Tania Saulnier Movies
Adapted from author Philip Roth's novel The Dying Animal, director Isabel Coixet's elegant tale of obsession explores the relationship between a highly respected professor (Ben Kingsley) and an impossibly gorgeous grad student (Penélope Cruz). As their relationship deepens, the professor finds his ego challenged by the girl's enchanting beauty. Dennis Hopper and Patricia Clarkson co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penélope Cruz, Ben Kingsley, (more)
A severely beaten teenager, trapped in a walking purgatory between life and death, must help authorities to the location of his broken body before it's too late in this remake of the 2002 Swedish thriller Den Osynlige. Graduating senior Nick Powell (Justin Chatwin) has plans to attend a prestigious writing workshop in London, despite the protests of his widowed mother (Marcia Gay Harden). In the days before his departure, he gets into a cafeteria brawl with a delinquent classmate, Annie Newton (Margarita Levieva), while defending his friend from her extortion attempts. Annie and her crew track Nick down on the night he's planning to leave, mistakenly thinking he ratted her out to the police regarding a smash-and-grab burglary committed the night before. When the subsequent beating goes too far, the assailants dump the body in the woods in a panicked attempt to dispose of it. Only, Nick isn't dead -- he's walking invisible among his classmates, friends, and family, desperately trying to alert them that he's still alive. Robbed of the traditional forms of communication, Nick must figure out supernatural methods of manipulating his environment -- and he soon realizes the very girl who attacked him may be the only one who has the power to save him. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Justin Chatwin, Margarita Levieva, (more)
A young child has gone missing and it's up to a haunted but determined policeman to travel to the remote island community where she was last seen and solve the lingering mystery of her disappearance in director Neil LaBute's updated reworking of Anthony Shaffer's 1973 cult horror classic. Upon receiving a letter from his one-time fiancée, Willow (Kate Beahan), imploring him to search for her missing daughter on the secluded island of Summersisle, Policeman Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) quickly makes his way to the island to locate the girl and seek an answer as to why Willow suddenly and inexplicably disappeared shortly before their wedding date. Once there, Malus is troubled to discover that although there are traces of the child to be found in such locations as the local schoolhouse, the residents of Summersisle seem reluctant to offer any specific details as to the girl's apparent death. His investigation effectively stalled by the highly secretive Wiccan community, Sheriff Malus soon discovers that there are still some cultures that have their own unique beliefs about humankind's relationship with Mother Earth, and refuse to adapt to the rules of modern society. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Ellen Burstyn, (more)
A mysterious meteor infected with a deadly alien plague brings chaos to a small hunting town in the feature-length directorial debut of screenwriter James Gunn (Scooby-Doo, Dawn of the Dead). Booted out of bed by his young, trophy-wife Starla (Elizabeth Banks), and in desperate need of some female companionship, wealthy Grant Grant (Michael Rooker) picks up bar local floozy Brenda (Brenda James) and heads into the woods for a hedonistic night of extramarital excitement. When a flaming meteor lights up the sky before crashing to the ground nearby, Grant's curiosity gets the best of him and he sets out to find the space rock. Subsequently infected with a rampaging space virus, which he passes along to Brenda, Grant transforms into a horrific, cow-munching monster and begins terrorizing the town. As thousands of squirmy space slugs burrow into the brains of the unsuspecting Wheelsy denizens creating an ever-amassing horde of mindless space zombies, panic grips the small town and it's up to Starla, Sheriff Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion), and gung-ho mayor Jack MacReady (Gregg Henry) to put an end to the infection and save the planet. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, (more)
- 2004
16 years ago, a little girl named Catherine was kidnapped by her nanny from the home of her wealthy parents. Now, a private detective has informed Catherine's mother Ellen (Joanna Cassidy) that her daughter has been relocated. Although Ellen welcomes the woman who identifies herself as Catherine (Tania Saulnier) with open arms, Catherine's new stepfather Charles (Greg Evigan) suspects that something is amiss. As it turns out, virtually everyone in the cast has a nasty little secret that would have best remained dead and buried (those, in fact, are the operative words: Dead and Buried). Produced for cable TV's Lifetime channel, Found originally aired September 20, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
High school jock Sean Kelvin (Michael Coristine) manages to survive a near-drowning in an icy lake "polluted" by kryptonite. Unfortunately, Sean is now unable to keep warm unless he extracts the body heat from those around him. It is up to Clark Kent (Tom Welling) to prevent Sean from absorbing the warmth -- and the lives -- of Clark's friends Chloe (Allison Mack), Lana (Kristin Kreuk), and Lex (Michael Rosenbaum). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this comic fantasy for the family, Doris (Kathy Baker), a woman who runs a secondhand store, buys a ring that turns out to have magical powers. Before she knows what's happened, the ring has turned her into one of her favorite television stars, and the talisman allows her to transform a pair of rats into good-looking boys for a couple of teenage girls with whom she's become friendly. But no one knows just how long the spell will remain in effect -- least of all Doris. Ratz also stars Caroline Elliott and Vanessa Lengies. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Lengies, Caroline Elliott, (more)
- 1999
The fact that Tippi Hedren is cast as the grandmother of the protagonist is hardly the only Hitchcock reference in the made-for-cable thriller The Darklings. While bedridden with a case of mono, teenager C.J. (Ryan DeBoer) glances out his window, and sees--or thinks he sees--next-door neighbor Clayton Shepherd (Timothy Busfield) murdering his wife Emily (Suzanne Somers). Of course, when the authorities are summoned, there is no evidence of any murder--and in fact there's no body. Further developments suggest that C.J. was simply imagining things, but he refuses to accept this explanation. In league with his youthful pals Jessie (Meghan Ory) and Josh (Ben Johnson), C.J. is determined to bend and even break the law to prove that Shepherd is a killer. Martin Sheen also stars in this delightful blend of TV-style teen angst, light humor and dastardly deeds. The Darklings premiered February 14, 1999 on the Fox Family channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
