Dendrie Allyn Taylor 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
- Starring:
- Adrien Brody, Ben Affleck, (more)
A young man gets a crash course in the madness of war in this fact-based drama from director Sam Mendes. Anthony "Swoff" Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) decides to join the Marines, just like his father and his father before him, and signs on just in time to be sent to Iraq to fight in the Gulf War in 1991. After experiencing the rigors of boot camp, Swofford and his pal Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) are trained to be snipers, and under the leadership of Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx) and Lt. Col. Kazinski (Chris Cooper), the two land in the middle of a desert where they're up against an enemy they can't always see under a blazing sun with hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Swofford, Troy, and their fellow soldiers rely on the wits, their sense of humor, and their friendship of their brothers in arms to deal with a situation that doesn't much resemble what they saw on television at home. Jarhead was based on the memoirs of the real-life Anthony Swofford, who did serve as a sniper in the 1991 Gulf War; the title comes from military slang for a Marine enlistee. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, (more)
- 2003
Abby (Maura Tierney) has just about reached the end of her rope: Her biploar brother, Eric, has vanished, and her bipolar mother Maggie (Sally Field) has come back into her life. As Carter (Noah Wyle) tries to help Abby cope with her many burdens, a shaken and humbled Kovac (Goran Visnjic) returns to the ER -- albeit only after receiving an ultimatum from Weaver (Laura Innes). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2000
With her wedding day rapidly approaching, Daphne (Jane Leeves) finds herself in a court-ordered anger-management therapy program. As her counselor (S. Epatha Merkerson of Law & Order fame) listens with professional detachment, Daphne recounts the events leading up to the outburst that led to her current plight. What it boils down to is this: Daphne may be marrying Donny Douglas (Saul Rubinek), but her heart still belongs to Niles Crane (David Hyde Pierce). Anthony LaPaglia makes his first series appearance as Daphne's boorish, hard-drinking brother Simon, who turns out to know his sister's heart better than she does. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
In the 100th episode of Wings, Brian (Steven Weber) has finally gotten over Alex and has plunged back into the dating pool. Acting upon the advice of friends, Brian chooses not to seek out a stranger for romance, but instead turns to a longtime friend named Joan (Dedee Pfeiffer). Unfortunately, Brian doesn't feel the same "spark" for Joan that he did for Alex -- or at least, no sparks fly until it is too late. And while all this is going on, both Casey (Amy Yasbeck, now a series regular) and Lowell (Thomas Haden Church) face curious crises of their own. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Wes Craven's Shocker takes media manipulation to a new level in this story of an evil force emitted from television sets that has the power to kill. The film centers on high school athlete Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg). His estranged father is homicide detective Don Parker (Michael Murphy), who has been working on capturing an elusive serial killer plaguing the town. One night, during a particularly vivid nightmare, Jonathan dreams that while Parker is away on an assignment, his family is murdered by the serial killer. In the dream, Jonathan can identify the killer -- local television repairman Horace Pinker (Mitch Pileggi). Amazingly, it turns out that Jonathan's nightmare was reality. Using Jonathan's dream as evidence, Pinker is brought to trail, found guilty, and sentenced to death in the electric chair. Before his execution, Pinker makes a pact with the devil so when he is electrocuted, the electricity from the chair will give his spirit powers of evil. At first, Pinker's murderous spirit travels in and out of people's bodies, prompting the host to commit murder. But when it seems more effective to communicate with people by television signals, the spirit is willing and soon people suddenly become possessed by Pinker's spirit through TV screens and engage in murderous atrocities. All this is done by Pinker to exact retribution upon Jonathan, who was responsible for sending him to his death. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Berg, Michael Murphy, (more)
The central "gimmick" of the comedy-adventure Twins is established early on. Unbeknownst to one another, king-sized Arnold Schwarzenegger and gnomeish Danny De Vito are twin brothers. Even better: Schwarzenegger is a mild-mannered, bookish type, while De Vito is a vitriolic troublemaker. The film takes satiric jabs at the notion of "perfect" genetics, and makes several pointed comments concerning the dangers of youthful pre-conditioning by insensitive parents. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito, (more)
