Chris Bender Movies

Live Free or Die Hard's Len Wiseman brings his dream project to the big screen with this big budget sci-fi film that tells the story of a detective's investigation into a crime ring dealing in immortality for Lakeshore Entertainment and Columbia Pictures. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

2009's Friday the 13th director Marcus Nispel brings to life the deadly voyage of the Demeter from Bram Stoker's Dracula novel in this Phoenix Pictures production. The story will expand upon the passage in the novel whereby the dreaded vampire lays waste to a entire crew of a cargo ship on his way to England. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

A man with the ability to leap back and forth though time attempts to help a childhood friend solve her sister's murder, in the process breaking his own golden rule and creating an evil that didn't exist previously. Sam uses his gift to help solve the crimes that leave detectives cold. Though it pains him to know that he can never intervene directly during his leaps, he knows that the consequences could be terrible if he does. Approached by his old friend Elizabeth to help track down her sister's murderer, Sam obliges. But this time things are different, and Sam's inner demons force him to break the one rule that he has always upheld. Upon returning from his leap, Sam discovers that his slip up has given birth to a maniacal serial killer that would never have existed otherwise. Now, as the death toll continues to rise, it's up to Sam to dive back into the past and uncover the killer's identity before any more lives are lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Ghost World and Art School Confidential collaborators Daniel Clowes and director Terry Zwigoff team up once again to pen this comedic parody concerning a legendary astronaut and American icon who is injured in an automobile accident and rebuilt by the government as a bionic man. The ambitious plan to transform the former astronaut into a powerful superhuman hits an unexpected hitch, however, when the agency in charge of the operation is granted a paltry $40,000 to work with. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Noted genre specialist Steve Miner (Lake Placid and Halloween: H20) takes a break from horror to direct Dukes of Hazzard star Jessica Simpson in this showbiz comedy concerning a pampered movie starlet who gets in over her head while attempting to land a lucrative film role. Informed by the producer that she is unfit to appear in an upcoming military-themed film, the ambitious but woefully shortsighted actress enlists in the Marines in hopes that the studio will take notice of her initiative. Though she immediately realizes her mistake upon arriving at Camp Pendleton, the patriotic actress determines to follow through with her plan and do her country proud in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An American clothing designer who has traveled to Thailand with his family to visit a remote factory that produces his garments must struggle to locate his wife and children when the Southeast Asian country is devastated by the 2004 tsunami. Oscar nominee David Strathairn stars in a film scripted and directed by Michael Patwin, and produced by Chris Bender, Ben Katz, and Madeline Ryan. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by A Simple Plan author Scott Smith, director Carter B. Smith's Yucatan-set thriller follows four American tourists as they unwisely venture off the beaten path while vacationing in Cancun. When a friendly German tourist implores the Americans to help search the jungle for his missing brother, the group becomes hopelessly trapped in a nightmare scenario that seems too strange to be true. Jonathan Tucker, Laura Ramsey, Jena Malone, and Shawn Ashmore star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

David Cronenberg directed this screen adaptation of a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke which explores how an act of heroism unexpectedly changes a man's life. Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) lives a quiet life in a small Indiana town, running the local diner with his wife, Edie (Maria Bello), and raising their two children. But the quiet is shattered one day when a pair of criminals on the run from the police walk into his diner just before closing time. After they attack one of the customers and seem ready to kill several of the people inside, Tom jumps to the fore, grabbing a gun from one of the criminals and killing the invaders. Tom is immediately hailed as a hero by his employees and the community at large, but Tom seems less than comfortable with his new notoriety. One day, a man with severe facial scars, Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris), sits down at the counter and begins addressing Tom as Joey, and begins asking him questions about the old days in Philadelphia. While Tom seems puzzled, Carl's actions suggest that the quiet man pouring coffee at the diner may have a dark and violent past he isn't eager to share with others -- as well as some old scores that haven't been settled. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A man with no memory struggles to make sense of the troubling details that are still stuck in his mind in this psychological thriller. Frank (Val Kilmer) wakes up in a small town in the New Mexico desert with a severe head wound and most of his memory wiped away. However, Frank is somehow convinced that someone is planning to assassinate the President of the United States, and that Chloe (Neve Campbell), the woman who is claiming to be his girlfriend, is some sort of imposter. When Frank learns that the president is indeed passing through town that day, he tries to warn Sheriff Kolb (Sam Shepard) that something sinister if afoot; as it happens, Kolb believes him, though he's more than a bit busy dealing with a hard-fought election campaign against former Deputy Cash (Noble Willingham). Blind Horizon was screened at the 2004 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The horny teen heroes of American Pie (1999) return for further raunchy antics in this comedy sequel written by the first film's creator, Adam Herz. Returning home following their freshman year of college, old friends Jim (Jason Biggs), Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Oz (Chris Klein), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Stifler (Seann William Scott) rent a summer house on Lake Michigan where they hope to score romantically. However, complications ensue due to Jim's relative lack of experience, requiring an interlude with a fellow student and a visit to his old friend Michelle (Alyson Hanigan), who's now a band camp counselor, all in preparation for the return of Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth). In the meantime, Oz is separated from Heather (Mena Suvari) by a trip abroad, Finch has another encounter with Stifler's mom (Jennifer Coolidge), and Jim's dad (Eugene Levy) is as clueless as ever about his son's love life. Director J.B. Rogers served as first assistant director on the first film and made his directorial debut with Say It Isn't So (2001). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

It's said that most American men think about sex once every two or three minutes, but this statistic would seriously underestimate the horniness of Jim (Jason Biggs), a high school senior in suburban Michigan. Jim is thoroughly obsessed with sex, a fact of which his parents become aware when they discover him performing the sin of Onan with a gym sock while watching scrambled pay-per-view porn. Jim's buddies Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas), and Oz (Chris Klein) are no less anxious to relieve themselves of their virginity, so they all make a pledge: they will go to bed with a woman in the three weeks before senior prom or die trying. Kevin appears to have the advantage, since he already has a girlfriend, Vicky (Tara Reid), but before he ventures into the Final Frontier, Kevin is urged to consult "The Bible," a hand-written how-to manual possessing erotic wisdom passed down through the ages. Oz is a good-looking jock who is actually a nice guy -- which is part of the problem, since he has his heart set on a nice girl, Heather (Mena Suvari), who does not seem the type to leap into bed within 21 days. Finch has no immediate prospects, though Jessica (Natasha Lyonne) is in a position to know if those rumors about him are true. And Jim is a truly hopeless case -- after his attempted seduction of beautiful Czech exchange student Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) turns out to be a disaster, he ends up going to the prom with Michelle (Alyson Hannigan), an annoyingly chatty band geek who does, however, have a fascinating story about a flute. American Pie was the directorial debut of Paul Weitz, who, along with his brother Chris Weitz (who served as producer), previously wrote several screenplays, including Antz and Madeline (where they presumably worked all their wholesome ideas out of their system). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide