Maggie Baird Movies
Industrial Light and Magic special-effects wizard Stefen Fangmeier makes the leap into the director's chair with this coming-of-age fantasy concerning a young boy whose discovery of a mysterious dragon egg leads him on a predestined journey to become a Dragon Rider and defend his peaceful world against an evil king. Based on the best-selling novel by Christopher Paolini, Eragon tells the tale of the titular character (Ed Speleers), a humble farm boy living in the land of Alagaësia, whose life is forever changed when he discovers that he has been chosen to fight the most powerful enemy his world has ever known. Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, and Djimon Hounsou co-star in a film produced by Davis Entertainment and adapted from the novel by screenwriters Peter Buchman, Larry Konner, and Mark Rosenthal. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael A. Mehlmann, Ed Speleers, (more)
- 2003
Upon finding out that the pregnant Piper suffers from toxemia, her doctor prescribes complete rest and avoidance of all tension. This may prove difficult, inasmuch as Piper's sisters and her Whitelighter, Leo (Brian Krause), have suddenly lost all their powers -- and worse still, all magic in the world has been expunged. It is all the result of a summit meeting wherein the representatives of evil hatch a scheme to take control of Piper's unborn child -- who, as the episode ends, clearly won't stay unborn for long. On top of all this, Victor Bennett (James Read), father of Piper and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano), has a most unsettling surprise for them. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Krause, Julian McMahon, (more)
- 1999
Writer/director Martin Hynes also stars in this romantic comedy, in which love springs from the ruins of a failed marriage. Frank (Hynes) is a composer who works as a driving instructor to pay his bills. Tracy (Judy Greer) is a New York-born documentary filmmaker who is learning to drive. Soon the two are engaged, much to the astonishment of their friends. At the reception, the marriage gets off to a rocky start when Frank refuses to dance. Later, Tracy's own quirks begin to manifest themselves, such as not sleeping in the same bed as her husband and not wanting to introduce herself as his wife. After three months, they call it quits. But they soon realize that lingering affection remains, and they cautiously try one more time. The Big Split was screened at the 1999 AFI/L.A. Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Hynes, Judy Greer, (more)
- 1995
In this made-for-TV sci-fi-drama, the world has entered into an age when travel between the planets has become an everyday event, and Driscoll Rampant (Neal McDonough), a medical student, finds himself taking an internship on the distant planet of Rusta. Unlike Earth, Rusta does not turn on its axis as it orbits through space, with one half of the planet in constant daylight and the other in permanent nighttime; as a result, Rusta has two very different civilizations, one a genteel land of ladies and gentlemen, the other a feudal kingdom. As Rampant travels between the two sides of Rusta, he struggles to build a bridge between both sides in a world where the essential duality of man is brought clearly to the forefront. White Dwarf also stars Paul Winfield, C.C.H. Pounder, and Ele Keats. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Winfield, Neal McDonough, (more)
- 1993
Interviewed by a DC-based magazine, Miles (Grant Shaud) insists that he is "not just a guy looking for a sexual plaything." Unfortunately, when the interview is published, the editor forgets to include the word "not." The result: Miles has now been tagged as the most obnoxious male chauvinist in the nation's capital--and the enemy of every woman in town! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In Peter Yates' crime drama An Innocent Man, Tom Selleck plays Jimmie Rainwood, a stock figure airline maintenance supervisor with a perfect family. Then, one day, Jimmie decides to take a shower. While scrubbing himself clean, two crooked cops are getting themselves dirtier. Mike Parnell (David Rasche) and Danny Scalise (Richard Young) are the kind of bad cops who bust the drug dealers, steal their supply, and sell it back to the local drug lords. On this day, unfortunately for Jimmie, they get the wrong address and bash down his door. When Jimmie comes out of the bathroom wielding his hair dryer, Parnell and Scalise think it is a gun and shoot him. Realizing their mistake, they cover themselves and frame him as a drug dealer. Jimmie refuses to take a plea and he is sentenced to six years in the slammer. In the brutal prison environment, he is taken aside by long-timer Virgil Kane (F. Murray Abraham), who gives him a bleak collection of options to chose from in order to survive prison. After seeing a prison gang rape, Jimmie chooses the kill-or-be-killed selection and stabs to death the nasty black convict who has been bothering him. After three years, Jimmie is released on parole, and he tries to pick up his life again. But Parnell and Scalise return to threaten Jimmie and his family. Realizing that his prison lessons must be carried over into civilian life, he sets up a situation in which the bad cops' drug dealings are revealed, and Jimmie prepares for a final reckoning between the cops and himself. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, F. Murray Abraham, (more)
