Jonathan Sheinberg Movies
Cuba Gooding, Jr., Ron Perlman, and Ray Winstone star in this horror thriller following a team of mercenaries on a mission to rescue a scientist from an underground lab, where they encounter an ancient evil that threatens to overtake mankind should it find its way to the surface. Contracted to rescue a scientist (Perlman) who was trapped under the Middle East desert while researching a profound archaeological discovery, fearless war veteran Mack (Gooding, Jr.) and his squad of elite U.S. mercenaries descend far beneath the surface with no clue of the horrors that await them below. Deep beneath these desert sands dwells a thousand year old secret that's not of this earth. Guided by a mysterious priest (Henry Rollins), Mack and his team discover that some secrets are best left buried when they reach the underground laboratory and all hell breaks loose. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cuba Gooding, Jr., Taryn Manning, (more)
Ridiculed on the battlefield for rigidly adhering to his religious beliefs while positioned in the 77th Infantry Division during World War II, a most unlikely candidate for the Medal of Honor finally receives his due as filmmaker Terry L. Benedict profiles the soldier who became a hero in the face of intolerance. Desmond T. Doss is a devout member of the Seventh Adventist Church. Unlike a large number of soldiers who choose to put their personal beliefs aside at a time of war, Doss chose to remain true to his religious beliefs when summoned to serve his country and refused to take up arms against his enemies. Instead, Doss chose to save lives instead of taking them by becoming a medic. The decision didn't go down easily with his fellow soldiers, who made no attempts to mask their resentment of the man who rigidly honored the Sabbath by spending Saturdays in prayer. But in his isolation Doss found strength, ultimately saving countless lives on the battlefield (including the lives of soldiers who had previously ridiculed and scorned him). Deep behind enemy lines, the best friend to have is sometimes the man without a weapon. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
At Dartmoor Academy snooty principal Morgan Brinway (B.D. Wong) has second-graders studying opera appreciation, but five feisty kids, nicknamed the "Stinkers" by Brinway, skip class to create chaos on the school grounds. Although they get a warning from Brinway, they soon rebel with more misadventures. Discovering sea lion Slappy during an aquarium field trip, they smuggle him back on the school bus and install him in Brinway's hot tub. Groundskeeper Roy (Bronson Pinchot) mistakes the sea lion for a giant gopher and plans to kill him, but before that can happen, animal thief Boccoli (Sam McMurray) makes off with Slappy, planning to sell him to the circus -- prompting the Stinkers to set forth on a rescue mission. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- B.D. Wong, Bronson Pinchot, (more)
- 1997
- PG
This comic children's fantasy from director Michael Ritchie stars Mara Wilson as eight-year-old New Yorker Anabel, who wishes that her father Oliver (Robert Pastorelli), a hansom cab driver in Central Park, would see his dream come true. In a thinly veiled jab at the overblown stage productions of Andrew Lloyd Weber, Oliver aspires to be cast in the lead role in a new big-budget musical based on A Tale of Two Cities. Anabel's wish is received by Murray (Martin Short), the very first male fairy godmother, a bumbler who predictably botches the spell fulfilling Anabel's wish, turning Oliver into a statue instead. In order to reverse the mistake, Murray needs help from his union, the North American Fairy Godmothers Association (NAFGA), which is holding a convention in Manhattan. Enter Claudia (Kathleen Turner), a scheming former fairy godmother turned witch, who steals the attendees' magic wands, intending to use their magic in a bid for power. A Simple Wish (1997) was one of four films representing the initial slate of The Bubble Factory, a movie production house assembled by the theater world's Sheinberg family. Their other films were The Pest (1997), McHale's Navy (1997), and For Richer or Poorer (1997). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Short, Mara Wilson, (more)
Plagued by debts, New Yorkers Brad (Tim Allen) and Caroline (Kirstie Alley) Sexton continue to live the high life while maintaining the deception of wealth. But then real estate developer Brad learns his accountant has balanced the books in his own favor, appropriated $5 million, and flown to South America -- after first devising a set-up in which only Brad and Caroline would be blamed by the IRS. With IRS agent Derek Lester (Larry Miller) on their tail, the Sextons escape from New York. They arrive at the Amish community of Intercourse, Pennsylvania, where they pose as the Missouri relatives of farmer Samuel Yoder (Jay O. Sanders). It's the perfect hiding place, but it requires Brad and Caroline to suppress their previous sophisticated lifestyle, as they attempt to adopt Amish attitudes and customs. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Allen, Kirstie Alley, (more)
The most disorganized crew in the Navy returns in this updated adaptation of the once-popular TV sitcom. Lt. Cmdr. Quinton McHale (Tom Arnold) has retired from the U.S. Navy and is living on the old PT boat he used to command. He spends his days making the rounds of the Caribbean Island of San Moreno, where he was stationed at the end of his career and now peddles pin-up calendars and booze to sailors. However, McHale's idyllic surroundings are soon spoiled when Vladikov (Tim Curry), tired of being known as the "second-best terrorist in the world," decides to stage a bid for world domination and targets San Moreno first. Desperate to fend off Vladikov, Capt. Binghampton (Dean Stockwell) calls McHale back to active duty. McHale is once again saddled with a crew of misfits and losers, including the easily frightened Ensign Parker (David Alan Grier), straight-laced Lt. Carpenter (Debra Messing), good-natured Happy (French Stewart), and Virgil (Bruce Campbell). Ernest Borgnine, star of the original TV series, appears in a small role as a high-ranking Pentagon official who turns out to be McHale's father. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Arnold, Tim Curry, (more)
A man discovers the lighter side of being hunted down like an animal in this manic comedy. Pestario "Pest" Vargas (John Leguizamo) is a low-rent con man from Miami's South Beach who has fallen deeply in debt to ill-tempered members of the Scottish mafia (complete with kilts). Desperate to raise $50,000 to stave off having his legs broken (and possibly turned into haggis), Vargas takes an offer for a very high paying one day job from Gustav Shank (Jeffrey Jones), a German businessman visiting Florida. However, it's not until later that Vargas finds out what Shank has in mind. The lunatic white supremacist Shank transports Vargas to his island compound, Little Germany, and announces that he will hunt him as wild game. If Vargas can survive for 24 hours, he gets the cash; otherwise, his head will join the others stuffed and mounted on Shank's wall. Can Vargas' speed, agility, and gift for cheesy impersonations save him now? John Leguizamo co-wrote The Pest's original story, loosely based on the classic adventure tale The Most Dangerous Game. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Leguizamo, Jeffrey Jones, (more)
This fast-paced action picture plays like Die Hard (1988) on an airplane. Grieving over the death of his wife at the hands of an armed robber and blaming himself for her death, anti-terrorism expert John Cutter (Wesley Snipes) is retiring from his dangerous job. The flight he's on is occupied by a coterie of FBI agents escorting the lethal terrorist Charles Rane (Bruce Payne), but as the aircraft is taking off, Rane's associates, who have also boarded the plane, take the vehicle by force and free their leader. With the aid of a sheriff on the ground, a pair of stewardesses (Alex Datcher and Elizlabeth Hurley) and his old friend, airport manager Sly Delvecchio (Tom Sizemore), Cutter puts his special training and martial arts skills to good use combating the kidnappers. The clever, dapper Rane has several surprises in store for his nemesis, however, including killing a hostage and an ally who's only pretending to be on Cutter's side. His options becoming increasingly limited, Cutter devises a dangerous plan that involves dumping the airplane's precious fuel reserves. Director Kevin Hooks cast his father, actor Robert Hooks in the role of federal agent Dwight Henderson. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wesley Snipes, Bruce Payne, (more)
An uneven but entertaining blend of graphic horror and black comedy from John Landis, very much in the mode of the director's successful An American Werewolf in London. French actress Anne Parillaud -- star of Luc Besson's acclaimed thriller La Femme Nikita -- plays Marie, a lithe and lovely vampire with a conscience who will not take "innocent blood" and maintains a low profile by dining exclusively on criminals and lowlifes. She finds a virtual smorgasbord in Pittsburgh's criminal underworld, arriving in the thick of a bloody mob war sparked by ruthless kingpin Sal Macelli (Robert Loggia). After preying on one of Macelli's hoods (Chazz Palminteri), Marie fumbles her attack on the boss himself and he manages to escape, eventually transforming into a vampire himself. Macelli soon comes to appreciate his new superhuman condition and hatches a diabolical scheme to control the syndicates by turning his underlings into vampires -- including his beleaguered lawyer, Emmanuel Bergman (Don Rickles). Marie, faced with a new and powerful undead enemy, is forced to take matters into her own claws. To this end she enlists the reluctant aid (and eventual affection) of undercover cop Joe Gennaro (Anthony LaPaglia), whose cover has just been leaked to the press, making him a target for Macelli and his growing army of blood drinkers. Landis has crafted a dark and brooding film, pumped up with bouts of extreme gore and gangland violence -- but where American Werewolf's occasional comic touches helped to ground the story and give the "straight" horror scenes more punch, most attempts at humor here seem jarring and out of place. The film's highlights come from numerous horror in-jokes, including cameos from Sam Raimi, Clive Barker, Dario Argento and Linnea Quigley; Rickles' explosive death scene ranks among the weirdest in cinema history. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Parillaud, Robert Loggia, (more)
Action star Steven Seagal crosses Rip Van Winkle with Clint Eastwood in this belabored revenge odyssey. Seagal plays L.A. Detective Mason Storm and, over the opening credits, Storm is seen busily eavesdropping on crooked politician Vernon Trent (William Sadler). Once he has the goods on Trent, Storm phones his partner Kevin O'Malley (Frederick Coffin) to report on his progress. Unfortunately, crooked cops in the same room pick up the extension phone and listen in, thereby dooming Storm. Soon killers show up at Storm's home and blow away Storm's wife Felicia (Bonnie Burroughs) and their young son. Storm himself is also assumed dead, but when he is taken to the hospital, he lapses into a coma. O'Malley spirits him away, and everyone else, for all intents and purposes, thinks Storm has died. Seven years later, under the tutelage of incredibly beautiful nurse Andy Stewart (Kelly LeBrock), Storm rises from his coma and plots his revenge. With the able assistance of Andy, Storm heads off on a killing spree, becoming (as one character describes him), "the most unstoppable sonuvabitch I ever met." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Seagal, Kelly LeBrock, (more)
