Daveigh Chase Movies
Whether scaring the wits out of audiences as Samara in
The Ring or lending her voice to more family-friendly fare such as
Lilo & Stitch and the American release of
Spirited Away, young
Daveigh Chase had already experienced a rich and diverse career in Hollywood by the tender age of 12. Born in Los Angeles on July 24, 1990, young
Chase was a mere three-years-old when she first began to show signs of inherent musical talent. Repeating the notes in pitch-perfect form when a piano tuner came to their house,
Chase soon aspired to perform like the kids in the Barney videos that her parents had purchased for her. The following year, young
Chase entered the Little Miss America Pageant, and though she didn't come away with top prize in the end, a subsequent win in a national vocal competition and dance contest gave her the confidence needed to keep chasing her dreams. Next appearing in a commercial for Campbell's Soup,
Chase's vocal performances at the Timber Carnival and Oregon Jamboree eventually resulted in her taking the lead role in a play in St. George, UT -- a role that caught the eye of Disney scouts and eventually led to her casting in the animated hit
Lilo & Stitch.
Following an early television appearance on Sabrina the Teenage Witch in 1998,
Chase's film career began to gain momentum. Though she would appear in a few minor roles in 2000, it was the following year that proved to be her breakthrough. With roles in
Donnie Darko,
A.I., and voice work as the young protagonist in
Spirited Away,
Chase was ready to take on Hollywood. Though her ability to alternate between haunted and humorous was a main reason for her casting in
Lilo & Stitch, audiences would truly find out how haunting she could be in the flesh with the American remake of the breakthrough Japanese horror film
The Ring. That same year,
Chase would flee a tsunami of rodents in the made-for-television chiller
Rats, and it seemed by now that she was truly coming into her own as a notable screen presence. After returning to voice work in
Stitch! The Movie and the television series The Adventures of Lilo & Stitch (both 2003),
Chase could be spotted in
Big Paw: Beethoven 5, The Haunted Lighthouse, and the television series
Oliver Beene. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

- 2009
-
- Add Big Love: Season 03 to Queue
Add Big Love: Season 03 to top of Queue
Lies told, secrets kept and truths revealed make for a riveting third season of Big Love, the critically acclaimed HBO drama about your average American polygamous family. As the season opens, the Henricksons are still reeling from publicity generated by the U.S. government's raid on the Juniper Creek compound, and worrying that Nikki's association with the now imprisoned Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton) will reveal their closely guarded secret. Their exclusion from a neighborhood block party seems to confirm their fears, and only the quick thinking of Nikki (Chloë Sevigny) at the event saves them from disaster. However, Nikki has secrets of her own. She's working at the DA's office under Margene's name to find out information about Roman's upcoming trial. And she's letting the family think she's having fertility issues while secretly taking the pill. Both deceptions place her marriage to Bill (Bill Paxton) in jeopardy. Meanwhile, Sarah (Amanda Seyfried) hides her pregnancy and makes plans to get away from her family after learning they're considering taking on Ana (Branka Katic) as a fourth wife. But Sarah's condition is not something she's able to hide for long. Meanwhile, "boss lady" Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) has troubles of her own. After enduring a cancer scare, she must defend herself in front of a Mormon disciplinary council for her polygamous lifestyle-but not before undergoing a sacred Mormon ceremony shown in a controversial episode. Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) shows her independent side and begins a new business venture. Tragedy strikes for Bill's brother Joey (Shawn Doyle) and his already troubled family. As for the Henrickson patriarch, Bill finds his efforts to launch the casino continually thwarted. But soon a new opportunity shows itself. Season 3 guest stars include Ellen Burstyn as Barb's loving but disapproving mother. ~ Dianne Zoccola, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, (more)

- 2009
- R
- Add S. Darko to Queue
Add S. Darko to top of Queue
Daveigh Chase reprises her role as Samantha Darko in this sequel set seven years after the events of director Richard Kelly's acclaimed cult hit. The day Donnie Darko died, his family died too. Almost a decade later, eighteen year old Sam still feels the loss every day. She longs to become a professional dancer, and decides to take a road trip to California with her best friend Corey (Briana Evigan). When their car breaks down just outside the dusty small town of Conejo Springs, carefree Corey bides her time waiting for a new water pump to arrive by striking up a friendship with local bad boy Randy Holt (Ed Westwick). The following morning, a meteor crashes to the ground nearby, destroying a local farmer's windmill and leaving a gaping crater in the ground. In the aftermath of that unsettling incident, Sam's disturbing prophetic dreams seem to start spilling over into the real world. Could the people around her prove the key to unlocking this unearthly mystery? Unfortunately for Sam, religious fanatics Trudy Potter (Elizabeth Berkley) and Pastor John Mellit (Matthew Davis) seem more interested in spouting religious clichés that pondering the end of the world, and Randy and the locals are too busy partying to notice that events are coming to a head. When the locals begin to gossip, Sam and Corey's friendship starts to suffer, and the pair have a bitter falling out. Unaware of the fact that they have become inexorably bound by fate to a missing child, an unstable Gulf War veteran, and a mysterious rift in the time-space continuum, the former friends discover that the world will soon perish unless a substantial sacrifice is made. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Daveigh Chase, Briana Evigan, (more)

- 2007
-
- Add Big Love: Season 02 to Queue
Add Big Love: Season 02 to top of Queue
The critically acclaimed hit series, Big Love, returns for its second break-out season. Bill Henrickson works hard and plays by the rules. All he wants in return is a happy, secure, normal life for his family. Is that too much to ask? Maybe so. For a polygamist like Bill, the American Dream comes with strings attached. Season 2 opens with even more drama, as Bill's mission to learn who tipped off the authorities and exposed first wife, Barb, as a polygamist escalates. Not surprisingly, his search will lead him to the polygamist compound of Juniper Creek where his primary suspect is Roman Grant. Bill contemplates changes in his personal and professional life that promise to impact every member of his family.
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- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, (more)

- 2006
-
- Add Big Love: Season 01 to Queue
Add Big Love: Season 01 to top of Queue
Meet the Henricksons. They're the typical suburban American family, occupied with hectic schedules and bills to pay, as well as trying to make sense of an increasingly complicated world. Oh, and they also happen to be polygamists. In the first season of this unconventional, critically acclaimed drama, every day is a new adventure for patriarch Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton), who lives outside Salt Lake City with his three wives -- Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), Nicki (Chloë Sevigny) and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) -- and their collective brood of seven children, including Bill and Barb's teenagers, Ben (Douglas Smith) and Sarah (Amanda Seyfried). Owner of a profitable home-improvement superstore, Bill is anxious to expand his empire (and support his growing family) by opening another Home Plus location with his business partner and fellow polygamist, Don Embry (Joel McKinnon Miller). However, an unwanted investor hoping to share in Bill's good fortune emerges: Roman Grant (Harry Dean Stanton), the scheming "Prophet" of the remote Juniper Creek polygamist compound who is also Nicki's father. There's been bad blood between Bill and Roman ever since the former was expelled from Juniper Creek as an adolescent, largely by the latter's hand. Bill also clashes with Adaleen (Mary Kay Place), one of Roman's wives, and their power-hungry son and chief enforcer, Alby (Matt Ross). But Bill is not alone in this feud, as his father Frank (Bruce Dern), mother Lois (Grace Zabriskie) and brother Joey (Shawn Doyle) still live at Juniper Creek and identify, to varying degrees of familial allegiance, with Bill's enmity for Roman. On the home front, third wife Margene risks exposing the Henricksons' illicit lifestyle by befriending a Mormon neighbor; Nicki tries to hide a shopping addiction and the tens of thousands of dollars of credit-card debt that goes with it; and Barb tiptoes into the spotlight after one of her kids nominates her for Utah's Mother of the Year award. ~ Joe Friedrich, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, (more)

- 2006
- G
- Add Leroy & Stitch to Queue
Add Leroy & Stitch to top of Queue
Walt Disney's beloved space alien finds that his adventure has only begin when Dr. Hamsterviel breaks out of prison and creates an army of evil Stitch twins in a nefarious attempt to overthrow the universe. Having been rewarded for capturing all 625 experiments by being allowed to choose precisely where they want to reside in the galaxy, Lilo, Stitch, Pleakley, and Jumba are soon troubled to discover that the devious Dr. Hamsterviel has escaped the confines of prison and forced Jumba to create Leroy -- a troublesome doppelganger of Stitch with an unquenchable appetite for destruction. When Dr. Hamsterviel begins to clone Leroy in hopes of creating a powerful army with which to rule the stars, Lilo, Stitch, and the rest of the gang must come together to conquer an enemy whose strength lies in numbers and defeat the dreaded doctor once and for all. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, (more)

- 2005
- PG13
- Add The Ring Two to Queue
Add The Ring Two to top of Queue
A terrifying legacy haunts a single mother in this sequel to the frightening box-office hit The Ring. Hoping to leave their terrifying experiences in Seattle behind them, Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) and her son, Aidan (David Dorfman), move to the small town of Astoria, OR, where Rachel takes a job writing for the local newspaper. When Rachel learns of an unexplained murder, which occurred after a teenager watched a strange videotape with his girlfriend, she suspects her past is following her and she begins looking into the case. Rachel believes that the otherworldly Samara has come back; however, as she tries to convince others of the young girl's powers, her own son falls ill and is hospitalized, and Rachel's stories fail to convince either Dr. Emma Temple (Elizabeth Perkins), who suspects Rachel is guilty of child abuse, or David Rourke (Simon Baker), one of Rachel's colleagues who fears for Aidan's safety. Also starring Sissy Spacek, The Ring 2 was directed by Hideo Nakata; it was the first English-language project for the Japanese filmmaker, who previously made Ringu, the picture that was the basis for The Ring. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Naomi Watts, Simon Baker, (more)

- 2004
- PG13
- Add Carolina to Queue
Add Carolina to top of Queue
Dutch filmmaker Marleen Gorris directs the romantic comedy Carolina, written by Los Angeles-based screenwriter Katherine Fugate. Julia Stiles stars as Carolina Mirabeau, a young woman who grows up in an eccentric southern family. She and her two sisters -- Georgia (Azura Skye) and Maine (Mika Boorem) -- have been raised by their well-meaning if meddling grandmother (Shirley MacLaine). Carolina's family seems to think that she should marry the novelist Albert (Alessandro Nivola), whom she has known since childhood. However, when she starts dating the well-to-do Heath (Edward Atterton), Albert becomes very jealous. Carolina has to choose which man she wants without letting her grandmother take over. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Julia Stiles

- 2003
-
This weekly, half-hour cartoon series was not only a spin-off of the Disney animated feature Lilo & Stitch, but also more directly a continuation of the direct-to-video Stitch! The Movie. Lilo is a cute little Hawaiian girl who befriends Stitch, ostensibly a "dog" but actually a multi-talented alien, the result of a once-evil scientist's lab experiment. The TV series version finds Lilo and Stitch teaming up to track down some 625 similar alien experiments, whose special skills bade fare to plunge the world into hilarious chaos. Lilo & Stitch: The Series joined ABC's Saturday morning lineup on September 20, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, (more)

- 2003
- PG13
- Add The Only Witness to Queue
Add The Only Witness to top of Queue
Tom Whitus' thriller Dead Silence begins with when Rachel Pressman (Daveigh Chase) sees a murder. Cop Steve Banks (Vincent Spano) and psychiatrist Dr. Julie Craig (Kristy Swanson) are former lovers, and they are responsible for keeping Rachel safe and helping her testify. The murder, however, appears to be part of a complicated conspiracy involving powerful politicians. Soon, it becomes apparent that the girl's life is more endangered than anyone realized. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Kristy Swanson, Vincent Spano, (more)

- 2003
- G
- Add Beethoven's 5th to Queue
Add Beethoven's 5th to top of Queue
Taking over the reins of the venerable Beethoven franchise, John Laroquette headlines this family-oriented comedy about the further adventures of the world's most meddlesome Saint Bernard. In this installment, it seems as though Beethoven has dug up the first part of a buried fortune, and his discovery has made him the center of attention in the normally sleepy burgh of Quicksilver. Lilo and Stitch's Daveigh Chase co-stars as Beethoven's best friend Sara, who brings him to the small town to visit her uncle Fred (Dave Thomas) when all the commotion starts. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
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- Starring:
- John Larroquette, Faith Ford, (more)

- 2003
- G
- Add Stitch! The Movie to Queue
Add Stitch! The Movie to top of Queue
The original voice cast of Lilo & Stitch returns for this direct-to-video sequel, which follows the further adventures of Stitch (aka Experiment 626) and his new surrogate family in Hawaii. It seems that Dr. Jumba (David Ogden Stiers) has brought his other 625 experiments to Earth, and now it's up to Stitch and company to make sure the villainous Dr. Hamsterviel (Jeff Bennett) doesn't get his hands on them. Among Stitch's potential new friends are Experiment 221, a havoc-wreaking electrical being, and Experiment 624, a lazy creature who enjoys making sandwiches. ~ Skyler Miller, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Chris Sanders, Daveigh Chase, (more)

- 2003
-
The Wonder Years met Malcolm in the Middle in this Fox network sitcom set in the early '60s. Grant Rosenmeyer starred as 11-year-old Oliver Beene, a budding intellectual and inveterate cut-up mired in a world of eccentric relatives, spiteful teachers, and mercurial females. Oliver's dad, Jerry (Grant Shaud), was a dentist who liked to spend his off-hours either drilling teeth for fun or talking about it; his mom, Charlotte (Wendy Makkena), was a neat-freak who wished she was Jackie Kennedy; and his brother, Ted (Andrew Lawrence), was a self-involved sports nut, his ear perennially glued to his transistor radio. Things weren't much better at school, where Oliver was bedeviled by venom-spouting teacher Mrs. Heller (Annie Korzen), ardently pursued by moonstruck classmate Joyce (Daveigh Chase), and studiously ignored by red-haired beauty Bonnie (Amy Castle). On the other hand, Oliver enjoyed the company of his best friends, chubby Neal (Ben Bookbinder) and closeted-homosexual Michael (Taylor Emerson). Like The Wonder Years, this series was narrated from the vantage point of the future by the leading character. Oliver Beene debuted March 9, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Grant Rosenmeyer, Grant Shaud, (more)

- 2003
-

- 2002
- PG13
- Add The Ring to Queue
Add The Ring to top of Queue
A disturbing videotape appears to hold the power of life and death over those who view it in this offbeat thriller. A strange videotape begins making the rounds in a town in the Pacific Northwest; it is full of bizarre and haunting images, and after watching it, many viewers receive a telephone call in which they are warned they will die in seven days. A handful of teenagers who watched the tape while spending a weekend at a cabin in the mountains scoff at the threat, but as predicted, they all die suddenly on the same night. Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts), the aunt of one of the ill-fated teens, is a journalist who has decided to investigate the matter and travels West with her young son, Aidan (David Dorfman), a troubled child who has been drawing pictures of strange and ominous visions. Rachel managed to find the cabin in the woods and watches the video herself; afterward, she receives the same phone call, and realizes she must solve the puzzle of the video and the person or persons behind it within a week. Rachel turns to her ex, Noah (Martin Henderson), an expert in video technology, who at first is convinced the story is a hoax until he digs deeper into the mystery. The Ring was adapted from a 1996 Japanese film by Hideo Nakata, which became a massive box-office success in Asia and spawned two sequels. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Naomi Watts, Martin Henderson, (more)

- 2002
- R
- Add Rats to Queue
Add Rats to top of Queue
Initially titled The Colony, this made-for-TV thriller offers the nightmarish scenario of thousands upon thousands of verminous rats swarming over a posh Manhattan department store. Inevitably, the dirty rodents threaten the entire city, and it is up to such hardy souls as hero Jack (Vincent Spano) and heroine Susan (Madchen Amick) to prevent this catastrophe. As The Rats, the film was originally slated for broadcast on September 17, 2001. For reasons that should be obvious, the Fox Network felt it would be more diplomatic to shelve the film for a while--for 367 days, to be exact, so it would not appear to be a tasteless exploitation of the first "9.11" anniversary. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Daveigh Chase, Shawn Michael Howard, (more)

- 2002
-
A freewheeling animated spoof of the "hard-boiled private eye" school of fiction, Fillmore revolves around the adventures of seventh grader Cornelius Fillmore, a safety monitor in an extremely accident-prone middle school. Under the guidance of safety chief Vellejo, and with the help of sidekick Ingrid Third, Fillmore wages endless war against those who would despoil the sacred walls of learning with graffiti, or who would leave oil-soaked rags in the vicinity of matches, or who would operate a baseball-card black market threatening the financial well-being of his fellow students. As in most cartoon series of the era, this one abounds in pop-culture spoofs, notably a Silence of the Lambs takeoff involving a grafitti artist who'd been sentenced to permanent detention. Created by Scott Gimple of Disney's Pepper Ann fame, Fillmore joined the ABC Saturday-morning lineup on September 14, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Orlando Brown, Tara Strong, (more)

- 2002
- PG
- Add Lilo & Stitch to Queue
Add Lilo & Stitch to top of Queue
A lonely little girl makes a very unusual friend -- a ukulele-playing alien who likes to toss around small automobiles -- in this antic animated comedy from Walt Disney Studios. Lilo (voice of Daveigh Chase) is a young Hawaiian girl being raised by her teenaged sister Nani (voice of Tia Carrere) after the unexpected death of their parents in an auto accident. While Nani tries to hold their household together, Lilo is a child with unusual interests and a distinctive sense of humor, which makes it hard for her to bond with her peers, as well as her big sister. Nani decides Lilo might be happier if she had a pet, so the sisters go to the animal shelter to adopt a dog; however, the critter which catches Lilo's fancy is a fuzzy blue creature she names Stitch (voice of Chris Sanders). Nani isn't so sure Stitch is really a dog, and it turns out she's right; Stitch is actually "Genetic Experiment 626," a mutation created by extraterrestrial mad scientist Dr. Jumba (voice of David Ogden Stiers) to be used a weapon. Stitch is an intelligent but gleefully destructive little creature with superhuman strength who has escaped to Earth and crash-landed in the Hawaiian islands, but Lilo sees him simply as a fellow misfit and attempts to teach him to behave like her favorite American icon, Elvis Presley. Meanwhile, Nani struggles to keep Lilo and Stitch on their best behavior as stern social worker Cobra Bubbles (voice of Ving Rhames) tries to determine if Nani is fit to raise a child, while Dr. Jumba and Pleakley (voice of Kevin McDonald) attempt to capture "Experiment 626" and bring him back home. Chris Sanders, who provides the voice of Stitch, also co-wrote and co-directed the film, which features numerous Elvis Presley tunes on the soundtrack, as well as a new recording of "Burning Love" by country star Wynonna. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Daveigh Chase, Chris Sanders, (more)

- 2001
-
Gloria (Valerie Bertinelli) tries to help Nick Albright (Ross Malinger), a troubled teen whose family is going through bankruptcy and a marital breakup just before Thanksgiving. Seeking a way to escape his problems, Nick heads to a popular Rave called Heaven's Portal, and Gloria tags along. So far so good: But in her zeal to "empathize" with Nick, Gloria ends up taking the dangerous drug Ecstacy, naively taking Nick's word that the experience will bring her closer to God! Now Monica (Roma Downey) must team with Nick's mother Jessica (Stephanie Zimbalist) to rescue both the boy and the nearly-fallen angel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 2001
- PG13
- Add A.I.: Artificial Intelligence to Queue
Add A.I.: Artificial Intelligence to top of Queue
Based on the 1969 short story Super-Toys Last All Summer Long, by Brian Aldiss, this science fiction fantasy bears similarities to Pinocchio (1940) and originated as a long-gestating project of director Stanley Kubrick that passed to his friend Steven Spielberg after Kubrick's death. Haley Joel Osment stars as David, a "mecha" or robot of the future, when the polar ice caps have melted and submerged many coastal cities, causing worldwide starvation and human dependence upon robotic assistance. The first mecha designed to experience love, David is the "son" of Henry (Sam Robards), an employee of the company that built the boy, and the grief-stricken Monica (Frances O'Connor). David is meant to replace the couple's hopelessly comatose son, but when their natural child recovers, David is abandoned and sets out to become "a real boy" worthy of his mother's affection. Along the way, David is mentored by a pleasure-providing mecha named Gigolo Joe (Jude Law) and a talking "super toy" bear named Teddy. His adventures take him to the Roman Circus-style "Flesh Fair," where mechas are destroyed for the amusement of humans; Rouge City, where Gigolo Joe narrowly avoids capture by police; and finally a submerged New York City, where David's creator, Professor Hobby (William Hurt) reveals the secrets of the boy's creation. Brendan Gleeson and narrator Ben Kingsley co-star in A.I., which was adapted from Kubrick's treatment by Spielberg, in his first crack at screenwriting since Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, (more)

- 2001
- R
- Add Donnie Darko to Queue
Add Donnie Darko to top of Queue
Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a bright and charming high-school student who also has a dark and willfully eccentric side; he does little to mask his contempt for many of his peers and enjoys challenging the authority of the adults around him. Donnie is also visited on occasion by Frank, a monstrous six-foot rabbit that only Donnie can see who often urges him to perform dangerous and destructive pranks. Late one night, Frank leads Donnie out of his home to inform him that the world will come to an end in less than a month; moments later, the engine of a jet aircraft comes crashing through the ceiling of Donnie's room, making him think there might be something to Frank's prophesies after all. The rest of Donnie's world is only marginally less bizarre, as he finds himself dealing with his confused parents (Mary McDonnell and Holmes Osborne), his college-age sister (Maggie Gyllenhaal), his perplexed analyst (Katherine Ross), a rebellious English teacher (Drew Barrymore), a sleazy self-help expert (Patrick Swayze), and the new girl at school who is attracted by Donnie's quirks (Jena Malone). Donnie Darko was the first feature film from writer and director Richard Kelly; Drew Barrymore, who plays teacher Karen Pomeroy, also lent her support to the project as executive producer. A director's cut played in select theaters on a limited basis in the summer of 2004, featuring original music cues and trimmed scenes originally in Kelly's first cut of the film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, (more)

- 2001
- PG
- Add Spirited Away to Queue
Add Spirited Away to top of Queue
Master animation director Hayao Miyazaki follows up on his record-breaking 1997 opus Princess Mononoke with this surreal Alice in Wonderland-like tale about a lost little girl. The film opens with ten-year-old Chihiro riding along during a family outing as her father races through remote country roads. When they come upon a blocked tunnel, her parents decide to have a look around -- even though Chihiro finds the place very creepy. When they pass through the tunnel, they discover an abandoned amusement park. As Chihiro's bad vibes continue, her parents discover an empty eatery that smells of fresh food. After her mother and father help themselves to some tasty purloined morsels, they turn into giant pigs. Chihiro understandably freaks out and flees. She learns that this very weird place, where all sorts of bizarre gods and monsters reside, is a holiday resort for the supernatural after their exhausting tour of duty in the human world. Soon after befriending a boy named Haku, Chihiro learns the rules of the land: one, she must work , as laziness of any kind is not tolerated; and two, she must take on the new moniker of Sen. If she forgets her real name, Haku tells her, then she will never be permitted to leave. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Daveigh Chase, Rumi Hiiragi, (more)

- 2000
-
Worn out after his first night shift since returning to the ER, Carter (Noah Wyle) is summoned back to assist in Chen's (Ming-Na) delivery. Meanwhile, the people who want to adopt Chen's baby have reason to suspect that she'll renege on the agreement. Later, Abby (Maura Tierney) and Carter share their experiences with substance abuse after he toys with the notion of using a stimulant to stay awake. And in other developments, Greene (Anthony Edwards) is in New York, hoping to find someone that can treat his brain tumor; Kynesha (Toy Connor) continues hiding out from her would-be assassin with the help of Benton (Eriq La Salle) and Finch (Michael Michele); and Weaver (Laura Innes) is startled by a spontaneous act of affection -- from another woman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1999
-
Although actor-director-producer Michael Landon died of pancreatic cancer in 1991, his life and career remained indelibly etched on the collective consciousness of America for many years afterward, as witness this warts-and-all TV biopic written and directed by Michael Landon Jr. Although it is clear throughout that the younger Landon loved and adored his father, the film is unstinting in its depiction of the emotional damage wrought upon the boy when, at age 15, his parents were divorced. In fact, it is the elder Landon's infidelities (and his almost casual selfishness) that galvanize the storyline, creating a schism between father and son that would not be repaired until the two Landons came to terms during Michael Sr.'s long and painful terminal illness. To be fair, the film allows Michael Sr. to score points vis-à-vis his tireless dedication to his work and his sincere efforts to be a loving and protective father to his enormous family. John Schneider is cast as the elder Landon, with Joel Berti as the adult Michael Jr., Cheryl Ladd as his mother (and his dad's second wife) Lynn, and Julie Condra as Michael Sr's third wife Cindy, a makeup artist whom the actor had met on the set of Little House on the Prairie (is it any surprise that Lynn comes off far more sympathetically than Cindy in the context of the film?) Michael Landon, the Father I Knew premiered May 23, 1999 on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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