Kevin J. Messick Movies
- 2010
Charles Burns' critically acclaimed graphic novel Black Hole is adapted for the big screen with this Paramount Pictures production, to be helmed by director David Fincher from a script by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary. The tale surrounds a group of teenagers afflicted with an STD that mutates each one in various frightening pubescent ways. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2009
- R
- Add The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard to QueueAdd The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard to top of Queue
A smooth-talking jack-of-all-trades attempts to save a struggling car dealership from certain bankruptcy in this comedy starring Jeremy Piven, directed by Chappelle's Show creator Neal Brennan, and produced by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Gary Sanchez Productions. Don Ready (Piven) takes sales seriously; he's always up for a challenge, and he parties as hard as he works. Approached to help an ailing car dealership from falling into the red, Ready recruits a crew of his best men and descends upon the quiet town of Temecula determined to succeed. Before long the dealership is flourishing and Ready's crew are kings of the roost, but what happens when the man who made his mint by hustling cars meets the one woman who isn't charmed by his formidable skills as a salesman. Realizing this may be his one shot at true love, Ready starts working overtime to convince the woman of his dreams that he's the best bargain on the lot. Has the hustler finally found his soul, or is he so locked into his anything-goes lifestyle that there's no looking back? Ving Rhames, Ed Helms, James Brolin, and David Koechner co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames, (more)
The reclusive author whose groundbreaking book redefined spirituality for an entire generation realizes how little he actually knows upon being approached by a single mother and a recovering addict in this drama from first time writer/director John Hindman. It's been 20 years since Arlen Faber (Jeff Daniels) penned "Me and God," and the inspirational, soul-searching book is still as popular as ever. Anyone who reads it thinks that Arlen has all the answers to life's problems, but these days the author barely ventures outside of the house. Then, one day, Arlen crosses paths with Elizabeth (Lauren Graham), a single mother struggling to raise her seven-year-old son, and Kris (Lou Taylor Pucci), a young man who has just gotten out of rehab. Both are searching for the answers that will help them to become better people while overcoming their fears of failure. Does Arlen possess the wisdom to help Elizabeth and Kris work through their current problems, or is he really as clueless as he's been feeling for the last two decades? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeff Daniels, Lauren Graham, (more)
Two friends who've convinced themselves they would never make a good couple discover they might just be wrong in this romantic comedy. Oliver (Ashton Kutcher) and Emily (Amanda Peet) first met when they were college students sharing a flight from California to New York; Emily spontaneously seduced Oliver on the plane, and they spent the next few days together in the city. When they parted, however, Emily decided not to pursue a relationship with Oliver, even though he was obviously interested. Over the next several years, circumstances kept putting them in one another's paths, and over the years Oliver and Emily became close friends and confidantes. Both are still certain, though, that they're entirely wrong for each other on a romantic level. However, after nearly a decade, with both Oliver and Emily edging into their thirties, they begin to wonder if they've allowed a great opportunity to pass them by. A Lot Like Love also stars Kathryn Hahn, Ali Larter, and Kal Penn. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ashton Kutcher, Amanda Peet, (more)
- 2002
- Add Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie to QueueAdd Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie to top of Queue
Based on a real-life 1994 scandal involving college basketball point-shaving, Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie stars David Krumholtz as the title character. Though a mere freshman on the campus of Arizona State University, Benny Silman (Krumholtz) is in charge of accepting all bets for the school's basketball games, under the watchful eye of his mentor, a high-rolling Las Vegas gambler (Nicholas Turturro). It isn't long before Benny is operating his own bookie ring, raking in big bucks at every turn. The beginning of the end for Benny occurs when A.S.U. basketball star Stevin "Hedake" Smith (Tory Kittles) suggests that he'd like a piece of the action, too. Although the Benny Silman depicted onscreen remains unrepentant and unapologetic, even when getting his just desserts at the hands of the authorities, the real Silman appears in the film's epilogue, equipped with an unexpected "Don't let this happen to you!" admonition. Filmed on location in California and Nevada (not surprisingly, the producers were unable to line up shooting dates in Arizona), the made-for-cable Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie debuted March 31, 2002 over the FX network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Krumholtz, Jennifer Morrison, (more)
Albert and Allen Hughes, the writing and directing team of Menace II Society and Dead Presidents, turn their documentary eye to the world of street pimps in this 1999 Sundance Film Festival Documentary Competition entry. The black urban pimps interviewed here open up to reveal their world and their secrets to the camera in a film that is not about sex, but about power. We meet pimps named Filmore Slim, C-Note, K-Red, Gorgeous Dre, and Rosebudd as they discuss their business, including percentages, lifestyles, stealing "ho's," and the Player's Ball. These men exude charm and charisma, and boast rock-star status in their communities, with expensive clothes, cars, and bankrolls. The film works as an allegory to the film and music industries, where people are lured with glamour and money, only to be used as commodity and tossed out once they have passed their prime. The film also traces the history of the street pimp from the '20s to the present, with particular emphasis on the '70s pimp, whose lifestyle was exposed in the blaxploitation films of the '70s. ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide
The directorial debut of Kiefer Sutherland is part-Western, part-gangster flick in the style of Quentin Tarantino. Raymond (Vincent Gallo) is paroled from prison but decides to do one last robbery to get money to help him successfully woo his love Addy (Kim Dickens). With fellow ex-con Curtis Freley (Sutherland) and his friend Marcus Weans (Mykelti Williamson), who is really an undercover narcotics agent, Raymond botches a drug heist. Fleeing to Mexico, they pick up a pair of young yuppie lovers, Donna (Grace Phillips) and Gordon (Kevin Pollack), and hold them hostage for the ride. They change their getaway vehicle to Gordon's Winnebago mobile home. In Las Vegas, they try to sell stolen drugs to a mob kingpin, Tony Vega (Rod Steiger). ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Mykelti Williamson, (more)
A nubile young babysitter (Alicia Silverstone) has no idea that she is the center of a maelstrom of male sexual fantasies. Based on a disturbing short story by Robert Coover, the drama presents a non-linear account of a perfectly mundane event. Having a social engagement, a couple calls for their babysitter. She arrives, they go out, her boyfriend comes over, and the weirdness begins -- for director Guy Ferland makes little distinction between the character fantasies and what is really occurring. Something will happen, and then it will happen again; only the outcome is different. What makes this dark film so disturbingly creepy is that none of the males involved, neither the frustrated boyfriend, the horny husband who hired her, or even her little charge has nice fantasies about her. The film contains several sexual scenes and some scenes of violence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alicia Silverstone, Jeremy London, (more)
The Richard Connell short story, The Most Dangerous Game, has been adapted for the screen many times. In this updated version, the rapper-actor Ice-T plays Mason, a homeless man whose best friend and his dog both die on the same day. Cole (Charles S. Dutton, a relief worker, tells Mason that there's a job available that entails leading a hunting expedition in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. The desperate Mason signs on. The hunting party is led by two CIA agents, Burns (Rutger Hauer) and Hawkins (Gary Busey), and it includes a business executive, Wolfe, Sr. (F. Murray Abraham), his son (William McNamara), and a strange Texan, Griffin (John C. McGinley). Mason flies on ahead to prepare the hunting lodge, and there he discovers that he is to be the prey for the hunt, though the hunters at least give him a head start before pursuing. The violent action pits the high-tech hunters, armed with numerous fancy weapons and vehicles, against Mason -- who must rely on his street smarts to escape and turn the tables on the hunting party. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ice-T, Rutger Hauer, (more)
