Fred Keating Movies
After entering into a passionate affair with a much younger woman, an unhappily married man resorts to murder as a means of sparing his frigid wife the humiliation of divorce in director Ira Sachs' suspenseful film noir. Set in the 1940s, Marriage tells the tale of Harry (Chris Cooper) -- a man whose faithful but emotionally distant wife (Patricia Clarkson) has become all but impossible to love. Smitten by the beautiful Kay (Rachel McAdams) but ultra-sensitive to the shame associated with divorce, Harry opts to poison his wife as a means of allowing the marriage to end with her pride still intact. Harry's scheme soon goes horribly awry, however, when after revealing the plan to his best friend, Richard (Pierce Brosnan), Richard too falls in love with the ethereal young beauty and sets into motion a cunning plan all his own. A serpentine tale of murderous deception, Marriage was co-scripted by director Sachs and screenwriter Oren Moverman. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, (more)
A man fights to bring decency and the rule of law back to his hometown in this action drama. Chris Vaughn (The Rock) left his home in Washington State's timber country to join the Army, where he distinguished himself as a member of the Special Forces. When his hitch is over, Vaughn decides to return home to help run the family business, a sawmill, but he soon makes the unpleasant discovery that things aren't what they once were. Vaughn learns that the town's lumber industry has all but dried up, and an old high school buddy, Jay Hamilton (Neal McDonough), has turned the city into a den of vice, running a large gambling casino and strip club while selling drugs and women on the side. Angry at this turn of events, and frustrated by local law enforcement officials who are willing to ignore Hamilton's crimes in exchange for kickbacks, Vaughn decides to run for sheriff, and with the help of another old friend, Ray Templeton (Johnny Knoxville), he wins the election. But Hamilton doesn't take kindly to Vaughn's attempts to clean up the town, and Vaughn discovers Hamilton's henchmen are willing to target his friends, his family, and the woman he loves (Ashley Scott) in order to have their way. Walking Tall was based on Phil Karlson's 1973 action hit of the same name, which was in turn inspired by the true story of Buford Pusser, who was sheriff of Tennessee's McNairy County between 1964 and 1970 and gained fame for his tough tactics against the local criminal element. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- The Rock, Johnny Knoxville, (more)
Actress and writer Nia Vardalos, who became an overnight sensation with My Big Fat Greek Wedding, returns to the big screen with this gender-bending comedy. Connie (Vardalos) and Carla (Toni Collette) are best friends who've shared the same dream ever since they were teenagers -- making a name for themselves in the musical theater. However, after years of treading water on Chicago's dinner theater circuit and playing bottom-of-the-barrel nightclubs, the two are facing middle age with minimal career success. One evening after a performance, Connie and Carla have the misfortune of witnessing the murder of nightclub owner Frank (Michael Roberds) by low-level Mafiosi; the gals are seen by the shooters, and they hit the road in fear for their lives. Connie and Carla end up in Los Angeles, where they struggle to create new identities for themselves. After witnessing a drag review at a nightclub, they realize that even they have more talent than most of the men performing that evening, and they decide to pose as female impersonators in hopes of landing a gig. Connie and Carla's new act is an immediate hit, and soon they're the toast of L.A.'s gay community. But the women discover it's difficult to keep on fooling people into believing they're men, and things become even more complicated when the Mobsters discover that Connie and Carla are in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Connie finds herself falling for Jeff (David Duchovny), a regular guy looking for his cross-dressing brother who can't understand why he's developing a crush on a drag queen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nia Vardalos, Toni Collette, (more)
- 2004
The made-for-TV It Must be Love is based on "Rediscovered Love", a chapter in Meant to Be, a book by marital-advice columnists Barry Vissell and Joyce Vissell. Both film and chapter were inspired by the true story of Nancy and Leo Whitmore, a divorce-bound couple who learned the hard way how to truly appreciate their life together--and to truly appreciate life itself--when they trapped in a snowbound camper for a month. As adapted by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley (Crimes of the Heart), the film stars real-life married couple Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen as George and Clem Gazelle, who labor under the misapprehension that just because they are being "amicable" and "civilized" about their impending divorce, their split-up will be a happy one with no unpleasant side effects for their children. All this changes when George and Clem are trapped in their camper by a freak Main snowstorm. As they hope and pray for rescue, the couple begins to ponder the reasons for their breakup, and wonder if perhaps they should have given their marriage a second chance. As the days turn into weeks, and despite their ever-diminishing health, the Gazelles carry on lively domestic debates in their "Divorce Camper", concluding at last that if they must die (which may indeed happen at any moment), they would much rather die together than apart. One of the highest-rated TV movies of its year, It Must Be Love was seen February 15, 2004, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An unlikely band of scientists and soldiers join forces to save the world from certain destruction in this action-drama. As the world is struck with a variety of inexplicable phenomena -- attacks by enormous swarms of birds in London, the explosion of the Colosseum in Rome, a potentially deadly malfunction which forces the Space Shuttle into a Los Angeles riverbed, and the simultaneous deaths of 32 people with pacemakers in Boston -- a team of top scientific minds from around the globe is assembled to determine what has thrown the world into such a frenzy. Dr. John Keyes (Aaron Eckhart) makes the startling discovery that the Earth's electromagnetic forces have begun to collapse, thanks to a sudden lack of movement of the molten ore at the center of the Earth. If the planet is to be saved, the core of the Earth needs a jump start, and Keyes assembles a team to burrow to the center of the planet and bomb the insides back into action. Joining Keyes on this dangerous, last-chance mission are the brilliant but arrogant Conrad Zimsky (Stanley Tucci), French arms expert Dr. Serge Levesque (Tchéky Karyo, maverick researcher "Brazz" Brazzleton (Delroy Lindo), geeky computer genius Rat (DJ Qualls), and two no-nonsense military types, Commander Richard Iverson (Bruce Greenwood) and Major Rebecca Childs (Hilary Swank). However, as the crew digs deeper into the Earth, the more they discover what they haven't been told about their mission and what's really been causing the worldwide chaos. The Core was originally scheduled for release in the fall of 2002, but the movie didn't reach theaters until the spring of 2003 as special-effects experts perfected the film's more spectacular scenes. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Eckhart, Hilary Swank, (more)
Home Improvement's Richard Karn lends his talents to this family-oriented animal-sports adventure from the producers of another animal-sports picture, Air Bud. MVP II: Most Vertical Primate picks up the story line of the first film in the series, MVP: Most Valuable Primate, but transfers its star monkey from the suburbs to the city, and switches his sport of choice from hockey to skateboarding. MVP II opens with the lovable Jack being ousted from his hockey team, the Seattle Simians, and having to hit the road after being falsely accused of league misconduct. Jack ends up in the city, where he's befriended by Ben (screen newcomer Scott Goodman), a homeless skateboarder, and Ollie (Karn), a skate shop owner. Jack proves to be as adept at mastering the half-pipe as he does at delivering a slap shot, and before long, he and Ben are crashing amateur skateboarder competitions all over the country. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cameron Bancroft, Richard Karn, (more)
- 2001
Believed to have been killed during Dark Angel's first season, Max's Manticore sibling Zack (William Gregory Lee) turns up alive (albeit minus a face) -- and he's determined to get revenge against Logan (Michael Weatherly), holding the crusading cyberjournalist responsible for the botched assault on Manticore headquarters. While searching for Zack in the nooks and crannies of Seattle, Max (Jessica Alba) confronts the Steelheads, a street gang specializing in stealing and peddling human organs. Another Manticore refugee, Alec (Jensen Ackles), may hold the key to the outcome of this episode, which includes "flashbacks" from the first-season installment "Cold Comfort." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this teenage horror film, a young man avoids the hand of death, only to find that he can't get away from it so easily. On the way to Paris with his high-school French club, Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) has a vivid premonition of the plane crashing and killing all its passengers. After Alex and some other passengers demand to be let off the flight, his premonition turns out to be true, and the jet explodes during takeoff. While the FBI is convinced that Alex was involved in some kind of foul play, the passengers who got off the flight are all dying in horrible ways, as if whoever determined that the passengers would perish is punishing those who cheated death. Final Destination marked the feature directorial debut of James Wong, a producer and director for the TV series The X Files. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Devon Sawa, Amanda Detmer, (more)
Rodney Dangerfield co-wrote and stars in this comedy about a businessman who learns that when it comes to marriage, strength is in numbers. Monte Peterson (Dangerfield) is a real estate developer whose business acumen exceeds his success in romance; after finalizing his third divorce, Monte heads to Utah, where he discovers a small town called Redwood Springs. There, Monte finds an estate for sale which would be an ideal location for a ski resort. While closing the deal, Monte discovers that there are a few strings attached -- Brother Wallace, the late owner, was a member of a little-known religious sect, and his will specifies the new owner must join the church. Monte isn't too thrilled when he's told buying the land would mean giving up tobacco, liquor, and gambling, but he cheers up considerably when he learns that the sect embraces polygamy, and that Brother Wallace's three lovely young widows -- Stephanie (Judy Tylor), Virginia (Kate Luyben), and Emily (Angelika Baran) -- would be happy to marry him. Soon Monte picks up another piece of land next door, and two more wives to go with it, Sarah (Emmanuelle Vaugier) and Megan (Anita Brown). But Preston Gates (John Byner), a crooked real estate man, has been buying up most of the town on behalf of gangster Tony Morano (Andrew Dice Clay), and soon Preston and Tony are trying to figure out a way to take Monte's new resort away from him (and his spouses) before Tony's boss Don Giovanni (Jerry Stiller) gets angry. My Five Wives also stars Molly Shannon, John Pinette, and Rob Deleeuw. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rodney Dangerfield, Andrew Dice Clay, (more)
Newly arrived in the town of Cedar Island, perennial misfit Picasso Dewlap (Robert Burke) has trouble making friends, even when he joins his junior-high basketball team. But Picasso's stock with his peers rises considerably when he recruits a rather hirsute young "man" with remarkable hoop skills to play on the team. It so happens that Picasso's pal, Ed Tibbetts (Trevor Jones), is actually a Sasquatch, or "Bigfoot"--but that hardly matters so long as the team keeps racking up wins. Eventually growing homesick for his family back in the woods, Ed escapes on the eve of the championship game--forcing Picasso to make a fateful decision. Adapted by Brian Daly from his own novel, the made-for-cable Big & Hairy originally aired November 30, 1998, on the Showtime network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Burke, Trevor Jones, (more)
- 1997
In all fairness, it isn't surprising that the authorities have trouble believing the outlandish tale of woe related by harried heroine Lauren Carlton (Lisa Hartman Black). After all, Lauren was found in a wrecked stolen car; the body of a murdered officer lies nearby; and Lauren's daughter has mysteriously vanished. Accused of theft and double murder, Lauren can only claim that she doesn't remember a thing--not even the fact that her daughter was in the car. "Amnesia's pretty much gone out of style", clucks one of the disbelievers as Lauren is hauled off to the psych ward--while the actual perpetrators of the carjacking, abduction, and murder, a modern-day "Bonnie and Clyde" couple, are still at large! Produced for the ABC TV network, Out of Nowhere debuted March 23, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Dashing into the street to prevent her daughter from being hit by truck, widow Joanna Burke (Sherilyn Fenn) is herself struck down an rendered unconscious. She awakens to find herself in a parallel world, where she has no daughter, someone else is living in her house, and there is no "Joanna Burke." Instead, everyone refers to Joanna as Sarah Randolph -- the same Sarah Randolph who has been accused of murdering her own son. Not surprisingly, no one believes Joanna/Sarah when she protests her innocence, except for Dr. Matt Westbrook (Thomas Gibson)...who may himself be trapped in a world he never made. Adapted from the paranormal novel by Margaret Tabor, the made-for-TV Nightmare Street was first telecast by ABC on January 18, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sherilyn Fenn, Rena Sofer, (more)
Set in Iowa, Betrayed stars Debra Winger as an FBI agent who infiltrates a Klanlike white supremacist organization. Allegedly a woman of intelligence and perception, Winger throws caution and logic to the winds when she falls in love with local farmer Tom Berenger. Much to her surprise Berenger turns out to be the most rabid racist of all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Debra Winger, Tom Berenger, (more)
In the case of this dramatized story about a Native American who thrilled the world when he won the 10,000 meter run in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the subject is far nobler than the script, the dialogue, and the acting. Billy Mills (Robby Benson), a member of the Sioux tribe from South Dakota, ran track at the University of Kansas under a hard-nosed coach and competed successfully for a spot in the Tokyo Olympics. His extraordinary feat of beating out a field of world-famous, championship runners stands in stark contrast to the clichéd characters that are portrayed here as an important part of his personal world. Issues of discrimination and alienation are sidestepped as well, leaving a watered-down version of a life that must have been a considerable challenge when the running shoes were off. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robby Benson, Pat Hingle, (more)
