Fran Kranz Movies

Writer/director Joss Whedon (Serenity, Marvel's The Avengers) gives William Shakespeare's beloved battle-of-the-sexes comedy a contemporary makeover in this feature adaptation starring Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof. In the wake of an eventful trip abroad, Claudio (Fran Kranz) and Benedick (Denisof) arrive safely back in their hometown of Messina, where Claudio wastes no time declaring his love for Hero (Jillian Morgese). Alas, when clever Benedick learns that his friend has poured his heart out to the daughter of powerful governor Leonato (Clark Gregg), he chides his old friend relentlessly over the syrupy assertion while engaging Leonato's outspoken niece Beatrice (Acker) in a series of spirited debates. Meanwhile, somewhere amidst all of the pointed insults and playful barbs, something that strangely resembles true love seems to blossom between Benedick and Beatrice. Nathan Fillion, Reed Diamond, and Sean Maher co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The CBS sitcom Welcome to the Captain may well have been inspired by Nathaniel West's searing novel Day of the Locust, which chronicled the hopeless aspirations and dashed dreams of Hollywood's "fringies". New York-bred writer Josh Flug (Fran Kranz) was a former "wunderkind" who'd been whisked to LA-LA-land on the strength of an Oscar-winning short subject he'd produced in 2003. Alas, since that time Josh had done absolutely nothing of any significance, and was on the verge of heading home in defeat when his pal Marty Tanner (Chris Klein) talked him into remaining in Tinseltown. Thus, John moved into the El Capitan, a once-legendary Hollywood apartment building which, like John himself, had fallen upon hard times, and was now populated by showbiz wannabes, hasbeens, and never-weres. Jeffrey Tambor costarred as Uncle Saul, manager of El Capitan and onetime staff writer for the long-defunct comedy series Three's Company. Also seen were Raquel Welch as faded soap-opera diva Charlene Van Ark; Joanna Garcia as acupuncturist-in-training Hope; Al Madrigal as irritable desk attendant Jesus, who refused to be referred to as Hey-Soos and insisted upon the Biblical pronunciation of his name; and Valerie Azlynn as eccentric starlet Astrid, who for reasons that must have seemed funny on paper began all her sentences with the "S" sound. Welcome to the Captain first checked in on February 4, 2008. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A gruesome discovery sends an inquisitive bookstore clerk on a wild trip through the bizarre underbelly of Los Angeles in this quirky comedy mystery starring Colin Hanks and Tony Shalhoub. Wiley Roth (Hanks) is a sucker for a good whodunit, so when he discovers a severed finger on his kitchen floor, his detective instincts seem to naturally kick in. Perhaps with the aid of his eccentric father (Shalhoub) and his resourceful best friend (Fran Kranz) this amateur sleuth can track down the owner of this disconnected digit. Somewhere in the process of chasing leads, contending with incompetent cops, consulting with shady taxidermists, and dealing with his mysterious neighbors, Wiley discovers that the finger might just belong to the nine-fingered girl of his dreams (Rachel Blanchard). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Writer/director Jake Kasdan's showbiz comedy The TV Set stars David Duchovny as Mike Klein, a television producer who in the beginning of the film successfully sells a network on a story idea. The film follows Klein as he must actually put the show together, navigate the corporate minefield of the network, and figure out what aspects of his show he is willing to compromise. Sigourney Weaver plays the demanding president of the network, Justine Bateman plays Klein's wife, and Judy Greer plays his manager. The TV Set had its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Reclusive college freshman Bickford Schmeckler (Patrick Fugit) is a virtual fountain of cool ideas, and he records every single one of them in his prized, steel-bound notebook. When the notebook is stolen by hedonistic sorority girl Sarah (Olivia Wilde) during a toga party and subsequently comes into the possession of schizophrenic campus eccentric Spaceman (Matthew Lillard), the desperate Bickford embarks on a frantic quest to recover his most prized possession and prevent his life's work from being credited to someone else. John Cho and Fran Krantz star in a cinematic labor of love from writer/director Scott Lew - an ambitious first-time feature filmmaker who worked for eight years to bring his creative vision to the big screen. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

M. Night Shyamalan, the creative mind behind The Sixth Sense and Signs, wrote and directed this characteristically atmospheric thriller. The rustic village of Covington is a small town in rural Pennsylvania that is home to 60 souls. The citizens of Covington lead a quiet and peaceful life, but not without an unusual caveat -- terrible creatures lurk just outside the borders of the village, and the people of Covington have reached an agreement of sorts with the beasts, in which they are allowed to go about their business as long as they never cross the village's boundaries. However, this precarious balance is upset when a headstrong young man, Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix), decides to find out what lies outside Covington, and unwittingly invites the wrath of the creatures upon the town. The Village also stars Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Adrien Brody, Judy Greer, and Bryce Dallas Howard; both Kirsten Dunst and Ashton Kutcher were at one time attached to the project, but both left the cast before filming began. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Season five of Frasier begins with the entire KACL staff looking for new jobs after the station installs a "salsa" music format and fires them en masse. This situation is particularly painful for radio psychologist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer), especially since it was he who was largely responsible for his co-workers' plight. As he sends out resumes and vainly awaits for potential employers to beat a path to his door, Frasier tries to lessen his grief by spending his spare time in such pursuits as cooking and furniture design -- while everyone around him wonders how much of Frasier's anger, denial, and frustration they will able to withstand. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi