Chris Bailey Movies

The mysterious and unexpected death of an iconic Hollywood star may be just the tip of an iceberg of scandal in this show biz drama based on a true story. George Reeves (played by Ben Affleck) was a journeyman actor who had played a small role in Gone With The Wind and appeared on screen with the likes of James Cagney, Rita Hayworth and Marlene Dietrich, but his career was not exactly booming when he was cast as comic book hero Superman in a 1951 B-movie, Superman and the Mole Men. A year later, the producers of the movie launched a syndicated Superman television series with Reeves returning as the Man of Steel. The show became a major hit, and Reeves was a star at last. However, on June 16, 1959, to the shock of many, Reeves was found dead of a gunshot wound. Police soon declared Reeves' death a suicide and closed the case, but his mother (Lois Smith) refused to believe her son took his own life, and hired Louis Simo (Adrian Brody), a private detective, to find out the truth about her son's passing. Simo found many Hollywood insiders did not care to cooperate as he researched the Reeves case, but his digging uncovered plenty of evidence suggesting the actor did not take his own life, and he also revealed one of Reeves's deepest secrets -- while he was engaged to marry a pretty young starlet, Leonore Lemmon (Robin Tunney), Reeves was also carrying on an affair with the beautiful Toni Mannix (Diane Lane), the wife of Eddie Mannix (Bob Hoskins), a powerful and ill-tempered executive at MGM. While the producers of Hollywoodland based their story on factual accounts of the investigation into the death of George Reeves, they were denied permission to use the Superman logo and the familiar introduction to the Adventures of Superman television show by the respective copyright holders. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this science fiction thriller, a spaceship is transporting a disparate group of people to a far-away galactic outpost called New Mecca. Mechanical failures cause the craft to crash-land on an abandoned planet that has three suns and no night. The only member of the crew to survive is junior pilot Carolyn Fry (Radha Mitchell), while the passengers who climb from the wreckage include a police officer (Cole Hauser) and the prisoner he's transporting, Riddick (Vin Diesel). As Fry and the other survivors survey the abandoned dwellings of the desert world while trying to decide what to do next, one of them is killed by a mutant creature living in an abandoned mining site. The vicious and bloodthirsty mutants, who live underground, have killed all previous inhabitants of the planet; they cannot stand sunlight, but research reveals that the planet has a total eclipse every 22 years, and the latest one is due any moment. Pitch Black was directed by David N. Twohy, who also made the sci-fi cult item, The Arrival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

While trying to rescue a kidnapped Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), Xena (Lucy Lawless) is drawn into a fight with a self-styled young warrior named Palaemon (Jeremy Callaghan). In the midst of the battle, Xena is temporarily blinded, with unexpected results. Meanwhile, a reluctant Gabrielle is being prepared for a royal marriage. Unfortunately, Gabrielle's future husband is stone cold dead -- and she is slated to join him once the knot is tied. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Once again, series star Lucy Lawless essays the dual role of Xena and her lookalike, Princess Diana. To protect Diana as she prepares to assume the throne from her dying father, Xena switches places with the Princess, and vice versa. As a result, Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) and Joxer (Ted Raimi) become hopelessly confused -- and even more so when another Xena lookalike, a barmaid named Meg (played -- surprise, surprise -- by Lucy Lawless) arrives on the scene with an agenda of her own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The clouds of war are gathering between the Amazons and the Centaurs. Xena (Lucy Lawless) tries to find out who is playing one side against the other in this Clash of the Myths. The plot thickens when Xena's traveling companion, Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), is unexpectedly afforded the opportunity to become an Amazon princess. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A Canadian-Australian co-production, the 20-episode adventure series Gold was set in New Zealand during that country's "gold rush" in the 1860s. The central character was Johnny Rogan (Yannick Bisson), an 18-year-old Canadian who accompanied his older brother to the Land Down Under in hopes of striking it rich. After his brother's death, Johnny pitched camp in the town of Dunstan, entering into a partnership with rogueish prospector Henry Garrick (Andy Anderson) and finding time to squire the local pubkeeper's daughter, Lily Owens (Lucy Bayler). Originally shown on Canadian TV through the auspices of Alliance Atlantis, Gold was later released to video in "feature film" form, with selected half-hour episodes stitched together and rechristened with such titles as Gold: A Fistful of Gold, Gold: The Merchants of Venus, and Gold: The World's a Play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide