Peter Russell Movies

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days co-stars Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey re-team on the big screen for this adventurous tale about a treasure-hunting couple whose eight-year quest for the ultimate prize has left them flat broke and fresh out of gas. Ben "Finn" Finnegan (McConaughey) is a treasure hunter who has made it his mission in life to track down the Queen's Dowry -- a legendary collection of 40 chests filled with priceless treasure, and lost at sea in 1715. But in his single-minded quest to track down this sizable booty, Finn has sadly neglected his marriage to his loving wife Tess (Hudson). Tess has grown tired of the hunt, and now she's looking to start her life anew by going to work on the massive yacht of globetrotting billionaire Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland). But just as Tess begins to relish the freedom on her new, laid-back lifestyle, Finn uses his roughish charm to convince the adventurous baron and his debutante daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena) that the elusive Spanish treasure is finally within reach. Of course no magnate in his right mind would reject the prospect of tracking down the most mythical treasure on the planet, and now as the hapless Tess is forced on yet another wild goose chase, her husband's former mentor Moe Fitch (Ray Winstone) and a greedy local gangster (Kevin Hart) up the stakes by joining in on the race. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A charmingly naïve boy from the English village of Wall travels to a magical, mythical world in search of the falling star that will help him win the heart of his true love in this fantasy adventure starring Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ricky Gervais, and Sienna Miller. For hundreds of years the massive cobblestone barrier that surrounds the sleepy English hamlet of Wall has kept the citizens of the village safe and secure from the malevolent supernatural forces that stir just outside its perimeter. When dashing Tristan Thorne (Cox) promises the fairest girl in the village, Victoria (Miller), that he will prove his love by bestowing her with a genuine falling star, his daring mission sends him on an adventure far outside the comfortable confines of Wall. In order to find the fallen star, Tristan will have to ascend the wall and venture deep into the forbidden heart of the fantastical realm known as Stormhold. Upon discovering that the meteorite he sought was in fact a beautiful girl named Yvaine (Danes), who has stumbled though space and is now being pursued by the King of Stormhold's (Peter O'Toole) sons (who long to use her cosmic powers to lay claim to the throne), Tristan vows to protect the otherworldly visitor at all costs. But the king's sons aren't the only ones in search of the luminous Yvaine; fearsome witch Lamia (Pfeiffer) has become convinced that the young girl's power can help her to achieve eternal youth and beauty. As Tristan makes his way through Stormhold on a mission to bring the star back to Wall, he will encounter a series of spectacular characters and creatures that will lead him to a fate he never imagined. Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughn serves as director and co-screenwriter for this tale of witches and pirates adapted from the novel by fantasy icon Neil Gaiman, who also produces. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

When the notoriously evil Chucky doll and his lover gave birth, they had no idea that their spawn would grow up to be a peace-loving kind of guy; however, that's exactly what Glen turns out to be: a gentle soul who is horrified at what he has been told about his family. After hearing the news of a film being made about his parents' murderous legacy, Glen sets off for Hollywood, where he promptly brings Chucky and Tiffany back to life. Far from diving into doting fatherhood, Chucky is seriously disappointed in his son's lack of inherent evil and tries his best to impart his vast knowledge of all things malevolent before Glen becomes some sort of do-gooder. Elsewhere, Tiffany finds that she will be played by Jennifer Tilly in their movie and doesn't hesitate to let her son in on their family's most cherished tradition -- killing sprees. Directed by Don Mancini, Seed of Chucky features Brad Dourif returning as the voice of Chucky, while Tilly plays both herself and Tiffany. The offspring of the evil pair, Glen, is voiced by Lord of the Rings star Billy Boyd. Cult film director John Waters also makes an appearance, as does hip-hop artist Redman. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

The second prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy takes place ten years after the events depicted in Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace. Now 20, young Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is an apprentice to respected Jedi knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). Unusually powerful in the Force, Anakin is also impatient, arrogant, and headstrong -- causing his mentor a great deal of concern. The pair are ordered to protect Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), the former queen of the planet Naboo, now representing her world in the Galactic Senate. Someone is trying to assassinate her on the eve of a vote enabling Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) to build a military force that will safeguard against a growing separatist movement led by mysterious former Jedi Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). After another attempt on Padme's life, Obi-Wan and Anakin separate. The young Jedi and Padme fall in love as he escorts her first to the security of Naboo and then to his home world of Tatooine, where the fate of his mother leads him to commit an ominous atrocity. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan travels to the secretive planet Kamino and the asteroid-ringed world of Geonosis, following bounty hunter Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) and his son, Boba (Daniel Logan), who are involved in an operation to create a massive army of clones. A vicious battle ensues between the clones and Jedi on one side and Dooku's droids on the other, but who is really pulling the strings in this galactic conflict? In late 2002, the movie was released in IMAX theaters as Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones: The IMAX Experience, with a pared-down running time of 120 minutes in order to meet the technical requirements of the large-screen format. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Loosely adapted from the classic 1932 horror film starring Boris Karloff, The Mummy is set in Egypt, where over 3,000 years ago the high priest Imhotep (played by Arnold Vosloo) was given the all-important assignment of preparing the recently dead for their journey into the afterlife. However, Imhotep made one terrible mistake - he became smitten with Anck-Su-Namun, the mistress of the Pharaoh himself. Driven mad by jealousy and love, Imhotep murdered the Pharaoh, and his punishment was to be buried alive and suffer the torment of an eternal life in his wretched tomb. In 1925, a band of adventurers seeking fame and fortune - led by Rick O'Connel (Brendan Fraser), an American expatriate who has joined the foreign legion, and Evelyn Carnarvon (Rachel Weisz), an amateur archeologist - find a previously unknown burial site in Egypt. The team starts to dig, hoping to find lost riches, but instead they disturb the tomb of Imhotep, and soon the cursed priest rises from his grave to wreck vengeance on humanity. The Mummy was written and directed by Stephen Sommers, whose previous cinematic journeys into the past include The Jungle Book and The Adventures Of Huck Finn. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Once upon a time, pursuing wolves frighten horses drawing a carriage, and it tumbles down a hill. Dying, the pregnant woman inside orders her grieving husband Frederick (Sam Neill) to cut the baby from her womb, so that at least it might live. Years later, the infant is now headstrong young Lilli (Taryn Davis), who is resentful of her father's upcoming marriage to Claudia (Sigourney Weaver). Claudia is devoted to the memory of her own mother and installs a magic mirror that belonged to her in a wardrobe in her private room. More time passes; Lilli is now an adult, but her relationship with the now-pregnant Claudia has never improved, though Claudia has never done her any ill. Claudia loses her baby, and on the same night, gazes into her mother's mirror, which shows her an image of herself young and beautiful. She determines to rid herself of Lilli. Lilli is walking near the forest when Claudia's mute brother Gustav (Miroslav Taborski) draws a knife and chases the frightened young woman into the forest. She evades him, so he kills a pig and takes the heart to a delighted Claudia, who believes it to be Lilli's heart. She has Gustav put the heart in a stew cooking in the kitchen, and that night as she dines with Frederick, Lilli eats the stew with great pleasure. Later, Frederick and some men search for Lilli in the rainy forest.

Lilli takes refuge from wolves in a ruined castle, where she's confronted by seven vagabonds who've banned together to seek a lost gold mind. Will (Gil Bellows), scarred during the Crusades, is around Lilli's own age and resents her presence, but the older Lars (Brian Glover) is friendlier to her. The mirror tells Claudia that Lilli is still alive, so in the forest where Claudia keeps a shrine to her dead baby, she casts a spell designed to kill her stepdaughter. Lilli, helping the men in their mine, is almost smothered in a cave-in; she's rescued, but one of the men dies. The mirror again tells Claudia that Lilli still lives. Whirling in a black gown, Claudia conjures a wind that strikes the forest; giant trees topple all around Lilli and the men, killing Lars, but Lilli still lives. So the mirror now transforms Claudia into a bald old hag, and she goes into the forest herself. She offers an apple to Lilli, who takes one bite and falls into a trance that no one can tell from death. She's placed in a stained-glass coffin and lowered into the ground, but the agonized Will, who's fallen in love with her, lifts her from the coffin and a piece of apple falls from her mouth. She returns to life, and they all head for the castle. She arrives in time to interrupt Claudia in the act of slashing Frederick's throat, then confronts Lilli in a room full of mirrors. (There's a hint that Claudia had a part in the death of Lilli's mother.) Lilli stabs not Claudia but her mirror image. It bursts apart, shredding and burning Claudia to death.

This bold movie out-grims the Brothers Grimm, telling their oft-told tale as a horror movie/adventure -- and it works. In fact, the weakness of the movie is precisely that the story is so familiar, but the changes wrought by the writers and director keep it fresh for most of its length. It's handsomely designed, using real locations and costumes that are never too grand for the setting. Weaver is clearly having a great time as the not-so-wicked stepmother who eventually becomes a vengeful witch. Especially for a fairy tale, the characters are complex and not necessarily always likable; even Lilli (who is never called "Snow White") has a hard edge, and her "Prince Charming" is a bitter, scarred commoner. It's a shame this attractive, imaginative film didn't have any theatrical release in the United States; originality, especially in a field as well-ploughed as fairy tales, should be encouraged. ~ Bill Warren, Rovi

The 1993 remake of The Secret Garden is a rendition of the classic Frances Hodgon Burnett novel about a young girl (Kate Maberly) who discovers an abandoned garden on her uncle's large Victorian country estate, as well as an invalid cousin she didn't realize she had. With the help of a local boy, the girl sets out to restore the garden and, once it is blooming again, she discovers it has magical powers. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Brandon Lee (son of famed martial-arts film star, Bruce Lee) stars as a young art student who happens to witness a drug murder and is placed in protective custody by federal agents. It's not too long before he realizes that the only real protection he can count on is his own martial-arts training. ~ Rovi

A woman seeks justice for herself, her family, and her people in this emotional drama. Judith (Sophia Loren) is a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp; she was once married to Gustav Schiller (Hans Verner), a German, but with the onset of WWII, he threw his support behind the ruling Nazi party, and when his marriage to Judith went sour, he turned her in as a Jew, along with their son. While Judith made it out of the camp alive, she has no idea what happened to her son. In 1947, Palestine, still under British rule, is being torn apart by fighting between Jewish and Arab forces, and Gustav, now wanted as a war criminal, has re-appeared there, leading a squadron of Arab terrorists. Aaron Stein (Peter Finch), is the head of an underground Jewish battalion called Haganah, and he needs help in ferreting out Gustav and learning what he's planning. He enlists the aid of Judith, who is just as eager as Stein to see Gustav put out of commission, as she seeks revenge for what he did to her and their child. Judith also features Jack Hawkins as Major Lawton. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

It's Bob Hope as phony explorer Matt Merriwether, who promotes himself as an expert on the dark continent, basing his exploration of the African subcontinent on old diaries of his uncle. When an American space capsule crashes in an uncharted region of Africa, Merriwether, based on his alleged expert knowledge of the region, is selected to recover the capsule. Joining Merriwether and his pre-Kervorkian suicide kit, is security agent Frederica Larsen (Edie Adams). Hot on their heels are Russian agents Luba (Anita Ekberg) and Dr. Ezra Mungo (Lionel Jeffries), who want to get to the space capsule first. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Horror tale inspired by the classic Edgar Allan Poe story, in which a writer fantasizes murdering his friend over a beautiful woman, and then hearing the dead man's heart continuing to beat. (Alternate title: The Hidden Room Of 1,000 Horrors) ~ Nicole Gagne, Rovi