Desmond Askew
Alexandre Aja directs this remake of Wes Craven's film The Hills Have Eyes. In this update, a family is taking a cross-country road trip when their trailer breaks down, leaving them stranded in the desert of New Mexico. There, they find themselves under attack by the savage "hill people," who were deformed by radiation during nuclear testing. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Stanford, Kathleen Quinlan, (more)
John Stockwell's thriller Turistas begins when vacationers end up stranded in a little Brazilian village after a bus accident wipes out their transportation. Although many in the group are experienced when it comes to unusual travel destinations, none of them are able to get a handle on this strange village. They soon come to realize that they are stranded somewhere with something much more dangerous than they could have imagined. Josh Duhamel, Melissa George, and Olivia Wilde co-star. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Duhamel, Melissa George, (more)
Jonathan Silverman, Matt Keeslar, and Desmond Askew star in this modernized take on Robert Louis Stevenson's terrifying tale about a brilliant doctor haunted by his own murderous alter ego. Dr. Henry Jekyll was researching a cure for cancer when he created a computer generated avatar of his alter ego and downloaded it directly into his brain. Now, before Dr. Jekyll knows what's happening, his life has been completely taken over by a psychotic, hedonistic, violent party animal known only as Mr. Hyde. But by the time Dr. Jekyll's faithful girlfriend attempts to break through to her bi-polar boyfriend, it may already be too late. As the bodies begin to pile up and Mr. Hyde's unpredictable temper grows increasingly explosive, it's up to Dr. Jekyll to regain control of his life or risk losing everything he ever cared about. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Keeslar, Jonathan Silverman, (more)
- 2003
The Charmed Ones discover to their amazement that all of their secret desires are coming true. Actually, this is all part of a scheme hatched by Chris (Drew Fuller) to teach the girls to be careful what they wish for -- a scheme that relies upon the unwitting assistance of the dangerous demon Gith (Desmond Askew). With Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) and Paige (Rose McGowan) preoccupied with their new "dream" jobs in show business, Piper (Holly Marie Combs) must try to vanquish Gith all by herself. Meanwhile, Leo (Brian Krause) is so upset over recent events that he demands that his fellow Elders take away Chris' Whitelighter powers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Krause, Dorian Gregory, (more)
A troubled man is trying to decide if his anxieties are real or imagined in this independent psychological drama. In the wake of his breakup with his girlfriend, Liz (Katheryn Winnick), Joe (Desmond Askew) is starting to fall apart. Slowly sinking into a sea of paranoid delusions, Joe is convinced that nearly everyone is out to get him -- in his mind, Liz is sleeping with practically everyone, his analyst (Michael Panes) is in cahoots with Liz in an effort to drive him mad, his boss is circulating a highly unflattering memo about him at work, and his best friend, Alex (J. Richey Nash), has betrayed him. Oh, and there are monsters tracking him, too. But is Joe really paranoid or do his fears have some firm basis in fact? Fabled is the first feature film from Ari Kirschenbaum, who served as director, screenwriter, and editor. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Desmond Askew, Michael Panes, (more)
Grad student Max (James Roday) accidentally clones an adult-sized version of Kate (Ali Landry), the beautiful reporter covering Professor Jonas' (Eugene Levy) genetics breakthrough. Max reluctantly agrees with his horny friend, Henry (Desmond Askew), to take advantage of the situation by secretly teaching the uninformed clone how to act like a guy, with a love of beer, sports, and random casual sex. Every guy on campus falls in love with the clone, but Max has a thing for the real deal, who eventually falls for him too. Naturally, the two Kates get mixed up at the most inopportune time -- right before Professor Jonas' big presentation to his investors and academic peers. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Roday, Ali Landry, (more)
- 2001
Originally slated as a mid-season replacement, the NBC sitcom Kristin was held up for release until June 5, 2001. Tony-winning Broadway musical star Kristin Chenoweth starred in this semi-autobiographical effort as Kristin Yancey, a starry-eyed Oklahoma gal who heads to the big city in hopes of a showbiz career. After a series of desultory auditions, Kristin lands a job as personal assistant to go-getting real estate developer -- and notorious rogue -- Tommy Ballantine (Jon Tenney). Under a legal cloud because of past incidents of sexual harassment, Tommy has hired Kristin precisely because he finds her completely unappealing, and because she staunchly adheres to the sort of high moral values that he detests. In the prescribed sitcom fashion, Kristen is surrounded (practically engulfed) by wildly eccentric, ethnically stereotyped co-workers: no-nonsense Latina assistant Santa Clemente (Ana Ortiz), flippant black bike messenger Tyrique Kimbrough (Dale Godboldo), and Italian handyman Aldo Bonnadonna (Larry Romano, then pulling double duty as a regular on King of Queens). Kristin was packaged by the same people responsible for Frasier and The Cosby Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Tenney, (more)
Director/cinematographer Doug Liman's third feature links together three edgy stories, all beginning in the same Los Angeles supermarket with an interconnected group of characters. Ronna (Sarah Polley) is a down-on-her-luck checkout girl who is sweet talked into taking an extra shift from her friend Simon (Desmond Askew) so he can go to Las Vegas. Ronna is then approached by two good-looking actors, Adam (Scott Wolf) and Zack (Jay Mohr), who want to buy drugs. Ronna, who needs money, plans to act as a go-between between the actors and a dealer friend of Simon's, Todd (Timothy Olyphant), until a cop named Burke (William Fichtner) enters the picture. Meanwhile, Simon is living it up in Vegas; in the course of a very wild night on the town, he manages to bed two women, accidentally steal a car with his good friend Marcus (Taye Diggs), and get thrown out of the best strip club in town, with more than a few people after him, especially when he leaves behind a credit card he borrowed from Todd. Once again back at the supermarket, Adam and Zack turn out to not be quite what they seemed, and their relationship with Burke and his wife Irene (Jane Krakowski) takes an unexpected turn as their evening becomes very, very complicated. Go, Liman's long-awaited follow-up to his indie hit Swingers, received its World Premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Polley, Desmond Askew, (more)
- 1996
The title of this teen-oriented British series referred to the sun-drenched isle of Jersey. Here in this fertile patch of land, a group of healthy, hearty teens lived and worked together. Naturally a few romances developed, as did a smattering of petty jealousies and a soupçon of heartache. The even dozen 30-minute episodes of Island originally aired from 1996 to 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daisy Bates, Suzanne Maddock, (more)
