Mark Atkins Movies

Jules Verne's classic adventure tale gets a futuristic twist in this sci-fi adventure that finds a crazed Captain Nemo using a technologically advanced super-submarine to declare war on all of mankind. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

When Domestic terrorists hijack a state-of-the-art airliner piloted by the President's brother, the Commander in Chief (Meredith Baxter) must weight her instinct to rescue her family against her responsibility to ensure the safety of the citizens on the ground. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

H. Rider Haggard's classic adventure novel King Solomon's Mines gets retold for a new generation of cliff-hanger fans in this film that finds titular hero Allan Quartermain setting out in search of the most valuable treasure known to man. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Nick Broomfield, director of Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam and Kurt and Courtney, unleashes another provocation with Biggie and Tupac. Considering Broomfield's track record, that the film is dangerous, sensational, and occasionally very funny is no surprise. What is somewhat shocking, in a very rewarding and commendable way, is how moving Biggie and Tupac is. Using archival footage of the two rap stars and interviews with many of those involved, Broomfield uncovers significant evidence that corrupt LAPD cops were involved in the two deaths, and that the FBI was doing surveillance on Biggie (Christopher Wallace) on the night he was murdered. Broomfield's film also strongly suggests that Death Row Records head Suge Knight orchestrated both murders. Few satisfactory conclusions are drawn, but the film should at least encourage further investigation of these claims. By running the camera constantly, even before the interviews begin, Broomfield frequently catches his subjects off guard. But even if Broomfield had uncovered nothing, Biggie and Tupac would still be an entertaining and valuable telling of the tragic deaths of two talented young men. The filmmaker's interviews with Biggie's friends, and particularly his charming mother, Voletta Wallace, paint a picture of a surprisingly sensitive and goodhearted young man. Broomfield was granted less access to Tupac Shakur's family (Tupac's mother is still involved in business dealings with Knight; she doesn't appear in the film and she refused Broomfield permission to use Tupac's music), but he still manages to expose the controversial rapper's essential humanity. Some will find Broomfield's sarcastic and edgy attitude grating. He doesn't have the puppy-dog charm of a Michael Moore. But with Biggie and Tupac, he's shown a bit more of his sensitive side, and he's taken a step forward as a filmmaker. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

A scientist searching for her missing father in the jungles of Belize recruits a small squad of U.S. soldiers to help track him down, and comes under attack from a swarm of giant, fire-breathing wasps while fighting a ruthless guerilla army. Corin Nemec and Dominika Juillet star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A popular bowling alley becomes the scene of a big-time bloodbath in Live Feed director Ryan Nicholson's tongue-in-cheek horror comedy. Preparations for a local bowling tournament end in tragedy when, the night before the big event, a girl on her way home from the bowling alley becomes the victim of a vicious gang rape. The following night, as each of the teams prepares to do battle, a mysterious masked killer begins dispatching the bowlers with brutal efficiency. As the body count skyrockets, the remaining survivors wage a valiant fight to unmask the killer and survive the night. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A family working as caretakers at the notorious 160 room mansion discovers the reason it's considered one of the most haunted locations in the world when their daughter is abducted by a malicious entity. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

British documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield (Fetishes, Heidi Fleiss, Hollywood Madam) made this portrait of the late rock-star Kurt Cobain and his widow, musician and actress Courtney Love. Beginning with the 27-year-old Cobain's April 1994 suicide, Broomfield traces Cobain's Aberdeen, Washington, childhood and rise to fame, and the 1992 marriage of Cobain and Love, outlining the drug habits the two shared and exploring various "conspiracy" theories surrounding Cobain's death. Legal complications yanked this film both from a scheduled December 1997 BBC airing and a showing at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Jurgen Prochnow headlines this Asylum Home Entertainment fantasy that pits famed wizard Merlin against an entire army of fire-breathing dragons. With the future of England at stake, Merlin uses his formidable magic to cast off the rampaging giants before every castle in the country is reduced to ash and rubble. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A madman turns normal people into killers by setting a series of complex lethal traps. Rookie homicide detective Chris Malloy (Matthew Prater) and Detective Murphy MacCasey (Mark Colson) are working the midnight shift when they walk into one of the grizzliest crime scenes they've ever encountered. The following night another body turns up. There's a killer on the loose; he calls himself the "Shadow of God," and he tricks people into killing their loved ones in the most gruesome ways imaginable. Laura MacCasey is Detective MacCasey's estranged daughter. She was just coming home to see her boyfriend when a shotgun rigged to the door blew half of his head off. Terrified, she turns to Detective Malloy for help. But ever since he had a face-to-face encounter with the killer, Detective Malloy hasn't been the same. Before long the killer will be unmasked. Until then, everyone is a suspect. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi