Roger Mussenden Movies

At the absolute height of World War II, German generals hatch a daring plan to assassinate Adolf Hitler and effectively render the German war machine impotent. Directed by Bryan Singer, Valkyrie stars Tom Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, the real-life mastermind behind the elaborate plot known as Project Valkyrie: a plan to assassinate Hitler and overthrow his government from the inside. Stauffenberg has been a loyal soldier and an asset to the Reich for his entire military career, but after losing an eye, a hand, and three fingers in an Allied bombing, he reaches a breaking point. The destructive madness that his country is unleashing on the world has become too terrible for the colonel to stand silent. He joins the resistance movement -- a treasonous act, punishable by death -- and risks his life and the life of his family for the chance to change history. Comprised of high-ranking officials working in secret, the German Resistance has access to the inner workings of the government and military, putting them in the perfect position to dispatch the dictator and then use his own official contingency plan to seize power -- before the army, the S.S., and loyal party members can put someone just as diabolical in the Führer's place. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When two testosterone-fueled firemen attempt to register as domestic partners in order to bypass the bureaucratic red tape preventing one of them from naming his own two children as his life-insurance beneficiaries, their low-key ruse turns into headline news in this quirky matrimonial comedy starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Chuck Levine (Sandler) and Larry Valentine (James) are two New York City firefighters whose longtime friendship has endured many a five-alarm fire. All that widower Larry wants is to ensure that his two children will be taken care of if anything should happen to him on the job, and all that single blaze-battler Chuck wants is to carry on with his carefree life of noncommitment. Having once rescued Larry from certain death in a particularly fearsome inferno, beholden Chuck feels forever indebted to his brave friend and has vowed to repay the favor when the time is right. When Larry discovers that the only means of circumventing the civic red tape that could throw his children's futures into jeopardy is to take Chuck as his lawfully wedded husband, his obligated pal reluctantly agrees to step up to the alter with the understanding that the arrangement will be a well-kept secret between themselves and the justice of the peace. A potentially fatal flaw in their presumably foolproof plan is soon revealed, however, when an overzealous bureaucrat decides to question Chuck and Larry's partnership. Subsequently forced to embark on a mandatory honeymoon and pose as starry-eyed newlyweds, Chuck and Larry quickly discover just how important it can be to stick by a friend in his or her time of need. Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, and Dan Aykroyd co-star in a comedy from The Benchwarmers director Dennis Dugan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The Man of Steel returns to the big screen with this continuation of the icon's film legacy that picks up after the events of the first two Christopher Reeve films. Some time has passed since the events of Superman II and the world has gotten used to life without Superman (Brandon Routh) ever since his puzzling disappearance years earlier. Upon his return, he finds a Metropolis that doesn't need him anymore, while Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on with another young suitor Richard White (James Marsden) in the meantime. As the hero begins to tackle the fact that life on Earth has continued without him, he is forced to face his old arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) and restore the life that was once his. Directed by Bryan Singer from a script by the writing team of X-Men 2, Superman Returns marks a return to the screen for the man in tights, whose production history has seen many failed attempts including a famous near-miss from Tim Burton and Kevin Smith with Nicolas Cage in the lead role, along with another from director McG and writer J.J. Abrams (Lost). Singer eventually won the prestigious gig when he pitched the idea to not tackle the origin story again, but continue with director Richard Donner's original vision. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

A workaholic architect, frustrated in his job but determined to make a better life for his family, is bestowed with a powerful universal remote that allows him more control over his life than he ever knew possible in director Frank Coraci's high-concept fantasy comedy. On the surface, Michael Newman (Adam Sandler) seems to have it all, yet with all the demands forced upon him by his ungrateful boss (David Hasselhoff), Michael finds that setting aside time to spend with his loving wife, Donna (Kate Beckinsale), and two picture-perfect children, Ben (Joseph Castanon) and Samantha (Tatum McCann), has grown increasingly difficult. When a frustrating bout with the television remote leads the overworked husband and father to a nearby Bed, Bath & Beyond in search of a universal remote with the power to control all of his electronic devices, a curious peek into the back room leads Michael into the company of eccentric employee and talented inventor Morty (Christopher Walken). It seems that Morty has created a device that will not only allow Michael complete control over his television and stereo, but his entire life as well. As Michael discovers that the remarkable device has the power to muffle the barks of the family dog, zoom himself past an irritating quarrel with his wife, and even allow him to travel back and forth through time to different points in his life, the rush of being able to skip straight to the good parts in life soon leaves him feeling as if he's missing out on the total experience. Only when Michael begins to realize that the he has lost control of his life and the remote is now programming him does he finally learn that life is as much about the moments he'd rather forget as it is the moments he will always remember. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The strange mask that gave Jim Carrey remarkable powers in the 1994 hit The Mask makes a mess of a seemingly ordinary family in this special effects-laden comic fantasy. Tim Avery (Jamie Kennedy) is a cartoonist living quietly in suburbia with his wife Tonya (Traylor Howard), their baby son Alvey (Ryan Falconer), and dog Otis; however, their lives are turned upside down when Otis discovers a strange green mask which channels the spirit of Loki (Alan Cumming), the Norse god of mischief. Both Otis and Alvey get their hands (or paws) on the mask, and soon both are shape shifting and making all manner of trouble while having a great time doing it. Unfortunately, this isn't the end of Tim and Tonya's troubles -- it seems the supreme Norse god Odin (Bob Hoskins) has given Loki the assignment of recovering the mask, and Loki will do whatever he must to get the mask back from Alvey and Otis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Re-teaming Adam Sandler with Drew Barrymore, his co-star from The Wedding Singer, as well as Peter Segal, his director on Anger Management, Fifty First Dates finds the funnyman playing veterinarian Henry Roth. More than content with a life of one-night-stands, Henry decides to give up his noncommittal lifestyle when he meets and falls for Lucy (Barrymore). However, when he discovers that Lucy has no short term memory, Henry finds himself having to win her heart again with every new day. Sean Astin and Rob Schneider also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

A man comes face to face with the rage he didn't know he had in this comedy. Dave Buznick (Adam Sandler) is an even-tempered businessman who, after a series of strange misunderstandings on an airline flight, finds himself accused of air rage. A judge sentences Dave to undergo anger management therapy, and he soon finds himself in the care of Dr. Buddy Rydell (Jack Nicholson), a celebrated therapist. However, Dave's group therapy sessions with a handful of truly disturbed individuals -- among them jumpy ex-con Chuck (John Turturro), obsessive sports fan Nate (Jonathan Loughran), slow-burning Lou (Luis Guzman), egocentric Andrew (Allen Covert), and bisexual porn stars Gina and Stacy (Krista Allen and January Jones) -- leave him far more unsettled than when he arrived. Later, when Buddy decides to move into Dave's home for intensive therapy, he soon discovers Buddy has more than a bit of his own anger to resolve, and that no one brings out Dave's deeply buried inner rage quite like Buddy. Anger Management also stars Marisa Tomei as Dave's girlfriend, Linda; in addition, the film features a number of notable actors in cameos, including Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Ray Liotta, Heather Graham, and Harry Dean Stanton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

One of Frank Capra's best-loved stories gets a modernized and wildly slapstick reinterpretation in this romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler. When Preston Blake (Harve Presnell), a remarkably wealthy media magnate, dies with neither a wife nor children, the question on the lips of most of his associates is who will inherit the estate. The surprising answer turns out to be Longfellow Deeds (Adam Sandler), a cheerful but half-bright proprietor of a small-town pizzeria, as well as part-time greeting card poet, who was a distant relative of Blake. In order to claim his 40-billion-dollar inheritance, Deeds heads to New York City, where Blake's former associates, Chuck Cedar (Peter Gallagher) and Cecil Anderson (Erick Avari), introduce him to the city while trying to figure out how to get their hands on his new fortune. Meanwhile, Mac McGrath (Jared Harris), the producer of a sleazy tabloid television show, wants to get the inside scoop on Deeds, and comes up with perfect way to get it: he sends beautiful but unscrupulous reporter Babe Bennett (Winona Ryder) to sweep Deeds off his feet while she's wired for sound. Convincing Deeds that she's from a small town just like himself, Bennett quickly wins his heart, but while his affection is sincere, hers is not. He also displays a curious eagerness to defend her good name with his fists which quickly gets him in trouble. Meanwhile, as Deeds becomes the new laughing stock of New York thanks to Bennett's stories, Deeds decides it's time he did something big with his money, while Cedar and Anderson think they've finally found a way to take control of Deeds' holdings. Mr. Deeds also features supporting performances from John Turturro, Steve Buscemi, and Conchata Ferrell. John McEnroe and Rev. Al Sharpton make cameo appearances as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

As the title character of Joe Dirt, David Spade plays a "white trash" janitor at an L.A. radio station, whose mullet hairdo is just one of many personal oddities that make him the object of much ridicule. And the sanitation gig is just the most recent of Joe's many incarnations during a tumultuous life, which got off on the wrong foot when Joe was abandoned at the Grand Canyon by his parents as a young child. After stumbling into the on-air studio, Joe steadily recounts the sad and comical story of how he cared for himself and journeyed around the country trying to relocate his family, all while being prodded, teased, and eventually embraced by a sarcastic deejay (Dennis Miller) and a rapt listening audience. His travels involve stints selling fireworks, wrangling alligators, riding aloft in a car dealership display balloon, and being held captive by a Silence of the Lambs-style serial killer. Despite numerous setbacks and bruising physical injuries, Joe emerges from each episode with his spirit intact as he searches optimistically for his roots, and eventually for the chance to return to the one place he was accepted -- a rural farm where the girl of his dreams (Brittany Daniel) awaits. The directorial debut of Dennie Gordon, Joe Dirt was produced by Adam Sandler's production company, Happy Madison, and features musician Kid Rock, also debuting, in the supporting role of Joe's rival. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

A police dog finds himself pitted in a battle of wits against an accident-prone mailman and a gang of crooks (and it looks like the dog has the edge in the brains department) in this broad comedy. Agent 11 (Bob) is a bulldog trained by the FBI agent Murdoch (Michael Clarke Duncan) to sniff out drugs, and the dog's keen nose ferrets out the storage facility of Mafia kingpin Sonny (Paul Sorvino); Agent 11 has also been taught to show no mercy with criminals, and he gives Sonny a serious bite in a rather personal place. Needless to say, Sonny is not amused, and wants revenge against the pooch, so Agent 11 is put into the animal equivalent of the witness protection program. However, unlikely circumstances set the dog loose, where he soon pairs up with Gordon (David Arquette), a stunningly inept letter carrier with a long history of fending off ill-tempered pets. Gordon is attempting to impress Stephanie (Leslie Bibb), an attractive single mother, by helping to look after her son James (Angus T. Jones), and when he comes across Agent 11, he adopts the dog and names him Spot, feeling certain he can smooth out the critter's often cranky relationship with people. But Gordon doesn't know that Sonny and his henchmen are hot on Agent 11's trail and that his new best friend will lead a gang of ruthless gangsters into Stephanie and James' home. See Spot Run was originally announced as a vehicle for comedy star Martin Lawrence, but when changes in Lawrence's schedule prevented him from taking on the project, it was retooled for the talents of David Arquette. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

One of the most popular superhero teams in comic book history finally comes to the screen in this big-budget adaptation of the long-running Marvel Comics series. Psychic Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) leads a school of skilled mutants called X-Men, a peacekeeping force to safeguard the world against a race of genetically mutated humans known as Homo Sapiens Superior. However, Magneto (Ian McKellen), a mutant with a powerful magnetic charge, has also begun to organize a team to strike first against what he believes to be a threat from humanity. When he kidnaps Rogue (Anna Paquin) from the X-Men's compound, Xavier and his forces must rescue her, even as they continue to vie with Magneto for the fearsomely strong mutant battler Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Both Xavier and Magneto also have to contend with Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison), a heartless political leader who wants a final solution against mutants on both sides. Fighting for the forces of virtue with the X-Men are Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, Halle Berry as Storm, and James Marsden as Cyclops; Rebecca Romjin-Stamos as Mystique, Ray Park as the Toad, and Tyler Mane as Sabretooth are the minions of Magneto. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Teen heartthrob and Home Improvement star Jonathon Taylor-Thomas stars in this Disney Christmas film that is a teenaged variation on the Planes Trains and Automobiles theme. Jake has missed Christmas in New York with his family these past few years, so as an incentive, his father promises him a 1957 red Porsche if he makes it home by Christmas Eve. No sweat, until an unexpected twist blows up in poor Jake's face. It seems that the "cheat sheet" he supplied the college football team was incorrect, and the whole team is out to get him. For revenge, they leave him in the middle of the California desert in a Santa Claus suit (his hat and white beard are glued to his face) with no wallet, no cash, and no identification. To make matters worse, Eddie, one of the football players and Jake's arch-nemesis, is now hitting on Jake's girlfriend Allie. What's poor old Jake to do? Well, if you guessed hitchhike, freeload, con, fly, crawl, race and bully an array of colorful characters, you guessed correctly. ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide