Jonathan Mostow Movies
A well-read screenwriter/director with a strong hand for creating tense, nail-biting suspense,Jonathan Mostow's personal habits may serve as a humorous contrast to the keyed-up energy that he brings to the screen. A self-described "excellent procrastinator" with a healthy nocturnal creative streak, Mostow often researches projects under the lazy guise of late-night net surfing and two dollar submarine boat tours.Raised in Woodbridge, CT, in a family of academics, a career in film seemed unlikely to the Harvard educated scholar. Though he made the obligatory documentaries and exploding-eyeball horror films common among college filmmakers, Mostow assumed that upon graduation his creative filmmaking days would draw to a close. Moving to L.A. with little more than determination, persistence, and a strong letter writing campaign, one of Mostow's literary queries eventually caught the attention of then-Paramount head Michael Eisner, who called the young hopeful in for a meeting. Though his meeting didn't serve as an immediate career booster, Mostow soon found work in the production of industrial films and briefly with Roger Corman before directing his first feature, Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers (1989). Soon following Bodysnatchers with the Taxi Driver/Top Gun hybrid Flight of the Black Angel (1991), studios began to pay attention to the young talent who seemed to have a knack for stretching a small budget.
Playing it cautiously in order to ward off the blink-and-miss-them trend of young filmmakers who hastily snatch up sub-par projects in the name of gaining credit, Mostow would wait seven years before returning with Kurt Russell and a budget in Breakdown (1997). A terse Deliverance-tinged tale of a husband's frantic search for his kidnapped wife, Breakdown earned Mostow credit for his abilities to create believable and realistic suspense. Mostow continued his drive into thriller territory in 2000, this time against a historical backdrop, in U-571. The claustrophobic World War II submarine tale of a crew's search for a secret coding transmitter that could give the allies the upper hand earned kudos for its strong cast and edge of the seat depth-charge scenes.
~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
A burnt-out soccer star tries to win back his family but gets distracted by his wandering eye in this romantic comedy starring Gerard Butler. His bank account drained and his libido fatigued, professional soccer player George (Butler) hangs up his cleats and heads back to Virginia. Determined to do right in the eyes of his ex-wife (Jessica Biel) and their lonely son (Noah Lomax), George takes a job coaching a local soccer team and begins working to form the young players into true athletes. But with every cougar in town eyeing him from the sidelines, George finds that staying focused on the job and keeping his prurient impulses in check are easier said than done. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gerard Butler
- 2012
- PG13
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A teenager (Jennifer Lawrence) and her mother (Elisabeth Shue) move to a new town and make a gruesome discovery about the house next door in this tale of terror from Hush director Mark Tonderai. Shortly after learning that the neighboring house was recently the scene of a horrific double homicide, the curious teen forges a tender friendship with the boy who cheated death (Max Thieriot) on that fateful night. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2010
The eyepatch-wearing antihero originated by Kurt Russell is resurrected in this reimagining of the 1981 John Carpenter classic, adapted by Black Hawk Down's screenwriter Ken Nolan and writer/director Jonathan Mostow. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The filmmaking trio behind the hit sci-fi sequel Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines re-team to explore a future in which humans live in isolation while only communicating with their fellow man through robots that serve as social surrogates and are better-looking versions of their human counterparts. Bruce Willis stars as an FBI agent who enlists the aid of his own surrogate to investigate the murder of the genius college student who invented the surrogates. As the case grows more complicated, however, the withdrawn detective discovers that in order to actually catch the killer he will have to venture outside the safety of his own home for the first time in many years, and enlists the aid of another agent (Radha Mitchell) in tracking his target down. Jonathan Mostow directs co-screenwriters Michael Ferris and John Brancato's adaptation of the graphic novel by author Robert Venditti and illustrator Brett Weldele. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, (more)
A hard-drinking lush finds himself thrust into superhero mode in director Peter Berg's unconventional look at the private life of a crime-fighter. Will Smith stars as the embittered do-gooder whose lifestyle is more akin to a rock star than a role model, and who has grown as disillusioned with his once-admiring public as they have of him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Smith, Charlize Theron, (more)
- 2003
- R
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The second sequel to the 1984 sci-fi action classic, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is the first film without the involvement of director James Cameron. Instead, Jonathan Mostow, the man behind Breakdown and U-571, has stepped in to fill the shoes left vacant by Cameron. In addition, the role of John Connor from the second film has been recast, with In the Bedroom's Nick Stahl taking over for Edward Furlong. Set ten years after the events of 1991's Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the film finds Connor living on the streets as a common laborer. Sarah Connor, his mother, has since died, and their efforts in the second film have not stopped the creation of SkyNet artificial intelligence network. As he will still become the leader of the human resistance, Connor is once again targeted by a Terminator sent from the future by SkyNet. This new Terminator, T-X (Kristanna Loken), is a female and is more powerful than any of her predecessors. To protect Connor, the human resistance sends a new T-101 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back from the future. Also starring Claire Danes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines had its world premiere when it showed out of competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, (more)
- 2000
- PG13
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In this World War II action thriller, American reconnaissance agents learn that a German submarine is sinking. The doomed ship carries an Enigma Machine, a special coding device that allows high-level Axis forces to send messages that can't be read without a similar encryption mechanism. Obtaining a working Enigma device would be invaluable for the Allied war effort, so a U.S. sub is sent out to rescue the machine. However, German forces have already picked up the sub's distress signal and are en route to rescue their comrades. U-571 features a distinguished cast, including Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, and Jon Bon Jovi. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, (more)
- 1998
President John F. Kennedy issued the challenge to America in a speech to Congress in 1961: Land a man on the moon within the decade. This HBO mini-series, produced and narrated by Tom Hanks, chronicles the story of NASA's efforts to carry out the vision. Episode 12 examines life imitating art, with a look at the first movie about landing a man on the moon, and comparing it with the real thing. Archival clips of the two worlds of fantasy and fact are juxtaposed for the viewer's interest and enjoyment. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, Rovi
Director David Fincher followed the success of his dark and atmospheric crime thriller Seven (1995) with another exercise in stylish film noir, this time lifting the pallid atmosphere a notch to indulge in a fast-paced trip through the cinematic funhouse. Michael Douglas plays Nicholas Van Orton, a Scrooge-like San Francisco investment banker following in his father's Scrooge-like footsteps. On Nicholas's 48th birthday (the age at which his father committed suicide), his younger, free-spirited brother Conrad (Sean Penn) blows into town and gives Nicholas a special gift for "the man who has everything" -- a ticket to CRS (Consumer Recreation Services), a company that constructs games custom-fit for each participant to provide, as CRS salesman Jim Feingold (James Rebhorn) cryptically puts it, "whatever is lacking." Nicholas's secure life begins a downhill slide as CRS masterminds a series of elaborate pranks, harmless at first, that quickly become malicious and life-threatening. Stripped of financial resources and convinced that he can trust no one, Nicholas begins to wonder if CRS is a front for a more covert operation, and if the game is in fact an attempt to steal his fortune and leave him for dead. Determined to fight back alone, Nicholas infiltrates CRS in order to "pull back the curtain and meet the wizard." ~ Anthony Reed, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, (more)
In this suspense thriller, a man discovers the unexpected danger of trusting a good Samaritan. Jeff Taylor (Kurt Russell) and his wife Amy (Kathleen Quinlan) are driving through the New Mexico desert en route to California when an incident with a lunatic driver causes their jeep to break down in the middle of nowhere. Jeff is trying to fix the vehicle when an apparently friendly truck driver, Red Barr (J.T. Walsh), stops by to offer help. Red tells the couple that there's a diner a few miles down the road where they can call for help; Jeff decides to stay with the car while Amy hops a ride with Red to see if she can find a mechanic to help them. After a long wait, Jeff is able to get the jeep running again, and he discovers that the diner is indeed a few miles down the road. But everyone there claims they've seen no sign of Amy, and Red claims to know nothing about picking her up. When Jeff attempts to file a missing person's report, he discovers mysterious disappearances are disturbingly common in this stretch of the desert; he soon realizes that someone has kidnapped his wife, but he's not sure who, or for what purpose. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kurt Russell, J.T. Walsh, (more)
- 1991
From time to time, U.S. fighter pilots have been known to develop a messianic complex. Trainee Eddie Gordon (William O'Leary) goes a bit farther than that: he begins fantasizing that he's the Angel of Death. Armed with nuclear weaponry, Gordon flies toward Las Vegas, intending to bomb "sin city" back to the stone age. It is up to squadron leader Matt Ryan (Peter Strauss) to stop him. The made-for-TV Flight of Black Angel debuted February 23, 1991, over the Showtime Cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1989
This dreadfully unfunny horror-comedy is notable only for fans of Vic Tayback (Mel from TV's Alice), here in his final role as a goofy mortician who teams up with an even-goofier mad scientist (Frank Gorshin, doing a Boris Karloff impression for the length of the film) to concoct a method of reanimating cadavers, unwittingly financed by the local mob boss (Art Metrano). They are assisted in their work by the boss's nephews, sort of teenage versions of Burke & Hare (or is it Bill & Ted?), sent there to keep tabs on how their uncle's money is being spent. No prizes guessing whose corpse ends up rising from the slab to make them an offer they can't refuse. This could have been darkly-funny fare in more experienced hands; instead we're left with a film that's dead on arrival. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vic Tayback, Frank Gorshin, (more)
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