J.C. Spink

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

Vertigo Comics' heralded comic book Y: The Last Man is headed to the big screen from Disturbia's production team of director D.J. Caruso and writer Carl Ellsworth for New Line Cinema. The plot features a lone male survivor in a world where all the male mammals are wiped out by a plague. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

In this comedy from writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, a man wakes up to find his worst nightmare has come true -- his life has become a musical. Marc Shaiman provides the songs for the Mark S. Waters-directed production. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

A devoted brother gets more than he bargained for when he takes the rap for his criminally inclined sister and gets placed in the care of a doctor who's using his patients as guinea pigs for a terrifying new drug. Upon being administered a dose of the experimental medication, the test-subjects transform into violent, flesh eating psychopaths. Jesse Metcalfe, Olivia Munn, and Carla Gallo star in a horror film written and directed by Midnight Meat Train scribe Jeff Buhler. ~ 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

Created by Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber, the 60-minute supernatural drama series Kyle XY was set in Washington state. Matt Dallas headed the cast as 17-year-old orphan Kyle, designated a "savant" because, although he possessed heightened intelligence, he was completely bereft of such normal human emotions as anger, joy, and love. Adopted by paranormal psychologist Nicole Trager (Marguerite MacIntyre), Kyle came to live with Nicole's family, including husband Stephen (Bruce Thomas) and children Lori (April Matson) and Josh (Jean-Luc Bilodeau). Each episode revealed a bit more about Kyle's unique abilities on a "need-to-know" basis, and also a few tantalizing clues concerning his hitherto mysterious background. There were also hints aplenty that Kyle was not "of this world" -- for example, he was apparently born without a navel (and his real name wasn't Barbara Eden!). Moreover, Kyle's voice-over narration was peppered with Biblical references and hark backs to famous science fiction films, further deepening the mystery and heightening the audience's fascination with this most enigmatic of TV heroes. First telecast by cable's ABC Family service on June 26, 2006, Kyle XY was also seen on that channel's sister over-the-air network ABC beginning June 30. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A terrifying legacy haunts a single mother in this sequel to the frightening box-office hit The Ring. Hoping to leave their terrifying experiences in Seattle behind them, Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) and her son, Aidan (David Dorfman), move to the small town of Astoria, OR, where Rachel takes a job writing for the local newspaper. When Rachel learns of an unexplained murder, which occurred after a teenager watched a strange videotape with his girlfriend, she suspects her past is following her and she begins looking into the case. Rachel believes that the otherworldly Samara has come back; however, as she tries to convince others of the young girl's powers, her own son falls ill and is hospitalized, and Rachel's stories fail to convince either Dr. Emma Temple (Elizabeth Perkins), who suspects Rachel is guilty of child abuse, or David Rourke (Simon Baker), one of Rachel's colleagues who fears for Aidan's safety. Also starring Sissy Spacek, The Ring 2 was directed by Hideo Nakata; it was the first English-language project for the Japanese filmmaker, who previously made Ringu, the picture that was the basis for The Ring. ~ Mark Deming, 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

Final Destination 2 screenwriters Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber make their directorial debut with the sci-fi thriller The Butterfly Effect. Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher with facial hair) wants to free himself from his disturbing childhood memories. As a kid, he often blacked out for long periods of time and tried to detail his life in a journal. As a young adult, he revisits the journal entries to figure out the truth about his troubled childhood friends Kayleigh (Amy Smart), Lenny (Elden Henson), and Tommy (William Lee Scott). When he discovers he can travel back in time in order to set things right, he tries to save his beloved friends. However, he finds out that relatively minor changes can make major problems for the future. The Butterfly Effect also stars Eric Stoltz, Ethan Suplee, and Melora Walters. The title was inspired by the story A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

A disturbing videotape appears to hold the power of life and death over those who view it in this offbeat thriller. A strange videotape begins making the rounds in a town in the Pacific Northwest; it is full of bizarre and haunting images, and after watching it, many viewers receive a telephone call in which they are warned they will die in seven days. A handful of teenagers who watched the tape while spending a weekend at a cabin in the mountains scoff at the threat, but as predicted, they all die suddenly on the same night. Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts), the aunt of one of the ill-fated teens, is a journalist who has decided to investigate the matter and travels West with her young son, Aidan (David Dorfman), a troubled child who has been drawing pictures of strange and ominous visions. Rachel managed to find the cabin in the woods and watches the video herself; afterward, she receives the same phone call, and realizes she must solve the puzzle of the video and the person or persons behind it within a week. Rachel turns to her ex, Noah (Martin Henderson), an expert in video technology, who at first is convinced the story is a hoax until he digs deeper into the mystery. The Ring was adapted from a 1996 Japanese film by Hideo Nakata, which became a massive box-office success in Asia and spawned two sequels. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide