Marty Papazian Movies
This horror film focuses on a rogue weapons research scientist who, after losing his project to a shut-down by the American military, sets up camp in the Belzan forest of Chechnya. A team of hardcore Deltas are making their way through the wilderness to find the doctor's lab before the Russians do, but they're confronted by unanticipated terror when they run up against the scientist's project: a massive cloud of bloodthirsty bats. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Chokachi, Michael Jace, (more)
Blockbuster action director Michael Bay delivers a striking look at a strange world of the future in this sci-fi action drama. Midway through the 21st century, Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) lives in a confined indoor community after ongoing abuse of the Earth has rendered most of the planet uninhabitable. One of the only places in the outside world still capable of sustaining life is an idyllic island where citizens are chosen to live through a lottery. Or at least that's what Lincoln and his fellow citizens are taught to believe; the truth is that Lincoln, like everyone he knows, is actually a clone who is kept under wraps to provide needed organs when the person who supplied his or her DNA falls ill. When he becomes aware that his existence is a fraud, Lincoln escapes to the outside world with a fellow clone, Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson), though the powers that be are determined to see that no one gets away alive. The Island also stars Steve Buscemi, Djimon Hounsou, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Sean Bean. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, (more)
A young man gets a crash course in the madness of war in this fact-based drama from director Sam Mendes. Anthony "Swoff" Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) decides to join the Marines, just like his father and his father before him, and signs on just in time to be sent to Iraq to fight in the Gulf War in 1991. After experiencing the rigors of boot camp, Swofford and his pal Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) are trained to be snipers, and under the leadership of Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx) and Lt. Col. Kazinski (Chris Cooper), the two land in the middle of a desert where they're up against an enemy they can't always see under a blazing sun with hours of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Swofford, Troy, and their fellow soldiers rely on the wits, their sense of humor, and their friendship of their brothers in arms to deal with a situation that doesn't much resemble what they saw on television at home. Jarhead was based on the memoirs of the real-life Anthony Swofford, who did serve as a sniper in the 1991 Gulf War; the title comes from military slang for a Marine enlistee. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, (more)
- 2005
This Hallmark Channel TV movie is one of a series starring John Larroquette as McBride (no first name), a hard-nosed cop turned compassionate defense lawyer, specializing in "lost causes." Serving on a jury in the trial of Claire Harriman (Paula Trickey), McBride is not persuaded that Claire attempted to poison her business-tycoon husband. Though the proceedings end in a mistrial, Claire's reputation is in tatters, and she turns to Bride in hopes of proving her innocence during the inevitable retrial. Although it turns out that practically everyone who knew Claire's late husband--especially the members of his immediately family--had ample motive and opportunity to bump him off, McBride begins to wonder if he has allowed his heart to rule his head, and that Claire may just be guilty after all. McBride: Murder Past Midnight initially aired February 4, 2005. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
An epic-Western in the grand tradition, the made-for-cable The Trail to Hope Rose stars Lou Diamond Phillips as Keenan Deerfield, a half-Indian outlaw just released from prison. Determined to start life anew, Keenan takes a grueling rock-mining job in a town controlled by the odious Driggers family, headed by flint-eyed patriarch Samuel Drigger (Warren Stevens), with the coldblooded Gerald Rutledge (Richard Tyson) as the family's chief henchman. Keenan's fellow workers are treated like slaves and forced to live in squalor, but none dare complain lest they meet with one of the many convient "accidents" that have befallen anyone who dares stand up to the Driggers. With stoic fortitude, Keenan waits for the right moment to strike a blow for justice, benefiting from the moral support of the town's honest but ineffectual Marshal Toll (Lee Majors) and good-natured farmer Eugene Lawson (Ernest Borgnine). The plot thickens when Keenan falls in love with Gerald's "woman," the pregnant Christine Beckford (Marina Black), and when one of Keenan's past associates, A.J. Foster (David Shackelford), rides into town intent upon stealing the Drigger mine's payroll. The rather endearing old-fashioned quality of the film is enhanced by the location-shooting at the Paramount Ranch, a reconstructed western town in Agoura, CA. The Trail to Hope Rose first aired July 4, 2004, on the Hallmark channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernest Borgnine, Lou Diamond Phillips, (more)
- 2001
To escape his enormous gambling debts, the highly unlikable Reese Williams (Marc Singer) decides to fake his own death, with the help of his long-suffering wife, Katie (Michele Greene). Once Reese is safely "deceased," Katie will fall heir to a five-million-dollar insurance policy, which will help the couple square their debts and start a new life elsewhere. But can it be that the scheme has not gone the way it was supposed to -- and that Reese is dead for real? Reese's sister-in-law Ginny (Veronica Hamel) may or may not be able to provide the answers to insurance investigators Logan (William Katt) and Mac (George Dzundza), one of whom has fallen in love with Katie. Though innumerable clues are adroitly planted along the way, the outcome of the story remains a jaw-dropping surprise. Originally intended for theatrical release, Determination of Death was not seen until its premiere on German television in 2002; thereafter, the film was added to the "Monday Night Movie" rotation on the American Lifetime cable channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
One family's dysfunctional nature begins to rise to the surface in this independent drama. The Sabistan family would appear to have it made; Earl (Robert Pine) and Jane (Janet Carroll) have had a long and seemingly happy marriage, and their three grown daughters -- Beth (Kellie Martin), Missy (Amy Raymond), and Faran (Kayren Ann Butler) -- have found success in their respective careers. But when they all gather together to celebrate Thanksgiving, Earl drops a bombshell on his family; he announces he's no longer happy with Jane and has decided to file for divorce. The surprise announcement forces Jane to reveal a secret of her own -- that she's developed a serious drinking problem. As Beth tries to make sense of all this, she discovers that her sisters have been keeping quiet about problems of their own; Missy's marriage to Todd (Jeff Robert Werner) is falling apart now that he's no longer attracted to her, and Faran has reason to believe that her spouse Roger (Chris Shea) is having an affair. All You Need was the first feature for director Randy Ser. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kellie Martin, Janet Carroll, (more)
