Doug Spinuzza Movies
Eddie Murphy gets way, way out in this futuristic sci-fi comedy. In the year 2087, the Earth's natural resources have been largely depleted, and an increasingly large number of people have taken up residence on the moon, where the pioneering attitude of the new residents has created a culture not unlike the old west. Pluto Nash (Eddie Murphy) is one such lunar exile who formerly made his living outside the law, but has since gone straight and now runs the hippest nightclub in the moon colony known as "Little America." Pluto is approached by Mogan (Joe Pantoliano), a gangster who wants to buy the nightclub; Pluto has no interest in selling, but it seems Mogan isn't about to take no for an answer. Pluto also discovers Mogan is in cahoots with Max Crater, a crime boss whose goal is to take over the entire moon. The Adventures Of Pluto Nash also features Randy Quaid as Pluto's robot bodyguard, Rosario Dawson as a naive singer who has just arrived on the moon, Peter Boyle as Rowland the pool hustler, Jay Mohr as old-school lounge singer Tony Francis, Illeana Douglas as a cloning technician, and Pam Grier as Pluto's mother. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eddie Murphy, Randy Quaid, (more)
The acclaimed graphic novel from crime writer Max Allan Collins becomes this big budget Dreamworks drama from director Sam Mendes and screenwriter David Self. Tom Hanks stars as Michael Sullivan, a morally conflicted Depression-era hit man committing murder in the name of his employer, John Rooney (Paul Newman). A kindly, aging Irish crime boss who raised Sullivan as his surrogate son, Rooney is affiliated with Al Capone in Chicago and thus wields great power in the "Tri-Cities" of Moline, IL; Rock Island, IL; and Davenport, IA. Curious about his father's mysterious profession, Sullivan's son, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), stows away in his father's automobile one night and witnesses the execution of a man at the hands of Sullivan and Rooney's biological son, Connor (Daniel Craig). Although Michael keeps his promise to remain silent about what he's seen, the paranoid and unstable Connor tries to wipe out the entire Sullivan clan anyway, succeeding only in killing Sullivan's wife, Annie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and youngest son, Peter (Liam Aiken). Enraged at this and another surprise betrayal by the Rooneys, Sullivan embarks on a path of bloody retribution, Michael in tow. Although he intends to leave his boy with relatives in the rural town of Perdition once the coast is clear, he ends up exposing Michael to the goriest aspects of his talents, slaughtering former associates as he dodges contract assassin Maguire (Jude Law) and cripples the cash flow of the Rooney and Capone organizations through a series of bank robberies, attempting to force either mob family to offer up the sequestered Connor as a sacrifice. Inspired by the popular Japanese comic book series Lone Wolf and Cub and based loosely on an episode from the life and career of notorious real-life crime figures John and Connor Looney, Road to Perdition co-stars Stanley Tucci as legendary Chicago mobster Frank Nitti. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, (more)
Reese Witherspoon stars in this romantic comedy, the feature film debut of award-winning Australian director Robert Luketic. As a ravishing Miss Hawaiian Tropic, sorority president, and calendar girl, Elle Woods (Witherspoon) is a big hit on the campus of her sun-drenched Los Angeles college. She's also got the perfect boyfriend in Warner Huntington III (Matthew Davis), a wealthy East Coast blue blood. Fearing that his snooty friends and family will never accept the bubble-headed Elle, however, Warner dumps her before heading off to graduate law school at Harvard University. Determined to win back her man, Elle enrolls in the same imposing institution, quickly becoming an object of scorn and ridicule, especially to Warner's old prep school flame (Selma Blair). Despite her penchant for malls, makeup, and tanning, Elle is no dummy and is soon showing elite Ivy League snobs a thing or two about class, self-confidence, and courtroom victory. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, (more)
- 2000
- PG
This family drama by actress and first-time director Anne DeSalvo centers around four adult sisters who are forced to re-evaluate their situations after tragedy strikes. The oldest of the clan, Grace (Mercedes Ruehl), is called upon to be the tower of strength, even though she is widely perceived to be a replica of their mother Dolly (Cloris Leachman), a woman who, like Grace, has unfailingly devoted much of her life to a husband who doesn't appreciate her as he should. Christine (Sean Young) is separated from her job-obsessed husband Paul (Jamey Sheridan), and contemplates divorcing him even though they have a young daughter. Another sister, Denise (Dinah Manoff), rejects the idea of marriage despite the advances of boyfriend Lawrence (Mark Harmon); youngest sister Dolores (Lily Knight) has become mentally challenged due to an accident, and has trouble relating to her older siblings. Dolores has found a romantic interest, but the family feels she is unable to cope with such an attachment at her age. Through the aid of Dolly's sisters Splendora (Lee Grant) and Loretta (Edith Fields), the family tries to retain its bond and deal with unexpected tragedy. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mercedes Ruehl, Paul Sorvino, (more)
A man who leaves humanity behind to live with animals returns to society under unpleasant circumstances, but with valuable lessons about human and animal relationships. Anthony Hopkins stars as Ethan Powell, a noted anthropologist studying the behavior of mountain gorillas in Rwanda. The longer Powell follows the apes, the more he comes to admire their simple but peaceful society. He begins to spend most of his time with the apes until one day he ventures into the jungle and doesn't return. Powell throws in his lot with the gorillas and lives among them as primitive man once lived in the wild with animals. However, two years later, poachers kill several of the gorillas, and Powell flies into a murderous rage, killing two of the men who attacked his friends. Extradited to the United States, Powell is sent to a grim maximum-security prison in Florida, where he will be held while awaiting trail. A psychological evaluation must be performed on Powell, and the task falls to Theo Caulder (Cuba Gooding Jr.), an ambitious young psychiatrist who sees this as a case with the potential to make him famous. However, since Powell initially won't speak to anyone, getting through to him will be a challenge, and Powell's daughter Lyn (Maura Tierney) has little insight on the father she barely knew. As Caulder slowly builds a rapport with Powell, he comes to realize what Powell has learned from his experience with the gorillas -- and how much Powell can teach him about living with others. Loosely adapted from the novel Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, Instinct also features supporting performances from Donald Sutherland and George Dzundza. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony Hopkins, Cuba Gooding, Jr., (more)
Actor Kevin Spacey made his directorial debut with this thriller. Dova (Matt Dillon), Milo (Gary Sinise), and Law (William Fichtner) are three small-time crooks on the run after a botched robbery of a New Orleans warehouse led to a car chase, causing the death of two cops. Needing a place to hide, with Milo seriously injured, they sneak into Dino's Last Chance Bar, a shot-and-a-beer joint located on a side street in a basement. Before long, the bar is surrounded by a squadron of Federal agents and SWAT officers. The three robbers are convinced that the cops are trying to flush them out, but it turns out that they aren't the only crooks in search of a cold beer at Dino's. Smart-suited Guy (Viggo Mortensen) is actually an international dealer in illegal arms that the cops were trailing when they stumbled across the robbery gone wrong. As police negotiator Browning (Joe Mantegna) tries to get the bad guys to come out peacefully, the bar's patrons -- pool shooting Danny (Skeet Ulrich), aging beauty Janet (Faye Dunaway), and boozehound Jack (John Spencer) -- beg for mercy as Dova hatches a scheme that involves killing Guy and all the patrons. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matt Dillon, Faye Dunaway, (more)
