Mark Burg Movies

Airheads is a variation on Dog Day Afternoon, as well as a comic look at the trials and tribulations of both the music business and Generation X. A hapless rock trio consisting of Chazz (Brendan Fraser), Rex (Steve Buscemi), and Pip (Adam Sandler) hits a brick wall with their attempts to get their demo tape played by record label executives. Chazz, on the edge since being thrown out by his girlfriend (Amy Locane), decides it's time to take more serious action, and he leads his bandmates on a mission to invade the local "alternative" rock station, KPPX, and hold it hostage to get the band's tape played on the air. The station staffers don't realize that they're being held with a water gun, and when they finally agree to play the tape, it gets eaten up by a faulty machine. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

The weekly, half-hour UPN comedy series Love, Inc. revolved around a dating service run by a woman named Clea (Holly Robinson Peete), who had hoped to use her own happy nine-year marriage as publicity for the organization -- but had to resort to "plan B" when that marriage ended in divorce. In each episode, Clea dispatched her "wing-men" and "wing-women" to play Cupid for a variety of unattached males and females, many of whom were so eccentric that the task of finding an appropriate mate seemed all but impossible. In the original pilot episode, Clea's chief "wing-woman," Denise Johnson, whose success at bringing couples together was matched only by her spectacular failure in finding love on her own, had been played by Shannen Doherty. According to the source one believed, Doherty either tested badly with a sample audience or was given the thumbs-down by a group of potential sponsors: whatever the case, by the time the series debuted on September 22, 2005, Doherty had been replaced by Busy Philipps. The rest of the cast included Ion Overman as Viviana, the service's Argentinean receptionist, who needed to land an American husband to stay in the country; Reagan Gomez-Preston as Francine, the resident style expert; and Vince Vieluf as Barry, the service's technical wizard. Love, Inc. was created by Andrew Secunda, formerly a writer on Late Night With Conan O'Brien. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Saw series continues with this seventh entry, spearheaded by returning Saw VI director and production designer on parts 2, 3, and 4, David Hackl. Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton also are back to pen the script, which details the ongoing exploits of long-dead serial killer Jigsaw and the people who continue his gruesome morality lessons. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

The inner workings of the New York hip-hop scene, and the fascination of white observers with rap music and hip-hop culture, set the stage for this drama written and directed by James Toback. Rich Bower (Power) is a mover and shaker in the world of rap music (he's involved with a number of other licit and illicit business ventures as well), and his apartment is a favored meeting place for musicians, hangers-on, and hipsters who want to seem cool, including a clique of white kids who want to be on the inside of whey they consider the coolest scene of the day. Sam (Brooke Shields), a filmmaker, is making a documentary about Rich and his circle, with the help of her husband Terry (Robert Downey Jr.), a closeted homosexual who doesn't feel at home in this milieu. Dean (Allan Houston) is a talented college basketball player and Rich's friend since childhood who is offered a deal by a bookmaker, Mark (Ben Stiller) to throw a few games for a price. Dean takes the money against his better judgment, and he soon realizes how much of a mistake he made when Mark turns out to be a cop hoping to dig up dirt on Rich. Rich in turn discovers that Dean might be forced to tell what he knows to stay out of jail, and he decides that Dean has to be killed; however, rather than murder his friend himself, Rich asks one of the white kids who hangs out with him, who seems especially eager to prove himself, to do it for him. The kid, however, is actually the son of the District Attorney. Also contributing to Black and White's supporting cast are controversial boxing legend Mike Tyson, musician Bijou Phillips, Wu Tang Clan rapper Raekwon, model Claudia Schiffer, and Donald Trump's former spouse Marla Maples. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A blend of comedy, drama and romance, Bull Durham follows the intertwining of three lives brought together by the great American pastime. Crash Davis (Kevin Costner, showcasing his Midwestern charm) is a perennial Minor Leaguer assigned to the Durham Bulls, a hapless team with a long tradition of mediocrity. There he tutors a young, dim-witted pitching prodigy, Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) in the ways of baseball, life, and love. Each strikes up a romance with Annie (Susan Sarandon), the team's "mascot" who takes it upon herself to sleep with a new player every season. Each has his/her own conflict: Crash struggles to end his career with some measure of dignity; Nuke struggles to make it to the "big show"; and Annie struggles to find something more than a roll in the hay -- and of course, Crash and Nuke come into conflict over Annie's affections to further complicate matters. The film treats the sport of baseball with a sort of casual reverence, highlighting both the drama and the humor inherent in the game, illustrated by Annie's numerous references to baseball as "her religion." ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

Joseph Brustman's erotic drama Diary of a Sex Addict tells the tale of Sammy Horn (Michael Des Barres), a man whose sexual addiction forces him into situations where he risks the comfortable suburban life he has created for himself and his family. Rosanna Arquette, Nastassja Kinski, Ed Begley Jr., Alexandra Paul, and former gossip columnist A.J. Benza co-star in this sexually charged thriller. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A man who's devoted his life to running around on his woman finally meets his match in this comedy. Dray Jackson (Bill Bellamy) is a ladies' man par excellence, who never lets the fact that he has a girlfriend, Lisa (Lark Voorhies), get in the way of making time with as many other women as possible. As he spends a typical day going from house to house "visiting" a number of beautiful females, Dray fills his friends David (Pierre Edwards), Kilo (Jermaine Hopkins), and Spootie (A.J. Johnson) in on the finer points of the art of having as many ladies as you want without getting caught. Dray's sister Jenny (Natalie Desselle) and her friend Katrina (Mari Morrow) are at once disgusted and morbidly fascinated with Dray's cheerful, chronic infidelity, and since Jenny is studying anthropology, they decide that Dray's lifestyle would be a worthy subject for research. Deciding to see what would happen if Dray was really put to the test (and maybe teach him a lesson in the process), Jenny and Katrina throw a party, and they invite Dray -- and all the women whose telephone numbers appear in his address book. Max Julien, best known for his role as the ultra-smooth pimp in the blaxploitation classic The Mack, appears as Dray's lady-killing Uncle Fred. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Saw series mainstay Darren Lynn Bousman reunites with Twisted Pictures producers Oren Koules and Mark Burg for this futuristic shocker detailing a terrifying epidemic of organ failures. The denizens of planet Earth have been devastated by inexplicable and widespread organ failures, and as a result scientists begin planning a substantial organ harvest. Though an innovative biotech conglomerate subsequently offers the fearful public a means of maintaining their health by enacting a series of hassle-free organ payment plans, things begin to get messy when it's revealed that the financed body parts are subjected to legal default, and that failure to maintain proper payment will result in forceful repossession of the organs. Paul Sorvino and Spy Kids' Alexa Vega star alongside celebrity socialite Paris Hilton in the Lionsgate film. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The directorial debut from filmmaker James Wan, this psychological thriller comes from the first screenplay by actor Leigh Whannell, who also stars. Whannell plays Adam, one of two men chained up in a mysterious chamber. The other, Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes), like Adam, has no idea how either of them got there. Neither of them are led to feel optimistic by the man lying between them dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Together, Adam and Dr. Gordon attempt to piece together what has happened to them and who the sadistic madman behind their imprisonment is. Also starring Danny Glover and Monica Potter, Saw premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is back, and this time he's concocted his deadliest set of traps yet in this gore-soaked sequel written by James Wan and Leigh Whannell, and directed by Saw II's Darren Lynn Bousman. Picking up directly where its predecessor left off, Saw III finds Jigsaw near death and fighting to stay alive for one final game. Determined to show his protégé, Amanda (Shawnee Smith), what it truly means to carry out his deadly game, the ailing Jigsaw instructs his apprentice to kidnap unsuspecting doctor Lynn Denlon (Bahar Soomekh) in order to ensure that he survives long enough to see how his latest victim Jeff (Angus MacFadyen) fares when faced with the prospect of imminent death. As Lynn and Jeff both struggle to beat the clock and carry out their tasks before Jigsaw draws his final breath, a much larger plan begins to emerge that shows just how cunning the legendary killer can truly be. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) might be dead, but his traps live on in this fifth Saw entry, which finds the series' production designer David Hackl at the helm for his debut directing gig. Costas Mandylor reprises his role as Hoffman, the detective whose involvement in the string of grisly murders turns out to be more than meets the eye. Picking up where the fourth entry left off, Hoffman is revealed to be a hidden accomplice in Jigsaw's grisly games of death, which look to be continued by the lawman. The plot bounces back and forth from the beginning of their relationship to the present, as Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) delves farther into the case. Also in the cast are Dexter's Julie Benz and One Missed Call's Meagan Good as victims of another one of Jigsaw's lessons in morality. Saw IV scribes Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan return to pen the screenplay for the Twisted Pictures/Lionsgate co-production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Robert Altman directed this John Grisham tale that begins at a party where Savannah attorney Rick Magruder (Kenneth Branagh) celebrates his successful defense of a man who shot a local cop. The partygoers include his ex-wife Leeanne (Famke Janssen), the mother of his two children; his law partner Lois Harlan (Daryl Hannah); and caterer Mallory Doss (Embeth Davidtz). After Mallory finds her car stolen, Rick gives her a ride home where things turn sexual. Attracted to Mallory, he learns that her crazed father Dixon Doss (Robert Duvall) has been threatening her. Getting too closely involved with this woman he hardly knows, Rick has the police round up her unstable father, and he next subpoenas her ex-husband Pete (Tom Berenger) to testify against Dixon, who is institutionalized.

The crazed Dixon manages to escape from the asylum, intent on revenge against all his betrayers and enemies. As a potent hurricane blows into Savannah, Mallory's car is torched, and Rick receives threats. Believing his children are in danger, Rick removes them from school, prompting a warrant for his arrest. When his children disappear, Rich goes on the counterattack against Dixon. Chinese cinematographer Changwei Gu (of Chen Kaige's Farewell My Concubine and Zhang Yimou's Ju Dou) captured the soaked Savannah sites. The script is not an adaptation from a John Grisham novel; Grisham wrote it as an original screenplay just before the success of The Firm (1993), and it was acquired by producer Jeremy Tannenbaum. After Island Pictures came into the project at $1.4 million, Grisham returned for rewrites. Altman did even more drafts, so the pseudonym Al Hayes was created as the scripting credit. When Polygram suggested to Altman that the electronic score could be replaced with a traditional score, Altman had friends call reporters to say he had been dismissed. Polygram began re-editing the $25 million movie, but their edit didn't test much better than Altman's version, so they handed the reins back to Altman. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide