Jeffrey Clifford Movies
- 2009
- PG13
- Add Post Grad to Queue
Recent college graduate Ryden Malby (Gilmore Girls star Alexis Bledel) has just survived four years of higher education, but when she's forced to move back into her childhood home, the stress of dealing with her eccentric family, landing a job, and finding the right guy leaves her with precious little time to ponder where her life is truly heading. Shrek and Shark Tale's co-director Vicky Jenson takes the helm for a comedy co-starring Michael Keaton, Carol Burnett, Zach Gilford, and Rodrigo Santoro, and produced by Ivan Reitman and Tom Pollock in collaboration with Joe Medjuck and Jeff Clifford. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexis Bledel, Zach Gilford, (more)
Engaged to the woman of his dreams yet uncomfortable with the prospect of not having a best man for his upcoming wedding, a successful real estate agent with no male friends schedules a series of "man dates" in hopes of finding a suitable candidate for the big day. Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) is just like most other guys, only when it comes to making friends he's always been a bit withdrawn. After proposing to his girlfriend, Zooey (Rashida Jones), however, Peter quickly realizes that he doesn't even have any friends close enough to qualify for the role of best man. And what better method to find the perfect best man than to spend some time getting to know the most qualified candidate for the position? While most of Peter's "man dates" are incredibly awkward from the very beginning, the desperate bridegroom is surprised to hit it off with Sydney Fife (Jason Segel) on their very first meeting. Sydney is charming, personable, and opinionated, and before long he and Peter have become inseparable. But this isn't exactly what Zooey had in mind, because the closer that Peter grows to his new "bro," the further he drifts from the woman who will soon be his wife. Now, with the wedding closing in and the drama heating up, Peter begins to ponder a means of staying good friends with Sydney while still remaining true to the woman he loves. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, (more)
Adapted from author Lois Duncan's 1971 children's book of the same name, director Thor Freudenthal's Hotel for Dogs follows two mischievous orphans as they attempt to hide dozens of stray dogs in an abandoned hotel. Disheartened by their new guardians' announcement that pets are strictly forbidden, 16-year-old Andi (Emma Roberts) and her younger brother, Bruce (Jake T. Austin), race to find a home for their loyal dog Friday. Fortunately for Friday, there's an abandoned hotel just around the corner, and Bruce possesses just the kind of mechanical smarts needed to transform the rundown inn into a four-star retreat for canines. For a while, Friday and his friends have it made, but when the neighbors start to get suspicious, Andi and Bruce resort to every trick in the book in order to prevent their secret from being discovered. Don Cheadle, Emma Roberts, and Lisa Kudrow star in a family-friendly film penned by screenwriter Jeff Lowell. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emma Roberts, Jake T. Austin, (more)
- 2009
- R
- Add Up in the Air to Queue
Juno's Jason Reitman heads into corporate America territory once again with this adaptation of Walter Kirn's novel Up in the Air for Montecito Pictures. The plot surrounds a human resource administrator (George Clooney) whose life up in the friendly skies becomes his only world as he works to reach his one-millionth frequent flyer mile. Jason Bateman and Vera Farmiga co-star in the Paramount Pictures production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, (more)
- 2009
An untrusting wife attempts to prove that her husband is cheating by hiring an escort to seduce him, inadvertently endangering her entire family in the process. Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried star in a thriller written by Erin Cressida Wilson, and directed by Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter, Ararat). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A man robbed of his name and his dignity strives to win them back, and gain the freedom of his people, in this epic historical drama from director Ridley Scott. In the year 180, the death of emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) throws the Roman Empire into chaos. Maximus (Russell Crowe) is one of the Roman army's most capable and trusted generals and a key advisor to the emperor. As Marcus' devious son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) ascends to the throne, Maximus is set to be executed. He escapes, but is captured by slave traders. Renamed Spaniard and forced to become a gladiator, Maximus must battle to the death with other men for the amusement of paying audiences. His battle skills serve him well, and he becomes one of the most famous and admired men to fight in the Colosseum. Determined to avenge himself against the man who took away his freedom and laid waste to his family, Maximus believes that he can use his fame and skill in the ring to avenge the loss of his family and former glory. As the gladiator begins to challenge his rule, Commodus decides to put his own fighting mettle to the test by squaring off with Maximus in a battle to the death. Gladiator also features Derek Jacobi, Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, and Oliver Reed, who died of a heart attack midway through production. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, (more)
A case of mistaken identity forces a pair of lounge singers to pose as safecrackers in this farce. Sam (Sam Rockwell) and Eddie (Steve Zahn) are hapless musicians; Frank (Mark Ruffalo) and Mitchell (Josh Pais) are expert safecrackers. But when local Jewish gangster Big Fat Bernie Gayle (Michael Lerner) dispatches his henchman, Veal Chop (Paul Giamatti), to trick the safecrackers into service, the hapless Veal Chop can't tell the difference. In the end, Sam and Eddie are forced to go along with Veal Chop's mistake and perform three separate robberies for the imposing Big Fat Bernie. During their very first mission -- to rob the safe of local fence Good Stuff Leo (Harvey Fierstein) -- they're apprehended by Hannah (Christina Kirk), Leo's affable, deadpan daughter. Hannah lets the guys go, but sparks fly between her and Sam. It just so happens, however, that real safecracker Frank is her ex-boyfriend, and that she's sworn off dating criminals for life. The coincidences, double crosses, and unlikely romance culminate in the bar mitzvah of Bernie's son, Little Big Fat Bernie (Michael Schmidt), whose present is the Stanley Cup -- the actual hockey trophy -- which was stolen from Good Stuff Leo by the reluctant Sam and Eddie. Shown at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, Safe Men marked the writing and directing debut of future Meet the Parents and Zoolander scribe John Hamburg. The film also gave a pre-stardom Mark Ruffalo one of his first featured roles. Sam Rockwell and Josh Pais previously appeared together in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn, (more)
This independently produced film, The Broken Giant, depicts the almost affectless life and loves of an eccentric, unpopular preacher in a very remote Maine country community. Ezra Caton (Will Arnett) is the minister with a somewhat drab life, and he is not unhappy to see it disrupted when he grants a young woman, Clio, "asylum" in his church sanctuary. She is on the run from her father for reasons which are unclear. What is clear is that she diverts the preacher's affections from his waitress girlfriend to herself. The two of them then go back to Clio's father's house, where they then have a marathon discussion with her aggrieved father. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
Director George Miller's follow-up to his own 1979 hit Mad Max is proof that not all sequels are inferior to their originals. If anything, this brutal sci-fi action film is even more intense and exciting than its predecessor, although the state of its post-apocalyptic world has only become worse. Several years after the deaths of his wife and child, Max (Mel Gibson) has become an alienated nomad, wandering an Australian outback that has fallen into tribal warfare conducted from scattered armed camps. After a road battle with psychotic villain Wez (Vernon Wells), Max meets up with the odd Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence), who takes him to the camp of a sympathetic group led by Pappagallo (Mike Preston). As Pappagallo's people are camped at a refinery, Max plans to take their oil -- more precious than gold in this world -- but eventually joins them to fight a band of marauders led by the evil Humungus (Kjell Nilsson). The stunning climax features a heart-pounding chase scene involving an oil tanker-truck and a frenzied rush for the coast, with Humungus and his forces in hot pursuit. Nilsson is a scary villain, with huge muscles and a sinister pre-Jason hockey mask, but the stunt work is the key here, and it is more flamboyantly dynamic than ever, edited at breakneck pace and staged with manic fury by Miller and stunt coordinator Max Aspin. Savage and kinetic, Mad Max 2 is a must-see for action buffs. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Gibson, Virginia Hey, (more)
