Hamish Linklater Movies

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 superhuman 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, Rovi

The first feature from writing/directing team Oren Goldman and Yariv Ozdoba, Final Draft is an insider-comedy about a pair of guys who have been friends since childhood and now, as adults, dream of making it as Hollywood screenwriters. Marty was born in Israel and maintains a somewhat cynical view of the world. Harry, on the other hand, grew up in New York and is slightly more wide-eyed. To bide their time before hitting the big time, the two have resigned themselves to editing home videos of bar mitzvahs and weddings. In addition, Harry works nights teaching Jewish folk dancing classes. But everything takes a positive turn when the guys discover they have a drug dealer in common with a bigwig at Misney studios. When they suddenly find themselves with a meeting scheduled with an actual Hollywood executive and no script to pitch, Harry and Marty scramble to come up with the perfect idea. Also starring Emily Bergl and Laura Jordan as the guys' love interests, Final Draft was shot digitally and premiered at the 2003 Victoria Film Festival in Victoria, British Columbia. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Following other indie films about the kinetic, drug-saturated rave culture such as Go (1999) and Human Traffic (1999) comes this ensemble movie, set in San Francisco. At the film's opening, the main characters are introduced at breakneck speed, including Leyla (Lola Glaudini) who recently arrived from New York, Neo-hippie Harmony (MacKenzie Firgens), who is celebrating her birthday with her boyfriend Colin (Denny Kirkwood), and Colin's nerdy brother David (Hamish Linklater), who would much rather read than rave. As the film charts David's first taste of chemically-induced ecstasy and his budding romance with Leyla, who serves as his trip guide, it also includes a small vignette of the tattoo and piercing set, including blissed-out drug dealers and their attempts at scamming on chicks, a skinhead looking for trouble, and a gay couple who just can't quite figure out where the blasted rave is. This film was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi