Hannah Lochner Movies
A man learns about life and love from someone who has only so much of each to spare in this romantic comedy-drama. Jack (Freddie Prinze Jr.) is an advertising executive in his early Thirties who has grown jaded before his time; he devotes his life to his work but doesn't believe in it, and is trapped in a cycle of habits and routines. One day, Jack meets Jill (Taryn Manning), a beautiful young woman who clearly has no idea how to get around New York; Jack helps give her directions and is soon taken by her charm and enthusiasm for life, even if he's too cynical to share her sunny optimism. Learning that Jill needs a place to stay, Jack offers to let her stay at his place, and while the arrangement is meant to be platonic, it doesn't take long for a romance to blossom between them. Jill encourages them to develop a manifesto for responsible and compassionate living and Jack's heart begins to open up, but when Jill begins disappearing in the evenings he suspects that something is wrong. While Jack imagines at first that Jill's met someone else, the truth is more serious -- she's living with cystic fibrosis and despite regular treatments has only so much time left. Jack and Jill Vs. The World was written, produced and directed by Vanessa Parise, who also appears in the supporting cast with Robert Forster and Charles Martin Smith. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddie Prinze, Jr., Taryn Manning, (more)
A family discovers that their new apartment houses a sinister secret in director Melanie Orr's low-budget frightener. Upon discovering a newly renovated apartment in a beautiful Connecticut home, young parents Beth and Matt Winters were overjoyed. It seemed like the perfect place to start a family; their new downstairs neighbor Tyler Grant (Stephen Rea) has a young niece that's just about the same age as their six year old son Calvin, and the surroundings were nothing less than picture perfect. But things soon begin to look grim when Calvin grows restless and claims that monsters dwell in this home. At first, Beth writes off her son's stories as a mere figment of his overactive imagination. Later, when the evidence becomes too powerful to deny, the frightened parents must struggle to keep their family together while fighting against forces beyond human comprehension. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Rea, Hannah Lochner, (more)
Hollywood's hottest canine commodity has gotten hopelessly lost after wandering away from his master, and now the former movie star has become the beacon of hope for a small-town firehouse on the verge of collapse. Rex is the dog that every child in America has fallen in love with. A pompous A-list barker whose list of perks overshadows that of even the most esteemed Hollywood actor, Rex 's fate takes an unexpected turn when a skydiving stunt goes awry and his handlers assume that their cash-canine has perished as a result. Now, despite being very much alive, the former doggie diva has become just another mangy stray wandering the streets in search of a home. Lost in an unfamiliar city and pursued by animal control, Rex seeks refuge in a run down building that soon goes up in flames. Shane Fahey (Josh Hutcherson) is a rebellious preteen whose single-parent father, Connor (Bruce Greenwood), is struggling to care for his son and cope with the death of his brother, the former captain of the local fire department. Pressed with the responsibility of getting the crumbling inner-city fire house back in working order while helping his 12-year-old son deal with the untimely loss of a beloved family member, Connor just can't seem to convince Shane to keep his grades up and stop ditching school. Upon rescuing the unidentified Rex from the four-alarm blaze, Connor attempts to teach young Shane the meaning of responsibility by charging him with the task of locating the dog's owner. Despite an initial clash of personalities, the headstrong mutt and the disobedient adolescent soon form a strong bond. Subsequently adopted as the scrappy fire department's new mascot, Rex proves just the catalyst needed to reenergize the dejected firefighters and reform the once-tenuous bond between father and son. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Hutcherson, Bruce Greenwood, (more)
- 2006
- R
Academy Award-nominee Kathleen Quinlan stars in director Melanie Orr's grim tale of a mother and daughter who seek shelter in a home for abused women, only to discover that the woman in charge harbors a deadly secret. Mavis and Victoria were on the run from an abusive relationship when they wandered into the remote shelter run by matronly mother figure Bea (Quinlan). At first Bea was kind and compassionate, taking young Victoria under her wing as Mavis valiantly battled the demons of her past. But as time wore on Mavis began to sense something strange was happening between her daughter and Bea. Victoria was never a hostile girl, but these days she lashes out at her mother like never before. Upon learning that the women who previously checked into the farmhouse never checked out, Mavis realizes that Bea is attempting to brainwash Victoria into killing her own mother. With little time to spare before Victoria is completely lost, Mavis prepares to do battle with the psychotic Bea and escape from the farm before all hope is lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kathleen Quinlan, Ingrid Kavelaars, (more)
The feature-film debut of director Zack Snyder, Dawn of the Dead is a modern retelling of George Romero's 1978 horror classic, which was actually the second film in a trilogy that began with Night of the Living Dead and concluded with Day of the Dead. Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames star as two of the last remaining people on an earth that has been ravaged by flesh-eating zombies. After escaping to a shopping mall with a handful of other survivors, they decide that they only way to truly elude the approaching throng of undead is to somehow make their way to an island that is supposedly zombie-free. Jake Weber and Mekhi Phifer also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, (more)
Set in New York and New England (but filmed in Newfoundland), Behind the Red Door stars Kyra Sedgwick as Manhattan-based photographer Natalie Haddad, who enjoys success with her strangely gloomy and foreboding camerawork. When her agent and best friend Julia (Stockard Channing) arranges for her to accept a lucrative contract with a Boston ad agency, Natalie discovers that she will be working for her own gay brother Roy (Kiefer Sutherland), whom she hasn't seen in a decade. Although Roy is insufferably snobbish and manipulative, he manages to exert a curious control over Natalie, forcing her to confront several disturbing, long-suppressed memories of her past (shown in black-and-white flashbacks). Before the film is over, Natalie is made to realize why Roy's behavior is so overbearing -- and also, the viewer learns just how intimately Julia is involved in the lives of both siblings. Underwritten by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation as part of an ongoing program to heighten HIV/AIDS awareness, Behind the Red Door made its Showtime cable-network bow on January 12, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kyra Sedgwick, Kiefer Sutherland, (more)
It was certainly no coincidence that the made-for-cable historical film The Pentagon Papers was timed for released just when America was poised to wrestle with the question as to whether or not the President had the right to declare war on Iraq without full congressional and/or United Nations approval. The film covers several decades in the life of Harvard graduate Daniel Ellsberg (James Spader), who as a Pentagon official during two presidential administrations regards himself as patriotic as the next fellow. According to the unabashedly slanted teleplay by Jason Horwitch, it is this sense of patriotism that compels Ellsberg to release a 7,000-page classified report to The New York Times and The Washington Post, revealing that the official story of America's "success" in Vietnam was both exaggerated and distorted, and that the public has been egregiously misled for years. As a result of this act, Ellsberg, whose family life has already been destroyed by his devotion to his work, faces charges of treason from the Nixon administration. Ironically, it is Nixon's reaction to Ellsberg's security breach which leads him to create his team of gap-stopping "plumbers" -- who would of course bring about the President's downfall with the Watergate scandal. Surprisingly, The Pentagon Papers premiered March 9, 2003, over the FX network, a cable service owned by the markedly conservative Rupert Murdoch. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In the tradition of Arthur Miller's McCarthy-era play The Crucible, this two-part TV dramatization of the Salem Witch Trials was heavily influenced by the present-day political scene. Rev. Parris (Henry Czerny), spiritual leader of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692, needs a unifying issue to end the intramural squabbling between the town's Puritans. When the daughters of Ann and Thomas Putnam (Kirstie Alley and Jay O. Sanders) begin behaving in a bizarre, disruptive fashion, Parris knows that he has found something that can be transformed into a target of unilateral hatred for his flock. Before long, the Putnam girls and the family's servant Titubea (Gloria Reuben) have been labeled as witches, and eventually the hysteria spreads throughout the town, with anyone who doesn't agree with the status quo running the risk of public ostracism, and ultimately, execution for witchcraft (the eventual fate of 20 unfortunates). The climax is devoted to the notorious witch trials, staged at the behest of the Massachusetts colony's politically ambitious deputy governor (Peter Ustinov). Shirley MacLaine makes a rare TV appearance as the ill-fated Rebecca Nurse. Salem Witch Trials was presented by CBS on March 2 and 4, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirstie Alley, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
- 2003
Joely Fisher starred in this weekly, hour-long drama series as Zoe Busiek, a professional blackjack dealer. After her sister Sue was killed in a car chase, Zoe left Vegas, returning to her hometown to care for Sue's three children. Here she came face-to-face with a disreputable insurance company who refused to honor Sue's policy and provide for her kids. This experience led Zoe into a whole new career as a full-time insurance-fraud investigator, with all the adventure and mystery attending this job. Also starring Rae Dawn Chong and Chris Potter, Wild Card premiered August 2, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joely Fisher, Rae Dawn Chong, (more)
In June of 2002, 13-year-old Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped from her own bedroom in Salt Lake City, a crime witnessed by her younger sister Mary Katherine. The desperate search for Elizabeth evolved into a gigantic media event, as her anguished parents combined forces with the authorities -- and a number of top-rated cable talk show hosts -- to follow any lead, big or small, that would help them find their daughter. Eight months into the girl's disappearance, hopes for her safety were growing dim -- until, miraculously, she was spotted only a short distance from her home, accompanied by a pair of bizarre and seriously disturbed personalities, Brian David "Emmanuel" Mitchell and Wanda Barzee. Originally telecast November 9, 2003, by CBS, the made-for-TV Elizabeth Smart: The Long Way Home is divided into two plains of action: the ordeal of the abducted Elizabeth and her uncanny ability to keep her wits and optimism intact despite the ever-growing possibility that she would never see her parents again; and the dogged determination of Elizabeth's parents Ed and Lois, who against all odds, never gave up hope that their daughter was still alive and well. Released shortly after Elizabeth's rescue, the film could have been cheap and exploitive, but was admirably produced and very well acted, especially by Amber Marshall as Elizabeth, Dylan Baker and Hannah Lochner as her parents, and Tom Everett and Hollis McLaren as her captors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dylan Baker, Lindsay Frost, (more)
In the year 2068, the Earth's surface is in a cataclysmic upheaval, much of it transformed into wasteland by unstoppable storms (the byproduct, of course, of the destruction of the Ozone Layer). A few hardy souls have dedicated themselves to preserving and protecting what is left of mankind; among these is former Army Captain John Thomas Garth (Grant Show). Approached by Lapierre (Steve Bacic), a former comrade in arms and now in the employ of grasping eco-profiteer Anton Reich (Art Hindle), Garth is made an offer he can't refuse. In exchange for the opportunity to save his father and several other apocalypse survivors, Reich agrees to lead a small team of mercenaries into the near-impenetrable Vincent estate to "liberate" the priceless works of art that had been stored there before civilization collapsed. Accompanied by reconnaissance specialist Fernandez (Naomi Gaskin), sniper King (Matthew G. Taylor), and tech genius Ebershaw (Wayne Ward), Garth must find some way to circumvent Encrypt, the deadly computerized security system surrounding the estate. Other obstacles include the Rook, a human-destroying robot, and Diana (Vivian Wu), the holographic security chief at the estate -- and a double danger because she possesses not only the means of mass destruction, but also a conscience. A two-hour cable movie that has "series pilot" written all over it, Encrypt premiered June 14, 2003, on the Sci-Fi Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Grant Show, Vivian Wu, (more)
- 2002
- Add The Interrogation of Michael Crowe to QueueAdd The Interrogation of Michael Crowe to top of Queue
Based on a true story, this made-for-cable drama focuses on the plight of 14-year-old Michael Crowe (Mark Rendall). When his younger sister is found murdered in her bed, Michael is accused of the crime and hauled into the local police station. After a grueling interrogation, the cops manage to coerce a confession out of the beleaguered boy. Michael's mother, Cheryl (Ally Sheedy), together with a small band of sympathizers, desperately takes on "the System" to fight for the boy's fundamental legal rights. The Interrogation of Michael Crowe debuted December 4, 2002, as one of several reality-based movies produced for the Court TV cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ally Sheedy, Mark Rendall, (more)
The setting for this nail-biting thriller is a snowbound rural airport. A group of outer-space aliens, disguised as human, take over the airport, in preparation of conquering the earth. The fate of mankind ultimately rests in the hands of two others trapped in the terminal: a fiercely combative female pilot named Cathy Garrett (Chase Masterson), and convicted murderer Jack (Bruce Campbell). The only problem is, with the aliens totally camouflaged as earthlings, no one can tell the good guys from the bad. Filmed under the title The Devil's Pass, Terminal Invasion made its American cable-TV premiere via the Sci-Fi Channel on September 14, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Campbell, Chase Masterson, (more)
