Marc E. Platt Movies
- 2011
Director Neil Marshall (Doomsday) brings James Sallis' high-octane novel Drive to the big-screen blacktop with this Universal Pictures production starring Hugh Jackman as a stuntman on the run from contract killers. The noir action thriller was adapted by Hossein Amini (Killshot), with producing duties handled by Marc Platt, John Palermo, and Jackman. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan team up for the Warner Bros. police buddy movie A Couple of Dicks with this Kevin Smith-directed production. From a script by Robb and Mark Cullen, the picture focuses on a detective duo who investigate the disappearance of a baseball card. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Seann William Scott
- 2010
Academy Award-winning scribe Diablo Cody tackles the long-running teen high school romance book series Sweet Valley High with this Universal Pictures production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2010
Zac Efron reteams with 7 Again's Burr Steers for this adaptation of Ben Sherwood's novel regarding a caretaker of a cemetery who has daily discussions with his deceased brother. Kim Basinger heads up the supporting cast as the young men's mother. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2010
Comedian Russell Brand boards another remake with this revamp of the 1991 dud, Drop Dead Fred for Universal Pictures. The original, starring Phoebe Cates, surrounded a young woman's plight to keep her sanity when her rabble-rousing childhood imaginary friend comes back into her life after she's forced to move back home. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2009
A young man (Michael Cera) must fight a girl's (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) seven sinister ex-boyfriends in order to win her hand in this Universal Pictures' adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Oni Press comic book. Shaun of the Dead's Edgar Wright directs from a script he penned with Michael Bacall. Superhero veterans Chris Evans and Brandon Routh co-star in the action comedy as two of the seven ex-boyfriends. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Cera, Chris Evans, (more)
- 2009
- R
A woman is put through the ringer by her stepson in this adaptation of Ayelet Waldman's novel from writer/director Don Roos (screenwriter of The Devil Wears Prada). Natalie Portman stars with Scott Cohen and Charlie Tahan, with Marc Platt handling producing duties. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Lingering tensions clash with new hopes in director Jonathan Demme's ensemble drama set during an idyllic wedding that threatens to descend into chaos with the appearance of the bride's estranged sister -- a volatile and unpredictable girl whose turbulent history of personal crisis and family conflict quickly threatens to take precedence over the happy ceremony. Rachel Buchman (Rosemarie DeWitt) is about to be married to the love of her life, but while the weather outside may be perfect, there's a storm blowing in. That storm goes by the name Kym (Anne Hathaway). Kym is the family black sheep, and wherever she goes disaster is sure to follow. Now, as friends and family gather together for a memorable day of dining, dancing, and celebration, everyone braces themselves knowing that, at any given moment, old skeletons may be dragged out and dusted off for display by the bombshell who seems to have an acerbic one-liner for every situation, and a flare for drama that could set their family home ablaze. Bill Irwin and Debra Winger co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, (more)
When Elle Wood's British twin cousins move to Los Angeles to attend high school, they quickly learn that in order to succeed they will need to prove that blondes not only have more fun, but have more smarts as well. Savage Steve Holland directs this straight-to-video Legally Blonde spin-off starring Camilla and Rebecca Rosso. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rebecca Rosso, Camilla Rosso, (more)
Night Watch director Timur Bekmambetov helms his first English-language feature film with this big-screen adaptation of Mark Millar's action-packed graphic novel. Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is a cube-dwelling hypochondriac whose uneventful life has become a mundane blur of terminal boredom. Repeatedly humiliated by his boss and constantly cuckolded by his cheating girlfriend, weakling Wes seems to be living right down to everyone's expectations that he would never amount to anything in life. However, upon discovering that the father he never knew has been brutally murdered, the spineless, clock-punching pushover is recruited into a secret society of assassins known as the Fraternity. During the course of his training, the man who was once an office-bound wimp develops lightning-fast reflexes and superhuman dexterity courtesy of his skilled mentor Fox (Angelina Jolie). Upon completing his training, Wes is assigned the task of dealing out death to the mythological Fates, who possess the ability to alter the lifelines of mortal men. It isn't long before the nebbish nerd-turned-agile assassin is erasing the bad guys with surprising efficiency, yet as Wes begins to carry the mantle passed down to him by his father, he gradually begins to suspect that his wise tutors are not the crime-fighting enforcers they present themselves to be. Now, with everything he ever wanted in life finally within his grasp, Wes is about to find out that the only thing more difficult than ending the lives of others is summoning the courage to take control of his own. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, (more)
- 2008
Universal Pictures presents this supernatural comedy that follows a slacker whose self-centeredness gets in the way of him using his newfound magical powers for good. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- 2008
Despite having broken up with her longtime boyfriend when it began to appear that marriage just wasn't in the cards for the pair, an independent woman begins to feel the bitter pangs of jealousy when she discovers that her ex has begun dating another woman. Halle Berry stars in a romantic comedy drama from Real Women Have Curves director Patricia Cardoso. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Halle Berry
- 2007
- PG
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Producer Marc E. Platt brings author Susan Cooper's popular series of children's fantasy books to the big screen with this tale of a young boy (Alexander Ludwig) who discovers that he is the latest in a long line of immortal warriors. When the forces of darkness, led by the villainous Rider (Christopher Eccleston), threaten to overpower the forces of light, the young chosen one must venture out into the world to realize his destiny and ensure that evil is defeated. Ian McShane and Frances Conroy round out the cast. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexander Ludwig, Christopher Eccleston, (more)
- 2006
This five-hour ABC miniseries depicts the events leading up to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, through the scope of a handful of intelligence and counter-terrorism officials in the U.S. government. Harvey Keitel plays John O'Neill, the counter-terrorism chief of the FBI whose belief that Osama bin Laden was planning assaults on U.S. soil fell on deaf ears and failed to gain the traction necessary to stop the events. In a tragic twist, O'Neill later went to work at the World Trade Center and was killed on that fateful day. Also starring Donnie Wahlberg and Stephen Root, The Path to 9/11 garnered controversy for its questionable depiction of the Clinton administration's failings related to the threat. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harvey Keitel, Michael Benyaer, (more)
Three loosely interrelated stories of dysfunctional relationships are played for edgy laughs in this dark comedy drama from writer and director Don Roos. An unexpected assignation between stepsiblings Mamie and Charley results in Mamie becoming pregnant, with the child being put up for adoption shortly after birth. Twenty years later, Mamie (Lisa Kudrow) is approached by Nicky (Jesse Bradford), an aspiring filmmaker with an abrasive personality who claims to know where her long-lost son is living. However, there's a catch -- Nicky wants to shoot the reunion for the student film he's working on, and won't tell her about her child unless she agrees, though her lover, Javier (Bobby Cannavale), attempts to work out a compromise. Meanwhile, Charley (Steve Coogan), now out of the closet, has a longstanding relationship with Gil (David Sutcliffe), and the couple are involved in a legal battle over whether or not Gil's donated sperm produced a baby who has been adopted by a lesbian couple they know (Laura Dern and Sarah Clarke). And finally, Jude (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a bohemian malcontent who becomes involved with Otis (Jason Ritter), a sexually ambiguous rock musician. Otis has a difficult relationship with his father, Frank (Tom Arnold), but when Jude meets Frank, she likes him fine -- in fact, she soon falls in love with him and leaves Otis for his dad. Happy Endings had its world premiere at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Arnold, Jesse Bradford, (more)
A girl plays Cupid for her mom, but has to invent the right man to woo her in this romantic comedy. Jean Hamilton (Heather Locklear) is a single mother with two daughters, teenaged Holly (Hilary Duff) and grade-school-aged Zoe (Aria Wallace). Fortysomething Jean has stumbled in and out of a number of bad relationships in her lifetime, and is desperate to find a good man; however, Holly has grown a bit tired of Jean's favored means of therapy after a bad breakup -- packing up the family and moving to a new city. Once Jean and her girls settle in Brooklyn, Holly thinks they should stay for a while, and when Jean's romantic prospects begin to look less than rosy, Holly and her new friend Amy (Vanessa Lengies) decide to invent a secret admirer for her. Needing advice on what the "perfect man" would say and do, Holly and Amy turn to Ben (Chris Noth), Amy's uncle who talks a very good game when it comes to romance. But convincing Jean that there's a real man behind the steady stream of letters and e-mails from her new admirer isn't as easy as Holly imagines, and it looks as if her imaginary suitor might get in the way of a flesh-and-blood Mr. Right. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear, (more)
This two-part HBO miniseries is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Richard Russo. Having long since sacrificed youthful ideals and values to remain in his New England hometown for the sake of his family, middle-aged Miles Roby (Ed Harris) finds his "secure" little world disintegrating when his wife, Janine (Helen Hunt), divorces him. Equally vexing is the emotional and financial pressure exerted by domineering town matriarch Francine Whiting (Joanne Woodward), who owns (among other things) the Empire Grill, the little diner that Ed has run for several years. As he reflects on what he considers to be a wasted life, Ed flashes back to memories of his curmudgeonly father, Max (Paul Newman, who also executive-produced the miniseries); his long-dead mother, Grace (Robin Wright Penn); his scapegrace brother, David (Aidan Quinn); his blossoming daughter "Tick" (Danielle Panabaker); and Francine's late husband, C.B. Whiting (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Also tied in with Miles' reminiscences is the spectacular saga of the rise and fall of Empire Falls, a once-prosperous mill town that has fallen into disrepair -- as have the town's once-rigid and inviolate social barriers. Despite the initial bleakness of Miles' plight, and the revelation of innumerable family skeletons as the plot progresses, the story is ultimately both heartwarming and life-affirming. Filmed on location in Maine, Empire Falls originally aired on May 28 and 29, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ed Harris, Danielle Panabaker, (more)
A love-sick nobleman seeking to marry his sweetheart does his best to find his ruling prince a suitable bride so that he himself may wed in this screen adaptation of the popular Broadway musical The Princess and the Pea. No one in Prince Dauntless (Denis O'Hare)'s kingdom is permitted to marry until the prince himself exchanges vows -- a problem hindered by the fact that the prince's overprotective mother, Queen Aggravain (Carol Burnett), has thus far thwarted all efforts to marry her son. This does not sit well with the honorable Sir Harry, a man whose heart longs to wed the fair Lady Larkin (Zooey Deschanel), and after a long and arduous journey specifically designed to find the prince a bride, Sir Harry returns to his kingdom to present Princess Winnifred of the swamps (Tracey Ullman). Immediately stricken by the princess, Prince Dauntless sets into motion plans for a lavish wedding as his scheming mother cooks up a test that's sure to send his marital plans awry. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carol Burnett, Tracey Ullman, (more)
- 2003
- PG13
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Taking home a paycheck that nearly rivals the budget of the first film, Reese Witherspoon reprises the role of Elle Woods in this sequel to 2001's surprise blockbuster Legally Blonde. When she's fired from her job at an upscale law firm for voicing her stance against the testing of cosmetics on animals, Elle heads to Capitol Hill to fight for her cause before Congress, leaving her boyfriend, Emmett (Luke Wilson, reprising his role from the film's predecessor), behind. Once there, she runs into plenty of adversity and red-tape and can't seem to find anyone who will listen to her proposals. While staying at the Watergate hotel though, she meets and befriends an elderly bellman (Bob Newhart in his first theatrical role since 1997's In & Out) who's been around politicians long enough to know the ins and outs of the political machine. With his help, Elle attempts to convince disillusioned U.S. Representative Rudd (Sally Field) to help her get her voice heard in front of the stodgy old coots of the legislative branch. Directed by Charles Herman-Wurmfeld hot off the success of his critically acclaimed indie comedy Kissing Jessica Stein, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde boasts a supporting cast led by Jennifer Coolidge (Best in Show, American Pie) and Regina King (Jerry Maguire, Daddy Day Care). ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reese Witherspoon, Sally Field, (more)
Dark Angel-lead Jessica Alba stars in the title role of this film, the feature debut from music-video director Bille Woodruff. Honey is a girl from the streets who works in a record store, teaches the occasional dance class at a community center, and treks downtown every weekend to hit the clubs and try out some new moves. There, she meets a music video producer (David Moscow) who offers her a chance to be a choreographer -- but at a price she eventually learns she's unwilling to pay. Determined to pick herself back up, Honey goes back to the inner-city of her youth with plans of starting a dance school. Lil' Romeo co-stars as Honey's protege; other real-life musicians (including Missy Elliott, Tweet, Jay-Z, and Ginuwine) appear as themselves. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Alba, Mekhi Phifer, (more)
- 2002
The ad copy for the ABC medical drama MDs promised "doctors who'll bend any rule and take on the system." The series looked and sounded a lot like M*A*S*H, the difference being that it took place in peacetime, and in contemporary San Francisco. William Fichter and John Hannah essayed the Hawkeye and Trapper John counterparts, here named Dr. Bruce Kellerman and Dr. Robert Dalgety. Though chronically irreverent and taking special delight in bucking bureaucracy and red tape at every opportunity, the two protagonists also happened to be brilliant and dedicated surgeons, investing an emotional interest in virtually all their patients ("Come on, you're not gonna die on me today!"). In its efforts to sustain a staunchly anti-HMO stance, the series admittedly stacked the deck a bit by drawing virtually all of its authority figures in broad, almost caricatured strokes: For example, Kellerman and Dalgety's chief nemesis was Mission General Hospital's bean-counting new administrator Pangborn (Leslie Stefanson), who had previously managed a theme park and who fainted at the sight of blood. MDs premiered September 25, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Fichtner, John Hannah, (more)
Based on the animated hit TV show of the 1970s, Josie and the Pussycats is a live-action tale of a group of young girl rockers who desire to make it big. Josie (Rachael Leigh Cook), Val (Rosario Dawson), and Melody (Tara Reid) make up an aspiring garage band that is discovered by shady megalomaniac executive Wyatt Frame (Alan Cumming), the sidekick to MegaRecords boss Fiona (Parker Posey), who runs an industry powerhouse that has been grooming the very successful boy band Du Jour. Unbeknownst to the band, MegaRecords is a company whose real intent is to brainwash young people, with subliminal messages inserted in CDs to assure a healthy sales record. Josie and her crew soon latch on to the real deal behind their new label and are forced to choose between their burgeoning rock-star success and doing what's right for future music lovers. The film also stars Gabriel Mann as Josie's love interest/folk singer Alan M. Its soundtrack features work by Counting Crows' Adam Duritz, the Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin, and Babyface. Rachael Leigh Cook's voice was dubbed by Letters to Cleo's Kay Hanley for the film's musical set pieces. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid, (more)
Reese Witherspoon stars in this romantic comedy, the feature film debut of award-winning Australian director Robert Luketic. As a ravishing Miss Hawaiian Tropic, sorority president, and calendar girl, Elle Woods (Witherspoon) is a big hit on the campus of her sun-drenched Los Angeles college. She's also got the perfect boyfriend in Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis), a wealthy East Coast blue blood. Fearing that his snooty friends and family will never accept the bubble-headed Elle, however, Warner dumps her before heading off to graduate law school at Harvard University. Determined to win back her man, Elle enrolls in the same imposing institution, quickly becoming an object of scorn and ridicule, especially to Warner's old prep school flame (Selma Blair). Despite her penchant for malls, makeup, and tanning, Elle is no dummy and is soon showing elite Ivy League snobs a thing or two about class, self-confidence, and courtroom victory. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, (more)
Todd Barrett (John Dye) is an Arizona State University student who needs money for tuition in this teen comedy. He recruits his handsome friend Bret Wilson (Steve Lyon) from the school diving team to pose for a series of photographs. The enterprising Todd uses the photos to print a calendar that quickly becomes a hot-selling item and ends his financial woes. This feature was shot on location at ASU. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Dye, Steve Lyon, (more)
