John Goldwyn
- 2009
F. Gary Gray directs Eric Bana in this remake of France's 2004 heist film Le Convoyeur with this Millennium Films production. The pic surrounds a man who is let in on a heist plan by his co-workers at an armored car company, who are unaware of his intentions on the matter. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2009
Father of the Bride co-stars Steve Martin and Diane Keaton re-team in this comedy from a pitch by Martin for Paramount Pictures. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, (more)
Former Saturday Night Live "Weekend Update" co-anchors Tina Fey and Amy Poehler co-star in this baby-fever comedy about a single, career-oriented woman who previously put parenthood on hold, and is forced to hire a surrogate mother when she discovers there is only a one-in-a-million chance that she will be able to get pregnant. Kate Holbrook (Fey) is a 37-year-old business executive who has always put her professional life before her personal life, but these days her biological clock is ticking louder than ever before. As with everything else she has accomplished in life, Kate is determined to have a child on her own terms. Unfortunately for Kate, the chance of her ever becoming pregnant is slim to none. Undaunted, a willful Kate drafts South Philly working-class girl Angie Ostrowiski (Poehler) -- a woman who may just be her polar opposite -- to be a surrogate mother. Subsequently informed by the head of the surrogacy center (Sigourney Weaver) that her surrogate is indeed pregnant, the excited mother-to-be soon purchases every child-rearing book she can find and excitedly begins the nesting process. But life hasn't quit throwing Kate curveballs just yet, because when a pregnant Angie shows up on her doorstep with no place to live, the woman who once thrived on order finds her life descending into chaos. Now, as Kate attempts to transform Angie into the ideal expectant mother, this odd couple will discover that families aren't always biological, but occasionally formed through friendship as well. Writer Michael McCullers, who authored the screenplays for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Undercover Brother in addition to working on Saturday Night Live, makes his feature directorial debut with a self-penned screenplay. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, (more)
The comedy trio known as Lonely Island attempt their first feature-length comedy with Hot Rod. Andy Samberg stars as Rod Kimble, an inept would-be stuntman who believes his dad worked for daredevil Evel Knievel. His stepfather abuses him at every opportunity, but Rod keeps attempting tricks on his moped. After the stepfather becomes very ill, Rod gets the brilliant idea to attempt a stunt more dangerous that Knievel ever considered in order to raise the money to cure him. His master plan being that, after the stepfather improves, Rod will finally get his revenge and beat him in a fight. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Samberg, Isla Fisher, (more)
Director Todd Haynes' unconventional biopic of the legendary singer/songwriter Bob Dylan features different actors playing the part of the Minnesota native at various stages of his remarkable career. Among the actors playing the singer are Cate Blanchett, who portrays the man during his Don't Look Back era incarnation; Heath Ledger, as an actor playing one of the fictional Dylans in a movie within the movie; Christian Bale, as the Dylan beginning to chafe at being associated so strongly with political causes; Richard Gere, portraying the post-motorcycle accident period; and Marcus Carl Franklin as the young Dylan who passed himself off as the second coming of Woody Guthrie. Each section of the film not only has a different lead actor, but offers different looks that reflect various aspects of popular culture at the time. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, (more)
- 2006
Onetime Six Feet Under regular Michael C. Hall stars in this characteristically kinky, cutting-edge crime series from Showtime, based on a character created by novelist Jeff Lindsay. Hall was cast as Dexter Morgan, a likeable, self-effacing Miami police forensic expert specializing in blood-splatter analysis -- who secretly moonlighted as a serial killer. Early on, Dexter's homicidal tendencies were detected by his adoptive police officer father, Harry (James Remar), who encouraged his son to channel his violent impulses in a positive manner, and also pounded a strict moral code into the boy. As an adult, Dexter vowed to "take out the trash" and continue "honing his craft" by murdering other serial killers, and similar miscreants who would have otherwise slipped through the fingers of justice. Remarkably, Dexter managed to emerge a sympathetic figure via inner monologues wherein he explained his motives and modus operandi, all but encouraging the viewer to cheer him on in his bloody crusade against crime. Such was Dexter's harmless-looking veneer that no one suspected him of being a killer: not his adoptive sister, Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), a Miami cop; nor his emotionally scarred girlfriend, Rita (Julie Benz), who'd only recently escaped an abusive relationship with her ex-husband; nor his police superior Lt. LaGuerta (Lauren Velez). Only his colleague Sgt. Doakes (Erik King) had an inkling that there was something...er...strange about the personable Dexter -- an inkling that earned Doakes Dexter's respect. Dexter began its weekly Showtime run on October 1, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
