Bob Weinstein Movies
Like his older sibling Harvey, Miramax co-founder Bob Weinstein has an extended list of producer credits that reads like a greatest hits list of cinema from the 1990s and beyond. Unlike his more public-minded sibling, however, brother Bob has quietly minded the books of the enduring studio as the manager of Miramax's expenditures and revenue -- successfully building the company into one of the industry's largest and most powerful independent distributors. Serving as the perfect yin to his brother's yang, the harmonious balance of the Weinstein dynamic has helped to weather everything from the occasional controversy surrounding their films to frequent accusations of intimidation and questionable business tactics.Born a year after his older brother, the Queens native's stealthy business tact served the duo well when they founded Miramax after purchasing the film The Secret Policeman's Ball at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. In the years that followed, the Weinsteins' fearless approach to acquiring controversial titles, combined with an acute understanding of the mechanics of the entertainment industry, found both their influence and selection of titles expanding at an unprecedented rate. In 1993, the company was purchased by Disney for 80 million dollars, with the understanding that both Bob and Harvey would remain in control of Miramax. If more adult-oriented films such as Pulp Fiction (1994) and Scream (1996) found distributor Miramax and parent company Disney somewhat at odds from time to time, a steady inflow of profits (along with the releases of such benign romantic dramas and comedies as Muriel's Wedding [1994], Jane Eyre [1996] and Shakespeare in Love [1998]) found both parties flourishing and differences put aside.
Things may have been a bit slow going in the mid-'90s, but a revitalization of their marketing strategies as the decade moved on found such films as Il Postino (1994) and The English Patient (1996) performing successfully at both the box office and the Oscars. In 1992, Bob also played a key role in forming Dimension Films, a Miramax offshoot that focused on producing such moderately budgeted action and horror efforts as From Dusk Till Dawn and Scream (both 1996). Four years later, the duo would sign seven-year deals with their parent company that ensured they would remain active in Miramax's creative output. With such undeniable box-office hits as Chicago (2002), Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003, directed by longtime Miramax devotee Quentin Tarantino), and Bad Santa (also 2003) to add to the brothers' list of success stories, it appeared as if the company would be churning out the hits for some time to come. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2010
- R
- Add Youth in Revolt to Queue
Superbad's Michael Cera discovers a vacation romance in Youth in Revolt, a teen comedy from Charlie Bartlett's screenwriter, Gustin Nash, and director Miguel Arteta (Chuck & Buck). The film is an adaptation of C.D. Payne's first book in a series of best-selling satirical novels starring Nick Twisp, a sexually charged 14-year-old whose intelligence and hormones get him into all sorts of adventures. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Cera, Portia Doubleday, (more)
Prime Suspect 4 and Inspector Morse director John Madden comes back to the world of crime after a brief foray into romance with Shakespeare in Love and Captain Corelli's Mandolin with this adaptation of pulp icon Elmore Leonard's novel concerning a real estate agent and her husband (Thomas Jane) who become the targets of two relentless mafia hitmen. When real estate agent Carmen Colson (Diane Lane) catches a glimpse of a hitman named the Blackbird (Mickey Rourke) as he carries out a job, a subsequent request for her to testify against the aging gun for hire soon lands both Carmen and her husband, Wayne (Thomas Jane), in the Witness Protection Program. Blackbird isn't a man who likes to leave loose ends when it comes to his work, though, and now as the seasoned assassin and his psychotic partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) attempt to catch the couple in their crosshairs, Carmen and Wayne are going to need much more than a few federal agents to make it out of increasingly deadly situation alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, (more)
- 2009
- R
- Add Halloween II to Queue
Filmmaker Rob Zombie returns to Haddonfield for this Dimension Films sequel that finds the murderous psychopath Michael Myers (once again played by Tyler Mane) out on the loose again. Zombie writes and directs, with Malek Akkad handling producing duties. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyler Mane, Scout Taylor-Compton, (more)
Twenty years after his influential debut, Roger & Me, Michael Moore returns to his roots by pulling back the curtain on capitalism to reveal the insidious role it has played in the destruction of the American dream for many people. Back in 1989, auto workers in Flint, MI, were lamenting layoffs and wondering how they would support their families without jobs to pay the bills, or benefits to ensure their health. Flash forward two decades, when cities all across the country are feeling the same pressures that Flint residents were back when GM left them high and dry. With an average of 14,000 U.S. jobs lost every day and taxpayer money constantly being pumped into failing financial institutions, the question must be asked: how long can this go on before the entire system collapses? Is there really any hope for Americans who are losing their homes to foreclosure and seeing their savings get wiped out at an unprecedented rate? In order to seek out an answer to this question and many more, Moore takes a trip to our nation's capitol, engaging average Americans in conversations about the prospect of repairing America's failing, debt-ridden economy along the way. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Moore
A group of hardened Nazi killers stalk their prey in Nazi-occupied France as a Jewish cinema owner plots to take down top-ranking SS officers during the official premiere of a high-profile German propaganda film. As far as Lt. Aldo Raine (aka Aldo the Apache," Brad Pitt) -- is concerned, the only good Nazi is a dead Nazi. Raine's mission is to strike fear into the heart of Adolf Hitler by brutally murdering as many goose-steppers as possible, or die trying. In order to accomplish that goal, Lt. Raine recruits a ruthless team of cold-blooded killers known as "The Basterds" which includes baseball-bat-wielding Bostonian Sgt. Donnie Donowitz (aka "The Bear Jew," Eli Roth) and steely psychopath Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger), among others. When the Basterds' secret rendezvous with turncoat German actress Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) goes awry, they learn that the Nazis will be staging the French premiere of "The Nation's Pride," a rousing propaganda film based on the exploits of German hero Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl), at a modest theater owned by Jewish cinephile Shoshanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), posing as a Gentile after the brutal murder of her family by the ruthless Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). As the Basterds hatch an explosive plan to take out as many Nazis as possible at the premiere, they remain completely oblivious to the fact that Shoshanna, too, longs to bring the Third Reich to its knees, and that she's willing to sacrifice her beloved theater in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent, (more)
Friday co-stars Ice Cube and Mike Epps reunite to portray two shady concert promoters who attempt make a mint and stage the show of a lifetime. Against all odds, the fast-talking hustlers manage to talk a legitimate hip-hop superstar (Young Jeezy) into putting on a big show. But they've only got 24 hours to sell out a massive concert hall. As the two unscrupulous promoters scramble to make the show a success, a whole host of embittered rivals scheme to ensure that they fail in spectacular fashion. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ice Cube
Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, and Sean Penn star in Running Scared writer/director Wayne Kramer's harrowing look at life amongst illegal immigrants and the immigration enforcement agents whose job it is to ensure that the U.S. borders remain secure. Every day, a new batch of immigrants comes flooding into Los Angeles in search of the American dream -- and every day the price of that dream rises exponentially. As the desperation of these newcomers continually tests the humanity of Los Angeles immigration enforcement officers, the face of a 21st century L.A. gradually begins to take form. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Ashley Judd, (more)
The slaughter continues as the survivors make their last stand against the man-eating mutants from the desert, and a few new friends join in on the fight. The Biker Queen, the Bartender, and Lightning the wrestler are fighting for their lives when hope appears in the form of a knife-wielding karate kid and a mysterious stranger with the ability to control the ravenous beasts. But the horror isn't over yet, because these creatures aren't going down without a fight. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
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)
Veteran AIP genre star Larry Bishop (son of famed Rat Packer Joey Bishop) directs and stars in this gritty revenge tale concerning a biker gang that rallies to avenge the violent murder of a fellow gang member. An homage to such classic biker films as Chrome and Hot Leather and Angel Unchained, Hell Ride was conceived when director Bishop was invited to Quentin Tarantino's home to view a print of The Savage Seven. Upon realizing that there hadn't been a true biker film in years, the pair quickly contacted Bob Weinstein and conspired to produce a lean and mean two-wheeled revenge flick that would more than make up for lost time. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Larry Bishop, Michael Madsen, (more)
- 2008
- PG
- Add Unstable Fables: Tortoise vs. Hare - The Rematch of the Century to QueueAdd Unstable Fables: Tortoise vs. Hare - The Rematch of the Century to top of Queue
The imaginative producers at the Jim Henson Company update the age-old story of The Tortoise and the Hare in this award winning animated adventure featuring the voices of Jay Leno, Danny Glover, Vivica A. Fox, and Keke Palmer. With his "slow and steady" philosophy, Mr. Tortoise may have crossed the finish line first in their initial race, but now Mr. Hare has demanded a rematch and he's not about to make the same mistakes twice. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes star in The Hours director Stephen Daldry's haunting period drama concerning the relationship between a 15-year-old German boy and a mysterious woman twice his age, and the way that it grows doubly complex when the man reencounters the woman years later and discovers a shocking truth about her past. Based on author Bernhard Schlink's best-selling novel of the same name, the film opens on the character of Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes) in middle age -- cold, remote, and emotionally withdrawn. It then moves back in time to 1950s Berlin, where ailing teenager Michael (now played by David Kross) has fallen ill with fever, and is discovered in the street by Hanna, a woman in her thirties. After Michael recovers, the two immediately lapse into a torrid affair and Michael falls prey to the confusion of his own burgeoning sexuality. Their liaisons are often marked by Hanna's request that Michael read to her (hence the title). Later, when Michael returns to Hanna's flat and finds it deserted, her absence becomes an emotional blow for which he is completely unprepared, and indeed, scarred for life. The film then moves forward in time by eight years. Michael -- now a law student -- walks into a courtroom and comes across Hanna, one of a series of Nazi prison guards being tried for murderous war crimes during World War II. As he watches her on the witness stand, memories of their past experiences together bring him to the point of realization concerning a startling, long-buried truth about Hanna -- and Michael knows that if he divulges this information, it could modify the prison sentence handed out and dramatically alter her fate. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, (more)
Former Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst directs Ice Cube and Keke Palmer in this battle-of-the-sexes sports comedy about a former high-school football star who coaches his niece to become the first-ever girl quarterback in the history of Pop Warner football. Based on a true story, The Longshots opens in the struggling American town of Minden, IL. The Minden Browns used to be one of the strongest teams in the Pop Warner league, but lately things have taken a turn for the worst. Recognizing that his old team needs some fresh blood in order to make a comeback, a former player (Cube) trains his 11-year-old niece, Jasmine (Palmer), to throw the ball like a true gridiron giant. While the powers that be scoff at the idea of a female quarterback, they soon begin to sing a different tune as Jasmine leads the Browns to the championships and an invigorating shot at redemption. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ice Cube, Keke Palmer, (more)
The writers and director of the original Feast follow the horror from the dive bar of the first film to a nearby town as the flesh-eating beasts prepare to dine on the unsuspecting locals before dashing off to the next well-populated desert buffet. The survivors of the initial attack have lived to see another day, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they'll make it through another night. Upon joining-up a desperate band of locals that include an all-girl biker gang and a tag team of fearless luchadors, the battle-weary survivors brace themselves for another bloody round of flesh-ripping, limb-hacking mayhem. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Wade, Clu Gulager, (more)
Comedy icon Jerry Lewis revisits one of his most famous film characters in this belated, animated sequel to the beloved 1963 classic of the same name. It's been decades since clumsy Professor Julius Kelp (voice of Jerry Lewis) created the magical elixir that transformed him into a smooth-talking ladies man, but when Julius' grandson Harold (voice of Drake and Josh star Drake Bell) gets his hands on the secret formula, the familiar tale gets an exciting new twist. An adolescent misfit who never really fit in with the crowd, Harold becomes infinitely more confident and suave after whipping up a batch of the elixir and taking it for a test run. Now, as Harold's emerging ego begins to turn destructive, the young schoolboy must learn how to contend with his fears and insecurities without the aid of any questionable concoctions from the lab. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drake Bell, Jerry Lewis, (more)
- 2008
- G
- Add Unstable Fables: Goldilocks and the 3 Bears to QueueAdd Unstable Fables: Goldilocks and the 3 Bears to top of Queue
A bratty television star named Goldilocks agrees to live with three unruly bears as part of a Big Brother-style reality game show in this comic updating of the classic fairy tale. Realizing that in order to win the game they will all have to peacefully coexist in the same house, the young girl and her hirsute roommates strive to find some common ground. A Jim Henson Company production, Goldilocks and the 3 Bears features vocal performances by Jamie Lynn Spears, Brooke Shields, and Tom Arnold. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Seven years after the population of planet Earth was devastated due to an attack by "soulless ghosts," the few human survivors living a primitive existence on the outskirts of a decimated city discover that the worst is yet to come. The human race is haunted. Stalked from the beyond by ghosts who use technology to enter our reality, our numbers have dwindled to nearly nothing. Only a few survivors still exist, and they must do their best to get by without any modern technology whatsoever. Their lives are changed forever with the arrival of a sixteen year old girl named Justine, whose adolescent curiosity may ultimately cement the extinction of our species. Unable to resist the allure of a working laptop, Justine opens the computer and unleashes the most horrific supernatural attack ever to be waged against mankind. Now, in a world devoid of hope, humanity wages its last stand against a force powerful enough to swallow up entire civilizations. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The human race is on the brink of extinction after coming under attack from soulless ghosts who use digital frequencies to haunt mankind, leaving two divorced parents with little choice other than to compromise their own safety in favor of finding their missing daughter. There weren't many people left on Earth after the spectral apocalypse, and now small pockets of survivors seek refuge from the malevolent spirits while attempting to escape their supernatural grip. But there's not much hope left in the world anymore, only chaos and terror. Upon realizing that their defenseless young daughter has inadvertently waded directly into the black heart of this cataclysmic horror, a divorced couple with nothing in common but their shared love of their daughter prepare to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to wrestle their little girl from the clutches of death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Bamber, Boti Ann Bliss, (more)
A handful of tourists looking for adventure get more than they bargained for when they cross paths with a massive man-eating beast in this thriller. Pete McKell (Michael Vartan) is a writer for an American travel magazine who has been assigned to write a story about vacationing in rugged Northern Australia. Pete signs up for a cruise along a river that's home to a large crocodile population, with tough but pretty Kate Ryan (Radha Mitchell) serving as guide. Pete soon finds he's roughing it in the Aussie wilds with an eclectic variety of travelers, including Russell (John Jarratt), who is dealing with the death of his wife; Simon (Stephen Curry), a tactless amateur photographer; and Allen (Geoff Morrell), a member of the British upper crust making the trip with his ailing spouse (Heather Mitchell) and their rambunctious daughter (Mia Wasikowska). While Kate's former husband, who also works on the river, makes a pest of himself in the early stages of the voyage, the travelers soon find they have more to worry about when their craft is attacked by a massive 25-foot crocodile, who is just clever enough to know how to trap its prey before enjoying them for dinner. Rogue was written and directed by Greg McLean, who made a splash among horror fans in 2005 with his debut film, Wolf Creek. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Radha Mitchell, Michael Vartan, (more)
A war of wills takes place between two men who want to run the same grocery store in this offbeat comedy from writer and director Steven Conrad. Doug (Seann William Scott) is a seemingly ordinary guy who works as the assistant manager of a supermarket near Chicago. When the owners of the market announce they're opening a new branch near Doug's neighborhood, he applies to become manager of the new store, and both he and his wife (Jenna Fischer) assume he's a shoo-in to get the job. But Richard (John C. Reilly), a gregarious recent hire at the store who has relocated to Illinois from Canada, announces he's also applying for the management position, and a keen rivalry develops between Doug and Richard even as they strive to act like friends on the surface. As the competition grows between the two, their personality flaws become increasingly evident -- Doug's short temper, Richard's history of drug abuse -- and when Richard's wife (Lili Taylor) leaves him, the contest starts taking an uncomfortable turn. The Promotion also stars Fred Armisen, Gil Bellows, and Bobby Cannavale. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly, (more)
After spoofing disaster films in Airplane!, police shows in The Naked Gun, and Hollywood horrors in Scary Movie 3 and 4, producer David Zucker sets his satirical sights on the superhero genre with this anarchic comedy lampooning everything from Spider-Man to X-Men and Superman Returns. Shortly after being bitten by a genetically altered dragonfly, high-school outcast Rick Riker (Drake Bell) begins to experience a startling transformation. Now Rick's skin is as strong as steel, and he possesses the strength of ten men. Determined to use his newfound powers to fight crime, Rick creates a special costume and assumes the identity of The Dragonfly -- a fearless crime fighter dedicated to keeping the streets safe for law-abiding citizens. But every superhero needs a nemesis, and after Lou Landers (Christopher McDonald) is caught in the middle of an experiment gone horribly awry, he develops the power to leech the life force out of anyone he meets and becomes the villainous Hourglass. Intent on achieving immortality, the Hourglass attempts to gather as much life force as possible as the noble Dragonfly sets out to take down his archenemy and realize his destiny as a true hero. Craig Mazin writes and directs this high-flying spoof featuring Tracy Morgan, Pamela Anderson, Leslie Nielsen, Marion Ross, Jeffrey Tambor, and Regina Hall. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drake Bell, Sara Paxton, (more)
In 1965, Marcus Hooks (John Legend), Floyd Henderson (Bernie Mac), and Louis Hinds (Samuel L. Jackson) were just three kids singing doo-wop harmonies around a fire barrel when legendary record producer Willie Mitchell caught an earful of their infectious harmonizing. Two short years later, Marcus Hooks and the Real Deal had signed to Hi Records, and they quickly became one of the most popular soul acts in America. But success can't last forever, and it wasn't long before Hooks decided to strike out on his own. Though Floyd and Lewis did their best to keep the Real Deal going, scoring one breakout hit with "Walk in the Park," clashing egos and "creative differences" would eventually break the duo apart. Flash-forward to the new millennium, when Hooks has won a staggering total of 19 Grammy awards while Floyd and Lewis languish in obscurity. Then, one day, while considering suicide with a mouthful of pills and a bottle of liquor, Floyd is shocked to see a news report that Hooks has suddenly dropped dead just before he was slated to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In order to celebrate Hooks' career, Hi Records has organized a lavish tribute concert at the Apollo Theater. Will Floyd and Lewis be able to put aside their differences long enough to drive cross-country and perform together on-stage one last time, or will lingering grudges ultimately cause the pair's already-tenuous relationship to implode long before they reach New York City? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, (more)
Kevin Smith writes and directs his newest comedy for The Weinstein Co. with Zack & Miri Make a Porno, the story of two friends (Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) who get into the amateur porn business to combat their rising debt, only to realize their underlying feelings for each other while doing so. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, (more)
Frequent Stephen King collaborator Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) teamed with the celebrated horror author once again for this tale of terror concerning a small town engulfed by a malevolent mist, based on a story originally published in King's 1985 horror anthology Skeleton Crew. When a thick fog descends upon a rural community and claims the lives of anyone unfortunate enough to be caught outside, a small band of survivors seeks refuge in a local grocery store. Now trapped in a darkened cloud of pure horror, the frightened denizens of the town are forced to fend off an advancing horde of murderous monsters. Punisher star Thomas Jane heads up an ensemble cast that includes Andre Braugher, Laurie Holden, William Sadler, and Marcia Gay Harden. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, (more)
Drawing inspiration from the true story of a temperamental debate coach who molded the students of a small East Texas college into a formidable team that gave even Harvard's elite squad a run for their money, Denzel Washington's The Great Debaters features the director himself as the ambitious educator, and Forest Whitaker as the resentful father of a student whose loyalties now lie almost exclusively with his coach. Melvin B. Tolson (Washington) is the kind of educator who truly recognizes the remarkable power of knowledge. An outspoken Wiley College professor who boldly challenged the discriminatory Jim Crow laws of the 1930s, Tolson's recognizes that his young debate students possess the spark of a new generation. Convinced that they could invoke great change if given the confidence and tools needed to do so, the tireless educator implores his students to take responsibility for the future while furtively attempting to protect them from his clandestine role as an organizer for the Southern Tenant Farmers Union. Chief among Tolson's promising young students is a 14-year-old prodigy named James Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker). Farmer's father, James Sr. (Forest Whitaker), is a renowned scholar and an important presence in the emerging student's life. Yet despite his formidable reputation, James Sr. has not yet learned how to truly harness the power of knowledge through action and assertion. James Jr. has seen the raving effects of racism all around him, and longs to live in a future where no one must be in fear simply because of the color of their skin. Other talented debaters on Tolson's team include fiercely independent student Henry Lowe (Nate Parker), and Samantha Brooke (Jurnee Smollett) -- the first ever female ever to join the Wiley College debate team. While most educators may not have recognized the remarkable potential of assembling such a disparate team, Tolson's unique vision truly set him apart from the pack as the team begins to experience a series of consecutive victories on their road to challenging Harvard at the National Championships. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, (more)
