Michael Benyaer Movies

Max (Jessica Alba) unexpectedly gets in touch with her "kinder, gentler" side when she agrees to accompany Logan (Michael Weatherly) to a Cale family wedding. Meanwhile, Max's friends are at the mercy of a hostile art smuggler named Duvalier (Master P), who intends to get revenge for a mix-up at the Jam Pony in which a stolen painting was delivered to the wrong place. This turn of events forces Max to briefly take leave of the wedding and rush to her pal's rescue -- but will she be able to save the day without mussing up her new 6,000-dollar dress? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this thriller set against the majestic backdrop of the Alaskan wilderness, the late John Denver stars as a retired FBI agent seeking to clear the name of a close friend. Disillusioned with his job as a G-man, Jim Clayton retires from the FBI and goes into the airfreight business with his best friend. When Clayton's pal is murdered and branded a bootlegger, the former agent embarks on his most treacherous mission to date - clearing the name of an innocent man. Martin Kove, John Rhys-Davies, and Richard Masur co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A criminal genius who has carefully planned the ultimate score runs across an unexpected obstacle -- a 16-year-old computer hacker -- in this youth-oriented action-adventure story. Ozzie Paxton (Vincent Kartheiser) is a teenager with a knack for causing trouble; he's been expelled from the Shady Glen School, an exclusive private academy, for pulling one too many pranks on the faculty. Besides, he prefers to stay home with his computer, where for fun and profit he hacks into the systems of computer game designers, downloads new games before they can go on the market, and burns bootleg CD-ROMs that he can sell to his friends. One day, Ozzie's younger sister Melissa (Katie Stuart) talks him into giving her a lift to Shady Glen, where she still attends; looking for a little revenge, he sneaks into the school and intends to have a little fun with their computer system. As it turns out, Ozzie runs afoul of the school's new security chief, former British Secret Service agent Rafe Bentley (Patrick Stewart), who was hired by Principal Maloney (Brenda Fricker) after Ozzie's most recent bit of computer terrorism. But Bentley is not the friend of the law that he seems to be; several of the wealthiest families in America send their children to Shady Glen, and Bentley has a scheme to kidnap ten of the school's richest children and hold them for a ransom of $650 million. Ozzie is caught in the middle of Bentley's kidnapping plot and must now use his computer skills in order to save the children and put Bentley behind bars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Notorious, critic-boxing director Uwe Boll takes the helm for this adaptation of the controversial video game that ignited controversy across the globe and is actually illegal to own in Australia and New Zealand. Dude (Zack Ward) is an unemployed slacker currently subsisting on Social Security until he lands his next job. Dude's uncle Dave (Dave Foley) is a cult leader currently in dire financial straits. When Uncle Dave hatches a plan to rip off a local amusement park, Dude sees the heist as the perfect opportunity to make a little extra cash. Unfortunately for Dude and Uncle Dave, the Taliban are all set to execute the exact same heist. Erick Avari, Seymour Cassel, Verne Troyer, Larry Thomas, and J.K. Simmons star in a deliberately over-the-top action comedy that is sure to garner as much controversy as the video game that inspired it. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The old Hanna Barbera cartoon adventure series Jonny Quest was given a new coat of paint -- and infinitely better animation -- in this daily, half-hour cable-TV offering, co-produced by Japan's Pacific Animation and several Korean cartoon firms. The basic characters -- spunky teenager Jonny Quest, his scientist dad Benton Quest, his muscular teacher-guardian Race Bannon, his mystical best pal (and now adoptive brother) Hadji, and his little dog Bandit -- remained intact, as did the original series' globetrotting-adventurer premise. This time around, however, there was whole new cast of voiceover actors, including (during the first season, at least) J.D. Roth as Jonny and George Segal as his dad. Also, there was a typically '90s emphasis on computer technology; in fact, Dr. Quest was now described as a "computer genius," ready and willing to use the vast resources of his Quest Foundation, and the limitless opportunities afforded him by his new virtual-reality domain Questworld, to battle the forces of evil. The scripters also broadened the appeal of the series by adding a strong, positive female character, Jessie Bannon, the teenaged daughter of Race Bannon (whose estranged spouse Estella Velasquez also showed up on occasion). Premiering August 26, 1996 and running until April 16, 1997, the 52 episodes of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest were first-run simulatenously on three different Ted Turner-controlled cable services: TBS, TNT, and The Cartoon Network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A major oil company intends to drill in the Florida Everglades, but its efforts are stymied by a band of unseen saboteurs who leave behind an ancient Viking sword. The Quest team investigates the possibility that a hidden community of ancient Norse warriors is responsible, but the bad guys are a bit more "contemporary" than originally suspected. A highlight is Race Bannon's battle with a surly alligator. "Alligators and Okeechobee Vikings" was first broadcast on November 1, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Benton Quest and Race Bannon are invited to attend a phenomenology conference in the Himalayas, little suspecting that the conference is a sham created by their old enemy Jeremiah Surd. With Quest Compound apparently unprotected by adults, Surd leads his henchmen on an assault of the Quest team's Maine headquarters -- and also enslaves the mind of Jonny's friend Hadji. With no other choice, Jonny and Jessie pretend to be their fathers, Benton and Race, in order to foil Surd's mad scheme. "Assault on Questworld" first aired on September 4, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Several ships have vanished without a trace in the Indian ocean, near Christie Island in the Republic of Seychelles. The Quest team investigates the phenomenon, hoping to disprove rumors of a huge sea monster in the region. Inevitably, however, both Jonny and Hadji find themselves in the grip of an enormous squid -- and at the mercy of the squid's human "masters." "East of Zanzibar" made its first cable-TV appearance on September 3, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Although the villainous Ezekial Rage first appeared in "Rage's Burning Wheel," episode four of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, the character was introduced in the episode that ended up as the series' ninth telecast, the appropriately titled "Ezekial Rage." A horribly disfigured former government agent, Rage has been driven insane by the deaths of his family during a botched covert operation. Swearing vengeance against the entire "evil" world, Rage happens to be cooking up his latest scheme in the same location where the Quest team has arrived in search of a missing naturalist -- and a giant bat. "Ezekial Rage" originally aired on September 5, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Dr. Quest utilizes Questworld computer technology to reassemble a shattered statue of the God Apollo. His efforts are interfered with by Quest's perennial foe Jeremiah Surd, who, hacking into the computer system, lures Jonny into a surreal chamber of horrors in which the statue's supernatural powers are summoned to their full, frightening height. The 25th filmed episode of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, "Heroes" was the 18th episode to be telecast, on September 18, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Quest team heads to Northern Canada to investigate a series of attacks, allegedly perpetrated by a werewolf. They discover that the elusive lycanthrope is an attactive outback physician named Marie Metier, whom Dr. Quest hopes to cure of her family curse. A new spin on an old story, "In the Darkness of the Moon" was initially telecast on September 23, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Though the mysterious "disappearance" of the 19th century cargo ship Mary Celeste was merely an invention of author Arthur Conan Doyle, it is treated as fact in this entertaining Real Adventures of Jonny Quest installment. While in search of the Mary Celeste's gold cargo in the Sargasso Sea, Dr. Quest comes across several "crop circles" on the ocean floor -- evidence of alien intervention, and a grim omen of the danger soon to face the entire Quest team. "In the Wake of Mary Celeste" initially aired on September 12, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In Tanzania, Quest team members Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji receive a summons from "beyond" to protect a pachyderm named Ndovu as it makes its final journey to the elephant's graveyard. En route, our heroes run afoul of poachers who intend to rob the sacred burial site of its rich ivory deposits. Parent alert: There are several deaths in this episode, though the actual violence is held to a minimum. "Ndovu's Last Journey" was first telecast on August 30, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide