Wesley Strick Movies

Referring to the fear of spiders, Arachnophobia features a particularly deadly species of spider that manages to make its way from the Venezuelan rain forest to a small California town, thanks to the many oversights of entomologist Julian Sands. Yuppie doctor Jeff Daniels, fed up with the dangers inherent in big-city living, has resettled in this town on the assumption that nothing untoward could ever happen here to himself and his family. Before long, however, Daniels is trying to make sense of a series of sudden deaths-and to figure out why each of the corpses has been drained of blood. The audience, of course, knows that the culprits are those pesky South American spiders, which grow larger with each kill. To make matters worse, Jeff Daniels suffers from a profound case of arachnophobia. John Goodman supports the cast as a slovenly exterminator, and Frank Marshall, longtime producer of Steven Spielberg's films, makes his directorial debut in Arachnophobia. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this first sequel to 1989's Batman, the Caped Crusader (Michael Keaton) is up against the Penguin (Danny DeVito), the hideously deformed scion of a wealthy Gotham City family. The Penguin plots with evil businessman Max Schreck (Christopher Walken) to become mayor and then turn Gotham into a cathedral of crime. Upon overhearing these plans, Schreck's mousy secretary Selena Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer) is tossed from a high-rise window by her boss. Rescued by a covey of kittens, Selena transforms into the leather-clad Catwoman. In this guise, she teams with the Penguin and Schreck to divvy up their ill-gotten gains and help discredit Batman-but she also has her own scores to settle. Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens, Vincent Schiavelli and Jan Hooks play significant bits, while Pat Hingle and Michael Gough make returns as, respectively, Commissioner Gordon and Alfred the Butler. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Kim Basinger plays a burglar ex-con who's just been released from a 10-year stint and intends to go straight, when a big-time Atlanta crime boss kidnaps her six-year-old son and forces her to pull one last heist. She concocts an elaborate bank job but goes one step further and outwits both the bank and the mobster. ~ Rovi

Produced by the same team that bankrolled the hit The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, this violent domestic thriller is often compared to that mega-hit. Screenwriter Wesley Strick made his directorial debut with this script by Michael Auerbach. Vincent Spano and Moira Kelly are Russell and Dana Clifton, a successful but childless yuppie couple who adopt a mesmerizing young girl named Janie (Julia Devin). Janie has suicidal tendencies, however -- she walks out into crowded streets, keeps a butcher knife under her bed, and sometimes cuts herself. She also has psychotic white-trash parents, John and Leann Netherwood (Keith Carradine and Daryl Hannah). The Netherwoods are crooks forced to give up their daughter, but once released from jail, they are intent on getting her back. They kill an adoption agency worker and a police officer as part of their vendetta, terrorizing the suburban town as they target the Cliftons in their all-out war for the return of Janie. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

This remake of Force Majeure (aka Uncontrollable Circumstances), a 1989 film with Alan Bates and Kristin Scott Thomas, recalls the prison plight depicted in Midnight Express (1978). Rambling around Asia, getting high and just having a good time, are three young men -- Sheriff (Vince Vaughn), Lewis (Joaquin Phoenix), and Tony (David Conrad). Sheriff and Tony say goodbye to Lewis, a conscientious Greenpeace activist and nature-lover who stays on to rescue endangered Borneo orangutans. Two years later, Tony is an architect about to marry, and Sheriff has a job driving a limo around New York City. When Beth (Anne Heche) steps into Sheriff's limo, she tells him that she's a lawyer working to save Lewis. He learns that Lewis was arrested by Malaysian authorities, tried as a drug dealer, convicted, and sentenced to death. Sheriff's actions of trashing a borrowed bicycle and casually disposing of 100 grams of hash make him responsible for Lewis's predicament, but does he feel guilty enough to get involved? The execution is only eight days away, but it will not happen if Tony and/or Sheriff return to also serve time -- three years each if both come back, but six years if only one returns. Investigating this story is reporter M.J. Major (Jada Pinkett Smith), who views the situation as an important international news story. Tony readily agrees to go back and save Lewis -- but only if Sheriff also returns with him. Sheriff initially declines, prompting the desperate Beth to find ways to convince him to go. Complicating matters, Sheriff and Beth begin to find they are attracted to each other. Eventually, all fly to Malaysia during the final 24 hours before the execution. Director Joseph Ruben filmed in Hong Kong, Macao, and Thailand, with Malaysian prison interiors shot in Philadelphia. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

This teen psychological thriller marks the feature film debut of respected television producer and director Daniel Sackheim. Leelee Sobieski stars as Ruby Baker, a high school student who is devastated when her parents Grace and Dave (Rita Wilson and Michael O'Keefe) are killed in a tragic car accident. With her younger brother Rhett (Trevor Morgan), Ruby is sent to live with the legal guardians chosen by her parents, their best friends Terry (Stellan Skarsgård) and Erin Glass (Diane Lane). The Glasses live in an opulent Malibu mansion where Ruby and Rhett are promised all of the finest luxuries money can buy and a lavish new rich-kid lifestyle. Before long, however, Ruby begins to suspect that her new caretakers are not what they appear on the surface and that the couple's financial woes may force them to harm her or Rhett in order to cash in on their sizable life insurance policies. The Glass House was written by Wesley Strick, screenwriter of Cape Fear (1991), Wolf (1994), and The Saint (1997). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

A teenage outcast finds an effective but dangerous way to impress his hipper classmates in this independent drama. Jonah Brand (John Patrick Amedori) is a new student at an exclusive private school, and unlike most of his classmates, Jonah is neither wealthy nor especially self-assured. Jonah's social clumsiness is especially troubling to him given his infatuation with Sara (Lizzy Caplan), a pretty girl who travels in an elite social circle. Sara takes a shine to Jonah despite his geeky attitude, but her pals -- sometime boyfriend Troy (Jonathon Trent), spoiled Erin (Jenny Wade) and emotionally abusive Lucas (D.J. Cotrona) -- make it clear they have no use for him. That changes when Lucas learns Jonah has a part time job at a pharmacy, and realizes he could get them a variety of under-the-counter medications if they play their cards right. Lucas, Erin and Troy have little trouble persuading Johan to get them all the pills they want, but as their experimentation with drugs grows, they begin to take greater risks; they also discover that Jonah's willingness to get them drugs isn't as benevolent as it may have seemed. Also starring Daryl Hannah, Love is the Drug was the first feature film from director Elliott Lester. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi