Jeff Balis Movies
When hapless cubicle dweller Cooper (Chris Marquette) awakens strung up in a silky cocoon, he finds himself face to face with a swarm of enormous, man-eating insects intent on devouring the entire human race. It was his first day on the job, but as nervous as Cooper was coming in to work, he never imagined that things could get this bad. Breaking free of his slimy prison with no time to spare, Cooper races to unravel his coworkers before they're all sucked dry like human milkshakes. With a small battalion of terrified office drones under his command, the company's newest employee fights to find a safe haven, and smash as many creepy crawly invaders as possible along the way. Perhaps in the frenzy of this mutant insect invasion, Cooper will finally summon the courage to break the ice with his pretty colleague Sarah as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Marquette
The shenanigans continue in this outrageous sequel to Waiting. . . that finds the staff of everyone's favorite good time restaurant entering into a stiff competition with the new Ta-Ta's Wing Shack opening up right next door. It's been two years since the events of the first film, and though there are still some familiar faces on duty, a whole new crop of employees are searching for exciting new ways to kill time and annoy customers at Shenanigans. But when Ta-Ta's Wing Shack announces its grand opening right next door, all of Shenanigans' best waitresses beat a hasty retreat; the tips are bigger at Ta-Ta's, and the uniforms are decidedly more revealing. To make matters worse, the customers are following suite. Now, in order to win back their customers and boost their bottom line, the Shenanigans team lifts their hemlines and starts working overtime to whip up the tastiest fast food in town. Justin Long, Luis Guzman, and Andy Milonakis return for a sequel featuring Adam Carolla, and written by original Waiting. . . screenwriter Rob McKittrick. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
A slacker tries to do the right thing for his family with unexpectedly chaotic results in this independent comedy. Salman (Scott Prendergast) is an out-of-work twentysomething who has few skills and fewer prospects. However, things are significantly worse for his older brother -- his National Guard unit has been called back to Iraq, and his wife, Leslie (Lisa Kudrow), needs to go back to work in order to support their children. However, Leslie doesn't have anyone to look after her two sons, so when Salman learns of her sad situation, he volunteers to move in and help mind the kids. Salman quickly discovers the boys are nearly psychotic and will stop at nothing to get him out of the house, including putting sharp objects in his breakfast. With the household still short on money, Leslie helps Salman get a job, and soon he's become the corporate mascot for a failing Internet company, who pounds the pavement wearing a strange blue costume hoping to drum up interest in renting space in the corporate offices. The first feature film as writer and director for actor Scott Prendergast, Kabluey also stars Christine Taylor, Conchata Ferrell, Teri Garr, and Chris Parnell. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lisa Kudrow, Scott Prendergast, (more)
A cynical New York salesman (Michael Keaton) finds his scornful ways unexpectedly softened upon falling for the fiancée of his new business partner (Brendan Fraser), a Midwest transplant attempting to find his footing in the city, in screenwriter-turned-director Michael Caleo's feature directorial debut. The Bindview Company is a firm comfortably nestled in a corporate park that specializes in a highly profitable product. Ted (Keaton) is a former Northwestern University literature professor who has since found his calling in sales. When fresh-faced Ohio native Jamie (Fraser) arrives at Bindview eager to acclimate to life in the big city, cynical Ted greets the cub salesman with a palpable sense of scorn. Though Jamie is currently engaged to be married to the pretty Belisa (Amber Valletta), the bride-to-be is beginning to view her prospective spouse as something of a loser, and soon sets her sights on his reluctant mentor Ted. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Keaton, Brendan Fraser, (more)
Learn why you should never send your food back and other valuable lessons in this over-the-top comedy set in the food service industry. Dean (Justin Long) and Monty (Ryan Reynolds) are two longtime friends who work as waiters as Shenanigan's, a self-consciously "fun" chain restaurant. Both have been working at the restaurant since they graduated from high school; it's only recently occurred to Dean that he has nothing to show for the last four years of his life but a community college diploma and his name tag from work, and he's developed a sudden urgency to make something of himself. Monty, on the other hand, is more interested in making time with the women on the wait staff at work than accomplishing anything, though his recent relationship with fellow employee Serena (Anna Faris) has rather dramatically crashed and burned. Over the course of an evening at Shenanigan's, Dean and Monty confront obnoxious customers and train timid new employee Mitch (John Francis Daley) while dealing with wildly eccentric chef Raddimus (Luis Guzman), control-freak manager Dan (David Koechner), and a kitchen full of crazed cooks, prep workers, and dish-washers. Waiting was the first feature film from writer and director Rob McKittrick. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, (more)
The Battle of Shaker Heights is directed by the team of Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin. Kelly Ernswiler (Shia LaBeouf) is a quirky 17-year-old whose greatest passion is reenacting battles from World War II. After meeting Bart Bowland (Elden Henson), someone who is nothing like him but shares his passion, Kelly ends up putting his battlefield knowledge to work in real life. The script by Erica Beeney was the winner of the second Project Greenlight competition. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shia LaBeouf, Elden Henson, (more)
An unlucky-in-love bachelor lands his dream date, but finds that getting through the evening will be a difficult challenge indeed in this romantic comedy. The Third Wheel stars Luke Wilson as Stanley, a woefully inept young man who -- with the aid of his roommate Mike (Ben Affleck) -- works up the nerve to ask out his alluring co-worker Diana (Denise Richards). Diana agrees, but before the two can even be seated at a restaurant, they literally run into a homeless con man named Phil (Jay Lacopo). Currying pity from the hapless Stanley, Phil proceeds to disrupt the evening in every way imaginable. One of the first films from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's production company, The Third Wheel languished on the shelf for more than three years; a similar, if less-severe, fate befell Wakin' Up in Reno, another Miramax-distributed comedy also directed by Jordan Brady. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Wilson, Denise Richards, (more)
Pete (Adi Stein) is an eight-year-old Catholic boy growing up in the suburbs of Chicago in the mid-'70s. Pete attends Catholic school, where as classes let out for the summer, he's admonished by a nun to follow the path of Lord, and not that of the Devil. Perhaps taking this message a bit too seriously, Pete decides it's his goal for the summer to help someone get into heaven; having been told that Catholicism is the only sure path to the kingdom of the Lord, Pete decides to convert a Jew to Catholicism in order to improve their standing in the afterlife. Hoping to find a likely candidate, Pete begins visiting a nearby synagogue, where he gets to know Rabbi Jacobson (Kevin Pollack), who responds to Pete's barrage of questions with good humor. Pete also makes friends with the Rabbi's son, Danny (Michael Weinberg), who is about the same age; when he learns that Danny is seriously ill, he decides Danny would be an excellent choice for conversion. When the priest at Pete's church (Brian Dennehy) informs Pete that all will be tested before they pass the Pearly Gates, he sets up a mini-decathlon and puts Danny in training as he attempts to reshape his spiritual thinking. Pete's parents (Bonnie Hunt and Aidan Quinn) aren't sure just what to make of Pete's new summer project, and as they become aquatinted with Rabbi Jacobson, they share their perspectives on the unexpected trials of parenting. Stolen Summer received more than its share of pre-release publicity; writer/director Pete Jones' script was the winner in a nationwide screenwriting competition sponsored by producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, with Miramax Pictures pledging a one-million-dollar budget and a theatrical release to the winning story. As part of the deal, the production of Stolen Summer was documented by a film crew from the premium cable network HBO, who aired a documentary miniseries about the making of the film, Project Greenlight. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aidan Quinn, Bonnie Hunt, (more)
A runner-up in HBO's popular series Project Greenlight, this touching tale of common threads and self-discovery stars David Strathairn, Nicky Katt, and Christopher McDonald. Brought together by a car accident, Bruce Hickman (Strathairn) and Frank Marnikov (Katt) soon discover that they are connected not only by their current dilemma, but also by their acquaintance with a deaf man whom neither was aware the other knew. As a bond forms between Bruce and Frank, the past simmers to the surface, forcing the two men to confront their troubles and take an introspective journey that will open their eyes to both themselves and the world around them. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
