo), geeky computer genius Rat (DJ Qualls), and two no-nonsense military types, Commander Richard Iverson (Bruce Greenwood) and Major Rebecca Childs (Hilary Swank). However, as the crew digs deeper into the Earth, the more they discover what they haven't been told about their mission and what's really been causing the worldwide chaos. The Core was originally scheduled for release in the fall of 2002, but the movie didn't reach theaters until the spring of 2003 as special-effects experts perfected the film's more spectacular scenes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, (more)
Barry Sonnenfeld directs this kissing cousin of his own 1995 hit Get Shorty, a comic caper adapted by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone from the novel by newspaper humorist Dave Barry. When two New Jersey hitmen (Dennis Farina and Jack Kehler) show up in Miami to whack crooked businessman Arthur Herk (Stanley Tucci), they happen to creep into his backyard at the same time as Matt (Ben Foster), a high school kid with his own assassination plans. Only, Matt plans to use nothing heavier than a squirt gun on Jenny (Zooey Deschanel), Arthur's daughter, as part of a school-wide game of "killer." When the plans collide, mayhem ensues, and Matt's struggling ex-columnist dad (Tim Allen, loosely modeled on Barry), Arthur's bored wife (Rene Russo), and two confused police officers (Janeane Garofalo and Patrick Warburton) are also called to the scene. Shift to the next day and there's more craziness to follow. Two dimwitted petty criminals (Tom Sizemore and Johnny Knoxville) choose the exact moment Arthur is transacting a nuclear arms deal to hold up the dive bar where they're regulars, which is actually a front for the Russian mob. Soon the whole motley cast -- including an agreeable drifter (Jason Lee), a buxom maid (Sofia Vergara), and a pair of ruthless FBI agents (Heavy D and Omar Epps) -- are caught up in a hostage scenario in which the weapon accidentally gets brought aboard a hijacked plan. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Allen, Rene Russo, (more)
The acclaimed graphic novel from crime writer Max Allan Collins becomes this big budget Dreamworks drama from director Sam Mendes and screenwriter David Self. Tom Hanks stars as Michael Sullivan, a morally conflicted Depression-era hit man committing murder in the name of his employer, John Rooney (Paul Newman). A kindly, aging Irish crime boss who raised Sullivan as his surrogate son, Rooney is affiliated with Al Capone in Chicago and thus wields great power in the "Tri-Cities" of Moline, IL; Rock Island, IL; and Davenport, IA. Curious about his father's mysterious profession, Sullivan's son, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), stows away in his father's automobile one night and witnesses the execution of a man at the hands of Sullivan and Rooney's biological son, Connor (Daniel Craig). Although Michael keeps his promise to remain silent about what he's seen, the paranoid and unstable Connor tries to wipe out the entire Sullivan clan anyway, succeeding only in killing Sullivan's wife, Annie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and youngest son, Peter (Liam Aiken). Enraged at this and another surprise betrayal by the Rooneys, Sullivan embarks on a path of bloody retribution, Michael in tow. Although he intends to leave his boy with relatives in the rural town of Perdition once the coast is clear, he ends up exposing Michael to the goriest aspects of his talents, slaughtering former associates as he dodges contract assassin Maguire (Jude Law) and cripples the cash flow of the Rooney and Capone organizations through a series of bank robberies, attempting to force either mob family to offer up the sequestered Connor as a sacrifice. Inspired by the popular Japanese comic book series Lone Wolf and Cub and based loosely on an episode from the life and career of notorious real-life crime figures John and Connor Looney, Road to Perdition co-stars Stanley Tucci as legendary Chicago mobster Frank Nitti. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, (more)
