Daniel Bacon Movies

When the spirit of Christmas compels a small-town New Englander to decorate his home with enough lights to make it visible from space, much more is set to be decked than just the halls in this holiday comedy featuring Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick as two warring neighbors determined to outdo each other in creating the best lighting display on the planet. Christmas is without question the most wonderful time of the year for Cloverdale, MA optometrist Steve Finch (Broderick). Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Steve's wife, Kelly (Kristin Davis), and the pair's two children, Madison (Alia Shawkat) and Carter (Dylan Blue). Despite Steve's annual holiday zeal, the rest of the Carters have grown to resent the seemingly endless family rituals leading up the Winterfest carnival over which their terminally cheerful patriarch presides. Though it seems that nothing in the world could dampen the spirits of the local "King of Christmas," Steve soon finds his royal status challenged when used-car salesman Buddy Hall (Danny DeVito) moves in next door and covers his house with enough festive lights to make it visible from the deepest crater of the moon. His Yuletide thunder effectively stolen, Steve resorts to desperate measures in regaining his crown when Buddy's lavish decorations make him a local celebrity, his wife strikes up a warm friendship with the neighbor's outspoken better half, Tia (Kristin Chenoweth), and even the kids seem to warm to the car salesman's air-headed twin daughters, Ashley and Emily (Sabrina and Kelly Aldridge). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A handful of heroes become superheroes under unlikely circumstances in this action drama adapted from the long-running Marvel comic book series. Four astronauts are on a mission aboard a new experimental spacecraft when they are unexpectedly exposed to a massive dose of gamma rays. The accident causes strange and unexpected transformations in all four. Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd), top scientist and leader of the mission, can now stretch his body like elastic and is dubbed Mr. Fantastic. His partner and sweetheart, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), develops the ability to become invisible at will, and becomes known as The Invisible Girl. Her younger brother, Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), is renamed The Human Torch for his new talent of being able to summon up fire from his body when he chooses. And Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), pilot for the journey, mutates into a monstrous creature with super-human strength and muscles like stone, known as The Thing. Together, the travelers become known as the Fantastic Four, and they set out to use their unusual skills to fight crime, quickly gaining a nemesis in another altered hero who uses his talents for evil, Doctor Doom (Julian McMahon). A long-gestating project that had been talked about by a number of filmmakers since the early '90s, Fantastic Four was previously the basis for a pair of animated television serials, and was made into a feature film in 1994 by producer Roger Corman, though that film was never officially released. (Fantastic Four creator Stan Lee has said the 1994 film was made only so that the producers could hold on to the rights to the characters, and that it was never intended to be distributed to the public.) ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Spotting a "Have You Seen Me?" picture on a milk carton, Max (Jessica Alba) recognizes her Manticore sibling Tinga (Lisa Ann Cabasa) -- albeit identified as Penny Smith, the wife of Charlie Smith (Sebastian Spence) and the mother of a boy named Case (Malkolm Alburquenque). In her efforts to persuade Charlie to give up the search for Penny/Tinga lest she fall into the hands of Manticore, Max discovers that little Case is in an accelerated-learning program -- and his teacher is Max's longtime nemesis Donald Lydecker (John Savage). And how does Lydecker's sinister superior, Madame X (Nana Visitor), figure into all this? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Back for a second season (and moving to a new night and time slot), Dark Angel picks up where the season one cliffhanger left off. Recaptured by Manticore, the sinister organization which created her, genetically engineered Max Guevara (Jessica Alba) valiantly resists being reprogrammed as a Manticore warrior -- and also fends off efforts to mate her with fellow X-5 Alec (Jensen Ackles) for breeding purposes. At long last, Max escapes with the help of the doglike Joshua (Kevin Durand), an early "transhuman" experiment. As Joshua tries to track down clues to his origins (it has something to do with a "Sandman"), crusading cyberjounalist Logan (Michael Weatherly), who has grown extremely fond of Max, continues battling against the corrupt powers-that-be in futuristic Seattle -- all the while avoiding the vengeful minions of Manticore leader Madame X (Nana Visitor). Originally slated to air a week earlier, this episode was bumped back to September 28, 2001, due to ongoing network coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

On a mission to the planet P4X 639, O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and Teal'c (Christopher Judge) are trapped in a time loop along with alien explorer Malikai (Robin Mossley). The hapless trio must repeat and relive the same 10 hours over and over again--but only O'Neill and Teal'c are aware of what is happening. To end this agonizing cycle, our heroes struggle to decipher a cryptic message on an alien computer. (Trivia alert: Watch for the name of the author on the cover of O'Neill's book "Latin for Dummies"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A crystal skull, an alien artifact found in a Mayan pyramid, comes into the possession of Jackson (Michael Shanks)--who promplty vanishes from sight. Apparently the only hope for bringing Jackson back rests in the hands of his grandfather Nick (Jan Rubes), who, having been shunned by the scientific community after claiming to find the same crystal skull back in 1971, is currently in a mental institution. The plot thickens when Teal'c (Christopher Judge) becomes temporary cartetaker of the ubiquitous skull. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A cosmic flare send the Stargate thirty years back in time. Landing in a top-secret military facility, the SG-1 team must find the Stargate in order to return to 1999. They are aided by a young lieutenant (Aaron Pearl) who bears a strange likeness to Stargate Project head General Hammond (Don Davis). And along the way, the "aliens" are befriended by Michael (Alex Zahara) and Jenny (Amber Rothwell), a pair of Woodstock-bound hippies. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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