Debbie Evans Movies

This slice-of-life musical is set on London's Portobello Road and focuses on life in a ramshackle boardinghouse. Among the argumentative boarders are a Jamaican family trying to make ends meet and a teen couple hiding out from parental disapproval. These characters are complemented by a tipsy Irish bartender, his girlfriend, and hippie-types whose main occupation is smoking weed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Directed by Robert Duvall -- though not his directorial debut, as has sometimes been reported -- Angelo My Love is a semidocumentary study of gypsy life in New York. Real-life gypsy lad Angelo Evans engagingly plays himself: a charming street hustler and con artist. The son of a fortune teller, Angelo is the one truly blessed with a "sixth sense"-about himself, his family and his future. Personally financed by Duvall (whose brothers appear in one delightful sequence), Angelo My Love is a mesmerizing glimpse at a lifestyle often misunderstood and misrepresented by the American mainstream. Be warned, however: the people depicted herein don't mince their words, which is why the film bears an R rating. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A John Carpenter story served as the launching pad for Black Moon Rising. Veteran thief Quint (Tommy Lee Jones) is hired by the FBI to steal some politically volatile computer tapes. The owners of the tapes are displeased, and begin chasing Quint all over the countryside. Just when he's about to surrender his booty, Quint's car -- wherein the tapes are stored -- is stolen by Nina (Linda Hamilton). She delivers the car to her corporate-villain boyfriend Ryland (Robert Vaughn), who runs a hot auto ring. Nina then has second thoughts and decides to throw in with Quint...and round and round we go. The "Black Moon" of the title is the name Quint's high-tech, low-slung vehicle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Steve Martin stars in this remake of the 1950 Vincente Minnelli classic as shoe executive George Banks, whose happily married existence hits a bump when he greets his daughter Annie (Kimberly Williams), home from a semester studying in Europe. She tells her father that she is engaged to be married. When the shocked George asks to whom, she says his name is Bryan (George Newbern) and that he is an "independent communications consultant." George is even more shocked when he finds out what the wedding will cost (when George goes through the card file for invited wedding guests and is told someone is deceased, George chirps, "He died? That's great!"). As George is ignored during the mad preparations for the wedding, he wistfully looks back to all the good times he has had with Annie and sadly looks forward to the time when he loses his little girl. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Deadbeat dads be damned. Patrick Swayze plays a con man who tries to live up to the ideals of "family values" by kidnapping his son and daughter from the evil clutches of a corrupt orphanage and taking them on a cross-country trip in his vintage convertible. To complicate matters, his daughter has been sexually molested by the head of the orphanage, who fears that she may prosecute if given the opportunity. This family drama is also a zany road movie as the re-united father and children flee the police on a quest to restore their family. ~ Laura Abraham, All Movie Guide

In this supernatural thriller, a woman believes that a visitor from another dimension is trying to guide her into a sinister mystery. Feeling lonely after her daughter leaves home for college, Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) begins to sense that something is wrong in her house, and feels a spirit is trying to contact her. At first her husband Norman (Harrison Ford), a scientist doing research in genetics, attributes her paranormal beliefs to stress or possibly a nervous breakdown, and sends her to a psychiatrist (Joe Morton) who puts no more stock in Claire's stories than does Norman. While Claire's contention that someone or something sinister is afoot leads her down a number of blind alleys, in time she becomes convinced that the mysterious happenings at her home are somehow connected to the disappearance of a woman who was a student at the nearby college -- and bore a striking resemblance to Claire. What Lies Beneath marked the debut of screenwriter Clark Gregg, whose script is based on a story by himself and Sarah Kernochan; the supporting cast includes Diana Scarwid as Claire's best friend Jody, and James Remar and Miranda Otto as a contentious couple living next door. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Vin Diesel opted to not appear in the sequel to the film the shot him to stardom in the first place, The Fast and the Furious. With the character of Dominic Toretto out of the picture, 2 Fast 2 Furious concentrates exclusively on the latest exploits of undercover agent Brian O'Connor, played by Paul Walker. In addition, with director Rob Cohen passing, producers have added a dash of credibility to the sequel by hiring John Singleton to helm. What does completely remain from the first film is the presence of fast-living underground street-racing gangs. Moving from Los Angeles to Miami, O'Connor is looking to redeem himself after the events of the first movie, so he again goes undercover to infiltrate another group of thuggish car enthusiasts. This time around he's enlisted the help of ex-con Roman Pierce (Tyrese) and fellow agent Monica Celemente (Eva Mendes) to bring down Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), an importer/exporter who heads up a massive drug trafficking operation. Heading up the supporting cast are hip-hop stars Ludacris and Fabolous. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

After creating an international sensation with the visually dazzling and intellectually challenging sci-fi blockbuster The Matrix, the Wachowski brothers returned with the first of two projected sequels that pick up where the first film left off. Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) have been summoned by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) to join him on a voyage to Zion, the last outpost of free human beings on Earth. Neo and Trinity's work together has been complicated by the fact the two are involved in a serious romantic relationship. Upon their arrival in Zion, Morpheus locks horns with rival Commander Lock (Harry J. Lennix) and encounters his old flame Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith). Meanwhile, Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) has returned with some surprises for Neo, most notably the ability to replicate himself as many times as he pleases. Neo makes his way to The Oracle (Gloria Foster), who informs him that if he wishes to save humankind, he must unlock "The Source," which means having to release The Key Maker (Randall Duk Kim) from the clutches of Merovingian (Lambert Wilson). While Merovingian refuses to cooperate, his wife, Persephone (Monica Bellucci), angry at her husband's dalliances with other women, offers to help, but only in exchange for a taste of Neo's affections. With The Keymaker in tow, Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus are chased by Merovingian's henchmen: a pair of deadly albino twins (Neil Rayment and Adrian Rayment). Filmed primarily in Australia and California (the extended chase scene was shot on a stretch of highway build specifically for the production outside of San Francisco), The Matrix Reloaded was produced in tandem with the third film in the series, The Matrix Revolutions. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Barry Levinson directed this comedy in which success has a rather surprising effect on two old buddies. Nick Vanderpark (Jack Black) and Tim Dingman (Ben Stiller) are best friends and next-door neighbors who work together at a sandpaper factory. Nick and Tim often find themselves wishing for something more from life, and Nick has a habit of dreaming up harebrained get-rich-quick schemes that usually end in disaster. Tim is particularly appalled by Nick's latest idea, "Vapoorizer," a cleaning product which will make pet feces magically disappear, but to their shock, it turns out to be an incredible success, and before long Nick is wealthy beyond his wildest dreams. Tim, however, is still the same guy getting by in suburbia he's always been, and soon Tim finds himself bitterly resentful of his old friend. As Nick gets richer, Tim gets angrier, and he develops a drinking problem. One night, in a bar, Tim meets an eccentric drifter (Christopher Walken) who offers him some not-so-friendly advice on getting even with his old friend. Envy also stars Rachel Weisz and Amy Poehler as Tim and Nick's much-put-upon spouses. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The world's wackiest Volkswagen is back in action in this action comedy. Maggie Peyton (Lindsay Lohan) is the 18-year-old daughter of Ray Peyton Sr. (Michael Keaton), a once-successful stock car driver whose career is not what it once was. Maggie loves racing and is in line for a job covering NASCAR for ESPN, but in her heart she'd rather be behind the wheel, even though her father strictly forbids this. For Maggie's birthday, Ray takes her out looking for a used car, and she finds herself strangely drawn to a wrecked 1963 Volkswagen in a salvage yard. Against Ray's better judgment, Maggie gets the car, and a note in the glove box tells her the rust bucket is named "Herbie," and he can help her solve her problems. To her surprise, the message turns out to be true -- with a little TLC, Herbie is running like new, and after showing his stuff in a street race, Maggie persuades her naysayer dad to take her and her VW on as part of his racing team. Herbie: Fully Loaded also stars Matt Dillon as rival racer Trip Murphy, Breckin Meyer as Maggie's brother (and fellow struggling driver) Ray Jr., and Justin Long as Maggie's friend Kevin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A mysterious, mind-altering epidemic has infected humankind, and when a Washington, D.C. psychiatrist discovers that the outbreak seems to be extraterrestrial in origin, she struggles to save her son from infection in this sci-fi thriller starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, and directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment). The space shuttle has crashed, and investigators assigned to explore the wreckage have found something unimaginable in the debris -- something from the deepest reaches of outer space. Everyone who comes into contact with it soon begins to transform in ways that can't be explained by modern science. While their physical appearance remains completely unaltered, their emotions seem to be drained and their actions become strangely inhuman. The only people who know the truth about this extraterrestrial epidemic are Washington, D.C. psychiatrist Carol Bennell (Kidman) and her longtime friend Dr. Ben Driscoll (Craig). It seems that the alien virus attacks people in their sleep, and by the time they awaken, the transformation has already taken place. The contagion is spreading rapidly, and as more people fall victim to its eerie effects by the hour, it becomes impossible to differentiate the infected from those who can still be trusted. When Carol realizes that her young son may hold the only hope for saving the human race, she struggles to remain awake long enough to find the boy and prevent planet Earth from becoming host to a terrifying new breed of extraterrestrials. Based on the book The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney, The Invasion was written by David Kajganich and co-stars Jeffrey Wright and Jeremy Northam. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide