J.R. Bourne Movies
- 2008
A man who has spent much of his life wandering through a haze of liquor and drugs learns that clearing his mind isn't an easy process in this independent comedy-drama. Truman (J.R. Bourne) is a hard-drinking cab driver who lives and works in Fairbanks, Alaska, driving home boozers and tourists who can't find their way in the frozen winter nights. While Truman is intrigued by a rough-edged stripper named Eleanor (Emily Wagner) who is a regular fare, for several years he's been dating Emily (Stacy Edwards), an aspiring novelist, and when she leaves him for another man, he takes the news hard. After a long night's bender of booze and LSD, Truman attempts suicide, and wakes up in a metal hospital where he dries out and tries to put his life back together with the help of a good natured psychiatrist (Garry Marshall). While attending group therapy, Truman notices a familiar face -- Eleanor, who is dealing with demons of her own and is willing to let Truman into her life. Truman falls in love with Eleanor, but once he is settled back in Fairbanks and tries to restart his life, he falls prey to the bad habits and poor choices that have dogged him for years. Also featuring Paul Dooley, Jeffrey Scott Jensen and Dan Butler, Chronic Town was the first feature film from director Tom Hines. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- J.R. Bourne, Emily Wagner, (more)
Family Portraits: A Trilogy of America director Douglas Buck follows that gruesome collection of three short films with this feature-length reimaging of cinema auteur Brian De Palma's 1973 horror film concerning a pair of mysterious siblings and the curious reporter who stumbles upon their deadly secret. Grace (Chloë Sevigny) is an ambitious young journalist conducting an investigation of a controversial psychiatrist (Stephen Rea) who is currently maintaining a questionable relationship with disturbed patient Angelique (Lou Doillon). As the investigation continues, Grace soon stumbles into an ongoing conspiracy populated by human experimentation, strange deaths, and a controversial operation. As the probing reporter delves ever deeper into the profoundly unsettling details and witnesses a brutal murder thanks to the unintended assistance of Angelique's latest love interest, Dr. Dylan Wallace, her fragile mental state is quickly shattered by the spiraling violence and unspeakable revelations to which she is now inextricably bound. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Doillon, Stephen Rea, (more)
A slacker edging into his thirties plots a not quite legal get-rich-quick scheme in this satiric comedy written by celebrated novelist Douglas Coupland. Ryan (Paulo Costanzo) lives and works in Vancouver, which has become overrun by runaway Hollywood film crews and folks looking for an easy buck however they can find it. Ryan's unemployed father grows marijuana in his basement, his brother is involved in a real-estate scam that bilks tycoons from Hong Kong who never see the property they only think they own, and Ryan himself is an office drone at a magazine devoted to chronicling the lives of lottery winners. After his girlfriend leaves him for a wealthy yuppie, Ryan falls for Ming (Steph Song), a beautiful Asian woman he meets in a Mandarin language class. Prompted by Ming's desire for a more luxurious lifestyle, Ryan dreams up a scheme to fix the lottery using what he's learned at his job. Adapted from the first original screenplay from Douglas Coupland, Everything's Gone Green received its world premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paulo Costanzo, Steph Song, (more)
When a man's girlfriend is killed in a tragic auto accident, his time-traveling attempts to alter her fate have some unexpected effects on the events of the future in director John R. Leonetti's shocking sequel to the 2004 Ashton Kutcher hit. Nick (Eric Lively) and Julie (Erica Durance) were deeply in love, but when death robs the young couple of their lifetime of happiness, Nick isn't willing to say goodbye to his soulmate without a fight. Soon discovering that he has the ability to travel into the past to a point before the time of Julie's untimely death, Nick struggles to find a means of saving his one true love despite the increasingly troubling results that his well-intended heroics seem to have on the future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Lively, Erica Durance, (more)
The made-for-cable The Colt takes place in Virginia in the fourth year of the Civil War. The mare owned by young Jim Rabb (Ryan Merriman) of the First Michigan Cavalry gives birth to a colt, which battle-weary Sgt. Longacre (Steve Bacic) orders Jim to shoot so as not to slow down the other soldiers in the unit. Jim refuses to do so, risking severe disciplinary action. As it turns out, the Confederates strike before Longacre does, stealing both colt and mare. Again defying orders, Jim heads out alone to rescue his beloved horses, saving the life of a dying Rebel prisoner along the way. Ultimately, the colt proves to be an inspiration to Jim's comrades in arms, and is duly immortalized by another member of the First Michigan, army artist Covington (Darcy Belsher). An uplifting tale of unassailable innocence in the midst of America's bloodiest war, The Colt made its Hallmark channel debut on July 9, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Merriman, Steve Bacic, (more)
Has the search for a better way of life sent a man into a murderous rage? A seemingly respectable husband and father faces this question in this independent drama. Warner (J.R. Bourne) and Claire (Caroline Cave) are a couple in their mid-thirties who've chosen careers that offer greater emotional rewards than financial benefits, and neither seems to regret that -- Claire helps run an art gallery, while Warner is the director of a non-profit organization. Both make enough money to keep their heads above water, and they have two children they love very much. But when Warner and Claire decide to move into a new home, things begin to change -- Claire falls in love with a house that's more than they can practically afford, and they decide to buy it anyway, sending them deep in debt. While Warner is up for a raise at work, he doesn't get it, and as Claire begins to chafe at their newly strained financial status, Warner turns to his family for help, only to discover how disappointed they are with him. One day, Claire is brutally attacked with a hammer, sending her into the hospital with head trauma, and as police detectives begin investigating the crime, Warner discovers he's become the prime suspect. Claire's mother is convinced Werner is guilty, his parents don't know what to think, and Warner realizes its up to him to prove his innocence to those around him -- including Claire. Six Figures was the first feature film from writer and director David Christensen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Caroline Cave, Deborah Grover, (more)
Impulsively posting a few photos of herself on the Internet, aspiring teenage model Mia Sampson (Sarah Lind) is thrilled and flattered when she is invited to sign with an on-line modeling agency. The fact that she is asked to pose in a sexually provocative fashion does not dampen Mia's enthusiasm--until she realizes to her horror that her "boss" is a pornographer who specializes in shipping soft-core photos of underage girls to a members-only website. Outraged that the cyberspace laws are loose enough to allow this activity, Mia's mom Abby (Mimi Rogers) takes swift and terrifying action to save her daughter from any further humiliation and exploitation. Filmed in 2004 for Canadian television, Selling Innocence was first broadcast in the US by cable's Lifetime channel on June 1, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mimi Rogers, J.R. Bourne, (more)
They say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and when a group of environmental activists are transformed into indestructible zombies as a result of a forest company's botched genetic experiment, hell is exactly what the few survivors are about to face in director Carl Bessai's gore-drenched excursion into the woods. With no place to run to and terror lurking behind every tree, it's going to take a miracle to make it out of the forest alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
In this blend of psychological thriller and courtroom drama, Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter) is a 19-year-old college student who begins displaying bizarre and troubling behavior; as her actions become increasingly destructive and shocking, Emily begins speaking in strange tongues and destroys religious symbols that surround her. Emily's parents believe that their daughter has become possessed of the devil, and the Catholic Church agrees to authorize an exorcism of the young woman. As Father Moore (Tom Wilkinson) attempts to drive the demons from Emily's body, the girl dies in the midst of the taxing ceremonies, and Father Moore finds himself charged with negligent homicide. Attorney Erin Brunner (Laura Linney) is hired to represent Father Moore against prosecutor Ethan Thomas (Campbell Scott), who intends to prove there were concrete medical explanations for Emily's behaviors, including epilepsy and schizophrenia, all leading to a heated courtroom debate between the notions of faith and science. The Exorcism of Emily Rose was inspired by the real-life story of Annaliese Michel, a young woman from Germany who died in 1976 after priests in Wurzburg spent eight months attempting to exorcise demons from her body. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson, (more)
- 2005
A woman devoted to the life of the mind meets an artist who changes the way she looks at life in this offbeat independent musical drama. Lynn Magnusson (Jane Perry) is a dedicated research scientist who works with a small firm attempting to develop new cancer treatments through genetics. Lynn and her staff are attempting to crack the DNA code that makes certain people more likely to contract certain diseases, a matter that's of both professional and personal importance to her -- her mother is slowly wasting away because of Huntington's disease, and Lynn is likely to suffer the same fate, as would her offspring. Lynn has other distractions at work, most notably Benny (Jonathon Young), one of her assistants, with whom she has been having an affair. As Lynn struggles to make sense of her work and her love life, she becomes aware of her upstairs neighbor (Kevin McNulty), a composer who is as free and open to the joys of life as she's tightly wound and uncertain. As the two get to know one another, the story makes room for several musical numbers in which the characters share their feelings in song and dance. The Score was the first feature film from director Kim Collier. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Perry, Jonathon Young, (more)
- 2004
Tess Gallagher (Kathleen Quinlan) is naturally upset when the husband of her daughter Jenny (Lori Heuring abandons his family--to run off with another man. Before long, however, Tess has gotten over the initial shock, and is industriously mounting a campaign to find a new husband for Tess, and a new father for Tess' wisecracking son Jesse (Lori Heuring). Not altogether with her daughter's blessing, Tess places Jenny's picture and bio on the "Perfect Match" dating website, resulting in proposals (and propositions) from lonely guys all over the world. The most attractive and personable of these internet Romeos is British college professor Peter Campbell (Henry Ian Cusick), who is himself coming off a failed romance--and who, incidentally is years older than Jenny. Howver, the question posed by this made-for-cable movie is not "Can a May-December affair be truly successful?", but rather "For pity's sake, Jenny, when will you wake up notice how your best friend Miles Healey (Michael Trucco) is silently pining away for you????" Perfect Romance debuted over the Lifetime network on June 7, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
The mind of Andromeda's A.I. avatar Rommie (Lexa Doig) is taken over by an old acquaintance, now known as "The Balance of the Judgment." This ethereal entity also mentally enslaves a new High Guard ship, leading to a deadly denouement. Meanwhile, Nietzchean crew member Tyr (Keith Hamilton Cobb) undergoes a bizarre surgical procedure as part of his mission to seek out his family, the Kodiak Pride, who may still be alive despite reports of their demise. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
The Andromeda crew is menaced by a group of Nietzcheans, who after a sneak attack take over the ship. With hostages in hand, the intruders make two demands: that the crew turn over Beka's (Lisa Ryder) vessel, the Maru, and also the sacred bones of Drago Museveni. Hoping to save his comrades and play for time until a counterrattack can be mounted, Dylan (Kevin Sorbo) offers to take the hostages' place. But the real danger does not rear its head until Andromeda crew member Tyr Anasazi (Keith Hamilton Cobb), himself a Nietzchean, makes a fateful decision that will radically alter the course of everyone's future. This was the final episode of Andromeda's third season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A high-profile magazine editor is framed for murder after refusing the advances of a powerful billionaire's brother in this thriller starring Beverly Hills 90210's Jason Priestley and Showgirls' Elizabeth Berkley. When V Magazine editor Tyler Nobel arrives at work on what seems to be an average morning, the discovery of a detailed sex diary on her desk reveals a young woman involved with a wealthy society man whose underworld connections raise dark implications. Realizing that the man mentioned in the diary is reclusive billionaire J.C. Peck, Nobel's hunger for a high-profile, international cover story finds her making the acquaintance of a J.C.'s younger brother Mark at a party. Though Mark draws Tyler to his remote country estate with the pretense of offering a private meeting with his brother, his advances toward Tyler once they reach the estate turn aggressive and she is forced to knock her assailant unconscious in order to escape. Arrested the following morning for Mark's murder, Tyler must launch her own investigation if she is to reveal the true killer and discover the fate of the sex-diary's mysterious author. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elizabeth Berkley, Jason Priestley, (more)
- 2001
Two victims of political repression form a valuable friendship in a free but unfriendly land in this independent drama. Dimitri Ranevsky (Dimitri Boudrine) is an actor and playwright from the Soviet Union, who, tired of the political and cultural repression of his homeland, has come to Canada to start his life over again. However, dealing with the red tape of Canada's immigration and naturalization departments proves to be nearly as maddening as the bureaucracy he left behind; working off the books for a pawnbroker and facing possible deportation, Dimitri is nearing the end of his rope. One day, Ai Ling Huang (Benita Ha) comes into the pawn shop, hoping to get some money for a watch. Dimitri learns that Ai Ling is a fellow political exile; born in China, Ai Ling was jailed for daring to freely express her religious beliefs, and came to Canada under the agreement that attorney Steve Jeffries (J.R. Bourne) would marry her so she could stay in the country. However, Steve has changed his mind, and now Ai Ling is also fighting deportation. Dimitri and Ai Ling become friends, and after reading his plays, she encourages Steve to help Dimitri stay in Canada so he can continue to pursue his muse in a free land. Exiles in Paradise was the first feature from director and screenwriter Wesley Lowe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dimitri Boudrine, Benita Ha, (more)
This haunted house chiller is the second feature from Dark Castle Entertainment, the mid-budget outfit put together in 1999 to remake the cheesy horror genre pictures of William Castle by his daughter, Terry Castle, and producers Gilbert Adler, Robert Zemeckis, and Joel Silver. Financially ravaged and widowed by a fire that is consuming him with guilt, Arthur Kriticos (Tony Shalhoub) is left to raise two kids on his own: beautiful teenager Kathy (Shannon Elizabeth) and grade school student Bobby (Alec Roberts). Good news suddenly drops into their lives when a lawyer visits and reveals that they have inherited a lavish home from a late uncle, Cyrus (F. Murray Abraham), an eccentric ghost hunter. The Kriticos family moves into the remote house only to discover its odd secret: the dwelling contains a state-of-the-art, elaborate system of moving glass walls that trap spirits inside. Soon the ghosts, which can only be seen through the use of special high-tech spectacles, are loose in the elaborate contraption and are none too thrilled about their predicament. With the exits sealed, the family members try to learn the secret of Uncle Cyrus' bizarre mansion and survive supernatural assaults with the help of sassy housekeeper Maggie (Rah Digga), neurotic psychic Rafkin (Matthew Lillard), and Kalina (Embeth Davidtz), an activist championing the civil rights of ghosts. The eyeglasses through which the spirits can be viewed in Thirteen Ghosts (2001) were part of a ballyhoo gimmick involving pairs of spectacles handed out to audiences for screenings of the 1960 original, which was presented in "Illusion-O." ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Shalhoub, Embeth Davidtz, (more)
- 2001
Most screenwriters fight to protect their creative vision, but one man goes a good bit farther than most in this sequel to the made-for-TV horror flick Cabin by the Lake. Murderous scriptwriter Stanley Caldwell (Judd Nelson) is missing and thought to be dead, but the strange stories of his grisly crimes have made the project he was writing at the time of his death a hot property, and director Mike Helton (Brian Krause) has hired writer Allison Gaddis (Dahlia Salem) to polish Caldwell's rough draft as he prepares to bring Stanley's final work to the big screen. But it turns out Stanley isn't dead after all -- he managed to escape and has gone into hiding, but the news that his work is being tampered with brings him back to the scene of his crimes. Posing as J.C. Reddick, a relative of the producer, Caldwell gets hired as an assistant director on the film, and claiming to have known the late Caldwell, he sets out to reshape the movie so that it reflects his own twisted ideals. Produced for the USA cable network, Return to Cabin by the Lake was first aired on December 15, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judd Nelson, Brian Krause, (more)
- 2000
When the SGC's Major Graham (Bill Nikolai), goes berserk and commits suicide, he turns out to have been a Zatarc--a slave to Goa'uld mind control, programmed to kill through the application of false memmories. Having come in close contact with Graham, O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and Carter (Amanda Tapping) may be in dnager of becoming Zatarcs themselves. This situation serves to cause a serious rift in the relations between SGC and the Tok'ra resistance movement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Former Goa'uld ruler Apophis (Peter Williams) places his life in the hands of his worst enemies: The members of the SG-1 team. Mortally wounded, Apophis promises to reveal all Goa'uld knowledge in exchange for a new host body. But Martouf (JR Bourne), a member of the Goa'uld resistance group Tok'ra, advises the team to send Apophis away, lest they all be destroyed by Sokar, the original God of Death. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
In the conclusion of a two-part story, the SG-1 crew and the Tok'ra Matouf (JR Bourne) have infiltrated the prison moon Netu in order rescue Carter's (Amanda Tapping) father Jacob (Michael Shanks)--and to thwart the invasion plans of the evil Sokar (David Pallfy). Since the prisoners have been mesmerized into believing that Netu is actually Hell, the SG-1 must use a dangerous hallucinogenic, "The Blood of Sokar", to counteract Sokar's mind control and foment a prison rebellion. Meanwhile, Teal'c (Christopher Judge) tries to enter into an alliance with the Tok'ra to stop Sokar--but the result of these negotiations may result in the deaths of the SG-1 team. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
In the first episode of a two-part story, Matouf (JR Bourne), a member of the Goa'uld resistance movement Tok'ra, tells the SG-1's crew that Samantha Carter's (Amanda Tapping) father Jacob (Carmen Argenziano)--and Jacob's Tok'ra symbiote Selmak--have been kidnapped by Sokar (David Palffy). In order to rescue Jacob/Selmak, the SG-1 draw up plans to infiltrate the prison moon Netu, which has been altered by Sokar to resemble Hell in the minds of the prisoners. The success of this plan hinges on the memories of Jolinar (Tanya Reid), the only prisoner ever to have escaped from Netu--and those memories are cloaked in obscurity within the mind of Samantha Carter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
In the first episode of a two-part story, the SG-1 team heads to planet P34353J, hoping to form an alliance with the Tok'ra, a Goa'uld resistance movement. The problem is that the Tok'ra can only function by inhabiting human hosts--and no human desires that "honor." Meanwhile, team member Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) is torn between duty to her country and devotion to her loved ones when her cancer-ridden father Jacob Carter (Carmen Argenziano) makes a turn for the worse. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
In the conclusion of a two-part story, the Tok'ra, a Goa'uld resistence movement, turns down the opportunity to allign with Stargate Command. Meanwhile, Jacob Carter (Carmen Agenziano), cancer-ridden father of SG-1 team member Amanda Carter (Amanda Tapping), is on the verge of death. Things brighten up when the Tok'ra agrees to fight alongside SG-1 provided that Jacob agree to serve as the host body for Tok'ra warrior Selmak, who is likewise at death's door. Though the two entities don't get along, Jacob and Selmak realize that each one's survival depends upon the other. The plot take a sinister turn when a spy betrays the Tok'ra to the Goa'uld. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
