Katharine Isabelle Movies
- 1998
A virulent virus erupts aboard a cruise ship. The government wants to blow it up, but a scientist is determined to find a cure or at least a way to contain the deadly disease. He must hurry, for time is short and the government is getting impatient. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lindsay Wagner, Brian Dennehy, (more)
David Nutter made his directorial debut with this fantasy thriller, attempting a switch on The Stepford Wives premise. The Clark family moves from Chicago to Cradle Bay, and Steve Clark (James Marsden) is cautioned by Gavin Strick (Nick Stahl) about the separating factions at the local high school, where the Blue Ribbons, a club of robotic perfect students, rule. Gavin claims a conspiracy is afoot, and sure enough, he turns into an ultra-perfect himself. Rachel Wagner (Katie Holmes) joins Steve in investigating, and they soon suspect school psychiatrist Dr. Caldicott (Bruce Greenwood), a neuropharmacology specialist. The soundtrack contrasts alternative rock with tunes by Barry Manilow, Wayne Newton, and Olivia Newton-John. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Marsden, Katie Holmes, (more)
It's the day children dream of and parents dread: a sudden snowstorm causes the cancellation of school, giving kids a day off and their folks one more thing to worry about. Snow Day traces what happens in an upstate New York town when a thick layer of white stuff forces local schools to take a day off. Fifteen-year-old Hal Brandston (Mark Webber) is crazy about Claire Bonner (Emmanuelle Chriqui), the prettiest girl in his tenth-grade class, who already has a boyfriend -- the class jock and BMOC. Will the magical powers of Snow Day give Hal a chance to win her away? Meanwhile, Hal's ten-year-old sister, Natalie (Zena Grey), is having so much fun with Snow Day that she doesn't want it to end, so she makes sure the Snow Plow Man (Chris Elliott) can't get the roads cleared before morning. Four-year-old Randy Brandston (Connor Matheus) is all cranked up and ready to enjoy life on a day with no day care -- bad news for his mom, Laura (Jean Smart), a businesswoman who has to close an important deal. And weather is a sore spot with father Tom Brandston (Chevy Chase); as the meteorologist at the lowest-rated TV station in town, he is trying in vain to get folks to pay attention to what he has to say about snow, rain, and the elements. Snow Day was produced by Nickelodeon Movies, the feature-film branch of the children's television network, and its eclectic cast also includes Pam Grier, John Schneider, and Iggy Pop. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Elliott, Mark Webber, (more)
In the generic Canadian suburb of Bailey Downs live Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) and Brigitte (Emily Perkins), 15-year-old sisters committed to introversion, menstruation anxiety, and terminal misanthropy. Three years late for their first period, they spend their time staging gruesome death scenes for their own amusement, amidst the willful ignorance of their relentlessly perky mother (Mimi Rogers). On the night Ginger finally gets her period, the sisters are attacked in the woods by a ferocious creature that may have some connection to "The Beast of Bailey Downs," a predator currently disemboweling its way through the local dog population. The girls survive the attack, and Ginger's wounds heal quickly, but her attitude grows even more bizarre, as hair sprouts from her scars and a tail grows from her spine. Adding to the terror, she starts dating boys. A panicked Brigitte forces herself to befriend Sam (Kris Lemche), the high school pot supplier, whose brand of ganja may be the only cure for Ginger's troubling ailment. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle, (more)
Based on the animated hit TV show of the 1970s, Josie and the Pussycats is a live-action tale of a group of young girl rockers who desire to make it big. Josie (Rachael Leigh Cook), Val (Rosario Dawson), and Melody (Tara Reid) make up an aspiring garage band that is discovered by shady megalomaniac executive Wyatt Frame (Alan Cumming), the sidekick to MegaRecords boss Fiona (Parker Posey), who runs an industry powerhouse that has been grooming the very successful boy band Du Jour. Unbeknownst to the band, MegaRecords is a company whose real intent is to brainwash young people, with subliminal messages inserted in CDs to assure a healthy sales record. Josie and her crew soon latch on to the real deal behind their new label and are forced to choose between their burgeoning rock-star success and doing what's right for future music lovers. The film also stars Gabriel Mann as Josie's love interest/folk singer Alan M. Its soundtrack features work by Counting Crows' Adam Duritz, the Go-Go's Jane Wiedlin, and Babyface. Rachael Leigh Cook's voice was dubbed by Letters to Cleo's Kay Hanley for the film's musical set pieces. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid, (more)
Cinematographer turned director Ernest Dickerson returns to the horror genre with this African-American, urban twist on haunted house stories. Rap star Snoop Doggy Dogg makes his debut as a leading man in the title role of Jimmy Bones, stylish protector of a thriving inner-city neighborhood in 1979. When he refuses to knuckle under to powerful interests bent on introducing crack cocaine into his turf, Bones is betrayed by some of his own people, murdered, and buried in the basement of his gothic home. More than two decades later, the neighborhood is a drug and crime-infested nightmare, and Bones' decrepit, allegedly haunted domicile is about to become a hip-hop dance club. Although Bones' one-time girlfriend, Pearl (Pam Grier), and his right-hand man, Shotgun (Ronald Selmour), have remained loyal to his memory, the children of his traitor, Jeremiah (Clifton Powell), are the principal owners of the new club. They become the primary targets when Bones' vengeful spirit rises up to exact bloody retribution for past misdeeds. Bones (2001) co-stars Michael T. Weiss, Bianca Lawson, and Khalil Kain. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Snoop Dogg, Pam Grier, (more)
An old man and a young boy teach one another some lessons about magic and friendship in this adventure-comedy for all ages. Max (Matt Weinberg) is a fourth grader who has been having a tough time lately; his parents have died, and he's become the target of bullies at school. One night, not long before Halloween, Max and some friend at school are passing by a big house in the neighborhood that's said to be haunted, and they dare one another to find out who or what is inside. It turns out the spooky mansion is home to The Great Zamboni (Ben Kingsley), a once-famous magician who retired from the stage after he made his wife disappear during his act...and couldn't make her come back again. While Zamboni at first announces he'd rather be left alone, in time he and Max become friends, and with Zamboni's magical skills, Max learns how to stand up for himself, and together they foil a group of criminals. Spooky House also features Mercedes Ruehl; the film won the "Best of the Fest" and Children's Jury Award prizes at the 1999 Chicago International Children's Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Kingsley, Mercedes Ruehl, (more)
Director Christopher Nolan follows up his breakthrough sophomore film Memento with this remake of a stylish Norwegian thriller. Al Pacino stars as Detective Will Dormer, a Los Angeles Police Department legend who temporarily escapes an internal affairs investigation that may ruin his career by traveling to Nightmute, AK, the remote site of a murder that has the local authorities flummoxed. Along with his partner, Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan), and the small town's wide-eyed rookie investigator, Ellie Burr (Hilary Swank), the exhausted Dormer probes the brutal slaying of a teenage girl who was rumored to have a secret lover. A clever ruse quickly lures the killer into a police trap, but the suspect escapes and a tragic accident at the scene leaves Dormer at the mercy of the murderer, a pulp crime novelist named Walter Finch (Robin Williams). As Finch plays a dangerous game of extortion with Dormer, the detective's mental health deteriorates rapidly from guilt over his complicity in a crime and sleep deprivation compounded by the lack of darkness in the land of the midnight sun. Meanwhile, the bright and dogged Ellie continues putting the pieces of a complex puzzle together despite Dormer's skillful attempts to lead the investigation toward the right suspect, but away from his own malfeasance. Insomnia co-stars Paul Dooley, Nicky Katt, Maura Tierney, and Jonathan Jackson. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Al Pacino, Robin Williams, (more)
Canadian filmmaker Scott Smith directs the black comedy Falling Angels, based on the novel by Barbara Gowdy and adapted for the screen by poet and author Esta Spalding. Set in the late '60s and filmed on-location in Saskatchewan, this dark family drama focuses on the three teenaged daughters of the Field household. Callum Keith Rennie plays Jim Field, the loud-mouthed, domineering patriarch who has intimidated his wife Mary (Miranda Richardson) into a catatonic state of alcoholism and depression. Norma (Monté Gagné) is the oldest, most responsible daughter; she is overburdened and preoccupied by events from the past. Middle child Lou (Katharine Isabelle) chooses the rebellious path in order to escape her father's unreasonable demands. Youngest daughter Sandy (Kristin Adams) aspires to maximum femininity, engaging in an affair with an older, married man (Mark McKinney) in the process. Falling Angels was shown at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miranda Richardson, Callum Keith Rennie, (more)
Rumored and anticipated for years, the two biggest icons of the slasher genre finally meet in Freddy Vs. Jason, the eighth entry in the Nightmare on Elm Street saga and the 11th film in the Friday the 13th series, though with Jason X taking place in the future, it should be noted that the events of this film take place after the ninth film Jason Goes to Hell. And it is hell where Freddy Kreuger (Robert Englund) and Jason Voorhees (Ken Kirzinger, donning the hockey mask for the first time in a controversial snub against series veteran Kane Hodder) finally become acquainted. Banished there for eternity, Freddy devises a plan to manipulate Jason into continuing his work, hacking up the teenagers of Elm Street. All goes well at first until Jason realizes he's been duped by "the dream master" and is none too pleased. Coaxed by surviving teenagers Will (Jason Ritter), Lori (Monica Keena), and Kia (Destiny's Child's Kelly Rowland), Jason and Freddy descend upon Crystal Lake for a mano a mano battle royal. Helmed by Hong Kong director Ronny Yu (Bride of Chucky, The Bride With the White Hair), Freddy Vs. Jason features the director of the first Friday film, Sean S. Cunningham serving as producer. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, (more)
The twentysomething urbanite Sarah (Michelle Nolden, Martha, Inc.) finds her life threatened when a teenage couple, Jackson (Kett Turton, Walking Tall) and Jenna (Katharine Isabelle, Ginger Snaps), kidnap her and drag her off to an isolated, forest-bound cabin in Show Me. Thus begins a series of intense head games between the captors and the terrified woman, who -- sensing that these kids may be in over their heads -- believes she just might be able to outsmart them. Cassandra Nicolaou directs this thriller from her own original script, an extended cat-and-mouse suspenser designed to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michelle Nolden, Allegra Fulton, (more)
- 2004
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Bridget (Emily Perkins) and Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) are back in Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning, a 19th century prequel to the first two successful entries in the Ginger Snaps film series. The film finds the doomed sisters wandering the wilderness when they stumble across a broken down outpost whose supplies have been cut off for nearly two months. Sadly, while they've been waiting, they've also been dying -- not of starvation, but from werewolf attacks. While Bridget recovers from an unfortunate encounter with a bear trap, the two lone women in the camp are faced with growing hostility stemmed from the fire and brimstone preacher (Hugh Dillon from the Canadian punk rock band the Headstones) and a dangerous secret that lands Ginger back in werewolf land once again. With tensions rising as the bloodthirsty creatures try to break down the fort walls, how will the group react when one of its own starts becoming the one thing that they want to keep out? ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
The feminist horror film genre might not have very many prominent entries, but the critically acclaimed 2000 film Ginger Snaps was just that. A darkly humorous chiller that drew parallels between menstruation and a werewolf curse, the John Fawcett picture garnered several Canadian Genie Award nominations and a loyal cult following. Four years later, Brett Sullivan, the film's editor, made his feature directorial debut with this sequel, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed. Katharine Isabelle and Emily Perkins reprise their roles from the first film as sisters Ginger and Brigitte, respectively. This time around, Brigitte is found by the police after being attacked and taken to rehab when it's assumed that the wolfbane serum that keeps her from turning into a monster is a narcotic. Once inside the facility and denied the substance, Brigitte must strike deals with one of the orderlies to obtain it; meanwhile, she is pursued by another werewolf, and escapes with Ghost, another female patient, to that girl's vacant old house, which sets the stage for a brutal showdown -- made even nastier when the orderly, a hospital doctor, and the elderly Barbara show up and decide to intervene. Also starring Tatiana Maslany, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed was followed only a few months later by Ginger Snaps Back. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle, (more)
- 2004
Charles Martin Smith and Katherine Isabelle star in director Pierre Gil's Gemini Award-winning comedy concerning a money hungry teacher who convinces his best math students to help swindle Canada's biggest casinos. As the teacher and his students step to the tables in hopes of making their fortune, it doesn't take long for savvy debt collectors and suspicious authorities to catch on to their skillful ruse. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Martin Smith, Katharine Isabelle, (more)
A slacker edging into his thirties plots a not quite legal get-rich-quick scheme in this satiric comedy written by celebrated novelist Douglas Coupland. Ryan (Paulo Costanzo) lives and works in Vancouver, which has become overrun by runaway Hollywood film crews and folks looking for an easy buck however they can find it. Ryan's unemployed father grows marijuana in his basement, his brother is involved in a real-estate scam that bilks tycoons from Hong Kong who never see the property they only think they own, and Ryan himself is an office drone at a magazine devoted to chronicling the lives of lottery winners. After his girlfriend leaves him for a wealthy yuppie, Ryan falls for Ming (Steph Song), a beautiful Asian woman he meets in a Mandarin language class. Prompted by Ming's desire for a more luxurious lifestyle, Ryan dreams up a scheme to fix the lottery using what he's learned at his job. Adapted from the first original screenplay from Douglas Coupland, Everything's Gone Green received its world premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paulo Costanzo, Steph Song, (more)
