Hynden Walch Movies
The producers of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight team with some of the most respected anime artists in Japan to explore Bruce Wayne's transition from tormented crime fighter to heroic icon of a crumbling metropolis. Separated into six distinct chapters but intended to be viewed as a whole, this stylized look at immortal DC Comics superhero is the result of a collaboration between Shojiro Nishimi (Tekkonkinkreet), Yasuhiro Aoki (Steamboy), Futoshi Higashide (Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack), Toshiyuki Kubooka (The Secret of Blue Water), and Hiroshi Morioka (Chronicle of the Wings). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Conroy, Gary Dourdan, (more)
"Teen Titans" Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire and Raven do battle against the forces of evil while simultaneously adjusting to their own personal "angst" and rampaging hormones in the fourth season of their animated TV series. Things get off to a typically lively start when the Titans are thrust into a TV-generated world--with constantly changing channels--by lunatic couch potato Control Freak. Nor does the action abate in the remaining 12 episodes. Robin aspires to martial arts greatness under the tutelage of the True Master, but it is for the common good or to satisfy his own ego? Hurtled 5000 years into the past, Cyborg becomes a Conan-like barbarian. Beast Boy briefly descends from his superhero pedestal to take a job at a fast-food restaurant with a strangely unappetizing menu. Outer space hero Val-Yor wants the Titans to help him vanquish an enemy--but wants nothing to do with Starfire; and a later scuffle in space sends the Titans off to different corners of the universe. Also, a new "Max-7" brain chip turns Cyborg into a "speed freak"; and an elderly eccentric named Mother May-Eye "adopts" the Ttans as her own, but in this case a superhero's best friend may not be his Mother. The season is dominated by a disturbing throughline, beginning with Raven's curiously nonfestive attitude on her birthday. The source of her discomfort is the Titan's perennial nemesis Slade, who has apparently returned from the dead, and who shares a sinister secret with Raven. All of this is but a prelude to the season's riotous three-part finale, in which Raven, guided by Slade, prepares to fulfill what she believes is her destiny--to bring about the end of the world! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Menville, Greg Cipes, (more)
Fighting a never-ending battle against the forces of evil--and their own immaturities, insecurities and petty jealousies--Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven and Starfire return for a third season of the animated Teen Titans. In the season opener, Cyborg, disguised as a muscleman named Stone, infiltrates the H.IV.E. Academy, breeding ground for the evil Slade's minions. The mission succeeds in utterly decimating H.I.V.E. , a victory that may prove Pyrrhic when several surviving academy members mount an undersea counteract against the Titans in a later episode which features "guest hero" Aqualad. Elsewhere: Robin must battle his alter ego Red X, and his own guilt for making Red X the crazy mixed-up character he has become. Starfire surprises everyone when she announces plans to marry a man she's never met. Beast Boy's obsession with computer games causes Cyborg to be infected with a virus that causes him to berserk--and later in the season, Beast Boy experience another personality makeover when he's drenched in toxic waste. The Titans' long-dead enemy Slade apparently returns to life--or is it merely Robin's delirium that has brought about this unholy resurrection? Raven a rendezvous with a magician she frees from one of her books; and later,the less benign illusionist the Amazing Mumbo sucks the Titans into alternate world reminiscent of the Krofft Brothers' Lidsville! Retro villain Mad Mod returns to crash the Titans' 4th of July party and hurtle the U.S. back into the British Empire. And the Titan's unofficial pet Silkie the silkworm, introduced the previous season, turns out to be one of those domestic creatures that becomes more unmanageable (and more dangerous) when it's off its feed. The two-part season finale marks the formation of a new team, Titans East, comprised of DC Comics veterans Speedy and Aqualad, and Spanish twins Mas Y Menos; alas, their crimefighting activities are severely curtailed after a brainwashing session with the sinister Brother Blood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Menville, Greg Cipes, (more)
The Teen Titans--Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven and Starfire--continue to save the world from various and sundry super-baddies, and to squabble amongst themselves like the overgrown kids that they are, in the second season of the cartoon series bearing their name. In the first of the season's 13 episodes, Starfire is hurtled two decades into the future in pursuit of time-travelling felon Warp--and comes face to face with Robin's "older self" Nightwing. And that's only the beginning, folks, only the beginning! The Titans mistake Beast Boy for a green alien dog, and vice versa. The half-human side of Cyborg clashes with his half-robot side durng a battle with giant robot Atlas. The world of horror films collides with reality (or at least, cartoon reality) when Titans Tower becomes the repository of the Teen Titans' worst fears. The deadly criminal Killer Moth threatens to decimate the city-- unless Robin agrees to escort the Moth's daughter Kitten to her prom! The moment Starfire begins obsessing over her looks, her looks turn around and nearly destroy her. The Master of Games pits the current Teen Titans against several of their comic-book predecessors in an alternate dimension. And Robin comes to regret a visit from his "number one fan" Larry the Titan. There's also a poignant--and ultimately terrifying--plot thread involving Terra, a strange, telekinetic girl who wants to join the Titans, but may not yet have full control over her awesome (and potentially apocalyptic) powers. Terra is given the opportunity to prove her mettle Titans' arch-enemy Slade--and later, Terra and Beast Boy become an "item". Alas, the relationship sours in a spectacular fashion, as demonstrated in the season's slam-bang two-part finale, which proves beyond doubt that Hell hate no fury like a Terra scorned! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Menville, Greg Cipes, (more)
The Justice League finds itself in the middle of a diabolical "reality show" along the Las Vegas strip. It seems that the Joker has planted time bombs all up and down the main drag of Sin City, and has given the JLers only a few hours to deactivate the explosives. Complicating matters is the interference of The Joker's newest henchpersons, the "Royal Flush Gang": Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten (their voices ironically supplied by cast members of Justice League's "sister" animated series Teen Titans). ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Hamill, Arleen Sorkin, (more)
In the conclusion of a two-part story, the Justice League races against time to deactive the time bombs that the Joker has planted all up and down the Las Vegas strip. Ultimately the explosives are neutralized, and four of the five members of the Joker's Royal Flush Gang have been disposed of -- but there's still one ace up the villain's sleeve. As the story races to its climax, two of the League members, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, suddenly begin to see one another in a whole new light. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Hamill, Arleen Sorkin, (more)
Youthful superheroes Robin the Boy Wonder, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven and Starfire battle a vast array of costumed villains--not to mention their own raging hormones, petty jealousies, and deep-set insecurities--in Season One of the animated Teen Titans. Thirteen episodes are dished up this season. In the opener, the Titans are attacked by graduates of the H.I.V.E. Academy, minions all of the mysterious Slade Williams. Then, Starfire is locked into a fierce sibling rivalry with her mercurial sister Blackfire. In the next episode, an effort to wipe out the villainous Cinderblock comes acropper because the Titans can't get along together. And there's more. Practical joker Beast Boy gets a dose of his own medicine just in time to reign in a destructive fraternal pair called Thunder and Lightning. The half-robotic Cyborg suffers a power failure in the middle of a pitched battle with the Amazing Mumbo. An enchanted mirror enables the Titans to literally find out what's on the apparently schizoid Raven's mind. The feud between Starfire and Raven has to be put on the back burner when the Titan males are "puppetized." Beast Boy shows off his morphing ability, only to be upstaged by former Teen Titan Aqualad (voiced by Wil Wheaton). Robin zeroes in on the mysterious Slade when the latter steals a valuable computer chip, virtually ignoring another and possibly more serious threat. The "retro" villain Mad Mod kidnaps the Titans and subjects them to a bummer of a bad trip. And in a two-part episode, Robin agaonizes over the possibility that he may be no better than the villains he pursues. In the first-season finale, Cyborg creates his "dream" vehicle, the T-Car, only to have the vehicle fall into the wrong hands--several wrong hands, in fact! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Scott Menville, Greg Cipes, (more)
Stanley (voice of Jessica D. Stone) likes drawing animals and has a talking pet goldfish named Dennis (voice of Charles Shaughnessy). Also featuring the voice talents of Ari Meyers and David Landsberg. Theme song by the Baha Men. Based on the books by Andrew Griff, this Disney Channel series originally aired in 2001. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Stone, Charles Shaughnessy, (more)
Despite the best efforts of Danny Sorenson (Rick Schroder), street informant J.B. Murphy is unable to kick his drug habit; when J.B. is found dead at the scene of a fire, Danny goes off the deep end, thoroughly alienating his girlfriend, Mary (Sheeri Rappaport). Elsewhere, Jill (Andrea Thompson) is convinced that so-called kleptomaniac Lucy Sperling (Hynden Walch) is actually stealing on orders from her no-good husband, Harvey (Daniel Blinkoff). But when she tries to protect Lucy from her husband's wrath, Jill is unexpectedly thwarted by well-meaning cop Ed Laughlin (Anthony Mangano) -- with disastrous results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In light of the fact that the married workers at Winfred-Louder receive higher medical benefits than the unmarried ones, Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson) allows all married employees to go home early as a tornado approaches Cleveland, but forces the "singles" to remain at the store. Angrily, Drew forms a "singles union", which action leads to complications far beyond a mere natural catastrophe. Meanwhile, two story arcs are introduced, the first involving Mimi (Kathy Kinney) as she takes advantage of a seriously traumatized Mr. Wick, and the second concerning a curious development in the relationship between lifelong friends Kate (Christa Miller) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Combining drama, comedy, and romance, Jerry Maguire was a critical and commercial success built on an original script by writer/director Cameron Crowe and an Oscar-nominated performance by Tom Cruise. Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is an agent with a major sports management firm. He's enthusiastic, successful, a great negotiator and people like him. But it begins to dawn on Jerry that there's something wrong with what he's doing, and not long after a troubling encounter with the son of an injured athlete he represents, Jerry has a serious crisis of conscience. In the midst of a sleepless night, Jerry writes a memo calling on himself and his colleagues to think more about the long-term welfare of the clients they represent and less about immediate profits. While everyone around him applauds the sentiment, Jerry's superiors think his ideas are bad for business; Jerry is fired, and, rather than standing in solidarity with him, his "friends" in the firm scramble like sharks to claim Jerry's clients. At the end of his last day, the only people willing to join Jerry as he strikes out on his own are staff accountant Dorothy (Renee Zellweger), a single mother secretly in love with him, and Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.), a football player whose pride and arrogance have gotten in the way of his reaching his potential. Jerry Maguire earned an Academy Award for Cuba Gooding Jr.'s performance as Tidwell and provided a breakthrough role for Renee Zellweger; it also made "Show me the money!" an unavoidable catchphrase for several months. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr., (more)
In the bizarre style of director Hal Hartley, for whom she performed in The Unbelievable Truth and Trust, actress Adrienne Shelly's debut as a director and screenwriter is a story about a group of young Manhattanites trying desperately to figure out what life is all about. Donna (Shelly) is a restless, jobless young woman with a lover, Adam (Tim Guinee) who is not only impotent but more interested in reading Russian literature than in having sex. Her college professor, Murphy (Roger Rees), is an off-the-wall Englishman who has a secret, unrequited affection for Donna. Donna is neurotic, depressed, and uneasy about life's meaninglessness, to the point where getting out of bed each morning is a chore. Her life changes one morning when she hears a strange rumbling coming from her plate of scrambled eggs. She looks out the window and witnesses a murder, but when the police come, the body has disappeared, and they dismiss Donna's testimony as mad ravings. After seeing several other murders, she fears for her sanity. She consults a gypsy fortuneteller, Dominga (Louise Lasser). Dominga points out a direction for Donna to follow, and she sets off with Adam, her girlfriend Georgie (Hynden Walch) and two eccentric friends, Ian (Paul Cassell) and Alex (John Sklaroff), to investigate the murders. The movie become a surreal descent into existential madness, with an increasingly outrageous, often incomprehensible plot. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrienne Shelly, Tim Guinee, (more)
Assembled by the same team responsible for "The Hallmark Hall of Fame", this TV adaptation of Neil Simon's hit play Jake's Woman stars Alan Alda, recreating his Broadway role as Simon-esque writer Jake. Mired in an unhappy marriage with current spouse Maggie (Anne Archer), Jake tries to cope with his wife's insistence on a trial separation by conjuring up images of the other women in his life: his late wife Julie (Mira Sorvino), his confused daughter Molly (Kimberly Williams), his neurotic sister Karen (Julie Kavner) and his analyst Edith (Joyce Van Patten). Putting his literary skills to good use, Jake carries on imaginary conversations with these ladies, hoping that they will help him sort out his problems. The trouble begins when the spectres of Jake's Women begin showing up without his bidding, insisting upon debating and arguing with the poor fellow even as he tries to pursue a new romance with his current flame Sheila (Lolita Davidovich). Neil Simon's Jake's Women (the official title) first aired March 3, 1996 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Alda, Anne Archer, (more)
Two children from a working-class family in New York struggle to understand the story of God versus Lucifer as they try to deal with a mentally ill mother in this intense, realistic, spiritual drama. Angela is ten-years-old and has visions of angels. She spends much of her time trying to comprehend the tale of God and Lucifer. She also tries to protect her baby sister, six-year-old, Ellie by cautioning her to stay clean and good lest the Devil take her away. Ellie and Angela have been moved several times in their life. Their father, Andrew, is a hard worker; their mother, Mae, is becoming increasingly mentally ill. The children frequently witness her outbursts, but can do nothing to stop her sad descent. Sometimes Angela spies on them as they make love. After Mae is finally placed in an institution the girls must spend many hours on their own. At one point they assist their pregnant sitter when her water breaks. At another they manage to get away from a child molester at a carnival. In the final scene, Angela decides to baptize herself in the river and finally finds the transformation she sought. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Ventimiglia, Miranda Stuart Rhyne, (more)
While visiting New York, a Japanese nightclub owner is murdered. The detectives follow the trail of clues to a singer who once worked for the victim. The Defense tries to free the woman using the "battered woman syndrome" argument -- a strategy disdainfully dismissed by Assistant D.A. McCoy (Sam Waterston) as "revenge dressed up in smoke and mirrors." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide























