Bradley J. Fischer Movies
The true story behind the murders that many crime scholars believe to be the most perplexing series of unsolved crimes in modern history comes to the screen in chilling detail as Fight Club and Seven director David Fincher steps behind the camera to tell the mysterious tale of the infamous Zodiac killer. A relentless serial killer is stalking the streets of the San Francisco Bay Area, leaving citizens locked into a constant state of panic, and baffled authorities scrambling for clues. Though the killer sadistically mocks the detectives by leaving a series of perplexing ciphers and menacing letters at the crime scenes, the investigation quickly flatlines when none of the evidence yields any solid leads. As two detectives remain steadfast in their devotion to bringing the elusive killer to justice, they soon find that the madman has control not only over their careers, but their very lives as well. Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mark Ruffalo, Jake Gyllenhaal, (more)
The sole survivor of a Viking "dragon" vessel shipwrecked on the eastern shores of the New World 15 years ago provides the only hope for the a Native American tribe faced with certain destruction by Norse berserkers in director Marcus Nispel's (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) dark action adventure. Reared by the Wampanoag tribe following a failed attempt by the Vikings to raid coastal villages for slaves, a ten-year-old shipwreck survivor is nicknamed "Ghost" by his adoptive tribe due to his pale complexion and blond hair. Legend says that death and destruction will follow the boy wherever he travels, yet the peaceful people of the Wampanoag tribe selflessly take the frightened child in as if he is one of their own. Over the course of the following decade, the adopted young Norseman eventually grows into a strong warrior (Karl Urban) determined to prove his worth to the people he calls family. When the rampaging Vikings return to the New World to rain destruction down on the Native Americans and to claim the fertile land of the peaceful people, Ghost finds himself in the precarious position of having to stop his own people from destroying his village and ruthlessly slaughtering the woman he loves (Moon Bloodgood). Now, as Ghost's true destiny is revealed by the powerful shaman known as the Pathfinder (Russell Means), the fearless warrior sets out to stage a savage one-man war on the marauding Vikings and become the savior once prophesied to defend the Wampanoag people in their darkest hour. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karl Urban, Moon Bloodgood, (more)
An engaged young couple finds their lifetime of happiness unexpectedly compromised by a pushy minister who insists they successfully complete his comprehensive marriage-prep course before exchanging wedding vows in a matrimonial comedy starring John Krasinski, Mandy Moore, and Robin Williams. Sadie Jones (Moore) has always longed to marry the man of her dreams in her family church. Though she found her lifetime companion in Ben Murphy (Krasinski), Sadie is distressed to learn that St. Augustine's has only one wedding slot available over the next two years. While Sadie and Ben do qualify for the slot, charismatic St. Augustine's minister Reverend Frank (Williams) won't wed the couple until they agree to attend his two-week prenuptial course. Now, as their wedding date draws near, Sadie and Ben must attend every one of Reverend Frank's exhausting classes and complete a series of rigorous homework assignments designed specifically to test their dedication to one another and ensure that their union will have a sound foundation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, (more)
Director and co-screenwriter (along with Chris Gerolmo, Allison Burnett, and Michael Bortman) Rod Lurie tells the uplifting tale of a sports writer who almost lost it all before stumbling into the story of a lifetime in this uplifting sports-themed drama starring Josh Hartnett and Samuel L. Jackson. Erik (Hartnett) is a Denver-based sports writer whose prose is dull and whose marriage is failing. Not only is Erik having a difficult time dealing with his stubborn editor Metz (Alan Alda) - who refuses to take the suffering scribe off of the boxing beat - but the pain of being separated from his young son has weighed heavier on Erik's conscience than he could have ever imagined. When Erik sees a local homeless man (Samuel L. Jackson) being violently assaulted by a gang of sadistic street toughs, he instinctively comes to the suffering man's rescue. As fate would have, Erik discovers that the nondescript homeless man is actually the former boxing champion Battling Bob Satterfield, whom many sports fans had assumed dead. Now driven to tell the story that may establish him as a successful sports writer, Erik gradually begins to make the transformation from ordinary man to extraordinary champion - largely by turning inward and by reexamining his relationship with his own son. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel L. Jackson, Josh Hartnett, (more)
The disappearance of a military leader and the death of four of his men leads two investigators to wade through a morass of deceptions and half-truths in search of the facts in this thriller. Sgt. Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson) is the leader of an elite team of U.S. Army Special Forces operatives known as the Army Rangers; West is known as a highly effective officer, but one with a short temper and aggressive attitude who is not well liked by his soldiers. During a seemingly routine training exercise in Panama, a hurricane sweeps in, and four of West's six men are dead, while West himself seems to have vanished. Eager to get the facts behind what happened, Col. Bill Styles (Tim Daly) assigns Capt. Julia Osborne (Connie Nielsen) to investigate. However, Osborne is having a hard time getting the two survivors to talk, so Styles brings in Tom Hardy (John Travolta), a former Army Ranger who served under West and became a first-class interrogator; Hardy later became a DEA agent, but left law enforcement after allegations of corruption. Hardy interviews Dunbar (Brian Van Holt), who claims that the four soldiers had been murdered, and West was killed in retaliation. Kendall (Giovanni Ribisi), the other survivor (whose father is a powerful officer) has a very different story of how the five men turned up dead, and it's up to Hardy and Osborne to determine who is telling the truth -- or if anyone is saying exactly what happened. Basic marked the first time John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson appeared in the same film together since their breakthrough roles in Pulp Fiction. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, (more)
