James Gunn Movies
Before entering the Hollywood big leagues, filmmaker James Gunn cut his teeth working with cult-favorite Troma Entertainment, writing 1996's Tromeo and Juliet and even co-authoring a book with Troma president Lloyd Kaufman. Beginning with 2002's Scooby Doo, Gunn became a sought-after screenwriter, penning scripts for such hits as 2004's remake of Dawn of the Dead and the 2006 horror sleeper Slither (which he also directed). In 2000, Gunn married actress Jenna Fischer, who would later go on to find fame on NBC's The Office; the couple separated in 2007. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Notorious schlock and psychotronic production company Troma (known for such classics as Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke 'Em High) hails Tromeo and Juliet, its contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare's love tragedy, a "thrill-a-minute, body-piercing, computer sex, sapphic, car-crashing extravaganza." Set in New York City, the tale centers on the Ques and the Capulets. The bitter feud begins when father Capulet steals father Que's Silky Films production company. As enemies, the two warring clans are always doing horrible things to each other. Tromeo Que is a computer nerd who spends much time fondling himself in front of his favorite sexy CD-ROMs until he falls in love with lovely Juliet and proposes to her while she sits upon a toilet. The film, seemingly aimed at adolescent boys, features violence, considerable gore, profanity, vulgar situations (featuring buckets of fake vomit), and the graphic depiction of body piercing. (Of course, if it didn't, it wouldn't be a Troma film.) ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Jensen, Will Keenan, (more)
A satire of comic-book superheroes in the same vein as the 1999 Mystery Men, The Specials is set in a parallel universe where gangs of superheroes regularly compete against one another for glory or, failing that, flattering action-figure likenesses. The Specials are one of these gangs, and not a very good one at that. Composed of the Weevil (Rob Lowe), the group's most popular member, Amok (Jamie Kennedy), a potty-mouthed shape-shifter, group leader Strobe (Thomas Haden Church), and the constantly growing or shrinking Minute Man (James Gunn), the Specials are more concerned with their image than in actually doing anything heroic. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Lowe, Jamie Kennedy, (more)
The long-running cartoon from William Hanna and Joseph Barbera that began life in 1969 as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? becomes this live-action, tongue-in-cheek comedy-adventure featuring a computer-generated version of the easily frightened, mush-mouthed Great Dane. Freddie Prinze Jr. stars as Fred, the blonde, confident, ascot-sporting leader of Mystery Inc., a ghost-busting service that exposes phony supernatural phenomena as the work of shysters. Working with Fred are: his rich, beautiful girlfriend, Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who has a bad habit of getting kidnapped by villains; Velma (Linda Cardellini), the real brains of the group who pines secretly for Fred; cowardly slacker and dog's best friend Shaggy (Matthew Lillard); and the snack-gobbling pet pooch Scooby. However, after solving its latest case involving a beleaguered toy company owner (Pamela Anderson), the group fractures over Fred's habit of grabbing credit for everyone's hard work, despite the pleas of Shaggy and Scooby. Two years later, they are reunited at Spooky Island, a theme park and teen spring break destination that owner Emile Mondavarious (Rowan Atkinson) claims is plagued with ghosts. Suspicious as usual of any claims involving the paranormal, the Mystery Inc. clan is soon probing a scheme involving ancient rites, summoned spirits, and brainwashed college students, forcing the group members to resolve their differences and uncover the truth. Directed by Chris Columbus protégé Raja Gosnell, Scooby-Doo features the voice of Scott Innes as the title character. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, (more)
A wealthy couple attempts to give back to their community by handing out giant lollipops to the local homeless population in the mockumentary-style directorial debut of The Office star Jenna Fischer. On the surface, James and Jenna (real-life husband and wife team James Gunn and Jenna Fischer) couldn't be more charitable, but a closer look at their newfound philanthropy points to a more self-serving motivation. Beneath their shallow veneer, all James and Jenna care about is using their preposterous new charity to mix in with the jet set and keep themselves in the public eye. As desperate James attempts to get his mediocre art to the masses by using it to wrap the lollipops and self-absorbed Jenna tries to land the funding needed to drive her outlandish endeavor, the would-be charitable couple's inherent inability to truly connect with those who they claim to be helping grows increasingly obvious to everyone except themselves. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Gunn, Jenna Fischer, (more)
The feature-film debut of director Zack Snyder, Dawn of the Dead is a modern retelling of George Romero's 1978 horror classic, which was actually the second film in a trilogy that began with Night of the Living Dead and concluded with Day of the Dead. Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames star as two of the last remaining people on an earth that has been ravaged by flesh-eating zombies. After escaping to a shopping mall with a handful of other survivors, they decide that they only way to truly elude the approaching throng of undead is to somehow make their way to an island that is supposedly zombie-free. Jake Weber and Mekhi Phifer also star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, (more)
- 2004
- PG
- Add Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed to QueueAdd Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed to top of Queue
America's favorite teenage canine-led crime fighters earn a second shot at the big screen in this sequel to the hit comedy Scooby-Doo. The reunited Mystery Inc. team -- Fred (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Daphne (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Velma (Linda Cardellini), Shaggy (Matthew Lillard), and Scooby-Doo (voice of Neil Fanning) -- return to their hometown of Coolsville as heroes when a local criminology museum offers an exhibition of the many ghostly disguises used by villains they've subdued over the years. However, their warm welcome is not long-lived; mean-spirited television reporter Heather Jasper-Howe (Alicia Silverstone) has aired a series of stories calling the team's intelligence and bravery into question, and even worse, a number of the weird creature costumes on display in the museum are coming to life and wrecking havoc on the people of Coolsville. Some of the clues seem to point to Old Man Wickles (Peter Boyle), whose attempts to pose as the Black Knight Ghost were foiled by the Mystery Machinists in the past, but is he looking for revenge or just a red herring? And what is Velma supposed to do about Patrick Wisely (Seth Green), a curator at the museum who's warm for her helmet-haired form? Scooby-Doo 2 also co-stars Tim Blake Nelson and features a cameo appearance from American Idol star Ruben Studdard. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, (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)
