Paul Glover Movies

Out of the Blue, New Zealand writer-director Robert Sarkies' long-awaited follow-up to his 1999 feature debut Scarfies, recreates the events that led up to and surrounded David Gray's November 13, 1990, mass murder of 13 locals in the town of Aramoana, New Zealand. Sarkies, however, approaches the material not as exploitation or as an action picture, but -- like Terrence Malick in his 1973 true crime picture Badlands -- as an understated and detached drama. Sarkies uses a contemplative and reflective approach and a small-town pace and resists gratuitousness, intersecting several tales of casualties and survivors and downplaying the brutal violence. One story involves the contentious relationship between fiftysomething Jim (Timothy Bartlett) and his mother (Lois Lawn); another has a mom, Julia Anne (Tandi Wright) informing her daughter Rewa (Jacinta Wawatai) and her beau's children that they plan to share a house; and in a third, eccentric gun nut David Gray (Matthew Sunderland) cracks and guns down Julia's boyfriend, Gerry (Simon Ferry), in cold blood. These only represent the first three threads in a complex narrative tapestry; the story ultimately gives way to tense hours as the locals, realizing that a predator is on the loose and will kill anyone he can find, barricade their homes and cower in fear. Cinematographer Greig Fraser gives the picture a chilly, wintry aesthetic, rich with whites and blues. The film co-stars Karl Urban; Graeme Tetley co-authored the script with Sarkies. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

In present-day Hollywood, the staff of Renaissance Productions, the people responsible for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, are in a panic. An earthquake has struck Tinseltown, and the series' titular star, Kevin Sorbo, is missing. In order to save their jobs, the series' producers and writers (all of whom bear startling resemblances to other Hercules characters) are forced to audition new actors for the role of Hercules -- and failing that, they desperately improvise new "Hercules-less" story concepts. The tension results in open hostility amongst the staffers -- much to the delight of perennial Hercules villains Ares (Kevin Smith) and Strife (Joel Tobeck), who behave as if they're responsible for the whole mess. Fortunately, salvation is at hand in the form of...well, best not give too much of the story away. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While fishing with Xena (Lucy Lawless), Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) reels in a wounded Athenian soldier -- and in an instant, both of our heroines are surrounded by the Horde, a primitive tribe of warriors with whom Xena has had a traumatic previous encounter. Escaping, Xena and Gabrielle come across other Athenian victims of the Horde's brutality, and before long Xena is forced to lead the surviving Athenians against their enemy. In the thick of battle, Xena's "dark side" re-emerges, and soon she has become as vicious and ruthless as the Horde -- thereby galvanizing the more compassionate Gabrielle into desperate action. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Hoping to grab some glory for himself -- and, incidentally, to win the love of the beauteous Rena (Simone Kessell) -- Hercules' mortal half-brother Iphicles (Kevin Smith) steals Hercules' name. Upon linking up with the warlord Gorgus (Kenneth McGregor), Iphicles proceeds to defame his half-sibling's reputation. Determined to clear his name and bring Iphicles to his senses, Hercules (Kevin Sorbo) must first rescue his friend, Iolaus (Michael Hurst), from Gorgus' clutches in a booby-trapped labyrinth. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide