Phil Joanou Movies
After a high-profile start, film school grad and Steven Spielberg protégé Phil Joanou's Hollywood movie career faltered and he opted for the independent film route to recharge himself in the late '90s.Inspired by Jaws (1975), the teenage Joanou started noodling with his father's Super-8 camera, creating increasingly elaborate movies with his friends. At the University of Southern California's distinguished film school, Joanou's The Last Chance Dance won the Best Student Film prize in 1984; when his idol Spielberg saw the film, he hired the struggling grad to direct episodes of the TV series Amazing Stories in 1986. Under Spielberg's aegis, Joanou then directed his first feature, the flashy high school comedy Three O'Clock High (1987).
Impressed with Joanou's skill, top 1980s rock band U2 chose the young director to helm the documentary U2: Rattle and Hum (1988). Shot during the group's Joshua Tree U.S. tour in grainy black and white and full color, Rattle and Hum paid homage to the American roots of rock as well as recording the band's dynamic stage performances, earning Joanou and U2 critical kudos. Joanou's next feature, the violent New York Irish gangster story State of Grace (1990), once again showcased the director's knack for stylish visuals and was elevated by Sean Penn, Ed Harris, and Gary Oldman's intense performances. In 1992, Final Analysis's slick neo-noir thriller sheen and sexy lead trio of Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, and Uma Thurman, however, were overwhelmed by the story's ludicrousness. After both features failed at the box office, Joanou turned back to television, first creating the documentary Age 7 in America (1991), based on Michael Apted's acclaimed British series (28 Up (1985), 35 Up (1991)), and directing installments of cable TV's neo-noir anthology Fallen Angels, Vol. 2 (1993) and Oliver Stone's science fiction drama Wild Palms (1993). Joanou returned to features with an adaptation of the detective novel Heaven's Prisoners in 1996, but it was another box office disappointment. Opting out of the Hollywood studio system, Joanou wrote, directed, and independently produced his next feature, Entropy (1999). A film about a director's struggles with love and the movie industry, Entropy garnered positive notices on the film festival circuit. After Entropy, Joanou increasingly focused his energy on creating attention-getting TV ad campaigns for Diet Coke and Nike. By this time Joanou was slowly nudging his way back into the Hollywood studio system, with the true life-inspired 2006 sports drama Gridiron Gang providing just the right mix of grit and inspiration needed to give his career a strong second wind. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
An ex-convict seeks revenge for his brother's death in this action-packed revenge thriller starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Ten years ago, Driver (Johnson) was part of a bank heist gone horribly awry. In the chaos of the botched robbery, his brother wound up dead. Now Driver is a free man, and he's determined to punish the men who killed his late sibling. But settling the score won't be easy, because despite being just a few days shy of retirement, a veteran cop (Billy Bob Thornton) isn't about to let a massacre take place on his watch, and a hotshot hitman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) has Driver locked in his sights. Unfortunately for Driver, the closer he gets to his targets, the more he puts himself at risk. Later, just as Driver starts to think he's gotten everyone on his list, he discovers that one name seems to be missing. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, (more)
The true story of the football team that proved sometimes second chances can make a difference comes to the screen in director Phil Joanou's tale of self-respect and social responsibility on the gridiron. Sean Porter (The Rock) is a detention camp probation officer who oversees the inmates at Camp Kilpatrick in Los Angeles and isn't willing to simply write off the violent offenders who have been placed in his care. Though their prospects for the future are decidedly bleak, Porter is convinced that if he can just get through to his adolescent inmates they may finally be able to turn their lives around and make amends for the mistakes of their past. When Porter's proposal of forming a high-school-level football team at Camp Kilpatrick meets with skepticism and resistance in the highest ranks, the determined coach puts his career on the line to prove that even convicted criminals can acquire the tools needed to build a brighter future when given the proper motivation and the means of doing so. Inspired by filmmaker Jac Flanders' 1993 documentary of the same name, Gridiron Gang features a screenplay penned by In the Line of Fire scribe Jeff Maguire, and features a supporting cast that includes Leon Rippy, Kevin Dunn, and Detroit-born rapper-turned-actor Xzibit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- The Rock, Jade Yorker, (more)
- 1999
- R
A filmmaker tries to sort out the scattered emotional baggage of his love life in Entropy. Jake Walsh (Stephen Dorff) is a film director who attends a fashion show with some friends and meets a French model named Stella (Judith Godreche). The attraction between the two is immediate, and after a brief courtship they're living together. However, between his career in film and her career as a model, they don't spend as much time together as they'd like, and they begin to drift apart; when Stella one day announces she's pregnant, Jake displays no particular enthusiasm for the idea of raising a child, and Stella ends up having an abortion. Eventually, the two break up and Jake finds himself married to a woman he barely knows, not quite sure what happened. As he muddles through his romantic problems, Jake also has to deal with the often puzzling hierarchy and the bizarre office politics of Hollywood. A rare independent effort from Phil Joanou, who previously directed State of Grace, Final Analysis and a wealth of popular music videos, Entropy was the opening night attraction at the 1999 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Stephen Dorff, Judith Godrèche, (more)
An ex-cop trying to stay away from trouble finds it literally crashing into his backyard in this crime thriller. Dave Robicheaux (Alec Baldwin) is a former New Orleans police detective who, after kicking an addiction to alcohol and confronting some serious problems with his partners, has left law enforcement behind to run a bait shop in a small Louisiana bayou town. One day, Dave and his wife Annie (Kelly Lynch) see a small plane plummet from the sky and crash into the swamp; the pilot dies, but Dave is able to rescue a young Hispanic girl from the wreckage. Dave and Annie take the child in, but as they try to find out more about the plane crash and who the little girl might be, they discover that she's actually an illegal alien from Salvador and that the pilot was involved with a local drug ring. Dave, constitutionally unable to let a mystery go unsolved, begins asking enough questions and making enough trouble that he finds himself on the bad side of his old High School friend Bubba Rocque (Eric Roberts). Bubba is a local crime boss who controls the area's drug traffic, keeps a boxing ring in his front yard, and has a wife Claudette (Teri Hatcher) who enjoys greeting her guests naked. Dave's inquiries eventually become too much for Bubba and his henchmen, and in the midst of a violent raid on their home, Annie is killed. Dave becomes obsessed with bringing Bubba and his men to justice and gets some unexpected help from Robin Gaddis (Mary Stuart Masterson), an exotic dancer with a heart of gold. While it was originally scheduled for release in 1994, Heaven's Prisoners didn't arrive on theater screens until two years later, by which time Teri Hatcher had risen to stardom on the TV series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alec Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, (more)
- 1993
The second volume in this film noir style TV-anthology series, this collection of short stories revolves around the dark world of detectives and police officers. Called to look into a murder, an investigator (Gary Oldman) discovers that the victim of the crime is none other than his estranged wife (Gabrielle Anwar) in "Dead End for Delia." When an attractive woman captures the attention of a detective, he ends up entangled in mob business in "I'll Be Waiting." In "The Quiet Room," the underhanded plans of two unscrupulous officers go amok ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
Just after the turn of the 21st century in L.A., Harry (Belushi) works for a television station that uses a revolutionary technology, virtual reality projected for at-home viewers with 3-D holographic programs. A sinister group known as the Fathers, headed by Senator Kreutzer (Loggia), has a scheme to use it for mind-control. ~ Rovi
In Final Analysis, Richard Gere stars as Isaac Barr, a San Francisco psychiatrist whose alluring patient Diana Baylor (Uma Thurman) is being treated for traumatic memories. In order to find out more about her trauma, Diana suggests that Isaac speak to her sister and question her about what went on between them in the past. But when Isaac sets eyes on Diana's sister Heather (Kim Basinger), they become involved in a torrid and steamy sex affair. Unfortunately, Heather is married to psychotic sadist Jimmy Evans (Eric Roberts). ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, (more)
This directorial effort from Phil Joanou stars Sean Penn as an Irish-American undercover cop working the Hell's Kitchen beat. Penn is ostensibly on a sentimental journey to his old neighborhood. Actually he's been assigned to infiltrate a criminal gang led by Ed Harris, the brother of Sean's best friend Gary Oldman. Penn suffers the requisite honor vs. duty anguish when he renews his childhood romance with Harris' sister Robin Wright. State of Grace would have had more clout had it been more clear as to time and place: it's supposedly set in the 1990s, but the attitudes and behavior are pure 1970s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
This excellent documentary follows the Irish group U2 on their concert tour of the United States in support of their seventh album Joshua Tree. The politically involved rock quartet sets their sights on American musical influences, previously ignored. They quickly immerse themselves in the musical culture with a recording session at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis. Four tracks were recorded that ended up on their next record appropriately called Rattle And Hum. Blues Legend B.B.King adds his vocals and guitar work to Love Comes To Town, and Angel Of Harlem is a passionate tribute to the late Billie Holiday. In addition to their original material, the band covers gems from The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Jimi Hendrix. Director Phil Joanou combines black-and-white with color photography to capture the band on and off the stage. Only the band's visit to Elvis Presley's Graceland seems out of context with the rest of the feature. Although the band's reverence for Elvis and his music is evident, they are merely tourists standing on the other side of a velvet rope. Spinal Tap had a more poignant visit to the king's palace, but Rattle And Hum is still one of the best musical documentaries of all time. Both the musical and political passion of U2 is evident in every frame. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- U2
The first feature film from director Phil Joanou (State of Grace), Three O' Clock High chronicles a high school nerd's much hyped after-school bout with the infamous class bully. When the impish Jerry Mitchell (Casey Siemaszko) is assigned to interview the new transfer student with a supposedly violent past, Buddy Revell (Richard Tyson), he makes the fatal mistake of touching his subject. Revell, who hates being touched, responds by challenging the unwilling Mitchell to a fight at three o'clock in the parking lot. Spanning the course of the school day, the film follows the disaster-bound Mitchell as he soils his good-boy image through various misguided attempts at averting the fight. Also making noteworthy appearances in the film are Jeffrey Tambor and Philip Baker Hall. ~ Rachel Deahl, Rovi
- Starring:
- Casey Siemaszko, Anne Ryan, (more)
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