Monica Keena Movies

This biography dramatizes the incredible life of Oksana Baiul, a Russian orphan who overcomes many obstacles, including political turmoil, tragedy and brutal training to become an Olympic figure-skating gold medalist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This latter-day romantic screwball comedy stars Sandra Bullock as a love-starved subway toll booth operator, Lucy. Lucy pines for regular customer Peter Callaghan (Peter Gallagher), but the self-absorbed attorney pays her no heed. One day, Peter is beaten by a gang of thugs and tossed onto the tracks. Lucy rescues him from death. While he is comatose in the hospital, a comment she makes at his bedside is misinterpreted, and she then allows his family members, who haven't seen Peter in awhile, to believe that she is his fiancée. Peter's parents, Ox (Peter Boyle) and Midge (Micole Mercurio), take a liking to Lucy. But Lucy takes a liking to Peter's brother Jack (Bill Pullman), though Jack is suspicious about her claim to be Peter's intended. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Supernatural forces hover over the courtroom in this devilish drama adapted from the novel by Andrew Neiderman. Attorney Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) doesn't heed the Bible-based warnings of his mother (Judith Ivey), who views New York City as "the dwelling place of demons." Instead, he leaves Gainesville, Florida, with his wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) to put his legalistic skills to the test at a leading Manhattan law firm run by John Milton (Al Pacino). It all goes smoothly -- with Milton urging them to stay, putting Kevin on a $400-per-hour salary, and moving the couple into a luxurious apartment in his own building on Fifth Avenue -- where Mary Ann falls under the influence of neighbor Jackie (Tamara Tunie). After Kevin defends a weird animal sacrificer (Delroy Lindo, uncredited), he moves up to an important case with an apparent murderer, real-estate tycoon Alexander Cullen (Craig T. Nelson). Ignored by Kevin, the troubled Mary Ann has some disturbing experiences, verging on the occult, while Kevin, at work, becomes attracted to redhead Christabella (Connie Neilsen). Dazzled by his entrance into paradise, Kevin doesn't grasp who handed him this Big-Apple success. Could it be...Satan? The film features demonic creatures by Rick Baker. Cameos (Senator Alfonse D'Amato, Don King, others) add to the ambiance of ambition and power in the canyons of Manhattan. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Once upon a time, pursuing wolves frighten horses drawing a carriage, and it tumbles down a hill. Dying, the pregnant woman inside orders her grieving husband Frederick (Sam Neill) to cut the baby from her womb, so that at least it might live. Years later, the infant is now headstrong young Lilli (Taryn Davis), who is resentful of her father's upcoming marriage to Claudia (Sigourney Weaver). Claudia is devoted to the memory of her own mother and installs a magic mirror that belonged to her in a wardrobe in her private room. More time passes; Lilli is now an adult, but her relationship with the now-pregnant Claudia has never improved, though Claudia has never done her any ill. Claudia loses her baby, and on the same night, gazes into her mother's mirror, which shows her an image of herself young and beautiful. She determines to rid herself of Lilli. Lilli is walking near the forest when Claudia's mute brother Gustav (Miroslav Taborski) draws a knife and chases the frightened young woman into the forest. She evades him, so he kills a pig and takes the heart to a delighted Claudia, who believes it to be Lilli's heart. She has Gustav put the heart in a stew cooking in the kitchen, and that night as she dines with Frederick, Lilli eats the stew with great pleasure. Later, Frederick and some men search for Lilli in the rainy forest.

Lilli takes refuge from wolves in a ruined castle, where she's confronted by seven vagabonds who've banned together to seek a lost gold mind. Will (Gil Bellows), scarred during the Crusades, is around Lilli's own age and resents her presence, but the older Lars (Brian Glover) is friendlier to her. The mirror tells Claudia that Lilli is still alive, so in the forest where Claudia keeps a shrine to her dead baby, she casts a spell designed to kill her stepdaughter. Lilli, helping the men in their mine, is almost smothered in a cave-in; she's rescued, but one of the men dies. The mirror again tells Claudia that Lilli still lives. Whirling in a black gown, Claudia conjures a wind that strikes the forest; giant trees topple all around Lilli and the men, killing Lars, but Lilli still lives. So the mirror now transforms Claudia into a bald old hag, and she goes into the forest herself. She offers an apple to Lilli, who takes one bite and falls into a trance that no one can tell from death. She's placed in a stained-glass coffin and lowered into the ground, but the agonized Will, who's fallen in love with her, lifts her from the coffin and a piece of apple falls from her mouth. She returns to life, and they all head for the castle. She arrives in time to interrupt Claudia in the act of slashing Frederick's throat, then confronts Lilli in a room full of mirrors. (There's a hint that Claudia had a part in the death of Lilli's mother.) Lilli stabs not Claudia but her mirror image. It bursts apart, shredding and burning Claudia to death.

This bold movie out-grims the Brothers Grimm, telling their oft-told tale as a horror movie/adventure -- and it works. In fact, the weakness of the movie is precisely that the story is so familiar, but the changes wrought by the writers and director keep it fresh for most of its length. It's handsomely designed, using real locations and costumes that are never too grand for the setting. Weaver is clearly having a great time as the not-so-wicked stepmother who eventually becomes a vengeful witch. Especially for a fairy tale, the characters are complex and not necessarily always likable; even Lilli (who is never called "Snow White") has a hard edge, and her "Prince Charming" is a bitter, scarred commoner. It's a shame this attractive, imaginative film didn't have any theatrical release in the United States; originality, especially in a field as well-ploughed as fairy tales, should be encouraged. ~ Bill Warren, All Movie Guide

In an obvious homage to The Breakfast Club, this episode of Dawson's Creek finds Dawson (James Van Der Beek), Joey (Katie Holmes), Pacey (Joshua Jackson), and Jen (Michelle Williams) serving an eight-hour Saturday detention along with class bad girl Abby (Monica Keena). After tensions between Pacey and Dawson, as well as Jen and Joey, heat up for a variety of reasons, a game of truth or dare ends in a kiss that may cause all kinds of emotional ramifications. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A federal agent is demoted to a less challenging assignment, only to have it become the most dangerous mission of her life in this action-thriller. Alex McGregor (Mariel Hemingway) is a Secret Service agent who once guarded the President of the United States, Jonathan Hayes (Gregory Harrison). But after a series of misunderstandings following an attempt on the President's life, McGregor has been reassigned to oversee security for Hayes' teenaged daughter, Jess (Monica Keena). Jess has been chafing under the pressures of having a team of agents following her everywhere, so when she makes plans to go on a white-water rafting trip, the President requests a minimal compliment of Secret Service agents. This proves to be a mistake when Jess and her companions are kidnapped by a gang of right-wing terrorists. McGregor is forced to join forces with scruffy wilderness guide Grant Carlson (Doug Savant) in order to find Jess and return her to safety. Though set in the United States, First Daughter was shot in Australia, and had its premier on American television. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Director Linda Yellen spins this study of four couples as they struggle to maintain their relationships. Middle-aged divorcée and landlord Katharine (Lynn Redgrave) is completely smitten with her live-in lover Rick (Harry Connick, Jr.). She loves throwing parties, and on one Halloween she hosts a dinner for some wildly dissimilar guests: her tenets Sandra (Cindy Crawford) and Paul (Jamey Sheridan) are conservative professionals, while fellow building dwellers Marta (Monica Keena) and Billy (Dylan Bruno) are rock musicians. Also at the party is wacky psychic Arnita (Tyne Daly). During dinner, Arnita sees the spirits of another couple: Mae (Samantha Mathis), a flapper from the 1920s, and Katharine's great-grandfather Edward (William Hurt). Unnerved, Arnita predicts that one couple will split up by year's end. Though initially shaken, the guests brush her off as a nut. Yet toward the year's end, Katharine grows increasingly jealousy of Rick's flirtation with Sandra. ~ Jonathan Crow, 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

The perks and pressures of sudden stardom weigh heavily upon hot young actor Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) as the quasi-reality show Entourage begins its first season on HBO. Having skyrocketed to fame with his new picture "Head On," Vince would be well advised to put his future in the hands of his harried, hardworking agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven). Instead, Vince tends to let himself be swayed by the self-serving opinions of two of his pals from his old Queens neighborhood: his half-brother "Drama" (Kevin Dillon), who clearly hopes to coast to his own acting career on Vincent's coattails, and his lifelong chum Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), who enjoys luxuriating in Vincent's sumptuous lifestyle without having to do any of the heavy lifting himself. Conversely, Vincent's friend Eric (Kevin Connolly) is not impressed by the trappings of celebrity, and is interested only in making sure that his friend doesn't screw up or ruin his life. In the course of season one's eight episodes, Ari expresses resentment that Vincent listens more to his pals than to him, though he must also curry favor with his client's entourage if he wants to keep his job; Vincent agonizes over his reviews, even the good ones; our hero has a wild time on a talk show hosted by his onetime nemesis Jimmy Kimmel; the boys of the entourage are given a jolt of reality when they meet a onetime popular actor who is now working as a caterer; Vince and company have hissy fits over script revisions that are unsuitable to his "image" (whatever that is); and in a crossover of sorts with another faux "reality" show, Vincent has a meeting with Larry David, the star/creator of Curb Your Enthusiasm. In addition to the aforementioned Jimmy Kimmel and Larry David, a number of "big names" appear in cameo roles during Entourage's first season, beginning with the series' executive producer/co-creator Mark Wahlberg, and continuing with Jessica Alba, David Faustino, Luke Wilson, Gary Busey, and Scarlett Johansson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Directed by Stephen Herek, Man of the House follows hard-nosed Texas Ranger Lt. Roland Sharp (Tommy Lee Jones) in an undercover job as a cheerleading coach. Though his assignment is fairly cut-and-dried -- after witnessing the murder of a federal informant, a group of cheerleaders from the University of Texas need temporary protection -- he ends up forming a variety of unexpected and decidedly less simple relationships. Aside from his immersion into the struggles and triumphs of the UT cheerleading squad (Monica Keena, Kelli Garner, Christina Milian, Paula Garces, and Vanessa Ferlito), Roland finds himself dealing with a strong attraction to college professor Molly McCarthy (Anne Archer). Formerly titled Cheer Up, Man of the House also features supporting performances from Brian Van Holt, Shea Whigham, and Paget Brewster. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

A planned romantic rendezvous for Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) is interrupted by a train wreck which brings dozens of victims into Seattle Grace. Among these are a twentyish woman named Bonnie (Monica Keena) and a middle-aged man named Tom (Bruce A. Young), who form an unusual bond while impaled together on a pole. Meanwhile, a critical operation is put on hold while Cristina (Sandra Oh) searches for the patient's missing leg; Addison (Kate Walsh) and Izzie (Katherine Heigl) struggle to save the life of a burn victim's unborn child; and Alex (Justin Chambers) tries to care for his patient Mary (Juliette Jeffers), despite the obnoxious interpolations of Mary's friend Yvonne (Kym Whitley)--whose ceaseless carping about Alex's medical skills and bedside manner cause him to wonder if he has chosen the right profession after all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Michael Corrente's coming-of-age comedy drama Brooklyn Rules unfurls in 1985, coincident with the early rise of John Gotti. Three young Brooklyn men of Italian-American heritage -- Michael Turner (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Carmine Mancuso (Scott Caan), and Bobby Canzoneri (Jerry Ferrara) -- make the pivotal, potentially irreversible choices that will determine their directions in life. The boys' periodic run-ins with a sadistic mobster type who rules the neighborhood, Caesar Manganaro (Alec Baldwin), suggest the ever-present option of drifting into a career of crime. On the surface, Michael courageously and doggedly bucks this choice, opting instead for the pre-law program at Columbia and a straight-laced romance with blonde-haired, blue-eyed coed Ellen (Mena Suvari), yet this path is not as antiseptic as it may seem, for he actually scammed his way into the law program. Meanwhile, Carmine idolizes Caesar, and his desire to emulate this thug not only compromises his own moral integrity, but threatens to jeopardize the stability of Michael's life as well by drawing him into a sticky web of criminal activity. While the first two men navigate these treacherous paths, the third friend, Bobby, stakes out safer ground with a low-key job at the post office and married life with his intended. Over the course of it all, the boys' bonds of friendship become stressed and strained given the divergence of their paths. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A devoted family man with a successful career in software unwittingly falls into a hopeless pattern of corporate slacking, lavish business trips, and beautiful prostitutes after being promoted to middle-management in this humorous tale of ambition and redemption starring Breckin Meyer. Ted (Meyer) was the kind of guy who always put his family first, but now that he's been promoted his priorities are beginning to shift. His new manager (Adam Scott) seems more interested in cutting corners and taking advantage of the high life than getting any real work done, and it isn't long before Ted becomes wrapped up in the perks of his new position as well. As much fun as he may be having at the moment, however, Ted will eventually have to return home and answer to his increasingly lonely wife. It's only a matter of time before Ted's corporate affairs come back to haunt him, and when they do will they really have been worth it? Laura Harris, Monica Keena, and Bess Armstrong co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide