Herbert W. Gains Movies

Sylvestor Stallone comes to the rescue in this disaster/adventure picture. A truck containing dangerous chemicals explodes in the Holland Tunnel, trapping those New Yorkers not killed in the explosion. Authorities know there are survivors, but cannot figure out what to do to save them. Ruptured water mains and leaks in the tunnel itself, which is beneath the Hudson River, will cause it to fill with water in a few hours. Of all the colorful characters trapped there, only Roy Nord (Viggo Mortensen), a mountain climber, has any ideas about what to do, but he quickly dies while attempting to save the others. However, Kit Latura (Sylvester Stallone) is a former city Emergency Medical Services director who was in the area of the explosion, and he knows the tunnel's construction quirks. He quickly convinces city officials to let him wend his way through the tunnel's maze of exhaust fans to help the exhausted survivors confront the obstacles that await them. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The brief but eventful life of actor and martial arts trailblazer Bruce Lee is portrayed in this drama, based on a biography written by his widow Linda Lee Caldwell. Lee is introduced to the study of martial arts as a child living in Hong Kong by his father (Ric Young); the father dreamed that a demonic armored dragon would take his son from him, and wanted young Bruce to be able to protect himself. Bruce continues his training as he grows to adulthood, and after the cocky teenaged Lee (Jason Scott Lee, no relation to Bruce) seriously injures a prominent British citizen while fighting a gang of troublemakers at a dance, he's sent to San Francisco. While working as a dishwasher, Bruce begins to study philosophy, and in time develops a personal martial arts discipline, Jeet Kune-Do, which blends Kung Fu fighting techniques with lessons gained from his philosophical research. Bruce decides to open a martial arts academy on the advice of his fiancée Linda (Lauren Holly); Linda and Bruce encounter resistance as a mixed-race couple, especially from Linda's mother Vivian (Michael Learned), and Bruce earns the enmity of traditional Chinese martial arts experts for his new style. But after a strong showing in several public tournaments, Bruce's fighting skill and charisma attracts the attention of TV producer Bill Krieger (Robert Wagner). Bruce is cast as Kato, the karate-trained sidekick on the series The Green Hornet, and while the show is short-lived in America, it's a huge success in Asia, leading to a series of films based around Bruce's remarkable fighting skills. Sadly, shortly before the release of the film that would make him a major screen star in the United States, Enter The Dragon, a mysterious brain disorder sends Lee into a coma that soon kills him. In a tragedy with eerie timing, Bruce Lee's real-life son Brandon Lee died shortly before this film was released, the result of an accidental shooting while completing the picture The Crow. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this poignant adaptation of James Baldwin's novel about a few generations in the life of an Afro-American family, a young boy's efforts to gain some approval from his Bible-thumping, disciplinarian father takes center stage, and the family's background is told in a series of flashbacks. The story begins in 1935 with young Southerner Gabriel Grimes (Paul Winfield) as he runs away from home and takes on the identity of a Baptist lay preacher. Childless by his timid first wife, Gabriel has an illegitimate son by Esther (Alfre Woodard), an irresistible temptress. Unfortunately, the son comes to no good, forcing an embittered Gabriel to move to Harlem and start over with another wife, and eventually, two more sons. But the man has by this time gone over the edge and is filled with a rage against the vicissitudes of his life (he cannot get ahead in the church and is forced to work as a day laborer just to keep food on the table). He takes out his anger on his family and is so single-mindedly fanatical about religion that he forces his sons to join regular home Bible study to the exclusion of all other activities -- especially those promoted by the white-dominated society outside of Harlem. When his timid but intelligent son John (James Bond III) wins a writing honor, Gabriel makes him give it back -- and in general, his fanaticism and anger turn life into intermittent misery for the talented and sensitive son who loves writing. John's desire to please his father is all the more touching when the impossibility of pleasing him is so obvious. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

With Heaven and Earth -- cobbled together from two autobiographical reminiscences (When Heaven and Earth Changed Places and Child of War, Woman of Peace by Le Ly Hayslip -- Oliver Stone completes his self-declared "Vietnam Trilogy" (the other films being Platoon and Born On the Fourth of July) of films examining the Vietnam War from different perspectives. Heaven and Earth begins in the central Vietnamese village of Ky La during the 1950s. Phung Le Ly (Hiep Thi Le) is an innocent peasant girl, helping her mother (Joan Chen) to tend the rice paddies while being lectured in the ways of life by her father (Haing Ngor). The idyllic peace of the village is disrupted when a jet bomber crosses the skies. Soon the village is decimated as the American-backed South Vietnamese government troops and the Viet Cong engage in brutal warfare in which the victims are the innocent villagers. Le Ly is both tortured and raped. She leaves Ky La for Danang for a life as a prostitute. There she meets the tall and craggy American soldier Steve Butler (Tommy Lee Jones), a kind but lonely man who isn't looking for sex but for someone to settle down with -- as he says, "I want an Oriental wife." They marry, and Steve takes her back to the United States, where her in-laws look at her not as a wife but as a pet. In the harsh glare of 1970s U.S. culture, Le Ly has trouble adjusting to the American way of life. But not as hard a time as her husband, who, after twenty years in Vietnam, discovers he cannot adapt to civilian life. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Directed by Nick Hurran, Little Black Book follows Stacy (Brittany Murphy), an associate producer of a popular daytime talk show starring Kippie Kann (Kathy Bates), as she tries to figure out the root of her boyfriend's (Ron Livingston) commitment-phobic nature. Rather than continue to fruitlessly question Derek (Livingston) regarding his slew of failed relationships, Stacy sneaks into his Palm Pilot and begins interviewing his ex-girlfriends under the pretense of gathering information for a future show. Though she justifies the deception with her need to find out whether or not Derek can be trusted for a long-term relationship, complications arise when Stacy becomes good friends with one of Derek's former flames. Holly Hunter makes an appearance as Stacy's boss (the show's senior associate producer), while Josie Maran, Julianne Nicholson, Rashida Jones, Sharon Lawrence, and Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale are featured in supporting roles. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Some cast and crew from NBC's highly acclaimed, little-seen series Freaks and Geeks reunite for this teen comedy that also marks the first starring role for Tom Hanks' son, Colin. The younger Hanks plays Shaun Brumder, a high schooler eager to propel himself out of the land of surf bums and ranch homes to which the film's title refers. He's had his sights set on Stanford ever since he read the works of professor Marcus Skinner (Kevin Kline), and his transcript is stellar enough to gain him admission. Shaun is understandably furious, then, when he receives a rejection letter in the mail; after some detective work on his part, he realizes that his flaky counselor (Lily Tomlin) mistakenly sent the university the wrong papers. It's up to him to get to Stanford within 24 hours to set the record straight -- literally -- and he enlists the help of his slacker brother Lance (Jack Black) to do so. Orange County co-stars Catharine O'Hara and John Lithgow as Shaun and Lance's slightly unhinged parents; the film was directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Mike White, both of whom contributed to several episodes of Freaks and Geeks. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

A pair of sewage-truck drivers attempt to rescue the tarnished reputation of their favorite pro wrestler in this comedy from Varsity Blues director Brian Robbins. Gordie Boggs (David Arquette) and Sean Dawkins (Scott Caan) live vicariously through superstar grappler Jimmy King (Oliver Platt). But when King's manager (Joe Pantoliano), in a fit of ego, arranges to have his client dethroned to make way for the next hot property, the guys hatch a plan to force a rematch. The only problem is, their no-good hero has sunk into a black hole of self-pity and liquor. Enlisting the help of old-time trainer Sal (Martin Landau) to whip "The King" into shape, Gordie and Sean run afoul of Gordie's father, who wants his son to settle down and become a cop like him. Meanwhile, curvaceous Sasha (Rose McGowan) moves in on Gordie, but has ulterior motives. So does The King's son (Tait Smith), who's willing to put his girth to good use in order to exact revenge on his dad for abandoning him. Ready to Rumble features a large cast of real-life WCW wrestlers portraying themselves. McGowan and Arquette previously appeared together in Wes Craven's Scream. Lewis Arquette, the star's father, also appears alongside his son as he did in Scream 2. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

This blend of sports and youthful romantic comedy is from director Michael Tollin, who previously produced the sports drama Varsity Blues (1999). Freddie Prinze Jr. stars as Ryan Dunne, a ballplayer who's spending the summer as a pitcher for the famed, highly prestigious Cape Cod League, a non-professional farm team that has turned out numerous baseball legends. Ryan's under special pressure on a number of fronts. He's the first local boy to earn a slot in the league in years, and his blue-collar status earns him the enmity of a hot-shot college teammate, Eric Van Leemer (Corey Pearson). Although he's backed up by his best friend and team catcher Billy Brubaker (Matthew Lillard), Ryan adds more stress to his life by embarking on an affair with a beautiful, wealthy young Vassar graduate, Tenley Parrish (Jessica Biel), who's spending the summer on the Cape with her parents. Tenley is facing her own crisis as her father (Bruce Davison) pressures her to move to San Francisco and work with her uncle, though she'd rather remain in the East and become an architect. Summer Catch is the third onscreen teaming of Prinze and Lillard, and also stars Brian Dennehy, Wilmer Valderrama, Jason Gedrick, Fred Ward, and Brittany Murphy. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Lauren Bacall more or less plays herself in The Fan. Cast as famous Broadway musical comedy star Sally Ross (with an astonishing lack of temperament!), Bacall finds herself the unwilling love object of psychotic fan Douglas Breen (Michael Biehn). As security around Ross tightens, Breen vows that if he can't have Ross, no one else can. James Garner and Maureen Stapleton are underused as, respectively, Bacall's ex-husband and mother-hen secretary. Based on a good novel by Bob Randall, The Fan comes off as a slightly more expensive "stalker of the week" TV movie. Still, the film proved grimly prescient in the light of John Lennon's assassination (which occurred after the film was completed, but before its release) and the ongoing dilemma of current Broadway stars (even the lesser lights) who are forced to hire bodyguards to protect them from worshipful wackos. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In his first feature following the success of television's Dawson's Creek, James Van Der Beek stars as Jonathan Moxon, the back-up quarterback on his high-school football team, the West Canaan Coyotes. In West Canaan, the only thing that matters is football, and the man who matters is the one with 22 divisional championships, coach Bud Kilmer (Jon Voight). Mox, as the young "A" student is called, is wrapping up his senior year on his way to Brown University in the shadow of his childhood friend, star quarterback Lance Harbor (Paul Walker). With only five games until the end of the season, Kilmer pushes his players too hard, and Lance suffers a career-ending injury, forcing Mox to play and win the game. Now the starter, Mox must deal with his newfound celebrity; the attentions of Lance's girlfriend, head-cheerleader Darcy (Ali Larter); prevent his friends and fellow players Billy Bob (Ron Lester) and Tweeder (Scott Caan) from self-destructing; prevent Coach Kilmer from crushing everybody; and hold on to his own girlfriend, Lance's sister Jules (Amy Smart). Oh, and Mox must also win the championship and prove himself the hero. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide