Ryan Kelley Movies
- 2001
British independent filmmaker Andrew Kotting directed this drama that was loosely inspired by a novel by Emile Zola. Francine (Rebecca Palmer) and her sister, Kath (Demelza Randall), inherited their family's farm after the death of their parents, and together they've worked hard to keep the farm productive and profitable. Kath is a single mother whose boyfriend, Buto (Shane Attwool), has a unpredictable and sometimes violent disposition. Kath loves Buto, but his past behavior has earned the enmity of Francine, and she's not at all happy when Kath announces that Buto has finally asked for her hand in marriage. While Kath is delighted about the upcoming nuptials, it turns out Francine was right not to trust her future brother-in-law, as Buto's interest in marrying Kath is primarily motivated by a desire to lay claim to their farm. This Filthy Earth was screened in competition at the 2001 Edinburgh Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rebecca Palmer, Shane Attwooll, (more)
A woman looking for some familial support as she tries to break things off with her no-good husband finds that her sister-in-law's interest in her troubles is more that just friendly in this drama. Darla Carter (Guinevere Turner) is a woman living in the rural south with her husband, Myers (Bill Sage). Myers is handsome and sporadically charming, but that's about all he has going for him; he can't hold a job, he drinks too much, he often disappears without warning or explanation, and he has a violent streak. Darla has just about had her fill with Myers, and wants to kick him out of the house. However, when Darla discovers she's pregnant, she hesitates, wondering if keeping Myers around might be the best thing for her child. Concluding that she'd be better off without him, Darla decides to confront Myers with his misdeeds, and asks her sister-in-law, Jolene (Dot-Marie Jones), to join her for moral support. However, Darla is seemingly ignorant of the fact that Jolene is a lesbian, and shares her brother's attraction to Darla. Stray Dogs was the debut feature from director Catherine Crouch; Crouch also wrote the screenplay, adapted from a stage drama by Julie Jensen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Guinevere Turner, Bill Sage, (more)
- 2002
The Kent family brings a teenager whom Martha (Annette O'Toole) accidentally struck with her car into their home. The teen turns out to be lad named Ryan James (Ryan Kelley), who has the power to read minds -- and who was fleeing from his homicidal stepfather at the time of the accident. Ryan's plight is peripherally linked with the efforts made by fertilizer mogul Lionel Luthor (John Glover) to persuade his own son, Lex (Michael Rosenbaum), to accept a new job in Metropolis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Introduced in the first-season episode "Stray," Ryan Kelley (Ryan James), a teenager gifted with the ability to read minds, is reunited with his friend Clark Kent (Tom Welling). Upon finding out that an unscrupulous scientist (Martin Cummins) is conducting experiments on Ryan, Clark vows to shield the boy from further exploitation -- thereby bringing the scientist's wrath down upon the Kent family. And in another development, former X-Files regular William B. Davis (aka "Cigarette-Smoking Man") guest stars as Smallville's crooked mayor, with whom Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) has a tense confrontation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Independent filmmaker Jacob Aaron Estes makes his feature debut with the coming-of-age drama Mean Creek. Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, Scott Mechlowicz, Josh Peck, Trevor Morgan, and Carly Schroeder are teenagers living in small-town Oregon. Some of the boys take a boat trip for a birthday celebration. When they get an idea to play a mean trick on the town bully, it suddenly goes too far. Soon they're forced to deal with the unexpected consequences of their actions. Mean Creek was workshopped at the Eugene O'Neill Center's National Playwrights Conference and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival as part of the American Spectrum program. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, (more)
A troubled youth learns a valuable lesson about trust and knowledge in this fantasy drama. Ryan (Ryan Kelley) is a teenager who lacks the ability to speak. One day, Ryan falls off a bridge and he finds himself transported to a strange fantasy world where he encounters his Grandpa Randolph (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and a pretty girl named Melanie (Hayden Panettiere); together, Ryan and Melanie learn to help one another with their problems, and they both discover the wisdom they can gain from elders like Grandpa Randolph. The Dust Factory is the first directorial credit for Eric Small, who also wrote the film's screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Armin Mueller-Stahl, Hayden Panettiere, (more)
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
- Starring:
- Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, (more)
The great nephew of famed outlaw Butch Cassidy sets out to redeem the family name and discover his distant uncle's true fate in this Wild West adventure for the entire family. Legend has it that Cassidy died during a late night gunfight in Bolivia, but some historians remain convinced that the elusive outlaw eventually managed to make his way back to the United States - where he was rumored to have lived well into old age. When inquisitive teen Roy Parker discovers an antique belt buckle that once belonged to his notorious uncle, he makes it his mission to uncover the truth about his Great Uncle Leroy and finally lay the legend to rest. But dispelling old rumors isn't Roy's only motivation, because Great Uncle Leroy was said to have hidden a rather substantial buried treasure before his death as well. Now, as Roy, his best friend, the girl of his dreams, and his arch nemesis set out to solve the greatest mystery of the Old West, they quickly find themselves forced to outrun a dastardly varmint who is intent on claiming the treasure as his own. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
