Al Goto Movies

When the mischievous antics of a precocious 12-year-old girl result in the outcome of the United States presidential election hinging on the vote of her apathetic, likable loser of a father, the man who thought that life had long since passed him by is reluctantly thrust into the national spotlight in this political-themed comedy starring Kevin Costner. Bud Johnson (Costner) is your typical American -- a simple man and loving father who never would have thought he had the power to change the world. Though when election day finally arrives and Bud prepares to cast his ballot, his overachieving daughter Molly proves to be the catalyst for a stunning series of events that place the fate of the free world in the hands of a man more comfortable slinging cases of beer -- her father. The two candidates are portrayed by Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer, with Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci as their campaign managers. George Lopez also stars as a local TV-station manager who has to deal with the political factions as they set up camp in the small town. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A resourceful teenage super-sleuth finds her investigative skills put to the ultimate test as director Andrew Fleming and screenwriter Tiffany Paulsen revive the character originally made famous by author Carolyn Keene. Upon leaving her quaint hometown of River Heights and arriving in Los Angeles with her father, Carson (Tate Donovan), precocious small-town teen Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts) enrolls in Hollywood High and discovers just how different life on the West Coast really is. A true original in the land where Rodeo Drive dictates what's "in" at any given moment, Nancy stands apart from the pack as much for her penny loafers as for her sincere, non-acerbic attitude and keen study skills -- all of which make the non-ironic goody two-shoes an object of scorn for fashion-conscious mean girls Inga (Daniella Monet) and Trish (Kelly Vitz). Concerns about how to fit in soon take a back seat to more pressing issues, however, when Nancy, having previously promised her worried father that she would give up sleuthing, stumbles across a series of clues that may lead her to find out what caused the death of beautiful Hollywood movie star Dehlia Draycott -- who perished years ago under particularly mysterious circumstances. Upon discovering that she and her father are currently residing in the very same mansion that Draycott once called home, the prospect of solving one of Hollywood's biggest mysteries simply proves too tantalizing for the brilliant young detective to resist. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

After bringing the story of the American soldiers who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima to the screen in his film Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood offers an equally thoughtful portrait of the Japanese forces who held the island for 36 days in this military drama. In 1945, World War II was in its last stages, and U.S. forces were planning to take on the Japanese on a small island known as Iwo Jima. While the island was mostly rock and volcanoes, it was of key strategic value and Japan's leaders saw the island as the final opportunity to prevent an Allied invasion. Lt. General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) was put in charge of the forces on Iwo Jima; Kuribayashi had spent time in the United States and was not eager to take on the American army, but he also understood his opponents in a way his superiors did not, and devised an unusual strategy of digging tunnels and deep foxholes that allowed his troops a tactical advantage over the invading soldiers. While Kuribayashi's strategy alienated some older officers, it impressed Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), the son of a wealthy family who had also studied America firsthand as an athlete at the 1932 Olympics. As Kuribayashi and his men dig in for a battle they are not certain they can win -- and most have been told they will not survive -- their story is told both by watching their actions and through the letters they write home to their loved ones, letters that in many cases would not be delivered until long after they were dead. Among the soldiers manning Japan's last line of defense are Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), a baker sent to Iwo Jima only days before his wife was to give birth; Shimizu (Ryo Kase), who was sent to Iwo Jima after washing out in the military police; and Lieutenant Ito (Shidou Nakamura), who has embraced the notion of "Death Before Surrender" with particular ferocity. Filmed in Japanese with a primarily Japanese cast, Letters From Iwo Jima was shot in tandem with Flags of Our Fathers, and the two films were released within two months of one another. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An inept cop suddenly gets a new partner in the person of a cabbie with attitude in this high-rolling comedy. Washburn (Jimmy Fallon) is a police officer who becomes the laughingstock of the department after a series of traffic accidents cause him to lose his driver's license. One day, Washburn gets an urgent call to head out to the location of a bank robbery; unable to drive himself there, he hails a cab. As it happens, the taxi is being driven by Belle (Queen Latifah), a single mom who, after making a name for herself as the fastest pizza delivery person in New York, has moved up to driving a hack. What begins as a wild ride to the scene of the crime gets even wilder as Washburn and Belle become unexpected allies while following the trail of a team of beautiful but reckless female bank robbers led by Vanessa (Gisele Bundchen). Adapted from a popular French action comedy with the same name, Taxi was Jimmy Fallon's first big-screen vehicle after leaving the cast of the popular sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Former X-Files writer James Wong makes his sophomore feature as a director at the helm of this science fiction thriller that's reminiscent of Timecop (1994). In the near future, a technology called "quantum tunneling" allows human beings to travel between parallel universes. The abuse of this ability by criminal elements has led to the formation of the Multi-Verse Authorities or "MVA," an agency of quantum traveling cops who apprehend violators of inter-dimensional laws. The MVA faces its greatest crisis when a former agent named Gabriel Yulaw (Jet Li) goes renegade, traveling between one universe and the next, murdering his own parallel selves and gaining enormous power with each slaying. It is believed that when Yulaw has become "the one," the only version of himself to exist, he will be omnipotent, but the final Gabriel Yulaw exists in our plane of existence (the "magna universe") and is also becoming stronger, though he doesn't understand why. Hot on the evil Yulaw's trail are his former partner Harry Roedecker (Delroy Lindo) and Harry's new colleague Evan Funsch (Jason Statham). Created with Wong's longtime writing and producing partner Glen Morgan, The One (2001) co-stars Carla Gugino. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Gritty male cop Sam Jones is teamed with drop-dead beautiful lady cop Shannon Tweed in Hard Vice. Jones and Tweed operate out of the vice squad in "sin city" Las Vegas. Right now, the dog-and-cat team is trying to solve a series of murders. The victims are all wealthy men who frequent the various houses of prostitution in the area. Suspicion falls upon a group of expensive call girls. Naturally, this requires the gorgeous Ms. Tweed to go under covers-er, undercover. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A ruthless drug lord must be stopped, pronto. Three able-bodied cops go undercover to bring the drug dealer to justice -- or, preferably, to kill him. Once in a while, the bad guys call a halt to the film's bloodshed to allow a sex scene to play itself out. Otherwise, this is essentially cable-TV stuff, blown up (sometimes literally) for the Big Screen. A good cast, headed by Michael Nouri and John Saxon, is the film's most tangible asset. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The idea of fusing teen sex-comedy and horror genres into a boffo box-office bonanza seems like classic braindead Hollywood-think... but somehow, beyond all reason, the makers of this film manage to pull it off. Much of the credit goes to director Fran Rubel Kuzui (Tokyo Pop) who chooses wisely to let the jokes and action rip by so quickly that viewers won't have time to realize there's practically nothing going on. Also excellent is Kristy Swanson as the bubble-headed cheerleader who learns from a Van Helsing-ish stranger (Donald Sutherland) that she's, like, the reincarnation of this pure female warrior and stuff, destined to rid the world -- or at least the Valley -- of vampires. No sooner is the Buffster being schooled in the ways of vampire butt-kicking (much to the consternation of meek pretty-boy beau Luke Perry) than the lead vampire (Rutger Hauer) and his leering cronies show up -- and leading up the pack is none other than Pee-Wee Herman himself, Paul Reubens. Fans of this film's popular TV offspring will appreciate the fang-sharp humor but may be surprised to find little evidence of the spooky atmosphere that permeates the series -- though there are some inspired moments, particularly the ridiculous death-by-ruler scene. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Action star Steven Seagal crosses Rip Van Winkle with Clint Eastwood in this belabored revenge odyssey. Seagal plays L.A. Detective Mason Storm and, over the opening credits, Storm is seen busily eavesdropping on crooked politician Vernon Trent (William Sadler). Once he has the goods on Trent, Storm phones his partner Kevin O'Malley (Frederick Coffin) to report on his progress. Unfortunately, crooked cops in the same room pick up the extension phone and listen in, thereby dooming Storm. Soon killers show up at Storm's home and blow away Storm's wife Felicia (Bonnie Burroughs) and their young son. Storm himself is also assumed dead, but when he is taken to the hospital, he lapses into a coma. O'Malley spirits him away, and everyone else, for all intents and purposes, thinks Storm has died. Seven years later, under the tutelage of incredibly beautiful nurse Andy Stewart (Kelly LeBrock), Storm rises from his coma and plots his revenge. With the able assistance of Andy, Storm heads off on a killing spree, becoming (as one character describes him), "the most unstoppable sonuvabitch I ever met." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide