Jackie Earle Haley Movies
The career of Jackie Earle Haley should be inspirational for any former child star or out-of-work actor. In his preteen years, Haley earned his living as a TV commercial actor and voice-over artist (he voiced the son on Hanna-Barbera's animated All in the Family clone Wait Till Your Father Gets Home). At 13, Haley was cast as the juvenile delinquent with home-run power in Michael Ritchie's superb little-league comedy The Bad News Bears, earning a cult following for his portrayal of the swaggering, cool loner. He repeated the iconic role in two sequels, one of the few members of the original cast to do so. Peter Yates cast Haley, alongside future celebrities Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern, as a member of the bike-racing team in the Oscar-winning Breaking Away (1979). Earle disappeared from screens after some fitful television work through the '80s, but stayed busy behind the camera as a writer and an accomplished director of commercials. After more than a decade off the big screen, Haley made a spectacular return in 2006, first as the menacing bodyguard/driver Sugar Boy in All the King's Men, and then with an Oscar-nominated turn as a suburban pedophile in Todd Field's Little Children. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie GuidePlatinum Dunes revives the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise with this reworking of slasher film legend Freddy Krueger, a deceased child killer who torments the dreams of the teenagers of Springwood, OH. Jackie Earle Haley picks up the killer's mantle from series veteran Robert Englund with the reboot from music-video director Samuel Bayer. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jackie Earle Haley, Kyle Gallner, (more)
300's Zack Snyder brings Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' critically acclaimed comic book Watchmen to the big screen, courtesy of DC Comics and Warner Bros. Pictures. Set in an alternate universe circa 1985, the film's world is a highly unstable one where a nuclear war is imminent between America and Russia. Superheroes have long been made to hang up their tights thanks to the government-sponsored Keene Act, but that all changes with the death of The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a robust ex-hero commando whose mysterious free fall out a window perks the interest of one of the country's last remaining vigilantes, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley). His investigation leads him to caution many of his other former costumed colleagues, including Dr. Manhattan, Night Owl (Patrick Wilson), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), Sally Jupiter (Carla Gugino), and her daughter, The Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman). Heralded for bringing the world of superheroes into the literary world, Watchmen gave the super-powered mythos a real-life grounding that had been missing in mainstream comics to that point. The film adaptation had languished in one form of development hell or another for years after the book's release, with various directors on and off the project, including Terry Gilliam, David Hayter, and Darren Aronofsky, as well as Paul Greengrass, whose eventual dismissal stemmed from budget conflicts with the studio. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, (more)
In the aftermath of a gruesome restaurant murder, the survivors of the attack are left to ponder their own mortality and how it relates to their connection to society. Forest Whitaker, Guy Pearce, Kate Beckinsale, and Dakota Fanning headline Little Fish director Rowan Woods' adaptation of Roy Freirich's debut novel. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, (more)
The American Basketball Association is on the verge of collapse, and when a former NBA benchwarmer returns to his hometown of Flint, MI, to whip his former team into shape for the playoffs, redemption is just a free throw away in this period sports comedy starring Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson. Penned by Old School scribe Scot Armstrong, Semi-Pro tells the tale of a 1970s-era basketball player who doesn't have much luck in the NBA, but vows to leave his mark on the sport by coaching the Flint Tropics. When the upstart ABA league agrees to be absorbed by the NBA, only four teams will be allowed in. Jackie Moon (Ferrell) must orchestrate a successful season both on the court, and financially off the court with the help of many odd promotional events, in order to remain in the sport he loves. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, (more)
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Todd Field teams with novelist Tom Perrotta to adapt Perrotta's acclaimed novel concerning the suburban malaise experienced by a handful of small-town individuals whose intersecting lives converge in a variety of surprising, and sometimes ominous, ways. Kate Winslet, Jennifer Connelly, and Patrick Wilson star in a cinematic adaptation that doesn't aim so much to simply reproduce the book for the screen as it does to re-imagine the written word by exploring new possibilities for the characters and situations originally presented in Perrotta's 2004 best-seller. Sarah (Winslet) is a suburban outsider who, unlike the other playground moms, isn't afraid to approach the dreamy but long-absent father whom smitten housewives have taken to calling the "Prom King." Long days at the local community pool with their respective children soon find Sarah becoming acquainted with local husband and father Brad (Patrick Wilson) -- who seems to share in her seething discontentment with life in their quaint commuter town. An English literature major who never envisioned a fate as a soccer mom, Sarah has a growing dissatisfaction with her successful husband (Gregg Edelman) that parallels Brad's increasing frustration with his inability to pass the bar and connect with his wife, Kathy (Jennifer Connelly), a successful documentary filmmaker. It's not long before the dejected pair is meeting for a series of illicit afternoon trysts as their unsuspecting spouses work and their children lie quietly napping. Meanwhile, after the community is riled by the return of a convicted sex offender (Jackie Earle Haley) who leaves the concerned parents scrambling to protect their young ones, an attempt made by Sarah and Brad to legitimize their clandestine relationship by dining together with their respective spouses begins to awaken Kathy's suspicions about the fidelity of her husband. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Winslet, Jennifer Connelly, (more)
The legacy of a populist Southern politician whose lofty ambitions for the future leave him open to corruption and scandal is detailed as author Robert Penn Warren's thinly veiled portrait of Depression-era Louisiana governor Huey Long comes to the screen -- again -- this time courtesy of director and screenwriter Steven Zaillian. Willie Stark (Sean Penn) is a man of the people, and for the people; at least that's what he tells the people. Propelled into a race for governor by opposing forces looking to split the "hick vote," Stark is convinced by a handler -- as well as by young journalist Jack Burden (Jude Law) -- to not kowtow to the powers that be. His rhetoric grows fiery, and he makes his way into office on a not-so-solid foundation of social-service promises. When idealism gives way to the harsh realities of the time, however, the fast-talking politico is quick to discover just how far one can fall when ambition and power lead to a betrayal of one's original motivations. Kate Winslet, Patricia Clarkson, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins round out an all-star cast in this second version of Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 novel; the first won a parade of Oscars after its release in 1949. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Set in a WW III-decimated 21st-century Los Angeles in which humans compete with cyborgs, this low-budget special-effects laden thriller chronicles the attempts of a heroic fellow to clean up the town and keep the androids from taking over what's left of the planet. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivier Gruner, Tim Thomerson, (more)
In Maniac Cop (1988), we were introduced to a disfigured psycho law enforcement officer. It wasn't enough that this revenge-driven fiend killed and mutilated his victims: he also kept their pelts and scalps as trophies. The part was play by Robert D'Zar in the first two Maniac Cop flicks; D'Zar is back for Badge of Silence: Maniac Cop 3, in which he continues his reign of terror, as the good cops endeavor to put an end to his activities. By way of a plot, a hush-hush conspiracy is thrown into the proceedings. The slash-and-gashfest was written by Larry (It's Alive!) Cohen, while the musical score was by no less than Jerry Goldsmith. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Davi, Caitlin Dulany, (more)

- 1991
- R
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Intergalactic super-cop Brick Bardo (Tim Thomerson) crash-lands in the Bronx while on a cosmic head hunt, only to find himself just over a foot tall in our world. Bardo spends time bringing street gangs to justice while pursuing his original quarry. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
In this creepy horror movie, an archaeologist gets in over his head when he goes searching for the burial place of a young medieval prince. It is the same tomb his parents were looking for when they were mysteriously murdered. Unfortunately, he finds the tomb. The trouble comes when the malevolent spirit of the boy prince rises up to wreak havoc on the scientist and his expedition. The film is also known as Schizo. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Somewhere in the Deep South, young singer Matt Burns (Brian L. Green) has been arrested for the murder of local bully Ed Bonner (Jeffrey Osterhage), son of the town's most influential citizen (Stuart Whitman). Innocent bystanders to this developing drama are Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) and her friend and fellow writer Ames Caulfield (Craig Stevens), one of whose former students happened to be Matt's mother. At the request of Matt's girl friend (and the dead man's sister) Linda (Cindy Fisher), Jessica does her best to prove Matt's innocence--while an angry lynch mob begins to swarm around the town jail. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In a fast-paced teen comedy by Pen Densham, Ben Vereen stars as a former boxer who graduates into a failure as a nightclub owner. The club is called the "Zoo" and a group of homeless waifs want to rent it to start their own profitable business. The trouble is that this group of teens is opposed by a local gang, out to shut down their enterprise. The ex-fighter, known as Old Leather Face, agrees to the teens' deal and then gets further involved by the minute. The final showdown with the gang carries some heavy artillery: thumb tacks and staples. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Vereen, Jackie Earle Haley, (more)
There is hardly any variation on the stereotyped teens-and-sex movie in this story about four high school seniors who travel to Mexico to find a brothel and have something to brag about when they get back home. Among the four is the sensitive Woody (Tom Cruise) who is not sure he wants this trip, the nerd Wendell (John P. Navin, Jr.), the jock Spider (John Stockwell), and the big-talker Dave (Jackie Earle Haley). As the four set off on their adventure, they give a ride to Kathy (Shelley Long), a woman who is a bit ditsy, but decent, going to Mexico to get a divorce from her husband. Once south of the border the quintet meet up with a wide range of clichéd Mexican types and work out their individual experiences in the manner to which teen movies are accustomed. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Cruise, Jackie Earle Haley, (more)
Dennis Christopher stars as a recent high school graduate in Bloomington, Indiana, who is caught with his friends -- Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley -- coasting between high school and deciding what to do with the rest of their lives. The four friends are snobbishly looked down upon by the college students of the town as "cutters," since they were born in Bloomington and their parents worked in the local limestone quarries that built the university. Dennis Christopher's character Dave wants to be a champion bicycle racer and he idolizes the Italian racing team -- so much so that he speaks, thinks, and acts Italian, all to his father's (Paul Dooley) forlorn exasperation. Dave falls for a college girl (Robyn Douglass), but is ashamed to admit he is a cutter and poses as an Italian exchange student to impress her. Dave is particularly excited when his heroes -- the Italian racers -- come to town for a race. But they are even more snobbish than the college students and rely on dirty tricks to keep Dave from winning a race against them. After that ordeal, Dave throws away his false identity and convinces his friends to enter the university's "Little 500" bicycle race against the college students. This light-hearted and heartwarming tale was a surprising word-of-mouth success at the box-office and won several awards, including an Academy Award for "Best Screenplay." ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, (more)

- 1978
- PG
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Filling the shoes occupied by Walter Matthau in the Bad News Bears and William Devane in The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, Tony Curtis takes on the role of the teams newest coach in this, the third installment in the series. Jackie Earle Haley returns as Kelly Leak, the Bears' star player, as the team ventures to the other side of the world to face off against the best little league team in Japan. While there, the Bears find their way into mischief and Kelly finds love with a local girl. Though this was the last entry in the film series a television series followed a year later. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tony Curtis, Jackie Earle Haley, (more)

- 1977
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The misfit kiddie baseball team from the first film is given the opportunity to play in a Junior League match between double-header games at the Houston Astrodome. Two obstacles stand in their way: beloved teammate Timmy Lupus (Quinn Smith) has broken his leg, and the team has no adult coach. Attempting to change their luck, star player Kelly Leak (Jackie Earle Haley) tries to talk his estranged dad (William Devane) into coaching and locates a self-proclaimed hotshot pitcher named Carmen Ronzonni (Jimmy Baio). Watch for quickie cameos by real-life Houston Astros members Robert J. Watson, Enos Cabell, Roger Metzger, James Richard, Joe Ferguson, Ken Forsch, William Virdon, and Cesar Cedeno. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Devane, Clifton James, (more)
A small but hardy band of survivors traverses a post-apocalypse American landscape in this sci-fi thriller. A horrific nuclear assault leaves only three survivors at an underground military facility, so Tanner (Jan-Michael Vincent), Denton (George Peppard), and Keegan (Paul Winfield) commandeer a special all-terrain land cruiser and head for Albany, NY, the only American city to be spared in the attack. As they travel through the desolate post-nuke wastelands, the soldiers pick up a beautiful woman (Dominique Sanda) and an incorrigible teenager (Jackie Earle Haley), as they battle huge mutant insects, packs of survivors turned violent and feral, and brutal electrical storms that savage the already barren plains. Damnation Alley was based on a novel by award-winning speculative fiction author Roger Zelazny. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jan-Michael Vincent, George Peppard, (more)
The success this underdog comedy from director Michael Ritchie almost single-handedly spawned the kids' sports film boom of the 1980s and '90s. When beer-breathed ex-minor-league ball player and professional pool cleaner Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) agrees to coach a little league team in the San Fernando Valley, he soon finds he's in over his head, having inherited an assortment of pint-sized peons and talentless losers. They play well-organized teams and lose by tremendous margins, and the parents threaten to disband the Bears to save the kids (and themselves) any further embarrassment. Buttermaker refuses, though, and brings in a pair of ringers: Amanda (Tatum O'Neal), his ex-girlfriend's tomboy daughter, and Kelly (Jackie Earle Haley), a cigarette-smoking delinquent who happens to be a gifted athlete. With their help, the Bears manage to change their losing ways and qualify for the championship, where they face their arch-rivals, the Yankees. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, (more)
The Day of the Locust is anything but a cheerful, light look at Hollywood in the '30s. It recreates both the town as well as the filmmaking world around which much of the town revolved with devastating accuracy. The movie tells the twin tales of talentless wannabe actress Faye Greener (Karen Black) and Homer Simpson (Donald Sutherland), a lovelorn accountant who couldn't care less about movies. Around this framework, a huge and intricate social network is tellingly revealed, until the film's gruesome and tragic ending. Not for those who prefer to hang onto their illusions about the glory days of Hollywood, The Day of the Locust, based on the novel by Nathanael West, is a must-see for serious film buffs. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Donald Sutherland, Karen Black, (more)
At the urging of his siblings, Danny (Danny Bonaduce) tries out for the local Little League baseball team. In the process, he proves to be a champion-level pitcher--and an insufferable egomaniac. But the family's real problem turns out to be Danny's coach (Herb Edelman), whose "win at all costs" mentality is taking all the fun out of the game for his youthful players. In this episode, recurring character Ricky Stevens (Ricky Segall) makes his solo singing debut with "Say Hey Willie", while the Partridge family performs their theme tune "Come On Get Happy" and "I Wanna Be with You". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This French-produced thriller was shot entirely in English. Jean-Louis Tritignant stars as Lucien, a hit man who goes to Los Angeles to end the life of an important local mobster. The mobster's heirs, who hired Lucien, had already hired yet another hit man (Roy Scheider) to kill him. He speaks very little English, and the lifestyles and customs of Los Angelenos puzzle him completely. One of the films highlights is its use of many unusual decayed and shabby sites in the Los Angeles area, such as Venice Beach. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Louis Trintignant, Ann-Margret, (more)



























