Dina Meyer Movies

A boy and his dragon unite to fight evil in this fantasy. Bowen (Dennis Quaid), a Knight of The Old Code in Medieval times, is summoned by Aislinn the Queen (Julie Christie) to the bedside of her son, Einon, who is also Bowen's student. Einon has been wounded and is near death; with his heart about to give out, Bowen calls upon Draco (voice of Sean Connery), the mightiest dragon in the land, asking for a sliver of his mighty heart so that the boy might survive. Draco makes Bowen pledge that when Enion grows to adulthood and becomes king, he will rule with fairness and compassion before the beast will donate a piece of his heart. Einon agrees to the pledge, but years later, the adult Einon (David Thewlis) has become a cruel despot, in no way good on his promises. Bowen, angry at Einon's betrayal, is convinced that the dragon is somehow responsible and goes on a spree, killing the mammoth reptiles at a fevered pace. However, when Bowen once again encounters Draco, the dragon convinces him that a dragon-slayer who has killed the last dragon also puts himself out of a job; Draco and Bowen work out a business arrangement, where the monster "attacks" villages and Bowen is paid to "kill" him. In time, however, Draco and Bowen realize that they must set aside their lucrative business in order to challenge the authority of the evil ruler. Draco the Dragon was the first fully-computer animated character to have a speaking part along side flesh and blood actors in a film; Sean Connery's recording sessions as the voice of Draco were recorded on video as well as audio tape, so that his facial expressions and mouth movements could be adapted to the character. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Inheriting an antique dollhouse from her Aunt Silvia, Monica (Courteney Cox) doesn't want Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) anywhere near her "legacy," leading Phoebe to construct a little house of her own (and what a house!) Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) arranges a date between Chandler (Matthew Perry) and her boss, Joanna (Alison La Placa) -- then has second thoughts. And Joey gets serious about his co-star Kate (Dina Meyer). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Paul Verhoeven (Showgirls, Total Recall) reunited many from his 1987 Robocop team for this $100-million science fiction adventure, adapted from Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 novel, originally serialized in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (October-November, 1959). After graduation, Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) volunteers for the Mobile Infantry to do his Federal service -- but also to win over his girlfriend, Carmen Ibanez (Denise Richards), who has signed with the Fleet Academy to become a starship pilot. Johnny joins other boot-camp recruits -- Dizzy Flores (Dina Meyer), who has had a crush on Johnny since school, and Ace Levy (Jake Busey). Ace and Johnny become pals, and Johnny's abilities earn him the squad leader position. A training accident occurs on Johnny's watch, and he is about to resign when Earth is attacked by alien insects intent on eradicating all human life. Johnny's home, Buenos Aires, is no longer on the map. Horrified, he chooses to stay on and fight to destroy the insect threat. The Mobile Infantry travels to the planet Klendathu to battle the warrior bugs, a ruthless enemy with only one goal -- survival of their species no matter what. In the initial encounter, some 100,000 lives are lost. At a distant fort, Johnny's unit discovers that the bugs drain brains to acquire knowledge. Soon they are overwhelmed by an advancing arthropod army of immense proportions, attacking both in space and on the planet surface. The notion of human extinction becomes a possibility. For this $100-million production, some 300 artists and technicians combined models and miniatures with CGI effects to fashion a variety of creatures -- from breeder bugs to armored tanker bugs. The film employed hundreds of extras and has over 500 visual effects shots. Filming began 4/29/96 in California (LA and Long Beach, where Cal State's pyramid gym was used for the Jumpball game), New York, South Dakota, Wyoming (Casper, Hell's Half Acre), and Utah (an abandoned Wendover airstrip where the Enola Gay WWII bomber crew trained). At an abandoned airfield in Fountain Valley, California, an elaborate set was constructed to resemble a military boot camp of the future -- complete with an array of pup tents, gull-winged spaceships, hurdle obstacle course, and training facility buildings. Cinematography by Jost Vacano (Showgirls). Licensed products include Lewis Galoob Inc. toys. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

For this TV movie, Bob Rafelson directed James Caan as famous shamus Philip Marlowe. The novel Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) was writing during the year of his death remained unfinished until it was completed 30 years later by Spenser author Robert Parker. The British-based, Czech-born screenwriter/playwright Tom Stoppard scripted this telefilm adaptation. In 1963, the middle-aged Marlowe has put on a few pounds and gained a new wife, wealthy heiress Laura (Dina Meyer). In Poodle Springs, California, on the Nevada border, the couple lives in a house given them by P.J. Parker (Joe Don Baker), Laura's father. Framed for murder, Marlowe is bailed out by Laura, and he's soon hired to locate a gambler who owes $100,000. Investigating lowlife photographer Larry Victor (David Keith), Marlowe learns of a blackmail plot involving stripper Lola (La Joy Farr); he follows a trail that leads to a land scheme, while corpses begin to litter the landscape. This was James Caan's first TV role since Brian's Song (1971, later released theatrically), and the whodunit premiered July 25, 1998 on HBO. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Beware of what goes "bump" (and "squeak" and "flap flap flap") in the night. Dr. Sheila Casper (Dina Meyer) is a respected zoologist dispatched by the government to Gallup, TX, a small community suffering from an unusual number of reported bat attacks. Casper finds this news puzzling, since bats are generally placid creatures who avoid contact with humans. The local sheriff, Emmett Kimsey (Lou Diamond Phillips), assures Casper that the reports are on the level and that something needs to be done about swarms of aggressive bats so thick they blot out the moon. Caspar and Kimsey discover that a new breed of genetically altered bats have escaped from a research facility and taken up residence in a cave near Gallup -- but the nocturnal bloodsuckers have no intention of leaving as quickly as they arrived. Bats was written by John Logan, who had two other projects hit the screen within a few months of Bats' release: Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday and Ridley Scott's Gladiator. The supporting cast includes Leon and Bob Gunton. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Sylvester Stallone returned to the screen after a three-year absence (excepting his voice work in Antz) with this tense and violent psychological crime thriller. FBI agent Jake Malloy (Stallone) has been traumatized by an especially vicious murder. No longer able to perform his job, Malloy is referred to a clinic for members of the law enforcement community, run by doctors Hank (Tom Berenger) and Doc (Kris Kristofferson). Jake begins receiving therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, but crime follows him inside the clinic; a serial killer has invaded the facility and is killing off the patients one by one, in increasingly gruesome ways. Soon Jake must set aside his fears and track down the murderer, before he becomes the next victim. D-Tox (which, in production, was publicized under the titles Detox and The Outpost) was released on video as Eye See You. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

"Chop Chop" Frankie Carbone (Armand Assante) has made a career out of stealing cars for the mob in Chicago. An attempted assassination by a mob boss goes badly and Frankie retaliates, only to wind up in the hands of the Feds. Frankie agrees to testify against the mobsters and his life is suddenly worthless -- unless he submits to going into federal protection. The FBI gives him a new name -- Howard Akers -- and relocates him to a sleepy middle-class suburb in Little Rock, AR. Howard catches the attention of his lovely neighbor, Leigh (Angela Featherstone), a bored fund-raiser for a non-profit zoo whose husband, Dennis (David Lipper), is having an affair -- and she knows it, but she doesn't know it's with her hot-blooded sister, Bootsie (Dina Meyer). Leigh becomes friends with the enigmatic Howard, but Dennis and Bootsie see an opportunity to earn the million-dollar bounty the mob has put on his head by turning him in to the mob. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide

Fiona MacKenzie's revenge thriller Deadly Little Secrets begins with the death by steroid overdose of a famous sports star. The athlete's brother, Cole Chamberlain, begins his own investigation and discovers Gordon Childs (Craig Sheffer), a doctor who has been performing lethal experiments with performance-enhancing drugs. As a pair of beautiful sisters brings him closer to the truth, Cole must decide how far he wants to take his revenge. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Taking a "revisionist" approach to several DC Comics favorites, the weekly adventure series Birds of Prey could easily have been retitled "Charlie's Superheroines." Dina Meyer headed the cast as Barbara Gordon, who in her younger days fought crime in Gotham City as the caped-and-cowled Batgirl. Confined to a wheelchair since being attacked by the archvillain Joker, Barbara, now calling herself "Oracle," continued to battle evil as the mentor of her ward Helena Kyle (Ashley Scott), the out-of-wedlock daughter of stalwart hero Batman and slinky villainess Selena Kyle, aka Catwoman. Donning the crimefighting guise of "the Huntress," Helena likewise had a score to settle with the Joker, who was responsible for Catwoman's demise. Joining these two courageous ladies in their ongoing war on villainy was telepathic teenager Dinah Laurel Lance, aka "the Black Canary." Others in the cast included the perfidious Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Mia Sara), otherwise known as Harley Quinn (a character introduced on the various Batman animated cartoon series of the early '90s), and "official" lawman Detective Jesse Reese (Shemar Moore), whose dedication to his work was born of a disreputable childhood. Birds of Prey first aired on October 9, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A flawed attempt to map the mind of a brutal serial killer leads to a horrifying battle for survival in director Thomas Wright's visceral thriller. Despite vocal objections from Warden Blakely (Dennis Hopper), prison psychologist Diana Purlow (Dina Meyer) journeys deep inside the mind of serial killer Jesse Mowat (Pavan Grover) in a desperate attempt to reveal the source of his psychotic tendencies. Taken to the edge of insanity by a horrific discovery in the mind of her troubled patient, Dr. Purlow's worst fears begin to come true when Mowat survives his execution in the electric chair and embarks on a killing rampage. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The directorial debut from filmmaker James Wan, this psychological thriller comes from the first screenplay by actor Leigh Whannell, who also stars. Whannell plays Adam, one of two men chained up in a mysterious chamber. The other, Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes), like Adam, has no idea how either of them got there. Neither of them are led to feel optimistic by the man lying between them dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Together, Adam and Dr. Gordon attempt to piece together what has happened to them and who the sadistic madman behind their imprisonment is. Also starring Danny Glover and Monica Potter, Saw premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

The small New Jersey seaside community of Point Pleasant would never be the same after Christina Nickson (Elisabeth Harnois) was saved from drowning in the ocean by handsome lifeguard Jesse Parker (Sam Page). Evidently with no relatives of her own, Christina was taken in by local doctor Ben Kramer (Richard Burgi) and his wife, Meg (Susan Walters), and became best friends with the Kramers' daughter, Judy (Aubrey Dollar). What no one in town could have possibly suspected was that Christina was the daughter of Satan himself -- nor did Christina tumble to her heritage, even when weird and terrible things happened all around her whenever she became angry, frightened, or confused. As she searched for her biological mother, a "mortal" who by a remarkable coincidence had been born in Point Pleasant, her movements were carefully monitored by her demonic dad, who was laying the groundwork for an apocalyptic battle between good and evil. Among the other residents of Point Pleasant were Terry Burke (Brent Weber), Jesse's best friend; Paula Hargrove (Cameron Richardson), Jesse's possessive girlfriend, for whom Terry lusted in his heart; Paula's libidinous mother, Amber Hargrove (Dina Meyer); and last but far from least, Lucas Boyd (Grant Show), a mysterious stranger who arrived in town just after Christina moved in with the Kramers. Co-created by Marti Noxon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and John McLaughlin, Point Pleasant debuted January 19, 2005, on the FOX network. Of the 13 episodes filmed, only 11 ever aired on FOX; however, the entire package was later assembled for DVD release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide