John Thompson Movies
- 2010
Sylvester Stallone gears up for a men-on-a-mission film with the Nu Image/Millennium Films war picture The Expendables. Jason Statham and Jet Li co-star alongside the brawny filmmaker as a group of mercenaries who undertake a near-impossible operation to overthrow a dictator in South America. Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts, Terry Crews, and UFC star Randy Couture co-star in the action-packed production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, (more)
Six months after one of the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, crime and corruption sink to new levels of depravity as a pair of New Orleans cops work to clean up the streets. New Orleans has been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, opening the floodgates for a sea of criminals seeking to assert their control over the city's seedy underworld. But when the stakes are this high, there's sure to be corruption within the ranks of the local police force, too. When a veteran detective with a violent history (Val Kilmer) is assigned a new partner with a dark secret (Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson), the perceptive police psychiatrist (Sharon Stone) suspects that the officers may have become morally compromised by the chaos that threatens to consume the city that's already synonymous with vice and decadence. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Michael Biehn, (more)
- 2009
Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, and Ethan Hawke star in this cop drama from director Antoine Fuqua and Millennium Films. The story surrounds three Brooklyn cops from varying sides of the force who unknowingly converge together at a hot crime spot. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, (more)
Abel Ferrara's cult crime drama Bad Lieutenant is given a sister film with this Werner Herzog-helmed production that takes its inspiration from the original, but focuses on new characters and plotlines. Nicolas Cage steps into Harvey Keitel's mold of a corrupt and drug-addled police officer, with the scummy setting moving from New York City to New Orleans. Eva Mendes, Val Kilmer, and Xzibit co-star in the Nu Image/Millennium Films picture. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, (more)
When a group of missionary aid workers in Myanmar disappear into the vast green inferno, vigilante Vietnam War veteran John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) leaves his job as a Salween River boatman behind to accompany a group of mercenaries on a daring rescue mission. It's been 20 years since Rambo helped mujahedeen rebels fend off Soviet invaders in Afghanistan, and these days the former soldier lives a simple life in northern Thailand. Meanwhile, the world's longest-running civil war rages into its 60th year on the nearby Thai-Burma border. One day, human rights missionaries Sarah Miller (Julie Benz) and Michael Burnett (Paul Schulze) show up asking Rambo to guide them up the Salween so they can get some much-needed food and medical supplies to the desperate Karen tribe. According to Sarah and Michael, the Burmese military has planted land mines all along the roads leading into the tribe's village, making it virtually impossible to reach the tribe via land. Two weeks after Rambo drops the group off in dangerous territory, pastor Arthur Marsh (Ken Howard) arrives with a chilling message: the aid workers never returned from their mission into the jungle, and the embassies refuse to help Marsh and his fellow missionaries find their missing friends. Now, despite the fact that Rambo has long since sworn off all forms of violence, the knowledge that innocent missionaries are being used as pawns in a brutal war leaves him with no other choice than to venture behind enemy lines on his most dangerous mission to date. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvester Stallone, Julie Benz, (more)
When an uptight federal agent's sexually liberated mother enters into an affair with a man suspected of being involved in an international art-theft ring, it's up to the fresh-faced agent to keep an observant eye on the couple in question in writer/director George Gallo's lighthearted romantic comedy. Colin Hanks, Selma Blair, Antonio Banderas, and Meg Ryan star in a Millennium Films production. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Antonio Banderas, Meg Ryan, (more)
Jon Avnet directs Al Pacino in the thriller 88 Minutes. Pacino plays university professor Jack Gramm, who occasionally assists the FBI in matters of forensic psychiatry. His recent testimony against a freshly convicted criminal seems to be the reason he has gotten a scary phone call informing him he will die in 88 minutes. As with the like-minded thriller D.O.A. (both the original and the remake), the protagonist must use his skills in order to track down who has hatched this evil plot and hopefully prevent his own demise. Alicia Witt and Leelee Sobieski co-star as the professor's star students. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, (more)
- 2008
- R
A woman will go to any lengths to protect her wayward son in this thriller from South African filmmaker Darrell James Roodt. Stephanie (Melissa Leo) is a middle-aged woman living in Tennessee, where she waits tables to help her family make ends meet. Her son Steven (Renier Basson) has fallen in with a gang of ruthless drug dealers, and while she's still willing to do anything for her son, he often takes advantage of her unconditional love for him. Stephanie hasn't heard from Steven for several months when she gets a call from T-Boy (Joey Dedio), a dope dealer and pimp living in Johannesburg; T-Boy is holding Steven hostage, and won't set him free unless someone pays him off. Scraping together the last of her life's savings, Stephanie flies to South Africa to come to Steven's rescue. Stephanie discovers the go-between in the payoff is Steven's girlfriend Tina (Lisa Marie Schneider), who is also a prostitute in T-Boy's stable. As Tina makes Stephanie jump though hoops before leading her to T-Boy and her son's captors, Stephanie refuses to give up or give in until she sees that Steven is safe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Leo, Joey Dedio, (more)
Michael Douglas stars as a treasure-hunting eccentric in this Alexander Payne-produced comedy from director Michael Cahill. Recently released from a mental institution and reunited with his teenage daughter, Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood), Charlie (Douglas) decides there's century's old gold buried near their lower-middle-class neighborhood, and sets out on an obsessive quest to find it. Along the way, the estranged parent and child rekindle a long-lost bond with each other. Featuring a score by David Robbins, King of California screened at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Evan Rachel Wood, (more)
The 8th Plague director Franklin Guerrero, Jr. draws on a terrifying tale of true life horror to craft this blood-soaked yarn concerning a group of vacationing twenty-somethings stalked by a backwoods filmmaker who lives to capture death on celluloid. There was a time when the remote mountain town of Halcyon Ridge was a camper's paradise, but these days the scenic campsite sits nestled in the wilderness under an eerie blanket of sunny silence. It seems that the Carver family has been hard at work slaughtering unsuspecting vacationers and immortalizing their final moments on camera. One day, a small group of campers show up in Halcyon Ridge show up looking for a place to pitch a tent. Little do the clueless nature lovers realize that they're all about to become bona fide screen stars. Unfortunately for them, their screen debuts will also serve as their gore-drenched swan songs. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristyn Green, Neil Kubath, (more)
An ambitious young woman (Jessica Simpson) attempting to navigate her way through the cutthroat corporate world becomes the unwitting pawn of two unscrupulous executives seeking to topple and replace the powerful head of an international conglomerate. Penelope Ann Miller, Luke Wilson, Andy Dick, Rachel Leigh Cook, and Jamie Kennedy co-star in director Scott Marshall's loose remake of the Mike Nichols' 1988 comedy Working Girl. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Simpson, Penelope Ann Miller, (more)
After 300 years of conflict between the rival kingdoms of Delphi and Lockland, Lockland's king, Phillip (Adrian Pintea), entrusts the fate of his land to a sorcerer named Armand (Larry Drake). Using the king's blood, Armand bring an enormous statue of a terrifying gryphon to life. Almost immediately, the treacherous magician and his en changed pet turn on the king and attempt to take over both Lockland and Delphi. Soon, Princess Amelia of Lockland (Amber Benson) and Prince Seth of Delphi (Jonathan LaPaglia) must forge an unlikely alliance to find the only weapon powerful enough destroy the gryphon. Unfortunately for them, the fabled Drakonian Pike has been broken into two pieces -- and both are lost to antiquity. After premiering in the Sci-Fi Channel cable network on January 27, 2007, Gryphon was released on DVD as Attack of the Gryphon. Like many original Sci-Fi productions, the film was shot on location in Bulgaria. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jonathan LaPaglia, Larry Drake, (more)
A Roman warrior on a quest to uncover the truth about Jesus of Nazareth becomes enamored with an Israeli beauty after rescuing the woman from a violent mugger in this Biblical-themed period drama starring Dolph Lundgren, F. Murray Abraham, Max Von Sydow, and Mónica Cruz. A solar eclipse has cast darkness over the Roman Empire, and as the frightened population cowers in fear the earth beneath their feet begins to violently tremble. Having recently heard rumors about a mysterious Jewish savior who apparently transcended death, Emperor Tiberius sends fierce warrior Tauro to Jerusalem to solve a mystery that threatens to dissolve their empire. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, Tauro rescues a young beauty named Tabitha and her frail grandmother from a menacing street criminal. But Tabitha is forbidden to look at Romans - much less speak to them - and now after entering into a forbidden romance with Tauro the end of an era fast approaches. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dolph Lundgren, Daniele Liotti, (more)
Attempting to recover from a recent family trauma by escaping into the woods for a peaceful hiking trip, an ex-lawman and his young son stumble across a dangerous contract killer in director Bruce Beresford's forest-bound thriller. Ray Keene (John Cusack) has lost his wife, and now the grieving father is looking to reconnect with his young son (Jamie Anderson) with a much-needed hike into the wilderness. But Ray and his son aren't alone in nature, because high profile assassin Frank Cardin (Morgan Freeman) has ventured into nature with the malevolent intentions of fulfilling a contract to kill an extremely powerful businessman. When Frank's hit goes awry and he ends up in the custody of U.S. Marshalls, the situation quickly spins out of control as a small army of loyal mercenaries draw their guns in a violent attempt to free their notorious compatriot. Later stumbling upon the chaotic situation, Ray does his best to protect his son while ensuring that Frank doesn't escape justice. Though Frank's men aren't willing to let their boss go to prison without a fight, Ray vows to do the right thing as help suddenly comes from the most unlikely of places. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Morgan Freeman, John Cusack, (more)
Todd Robinson's Lonely Hearts features John Travolta and James Gandolfini as Elmer C. Robinson and Charles Hildebrandt, a pair of homicide detectives who are on the trail of lovers on a crime spree. The evil duo of Ray Fernandez (Jared Leto) and Martha Beck (Salma Hayek) take advantage of elderly widows, stealing as much money as they can after gaining the victim's confidence, and then murdering their mark. Robinson becomes drawn into the case too deeply in order to help him confront his feelings, as his wife has recently killed herself. The story is based on the real life "Lonely Hearts" killers of the late '40s, the infamous couple whom the director's grandfather played a large part in bringing to justice. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, James Gandolfini, (more)
A young child has gone missing and it's up to a haunted but determined policeman to travel to the remote island community where she was last seen and solve the lingering mystery of her disappearance in director Neil LaBute's updated reworking of Anthony Shaffer's 1973 cult horror classic. Upon receiving a letter from his one-time fiancée, Willow (Kate Beahan), imploring him to search for her missing daughter on the secluded island of Summersisle, Policeman Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) quickly makes his way to the island to locate the girl and seek an answer as to why Willow suddenly and inexplicably disappeared shortly before their wedding date. Once there, Malus is troubled to discover that although there are traces of the child to be found in such locations as the local schoolhouse, the residents of Summersisle seem reluctant to offer any specific details as to the girl's apparent death. His investigation effectively stalled by the highly secretive Wiccan community, Sheriff Malus soon discovers that there are still some cultures that have their own unique beliefs about humankind's relationship with Mother Earth, and refuse to adapt to the rules of modern society. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, (more)
As their tour of duty in Iraq draws to a close, four American soldiers learn that they are scheduled to embark on one final, fateful mission that will forever change their concept of war. Shortly after receiving the news that they will soon be reunited with their families back in the United States, a unit serving in Iraq is deployed on a humanitarian mission to deliver medical supplies to a remote Iraqi village. Upon arriving in the village, the unit is viciously ambushed and many lives are lost. Now, as the surviving members of the battalion return home and attempt to readjust to civilian life, the physical injuries and psychological scars sustained during that tragic event continue to take a heavy emotional toll on the war-torn soldiers. Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, and rapper-turned-actor 50 Cent star in an affecting psychological war drama from Academy Award-winning director Irwin Winkler. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, (more)
A hard-drinking, hard-living cop assigned the task of transporting a small-time criminal to the nearby courthouse finds that a simple, 16-block drive can be the longest ride of his life in director Richard Donner's urban action thriller. Hung-over, has-been cop Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) has seen better days, and all that the force expects out of him these days is to stay out of trouble while he's on the clock. Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) is set to testify before a grand jury at 10:00 a.m., and it's up to Mosely to make sure that Bunker makes it to the courthouse in one piece -- a job that Mosely estimates will take a maximum of 15 minutes. A black van has been trailing the pair unnoticed, though, and after stopping off at a nearby liquor store to pick up some breakfast, Mosely emerges from the store just in time to save Eddie from the lethal bullet of a determined assassin. When backup arrives in the form of Detective Frank Nugent (David Morse), Mosely quickly realizes that the detective on Nugent's team is the same cop that Bunker is set to testify against. Now faced with the tough task of dodging bullets and eluding a massive onslaught of corrupt cops, Mosely must keep Bunker alive long enough to get him before the judge and ensure that justice is served. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Mos Def, (more)
Director Brian De Palma returns to the helm for the first time since 2002's Femme Fatale with this stylish screen adaptation of James Ellroy's novel detailing one of the most notorious unsolved murders in Hollywood history. Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner) was a struggling actress looking to make a name for herself in 1940s-era Tinseltown. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, it was her grim fate that would ultimately overshadow anything she would accomplish during her short and tragic career. When police discover Elizabeth's body cut clean in half and with all of her organs missing, ex-pugilist detectives Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) and Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) are the men charged with cracking the case and apprehending the killer. This isn't your average murder case, however, and as Blanchard's marriage to Kay (Scarlett Johansson) begins to suffer due to his obsession with the sensational crime, his partner Bleichert discovers a troubling link between the victim and the mysterious Madeleine Linscott (Hilary Swank), a prominent socialite and the daughter of one of the town's most connected key players. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, (more)
A desperate woman in search of her missing sister stumbles upon a terrifying secret in director Franklin Guerrero, Jr.'s atmospheric tale of impending doom. Laura's sister Nikki has gone missing, and upon tracing Nikki to an abandoned prison nestled deep in the forests of an isolated mountain town, Laura sets out to discover the truth behind her sister's inexplicable disappearance. The Halcyon Ridge Correctional Facility is no normal prison though, because deep within the crumbling walls of stone and steel lies an ancient evil just waiting to be revived. Now, as a plague of ultimate darkness prepares to descend upon the world once again, Laura finds that there is much more at stake than she could ever have imagined. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The emotional dysfunctions of two people suffering from an autistic disorder known as Asperger's syndrome threaten to derail the pair's emerging romance in director Petter Næss' affectionate tale of love among the mentally afflicted. For friendly taxi-driver Donald (Josh Hartnett), patterns and routines are of the utmost importance. In addition to his love for birds and his uncanny ability to process numbers, Donald does his best to give back to fellow Asperger's sufferers by leading an autism support group. When the lovely but intensely complicated Isabelle (Radha Mitchell) shows up at one of Donald's meetings, the good-natured cabbie finds that love can be as painful as it is elating. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hartnett, Radha Mitchell, (more)
- 2005
- R
Corruption is the law of the land in the every-city of Edison, and the only soul brave enough to peer into the fire and face the wrath of an entire squad of corrupt cops is a fresh-faced journalist in this neo-noir thriller from television director-turned-feature helmer David J. Burke. Joshua Pollack (Justin Timberlake) has discovered a glitch in the system, and as a fledgling journalist he sees it as his duty to expose the corruption. When Pollack misjudges the depth of the authoritative decay and his girlfriend is hospitalized following a brutal attack by the alliance of crooked cops known as F.R.A.T., he soon decides to take action and prove that even those who believe themselves to be above the law still aren't beyond its reach. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, (more)
A mother once neglected as child but possessed of a heart overflowing with love grows increasingly despondent as her beloved child begins to claim his independence in director Kevin Bacon's adaptation of Victoria Redel's best-selling novel. If loving too much were a crime, well-meaning but overbearing mother Emily (Kyra Sedgwick) would be spending life behind bars with no hope of parole. When Emily was a child, her parents were deeply in love with one another but tragically indifferent to their affection-starved daughter. Now a grown adult with a deep-rooted desire to bear a child, Emily goes to desperate lengths to conceive before eventually giving birth to an exceptionally gifted boy whom she names Paul. Emily's devotion to Paul burns brighter than a thousand suns as she creates a wondrous world of books, music, art, and games to share with her growing child, but her ever more desperate attempts to preserve the purity of their relationship reach a frantic fever pitch as a kindhearted local man opens his life to the pair and Paul prepares for his first year of school. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, (more)
When Kyle LeBlanc (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is prosecuted for killing the man who murdered his wife, he is sent to the most notoriously violent prison in Eastern Europe, where brutality is an understatement. Guards force the prisoners into death matches for their own personal profit, and the already violent inmates are provoked until they're barely recognizable as human beings. Though Kyle initially holds nothing but contempt for his fellow cell mates, it isn't long before their rage takes root in his own mind. When it's his turn to fight, channeling that rage may be the only chance he has at survival. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lawrence Taylor, (more)
