Christine Willes Movies

The story of Alice in Wonderland receives a hyper-violent makeover in Watchmen and 300 director Zack Snyder's fantastical tale of a young psychiatric patient who escapes into a vivid world of fantasy after being committed to a mental hospital by her abusive stepfather. Set in the 1950s, Sucker Punch takes viewers on an incredible journey into the mind of Babydoll (Emily Browning), who finds herself at the mercy of her malevolent stepfather after her mother passes away. With no remaining family and no friends to turn to, her stepfather has her committed to a bleak mental hospital, where she is scheduled to receive a lobotomy in five days. As the procedure draws near, Babydoll creates a phantasmagorical alternate reality in which she must seek out five items in order to secure her freedom. Should she fail, her mind isn't the only thing she stands to lose. Abbie Cornish, Vanessa Hudgens, Carla Gugino, and Jon Hamm co-star in a film co-written by Snyder and Steve Shibuya. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

This true-crime biopic explores the life of mother-and-son grifters Sante and Kenny Kimes, from Kenny's childhood apprenticeship in early-'80s Honolulu to Sante's murder trial in late-'90s New York City. Fortyish Sante Kimes (Judy Davis) uses her looks and her brazen disregard for the law to acquire whatever she wants in life, from jewels to cars to large insurance settlements. Her most frequent accomplice in these endeavors? Son Kenny (former General Hospital actor Jonathan Jackson), who spends most of his childhood serving as a bit player, then later a co-star, in his mother's schemes. When a slavery -- yes, slavery -- conviction sends Sante to prison, Kenny enjoys a more or less normal adolescence with his wealthy father (Chelcie Ross), who has long refused to marry Sante. But upon her return from the big house, the now over-the-hill Sante re-enlists her son's assistance in her amoral activities. Eventually fingered for the murder of a wealthy Manhattan matron, Sante finds herself in court, where her son's testimony may well end her lifelong crime spree once and for all. Adapted by Randy Stone and Teena Booth from Jeanne King's book Dead End: The Crime Story of the Decade: Murder, Incest and High-Tech Thievery, A Little Thing Called Murder premiered January 23, 2006, on the Lifetime cable network. It was actually the second TV movie to explore the Kimes' story, following Mary Tyler Moore's turn in the 2001 CBS offering Like Mother, Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

It is the final stand between the transgens and their enemies in this special 90-minute episode. The connection between anti-transgen White (Martin Cummins) and the "Sandeman" responsible for the creation of such Manticore mutants as Joshua (Kevin Durand) has finally been revealed. As human vigilantes prepare to besiege the transgen refuge in Terminal City, Max (Jessica Alba), who has rather forcefully enlisted her human friends to her side of the battle, welcomes a mass migration of thousands and thousands of her Manticore "siblings" from all over the country. Will those runic symbols breaking out all over Max's body be explained? Is Logan (Michael Weatherly) at last immune to Max's lab-generated virus? And will White succeed in wiping out all traces of Manticore by killing every transgen on Earth? Unless the grass-roots effort to revive the series succeeds, this remains the last-ever episode of Dark Angel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Comic actor Bob Saget served as producer and director of this made-for-TV film, inspired by the true story of Saget's sister Gay, who died in 1994 at the age of 47. Despite the pressures of single motherhood, schoolteacher Hope Altman (Dana Delany) seems to have her life in order until she is diagnosed with scleroderma, a disfiguring skin disease that causes her body's connective tissues to stiffen and atrophy, and will eventually paralyze her while eating away at her vital organs. There is no cure for scleroderma, and the survival rate is tragically low--and worse, neither the medical community nor the general public has a firm grasp on understanding the disease and its many victims (500,000, mostly female, in the United States alone). The film chronicles the manner in which Hope and her family handle the nightmarish situation, often with what Saget described as "irreverence and dark humor" (At one point, Hope's brother Alan--a comedy writer--quips that scleroderma sounds like "a deli entrée"). Sharon Monsky, who at the time ran one of the most prominent organizations for those suffering from scleroderma, appears briefly as herself. For Hope originally aired over the ABC network on November 17, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this comedy, a writer's triumphant return to his hometown turns out to have a very long string attached. As a child, small and timid David Leary grew up in Hastings, MN, where he lived in mortal fear of the school bully, Roscoe Bigger, aka "Fang." Fang loved nothing more than making David's every waking moment a physical and emotional torment. Fortunately for David, his parents moved the family to California not long after David turned the tables on Fang; Fang stole a moon rock from a school display and David finked on him, putting Fang on the fast track to reform school. Years later, David (played as an adult by Rick Moranis) is a successful author, and he has been invited to teach English at the school he attended as a child. David is intrigued to discover that Victoria (Julianne Phillips), the girl he used to have a crush on, is also on the faculty (as the sex-ed instructor, no less) and interested in seeing him. But David's happiness is short-lived when he meets the school's shop teacher -- none other than Roscoe (Tom Arnold). Fang's stay in a juvenile home shattered his spirit, and he's been a spineless loser ever since; these days, David is the only person still afraid of him. Having someone to intimidate again does Roscoe a world of good; it restores his confidence, lifts his spirits, and even saves his marriage. But it doesn't do much for David, who can't exactly complain to the principal that Fang's picking on him again. Don Knotts appears in a supporting role as Principal Kokelar. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi