Lora Kennedy Movies

Her faith shaken by a family tragedy from which she was never quite able to fully recover, a professor of theology from Louisiana State University moonlighting as a debunker of unexplained religious phenomena finds herself faced with an apocalyptic series of events that seem to reflect the ten plagues of Exodus in director Stephen Hopkins' Southern gothic chiller. The terrified citizens of Haven, LA, have been beset by swarms of locusts and watched as rivers turned to blood. As if that wasn't enough to put the fear of God into any Bible-reading Christian, ominous rumors of a local swamp cult have left many of the small-town citizens turning to prayer for fear that the end is finally nigh. Enter Katherine Winter (Hilary Swank), a skeptical myth-buster and renowned theology scholar with a special knack for spotting religious trickery. Though at first exceedingly confident that she will uncover a human component behind the otherworldly occurrences, Katherine quickly learns that just because one doesn't believe in the supernatural doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't exist. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director Dominic Sena follows up his stylish action film Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) with this high-tech thriller. John Travolta stars as Gabriel Shear, a charismatic spy who plots to steal a multi-billion-dollar fortune in illegal government funds. In order to make his scheme work, however, Gabriel needs some help from a computer hacker, which is where Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) comes in. Stanley has been paroled from prison after serving a lengthy sentence for penetrating the FBI's cyber-surveillance operations. Issued a restraining order that keeps him away from computers and living penniless in a trailer park, Stanley wants only to be reunited with his daughter Holly, who's in the custody of his ex-wife, now remarried to a pornographer. Gabriel and his partner Ginger (Halle Berry) offer Stanley the chance to get his child back in exchange for his help, but the hacker soon realizes he's a pawn in a larger operation than the high-tech bank heist he thought he was perpetrating. In the meantime, a dedicated federal agent (Don Cheadle), the same man who once arrested Stanley, is trying to expose Gabriel's operation. Swordfish also stars Sam Shepard and Zach Grenier. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

William Shakespeare's streak as the hottest storyteller in Hollywood continues with this modern-dress variation on Romeo and Juliet. In this loose adaptation, Hang Sing (Jet Li) is a former police officer from Hong Kong who comes to the United States following the death of his brother, the leader of an Asian crime ring. Hang Sing discovers that his brother had become involved in a turf battle with an African-American gang, led by Isaak (Delroy Lindo). But his blood lust begins to subside when he falls in love with Isaak's daughter Trish (Aaliyah) and finds himself torn between his affection for her and his desire for justice against the men who killed his brother. Romeo Must Die was the directorial debut of noted cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak; the supporting cast includes Russell Wong and Isaiah Washington. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

With William Shakespeare now a hot commodity at the box office (and his body of work conveniently out of copyright), the usual trickle of film adaptations of the Bard's work is becoming a small flood, and director Michael Hoffman has assembled a cast of leading stage and screen actors for this whimsical film version of one of Shakespeare's most popular comedies. This interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream moves the action to Tuscany near the turn of the 20th century, as both mortals and enchanted creatures deal with romantic problems. Among the flesh-and-blood crowd, Duke Theseus (played by David Strathairn) is preparing for his wedding to Hippolyta (Sophie Marceau), while having to counsel Egeus (Bernard Hill), who has promised the hand of his daughter Hermia (Anna Friel) to Demetrius (Christian Bale). Hermia, however, wants to elope with her true love, Lysander (Dominic West), while her best friend Helena (Calista Flockhart) is mad about Demetrius. Meanwhile, fairies living in the forest are watching these romantic misadventures. Puck (Stanley Tucci) serves up love potions that mix and match the already confused lovers, while the Queen of Fairies, Titania (Michelle Pfeiffer), and her King, Oberon (Rupert Everett), have to deal with a group of hapless actors rehearsing a play in the forest -- one of whom, Bottom (Kevin Kline), has fallen under Puck's spell and becomes Titania's new lover. Will anyone end up with the person they really love? Who will get hurt riding their bicycles in the woods? Will Helena sit down and eat a square meal? Director Hoffman, a longtime Shakespeare buff, appeared as Lysander in a production of the play while a college student, and has since spearheaded a campaign to build a new $3 million theatre for his alma mater in Boise, ID. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

When RKO Pictures began work on production number 281, no one could have imagined that they were making perhaps the greatest American film of all time. But the moment Orson Welles (played by Liev Schreiber) announced that he intended to make a film based on the life of tyranical multi-millionaire publisher William Randolph Hearst (James Cromwell), they knew that they had trouble on their hands. Welles, the enfant terrible of American theater and a household name thanks to his infamous radio adaptation of H.G. Wells's "The War Of The Worlds," was signed to direct films for RKO, and he was given an unusually free hand to make whatever sort of film he wanted. But what Welles didn't count on was the power of Hearst to keep his film from being seen. RKO 281 is based on the true story of the making of Citizen Kane and the war of words between Welles and Hearst. It also stars Melanie Griffith as Hearst's mistress Marion Davies, John Malkovich as screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, Brenda Blethyn as Hearst's movie columnist Louella Parsons, and Roy Scheider as George Schaefer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Randa Haines directed this dance drama, focusing on young Cuban Rafael Infante (Latino singer Chayanne) after the death of his mother. Rafael leaves Cuba for Houston, where he meets his father John Burnett (Kris Kristofferson) for the first time. Burnette is unaware that the young man is his son, and Rafael can't figure out how to tell him. Rafael's mother was a singer on cruise ships where Burnett was a dance instructor. Burnett owns the Excelsior Dance Studio, and he gives Rafael a handyman job there, where he meets and falls for the Ruby (Vanessa L. Williams) a beautiful professional dancer. With the Las Vegas World Open Dance competition in a few weeks, dancers work on their routines, and Ruby aims for the Vegas prize. Rafael partners with Patricia (Jane Krakowski) after Burnett loses interest in the competition, and Ruby dances with her brutish ex-boyfriend, the father of her young son. Then it's on to Vegas. This film features great dance numbers and an homage to Gene Kelly beneath a sprinkler system. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Even without money problems, many divorced single parents have a hard row to hoe. At the drop of a hat, a competent, responsible professional person can be reduced to a frazzled, bumbling parent, when his or her children become unexpected daytime wards. This is what happens to Jack Taylor (George Clooney) when his ex-wife suddenly decides to elope, leaving their daughter with him. Unhappily for him, his reporting job demands one-hundred-percent commitment as he attempts to link corruption with city hall. The same sort of thing is true in the life of architect Melanie Parker (Michelle Pfeiffer). She must not only somehow prepare a complex multimillion-dollar real-estate development presentation, but must also keep up the pretense that she doesn't have a son because her boss loathes children. When Jack flubs his assignment of getting the two children off on a school day-trip, he and Melanie, who barely know each other, have to take turns caring for the kids. Mishap follows mishap, as the initially antagonistic Jack and Melanie get to know one another. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A high-energy action adventure based on legend rather than historical fact finds Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) desiring to retire from law enforcement. With brothers Virgil (Sam Elliot) and Morgan (Bill Paxton), he arrives in Tombstone, Arizona intending to build his fortune. He discovers that long-time friend Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) is there and that the town is run by a group of brutal outlaws called the Cowboys. Earp, frustrated with his laudanum-addicted wife, begins a romance with traveling stage actress Josephine Marcus (Dana Delany). Meanwhile, the Cowboys terrorize the citizens of Tombstone unchecked.

When the town marshal is killed by a Cowboy, Earp steps in to prevent a lynching by an angry mob. He also refuses to hand the killer over to his fellows, beginning the enmity between the Cowboys and the Earp brothers. Virgil, overcome with guilt at doing nothing to help the Tombstone citizens, accepts the position of town marshal. With Wyatt and Morgan as his deputies, and the help of Doc, Virgil attempts to arrest several Cowboys, resulting in the famous OK Corral shoot-out. The Cowboys take revenge by ambushing two of the brothers and injuring Virgil and killing Morgan. The Earps leave town, apparently cowed. Wyatt returns, wearing the badge of a U.S. marshal, vowing to destroy every last Cowboy. He hunts them mercilessly, until the leader, Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) challenges Wyatt to a duel. While not regarded as an artistic masterpiece, "Tombstone" is considered the best of director George P. Cosmatos' prolific films. The all-star cast (including Thomas Haden Church and Billy Bob Thornton in small roles) delivers solid performances. Both William A. Fraker's cinematography and Bruce Broughton's stirring musical score are expertly designed for dramatic effect. Blood is shown liberally in several key scenes, but seems intended to show that there is nothing glorious in Wyatt Earp's actions, only necessity. He and his deputies take on the symbolism of the horsemen of the apocalypse -- dispensing judgement, and the Biblical references form a symmetry at the beginning and end of the film.
~ Lucinda Ramsey, All Movie Guide

Richard Harris and Robert Duvall star in this low-key drama concerning a hard-drinking former sea captain (Richard Harris) who befriends a shy retired barber (Robert Duvall). Though their polar-opposite personalities find the relationship slow going at first, roguish Frank (Harris) and gentle Walter (Duvall) soon develop a close friendship as they pass the days with conversation. As death looms near and their pasts seem to evaporate into the air with the passing of each day, the lonely souls find comfort in each other's company until their fragile friendship is shattered. When Frank insults a waitress (Sandra Bullock) with whom Walter harbors a protective friendship, Walter makes the decision to cut his ties with loutish Frank. Forced to reevaluate their friendship, the two lonely souls attempt to find meaning in their lives as their chances for connecting with the outside world grows ever more dim. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A pair of lawyers must balance their professional principles (such as they are) against family loyalties in this courtroom drama. Jedediah Ward (Gene Hackman) is a leftist lawyer who has based his career on helping people avoid being taken for a ride by the rich and powerful; he's pursued principle at the expense of profit, though he has a bad habit of not following up on his clients after their cases are settled. Jed's daughter, Maggie (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), has had a bad relationship with her father ever since she discovered that he was cheating on her mother, and while she also has made a career in law, she has taken a very different professional route by working for a high-powered corporate law firm and has adopted a conservative political agenda. Jed is hired to help field a lawsuit against a major auto manufacturer whose station wagons have a dangerous propensity to explode on impact, but while his research indicates he has an all but airtight case against them, the case becomes more complicated for him when he discovers that Maggie is representing the firm he's suing. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The town of Binger, Montana decides to re-enact the 1889 battle in which the whites massacred most of the Blackfoot Indians in this depressing and violent drama. The white mayor initiates the plan for the benefit of Labor Day tourists to the area predominantly populated by Native Americans. Things get out of control when a drunken white boy fires a loaded gun and kills a young Indian. Five Indian youths quickly avenge their friend's death and take to the woods. A racist posse shoots one and scalps another, and the Governor calls out the National Guard as the situation escalates out of control. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This gentle comedy drama explores aspects of love and relationships by featuring two parallel tales, both occurring in the same Vermont town. In one, the boredom faced by a married pair of high-school sweethearts leads to the destruction of their marriage. At the same time, their closest friend finally finds the love of his life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide