Olivia Wilde
Written and directed by Harold Ramis, this comedy stars Jack Black and Michael Cera. Produced by Ramis and Judd Apatow after the former appeared in the latter's Knocked Up, Year One is being executive produced by actor/screenwriter Owen Wilson. Oliver Platt, Olivia Wilde, Vinnie Jones, David Cross, and Superbad's Christopher Mintz-Plasse co-star in the Columbia Pictures production. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Black, Michael Cera, (more)
- 2008
Inspired by actual events, director Tap Ruspoli's urgent road film follows documentary filmmakers Bella and Milo as they race across Los Angeles on a twelve hour mission to get Milo's brother Leo to rehab before he's given a three year prison sentence. Beginning at a police station in suburban Calabasas, Bella, Milo, and Leo blast through Beverly Hills, Watts, and everyplace in between as they attempt to raise the $5000 needed to get Leo into rehab. Ironically, it begins to appear as if cutting a quick but lucrative drug deal may be the best way to ensure that Leo ends up in rehab instead of prison. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shawn Andrews, Olivia Wilde, (more)
Something of an Irish variation on The Sopranos with a considerably younger cast, NBC's weekly, hour-long The Black Donnellys was reportedly inspired on the exploits of an actual family (also named Donnelly) who were involved in a notoriously bloody fued in the Ontario of the 1880s. The TV series, however, was set in the present, and took place in the Hell's Kitchen district of New York City, specifically a patch of territory controlled by four tough young Irish-Americans with mob connections. The eldest of the four Donnelly brothers was the hotheaded, antagonistic Jimmy (Thomas Guiry), the leader of the gang and owner of the bar where the family all hung out. Jimmy's second-in-command was his brother Tommy (Jonathan Tucker), a former art student who occasionally suffered pangs of conscience over the Donnelly's dubious ethics and business practices. The third brother, Kevin (Bill Lush), was a compulsive gambler, while youngest brother Sean (Michael Stahl-David) was a weak-willed ladies' man. The series was narrated by family friend Joey "Ice Cream" (Keith Nobbs), a combination hatchet man and court jester. Created by the same people responsible for the Oscar-winning feature films Million Dollar Baby and Crash, The Black Donnellys debuted February 19, 2007, as a ten-week replacement for the floundering NBC dramedy Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirk Acevedo, Tom Guiry, (more)
John Stockwell's thriller Turistas begins when vacationers end up stranded in a little Brazilian village after a bus accident wipes out their transportation. Although many in the group are experienced when it comes to unusual travel destinations, none of them are able to get a handle on this strange village. They soon come to realize that they are stranded somewhere with something much more dangerous than they could have imagined. Josh Duhamel, Melissa George, and Olivia Wilde co-star. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josh Duhamel, Melissa George, (more)
Ex-Marine and convicted criminal Tim Kearney has been marked for death by a murderous biker gang, and now in order to cheat death he will assume the role of a powerful, recently deceased drug lord in this pulsating crime thriller starring Paul Walker and Laurence Fishburne. When Kearney (Walker) copped a plea with a scheming DEA agent (Fishburne) to impersonate surfing drug lord Bobby Z, his back was against a wall. Now, as the former convict convinces everyone including Bobby Z's girlfriend (Olivia Wilde) that he is in fact the man he claims to be, the drug dealer's old enemies turn up ready to settle some old scores. As the bullets begin to fly, the only choice Kearney has is to run for his life. Hunted from both sides of the law, Kearney attempts to protect the real Bobby Z's son despite the fact that his flight may find him missing out on some tidy illegal profits. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Walker, Laurence Fishburne, (more)
A drug dealer moves on to bigger crimes in an effort to settle a score with disastrous results in this drama inspired by actual events. Though barely out of his teens, Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch) has already built a lucrative career for himself selling drugs -- he has his own home, a luxury car, and posse of friends who do double duty as his crew, including Elvis (Shawn Hatosy), Frankie (Justin Timberlake), and Tiko (Fernando Vargas). While life at Johnny's house is usually a constant party interrupted by occasional dope deals, Johnny has lost all of his patience with Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster), a regular customer who has run up a large tab that he can't pay. Determined to clear Jake's account, Johnny and his boys plan to kidnap Jake and hold him for ransom, but when they happen upon his 15-year-old stepbrother, Zack (Anton Yelchin), they impulsively decide to take the youngster instead. Jake's father, Butch (David Thornton), and his stepmother, Olivia (Sharon Stone), are already furious with their junkie son when they learn about Zack's disappearance, and aren't sure what they should do. Meanwhile at Johnny's place, Frankie takes a liking to young Zack, who already admires his brother's high-flying lifestyle, and introduces the kid to the joys of grown-up partying, which he takes to with dangerous zeal. Also featuring Bruce Willis as Johnny's father, Alpha Dog was based on the real-life story of Jesse James Hollywood, who at the age of 21 became one of the youngest people to ever appear on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, (more)
Filmmaker Julian Dahl weaves this ambitious tale of two white filmmakers who have their equipment stolen while shooting a "ghetto" version of a Geek tragedy, and wind up taking credit for someone else's work. Two clueless film school graduates venture out onto the streets of Los Angeles in order to update a Greek play with the Gangsta Sistas, only to find their production halted when their equipment is borrowed by three street kids seeking to produce a documentary about the underground hip-hop scene. Later after the film school graduates manage to get back their cameras, they discover the raw footage shot by the ambitious camjackers. When the privileged filmmakers shamelessly take credit for the work of their thieving counterparts, the embittered camjackers vow revenge. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2006
- R
- AddBickford Schmeckler's Cool Ideasto QueueAddBickford Schmeckler's Cool Ideasto top of Queue
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Fugit, Cheryl Hines, (more)
An encounter between two people with a shared past and conflicting futures is played out on a split-image screen in this offbeat drama. An unnamed man (Aaron Eckhart) and woman (Helena Bonham Carter) are enjoying drinks and cigarettes in a hotel room after attending a wedding reception. At first, the two seem to be playing a flirtatious game, as he cheerfully but confidently advances toward her, and she seems at once attracted and put off by his bravado. Their pas de deux is shot and edited in split screen, with his image appearing in one half of the divided frame and hers appearing in the other. As time wears on, the man and woman begin crossing their appointed boundaries, and in some sequences one half of the frame represents the present while the other shows us events in the past. We learn that the man and woman had a tempestuous affair when they were in their late teens, and both are now committed to other people -- she has a husband, while he has a steady girl. How will the experiences of their past affect their present, and are they willing to betray their lovers for an evening's pleasure? Conversations With Other Women was the first feature film from director Hans Canosa. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Helena Bonham Carter, Aaron Eckhart, (more)
- 2003
Romeo and Juliet was updated to contemporary Beverly Hills in this typically stylish Jerry Bruckheimer TV series. This time around, Juliet was Jewel Goldman (Olivia Wilde), the stunning teenage daughter of Larry Goldman (Ron Silver), a successful producer of steamy adult films. As for Romeo, he was Adam Roane (D.J. Cotrona), the hot-hunk son of district attorney Michael Roame (Kevin Anderson), a staunch anti-porn crusader. Yes, the elder Goldman and Roame were longtime enemies. Yes, both men forbade their children from seeing one another. And yes, Jewel and Adam managed to sneak in a few torrid balcony scenes -- though not always on the balcony. Created by Jim Leonard, Skin made its FOX network bow on October 20, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ron Silver, Kevin Anderson, (more)
