Josh Lucas Movies

East meets West in the changing landscape of Beijing on the cusp of the 21st century in this romantic comedy-drama. Leah Quinn (Catherine Kellner) is an American in her early 20s who has decided to spend some time in China. While studying weiqi, she becomes romantically involved with her teacher, Sun Zhan (Geng Li), a self-styled hipster by night who, during the day, hosts a tacky television program. Meanwhile, Richard Kao (David Wu) is a young American of Chinese heritage who is visiting the country for the first time. He's brought with him the ashes of his grandfather, who wanted them to be scattered in the Chinese village of his birth. As he acquaints himself with the family he's never known, Richard gains a new appreciation for his cultural heritage -- and becomes infatuated with a neighborhood girl, Lin Qing (Shiang-chyi Chen). Restless was the first ever American-Chinese co-production, and marked the first feature for writer/director Jule Gilfillan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This is the first mainstream film to deal with the harrowing true story of a Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes mountains in October of 1972 and who were forced to resort to cannibalism to survive more than two months of isolation. (The only other film to tackle the subject, Rene Cardona's Survive! was a seedy little mess that delighted in exploiting the cannibalism aspect.) The events depicted are primarily based on the novel of the same name by Piers Paul Read. The interview-style prologue features an uncredited John Malkovich as one of the survivors, whose spiritual ruminations on the disaster kick off the film's main action. We are briefly introduced to the characters before disaster strikes, in the film's most horrifying set-piece -- the depiction of the crash in grueling detail. The handful of survivors who manage to extricate themselves from the twisted wreckage seem incapable of working through their panic as they hope against all odds that a rescue party will locate them. One of the survivors, Nando (Ethan Hawke), awakens from a coma and makes a remarkable recovery -- enough to demonstrate level-headed leadership after team captain Antonio (Vincent Spano) begins to lose his nerve. As the weeks wear on and rations are depleted, the survivors are forced into a moral dilemma: the only remaining source of food seems to be the bodies of the dead. Those who choose for religious reasons not to consume their former companions must face the realization that they will soon starve or freeze to death. In the end, three men who choose survival above all else find the strength to set out on a treacherous mission to a ridge, where hopefully one of them will make it to civilization. Director Frank Marshall infuses the proceedings with sufficient intensity to keep the story moving, but the film fails to fully explore the often-recounted spiritual aspects of the ordeal as established in the opening monologue. Ironically, the writers' apparent attempts to remain true to Read's account of events -- resulting in some rather odd stretches of dialogue -- impede the drama even more than the Hollywood glamorization of the story's nominal "heroes," who remain rugged and handsome despite months of malnutrition and severe frostbite. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

This effective made-for-TV supernatural thriller (based on the novel Virgin by James Patterson) involves the travails of a Catholic priest (Anthony John Denison) who is ordered by his superiors to investigate the prospect of two separate virgin births -- one of which will bring the Son of God into the world, the other the Son of Satan. Unfortunately, there is no overt indication as to which child is which. Omen-style apocalyptic portents abound as the forces of Evil throw a variety of obstacles in Denison's path, even possessing the soul of the nun (Sela Ward) who is assisting him. Potent, gripping stuff -- and very intense for a TV movie -- this retains much of the metaphysical punch of its source material. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide