Michael Hunter Movies
For his sophomore effort, director Gary Ross re-teams with Tobey Maguire and William H. Macy, stars of his directorial debut Pleasantville, for this depression-era sports drama about the legendary racehorse, Seabiscuit. Unlike 1949's fictionalized The Story of Seabiscuit starring Shirley Temple, this version attempts to present a factual account of the story, which centers around the three men who saw the famed horse to victory. Jeff Bridges stars as Charles Howard, an entrepreneur who owns the unlikely racehorse. Howard teams with partially blind boxer-turned-jockey Red Pollard (Maguire in his first performance since annihilating the 2002 box-office in Spider-Man) and horse trainer Tom Smith (Chris Cooper fresh off his best-supporting actor Oscar for Adaptation). Together, the three work to help the famed horse to several symbolic victories that helped to inspire a downtrodden 1930s America. The supporting cast, headed by Macy, includes Elizabeth Banks (Spider-Man) and real-life jockeys Gary Stevens and Chris McCarron. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, (more)
Paul Verhoeven's American breakthrough film, Robocop, is an exceedingly violent blend of black comedy, science fiction, and crime thriller. Set in Detroit sometime in the near future, the film is about a policeman (Peter Weller) killed in the line of duty whom the department decides to resurrect as a half-human, half-robot supercop. The RoboCop is indestructible, and within a matter of weeks he has removed crime from the streets of Detroit. However, his human side is tortured by his past, and he wants revenge on the thugs who killed him. The film was later followed by two feature-length sequels and a live-action television series, neither of which were as successful as the original film. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, (more)
