Jessica Biel Movies
Jessica Biel rose to fame as the wholesome preacher's daughter on the WB television show 7th Heaven, then gained greater notoriety for trying to get herself kicked off the show via a risqué photo spread in the men's magazine Gear. Making such statements as, "Mary Camden is dead," the 17-year-old Biel indeed got out of her contract to pursue a movie career; when that floundered, she - amusingly - found herself reconsidering her haste and returned for guest spots on the program.Biel was born on March 3, 1982, in Ely, MN, then raised in Boulder, CO. She was first discovered at the 1994 IMTA Los Angeles Convention, which earned her a scholarship to Diane Hardin's Young Actors Space in Los Angeles. Teen print modeling followed, and in 1996, Biel began her run as Mary Camden on the Aaron Spelling-produced 7th Heaven. Shortly thereafter, she was cast as Peter Fonda's granddaughter in Victor Nunez's rich character study, Ulee's Gold (1997), and as Jonathan Taylor Thomas' love interest in I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998).
But Biel grew tired of playing a good girl on television and tried to force the producers to fire her from 7th Heaven, claiming her pristine image was a factor that kept her from landing the role that went to Thora Birch in American Beauty (1999). When the producers would not release her from her contract, she posed on the cover of the March 2000 Gear under the headline "Fallen Angel." The images inside featured her sprawled topless on a bed and against a bathroom mirror, her hands providing insufficient cover in a manner that pushed even Gear's lax standards for showing skin. The issue become one of Gear's most popular ever, with terrific resale value on Ebay, and got Biel canned from the show.
However, the controversy and exposure did not immediately improve her film career. Biel's first post-Gear role was as a bikini-wearing babe in the Freddie Prinze Jr. baseball movie Summer Catch (2001), but the film barely made a flicker at the box office after being bumped from its initial release date. Biel has since been making guest appearances in her initial Mary Camden role and has been cast in director Roger Avary's The Rules of Attraction (2002). An ill-advised shortcut down the backroads of Texas found Biel and friends pursued by one of the silver screen's most notorious maniacs in the 2003 remake The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with supporting roles in David R. Ellis's intense pot-boiler Cellular and the vampire-slaying Wesley Snipes action fantasy Blade: Trinity serving well to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. While a blast into the clouds with Stealth provided innoffensive thrills for more forgiving movie-goers, few would stand up to defend Almost Famous director Cameron Crowe's saccharine Elizabethtown as even throwaway fun. In 2006, Biel traveled back in time to become the source of a decidedly supernatural mystery as the ill-fated love of a turn-of-the-centry Vienna magician portrayed by Edward Norton in director Neil Burger's The Illusionist.
Biel began 2007 at a low ebb, as the romantic lead in the apocalyptic sci-fi thriller NEXT. As directed by journeyman Hollywood action stalwart Lee Tamahori (XXX: State of the Union), and adapted (loosely) from the Philip K. Dick story "The Golden Man," the picture stars Nicolas Cage as Cris, an issue-ridden psychic who foresees the nuclear destruction of Los Angeles. Biel plays the seer's tender-hearted lover, who spends her free time every week at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, teaching the children of the Havasupai Indian reservation. The film bombed unequivocally at the box office, reeling in only around $14 million worldwide in its first week.
The actress next switched genres, unveiling her comic flair to audiences in the hotly-anticipated buddy comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007). The Universal farce (released in the States in July 2007) stars Adam Sandler and Hitch's Kevin James as, respectively, Chuck Levine and Larry Valentine, the bachelors of the title - two straight macho firefighters who pose as gay marrieds to qualify for domestic partner benefits. No points for guessing that Biel plays the film's romantic lead; she's the attorney who represents the two men against the insurance company, with whom Sandler falls in love.
~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
1980s TV action gets a reboot with this new version of The A-Team, which shifts the Vietnam vet backstory to a group of Iraq War vets who become mercenaries for hire. Joe Carnahan (Smokin' Aces) directs from a script by G.I. Joe's Skip Woods. Liam Neeson heads up the crew as Hannibal, the brains of the operation, with Bradley Cooper as Face, UFC star Quinton "Rampage" Jackson filling in for Mr. T as B.A. Baracus, and District 9's breakout star, Sharlto Copley, inheriting the unhinged role of "Howling Mad" Murdock. Jessica Biel also co-stars. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, (more)
- 2010
David O. Russell (I Heart Huckabees) directs this politically minded romantic comedy starring Jessica Biel as a small-town waitress who heads to Washington, D.C., to lobby for health care after getting a nail shot in her head. Jake Gyllenhaal co-stars as a dimwitted congressman, with the rest of the cast headed by James Marsden, Catherine Keener, and Tracy Morgan. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jake Gyllenhaal, Jessica Biel, (more)
- 2008
Jessica Biel stars in the noir thriller Die a Little, about a schoolteacher whose brother is pulled into the line of danger when he becomes romantically entangled with a mysterious female (Biel). Marcia and Geoffrey Blake provide the screenplay on the FilmColony production, adapted from the debut work of novelist Megan Abbott. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Biel
- 2008
Jessica Biel, Garry Marshall, Steven Collins, and Jason Clarke headline director Bill Purple's melancholy short about an anti-social math wiz and chess fanatic whose misanthropic worldview is challenged by a lovable little canine. Howard (Clarke) is a "perpetual student" whose uncanny knack for numbers has resulted in a false sense of superiority. Simply put, Howard sees himself as superior to nearly everyone he encounters - including the ageing chess champion that he defeats in a high-profile tournament. When Howard realizes that he's in serious need of some work-study money, his advisor sets him up with a job in a research lab. Now, as the mousy, sensitive lab tech works overtime to prevent Howard from discovering the secrets of their research, the man who views the world through darkened shades of contempt strikes up a most unexpected friendship. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Clarke, Jessica Biel, (more)
At a time in history when the FBI has deemed animal-rights activists the number-one domestic terrorist threat to the U.S., filmmaker Curt Johnson sets out to explore exactly how an organization such as PETA can possibly take precedence over the threat posed by Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida in a documentary film that aims to tell the truth about the people who defend the creatures that cannot speak for themselves. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katherine Heigl, Jessica Biel, (more)
- 2005
The fact that Brian is a dog does not disqualify him from being a contestant on the TV reality series The Bachelorette. Nor does it prevent Brian from falling in love with Brooke (voiced by Jessica Biel), the ambitious starlet who much choose from several bachelors to win the Big Prize. At the same time, Chris is bedeviled by a huge and ever-growing zit, which not only talks (with the voice of Kevin Richardson) but is also clearly intent upon world domination (or at least "Chris domination"). Listen for the references to Blazing Saddles and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When season eight began for 7th Heaven, it became the first WB series to remain on the air for so long a time. In this season, the series also expanded beyond its traditional yearly quota of 22 episodes to include a 23rd installment. The previous season climaxed as minister Eric Camden (Stephen Collins) performed the marriage ceremony of his daughter Lucy (Beverley Mitchell) and police officer Kevin Kenkirk (George Stults), and Lucy's older sister Mary (former series regular Jessica Biel, now a "guest star") revealed her own recent marriage to Carlos Rivera (Carlos Ponce). These events spill over into season eight, as does the fallout of a fatal car accident involving Simon Camden (David Gallagher). Also, oldest son Matt Camden (Barry Watson), though no longer a regular character on the series, makes sporadic appearances as he weathers his first year of internship in a big-city emergency room -- not to mention problems in his marriage to fellow med student Sarah (Sarah Danielle Madison). Elsewhere, the relationship between youngest Camden daughter Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman) and troubled preteen Peter Pietrowski (Scotty Leavenworth) hits a snag when Peter's birth father, Vic (Bryan Callen), comes back into his life -- a plot development that also bodes ill for Peter's mother, Paris (Shannon Kenny), and her current amour, Eric Camden's assistant pastor Chandler Hampton (Jeremy London). The connubial bliss of newlyweds Lucy and Kevin is threatened by the arrival of Kevin's contentious ex-wife, Mindy (Mindy Burbano). And a mysterious stranger named Martin (Tyler Hoechlin) insinuates himself into the Camden household -- and into the heart of Simon's former girlfriend Cecilia (Ashlee Simpson). Even more serious complications are linked with such real-life current events as the war in Iraq and the crisis in Sudan. Season eight ends with a two-parter wherein one couple considers breaking up, another tries to get back together, a third contemplates leaving Glen Oak for good, and yet another member of the Camden household prepares for motherhood. ~ All Movie Guide
Though no longer a 7th Heaven regular, Barry Watson makes a memorable appearance in his old role as Matt Camden in the waning moments of the series' seventh season, to accept congratulations over his impending fatherhood. In other developments, Robbie Palmer, former boyfriend of Mary Camden (Jessica Biel), has moved out of the family's garage apartment, to make way for a new tenant: Kevin Kenkirk (George Stults), the policeman beau of Lucy Camden (Beverley Mitchell). Alas, the Kevin-Lucy relationship may be foredoomed, thanks to Lucy's jealousy over Kevin's sexy policewoman partner, Roxanne Richardson (Rachel Blanchard). Meanwhile, the peripatetic Mary Camden has moved again, this time to Fort Lauderdale, where she takes up with a much older airline pilot. And back at home, Mary's brother Simon has fallen hard for longtime platonic friend Cecilia (Ashlee Simpson). The series' focus shifts from the Camden kids to their minister dad, Eric (Stephen Collins), who must undergo bypass surgery. Eric's temporary replacement at Glen Oak Church is young pastor Chandler Hampton (Jeremy London), who proves not only to be popular with the parishioners, but the "ideal" boyfriend for the redoubtable Roxanne Richardson. This leaves the field clear for Lucy and Kevin to wed -- an impending event that convinces the somewhat dispirited Eric that his services as a minister are still very much in demand. But a pall is cast over the happiness of Lucy and Kevin when Simon is involved in a devastating tragedy at season's end. Introduced in the course of events are single mom Paris Pietrowski (Shannon Kenny) and her troubled son, Peter (Scotty Leavenworth), who bonds with the youngest Camden daughter, Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman). ~ All Movie Guide
Having reached the crucial age of 21, Matt Camden (Barry Watson) has decided to become a gynecologist, as 7th Heaven enters its sixth season on the WB. Still trying to overcome her multitude of personal problems, Matt's sister Mary (Jessica Biel) has moved to Buffalo, where she hopes to wed her erstwhile boyfriend Wilson West (Andrew Keegan); she also intends to become a professional firefighter. Ultimately, however, the still-unmarried Mary returns to Glen Oak, there to attend college with younger sister Lucy (Beverley Mitchell) -- only to rush off to Buffalo again, this time to pursue a career as a flight attendant...not to mention a romance with firefighter trainee Ben Kenkirk (Geoff Stults). In typical 7th Heaven "connect the dots" fashion, Ben happens to be the brother of policeman Kevin Kenkirk (George Stults), who is presently dating Lucy! And back at home with the Camden kids' parents, Eric (Stephen Collins) and Annie (Catherine Hicks), Mary's mercurial former beau Robbie (Adam LaVorgna) has moved into an apartment over the family's garage. Season six comes to an eventful finale as Matt, newly accepted by Columbia University Medical School, prepares to wed his classmate Sarah Glass (Sarah Danielle Madison), a Jewish girl -- a relationship that Matt's minister father, Eric, and Sarah's rabbi father, Richard (Richard Lewis), are compelled to come to terms with after an initial period of discomfort and resistance. ~ All Movie Guide
Although 20-year-old Matt Camden (Barry Watson) had seemed to be on the verge of marriage to his deaf girlfriend, Heather (Andrea Ferrell), at the end of 7th Heaven's fourth season, season five finds the couple calling it quits. Compounding this setback, Matt is forced to move back with his parents (Stephen Collins, Catherine Hicks) when his roomie, John Hamilton (Chaz Lamar Shepherd), takes up housekeeping with his sweetheart (and later wife) Priscilla Carter (Andrea Pearson). Matt's sister Mary (Jessica Biel) continues having trouble adjusting to the pressures of impending adulthood: in short order, Mary drops out of school, quits her job, runs out of money and develops such nasty habits as drinking and petty theft. Like Matt, Mary eventually returns to her parent's home, but the reunion is an uncomfortable one thanks to the omnipresence of her ex-boyfriend Robbie (Adam LaVorgna) -- not to mention her erstwhile beau Wilson (Andrew Keegan). Meanwhile, Matt and Mary's sister, Lucy (Beverley Mitchell), now 16, has become so serious about one of her boyfriends that she ends up proposing to him! Season five ends with a serious rift between Mary and Lucy over the affections of the younger girl's fiancé, Jeremy (David Lago). ~ All Movie Guide
Season four of 7th Heaven finds 19-year-old Matt (Barry Watson) moving out of the Camden home and into an apartment shared with another minister's son: John Hamilton (Chaz Lamar Shepherd), Matt's lifelong friend, and presently his co-worker at a local hospital. As for Matt's girlfriend, Shauna (Maureen O'Sullivan), she has moved to New York City in the wake of Matt's "infidelity" with Heather (Andrea Ferrell). Meanwhile, Matt's basketball-happy sister, Mary (Jessica Biel), gets into big-time trouble, culminating with the loss of her athletic scholarship and court-ordered counseling; she also enters into a star-crossed romance with another troubled teen named Robbie Palmer (Adam LaVorgna). All the while, younger brother Simon (David Gallagher) has been embroiled in a romance with Deena Stewart (Nicole Cherie Saletta), who has some unpleasant news for the boy by the end of the season. And no, the scriptwriters have not forgotten the older members of the Camden family during the series' fourth season. Father Eric (Stephen Collins) suffers a mild heart attack; mother Annie becomes a political activist, taking up the cause of the mistreated women of Afghanistan (we are, of course, still three years away from the toppling of the Taliban); Eric, Annie, and the congregation of Glen Oaks Community Church receive a disturbing reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust; and Annie's father, Charles (Graham Jarvis), begins exhibiting signs of Alzheimer's disease. ~ All Movie Guide
Season two of 7th Heaven ended with Annie Camden (Catherine Hicks) informing one and all that she was pregnant. Season three begins as Annie learns she is to give birth to twins -- who in typical TV-series fashion ultimately arrive amidst much chaos and confusion, just in time for Valentine's Day. (At first, twins Sam and David Camden were played by real-life quadruplets Nikolas, Lorenzo, Zachary, and Myrinda Brino; after two seasons, only Nikolas and Lorenzo would continue on with the roles.) In other developments, Annie's widowed father, Charles Jackson (Graham Jarvis), weds his longtime girlfriend, Ginger (Beverly Garland); 18-year-old Matt Camden (Barry Watson) is kept busy with Shauna (Maureen O'Sullivan), an old flame who has come back into his life; and 14-year-old Lucy Camden (Beverley Mitchell) has accumulated two new beaux, Rod (Toran Caudell) and Jordan (Wade Carpenter). The season's two-part finale finds Matt getting depressed over the wedding of his onetime sweetheart Heather (Andrea Ferrell); younger Camden son Simon (David Gallagher) undergoing his first love pangs, with Deena Stewart (Nicole Cherie Saletta) as the object of his very ardent affections; and there is news of yet another pregnancy in the family. ~ All Movie Guide
With most of the problems that faced them in season one behind them, the Camden family welcomes season two of 7th Heaven with a joyous occasion, as Rev. Eric Camden (Stephen Collins) and his wife, Annie (Catherine Hicks), renew their marital vows on their 19th anniversary. Elsewhere, oldest son Matt (Barry Watson) opts to attend nearby Crawford University rather than the more prestigious University of Tennessee; Mary (Jessica Biel) slowly recovers from her accident and draws closer to her platonic boyfriend, Wilson West (Andrew Keegan); Lucy (Beverley Mitchell) has reached the age where she actually can choose amongst her beaux; the Camdens briefly take in a French exchange student (Steven Roy) as a boarder, only to regret it when the visitor introduces the kids to the "pleasures" of smoking; and the original owners of the Camdens' dog, Happy, demand that their pet be returned immediately. Season two ends with the remarkable revelation that the number of children in the Camden household will soon be increased by six...or maybe more. ~ All Movie Guide
The foundation upon which the WB's 7th Heaven is built consists of Eric Camden (Stephen Collins), pastor of Glen Oak Community Church, and Eric's loving and supportive wife, Annie (Catherine Hicks). That said, an entertainingly inordinate amount of time is spent on the Camdens' five children (ranging in age from 5 to 16) during the series' first season. Oldest son Matt (Barry Watson) has, like most of his fellow high schoolers, developed a healthy interest in girls and a mile-wide streak of independence; oldest daughter Mary (Jessica Biel) is a loose-limbed "jock"; second daughter Lucy (Beverley Mitchell) is the inquisitive intellectual of the bunch; second son Simon (David Gallagher) has the happy, carefree spirit common to most ten-year-olds; and youngest girl, Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman), is sweet but precocious. Over the course of season one's 22 episodes, Matt develops a relationship with a deaf girl named Heather (Andrea Ferrell); Mary cultivates a friendship with Wilson West (Andrew Keegan), a nerdy teen who has had the misfortune of fathering a children out of wedlock; and Lucy suffers the first pangs of puppy love as she moons over classmate Jimmy Moon (Matthew Linville). Among the more serious and consequential complications facing the Camden brood are the impending death of Annie's mother, Eric's counseling of a youthful drug addict, a hidden drinking problem in the family, the decision by Eric's elderly parents to adopt a ten-year-old boy, and, at the tail end of season one, a traffic accident that endangers the life of Mary Camden. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Collins, Catherine Hicks, (more)
- 1996
One of the most atypical weekly series to emerge from the Aaron Spelling TV factory, 7th Heaven, created by Spelling and Brenda Hampton, has eschewed the sex-and-sin shenanigans of such series as Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place in favor of honest, three-dimensional family values, with generous doses of warmth, heart, humor, and pathos. There can be no doubt that this fundamentally wholesome program has struck a universal chord. The series has not only been lavishly praised by critics, honored by such organizations as the Parents Television Council, the Academy of Religious Broadcasting, and the Anti-Defamation League, and given innumerable industry awards, but it is also one of the most successful offerings of the WB network; indeed, it was the first WB series to run more than seven seasons, and during four of those seasons, it was the network's highest-rated show. Set in the suburban L.A. community of Glen Oak, the series revolves around the Camden family, headed by Eric Camden (Stephen Collins), pastor of the town's Community Church, and Eric's homemaker wife, Annie (Catherine Hicks). In the tradition of The Waltons, loyal 7th Heaven viewers have enjoyed the rare privilege of watching the Camden children grow up before their very eyes. When the series debuted on August 26, 1996, handsome and personable Matt Camden (Barry Watson) was 17 years old; basketball-playing Mary Camden (Jessica Biel) was 13 going on 14; intellectual, inquisitive Lucy Camden (Beverley Mitchell) was 12; happy-go-lucky Simon Camden (David Gallagher) was ten; and precocious Ruthie Camden (Mackenzie Rosman) was five. By the time the series entered its eighth season, the three oldest Camden kids were married and pursuing careers, while the two youngest were seasoned veterans of the school dating scene. (Two more Camden youngsters, twin boys Sam and David, were born halfway through the 1998-1999 season). All of the Camdens, parents included, have had more than their share of setbacks and tragedies (some of them absolutely devastating) as the series has rolled forward, but somehow all of the members of the clan, from patriarch Eric on down, have been able to recover, rally, and persevere with the help and support of their family and friends -- not to mention their inner faith. And unlike so many other TV series which traffic in personal interrelationships, the characters in 7th Heaven are very much a part of the "real" world. During its lengthy WB run, the series has exposed its principals to a wide variety of contemporary issues: teen suicide, racial prejudice, substance abuse, drunken driving, homelessness, negative peer pressure, teen pregnancy, Alzheimer's disease, the Holocaust, the war in Iraq, and the crisis in the Sudan. Eminently suitable for viewers of all ages, but never a mere sop to the "kiddie" trade nor a placebo for the clean-up-TV brigades, 7th Heaven has been and will likely always remain the jewel in the WB crown. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Collins, Catherine Hicks, (more)
Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker, and Jessica Biel topline this ensemble drama regarding intersecting lives on Christmas Eve from writer/director Timothy Linh Bui (Green Dragon). Liotta plays an ex-convict who tracks down his estranged daughter (Biel) after serving a 25-year jail sentence. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker, (more)
As their tour of duty in Iraq draws to a close, four American soldiers learn that they are scheduled to embark on one final, fateful mission that will forever change their concept of war. Shortly after receiving the news that they will soon be reunited with their families back in the United States, a unit serving in Iraq is deployed on a humanitarian mission to deliver medical supplies to a remote Iraqi village. Upon arriving in the village, the unit is viciously ambushed and many lives are lost. Now, as the surviving members of the battalion return home and attempt to readjust to civilian life, the physical injuries and psychological scars sustained during that tragic event continue to take a heavy emotional toll on the war-torn soldiers. Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, and rapper-turned-actor 50 Cent star in an affecting psychological war drama from Academy Award-winning director Irwin Winkler. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Jessica Biel, (more)
A party becomes a metaphor for the wasted lives of a handful of young hipsters in this edgy independent drama. Syd (Chris Evans) awakes from the latest in a long series of drug- and booze-fueled benders when he receiving a phone call from a friend informing him that London (Jessica Biel), who recently broke up with Syd, will be moving away from New York for California with her new boyfriend in a few days, and that a going-away party is being thrown for her that evening. Syd hasn't been invited to the bash, but he decides to attend anyway, and brings along Bateman (Jason Statham), a bartender who moonlights as a cocaine dealer. Bateman is carrying a large supply of nose candy, and after arriving at the party he and Syd install themselves in the bathroom, where they snort line after line while guzzling tequila and discussing philosophical matters regarding love, sex, and emotional pain. The private party-within-a-party is soon joined by Maya (Kelli Garner) and Mallory (Joy Bryant), who share cocaine and sympathy with the guys until Syd learns that London has arrived, and he decides it's time to confront her. London was the first feature film for writer and director Hunter Richards. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Evans, Jessica Biel, (more)
Wesley Snipes returns as legendary vampire hunter Blade in this, the third film inspired by the popular Marvel Comics character. A fearless warrior immune to vampires, Blade (Snipes) has become a hated enemy of the bloodsucking community, and as they gather in their desert compound, a group of vampires is plotting to eliminate Blade once and for all by turning the mortal community against him. The vampires have concocted a misinformation campaign that paints a picture of Blade as a ruthless murderer and has sent the FBI on the vampire hunter's trail, led by the relentless agent Cumberland (James Remar). At the same time, the vampires have brought their founding father, Dracula, back to his undead state, renaming him Drake (Dominic Purcell) and investing him with special powers that allow him to walk unharmed in daylight. After a dangerous encounter with Cumberland, Blade and his ally, Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), form an uneasy alliance with a scruffy team of human vampire slayers, the Nighstalkers, led by Hannibal King (Ryan Reynolds), and Whistler's daughter, Abigail (Jessica Biel. While Sommerfield (Natasha Lyonne), a biologist working with the Nightstalkers, researches a scientific answer to the vampire problem, Blade and his comrades take a more hands-on approach against Drake and his minions, including Danica Talos (Parker Posey), Asher (Callum Keith Rennie), and Grimwood (Triple H). Blade: Trinity was directed by David Goyer, who also wrote the screenplay for this film, as well as the first two movies in the series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, (more)
One of the most infamous horror films of the 1970s is revisited in this remake produced by action-spectacle maven Michael Bay. In the summer of 1973, four teenagers -- Erin (Jessica Biel), Morgan (Jonathan Tucker), Kemper (Eric Balfour), and Andy (Mike Vogel) -- are driving through Texas on a road trip when they pick up a hitchhiker, Pepper (Erica Leerhsen), who is on her way to Mexico to score some dope. With Pepper adding to the party atmosphere, the other four decide to join her, but as they're passing through a small town in Travis County, they see a bloody and distraught girl (Lauren German) wandering by the side of the road, and after stopping to help her, they realize she's been involved in something horribly traumatic. As the kids try to help the girl piece together the story of what happened, they find themselves drawn into the web of a murderous family of subnormal cannibals. Inspired -- like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, and Deranged -- by the crimes of Wisconsin multiple murderer Ed Gein, this remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre also features narration by John Larroquette, who narrated the original film (it was his first screen credit), as well as supporting performances by R. Lee Ermey, Andrew Prine, and Andrew Bryniarski. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Biel, Jonathan Tucker, (more)
Bret Easton Ellis' controversial novel about the sexual, emotional, and chemical interactions of a group of wealthy and amoral college students is brought to the screen in this adaptation from writer and director Roger Avery. Sean Bateman (James Van Der Beek) is a student at Camden College, a well-respected private school on the East Coast. Sean is attracted to Lauren Hynde (Shannyn Sossamon), a high minded and seemingly unapproachable coed, while Lauren is infatuated with Victor (Kip Pardue), a handsome but self-centered ladies' man. Lauren's empty-headed roommate, Lara (Jessica Biel), is also attracted to Victor, while he has no qualms about being involved with both. Lauren used to date affected snob Paul Denton (Ian Somerhalder), but Paul, a bisexual, currently lusts after Sean. Meanwhile, friendly campus drug dealer Rupert (Clifton Collins Jr.) finds a ready market for cocaine among his classmates; Sean, a steady customer, finds himself financially embarrassed and begins dealing drugs to help pay off his debts, while leading Paul on for his ready supply of marijuana. The Rules of Attraction also features Eric Stoltz as Mr.
Lance Lawson, Faye Dunaway and Swoosie Kurtz as semi-concerned parents, and Fred Savage as one of Sean's customers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Lance Lawson, Faye Dunaway and Swoosie Kurtz as semi-concerned parents, and Fred Savage as one of Sean's customers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder, (more)
Peter Fonda received a richly deserved Oscar nomination for his superb performance as Ulysses "Ulee" Jackson, a Florida beekeeper forced to put his splintered family back together. Ulee is a Vietnam veteran whose wife died several years ago, a blow he's still learning to live with. His son Jimmy (Tom Wood) is in prison, and his daughter-in-law Helen (Christine Dunford) ran away, leaving Ulee to raise their two daughters by himself. Ulee is a quiet man who has a hard time displaying warmth and does not always deal well with the rebellious children put in his care. But he possesses an intense inner strength and a firm sense of loyalty and responsibility. One day Ulee gets a call from Jimmy; he's received word that Helen has fallen in with a pair of drug dealers and is in sad shape. While he doesn't much care for the idea, Ulee heads out to rescue her, only to discover the men who have her were Jimmy's partners in the robbery that put him behind bars; they threaten Ulee by saying if they're not given the $100,000 Jimmy has stashed away, they'll come after his daughters. Meanwhile, Ulee is forced to deal with Helen's painful withdrawal from drugs; he gets some help from Connie (Patricia Richardson), a divorced nurse who has recently moved into the neighborhood and seems to understand Ulee's lonely stoicism. Written and directed with subtle intelligence by Victor Nuñez, Ulee's Gold is a moving story about the trials and responsibilities of family ties, with Peter Fonda leading a fine cast that delivers uniformly impressive work. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Fonda, Patricia Richardson, (more)
A glamorous American woman enters into a spirited battle of wits with her disapproving English mother-in-law in this period romantic comedy. John Whittaker (Ben Barnes) and Larita Huntington (Jessica Biel) married in haste following a whirlwind romance. But reality comes knocking when the couple arrives to visit John's parents and his mother has an allergic reaction to her new daughter-in-law. As the battle of wits between the two women escalates, John and Larita's marriage begins to suffer. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jessica Biel, Ben Barnes, (more)
- 2007
- PG13
- Add I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry to QueueAdd I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry to top of Queue
When two testosterone-fueled firemen attempt to register as domestic partners in order to bypass the bureaucratic red tape preventing one of them from naming his own two children as his life-insurance beneficiaries, their low-key ruse turns into headline news in this quirky matrimonial comedy starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Chuck Levine (Sandler) and Larry Valentine (James) are two New York City firefighters whose longtime friendship has endured many a five-alarm fire. All that widower Larry wants is to ensure that his two children will be taken care of if anything should happen to him on the job, and all that single blaze-battler Chuck wants is to carry on with his carefree life of noncommitment. Having once rescued Larry from certain death in a particularly fearsome inferno, beholden Chuck feels forever indebted to his brave friend and has vowed to repay the favor when the time is right. When Larry discovers that the only means of circumventing the civic red tape that could throw his children's futures into jeopardy is to take Chuck as his lawfully wedded husband, his obligated pal reluctantly agrees to step up to the alter with the understanding that the arrangement will be a well-kept secret between themselves and the justice of the peace. A potentially fatal flaw in their presumably foolproof plan is soon revealed, however, when an overzealous bureaucrat decides to question Chuck and Larry's partnership. Subsequently forced to embark on a mandatory honeymoon and pose as starry-eyed newlyweds, Chuck and Larry quickly discover just how important it can be to stick by a friend in his or her time of need. Jessica Biel, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, and Dan Aykroyd co-star in a comedy from The Benchwarmers director Dennis Dugan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adam Sandler, Kevin James, (more)
