David Dobkin Movies
David Dobkin made his feature directorial debut with this comedy thriller about an ordinary guy mistakenly viewed as a serial killer by the FBI. In small-town Mercer, Montana (population 1,536), easy-going gas station attendant Clay Bidwell (Joaquin Phoenix) endures a comical nightmare that gets underway when Clay's best buddy Earl (Gregory Sporleder) learns Clay slept with Earl's wife Amanda (Georgina Cates). Earl commits suicide as a horrified Clay watches. Amanda would rather see Clay in prison than have the local gossipers chatting about their affair, so to cover-up, Clay puts Earl's body into a faked auto accident. Clay then finds comfort with waitress Gloria (Nikki Arlyn), but Amanda kills Gloria, leaving Clay to dispose of another body. At the local bar, Clay is befriended by trucker Lester Long (Vince Vaughn), and they go fishing, hooking a corpse. Lester asks Clay to tell the cops he found it alone. The next victim is Amanda, stabbed 40 times. Clay tries to explain what's going on to the law -- Sheriff Mooney (Scott Wilson) and FBI agents Dale Shelby (Janeane Garofalo) and Reynard (Phil Morris) -- but he becomes the main suspect and is arrested, while serial killer Lester is on the loose. Clay manages an escape from jail and goes in search of Lester. David Dobkin, a Ridley Scott protégé, is an award-winning director of music videos (including the Coolio clips that won MTV's "Best Dance Video of 1996") and commercials, many helmed under the auspices of Ridley and Tony Scott's production companies. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vince Vaughn, Janeane Garofalo, (more)
East and West team up to take on bad guys in the British Empire in this sequel to the action comedy hit Shanghai Noon. Chon Wang (Jackie Chan), once an Imperial Guard in China, is now the Sheriff of Carson City, NV, while his onetime cohort, former train robber Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson), scrapes together a living writing dime novels based on his adventures and waiting tables in New York City. However, when Wang learns that his father was killed by bandits who broke into the Emperor's palace and stole the Imperial Seal, he's determined to bring the criminals to justice. Wang's sister Lin (Fann Wong) has learned that the killers have escaped to London, so Wang travels to England to meet her, with O'Bannon in tow. As Wang and Lin -- whose martial arts skills rival those of her brother -- look for the culprits, they discover that Lord Rathbone (Aidan Gillen), who is looking to shorten his path of succession to the British throne, is in cahoots with Wu Chan (Donnie Yen), the bastard son of the Chinese Emperor's father, who needs the Imperial Seal as part of his plan to win control of the nation. As Wang and Lin try to get to the bottom of Chan's schemes, O'Bannon finds himself infatuated with his pal's sister. While set in Victorian London, Shanghai Knights was actually filmed on locations in the former Czech Republic, which more closely resembled turn-of-the-century England. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, (more)
Two guys find out the hard way that sneaking into the wrong party can cause serious problems in this comedy. Jeremy Klein (Vince Vaughn) and John Beckwith (Owen Wilson) are a pair of longtime friends who work for a law firm, helping contentious couples mediate their divorces. Their job has given them a cynical attitude about marriage, and as a hobby each weekend the two make a point of crashing weddings reception, where they load up on free food and booze and try their luck at seducing the bridesmaids. When William Cleary (Christopher Walken), the nation's Secretary of the Treasury and a possible candidate for the Presidency, announces his daughter is to wed, the nuptials are billed as the social event of the year, and Jeremy and John decide they must attend the reception. However, John makes the mistake of falling head over heels for Claire (Rachel McAdams), the bride's sister, while Jeremy attracts the attentions of a woman he'd prefer not to be involved with, and soon their romantic peccadilloes get them in very hot water. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, (more)
Every junior-high geek's worst nightmare becomes a reality in this comedy. John Farley (Seann William Scott) grew up as a chubby kid with no athletic skills and poor self-esteem, and during his early teenage years his nemesis was Mr. Woodcock (Billy Bob Thornton), his junior-high gym teacher, who took a sadistic glee in tormenting John and others like them. Years later, John has slimmed down, come to terms with his self-image, and become a best-selling author, publishing a self-help book on overcoming the specters of the past. John comes home to visit his widowed mother, Beverly (Susan Sarandon), and discovers she has a surprise for him -- she's getting married again, and her new fiancée is none other than Mr. Woodcock. Horrified, John is determined to keep Beverly from walking down the aisle with Woodcock, and along the way finds himself struggling to settle some old scores. Mr. Woodcock also stars Amy Poehler as John's publicist and Ethan Suplee as John's old friend Needleman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Billy Bob Thornton, Seann William Scott, (more)
Santa's black-sheep brother gets a much-needed shot at redemption in this holiday comedy reuniting actor Vince Vaughn and director David Dobkin (Clay Pigeons, Wedding Crashers). It's not easy being the brother of a benevolent and beloved saint, and no one knows that better than Fred Claus (Vaughn). After struggling for years to live up to the example set by his younger sibling Nicholas (Paul Giamatti), Fred has finally given up. These days Fred is working as a repo man taken to stealing the items he repossesses, and his shady tactics have just landed him in jail. While Mrs. Claus vehemently insists that Fred fend for himself, Nicholas refuses to sit idly by as his brother rots in jail and agrees to set bail if Fred will repay the debt by coming to the North Pole and help make toys for the upcoming Christmas season. But Fred isn't nearly as productive as your average elf, and he's got quite an attitude to boot. With Christmas fast approaching and Fred threatening to sideline Nicholas' entire finely tuned operation, the brother that always struggled to get out from under his sibling's substantial shadow finds out just how far the patience of a saint can be pushed before jolly old Santa reaches his breaking point. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, (more)
- 2010
Superman Returns director Bryan Singer reinterprets the classic Jack and the Beanstalk tale with this New Line Cinema production. Darren Lemke and Mark Bomback provide the script for the Neal H. Moritz/David Dobkin-produced fantasy film. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
