Cathy Konrad Movies

A single girl en route to a family wedding gets swept up in a fight between a rogue government agent and the FBI in this globe-trotting action comedy from director James Mangold (Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma). June Havens (Cameron Diaz) is preparing to board a flight back home for her sister's wedding when she literally bumps into Roy Miller (Tom Cruise) in the middle of a busy airport. A few minutes later, they're making small talk on the plane when June excuses herself to the bathroom, and all hell breaks loose in the fuselage. By the time June emerges Roy has killed everybody on board, including the pilots. After crash-landing the plane in a darkened cornfield, Roy tells June that she should expect a visit from government agents, but warns her that by cooperating with them she risks almost certain death. The following day, Roy's prediction comes true when June is confronted by an imposing gang of government spooks who come under heavy fire while bombarding her with questions about her mysterious traveling companion. Suddenly, Roy is back, and he's once again whisking June away to safety. But what do the agents want, and why do they insist that Roy is the one to be feared, and not them? Before long the girl who never traveled far from home is off on a wild adventure that will take her from the tropics to Austria, France, and Spain. Somewhere amidst all of the confusion and gunfire, June begins to forge a bond with Roy. Unfortunately, it's never quite clear whether her unpredictable protector is one of the good guys or the bad guys, and by the time Roy reveals that he's attempting to protect a valuable new energy source, there's no time for questions. Paul Dano, Viola Davis, Peter Sarsgaard, Maggie Grace, and Marc Blucas co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

3:10 to Yuma director James Mangold dives into sci-fi territory with this adaptation of the French graphic novel Cyclops, a dystopian future actioner that concerns a soldier experiencing a crisis of conscience during wartime after realizing the mass media's influence on his missions. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Created by Sex and the City alumnus Jennie Bicks, the hour-long dramedy Men in Trees starred Anne Heche as Marin Frist, a Chicago-based "relationship coach" who suffered a professional and personal crisis when she found out her own mate was cheating on her. Hoping to put her problems behind her, Marin embarked upon a vacation cruise, somehow ending up in the tiny village of Elmo, Alaska, when men outnumbered women by ten to one. Figuring that she needed a fresh start in life, our heroine quickly adjusted herself to the unique eccentricites of her new Elmo neighbors, among them philosophical bartender Ben (Abraham Benrubi), head-in-the-clouds wildlife expert Jack (James Tupper), wisecracking barmaid Theresa (Sarah Strange), and warm-hearted Sara (Suleka Mathew), a hooker who preferred to tell people that she was in the "hospitality business". In a nutshell, Men in Trees was Northern Exposure with a feminist slant. The series joined the ABC prime-time manifest on September 12, 2006. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

James Mangold's Walk the Line tells the life story of country music legend Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix), focusing primarily on the long courtship he had with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon). The film is structured as an extended flashback opening with Cash readying to take the stage at his historic Folsom Prison Concert. The film touches on his childhood, relating a horrific early incident from his life and establishing the troubled relationship he would have with his father (Robert Patrick). Cash joins the military and leaves home. During his time in the armed services he begins writing songs and romances a hometown girl (Ginnifer Goodwin). After the end of his duty he settles down and attempts to begin a music career, but his wife has trouble adjusting to his dreams. Cash auditions for Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts), signs to Sun Records, and soon finds himself on tour with a roster of young soon-to-be legends that includes Elvis Presley (Tyler Hilton) and Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Malloy Payne). On this tour he meets June Carter, the daughter of the famous Carter family, and they take a liking to each other, although she refuses any serious advances from him. Cash gains world-wide fame thanks in part to the inspiration he gets from June, but eventually his marriage crumbles and he develops a serious drug addiction. The film is based on Cash's autobiographies. Phoenix and Witherspoon performed all of their own singing in the movie, just as Sissy Spacek and Beverly D'Angelo did in Coal Miner's Daughter a quarter-century before. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Former South Park writer and Win Ben Stein's Money sidekick Nancy Pimental makes her feature screenwriting debut with this relationship comedy. Cameron Diaz stars as Christina Walters, a jaded, club-hopping single woman in San Francisco who has given up trying to find the perfect mate to focus on "Mr. Right Now." Her equally cynical friend, Courtney (Christina Applegate), a divorce attorney, shares much the same attitude, while their pal, Jane (Selma Blair), is more starry-eyed and naïve. Christina's attitude gets an unexpected makeover one evening at a nightclub when she meets Peter Donahue (Thomas Jane), a real estate agent she finds adorable and just about perfect. Unfortunately, Peter leaves and all Christina knows about him is that his brother, Roger (Jason Bateman), is getting married soon in their small hometown. Recognizing her friend's romantic distress, Courtney suggests they road trip to the wedding and Christina agrees, leading to encounters with a series of obstacles, including some funky leftovers, a filthy service station restroom, and a rather unpleasant revelation once the women arrive at the nuptials. The Sweetest Thing co-stars Parker Posey. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Filmmaker James Mangold follows his Oscar-winning drama Girl, Interrupted (1999) with this whimsical fantasy. Meg Ryan stars as Kate McKay, a modern female executive in New York City whose drive to succeed in the cutthroat corporate world has left little time for romance. When her genius ex-boyfriend Stuart (Liev Schreiber) opens a portal in time, the experiment transports Leopold (Hugh Jackman) from 1867 to the present day. A charming bachelor and the royal "Third Duke of Albany" in his own time, Leopold is fascinated by the 21st century. As the courtly Leopold and the decidedly liberated Kate tour the town, a mutual attraction develops into something deeper, a relationship that's threatened by Leopold's temporary chronological status. Kate & Leopold (2001) was originally developed by co-screenwriter Steve Rogers as a project for star/producer Sandra Bullock, who had a hit with his film Hope Floats (1998). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

After the success of Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and television's Dawson's Creek, screenwriter Kevin Williamson made his directorial debut with this screwball thriller in which an honor roll student and two friends kidnap their witchy teacher. Although her single mom (Lesley Ann Warren), a waitress, struggles to make ends meet, aspiring writer Leigh Ann Watson (Katie Holmes) works hard, avoids sexual temptation, and focuses on her studies. She hopes to make valedictorian and earn a scholarship to college -- and get away from her dead-end hometown. As her senior year draws to a close, however, she's dogged by harsh grades from her vituperative history instructor, Mrs. Tingle (Helen Mirren). On the same day she finds out that she's still in second place behind fellow valedictory candidate Mary Beth Carter (Liz Stauber), Leigh Ann must endure Mrs. Tingle's fierce criticism of the final project into which she's poured her heart. After commiserating with her best friend, aspiring actress Jo Lynn Jordan (Marisa Coughlan), and hunky stoner Luke Churner (Barry Watson), Leigh Ann runs even further afoul of Mrs. Tingle; Luke stashes an advance copy of the teacher's final exam in Leigh Ann's backpack and Tingle discovers it, promising to turn Leigh Ann in for cheating and ruin her chances of a better life. When the three teens turn up at Tingle's house to try to reason with her, Luke and Jo Lynn manage to accidentally kidnap Mrs. Tingle. Soon the three students are keeping their teacher a prisoner, trying to figure out how to blackmail her into silence while maintaining the illusion that nothing strange is going on. Teaching Mrs. Tingle was filmed under the name "Killing Mrs. Tingle," but the title was changed after a rash of real-life high school killing sprees made the headlines. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

In this film by writer-director M. Night Shyamalan, a young boy learns lessons about life and God during a trying year of discovery in fifth grade at a Catholic boys' school. As the school year opens, Joshua Beal (Joseph Cross) is despondent over the recent death of his grandfather (Robert Loggia). On his first day at school, Joshua is harassed by the class bully. Because his grandfather played football, Joshua tries out for the school team, over the objections of his parents (Dana Delaney and Denis Leary), two physicians who don't like the risk of injury. But Joshua is inept athletically and does not make the team. Joshua continues to seek answers from God about his grandfather, so his teacher, Sister Terry (Rosie O'Donnell), advises him to approach a cardinal who is coming to visit the nearby girls school. Joshua meets a young girl at the school and falls for her. As the year goes by, Joshua continues his quest for spiritual answers and finds them in unexpected places, such as a winter snowstorm. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

A year after the monstrous success of 1996's neo-slasher flick Scream, director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson reunited for this follow-up. Since viewers last saw the characters, nosy newswoman Gale Weathers has written a sleazy best-selling book based on the events of the first film, a book that has been adapted into a Hollywood film called Stab, starring Tori Spelling as Sydney Prescott. The real Sydney (Neve Campbell) has since gone away to college in Cincinnati in hopes of leaving the horrific events of her past behind her. Unfortunately, at a showing of Stab, two college students are murdered in a fashion that is reminiscent of the slayings that took place back in Woodsboro. Suddenly, Sydney, her pal Randy (Jamie Kennedy), and dopy deputy Dewey (David Arquette) find themselves once again pursued by a ruthless masked killer. Among the other potential killers and victims are Sarah Michelle Gellar, Laurie Metcalf, and Liev Schreiber. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

The divisive issue of abortion is at the center of Citizen Ruth, a political satire that attempts to subject both pro-choice and pro-life forces to equal ridicule. Laura Dern portrays Ruth Stoops, an irresponsible, unemployed woman who's addicted to inhaling household chemicals and has becomes pregnant, for the fifth time. After she is arrested for substance abuse, the judge offers to lessen her sentence if Ruth chooses to abort her child. Ruth agrees, but that night she encounters a group of pro-life activists. They take her under their wing, promising to help her, while secretly planning to make her case public as a symbol for the pro-life movement . When Ruth discovers the deception, she takes refuge with a pro-choice group, sparking a media frenzy. Yet Ruth soon finds her new friends are also only interested in her value as a media icon. Realizing she has been used as a pawn in the abortion rights battle, the apolitical Ruth turns the tables, offering to join whoever will give her the best deal. What results is a frantic, comedic session of wheeling-dealing which argues that activists on both sides have become more concerned with waging political warfare than helping women. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

In the mode of Quentin Tarantino, this film, directed by Gary Fleder from a script by Scott Rosenberg, concerns itself with hip, smart gangsters. The film is set in Denver, and the title comes from a Warren Zevon song. A retired, good-hearted gangster named Jimmy the Saint (Andy Garcia) runs a company that videotapes dying people giving life advice to their children and grandchildren, to be delivered when they come of age. Jimmy's former crime boss, The Man with the Plan (Christopher Walken), summons him. The Man is wheelchair-bound and doesn't have long to live; he explains that Jimmy owes him a favor and must perform one final job. It involves frightening the boyfriend of the ex-girlfriend of Bernard (Michael Nicolosi), the son of The Man, who has been so shaken by the girl's rejection of him that he has been fondling schoolyard children. Jimmy rounds up his old gang -- including Pieces (Christopher Lloyd), a porno theater projectionist; Franchise (William Forsythe), an ex-biker with a trailer-trash family to support; Critical Bill (Treat Williams), a psychotic, trigger-happy ex-con; and Easy Wind (Bill Nunn), an exterminator. Pieces and Bill pose as cops as part of the needlessly elaborate plan, which misfires badly. The Man, enraged, gives Jimmy 48 hours to leave town, and he orders his comrades wiped out, hiring the notorious hitman Mr. Shhh (Steve Buscemi) to track them down. But Jimmy can't seem to get the others to leave town, and despite The Man's decree, Jimmy is also reluctant to leave, because he's become romantically entangled with Dagney (Gabrielle Anwar). Jack Warden's character serves as a kind of Greek chorus who comments from time to time on the unfolding action. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi