Julie Selzer Movies

This 2000 production recounts a famous tale from Greek mythology: the quest for the Golden Fleece. The film begins when the evil Pelias (Dennis Hopper) usurps the throne of his half-brother, Aeson, king of the Greek city of Iolcus, after murdering Aeson and marrying his wife, Polymele (Diana Kent). Aeson's child, Jason (Mickey Churchill), escapes but returns years later as a young man (Jason London) to see his mother, Polymele, and claim his royal patrimony. Pelias then threatens to kill Polymele unless Jason brings him the Golden Fleece. Made of the skull, horns, and gilded wool of a winged ram, the fleece affords protection and prosperity to the kingdom that possesses it. It hangs from a tree on sacred ground in the Black Sea port of Colchis, where an unsleeping dragon protects it. After Jason agrees to undertake a perilous ocean voyage to retrieve it, he assembles a crew that includes the mighty Hercules (Brian Thompson) and the musician Orpheus (Adrian Lester). On the long ocean voyage aboard his ship, the Argo, Jason overcomes many perils -- passing through clashing rocks and fighting deadly Harpies -- while the gods Zeus and Hera observe from the heavens and occasionally meddle in Jason's exploits. At Colchis, the King Aertes (Frank Langella) forbids Jason to carry off the fleece, for it has long protected and sustained his realm. But he relents upon learning that the gods favor the youth. However, Jason must first prove himself by yoking a fire-breathing bull. With the help of the king's daughter, Medea (Jolene Blalock), a sorceress smitten with love for him, Jason succeeds, survives further tests, kills the dragon, and returns with the fleece -- and Medea. But in Iolcus, Pelias gains control of the fleece, then sends 200 soldiers to kill Jason and his crew. Thus, Jason faces still another trial. His fate and the fates of Media, Pelias, and all of Iolcus depend on how he responds. ~ Mike Cummings, Rovi

Larry Brothers scripted this adaptation of the James Lee Burke novel that begins in a Louisiana penal colony during the 1830s. After middle-aged Allison (Kris Kristofferson) and young Holland (Scott Bairstow) make an escape, they take along Sana, a Choctaw (Irene Bedard, of Disney's animated Pocahontas) and head for the encampment of Sam Houston (Tom Skerritt) in East Texas. When Holland and Sana get too close, Allison tells Holland to drop her, and the two ride off, leaving her in the dust. Eventually, they link up with Houston and Allison's longtime pal Jim Bowie (Peter Coyote), but Bowie is off to confront General Santa Anna (Marco Rodriguez) at the Alamo. After the battle, Allison and Holland meet widow Dickinson (Karey Green) at the Alamo ruins. This TV movie premiered January 18, 1997 on TNT. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

In Kuffs, Christian Slater plays George Kuffs, an irresponsible 21-year-old who walks out on his pregnant girlfriend Maya (Milla Jovovich) and runs, broke, to see his big brother Brad (Bruce Boxleitner) in San Francisco. Bruce is the owner of a Special Patrol, a franchised civilian auxiliary police force. During George's visit, Bruce is killed, and George, who witnessed the killing, takes over the patrol to seek revenge. But first George has to earn respect from the patrol, and at first all of them want him out. But with the help of a police liaison (Tony Goldwyn), he uncovers an illicit scheme involving $50 million, a case Bruce was just about to break when he was killed. George decides to stick around and complete the work his brother started. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

John Larroquette starred with Kirstie Alley in this comedy involving a couple's troubles with their starter home. An array of obstinate houseguests refuse to leave and provoke the anger of all involved. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Glenn Close and James Woods star in this artery-clogging schmaltz about a childless couple who desperately want to have a baby. Linda (Close) and Michael Spector (Woods) are an upscale couple who have everything -- except a child. Linda mists over after she takes her temperature, plans the correct time for conception, and then her period starts. Despite medical intervention, the Spectors cannot conceive. They finally decide to adopt a child and meet the pregnant 17-year-old Lucy (Mary Stuart Masterson), who decides that the Spectors can provide a better home for her child than she and her boyfriend Sam (Kevin Dillon) could. The Spectors look Lucy over and determine -- since Lucy's mother died when she was seven -- to take care of her during her pregnancy. The three bond as they await the birth of Lucy's child. But now Lucy has second thoughts about the decision to turn her baby over to the Spectors. The solution for this happy group? Adopt Lucy and become the "immediate family." ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Based on a real-life 1983 incident, The Accused tells the story of Sarah Tobias (Jodie Foster), a working-class party girl who likes to live it up with her friends and flirt hard with the guys. After a fight with her boyfriend, she heads to a local bar to cool down -- and after a few drinks, plus some dancing and flirting, she finds herself thrown on top of a pinball machine and gang-raped by a bunch of locals, while others watch and cheer the proceedings. District attorney Kathryn Murphy (Kelly McGillis) takes Sarah's case but quickly negotiates a plea bargain in which the attackers' charges are reduced to reckless endangerment. Her reason: defense attorneys could use Sarah's not-so-pretty past to paint her as "asking for it," getting their clients off completely. But a stunned Sarah accuses Murphy of selling her out, and when the lawyer sees how the incident continues to destroy Sarah's life, she decides she must seek true justice. This time, she goes after the crowd of onlookers for "criminal solicitation" -- those who were egging the rapists on. Foster won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

Paul Verhoeven's American breakthrough film, Robocop, is an exceedingly violent blend of black comedy, science fiction, and crime thriller. Set in Detroit sometime in the near future, the film is about a policeman (Peter Weller) killed in the line of duty whom the department decides to resurrect as a half-human, half-robot supercop. The RoboCop is indestructible, and within a matter of weeks he has removed crime from the streets of Detroit. However, his human side is tortured by his past, and he wants revenge on the thugs who killed him. The film was later followed by two feature-length sequels and a live-action television series, neither of which were as successful as the original film. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi