Mark Hamill Movies

How much would a man pay to go out with the prettiest woman on Earth? Two guys think they have a pretty good idea in this comedy. David Lake (Nicholas Lea) and Frank Palmer (Bobby Dawson) are two less-than-scrupulous entrepreneurs who are looking for a way to make a fortune the fast and easy way. One day, Frank comes up with a promising idea -- sponsoring a nationwide raffle in which the winner gets to go on a date with the world's most beautiful woman. David agrees that the idea has potential, and soon David and Frank print up 500,000 tickets selling for ten dollars each. The five million income will pay for an upscale dream date and leave enough left over to make David and Frank multimillionaires. Tickets sell like hotcakes, but now Frank and David have to find the world's most beautiful woman, and persuade her to go out with a perfect stranger who's paid ten bucks for the privilege. Finding the right woman proves to be an uphill battle, and it doesn't help when David finds himself falling in love with Margot (Jennifer Clement), a woman working in David and Frank's office who is just a bit offended that she hasn't been considered for the competition. The Raffle also stars Mark Hamill and Jay Underwood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Two federal agents are assigned to protect the beautiful star of a television series who was the witness to a terrorist murder. The agents decide to take her to a remote country lodge, but the terrorists find out where their hideout is and make plans to kill her, the agents, and any other witnesses. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

This stylish animated adventure is based on the '90s animated television series, which in turn is based on the original comics and Tim Burton's live action "Batman" films. Unlike the campy 1960s version of Batman, this version is half-mad from the superhero's obsession with justice. It is only his unusual sense of ethics that keeps him from becoming a full-blown psychotic. The story describes the origins of Batman as it follows the Dark Knight's attempts to capture the elusive, deadly Phantasm who kills a crime lord and makes it look as if Batman did it, causing a media smear campaign against the Caped Crusader. At the same time, millionaire Bruce Wayne holds a party at his mansion. There he meets Councilman Arthur Reeves, the man behind the accusations. Reeves derides playboy Wayne for allowing his college sweetheart Andrea Beaumont to leave him. Suddenly Wayne flashes back to his pre-Batman days. He remembers how he met her while visiting his parents' graves to renew his vow that he would spend his life fighting crime to avenge their wrongful deaths. He has already devised an early version of his alter-ego Batman, but that is nearly forgotten when he falls in love with Andrea. The story then jumps from past to present and back as the mysterious Phantasm strikes again. Batman continues his investigation and discovers a disturbing link between Andrea, who suddenly shows up after many years absence, and the villain. Meanwhile, the Phantasm, feeling that Batman is too close to learning his/her identity hires the Joker to kill him. But the Joker has his own agenda and much action ensues before the mystery of the Phantasm identity is solved, Batman clears his name, and justice is served. This film was originally made to go straight to video, Warner's studio liked it enough to release it theatrically. Some of the violence may be inappropriate for very young children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

It is October 6, 2022 and humankind is nearly extinct thanks to a massive alien attack. Astronaut Michael Raynor is fleeing the planet in his spacecraft when suddenly a "wormhole" opens up and sucks him into a time warp. He finally makes it back to the ground and finds himself in Washington state in the year 1992. Soon scientists and military personnel descend upon him and his craft. They get the ship, but he escapes and finds himself pursued by the same human-looking aliens who are destroying the world in his own time. Among the invaders is lovely Karen, who poses as a scientist and decides to help Raynor save his planet. To do this, they must keep Neila from becoming president. They do not know that Neila is himself an outworlder (but discerning audience members who can spell things backwards certainly do!) As the action in the past continues, so does the future story as the few remaining humans battle it out with the aliens in futuristic Washington, D.C. Back in the past Neila and his henchmen decide to make sure Raynor is never born and take off after his pregnant mother who is going to bear him later that year. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The made-for-TV Earth Angel stars Cathy Bodewell as Angela, a prom queen who dies in 1962. Unfortunately, Angela has not always lived up to her name, and her entry into Heaven is held up indefinitely. She is given a chance to redeem herself by returning to earth in 1990, where she is to successfully complete an important mission. Thing of it is, she has no idea what her mission is-though she suspects it has something to do with romance. Clearly intended as a hybrid of Ghost and Peggy Sue Got Married, Earth Angel was first telecast March 4, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Based on the Japanese comic-book character created by Toshiki Takaya, this hyper-kinetic science fiction fantasy plays like a live-action cartoon. The title initially refers to a mysterious piece of technology capable of generating a powerful bio-mechanical exoskeleton around the body of its operator. After scientist Tetsu Segawa (Greg Paik) is murdered while trying to deliver it to CIA agent Max Reed (Mark Hamill), the device is stumbled upon by Sean Barker (Jack Armstrong), a friend of the scientist's daughter Mizki (Vivian Wu). Sean discovers the object's power when it encases him with protective power-armor during a fight -- armor which comes in handy when the similarly-clad minions of the diabolical Chronos Corporation come after him to reclaim it. The technology they employ is revealed to be from another planet, which has enabled the head of Chronos (David Gale) to transform his henchmen into reptilian creatures known as Zoanoids (whose ranks include Jimmie Walker from the '70s TV sitcom Good Times!). In the ensuing battle, Sean's consciousness becomes merged with the power of the Guyver, bestowing him with remarkable strength and agility, as well as the convenient ability to regenerate himself when damaged. Helmed by Kung Fu Rascals creator Steve Wang and special-effects wizard Screaming Mad George, The Guyver is a colorful but ultimately clumsy comic-book adventure, bogged down by a pedestrian "Hollywood" script that seems out-of-lace amid the exotic premise and fanciful creature designs. Apparently targeted at younger audiences -- who may enjoy the broad comedy and wild monster effects -- this is relatively safe sci-fi fare compared to its ultra-violent source material. Look for "Scream Queen" Linnea Quigley in a brief cameo. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

In this espionage outing, an American art student in Paris witnesses the murder of a model. He is more shocked when she shows up very much alive in his apartment. Things get stranger when he finds himself surrounded by assorted spies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Hayao Miyazaki's fantasy adventure Castle in the Sky begins with a chase scene through a flying ship, where all the passengers are after the young girl, Sheeta (voice of Anna Paquin). Going overboard to avoid capture, Sheeta is rescued by her powerful crystal necklace which floats her down to safety. She's recovered by Pazu (voice of James Van Der Beek), a young resourceful boy who works in a small mining town. Sharing a common desire to see Laputa, the castle in the sky, Pazu and Sheeta team up to outrun the pirates and the military. Led by hard-bitten matriarch Dola (voice of Cloris Leachman), the pirates are a rowdy yet dimwitted group of brothers who are after Laputa's treasure. Led by the greedy yet civilized Muska (voice of Mark Hamill), the military is after Laputa's secret powers. Everyone races to get to the abandoned castle of Laputa, which has been overgrown with vines and plant life. Its only inhabitants are the animals and robots who protect a magical garden. As the different parties fight over who gets to control Laputa, it's up to Sheeta to use her ancient knowledge to save it from ultimate destruction. The English-language version also includes the voices of Mandy Patinkin and Andy Dick. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

In the final episode of the Star Wars saga, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) emerges intact from the carbonite casing in which he'd been sealed in The Empire Strikes Back. The bad news is that Solo, together with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), is prisoner to the grotesque Jabba the Hutt. But with the help of the charismatic Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), our heroes and our heroine manage to escape. The next task is to rid the galaxy of Darth Vader (body by David Prowse, voice by James Earl Jones) and the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid), now in command of a new, under-construction Death Star. On the forest moon Endor, the good guys enlist the help of a feisty bunch of bear-like creatures called the Ewoks in their battle against the Empire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This dark comedy charts the chaos that results when the panicked staff of a major English hospital attempts to prepare for a visit by the Queen Mother, only to face every problem imaginable. Britannia Hospital clearly attempts to recapture the anarchic bite of director Lindsay Anderson's previous satires If... and O Lucky Man, but fails to achieve the same combination of intelligent political critique, comic lunacy, and skillful filmmaking. (Indeed, the three films are often considered a loosely linked trilogy, largely due to the presence in all three of lead Malcolm McDowell). The film does make a valiant effort, but its commentary on the poor, labor disputes, and the inhumanity of bureaucratic institutions mixes uneasily with the film's broader elements, like the experiments of a cartoonish mad scientist. The result is often quite entertaining on a scene-by-scene basis, but the film never reaches the level of delirious, farcical energy or satirical sharpness to which it clearly aspires. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Samuel Fuller's valedictory war picture, The Big Red One follows the First Infantry Division from Africa to Europe during the years 1942 through 1945. Lee Marvin portrays the division sergeant; he's tough and experienced, to be sure, but he takes on his job with cool professionalism rather than Hollywood bravado. Based on Fuller's own experiences, the film is a loosely constructed series of anecdotes. Among them are an insane asylum under bombardment while the inmates applaud and a climactic vignette in which a very young concentration camp internee dies while a friendly soldier plays piggy-back with the boy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide