Michelle Harrison Movies
- 1996
This independent film is about four homeless people in Brooklyn, and how they manage to get by from day to day. At the beginning, it depicts the lives of Sammy, his heroin-addicted girlfriend and his crack-addict brother. Sammy's brother and girlfriend raise money by selling their bodies for sex. Sammy seems to get by through foraging and fishing. They live together in an unused, semi-abandoned warehouse through an arrangement made with its caretaker/watchman. Their lives gain dramatic poignancy when they are joined by a young runaway boy named Shiner. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Barry Sonnenfeld resurrects the retro hip '60s show Secret Agent Man and adapts it into a slick New World Order context. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Costas Mandylor, Dina Meyer, (more)
- 2001
The SG-1 team investigates a mysterious Abydonian sandstorm, which seems to be whispering the name of team member Jackson (Michael Shanks). Amazingly, the storm metamorphoses into a young boy named Shifu (Lane Gates)--and thus is the team reunited with the Harcesis child of the Goa'uld Apophis and Jackson's Jaffa wife Sha're. Subsequently, Jackson (Michael Shanks) is endowed with the Goa'uld genetic memory--and the changes in his personality are disturbing indeed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When a pair of bright-but sociopathic teens conspires to commit the perfect murder, a troubled cop teams with her eager new partner to solve the case that left the community in fear and the police without a clue. High school ladies' man Richard Haywood (Ryan Gosling) and outcast Justin Pendleton (Michael Pitt) have no motive to commit murder, but they soon conspire to choose a random victim and pin the crime on local pot dealer Ray (Chris Penn), under the guise that the police will never suspect them of such a brutal act. Determined Det. Cassie Merriweather (Sandra Bullock) is assigned to the case, and quickly becomes suspicious of the elusive teens despite the doubts expressed by her superiors and her lack of solid evidence. Soon entering into a dangerous test of wills with the increasingly desperate and dangerous teens, her investigation leads her down a disturbing path that will test her skills as a detective and her will to survive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Bullock, Ryan Gosling, (more)
Following memorable roles in the military action-adventures Pearl Harbor (2001) and Black Hawk Down (2001), young actor Josh Hartnett is propelled to romantic leading man status with this semi-autobiographical comedy from screenwriter Rob Perez. Hartnett stars as Matt Sullivan, a young man smarting over the bitter breakup of his most recent relationship. With Lent approaching, Matt decides to observe the 40-day tradition by abstaining from all sexual contact, including self-gratification. Once his odyssey of discipline has begun, he meets the girl of his dreams, while his ex begins campaigning to get him back. Co-starring Shannyn Sossamon, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Vinessa Shaw, 40 Days and 40 Nights inspired another round of controversy between distributor Miramax and the Catholic League, which accused the film of being a "vulgar parody" of Lent. The League previously protested the company's releases of Priest (1994) and Dogma (1999). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon, (more)
- 2003
- Add Mary Higgins Clark's A Crime of Passion to QueueAdd Mary Higgins Clark's A Crime of Passion to top of Queue
When Frederica Dumay (Cynthia Gibb) inherits her father's winery, she has no idea of the sort of intrigue that awaits her at her dad's fabulous estate. A murder occurs soon afterward, and Frederica's best friend is the victim. She suspects that the culprit is the beautiful but spiteful Arabella Young (Alexandra Kamp-Groenveld), but cannot determine if the crime was the result of passion or greed. This being a Mary Higgins Clark adaptation, not everything is as obvious as it seems -- except for the fact that Frederica herself is the number one candidate to be the murderer's next victim. One of several two-hour Clark adaptations broadcast by the PAX network A Crime of Passion was originally slated to air on April 11, 2003, but was bumped back to May 9 of that same year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cynthia Gibb, Gordon Currie, (more)
John Woo directs the sci-fi action thriller Paycheck, based on a story written by Philip K. Dick in 1953. Waking up with his short-term memory erased, engineer Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck) learns that he has been doing highly secretive work for the last three years in exchange for billions of dollars. But when he tries to get paid, he finds out that he himself had previously exchanged the money for an envelope of random clues to his life. Chased by an FBI agent (Michael C. Hall) and his old boss Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart), Michael uses the clues to find out his identity and prove his innocence. Uma Thurman appears as his love interest and partner, Rachel. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Affleck, Aaron Eckhart, (more)
Peter O'Donnell's novels and comic strip was previously brought to film by actress Monica Vitti and director Joseph Losey in an eponymous 1966 spy spoof. Quentin Tarantino had been interested in bringing the character to the screen for a series of films, but the idea languished. Reportedly, Miramax rushed My Name Is Modesty into production because their option on the material was on the verge of expiring. While there were rumors that Luc Besson was going to direct, with Natasha Henstridge starring, that version never came to fruition. The film was released straight-to-video with Tarantino's imprimatur. Relative newcomer Alexandra Staden plays Modesty, and the film serves as a prequel, an introduction to the character of O'Donnell's work. It opens in the Balkans where some soldiers happen upon a resourceful little girl, a wild child. The film then flashes forward to Modesty as a young adult running a casino for the shady businessman, Louche (Valentin Teodosiu). When ruthless bandits attack the casino and the staff is taken hostage, Modesty secretly signals her partner, Garcia (Raymond Cruz), that there's trouble, then buys time by engaging the bandit leader, Myklos (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of the original Nightwatch), in a battle of wits. She uses the roulette wheel to barter the lives of the hostages for bits and pieces of her life story. And so the film flashes back to her orphaned past, showing how she was taken in by Lob (Fred Pearson), a wily older gentleman, who taught her to read and write several languages and how to thrive in a dangerous world. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexandra Staden, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, (more)
- 2005
Suspecting that her husband Russell (David Millbern) is cheating on her, Jessica Landers (Erika Eleniak) concludes that his indiscretions are her fault: She just isn't exciting enough to please Russell. Hoping to inject some spice in her life--and to find a shoulder to cry on--Jessica makes contact with Marcus Declan (Michael Bergin), a former classmate on whom she'd once had a major crush. What Jessica doesn't know is that Marcus has a history of stalking and terrorizing innocent women. As it turns out, whether or not Jessica will survive her reunion with Marcus rests in the hand of an intense young woman named Lisa (played by Juliet Landau, daughter of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain). First telecast on February 10, 2005, the US-Canadian coproduction Fatal Reunion was seen on the Lifetime cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Erika Eleniak, Michael Bergin, (more)
Chuck Rose's comedy Come as You Are stars Maury Sterling as Craig Dowd, a young man who makes his living by running a pornographic website. Although he has turned his home into his studio, he is ashamed of his profession and is forced to go to great lengths in order to hide what is happening whenever he has guests. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
A homecoming-night dare turns into a runaway nightmare for a trio of high-school friends who unleash an evil spirit in this terrifying entry in the Urban Legends series from Pet Sematary director Mary Lambert. Everyone knows the legend of Bloody Mary, but when three high-school friends jokingly recite an ancient incantation for what they believe to be a harmless prank, a vengeful spirit is unleashed and their fate sealed. Later abducted by a group of intimidating high-school jocks, the trio is soon rescued, only to bear witness as their tormentors one by one fall prey to a deadly but unseen menace. Could it be their imagination or could the spirit of Bloody Mary truly have returned from the grave to seek vengeance for her death and make anyone who crosses her path suffer a horrible and agonizing death? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2006
House (Hugh Laurie) takes a personal interest in 6-year-old patient Ian (MacKenzie Astin), whose kidneys and pituitary gland are rapidly failing. The exact same symptoms occurred to a 73-year-woman who'd been House's patient a dozen years ago--and who had died less than a day after she was admitted to the hospital. Unwilling to make the same mistakes twice, House is bound and determined to succeed with Ian where he had failed with his previous patient. Meanwhile, the boy's regular doctor Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) is drinking and laughing the night away at a benefit poker tournament for the clinic's oncology department--and House intends to keep her thus occupied until he can figure out a solution to Ian's plight all by himself! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A serial dater afflicted with a lifelong curse of loneliness attempts to win the love of a clumsy but beautiful penguin expert in the one romantic comedy that proves true love never comes easy. As a ten-year-old boy, Charlie (Dane Cook), breaks the cardinal rule of spin-the-bottle by refusing to kiss a demented goth girl. Crushed by the disheartening snub and determined to ensure that Charlie never finds true love, the vengeful brooder places a hex on the cowardly rule breaker that follows him well into his adult life. Flash-forward 20 years, and Charlie is a successful dentist who just can't seem to maintain a stable relationship. Sure he's had his fair share of one-night stands, but these days Charlie is just looking to find a nice girl he can settle down with. One day, while attending an ex-girlfriend's wedding, Charlie realizes that every girl he has ever dated has proceeded to find true love with the very next man they've met. When word gets out that Charlie is something of a lucky charm for women looking to tie the knot, every women within a 100-mile radius comes calling for a one-night stand; and while taking a bevy of beauties to bed is fun for the time being, it doesn't take long for Charlie to realize just how empty sex can be without true love. Upon meeting hard-to-get aquatic bird specialist Cam (Jessica Alba), Charlie begins to suspect that he has found the woman of his dreams. Cam is the kind of woman whom Charlie would be happy to grow old with, but what will come of their relationship if Charlie and Cam sleep together? Now, in order to ensure that Cam doesn't end up with the next guy she meets, Charlie will finally attempt to break the curse that has plagued him since childhood. Perhaps with a little help from smooth-talking ladies' man and sympathetic best friend Stu (Dan Fogler), Charlie will finally be able to experience true happiness. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dane Cook, Jessica Alba, (more)
Adam Beach, Graham Greene, and Jason Priestly star in director Don McBrearty's fictionalized account of the events that took place in the harbor of a Vancouver Island village and shocked animal lovers around the world. When a government representative (Priestly) announces that he intends to reunite an orphaned orca with his pod by transporting him hundreds of miles over dry land, the Mowachaht-Muchalaht First Nations Band, which believes that the spirit of their late chief resides in the majestic ocean mammal, does everything within their power to thwart the controversial plan. As the community grows increasingly divided over how to handle the situation, a young aboriginal boy wrestles with his own identity and new Band chief Mike Maquinna (Beach) prepares for the trial by fire that could shape his entire future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Beach, Tantoo Cardinal, (more)
A severely beaten teenager, trapped in a walking purgatory between life and death, must help authorities to the location of his broken body before it's too late in this remake of the 2002 Swedish thriller Den Osynlige. Graduating senior Nick Powell (Justin Chatwin) has plans to attend a prestigious writing workshop in London, despite the protests of his widowed mother (Marcia Gay Harden). In the days before his departure, he gets into a cafeteria brawl with a delinquent classmate, Annie Newton (Margarita Levieva), while defending his friend from her extortion attempts. Annie and her crew track Nick down on the night he's planning to leave, mistakenly thinking he ratted her out to the police regarding a smash-and-grab burglary committed the night before. When the subsequent beating goes too far, the assailants dump the body in the woods in a panicked attempt to dispose of it. Only, Nick isn't dead -- he's walking invisible among his classmates, friends, and family, desperately trying to alert them that he's still alive. Robbed of the traditional forms of communication, Nick must figure out supernatural methods of manipulating his environment -- and he soon realizes the very girl who attacked him may be the only one who has the power to save him. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva, (more)
Adapted from author Philip Roth's novel The Dying Animal, director Isabel Coixet's elegant tale of obsession explores the relationship between a highly respected professor (Ben Kingsley) and an impossibly gorgeous grad student (Penélope Cruz). As their relationship deepens, the professor finds his ego challenged by the girl's enchanting beauty. Dennis Hopper and Patricia Clarkson co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penélope Cruz, Ben Kingsley, (more)
- 2009
- PG13
- Add Love Happens to Queue
The directorial debut of Brandon Camp concerns a widower (Aaron Eckhart) who makes a living as an expert on grieving. During the course of teaching a seminar, he falls in love with one of his students (Jennifer Aniston), a discovery that leads him to face up to the fact he has not fully reconciled the loss of his wife. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston, (more)
