Shea Farrell Movies
From the producers of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and the mind of author Katherine Paterson comes a rousing fantasy adventure about family, friendship, and the wondrous power of imagination. A perpetual outsider both at home and at school, Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) just never seems to fit in no matter how hard he tries. When his goal to become the fastest runner in middle school is unexpectedly thwarted by newly arrived classmate Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb), who enters in an "all boys" race and leaves her competitors in the dust, Jess soon strikes up a friendship with the imaginative outsider. Their bond is soon cemented thanks to Leslie's love for storytelling and Jess' skill as an artist, and the two lonely kids create a secret kingdom called Terabithia that is only accessible by swinging over a stream on a nearby rope. Though Jess and Leslie may be considered outcasts by their classmates, their adventures in Terabithia find the pair doing battle against the dreaded Dark Master and his malevolent creatures while plotting revenge against the schoolyard bullies. Now, thanks to his adventures in Terabithia and his friendship with Leslie, Jess finally finds the confidence needed to stand tall and be himself. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hutcherson, AnnaSophia Robb, (more)
Four men trying to regain the excitement they knew in their youth are also having to deal with the decisions and responsibilities of adulthood in this comedy-drama. Kramer (Robert Curtis-Brown), Stan (Shea Farrell), Skinner (John Putch), and Mikey (Dwier Brown) are four longtime friends, who, in their younger days, worked as river rafting guides. Spending their days on the water and their nights partying under the moonlight, they seemed to be living the sort of life many people dream of, until another guide died in an accident on the river rapids. A dozen years later, the four friends have gotten back together to ride the river one more time, but life is hardly the same for any of them. Skinner still feels he was somehow responsible for the death of the fifth guide, and these days he scrapes together a living as a bicycle repairman. Kramer is happily married, but he and his wife and struggling with the news that their young daughter has a crippling and potentially fatal illness. Stan recently broke up with his wife and is unable to relate to his teenage son. And Mikey has done well in his career as a lawyer, but hasn't been as lucky in love, and he isn't sure if he's ready to propose marriage to his longtime girlfriend. Same River Twice was the first feature film for director Scott Featherstone. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Curtis-Brown, John Putch, (more)
- 1997
After Ally's first date with Greg Butters (Jesse L. Martin) ends in a car accident, she defends him in court against the plaintiff's lawyer---a 9-year-old genius (Josh Evans). ~ TV Guide, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Calista Flockhart, Courtney Thorne-Smith, (more)
Popular comic and television personality Ellen DeGeneres had her first starring role in a feature film in this black comedy. Martha Alston (DeGeneres) is a thirtysomething single working as a producer for a talk show. Ever since Martha's younger sister got married, her parents have been after her to settle down, but Martha has had little luck finding the right guy. On Valentine's Day, Martha is depressed and drinking at a bar when she meets Whitman Crawford (Bill Pullman), who seems like the perfect man -- he's good looking, sensitive, intelligent, and affectionate. However, when she makes the mistake of telling her new beau that he can be himself around her, she discovers the real Whitman -- he's a horrible poet, he likes awful music, he enjoys shoplifting ("Stolen beer just tastes better!"), and he's a borderline psychotic who doses her with LSD for fun. What's more, his mother (Joan Plowright) and ex-girlfriend (Joan Cusack) hate Martha's guts and don't mind telling her so. So how can Martha convince her friends and family that she wants nothing to do with the man of her dreams? More importantly, how does she convince Whitman? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Pullman, (more)
This latter-day romantic screwball comedy stars Sandra Bullock as a love-starved subway toll booth operator, Lucy. Lucy pines for regular customer Peter Callaghan (Peter Gallagher), but the self-absorbed attorney pays her no heed. One day, Peter is beaten by a gang of thugs and tossed onto the tracks. Lucy rescues him from death. While he is comatose in the hospital, a comment she makes at his bedside is misinterpreted, and she then allows his family members, who haven't seen Peter in awhile, to believe that she is his fiancée. Peter's parents, Ox (Peter Boyle) and Midge (Micole Mercurio), take a liking to Lucy. But Lucy takes a liking to Peter's brother Jack (Bill Pullman), though Jack is suspicious about her claim to be Peter's intended. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, (more)
- 1995
The CEO of a brokerage firm currently under Federal investigation suddenly disappears. Jessica (Angela Lansbury) becomes involved in the situation when the last call made by the missing executive is traced to her phone. A dogged Federal prosecutor demands that Jessica face the grand jury investigating the matter--and then charges her with contempt when she speaks to a witness who later turns up dead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
First telecast October 21, 1990 on the Disney Channel cable service, Back to Hannibal: The Return of Huckleberry Finn is set 20 years after the Mark Twain novel. Tom Sawyer (Mitchell Anderson) is now a budding lawyer, while Huck Finn (Raphael Sbarge) is a reporter. They descend upon their old home town of Hannibal when their friend, ex-slave Jim Watson (Paul Winfield), is accused of murdering the husband of Tom's childhood sweetheart Becky Thatcher (Megan Follows). Roy Johansen's script even manages to haul in the King and the Duke (Joe Bova, Ned Beatty) from Huckleberry Finn. It's rather pointless, but it goes down easily enough. But, say: doesn't Back to Hannibal smell like a TV series pilot to you? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Jessica heads to the baseball stadium to visit her nephew, up-and-coming ballplayer Johnny Eaton (Todd Bryant). Soon afterward, the team's new TV pre-game hostess is murdered, and a startled burglar is arrested for the crime. So what has this to do with Jessica? Well, it seems that the hapless burglar is nephew Johnny's best friend... ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
It is said that the infamous Revolutionary War traitor Bendedict Arnold once stayed in a now-dilapidated Cabot Cove house. When the house's owner dies, Jessica (Angela Lansbury) is named executor of the will. This proves to be a formidable task when rumors begin spreading that a valuable treasure--so valuable that someone is willing to commit murder--has been hidden somewhere in the house. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1986
A Broadway-bound stage comedy is supposed to reunited the formerly married acting team of Maggie Tarrow (Eleanor Parker) and Julian Lord (Edward Mulhare). But when Maggie's young understudy is killed just before the first performance, it looks as though someone doesn't want the play to open. Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) ventures backstage to find out the truth behind the girl's death, and to sort out the motives that will lead her to the murderer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Arthur Hailey's novel Hotel had already served as the inspiration for a 1967 theatrical film when this TV pilot came along on September 21, 1983. Bette Davis stars as Laura Trent, the entrenched owner of the Hotel St. Gregory (moved from the novel's New Orleans to San Francisco, to allow for location filming at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel). In true Love Boat fashion, Ms. Trent and hotel manager Peter McDermott (James Brolin) oversee four separate plot strands. A hooker (Morgan Fairchild) is raped in the hotel by a bunch of preppies who'd hired her for "just talk". A neurotic aspiring singer (Erin Moran) tries to interrupt the act of the hotel's lounge entertainer Mel Torme (himself). A very-married lady (Shirley Jones) checks in to conduct an illicit affair. And a feisty young woman (Connie Sellecca, a regular on the subsequent series) shows up unhired as McDermott's assistant manager. The Hotel series ran from 1983 to 1988, during which time an ailing Bette Davis was replaced by Anne Baxter; in the early 1990s, reruns of the series popped up rather incongruously on cable's E! Entertainment Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
